Red Hawks

For much of the early season, the Los Angeles Clippers looked like a team trapped between timelines &ndash; too talented to bottom out, too battered and old to contend, and too uncertain to inspire real belief. Injuries piled up from their key players and the conversations around the franchise quickly turned from wins and losses to future implications, draft picks, and long-term consequences. Yet amid the noise, the Clippers have finally found a sliver of clarity.
Winners of four straight games, Los Angeles is beginning to resemble something far more recognizable: a veteran team rediscovering its rhythm, leaning on its stars, and reminding the Western Conference that it is not ready to fade quietly. The recent climb back into relevance has not been easy &ndash; and it has been fueled by elite play from Kawhi Leonard, steady control from James Harden, and a roster that is slowly, finally getting healthier.
After a bleak opening stretch that tested the organization&rsquo;s patience and identity, the Clippers are showing signs of life again.
Injuries clouded the Clippers&rsquo; beginning but it has not defined their season yet. Their early-season struggles were born out of circumstance, with all the situations they have been facing throughout the course of the season.
Bradley Beal&rsquo;s early injury disrupted what the team envisioned as another offensive option capable of easing pressure off Leonard and Harden. Then came another blow: Ivica Zubac, the team&rsquo;s interior anchor on both ends, was sidelined, stripping Los Angeles of its rim protection, screening presence, and interior scoring.
For a team already walking a narrow margin in the loaded West, the absences were significant. Lineups lacked continuity and their defensive coverage suffered.
Still, instead of folding, the Clippers adapted.
Brook Lopez stepped into the starting center role and immediately provided stability. A proven veteran with championship pedigree, Lopez brought his poise. His ability to space the floor, communicate defensively, and understand high-leverage moments has quietly helped Los Angeles stay afloat. While he may not replicate Zubac&rsquo;s physical dominance in the paint, Lopez&rsquo;s shooting gravity and experience have allowed the Clippers to maintain offensive structure even amid rotation changes.
Then, if Leonard has been the Clippers&rsquo; heartbeat during this stretch, James Harden has been the engine.
Harden continues to serve as the team&rsquo;s primary ball-handler, shot creator, and playmaker, dictating tempo and ensuring that Los Angeles plays with purpose rather than desperation. His command of the offense has been critical, especially during stretches when injuries forced Ty Lue to experiment with lineups and roles.
There is a strong case to be made that Harden is playing at an All-Star level once again. With the All-Star Game set to be held at the Intuit Dome, the Clippers&rsquo; home floor, Harden&rsquo;s performance has taken on added weight &ndash; not just statistically, but symbolically. His leadership has stabilized the group, and his ability to generate efficient offense has kept the Clippers competitive even when the margin for error felt thin.
More importantly, Harden has embraced the responsibility. He has leaned into being the organizer, the problem-solver, and the player who keeps the floor balanced. For a team desperate for continuity, that consistency has mattered.
Then there is Leonard, reminding everyone who he is.
During the Clippers&rsquo; four-game winning streak, Leonard has played like a man intent on rewriting the season&rsquo;s narrative. He is averaging 35.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists during that stretch, dominating games with a blend of mastering the game&rsquo;s fundamentals and surgical efficiency that few players in the league can match.
This version of Leonard looks fully engaged &ndash; attacking mismatches, punishing defenders in the midrange, and making the right reads when help arrives. More than the numbers, it is the authority with which he is playing that stands out. The game has slowed down for him again, and when that happens, the Clippers follow.
Leonard&rsquo;s resurgence has also coincided with the team gradually getting healthier. The return of Derrick Jones Jr. has restored defensive versatility and athleticism on the wing, allowing Los Angeles to apply more pressure at the point of attack. Alongside Kris Dunn, Jones gives the Clippers two perimeter defenders capable of disrupting ball-handlers and creating transition opportunities &ndash; something the team sorely lacked earlier in the season. When Leonard is this locked in, everything else starts to align.
Despite the early turbulence, the Clippers&rsquo; roster construction still reflects a team with real aspirations. This is a roster that is built to support winning &ndash; if it stays intact &ndash; with veteran pieces ready to contend in the playoffs.
Ty Lue remains one of the league&rsquo;s most respected coaches, trusted for his adaptability, playoff experience, and ability to manage veteran egos. Around him is a group that fits specific roles with intention: Dunn and Jones for defense, John Collins as an offensive spark, Nicolas Batum and Lopez as floor spacers who understand timing, and Zubac as the backbone of the interior once healthy.
This is not a roster designed to rebuild &ndash; instead it is a roster designed to win now.
That reality is impossible to separate from the urgency surrounding the Clippers&rsquo; season. Beyond pride and playoff positioning, there is another layer of pressure hovering over every result: the first-round pick owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. With OKC already positioned as a powerhouse, the idea of handing them a high lottery pick has become a looming nightmare scenario.
The Clippers know what is at stake. Every win matters, not just in the standings, but in shaping the future narrative of the franchise.
So far, the Clippers are not yet declaring victory. Four games do not erase weeks of disappointment and uncertainty. But they do restore belief.
What Los Angeles is finding now is rhythm &ndash; an understanding of who they are, how they want to play, and where their advantages lie. They are leaning into Leonard&rsquo;s brilliance, trusting Harden&rsquo;s orchestration, and benefiting from a supporting cast that knows its responsibilities.
In a Western Conference where the line between contention and collapse is razor-thin, the Clippers are choosing to push forward, and perhaps most importantly, they are choosing to compete.
If health holds and Leonard continues this level of play, the Clippers have the tools to make this season something more than a cautionary tale. The road ahead remains unforgiving, after a while, Los Angeles looks like a team moving with purpose once again.

After an uncertain start marked by injuries, the LA Clippers are finding their rhythm again behind Kawhi Leonard’s dominant play.

Finding their footing: Clippers begin season turnaround behind Kawhi Leonard

Two former MVPs continue to show why they remain among the greatest scorers the league has ever seen.&nbsp;
Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Clippers guard James Harden added new milestones to their decorated resumes this week, each climbing further up the NBA&rsquo;s all-time scoring ladder with historic achievements that highlight their remarkable longevity.
Curry officially moved into 22nd place on the NBA&rsquo;s all-time scoring list, passing Vince Carter to continue his steady rise among the league&rsquo;s greatest bucket-getters. The Warriors superstar &ndash; widely regarded as the greatest shooter in basketball history &ndash; has maintained elite scoring production deep into his 17th season, still anchoring Golden State&rsquo;s offense and showing no signs of slowing down. His ascent is another reminder of how his combination of skill, conditioning, and adaptability has allowed him to remain one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NBA.
Meanwhile, Harden became just the 11th player in league history to surpass 28,000 career points, joining an exclusive scoring club. Now in his 17th season like Curry, the Clippers guard continues to demonstrate his ability to generate offense at a high level, even after evolving his role across multiple franchises. Harden&rsquo;s scoring longevity &ndash; built on a mix of creativity, pace manipulation, and efficiency from the perimeter &ndash; reinforces his status as one of the most prolific offensive weapons of his generation.
Both milestones underscore the continued impact of two stars who have shaped the modern NBA &ndash; who were also draft batchmates in the 2009 NBA Draft. As Curry and Harden keep rewriting the record books, their late-career production shows that even in an era defined by rising young talent, the legends are still leaving their stamp on the game.

Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Clippers guard James Harden added new milestones to their decorated resumes this week.

