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Celtics

The Orlando Magic finished another losing season singing a familiar refrain.
Despite dropping 60 games, posting the worst record in the Eastern Conference and missing the playoffs for the third time in five years, the club insists it&rsquo;s latest overhaul is headed in the right direction.
&ldquo;From when we walked into the building on Day One, we talked about how we were going to compete at a high level, defend at a high level, work every day and have fun doing it,&rdquo; first-year coach Jamahl Mosley noted Sunday. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve done.&rdquo;
The Magic dropped 27 of 32 games to start the season and never won three games in a row, yet Mosley said a young team that played most of the season without two of its best players never got discouraged.
&ldquo;Practice (Saturday) felt like Day One. There was an energy, an enthusiasm, a joy for being on the court with one another throughout the day,&rdquo; the coach said before Sunday night&rsquo;s finale against the Miami Heat.
&ldquo;And I think it was about what we&rsquo;ve talked about from the beginning. It&rsquo;s about us getting better every single day. Whether we win or lose, we&rsquo;re putting that work in every single day,&rdquo; Mosley added. &ldquo;These guys have embraced that, and they have embraced each other.&rdquo;
In a sense, this season was doomed from the start with Jonathan Issac and Markelle Fultz, two of the young players the Magic are trying to build around, on the mend from serious knee injuries.
Issac tore his left anterior cruciate ligament when the pandemic-interrupted 2019-20 season resumed in the Disney bubble. He&rsquo;s missed all of the past two seasons and only played 136 games since being drafted five years ago..
Fultz tore his ACL in January 2021 and was sidelined almost 14 months before returning late this season and playing well enough to gradually work his way back into a starting role.
Team president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond remain committed to building through the draft after trading veterans Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon in March 2021 for future first-round picks in 2023 and 2025.
The current roster includes eight players selected in the first round of the past five drafts, including Fultz (No. 1 overall by Philadelphia in 2017) and Wendell Carter Jr. (seventh by Chicago in 2018).
Isaac (sixth, 2017), Mo Bamba (sixth, 2018), Chuma Okeke (16th, 2019), Cole Anthony (15th, in 2020), Jalen Suggs (fifth, 2021) and Franz Wagner (eighth, 2021) are Orlando picks.
Suggs and Wagner showed flashes of promise as rookies this season. The 6 foot-10 Carter looks like part of the future, too, after averaging a confidence-bolstering 15 points and 10.5 rebounds in 62 games.
&ldquo;All the young teams in the league &mdash; the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns, the Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; I feel like we&rsquo;re right there,&rdquo; Carter said.
&ldquo;Especially with us being so young, it gives us the opportunity to really mold everyone,&rdquo; Carter added. &ldquo;I feel like we&rsquo;re in a perfect opportunity where everybody understands what everybody is capable of, and we all like each other.&rdquo;
WORK TO DO
Despite insisting there are signs of progress, this the seventh time in the past 10 seasons the Magic have won fewer than 30 games.
Orlando has had five different coaches and only posted one winning record (42-40 in 2018-19) during that span. The franchise hasn&rsquo;t won a playoff series since 2010.
MIXED REVIEWS
Suggs was the fifth pick in last year&rsquo;s draft out of Gonzaga. He earned a starting job right away, but would up missing 34 games due to various injuries. He shot just 36% and averaged 11.8 points and 4.4 assists in 48 games..
Wagner, the 8th pick out of Michigan, averaged 15.2 points in 79 games. He started the first 74 games before being sidelined by an ankle injury.
GET IN THE GYM
Mosley said one of the team&rsquo;s priorities is improving its perimeter shooting.
The Magic finished 28th in the NBA in field-goal percentage at 43.4, including 33.4 from 3-point range.
Fultz (23.5%, Suggs (21.4%) and Anthony (33.8%) all struggled from beyond the arc.
Without mentioning any names, Mosley said he wants everyone to return in September with better jump shots.
&ldquo;Being able to shoot the heck out of the basketball, and coming back with that conditioning level all the way up, I think those are going to be the big keys,&rdquo; the coach said.

The Magic dropped 27 of 32 games to start the season and never won three games in a row, yet Mosley said they remained upbeat.

Jamahl Mosley: Young, rebuilding Magic have promising future

The Boston Celtics have traded Dennis Schroder for the Rockets' Daniel Theis.
Source:<a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1491864450311274503"> Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Bruno Fernando and Enes Kanter are reportedly also headed to Houston, and the latter will be waived per Jonathan Feigen.
Schroder had not been a great fit with the Celtics this season, averaging 14.4 points per game off the bench.
Theis, who had also struggled in Houston, will rejoin the Celtics.
Theis had spent the first four years in Boston until being moved at last year's deadline.&nbsp;

The Boston Celtics have traded Dennis Schroder for the Rockets' Daniel Theis.

