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Suns

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Landry Shamet made a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in overtime moments after missing an open look beyond the arc and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings 127-124 on Sunday.
Damian Jones gave the Kings a 121-120 lead with a putback dunk not long after the Suns star Devin Booker fouled out. Shamet&rsquo;s 25-foot try missed, but Phoenix grabbed the rebound. Following a timeout, Shamet hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game to put the Suns ahead by two.
After Mikal Bridges &mdash; who had 27 points for short-handed Phoenix &mdash; made the second of two free throws, Jones made one from the stripe, but missed the second. Aaron Holiday grabbed the rebound and Torrey Craig dunked.
Booker scored 19 of his 31 points in the third quarter as the Suns won their fifth straight to improve to 58-14 &mdash; nine games ahead of second-place Memphis for the best record in the league.
Shamet finished with 21 points. Center Deandre Ayton had 12 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Backup center JaVale McGee had 14 points before fouling out in overtime.
Already missing All-Star point guard Chris Paul (broken right thumb) and sixth-man Cam Johnson (right quad contusion), the Suns were with without backup point guard Cam Payne because of a non-COVID-19 illness. Jae Crowder, who returned following a two-game absence due to groin soreness, limped off with a right foot injury in the third quarter.
Davion Mitchell, starting in place of injured point guard De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, had 28 points and nine assists for Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis had 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists before leaving with an apparent left knee injury in the fourth quarter. The Kings have lost 10 of 13.
Booker put the Suns ahead 110-108 with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter before Mitchell&rsquo;s layup forced overtime. McGee scored six of the Suns first eight points in overtime.
TIP-INS
Suns: Booker has 136 career games with 30 points or more. &hellip; Phoenix had almost as many turnovers (eight) as assists (10) in the first half. &hellip; Elfrid Payton started at point guard for the Suns.
Kings: Fox sat out a second straight game because of a right hand injury.
UP NEXT
Suns: At Minnesota on Wednesday night.
Kings: At Indiana on Wednesday night.
&nbsp;

Landry Shamet made a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in overtime and the Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings 127-124.

Shamet hits key 3-pointer in OT, Suns rally to beat Kings

During the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; final game before the All-Star break, Chris Paul suffered a fractured thumb avulsion. Paul will now be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks, bringing Paul&rsquo;s probable return right before the postseason begins.
Luckily for Phoenix, it is six-and-a-half games ahead of the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed, and it would take a noticeable slip for the Suns to be caught by anyone in the West. This will be a serious test for the Suns though, because Paul has actually avoided serious injuries on the court throughout his tenure thus far in Phoenix. Paul has only missed four games with the Suns, but this will now be a real evaluation period that could potentially help them in the long run.
Both Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet are expected to be back from ankle injuries after the All-Star break. Also, the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/aaron-holiday-is-fitting-right-into-the-suns-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new acquisition of Aaron Holiday</a> now brings a sigh of relief for Phoenix's overall depth. Holiday&rsquo;s tenacious defense and adequate floor-spacing ability have already made him an upgrade over Elfrid Payton as the Suns&rsquo; emergency third-string point guard.
Paul&rsquo;s extended absence will cause major ripple effects on their offense though. With Paul on the floor, Phoenix is scoring 115.9 points per 100 possessions &mdash; 11 points better than when Paul sits for the Suns. (By the way, that&rsquo;s tied for the best mark in the Association with the Utah Jazz for Offensive Rating.) In the small sample of minutes Paul has been off the court, this season more so occurring in blowout victories, the Suns&rsquo; ORTG dips to 105.4.
Since the Suns&rsquo; explosion, we&rsquo;ve yet to really see Devin Booker run the show as much for obvious reasons. Booker playing extensively off the ball alongside Paul has helped conserve his energy for career-best defensive moments and being an assassin in the scoring department. Before Paul arrived, though, Booker had very important moments of growth as a facilitator in the Suns&rsquo; down years.
From 2018-2019, Booker operated with no starting-caliber point guard after Eric Bledsoe seemingly quit on the team via Twitter and was subsequently traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Operating in the backcourt next to names like Payton, Isaiah Canaan, Mike James and Elie Okobo for an extensive period of time forced Booker into being the entire offensive operation.
Everything flowed through Booker every single possession, a baptism by fire so to say, but the Suns&rsquo; young shooting guard continued to blossom into a multi-faceted weapon. Booker&rsquo;s playmaking allowed for Paul to have a steady running mate, and now with the latter sidelined for potentially the rest of the regular season, this could open back up that box even further.
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Will Suns head coach Monty Williams stick to the plan and allow more minutes for Payne and Holiday alongside Booker? This seems like the best bet, but what about experimenting with Booker and seeing how it goes? Lineup combinations featuring Booker flanked by wings is a fun small-ball idea (Booker, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder, Torrey Craig). And Booker&rsquo;s capabilities running the pick-and-roll will lead to pick-your-poison scenarios with either Deandre Ayton or JaVale McGee. Compared to Paul, the drop-off to Booker isn&rsquo;t as steep as many think in pick-and-roll efficiency (Paul: 0.99 PPP, Booker: 0.94 PPP).
Where Paul&rsquo;s absence will be felt the most is in the moments where it matters most. Phoenix is on pace to be the best team in NBA history for clutch-time dominance. Paul&rsquo;s stabilizing presence and precision running the show allow for Phoenix to stay afloat when most teams sink. Booker has been potent in the clutch as well, but how will it fare with one head of the two-headed monster gone for a little bit? Again, this is a potential growth moment for Booker and Phoenix. If the Suns experience little to no drop-off without Paul, Booker&rsquo;s dark-horse MVP case will continue to rise.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
All baskets by Devin Booker in Clutch Time this season. (Under 5 minutes left in the game, score within 5). <a href="https://t.co/060DOBftHy">pic.twitter.com/060DOBftHy</a>
&mdash; RB (@RyB_311) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyB_311/status/1495432852523175936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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After the All-Star break presumably through the end of the regular season, here&rsquo;s how the Suns&rsquo; rotation will look.
Starting Lineup: Cameron Payne, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton
Second Unit: Aaron Holiday, Landry Shamet, Cameron Johnson, Torrey Craig, JaVale McGee
Losing Paul is a huge blow in the short-term, but that 10-man unit alone is still a formidable one. The Suns&rsquo; trio around Booker &mdash; Ayton, Bridges, Johnson &mdash; should take pressure off the team's 25-year-old star, but show potential moments of growth as well. Ayton will immediately show whether or not he&rsquo;s worthy of the rookie-scale max this offseason without Paul setting him up. Bridges and Johnson are ascending into potent scoring threats, but how will Paul sitting on the sidelines impact their overall efficiency?
Luckily for the Suns, their distance from everyone else atop the West could keep them locked into the No. 1 seed. If anything, this time without their leader allows for those relied upon most long-term &mdash; even past the Paul era &mdash; to deliver when the situations calls for it.
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With Chris Paul out for the next two months, the NBA's best team could actually benefit long-term from his absence before the playoffs.

Chris Paul's absence could actually benefit Suns long-term

Trying to capitalize on a golden opportunity to make a repeat NBA Finals run, the Phoenix Suns made two moves at last week's NBA trade deadline.
First, Phoenix dealt 2020 No. 10 overall pick Jalen Smith and a 2022 second-round pick to the Indiana Pacers for Torrey Craig, who was with the team last season and perfectly fit its vision as a versatile two-way wing. Then, less than an hour later, Suns general manager James Jones made another under-the-radar move to bolster the bench.
Phoenix sent cash considerations to the Washington Wizards for reserve combo guard Aaron Holiday, who the organization was actually very interested in throughout the 2018 pre-draft process. If not for the Pacers swooping Holiday in the first round, Phoenix was hoping Holiday would slip through the cracks to the top of the second-round to pair him with Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges.
During his NBA career, Holiday is now on his third team in four seasons. However, Phoenix&rsquo;s team-oriented system could be the best bet to bring out the intriguing upside Holiday displayed at UCLA as a consistent three-point shooter and on-ball defender.
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In three games with the Suns, Holiday is averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 assists on an outstanding 84.6% True Shooting percentage. Of course, small sample size alert, but the mixture of attributes Holiday has brought aboard in Phoenix is a noticeable upgrade on the margins.
&ldquo;He just continues to play the kind of basketball we like to play,&rdquo; Suns head coach Monty Williams said after the Suns&rsquo; 124-121 win over the Rockets on Wednesday. &ldquo;Defensively, he just gets into stuff and he comes up with balls. I thought the inbounds play under the basket where he stole it and laid it up, that&rsquo;s Aaron [Holiday], and I like his willingness to take shots.
"And then, there was one play where it was just a muddied offensive set, and he dribbled all over the place like [Steve] Nash and then just went to the basket and laid it off the glass, and I was like, 'He&rsquo;s got some moxie and some toughness.' He&rsquo;s come here and he&rsquo;s fit right in.&rdquo;
As Williams alluded to, Holiday has stepped right into his role and thrived within the flow of Phoenix&rsquo;s &ldquo;0.5&rdquo; system. Holiday not only has shown a more robust skill set than Elfrid Payton &mdash; whose non-floor-spacing equity continues to be a bugaboo for the Suns&rsquo; reserves &mdash; but his defense in short spurts has also been fantastic when flanked by Craig and JaVale McGee.
It&rsquo;s easy to envision when the postseason arrives that Holiday won&rsquo;t play many meaningful minutes. Once Cameron Payne returns from an ankle injury after the All-Star break, Holiday&rsquo;s already minuscule role will dwindle further.
Looking past Payne, though, could Holiday usurp Landry Shamet as the fourth guard? With Shamet&rsquo;s inconsistent play all season long, especially from a shooting perspective, it&rsquo;s not too far-fetched of a scenario.
Here&rsquo;s how the Suns&rsquo; guard group shakes out entering All-Star weekend:
Starters: Chris Paul, Devin Booker
Reserves: Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, Elfrid Payton, Aaron Holiday
Stockpiling depth across the board, the Suns now have options behind their dynamic backcourt duo of Paul and Booker. Shamet slides into the backup shooting guard minutes for Booker, but Holiday can also provide a punch there if needed. Paul hurt his hand in the Suns&rsquo; win over the Rockets, so if he&rsquo;s out for any meaningful time and they want to go very conservative with his recovery time, they have three capable players who can split duties in Payne, Payton and Holiday.
Holiday is a ball of energy, which showed itself frequently throughout his first week with Phoenix. Only giving up cash considerations for a 25-year-old reserve guard is another win for Jones, who has a very strong resume to repeat as NBA Executive of the Year with the Suns&rsquo; historically strong start at 48-10.
The Suns know their time to compete for championships is right now, especially with Paul still playing at an MVP-like level during his age-36 season. When canvassing through the Suns&rsquo; rotation, there are very few, if any, real holes to analyze.
Holiday isn&rsquo;t a game-changing move so to say, but his more consistently stable two-way play could be what looms large when shuffling out who fits within the Suns&rsquo; playoff rotation in a few months time. The early returns with Holiday in Phoenix have been outstanding, but now the real interesting tidbits will be monitored relating to how Williams balances the Suns' guard rotation moving forward.
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The Suns made two moves to bolster their depth. Aaron Holiday was one of them, and he's fit right in with Phoenix off the bat.

