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Mavericks

According to Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks are in advanced talks to sign Kemba Walker and could complete the signing of the former All-Star guard as early as this week pending a physical examination.
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The Mavericks are nearing a deal to sign former All-Star guard Kemba Walker, league sources tell me. Full story here via my Substack: <a href="https://t.co/POHTACkicK">https://t.co/POHTACkicK</a>
&mdash; Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1597197977877102592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Stein adds that Dallas has targeted the 32-year-old Walker in hopes he can help address its needs for both increased perimeter shooting and additional ballhandling off the bench. The team will need to create a roster spot and will likely do that by waiving&nbsp;Facundo Campazzo.&nbsp;
The New York Knicks traded Walker to the Detroit Pistons this past June as part of a deal to acquire the draft rights to No. 13 overall pick Jalen Duren. The Pistons never planned on playing him and waived Walker right before the season, eating his guaranteed $9.2 million salary for this season.
Walker appeared in only 37 games last season for the Knicks, averaging a career-low 11.8 points, 3.5 assists in only 25.6 minutes per game. The Knicks announced in February that they would not play Walker gfor the remainder of the season.

The Dallas Mavericks are in advanced talks to sign Kemba Walker and could complete the signing this week.

Report: Mavericks close to signing Kemba Walker

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Damion Lee understands the final possession etiqutte in an NBA game, so the Phoenix Suns new role player passed the ball to Devin Booker with about 15 seconds left, expecting the All-Star guard to take the final shot.
Booker passed it right back to Lee.
The 6-foot-5 Lee rewarded Booker's confidence by hitting a difficult jumper over Spencer Dinwiddie with 9.7 seconds left, lifting the Suns to a 107-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night after they trailed by 22 points early in the third quarter.
&ldquo;I got double-teamed, so I made the right play,&rdquo; Booker said grinning. &ldquo;I trust my teammates, I trust everybody out there. It's something we've scouted and we've schemed. Teams are going to throw different defenses at me.&rdquo;
Booker finished with a team-high 28 points. Lee scored all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Lee &mdash; who signed with the Suns in the offseason after four seasons with Golden State &mdash; hit three important 3-pointers in the fourth, but saved the best for the final seconds.
&ldquo;Ball was in my hands, just go make a play,&rdquo; Lee said. &ldquo;I know people are giving me the credit with the game-winning shot, but this was a total team effort.&rdquo;
Dallas star Luka Doncic missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
&ldquo;It's the first game, we have a couple of new guys, we still have to work,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;We have 81 games to go. We are going to get it right.&rdquo;
It was an impressive come-from-behind win for the Suns, who picked up a victory against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season in embarrassing fashion.
The Mavericks led 67-45 early in the third quarter and 93-80 with eight minutes left, but the Suns kept pushing. Cameron Payne's layup put the Suns up 101-100 with 3:10 left for the first lead since the first quarter.
Doncic scored 35 points for the Mavericks. Christian Wood added 25 points and eight rebounds in his team debut.
Dallas built a 21-point lead in the second quarter but the Suns cut that advantage to 77-76 late in the third on Payne's jumper. Wood made back-to-back 3s &mdash; including one that banked off the glass &mdash; to push the Mavs back on top 88-76 early in the fourth.
But the Suns never stopped playing. Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Cameron Johnson added 15 points, and Mikal Bridges had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson left the game in the fourth quarter because he was cramping and didn't return.
The 23-year-old Doncic &mdash; entering his fifth NBA season &mdash; scored 13 points as the Mavericks jumped out to a 32-24 lead after the first quarter. Dallas stretched its lead to 21 in the second before settling for a 62-45 halftime advantage.
&ldquo;We played for 3 1/2 quarters, then we run out of steam,&rdquo; Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
It was the first game for the Suns since their stunning 123-90 home loss to the Mavs in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals. The top-seeded Suns had won 64 games during the regular season, which set a franchise record.
Despite that disappointment, GM James Jones opted to keep most of the nucleus, signing Booker and Ayton to lucrative long-term deals.
The Mavericks &mdash; which lost to the Warriors in the Western Conference finals after beating the Suns &mdash; also have a similar roster, though they lost Jalen Brunson to the Knicks in free agency.
MCGEE'S BACK
JaVale McGee was back in Phoenix on Wednesday, but he had switched sides from the Suns to the Mavericks.
The 7-foot McGee started for the Mavericks, finishing with three points and four rebounds in 14 minutes. He was a vital part of the Suns' bench last season, averaging 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
SARIC, TOO
Suns forward Dario Saric played in his first game since suffering a torn ACL in the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals in 2021. He missed all of last season.
Saric &mdash; who checked in early in the second quarter to loud cheers &mdash; averaged 8.7 points per game during the 2020-21 season.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: F Davis Bertans (right knee) and G Frank Ntilikina (right ankle) weren't available to play. G Facundo Campazzo was on the inactive list.
Suns: G Landry Shamet (left hip strain) and F Jae Crowder (not with team) weren't available to play. Crowder and the Suns mutally agreed that the forward would stay away from the team while the front office looked for a trade. ... C Deandre Ayton played just seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Memphis on Saturday night.
Suns: At Portland on Friday night.

Devin Booker finished with a team-high 28 points. Damion Lee scored all of his 11 points in the fourth and hit the go-ahead winner.

Suns rally from 22 points down to beat Mavericks 107-105

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; The Mavericks have signed Argentine guard Facundo Campazzo, a former teammate of Luka Doncic who will be another ballhandling option behind the Dallas superstar.
The move was announced Tuesday, a day before the Mavericks open the regular season at Phoenix, where Dallas routed the Suns in Game 7 of the second round to reach last season's Western Conference finals.
The 31-year-old Campazzo became a free agent after spending his first two NBA seasons in Denver, following careers in the EuroLeague and his native Argentina.
Campazzo played alongside Doncic at Real Madrid and helped the Spanish club win championships in 2015 and 2018. Doncic was MVP of the EuroLeague Final Four for the second title.
The 5-foot-11 Campazzo averaged 5.6 points and 3.5 assists in two seasons with the Nuggets, starting 23 of 130 games.
Campazzo started his professional career at 17 in his home country and was a two-time Argentine League Finals MVP while helping his team win four championships in five seasons.
The addition of Campazzo comes as the Mavericks figure out their rotation following the departure of point guard Jalen Brunson.
Brunson started his career as a backup to Doncic but had a stellar postseason performance last season as a starter alongside the Slovenian standout. Brunson signed with the New York Knicks in free agency.
Campazzo is captain of Argentina's national team, which won the FIBA AmeriCup gold medal last month. He averaged 12.3 points in the tournament.

Facundo Campazzo played alongside Doncic at Real Madrid and helped the Spanish club win championships in 2015 and 2018,

Mavericks add Campazzo, former EuroLeague teammate of Doncic

This marks the first time that NBA opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons

NBA features 120 international players from 40 countries, 6 continents

According to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1582114544419151876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>, free agent guard Facundo Campazzo has reached agreement to sign with the Dallas Mavericks.
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Free agent guard Facundo Campazzo has reached agreement to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthletic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stadium</a>. Campazzo joins Mavs&rsquo; regular season roster, reunites with former Real Madrid teammate Luka Doncic.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1582114544419151876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The Dallas Mavericks have added to their backcourt, signing free agent guard Facundo Campazzo.

Mavericks sign free agent Facundo Campazzo

RECIFE, Brazil (AP) &mdash; USA Basketball didn&rsquo;t head home from AmeriCup empty-handed.
Gary Clark scored 18 points, and the U.S. rallied in the final minutes to top Canada 84-80 in the bronze-medal game on Sunday.
The Americans went on a 26-10 run over a 7-minute stretch of the final quarter, turning what was a 63-56 deficit into an 82-73 lead.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for our guys,&rdquo; U.S. coach Alex Jensen said. &ldquo;It was an honor to be a part of it.&rdquo;
It was the ninth time in 11 appearances at AmeriCup &mdash; the championship of the FIBA Americas region &mdash; that the U.S. captured a medal. The Americans have won gold seven times, silver once and now have a bronze.
Canada was seeking a seventh medal in 19 appearances at the event.
Jodie Meeks &mdash; an NBA champion who spent 10 years in the league with seven teams &mdash; scored what may have been his final three points as a competitive player during that late run by the U.S. Meeks&rsquo; only points on the day came when he got fouled on a 3-point try and made all three of the free throws with 3:31 left, pulling the U.S. into a 71-71 tie.
Meeks is planning to retire and begin a coaching career. His teammates sent him out with a medal, and Clark&rsquo;s layup with 1:43 left put the Americans on top for good.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely been an experience for our guys,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;The weather&rsquo;s nice. I think most guys were upset that they couldn&rsquo;t get in the ocean because of sharks ... but we&rsquo;ve enjoyed our time here.&rdquo;
Abu Kigab scored 18 points for Canada, while Kadre Gray and Jahvon Henry-Blair had 15 apiece.
Zylan Cheatham scored 16 for the U.S., while Craig Sword added 11 and Norris Cole led the team with eight assists.
Going home medalists, even though it wasn&rsquo;t a higher-profile event like the Olympics or World Cup, wasn&rsquo;t insignificant to the group of G League and internationally based players that the U.S. assembled for this trip.
&ldquo;From Day 1, I felt it,&rdquo; Jensen said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re part of a special group.&rdquo;
Later Sunday, Gabriel Deck&rsquo;s layup with 16.1 seconds left lifted Argentina past Brazil 75-73 in the gold-medal game.
Deck scored 20 points, Nicolas Laprovittola added 15 and Facundo Campazzo had 13 for Argentina. Vitor Benite led Brazil with 18 points, while Marcelinho Huertas and Yago Santos each scored 11.

Gary Clark scored 18 points, and the U.S. rallied in the final minutes to top Canada 84-80 in the AmeriCup bronze-medal game.