Celtics trade Dennis Schroder to Rockets for Daniel Theis

Civil Rights attorney Lee Merritt discusses the power and influence the NBA has, and can continue to have &mdash; if the NBA continues using its platform, voices and resources to fight for justice.&nbsp;
Lee Merritt is one of the attorneys for Ahmaud Arbery&rsquo;s family &mdash; a 25-year-old black man who was murdered while on a run near Brunswick, in Glynn County, Georgia. A verdict of life imprisonment was just announced in the case, in which three men were convicted of murdering Arbery. While Lee Merritt is definitely relieved about the verdict, we discuss the long road ahead to achieve justice and equality for all. Merritt is running for attorney general in Texas and I would love to see the NBA duplicate what the WNBA did, when they threw their support behind Raphael Warnock, an Atlanta-area pastor who was running as a Democrat at the time for (and would eventually win) one of Georgia&rsquo;s seats in the U.S. Senate.&nbsp;
This was a great discussion.
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Etan Thomas: So this time last year, I interviewed a group of WNBA players, [including] Renee Montgomery and Elizabeth Williams, who both played for the Atlanta Dream at the time, [as well as] Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, Angel McCoughtry &mdash; and Eric Garner's daughter, Emerald. And <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wnba-nba-kelly-loeffler-atlanta-dream-renee-montgomery-elizabeth-williams-swin-cash-etan-thomas-activism-black-lives-matter-activist-movement-vote-warnock-shirts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we discussed what the WNBA did to galvanize support for Raphael Warnock, and ultimately get him in office and Kelly Loeffler out of office</a>. And it was really amazing. Because for one, Raphael Warnock was polling at 9% before the WNBA got involved. And he won &mdash; in Georgia, of all places.&nbsp;
So I want to see how we can galvanize the NBA to duplicate that with you, as you're running for attorney general in the state of Texas. So that's why I reached out to you to have this interview with you. I've been following you for a long time and I'm a big fan of the work that you do. And so, I'm going to send this interview to the NBA, to the <a href="https://www.thesocialchangefund.org">NBA Social Change Fund</a>.
Which, for those that aren't familiar, it was birthed out of the Bubble season. After the NBA players went on strike, after Jacob Blake was shot multiple times in broad daylight, in front of his children. The NBA Social Change Fund was formed by Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade, and is aimed to support critical issues in the black community.
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So that's why after speaking to Allisa Charles-Findley, who is Botham Jean's sister &mdash; and I actually interviewed her for my new book, &ldquo;<a href="http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/police-brutality-and-white-supremacy-the-fight-against-american-traditions/">Police Brutality and White Supremacy: The Fight Against American Traditions.</a>&rdquo;
She was one of the people I interviewed, along with Atatiana Jefferson's family, who I know that you work with as well &mdash; so we came up with the idea of conducting this interview with you, to try to galvanize that support from the NBA. Some people are like, "Alright, you usually do basketball stuff. Why are you interviewing a politician right now?" But that's the reason why. So thank you for taking this time.
Lee Merritt: "Sure, I really appreciate that. During most of my career, I've enjoyed the support of the National Basketball Association. I can recall in 2017, a young man named <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2018/08/29/jordan-edwards-made-the-case-against-roy-oliver-unlike-any-murder-trial-dallas-had-ever-seen/">Jordan Edwards </a>was slain in Balch Springs, Texas.&nbsp;
"It was in the middle of the NBA playoffs &mdash; and Steve Kerr, who had suffered family tragedy as well, identified with that family, reached out, invited them to the playoff games [and] got his brothers to take their mind off of it for a bit.
"I actually used to coach basketball myself. I was a coach down at South Atlanta High School. I coached Derrick Favors, I coached against Cousins and Walls* when they were high school students. And I enjoy a relationship with them today, continuing to give back to the community of Atlanta.
"And yeah, the names that you mentioned that you work with, Chris Paul has supported the work and the families I represent. Dwyane Wade and his wife, Gabrielle Union, [have] been major, major supporters over the course of my career.
"And, just as I transition away from representing one family at a time and start talking about representing larger groups of people and going towards policies, I certainly think the NBA can play a major role &mdash; in not only the success of the campaign, but championing some of those issues that we're fighting for on a case-by-case basis, and taking it to one of the biggest states in the country and really impacting national policy."
Etan: So, let me ask you to review some of the cases that you've worked with before, and the people that you've represented. We could start off with Ahmaud Arbery.
Merritt: "Sure. I came to represent the Ahmaud Arbery family before the video was released of his brutal slaying in South Georgia. Many [...] will recall that he was a South Georgia jogger. On February 23, 2020, he was targeted by three white men who have now been each <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/jury-reaches-verdict-ahmaud-arbery-death-case/story?id=81353504">convicted of murder</a>, and are facing life sentences in the state of Georgia, as well as federal hate crime charges.
"I've also represented... Unfortunately, the list of families that I've represented is quite extensive. I represent over 67 families who have suffered misuse of force, that lost a loved one, as a result of the deadliest police culture in the world. Some of the names that your viewers may have heard of.
"You mentioned [...] <a href="https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article236198028.html">Atatiana Jefferson</a>.&nbsp;
"Of course, that case is ongoing. <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/death-innocent-man-timeline-wrong-apartment-murder-trial/story?id=65938727">Botham Jean</a>, who was an accountant eating a bowl of ice cream in his own apartment complex.&nbsp;
"<a href="https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-illinois-police-shooting-guard-20181112-story.html">Jemel Roberson</a> was a security guard in Chicago. Had just stopped a mass shooting, and was shot in the back by a police officer who must have mistook him for a gunman.&nbsp;
"<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/13/us/california-attorney-general-sean-monterrosa-shooting/index.html">Sean Monterrosa</a> in California.
"But the bulk of my work has been in Texas. I represent <a href="https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/damian-daniels-family-responds-to-no-indictment-for-deputy-that-killed-him">Damian Daniels</a>, a veteran shot to death in his home.&nbsp;
"<a href="https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Family-of-woman-killed-by-Baytown-officer-13872709.php">Pamela Turner</a> in the Houston area.&nbsp;
"And like I said, we could probably spend the rest of this podcast going through the list of names."
Etan: Wow! So now you're running for attorney general in Texas. And for those that don't know, what exactly are the responsibilities of an attorney general?
Merritt: "The attorney general of Texas, and an attorney general in any state, is the legal voice for the people. They're supposed to serve as the spokesperson for what justice is in a municipality. And so we've seen it, in cases like Breonna Taylor, where we had a really bad attorney general interfere with accountability in that case, in the form of Daniel Cameron. We've seen the opposite end of that spectrum with Keith Ellison and the work that he's done in Minnesota. Prosecuting the officers responsible for the death of George Floyd and, most recently, Daunte Wright.
"But even beyond the criminal justice aspect, the attorney general&rsquo;s office, particularly in the state of Texas, impacts virtually every aspect of Texas life. So property taxes, school protection. And we've heard a lot recently in the news about the CRT [Critical Race Theory] scam, where they're trying to erase entire portions of our history in the name of not getting anyone upset.
"From the border crisis, to really economic empowerment in our schools. There's so many businesses that are attempting to get off the ground, but don't have access to the kind of governmental loans and support that our white counterparts do.
"All of those things run through the attorney general's office. It's a very, very influential office. More or less the second-in-command in the state of Texas."
Etan: Now, Ken Paxton, [is] who you would be running against, and who is the current attorney general &mdash; and has been since 2015. I want to talk about the stark differences between the two of you, because it's really night and day.
But I want to start off with this, because the Jan. 6 insurrection [anniversary] is upon us. And you know, I'm looking at him, looking at the footage, and I see him at a rally right before the insurrection, almost like leading the charge. Explain to me, let's start off with there, about the stark differences between you and Ken Paxton.
Merritt: "Well, there is a clear contrast. You know, Texas was in the national news because of [its] unique voter suppression laws. They passed some laws that would make it more difficult for the black and brown people in the state, people with disabilities and marginalized communities to vote.
"It was so upsetting that certain members of the Texas legislature left the state and went to DC &mdash; refused to participate in that session in order to fight for voting rights. Now, I was present with them. I thought that was a fight worth standing with people for, providing both legal advice and strategies, working with the labor community and others to take on voting issues in Texas.
"By contrast, the last sort of infamous trip of the attorney general, the current attorney general, to our nation's capital was on Jan. 6. And we don't know exactly what he did there, because he has not participated in an ongoing investigation in terms of his potential criminal liability for helping to incite a riot.
"But he was very publicly on camera, encouraging the soon-to-be riders and insurrectionists that the election was stolen, that they had a responsibility to fight. And he invoked the name of Texas when he did it. He said, "You all should fight, because Texans fight." And he laid out that he had fought to overturn the results of the free and fair election. And yeah, that's our top legal position in the state, advocating for the overthrow of our government."
---------------
We then went on to discuss particular differences between him and Ken Paxton such as his position on education, police reform, border, gun training before owning a gun, and we cleared up the misconceptions on CRT, being anti-police vs. anti-police brutality, Second Amendment rights, etc.
---------------
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Etan: So let's go to the NBA, and how important it is for the NBA to continue to promote, to continue to use their platforms, to be able to &mdash; I mean, this is the thing. It's important to do that part. But now we have to take it a step further.
And I think the NBA has been doing a great job of promoting, raising awareness. You saw it all especially during the Bubble season, after the entire country was promoting and demonstrating and protesting what happened with George Floyd, what happened with Breonna Taylor [and] Ahmaud Arbery.
You saw John Wall and Bradley Beal here in D.C. leading protests. You saw all the Ball brothers, you saw Russell Westbrook in L.A. You saw Jaylen Brown and Enes Kanter Freedom too, in Boston &mdash; of course everything that LeBron was always doing.
But now it's like, it needs to be a step further, like the next step. And I think that you, with what you are trying to implement in Texas as the attorney general, is that next step. Because you have to be able to have someone in place that's on the right side of wanting to be able to create something that functions properly. So just talk about that, how this is like the next step that should happen. Along with [...] raising awareness and protesting and everything like that.
Merritt: "Yeah. I can recall, we were in the middle of the NBA playoffs when Jacob Blake was repeatedly shot in his back by a Milwaukee police officer. And I was watching the game, and Chris Paul had just gone off, sort of a historic performance.
"And <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxcNbbyg0ZI">they interviewed him</a> right after the game. And they said, 'You know, Chris, you were playing...' I think he was playing his old team, the Houston Rockets. He was with the Oklahoma City Thunder [...], where Derrick Favors is currently.
"And they said, 'Tell us about this performance against your old team. You had a chance to really show them that you still got it.' And he said, 'Yeah, I don't really care about that. That's cool. And that's what I'm paid to do. But a law enforcement officer in my community has just shot someone in their back several times. He was unarmed and nonviolent. Let's talk about that.'
"I think it's on the players to stand up like Chris Paul did, and like you said, like people have done, in a systemic way across the National Basketball Association &mdash; where the pundits and the media might tell you, 'Could you just shut up and dribble.' We've heard that refrain before.
"It's important for the players to say, "No, actually I won't. This is my community. What's going on in our community, it's urgent. It's a crisis. It's not something that we want to put off for a later conversation or for the offseason. But where it happens, I'm going to stand up to it. And I will get involved in elections. And I will use my resources and time and attention to shine a light on these issues that must be addressed."
Etan: You know, it's interesting. In my book, &ldquo;<a href="http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/we-matter-athletes-and-activism/">We Matter: Athletes and Activism</a>&rdquo; I interviewed Jahvaris Fulton, who is Trayvon Martin's brother. And in the interview, he told me how &mdash; and when he said this, it kind of threw me,&nbsp; because I didn't expect him to say it &mdash; he said that if it weren't for NBA players and celebrities and everybody like that, talking about his brother, he didn't think that anybody would know his name. And I was like, "Wow, that's kind of strong. Why do you say that?"
So then he explained to me how, when Trayvon Martin was first killed, his family was trying to get the local news people to cover it and they didn't want to cover it. They said, "Okay, another young black man was killed. That's not newsworthy."
And I was like, "That's what they told you?" He said, "Yeah," he was like, "We don't have no evidence. We don't have no video of it. Just your word saying that he [was] killed, that's not newsworthy." And he gave a shout-out to Roland Martin and some of the black news people, who were covering it. But he said, "But no local news people wanted to cover it."
So then he said, "But then, LeBron James started talking about it. And Dwyane Wade started talking about it. And then the entire Miami Heat team posed in the hoodies." So then he said, "So then you had everybody like, 'Okay, what is this that LeBron James is discussing? And why is Dwyane Wade feeling so passionate about this, and talking about his kids, and about this case?' Then everybody started to gravitate towards it and cover it and everything like that."
But he said [...] before, they couldn't get anybody to cover it. And that's just... It's unfortunate that it is that way, because people should have a regard for human life anyway, without an athlete having to speak about it. However, the athlete speaking about it is what drew the attention &mdash; and that just shows where athletes have to continue to do that, continue to use your voice and your platform to be able to speak to these causes.
And also to take it a step further by having laws being changed, and people who are in positions to fight for laws being changed, like [you are]. You know what I mean? And running for attorney general &mdash; [who] are in positions to actually implement some things so these things don't just continue to keep happening.
Merritt: "Yeah. I can remember in 2016, we saw two high-profile officer-involved shootings back-to-back, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. It was the same weekend, and it was almost like a dark cloud being hanged over impacted communities. And if you and I saw each other on the street, we would make eye contact and say, 'You know, man, this is becoming too much.'
"Dallas had a protest &mdash; I was living in Dallas at the time. And they had a protest downtown, where we marched and we discussed what happened, and started to talk about organizing police reform. And at the end of that protest, a vigilante named Micah Xavier Johnson, targeted law enforcement officers and shot five police officers and a couple of civilians as well. And you could imagine the national outcry about Black Lives Matter, and how they put law enforcement lives at risk.
"And everyone began to ignore the fact that people were there for protesting peacefully about police violence &mdash; that was back-to-back and overwhelming. And while it was a tragedy for our entire community that law enforcement officers were targeted by Mr. Johnson, there was also an ongoing crisis in our community, that was the reason that all those people had gathered and made targets of themselves.
"And it was Dwyane Wade. LeBron was still, I think, in 2016, with the Miami Heat. So it was Wade and LeBron who came forward at the ESPY Awards that weekend and re-centered the conversation. And said, 'That's terrible what happened in Dallas, and we back the blue. We stand for the law enforcement officers.'
&ldquo;But understand that our community is also under attack. And it's two sides of the same coin. We don't tolerate violence directed at law enforcement officers. And we cannot continue to tolerate violence directed at our community.
And it saved the national conversation so that we could get back to what had brought us all there in the first place. And so, yeah, members of the NBA have the opportunity, in [the] state of Texas, but [also] throughout the country, the voices of the NBA are critically important to that."
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Etan Thomas is joined by Lee Merritt on "The Rematch" to discuss social justice and the NBA's role in societal change.