Aaron Holiday 'fits right in' with Monty Williams and the Suns' vision

Another piece of the Suns&rsquo; resurgent puzzle has officially returned to the Valley. Phoenix had a quiet trade deadline compared to some teams, but the moves they made on the margins are actually very noteworthy.
Reuniting with versatile veteran forward Torrey Craig, plus flipping some cash for Aaron Holiday, has made the Suns&rsquo; already deep rotation even stronger heading into postseason play in a few months. And don&rsquo;t rule out Phoenix also being potential buyers on the buyout market as well &mdash; Elfrid Payton&rsquo;s role could be redundant now, with Holiday&rsquo;s arrival.
The most attractive aspect of the Suns&rsquo; strong deadline period was bringing back Craig for another championship run. Phoenix wanted Craig to return, but they were unable to give him the contract he wanted while also signing JaVale McGee. In the end, Suns GM James Jones got them both for the price of Jalen Smith &mdash; now viewed as an expiring contract &mdash; plus potentially the last pick in this year&rsquo;s draft.
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Good luck trying to contain the energy of McGee and Craig together, patrolling the mid-post area in Phoenix&rsquo;s second unit. This combination is something to be very giddy about, especially when their strengths at rebounding and overall defensive versatility mesh very well together.
Craig can guard four and sometimes even all five positions. That type of piece entering into head coach Monty Williams&rsquo; strategic puzzle yet again is an underrated move to fortify a potential weakness. Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson can all guard multiple positions, but Craig&rsquo;s sturdier frame proved to be a nice changeup against superstar wing scorers. For example, Craig helped swing the pendulum back in the Suns&rsquo; favor against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals via his stellar one-on-one defense versus Paul George. Craig put the clamps on George when it mattered most, producing 3-of-12 shooting from the Clippers' swingman.
Being around the Suns, it&rsquo;s apparent how their overall energy and chemistry within the locker room are at all-time levels. Adding back a player everyone loves in Craig for the stretch run to make a repeat Finals trip sits well with everyone in Phoenix. Chris Paul even admitted it was hard to not still view Craig as a teammate even after he left for Indiana.
&ldquo;T. Craig is one of us, you know? When we played when he was with the Pacers, I damn near passed him the ball because I thought he was one of us. It&rsquo;s good to have him back with us. He knows what the culture is like here. He&rsquo;s gonna come in here like he never left.&rdquo;
Another strong voice in the locker room, Deandre Ayton, let it be known he&rsquo;s enthused about Craig&rsquo;s return as well. With Craig, his personality fits right into what they do in Phoenix. Ayton even mentioned that Craig went into the Suns&rsquo; locker room last month when the Pacers recently visited just to chat with his former teammates.
&ldquo;Oh, man, my man Torrey is back,&rdquo; Ayton said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe it. I&rsquo;m very happy. I gotta send him a text (right after postgame media). He&rsquo;s a real funny guy. We love Torrey here.&rdquo;
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We already know the role Craig will play with the Suns. It&rsquo;s literally the role Phoenix was looking for all season since his offseason departure. The Suns saw some actual success in small spurts when putting two-way forward Ish Wainwright within the Craig role, but getting the actual prototype back is a major boon.
Within the Suns&rsquo; system, Craig checks every box for a reliable wing &mdash; one that can provide real impact for 15-20 minutes when called upon. Last season with Phoenix, Craig put up career-best numbers thanks to how he meshed within their playbook.
This season in Indiana, Craig averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds while his shooting splits took a sizable dip. The talent pool for the Pacers compared to the Suns also placed Craig within a different role. He still excelled as the Pacers&rsquo; best on-ball defender, but he tried unsuccessfully experimenting with a higher usage. Back in the Valley, Craig will now focus on hounding scorers and crashing the boards relentlessly.
Through at least the end of next season in 2022-23, Phoenix has all of their wings under contract (Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and now Craig). It will be a hard assignment to find a more consistent quartet, who all thrive within their certain bubble of attributes. Craig and Crowder provide the veteran, hard-nosed attitude. Bridges and Johnson provide the long-term stability and immense upside to bring Phoenix to new heights long-term.
Kudos to Suns GM James Jones, because he once again hit a trade deadline out of the park. Flipping Smith and this year&rsquo;s second-round pick was a necessary move when realizing Craig was available again. Holiday is an intriguing dice roll who provides more offensive creation than Payton, which could loom large soon on the buyout market for a team that still has roster flexibility.
Bringing back Craig obviously won&rsquo;t be headline-grabbing news around the NBA, but it&rsquo;s a transaction that could loom very large in June. Craig brings back an element of chaos the Suns can put together against opposing scorers. Now, with McGee&rsquo;s athleticism flanking Craig instead of Dario Saric, the second unit&rsquo;s potential has risen another level &mdash; and it was already top-notch.
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Torrey Craig's reunion with the Phoenix Suns is an underrated move that could finally put this organization's depth over the top.

Suns running it back with Torrey Craig will loom large in postseason

With one week to go before the 2022 NBA trade deadline, talks are heating up around the league. In a year that seems very wide open, many teams could be enticed to make a win-now move and push some chips to the middle of the table. According to the rumor mill, we could see deadline deals involving a number of significant contributors who can swing potential playoff series.
So, which teams and players make the most sense together? Let&rsquo;s go dive into the moves that could swing the Western Conference standings despite Phoenix already creating noticeable distance up top.
Phoenix Suns: Eric Gordon
Will the rich get even richer? Phoenix may try to make a bold move and remove all debate over who's the West's No. 1 seed. As I mentioned previously, it&rsquo;s no secret that the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-the-suns-are-an-underrated-team-to-watch-at-the-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Suns have inquired about Eric Gordon and Thaddeus Young</a> as midseason upgrades. Gordon would be via trade, while Young could be scooped up via the buyout market if no trade happens in San Antonio.
If the Suns were to accomplish this, their rotation would be absurd heading into a postseason as title favorites:
Starting Lineup: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton
Second Unit: Cameron Payne, Eric Gordon, Cameron Johnson, Thaddeus Young, JaVale McGee
That right there is a dominant playoff rotation with no holes presented. On top of that, it&rsquo;s the type of trade teams make when they know how close they are to the ultimate goal. Phoenix checks all the boxes, and so do the fits of Gordon and Young in the Valley.
Gordon would immediately step in as a reliable third guard, with way less volatility than what Payne and Landry Shamet have presented this season. Gordon&rsquo;s versatility and sharpshooting would bring another boost to an already elite offense for the Suns.
Phoenix would have to send out Dario Saric, Jalen Smith and a cheap expiring contract (i.e. Elfrid Payton, Abdel Nader, Frank Kaminsky). The Houston Rockets have also let it be known they want a future first-round pick in any Gordon deal. Phoenix shouldn&rsquo;t feel concerned about relinquishing a protected 2024 first-round pick, especially with its championship window being right now.
Keep an eye on Phoenix, folks. They are positioned well to make a few notable splashes through different avenues.
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Dallas Mavericks: Myles Turner
Does Dallas really want to lock in this core around Luka Doncic? The answer should be "No," although Jalen Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith have provided strong chemistry alongside the Mavs&rsquo; young superstar point forward. Maybe the Mavs decide to keep Brunson around, but it&rsquo;s going to be a tough pill to swallow paying both him and Finney-Smith this summer.
With that being the case, now is the perfect time to strike on one of those assets to bring aboard a game-changing piece. Enter Myles Turner, who instantly jolts an already-recharged Dallas defense.
Turner instantly provides an elite rim-protector to take pressure off Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The Mavs might take a small step back in rebounding with this move, but Doncic should be more than capable of taking on those duties.
The Indiana Pacers would receive Dwight Powell&rsquo;s salary, Finney-Smith as a looming restricted free agent and a first-round pick. With Turner&rsquo;s value down due to a foot injury &mdash; which could have him back on the court next month &mdash; this might be the best offer available for the Pacers.
With the sudden emergence of Isaiah Jackson and Terry Taylor, Indiana would be wise to move off Turner immediately. The Pacers are in a rare position to focus on the internal player development of their young core and simultaneously lose their way into a top draft pick. Focus on the young guys and take a flier on how Finney-Smith could fit next to Domantas Sabonis long-term.
Memphis Grizzlies: Kenrich Williams
One of the most underrated wings on the trade market resides in Oklahoma City. Kenrich Williams is a key glue guy for the Thunder, but imagine how much more valuable his presence would be on a real championship contender this postseason.
Williams is a name that checks a lot of boxes for wing-hungry contenders. I thought about sending Williams to Phoenix for this exercise, but settled upon how brilliant his fit would be in Memphis. The Grizzlies need another versatile wing to keep up in the West. Williams helps bring their strong start even more stability.
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Oklahoma City reportedly is looking for a future first-round pick in exchange for Williams. Memphis can provide that, plus an intriguing flier on a former lottery pick who hasn&rsquo;t panned out yet in Jarrett Culver.
It&rsquo;s not a star-type move, but Williams is one of those under-the-radar pieces that could thrive in the postseason.
Utah Jazz: Harrison Barnes
It&rsquo;s time for the Jazz to push those chips all-in, especially with their slump as of late with multiple core pieces out due to injury. Utah has fallen off its earlier pace trying to keep up with the Suns and Golden State Warriors. Now, they&rsquo;ve been leapfrogged by the Grizzlies, and multiple teams loom over the Jazz slipping even further in the standings.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert can&rsquo;t do everything by himself in Utah. The Jazz have been exposed on multiple occasions for not having more versatile defenders surrounding Gobert to make his job a little bit easier.
Now, with Joe Ingles out for the season with a torn ACL, Utah needs to find an immediate contributor on the wing who can help bring the team much-needed, two-way versatility. Harrison Barnes makes so much sense as what the Jazz need to make the jump. Barnes and Jerami Grant have both been linked to the Jazz, so this has some serious smoke behind it.
Barnes is an excellent floor-spacing option who wouldn&rsquo;t take touches away from Donovan Mitchell. Also, the veteran forward is versatile enough to handle tough assignments on the wing, especially envisioning how it would look against Phoenix and Golden State.
Swapping out Ingles&rsquo; contract, Royce O&rsquo;Neale and a first-round pick for Barnes would be an instant upgrade for the Jazz. It brings them back into the conversation as real Finals threats atop the West with the Suns and Warriors.
How would you grade this rotation for the Jazz if it actually came to fruition?
Starting Lineup: Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Harrison Barnes, Rudy Gobert
Second Unit: Trent Forrest, Jordan Clarkson, Rudy Gay, Eric Paschall, Hassan Whiteside
That bench is a little thin for Utah, but the potency of the starting five completely outweighs that. Utah needs to make a big move, and the time is now.
Welcome to the Wild West, folks. This trade deadline is going to be a very interesting one for the Western Conference's true title contenders.
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The Western Conference feels wide open. How could the trade deadline have an impact? Here are four potentially massive moves.

4 potential NBA trade-deadline deals that would shake up the West

The Phoenix Suns are in the midst of a historically dominant start to their 2021-22 season. Sitting 30 games above .500 with a 39-9 record, they're creating comfortable distance atop the reloaded Western Conference.
Following a jaw-dropping run to the NBA Finals after missing the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons, Phoenix is poised to make another run for the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy. Not only is the Suns&rsquo; roster even stronger than it was last season, but they still have wiggle room to make another big-time move to shake up the hierarchy amongst title contenders.
Two weeks away from the trade deadline, could Phoenix be in a perfect position to swoop in and acquire another win-now piece to its already filled-out puzzle? Suns general manager James Jones, who <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/burns-gambo/james-jones-suns-general-manager-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared on Arizona Sports&rsquo; 98.7 FM on Wednesday</a>, was very coy about their potential intentions.
&ldquo;I always love that question,&rdquo; Jones said when asked about if the Suns will be buyers in a few weeks. &ldquo;People are always like, &lsquo;How aggressive will you be at the trade deadline?&rsquo; And I&rsquo;m always the same. I like my team. I like what we have.&rdquo;
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Jones, who is known for keeping his cards close to the vest since taking over as GM in Phoenix, isn&rsquo;t going to let everyone in the Association know who or what position the front office is targeting. At this point, it&rsquo;s well known that the Suns are one of the teams who never let anything leak out on their end. A polar opposite approach from former Suns GM Ryan McDonough, Jones lets the action come to him instead, which he implied on Wednesday.
&ldquo;If opportunities come to improve my team, I&rsquo;ll look at them,&rdquo; Jones <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/burns-gambo/james-jones-suns-general-manager-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;But every team is trying to do the same thing at the trade deadline, so unless you catching somebody who absolutely does not want to compete, you&rsquo;re really talking about lateral moves. I trust our continuity and our flow. I&rsquo;m focused on our guys and how we can improve internally. But I&rsquo;ll always say, the team I assemble in the summer is the team I believe in, and the longer we play together, the better we are. I guess that&rsquo;s a long way of saying: I like where we are.&rdquo;
So, let&rsquo;s dissect Jones&rsquo; answer a little bit further here.
Unless you catching somebody who absolutely does not want to compete.
Well, I can name multiple teams immediately off the top of my head who look to be sellers approaching the deadline &mdash; Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers &mdash; who all have players that could help put Phoenix over the top even further.
Again, Jones isn&rsquo;t going to let his intentions out, but the iron is scorching hot for the Suns to strike via multiple avenues. Not only can the Suns cobble together assets to really go after any significant bench piece around the NBA, they also can maneuver the roster around to be serious buyers for ring-chasing veterans in the buyout market. Thaddeus Young, who continues to collect DNP-CDs for the San Antonio Spurs, has long been linked to eventually land in Phoenix. With his trade value drying out with the Spurs, there&rsquo;s a lot of smoke surrounding him eventually landing in the Valley.
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Its might not seem appealing on the surface, but Phoenix actually has enough assets to put together an attractive package to a team selling at the deadline. Any combination of the following players would put Phoenix in a position to chase a significant rotational upgrade: Jalen Smith, Dario Saric, Landry Shamet, Elfrid Payton.
For example, the combined salaries of Saric, Shamet and either Smith or Payton would be enough to chase after Houston&rsquo;s Eric Gordon. Immediately, Gordon would provide much-needed juice to the Suns&rsquo; guard rotation. And if the price also includes a future first-round pick, which would be 2024 for Phoenix after the Chris Paul trade, the title window is right now so it shouldn&rsquo;t be a real debate internally.
Another scenario revolves around versatile Thunder wing Kenrich Williams, who instantly provides an ideal upgrade as the Suns' last wing above Abdel Nader. OKC reportedly wants a first-round pick for Williams, which Phoenix can do simply by swapping out Nader and a pick for Williams.
As you can see, there are multiple ways the already-dominant Suns can be become absolutely terrifying for a deep postseason run.
Could you imagine if the Suns landed one of Williams or Gordon, then signed Young on the buyout market? Here&rsquo;s what Phoenix&rsquo;s rotation would look like in the scenario they acquired Gordon and Young (hypothetical trade package for Gordon includes Shamet, Saric, Smith):
Starters: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton
Second Unit: Cameron Payne, Eric Gordon, Cameron Johnson, Thaddeus Young, Bismack Biyombo
Although many wouldn&rsquo;t assume the Suns to be serious buyers at the trade deadline with their current record, the timing is setting up perfectly for them to pounce. The window to compete for championships is right now, over the next few years, as the Paul/Booker backcourt continues to burn defenses with ease.
When the Suns have made big moves, they've usually come out of nowhere. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m recommending you keep a very close eye on what happens in the Valley over the next few weeks.
Things are about to get very interesting, I&rsquo;ll assure you that.
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With a 39-9 record, the Suns are poised to strike while the iron is hot for their championship window.

