Delta Devils

<div>The Indiana Pacers medical team decided to clear Tyrese Haliburton to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals despite an existing calf strain and that blunder resulted in a torn Achilles tendon. While understandable given the gravity of the situation, that decision proved to be very costly for not only the organization as a whole but more importantly to Tyrese Haliburton as it was just announced that he would miss the entire 2025/2026 season due to a torn achilles.&nbsp;</div>
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-1_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
<div>In contrast, this past summer, my daughter Imani Thomas class of 2026 was faced with a very difficult decision to play through an injury at Nationals and risk further more severe injury.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>Here&rsquo;s the story: &nbsp;</div>
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<div>Imani had played through shin splints for the entire travel season with her team Maryland Juniors. These shin splints actually developed during her junior year high school season with Bishop McNamara, but she is a soldier and she pushed through like all athletes do.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>However, toward the end of her travel season, the shin splints continued to get worse. She did constant treatment and even started over compensating to protect her shin splints until one practice she could barely move. The assistant coach (Coach Ashley Williams) came up to me and said,&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;Imani is a beast, and she is not going to stop playing no matter what I tell her. But you need to get this checked out because it&rsquo;s visibly getting worse&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
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<div>So me and my wife Nichole took her to get X Rays and a MRI and it was discovered that her shin splints had turned into a stress fracture.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>She was devastated. Nationals were coming up and like any athlete she contemplated just sucking it up and playing through the pain.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>The doctor was honest with us. He explained to us that if Imani was playing soccer, he would definitely not clear her to play because the likelihood of her getting kicked in her stress fracture was relatively high. If she played football or rugby or any contact sport, he would also not clear her. But she plays volleyball, and the likelihood of her getting kicked in her stress fracture was very low.&nbsp;</div>
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<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-6_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></div>
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<div>However, if she landed wrong, the impact could be just as severe as if she got kicked. Then he asked how her mechanics were and I told him that she had been over compensating for quite some time. She&rsquo;s been pushing through and getting a lot of treatment but she has been in pain for a long time. And the doctor said honestly, it&rsquo;s a decision you have to make for her. She is going to want to risk it all and play. That&rsquo;s how athletes are.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>So we talked to Imani, explained the risks, and together we came to the decision that it would be best to sit out.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>And it was a very difficult process for her as it would be for any athlete but long term over short term was what was important.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>Now, back to Tyrese Haliburton.</div>
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<div>NBA fans across the world witnessed what would have been a story of triumph. One for the archives of NBA history. The storyline would&rsquo;ve been.... Facing elimination in the NBA playoffs in a pivotal Game 7, Tyrese Haliburton battles through injury with superhuman perseverance and in heroic fashion to save the Pacers and propel them into victory solidifying this as one of the greatest finals performances in the history of the NBA. They probably would&rsquo;ve had a picture of Haliburton with a Superman emblem on his chest and a cape under his Warriors uniform. Would&rsquo;ve had his dad holding the same Pacers towel he waved in front of Giannis next to his son with the trophy. Would&rsquo;ve been a sportswriters dream as so many angles could&rsquo;ve been covered and explored.</div>
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People love stories of heroics. Isiah Thomas hobbling around on one foot in game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against the Lakers and scoring 25 points in the 3rd quarter. Or Willis Reed walking out of the tunnel for the New York Knicks on his bum ankle in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. Everything was set up for Haliburton to be added to that list.
High school, college and professional coaches across the country were just salivating to be able to use this as an example to their players to enforce the philosophy that &ldquo;pain is weakness leaving your body&rdquo;. They would&rsquo;ve used Haliburton as an example to young athletes that the game (not your health) is what matters most. And a real &ldquo;team player&rdquo; would sacrifice a &ldquo;little discomfort&rdquo; for their team.
I have seen this all before. During my tenure with the Washington Wizards, I witnessed team trainer Eric Waters misdiagnose player after player because what was best for the Wizards organization was for that player to play.
I saw Richard Hamilton go off on the entire training staff after he learned that&nbsp;he had been playing through a torn groin, only disclosed to him after the team was out of playoff contention. He had been complaining about his groin for weeks and the trainers were giving him treatment two and three times a day all the while knowing his groin was torn, but they wanted to push for the playoffs so they didn&rsquo;t tell him.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
I saw them tell Jarvis Hayes that he simply had a case of &ldquo;tendinitis&rdquo; in his knee and had him playing through the pain. Turned out he had a broken knee cap and ruined his entire career.&nbsp;
I saw them tell Kwame Brown that he was just experiencing a &ldquo;little discomfort&rdquo; in his leg and that he needed to play through the pain to show everyone that he was worthy of being the number 1 pick. Turned out later, he actually had a torn hamstring.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-4_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
I saw Eric Waters tell Deshawn Stevenson there was nothing seriously wrong with his back and had him getting ice and stem and playing through the pain. After the season, upon further review by an outside doctor it was discovered that he actually had an Inflamed L5 Nerve that was stuck underneath a disc that required not one but two back surgeries to repair.&nbsp;
My point in saying all of this is not to simply blast Eric Waters, I am showing that this happens all the time in professional sports. With team doctors and trainers, there is a conflict of interest and the sworn medical oath becomes blurred and effects their diagnoses. They are hired by the teams and are in essence employees of the organization not employees of the players. So they don&rsquo;t have the players best interest in mind, typically, they only have the organization&rsquo;s.
The Indiana Pacers medical staff basically RG3&rsquo;d Haliburton. They &ldquo;Any Given Sunday&rsquo;d&rdquo; him. They Eric Waters&rsquo;d him.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-5_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
He shouldn&rsquo;t have been playing period.
The risks outweighed the rewards. Even from a team standpoint. This is your franchise player. This is a player who has the capability of single handedly turning an entire NBA championship finals series around. This is a player that you should&rsquo;ve done everything in your power to convey to him how important he is long term for them and how much they value his health and are looking out for his best interest etc etc. However, what they showed was the exact opposite.&nbsp;
It doesn&rsquo;t matter if Haliburton insisted on playing in Game 7, just like it didn&rsquo;t matter if Imani insisted on playing in Nationals.&nbsp;Sometimes, when it comes to their health, athletes need people to make the decision for them. That&rsquo;s our job as parents and we did that. That was also the job of the Pacers medical team, and they did not have the medical integrity to do that.&nbsp;
Imani had her boot off now and is starting rehab and will be back full strength in a few weeks. Haliburton&rsquo;s calf strain turned into a ruptured Achilles and he will have to sit out the entire 2025/2026 season.&nbsp;
In explaining the difference in how me and my wife Nichole handled her injury vs how the Pacers medical staff handled his, I started singing, &ldquo;They Not Like Us&rdquo; A Dad joke that fell flat with Imani but I don&rsquo;t care it was a good joke.&nbsp;
But in all seriousness, I hope all young players see this and learn that no matter what the circumstances or how big the game is, your health always comes first, and you ALWAYS get a 2nd opinion from your own doctors that have nothing to do with the organization like Kawhi Leonard did in San Antonio his last season there.&nbsp;
Let me refresh everyone&rsquo;s memory.
Everyone with a microphone dogged Kawhi that season. Skip Bayless was still going on his hateful rants and baseless criticisms of Kawhi even after the Raptors beat the 76ers in the playoffs.
Skip Bayless tweeted out
&ldquo;Well, I guess it worked for No. 2 to quit on the Spurs last season complaining of what Spurs doctors decided was no more than a thigh bruise. He wound up in the East, playing against a hobbled, sick Embiid and an overrated Giannis. "Crime" pays.&rdquo;
Kawhi delt with Coach Popovich taking shots at him, his teammates taking shots at him, the team questioning his injury because their &ldquo;team doctors&rdquo; said he was fine. But he got a 2nd opinion and was told otherwise and did what was in his best interest. Danny Green was reportedly playing through a torn groin after being misdiagnosed by the same team doctors that misdiagnosed Kawhi.
And the Spurs are one of the most respected organizations in the NBA with one of the most respected coaches in the NBA. But, the bottom line is, any organization will throw you out there in a heartbeat injured if they feel it is best for the organization. They will publicly criticize you if you don&rsquo;t play and if you play and re-injure yourself worst or just don&rsquo;t play up to their expectations (as if they don&rsquo;t know your playing injured) they will get rid of you in a New York minute just like The Washington Commanders did RG3 and just like the Washington Wizards did with Jarvis Hayes.
I remember watching Grant Hill. He was about to literally take over the league.
People were calling him out for not playing hurt. Said he was soft, overrated etc etc just like they were saying about Haliburton before he shut them all up this playoff series.
The Orlando medical staff derailed Grant&rsquo;s entire career.&nbsp;
Another example is the young Isiah Thomas. He shouldn&rsquo;t have been playing in Boston in the playoffs but he played, ended up hurting himself more, ended up needing surgery, cost himself 100 million dollars came back and played after losing his sister and they traded him that summer because they knew about his injury and knew that he needed surgery.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-8_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
Kyrie Irving goes and gets a 2nd opinion and they say you need surgery, the Celtics doctors didn&rsquo;t tell him he needed surgery, so he had his surgery and came back the next year strong. There is a reoccurring theme here.
I immediately called my son Malcolm who is working hard at The University Of Dayton right now as I write this article I hope he learned the lesson in what just happened to Haliburton. Told my daughter Baby Sierra and Imani the entire way to school yesterday, like literally the whole entire way I was going on an endless rant.
Told them stories of Eric Waters and Ernie Grunfeld trying to get me to take a cortisone shot in my pubic bone and go out an play when I was suffering an abdominal strain that kept me sidelined for an extended period of time. But also how the 2nd opinion I received from my doctor was that if I did that, I would almost certainly hurt myself worse because the Cortisone show wouldn&rsquo;t exceed the healing process, it was just make it so I didn't feel the pain.&nbsp;
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But just think of it logically, your body sends pain signals to you when something is hurting to let you know to stop doing that. If you block that signal, you won&rsquo;t feel the warning you&rsquo;re supposed to feel. Made perfect sense to me so I told them no. And sure they tried to put pressure on me and have a beat writer pressure me through the power of the pin in a few articles (no I didn&rsquo;t have any actual proof of this but the timing and coincidence was way too convenient so I&rsquo;ll say &ldquo;allegedly&rdquo; had a beat writer pressure me through the media). But the end result was me standing firm and telling them no, I can&rsquo;t go.
However, the onus shouldn&rsquo;t be placed on the athlete&rsquo;s shoulders. Of course athletes are going to want to play but it shouldn&rsquo;t be up to them. A solution to this league wide issue was suggested to me by a lawyer by the name of Marlon Amprey. He explained that the Players Association should assemble a group of outside doctors/specialists (or specific doctors/specialists the player suggests) that have no connection to the team whatsoever.
That will provide 2nd &amp; 3rd opinions and give players detailed reports on their health and risk of injury. All doctors&rsquo; reports given by teams that drastically differ should go under review and there should be repercussions for team doctors and trainers who medically clear players who shouldn&rsquo;t be medically cleared to play.
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The Indiana Pacers medical team decided to clear Tyrese Haliburton to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals despite an existing calf strain.