Lee Merritt: The NBA could impact public policy and elections

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/dwyane-wade-on-goat-discussions-theyre-gonna-forget-about-jordan-like-we-forget-about-kareem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
"Greatest of All Time" debates change from era to era, and that&rsquo;s the natural course of things, according to Dwyane Wade. The retired great claims there will be a new set of GOATs for the younger generation as time passes.&nbsp;
Passing of the Torch
Fans often wage war over who&rsquo;s the best player of all time, but there will always be the passing of the torch as time goes by. Bill Russell had to pass it to Wilt Chamberlain, who had to pass it down to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The process went on to Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have fans who say MJ passed it to their favorite of the two.
If they can keep up and play long enough, there will be the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić making their respective cases. A new set of names will be included in the discussion in another five years, and so on.
For Wade, who grew up in Chicago and idolized Jordan, he believes there will come a time that the fans will no longer remember MJ or Kareem as the best ever to do it.
&ldquo;These GOATs, these names that we throw out, it&rsquo;s not gonna just be a lot of those players. But the game continues to keep moving forward. And so we are gonna continue to see things that we have never seen before. And the eyes are gonna get younger and younger,&rdquo; Wade <a href="https://youtu.be/ISENOkL6Gho" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard</a>.
&ldquo;We are not going to have a conversation about the GOATs. Now it&rsquo;s going to be the younger, younger, younger generation. And they&rsquo;re gonna forget about Jordan like we forget about Kareem.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s the beauty of this game. It evolves as players come and go. Records are meant to be broken, and sooner than later, these achievements by special players once thought to be untouchable will soon go down, and a new set of records will be established.&nbsp;
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Player of the Decade
Many factors are needed for a player to be considered the NBA's GOAT. First, he has to have a productive career with titles to boot. There&rsquo;s also health, luck and fan support. What makes MJ the standard and the generation-defying GOAT is that he had to earn everything. He willed his team to win and helped basketball reach international viewership. MJ played before social media, but his name always comes up in the current era. His presence can still be felt in the league, and his business ventures continue to speak of how great he is.&nbsp;
If the GOAT debate never ends, maybe there should be a Player of the Decade instead. These are for the players whose achievements and dominance lasted a decade (or an era). That way, every great player would get the respect he deserves. Of course, we all have different meanings to greatness and other criteria to determine the greatest of all time. Unless the NBA releases some type of official criteria, fans will always indulge in friendly banter on the real GOAT.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

As the game evolves over time with new names, Dwyane Wade thinks MJ will mistakenly be forgotten in the GOAT conversation.

Wade: 'They’re gonna forget about Jordan like we forget about Kareem'

In case you missed it, Markieff Morris had this to say last night.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Ain&rsquo;t shit wild about it! It&rsquo;s a real injury! Imagine having a 300 pound sloppy fat boy run full speed and make direct contact with your spine! I&rsquo;ll be back soon like I said. <a href="https://t.co/jMdySrLxuw">https://t.co/jMdySrLxuw</a>
&mdash; Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) <a href="https://twitter.com/Keefmorris/status/1479276725292830723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a>
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</blockquote>
Yeah, so, about that.
It&rsquo;s been 60 days since Markieff Morris last played an NBA game. The reason... we all know by now, don&rsquo;t we?
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It was common to hear reactions from NBA Twitter, "Inside The NBA" and others&nbsp;that suggested Jokić was in the right and/or Morris deserved it. While Morris can&rsquo;t entirely be absolved because of the needless take foul beforehand, the entire ordeal and aftermath are worth revisiting precisely two months later.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s preface the rest by saying, coming from someone who also covers combat sports and asks for&nbsp;your favorite kerfuffles on his profile for this website, I think fighting in non-combat sports isn&rsquo;t as bad as the pearl-clutchers think. It honestly shouldn&rsquo;t even always warrant a suspension &mdash; depending on the context &mdash; but I understand why it often does. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOAEz9uK6GY">Some sh*t goes too far</a>, but more than often,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmAMCFAugKc&amp;t=27s">guys don&rsquo;t even want to fight to begin with</a>. (Kenyon Martin even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-kenyon-martin-enforcer-toughness-physicality-league-kevin-garnett-fight-fighting-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">addressed that here on BasketballNews.com in an article</a>.) 
And there&rsquo;s shared blame here, which we&rsquo;ll navigate through as one, big, happy-ass family.
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First of all, the video of the fight itself: Bleacher Report having as their headline, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L06009FEQRs&amp;t=27s">Nikola Jokic INJURED Markieff Morris &amp; ALMOST ENDED HIS CAREER 👀</a>&rdquo; is pretty wack. Eyeball emojis shouldn&rsquo;t come after ALMOST ENDED HIS CAREER in all caps &ndash; that&rsquo;s mad insensitive to still have up there after two months.
Secondly, the comments embody what we&rsquo;re talking about. People saying a variation of Morris getting what he deserved, applauding Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Charles Barkley for defending Jokić&rsquo;s right to obliterate Morris from behind &mdash; we&rsquo;ll get to that momentarily.
Not too many combinations of jokes were directed at Morris, who apparently was faking his injury, right? So much so that he still hasn&rsquo;t played since.&nbsp;
Now, the "Inside" guys.&nbsp;
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The first thing Charles Barkley said was, &ldquo;I love this.&rdquo;
Less than a minute later, O&rsquo;Neal added, &ldquo;I like what The Joker did.&rdquo;
Asked by Ernie Johnson to expand, Barkley emphatically interjected, rhetorically asking, &ldquo;What did Joker do?&rdquo;&nbsp;
Johnson replied, &ldquo;Gave him (Morris) a shot in the back and whiplashed him.&rdquo;
And Shaq contributed, &ldquo;First of all, Ernie, it&rsquo;s called retaliation. When you hit me, don&rsquo;t turn around. Don&rsquo;t turnaround, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1V1D1r_PU">Brad Miller, because I&rsquo;m swinging</a>,&rdquo; with a laugh.
Kenny Smith attempted to provide a more levelheaded take, saying, &ldquo;We would hope that Joker could have some self-restraint.&rdquo; He was then immediately shot down by O&rsquo;Neal and Barkley, and the segment continued.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
There&rsquo;s absolutely something to what O&rsquo;Neal and Barkley said regarding retaliation, self-defense and sending a message. Additionally, there&rsquo;s some arrogance in leveling someone and immediately turning around, thinking you&rsquo;re untouchable as a result. Not great from Keef, there.
And as bad as the neck injury has been for Morris, it could&rsquo;ve been worse &mdash; a stretcher was even brought out as a precaution. Luckily, he was able to walk off.
And, look, we&rsquo;ve all been to an emotional point where the subsequent actions we took were regrettable, so this ain&rsquo;t finger-wagging more than an observation and reevaluation.
Jokić, at 6-foot-11, 284 pounds, has a distinct size advantage over Morris' listed <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morrima02.html">6-foot-9, 245-pound frame</a>, so throwing his entire body weight into an unsuspecting Morris from behind is especially threatening. You&rsquo;d probably say Morris put himself in that danger, but even Jokić &mdash; clearly not being in his right mind at the time &mdash; has to know that he can&rsquo;t charge into Morris from behind like that, which he admitted after. It isn&rsquo;t like the foul was from behind, either.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a stupid play,&rdquo; Jokic said, seemingly with regret. &ldquo;I feel bad. I&rsquo;m not supposed to react that way, but it&rsquo;s in the middle of the game. I got hit, I saw him, but I just thought it was gonna be like a take foul... I thought [what Morris did] was a dirty play, and I just needed to protect myself. I fouled him bad, and I&rsquo;m not supposed to react that way.&rdquo;
He later added, insisting his feelings were genuine, &ldquo;No, I felt bad, for real... his head snapped back, so I feel really bad.&rdquo; &nbsp;
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In regards to the unusually physical Morris take foul, that was mad unnecessary at that point of the game, and when NBA games are out of reach, that&rsquo;s typically when things like this happen. As many people have indicated, Keef has a history of NBA dust-ups &mdash; including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBZ4Al-zAQU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with DeMarcus Cousins</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ-azSxV-oE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OG Anunoby</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWOv0HEYlk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Ennis</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9WUBR3e7H8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whatever this was with Buddy Hield</a> among others.&nbsp;
But if his reputation preceded him, Jokic&rsquo;s should too.
Just four months earlier, Jokić was ejected for a reckless-ass frustration foul against 6-foot-1, 180-pound Cameron Payne, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bHAc-BU8oE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">then going head-to-head and exchanging words with Devin Booker</a>. Two months before that,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQgHLt59NM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jokić punched Terrence Ross in his arm</a>&nbsp;out of anger for not getting a call he felt he deserved. Ross gave him a receipt later in the half, but not an overly rough one.
In the Orlando Bubble, and in similar fashion, Jokić was upset about a non-call against 6-foot Patrick Beverley, and frustration fouled him on a break by... <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmftuUeYLHk">trying to Rick Flair chop him</a>? In the Nuggets-Blazers 2019 playoff series,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhndn_k-6G0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he elbowed the sh*t out of Enes Kanter</a>. (Depending on who you ask, he might&rsquo;ve been ahead of his time. Lots of people would, and I.... I understand.)
Jokić also had a bumping/shoving match with Marcus, Keef&rsquo;s twin, two years ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;
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This isn&rsquo;t to say Jokić is a bad dude or an a**hole. Things happen, and different athletes have different ways of expressing themselves. But if people are going to hold up Morris&rsquo; past, this should go both ways. And all of these things can co-exist &mdash; this doesn&rsquo;t have to be some tribal, side-taking nonsense.&nbsp;
Revisiting all this is not to say we should retroactively ban Jokić for an extended period, but we should reevaluate how we process these things both in the moment and afterward. Morris still hasn&rsquo;t played. I don&rsquo;t care how much you don&rsquo;t like the dude and the misguided, non-productive nature of his foul &mdash; he didn&rsquo;t deserve to get hurt and obviously hasn&rsquo;t been faking an injury. (In the moment, I thought Jokić would get suspended 3-to-5 games, so one game appeared light at the time, for what it&rsquo;s worth.)
A question lingers in my mind: How would people have reacted if this were reversed? I&rsquo;m not even going to Black and white, but more specifically: What if Morris did this to Jokić? Clearly, people would&rsquo;ve been coming for Morris&rsquo; head since he&rsquo;s a role player, Jokić is a superstar, and plenty of y&rsquo;all don&rsquo;t like the Morris twins to begin with.
On Christmas Eve,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Keefmorris/status/1474434182575185922" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morris said he was "coming soon."</a> He said it again last night.
Well, it&rsquo;s been eight weeks since the encounter with The Joker. At 32 years old, hopefully, he&rsquo;ll be able to reclaim what he established earlier, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/morrima02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which has turned out to be his best season in three years</a>. And ideally, Jokić could, as he himself indicated, collect himself a tad better before endangering someone else in this fashion.

Two months later, Bryan Fonseca analyzes the aftermath of the Nikola Jokic-Markieff Morris incident, with the latter still injured.