Why the Suns are a sneaky team to watch at the NBA trade deadline

PHOENIX (AP) — Ja Morant scored 33 points, including a layup with 0.5 seconds to play that gave the Memphis Grizzlies a 114-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. 
Morant’s basket came after Devin Booker’s 3-pointer with 5 seconds to play gave the Suns their first lead since early in the game. After a timeout, Morant drove the left side of the lane and banked it in. Phoenix’s final shot from the corner was off the mark.
Desmond Bane scored 32 points, 19 in the first half when Memphis built a 60-48 lead. Steven Adams had 13 points and 16 rebounds as the Grizzlies dominated the boards, 50-35.
Booker led the Suns with 30 points. Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder, as well as coach Monty Williams, were placed in the COVID-19 protocols. The Suns lost their second straight at home following the Christmas defeat to Golden State. The Suns had won 15 in a row in Phoenix after losing their first two of the season at home.
Bane scored 28 on Sunday night in the Grizzlies’ victory in Sacramento.
Cameron Johnson scored 19 for the Suns. Jalen Smith had 15 points and nine rebounds. Cam Payne also scored 15 and Chris Paul had 13 points and 13 assists.
The Suns, who trailed by as many as 18, got within 112-110 on Mikal Bridges’ basket with 32 seconds left. After a shot-clock violation, the Suns got the ball back with 8 seconds to go and Booker made his shot from the top of the key, but left Morant and Memphis enough time to take the lead again. 
Elfrid Payton, who was placed in the protocols on Sunday, was cleared to play before the game. Associate coach Kevin Young filled in for Williams.
Memphis played without Dillon Brooks, Jarrett Culver, De’Anthony Melton and Yves Pons, all in the protocols.
LAST-MINUTE ADJUSTMENTS
Young, 40, has been an assistant with the Suns and the 76ers, where he worked with Williams. He began his coaching career when he was 23, with the Shamrock Rovers in Dublin in the Ireland Super League. He also has coached three teams in the NBA Development League.
Young referenced his time in the D-League when he was asked about dealing with the sudden lineup changes, remembering a time when three of his players were called up to the NBA within an hour.
As a result, he knew to expect the unexpected.
“You see what’s going on (with the virus), you just start kind of mentally preparing for things like this,” Young said before the game.
“Everyone’s going through the same thing. You kind of get lost in the task at hand, you got a job to do and I think that’s the approach we’ve all taken. Just keep it simple.” 
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins says his team doesn’t worry about the opponent in the moment. “If things have to change a little bit, our guys are really good at changing on the fly.”
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Have 10 or more steals in 12 of its last 13 games. The Grizzlies entered Monday leading the NBA in steals with 10.4 per game.
Suns: Signed forward Emanuel Terry to a 10-day contract Monday. Terry, who is 6-9, played in two games with the Suns during 2018-19, and was playing for the G League Stockton Kings this season.
NEXT
Grizzlies: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Suns: Host Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Ja Morant scored a contested layup with .5 seconds remaining, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Phoenix Suns 114-113.

Morant scores in final second, Grizzlies edge Suns 114-113

After the Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons, 2018 No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton shined on the NBA&rsquo;s biggest, high-pressured stage throughout the team's miraculous run to the NBA Finals.
Along the way, Ayton blossomed into a dominant version of himself that was pivotal to Phoenix&rsquo;s success. Although it wasn&rsquo;t what many expected when he first entered the Association, Ayton transformed his game to fit best around Phoenix&rsquo;s dynamic backcourt duo of Devin Booker and Chris Paul.
Ayton focused on the little things offensively to a historically efficient run, as well as transforming into an elite defensive anchor. There were even debates among national NBA media about whether Ayton&rsquo;s player archetype &mdash; a 7-footer with guard-like speed who could switch seamlessly and handle rim-protection duties &mdash; was a more valuable mold than three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Even with the Suns&rsquo; surge to the top tier of the league, there was little question of what the 2021 offseason entailed: run it back. Phoenix accomplished most of that idea &mdash; re-signing Chris Paul and Cameron Payne, plus inking a new 4-year, $90 million extension agreement with Mikal Bridges &mdash; but the organization may have made things very awkward for a team who is even better than it was last season.
Somehow, someway, the Suns have fumbled their opportunity with Ayton. ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski reported three hours before the extension deadline that the Suns and Ayton&rsquo;s representatives <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/extension-talks-between-suns-and-ayton-end-without-a-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed to come to terms on a new multiyear deal</a>.
As news broke near the end of Phoenix&rsquo;s practice on Monday, Ayton was seen wearing Elfrid Payton&rsquo;s No. 2 practice jersey chucking up jumpers alongside fellow bigs JaVale McGee, Frank Kaminsky and Jalen Smith. Over 30 minutes later, Ayton declined to speak with the local Phoenix media on the story that was taking over the NBA&rsquo;s headlines &mdash; and understandably so, because this <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-suns-need-to-send-right-message-signing-deandre-ayton-to-his-welldeserved-rookiescale-max-extension" target="_blank" rel="noopener">should have been avoided entirely</a>. Ayton bought into a unique role and thrived within those circumstances, being a key cog to the Suns&rsquo; run in the Finals. However, Phoenix&rsquo;s front office felt Ayton wasn&rsquo;t worthy yet of a five-year rookie-scale max extension.
Bridges, one of Ayton&rsquo;s best friends on the roster, spoke after practice, and he put into realistic terms what this situation could mean for the Suns in 2021-22:
&ldquo;I try to do the best I can to kind of clear his mind and not think about it, but we&rsquo;re humans. It&rsquo;s tough,&rdquo; Bridges said of Ayton&rsquo;s contract situation. &ldquo;Just try to help him, one of my best friends. It&rsquo;s bigger than basketball. I want to play with him... Being around him every single day, I just don&rsquo;t want to lose that.&rdquo;
Ayton has needed to be pushed to put his rare talents on display through his first four seasons, which is maybe why Phoenix was hesitant to hand over the gigantic bag right now. Paul and Booker were constantly in Ayton&rsquo;s ear keeping his motor up, providing tough love along the way in order for the Bahamian big man to reach his immense ceiling.
When Bridges said that he doesn&rsquo;t want to lose having Ayton around, it immediately sparks the thought of an unnecessary distraction for a legitimate championship contender.
Suns head coach Monty Williams also spoke after practice on Monday, quickly going over the Ayton situation. Williams refused to go into details, reiterating that point sternly when asked a follow-up question. However, Williams tried to deflect blame onto himself like the strong leader he is, hammering home how he takes situations like this as a challenge to empower the player.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s on me to help guys get what they want,&rdquo; Williams said of Ayton&rsquo;s non-extension. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my job to help these guys get paid.&rdquo;
The going rate for a 23-year-old center who has flashed All-Defense potential and special touch around the basket is obviously massive. Although the box score numbers last season wouldn&rsquo;t reflect that Ayton deserved max money, the eye test certainly said so with an emphatic yes. Ayton is not even in his prime years yet, so it&rsquo;s absurd to believe real regression is on the horizon anytime soon.
Two teams hold max cap space in a historically-weak 2022 NBA free-agent class: the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons. Now potentially being the No. 1 name available next summer, Ayton will be a top target who could be poached from the Valley. Phoenix, of course, will hold his restricted rights and could match any offer. But imagine the plausible reality where San Antonio throws Ayton a max-offer sheet right when free agency opens on July 1. The Suns would likely match the offer, but exactly was the point of this unnecessary standoff between the front office and Ayton?
&ldquo;We came here together and we obviously always want to be here together,&rdquo; Bridges said of Ayton on Monday. &ldquo;We both want to be here, and I want him here as well. Obviously, I can&rsquo;t do nothing, I&rsquo;m not in the process, but we want him here and I know he wants to be here as well.&rdquo;
This situation will loom over the Suns throughout the 2021-22 campaign, one where hoisting the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy is their only priority. Who knows what happens after this season, though, thanks to Phoenix fumbling away a golden opportunity to lock up one of the most efficient two-ways bigs in the Association before a potentially uglier negotiation nine months from now?
History continues to show the Suns get in their own way when it&rsquo;s not needed. This Ayton saga is the latest example, and it could have real consequences down the road if the relationship between the player and organization isn&rsquo;t mended well behind the scenes.

The Suns passed on a rookie-scale max extension for Deandre Ayton. It's now created an awkward situation for a title contender.

Suns create unnecessarily awkward situation by not extending Ayton

Nekias Duncan previews the Pacific Division for the 2021-22 NBA season.

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Pacific Divison

Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams said he threw a bit of a two-week pity party after losing the NBA Finals in July, retreating to his property in Texas, working in the yard, feeding the deer, fishing in his pond and cutting the grass.
Then he had an epiphany: Life wasn't too bad after all.
&ldquo;Man, I got to be in the Finals,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;We didn't win, but I got to be in that position. I get to work with our players. It's a huge, huge blessing. I kind of lost sight of that because we lost."
The Suns returned to preseason camp Monday, barely two months after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the Finals. The burn of that setback is still fresh for players and coaches &mdash; the Suns had a 2-0 lead in the series before losing the final four games &mdash; but there's a limit to how much this team is looking backward.
The Suns say the loss is certainly motivating, but it can't lead to pity.
The journey begins again and the players are embracing it.
&ldquo;This is our job &mdash; you have fun playing basketball every single day,&rdquo; forward Mikal Bridges said. &ldquo;You don't think that's it's dreadful, an eight-month thing. You get to play what you love every single day. There can be wear and tear on your body, but at the end of the day, we're doing what we love. We get paid a good amount of money to do it and we enjoy it.&rdquo;
The Suns will start their journey with most of the same roster that made it to the Finals. The All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker returns <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-nba-phoenix-suns-975144a57eff0cdbc556f299431ec533">after Paul signed a lucrative new deal</a> that could keep him in the desert until he's 40.
Bridges, Cameron Payne, Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson also return, providing shooting, defense and toughness.
Then there's Deandre Ayton, who changed the trajectory of his career during the Suns' two-month playoff run. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick transformed from a talented curiosity into one of the league's best big men, dropping constant double-doubles on some of the best teams and opposing players in the NBA.
For Paul &mdash; an 11-time All-Star &mdash; it was an easy decision to return.
&ldquo;This is close to my family (in Los Angeles), and this became my family last year,&rdquo; Paul said. &ldquo;Not only was being here in Phoenix fun basketball-wise, but it was fun as far as life. Those of you who work, anytime you go to work and you don't feel like you're at work, you enjoy what you're doing, it's always a nice feeling.&rdquo;
Phoenix did make a few changes to the roster. GM James Jones added guard Landry Shamet in a trade and also signed point guard Elfrid Payton and big man JaVale McGee, who has been a part of two NBA championship teams. The Suns lost backup forward Torrey Craig, who became an important part of the rotation during the playoffs.
As expected, Booker wasn't at Monday's media day because he's in the league's health and safety protocol. The two-time All-Star will also miss the beginning of camp. Forward Dario Saric is likely out for the first several months of the season after tearing his ACL during the Finals.
But otherwise, the Suns are in pretty good shape. There might be some concessions made early in camp and the regular season to accommodate players who need rest, but it's a challenge they're looking forward to embracing.
&ldquo;We've earned the right to have a short break,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;We've got to embrace that.&rdquo;

The Suns returned to preseason camp Monday, barely two months after losing to the Bucks in six games in the Finals.