The Indiana Pacers RG3’d Tyrese Haliburton

The first round of the 2025 NBA Draft has been completed, and the second round will tip off on Thursday, June 26 (8 ET, ESPN) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This will be the second time in NBA history that the draft will be held over two days, following its introduction over a year ago.
Here are all the first-round selections courtesy of the NBA: (article to be updated with the second-round picks)
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/cooper-flagg">Cooper Flagg</a> (Duke) to the Dallas Mavericks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/dylan-harper">Dylan Harper</a> (Rutgers) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/vj-edgecombe">VJ Edgecombe</a> (Baylor) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/kon-knueppel">Kon Knueppel</a> (Duke) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/ace-bailey">Ace Bailey</a> (Rutgers) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/tre-johnson">Tre Johnson</a> (Texas) to the Washington Wizards</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/jeremiah-fears">Jeremiah Fears</a> (Oklahoma) to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/egor-demin">Egor Demin</a> (BYU) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/collin-murray-boyles">Collin Murray-Boyles</a> (South Carolina) to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/khaman-maluach">Khaman Maluach</a> (Duke) to the Houston Rockets &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/suns-rockets-trade-kevin-durant">Traded to Suns</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/cedric-coward">Cedric Coward</a> (Washington State) to the Portland Trail Blazers &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/memgrizz/status/1938089198935834700">Traded to Grizzlies</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/noa-essengue">Noa Essengue</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Chicago Bulls</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/derik-queen">Derik Queen</a> (Maryland) to the Atlanta Hawks &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/derik-queen-nba-draft-trade-forward-center-maryland-new-orleans-pelicans-atlanta-hawks-first-round-draft-pick-13">Traded to Pelicans</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/carter-bryant">Carter Bryant</a> (Arizona) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/thomas-sorber">Thomas Sorber</a> (Georgetown) to the Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/hansen-yang">Yang Hansen</a> (Qingdao) to the Memphis Grizzlies &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/blazers/news/trail-blazers-acquire-draft-rights-to-yang-hansen">Traded to Trail Blazers</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/joan-beringer">Joan Beringer</a> (Cedevita Olimpija) to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/walter-clayton-jr">Walter Clayton Jr.</a> (Florida) to the Washington Wizards &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/utahjazz/status/1938070621159616606">Traded to Jazz</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/nolan-traore">Nolan Traor&eacute;</a> (Saint-Quentin BB) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/kasparas-jakucionis">Kasparas Jakučionis</a> (Illinois) to the Miami Heat</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/will-riley">Will Riley</a> (Illinois) to the Utah Jazz &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/WashWizards/status/1938082193785397462">Traded to Wizards</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/drake-powell">Drake Powell</a> (North Carolina) to the Atlanta Hawks &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/BrooklynNets/status/1938071333008482655">Traded to Nets</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/asa-newell">Asa Newell</a> (Georgia) to the New Orleans Pelicans &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/hawks/news/atlanta-hawks-acquire-the-draft-rights-of-asa-newell-the-no-23-pick-in-the-2025-nba-draft">Traded to Hawks</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/nique-clifford">Nique Clifford</a> (Colorado State) to the Oklahoma City Thunder &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/kings/news/kings-acquire-draft-rights-to-nique-clifford">Traded to Kings</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/jase-richardson">Jase Richardson</a> (Michigan State) to the Orlando Magic</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/ben-saraf">Ben Saraf</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/danny-wolf">Danny Wolf</a> (Michigan) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/hugo-gonzalez">Hugo Gonz&aacute;lez</a> (Real Madrid) to the Boston Celtics</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/liam-mcneeley">Liam McNeeley</a> (Connecticut) to the Phoenix Suns &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/hornets/news/charlotte-hornets-agree-in-principle-to-acquire-the-draft-rights-to-liam-mcneeley">Traded to Hornets</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/yanic-konan-niederhauser">Yanic Konan Niederhauser</a> (Penn State) to the Los Angeles Clippers</li>
</ol>

The first round of the 2025 NBA Draft has been completed, and the second round will tip off on Thursday, June 26, still in Brooklyn.

2025 NBA Draft: Full results

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/embiid332.jpg" alt="" width="672" height="440" />
<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
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Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

Here&rsquo;s a rarity: All five teams from one division are going to the NBA playoffs.
And they pulled that off in a year where a division champion almost didn&rsquo;t get there.
All five teams from the Pacific Division &mdash; Sacramento, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; have made the playoffs, which start Saturday.
But Miami, the champion of the Southeast Division, almost missed out. The Heat got there Friday night by closing on a 15-1 run to beat Chicago 102-91 in the final Eastern Conference play-in game.
Had the Heat lost, it would have been the first time in NBA history that a division winner wasn&rsquo;t going to the playoffs.
On the other end of the spectrum, the whole-division-goes feat had happened only two other times since the NBA went to the six-division, five-teams-in-each format starting with the 2004-05 season.
The Central Division did it in 2006, and the Southwest Division pulled it off in 2015. It almost happened in the Northwest Division in 2018 when Denver missed the playoffs by a game. And the Atlantic Division had a chance to send all its teams this year if Toronto gotten out of the play-in tournament.
PLAY IN TO PLAY ON
The play-in tournament provided a path for Miami, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta to make the playoffs.
And now, they&rsquo;ll try to go from playing in to playing on.
No team has managed that yet.
Granted, there&rsquo;s only been three previous versions of a play-in tournament, but no team has gone from the extra round in between the regular season and playoffs and gotten an actual postseason series win.
In 2020, Portland (which beat Memphis in a one-game play-in round inside the restart bubble) lost 4-1 to the top-seeded Lakers.
In 2021, the Lakers (4-2 to Phoenix), Memphis (4-1 to Utah), Boston (4-1 to Brooklyn) and Washington (4-1 to Philadelphia) were all ousted in Round 1.
And last year, Minnesota (4-2 to Memphis), New Orleans (4-2 to Phoenix), Atlanta (4-1 to Miami) and Brooklyn (4-0 to Boston) also lost their opening series after qualifying through the play-in.
2 TO 1
Golden State did something unusual last season. It finished second in the Pacific Division &mdash; and first in the NBA.
That&rsquo;s a serious break from the norm.
From 2012 through 2021, every team to make the NBA Finals did so after winning a division championship. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks had been the most recent team not to win its division but make the finals; they won the title that season.
The Warriors did it last season, also winning the title.
This season&rsquo;s division champions: Boston, Milwaukee, Miami, Denver, Sacramento and Memphis. History suggests that two of those six teams would be the wise picks for those forecasting who&rsquo;ll make the finals.
SEASON OF COMEBACKS
Playoffs might not have looked likely for a bunch of teams in the early going of the season.
Philadelphia started 0-3, Sacramento started 0-4, Brooklyn was 1-5, Golden State was 3-7, the Los Angeles Clippers opened 2-4, Minnesota was 5-8, Miami was 7-11 &mdash; and the Los Angeles Lakers were 2-10, a level of bad start that few teams have been able to overcome.
The Lakers are just the 15th team in NBA history to start 0-5 and make the postseason. And only four teams were worse than 2-10 after 12 games and still made the playoffs. Last season&rsquo;s New Orleans Pelicans started 1-11 and got there, as did the 1967-68 Chicago Bulls and 1984-85 Cleveland Cavaliers.
But the undisputed bad-start-and-made-playoffs-anyway kings are the 1996-97 Phoenix Suns. They started 0-13, wound up finishing 40-42, held a 2-1 series lead over top-seeded Seattle in the best-of-five opening round, then fell in five games.
WINS MILESTONE
Golden State teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have both appeared in 102 playoff victories.
That&rsquo;s tied for 25th-best all-time, and they could keep climbing the charts this spring.
They&rsquo;re currently two wins behind Danny Green; three behind Dwyane Wade and Dennis Johnson; five behind Bill Russell, Robert Parish and Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala; and six behind No. 18 John Havlicek.
If the Warriors win another title and Thompson and Green appear in all 16 victories, they&rsquo;d then have 118 apiece &mdash; one fewer than Michael Jordan.
The Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; LeBron James enters these playoffs as the career leader in postseason wins, with 174. Phoenix&rsquo;s Kevin Durant needs five to get to 100, and Warriors guard Stephen Curry has 93.
ON THE ROAD
Going &ldquo;on the road&rdquo; in these playoffs will be a relative term in some cases.
By driving distance, some of them are pretty close. Only 85 miles or so separates the arenas used by Golden State and Sacramento, and it&rsquo;s about 100 miles between the arenas in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.
Phoenix and the Los Angeles Clippers play 375 miles apart, while New York and Cleveland are separated by 450 miles, which is still no more than about an hour by air. The rest of the matchups are a bit longer &mdash; it&rsquo;s 850 miles or so between Minnesota and Denver, 1,100 between Boston and Atlanta, almost 1,500 between Miami and Milwaukee and just over 1,800 between Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; home floor.
THE WAIT IS OVER
Sacramento&rsquo;s last playoff game was May 5, 2006. That was 12 Kings coaches ago.
A look at some of the other numbers:
&mdash; The Kings played 1,358 games in that span.
&mdash; They used 184 different players.
&mdash; They scored 142,294 points, with DeMarcus Cousins having the most in that span with 9,894.
&mdash; They went 515-843.
&mdash; There will have been 1,384 playoff games in the league between Sacramento&rsquo;s last playoff game and by the time the Kings and Golden State tip off in Game 1 on Saturday. All 29 other teams played at least 11 playoff games in that span; Boston has the most with 201, and the Celtics and Miami have a league-high 108 playoff wins apiece over that stretch.
INSIDE THE STANDINGS
If the 16 playoff teams had their own league this season, with only the games against one another counting, then the Boston Celtics would be feeling pretty confident right about now.
The Celtics had the best record against fellow playoff qualifiers this season, going 27-15. That just edged out Denver, which went 26-15 against playoff-bound teams during the regular season.
Boston&rsquo;s average point differential against playoff-bound teams per game is also better than any other postseason club. The Celtics outscored playoff teams, on average, by 5.6 points per game.
The rest of the records by playoff qualifiers against one another during the regular season: Milwaukee 26-16, Philadelphia 26-16, Minnesota 22-20, Memphis 21-20, New York 22-21, Miami 21-21, Phoenix 21-23, Sacramento 19-24, Golden State 19-24, Cleveland 18-23, the Los Angeles Clippers 18-24, Brooklyn 18-24, the Los Angeles Lakers 17-25, and Atlanta 16-26.
WARRIORS&rsquo; ROAD WOES
Golden State has won a road game in 27 consecutive playoff series, an NBA record and obviously a major reason why the Warriors have four of the last eight championships.
They&rsquo;ll need to rekindle that road magic.
The Warriors &mdash; who don&rsquo;t have home-court advantage in Round 1 against Sacramento, so they&rsquo;ll need at least one road win to have a chance in the series &mdash; went 3-19 against playoff teams away from home this season.
The last time any playoff team was that bad on the road during the regular season against other eventual playoff qualifiers was 2004. Denver was 2-20 entering those playoffs in road games against fellow postseason clubs that season, and Miami was 3-19.
PLAYOFF POOL
The NBA&rsquo;s postseason playoff pool is up nearly $10 million from last year. This year, the 16 playoff teams will divide up $26,969,000.
Every team is assured of at least $402,493 for making the playoffs. The payouts increase considerably as teams advance, and the teams with the best six records in each conference get more money as well.
Milwaukee has already clinched $1,860,950 from the pool &mdash; $777,777 for having the best record in the NBA and another $680,680 for having the best record in the Eastern Conference. If the Bucks win the title, their share of the pool would soar to $7,907,335.
Last year&rsquo;s pool was $17,317,334.