60 days later: Revisiting the Nikola Jokić-Markieff Morris incident

BOSTON (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three jumpers in the final minutes and three free throws in the last four seconds to ice it as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 108-103 on Monday night.
With both teams fighting COVID-19 outbreaks, Embiid also had 10 rebounds and a steal on the Celtics’ last-chance inbound pass while playing 40 minutes, 14 seconds — a season high for a game that didn’t go to overtime.
Seth Curry scored 26 points and Tobias Harris had 25 for Philadelphia.
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Jayson Tatum had 17 and Enes Kanter Freedom had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who had seven players in COVID-19 protocol, with Robert Williams III a late scratch for personal reasons.
After trailing the entire first half, the Celtics took an 80-75 lead into the fourth quarter and went ahead 97-90 on Brown's 3-pointer with 4:14 left. Matisse Thybulle hit a 3-pointer and then Embiid made a pair of foul shots. 
Boston led 98-96 when Danny Green made a 3-pointer, and then Embiid made three straight mid-range jumpers to hold the Celtics at bay. 
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE
The game was delayed for seven minutes after the national anthem and before the introduction of the Celtics players when a fire alarm went off in the building, accompanied by an announcement telling the crowd it may need to evacuate. After a few minutes of people nervously looking around, the Celtics mascot began waving his arms to pump up the fans; the pregame festivities resumed soon after.
A TD Garden spokesman said the problem was a malfunctioning sprinkler head in a concession area in the balcony level and set off a fire alarm. Building operations coordinated with the Boston Fire Department before giving the all-clear.
IN AND OUT
The Celtics’ pregame injury list required a three-tweet thread to list everyone, with Al Horford, Jabari Parker, Josh Richardson, Brodric Thomas, Grant Williams, Juancho Hernangomez and Sam Hauser all in the COVID-19 protocol. Robert Williams III was also listed as out for personal reasons. 
Tatum (ankle), Romeo Langford (neck) and Dennis Schroder (non-COVID illness) were questionable but cleared to play. To fill out the roster, the Celtics signed 15-year NBA veteran C.J. Miles, who hadn’t appeared in a game in more than two years, to a 10-day contract.
The Sixers were without Andre Drummond, Shake Milton and Georges Niang because of COVID protocols, along with Tyrese Maxey (thigh bruise), Furkan Korkmaz (non-COVID illness), Jaden Springer (concussion protocol) and Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played all year while awaiting a possible trade. 
THROWBACK
The Celtics celebrated ’60’s night, looking back on the decade when they won 9 NBA titles — going through the Philadelphia Warriors twice and the 76ers four times. (The Sixers were the only team to beat them, in the 1967 Eastern Division finals. 
Satch Sanders, Mal Graham and Rick Weitzman were honored on the court, and ’60’s music was played throughout the night. 
UP NEXT 
Sixers: Host Atlanta on Thursday. 
Celtics: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Joel Embiid scored 41 points, and the 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 108-103.

Embiid scores 41, 76ers beat Celtics 108-103

Enes Kanter Freedom opened up to Etan Thomas on "The Rematch" on being a U.S. citizen, his Fox News interview, LeBron and more.

Q&A: Enes Kanter Freedom on U.S. citizenship, Fox interview, LeBron

Enes Freedom, formerly known as Enes Kanter, joined BasketballNews.com's own Etan Thomas on "The Rematch" and was given a chance to clarify some of the comments he made during an interview by Fox News' Tucker Carlson, in which he said:
&ldquo;People should feel really blessed and lucky to be in America. They love to criticize it, but when you live in a country like Turkey or China or somewhere else, you will appreciate the freedoms you have here. I feel like they should just keep their mouth shut and stop criticizing the greatest nation in the world and they should focus on their freedoms and their human rights and democracy.&rdquo;
These comments rubbed many the wrong way, as it came just days after Enes had changed his last name to 'Freedom.' These comments also drew comparisons to Laura Ingraham telling LeBron James to "shut up and dribble" not too long ago, which lit a fire under all athletes across all sports.
On BasketballNews.com's "The Rematch," Freedom was asked about these comments and offered some clarification.
"I stand for freedom. I would never tell an athlete or a human being or a celebrity to not use their platform," he said. "The greatest thing we have is freedom of speech, and the amazing thing we have is the platform."
This is very different from what Freedom said last week, so perhaps he did not mean for what he said last week (or didn't mean for it to come off the way it did). Freedom said he is hoping to meet with LeBron, so he can "educate" him on how to use his platform for good, but James seems uninterested in doing that, as he expressed after the Lakers' loss to the Celtics in Boston a few weeks ago.
"I don't give too many people my energy. He's definitely not someone I would give my energy to," James said. "He's trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself. I definitely won't comment too much on that. He's always had a word or two to say in my direction, and as a man, if you've got an issue with somebody, you really come up to him. He had his opportunity tonight. I saw him in the hallway, and he walked right by me."
Watch the full conversation between Enes Kanter Freedom and Etan Thomas on "The Rematch" here:
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Enes Kanter Freedom clarified the recent comments he made on Fox News, saying he would never tell athletes not to use their platform.

Enes Kanter Freedom clarifies Fox comments: Athletes should speak out

Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder scored 31 points apiece and the Boston Celtics rode a sizzling start to a 145-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
Enes Freedom grabbed 15 rebounds off the bench for the Celtics, who made 14 of their first 15 shots and built a 21-point, first-half lead.
Coach Ime Udoka believes Tatum&rsquo;s recent success has been the product of attacking the basket. Tatum scored 37 on Friday night against Utah as well.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s had some success driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line,&rdquo; Udoka said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s been encouraging him to drive more and not settle as much. With some of their guys out, we felt we could attack some mismatches and get to the basket without a ton of rim protection and he did that very well.&rdquo;
CJ McCollum scored 24 points for the Trail Blazers.
Portland chipped away behind its bench before Boston took a 64-58 lead into halftime.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen a team that needs its bench to inspire its starters,&rdquo; Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;It should be the other way around.&rdquo;
Boston took control in the second half with a good start to the third quarter. The Celtics pushed their lead to as high as 26 before Portland pulled its starters with 5:51 remaining.
The Celtics continued to pour it on. Former Oregon star Payton Prichard scored 16 points in the final six minutes, sending the Celtics bench into a frenzy. The bench was called for a taunting technical for celebrating Prichard&rsquo;s 3-pointer to put Boston up 145-114.
&ldquo;You want to see him do well,&rdquo; Udoka said. &ldquo;The crowd was very supportive of a hometown hero but it got a little out of hand with our guys getting overzealous and getting a technical. I did apologize to Chauncey at the end for that. I didn&rsquo;t mean for it to get out of hand like that. You&rsquo;re happy for him, but there&rsquo;s a line not to cross there.&rdquo;
Boston&rsquo;s 145 points were the most ever scored in regulation by a visiting team in Blazers history.
NEW START
Saturday night&rsquo;s game was Portland&rsquo;s first following the firing of President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey. With Joe Cronin assuming the role of interim general manager, Billups expressed his respect for Cronin&rsquo;s new position and excitement about working together.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very much looking forward to building with Joe,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;In all honesty right now, Joe is the man. I&rsquo;m not overlooking that, I don&rsquo;t think anybody should. He&rsquo;s been in the game for a long time, he&rsquo;s well thought of by many people and I think Joe is as qualified as most people. He&rsquo;s very good. It&rsquo;s easy to jump over that and look for the next move. But right now, Joe is the next move.&rdquo;
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Udoka was in his hometown for the first time as an NBA head coach, something he wasn&rsquo;t taking for granted.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a first for everything, as I mentioned. But this one obviously means more coming home,&rdquo; Udoka said. &ldquo;A ton of family and friends here and the first time in this capacity, so obviously it means a lot. For me, it&rsquo;s great to come back and see family and friends briefly, but it&rsquo;s also time to handle business.&rdquo;
Udoka visited Jefferson High School before the game.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Romeo Langford missed the game with a right ankle sprain. &hellip; Jaylen Brown remains out with hamstring tightness and Udoka said he won&rsquo;t return until he&rsquo;s &ldquo;100 percent, not 85 or 90&rdquo;&hellip; Al Horford sat out with a stiff lower back. Grant Williams started in his place.
Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons (right ankle sprain), Damian Lillard (abdomen) and Nassir Little (left ankle sprain) all missed Saturday&rsquo;s game.
UP NEXT
Celtics: At the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Trail Blazers: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.&nbsp;

Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder scored 31 points apiece and the Celtics rode a sizzling start to a 145-117 victory over the Blazers.

Celtics start fast, rout Trail Blazers 145-117

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is legally changing his name to Enes Kanter Freedom,&nbsp;The Athletic&nbsp;learned. Kanter will be his middle name, Freedom is his new last name. He becomes a U.S. citizen on Monday.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1464974953351200768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Kanter's name changed would become one of the more recognizable name changes in recent NBA memory, alongside Metta World Peace. The Celtics big man is averaging 4.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game off the bench for the 10-10 squad.

Kanter will remain his middle name while Freedom is his new last name.

Enes Kanter changing last name to 'Freedom'

Cleveland Cavaliers fast-starting rookie forward Evan Mobley could return to the lineup sooner than expected after missing less than two weeks with a sprained right elbow.
Mobley got hurt on Nov. 15 against Boston. At the time, the Cavs estimated he could out for as long as one month. However, the No. 3 overall pick has made quick progress and is listed as probable for Saturday's game against the Orlando Magic.
The Cavs lost to the Celtics on the night Mobley was injured while batting Boston big man Enes Kanter under the basket. Cleveland, which has been hit hard by injuries, has dropped its last four games without Mobley.
He's been among the NBA's top rookies through the season's first six weeks, and Mobley's return could help the young Cavs get untracked. Cleveland lost leading scorer Collin Sexton for the season with a knee injury.
The 20-year-old Mobley averaged 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds in his first 15 games. He's been equally effective on defense, averaging 1.6 blocks and being amongst the league's leaders in contested shots.

Evan Mobley could return to the lineup sooner than expected after missing less than two weeks with a sprained right elbow.