US wins bronze at AmeriCup, Argentina wins gold over Brazil

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

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

It's always refreshing to see a good ol' fashioned players-for-players exchange.
The Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets didn't play games in their 2-for-2 trade on Wednesday. According to the reports, Washington sent Ish Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Denver, and the Nuggets dealt Monte Morris and Will Barton to the Wizards.
That's it. No pick protections, no draft swaps, and not even a "cash considerations" cameo. Two proven NBA basketball players moved to a new team for two proven NBA basketball players of loosely the same position and stature, all ranging between 27 and 34 years old. Of course, we don't know the full intent of the deal from each side, and the Gordian Knot that is offseason transactions hasn't even come close to untying yet.
For now, though, Washington and Denver have signaled with this trade that they recognize a need for stylistic change in the rotation. These four players are not the biggest names we'll hear about over the next couple of days, but they've been acquired to impact winning on two squads that should feel pressure to win.
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Let's deconstruct the deal team-by-team and player-by-player.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Bradley Beal declined his $36.4 million player option on Wednesday, but as <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039985-espn-bradley-beal-very-likely-to-decline-option-sign-new-5-year-wizards-contract" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday,</a> that was an expected move, as Beal can now sign a five-year supermax contract worth close to $248 million. So if his free agency plays out as expected, Beal is still entrenched as the steward of the Wizards, which means Washington is still trying to rebuild and contend on the fly.
The franchise has reenergized its pursuit of a stable backcourt surrounding Beal. The Wizards selected Johnny Davis with the No. 10 overall pick in last week's NBA Draft, and he projects as a seamless complement to Beal in time: a tough-as-nails defender at the point of attack and a scoring threat when attacking the basket.&nbsp;
Davis is not ready to be thrown into the fire as perhaps the second-leading touch-getter on the roster, though. Enter Monte Morris, who's quite a different player from Beal and Davis in all the right ways.&nbsp;
Morris is a career 39.4% three-point shooter from beyond the arc. Most of that clip comes from catch-and-shoot prowess, where Morris hit at 42.1% this season vs. just 32.4% on a much lower volume of pull-ups. There's been a fairly consistent gap in those categories for most of his career.
He also sported one of the better at-rim rates in the league last season, finishing 68% of his shots within 4 feet of the basket (90th percentile among point guards, per Cleaning the Glass). That percentage also comes with a caveat: Morris was assisted on a whopping 63% of his at-rim makes, which is by far the highest percentage among all point guards (and fifth among all guards who played at least 800 minutes this season).
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Having one of the world's best passers in Nikola Jokic on the Nuggets certainly changed Morris' role. He likely won't be in quite as many vertical cuts to the basket, waiting for a feed from a post-up big. The point is that Morris knows how to cut and space effectively, and next to a creator like Beal, should get his share of catch-and-convert looks.
He can still make some scoring plays happen on his own with his ability to change pace and direction quickly. Morris has also been lauded as an assist-to-turnover wizard, and it's true that his turnover rate is consistently among the best in the league. He doesn't exactly create assists, but Morris is at least a steady decision-maker you can trust as a secondary guard.&nbsp;
With that being said, Morris does not solve the creative playmaking gap that exists throughout this Wizards roster. Among the 10 players who logged at least 800 minutes in Washington, zero ranked in the top-25 percentile at their respective positions for assist-to-usage rate. Several were fairly close &mdash; Beal, Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija and Raul Neto were all above-average &mdash; but in the absence of a Tier 1 playmaker, it feels like this rotation could use one more person to open up the court.
Barton's assist rate (17.1%) and assist-to-usage rate (0.87) both slotted in the 87th percentile among wings last year, even as he played alongside Nikola Jokic and other great passers. I was personally suprised to find that Barton actually posted the highest adjusted assist-to-pass ratio on the Nuggets in 2021-22, even edging out Jokic. Amidst his streaky scoring and unfortunate injury history, Barton adds an underrated dimension as a passer.
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Barton adeptly keeps his eyes up when he drives and can hit popping players like Jokic, or finds the open man if his attack draws help. He's not a human highlight reel as a passer, but these are some quality finds for a player who makes his living as a scorer. Barton assisted on 12% of plays where he drove to the basket, per BBall Index, ranking in the 80th percentile at his position.
A trio of Beal, Kuzma and Barton threatening as drivers should open up options for Washington's array of complementary scorers.
Do Morris or Barton patch up the Wizards' 25th-ranked defense? Absolutely not. But as solid as Caldwell-Pope was, he was not holding together the defensive end, and parting with him makes sense for two well-fitting offensive pieces. Washington's guard rotation, long considered a weakness outside of Beal, now feels like an area of strength and relative upside.&nbsp;
DENVER NUGGETS
Let's get the financial incentive out of the way before looking on the court. According to the reports, this trade helps Denver sneak back under the luxury tax &mdash; not something to cheer about, but certainly beneficial for the future.&nbsp;
More importantly, the move showed Denver recognizes the limitations of its own roster, and has a plan to correct them.
Caldwell-Pope started all 77 games in his lone season with Washington, putting together a resurgent year by averaging 13.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game &mdash; all bests over the past four seasons.&nbsp;
Offensively, the fit is obvious: KCP should thrive as an outlet for Jokic. Caldwell-Pope canned 42.0% of his catch-and-shoot threes last season, and 14% of his halfcourt possessions involved cuts (97th percentile), per BBall Index. That was in Washington; imagine how he succeeds in some of those aforementioned scenarios in place of Morris.&nbsp;
The real kicker, though &mdash; Denver finally has a primary perimeter defender.&nbsp;
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Caldwell-Pope described <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-kentavious-caldwell-pope-explains-art-wing-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how he approaches defense</a> last fall, and you can see his work show up on film. He has to rotate over on this first play to cover Morris, and knowing that will open up a passing lane for a swing to Barton (how ironic is this first clip in hindsight), gets his arm in front of the ball for a steal.
Later in the reel: KCP knows Trae Young wants to get to his right hand to shoot or pass, and can poke away a steal before Young gets the ball there. He can make up for his smaller size by playing physically with larger wings like Jaylen Brown or Jonathan Kuminga. His foul rate of 2.5% is also surprisingly low for a player with such active hands.
Denver had the 15th-ranked defense in the regular season, but was 19th out of 20 Play-In and playoff teams in postseason Defensive Rating. KCP won't change that overnight, but he can be a spark where the Nuggets sorely need one.
At the same time, the Nuggets have Jamal Murray on his way back from a long ACL recovery, They also have Bones Hyland readying for a Year 2 leap after he averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 assists per game on a 63.8% True Shooting percentage post-All-Star break. Morris would have been crunched for minutes in the guard rotation, so it makes sense to replace him with a steady veteran in Ish Smith, who can hold down the remaining playing time.
And Smith is no throw-in, either. He's on his NBA-record 13th team and should provide a locker-room boost that cannot be quantified.&nbsp;
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When Ish Smith suits up for the Nuggets, he&rsquo;ll play for his 13th NBA team &mdash; the most ever by a single player 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/GcMA5yYhnY">pic.twitter.com/GcMA5yYhnY</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1542193390498054144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Smith doesn't project as quite the seamless fit as KCP should be. But this might actually force positive change from a player who has spent so much of his career trying to keep bench units afloat as an on-ball initiator.
Last season, 104 players played at least 50 games and averaged at least five drives per game, according to Second Spectrum. Smith passed the ball on 60.1% of his drives, more than any other player, and shot just 44.5% on his driving field goal attempts (ranked 84th).&nbsp;
Smith is a phenomenal passer and still one of the pure fastest players with the ball in his hands. But he also has had to rely so heavily on his own ability to create, and with Smith getting older (and the league getting longer and more switchable), the bar to clear goes up.
In this vein, I'd like to see if and how he is used off the ball in Denver. Smith is a capable shooter, and perhaps he can fit into some of the roles occupied by past Nuggets guards. At the minimum, he'll be a safer play at backup point guard than, say, Facundo Campazzo. But I think there's also some untapped room for growth.&nbsp;
The Nuggets have established themselves as contenders, but have gone backwards in the playoffs over the past three years. Caldwell-Pope and Smith won't drastically spring Denver's fortunes to crazy heights, but as we see every postseason, the complementary specialists can swing a game or series.
Sometimes, that's all a team needs to change.
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The Wizards and Nuggets helped each other by agreeing to a 2-for-2 trade on Wednesday.