Suns return to camp after Finals loss, embrace new journey

On the dais, his shoulders looked awfully broad for a point guard who's fairly miniature in stature.
But anyone who knows Kemba Walker &mdash; as a Rice High School standout or as a young prep coming of age in the Soundview section of the Bronx &mdash; has always known the truth.
He makes up for his size with his fight. For a long, long time, that&rsquo;s been obvious.
&ldquo;The last couple years have been tough for me,&rdquo; Walker said as he looked upon the sea of reporters who attended the New York Knicks&rsquo; media day.
What an understatement.&nbsp;
In two years, Walker went from having a career-year and being named to the All-NBA Third Team, to being a player who had to have a first-round pick attached to him in order to be traded.
In some ways, the end is fitting, though. Walker&rsquo;s journey &mdash; from the Sack-Wern housing projects to the University of Connecticut &mdash; ended up being circuitous, after all.
Entering his 11th season, at 31 years old, Walker finally comes home. One of the city&rsquo;s own, he joins a Knicks team that has put itself on the radar in relatively short order. Led by reigning Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau and Most Improved Player Julius Randle, New York will attempt to ride the talents of Randle, RJ Barrett and the rest of the club that few around the Association believe is for real.
A team that's still obviously a work in progress, the hope among those who are rooting for the Knicks is that Walker&rsquo;s tough two-year stint in Boston was a bump in the road, not a sign of what&rsquo;s to come.
Way back on draft night in 2011, when Walker became an NBA player, he hosted a post-draft party at one of Lower Manhattan&rsquo;s hotspots. Everyone from his fellow draft mates to Chris Paul was in attendance. The league and its players' union knew that the most likely outcome was that the 2011 season would be delayed due to a lockout, and the incoming class of rookies knew it too.&nbsp;
But Walker didn&rsquo;t let that dampen his mood. He'd made it. And he was especially appreciative of Michael Jordan for &ldquo;taking a chance on him.&rdquo;
It seems like ancient history, but back then, there were many who wondered whether Walker would be able to supplant D.J. Augustin as the lead guard for then-Charlotte Bobcats. In his run up to the NBA Draft, Walker heard it all &mdash; he was too small, his game wouldn&rsquo;t translate, his weaknesses were too great to overcome.&nbsp;
Those questions resulted in less-proven players being taken ahead of him, and he then realized that neither his unprecedented five wins in five nights in the Big East Tournament, nor the ensuing national championship he won at UConn would cause the questions to cease.
He had to do it in the NBA. And in the end, that&rsquo;s exactly what he did.
All his life, Walker has been proving his doubters wrong, and now, he&rsquo;ll attempt to do it in his hometown.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m home,&rdquo; he said on Monday.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m already focused.&nbsp;Last couple years have been kinda rough for me, obviously with my knee, [but] I&rsquo;m locked in, ready to go, ready to play at a high level.&rdquo;
The Knicks will need every bit of it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"I'm home. I'm from here, born and raised. And it feels like it. I'm getting a lot of love." - Kemba Walker <a href="https://t.co/eYGG9QJ3h1">pic.twitter.com/eYGG9QJ3h1</a>
&mdash; Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1442504749723443206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of last season&rsquo;s playoffs, general manager Scott Perry saw Atlanta&rsquo;s growth up close and personally. He then saw a great many of the conference&rsquo;s teams improve this past summer.&nbsp;
The Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets are obviously entering the season as the favorites, while the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are expected to be greatly improved.&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers are obviously <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/philadelphia-76ers-trade-seems-certain-but-we-havent-heard-last-of-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dealing with the Ben Simmons saga</a>, but even without getting a king&rsquo;s ransom in return for what appears to be an eventual trade, they should be one of the top teams out East. Even the Washington Wizards are entering the season with some optimism.
The question for the Knicks this season is whether they&rsquo;ve done enough to keep up. And they&rsquo;ll be counting on Walker to provide the answer.
During their run last season, New York was ultimately undone by their lack of depth from the point guard position. Their hope is that Walker&rsquo;s ability to attack the basket and create space against his defenders &mdash; assuming he still can &mdash; will be tools that should allow him to get easy looks for his teammates. That&rsquo;s not something the Knicks got against Atlanta, and both Randle and Barrett stand to benefit from allowing Walker to create off the dribble.
Perhaps it&rsquo;s fate that now, at 31 years old and with the deck stacked against him, is when Walker will be charged with the task.
Since taking over in New York, Perry&rsquo;s modus operandi has been to buy low on players whose perceived potential was greater than the results they were believed to be able to produce as pros. Randle ended up being buried treasure. They struck oil with Rose. But Bobby Portis, Mario Hezonja and Elfrid Payton? Not so much. 
Nonetheless, overall, the strategy has worked. But at this point, we obviously don&rsquo;t know which bucket Walker will end up in.
Fittingly now, only two years removed from being an All-NBA selection, the four-time All-Star will come back to the city where it all began for him in an attempt to recapture past glory.
Peddled by Brad Stevens, the former Boston Celtics coach-turned-team-president admitted defeat. Boston made a mistake by signing Walker to a four-year, $141 million contract in 2019. At least, that was the message. Stevens attached a first-round pick to him in order to get the Oklahoma City Thunder to agree to take Walker&rsquo;s pact in return for Al Horford &mdash; a player that Boston coincidentally let go in 2019. Stevens wanted a mulligan.
Truth be told, Oklahoma City isn&rsquo;t high on any player&rsquo;s list of cities to spend the latter stages of their career. But still, it&rsquo;s hard to imagine any player not feeling a bit slighted to learn that a team would rather pay him $50 million to go away than keep him around.&nbsp;
Walker, though, obviously wasn&rsquo;t complaining. When Oklahoma City bought him out, according to the Bronx native, New York was the only option he&rsquo;d considered.&nbsp;
The upstart club, for a change, had a duo of budding stars that just led an overachieving group to a playoff berth that didn&rsquo;t seem certain a year ago. With other young players showing promise &mdash; Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin among them &mdash; any observer can truly see the Knicks from afar and wonder what they can be.
And when Walker looked around and realized he wasn&rsquo;t wanted, he probably did too.
As the Knicks began their 2021-22 season, he sat in his orange and blue jersey. The threads were unfamiliar, but ironically, he looked quite comfy.
&ldquo;I'm from here, born and raised,&rdquo; he said.
And in the end, needing one another, Walker and the Knicks united at the right time.
Defying the odds from the beginning, Kemba Walker &mdash; New York City&rsquo;s own &mdash; went back to where it all began. 
And there, in New York, a city and a franchise starved for a winner, he hopes that he can do it once again.

Kemba Walker has defied the odds his entire life. The Knicks hope that he can continue to do exactly that, writes Moke Hamilton.

Finally home, Kemba Walker hopes to turn back clock with Knicks

I was never one to get excited about the things I saw on paper. On the basketball court, you can put the most talented players in the world together, but if they don&rsquo;t do the little things it takes to win, then none of it will matter.
Personally, I gotta see it work before I get excited. I feel that way about what the Los Angeles Lakers did this offseason, and I feel the same way about the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.
In all fairness, though, those are the four teams that come to mind first when thinking about who made power moves this offseason, and they could all take a step forward.
After losing in the first round, the Lakers were going to make a splash, for sure. They&rsquo;re the Lakers and they have LeBron James, so they did what the Laker franchise has been known for &mdash; getting players who they think can help them win a championship. With Russell Westbrook and &lsquo;Melo and those guys, they have a veteran group of guys who have already gotten paid and made their name and should, in theory, put winning above all else.
Personally, I&rsquo;m not really into the business of making predictions because, at the end of the day, you still gotta play the games. Remember back when the Lakers had Karl Malone and Gary Payton along with Shaq and Kobe? They nearly got swept by the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals &mdash; they didn&rsquo;t win.
Even this past season, with the Brooklyn Nets &mdash; everyone thought that with KD, James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the same squad, those guys would win for sure. Maybe they would&rsquo;ve if they didn&rsquo;t have injury issues, but that&rsquo;s a part of the game. A lot of things need to line up for you to win a championship, and those guys on the Lakers probably know it too.
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It&rsquo;s no surprise that a lot of people are picking the Lakers to win the Western Conference this year. They can do it if they make the right sacrifices for one another. Westbrook has the ability to make the game easier for LeBron and AD, but it will all come down to whether he&rsquo;s able to be efficient and whether Frank Vogel and the rest of the coaching staff are comfortable allowing him to continue to be the same assertive, aggressive player he&rsquo;s always been. I like what the Lakers did, though, all things considered. They&rsquo;re going for it.
After adding Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso to their core of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, the Bulls really have something exciting there for fans in The Chi. Of all those guys, though, I think Vuc is the one I&rsquo;m really excited about. I always thought that he was a good player who was worth his money for what he brought to the equation. He went to the Bulls at the deadline last season, and now will have a full season there to get comfortable. Chicago has a nice mix of younger and older veterans &mdash; a collection of certified ballers. They&rsquo;re going to have a good season and find themselves back in the playoffs.
Are they going to be contending for the Eastern Conference championship? I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m ready to go that far just yet. Milwaukee and Brooklyn appear to be head and shoulders above everyone else out there, but like I said: the game isn&rsquo;t played on paper.&nbsp;
For Chicago, though, getting back to the playoffs should be enough to cause some excitement. The team has missed the playoffs in five of the last six years, and has only won two playoff series since 2011. It&rsquo;s important to remember that you have to crawl before you walk.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/e9qm4g4vcamr86v_lg.jpg" alt="" width="458" height="421" />
Most of the time, becoming a winning team is something that takes time and chemistry. Chicago could be starting to assemble something special, and that in and of itself is reason enough to be excited for them.
Then, there&rsquo;s the Knicks.&nbsp;
Man, of all the teams in the league, it seems like the Knicks are the team that has been trying the hardest and for the longest to be good. It just hasn&rsquo;t really panned out for them... until last season, anyway.
That&rsquo;s what makes the Knicks really interesting to me. Every so often in this league, you see a team that comes out of nowhere and surprises a lot of people and overachieves. Sometimes when that happens, it could kind of trick you into believing the team is further along toward becoming a contender than they actually are. When you&rsquo;re no longer able to sneak up on opposing teams and when they really sit down and scout you and take your strengths away, that&rsquo;s when you actually find out if they&rsquo;re more of a pretender than a potential contender. So this season, we&rsquo;re going to find out a thing or two about New York.&nbsp;
Since the new front office took over, the Knicks have made a concerted effort to bring in guys who were on their second or third chance in the league. Mario Hezonja and Elfrid Payton didn&rsquo;t really work out; Julius Randle did. RJ Barrett looks like he could be a decent player. Now, they added Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker, so it looks like they addressed some of their needs. Fournier is a shooter and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-indepth-breakdown-on-how-and-why-kemba-walker-will-help-the-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kemba is a good point guard</a>. It&rsquo;s hard to not like those moves.
Under Thibs last season, the Knicks played hard and played the right way, but I&rsquo;m not sure that they&rsquo;ll be able to duplicate that same energy. For those guys who were there last year, we&rsquo;ll see if Thibs&rsquo; voice and message still resonate the same way it did last season when those guys felt like they had something to prove.
In their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks weren&rsquo;t able to win just by playing hard &mdash; not when another coach had the opportunity to scout them and take away their strengths.&nbsp;
Maybe Kemba can channel the energy the team has last year. Aside from being from New York, he went from being an All-NBA selection in 2018-19 to signing with Boston Celtics to getting traded and bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Again, this front office likes to roll the dice on players who have something to prove, and Kemba fits that description.
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I don&rsquo;t know if the Knicks are going to enter the top tier in the Eastern Conference. But at least they&rsquo;re building something worthwhile there.
If there&rsquo;s one team I&rsquo;d pick to disrupt the Milwaukee-Brooklyn duo at the top, it might be Miami.
Kyle Lowry is a proven winner. He grew into a championship player in Toronto and knows what it takes to win at the highest level. He&rsquo;ll easily fit into the culture down there with Spo and Jimmy Butler and those guys.&nbsp;
Still, maybe more than any other team, Miami is the perfect example of what happens when things do and don&rsquo;t line up. In the Bubble, the Heat came within two games of winning a championship, but then they couldn&rsquo;t even win a game in the first round this year. But they rebounded nicely by signing three guys who have championship-caliber experience &mdash; Lowry, P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris. Maybe best of all, they re-signed Victor Oladipo, who is obviously <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-breaking-down-this-offseasons-most-underrated-moves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eager to prove that he can still play at a high level</a>.
Adding those newcomers to the core group that won the East in 2020 is going to put Miami back in the contender conversation in the conference. That&rsquo;s especially true since Philadelphia <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-ben-simmons-situation-clouds-sixers-immediate-outlook-for-202122-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seems to be at odds with Ben Simmons</a>.
Only 50 days until the season begins, and I can&rsquo;t wait.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve been playing this game damn near my whole life. There have been a bunch of teams that were put together and everyone was sure they were going to end up winning. More often than not, they don&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
Basketball is a team game that requires a lot of sacrifices to win. We play in real life, not on paper. There are simply no guarantees.
Entering next season, every team has something to prove, but the Lakers, Bulls, Knicks and Heat are the squads who&rsquo;ve got my attention. Now, we gotta wait and see if their moves pan out.
For sure, I know I&rsquo;ll be watching.

James Posey picks the four teams who he feels made the best moves this offseason.