Cavs rookie F Mobley nearing return from elbow injury

Boston Celtics games were abruptly pulled from the Chinese internet on Thursday after a center on the team, Enes Kanter, said on social media that the country&rsquo;s leader, Xi Jinping, was a &ldquo;brutal dictator,&rdquo; citing his government&rsquo;s repressive policies in Tibet.
The incident could spell fresh trouble for the N.B.A. in China. The league has millions of devoted fans there but has also just spent two years mending its image in the country after a Houston Rockets executive tweeted support in 2019 for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Source: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/sports/basketball/celtics-kanter-china-tibet.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raymond Zhong and Sopan Deb of The New York Times</a>
ANALYSIS: This is not the first time that China has pulled NBA games from their network. Back in 2019, former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support for the pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong, which prompted China to stop streaming NBA games, resulting in massive revenue losses for the NBA.&nbsp;

China has reportedly pulled all Celtics games from the internet after Celtics center Enes Kanter called China's leader a 'brutal dictator'.

Celtics games pulled in China after Kanter describes leader as 'brutal dictator'

For all the handwringing this summer over Damian Lillard's happiness in Portland, the Trail Blazers guard is staying put, hopeful the team's moves will pay off.
The biggest, of course, was parting ways with coach Terry Stotts after nine seasons. Portland hired Chauncey Billups, who has no prior experience as an NBA head coach.
The nucleus of Lillard, guard CJ McCollum and center Jusuf Nurkic remains intact, but Portland shored up the roster with the addition of Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller and Ben McLemore. Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter have moved on.
While the team didn't strike any splashy offseason deals, Lillard believes the Blazers are in a better place,
&ldquo;Obviously at the end of last season, I wanted to see our roster improve, I wanted us to have a better chance to win,&rdquo; Lillard said. "And we had our conversations throughout the summer about what that looked like and how we could take steps in that direction, and I come into this season with faith that that&rsquo;s going to happen and that we&rsquo;re going to do that.&rdquo;
Portland finished 42-30 last season and earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference. The team won 10 of its final 12 regular-season games but the playoffs ended quickly with the Blazers eliminated by Denver in the opening round.
Lillard is entering his 10th NBA season. The closest he&rsquo;s come to a title was a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2019.
He ranked third in the NBA with an average of 28.8 points last season, and was in the top 10 with 7.5 assists. But it may be Portland's last season with their All-Star and Olympian, unless the team gets results.
&ldquo;I think we all know we've got to get over the hump,&rdquo; Nurkic said.
ANFERNEE'S OPPORTUNITY
Portland didn't make any moves for a proven backup point guard in the offseason, an issue that's plagued the Blazers in recent years. McCollum has taken on those duties at times.
Anfernee Simons, going into his fourth year in the NBA, is looking to fill the role.
When Lillard was given the night off in a preseason game against the Sacramento Kings, Simons scored 24 points.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s continued to make strides and stay aggressive. I want him to always just be confident," Billups said. "Even some nights those shots aren&rsquo;t going to be falling, just him being aggressive and getting spots he wants to get to and playmaking.&rdquo;
MORE INVOLVED
Nurkic is excited about taking on a greater offensive role this season.
Nurkic was frustrated with how he was used last season under Stotts, who leaned on him defensively. Nurkic averaged 11.5 points and nine rebounds last season but missed time because of a broken wrist.
Billups told Nurkic in the offseason that he'd expand his presence on both ends. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking for a big year personally for me and the team," Nurkic said.
VACCINATION STATUS
The Blazers are 100% vaccinated among the players and coaching staff. Lillard said when the vaccinations became available, he wanted to line up his whole family for the shot.
&ldquo;I have a lot of people in my family who I&rsquo;m tight with and spend a lot of time around, and I&rsquo;m just not going to put their health or their lives in danger because I have to go do research,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;As a kid I had to get shots my whole life, before I went to college I had to get shots. And I couldn&rsquo;t tell you one thing about any of them.&rdquo;
FRAUD CASE
Trail Blazers assistant coach Milt Palacio was among 18 former NBA players who were charged in federal court this month with defrauding the league&rsquo;s health and welfare benefit plan. Authorities said the scam involved claiming fictitious medical and dental expenses.
As a result, Palacio was placed on administrative leave by the Blazers.
&ldquo;The federal investigation is independent of the Trail Blazers organization and we will have no further comment pending the outcome of the legal process,&rdquo; the team said.
Former Trail Blazers Sebastian Telfair, Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson were also charged.
BUSY OFFSEASON
The Blazers backcourt didn't rest in the offseason.
Lillard got married to his college sweetheart, won an Olympic gold medal, and released new music. Not to be outdone, CJ McCollum announced he and his wife are expecting their first child, bought a winery and that he was named president of the NBA Players Association.
Lillard brought his gold medal to the team's annual media day, asking whether he should pass it around to the reporters present. Then he quickly changed his mind: &ldquo;Y&rsquo;all can&rsquo;t touch my medal.&rdquo;

For all the handwringing this summer over Damian Lillard's happiness in Portland, the Trail Blazers guard is staying put.

Damian Lillard embarking on pivotal season with Blazers

Perhaps the most significant change with this year's Boston Celtics comes from the team's one constant.
Marcus Smart is Boston's longest-tenured active player. Since joining the franchise as the No. 6 pick in 2014, Smart has watched the lead-guard torch pass from Rajon Rondo, to Isaiah Thomas, to Kyrie Irving and to Kemba Walker, while he settled in primarily as an off-ball guard.
Now, in his eighth season, Smart is poised to take that mantle. Sure, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will drive the offense and the team as a whole. But Boston's heart and soul appears to now be its primary table-setter, a role Smart hasn't been entrenched in since his college days at Oklahoma State.
This means Smart assumes new responsibilities as a communicator, playmaker and creator. It's an interesting fit for one of the best all-around defenders and streakiest shot-makers in the NBA.&nbsp;
"He's our leader now," said Enes Kanter on the first day of training camp.
After a practice this past Wednesday, new Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said that he doesn't want to micromanage an entire game, and specifically mentioned Smart as someone who has done a great job arranging the offense in training camp.
"I like to give the players freedom to be coaches out there, and I feel Dennis [Schr&ouml;der] and Marcus have done a great job throughout camp," Udoka said. "I try to come down and call plays since they know the package we have off of makes and misses. But I'll get up and mention a coverage or call out a play if I have to."
Udoka also mentioned that he specifically brought assistant coach Damon Stoudamire aboard to work with Smart this season. Stoudamire played 13 seasons as a point guard in the NBA and was previously the head coach at Pacific University.&nbsp;
Evidently, Udoka and the Celtics are investing in Smart's development as a floor general. Positional data from Cleaning the Glass estimates that Smart has played at least 60% of his seasonal minutes at shooting guard in each of the last six years. Futhermore, 2020-21 was the only season in his career that the 27-year-old spent more than 20% of the time at point guard, and that was likely boosted with Kemba Walker's injuries.
So this is new professional territory. What can the team and the fans expect on the offensive end?
While Smart's responsibilities might change, his total usage likely won't. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown exist, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/al-horford-brings-back-varying-skill-set-to-completement-boston-celtics-stars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Al Horford's return</a> &mdash; coupled with Schr&ouml;der's acquisition &mdash; adds some new ball-movers to the mix. Make no mistake, though: Smart is assuredly the best passer on Boston's roster.
BBall Index has developed advanced metrics for all sorts of passing attributes using tracking data. In seven of their 11 "playmaking" categories, Smart placed in the 80th percentile or above. That includes measurements such as Passing Creation Quality (whose passes lead to the best quality of shot), Passing Versatility (who has the greatest range of passing types), Points from Assists per 75 possessions and the site's overall "Playmaking Talent" grade, in which Smart was in the 90th percentile.
In essence, these stats claim Smart is a malleable playmaker who can hit teammates in all sorts of situations. He averaged a career-high 5.7 assists per game last season. The tape backs up the statement:
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In the footage, we see: an on-target bounce pass, a one-arm toss to the weak-side corner, two beautiful alley-oops and an aggressive hit in transition. Smart's court vision is apparent. He has a vet's knowledge of the playbook and can also push the pace.
That buzzword, "pace," has become a preseason theme for Boston. We saw the Celtics speed things up in their preseason opener against the Orlando Magic and again versus the Toronto Raptors. Though the pace led to some sloppy turnovers, there were a few moments I liked with Smart, including this play:
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It's nothing crazy. Smart flips the ball up to Brown and follows the pass as he and Robert Williams set up a double screen. It gets Brown running on the perimeter, and with Wendell Carter Jr. defending in drop coverage, opens up a three-point attempt. This is how Boston should intend to play with pace: by catching the defense off guard and putting Brown and Tatum downhill in advantageous spots.&nbsp;
The Celtics also frequently used Smart as a screener against Orlando, which makes sense given his physical 6-foot-4 frame. He typically returned to his traditional off-ball role whenever Schr&ouml;der or Payton Pritchard shared the floor. I'd expect this to continue into the regular season.
Now, let's get to the scoring, which has drawn the ire of Boston fans since Smart entered the league. He's a wild card of a shooter, and while I think it's an overblown concern, the fact remains that his 32.2% career clip on catch-and-shoot threes is... dead last among active players (min. 800 attempts). It is what it is at this point.&nbsp;
But the real concern, and the ultimate swing skill to me, is his rim pressure. Smart has struggled throughout his career getting to and finishing at the basket. According to Cleaning the Glass, 21% of the guard's field goal and free-throw attempts last season came from attacking the rim (29th percentile at his position), and he made only 49% of his field goal attempts (15th percentile).&nbsp;&nbsp;
Part of the problem was his role; Smart wasn't in position to attack with a ball-dominant guard beside him. But the 27-year-old relies heavily on brute force and touch to muscle his way to the hoop. He doesn't lean on a floater, and lacks explosiveness and leaping ability.&nbsp;
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The silver lining is that Smart made solid playmaking decisions when he attacked. Per BBall Index, he passed out of drives 41% of the time, and 30% of those passes became assists &mdash; both healthy numbers. But will Smart intimidate enough to collapse the defense? Boston doesn't have many at-rim terrors on paper, so he'll need to step up (as do Tatum and Brown).&nbsp;
Saturday night showed promise. Smart posted 7 assists against just 2 turnovers in the Celtics' win over the Toronto Raptors, drawing praise from teammates for his aggressive play. He finished just 2-of-7 from the field, with many of those being missed shots at the basket. But he also showed what happens when he does pressure the defense.
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"Tonight, he quickly realized that if he puts pressure on the rim, the way that we're playing, the defense is collapsing, so it was opening up shots for all of us." Horford said. "He did a really good job recognizing. The thing about Smart is, he justs adjusts to how they're playing; he just figures it out."
In many facets, we know what we're getting with Smart: an all-world defensive pest, a loose-ball magnet and a cerebral decision-maker. The team and fan base should also know they are not&nbsp;getting a ball-dominant, walking-bucket point guard in the vein of past Celtics.
Marcus Smart's offensive impact will be largely defined by how he sets the table for his teammates and how he feasts when the plate is for him. If the veteran can't pressure defenses and keep a fast pace, Boston may revert to its past scoring inconsistencies. But if things break correctly, Smart can unleash the point guard skills necessary for his teammates to thrive.