NBA trade reaction: Breaking down the 4-player Nuggets-Wizards swap

Watching the 2021-22 Denver Nuggets, it&rsquo;s impossible not to imagine what this team could have achieved had it been at full strength.
After all, how many teams could lose two max-level players and still manage to win 48 games and secure the Western Conference&rsquo;s sixth seed?
During the Nuggets' first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, even Denver head coach Mike Malone would catch himself wondering how this season could have played out differently if the team had Jamal Murray (who missed the entire season while recovering from a torn ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (who played just nine games after undergoing back surgery in December).
&ldquo;I couldn't sleep one night. At 3 o'clock in the morning, I was looking at Jamal's stats in the Bubble. Wow,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I knew he was good, but sometimes you forget how good he was (26.5 points, 6.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 threes on .505/.453/.897 shooting splits). That's the thing about Jamal: When the stakes are at their highest, he steps up. He's never afraid of the moment.
&ldquo;Michael Porter, what he did last year in 10 playoff games: 17 points, 6 rebounds and, more importantly, shooting a high clip from the three-point line (39.7%). Shooting makes up for so many things. Jamal and Michael can do that.&rdquo;
How good can the Nuggets be next season if everyone is healthy?
&ldquo;I think it's scary to think about that,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I go back to last season before Jamal's injury in this building (Chase Center); we felt we had a legitimate chance to win a championship last year. Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the cards for us. Jamal suffers the ACL. Earlier this season, Michael Porter Jr. suffers a back [injury]. You're playing without two max players that have both helped us advance out of the first round the last three years. When they're back and they're healthy, I think that's going to make us a deeper, more talented team. I'm excited about that, I really am. I think the future is very, very bright for the Denver Nuggets.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential is scary,&rdquo; DeMarcus Cousins added. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re down two superstars. We took one of the most dominant teams of this past decade and we battled every night with them. The potential is scary. Obviously, it looks good on paper, but we got to put everything together. We'll see what happens.&rdquo;
Even though they were missing two of their three leading scorers, Denver finished the season with the NBA&rsquo;s sixth-best offense (scoring 111.7 points per 100 possessions).
&ldquo;We know when we're fully healthy, we can be even more dangerous,&rdquo; Will Barton said.
&ldquo;We're going to call in the reinforcements,&rdquo; Aaron Gordon said with a smile.
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&ldquo;It should be fun,&rdquo; Monte Morris added. &ldquo;A lot of people don't even know how well they're looking individually. It's going to be just like we never left. It was big-time when we was doing it [before] &mdash; made some great 3-1 comebacks, some big wins. I'm looking forward to it.&rdquo;
Fortunately for the Nuggets, most of their core is under contract for the foreseeable future, including Nikola Jokic, Murray, Porter, Gordon, Barton, Morris, Bones Hyland and Zeke Nnaji. Coach Malone isn&rsquo;t going anywhere either, as Denver&rsquo;s front office just gave him a multi-year contract extension last month.
While Jokic is entering the final year of his current contract worth $33,616,770, he made it clear that he wants to stay in Denver long-term and plans to sign a supermax extension this offseason (which would <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nuggets-offseason-preview-nikola-jokic-extension-free-agents-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay him</a> $260 million over five years, including $59.1 million in 2027-28).
&ldquo;I would like it, of course, but it's not something that I'm deciding,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;If [an] offer is on the table, of course I'm going to accept it because I really like the organization, I really like the people who work here. I'm in [a] really good relationship with everybody from owner to equipment manager. I think we have something that we're building. It actually feels really good.&rdquo;
For Denver, this offseason will mostly be about getting healthy and making moves around the edges.
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The Nuggets do have several players who will hit unrestricted free agency: Cousins, Bryn Forbes, Facundo Campazzo, Austin Rivers and Vlatko Cancar.
JaMychal Green and Jeff Green could become unrestricted free agents as well, as they each have a player option ($8,200,000 for JaMychal and $4,500,000 for Jeff).
Markus Howard and Davon Reed will be restricted free agents, assuming Denver extends a $1,576,305 qualifying offer to each player.
The Nuggets have $158,679,553 in guaranteed salaries committed for next season, and they are already $9.7 million over the projected luxury tax, per <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nuggets-offseason-preview-nikola-jokic-extension-free-agents-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan</a>. Denver&rsquo;s ownership has historically avoided paying the luxury tax, but that will change next season as the team tries to make its first NBA Finals run in franchise history.
Cousins&rsquo; free agency will be interesting, as he became a key contributor after joining the Nuggets in February, averaging 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per contest. In Game 5, he had 19 points, 4 rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes, while shooting 8=of-12 (66.7%) from the field and 2-of-3 (66.7%) from three-point range.
After the Nuggets were eliminated, the 31-year-old admitted that he isn't sure whether he&rsquo;ll be back in Denver.
&ldquo;I honestly don't know what the future holds,&rdquo; Cousins said. &ldquo;A lot in this short time has transpired. I'm still trying to get over the fact that G.P. (Gary Payton II) hit that big shot, right? I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity. I'm happy to be a part of this group. I'm happy with the opportunity that was given to me from Mike, [Nuggets president] Tim [Connelly], [Nuggets general manager Calvin] Booth. To answer that question, I can't right now. I don't know what's future holds.&rdquo;
With that said, Cousins proved that he still has a lot to offer a team, and he should receive significantly more interest during this year&rsquo;s free-agency period.
&ldquo;I belong here; I belong in this league,&rdquo; Cousins said. &ldquo;I was given the opportunity. I'm thankful for Mike Malone. I spoke with him before. A lot of doors closed for me. Mike looked out, gave me an opportunity. I just tried to take the best advantage of it as I could. That's what I did.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I gave him a big hug in the locker room, and I gave him a shout-out in front of his teammates,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;He was a guy hanging out at home in Las Vegas after being released by Milwaukee. He goes out in an elimination game and puts up 19 points in 15 minutes. Nikola is in foul trouble, we need somebody to steady the ship; DeMarcus did that. The biggest thing is I'm just really, really happy for DeMarcus Cousins, and I'm so proud of him for staying with it. He had an impactful run with the Denver Nuggets. We'll figure out the offseason in the coming weeks as me, him and [Nuggets governor] Josh [Kroenke] sit down and talk.&rdquo;
Several fellow Nuggets players vouched for Cousins and stressed that they want him back.
&ldquo;Anytime you have a guy like that, you always want him back,&rdquo; Barton said. &ldquo;Like I say, he's still DeMarcus Cousins &mdash; a guy who, when he's healthy, is a very good player. Those are not my decisions; I'm not in management. Obviously, if I have a voice in the fight, I definitely would love to have him back. He was big for us on and off the court, [a] presence in the locker room. We'll see what happens.&rdquo;
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&ldquo;Signing Boogie, man... I love him to death,&rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;A guy that would pick up 19 points in a do-or-die elimination game just shows how much heart he has, how much love he has for the game. I'm definitely proud of him... He's a great guy. He has a great family, great kids, an amazing wife. I look at things bigger than just ball. He's a guy that's been through a lot on and off the court, experience-wise. He can help anybody. It's a lot that he's seen. Having that around, I think, is big.&rdquo;
In addition to re-signing their own role players, the Nuggets will also have the taxpayer mid-level exception (worth $6,392,000) to attract talent. Last offseason, Patty Mills (Brooklyn Nets), Rudy Gay (Utah Jazz), George Hill (Milwaukee Bucks) and Justise Winslow (Memphis Grizzlies) are some examples of players who were signed using the taxpayer mid-level.
Also, the Nuggets have the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, so they can either draft a prospect or trade the selection for more of a win-now piece. Considering their cap situation, it may make sense to keep the pick and select a rookie who can be a relatively cheap contributor.
In BasketballNews.com's latest <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, Denver is projected to pick Baylor's Kendall Brown &mdash; a 6-foot-8 wing who's known for his athleticism, motor and defense.
Denver&rsquo;s front office hasn&rsquo;t been afraid to pull the trigger on trades in recent years &mdash; including the trade-deadline acquisition of Gordon last season. However, the Nuggets&rsquo; continuity is one of their biggest advantages, so don&rsquo;t expect many significant changes. Once Murray and Porter are back to 100%, they will basically count as Denver&rsquo;s big offseason acquisitions.
If Gordon can take the next step in his development, that would be huge for the Nuggets as well. Following the Game 5 loss, the 26-year-old told reporters that his focus this offseason will be &nbsp;&ldquo;working smarter&rdquo; and &ldquo;becoming more of a student of the game.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I'm playing with Jok, who is one of the smartest basketball players in the world, so I gotta raise my level of IQ to help him, to help everyone, to help the coaching staff,&rdquo; Gordon explained. &ldquo;I've relied on my talent for so long &mdash; just natural talent, not enough on the cerebral part of the game. So I think now is the time to switch.
&ldquo;[I&rsquo;ll be] studying film. Just study, study, study &mdash; everybody that's in the league, every game, every set, just leave no stone unturned. I feel like it will slow the game down even more for me and really allow my natural talent to excel. Obviously, I'm going to continue to work on the jumper and just rounding out my game. That's part of it. But the cerebral part, being a student of the game, that's my main focus for this offseason&hellip; That's the way that I'm going to help improve this team.&rdquo;
At the end of the day, the sky's the limit for the Nuggets. If Jokic continues playing at an MVP level, Murray and Porter can return to form and Gordon makes strides, another deep postseason run is certainly a realistic possibility.
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The Nuggets' 2021-22 NBA season came to an end on Wednesday. Now, Alex Kennedy previews what's next for Denver this offseason.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Denver Nuggets?

Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole scored 27 points each, Klay Thompson made six 3-pointers on his way to 26 points and the Golden State Warriors muscled past the Denver Nuggets 118-113 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the playoff series.
Draymond Green added a key steal from Nikola Jokic, who finished with 37 points and 18 rebounds, in the final minute and the Warriors closed on a 9-2 run to put the Nuggets on the cusp of elimination.
Golden State can wrap up the series Sunday in Denver. Teams facing a 3-0 deficit in an NBA playoff series are 0-143.
The Nuggets were in control for much of the second half but after Jokic's finger roll layup put Denver ahead 111-109 with 3:20 left, the Warriors tightened up on defense.
The Nuggets went six straight possessions without scoring and Golden State had the game in hand by the time Will Barton's tip-in with 23 seconds left pulled Denver to 117-113.
Aaron Gordon added 18 points for the Nuggets, who took an 89-87 lead into the fourth quarter but lost for the seventh straight time in the postseason.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone complained before the game that his team hadn't been aggressive, physical or vocal in the series, so he inserted Facundo Campazzo into his rotation after losing the first two games by an average of 18 points.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re a little bit undermanned like we are, we have to be ultra physical, ultra aggressive and take the fight to them," Malone said.
Campazzo wasn't the answer, but the Nuggets came out of halftime with renewed energy and used a 30-18 third quarter to take an two-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets missed their last four shots of the first half and Curry had a 3-pointer and a three-point play to push Golden State's lead to 69-59 at the break.
Without max players Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back), the Nuggets knew they had to slow the pace because they cannot keep up with the healthy Warriors.
&ldquo;We're in a Pinto, and they're in a Maserati,&rdquo; Malone quipped.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr chuckled at the analogy, noting he's never owned either model.
&ldquo;I'm somewhere in between," he said.
There's no denying his team is turbo-charged, however, after missing the playoffs the last two seasons.
&ldquo;I think in some ways, we are reinvigorated after the last couple of years," Kerr said. "We had a long run that started before I got here. Seven straight years in the playoffs and five trips to the Finals and there was a lot of fatigue at that point, emotional, physical fatigue. It was very easy to tell and to feel that so, last couple of years we haven&rsquo;t been in the playoffs.
"The sense that I get from ... the guys who have been here a long time, it&rsquo;s they are happy as hell to be back. So they&rsquo;re playing with a lot of a lot of energy, a lot of excitement.&rdquo;
INJURIES
<a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1517349845455065089">Green</a> rolled his left ankle midway through the third quarter but stayed in the game. Jordan Poole went to the bench a short time later, grabbing his left elbow. Trainers put a heating pad on his left elbow and forearm but he returned to action.
HOME SOUR HOME
The Nuggets don't exactly have a homecourt advantage after winning more games on the road (25) than at Ball Arena (23) this season.
&ldquo;I imagine this place is going to be half full of Warriors fans,&rdquo; Malone said Wednesday before president of basketball operations Tim Connelly went on the airwaves to implore Nuggets fans not to sell their tickets to Warriors fans.
Yet, a protracted broadcasting dispute has kept Nuggets games off local cable TV for three years, and that's presumably led to a decline in die-hard Denver fans.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Curry has at least one 3-pointer in an NBA-best 115 consecutive playoff games. ... The Warriors shot 68% from the floor in the first half and six different players combined for a dozen 3-pointers. ... Thompson (388) now in sole possession of third on NBA Playoffs all-time 3-pointers list, passing Ray Allen (385).
Nuggets: Denver has been outscored in the second quarter of the series by a combined 99-72. They've allowed Golden State to go on second-quarter runs of 16-0 in Game 1, 15-2 in Game 2 and 15-4 in Game 3. ... The first sign of the Nuggets&rsquo; more aggressive play came in the first quarter when Jokic hip-checked Curry to the floor but didn&rsquo;t draw a whistle just before Austin Rivers&rsquo; 3-pointer from the corner.

Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole scored 27 points each, and Klay Thompson made six 3-pointers on his way to 26 points.

Curry, Poole, Thompson lead Warriors past Nuggets, 118-113

Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo has been suspended for Game 1 of the playoffs against the Warriors for shoving Lakers' Wayne Ellington, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1514333159604817920?s=20&amp;t=BNJBLcWvwzZRT1iaF9k2Dw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>.
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Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo has been suspended for Game 1 of the playoffs vs. Warriors for shoving Lakers' Wayne Ellington.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1514333159604817920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The NBA has suspended Facundo Campazzo for Game 1 for shoving Wayne Ellington in their regular-season finale.