The NBA Playoffs tip off on Saturday, so here's everything you need to know.

What to know entering the NBA playoffs, which start Saturday

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard had 42 points and 10 assists, Anfernee Simons added 26 points and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-112 on Wednesday night.
Jerami Grant had 18 points in the first half, before leaving because of concussion symptoms. Portland outscored Memphis 38-22 in the fourth quarter to win for the fourth time in five games.
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve had a couple of quality wins,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;This was the best team we&rsquo;ve come up with a win against, especially as of late.&rdquo;
Portland was able to rally late despite losing two starters &mdash; Jusuf Nurkic and Grant &mdash; to injuries in the first half. There were key stops down the stretch, and the Trail Blazers defense kept the Memphis shooting at 39%, including converting only 1 of 7 shots in from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;I knew I needed to be a little more aggressive just to give ourselves a chance,&rdquo; Simons said. &ldquo;Everybody else played well and everybody was ready to play.&rdquo;
Ja Morant had 32 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for Memphis. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points and six blocks, and Desmond Bane had 17 points.
Lillard, who had five games of at least 40 points in January, continued the trend, converting 11 of 22 shots and 5 of 13 3-pointers. He also missed only one of his 16 free throws.
&ldquo;They just found a way to get open shots,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. &ldquo;... I thought our guys competed. You&rsquo;ve just got to tip your hat. Lillard&rsquo;s on a roll right now, and we were on the wrong end of that.&rdquo;
The teams were tied at 109 with two minutes to play, but Lillard&rsquo;s 3-pointer and Simons&rsquo; layup was good on Morant&rsquo;s goaltending. When Drew Eubanks converted a three-point play on a dunk, Portland led 117-109 with just under a minute left.
Lillard scored 17 points in the third quarter, but Morant countered with 16 points in the period and Memphis took a 90-84 lead into fourth before the Portland rally completed the comeback.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t play good enough defense on Lillard,&rdquo; said Memphis forward Dillon Brooks, who had the defensive assignment most of the night on Portland&rsquo;s top scorer. &ldquo;He started hitting shots. Even though they were tough shots, I&rsquo;ve got to do something to contest. Do something to discourage him from shooting when he started getting hot.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Nurkic left early in the first quarter with left calf soreness and did not return. Nurkic was listed on the pregame injury report with the same injury. ... Lillard has at least 25 points in 12 of his last 13 games.
Grizzlies: C Brandon Clarke was 3 of 6 from the field and has made 24 of his last 35 shots.
ALL-STAR LOBBYING
Portland coach Chauncey Billups said he has filled out his All-Star ballot and acknowledged that he received some calls from other coaches lobbying for their teams. And maybe a bit more. &ldquo;Definitely, there&rsquo;s some bribery going on,&rdquo; Billups said with a smile.
GREEN&rsquo;S RETURN
Memphis guard/forward Danny Green, who missed the first 50 games of the season, saw his first action, playing 10 minutes and scoring three points, hitting one of his four 3-pointers. Green, acquired by Memphis in a draft night trade, spent the first part of the season rehabbing a knee injury he suffered in last year&rsquo;s playoff when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers.
&ldquo;It felt good,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;Game obviously moved fast, so I had to slow it down a little, but it was good to get out there.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At Washington on Friday night.
Grizzlies: At Cleveland on Thursday night.

Damian Lillard had 42 points and 10 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-112 on Wednesday

Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons lead Blazers past Grizzlies, 122-112

Looking back to the summer of 2022, it was deemed a foregone conclusion that the Los Angeles Lakers would trade Russell Westbrook before the 2022-23 NBA season began. The team had just missed the playoffs for the second time since LeBron James came to L.A., and the trio of Westbrook, James and Anthony Davis just wasn't clicking on the floor.
So rumors flew as to where Westbrook would be shipped off to and the price the Lakers would have to pay to jettison his bulky $47 million contract. Just before the season started, it looked like a deal was going to happen. According to reports, the Indiana Pacers were going to send Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to the Lakers for Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. The Lakers even <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyIrwinLA/status/1572334141659828224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1572334141659828224%7Ctwgr%5E42d7893d3a33391e36a365478b2c60e8cb30e9d7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Flakers-news-darvin-ham-rob-pelinka-press-conference-canceled-fans-speculate-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed back a media session</a> with vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and new head coach Darvin Ham (perhaps because a deal was close?).
Then, it didn&rsquo;t happen.
Now, more than halfway into the season, the Lakers are struggling again with a 20-25 record and sitting at the No. 13 position in the Western Conference. Davis once again suffered an injury that has cost him a big chunk of the season, and the team is still dreadful at shooting from three-point range.
Which begs the question: Did the Lakers wait too long to make a move or is there still hope to improve this roster?
Hindsight is always 20/20. Still, it would have been a smart gamble to take on Turner and Hield, even at that high cost. Turner has blossomed, averaging career-highs in points (17.1) and rebounds (7.8) while still being a force defensively around the rim, ranking third in the league in blocks (2.4). Hield has always been a knockdown, volume shooter, connecting on 40.0% of his shots from three-point range in his career and he has upped that to 42.4% this season.
It's understandable that the Lakers are cautious about making any major moves following the Westbrook trade that gutted their roster of shooting and defense &mdash; both obvious needs. It hasn&rsquo;t totally backfired with Russ playing well in his role off the bench this season, but his bad decision-making and hero-ball ways in crunch time have cost the team at least a few wins.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Laker fans groan as Russel Westbrook isolates for 10 seconds and turns it over <a href="https://t.co/Q5ucNN84Mp">pic.twitter.com/Q5ucNN84Mp</a>
&mdash; hoops bot (@hoops_bot) <a href="https://twitter.com/hoops_bot/status/1615939443348865024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

As we&rsquo;re seeing it play out now, Westbrook's contract should have been used to acquire multiple role players before the season. Even if that meant trading both of those precious future first-round picks, they should've gone for it if the right deal was on the table. Indiana wasn&rsquo;t the only possible landing spot for Westbrook either, with Charlotte and San Antonio also showing some interest in the former MVP.
Imagine a Lakers squad that had proven role players to surround James and Davis. Well, we can. That&rsquo;s the 2020 championship team that included the likes of Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green. The formula is there, but the front office decided to blow it up.
Now the team has &mdash; again &mdash; banked on a roster filled with one-year players on prove-it, minimum-level deals. Sure, Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant have had moments, but both have come crashing down to earth over the past week. You can&rsquo;t depend on those players to put up reliable stats all season long.
Imagine this team with real depth and even a little bit more shooting. Some of those close losses &mdash; and there have been plenty of them &mdash; could have been wins. They can handle it better when Davis has to miss games due to injury. (Unfortunately, that&rsquo;s become a regular thing for him, especially over the past three seasons.) Maybe you could rest LeBron a little more and not put such a 36-minutes-per-game type of burden on his shoulders?
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
There&rsquo;s a lot of "coulda, shoulda, woulda" with this Lakers season. But somehow, it&rsquo;s not too late.&nbsp;
The Western Conference is still tight with only three-and-a-half games separating the No. 13 spot and the No. 5 spot. With this kind of parity, that means one good winning streak can bolt a team up the standings quickly.&nbsp;
LeBron is still playing at an incredible level. Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker &mdash; arguably the team&rsquo;s best role players &mdash; are close to a return after missing a few weeks. And Davis should be back before the end of January after being sidelined for over a month with a stress injury in his foot.
Their schedule is incredibly soft down the stretch. Starting March 1, 15 of their last 20 games are against teams that are currently at or below .500. &nbsp;There are plenty of wins available to make the playoffs. That should be the goal: get in the playoffs and see what happens.
But the team needs more. It&rsquo;s a seller&rsquo;s market with teams holding sky-high prices for players they're open to moving (you can thank Minnesota and the Rudy Gobert trade for that). Those demands should come down a little as the Feb. 9 trade deadline gets closer.
There are moves to be made for the Lakers.
Turner might not be available, but Hield could be, especially considering all of young, talented shooters the Pacers have. Take on Daniel Theis and his salary, and something could be there.
Giving up one of those aforementioned first-rounders to Detroit for Bojan Bogdanovic, who is having a career-year, and backup big Nerlens Noel? Sure.
What about a package from the Hornets including Terry Rozier and PJ Washington? Rozier is owed $48 million over the next two seasons, but that could help with the price of getting a deal done. (Plus, Charlotte is reportedly set on a rebuild, per The Athletic.)
Yes, it would mean the Lakers would be giving up their projected $30 million in cap space this offseason, but it would behoove the team to do something with Westbrook now, since he is on the books for $47 million &mdash; a net of $17 million more would be available to use for players that L.A. could lose come summertime.
The clock is ticking. The season is more than halfway over.
Does this Lakers front office want to bank on this current roster and risk missing the playoffs yet again, or will they dive into the deep end of the pool? Time will tell.

Brian Fritz explains that, in spite of the Lakers' inability to improve the roster over the summer, the team can still right the ship.

Despite an offseason failure, it's still not too late for the Lakers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been charged with capital murder after a fatal shooting near campus.
Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Jack Kennedy said that the shooting occurred early Sunday morning in the Strip off University Blvd. near campus. He said Jamea Harris, 23, of the Birmingham area was shot and killed.
Miles, 21, a junior reserve forward from Washington, D.C., and Michael Lynn Davis, 20, of Charles County, Maryland, were both charged with capital murder. The capital murder charge arose because the death involved shots fired into a vehicle, Kennedy said.
&ldquo;At this time, it appears that the only motive was a minor altercation that these individuals had with the victim as they were out on The Strip,&rdquo; Kennedy said in a news conference Sunday evening. They didn&rsquo;t have a previous relationship, he said.
He said the driver of another vehicle, in which Harris was a passenger, approached campus police near Bryant-Denny Stadium at about 1:45 a.m. saying that someone had shot into the vehicle, and he fired back. One of the suspects was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, and Kennedy declined to disclose who fired the gun or who was hurt.
An emotional Miles spoke to someone as he was being ushered into a law enforcement vehicle: &ldquo;I swear I love you more than you can imagine.&rdquo;
Miles was a reserve on the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide team. Alabama had announced before Saturday&rsquo;s game against LSU that he was out for the season with an ankle injury. His bio has been removed from the athletic department website and the university said that he &ldquo;has been removed from campus&rdquo; and is no longer on the team.
&ldquo;The University of Alabama&rsquo;s utmost priority is the safety and well-being of the campus community,&rdquo; a university statement said. &ldquo;We are grieved by the incident that occurred near campus last night and extend our deepest condolences to the victim&rsquo;s family and friends.&rdquo;
Neither the driver of the other vehicle nor Harris nor Davis appeared to be affiliated with the university, Kennedy said.

Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been charged with capital murder after a fatal shooting near campus.