Stephen Curry, James Harden continue to write their legacies

MACAU, CHINA &ndash; The Brooklyn Nets are entering another transition year, but this time, there&rsquo;s no drama, no headlines, and no superstars looming over the locker room. Just a group of players trying to build something sustainable from the ground up.
Gone are the days of the star-powered experiment that once featured Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden from three years ago. What remains are a few steady hands, players like Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, who have seen both sides of the franchise&rsquo;s rollercoaster journey. As Brooklyn prepares to play two games in the preseason slate in Macau against the Suns, the two longest-tenured Nets reflect on what it means to lead the team into this next era.
For Nic Claxton, who&rsquo;s grown from a wiry second-round project into one of the NBA&rsquo;s most mobile defensive big men, every year brings new lessons and responsibilities.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m adjusting &ndash; I mean, you know, every year is different,&rdquo; Claxton said. &ldquo;You have a different set of goals, but at the end of the day, you wanna go out there and impact winning. That&rsquo;s my job, and we got a lot of younger guys on the team now, so I have to use my experience to help them out and continue to grow my game as much as I can as well.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a mature outlook from a player who&rsquo;s quietly become one of Brooklyn&rsquo;s pillars. Last season, Claxton averaged 10.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks &ndash; anchoring a defense that was often tasked with holding the line amid offensive inconsistencies. Now, under second-year head coach Jordi Fernandez, Claxton is being asked to take another step &ndash; not just as a rim protector, but as a leader in both tone and preparation.
And by his own account, he&rsquo;s ready for that challenge. &ldquo;My conditioning has been A1,&rdquo; Claxton said with confidence. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been practicing really hard, so I feel like I&rsquo;m in the best spot that I&rsquo;ve been in in my career right now with conditioning, for sure.&rdquo;
That confidence is timely, as the Nets&rsquo; new identity will revolve around toughness, defense, and effort &mdash; areas where Claxton naturally thrives. With Fernandez emphasizing pace and player development, Claxton&rsquo;s voice will be critical in setting the team&rsquo;s standard.
While Claxton leads the frontcourt, Cam Thomas continues to evolve as Brooklyn&rsquo;s go-to scorer. After averaging a career-high 24.0 points per game last season, Thomas proved he can fill it up against anyone. But as the 23-year-old enters his fifth NBA season, the challenge isn&rsquo;t just scoring &ndash; it&rsquo;s expanding his influence across a young locker room.
&ldquo;Just keep improving,&rdquo; Thomas said when asked about his expectations this year. &ldquo;Playing hard and being competitive, that&rsquo;s really the main thing. You win, you lose &ndash; whatever our coach wants &ndash; he always preaches to us it&rsquo;s not about the wins and the losses but it&rsquo;s about how we compete as a team and how we fight&hellip; just competing and fighting and the wins will come. So, I just wanna keep following the system and following what we do, and everything will work it out.&rdquo;
That philosophy fits perfectly with Fernandez&rsquo;s developmental focus. The Nets are chasing habits this year to hopefully build into the right step in the future.
Thomas&rsquo; scoring ability is well-documented, but this offseason, the guard also worked on becoming more of a facilitator &ndash; a necessity on a roster that added three rookie point guards. Still, Thomas expects to maintain his aggressive offensive role while taking on more leadership duties.
&ldquo;I think my role will be the same, nothing has changed really,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We got more young guys now, I think I would have the same role that I had last year, and just keep improving. Obviously just helping them get up to speed and help them to understand NBA games as quickly as possible,&rdquo; Thomas shared. &ldquo;My job is to try to get them up to speed as much as I can, and offer up help in any way I can for them. Definitely gonna be that leader in that aspect and I can&rsquo;t wait to get going.&rdquo;
That sense of responsibility represents another important shift for Brooklyn. With several veterans already leaving the team in seasons past, Claxton and Thomas now bridge the gap between the team&rsquo;s past and its future. Both have experienced the turbulence of constant roster turnover and now find themselves in positions to stabilize the franchise from within.
The Nets&rsquo; trip to Macau, part of the NBA China Games, gave the group a valuable early test of that chemistry. For a young team still finding its identity, dealing with long travel, jet lag, and quick turnarounds mirrors the grind of an 82-game season.
&ldquo;Just our ability to adapt,&rdquo; Thomas said about how they can use this experience for the upcoming NBA season. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re coming on a 17-hour flight, the time difference is crazy. We&rsquo;re not here very long to get acclimated as much as we&rsquo;d like, so we got two games in three days, so definitely different. But I would say the biggest ability is to adapt to any situation you can and be ready for back-to-backs in the NBA.&rdquo;
Adaptability might just become Brooklyn&rsquo;s defining trait. The Nets aren&rsquo;t expected to compete for a playoff spot immediately, but they have the right mix of youth and hunger to make things interesting. Fernandez&rsquo;s system &ndash; which emphasizes spacing, movement, and defensive effort &ndash; is built for players like Claxton and Thomas to thrive and lead.
Claxton&rsquo;s voice on the floor and Thomas&rsquo; scoring punch give Brooklyn a foundation to build on, even as they continue to retool. And for both players, Macau served as more than just a preseason stop &ndash; it was a reminder of how far they&rsquo;ve come/
As the Nets prepare for the 2025-26 season, the tone is different. No more quick fixes or blockbuster expectations. Instead, there&rsquo;s patience, growth, and players like Claxton and Thomas ready to lead the climb.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, you wanna go out there and impact winning,&rdquo; Claxton said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my job.&rdquo;&nbsp;
For a team trying to rediscover its identity, that simple message might be exactly what Brooklyn needs.

From Macau, Claxton and Thomas discuss adapting, guiding young teammates, and shaping the team’s identity for the next NBA season.

Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas prepare to traverse new Brooklyn Nets season