Facundo Campazzo suspended for Game 1 between Warriors and Nuggets

I remember it like it was 1,561 days ago &mdash; mostly because it was. I was laying on the futon pad in my dorm, procrastinating studying for my Forensic Science exam by looking through NBA highlights on YouTube (I know, some ~ casual ~ behavior on my part).
My mindless scrolling finally ceased when I stumbled upon this gem:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jktBxyI_ldI" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
A delicious 40-burger. Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s second one in as many months. I thought to myself: He&rsquo;s finally taking that leap. A star is born.&nbsp;
Alas, the three-point shooting and on-ball creation never really materialized to the level necessary to make my prediction come to fruition. And, among his desire to be elsewhere, the Orlando Magic ultimately threw in the towel on his development in 2021, opting to rebuild their roster by trading him to the Denver Nuggets for the likes of Gary Harris, RJ Hampton and a lightly protected first-round pick.&nbsp;
Just like that, it appeared the book on Gordon had been closed. But then something fascinating happened. He transformed his game entirely.
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His New Partner in Matrimony&nbsp;
In a recent episode of the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r4Ro79PyBlk88QHyXyjXV?si=7a6546a89c7e48cf&amp;nd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DNVR Denver Nuggets Podcast</a>, co-host <a href="https://twitter.com/MiroslavCuk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miroslav Ćuk </a>likened the new partnership between Gordon and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic to that of a married couple. And when you spend a handful of hours alone in your home office watching the two interact on the court (as I have), you have a hard time contending with that assessment.&nbsp;
Whether it resonates through hookups on 45-degree cuts to the rim, transition outlets, entry passes into a post seal or simple handoff actions, the two have achieved a level of on-court chemistry typically reserved for lifelong companions.
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This season, Gordon is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203932?dir=D&amp;sort=PTS_PAINT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting more assisted looks</a> and <a href="https://dunksandthrees.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more shots at the rim</a>, and is scoring at the highest efficiency of his career &mdash; in large part because of his new <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2022/03/06/nuggets-journal-aaron-gordon-seeing-the-game-differently/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">frontcourt partner.</a> With Jokic, Gordon is no longer bound by the advantage-creating ambitions the Magic had envisioned for him. He&rsquo;s now empowered to roam free as the hyper-athletic play-finisher he was always destined to be.
However, Gordon isn&rsquo;t the only one collecting benefits from this relationship. One could even argue that the symbiotic nature of their dynamic bears some resemblance to that of Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire in the mid-2000s. Now, while I will concede that Gordon isn&rsquo;t nearly the offensive talent Stoudemire was during his heyday, the formula is still the same:
Prodigious playmaker + Dynamite play-finisher = Highly-efficient offense.
The pairings&rsquo; similarities don&rsquo;t end there. From 2004-10, <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1501903698028425216?s=20&amp;t=zA1W-ku5c4z4Rhlxva7hzA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nash</a> averaged nearly 2 assists fewer per 100 possessions when Stoudemire was on the bench (per PBP Stats). In comparison, Jokic has lost <a href="http://www.pbpstats.com/on-off/nba/player?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;TeamId=1610612743&amp;PlayerId=203932">almost 2 assists per 100 possessions</a> in the 365 minutes he&rsquo;s played without Gordon this season.&nbsp;
Historical comparisons aside, the tandem also fulfills the marital trope of taking on aspects of your partner's personality. In the same way that dating someone for a long time might increase your appreciation for <a href="https://squishmallows.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">squishmallows</a> (wait, is that just me?), Gordon&rsquo;s time spent sharing the court with a passing savant has made him a worthy facilitator in his own right:
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Aaron Gordon plays 50 games with Nikola Jokic. All of a sudden he's one of the best passers at his position. <a href="https://t.co/PRysqnp5FS">pic.twitter.com/PRysqnp5FS</a>
&mdash; Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1490584645456457729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The numbers appear to back up Wind&rsquo;s observation as well. According to BBall Index&rsquo;s Playmaking Talent database, Gordon is experiencing a career year in passing creation quality, passing versatility and playmaking. He&rsquo;s still by no means the guy you want running the show, but he&rsquo;s more than equipped to connect the dots when the heavyweights start the thread.
A Defensive Swiss-Army Knife
While Gordon's strides on the offensive end have been substantial, it&rsquo;s the defensive evolution he's undergone that has been the most necessary for the Nuggets this season.&nbsp;
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Aaron Gordon Defensive Roles by year: 14-15: Perimeter Big 15-16: Perimeter Big 16-17: Chaser 17-18: Perimeter Big 18-19: Perimeter Big 19-20: Chaser 20-21: Wing Stopper 21-22: Point of Attack Per <a href="https://twitter.com/The_BBall_Index?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@The_BBall_Index</a>.
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1501689092693807104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Initially brought in to provide additional backline support to his more floor-bound companion, Gordon has transitioned to a new seat right at the head of the table, playing the part of the Nuggets&rsquo; go-to, point-of-attack stopper. This year, Gordon has spent a whopping 45.4% of his possessions guarding point guards and shooting guards &mdash; the largest percentage of his career by a wide margin (per BBall Index).
Most of this shift in role has been out of necessity, with frailer guards like Monte Morris, Facundo Campazzo and Bones Hyland occupying backcourt minutes; the burden of mixing it up with the best offensive engines in the league has been placed squarely at Gordon&rsquo;s feet. And man, for someone that is learning this gig on the fly, is he holding down the fort.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/91i0kx" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
I implore you all to take a brief 60 seconds of your day to marvel at the defensive clips above. Take note of all the different variations of player archetypes Gordon has been tasked to go up against. Guile-based miniature guards like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trae-young-made-himself-the-villain-and-hes-leveled-up-accordingly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trae Young</a>, hyper-athletic slashers like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-high-can-anthony-edwards-fly-examining-the-20yearolds-ceiling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Edwards</a>, Earth-pushing forwards masquerading as ball-handlers like <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/will-luka-doncic-be-able-to-sustain-current-workload-for-potentially-deep-postseason-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luka Doncic</a>. Gordon has managed to annoy all of them at different points in the season.
In fact, according to BBall Index&rsquo;s database dating to 2013, Gordon owns the highest <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/defensive-versatility/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defensive Versatility</a> score of any point-of-attack defender on record, ranking 2 points higher than the next closest player (2020-21 Ben Simmons).
This versatility was on full display in a crucial possession of a late-game overtime thriller against the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this week. Here, after stonewalling Brandon Ingram from his attempt at getting to his sweet spot, Gordon picks up CJ McCollum and lands a textbook jump-shot-altering contest:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/044kiv" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Gordon's <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/1323#tab-defense_rebounding">block percentages</a> are down from past seasons, but that&rsquo;s mostly because his new responsibilities on the perimeter make it difficult for him to consistently challenge shots in the interior. He&rsquo;s currently contesting one less shot within 6 feet of the rim per game than he was with Orlando from 2017-20 (per NBA.com).&nbsp;
However, when the moment calls for it, he&rsquo;s shown he&rsquo;s still capable of filling the void that he was originally intended to:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/7zc3of" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Indeed, Gordon never blossomed into the sky-walking, scoring superstar the Magic and I imagined he would be after his 40-point eruption in 2017. But that&rsquo;s okay because he&rsquo;s still developed into a great player in his own right. He&rsquo;s Jokic&rsquo;s new favorite offensive partner in crime, a tissue-connecting passer, and the basketball equivalent of a multipurpose weapon of destruction on defense.
Simply put: Aaron Gordon is not the player the Magic wanted him to be, but he&rsquo;s the player that the Nuggets need him to be.
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Mat Issa details how Aaron Gordon has grown his game and fit in with the Nuggets since being traded from the Magic.