Ethan Fuller breaks down how Marcus Smart fits in as the Celtics' true point guard.

What does Marcus Smart at point guard look like for the Celtics?

Enes Kanter <a href="https://twitter.com/EnesKanter/status/1444656879041454080?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on a CNN appearance</a> that he was disappointed by LeBron James' decision to not promote receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it ridiculous.
James received the vaccine, but said it was a personal decision and would not influence others to make that choice.
ANALYSIS: Enes Kanter has never shied from speaking up on political issues or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnL2orne-bw">even confronting LeBron James</a>, so it is unsurprsing to hear him speak out against James here.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
~Ridiculous~<a href="https://twitter.com/PamelaBrownCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PamelaBrownCNN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNN</a> <a href="https://t.co/9QniT4uj0i">pic.twitter.com/9QniT4uj0i</a>
&mdash; Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) <a href="https://twitter.com/EnesKanter/status/1444656879041454080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Enes Kanter said on a CNN appearance that he was disappointed by LeBron James' decision to not promote receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it ridiculous.

Enes Kanter: 'Ridiculous' LeBron will not advocate for COVID vaccine

The 2021 NBA offseason featured plenty of surprises and quite a bit of player movement. While there has been plenty of discussion about the stars who changed teams, there were also many talented players who ended up signing for the veteran&rsquo;s minimum.
These are the kind of low-risk, high-reward moves that could end up being some of the biggest steals of the offseason. Some of these players will inevitably outperform their contract and become a huge bargain for their respective teams.&nbsp;
For example, when the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship in 2019-20, their roster featured quite a few minimum-contract contributors including Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Markieff Morris, Talen Horton-Tucker and Jared Dudley.&nbsp;
In the NBA, the veteran's minimum varies from player to player depending on their years of experience. For example, a rookie who signs a minimum deal will earn $925,258 this season. A second-year player on the minimum will earn $1,489,065. By the time a player has played 10 or more years in the NBA, their minimum contract is worth $2,641,691.
So while all of the players listed in this piece signed for the veteran minimum, they won&rsquo;t receive the same paychecks. However, their cap hit will be the same. <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/08/nba-minimum-salaries-for-2021-22.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke Adams from Hoops Rumors explains</a>:
&ldquo;Because the NBA doesn&rsquo;t want teams to avoid signing veteran players in favor of cheaper, younger players, the league reimburses clubs who sign veterans with three or more years of experience to one-year, minimum salary contracts. Those deals will only count against the cap &ndash; and against a team&rsquo;s bank balance &ndash; for $1,669,178, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience.&rdquo;
So while Andre Iguodala will earn $2,641,691 this season, he&rsquo;ll only cost the Golden State Warriors $1,669,178, and the NBA will make up the difference.
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Across the board, minimum salaries increased by 3% over last year&rsquo;s numbers. Here&rsquo;s a look at some notable players who signed for the minimum:
Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat: After earning $21,000,000 last season with the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets, Oladipo will make $2,389,641 this season with the Miami Heat. A significant quad injury impacted his stock entering free agency, which is why this two-time All-Star is on a minimum deal just three years after making an All-NBA team. Last year, Oladipo averaged 20.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.6 threes and 1.3 steals in 29 total games with the Rockets and Pacers. If healthy, Oladipo could end up being a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/victor-oladipo-minimum-deal-may-become-nba-offseason-biggest-steal-miami-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key contributor for Miami</a>.
Andre Drummond, Philadelphia 76ers: Last season, Drummond averaged 14.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in 46 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. The 28-year-old was earning $27,957,238 with the Cavs, but then he agreed to a buyout and joined the Lakers. He hoped to win a title alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Co., but Los Angeles was eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. Now, he&rsquo;ll serve as Joel Embiid&rsquo;s backup on the 76ers while earning $2,401,537.
Blake Griffin, Brooklyn Nets: Like Drummond, Griffin was bought out halfway through the 2020-21 season. With $75 million remaining on his contract, Griffin reportedly agreed to leave $13.3 million on the table in order to exit his deal with the Detroit Pistons and hit unrestricted free agency. Shortly after, he joined the Brooklyn Nets in pursuit of a ring. Still, he went from earning $32,670,565 last year to $2,641,691 during the upcoming campaign.
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Otto Porter Jr., Golden State Warriors: Porter received larger offers during free agency, but he decided to join the Warriors on a $2,389,641 salary (after earning $28,489,239 last season with the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic). He should fit perfectly alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and then he&rsquo;ll hit free agency again next offseason. Last year, the 28-year-old averaged 9.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 threes in 28 games.
Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors: After spending five years with the Warriors (from 2013-14 to 2018-19), Iguodala joined the Miami Heat for a two-year stint. Now, he&rsquo;s returning to Golden State on a one-year deal. Last season, he averaged 4.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game, while also serving as a strong veteran leader in the locker room. After earning $15,000,000 last season, he&rsquo;ll make $2,641,691 in 2021-22.
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Lakers: Last season, Jordan earned $10,375,678 from the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 7.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21.9 minutes per game. Recently, the Nets traded Jordan and four second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor. Shortly after, the Pistons bought out Jordan, and he signed a one-year, $2,641,691 deal.
Other Notable Minimum-Contract Players:&nbsp;
Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)
Enes Kanter, Boston Celtics ($2,641,691)
Paul Millsap, Brooklyn Nets ($2,641,691)
Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)
Cody Zeller, Portland Trail Blazers ($2,389,641)
Malik Monk, Los Angeles Lakers ($1,789,256)
Nemanja Bjelica, Golden State Warriors ($2,089,448)
Rajon Rondo, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)
Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)

Alex Kennedy highlights key players who signed for the veteran's minimum this offseason after being on lucrative deals previously.

Examining minimum-contract bargains from 2021 NBA offseason

Nekias Duncan breaks down all five teams in the Atlantic Division for his 2021-22 NBA season preview.