Alabama's Darius Miles charged with capital murder after shooting

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; At least most of the fans went home happy. UCLA was anything but.
The 10th-ranked Bruins blew an 18-point lead in the second half before rallying to beat crosstown rival Southern California 60-58 on Thursday night for their 11th straight victory.
&ldquo;Do I look happy?&rdquo; groused Bruins coach Mick Cronin.
Jaylen Clark added, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not supposed to let them come back, especially at home.&rdquo;
Clark scored 15 points to lead the Bruins (14-2, 5-0 Pac-12). He missed a 3-pointer, but David Singleton grabbed the offensive rebound and fed Clark again. This time, he nailed it, putting the Bruins back in front, 59-58, with 14 seconds to go.
&ldquo;At least we grabbed rebounds,&rdquo; Clark said, noting a 36-30 edge on the boards. &ldquo;We lucked out but it&rsquo;s not a performance we&rsquo;re really proud of.&rdquo;
Boogie Ellis missed missed a potential tying jumper that would have forced overtime and Adem Bona grabbed the rebound to seal the win and keep UCLA undefeated at Pauley Pavilion in front of 13,659 with a 9-0 mark.
The Bruins are on their longest winning streak since 2016-17.
Reese Dixon-Waters scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Trojans (11-5, 3-2). He made all seven of his shots and both of his free throws.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our defense was really bad the entire second half,&rdquo; Cronin said. &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t guard Reese Dixon. He looked like an NBA iso machine.&rdquo;
USC&rsquo;s leading scorers, Ellis and Drew Peterson, had off-nights, with Peterson in foul trouble. Ellis finished with 10 points; Peterson had nine.
&ldquo;We planned for Ellis and Peterson to go off,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;Once they realized we weren&rsquo;t giving them nothing they started moving the ball.&rdquo;
Trailing by 18, the Trojans outscored the Bruins 19-6 to open the second half. Kobe Johnson had a steal and a score and Harrison Hornery came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer that drew the Trojans within five.
Bona and Tyger Campbell picked up their third fouls in under a minute of each other. Bona had the defensive play of the second half, blocking Malik Thomas on a dunk.
The Bruins missed 5 of 6 free throws while Dixon-Waters carried the Trojans. He scored eight of their 10 points to get USC to 56-53.
Hornery scored and got fouled on USC&rsquo;s next possession. He missed the first free throw but made the second for a 56-all tie.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. missed a layup and Ellis scrambled and came up with the rebound in the clogged paint. Dixon-Waters scored to give the Trojans a 58-56 lead, their first since the start of the game.
Ellis got called for an offensive foul that gave UCLA the ball back with seven seconds to go. The Trojans fouled Singleton, whose first free throw hit the iron, drawing agonized groans from the crowd. He made the second for a 60-58 lead.
&ldquo;Obviously that was not a performance we&rsquo;re proud of,&rdquo; said Jaquez, who finished with 12 points. &ldquo;We came out in the second half flat and there&rsquo;s really no excuse for it. I put that on myself.&rdquo;
The Bruins raced to an 18-4 lead to start the game, hitting four 3-pointers in the spurt that included 13 straight points. In one sequence, Clark got blocked by Peterson, grabbed the offensive rebound and made a layup. UCLA had a 9-0 run later in the half and went into the break leading 44-26.
BIG PICTURE
USC: The Trojans have dropped back-to-back games for just the second time this season. Before the skid, they won seven in a row, including a 6-0 mark in December that included a pair of Pac-12 road wins. They&rsquo;ll face the Bruins again in three weeks.
UCLA: The Bruins continue on a winning streak that began after losses to ranked Illinois and Baylor at Las Vegas in November. They have seemingly bought into coach Mick Cronin&rsquo;s hard-nosed defensive style, which helped them scrap to a one-point road win at Washington State last weekend. Later in January, the Bruins travel to No. 5 Arizona for a pivotal showdown in the desert in their lone remaining game against a ranked opponent.
SEEING STARS
The rivalry game brought out former Bruins Russell Westbrook and wife Nina, who played for UCLA&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s team, Baron Davis, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who played baseball in Westwood. Dwyane Wade sat next to Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge. Also in the crowd was Henry Winkler and Jessica Alba, whose father-in-law Michael Warren starred for UCLA in the John Wooden era.
UP NEXT
USC: Hosts Colorado on Jan. 12 in the first of a two-game homestand.
UCLA: Hosts Utah on Jan. 12 in the second of three straight home games.

The Bruins are on their longest winning streak since 2016-17.

No. 10 UCLA blows 18-point lead, hangs on to beat USC 60-58

&ldquo;On 12/15/2022, Louis Orr was called home to be with the Lord as his battle with cancer has come to an end. He was a dearly loved and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He will forever be missed!&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY OF LOUIS ORR On 12/15/2022, Louis Orr was called home to be with the Lord as his battle with cancer has come to an end. He was a dearly loved and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He will forever be missed! <a href="https://t.co/VPn8AO1kSn">pic.twitter.com/VPn8AO1kSn</a>
&mdash; Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgetownHoops/status/1603799542767357958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
This news hit me and my wife Nichole like a ton of bricks.
Coach Orr actually introduced me to Nichole during our freshman year at Syracuse back in 1996. She had already caught my eye a few days prior, and I remember it clear as day. Coach said to me, &ldquo;Etan, I have someone I want to introduce you to. She&rsquo;s a nice young lady from Cali and she plays on the women&rsquo;s team. I just think you two would vibe really well."
And we have been vibing ever since. In fact, decades later, we are married with three kids and just celebrated our 18th year anniversary.&nbsp;
For me, Coach Orr was much more than a coach. I could quote him for days, but some of the best advice he gave me was when he told me this:
&ldquo;Basketball is not supposed to be easy. There is a reason only special people make it. They don&rsquo;t quit when things get tough. They don&rsquo;t point the finger at everyone else. They make adjustments and learn from every game &mdash; whether they score 20 or hardly play.&rdquo;
These were his words to me during my freshman year. He told me this while I was going through my &ldquo;freshman blues&rdquo; stage at Syracuse. Now, if you don&rsquo;t know what the freshman blues are, I&rsquo;ll explain.
It was my first time away from home. I was homesick, and missed my family and friends. Basketball wasn&rsquo;t going the way I expected it would go. It was cold, it started snowing and it just wouldn&rsquo;t stop. I had what felt like a never-ending cold, and I discovered that the coach who recruited me was not the same nice, smiling, joking person who sat in my living room on my recruiting trip.
I went from being a blue-chip All-American, back-to-back state champion at Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, Oklahoma &mdash; and the No.1 player in my class in the state &mdash; to being at the bottom of the totem poll at Syracuse. I mean the very bottom. Couldn&rsquo;t get any lower.&nbsp;
I was playing behind senior center Otis Hill, who the previous year had gone to the NCAA championship in '96 with that special group of John Wallace, Lazarus Simms, Todd Burgan and Co. I had a lot to learn. Looking back on it now, playing against Otis in practice every day my freshman year really showed me how hard I needed to work to be successful in the Big East. Back then, every night there was another dominant monster we would be playing against &mdash; Jahidi White at Georgetown, Jason Lawson at Villanova, Adonal Foyle at Colgate, Danya Abrams at Boston College. There were literally no nights off.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
But for me, in the position I was in as a freshman center, It felt like I could do no right on the court in Coach Jim Boeheim&rsquo;s eyes. Even in practice, it felt like I could do no right. Everything was my fault.
"Etaaaaaaaan, what are you doing?" Coach Boeheim would say. "Rebound the ball, run the floor, get back, get up, get over! You&rsquo;re not in the right spot, what are you doing!"
I remember thinking that maybe he recruited the wrong person. Maybe he thought I was somebody else because it doesn&rsquo;t seem like he liked me at all. And to be honest, I didn&rsquo;t like him very much either. (Again, just being honest.)
But Coach Orr wouldn&rsquo;t allow me to pout, catch an attitude, stop working hard, feel sorry for myself, give up, quit, lose my temper or flip out on Coach Boeheim (which honestly almost happened). He consistently wrapped his arm around me, encouraged me, imparted wisdom and made me keep working.
I remember the first time he came to me after a game; I played probably all of two-and-a-half minutes, but somehow I still got fussed at as if I was the reason we lost. I remember thinking, &ldquo;I did all of that wrong in two-and-a-half minutes?&rdquo; And Coach Orr must&rsquo;ve seen me at the point of snapping. He came to me and whispered quietly in my ear, &ldquo;Meet me at the gym at 10 p.m.&rdquo; I remember being like, &ldquo;Excuse me, did you say at 10 p.m. coach?&rdquo; But he saw I needed it
So we had an angry workout. Hard, violent dunk drills. Aggressive power moves. He had one of the managers (or someone he just brought to the workout) bang me with the pad, and I would have to power through the contact and make my move to the basket over and over again. We were there for maybe two hours. So once I reached the point of exhaustion, he came over and sat down next to me on the floor. He asked, &ldquo;You feel better now?" And honestly, I did.&nbsp;
After that, Coach Orr's message to me was to keep working, do extra, stay locked in, find out what coach wants and do that, and stressed that it was the only solution. Keep working until it is apparent that it&rsquo;s a lost cause, but in order to get to that point, you have to make sure you are doing everything possible on your end. He told me that I wasn&rsquo;t the first player on earth to be unhappy with their situation on the court, but it was how I handled it and what I chose to do in order to overcome this hurdle that would set me apart.
He said anybody can quit. People quit all the time. He told me that he&rsquo;d been in situations where a coach didn&rsquo;t have the confidence in him yet and he had to prove himself. He told me there were situations where he felt like it was literally him against the coach. But he had to make it so the coach couldn&rsquo;t take him out of the game even if he wanted to, and that&rsquo;s exactly what I had to do.
Coach Orr also told me that things would get better and that I&rsquo;d get past it, but to not forget that feeling when I did have success, but to remain humble and hungry. Don&rsquo;t ever get complacent but keep this same drive, passion, anger, tenacity, chip-on-your-shoulder mentality &mdash; even when Coach Boeheim starts singing your praises and the papers start raving about you.
He also said that there would come a time where I am going to be encouraging someone else who is in the same situation that I was in and don&rsquo;t know how to handle it. And sure enough, that&rsquo;s exactly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ncaa-college-basketball-syracuse-orange-jesse-edwards-excited-for-upcoming-season-nba-draft-prospect-jim-boeheim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what I did with Jesse Edwards throughout his early years at Syracuse</a>.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
But this became Coach Orr and I's routine. We would just have extra workouts regularly. Sometimes, he would let me just vent and fuss; sometimes, he would vent and fuss. Other times, we wouldn&rsquo;t say a word. Just drill after drill after drill.
There were some occasions where we would come to the gym, sit on the floor and just talk, and the topics varied. Sometimes we talked about basketball, and other times, we talked about everything but basketball. We talked about life. He would relate the ups and downs on the court to the ups and downs of life. He would tell stories of when he played and different things that he experienced in college and the pros.&nbsp;
We started going to church together on Sundays, and Coach Boeheim actually moved practice to a little later in the day on Sundays so we could keep our church routine.&nbsp;
I can easily say that if it weren&rsquo;t for Coach Orr, I wouldn&rsquo;t have made it through Syracuse. He had become much more than just a coach.
The thing is, he didn&rsquo;t have to do any of that.
He didn&rsquo;t have to take me to church. He didn&rsquo;t have to encourage me the way he did off the court. He didn&rsquo;t have to teach me life lessons. That was all way beyond the call of duty of being an assistant coach. He didn&rsquo;t even work with my position; he worked with the forwards. But we had a connection that would last a lifetime.
That&rsquo;s what makes a coach more than a coach. Anyone can draw up plays or drills or point out when you aren&rsquo;t doing what you&rsquo;re supposed to be doing. But a coach who takes an interest to learn a player's needs, situation, mind state, temperament and understands when they need encouragement because they&rsquo;re down, when they need to be fussed at because they&rsquo;re messing up, holds them accountable, doesn&rsquo;t crush their spirit but uplifts their spirit &mdash; it&rsquo;s just special.
Coach Orr wore many hats for me that extended far beyond a coach. Mentor, father figure, disciplinarian, confidant, motivator, teacher, spiritual advisor, relationship expert, psychologist, therapist, teacher and friend.
Rest In Peace, Coach Orr. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Etan Thomas pays tribute to his former mentor, friend and coach, the late, great Louis Orr.