After Orlando exit, Aaron Gordon's been exactly what the Nuggets need

Although some top-tier players who were expected to hit free agency this coming summer have already signed extensions, the 2022 NBA free-agent class will feature quite a few stars.
In particular, the crop of guards up for grabs is quite impressive, which is where we will begin this three-part ranking series.
1. James Harden &mdash; Philadelphia 76ers &mdash; Player Option
James Harden holds a player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022-23 season, and it was reported that Harden would exercise it in conjunction with his trade from Brooklyn to Philadelphia. Although he hasn't done so yet, Harden has said he plans to. Over the summer, the maximum offer the Sixers can present to Harden is a pact that would pay him up north of $270 million over the next six years, which ESPN analyst Bobby Marks declared would be the "worst contract in NBA history." Here's a look at what Harden's annual salary would look like:
2022-23: $47.4 million 2023-24: $49.7 million 2024-25: $53.7 million&nbsp; 2025-26: $57.7 million 2026-27: $61.7 million&nbsp;
2. Zach LaVine &mdash; Chicago Bulls &mdash; Unrestricted
Zach LaVine bet on himself instead of signing a four-year, $105 million extension last offseason, and the gamble has most certainly paid off. He's averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.9 made three-pointers while shooting 40.0% from downtown and a career-high 85.7% from the free-throw line. Steph Curry is the only player in the NBA to match or exceed LaVine in those statistical categories this season. With LaVine playing at such a high level and the Bulls near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, Chicago is fully expected to offer him a max deal of five years at approximately $200 million. The most any other team can offer LaVine is around $160 million over four years.
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3. Bradley Beal &mdash; Washington Wizards &mdash; Player Option
The Wizards announced last month that Bradley Beal underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. Prior to the injury, Beal's scoring average had dipped dramatically (from 31.3 points per game in 2020-21 to 23.2 this season), and he was shooting just 30.0% from downtown, but the three-time All-Star was averaging a career-high 6.6 assists. Beal's player option for the 2022-23 season is worth $36.4 million.
4. Kyrie Irving &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Player Option
It's been a tumultuous season for both Kyrie Irving and the Nets. Kyrie's refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 &mdash; which resulted in him being banished from the team for the first half of the year before Brooklyn welcomed him back to play in road games &mdash; reportedly was an important factor in James Harden's decision to demand a trade. In the preseason, the Nets were heavy favorites to take home the title, but find themselves below .500 and in ninth place in the East. Brooklyn is just 1-9 in the last 10 games Irving has appeared in. Considering all the drama (and the reports that Irving would consider retirement if he was traded), it seems safe to assume Kyrie will remain in Brooklyn. But when it comes to Mr. Irving (who has a player option for the 2022&ndash;23 season worth $36,934,550), making assumptions often proves unwise. Stay tuned.&nbsp;
5. Anfernee Simons &mdash; Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; Restricted
It could be argued that Anfernee Simons has increased his value more than any player in the league over the last five months. After averaging a modest 7.8 points per game last season, Simons is pouring in 17.3 points per game in 2021-22, which represents the largest year-over-year increase in the NBA this season. And his numbers are even more impressive dating back to the start of the New Year, when he was permanently inserted into the starting lineup.
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38 points (9 threes), 3 rebounds, 3 assists in 40 minutes. If you're not taking notice of <a href="https://twitter.com/AnferneeSimons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@anferneesimons</a> yet, you should be! <a href="https://t.co/5IPvZXFvyo">pic.twitter.com/5IPvZXFvyo</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1500324039100755972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Over the 27 games he's appeared in since the calendar flipped to January, the 22-year-old Simons is averaging 23.4 points, 5.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 4.4 made triples, while shooting 42.3% from downtown and 86.6% from the charity stripe. Simons leads the league in made three-pointers (119) in 2022. Yes, he's struggled on the defensive end, but one of the primary reasons the Blazers made multiple major moves before the deadline (trading away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington) was to clear up cap space to sign Simons to a considerable extension this summer. They are not going to let him walk.
6. Jalen Brunson &mdash; Dallas Mavericks &mdash; Unrestricted
After two solid, if unspectacular, seasons to start his NBA career, Jalen Brunson took a significant step forward last season; he averaged 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 treys in 25.7 minutes per game, while shooting 52.3% from the floor and 40.5% from downtown. The Villanova product has continued to improve in 2021-22, posting career-highs in points (16.2), assists (5.3) and rebounds (3.7) per contest. Brunson also showed he could shoulder increased responsibility by stepping in and stepping up when Luka Doncic missed 14 of Dallas' first 35 games this season. Jalen played the best basketball of his NBA career over an eight-game stretch in mid-to-late December, when he averaged 22.4 points and 7.9 dimes a night. This offseason, Brunson reportedly will be seeking a four-year, $80 million deal. The New York Knicks are among the teams expected to express serious interest.
7. Collin Sexton &mdash; Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; Restricted
Collin Sexton injured his left knee in a game in early November, and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus. He had surgery a week later, sidelining him for the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign. It will be fascinating to see what offers he receives on the open market. Last season, Sexton averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% from downtown and 81.5% from the free-throw line. However, he struggled defensively, and the Cavs registered a league-worst 60-159 record over the first three years of his career. With Sexton out of action this season, Cleveland is 10 games above .500. Because he is restricted, the Cavs can match any offer he receives this summer.&nbsp;
8. Malik Monk &mdash; Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; Unrestricted
Mailk Monk, the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, failed to live up to expectations over the first four years of his career in Charlotte. He made just one career start as a member of the Hornets, and had averaged 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 233 appearances while shooting below 34% from downtown. As a result, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to ink him to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum ($1.7 million) for this season. Surprisingly, Monk has established himself as one of the Lakers' most consistent and effective players. In the 23 games he's started for L.A., Monk has averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists while posting a True Shooting percentage of 58.8%. He will look to cash in with a significant pay raise in July.&nbsp;
9. Russell Westbrook &mdash; Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; Player Option
Besides Monk's unexpected success and the MVP-caliber performance of the ageless wonder that is LeBron James, the 2021-22 Lakers season has been an absolute nightmare. L.A. is eight games below .500 and desperately fighting just to make the Play-In Tournament. And Russell Westbrook is the player <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/russell-westbrook-opens-up-about-shaming-from-lakers-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the public has pilloried and pinned the Lakers' failures on</a>. Russ has a player option for the 2022-23 season worth a whopping $47,063,478, so there is almost zero chance of him opting out. The Lakers will undoubtedly explore all possible trade scenarios this offseason.
10. John Wall &mdash; Houston Rockets &mdash; Player Option
John Wall showed flashes of his immense talent last season, when he averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Rockets, but he hasn't set foot on an NBA court since April 2021. Wall will almost certainly exercise his player option for 2022-23 worth $47.4 million. At that point, he'll be on an expiring contract, which will make it far easier for Houston to move him.
Best of the Rest: Dennis Schroder, Patty Mills (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Victor Oladipo, Gary Payton II, Gary Harris, Lonnie Walker IV (restricted), Tomas Satoransky, Ricky Rubio, Goran Dragic, Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Facundo Campazzo (restricted), Bruce Brown Jr., Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Pat Connaughton (player option), Jeremy Lamb, Tyus Jones, Cory Joseph
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Tommy Beer ranks the top guards who could be available as part of the 2022 NBA free-agent class.

2022 NBA Free Agency Preview: Ranking the top-10 guards

The 2021-22 NBA season has presented us all with its share of surprises, and chief among them is the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets entered last season with high expectations. They made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in the 2020 playoffs behind superstar-level performances by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic &ndash; and their superstars continued their strong play into 2020-21. The Nuggets' future looked incredibly bright.
The team began the 2020-21 season much like they finished the previous one. But they didn&rsquo;t rest on their laurels. Instead, Denver made a major mid-season move, adding Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic. The Murray-Jokic-Gordon trifecta looked like it could be formidable.
Unfortunately, after winning 34 of their first 52 games, Jamal Murray suffered a torn ACL (in April), ending the team's hopes of contending for a championship. The Nuggets were eventually swept by the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semis.
Still, there is a lot to be excited about in Denver. Before losing time to a back injury, Michael Porter Jr. looked ready to live up to his potential, averaging 23.5 points per game in the team&rsquo;s final 18 games after losing Murray. After struggling a bit to find his place, Gordon has fit in nicely this season, averaging 14.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. And since Murray&rsquo;s injury, Jokic has solidified himself as a perennial MVP candidate.
But Murray is an integral part of the Nuggets&rsquo; success. They have been relatively successful so far in 2021-22 without Murray, of course. But if he returns, could the Nuggets make a push to snatch up home court advantage in the first round? They are currently 28-24, good for sixth in the West. Denver is only 1.5 games behind the fifth-seed Dallas Mavericks. Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis has missed the past three games with a bone bruise in his right knee &ndash; he's notoriously injury prone, so any trouble he suffers should be taken seriously. A longer-term Porzingis absence will further hurt Dallas&rsquo; chances at holding its place in the playoff race.
Along the same line of thought, the Nuggets are also just 3.5 games behind the fourth-seed Utah Jazz &ndash; who just lost Joe Ingles for the season. And while Utah&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell shot down rumors of a continued rift between himself and Rudy Gobert just the other day, there is probably something to the rumor, as it is not the first time its made its way into public discourse. Can the Jazz hang on without one of their key players and with their anchors allegedly feuding? Utah is just 3-7 in their last 10 so things don't look great there, either.&nbsp;
But without reinforcements, the Jazz and Mavericks are probably safe in their respective spots &ndash; but reinforcements might not be too far off. Both Murray and Porter Jr. have recently taken part in the Nuggets&rsquo; pre-game warmups. Porter Jr. was never given a strict timeline, but that fact that he&rsquo;s on the court so soon after a December surgery is a good sign for a pre-playoffs return. On the flip side, the NBA recently awarded the Nuggets a disabled player exemption, meaning that the league feels its highly unlikely he returns before June 15. So, maybe this one is a long shot.&nbsp;
There are pros and cons to Murray&rsquo;s recovery, too. Murray could be on track to return before the playoffs. ACL injuries typically require approximately one year on the shelf, and Murray&rsquo;s injury was suffered on April 12, 2021; the 2021-22 regular season ends on April 10 with the play-in tournament beginning on April 12.
Let&rsquo;s assume for a moment that Murray returns (and Porter Jr. does not). Prior to the injury, Murray was in the midst of his best professional season yet, averaging 21.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. He was shooting a career-best 40.8% on three-point attempts, and he was posting career-bests in PER (18.3), box plus/minus (2.0) and VORP (1.7), too. Will he be able to regain his pre-injury form? Will he perform as efficiently? The good news is that Murray is still only 24, so odds are decent that he returns to form. But doing so immediately would be a small miracle.
But Murray is so good that any sort of form on him is better than nothing at all, and the combination of Murray, Gordon and Jokic can be downright lethal. And while rushing players back is usually frowned upon, this is probably the ideal season to do so because there is a void in the upper echelon of the NBA. There is no super team this season. The Nets and Lakers are both struggling to regain consistency, and both of the Clippers&rsquo; superstars are out with injuries. The Grizzlies are a nice story, as are the Cavs; but when healthy, the Nuggets probably see themselves as a step above those teams. Right now, the Bulls, Heat and Bucks are the best the East has to offer &ndash; the Suns and Warriors are the class of the West. All five of those teams are exceptionally talented, but do any of them strike fear in the hearts of league executives like the Kevin Durant-Steph Curry Warriors did? Or like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh&rsquo;s Heat did? I think not.
With the increase in player movement, there&rsquo;s simply no guarantees for future seasons &ndash; and that goes for Denver&rsquo;s roster, as well as their competitors. If Murray can return to form &ndash; which is admittedly a big &ldquo;if&rdquo; &ndash; Denver&rsquo;s big three and its role players (e.g., Will Barton, Monte Morris, Jeff Green, Facundo Campazzo and Bryn Forbes) make up as formidable a roster as any.&nbsp;
The Nuggets are in the unfortunate position of seeing an opportunity in front of them, while having to weigh the significant risks involved with attempting to capitalize on it. Maybe Denver&rsquo;s leadership decides to punt on 2021-22 in hopes of returning everyone entirely healthy next season. But if things line up just so, the Nuggets could be in perfect position to be dark horse favorites this season.&nbsp;
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While no return date has been announced, can the Nuggets compete for a championship this season if Jamal Murray is back in action?

What if Jamal Murray returns to form THIS season?