4 NBA teams whose offseason moves could pay the biggest dividends

Kevin Porter Jr. needs some answers.
He's confused. He feels... a bit disrespected. So he decides to go straight to the source, confronting the issue head-on.
"A 77?" Porter asks <a href="https://twitter.com/Kevinporterjr/status/1428758867257798658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ronnie2K on Twitter</a>. "Carry on. You got rookies rank[ed] higher than me? Can you validate that?"
The BallIsLife account questions the 2K player rating as well, slyly <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1428774697358041095?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropping a highlight compilation</a> of Porter's 50-point, 11-assist masterpiece against the Milwaukee Bucks last season.
Ronnie2K <a href="https://twitter.com/Ronnie2K/status/1428775298938511363?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doesn't budge</a>. "Love KPJ and know the sky is limit but in this specific case&hellip; 1 of 82 does not a rating make."
He's right. Well, 72 games were played last season, but the general sentiment is true. One ridiculous game isn't enough to carry a rating. It's worth noting that while the 50-burger was the high point of the season, Porter <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-kevin-porter-jr-houston-rockets-low-risk-high-reward-trade-james-harden-cleveland-cavaliers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did take off as a member of the Houston Rockets</a> following his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-cleveland-cavaliers-expected-to-move-kevin-porter-jr-locker-room-outburst" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less-than-ideal exit from the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>.
In 26 games, Porter averaged 16.6 points (51.5% from two, 31.1% from three on 6.2 attempts), 6.3 assists (3.5 turnovers), and 3.8 rebounds.&nbsp;
Once John Wall was shut down for the season, Porter got the full-blown reins of the offense. He only had a five-game sample before missing time himself, but he put together stellar averages (21-4-7, 50/38/70) during the stretch that featured &mdash; you guessed it &mdash; the 50-point, 11-assist masterpiece against the Bucks.
It's one thing for the Rockets to give Porter more burn and responsibility, with or without Wall in the picture. It's another thing entirely to give him&nbsp;point guard&nbsp;duties.
(We can roll with "lead guard" or "primary ball-handler" or "primary initiator" if that's more of your labeling speed.)
Regardless of if he's brought off the bench, bought out or traded, Wall doesn't seem to be part of Houston's long-term future. Those lead reps have to go somewhere, and it's unlikely &mdash; in the early goings of the season, at least &mdash; that they'll go to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jalen-green-shines-summer-league-debut-for-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rookie sensation Jalen Green</a>.
Porter got a crack at it already. A 26- (or 5-) game sample isn't huge, but it's worth exploring if he can handle the responsibility full-time. In an ideal world, his ability to set the table or scramble the defense early will allow Green to attack bent defenses.
This could serve as a way for the Rockets to kill two birds with one stone: develop Porter as a decision-maker, while bringing Green along in an easier context before building out&nbsp;his&nbsp;decision-making palette.
THE FOUNDATION
I don't want to be hyperbolic, but there are... six? Seven? Ten? There can't be many players that are more effective in the art of creating a window for a shot, results be darned, than Porter is. Already.
He's in the Hardenian-mold of setting players up with rhythm dribbles before unleashing combos to get where he wants to go. He's certainly Harden-like in the pure amount of dribbles used; nearly 61% of Porter's shots came <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1629645/shots-dash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after three or more dribbles</a>. That isn't inherently a bad thing, and the highlights are freaking amazing.
What makes Porter infuriating to defend, and excuse me for sounding clich&eacute; here, is that you never really have an idea of what he wants to do. He has a wide array of jumpers in his disposal: stepbacks, pull-ups, leaning jumpers, side-steps, turnarounds.
The scary part is that he's comfortable getting to either of those options. When he's on, he's the infuriating MyPlayer you come across in The Rec that jogs down the court, boogies behind a screen for a bit, then makes you wrong no matter how you try to defend it.&nbsp;
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Compounding&nbsp;all of that&nbsp;is the fact that Porter is also comfortable going downhill (more on that later). If he catches you leaning at all, he's generating a shot.
That can be for himself, of course. When getting to the rim, Porter isn't afraid of seeking out contact. His footwork is advanced beyond his years, allowing him to Eurostep on a whim, or confuse defenders with off-timing, wrong-foot, and sometimes wrong-hand, finishes.
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The encouraging sign, and the reason this article is being written, is that Porter began leveraging his scoring gravity to create for others.
You have to walk before you run, and you have to get down basic passing reads before you can really experiment with the advanced stuff. Porter didn't just begin nailing the basic reads last season; the speed in which he made the reads increased as he got more accustomed to his role.
Give him a 2-v-2, and he'll consistently turn it into a 2-v-1. It's hard not to with his combination of ball-handling, pace (he's really good with deceleration) and footwork. From there, he's able to read the big before making a pass or finishing himself.
Having Christian Wood (returning!) and Kelly Olynyk (off to Detroit) was huge for his development in that regard. A pure 2-v-2 with Wood as his partner allowed him to get important pocket pass/wrap-around/dump-off/entry pass/lob reps with an athletic roller.
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A 2-v-2 with Olynyk meant making exterior passes on pick-and-pops. Whether they were operating above the break, or closer to the sidelines (and likely facing ICE coverage), Porter mostly did a solid job of getting the ball out when he drew two defenders.
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Advantage creation is the most important trait for a primary ball-handler, and Porter is well on his way to providing it at a high level.&nbsp;
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT&nbsp;
Porter being good at perimeter space creation is a good thing, for obvious reasons. You need late-game, late-clock bailout guys. The Rockets are a ways off from being a playoff team, but with playoff teams generally getting switchier, you need someone that can create on an island when necessary.&nbsp;
Porter makes the hard stuff look easy, but I worry that he doesn't get enough easy stuff. Some of that is roster context; as promising as he is as a player, he has no business being the best perimeter option on a team right now. That's not slander; that's just the downside of being on a rebuilding team.
But a large chunk of it comes down to Porter. He isn't an elite&nbsp;burst guy. That's a minor mark against him, but it matters little thanks to his handle and understanding of pace. The real physical limitation for Porter right now is his strength.
He converted just 53.8% of his shots at the rim in half-court situations, placing him in the 39th percentile via Synergy. While Harden is a stylistic comp, there's a drastic difference between the two as drivers. Even a younger, more-explosive Harden was able to gain inside leverage and shield guys away. Porter doesn't do that consistently right now.
If you're able to get into his body, you can knock him off his spots. Do it early enough, and he'll struggle to get real lift, forcing him into some awkward shots over taller defenders. This is exacerbated by the fact that Porter makes life harder on himself with farther-than-you'd-like launching points and, as mentioned earlier, some of those wrong-foot/hand finishes.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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And because Porter is so hard-wired to score right now, he often puts himself into no-win situations if his driving method doesn't work.&nbsp;
Assist totals never tell the full story of a passer &mdash; sometimes guys just miss shots &mdash; but it's a bit telling that Porter Jr's assist split is so drastic. The split, courtesy of the good folks at PBP Stats:
Rim: 84
Short mid-range: 18
Long mid-range: 4
Above-the-break threes: 50
Corner threes: 8
That is not a typo. Porter racked up eight assists on corner triples. Zoom out and look at the 2-v-3 split, and it's still pretty drastic (106 to 58).
There's context to be added. For the corner issue specifically, you can boil some of it down to scheme. This was a Double Drag-heavy (early) offense, and the Rockets did simplify some of Porter's playmaking reads by giving him empty corner actions.
Also, defenses don't want to give up fruitful threes, so in cases where you have a 2-v-1 on the weakside, the guy tasked with "splitting the difference" will often slide to the corner first. Watch Elfrid Payton (pre-rotating to the paint) and RJ Barrett (splitting the difference behind it) on this clip for a quick example.
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But go through the film, and it won't take you long to find instances of Porter trying to force a ball inside without even&nbsp;looking&nbsp;for outside help. Missed reads aren't a death sentence, especially for a guy as young (and as new to the role) as Porter is, but he certainly has some work to do.
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Decision-making has to be better for Porter if he's going to take on this role full-time. It's widening his horizons as a passer, but also reeling in some of the wild shots. The movement jumpers look sick&nbsp;when he's cooking, but he isn't always cooking.
Nearly 61% of Porter Jr's threes came off-the-dribble, per <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1629645/shots-dash/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;PerMode=Totals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Second Spectrum tracking data</a>. 70% of those threes came after three or more dribbles, in which he converted 31.9% of those looks. I hate to keep going back to Harden, but he hit those three-or-more-dribble threes at a 35.2% clip on much higher volume.
In short: It is really, really, really, really, really difficult to live on the shot diet that Porter tried to live on last year.
That he was able to post a near-53% True Shooting percentage (admittedly below average) with that diet, within that roster context, and with that sort of on-ball responsibility as a second year guy, is kind of silly. For his usage rate (20.5 to 25.4) and assist percentage (13.9 to 31.2) to skyrocket from his rookie campaign without a drastic jump in turnover rate (16.7 to 18.2) is encouraging.
I don't think Porter should be clamoring for an 80-plus overall on 2K22. The shot selection and efficiency must be better, as should the decision making as a passer. But there were enough flashes to be excited about.
A full offseason and an infusion of (young) talent should help make life a little easier for him next season.

Nekias Duncan continues his Something To Prove series by exploring Kevin Porter Jr.'s potential as a lead guard.

Something To Prove: Kevin Porter Jr. with point guard duties

The 2021-22 NBA season is right around the corner, and the hottest names in the Most-Valuable-Player discussion are there for good reason: Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic, who's expected to take yet another leap.
However, with all of the elite talent throughout the NBA, there are a number of names that aren't currently in the top-tier of discussions who should also be mentioned.
Here are five under-the-radar players who could eventually be crowned the 2021-22 NBA MVP.
LEBRON JAMES
With a new superstar on board in Hollywood, the Lakers&rsquo; new Big Three featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook is expected to help the purple and gold soar back to the top of the Western Conference standings. If the Lakers get back to their winning ways, the &ldquo;Washed King&rdquo; narrative is going to die off quickly as it relates to LeBron. Although James is entering his age-37 season, he&rsquo;s undoubtedly still one of the best players in the Association.
Averaging 25.0 points, 7.8 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game last season, James was slowed down by a hamstring injury that caused the Lakers to slip into the No. 7 seed come playoff time &mdash; ultimately leading to the King&rsquo;s first defeat in an opening-round playoff series versus the Phoenix Suns. Now, with Westbrook onboard, the creation duties will substantially subside for LeBron. James can focus on bullying teams as a three-level scorer, conserving energy for attacking the basket with his well-known ferocity. This isn&rsquo;t prime LeBron, but he&rsquo;s not far away from those years.
From a narrative vantage point, no NBA player has ever won MVP above his age-35 season, let alone a couple of years later at 37. If James were to put up similar numbers as last season, maybe with a slight uptick in points per game, there&rsquo;s a legitimate argument to be made for James to be a top MVP candidate if the Lakers climb back to being the No. 1 seed in the West.
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DEVIN BOOKER
Booker has become a superstar following the Suns&rsquo; miraculous run to the 2021 NBA Finals, falling to the Milwaukee Bucks after taking a 2-0 lead. The soon-to-be 25-year-old is not a player to count out, though. Every single season of his professional career, Booker has taken a leap forward by improving weaknesses in his game.
Over the last three seasons, Booker has averaged at least 25.0 points per game while continuing to round-out his overall two-way profile. During the Suns&rsquo; first playoff appearance in 11 years, Booker displayed a newfound tenacity on the defensive end. And it carried over to the Olympics, which helped Team USA win the gold medal once again. Add in Booker&rsquo;s underrated playmaking and three-point shooting, and he could be one of the best dark-horse bets to make in the MVP race.
The Suns are going to be very good, even better than they were last season. Thanks to an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-poised-to-be-one-of-the-nbas-best-teams-in-early-portion-of-202122-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">easy start to their schedule</a>, there&rsquo;s a real opportunity for Phoenix to be atop the West standings around Thanksgiving and Christmas. An early-season buzz surrounding the Suns would only help Booker&rsquo;s case further, as Chris Paul is expected to rest some nights following the re-signing of Cameron Payne and Elfrid Payton&rsquo;s addition on a one-year deal.
As Paul continues to age like fine wine, Booker will take back more of the scoring burden as the other young-core pieces in Phoenix continue to develop further. Booker has proven time and time again that he&rsquo;s ready for the big stage, and his seventh NBA season figures to be no different.
If the Suns end up winning close to 60 games, which I think is a strong possibility, Booker showcasing his game on a national stage (34 nationally televised primetime games) will push his stardom to even higher levels.
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JAYSON TATUM
From March 1 and on, Tatum averaged 29.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 39.7% on three-pointers. Tatum is quickly climbing the ladder as one of the best three-level scorers in the entire league.
With the Celtics not making many splashes this offseason &mdash; outside of taking away a high-usage scoring option in Kemba Walker &mdash; it opens up even more opportunities for Tatum to score. He's a potential threat to lead the NBA in points per game next season.
When I noticed Tatum&rsquo;s MVP odds on DraftKings were at +2500, I did a double-take. Boston is likely to finish in the middle of the pack in an improved Eastern Conference, where many teams are pushing their chips all-in. But what if the Celtics overachieve with new head coach Ime Udoka? If they eclipse 50 wins, Tatum is going to receive sleeper MVP buzz due to his scoring binges. There&rsquo;s a plausible reality where Tatum averages 30-plus points per game next season. The Celtics have constructed a roster tailor-made for what Tatum does best &mdash; score the bucket relentlessly.
Keep an eye on Tatum, because those odds are way too good to pass up. Tatum is already a star, but the superstar jump should be expected from the former Duke Blue Devil in 2021-22.
PAUL GEORGE
The Clippers will be without Kawhi Leonard all of next season, or at least potentially not until the playoffs, due to a partially torn ACL. However, in Kawhi&rsquo;s absence late in the postseason, Paul George went supernova, putting the team on his back on the way to pushing Phoenix in the West Finals. At certain points, George was unconscious as a scorer, once again flexing his muscles that he can be a No. 1 scoring option whenever is necessary.
Well, the 2021-22 season is when the Indiana version of George is primed for a return. Now, with more seasoning under his belt as an improved three-level scoring engine, George is poised to become an -contender once more. If George returns to averaging 28 points per game as he did during his last season in Oklahoma City alongside Russell Westbrook, the Clippers are going to be comfortably in the playoff picture.
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George&rsquo;s offensive game is silky smooth, and his defense also has continued to be a mainstay calling card for him. If George taps back into the MVP discussions three years later, it will be one of the most impressive runs of any player next season.
Los Angeles has copious amounts of depth going over 10-deep, but George will be their Batman and Robin simultaneously carrying them up the proverbial mountaintop without Leonard around. That&rsquo;s a perfect recipe to generate noise around a potential MVP push.
ZION WILLIAMSON
The 2019 No. 1 overall pick is only entering his third season in the NBA, but it seems his brilliance at this stage of his career is truly flying under the radar.&nbsp; During his age-20 season, Williamson averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists while carrying a ridiculously efficient 64.9% True Shooting percentage. And as Zion&rsquo;s sophomore season progressed, New Orleans felt more comfortable putting the ball in his hands more frequently as a point-forward creating everything for the Pelicans&rsquo; offensive attack.
After adding more perimeter shooting to space the floor &mdash; Devonte&rsquo; Graham, Tomas Satoransky and Trey Murphy III &mdash; plus the addition of Jonas Valanciunas in place of Steven Adams, Williamson will have more room to bully through defenses with regularity. Add in Brandon Ingram&rsquo;s star equity, and the Pelicans are cooking with gas to finally break through as a playoff team next season.
Don&rsquo;t underrate the addition of Willie Green either. The former Phoenix Suns lead assistant coach was instrumental in player development and defensive improvement. Green is one of the best young coaches in the Association, and his ability to mesh well with players will do wonders for Williamson and Ingram.
Although the Pelicans&rsquo; offseason has been questioned by some, it accomplished on the margins what needed to be done to make things easier on Williamson as a scorer. If Williamson was able to average close to 30 points per game with a clogged paint, imagine the possibilities for him when there&rsquo;s ample outside shooting gravity allowing him to make magic happen around the basket.
Williamson is a real threat to be near the top of the league in scoring next season, which is a scary thought for other organizations. If everything clicks into place for Williamson with a more polished roster around him, New Orleans will be a playoff team, which only strengthens an underdog case for the super-athlete big to make waves in the MVP discussion.

Who is flying under the radar for a potential MVP run? Here are five names to keep an eye on throughout the 2021-22 season.