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Atlantic Division

The Charlotte Hornets identified the center position as their focus area this offseason.
They traded for Mason Plumlee, a solid rim roller and passing hub from the high post. They let longtime &mdash; and long-underrated &mdash; big man Cody Zeller go in free agency; he's off to Portland to screen for, and catch lobs from, Damian Lillard. Charlotte locker room favorite Bismack Biyombo is also out.
In the draft, the Hornets took a long-term swing on super-athlete Kai Jones. He's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/selfaware-kai-jones-is-an-unfinished-product-and-wont-stop-learning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ridiculously explosive with unreal physical traits</a>, but is likely a year or two away from being a positive impact guy. He joins Vernon Carey Jr. and Nick Richards in the Hornets' young stable of centers we're not quite sure what to expect from.
But what if the answer to the center question isn't a traditional center? What if it's third-year forward PJ Washington?
After rarely playing center in his rookie campaign, Washington nearly split his time between the 4 and 5 last season: a 54/46 split; let the good folks at <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/washipj01.html#pbp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Basketball-Reference</a> tell it. The Hornets had a plus-3 net rating in nearly 900 minutes when Washington was on the floor without a center, per <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612766&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1629023,203469,202687,1630176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PBP Stats</a>.&nbsp;
That's a pretty solid sample of positive minutes. It's even more impressive considering the up-and-down nature of Washington's season, at least from a shooting perspective.
The Hornets aren't in "prove it" territory as a whole; they're a young group that caught a lot of teams off guard last season with their breakneck pace and funky mixture of defensive coverages. It is fair, however, to say that the surprise element likely won't exist for them this year.
With the team's core being as young as it is, there is room for linear improvement, and thus another year of playoff contention. But because the shine has worn off a bit, and because the rest of the conference has improved, they'll need&nbsp;a step forward from their core to keep pace.
That may start with Washington.&nbsp;
THE FOUNDATION
I won't bore you by completely quoting myself from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/something-to-prove-jaren-jackson-jr-at-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaren Jackson Jr. piece</a>, but the same "All Unicorn bigs are not created equal" point remains. Washington isn't a unicorn, but his skill set is robust enough to make you raise your eyebrow when watching him.
Like Jackson, the intrigue begins from the outside with Washington. He got off to a slow shooting start last season (roughly 33% from deep over his first 24 games), then completely turned it around to close things out (nearly 41% on 5.3 attempts).&nbsp;
He doesn't possess Unicorn-like shot versatility, at least not yet. Washington only made four (4) threes coming off screens last season, per InStat tracking, and those were of the "receive a random pin-in and spot-up behind it" variety.
He does knock down spot-up looks with ease, and displays solid footwork on pick-and-pops. The foundation is there for him to do more movement stuff, and I'm intrigued by some of the self-created threes he took last season.
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That doesn't look like someone that can't get busy, that's for sure.
Teams can't afford to leave him open from deep. He invites aggressive close-outs on spot-up and pick-and-pop opportunities, then counters them with quick drives.
The best thing to say about Washington right now on that front is that he's a quick decision-maker off the catch. He's firing the shot, or immediately branching into a drive to keep the chain moving. For a Charlotte team that doesn't have a title-level number one option, maximizing windows with timeliness is key.&nbsp;
As a finisher, Washington has a solid feel for defender positioning. He attacks scrambling defenders well, pinpointing their front foot and sliding past with aggressive drives. He's a low driver, able to gain inside leverage with his shoulders to create some semblance of space. Counters are being added &mdash; he's gaining comfort with a spin move &mdash; but he's not all the way there yet.
His passing chops are also trending upward, particularly on drives. His pass percentage on drives jumped nearly five percentage points from last season (34.6 to 39.0), while his turnover rate rose marginally (7.9 to 9.5), per <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/drives/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TeamID=1610612766&amp;sort=DRIVE_TOV_PCT&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Second Spectrum tracking data</a>. The path from chain-mover to playmaker is there.
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A big man that can legitimately shoot the ball while possessing the ball skills to get downhill and create for himself or others... that's a hard needle to thread. The guys that can do that have, or will, get paid handsomely.
The fact that Washington can provide plus-impact at the 5 while some of his skills are still unrefined (more on that shortly) bodes well for him and the Hornets as a whole.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
While it's perfectly okay that a big man on his rookie deal doesn't have it all together, it is&nbsp;important to note that Washington isn't there yet.
There are areas of refinement, like Washington's passing, where you squint but still feel okay about things overall. He's a quick decision-maker and generally makes the right reads. After going through his film, I struggle with calling him a good&nbsp;passer because the ball placement just isn't there.
The stationary stuff is fine. Once you incorporate movement &mdash; drive and kicks, or short-roll opportunities &mdash; the bag becomes a bit mixed. His tape is littered with high and/or wide dishes that take shooters out of rhythm. While it's nice to (quickly) identify a window, you ultimately have to hit the sucker. He doesn't do that enough right now.
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The more pressing issue is Washington on the interior, on both ends of the floor.
Offensively, a lack of vertical pop hinders him quite a bit as a finisher. Among 97 players to take at least 200 shots at the rim last season, Washington ranked 93rd in field goal percentage (54.6%) and 95th in the percentage of rim attempts he had blocked (15.8%), per <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/player?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PBP Stats</a>.&nbsp;
It's great that he understands how he has to win: with positioning, with craft and with a little bit of touch. It's a bit concerning that he needs those traits to the degree he does. If he isn't able to win a pure scramble drill, his attempts become infinitely more difficult.
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On the other end of the floor, Washington doesn't bring enough punch to operate as the primary big. Lateral mobility is his greatest strength defensively. It's necessary considering how often the Hornets switched last year, and how much ground he occasionally had to cover when they went to their many variations of zone.
He can legitimately hold his own against forwards and wings, and survive against sub-elite guards in a pinch. As a weak-side rotator, Washington is generally on time and on target.&nbsp;
Put Washington in a drop as the primary defender, and you'll see inconsistencies in his technique and depth, and the lack of vertical pop will rear its ugly head.
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On the stat side: 27 players defended at least five shots at the rim per game last season (min. 40 games played), <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;sort=DEF_RIM_FG_PCT&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=DEF_RIM_FGA*GE*5:GP*GE*40" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Second Spectrum</a>. Washington ranked 25th in field goal percentage allowed (65.2%), besting only Enes Kanter (65.3%) and Nikola Jokic (66.3%).&nbsp;
Jokic is probably the closest analog, oddly enough: a big man with squishy traits as a rim protector who makes up for it with activity. Both are high-steal guys for the position, but Jokic can also clean the glass at a high level (26.1% defensive rebound rate last season). Washington lags behind in that area (18.3%).
There is context to be added to both of those numbers. Washington has his flaws as a defender, but he was also tasked with covering for some of the worst point-of-attack defense in the league. There's a reason the Hornets experimented as much as they did defensively last season.
It's also difficult to post a high rebound rate when defending on the perimeter as much as Washington had to, and baked into all of this is that Washington split time between the 4 and 5 to begin with.&nbsp;
But if he's to log more minutes at the 5 specifically, he has to become a stronger presence inside. He isn't a bad defender on balance, but there's a step that needs to be taken.
If he's able to get there defensively, his offensive strengths will be accentuated. His shooting becomes even more deadly when he's removing a center from the paint. Driving lanes will become wider, opening more passing opportunities.&nbsp;
The Hornets only got 53 minutes out of the Ball-Rozier-Hayward-Bridges-Washington lineup last season; considering it was a positive (<a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612766&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=202330,1626179,1628970,1629023,1630163" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plus-5.4</a>), it's certainly worth exploring as a closing lineup this year. Washington being able to man the middle would allow that to happen.
Beyond the team success, Washington will be extension-eligible next offseason. A strong showing on both ends could wind up being fruitful for him.

Nekias Duncan continues his Something To Prove series by breaking down the film of Hornets big man PJ Washington.

Something To Prove: PJ Washington at center

The 2021-22 NBA season is right around the corner. One month from now, training camps will get underway. This season, BasketballNews.com will be covering the NBA from every possible angle, including ramped-up sports-betting content.
After providing some <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/5-best-bets-on-future-nba-awardwinners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interesting future bets on the NBA award races</a>, let's take a look at the 2021-22 playoff odds. Many teams went all-in this offseason, determined to make the playoffs and go on a run.
After examining the 2021-22 playoff odds, seven teams stand out as worthy fliers. Let&rsquo;s dive into which organizations have intriguing odds that you can capitalize on before it&rsquo;s too late.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: +575 odds to make playoffs
Realistically, the team that could make you a lot of money by the end of the regular season resides in Minnesota. Although the Western Conference is still loaded &ndash; with as many as 12 teams having realistic playoff aspirations &ndash; don&rsquo;t sleep on the Timberwolves finally making a push.
Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the most gifted scorers in the Association and a consistent 40% three-point shooter. Last year's No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-will-anthony-edwards-surge-lead-to-nba-rookie-of-the-year-award-minnesota-timberwolves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made a leap in the second half</a> of his rookie season, averaging 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.9 threes and 1.4 steals in 36 games after the All-Star break. He should build off of that during his sophomore campaign, and he could crack 25.0 points per game. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell has struggled with injuries during his year-plus stint in Minnesota, but he&rsquo;s another offensive weapon that Minnesota can utilize. The Timberwolves&rsquo; roster features a lot of youth and a lot of subpar defenders, but a whole lot of points will be scored. Minnesota is hoping to out-race teams in "track-meet" style matchups where reaching 130-plus points each night is the primary objective.
Here's another underrated reason why you should take a flier on Minnesota at +575 playoff odds: the Ben Simmons rumors. Minnesota is reportedly the one team who has continually kept a dialogue going with Philadelphia. Now, after acquiring big expiring contracts in Taurean Prince and Patrick Beverley this offseason, the Wolves can make a deal work cap-wise while also throwing in a sweetener like up-and-coming prospect Jaden McDaniels. Philadelphia&rsquo;s asking price is absurd, but Minnesota can offer picks plus Prince, Beverley, McDaniels and Josh Okogie to make the salaries work. The Sixers will likely want a third team to get involved to create a more appealing package, but don&rsquo;t rule out Minnesota as Simmons&rsquo; eventual destination. If that happens, you&rsquo;ll be lucky to have chased these +575 odds before they might break even within a few months time.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: +500 odds to make playoffs
The 2021-22 season may be the Wizards&rsquo; last chance to impress Bradley Beal. Entering the final year of his contract, Beal could become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. The Wizards will <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/bradley-beal-will-be-eligible-extension-wizards-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> offer him to a max extension this summer, but it remains to be seen if he's interested in signing it.
Regardless, give Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard some credit. Once Russell Westbrook asked out, he retooled Washington&rsquo;s roster on the fly and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wizards-retooling-led-to-a-competent-roster-surrounding-bradley-beal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">built a competent rotation</a> best suited to fit Beal&rsquo;s special skillset. Spencer Dinwiddie is the perfect backcourt partner alongside Beal. Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope add more scoring punch. Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert are talented prospects who provide versatility. Davis Bertans should have a bounce-back season beyond the arc and provide elite shooting. Daniel Gafford, Montrezl Harrell and Thomas Bryant is an intriguing trio of big men. Overall, Washington now has a deeper rotation that should fit together better than last year's group.
If everything clicks for the Wizards, they should push for a playoff spot (perhaps with a second-straight appearance in the play-in tournament). Although Westbrook is gone, Beal should be able to lead a more well-rounded roster to a record above .500. If that&rsquo;s the case, betting on Washington right now at +500 odds seems like a smart investment.
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PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: +200 odds to miss playoffs
Damian Lillard seems to have one foot out the door in Portland. Fed up with the Blazers&rsquo; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-which-nba-team-had-the-worst-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lack of urgency to build a contender around him</a>, nothing has really changed since he vented about how additional changes were needed. GM Neil Olshey re-signed Norman Powell (who fits well alongside Lillard) on a five-year deal and added Cody Zeller, Tony Snell and Ben McLemore to improve Portland's second unit. The Blazers also traded Derrick Jones Jr. and a future lottery-protected first-round pick to bring in Larry Nance Jr., who is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-larry-nance-jr-brings-to-the-portland-trail-blazers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a perfect complementary piece that should help on both ends</a> of the floor.
Aside from Nance, the additions are pretty underwhelming, and the team lost Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter and Zach Collins. Considering what's at stake, it's surprising that the Blazers didn't make more moves to show Lillard that the organization is committed to winning. Olshey and Co. are playing a very dangerous game here, especially if the Blazers stagnate in the standings next season.
If teams like Minnesota, New Orleans and Memphis see a big leap from their young cores, Portland could find themselves outside of the playoff picture. And if that&rsquo;s the case, Lillard will be gone next offseason.
At +200 odds to miss the playoffs, it&rsquo;s a worthy gamble when you realize the Lillard situation hangs over the organization. If the Blazers get off to a slow start, could Lillard ask out mid-season? At the moment,&nbsp; it's hard to feel comfortable about Portland&rsquo;s playoff hopes.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS: +175 odds to make playoffs
Charlotte <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-ready-to-fly-up-standings-following-strong-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quietly had one of the best offseasons</a> in the Association. Not only did they re-sign Terry Rozier on a four-year deal, they also brought in Kelly Oubre Jr. to add some more scoring potency off their bench. Mason Plumlee, who has been a steady starting center over the years, was acquired pretty much for free. Add in the draft picks of James Bouknight and Kai Jones, and Charlotte will be one of the most fun teams to monitor throughout the 2021-22 season.
LaMelo Ball is poised to take another leap in his sophomore campaign, which should help bolster Charlotte&rsquo;s playoff probabilities even further. The Hornets&rsquo; rotation is now 10-11 players deep, which hasn&rsquo;t been the case in years. With a nice blend of win-now veterans alongside promising high-upside prospects, Charlotte could be one of the best bets to make off this list.&nbsp;
Gordon Hayward&rsquo;s health will also play a factor here. The Hornets were above .500 before Hayward went down with a season-ending injury. Despite Hayward's injury and Ball being sidelined for a significant stretch, the Hornets still earned a spot in the East's play-in tournament last year. If Hayward can stay healthy throughout the regular season and their offseason additions fit in, Charlotte could comfortably finish in the East's top-eight for the first time since 2015-16.&nbsp;
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NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: +170 odds to make playoffs
It's always fun to bet on Zion Williamson, who has already reached superstardom. After averaging 27.0 points during his sophomore season, Williamson could realistically average 30.0 or more now that the new-look Pelicans will have better floor-spacing. A smart head-coaching hire (Willie Green) and roster upgrades around the margins should lead to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/by-making-zion-williamsons-job-easier-the-pelicans-should-finally-have-real-playoff-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a boost in performance from New Orleans</a>.
Brandon Ingram is flying under the radar as well. If Ingram continues to be one of the most promising two-way wings in the Association, New Orleans is cooking with gas in 2021-22.
It will be tough to break through in a loaded Western Conference, but Williamson is a generational talent. If the Pelicans find success early in the regular season, they could ride that wave of momentum toward a play-in appearance. With Williiamson in a win-or-go-home situation for a playoff spot, I&rsquo;m betting on New Orleans.&nbsp;
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INDIANA PACERS: +145 odds to miss the playoffs
Everything went wrong for the Pacers last season. Nate Bjorkgren was an awful head coach who failed to relate to players and whose scheme didn&rsquo;t match the roster. Rick Carlisle&rsquo;s return to Indiana is a huge deal for an organization that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pacers-face-makeorbreak-202122-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">needs to succeed in a make-or-break 2021-22 season</a>. If the Pacers fail to make significant headway, big changes are in store for this roster.
Again, the Eastern Conference looks to be very much improved. Chicago may have leapfrogged Indiana in their division. Charlotte and Washington might be doing the same thing with solid rosters that could immediately fit together well. Meanwhile, Indiana has questions. Will Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/can-rick-carlisle-make-a-domantas-sabonis-myles-turner-pairing-work-for-the-pacers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">find success with their jumbo-sized frontcourt</a>? Will T.J. Warren <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-100-million-payday-awaits-tj-warren-if-he-continues-to-silence-the-critics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stay healthy in a contract year</a>? What can we expect from the backcourt of Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert, which barely played together last season due to separate injuries?
On paper, the Pacers have a solid squad. However, if they get off to a slow start, they could be one of the teams ready to sell-high around the trade deadline. They have a number of attractive pieces and rival executives have been circling like vultures for a while (just look at how often Turner has surfaced in trade rumors). At +145 odds, this seems like a flier worth taking.
NEW YORK KNICKS: +125 odds to miss the playoffs
After a really solid offseason, it's clear that the Knicks are banking on continuity. Also, bringing aboard Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker should help bolster a rotation that was already impressively deep. However, could the Knicks be the team that regresses the most in 2021-22? It&rsquo;s a realistic possibility, especially with how many young squads in the Eastern Conference are on the rise.
What if Julius Randle stagnates and doesn&rsquo;t improve? They'll need him to continue playing at a high level, while R.J. Barrett, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley and their 2021 rookie class must hit the ground running early in the regular season too.
New York finished as the No. 4 seed last season, but for the first time in years, there will be real drama surrounding the East's playoff picture.
Tom Thibodeau helped the Knicks overachieve last season. The question is, can this team do it again? It's possible they take a step forward and once again earn homecourt advantage in the playoffs. But it truly could go either way for the Knicks, making this a worthy bet at +125.