What if I told you the Houston Rockets now have the longest active winning streak in the NBA, and that the New Orleans Pelicans have won more over their last 10 games than many playoff contenders?
We've hit the holiday season with a bizarre stretch of basketball, where it truly seems like any non-Oklahoma City Thunder team can win on any given night. But with every surprise winner somes a disappointed loser, and as the .500-ish squads stack up, many fans are growing increasingly frustrated.
These are prime conditions for a much-needed Sour Rankings shakeup. Over half of this week's field is comprised of previously-unranked teams.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst power rankings. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going:
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;Cleveland is officially back with Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen has been playing at an All-Star level lately. Even the losses have been of good quality. The Philadelphia 76ers went 2-1 this past week and beat the Atlanta Hawks on national TV behind Joel Embiid's return to his normal self. Pascal Siakam's 31-point game in Toronto's win on Sunday inspired enough confidence in his return to push the Raptors out of these rankings.
Houston also makes the most impressive escape of the season to date. Its six-game winning streak propels the team out of our No. 2 spot. Meanwhile, New Orleans is a respectable 5-5 in the last 10 games and breaks out after holding the No. 1 ranking for most of the early weeks. Good on the Pels.
10. Miami Heat (14-10)
Bam Adebayo is down for an extended period due to thumb surgery, and the Heat have won just one game in his absence against the rudderless Indiana Pacers. They were hit by two crushing losses to the Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks who, not coincidentally, have some dominant interior presences. In the defeat to Milwaukee, Miami rolled with a Dewayne Dedmon/PJ Tucker/Max Strus/Omer Yurtseven frontcourt rotation. They're fine players, but none bring the combination of defensive acumen and offensive playmaking of Adebayo.
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Detroit Pistons (4-18)
The Pistons are tied for the longest winless streak and worst record in the NBA &mdash; not exactly coveted crowns. Things have still been touch-and-go for most of the young prospects, but Cade Cunningham does appear to be growing into his role as the offensive hub of the franchise. Cunningham dropped 26 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks against the Trail Blazers, and then 19 points and 5 assists vs. Phoenix.&nbsp;
(Last week: 8)
8. Sacramento Kings (10-14)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Marvin Bagley III (<a href="https://twitter.com/MB3FIVE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MB3FIVE</a>) in the Kings last 3 wins 20 MINS vs Clippers 12 PTS, 11 REB, 67% FG 35 MINS vs Lakers 13 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 100% FG 19 MINS vs Blazers 10 PTS, 8 REB, 2 3PTS, 67% FG<a href="https://t.co/RbwXyg4woi">pic.twitter.com/RbwXyg4woi</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1467520387697287168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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A solid week for Sacramento, who rebounded from a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers by sweeping the L.A. Clippers in a two-game series. Terence Davis logged two outings of 20-plus points to help grab that win, and Marvin Bagley III chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the second victory over LAC. The Kings are in the midst of a pretty odd stretch, having played just one game in five days. Hopefully that's given interim head coach Alvin Gentry some time to stabilize things.
(Last week: 6)
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (6-16)
Look, I'm still a massive believer in the overall franchise direction of the OKC Thunder franchise. And a young team is going to take its lumps as part of the rebuilding process. But a 73-point loss is a 73-point loss, and an eight-game losing streak is an eight-game losing streak. OKC has to find some way to play meaningful, competitive hoops for the sake of learning and development. Nine of the team's 16 defeats have been by double digits.
(Last week: Unranked)
6. Dallas Mavericks (11-11)
The Mavericks are 2-7 in their last nine games, with those wins coming against the Clippers and Pelicans. They missed Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on Saturday and lost to a Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies squad in a contest that was not as close as the final score indicates. In this nine-game stretch, the once-high-octane Mavs offense has cleared 110 points just three times.
Dallas fans had to watch with longing as Texas native Desmond Bane, who the team passed on in favor of Josh Green in the 2020 NBA Draft, lit up the court. Green has played 54 minutes this season.
(Last week: Unranked)
5. Portland Trail Blazers (11-13)
So Neil Olshey is finally out as general manager, and based on the reports of his workplace culture (and the team's perpetual mediocrity), that seems like a long overdue move. But the act of firing a general manager midseason should never make you feel good about the team &mdash; it's just an obvious sign that things are not going well. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-damian-lillard-wants-to-play-with-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Damian Lillard wants to play with Ben Simmons</a>, but would this theoretical pairing be enough to drastically alter Portland's ceiling?&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Lillard is out with an abdominal injury, and the Blazers are 1-5 in their last six games.
(Last week: Unranked)
4. Denver Nuggets (11-11)
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Joker leads the way 🃏 Nikola Jokic goes for 32 PTS, 11 REB and 5 AST in 27 minutes as the <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nuggets</a> pick up the win in NYC! <a href="https://t.co/uLvOrnFDIn">pic.twitter.com/uLvOrnFDIn</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1467233497051926530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Nikola Jokic returned and yanked Denver out of the No. 1 ranking with his 32-point performance in a win over the Knicks. The Nuggets did still drop one to the lowly Orlando Magic, and now Bones Hyland, Austin Rivers and Bol Bol are all in the league's health and safety protocols. We'll see how this ragtag rotation does with four games in the next six days.
(Last week: 1)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (12-12)
The Lakers have played one contest in six days &mdash; a loss to the Clippers. Frank Vogel has now labeled Dwight Howard as the only center in the rotation, which is most notable because it means he still won't label Anthony Davis a center. L.A. gives up the fifth-most turnovers in the league and allows the fourth-most opposing offensive rebounds, so teams receive plenty of chances to score. Next up is a pivotal rivalry rematch against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
(Last week: 3)
2. New York Knicks (11-12)
Shaking up the rotation hasn't changed the results. The Knicks are on a three-game losing streak, and got trounced by the injury-plagued Nuggets this weekend. Julius Randle sporadically flips from All-NBA superstar to two-way negative, and RJ Barrett still cannot buy a consistent jump shot. New York got shredded by Denver's bench, consisting of Facundo Campazzo, Zeke Nnaji, Vlatko Cancar, JaMychal Green and the recently-signed Davon Reed.
(Last week: 4)
1. Indiana Pacers (9-16)
Indy Cornrows' Caitlin Cooper wrote an excellent analysis of just <a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/2021/12/5/22815853/how-crunch-time-defines-the-current-state-of-the-pacers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how bad the Pacers are when crunch time comes</a>. Our own <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pacers-must-accept-new-reality-and-become-sellers-at-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evan Sidery slammed the franchise</a> for languishing in mediocrity well past due. Indiana is 9-16 and on the thin edge of the playoff race. Altogether, that alone should explain why the Pacers have plummeted to the No. 1 spot in these rankings.
(Last week: Unranked)

Five new teams appear in the Sour Rankings after some major shakeup.

NBA Sour Rankings: With losers winning, the rankings turn upside down

Several marquee players who were expected to hit the open market in 2022 have signed extensions, so next summer's free-agent crop isn't nearly as star-studded as other classes.
However, there are still plenty of quality players who may be up for grabs. In this three-part series, we&rsquo;ll examine the best players who will potentially enter free agency next July. Today, we start with the top-10 guards who could be available.
1. James Harden - Brooklyn Nets - Player Option
Harden is under contract through the upcoming 2021-22 campaign and holds a player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022&ndash;23 season. Considering the massive amount of assets the Nets parted with to acquire Harden (including Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, their 2022, 2024 and 2026 first-round picks, plus pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027), the Nets would undoubtedly love to lock up Harden long-term rather than risk losing him for nothing next year. Kevin Durant has already inked a max contract extension this summer; we'll see if Harden does the same. The most Brooklyn can offer is $161.1 million over four years.
2. Bradley Beal - Washington Wizards - Player Option
It seems as though the basketball world has been waiting for Beal to demand a trade out of D.C. for years now, yet the Wizards' star shooting guard has opted to remain patient despite the team's struggles. Washington would prefer to sign Beal to a four-year extension this offseason, worth roughly $181.5 million, but the three-time All-Star can earn more money if he waits until next offseason to ink a new deal. Beal has a player option worth $37.3 million for the 2022-23 season and he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he chooses not to exercise it. Should he go that route, the Wizards could still offer Beal a super-max pact worth around $235 million over five years.&nbsp;
3. Kyrie Irving - Brooklyn Nets - Player Option&nbsp;
Like his backcourt mate, Irving has a player option for the 2022&ndash;23 season (worth $36,934,550). At the press conference announcing Durant's extension last month, GM Sean Marks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sean-marks-confident-irving-and-harden-will-sign-extensions-with-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the Nets were talking to Irving and Harden about contract extensions. Marks added that he is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sean-marks-confident-irving-and-harden-will-sign-extensions-with-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"very confident"</a> that both deals will get done by the time training camp starts. Brooklyn can offer Irving a four-year extension that would pay the point guard approximately $181 million.
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4. Zach LaVine - Chicago Bulls - Unrestricted
LaVine is entering the final year of his current contract. It's widely assumed that he will choose not to sign an extension this offseason, as the most the Bulls can offer is $105 million over four years, which is well below LaVine's market value. Speaking to the media from the Tokyo Olympics in early August, the 26-year-old was asked about free agency and <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2021/8/2/22605846/bulls-zach-lavine-respect-contract-extension-olympics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replied</a>, "I just want my respect. I think that's the main thing. I outplayed my [current] contract, I've been very loyal to Chicago, I like Chicago. I just want my respect. If it's now, later, it's something that we gotta work out internally and we'll go from there." If the Bulls don't extend LaVine this summer, he will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent. Chicago controls his rights, so they can offer him more money and years than any other team in free agency.&nbsp;
5. Russell Westbrook - Los Angeles Lakers - Player Option
Westbrook's player option for the 2022-23 season is worth a whopping $47,063,478, making it highly unlikely that he would decide to test his luck on the open market. However, last year at this time, most pundits felt close to 100% confident predicting that Chris Paul would exercise his $44.2 million player option for the 2021-22 season. Instead, after greatly exceeding expectations and helping lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals, CP3 opted out last month and inked a four-year deal that could be worth up to $120 million.&nbsp;
6. Dennis Schroder - Boston Celtics - Unrestricted
Schroder was burned badly in free agency, and his current situation highlights the perils of turning down a lucrative extension offer. During the 2020-21 season, Schroder <a href="https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/31163904" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> rejected a four-year, $84 million contract extension from the Lakers, as he was confident he'd be able to secure a deal worth close to $100 million in free agency. However, after a bout with COVID-19 and a subpar showing in the playoffs, Schroder didn't have nearly as many suitors as he'd hoped. Ultimately, he ended up settling for a one-year deal worth $5.9 million to join the Boston Celtics. Schroder will be looking to recoup some of those lost wages next summer.&nbsp;
7. Collin Sexton - Cleveland Cavaliers - Restricted
Sexton is a polarizing player. On the one hand, he's proven he is a potent offensive weapon. Last season, Sexton poured in 24.3 points per game and dished out 4.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% from downtown and 81.5% from the free-throw line. In the process, he became the second-youngest player in NBA history (behind only Kevin Durant) to average more than 24.0 points per game while shooting above 47% from the floor and 37% from deep. However, some critics will argue Sexton has put empty-calorie stats on bad teams. The Cavs are just 60-159 since drafting Sexton, and they have been outscored by 1,446 points with Sexton on the court over his first three seasons in the league. <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/06/25/nba-combine-notebook-post-lottery-cade-cunningham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sports Illustrated reported</a> in June that the Cavaliers began to explore trade options involving Sexton, noting that there's a "belief around the league that Cleveland prefers to move on from Sexton, rather than sign him to a deal that would greatly inhibit their flexibility moving forward."&nbsp;
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8. John Wall - Houston Rockets - Player Option
Wall has a massive player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022-23 campaign. Thus, despite showing flashes of his former self last season (when he averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Rockets), it's incredibly improbable that Wall would leave all of that guaranteed money on the table. Even if Wall had another strong season in Houston, his alarming injury history would significantly limit his free-agent appeal.&nbsp;
9. Victor Oladipo - Miami Heat - Unrestricted
Just three years ago, Oladipo was named the league's Most Improved Player after averaging 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists along with an NBA-best 2.4 steals. He was selected to the All-NBA Third Team in 2017-18, and he became a two-time All-Star. However, his career has since been derailed by injuries. Oladipo will not be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season as he recovers from surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his right quad and he could reportedly be sidelined until the All-Star break or beyond. He re-signed with the Miami Heat on a one-deal worth the veteran&rsquo;s minimum last month (around $2.4 million). If he can prove he is healthy toward the end of the upcoming season, he'll be able to cash in next July. Miami will have Oladipo's Bird rights and will have the inside track on keeping him.&nbsp;
10. Gary Harris - Orlando Magic - Unrestricted
Harris, who was dealt from Denver to Orlando at the deadline last March, has one year remaining on the four-year, $84 million pact he signed in 2018. Harris has proven himself as a solid, versatile two-way player, but he hasn&rsquo;t been able to stay healthy in recent years. He has appeared in fewer than 58 games in each of the past three seasons. In 2020-21, Harris missed nearly two full months due to a left adductor ailment. If he can remain on the court in 2021-22 and put up solid numbers for the rebuilding Magic, Harris should be able to boost his stock in advance of his foray into free agency.&nbsp;
Best of the Rest
Tomas Satoransky, Ricky Rubio, Jalen Brunson, Goran Dragic, Patrick Beverley, Delon Wright, Patty Mills (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Malik Monk, Luguentz Dort (team option), Lou Williams, Facundo Campazzo (restricted), Bruce Brown