When a coach is more than a coach: Etan Thomas remembers Louis Orr

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and Deni Avdija added 21 to lead the Washington Wizards to their fourth straight victory, 102-92 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.
The Wizards swept a weekend back-to-back against Utah and Memphis, two of the Western Conference's top teams in the early going this season. Washington did that without Bradley Beal, who is still getting back into playing shape after going through health and safety protocols.
Memphis was missing key players as well, with Ja Morant out because of left ankle soreness and Desmond Bane unavailable because of right toe soreness.
&ldquo;That was a point of emphasis for us, that even though they have a couple guys out, this is one of those games you have to be careful," Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;They're going to play free and easy, they're going to play physical. They're going to play hard &mdash; guys who get more opportunities.&rdquo;
Dillon Brooks scored 19 points for the Grizzlies. Steven Adams contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
&ldquo;I'm proud of the way the guys fought,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. &ldquo;Wizards always had an answer for everything we had tonight.&rdquo;
Kyle Kuzma had nine points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which went on an 11-2 run near the end of the third quarter to extend what had been a one-point lead. The Wizards led 85-78 in the fourth when Will Barton dunked to push the advantage to nine. That was the start of an 11-4 spurt.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
GOODY BLOCK. THRILL DUNK. THAT'S JUST BEAUTIFUL BASKETBALL. <a href="https://t.co/dDXnnpjSAc">pic.twitter.com/dDXnnpjSAc</a>
&mdash; Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1591959296602144770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

The Wizards and Grizzlies split two games a week apart. Memphis <a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-wizards-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-bradley-beal-e3422f2cd105216231c1fc8343de5c41" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won 103-97</a> at home the previous Sunday with Bane and Morant combining for 51 points. That was Washington's last game before the beginning of this winning streak.
FROM DEEP
Washington went 19 of 40 from 3-point range, with Porzingis making a team-high six. Jordan Goodwin went 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 10 points.
Memphis was just 9 of 28 from long range.
Porzingis made five of his 3s during a 19-point first half.
&ldquo;I think he likes the way we play. It kind of fits his style of game,&rdquo; Unseld said. &ldquo;When we space the floor correctly, and when we do move the ball, who wouldn't want to play that way?&rdquo;
BIG NIGHT
Avdija equaled his career high in scoring.
&ldquo;Just confidence,&rdquo; teammate Monte Morris said. &ldquo;When you've got confidence, and you've got, already, hoop game on you, it's just going to take your talent and your level to another level, and I think these last few games, he's stepping up now in shots. He's not second guessing it. He's shooting his shot, and he's also defending.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Memphis was also without Jaren Jackson Jr. (right foot), Ziaire Williams (right knee) and Danny Green (left knee). ... Tyus Jones scored 17 points and Santi Aldama added 15.
Wizards: Delon Wright (right hamstring) and Taj Gibson (cervical soreness) were not available. ... Corey Kispert scored 12 points and Monte Morris had 10.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: At New Orleans on Tuesday night.
Wizards: Host Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and Deni Avdija added 21 to beat the Grizzlies 102-92 and give the Wizards their fourth-straight win.

Wizards earn fourth-straight victory, beat Grizzlies 102-92

The season isn&rsquo;t even two weeks old. Only 5% of the games have been played. Drawing any conclusions at this point would be ridiculous.
Except, perhaps, this one: The Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble.
The Lakers are taking <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-denver-nuggets-nba-sports-7b0f85af40a87094c2d47289bf06bd75">an 0-4 record into Friday&rsquo;s game at Minnesota</a>. They&rsquo;re at the bottom of the Western Conference, and if Orlando wasn&rsquo;t 0-5 the Lakers would have the worst record in the NBA. They&rsquo;re 78-87 since winning the 2020 NBA title. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-basketball-629ff8ed250c8bd969461db178c91e85">LeBron James &mdash; on pace to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA career scoring leader in a few months</a> &mdash; is winless after four games for the second time in his career, the other being his rookie season.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s plenty of time for us to right the ship,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;It starts now. It starts yesterday.&rdquo;
It should have started in July.
The Lakers surely know this: James is at his best when surrounded by shooters. They maximize the value of his passing game and they open lanes for him to attack the rim, which even in Year 20 he does probably as well as anyone.
And this team, evidently, doesn&rsquo;t have shooters. The Lakers better go find some.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-business-9607b103973941f78e2a2425f3fdf028">Frank Vogel got blamed</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-basketball-russell-westbrook-f04900c25b080a4d97a37a8fbf355f0b">Russell Westbrook gets shamed</a>, and it&rsquo;s entirely possible that neither of those guys is the primary reason why the Lakers are struggling. They were 8 for 30 &mdash; 26.7% &mdash; from 3-point range against Denver on Wednesday night. They&rsquo;re shooting 22.3% from beyond the arc so far this season, by far the worst in the NBA. Small sample size, but awful nonetheless.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to make some shots,&rdquo; James said after the 110-99 loss to the Nuggets.
It sounds simple. It isn&rsquo;t.
The last time a team shot worse than 22.3% from 3-point range in a season was 1990-91. Washington &mdash; then the Bullets &mdash; shot 19.4% that season. They made only 55 shots from deep that whole season. It wasn&rsquo;t really a part of the offense.
Now, 3&rsquo;s are essential. Vital. An absolute must. The Lakers are averaging 25 points per game from 3-point range. The league average, entering Thursday, is 36. That&rsquo;s an 11-point difference. The Lakers aren&rsquo;t good enough right now to make up an 11-point difference.
&ldquo;Obviously, it&rsquo;s four games. Obviously, the four games that we&rsquo;ve been playing have been on national TV. Obviously, everyone&rsquo;s been able to watch,&rdquo; Lakers guard Patrick Beverley said. &ldquo;The critique is there for everyone to do. But it&rsquo;s the game of basketball. Everyone&rsquo;s going to even out.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not just the shooting. Westbrook isn&rsquo;t healthy; hamstrings are touchy, so who knows when he&rsquo;ll be right again. Anthony Davis &mdash; the guy who was supposed to extend James&rsquo; career by being Robin to his Batman, or even vice versa &mdash; has been dogged by injury after injury, and he was grabbing at his left side repeatedly in Wednesday&rsquo;s loss in Denver. The Lakers didn&rsquo;t have Kendrick Nunn at all last year, they haven&rsquo;t had Dennis Schroder yet this year and won&rsquo;t for probably a few more weeks.
It&rsquo;s always something.
But shooting better is the quickest fix.
Miami figured out the formula that turned James into a champion: surround him with shooters and let him work. In the Miami days, it was Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers and &mdash; of course &mdash; Ray Allen. The Cleveland title year, he had J.R. Smith and Kevin Love, with Kyrie Irving knocking down perhaps the biggest 3 of that season in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The title year with the Lakers, there was Danny Green.
On this Lakers team, there&rsquo;s ... well, not really anybody yet.
Key word: Yet. A trade has to be coming.
Blaming Westbrook isn&rsquo;t fair. He&rsquo;s not an elite shooter. Never has been. This isn&rsquo;t news. But he averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists last season. He was one of five players who finished last season with those averages. Five. Luka Doncic, James Harden, Dejounte Murray and two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic were the others. Saying 33-49 was Westbrook&rsquo;s fault is comical.
But his massive-and-expiring contract that will bring back the most in return, and that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;ll be the player that is moved if the Lakers find a dance partner.
The Lakers aren&rsquo;t the only team off to perhaps a surprising &mdash; not the good kind of surprising &mdash; start. Brooklyn is taking a 1-3 record into Dallas on Thursday night. Philadelphia is 1-4 going into its game Friday at Toronto. Miami avoided a 1-4 start by winning in Portland on Wednesday.
But 1-3, 2-3 and 1-4 all are better than 0-4. The West is loaded. The Lakers have given all the contenders a head start. And if the Lakers don&rsquo;t make a move soon, this season looks destined to end like last season did: badly, and early.
___
Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

“There’s plenty of time for us to right the ship,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It starts now. It starts yesterday.”

The Lakers are going to have to look for some help

In his "Blazing the Trail" series, Mat Issa analyzes how Chris Webber's decision-making unlocked the Kings' revolutionary offense.

Blazing the Trail: Chris Webber, the read-and-react king

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; San Antonio is going to have a difficult time adding to the NBA-record career victories held by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Take it from him.
&ldquo;To be a championship program, you have to have a couple of superstars on your team. We have all known that for a long time. That doesn&rsquo;t exist right now,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not a knock on these players, it&rsquo;s just a fact. To avoid that fact seems kind of senseless to me. What we have is a bunch of guys that can all be parts of a championship team if the other pieces arrive at some point.&rdquo;
The Spurs have talent. They are just young and inexperienced.
Forward Keldon Johnson, who celebrated his 23rd birthday Tuesday, is the team&rsquo;s leader along with 26-year-old center Jakob Poeltl and 22-year-old Devin Vassell. San Antonio also has four promising 19-year-olds in rookies Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley, along with Josh Primo, who is entering his second season.
The Spurs open their 50th season in San Antonio on Oct. 19 at home against the Charlotte Hornets.
&ldquo;We are going out there to win,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;I feel like we are capable of winning. We are not backing down from anybody. I feel like whoever we are playing, that is who we are going to go after. We aren&rsquo;t taking a back seat to no one, and that&rsquo;s for all 82 games.&rdquo;
The Spurs will of course surely add to Popovich&rsquo;s 1,344 career victories, but it be more difficult following the offseason trade of Dejounte Murray, the team&rsquo;s starting point guard and lone All-Star.
Over the past six years, the Spurs have lost Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, DeMar DeRozan and Murray to retirement, trades or free agency.
San Antonio is projected to miss the playoffs this season and instead vie for something more coveted than an eighth seed in the Western Conference. Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-2 center from France, is projected to be the top pick in next year&rsquo;s NBA draft. The Spurs, Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to scramble for the league&rsquo;s worst record and the best statistical chance for the top pick.
The last time San Antonio held the No. 1 pick they selected Duncan, who guided the Spurs to five championships and league-record tying 22 straight postseason appearances.
MEET THE NEW BOSS
Johnson has emerged as team leader as much out of necessity as his play on the court. Entering his fourth season with the team, Johnson and Poeltl are the longest-tenured players with the Spurs.
&ldquo;I definitely feel like a leader,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;Whether it&rsquo;s leading by example or being vocal. I think with these young guys, I can definitely speak my opinion and show them the right way.&rdquo;
RETURNING
Johnson and Primo missed the first three preseason games due to injury, but both were expected to play the final two contests in preparation for the season opener. Primo suffered a strained left MCL at the start of training camp and Johnson dislocated his right shoulder during a pre-camp workout.
KID GLOVES
The tough love Popovich meted on Parker in his rookie season has become notorious. Both can laughingly reminisce about the screams that drove Parker to tears as an 18-year-old, but don&rsquo;t expect a repeat of that treatment for the Spurs&rsquo; teenagers.
&ldquo;No, luckily that was a phase in the past,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;Because as I have told you often, I would be in jail if I treat anyone now like I treated Tony. For sure, I would be in jail.&rdquo;
ZACH IS BACK
Zach Collins played 28 games last season for the Spurs after missing all but 11 games the previous two seasons due to shoulder and foot injuries.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s still hesitant with his shot,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good shooter. We want him to shoot it, but he doesn&rsquo;t seem totally confident yet. But, I think he feels much healthier than he did last year. More confident in his body.&rdquo;
The 6-foot-11 center averaged 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds while starting four games in his first season in San Antonio.
NOT FORGOTTEN
The Spurs traded Murray to Atlanta in the offseason for three first-round picks and forward Danilo Gallinari, who signed with Boston after being waived by San Antonio.
Murray was 19 when he was drafted by the Spurs out of Washington in 2016. The 26-year-old was mentored as a player and a person by Popovich.
&ldquo;He and his daughter, watching him grow as a father, and watching the things he would do in that regard, are much more in the front of my mind than the triple-doubles that he got or anything like that,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;So, the basketball sort of fades when you get to know these people over time, and he was here a good time.&rdquo;

The San Antonio Spurs have talent. They are just young and inexperienced.