5 under-the-radar NBA MVP candidates for the 2021-22 season

More than anything else last year, the downfall of the New York Knicks could be tied to insufficient shot creation. They grinded their way to the league&rsquo;s fourth-best defense and the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 4 seed in the regular season, but their 22nd-ranked offense was a house of cards waiting to be toppled come playoff time.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s precisely what the Atlanta Hawks did in a 4-1 first-round victory, flooding Julius Randle&rsquo;s every touch, cornering him into a bevy of difficult looks and encouraging ill-suited secondary options to commandeer the offense. As a response to those postseason struggles, the Knicks inked Evan Fournier to a four-year, $78 million deal and will reportedly sign Kemba Walker to a two-year deal worth about $16 million.
Following an injury-riddled 2020-21 campaign where he showed obvious signs of decline, Walker is a bit of an enigma. He played in just 43 of 72 games and missed the final two playoff bouts against the Brooklyn Nets, but when he&rsquo;s on the floor, he will undoubtedly give the Knicks a substantial boost. Walker will mainly help with perimeter creation and options for stylistic variance, having averaged 19-5-4-1 on a true shooting percentage of 55.9 last season.
When he&rsquo;s on the floor is, of course, a daunting caveat, given the knee issues that have hampered him since, approximately, the 2020 All-Star Break. Of further concern is the degree to which he may be relied upon in New York. Nonetheless, Walker represents a massive upgrade of the Knicks&rsquo; previous floor generals in Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose. He still holsters a good bit of offensive juice and should help them improve upon their 22nd-ranked offense.
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From the jump, a point guard who&rsquo;s a legit pull-up threat is a massive shift. Since 2018-19, Walker has drilled 377 of his 1,057 (35.7%) off-the-bounce triples. Over that same span, Payton (53) and Rose (184) took a combined 237 pull-up threes. A staple of the Knicks&rsquo; early offense should be double drag. Walker is the handler, Mitchell Robinson dives to the paint and Randle drifts beyond the arc with Fournier (41.3% from three in 2020-21) and RJ Barrett (40.1%) stationed along the perimeter.&nbsp;
Walker&rsquo;s dynamism as a pull-up guy could invigorate that action, while Robinson&rsquo;s rim-running threat and Randle&rsquo;s jumper further stress defenders. Despite some athletic regression, Walker can still stop-and-pop on a dime to create space for open looks, which will prove fruitful in this action. Any set involving three strengths of New York&rsquo;s starters should be spammed. The Knicks need to find ways to lift the offense that caused their 2020-21 downfall. Double drag is a path toward growth.
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When the defense settles and the Knicks must organize in the half-court, Walker&rsquo;s ball-screen savvy will serve them well. According to Synergy, he ranked in the 66th percentile in pick-and-roll efficiency (0.923 points per possession) last season, a welcomed dimension to an offense that was 18th in pick-and-roll ball-handling PPP at 0.877.
Rostering a starter who can create his own shot off the dribble and get to his spot for pull-ups is critical. Last year, Rose, Alec Burks and rookie Immanuel Quickley were New York&rsquo;s guards who met this criteria. Walker is better than all of them by a comfortable margin, albeit with looming injury worries.&nbsp;
He remains superbly shifty, is a masterful decelerator and knows how to manufacture space for his jumper, despite his (perhaps graciously listed) 6-foot frame. His downhill burst has deteriorated, but he is nonetheless one of the most electric side-to-side athletes, shaking free of defenders and rising for pull-ups. New York needs this skillset. Walker brings it.
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With Walker at the helm as the guard who ties everything together, the Knicks should run more Spain pick-and-rolls next season. Walker offers the pull-up flair, Robinson is the roll man and Fournier, Barrett or Randle is the back-screener darting beyond the arc. Barrett&rsquo;s long-range prowess is best utilized in stationary contexts currently, so Fournier or Randle (likely Fournier) are the better choices. Even so, it&rsquo;s a level of optionality produced by the personnel absent last season.
There are counters to the traditional Spain pick-and-roll, too. Before actually making contact on his screen, <a href="https://streamable.com/co9b0m" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fournier can leak out to the wing</a> and attack a titled defense. Randle or Barrett can replace Fournier as the back-screener before <a href="https://streamable.com/r6hkog" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robinson flows into a pindown for Fournier</a> from the corner or wing. All of this is possible because Walker is a point guard who can play starter&rsquo;s minutes and forces the defense to respect him as a pull-up shooter. That wasn&rsquo;t the case last season for New York.&nbsp;
Head coach Tom Thibodeau&rsquo;s track record as an offensive innovator isn&rsquo;t sterling, so it&rsquo;s plausible some or many of these choices fall to the wayside. At the very least, though, greater flexibility exists than it did before the acquisition of Walker (and Fournier) and that elevates the possibilities for this team.
Aside from health, which is a relevant and pressing worry, the primary concern could be the magnitude to which the offense banks on Walker&rsquo;s creation, especially in conjunction with his knee troubles. In Boston, Walker was a secondary handler. Jayson Tatum assumed the reins midway through 2019-20 and Jaylen Brown took a considerable step forward offensively in 2020-21, both of which enabled Walker to flank rather than lead them from the perimeter.
Randle will continue to be the team&rsquo;s offensive hub, but Walker will likely catalyze a ton of possessions. He did not prove capable of such a role with the Celtics. Instead, he&rsquo;s best as an ancillary creator. Walker eases the tension for his All-NBA mate, but the offensive infrastructure in place is worse than it was in Boston. He will&nbsp;help the Knicks, but it seems dubious to expect them to help him as much as his previous employer did and that probably mitigates some of his offensive contributions.&nbsp;
Even though he has maintained many of his principle athletic trails, his downhill burst is not of the same ilk from his prime. Because of his size, he demands every ounce of separation possible to find angles and room for shots. Some of those avenues have dried up. Wings or bigs with mobility who can alter his jumper and close off driving lanes pose hurdles. Navigating the paint or frequenting the paint is arduous. He doesn&rsquo;t torch switches like he used to, nor does he get the same level of lift off the ground, allowing defenders to contest more shots. As a result, the dribble-to-impact ratio can skew far too negative for stretches.
According to Cleaning The Glass, his rim frequency was a career-low 20% last season (23rd percentile among guards), down from 26% in 2019-20 and 31% his final year in Charlotte. His free-throw rate of .220 was also a career-low and well below his .287 mark from the first nine years.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s a whole lotta tough shot-making in his arsenal these days, an MO of New York&rsquo;s offense and subsequent faltering. Because he&rsquo;s a stellar shooter, Walker is well-equipped to handle that diet, but there will be dry spells in his on-ball creation. His inability to comfortably turn the corner, separate downhill from defenders or consistently function in the paint are shortcomings that must be priced into the deployment and understanding of his game.&nbsp;
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Despite the creation decline, Walker carries a great deal of offensive value via off-ball scoring. The Knicks must tap into that and avoid saddling him with improper usage. Use him as a screener in inverted pick-and-rolls for Randle. Run dribble handoffs between him and Randle that send him into motion, gaining a step over his man, and watch the space-creation and shooting acumen take over; if his pull-up gravity draws two defenders, he can wiggle in a pocket pass to Randle with Robinson in the dunker spot as an alternative.&nbsp;
A release valve who&rsquo;s converted 37.9% of his catch-and-shoot threes, is adept off-movement and can capitalize on advantages fashioned by Randle&rsquo;s interior gravity beyond mere spot-up volume is an apt partner for the All-Star forward.&nbsp;
Feature him in pick-and-pops where Fournier or Barrett are the handler. The guard-guard actions between Fournier and Walker, both on and off the ball, should be a routine means of leveraging their shooting gravity and involving two perimeter guys with creation equity. They established some connective actions together in Boston last season and Walker&rsquo;s chemistry with Tatum is another template of usage for New York. Plus, its starting big men, Robinson and Randle, are a noteworthy improvement over Boston&rsquo;s 2020-21 (unfortunately) revolving door in the front-court.&nbsp;
Let Randle facilitate actions and empower Walker to create off-ball advantages with his short-area quickness and manipulation of screens. If generally healthy and roughly the same player as last season, when he was certainly an above-average starter in the games he suited up, he provides the necessary potential to expand this uniform offense.&nbsp;
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Another virtue of a retooled guard rotation is the offensive continuity among New York&rsquo;s three best ones in Fournier, Walker and Quickley. T.J. Ferrick explains the value of this concept in great detail <a href="https://twitter.com/tjferrick/status/1421134430224146432?s=20">here</a> as it pertains to Trae Young and Sharife Cooper, but it can be applied to the Knicks.&nbsp;
Last season, their perimeter fleet of Payton, Rose, Quickley, Barrett and Reggie Bullock did not enjoy much overlap in offensive repertoires. Stylistic diversity has its merits, but it also changes schemes and affects how the surrounding players interact and function with one another. Fournier, Walker and Quickley are somewhat synergistic in nature offensively, particularly the latter two, which simplifies responsibilities for others, both players and coaching staff.&nbsp;
Walker and Quickley each tout pull-up and off-movement chops, and struggle as drivers; these similarities could breed some offensive harmony across lineups and generally staggering their minutes seems prudent. The Knicks&rsquo; offense will benefit from Walker&rsquo;s pull-up gravity, which he parlays into facilitating and could impart upon Quickley&rsquo;s development. Robinson will also reap rewards from Walker&rsquo;s probing and interior passing when he does populate the lane, even if it&rsquo;s rarer than ideal for the fourth-year center.&nbsp;
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Although not the All-NBA initiator of 2018-19 or the All-Star of 2019-20, Walker is an excellent player. Fretting over his availability is legitimate because last season did not inspire credence for a small guard who rarely missed games his first eight years and shouldered a hefty workload each of those years. Joining a team lead by Thibodeau might not portend well for careful minutes either.
Yet as long as he&rsquo;s out there, he bolsters the Knicks&rsquo; offense dramatically, malleably operating alongside their cornerstones and incorporating more dynamism. Eastern Conference rivals only grew stingier this past season. The acquisition of Walker may not bear another top-four finish, but New York&rsquo;s team quality improved and his arrival is the foremost reason.&nbsp;

He may not be the same player he was a few years ago, but Kemba Walker will help the Knicks' offense in areas of great need.

An in-depth breakdown of how and why Kemba Walker will help the Knicks

The Phoenix Suns have officially signed Elfrid Payton to a 1-year deal, sources tell The Athletic.
<a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1424893058684915716?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source: Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS: Payton will join the Suns' loaded roster in a reserve role as the third-string point guard behind Chris Paul and Cameron Payne. Starting last season for the New York Knicks, Payton averaged 10.1 points and 3.2 assists per game.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-finalizing-1year-deal-with-elfrid-payton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's Evan Sidery broke the news last week</a> about the Suns and Payton working towards an eventual signing.

Elfrid Payton has agreed to a 1-year deal with the Phoenix Suns.