In today&rsquo;s NBA, transition seasons come in all forms. Some teams tear everything down to the studs. Others try to retool around what&rsquo;s left of a former contender. This year, the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets find themselves on opposite sides of that spectrum &ndash; two franchises moving in different directions, both still searching for clarity after years of turbulence.
Phoenix: From championship chase to crossroads
For the Phoenix Suns, the 2025-26 season feels like a reset &ndash; not a rebuild, but something in between. Just a year ago, the Suns were all in, banking on the star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal to deliver the franchise&rsquo;s first championship. Instead, that vision unraveled under the weight of injuries, fit issues, and the unforgiving depth of the Western Conference.
Now, Durant and Beal are gone. The Suns have retooled, bringing in Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks from Houston in what looks like a soft pivot rather than a full teardown. On paper, this is still a competitive team. Booker remains one of the league&rsquo;s purest scorers &ndash; a consistent 27-30 point threat who can carry an offense for the entire season. His leadership, composure, and playoff pedigree make him the unquestioned face of the franchise.
But the question is, for how long?
Booker has already seen one Finals run and several deep playoff pushes, but his prime years are ticking by without a true contender around him. The Suns&rsquo; front office faces a delicate balance: surround Booker with enough talent to stay relevant, or commit fully to a long-term rebuild that starts with the young players they&rsquo;ve drafted.
Phoenix&rsquo;s 2025 draft class has generated buzz, headlined by 7&rsquo;1&rdquo; South Sudanese big man Khaman Maluach, whose athleticism and defensive instincts could eventually anchor the team&rsquo;s frontcourt. Add sharpshooter Koby Brea and promising forward Rasheer Fleming, and the Suns suddenly have youth and upside they haven&rsquo;t had in years. Still, those prospects are developmental projects, not immediate answers.
And that&rsquo;s where the uncertainty lies. The Suns&rsquo; current roster feels caught between timelines &ndash; one led by a proven All-Star in his prime, and another still finding its footing. Jalen Green&rsquo;s arrival adds intrigue: a high-ceiling scorer looking for a fresh start, eager to rebuild his reputation after inconsistency in Houston. Dillon Brooks, meanwhile, brings defensive edge and intensity &ndash; the kind of grit the team lacked during its superstar-heavy era.
Yet even with those additions, the Suns face a brutal Western Conference landscape. Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota, Houston, Los Angeles, and Golden State all remain loaded. The margin for error is razor-thin. For Phoenix, the season might not be about contention but about definition,&nbsp; figuring out what kind of team they want to be, and whether Booker still fits and wants to be a part of that long-term vision.&nbsp;
Because in today&rsquo;s NBA, all it takes is one tough year, one frustrated superstar, for everything to shift. And if the Suns can&rsquo;t provide a clear path forward soon, speculation around Booker&rsquo;s future will only grow louder.
Brooklyn: Building from the ground up
If the Suns are hovering between two worlds, the Brooklyn Nets are fully embracing the rebuild. Gone are the days of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. Gone are the shortcuts, the splashy trades, and the instant gratification. In their place, a patient, deliberate plan &ndash; a commitment to youth, draft capital, and development.
The Nets&rsquo; 2025 NBA draft haul was one for the history books: five first-round selections &mdash; Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf, and Drake Powell. Each brings something unique: Demin&rsquo;s size, playmaking, and creativity, Traore&rsquo;s speed and quickness, Saraf&rsquo;s veteran-savvy and composure, Wolf&rsquo;s touch and IQ, and Powell&rsquo;s explosiveness and defensive versatility. It&rsquo;s a talent-rich group that gives Brooklyn multiple chances to uncover a future star.
And that&rsquo;s exactly what the organization needs. The post-superteam era has left the Nets without a definitive franchise player. Cam Thomas, now extended after hitting restricted free agency, has proven he can fill it up &ndash; a microwave scorer who can drop 30 on any given night. But whether he can lead a winning team remains uncertain. Nic Claxton, steady and efficient, remains the defensive anchor and emotional backbone of the roster.
The biggest wildcard, though, might be Michael Porter Jr., acquired in a trade that sent Cam Johnson out. For the first time in his career, Porter enters a season as the likely No. 1 option. Long known as a complementary scorer in Denver&rsquo;s system, he&rsquo;ll have the freedom and the responsibility to expand his game in Brooklyn. This is his chance to prove that he&rsquo;s more than a luxury piece on a contender.
The Nets&rsquo; long-term plan is clear: build through the draft, develop their prospects, and keep the books clean for the future. With three projected franchise-level talents &ndash; Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and AJ Dybantsa &ndash; expected to headline next year&rsquo;s draft, Brooklyn could be setting itself up for one of the league&rsquo;s most intriguing rebuilds.
In the meantime, expect the Nets to experiment. There will be growing pains, roster shuffling, and perhaps more trades to stockpile picks. But there will also be moments of discovery &ndash; glimpses of who might become the next face of the franchise.
Two paths, one lesson
In many ways, Phoenix and Brooklyn are mirror images in reverse. Both went all-in on superstar-driven eras. Both fell short. But while the Suns are clinging to contention through their remaining star, the Nets have chosen to start from scratch.
The Suns are trying to stay relevant while redefining themselves. The Nets are comfortable taking the long road back. Each path carries risk and each of them offer a different margin of error.
Phoenix may find itself in limbo if Booker tires of waiting. Brooklyn may struggle to turn its promising prospects into a real cornerstone. But both franchises, in their own way, are chasing something that every team eventually faces after their window closes: a new identity.
For the Suns, the question is whether they can build one fast enough to keep Booker from looking elsewhere. For the Nets, it&rsquo;s whether their patience will finally pay off.
Different timelines yet the same pursuit as the two teams on opposite ends of rebuilding transition trying to turn uncertainty into hope.

From reset to rebuild, the Suns and the Nets take different paths toward a new identity after their superteam eras ended.

Suns, Nets on opposite ends of rebuilding transition

The Los Angeles Clippers have signed 12-time All-Star Chris Paul, marking a storied return to the franchise where he solidified the &ldquo;Lob City&rdquo; era. According to Shams Charania and ESPN, Paul &ndash; now 40 &ndash; has agreed to a one-year, $3.6 million deal for what is expected to be his 21st and likely final NBA season.
Paul spent six impactful seasons in L.A. from 2011&ndash;2017, earning five All-Star nods and cementing his legacy as the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leader in assists (4,023). He returns to a revamped roster featuring stars such as Bradley Beal, John Collins, Brook Lopez, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard, aimed at contending in a crowded Western Conference.
Reflecting on the move, Clippers president Lawrence Frank said, &ldquo;Chris is one of the most impactful players ever to wear a Clippers uniform,&rdquo; adding that Paul will supply veteran leadership and steady playmaking off the bench. Paul himself expressed excitement to &ldquo;finish this chapter&rdquo; in the city where he peaked.&nbsp;
ANALYSIS: This move has the Clippers&rsquo; bench depth &amp; mentorship in full display, with Paul&rsquo;s arrival providing quality backup minutes and invaluable mentorship towards his teammates. This addition follows smart cap maneuvering that allows the Clippers to invest in veterans while preserving flexibility. The Clippers are also capitalizing on history, as Paul's return offers a narrative boost, reconnecting fans with the Lob City era and hoping to spark another deep playoff run.
Despite this being a farewell tour, the Clippers are deep enough to consider Paul a meaningful contributor in a leadership role. He joins the bench rotation behind Harden, while Bradley Beal respectfully gives up his No. 3 jersey as a gesture to honor CP3&rsquo;s legacy.&nbsp;
Chris Paul&rsquo;s return to the Clippers is both nostalgic and strategic. His scoring, court vision, and leadership will support a veteran-heavy cast aiming to push deeper into the postseason. And if this truly is his last season, he&rsquo;ll have the perfect stage &ndash; a homecoming to the city where he spent his best years in.

The Los Angeles Clippers have signed 12-time All-Star Chris Paul, marking a storied return to the franchise.