Young Spurs eagerly await 'other pieces' in transition year

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

As we officially put the finishing touches on &ldquo;Bet Week&rdquo; here on BasketballNews.com, NBA over/under win total projections have been released for every team.
Which numbers stand out most to hammer one way or another from a betting perspective? In this piece, I unveil my over/under predictions for every team in the Western Conference. All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Phoenix Suns: Over 52.5 (-110)
Even if the Suns don&rsquo;t acquire Kevin Durant, they remain in an advantageous position to finish near the top of the Western Conference standings. Phoenix still has a stacked rotation, with the biggest difference being Dario Saric&rsquo;s return to the backup big role in place of JaVale McGee. If Devin Booker and the Suns&rsquo; formidable young core continue taking steps forward, it&rsquo;s hard to envision much of a drop-off occurring in the win-loss column.
Phoenix&rsquo;s postseason exit was one of the ugliest we&rsquo;ve seen in recent memory, but a loss like that could rattle this group enough to come back similarly to the team's Finals experience in 2021. I&rsquo;m hammering the over here, as the Suns remain one of the most dangerous squads in the Association. If Durant comes, that&rsquo;ll be the ultimate cherry on top.
Los Angeles Clippers: Over 52.5 (-110)
A fully healthy Clippers squad with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will always stay in the conversation among the league's elite tier. Last season, we were all robbed of seeing this dynamic duo in action together, but all the time off leads me to believe we should see them play more than usual. If so, the over/under of 52.5 wins is one I&rsquo;m comfortable placing the over wager upon.
Los Angeles not only has a loaded rotation similar to Phoenix, but it has a historically potent wing tandem ready to go on a revenge tour. As one of my favorite bets in the West, lock in the Clippers&rsquo; over with the utmost confidence.
Golden State Warriors: Over 51.5 (-115)
The defending champions check in third in the West, which feels like an undersell of what they just accomplished. Stephen Curry is still playing at an all-time level, and Klay Thompson began to find his footing throughout the Warriors&rsquo; run to a championship.
Feeling confident in the over also has to do with the development of the team's younger, up-and-coming players. Though dependent upon how much more Golden State will go into the luxury tax long-term, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins look to be entrenched long-term pieces. Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman are the ultimate wildcards for Golden State. Even if only one takes off from a development perspective in 2022-23, 51.5 wins is a number to hit the over on.
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Denver Nuggets: Over 49.5 (-140)
Nikola Jokic enters this season as a trendy dark-horse selection for MVP as the back-to-back award winner, which is incredible to even think about. The Nuggets have stayed competitive amidst their countless injury issues because of Jokic&rsquo;s greatness.
Now, with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. eventually expected back at 100%, Denver is a team many bettors are hammering the over on with -140 moneyline odds on 49.5 wins. Frankly, I&rsquo;m in lockstep with the sportsbooks because Denver was a team that sneakily improved on the margins this offseason. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was an underrated acquisition from the Washington Wizards, and he&rsquo;s earned a new multi-year extension upon his arrival.
If Murray and Porter&rsquo;s health cooperate alongside the all-world talent that is Jokic, 50 wins for the Nuggets just feels right to say. Even above that mark is an appropriate projection, because Jokic elevates the floor that much on his own.
Memphis Grizzlies: Under 48.5 (+105)
Ja Morant qualified as our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/best-bets-for-202223-nba-most-valuable-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under-the-radar MVP selection</a> during &ldquo;Bet Week,&rdquo; but the loss of Jaren Jackson Jr. early on looms large for the Grizzlies. Although he flies under the radar a little bit too often, JJJ is an anchor to a defense that&rsquo;s done a complete 180 over the last year.
A lot will be on the plate of Morant, which he won&rsquo;t have a problem with, but what about the rest of the West? The Clippers and Nuggets are healthy now, plus the Suns and Warriors will remain in the title race as well. If Morant can carry the Grizzlies in similar territory without JJJ, his MVP argument could become very valid.
I&rsquo;m going to tread lightly on Memphis and select the under here with plus-money value. Morant will put up spectacular numbers once more, and Desmond Bane should continue to emerge in the backcourt. For my current projection, the Grizzlies will slot in as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
Dallas Mavericks: Under 48.5 (-105)
The argument against the Mavericks is almost identical to the one I just presented for Memphis. Luka Doncic enters as the heavy betting favorite for MVP, but will he alone be enough to lift Dallas into truly elite territory? That&rsquo;s one of my biggest questions entering 2022-23, because players like Doncic and Morant fit the billing of talents who can lift teams all on their own.
Months away from it now, it&rsquo;s still stunning to think back to the Mavs&rsquo; Game 7 shellacking of the Suns in the West semifinals. Once Doncic figured out Phoenix&rsquo;s defense, it was game over. Could Doncic do this to the rest of the league? There&rsquo;s no doubt he will put up monster numbers, but the Mavericks fit into the same tier as the Grizzlies right now around 47-48 wins.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 47.5 (-140)
I&rsquo;ll continue to bang the Minnesota drum until proven otherwise because I&rsquo;m all-in on the Timberwolves taking a huge step forward. Anthony Edwards checks every box for a young superstar, and their new addition in Rudy Gobert will augment a talented rotation. Karl-Anthony Towns being flanked by Gobert makes up one of the most unique frontcourt combinations we&rsquo;ve ever seen in the modern NBA, but this type of move is a risk an organization like Minnesota must take. Towns and Edwards are ready to win big soon, so adding an elite rim-protector like Gobert allows those gifted scorers to focus on that end.
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Bookmark this if you want, but here&rsquo;s perhaps my biggest hot take: Minnesota will win the Northwest Division and become a top-four seed. With how everything stacks together for Minnesota, this is a team well-positioned to take a leap similar to the one we&rsquo;ve seen from Phoenix and Memphis in recent years.
Los Angeles Lakers: Under 45.5 (-105)
Unless Kyrie Irving is walking through the door anytime soon, I&rsquo;m taking the money and running as quickly as possible on the Lakers' under here. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will do their usual damage, but this roster is nowhere close to being finished. Also, there&rsquo;s no way anyone can truly believe the Lakers are a Finals contender with their ongoing saga surrounding Russell Westbrook. From the very beginning, Westbrook&rsquo;s fit was super clunky alongside LeBron and AD. Now, the triple-double king continues to be the main target of trade rumors, many of which are linking him to the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs as a pure salary-dump option.
Indiana is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-would-be-foolish-not-to-accept-pacers-lifeline-to-extend-their-title-window" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offering the Lakers a lifeline to fix the Westbrook situation</a>. The Pacers are willing to take on the $47 million owed to Westbrook while also sending Los Angeles back two starters in Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. The current hold-up in trade negotiations reportedly is draft pick compensation. Los Angeles refuses to offer its 2029 first-round pick on top of the 2027 selection, which the Pacers believe is more than a fair price to pay.
In the meantime, I&rsquo;m going to take the Lakers under 45.5 wins while it remains at plus value. Until any resolution is reached on the roster, I&rsquo;m betting against L.A.
New Orleans Pelicans: Over 44.5 (-140)
Compared to almost any other team in the NBA, New Orleans projects supremely well long-term if Zion Williamson&rsquo;s health cooperates. Williamson and Brandon Ingram have each shown on separate occasions they can be the No. 1 option for New Orleans. CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas are ideal veteran pieces in the starting unit as well. Well-balanced on both ends of the court, the Pelicans have completely bought into what head coach Willie Green brought over from Monty Williams in Phoenix.
With Williamson, Ingram and McCollum, the Pelicans should be a team projected closer to 50 wins. I absolutely love the over here on 44.5 wins, so don&rsquo;t be surprised if New Orleans finishes as a playoff lock instead of a Play-In Tournament competitor.
Portland Trail Blazers: Under 40.5 (-110)
Kudos to Damian Lillard because he will not leave the Blazers hanging anytime soon. He&rsquo;s all-in on winning in Portland, which reminds me so much of Reggie Miller with the Pacers a few decades back. Portland re-signed Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons, but two notable splashes occurred this offseason. Jerami Grant is the Blazers&rsquo; first true wing threat in years, and the ultimate wildcard from the 2022 NBA Draft fell into their laps at No. 7 overall. What if Shaedon Sharpe hits his ceiling? That&rsquo;s something Portland has in their back pocket, because Sharpe&rsquo;s scoring prowess forecasts very well alongside Lillard. They'll just have to hope he can get healthy and stay healthy.
The West remains a tough customer though. So, with that being said, the Blazers fall into the category of a feisty team that&rsquo;s competitive most nights on their way to a sub-40-win campaign. It's certainly not the outcome Blazers fans hope for, but there&rsquo;s a large number of teams ahead of them at the moment.
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Sacramento Kings: Over 32.5 (-120)
The Kings actually had a good offseason. Yes, you&rsquo;re reading that right. Keegan Murray at No. 4 overall looks to be a lights-out scorer with an extremely high floor. Ideally, Murray can become the third piece to a long-term trio in Sacramento alongside De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Also, don&rsquo;t forget about the Kings adding much-needed help on the perimeter with Kevin Huerter via trade and Malik Monk via free agency.
I had to double-take upon finding this fact, but the Kings have only exceeded 33 wins once over the last 14 years (2018-19 was that season).
Luckily for Sacramento, I&rsquo;m projecting them to finish with at least 33 wins for 2022-23. If the Kings underachieve once more, I wonder what the future looks like for an organization that stays in topsy-turvy mode.
Utah Jazz: Under 31.5 (-110)
Assuming Donovan Mitchell is eventually traded, this number will crumble down into the 20s. Utah is in the midst of a full-scale rebuild attempt for the first time in over a decade, and all signs point to Mitchell&rsquo;s exit soon enough from Salt Lake City. Gobert being dealt within the division to Minnesota for a historic amount of draft capital shook up the trade market for good, as it&rsquo;s holding up potential blockbusters revolving around Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Mitchell.
Moving forward, there&rsquo;s no reason why you should feel confident about betting the Utah over unless Mitchell keeps them above water staying around until February. If not, you&rsquo;re putting an awful lot of faith into the hands of Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson to carry the roster. (If they're there.)
The smart route is to go with the under for the Jazz. Lock in with extreme confidence that Jazz executive Danny Ainge eventually tears it all down within a few months.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Under 26.5 (+100)
Until the Thunder stop their tanking ways, I can&rsquo;t willfully bet an over on them. Following their aggressive draft night &mdash; obtaining three lottery picks headlined by No. 2 overall selection Chet Holmgren, who many viewed as the best overall player &mdash; maybe that "tanking" buzzword is in their rearview mirror.
OKC&rsquo;s roster is young, but the talent screams out as a team that could propel itself forward in a huge manner. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey profile as a super fun long-term backcourt pairing. Luguentz Dort is a pitbull defender who continues to improve his outside shot, which earned him a lucrative five-year extension.
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The Thunder could easily make me look foolish selecting the under, but something along the lines of 25 or 26 wins feels spot on. Can Sam Presti resist the temptation of not tanking for Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson in 2023?
Houston Rockets: Over 23.5 (-125)
The Rockets have one of the most interesting young cores to monitor heading into next season. Jalen Green began to turn the corner over the last month of the season, averaging 22.3 points on a 59.9% True Shooting percentage. Jabari Smith Jr., Houston&rsquo;s No. 3 overall selection from the 2022 draft, projects as a score-first wing/big hybrid who should excel alongside Green and Kevin Porter Jr. Alperen Sengun, a throwback Turkish big man, is an underrated prospect with an unlimited ceiling once the small aspects of his game are figured out.
Houston is nowhere close to being competitive, but that&rsquo;s totally okay. The team controls the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; draft for the next season years, so the Rockets are set up arguably as well as anyone right now with the chaos surrounding that whole situation. If the youth jells together and the organization obtains another top pick in next year&rsquo;s draft, be on the lookout for this core to ascend.
For the over/under, 23.5 wins feels a little low, in my opinion. I&rsquo;m projecting the Rockets with 25 victories, so give me the over at -125 odds on DraftKings.
San Antonio Spurs: Under 22.5 (-110)
Once Dejounte Murray was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, it sounded the alarm that the Spurs are finally waiving the white flag on competing for wins effective immediately. San Antonio obtained three future first-round picks for Murray, a haul for a team pressing the reset button at the perfect time.
Las Vegas projects the Spurs with the worst over/under for next season, and there&rsquo;s no real reason to go against them there. Keldon Johnson will put up numbers following his long-term extension, but inexperience is the main theme for San Antonio. The Spurs should be on their way to 20 wins or less, so hammer the under.