Elfrid Payton agrees to 1-year deal with Suns

If we were to compare free agency to a regulation NBA game, most Knicks fans were discouraged by New York's first-quarter performance, believing their favorite team stumbled out of the gate.
On Monday, the first day that front offices were able to start negotiating with players available on the open market, Knicks fans learned that the team had inked Evan Fournier to a four-year deal worth as much as $78 million and re-signed Derrick Rose (to a three-year, $43 million contract), Alec Burks (to a three-year, $30 million contract) and Nerlens Noel (to a three-year, $32 million contract).
SNY <a href="https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/1422323666415665157?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initially reported</a> that Burks' three-year deal was fully guaranteed. When no additional contract details were reported, Knicks fans feared the worst: that all of the pacts were fully guaranteed. Many New York supporters went to bed feeling distressed and pessimistic on Monday night.
The Knicks entered this summer's free-agency frenzy with north of $50 million in cap space, which was more than any other team in the league. Fans were hoping the team would make a significant splash with all that cash. Committing $183 million in guaranteed salaries to Fournier, Rose, Burks and Noel was not what they had in mind.
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However, on Tuesday morning, reports began to trickle out that the new contracts included team-friendly terms. Eventually, multiple outlets confirmed that all four pacts had a team option for the final season. That made each of the deals far more palatable, as it means each contract is far easier to trade and that New York has more cap flexibility moving forward. The fanbase was starting to come around. However, the franchise had burned through most of their cap space and still didn't have a clear-cut starting point guard on the roster.
But New York woke up to some wonderful news on Wednesday morning. Kemba Walker, who was born and raised in the Bronx, was coming home to NYC. After being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder by the Boston Celtics, Walker agreed to a buyout with the Thunder and would be joining the Knicks. He would be paid approximately $9 million per year &mdash; a relative bargain for a starting point guard of his caliber. Knicks fans rejoiced.
The following morning, Knicks fans once again were greeted with excellent news. The team's best player, Julius Randle, had agreed to a four-year extension. Like Walker, Randle decided to forgo a more profitable payday for the opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden.
On Friday, team president Leon Rose, capologist Brock Aller, and general manager Scott Perry put a bow on a banner week by announcing the team had signed guard Miles "Deuce" McBride &mdash; the 36th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft &mdash; to a contract. The announcement's timing is important because it means the Knicks likely used their available cap space to sign McBride. Consequently, his contract can run up to four years, including team options, instead of just two.
Let's take a quick look at the significance of each new signing.
Evan Fournier
Fournier will provide much-needed three-point marksmanship and shot creation to an offense that was often stagnant for long stretches last season. Despite suffering through a debilitating bout of COVID-19 and its lingering side effects (Fournier compared its impact to a concussion), he finished the 2020-21 campaign shooting a scorching 46.3% from downtown.
Over the past two seasons combined, Fournier is one of only eight players in the league to average more than 6.5 three-point attempts per game while shooting over 40% from downtown. The other seven players in the club are Steph Curry, Duncan Robinson, Bogdan Bogdanović, Davis Bertans, Bojan Bogdanović, Paul George and Kyrie Irving.
Having Fournier replace Reggie Bullock in the starting lineup will hurt New York on the defensive end of the floor, but the Knicks finished last season ranked inside the top-five in defensive efficiency, while they ranked 22nd overall in offensive efficiency.
Kemba Walker
Is Kemba Walker's left knee a concern? Absolutely. But if Kemba is even 80% healthy, he would immediately rank as the best point guard to wear a Knicks uniform since George W. Bush was in the White House. Over the past six seasons combined, dating back to the start of 2015-16, Walker has averaged 22.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 made three-pointers. Only three players have matched or exceeded those per-game averages: Steph Curry, James Harden and Damian Lillard.
Even in a down season last year, Walker averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 dimes and 3.0 made treys a night. In the 75-year history of the Knicks franchise, no point guard has ever averaged at least 19.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 triples in any single season.
It's been more than 30 years since a Knicks point guard played in an All-Star game (Mark Jackson in 1989). Walker has been named an All-Star in four of the past five seasons.
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Elfrid Payton logged a total of 1,484 minutes last season, the second-most among all guards on the team. Having a combination of Walker and Rose inherit all those minutes in 2021-22 represents a massive upgrade for a team that finished 10 games over .500 last year.
The Knicks faced zone defenses more than any team in the league last season. With Kemba and Fournier now in the starting lineup, opposing defenses will hesitate to switch to zone. And having Kemba run pick-and-rolls should significantly enhance the vertical spacing threat a healthy Mitchell Robinson brings to the table. Walker's ability to penetrate into the paint will also produce substantial dividends, as he draws fouls on opposing bigs and racks up points at the charity stripe. Over his two seasons in New York (108 total games), Payton made 122 free throws. In just 43 games last season for the Celtics, Walker made 143 free throws.
If New York had to pay market value for a point guard with Walker's skillset and resume, it would have been worth the cost. The fact that the Knicks will pay him less than $10 million makes the signing a steal.
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Julius Randle
Did Julius Randle struggle mightily in the playoffs? Absolutely. Would the Knicks have advanced to the postseason and secured home-court advantage for just the second time this century if Randle hadn't carried the team on his back all year? Absolutely not.
Randle put together one of the most impressive all-around campaigns in franchise history, averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. To help put his 2020-21 regular season stats in context, consider this. Randle:
<ul>
<li>grabbed more boards than Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid;</li>
<li>dished out more assists than LeBron James and Stephen Curry;</li>
<li>scored more points than Jayson Tatum and Trae Young;</li>
<li>shot a higher three-point percentage than Damian Lillard and Duncan Robinson;</li>
<li>posted a higher effective field goal percentage than Anthony Davis and Paul George;</li>
<li>accumulated more win shares than Luka Doncic and James Harden;</li>
<li>recorded a higher player efficiency rating than Devin Booker and Kyle Lowry;</li>
<li>posted a higher box plus/minus than Jrue Holiday and Donovan Mitchell;&nbsp;</li>
<li>registered a higher value over replacement player than Rudy Gobert and Chris Paul.</li>
</ul>
Coming off an All-NBA-Second-Team campaign, Randle had the opportunity to play out the upcoming season and hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer. At that point, he would have been eligible for a max contract worth north of $200 million. Instead, he inked a four-year, $107 million extension that can increase to $117 million if specific incentives are met. Randle is only 26 years old and just now entering the heart of his prime.
To put Randle's contract in perspective, compare it to some of the other lucrative deals signed this month. DeMar DeRozan, already 32 years old, will earn an average of $28.3 million over the next three seasons. Jimmy Butler will earn $51.6 million in the final year of his contract (2025-26), at which point he will be 36 years old. That same season, Randle will be 30 and in the final year of his contract and will earn $29.4 million. Randle is younger than Duncan Robinson and Norm Powell, both of whom inked $90 million deals. Randle is the same age as Devonte' Graham and Kendrick Nunn. Randle is three years younger than Tim Hardaway Jr.
Last season, Randle told reporters that he hoped to be a Knick "for the rest of my career, that's really what I want." Players say such things all the time, yet when they have an opportunity to cash in, they (understandably) hold out for the highest offer. Randle, however, quite literally put his money where his mouth is.
***
When you consider where the Knicks were just 10 months ago, the progress the franchise has made is remarkable. First, they vastly exceeded expectations on the court and then continued to build on that success thus far this offseason.
For years, various New York front-office executives have failed to persuade stars to sign on the dotted line. This past week, not only did New York add an All-Star-caliber point guard, but that point guard could have joined pretty much any team in the league and he opted for the Knicks.
Then the team's best player, fresh off a season in which he finished inside the top-10 in MVP voting, re-upped with New York for significantly less than market value. It&rsquo;s certainly a sign of progress for the franchise and a validation of what the organization is hoping to create.
When pundits talk about teams incrementally "developing a culture,&rdquo; this is what they mean.
After another step in the right direction this week, fans can feel confident that the Knicks will continue building momentum going forward.

New York had a productive offseason, adding Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, extending Julius Randle and re-signing key veterans.

For a change, a successful free-agency period propels Knicks forward

The Phoenix Suns are nearing a one-year deal with Elfrid Payton, <a href="https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1423445802349850633?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sources tell BasketballNews.com</a>.
Last season, Payton started 63 games for the New York Knicks, averaging 10.1 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game. Payton will now be the Suns' third point guard behind Chris Paul and Cameron Payne.
Payton joins a loaded Suns roster fresh off an NBA Finals appearance as an insurance policy in case any injury were to occur in their guard rotation.
Previously playing with the Suns for 19 games after a trade-deadline acquisition in 2018, Payton started 19 games and averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds.

The Phoenix Suns are finalizing a deal with Elfrid Payton, sources tell BasketballNews.com

Phoenix Suns finalizing 1-year deal with Elfrid Payton

It&rsquo;s not how you start, it&rsquo;s how you finish. Lonzo Ball himself will probably attest to that fact.
Well-timed, after being traded by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers in the trade package that saw Anthony Davis routed to Tinseltown to team up with LeBron James, Ball has grown appreciably. As a result, the 23-year-old Angeleno will enter restricted free agency on August 2 as a highly-regarded prospect who has shown an ability to impact multiple facets of a basketball game.
Aside from his marked improvement from the three-point line, Ball is a strong rebounder with excellent court vision &ndash; a rare combination that allows him to create easy fastbreak opportunities for teammates. He's also a solid defender who can guard multiple positions.
Coming off of a career-year in which he averaged 14.6 points, 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals, there&rsquo;s plenty of reason to believe that the oldest Ball brother will continue to grow as a professional.
Where will he be as he attempts to further his development? That&rsquo;s the question.
Rather versatile, Ball could probably find a way to positively impact most teams around the NBA, but in this instance, we identify five potential suitors. It's worth noting that the New Orleans Pelicans can match any offer sheet that Ball signs, unless they renounce him.
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BOSTON CELTICS
It seems that Brad Stevens hadn&rsquo;t even finished unpacking the boxes in his new office before he found a taker for Kemba Walker, happily welcoming Al Horford back to the club. Horford provides the Celtics with a steady and reliable hand on the interior, but his re-acquisition came at the expense of the team&rsquo;s starting point guard.
Walker struggled mightily to find his rhythm last season, but he still managed to give Boston 19.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. He also indirectly allowed Jayson Tatum to blossom and put to rest any lingering doubts as to whether he possessed the talent needed to be an alpha-scorer and go-to guy for a winning club.
While the Celtics agreed to trade Tristan Thompson in a three-team deal with Sacramento and Atlanta that landed Kris Dunn to Boston, neither Dunn nor Marcus Smart should be entrusted to serve as the primary playmaker for Ime Udoka&rsquo;s offense.
Ball would give Boston a reliable perimeter defender who, at least in theory, would help the team improve their mediocre defense (which allowed 110.0 points per 100 possessions, ranking 15th in the NBA). Again, in theory, with Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams among those who would be sharing the floor with Ball, Boston would have two defensive pluses on the wing and one on the interior. A five-man unit also featuring Smart and Tatum would help the club compete against all comers out East.
According to <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium/status/1420924032480862212" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania</a>, Boston is among the teams interested in potentially acquiring Ball this offseason. The problem for the Celtics, however, is that it&rsquo;s unclear how they would find a way to compensate Ball anywhere near the $20 million he is expected to command on the open market. With an expected salary cap of $112 million, Boston has about $94 million already committed to just the four of Tatum, Brown, Horford and Smart. The Celtics would need to make some moves to free up space, as the Pelicans would match any middling offer.
With the Walker trade, the fit for Ball is there, even if the route is much less clear.
CHICAGO BULLS
Despite Zach LaVine&rsquo;s 27.4 points per game and the team bringing in Nikola Vucevic in a deadline-day deal, how the Bulls ended last season was a mighty disappointment. Between LaVine and Lauri Markkanen missing a respective 14 and 21 games, it was difficult for Chicago for find a rhythm and build chemistry, particularly after a deadline day that also saw the club acquire Daniel Theis and Troy Brown Jr.
Speaking of the trade deadline, though, let's not forget that Chicago was one of the teams reportedly interested in trading for Ball. Although Coby White is coming off of an individually productive sophomore season, Chicago is rather thin at the point-guard spot.
Clearing the necessary cap room to make a run at Ball would require the Bulls&rsquo; front office to move on from several of its pieces, including Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky &mdash; both of whom have partial guarantees for next season. They also wouldn't be able to re-sign Theis (who is <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946614-sources-free-agency-spotlight-on-cp3-the-lowry-domino-emerging-pg-carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being linked</a> to the Houston Rockets).&nbsp;
In the midst of it all is Markkanen&rsquo;s status. On Friday night, Chicago extended a $9 million qualifying offer to the young big man, officially making him a restricted free agent. However, the problem for Chicago is that until his free agency is resolved, the team won&rsquo;t be able to otherwise allocate those dollars. The Bulls could rescind its qualifying offer, but that would undoubtedly cost them Markkanen (whom they drafted No. 7 overall in 2017).
From a basketball standpoint, Ball could be a part of the solution for Chicago. He could make the game easier for both LaVine and Vucevic, but he would take minutes and on-ball opportunities away from White and also cost a number of last season&rsquo;s rotation players. It&rsquo;s an iffy proposition for general manager Marc Eversley, but considering Chicago tried trading for Ball prior to last season&rsquo;s deadline and the fact that he'd fit nicely alongside the team&rsquo;s All-Star duo, they are certainly a suitor worth watching.&nbsp;
Interestingly, Ball reportedly has his eyes on Chicago as well.
"For the Bulls, there's believed to be mutual interest with Lonzo Ball on a four-year deal worth over $80 million," reports <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946614-sources-free-agency-spotlight-on-cp3-the-lowry-domino-emerging-pg-carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer</a>. In <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nba-offseason-preview-jake-fischer-alex-kennedy-on/id1528900732?i=1000530625591" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a podcast interview</a> with our Alex Kennedy, Fischer predicted that Ball will "get a big offer sheet from Chicago."&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
After a surprising season that saw Julius Randle earned the NBA&rsquo;s Most Improved Player Award and head coach Tom Thibodeau be named the NBA's Coach of the Year, New York Knicks President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose is heavily expected to court an upgrade at point guard for the club.
Elfrid Payton started all 63 of his appearances as the team&rsquo;s point guard, but by the time the Knicks&rsquo; season ended in a five-game series loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Payton had logged just 13 total postseason minutes, including three consecutive DNP-CDs in Games 3-5 of that series.
It seems clear that New York is planning to move on, and whether Derrick Rose is re-signed or not, at 33 years old, counting on Rose to be an everyday starter wouldn&rsquo;t be wise.
It seems for as long as we can remember, the Knicks have been desperate to find a young, dependable, in-prime option at point guard, with Ball finally presenting that opportunity. With respect to Randle and RJ Barrett, the Knicks have two gifted offensive players who struggled to create high-efficiency offense in the postseason. In short, what they need is a floor general who can relieve Randle and Barrett of major playmaking responsibilities while being efficient enough to operate as a scorer in spots too.
If nothing else, Ball is unflappable, and he seems to have the laid-back temperament necessary to succeed under the bright lights of New York City. Armed with the ability to create upwards of $50 million in cap space this offseason, and in desperate need of many of the things that Ball would provide, the Knicks would appear to be a prime candidate to attempt to poach the young Angeleno from New Orleans.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Perhaps a dark-horse contender for Ball, the Mavericks just barely beat out the Miami Heat to make our list. In order for Miami to clear the necessary cap space to sign Ball, the Heat would have to walk away from at least a few rotation pieces, such as Victor Oladipo, Andre Iguodala, Goran Dragic, Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson &mdash; the latter two of whom will be restricted free agents.
It&rsquo;s hard to see Miami effectively resetting its entire rotation one year after winning the Eastern Conference.
Dallas on the other hand? That&rsquo;s a destination that makes sense.
The Mavericks have a generational basketball talent in Luka Doncic, and by virtue of his rookie contract, he will be earning just north of $10 million for the 2021-22 season. That gives Dallas a window this offseason to clear as much cap space as possible to sign an impact player before a maximum extension for Doncic kicks in next season.
Point guard has been targeted as an area of need for the team, and with Friday&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavericks-trade-josh-richardson-to-celtics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported trade</a> that will send Josh Richardson and his $11 million salary to Boston, the Mavericks have enough cap space to offer a maximum contract. According to <a href="https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/1421262388427468806" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s John Hollinger</a>, the team may have made the move with veteran point guard Kyle Lowry in mind.
Hollinger also <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5L3pgWiodL9MgSzbWK8teF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned</a> that Dallas is "the team to watch" in the Mike Conely sweepstakes, pointing out that the Mavs have aggressively pursued him in the past. "I would definitely keep an eye on Dallas," he added.&nbsp;
Lowry or Conley would provide more offensive production, leadership and experience, but both players will be hot commodities. If Dallas isn&rsquo;t able to acquire one of those All-Star options, Ball would give the team a reliable distributor who could spell Doncic as the team&rsquo;s primary on-ball playmaker and effectively knock down the open shots that the Slovenian phenom would create.
Dallas is obviously looking to make a splash this offseason; don&rsquo;t be surprised if it ends up being with Ball.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
With Willie Green assuming the helm in New Orleans, no matter where he signs, Ball will be playing for his fourth head coach in four years. The instability is certain to have a gnawing effect, especially for a young player who has had to adjust to different expectations and systems implemented by various head coaches.
Nonetheless, with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram each developing into superstars in their own right, New Orleans will need a point guard with a fairly specific skill set. They&rsquo;ll need one who can excel off the ball since Ingram has proven effective with it. At the same time, the point guard in New Orleans needs to be capable in catch-and-shoot situations.
In short, Ball fits the mold. And after trading Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe to Memphis, the Pelicans have the flexibility to create upwards of $35 million in cap space. Obviously, some of those funds could be earmarked for Ball, who is expected to command a hefty salary on the restricted-free-agent market.
By virtue of the aforementioned trade, New Orleans could effectively replace Ball with another point guard on the free-agent market if it deems an offer sheet to be too rich, so if nothing else, general manager David Griffin has provided his team with options.
Either way, as one of the prizes of the Davis trade and as a point guard who seems to be an ideal fit for Williamson and Ingram, the incumbent Pelicans make a lot of sense as a potential destination.
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****
NBA free agency begins on Aug. 2, which means that we won&rsquo;t have to speculate on where some of the league&rsquo;s big-name free agents will land.
It&rsquo;s still a fun exercise, though, and with respect to Lonzo Ball specifically, it&rsquo;s easy to see that there are a number of situations in which he could excel in the future.