Clippers bring back CP3 for final season: Veteran returns home

As the 2025 NBA Playoffs begin, the Western Conference presents no shortage of compelling narratives and unanswered questions. Each team comes in with a storyline that could define their entire postseason. From young squads making their playoff debut to experienced rosters led by superstars, here's the biggest question facing each Western Conference playoff team.
Oklahoma City Thunder &mdash; Can their historic defense carry over to the playoffs?
The Oklahoma City Thunder have fielded the league&rsquo;s best defense this season, boasting a 106.6 defensive rating &mdash; the lowest mark in the NBA and one of the best over the past decade. Anchored by a core of versatile perimeter defenders like Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams, and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with interior enforcer Isaiah Hartenstein and shot blocker Chet Holmgren, the Thunder built a defensive identity predicated on length, switchability, and relentless pressure.
But as history has shown, regular-season defense doesn&rsquo;t always translate to playoff dominance. Matchups become more intentional, rotations tighten, and elite scorers are given room to manipulate even the best schemes. For a team like OKC that leans heavily on team defense rather than individual stoppers, their system will be tested in a postseason series where adjustments are key. Moreover, the Thunder&rsquo;s youth &ndash; despite being a strength in the regular season &ndash; may also be a vulnerability when the game slows down and every possession is magnified.
This Thunder squad has the makings of a historically great defense, but now comes the true test: whether that same system can hold up when a superstar like Luka Doncic or Steph Curry start hunting matchups in isolation. If OKC can sustain their defensive intensity in a seven-game series, their path to a deep run remains wide open.
Houston Rockets &mdash; Will their inexperience hinder them from going too far?
After years of rebuilding, the Houston Rockets are finally back in the playoffs &mdash; and this time, with a young core brimming with talent. Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Amen Thompson are all making their playoff debuts, and they&rsquo;ve formed a competitive group that finished with the fifth-best defense in the league (110.3 DRtg) and earned the second seed. Their turnaround under head coach Ime Udoka has been remarkable, fueled by a defense-first identity and the emergence of Sengun as one of the best passing bigs in the league.
However, playoff basketball is a different beast. It&rsquo;s about adjustments, discipline, and poise under pressure &ndash; things young teams usually need time to learn. In their first-round matchup, the Rockets face the battle-tested Golden State Warriors, a team that features championship experience across the board. Houston&rsquo;s youth could be exposed if the moment becomes too big, especially with Golden State&rsquo;s ability to dissect inexperience through smart off-ball actions and defensive schemes.
Players like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, the Rockets&rsquo; veterans, will be counted on to provide leadership and stabilize the team when things go sideways. But this postseason will ultimately serve as a litmus test for how ready the Rockets&rsquo; young stars are to take the leap. Even if they fall short, the experience could be invaluable moving forward.
Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; How viable is their roster construction?
The Lakers shocked the league by acquiring Luka Doncic midseason, pairing him with LeBron James and Austin Reaves to form a high-powered offensive trio. Since then, they&rsquo;ve leaned heavily into small-ball, often starting lineups with Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith alongside the core trio, while Jaxson Hayes remains their only true center. First-year head coach JJ Redick has installed a modern, five-out system that prioritizes spacing and switchable defense &mdash; a style tailor-made for the postseason.
But viability is still a concern. While the offense has thrived, their defense has some slippages, particularly when LeBron and Luka are on the floor together. Their lack of rim protection and size could be exploited by teams that boast elite drivers to the rim. Additionally, the wear-and-tear of postseason play could take a toll on their aging core, especially LeBron, who is playing his 22nd season and logging heavy minutes in the postseason
Ultimately, the Lakers&rsquo; playoff ceiling hinges on whether their current roster configuration &ndash; heavy on wings, light on bigs &ndash; can hold up when the game slows down and physicality ramps up. If it works, Redick could be hailed as a tactical genius. If it doesn&rsquo;t, questions about roster balance and long-term direction will resurface.
Denver Nuggets &mdash; Do they have enough help around Nikola Jokic?
Nikola Jokic is once again doing everything for the Denver Nuggets &mdash; and doing it at an MVP level. He finished the regular season averaging a triple-double and top 3 in every major statistical category. His ability to control the game as both scorer and facilitator remains unmatched, and he remains the engine of everything Denver does offensively. But after a sluggish finish to the season, the biggest concern for the Nuggets is whether Jokic has enough help to mount another deep playoff run.
Jamal Murray has battled through injuries and hasn&rsquo;t quite looked like the same dynamic scorer from their 2023 championship run. Michael Porter Jr. has been inconsistent, while Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s offensive impact has waned due to multiple injuries. Denver&rsquo;s bench has also taken a step back this year, with limited contributions outside of Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson.
If Murray can elevate his game and Porter Jr. can knock down shots consistently, Denver remains a title threat. But the margin for error is much slimmer than last year. Jokic can only carry so much weight &ndash; the Nuggets need their supporting cast to deliver, or another early exit could be looming.
Los Angeles Clippers &mdash; Can we see James Harden and Kawhi Leonard lead this team to playoff glory?
After losing Paul George to free agency last summer, many assumed the Clippers&rsquo; title window had slammed shut. But the resurgence of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard has breathed life back into their playoff hopes. Harden has embraced the role of primary playmaker, averaging 22.8 points and 8.7 assists per game, while Leonard has quietly had one of the most efficient scoring seasons of his career in recent years, shooting 49.8% from the field and 41.1% from deep.
The Clippers finished the season strong with their offense clicking and defense holding steady. Yet the question remains &ndash; can their two stars carry them through the gauntlet of the Western Conference? Leonard&rsquo;s health has always been a question mark, and Harden&rsquo;s playoff track record has been a mixed bag at best.&nbsp;
This postseason may be one of the last chances for this iteration of the Clippers to make a real push. If Harden and Kawhi can replicate their regular-season success and stay healthy, they could make noise. Along with steady role players like Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers are darkhorse contenders and will be dangerous out in the West.
Minnesota Timberwolves &mdash; How will Julius Randle perform in the playoffs?
Minnesota shocked many by acquiring Julius Randle at the trade deadline, moving on from Karl-Anthony Towns in the process. The Wolves hoped that Randle, a more physical and downhill-oriented forward, would provide a better playoff fit alongside Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. However, Randle&rsquo;s postseason history raises concerns &mdash; in 15 career playoff games, he&rsquo;s averaged just 15.6 points on 34.4% shooting from the field.
Minnesota will need more than that if they hope to build on last year&rsquo;s conference finals run. Randle must adapt his game to playoff basketball, where defenses are better prepared and isolation-heavy play often becomes less efficient. His ability to stretch the floor, make quick decisions, and play through contact will be tested, especially against elite defenses like OKC.
If Randle rises to the occasion, Minnesota could have one of the most balanced starting fives in the conference. But if he reverts to his inefficient playoff habits, the Wolves could find themselves stalling in critical moments &ndash; a risk that looms large in what could be a defining postseason for the franchise.
Golden State Warriors &mdash; How far can Jimmy Butler take them?
The Warriors made arguably the boldest trade of the deadline by acquiring Jimmy Butler from Miami, forming a star duo with Stephen Curry. Since the move, Golden State has looked rejuvenated, going on a tear to close the regular season and boasting the third-best net rating in the league during that span (+7.2). Butler&rsquo;s leadership, defense, and shot creation have given the Warriors a legitimate second option and re-energized their playoff outlook.
Butler has a proven playoff track record &ndash; he led the Heat to two Finals appearances in four years &ndash; and is widely regarded as one of the most clutch postseason performers. His fit with Golden State has been seamless, and the team&rsquo;s defense has improved significantly, ranking 6th in opponent points per game since the trade. The question is how far Butler can carry this version of the Warriors, who still lean heavily on their aging core.
If Butler can replicate his past postseason heroics and stay healthy, the Warriors have a real shot to upset higher-seeded teams and return to the Finals.
Memphis Grizzlies &mdash; Can they survive this tough season?
No team has faced more adversity this year than the Memphis Grizzlies. Between Ja Morant&rsquo;s on-court antics, injuries to key players, and coaching instability and firing, Memphis stumbled to a slump at the end of the regular season but managed to squeak into the playoffs as the 8-seed. Despite the chaos, the team has shown remarkable resilience, with Jaren Jackson Jr. and rookie Zach Edey emerging as bright spots with their improved play.
Now they face the top-seeded Thunder in a first-round matchup that few give them a chance to win. But if there&rsquo;s one thing the Grizzlies have shown, it&rsquo;s that they won&rsquo;t go down without a fight. Their defense could keep them competitive, and their physical style of play may pose problems for the Thunder.
Ultimately, the playoffs may serve more as a building block than a real title push. But if Memphis can steal a game or two &mdash; or even push OKC to the brink &mdash; it would be a testament to the team&rsquo;s grit and foundation heading into next season.