Evan Sidery goes over win totals for the Western Conference. Who stands out?

Best Bets: NBA Western Conference over/under projections

On April 28, Shaquille O'Neal kept his weird vendetta against Donovan Mitchell alive on his podcast, "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-bacon/id1558354780?i=1000558986005" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Big Podcast with Shaq.</a>" O'Neal was discussing James Harden's postseason struggles and managed to turn the conversation toward Donovan Mitchell's candidacy as an NBA superstar.
&ldquo;Y&rsquo;all be giving out a lot of these awards to some of these bums and I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;What?&rsquo;" O'Neal said. "For example, what did I say about Donovan Mitchell two years ago? Everybody jumping on me and hating and I be quiet. What&rsquo;s he doing now?... Is that what superstars do?&rdquo;
O'Neal then <a href="https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/shaquille-oneal-claps-backs-after-being-accused-of-slandering-donovan-mitchell-i-could-say-what-i-say-brother-how-many-rings-do-i-have-4-brother" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defended his comments in another recent episode</a>. This slander obsession dates back over a year to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFmk7kzDbiA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bizarre postgame interview on TNT</a>. Unfortunately, it's also become part of a larger narrative working against Mitchell's NBA career.&nbsp;
Mitchell's superstar credentials have gone under the microscope as trade rumors erupt around the 25-year-old this summer. The Utah Jazz have failed to surpass the second round of the playoffs with Mitchell running the show. He's a smaller combo guard at 6-foot-1 with run-of-the-mill, basic shooting splits. He played pretty poorly in this year's first-round series loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Is this a player worth mortgaging the future to acquire?
In a word: Absolutely.
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Regardless of what O'Neal or any other detractors might say, Mitchell is a certified superstar, a number one scoring-and-playmaking option and a tier-altering presence for any NBA franchise. He is not without his flaws, but this type of gravitational offensive force rarely becomes available.
Let's start with the scoring and get the "inefficient" buzzword out of the way.
Mitchell has never been among the elite shooters in the league, but he's made strides throughout his career. Last season he sported a 50.9% Effective Field Goal percentage on pull-up shots. That's very good; it placed him 15th among 107 players who attempted at least 150 such shots, per Second Spectrum.
Mitchell shot the fourth-most pull-up threes in the NBA last season (413) and hit 35.6% of them, which was in the ballpark of guys with better reputations like Luka Doncic, Khris Middleton, Devin Booker and CJ McCollum. Mitchell has improved his eFG% in each subsequent year of his career, with last year being his best yet.&nbsp;
His overall three-point clip was just 35.5%, but that's because he had a bizarre, outlier year where he hit just 34.6% of his catch-and-shoot treys. Mitchell has never been below 40% off the catch in any other season. It's reasonable to call 2021-22 an unfortunate down year when he has four prior seasons of success.&nbsp;
Mitchell's average three-point shot distance was a whopping 26.4 feet from the basket, per BBall Index. A remarkable 52% of his three-point makes were unassisted, which is in the 98th percentile among combo guards, per Cleaning the Glass. He has one of the toughest perimeter shot diets in the league, and has maintained a quality mark from deep.
Then, we zoom in closer to the basket. Mitchell made a strong 65% of his shots at the rim this season, according to Cleaning the Glass, and 80% of those makes were unassisted. In total, Mitchell created 71% of his buckets without an assist last season, the 12th-highest rate in the NBA. Mitchell has had to manifest so much for himself in Utah, and still manages to cobble together solid shooting splits.
Mitchell's volume should not diguise him as a pure scorer. He's demonstrably better at finding shooters on the floor, in addition to his synergy with Rudy Gobert. According to Second Spectrum, 16.3% of Mitchell's passed led to assists or free throws last season, good for 14th in the entire NBA.
That rate was also his best of the last three seasons, and while it's partially dependent on teammates making shots, it also shows Mitchell is finding his guys in good positions. BBall Index also tracks a stat called Box Creation (initially made by Ben Taylor), which estimates how many open shots a player creates for teammates. Mitchell's score this season was 10.3, ranking in the 97th percentile.
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The vision is apparent. Mitchell is such a dangerous downhill threat that defenses simply have to collapse on him. He knows how the second level will step up to contain him and where the next defensive rotation will be, as seen in the first and third clips. He has improved at making the corresponding reads without significantly altering his turnover rate.
Is Mitchell one of the best and most willing facilitators in the NBA? No; he averaged a pretty mediocre 41.7 passes last season to go with 5.3 assists per game. But there's a clear pattern of growth that bodes well for his future in Utah or with another team.
Mitchell's volume of difficult shots often gets warped as a ball-hog tendency. But look at who Utah has as actual well-rounded offensive engines. Mike Conley still provides solid moments and moves the ball well, but he has not been an attacking threat for several years now. Jordan Clarkson is a pure scorer with jarring peaks and valleys. Bojan Bogdanovic is transitioning to more of a spacer role. Mitchell is wholly in another category as a player who can both create a shot for himself while being a threat to pass.
With all of that said, we can't gloss over the defense &mdash; particularly in the latter stages of last season.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Donovan Mitchell's defense was better the last few games IMO, but he still has some really rough lapses. Seems to totally misplay this coverage: <a href="https://t.co/MKahyif9ch">pic.twitter.com/MKahyif9ch</a>
&mdash; Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1520579287002148864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
Mitchell really faltered on a national stage. As he struggled to find an offensive rhythm, he continually played behind the play on defense. Whether it was a lack of effort, confusion or something else, he was clearly out of position and not extending himself on several possessions against the Mavericks. And the concerns had been rising before the postseason too.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I see Donovan Mitchell's off-ball defense continues to be suspect. (He ain't the only at fault though. Seems like House failed to communicate a switch. Which seems to be a team-wide problem at times.) <a href="https://t.co/g5RXNfcZJo">pic.twitter.com/g5RXNfcZJo</a>
&mdash; Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1512629596029857793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Outside of Gobert, Utah was in a rocky defensive state by the playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a top-10 Defensive Rating. The Jazz's defense was 4.6 points per 100 possessions better without Mitchell on the court, per Cleaning the Glass.
But if there's a bright spot, it's in his 1.9% steal rate. Steals and steal rates tell only a tiny picture of overall defensive impact, but within those steals, we can see promising moments.
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It's not like Mitchell is constantly losing the plot as a team defender. In these plays, he recognized who was going to be open of the drive, and shut off the faucet to pick up two steals. Mitchell is strong and active with his hands to the point where he can be a tough individual matchup for smaller guards. It's just about consistency right now. He has the tools to be a neutral or slight positive, and has shown defensive ability in the past. For whatever reason, it fell apart last season.&nbsp;
Lastly, it's worth dispelling the notion that Mitchell does not impact winning basketball. The Jazz boasted the best Offensive Rating in the NBA last season. They were third in the metric in 2020-21 en route to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and it's no coincidence that Mitchell was the offensive catalyst in both years.&nbsp;
And, even with last season's playoff dud, Mitchell's career postseason stats include 28.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game to go along a 55.8% True Shooting percentage. He's not even two years removed from a 57-point postseason onslaught in the bubble. And he's still only 25 years old.&nbsp;
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The Athletic's&nbsp;Shams Charania reported Monday morning that the Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets have expressed interest in trading for Mitchell along with the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-offseason-donovan-mitchell-new-york-knicks-utah-jazz-danny-ainge-leon-rose-rudy-gobert-quentin-grimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">well-documented New York Knicks rumors</a>. Though teams should obviously do their due diligence and look at roster fit and outgoing talent, it's hard for me to see why any of these teams should outright balk at the chance to acquire a sure-fire All-Star and perennial All-NBA player.
Do Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby's defensive talents outweight the chance to bring Pascal Siakam one of the best possible long-term partners in crime? Should the Knicks hold up at the chance to add by far their greatest offensive talent since Carmelo Anthony? Are future picks going to be the impasse when Mitchell could conceivably keep a team in playoff contention for several years?
I'm not here to be the judge. But if a blockbuster trade does materialize, it's worth remembering just how special this type of 25-year-old superstar can be.

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Donovan Mitchell has been one of the biggest names to appear in NBA trade rumors this offseason.

Resetting the conversation around Donovan Mitchell's superstar stature

Bookmark this page and we'll keep you up-to-date on every NBA rumor. We'll continue updating this tracker over the next 24 hours.