In New Orleans, Lonzo Ball has come into his own... right in time before his foray into restricted free agency. Where could he land?

Examining possible free-agent destinations for Lonzo Ball

The New York Knicks enter the 2021 NBA offseason with more potential cap space than any other team in the league, as New York can clear out up to $50 million in space if they choose to renounce all of their own free agents. Their primary objective is using that cap space to acquire a superstar. However, the only true max-level player in this year's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2021-nba-free-agency-ranking-kawhi-leonard-chris-paul-and-the-top-10-offseason-players-on-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free-agent class</a> is Kawhi Leonard, who is dealing with a partially torn ACL that may sideline him for the entirety of the 2021-22 season. The potential second-best player in the class is a 36-year-old point guard with a $44 million player option, so there&rsquo;s no guarantee he&rsquo;ll ever hit the open market.
Another avenue to acquiring a superstar is utilizing your available cap space to trade for a disgruntled stud. I have explained, in detail, why I think the Knicks should <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-knicks-should-prepare-to-go-allin-for-damian-lillard-new-york-trade-rumors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pursue Damian Lillard</a> if he wants out of Portland. There are also rumblings that Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal may demand a trade.
Yet, despite all the juicy gossip, the most likely scenario in each case is Kawhi re-signing with the Clippers, CP3 staying in Phoenix and Lillard and Beal starting next season in Portland and Washington, respectively.
So, where would that leave New York? How would team president Leon Rose choose to utilize his cap space?
First and foremost, it's important to note that the Knicks can choose to keep most of their powder dry. New York is considered a team on the rise not just because they exceeded expectations last season, but also because they have shrewdly managed their cap, avoiding the temptation to overpay big-name veterans on the downslope of their career.
Nonetheless, if the Knicks begin the free agency frenzy with $50 million, they'll need to spend a healthy chunk of that just to reach the league's minimum salary floor (per the collective bargaining agreement, every NBA team has to spend at least 90% of the salary cap on player salaries.)
Here are some players the Knicks may target when teams can start negotiating with free agents on August 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Devonte' Graham - Restricted Graham enjoyed a true breakout season in 2019-20, averaging a whopping 18.2 points, 7.5 assists and 3.5 made three-pointers per game. He took a bit of a step back this past season, but still poured in 14.8 points and dished out 5.4 assists (vs. 1.5 turnovers) in 30 minutes a night. It's also worth noting that he posted the best net rating on the team in 2020-21. The Hornets outscored their opponents by 98 points with Graham on the floor last season and were outscored by 237 points with Graham on the bench. He also became one of just four players in league history to average at least nine three-point attempts per game while shooting above 37% from downtown. The other three are Steph Curry, Dame Lillard and Buddy Hield. Many pundits assume the Hornets will match any reasonable offer Graham receives this summer, but ESPN's <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31891612/nba-free-agency-2021-shaped-point-guard-movement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Windhorst reported</a> Tuesday that the Hornets "are believed to be interested in extending Terry&nbsp;Rozier and Miles Bridges, plus need to sign a starting center, all of which could squeeze their finances." At 26, Graham is entering the heart of his prime. It would be fascinating to see what kind of offer would scare off the Hornets, who obviously view LaMelo Ball as a cornerstone of the franchise.
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Victor Oladipo - Unrestricted Here's a startling reminder of just how dramatically an NBA player's value can fluctuate over a single season. Less than 10 months ago, in October 2020, Mark Berman of the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/05/knicks-eyeing-victor-oladipo-amid-offseason-possibilities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported that</a>, with respect to an Oladipo trade, "One NBA personnel man said Dallas' two first-round picks (2021, 2023), Julius Randle and Dennis Smith Jr. or Frank Ntilikina could whet the Pacers' appetite." It&rsquo;s remarkable to think how much Randle's stock has improved since then. On the other hand, the career of Oladipo &mdash; who was named an All-Star in both 2018 and 2019 &mdash; has been derailed by injuries. Oladipo will not be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season as he recovers from surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his right quad and could <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article252111543.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> be sidelined until "mid-December at the earliest." Does Dipo prefer to sign a one-year "make good" contract to rebuild his value? Or will he look to ink a multi-year deal in order to rehab correctly, rather than potentially being pressured to rush back to the court? Either way, New York should have some interest.
Duncan Robinson - Restricted The Knicks' remarkable improvement from downtown was a crucial factor in their surprising success this past season. After finishing dead last in three-point makes in 2019-20 (New York was the only team in the league to average fewer than 10 made treys per game), the Knicks converted 39.2% of their long-distance attempts in 2020-21, which tied for the second-best mark in the NBA. However, two of the team's best shooters (Alec Burks and Reggie Bullock) are free agents. And is it safe to assume that Julius Randle, who shot 27.7% from deep in 2019-20, will again shoot above 41% from behind the arc as he did last season? Should the Knicks decide not to bring Burks and/or Bullock back, they will desperately need to add some marksmen. Robinson is one of only three players in NBA history to average more than eight three-point attempts per game while shooting above 40% in multiple seasons. The other two players in this elite club are Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. He's also durable, having appeared in 147 consecutive games dating back to 2019. Since he is restricted, the Heat will have the opportunity to match any offer he receives.
Serge Ibaka - Player Option Ibaka struggled through an injury-plagued 2020-21 season with the Clippers, but last year at this time, he was a highly-valued big man. In 2019-20 &mdash; his 11th season in the league &mdash; Ibaka averaged a career-high 15.4 points to go along with 8.2 rebounds and 1.3 made three-pointers. In the 27 games he started for the Toronto Raptors, he averaged 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting over 55% from the floor and 43.7% from downtown. A consistent two-way performer his entire career, Ibaka is the only player in NBA history to make more than 500 three-pointers and block more than 1,500 shots. Someone is going to get a great value contract if Ibaka can stay healthy. That, of course, assumes that he opts out, which seems likely considering the potential payday that could await this offseason.
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Lauri Markkanen - Restricted Markkanen is a very difficult player to gauge. On the negative side of the ledger, his production has dipped dramatically in each of the past two years, and he's been unable to avoid assorted injuries, having played fewer than 55 games in three consecutive seasons. Nonetheless, this is a talented seven-footer who can stretch the floor, is still just 24 years of age, and averaged 18.7 points and nine rebounds during his age-21 season. It will be interesting to see what kind of offers he receives, and what the Bulls will be willing to match.
T.J. McConnell - Unrestricted Make no mistake, point guard is, by far, the Knicks' most glaring need. Elfrid Payton, last year's starter, won't be back, Derrick Rose is a free agent, and Immanuel Quickley frequently played off the ball as a rookie. If New York is unable (or unwilling) to pony for a big-name point guard, might they go in a different direction? In many respects, McConnell brings many of the attributes to the table coach Tom Thibodeau desires, namely defensive intensity. A gritty, pesky defender, McConnell led the entire league in steal percentage last season at <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2021_advanced.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3.4%</a> (Jimmy Butler was the only other player in the NBA to post a steal rate north of 3%). Although he's limited offensively, McConnell was efficient last season, shooting 55.9% from the floor. He's also an unselfish facilitator who takes care of the ball and is content to set up his teammates. In 2020-21, McConnell was one of just eight players to record an assist rate above 34% and a true shooting percentage above 58%. The other seven members of this elite club were Dame Lillard, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Nikola Jokic.
Kyle Lowry - Unrestricted Lowry is a proven winner, a terrific defender, and a reliable, efficient scorer; essentially, he&rsquo;s everything the Knicks have been missing at the point guard position for the better part of two decades. However, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Lowry's free-agency <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-among-teams-interested-kyle-lowry-nba-free-agency-20210727.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;asking price&rdquo;</a> is $90 million over three seasons. That's a hefty price to pay for a player already on the wrong side of 35, especially for a Knicks team that is not simply one piece away from title contention.
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Spencer Dinwiddie - Player Option Dinwiddie has bantered back-and-forth with Knicks fans on social media the last few years, but there is no denying his impact on the court. In 2019-20, he averaged 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds. It's been more than 40 years since a Knicks point guard averaged more than 20/6/3 over an entire season. Yet, like Lowry, Dinwiddie may price himself out of the Knicks&rsquo; target range. Dinwiddie, who played only three games last season due to a partially torn ACL, is reportedly seeking $25 million per year.
Goran Dragic - Team Option Miami holds a team option on Dragic for next season worth $19.4 million. If the Heat decide to go in another direction, Dragic would be an enticing option for New York, assuming he&rsquo;d be willing to sign a short-term deal. Although he would provide the club with an immediate upgrade at a position of need, it is important to note that he is 35 years old and has been primarily coming off the bench over his last two seasons. Entering the 2021-22 campaign with Dragic and Derrick Rose as your two point guards could be courting trouble.
Lonzo Ball - Restricted Reading the tea leaves, it seems less and less likely the Pelicans are willing to make a lucrative long-term commitment to Ball. Brian Windhorst of <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31891612/nba-free-agency-2021-shaped-point-guard-movement">ESPN wrote</a> this week that New Orleans is targeting Lowry and has an interest in Dinwiddie, adding that "league executives believe the Pelicans are willing to let Ball go if he gets an aggressive offer sheet or they find a different option." Shams Charania of The Athletic <a href="https://theathletic.com/2703448/2021/07/13/sixers-opening-up-ben-simmons-trade-talks-knicks-interested-in-collin-sexton-plus-more-nba-news/?source=twitterhq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this month the Pels are unlikely to match a significant offer. Ian Begley of SNY has <a href="https://www.sny.tv/articles/spencer-dinwiddie-demar-derozan-knicks-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the same. Many Knicks fans seem to be enamored with Ball, but it should be considered a major red flag that the Pels seems unwilling to bring him back. Ball, who is just 23, received the endorsement of the face of the franchise, Zion Williamson. That there still seems to be some trepidation on New Orleans&rsquo; part is interesting, to say the least. Ball's upside is tantalizing, but I'd pass if his price tag approaches the $100 million mark.
Cameron Payne - Unrestricted Payne earned himself a massive pay raise over the past couple of months by establishing himself as a legit NBA rotation player in the crucible of the playoffs. However, before arriving in Phoenix, Payne shot below 40% from the floor and 33% from behind the arc over his first three years in the league. He turns 27 next month. Is it possible he plays significantly better than he did this past season? Some team will offer Payne a lucrative long-term deal, but I let another team roll the dice if I'm Leon Rose.
Malik Monk - Restricted Monk (who was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft &mdash; ahead of Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo) has failed to live up to expectations. Monk has made just one career start and has averaged 9.1 points, two rebounds and 1.8 assists in 233 appearances while shooting 40.3% and 33.9% from downtown. No, thanks.
DeMar DeRozan - Unrestricted While maybe not as appealing as several other younger players on the open market, DeRozan remains criminally underrated by #BasketballTwitter, in my opinion. Yeah, I know he's 32, is not a great defender, doesn't shoot threes, etc. We know what he doesn't do well, but consider this: Over the past two seasons, only four players have averaged at least 20 points and five assists per game while shooting over 50% from the floor: LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and DeRozan. While not a perfect fit on the Knicks roster, New York had trouble finding offense late in games last season. DeRozan immediately addresses that need. If he's willing to sign at a discount, some team will get a significant value contract.
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While some of the names appearing on this list might not be the most glamorous, there is definitely value to be found here if you're the New York Knicks. That's especially true if the team clears out the as much salary cap space as it possibly can this offseason.

Poised to be the league-leader in cap space this offseason, here are some players who could make sense for the New York Knicks.