Breaking down the biggest question each Western Conference team faces heading into the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

2025 NBA Western Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question in the playoffs

Every NBA season comes with its fair share of surprises, and the 2024-25 campaign has been no different. While championship contenders and superstars have dominated headlines, several teams have quietly &mdash; or loudly &mdash; rewritten their narratives in spectacular fashion. These aren&rsquo;t just flukes or hot streaks. These are teams that have made a leap, exceeded expectations, and found themselves in playoff positioning when few thought they&rsquo;d be here, or surpassing their previous season&rsquo;s accomplishments.
Whether it&rsquo;s through masterful coaching, player development, savvy roster moves, or simply finding the right chemistry at the right time, these are the teams that have all proven that projections and preseason power rankings don&rsquo;t always tell the full story. Here's a closer look at how these franchises flipped the script and are now among the best feel-good stories of the season.
Detroit Pistons Previous season&rsquo;s record: 17-65 This season&rsquo;s record: 44-38, 6th in the East
Perhaps no team has made a bigger leap &mdash; or captured the league&rsquo;s heart &mdash; more than the Detroit Pistons. Just a year removed from a miserable 17-win season, the Pistons have pulled off one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent NBA memory. They are now sixth in the Eastern Conference, and have set a playoff date against the third-seeded New York Knicks.
Much of that credit goes to newly hired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who brought immediate structure, accountability, and belief into a young locker room. But the star of the show has been Cade Cunningham. After an injury-riddled season last year, Cunningham has blossomed into a true franchise player this year &mdash; a dual-threat scorer and facilitator who commands the game at his own pace. His decision-making has improved drastically, and he's showing why he was the No. 1 overall pick. Cunningham is here, and he&rsquo;s gunning for that star/superstar status.
Surrounding Cunningham, players like Jaden Ivey (even though he was injured) and Ausar Thompson have also taken noticeable steps forward, while big man Jalen Duren has anchored the middle with toughness and poise beyond his years. Detroit has also had key free agent signings that brought veteran presence in the locker room in Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Tobias Harris. They have also picked up vet PG Dennis Schroder in a trade to help Cunningham with the ball-handling duties. Everything that Detroit has done was in order to come back and see this moment &ndash; to be back in the playoffs. It&rsquo;s not just that Detroit is winning &mdash; it&rsquo;s how they&rsquo;re doing it: through defense, selflessness, and maturity. They&rsquo;ve gone from laughingstock to legitimate in over a season, and it has been incredibly fun to watch.
Houston Rockets Previous season&rsquo;s record: 22-60 This season&rsquo;s record: 52-30, 2nd in the West
After four long and grueling seasons of rebuilding, the Houston Rockets are back &mdash; and better than ever. They&rsquo;ve clinched 50 wins for the first time since the James Harden era and have soared into the second seed in the loaded Western Conference. This transformation didn&rsquo;t happen overnight, but every move the Rockets made over the last four years has culminated in a roster that&rsquo;s deep, versatile, and hungry.
It started with the front office, who made smart picks in the draft: Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green in 2021, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason in 2022, Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore in 2023, and Reed Sheppard in 2024. The result? A blend of high-upside talent that&rsquo;s matured quickly under the right guidance. And that guidance came in the form of Ime Udoka &mdash; the tough, defense-first head coach who has instilled discipline and identity from day one.
The Rockets also balanced their youth with veteran leadership. Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks were crucial free-agent signings, and the trade for Steven Adams added much-needed size and experience in the paint. Sengun has quietly become one of the most skilled bigs in the league, averaging near triple-double numbers with his passing and post play. Meanwhile, Jalen Green&rsquo;s shot selection and efficiency have improved, making him a more consistent offensive threat.
Everything is clicking in Houston, and the best part? They&rsquo;re still only scratching the surface. It&rsquo;s officially liftoff time in Houston, Texas.
Cleveland Cavaliers Previous season&rsquo;s record: 51-31 This season&rsquo;s record: 64-18, 1st in the East
It might sound strange to include a 50-win team in a list of surprises, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have surpassed what many expected from them &mdash; and in a completely new way. After losing to the Celtics in the second round last season, many believed Cleveland had plateaued, stuck in a tier below the East&rsquo;s elite. But the arrival of head coach Kenny Atkinson changed everything.
Atkinson brought more than just X&rsquo;s and O&rsquo;s to Cleveland &mdash; he brought vision. His innovative offensive schemes breathed new life into the team, particularly Evan Mobley. The former third overall pick has emerged as a true two-way force this year, expanding his offensive bag while remaining a defensive anchor. Mobley has become more comfortable operating as a playmaker, setting high screens, making short-roll reads, and even spacing the floor.
Donovan Mitchell remains the alpha, capable of carrying the offense during clutch moments. But with Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen playing supporting roles to perfection &mdash; and the perfect role players giving them a punch off the bench &mdash; the Cavaliers are deeper and more dangerous than ever. This is their best season since LeBron left, and it feels like they&rsquo;ve finally found a sustainable identity. They're not just winning games; they&rsquo;re playing like a team that believes it can win the East.
Los Angeles Clippers Previous season&rsquo;s record: 44-38 This season&rsquo;s record: 50-32, 5th in the West
No team entered the season with lower public expectations relative to their talent than the Los Angeles Clippers especially after Paul George left in free agency. The assumption was that LA&rsquo;s championship window had finally slammed shut. But instead of folding, the Clippers responded with a defiant, gritty, and unified season that caught the league off guard.
Kawhi Leonard returned healthy and dominant, looking like the MVP-caliber player of old. His midrange game has been clinical, and he&rsquo;s elevated his play on both ends as the postseason approaches. But perhaps the most shocking resurgence came from James Harden, who has turned back the clock and delivered one of his most efficient seasons in years. Harden has assumed full command of the offense, orchestrating everything with poise and flair while re-establishing himself as a top-tier guard in the league that could possibly fetch an All-NBA plum.
The supporting cast has been outstanding. Ivica Zubac has taken a huge leap, anchoring the Clippers&rsquo; defense and finishing strong around the rim. He&rsquo;s firmly in the Most Improved Player conversation. Norman Powell has been a revelation in an expanded role, consistently providing scoring and hustle. The &ldquo;addition by subtraction&rdquo; idea has rung true &mdash; with more touches and opportunities, Powell has been better than ever.
And of course, credit must go to Tyronn Lue, who has maximized every piece of this roster and turned what many assumed would be a rebuilding year into a redemption tour. The Clippers became this gritty and rugged defensive team that no one wants to meet in the playoffs. They might be underdogs, but they&rsquo;ve built something real.&nbsp;
&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;
These four teams &mdash; Detroit, Houston, Cleveland, and Los Angeles &mdash; entered the season with vastly different narratives. But they all share a common thread: they weren&rsquo;t supposed to be this good. Whether through internal growth, roster management, or coaching brilliance, each franchise has exceeded expectations in its own way.
The playoffs will be the true test, but what these teams have already accomplished is worth celebrating. In a league where dynasties often dominate headlines, it's stories like these that keep the NBA fresh, unpredictable, and thrilling year after year.

Discover how the Pistons, Rockets, Cavaliers, and Clippers have surpassed this season's expectations and rewrote their narratives.

Teams that have exceeded expectations this season

Ben Simmons has agreed to a contract buyout with the Brooklyn Nets, making him an unrestricted free agent. Following the buyout, Simmons intends to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to news broken by ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.
Simmons would now join and be teammates with Clippers guard James Harden, the player for whom he was traded two years ago when he was with the Sixers.
Simmons' time with the Nets was marred by injuries, including back issues and surgeries, limiting his playing time to just 57 of 191 games since his trade to Brooklyn. This season, he played in 33 of 51 games, averaging 6.2 points, 6.9 assists, and 5.2 rebounds as a backup point guard.&nbsp;
The buyout is expected to free up a roster spot and cap space for the Nets, with the possibility of converting some of their players&rsquo; two-way contracts to&nbsp; standard deals.
Simmons signing with LA aims to bolster the Clippers' defense and playmaking capabilities as they pursue a playoff spot.