Tommy Beer ranks the top players who could be available as part of the 2022 free-agent class. Today, he examines the top-10 guards.

2022 NBA Free-Agent Rankings: Harden, Beal, LaVine among top-10 guards

James Harden is one of the most gifted scorers to ever pick up a basketball. Also, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Groundbreaking stuff.
However, while anyone tuned into NBA basketball knows Harden can do anything he wants with the ball in his hands, a large portion of viewers have spun this narrative that the nine-time All-Star is strictly a one-way player.&nbsp;
To make such a sweeping statement is lazy, convenient, and in many ways, unsupported by what Harden does on the court. He's not going to win Defensive Player of the Year anytime soon, but Harden can clamp up using his underrated strength and balance control &mdash; particularly in the post.&nbsp;
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Per <a href="https://twitter.com/InStatBasket?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@InStatBasket</a>, these defenders held opponents to the lowest FG% on post-ups last season (min. 35 shots faced): 1. Rudy Gobert 💪 - 31.8% T2. Julius Randle - 34.8% T2. Bam Adebayo - 34.8% 4. James Harden 😮 - 36.1% 5. Steven Adams - 36.2% <a href="https://t.co/R3hoD2poPH">pic.twitter.com/R3hoD2poPH</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1434597884096389120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Let's start with the above statistic. Opponents made just 36.1% of their post-up attempts last year (regular season and playoffs) when Harden was credited as the primary matchup, per InStat. That's good for fourth in the NBA among all players who defended at least 35 shot attempts.
Harden was one of only four qualifying guards to hold opponents under 40%, along with Facundo Campazzo (36.8%), Marcus Smart (37.5%) and Donte DiVincenzo (38.9%). The major difference is that those four only defended around 40 post-up shots apiece; Harden matched up for 61, which was second among guards behind only Jrue Holiday.
This season wasn't an abberation. The former MVP has kept opponents under 43% since 2017-18 and has decreased that percentage in each of the past four seasons. How does he do it? By simply being a wall.
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Look at the core strength. At 220 pounds (per Basketball-Reference), Harden is by no means a light guard. But he's consistently matching up against taller, longer players, and some bigs that may have a good 30 pounds on him. Yet everyone is settling for contested shots far from the basket. Observing 61 shot attempts, the only guy who consistently outmuscled him was Blake Griffin (pre-Nets).&nbsp;
Harden consistently keeps his hands engaged throughout the matchup and has an excellent sense of timing for steals. He often gets strips just as a player goes up for a shot, but rarely fouls and rarely tries to gamble for a block once the shooter's hands are up. Instead, Harden keeps pushing them away from the basket while maintaining verticality wth his arms. He is almost never jostled out of his stance or tossed backwards, and that's because he has an impressive level of body control and stability.
The only way post players consistently beat Harden was by catching him off guard with a quick spin move or jump hook. In those instances, Harden wasn't able to get into position quick enough or get a hand in the shooter's face. Then, they could take advantage of the height and length mismatch. It'd also be good to see Harden slide laterally a bit better; maybe that way he could draw some charges when defenders try to spin and drive.
But again, Harden does a spectacular job of keeping defenders away from the paint and out of rhythm. It's not just about the makes or misses; an entire offense can stall if a post player can't find any open space.
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This was awesome to watch. Kawhi Leonard is one of the best post players in basketball; he made 57.8% of his post-up shots last season, which was third among the 35 players with at least 100 attempts. But he has&nbsp;absolutely nothing&nbsp;on Harden in this matchup.&nbsp;
The Los Angeles Clippers clear out for Leonard to do his thing, Harden says "No sir," and Leonard has to kick the ball back out to Lou Williams with little time on the shot clock (props to Williams and Nic Batum for making something out of this). Sure, you'd like to see the Clippers move around off the ball, but this is essentially a call for an iso that gets nullified.
Also notice how, in many of the above clips, Brooklyn isn't coming with help defenders for Harden. The Nets know he can handle any player in the league, and this means they're not leaving open shooters or cutters. Opposing offenses gunk up because the defense does not have to rotate to cover up for Harden.
Some might say the era of post-play is gone. That's a pretty ignorant claim when Nikola Jokic just won Most Valuable Player by primarily ripping defenses apart with his back to the basket. Plenty of teams like the Denver Nuggets initiate their offenses out of a post-up, whether it's to get a bucket or hit a cutter. In today's switching league, guards often find themselves on bigs posting up.
That might be a tasty mismatch for most, but against Harden, it's one of the more daunting challenges in the league. His post-defense acumen should help a Nets team that needs to improve on that end to live up to title aspirations. Harden and Nic Claxton (40.9%) are the only projected Nets rotation players who held opponents under 45% on post-up shots last season.&nbsp;
This isn't to say Harden can turn Brooklyn into a defensive powerhouse. He raises plenty of individual questions about awareness and off-ball play. But post defense is one area where Harden can ease the burden on his teammates.
The Nets will overpower teams with the offensive wizardry of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But at some point, they'll have to tighten up on defense to make a championship run.
Harden can help get them there.

James Harden has quietly been one of the best post defenders among NBA guards, Ethan Fuller insists.

Superstar Secrets: James Harden's post defense, physical strength

It&rsquo;s not often that the team who has the defending MVP on its roster is flying well-under the radar heading into the following season &mdash; but that&rsquo;s exactly what is happening with the Denver Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic epitomizes the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-the-nba-top-10-unicorns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Unicorn mold</a> that is so valuable and transcendent within the modern NBA. As a 7-footer who can operate the offense and score efficiently from all three levels, Jokic manipulates defenses with rare savvy. Jokic is like Peyton Manning, thinking two or three moves ahead and putting defenders exactly where he pleases. The end result? Easy baskets for optimum offensive output. After averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists on an outstanding 64.7% True Shooting percentage, Jokic is just now reaching his top form on the basketball court.
Denver has magnificently built a team to strengthen his incredible gifts.
Jamal Murray is the perfect 1B to Jokic&rsquo;s 1A, a flamethrowing scorer who can erupt at will. In addition, Michael Porter Jr.&rsquo;s development as a scorer adds another wrinkle to the Nuggets&rsquo; long-term ceiling. Looking back on it, Porter dropping to No. 14 overall because of back concerns was a gamble that could have changed the fortunes of Denver&rsquo;s window with Jokic. Aaron Gordon is a bulky, uber-athletic big who can guard three positions and move effectively without the ball, capitalizing on easy cuts to the rim. To top it off, Will Barton and 2021 first-round pick <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-nba-draft-prospect-nahshon-bones-hyland-demands-your-attention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nah&rsquo;Shon &ldquo;Bones&rdquo; Hyland</a> provide microwave scoring off the bench and can further supplement a continuous wave of offensive firepower.
Looking ahead to the 2021-22 season, how does Denver stack up? With Murray&rsquo;s rehab moving forward from a torn ACL &mdash; a setback that really dampened Denver&rsquo;s high-end outcome last season &mdash; a potentially slow start could be in store. Murray&rsquo;s projected timetable for a return could last until around the All-Star break or later, which means Jokic and Porter will have to buoy the Nuggets&rsquo; output every night. We know what to expect from Jokic, but Porter having the opportunities to further his talented rise is a great scenario for Denver. From April 6 and on, Porter averaged 21.4 points while shooting 42.7% on three-pointers in 32 games. This was a preview of Porter&rsquo;s upcoming role as the top secondary option behind Jokic, one that will play such a critical factor to Denver maintaining its elite status without Murray.
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Porter has flashed immense potential as a scorer, but he still needs work as a defender and playmaker. During the Western Conference semifinals, Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams told his star backcourt duo of Chris Paul and Devin Booker to continuously hunt Porter in switch opportunities. Once Phoenix figured this formula out, the team made Porter nearly unplayable while Denver was swept with emphatic fashion. If Porter is able to take strides forward as a passable defender &mdash; similar to the development we&rsquo;ve actually seen from Booker in Phoenix, actually &mdash; it will go a long way toward him reaching a potential star-level profile within the Association.
When you look outside of the Nuggets&rsquo; trio of Jokic, Porter and Gordon, it&rsquo;s an unproven bunch that will need to supplement well-rounded play in Murray&rsquo;s absence. Until the "Blue Arrow" returns to play Robin to Jokic&rsquo;s Batman, Denver will need more development from its young core. Hyland shined in the summer league, further hammering home the case that he should play an immediate role off the bench to alleviate the pressure off Jokic and Porter. However, question marks loom over the big-man duo behind Jokic: Bol Bol and Zeke Nnaji. Bol is a true wildcard, but he&rsquo;s never been utilized within the Nuggets&rsquo; rotation as he enters the final year of his contract. Meanwhile, Nnaji had a rough summer-league outing where he looked lost at points. If neither can step up, Jokic is in line to lead the NBA in minutes played this season.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at the Nuggets rotation without Murray for the 2021-22 campaign:
Starters: Monte Morris, Will Barton, Michael Porter, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
Second Unit: Facundo Campazzo, Bones Hyland, Austin Rivers, P.J. Dozier, JaMychal Green, Bol Bol
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It&rsquo;s a lot of question marks and unproven depth behind a solid starting lineup, which maybe caps where Denver can go this season without a fully healthy Murray providing scoring fireworks. The Suns exposed the Nuggets in the playoffs, and surely many teams will test that theory to further extends early on. If Denver stumbles out of the gate, the team's ceiling could be a No. 4 seed. However, as we saw once Murray went down, Jokic can carry a roster single-handedly. If Jokic maintains MVP-level production, which should be a near-lock, Denver can stay afloat near the elite tier of the West. Are they better than Phoenix, Utah, the Los Angeles Lakers and potentially even a Dallas team with a forthcoming superstar leap again from Luka Doncic? Probably not.
Denver will need Porter to produce Murray-esque levels of offensive production, while Gordon needs to be more assertive within the streamline of the Nuggets' free-flowing offense that runs through their jumbo-sized playmaker.
Once Murray returns, Denver has already shown how lethal it can be. If you add another dynamic scorer to the mix in Porter &mdash; whose confidence should reach all-time highs in Murray's absence &mdash; this team can go on a run. Murray&rsquo;s wildcard factor late into the regular season and playoffs will be the top factor to watch with Denver.
If Murray is back to Murray &mdash; soul-snatching, back-breaking moments as a deadly scorer &mdash; the Nuggets are ready to pounce as a dark-horse contender who can make a deep run. Jokic and Porter will need to keep the Nuggets afloat and within a solid positioning, and the Nuggets hope to have Murray provide the much-needed jolt of stability and star-power back into the equation.
We don&rsquo;t talk enough about the Nuggets heading into the 2021-22 season. But it&rsquo;s the Nuggets&rsquo; 1B to their MVP who truly holds the trump card for where they can go upon Murray's eventual return.