NBA Rumor Tracker: Compiling the latest news and intel

It&rsquo;s Christmas in late June for NBA fans.
The 2022 NBA Draft is hours away, and the rumor mill is churning. BasketballNews has compiled every major rumor to keep you up-to-date on the latest rumblings around the Association.
If you missed yesterday's NBA Rumors Notebook with updates on Malcolm Brogdon, John Collins, Gordon Hayward and more, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-draft-2022-news-reports-atlanta-hawks-malcolm-brogdon-new-york-knicks-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check that out here</a>.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s jump into the juicy intel.
Kevin Durant will request trade if Kyrie Irving leaves Nets
On Wednesday, ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped this blockbuster nugget in his <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/34130810/how-kyrie-irving-contract-talks-change-kevin-durant-long-term-commitment-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN+ story</a> detailing the the uncertainty surrounding the Nets and Kyrie Irving. Woj said that the star point guard has a huge leverage play in negotiations: Irving knows that if the Nets refuse to sign him to a long-term extension, Kevin Durant will soon follow him out the door in Brooklyn. Wojnarowski said the Nets are aware of this situation, so their front office is trying to walk this tightrope.
Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/kyrie-irving-latest-more-trade-talk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added on Substack</a> that he&rsquo;s heard Irving and LeBron James have been in contact recently, potentially about reuniting on the Los Angeles Lakers. Wojnarowski relayed on NBA Today that the Lakers are considered "the biggest threat" to acquire Irving outside of Brooklyn too. Also, Stein said don&rsquo;t rule out the Miami Heat as a possible suitor via sign-and-trade.
The Irving drama has already created a negative impact on the Nets&rsquo; free-agency plans. Wojnarowski said on NBA Today that Brooklyn is having a hard time retaining their own free agents, plus Durant isn&rsquo;t recruiting potential names to the Nets as well.&nbsp;
"In previous offseasons, rival agents and players would tell you of Durant's eagerness in talking to potential free agents. So far, that hasn't been the case with him, sources say," Wojnarowski <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/34130810/how-kyrie-irving-contract-talks-change-kevin-durant-long-term-commitment-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote on ESPN+</a>.
Durant has also been putting pressure on the Nets to sign Irving long-term, per Wojnarowski.
All of a sudden, the possibility of the Nets breaking up feels very real. Could we actually be looking at a scenario where Durant is requesting a trade over the next few weeks? If Irving's contract situation isn&rsquo;t resolved soon, it sure feels like it.
OG Anunoby joining Jerami Grant in Portland?
According to <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1539759808907284480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo Sports&rsquo; Chris Haynes</a>, the Portland Trail Blazers aren&rsquo;t done trying to make massive moves to improve their roster. After acquiring Jerami Grant for a bargain price on Wednesday, Haynes relayed that Portland is offering the Toronto Raptors the No. 7 overall pick in today's NBA Draft in exchange for versatile wing OG Anunoby.
There has been persistent smoke surrounding Anunoby in trade talks over the last few weeks, and now things have kicked into overdrive.
If the Blazers are able to land Anunoby alongside Grant, it&rsquo;s a dream wing pairing to place alongside the high-usage backcourt of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons. Assuming Portland also re-signs Jusuf Nurkic, they could become a playoff contender once again.
Deandre Ayton, Suns heading for a split?
Deandre Ayton may have played his final game with the Phoenix Suns. Even though things seemed to be heading in this direction after the Suns' shocking postseason exit, Wojnarowski confirmed Wednesday on NBA Today that the organization doesn&rsquo;t view&nbsp; their former No. 1 overall pick as a max-level player. Woj added that Phoenix plans to engage in serious sign-and-trade discussions surrounding Ayton.
Keep an eye on the Detroit Pistons as a potential landing spot for Ayton, especially after the Grant trade went down. The Pistons now have more than $40 million in cap space, which means they can offer Ayton a max contract without any hiccups. According to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3379072/2022/06/22/jerami-grant-blazers-pistons-deandre-ayton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s James Edwards III</a>, Detroit is &ldquo;heavily expected&rdquo; to pursue Ayton.
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Will James Harden opt in?
Wojnarowski mentioned on NBA Today that James Harden was likely to exercise his $47 million player option for next season and sign a short-term extension with the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden&rsquo;s new deal with Philadelphia will come in at a figure slightly below the max, as Woj relayed on ESPN2. This lines up with <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038916-latest-nba-intel-sources-say-james-harden-will-sign-short-term-extension-with-sixers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent report</a> from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Philadelphia has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-draft-2022-news-reports-atlanta-hawks-malcolm-brogdon-new-york-knicks-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already been linked to Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker</a> this offseason, so we'll see if the 2018 Houston Rockets are planning a reunion. Would adding Gordon and Tucker be enough to put Philadelphia over the top in the Eastern Conference?
The Sixers are also shopping the No. 23 overall pick, Matisse Thybulle and Danny Green, per <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038916-latest-nba-intel-sources-say-james-harden-will-sign-short-term-extension-with-sixers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer</a>.&nbsp;
Thunder planning blockbuster trade to move up draft?
<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/34121058/2022-nba-mock-draft-projecting-all-58-picks-based-latest-intel-scouting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to ESPN&rsquo;s Jonathan Givony</a>, the Oklahoma City Thunder are aggressively trying to trade up from No. 12, with their primary targets being Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey and Kentucky&rsquo;s Shaedon Sharpe.
The Thunder are hoping to come out of this draft with two of the top prospects; OKC also has the No. 2 and signs seem to point to them taking Chet Holmgren.&nbsp;
Could you imagine Oklahoma City trotting out a core that features Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Holmgren and either Ivey or Sharpe? That&rsquo;s simply unfair.
Hawks pursuing Dejounte Murray trade?
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Bleacher Report&rsquo;s Jake Fischer</a>, the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks have discussed a deal that would involve swapping Dejounte Murray and John Collins. Fischer noted that the price for Murray to leave San Antonio would be &ldquo;Jrue Holiday-like&rdquo; in terms of the return. If that&rsquo;s the case, the Spurs would likely have to part with multiple first-round picks to land the versatile guard.
The Athletic's Chris Kirschner joined BasketballNews' Twitter Spaces last night and confirmed that these talks are ongoing, but added that a deal isn't close. He has also heard that the asking price for Murray is significant.
With this coming out of nowhere, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise to see the Spurs be a very aggressive team during tonight's NBA Draft.
Knicks all-in on Jalen Brunson?
Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/kyrie-irving-latest-more-trade-talk?sd=pf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Wednesday that the New York Knicks are viewed as a real threat to sign Jalen Brunson, if they can clear the necessary cap space. The Knicks are trying to offload the expiring contracts (if you count their 2023-24 team option) of Alec Burks, Kemba Walker and Nerlens Noel. Wojnarowski added later in the day on ESPN2 that New York will be aggressive in clearing said space.
Stein dropped another Knicks-related note involving underrated rim protector Mitchell Robinson. <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/nba-draft-forecast-trades-aplenty?sd=pf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Stein</a>, the Knicks are expected to re-sign Robinson, which may close the door on potential draft options like Memphis&rsquo; Jalen Duren or Duke&rsquo;s Mark Williams at No. 11 overall.
Yesterday, ESPN&rsquo;s Brian Windhorst mentioned on NBA Today that New York has been unwilling to include No. 11 in any trade talks involving Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon. The availability of Brogdon continues to be a hot topic, which included <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038623-latest-nba-intel-sources-expect-zach-lavine-to-re-sign-with-chicago-bulls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer reporting</a> that league executives believe Brogdon is the Knicks' backup option after Brunson.
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Pacers accepting rebuild?
On ESPN's NBA Mock Draft Special on Tuesday, Wojnarowksi said that the Pacers plan to reshape their roster and move toward a rebuild under head coach Rick Carlisle. Woj added that Indiana is hopeful to add a second lottery selection since there are multiple prospects they like in that range.
The full expectation is that Brogdon will be moved soon. However, when it comes to Myles Turner's future, the Pacers may wait for better offers or hold onto him long-term. Both Brogdon and Turner have constantly popped up in trade rumors, and that likely isn't changing until there's a resolution.
Indiana deciding on a full-scale rebuild opens up a lot of roster possibilities, and it further suggests that Brogdon, Turner and maybe even Buddy Hield could be on the move. Leading up to the draft, Indiana continues to be one of the most active teams on the trade market.
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer mentioned on Wednesday</a> that the following teams have shown interest in a Turner trade: the Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets.
D&rsquo;Angelo Russell staying in Minnesota?
Speaking of the Timberwolves, another interesting tidbit was shared on Wednesday morning by <a href="https://theathletic.com/3363956/2022/06/22/dangelo-russell-future-timberwolves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s Jon Krawczynski</a>: Minnesota has not come close on any potential trades involving D&rsquo;Angelo Russell or any other players. Russell is on the final year of his contract, but his season ended with some fourth-quarter benchings in favor of Jordan McLaughlin during the playoffs.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly <a href="https://twitter.com/JonKrawczynski/status/1539694720108085248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> on Wednesday that the organization is &ldquo;super open&rdquo; to trading the No. 19 pick. Connelly added that they would welcome a win-now piece in exchange for the top-20 selection.
Cavs open to trading back?
According to <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2022/06/cleveland-cavaliers-getting-trade-offers-for-the-no-14-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-sources-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com</a>, the Cleveland Cavaliers are open to trading back from No. 14 overall. This lines up with what <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-bradley-beal-bobby-portis-nicolas-batum-lakers-nets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported</a> earlier this week. Scotto added that the Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks have called about the No. 14 pick.
Holding the final pick in the lottery, Cleveland could fetch a solid return on the trade market. The Cavs are reportedly hoping for a future first-round pick, but they&rsquo;re open to adding a win-now role player in a trade-back scenario as well.&nbsp;
If the Cavaliers are able to move back while also improving the top of their rotation, it would be a huge win for the up-and-coming team.
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Suns shopping Jae Crowder?
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Fischer</a>, the Suns have reached out to rival teams to gauge Jae Crowder's trade value. Over the last two seasons, Crowder has played a pivotal role in the Suns&rsquo; historic turnaround. However, with a looming extension for Cameron Johnson, it could make sense to clear more playing time for he and Mikal Bridges on the wing.
Phoenix has no picks tonight, but they are rumored to be interested in getting into the draft. While they have looked into buying a second-round selection, perhaps trading Crowder could get them into the first round.
If the Suns send Crowder to Philadelphia for the No. 23 pick and Danny Green&rsquo;s non-guaranteed salary, would that make sense for both sides?
Wizards listening on Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Fischer</a>, the Wizards are open to discussing Kuzma and KCP in deals. Earlier in the week, Wojnarowski listed Washington as one of the most active teams in trade discussions.
After a strong season with the Wizards, Kuzma could provide a strong return. KCP&rsquo;s expiring contract would be a strong match with Indiana for Malcolm Brogdon, which has been rumored for several days.
Blazers, Pelicans draft preferences
Closing out the notebook, here are two draft-related notes. First up, if the Portland Trail Blazers stay put at No. 7, they are reportedly fans of Dyson Daniels and Shaedon Sharpe, per <a href="https://theathletic.com/3377254/2022/06/22/nba-mock-draft-trades-rumors-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s John Hollinger</a>. Both Daniels or Sharpe could be real complements on the wing alongside Lillard, Grant and Simons. If Portland nails their lottery pick, they are set up to potentially rebound in 2022-23.
The New Orleans Pelicans&rsquo; top choices at No. 8 are Daniels and Arizona&rsquo;s Bennedict Mathurin, per <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/please-dont-aggregate-this/id1618992995" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer on his podcast</a>. If neither Daniels nor Mathurin are on the board, New Orleans would be more inclined to listen on potential trade-back scenarios.
Buckle up, folks, as this is going to be a crazy day! BasketballNews will keep you updated on all the latest NBA news and rumors.
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The 2022 NBA Draft is hours away, and the rumor mill is churning. Here are all of the latest rumblings from around the Association.