Ben Simmons has agreed to a contract buyout with the Brooklyn Nets to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ben Simmons joins Clippers after buyout with Nets

Cam Thomas is one of the most explosive young scorers in the NBA today. The Brooklyn Nets guard has quickly established himself as a potent bucket-getter, averaging 24.7 points per game this season while shooting efficiently at 46% from the field. At just 23 years old, Thomas has impressed with his ability to create his own shot, exploit defenses with his mid-range game, and step up as a consistent offensive threat for the Nets. His rapid rise in the league is complemented by a deep understanding of basketball history and strategy, as evidenced by his insightful observations about two of the game's most transformative players of this generation: Stephen Curry and James Harden.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In a recent appearance on *The Draymond Green Show*, Thomas offered a thoughtful analysis of how Curry and Harden have uniquely revolutionized basketball. According to Thomas, Curry redefined how teams approach the game, particularly with his off-ball movement, long-range shooting, and emphasis on floor spacing. On the other hand, Harden transformed individual play by pioneering the step-back three, refining isolation basketball, and mastering the art of drawing fouls.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
"I think we really gravitated toward James"<a href="https://twitter.com/24_camthomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@24_camthomas</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/Money23Green?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@money23green</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/BaronDavis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@barondavis</a> he thinks his generation emulated James Harden more than Steph Curry <a href="https://t.co/wAILYRwHnd">pic.twitter.com/wAILYRwHnd</a>
&mdash; The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/DraymondShow/status/1861885291298009210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 27, 2024</a>
<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</blockquote>
Thomas highlighted Stephen Curry's unparalleled impact on the collective identity of basketball teams. Curry's ability to stretch the floor with his three-point shooting not only elevated the Golden State Warriors to dynastic success but also forced other teams to adapt to a new era of pace-and-space basketball. As Thomas noted, Curry's relentless off-ball movement and shooting range reshaped how offenses and defenses operate, compelling teams to prioritize shooting and spacing over traditional post-play.
This evolution can be seen across the league, as teams now emphasize finding players who can shoot from deep and defend multiple positions to keep up with the Warriors' blueprint. "Steph changed the way teams wanted to play," Thomas remarked, underscoring how Curry's influence extended beyond his individual skills to shape the team-oriented strategies now prevalent in the NBA.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Conversely, James Harden's influence lies in his mastery of individual offense. Thomas pointed to Harden's exceptional ability to manipulate defenses with his handles, step-backs, and foul-drawing techniques. Harden's one-on-one brilliance not only made him a perennial MVP candidate but also set a new standard for what guards could achieve in isolation. "James changed the individual skill of how players wanted to play," Thomas observed, acknowledging Harden's role in redefining the art of scoring in a half-court setting.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Harden&rsquo;s approach has inspired a generation of players to focus on creativity and efficiency in isolation, leveraging advanced footwork and ball-handling to generate scoring opportunities. His innovations have led to debates about their broader impact on the aesthetics of basketball, with some praising his ingenuity and others critiquing the reliance on drawing fouls.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Thomas' comparison of Curry and Harden illustrates the multifaceted evolution of basketball in the modern era. While Curry ushered in a revolution of team-centric three-point shooting and movement, Harden elevated individual creativity and scoring mastery to unprecedented levels. Together, they embody the dual pillars of contemporary basketball&mdash;team synergy and individual brilliance.&nbsp;&nbsp;
As Cam Thomas continues his ascent, his nuanced understanding of the game's history and its transformative figures hints at a player who not only studies greatness but also aspires to leave his own mark on the league.

Thomas offered a thoughtful analysis of how Curry and Harden have uniquely revolutionized the modern NBA and basketball.

Nets’ Cam Thomas on Stephen Curry and James Harden: “They changed the game”

With the 2024-25 NBA season just days away, the Western Conference is locked, loaded, and ready for battle. The offseason drama has settled, rosters are finalized, and every team is gearing up for what promises to be a fierce and competitive race. From reigning contenders to rising underdogs, the West is stacked with talent and ambition. Let&rsquo;s break down the top 15 teams in the West as we head into this thrilling new season&mdash;no frills, just what you need to know.
<ol>
<li> Minnesota Timberwolves The Timberwolves are turning a new page after trading away longtime cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo and are now fully embracing Anthony Edwards as the franchise cornerstone. The T-Wolves&rsquo; mix of young talent and veteran leadership gives them a balanced roster around Edwards. Rudy Gobert remains a defensive anchor as a 4-time DPOY, Edwards is primed for a superstar leap, and if the supporting cast, including Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, steps up, the Wolves could be ready to take the top spot in the West.</li>
<li> Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder&rsquo;s rebuild is no longer a long-term project; they&rsquo;re ready to compete now. However, due to Isaiah Hartenstein&rsquo;s injury to start the season, we&rsquo;re placing the Thunder at no.2 for now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already an All-NBA guard and arguably a top 5 player in the league. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams figure out to be the dynamic inside-out duo around SGA. Add in Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, the two new acquisitions this offseason with their capable role players Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe, this young core is as versatile as it is exciting. OKC&rsquo;s depth and versatility on both ends of the floor could propel them into serious title contention.</li>
<li> Phoenix Suns The Suns have loaded up for a title run, and with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal leading the charge, Phoenix has one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the league. They have added their most significant hole which is the PG spot with a solid pick up in Tyus Jones, and they have one of the best offensive coaches in the league in Mike Budenholzer. The Suns&rsquo; questions lie in their depth and health, but if they can manage those concerns, they&rsquo;re built for a championship push. Their offensive firepower is unmatched, and if they click, the Suns will be a team no one wants to face.</li>
<li> Memphis Grizzlies Memphis has weathered their offseason storms and enters the season with a gritty identity intact. Ja Morant is back after his injury and suspension last year and he will now play with last season&rsquo;s addition Marcus Smart. Together with the continued growth of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, the Grizzlies are primed to be competitive and come back from their prime two seasons ago where they won 50+ games. Memphis&rsquo; defensive dominance paired with offensive firepower ensures they can be one of the top teams in the West with a deep bench with solid role players.</li>
<li> Denver Nuggets After falling short to Minnesota in 7 games last playoffs, the Nuggets will enter the season with their core mostly intact. Nikola Jokić remains the most dominant center and the best player in the game. With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. healthy, the Nuggets are poised for another deep run. But perhaps their biggest loss this season was losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to free agency and that might be a hit so they&rsquo;re currently ranked at no.5 to start the year. It could be a lot to ask for young players like Christian Braun or Julian Strawther to fill the void left by KCP, so it will be interesting to see how Denver handles his loss this season.</li>
<li> Dallas Mavericks Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving experiment is back after a successful season last year, where Dallas entered the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 &ndash; when they won the title. The two stars can mesh to create one of the league&rsquo;s most potent offenses and with the continued internal development of young players like Dereck Lively, the Mavs can build on that Finals appearance. With newcomer Klay Thompson set to provide historic spacing for their dynamic duo, Dallas has the talent to climb the standings and challenge the top teams in the West.</li>
<li> New Orleans Pelicans The Pelicans&rsquo; fate will always hinge on Zion Williamson&rsquo;s health. When Zion plays, New Orleans is a force to be reckoned with. Now paired with newly-acquired point guard Dejounte Murray, they have a balanced attack capable of competing with any team in the conference with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum still on the fold. If Zion stays on the floor, the Pelicans could find themselves rising up the ranks, but his availability remains the biggest X-factor.</li>
<li> Golden State Warriors The Warriors are clinging to their championship window with Stephen Curry still playing at an elite level. The addition of capable veterans in Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and DeAnthony Melton gives them depth and personnel that can play in their offense to surround the core of Curry and Draymond Green for their foundation. Health and age are concerns, but if their veterans stay intact, Golden State can&rsquo;t be counted out.</li>
<li> Sacramento Kings The Kings struggled a bit last season after making their long-awaited playoff return two seasons ago, and they&rsquo;re looking to build on that momentum. They have signed DeMar DeRozan and he should bring a new wrinkle to their motion and three-hunting offense. DeRozan&rsquo;s mid range ability should be a welcome addition to Sacramento&rsquo;s offense. De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis still lead an explosive offense, but defense remains a question mark. Sacramento&rsquo;s high-flying, fast-paced style makes them a regular-season juggernaut, but they&rsquo;ll need to tighten up defensively if they want to make a deep playoff run.</li>
<li> Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers are counting on LeBron James and Anthony Davis staying healthy for a full season. With the front office standing pat on making moves this offseason, the Lakers&rsquo; success will hinge on their superstar duo. If LeBron and AD can avoid injury, Los Angeles will be a formidable playoff team, but health is always a looming concern with this group.</li>
<li> Houston Rockets The Rockets added veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to guide their young core last season and this season could be the time for them to step up. They finished strong last year behind defensive minded coach Ime Udoka and the result could be a team that surprises many. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun have star potential, and younger players Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson add even more excitement. The Rockets also drafted Reed Sheppard with the 3rd pick and Houston is hoping to lay the foundation for success and could push for a Play-In spot this season.</li>
<li> San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama enters his second season, and the Spurs are fully embracing their rebuild around the budding star. While Wembanyama showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie, San Antonio is still in the development phase. But with the addition of Chris Paul, the Spurs now have a capable PG to feed Wemby and the other guys, possibly unlocking a new level to their games. With their young core, the Spurs may not be a playoff team yet, but their future looks incredibly bright with Wembanyama leading the way.</li>
<li> Los Angeles Clippers The Clippers&rsquo; fortunes rest on the health of Kawhi Leonard&mdash;again. After losing Paul George for nothing, Leonard is left to fend LA off by himself in their new arena at Intuit Dome. Gone are the days when LA has the talent to compete with anyone as they&rsquo;re just but a shell of themselves. Leading the way for the injured Leonard will be a 34-year-old James Harden and that might be too much to ask of the aging superstar. However, if Kawhi can return healthy and he can avoid the injury bug, the Clippers will be in the playoff mix, but that&rsquo;s a big &ldquo;if&rdquo; for this squad.</li>
<li> Portland Trail Blazers With Damian Lillard long gone, the Blazers will fully commit another season to their rebuild. Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe form a promising young core, but Portland will likely spend this season focusing on player development. While they won&rsquo;t be in playoff contention, the Blazers are positioning themselves well for the future, with an eye on growth and improvement.</li>
<li> Utah Jazz The Jazz are continuing their rebuild, with Lauri Markkanen emerging as a cornerstone player. While they have some intriguing young pieces like Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George, Utah isn&rsquo;t ready to compete just yet. This season will be about development and finding which young players can be part of their long-term plans. The Jazz may not win many games this year, but they&rsquo;re building toward a brighter future.</li>
</ol>