The Nuggets are flying under the radar. Will they be able to maintain elite status in the West as Jamal Murray rehabs from an injury?

Will Nuggets stay afloat in West without Jamal Murray?

USA Basketball finally made it look easy again.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 17 points and the Americans took control from the outset, beating Argentina 108-80 in Las Vegas on Tuesday to avoid what would have been the first three-game losing streak in this era of NBA players being able to represent USA Basketball on the international stage.
Zach LaVine scored 15 points for the U.S., which lost its first two games in Las Vegas to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/shocker-us-falls-to-nigeria-in-preolympic-opener" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nigeria </a>and&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/usa-basketball-falls-again-this-time-9183-to-australia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australia</a>. The Americans shot 51%, scored 33 first-quarter points to get off and running and beat Argentina for the 10th-consecutive time since a loss at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
&ldquo;It was better,&rdquo; U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;Bit by bit, every day, I hope.&rdquo;
Damian Lillard scored 13 points and Bam Adebayo finished with 12 points, five assists and five rebounds for the U.S.
&ldquo;Just really locked in,&rdquo; Adebayo said.
Luis Scola, set to play in the Olympics for a fifth time, scored 16 points in 19 minutes for Argentina. Nicolas Laprovittola scored 13, Facundo Campazzo had 12 and Gabriel Deck added 10.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a big deal,&rdquo; Argentina&rsquo;s Luca Vildoza said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only a loss.&rdquo;
The U.S. played with only eight members of the Olympic team. Jayson Tatum was held out with right knee soreness and will be day-to-day going forward, USA Basketball said. The Americans also will be without Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker until at least this weekend because of the NBA Finals.
The back-to-back losses to start the U.S. team&rsquo;s stay in Las Vegas raised the possibility that the Americans might lose three in a row with NBA players for the first time.
If those thoughts truly existed, they didn&rsquo;t last for long.
&ldquo;Our biggest thing is we have to realize it&rsquo;s not the NBA and Coach Pop keeps re-emphasizing that every single day,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s way more physical. Guys are smarter. These guys have been playing together for five-, 10-plus years. So they have the experience and the chemistry and we&rsquo;re trying to develop that in a short period of time.&rdquo;
It was 15-4 USA before the game was even three-and-a-half minutes old, and the lead was as much as 17 later in the opening quarter &mdash; the biggest leads for the Americans in the first two games were 10 against Nigeria and 11 against Australia &mdash; and the outcome was never really in doubt.
&ldquo;The USA played great,&rdquo; Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said. &ldquo;They played more aggressive defense than they had the last two games.&rdquo;
The Americans held a 58-42 lead at the half when Durant beat the buzzer with an 18-footer, a shot that Draymond Green was celebrating before the ball even swished through the net.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to make shots all the time,&rdquo; Durant said in a televised halftime interview. &ldquo;But if we continue to guard the way we are, it&rsquo;ll start to turn for us on offense... When we keep the ball in front and we get stops and rebounds, then we pretty much can play with a clean slate on the offensive side of the ball.&rdquo;
The U.S. won the rebound battle 40-34, committed only nine turnovers and held Argentina to 31% shooting &mdash; 9 for 29 &mdash; from 3-point range.
&ldquo;Today we got better,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;Still a lot we can improve on, but we&rsquo;re moving in the right direction.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Argentina: Campazzo was shaken up late in the first quarter after taking a hard screen, but was able to eventually return to the game. ... Argentina went 0-3 in Las Vegas, losing 87-84 in its opener against Australia on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Patty Mills and then falling 94-71 to Nigeria on Monday.
USA: The Americans used all 15 of their available players. ... Kevin Love, who played only 3:01 in the in the Nigeria game and didn&rsquo;t play against Australia, was among the first-quarter subs on Tuesday. ... Even after the losses to Nigeria and Australia,&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/basketball/international-friendly-men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FanDuel Sportsbook had the Americans as 18.5-point favorites</a>&nbsp;entering the game.
DOUBLING UP
The U.S. Olympic women&rsquo;s team begins taking the stage in Las Vegas on Wednesday, starting with the WNBA All-Star Game. The U.S. men and women both play Australia on Friday, before the men close their Las Vegas stay on Sunday against Spain and the women play Nigeria. The American teams will fly together to Tokyo on Monday.
POP TALK
Popovich is friends with Hernandez, and the two have spoken often during their stay in Las Vegas, and Hernandez said &ldquo;today was a special day&rdquo; as he coached against one of his idols. Argentina assistant coaches Silvio Santander and Maxi Seigorman have joined some of those postgame chats in Vegas with Popovich as well. &ldquo;Pop is a teacher for everyone. And an inspiration,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://twitter.com/cabboficial/status/1415024382292996099?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Argentine officials wrote on the team&rsquo;s Twitter account</a>&nbsp;while posting a photo of one of the get-togethers.
UP NEXT
Argentina: Expected to play Iran in Tokyo next week before the Olympics.
USA: Faces Australia in Las Vegas on Friday.

Kevin Durant and Brad Beal each scored 17 points and Team USA took control from the outset, beating Argentina 108-80 on Tuesday.

USA bounces back, tops Argentina 108-80 in pre-Tokyo tune-up

The Phoenix Suns roared into the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 11 years Sunday night with a testy 125-118 victory over Denver that completed a four-game sweep of the Nuggets and included MVP Nikola Jokic's ejection.
Chris Paul scored 37 points and Devin Booker added 34 in a physical game marred by Jokic's ejection.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
IN. HIS. BAG. 💰 CP3 drops a playoff-high as the <a href="https://twitter.com/Suns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Suns</a> complete the sweep ❗ 37 PTS - 7 AST - 3 REB - 55.1 FPTS <a href="https://t.co/WMHFTJfaFL">pic.twitter.com/WMHFTJfaFL</a>
&mdash; NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFantasy/status/1404267410576887810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Book (24.9 FPTS) leads all scorers with 21 at the break.<a href="https://twitter.com/Suns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Suns</a> holding 8 on TNT ☀️ <a href="https://t.co/GSVjFOzg5Y">pic.twitter.com/GSVjFOzg5Y</a>
&mdash; NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFantasy/status/1404246007337074692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Jokic was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-jokic-ejected-from-game-4-for-excessive-contact-with-cam-payne" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tossed with 3:52 left in the third quarter</a> and the Nuggets trailing 83-76 after his hard right-hand windmill swipe sent the basketball flying but also caught Cameron Payne in the face.
Booker took umbrage at the hard foul and got in the big man's face before teammates and coaches pulled everyone apart.
Officials assessed a double technical on Jokic and Booker and ejected the MVP after upping the call to a Flagrant 2. Jokic finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes.
The Nuggets and their fans at Ball Arena were frustrated that they were getting called for ticky-tack fouls yet Jokic wasn't getting the calls expected of a Most Valuable Player.
With their franchise-record seventh straight playoff victory, the Suns advanced to the conference championship for the first time since 2010 &mdash; the last time they even reached the playoffs.
After knocking out LeBron James and the defending champion Lakers in Round 1, the Suns quickly dispatched Denver and made Jokic the first MVP to get swept in a playoff series since Magic Johnson in 1989.
Will Barton led Denver, which trailed by 13 heading into the fourth quarter, with 25 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 20 and Monte Morris 19.
The Nuggets survived the loss of star Jamal Murray to a torn ACL on April 12, winning 13 of 18 to close out the regular season and taking care of the Portland Trail Blazers in five games in the opening round.
But when second scoring option Porter tweaked his surgically repaired back in the first half of Game 1 against Phoenix, it was one injury too far for the Nuggets to overcome.
Denver coach Michael Malone said before tip-off that the Nuggets couldn't really rely on their experience from the bubble in overcoming a pair of 3-1 deficits in the playoffs last year. For one thing, Murray's recovering from knee surgery.
Malone said the Nuggets' only focus was on sending this series back to Phoenix for a Game 5.
Instead, Jokic became the first MVP to get swept in a playoff series since the Pistons downed Magic Johnson and the Lakers in four in the NBA Finals in 1989.
Jokic's ejection came 48 hours after an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-phoenix-suns-nikola-jokic-entertainment-nba-8b5618ad45575b05f160c02baced3296">emotional celebration </a> before Game 3 in which the Serbian dedicated his MVP trophy to his teammates, coaches, trainers and the front office.
The only NBA player to play all 72 games this season, Jokic spent the fourth quarter in his locker room as his teammates' comeback without him fell short.
Despite the sweep and Jokic's early exit, fans chanted, &ldquo;MVP! MVP&rdquo; as they streamed out of the arena.
TIP-INS
Suns: Booker scored 10 points in the first quarter despite missing six of nine shots. ... Phoenix trailed just once at 2-0 before Booker's 3-pointer put the Suns up for good.
Nuggets: Murray shot one-footed jumpers before the game and drew a loud ovation when he drained one from halfcourt as he walked off. ... Malone shook up his stagnant starting lineup, sitting Facundo Compazzo and Austin Rivers for Morris and Barton.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Chris Paul scored 37 points and Devin Booker added 34 to complete the Suns' sweep in a physical game marred by Jokic's ejection.