Which NBA teams could win you some money come playoff time? Evan Sidery looks at 7 teams whose postseason odds stand out.

2021-22 NBA playoff odds: 7 teams worth betting on

This summer, there were a handful of teams that got better through the NBA Draft and free-agency period. Recently, our staff discussed the organizations that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-which-nba-team-had-the-best-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had the best offseason</a> as well as the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-breaking-down-this-offseasons-most-underrated-moves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most underrated moves of this summer</a>. But who didn't take advantage of this window to add to their roster?
Today, we asked our writers:
Which NBA team had the worst offseason?
Nekias Duncan: I&rsquo;m just not a fan of what the Portland Trail Blazers did. Their coaching hire of Chauncey Billups was mired in controversy. There&rsquo;s been no major swing on the roster, with their best free agent acquisition being Cody Zeller. They got virtually nothing from the draft, then followed that up by building a summer league roster that frankly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/news/authors/nekias-duncan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn&rsquo;t make much sense</a>. I can&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;m a fan of how things have been handled.
Jackson Frank: It&rsquo;s the Dallas Mavericks for me. They didn&rsquo;t get substantially better in an offseason when they touted lots of cap space and resemble a very similar team to last year. They still need a secondary creator to aid Luka Doncic. The wing defense is lackluster. The center rotation is worrisome. This just felt like a considerable misstep, given Luka&rsquo;s superstardom and the financial flexibility drying up moving forward.
Alex Kennedy: In one of the most important offseasons in the Portland Trail Blazers' history (given what's at stake with Damian Lillard's future), Neil Olshey and Co. dropped the ball. The team lost Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter and Zach Collins, and their only notable moves were re-signing Norm Powell and adding Cody Zeller, Tony Snell and Ben McLemore. Entering this offseason, Lillard said: "I think if you look at our team as it is going into next season, I don&rsquo;t see how you can say, &lsquo;This is a championship team. You just need a new coach.&rsquo;" He's 100% right, and now the roster is arguably worse than when he made that comment. When asked about Portland's free-agency moves, Lillard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-not-unhappy-with-blazers-despite-losses-in-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was honest</a> and said, "We weren&rsquo;t able to go out there and get some of the guys that we would have liked."&nbsp;
Spencer Davies: Surprisingly, I am asking myself what the San Antonio Spurs are doing with their money. Bringing in veterans like Thaddeus Young, Doug McDermott, Zach Collins, Bryn Forbes and Al-Farouq Aminu would make more sense if they were contending for a postseason spot... but that almost certainly won&rsquo;t be the case. From a developmental standpoint, it should be good to have these guys around to mentor Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Keldon Johnson. Still, it kind of takes time away from Lonnie Walker Jr. and Devin Vassell, and that&rsquo;s the last thing you want for a team that&rsquo;s going to reset after losing DeMar DeRozan and a slew of vets who had been around for years. That said, taking Josh Primo as a take-your-time project is intriguing... just maybe not so much for the other young players who play that position. Oh, and Jakob Poeltl signed an extension not too long ago too, yet R.C. Buford decided to invest in Collins. This summer just seemed like an interesting, maybe not-so-smart way to use cap space for one of the best-run organizations in sports.
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Imman Adan: The New Orleans Pelicans. They went all in, giving up two future first-round picks in the Memphis Grizzlies deal for Jonas Valanciunas, and a pick swap. They also didn&rsquo;t re-sign Lonzo Ball, moved off of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams' money and gave up Wes Iwundu with very little to show for it. I&rsquo;m all for big swings, but this didn&rsquo;t feel all that calculated. It's hard to understand what they&rsquo;re trying to accomplish, and they certainly took a step back.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Evan Sidery: I have no idea what the Spurs are doing. Why sign Doug McDermott to a big contract, while also signing Bryn Forbes? Zach Collins on a multi-year deal was another head-scratching move. The Spurs <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/with-veterans-moving-on-san-antonio-spurs-would-be-wise-to-hit-the-reset-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener">should be trying to tank this year</a>, but that might not be their plan internally. Give those minutes opened by veteran departures to your young core, not new free agents. Now, players like Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker are still stuck to the bench.
Ethan Fuller: Portland could win this off of the Chauncey Billups hiring (and subsequent fallout) alone, and I'm sure some of our fellow writers picked the Trail Blazers. So I'll add another team in the Dallas Mavericks, whose offseason <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavericks-gm-donnie-nelson-agree-to-mutually-part-ways-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consisted of a front-office blowup</a>, three minor roster additions <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reggie-bullock-mavs-agree-to-threeyear-deal-worth-305m">headlined by Reggie Bullock</a> and the hiring of Jason Kidd as head coach. Kidd not only was convicted of domestic abuse in 2001 &mdash; and has done little publicly to atone for it &mdash; but he also has a 183-190 record as the head coach of talented teams. And there is <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/book-jason-kidd-held-christmas-163516649.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anecdotal evidence of a problematic past</a> in Milwaukee. It's hard for a team to regress with a rising star, but that seems to be what the Mavs are doing despite Luka Doncic's ascension.
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Jesse Blancarte: In an offseason where the Portland Trail Blazers are at risk of superstar Damian Lillard demanding to be traded, the franchise failed to make any moves that would quell the situation. Re-signing Norman Powell was a good move. However, Portland lost notable players like Enes Kanter, Carmelo Anthony and Zach Collins. The only other additions so far include Cody Zeller on a minimum contract, Tony Snell and Ben McLemore. Unless Portland has a few tricks up its sleeves, it seems likely Lillard and C.J. McCollum are going to lack the support they need on the court to take Portland on a deep playoff run next season.
Drew Maresca: I was on the fence between the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers, but Doncic&rsquo;s re-signing made the difference for me. Ultimately, Dallas is now where Portland was two years ago. The Blazers needed to do something to impress Damian Lillard, and they failed. Lillard is insanely loyal, but even the most loyal among us has limits. Lillard will end up giving Portland an ultimatum at some point in the near future, and the Blazers might find themselves stonewalled into trading Lillard instead of building around him. Who knows, it might already be too late.
Chris Sheridan: That is a tough one because the summer is a time of hope for all 30 teams. But the Orlando Magic are the winners of this category. They added Robin Lopez and head coach Jamahl Mosley, but little else outside of their draft picks. I hated the Nikola Vucevic trade when they made it. I hated it even more when Khem Birch was waived and outplayed his replacement Wendell Carter Jr. with the Toronto Raptors late last season. I do not see much hope here for an Orlando win total north of the teens.

Which team did the worst job during the 2021 NBA offseason? Our writers share their thoughts.