Let’s break down the top 15 teams in the West as we head into this thrilling new season.

2024-2025 NBA Western Conference Power Rankings: A race at the top to start the year

With just over a month left before the destinies of franchises are altered when the 2024 NBA Draft happens on June 26-27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, teams are hard-pressed on whether or not to keep their picks or trade them for win-now pieces.
Here&rsquo;s all the buzz around the league so far in anticipation of the big day:
Rockets open to trading no.3 pick for Mikal Bridges
According to reports, the Houston Rockets would be open to trading their 2024 NBA no.3 selection for Brooklyn&rsquo;s Mikal Bridges. The Rockets have been in a resurgence after being bad for 4 years since James Harden left the team and are now looking for a win-now piece to add to their team.
Led by young stars Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green and fiery coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets finished just outside of the play-in tournament this season. Adding Bridges instead of the third pick in the draft would allow the Rockets to be aggressive in winning next season and then develop the pick for future use.
Pelicans defer this year&rsquo;s pick to Lakers, choose to swap 2025 1st
The New Orleans Pelicans will defer their pick this year to the Los Angeles Lakers to choose to swap the 2025 pick instead, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski. The move is seen to be made in anticipation of what&rsquo;s about to be a weaker draft compared to recent years. The 2025 one, on the other hand, figures to be one of the best and deepest in years.
The Pelicans will keep their 21st pick this year and let the Lakers keep the 17th pick. According to reports, LA is also shopping the pick around to find a player suited around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Kings willing to part ways with 13th pick, Huerter, Barnes
As they prepare to retool this offseason around stars De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Sacramento Kings are reportedly willing to trade their 13th pick of this year; &lsquo;s draft along with Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter. Sacramento &ldquo;wants to seriously compete&rdquo; in Fox&rsquo;s and Sabonis&rsquo; prime years as they aggressively hunt for a win-now piece to pair with their two all-stars.

T teams are hard-pressed on whether or not to keep their picks or trade them for win-now pieces. Here’s all the buzz in the league.

2024 NBA Draft Buzz: The latest movements around the league leading up to the draft

This article is part of a two-part series preview for the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs.
With the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs starting, all eyes will be on all teams competing for the championship as fans and players look on for a taste of postseason action. As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges. In this article, we take a closer look at the biggest question facing each Western Conference team heading into the playoffs, from injuries and roster changes to key matchups and strategic decisions.
<h3>Oklahoma City Thunder - How far can their youth and inexperience take them in the playoffs?</h3>
The Thunder got away through the regular season with historic from MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous Alexander, an impressive rookie season by Chet Holmgren, a star sophomore leap by Jalen Williams, and a coaching masterclass in a genius coach Mark Daigneault.
However, the playoffs as we know it is a different beast &ndash; will Mark Daigneault be able to sustain the good coaching he has done with his team throughout this regular season?
How much of this youth and inexperience be a factor for them to advance deeper in the playoffs; will they be able to use it to their advantage? Or will it be a hindrance against other experienced teams when they face each other in these tight situations? Most of the time, these situations require patience and discipline &ndash; teams with playoff experience have shown over time and have done it time and time again on their way to a deep playoff run.
<h3>Denver Nuggets - Can they go back to back?</h3>
There&rsquo;s really no other question for a team like the Nuggets at the peak of their powers: Can they win back-to-back titles? There has not been a back-to-back champion in the NBA for the past 5 years, with the last one coming in 2017 and 2018 when the Warriors won it all.
Like Boston, it is a title or bust status with Denver as of now. They have been fairly healthy throughout the regular season, have a mostly intact roster that won it all last year, and have the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic in his absolute prime. Denver this year has again all the necessary pieces to win &ndash; the right amount of shooters, defensive guys, scoring in the paint &ndash; which are all the makings of a championship team.
A couple of questionable factors though would be how much of an impact the loss of Bruce Brown would have in these playoffs. Brown was arguably the 5th, or 4th best player in their championship run last year &ndash; maybe even the 3rd in some games. He was essential on offense and defense, guarding the opponent&rsquo;s best perimeter threats while providing off-ball scoring and cuts that fit perfectly with Jokic.
Second, they&rsquo;ll be facing championship-caliber teams with hunger and drive to defeat them, and all have been competitive with the Nuggets this season. The Lakers, although the Nuggets swept them last year in the Western Conference Finals, still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and they won&rsquo;t take that lightly &ndash; likely coming back with a vengeance.
The Suns have won the season series with the Nuggets 2-1 and they pose a threat to the Nuggets with their formula of having three elite shotmakers that can explode anytime &ndash; which the Nuggets may not cover all at the same time.&nbsp; The Wolves, who perhaps have the best lineup suited to defeat them, are lurking in the same bracket waiting to pounce on them at sight.&nbsp;
These are all challenges a defending champion must go through to achieve a rare feat because the playoffs are supposed to be hard.
<h3>Minnesota Timberwolves -&nbsp; Will they finally break through after years of heartbreak?</h3>
This has already been a win of a season for the Timberwolves, achieving their second most wins in franchise history (56) since 2004 when they won 58 wins and reached the conference finals.
However, this has not stopped them from wanting more, and the wolfpack is not satisfied nor contented with just this achievement &ndash; they want more.
Minnesota wanting to go win that first playoff series like a hungry pack of wolves has been evident since trading for 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Although they fell short last season due to untimely injuries to key players, the Wolves ran it back and have proven their little experiment with two bigs in star Karl Anthony Towns and Gobert would work.&nbsp;
Led by their resurgent young superstar Anthony Edwards equipped with the best defense in the league, Minnesota certainly hopes this team would be the one &ndash; the one to end the longest playoff series win droughts in the league for quite some time now.
<h3>Los Angeles Clippers - Will they be able to meet the expectations this time around?</h3>
The Clippers trading for James Harden signaled one thing for the franchise: They are going all in with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and surrounding them with all the help they can get. They are far from a perfect team, but the Clippers want to have the best possible results this season before transferring to their new arena next year.
The Clippers have only appeared in the conference finals once in the Leonard-George era after being plagued by several injuries during their different playoff runs. Due to that, people haven&rsquo;t been able to see what the team is capable of when their two stars are fully healthy in a playoff run.
However, this year might just be their year. Their core of Harden, George, and Leonard have been mostly healthy all season long. The front office has also surrounded them with complementary pieces to help them win. LA now has usable bigs in Zubac, Plumlee, and Theis; they have Terrance Mann as their designated stopper; Norman Powell being the sixth man off the bench microwave scorer; a 3-and-D wing in Amir Coffe; and Russell Westbrook as the spark plug that gives them the boost and the energy off the bench.
After being just the &lsquo;second team in LA&rsquo; and &lsquo;that other team in LA&rsquo; for years, the Clippers aim to prove the doubters wrong and change the perception that surrounds the team as they pivot into a new era of Clippers basketball.&nbsp;
<h3>Dallas Mavericks - Will Luka finally fulfill the promise he has been showing so far in his career?</h3>
Throughout his young NBA career, Luka Doncic has had one of the best starts since LeBron James statistically. He has been in constant range of breaking or matching LeBron&rsquo;s records in points scored, triple-doubles, assists, and rebounds. However, this has not always translated into wins with Doncic just appearing in just one conference finals in the first six years of his career. But that might change this season.&nbsp;&nbsp;
This year, the Mavericks have put up arguably the best roster on paper that Luka has had in his career &ndash; arguably even better than the 2022 team that made the conference finals.
Alongside Doncic&rsquo;s MVP act is a true partner in crime in Kyrie Irving; shot-blocking and rim-rolling vertical threats in Daniel Gafford and Lively; rugged forwards that can shoot in PJ Washington, Dante Exum, Josh Green, and Derrick Jones; a microwave off-the-bench scorer in Tim Hardaway Jr; and veteran bigs that have been in Dallas for quite some time now and you can count on in always with Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell.
Can Luka finally overcome the Clippers? This season was one for the books with an MVP caliber and worthy year by averaging close to 34 points a game with 9 rebounds and 9 assists per game. Doncic has taken his game to another level in the regular season &ndash; this time, can he take his playoff game to another level as well?
All great young players have to go through someone as the stepping stone to reach newer heights &ndash; and Luka has lost to this Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers team twice already in his career in the playoffs.
LeBron had to go through the Celtics, Jordan had to go through the Pistons. Could it be Luka&rsquo;s turn to get through this Clippers team that has tormented him for two playoff series?
<h3>Phoenix Suns - Will this new formula take them over the top?</h3>
The Suns have experienced substantial playoff success over the past three years by having a Finals appearance and reaching the conference semifinals twice. However, those groups fell short, with the feeling of something lacking or something missing that could take them over the top.
So lo and behold, Phoenix scrapped it and took a different approach this season &ndash; ditching the point guard spot and getting a rugged and physical big that could set screens and not demand the ball much on offense.
In its place came through as the Suns traded for Bradley Beal &ndash; going with a new formula by having three shot creators and shotmakers on the floor at the same time &ndash; pairing him with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. They also traded away former no.1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic, a wide-bodied center whose job is to set screens, rebound, and get their three creators open in the lane or for jump shots.
They added an elite shooter in Grayson Allen to space the floor alongside those three, or sometimes Royce O&rsquo;Neale comes in for more defense against the opposing perimeter threats.
The Suns&rsquo; new approach and formula to the game make it incredibly hard to defend because you have to have three elite defenders to contain those three shot-creators, who can explode and get buckets at any point in the game. Although their defense is still suspect at times, the main point of this lineup is not to outscore &ndash; but to out-create teams and have a variety of options to dissect and defeat defenses.
If this new strategy works and could take the Suns to the promised land in these playoffs remains to be seen.
<h3>Los Angeles Lakers - Will they have enough this time around?</h3>
Despite a strong run to the Western Conference Finals as a 7th seed, the Lakers fell short last year vs the Nuggets after being swept 4-0. Throughout the season, the Nuggets&rsquo; dominance of the purple and gold continued, and now they have lost eight straight games against this Denver team.&nbsp;
However, there is optimism that the Lakers will turn it around and have a different result vs the Nuggets. Superstar LeBron James, even at 39 years old, looks to prove that he still has something left in the tank. Although they got outplayed and outcoached last in that series by the Nuggets, James can make those adjustments being the cerebral and high IQ player that he is.
James is perhaps one of the best if not the best tactically sound players of all time, so it would make sense &ndash; if they were to defeat Denver, he needs to be able to outsmart Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets this time around. Superstar tandem Anthony Davis will also be vital to the series having to defend the &lsquo;Joker&rsquo; and producing buckets himself.
The Lakers will also feature some new bench pieces this year that could be difference makers in the series Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Gabe Vincent, all of whom could defend and hit those spot-up threes if needed.
Then there&rsquo;s a hungry D&rsquo;Angelo Russell who had a bad series vs Denver last year raring to bounce back along with an always-solid Austin Reaves to be the stabilizer.
<h3>Pelicans - How will they fare without Zion Williamson?</h3>
The New Orleans Pelicans start and end with their young star Zion Williamson. After going out with what is to be believed a left hamstring strain, everything now hinges on his health.&nbsp;
The Pelicans obviously need him no matter what and whether or not he&rsquo;s healthy for their first-round series vs the Thunder will likely be the answer if they win it or not.
We&rsquo;ve seen what Williamson is capable of doing, scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in his first taste of postseason action in their play-in game vs the Lakers. The burly forward bullied the Lakers&rsquo; defense and he showed his once generational type of body and scoring prowess come together after finally being healthy for a full season in his five years in the NBA.
New Orleans has fallen short a lot of times in the playoffs, either failing to make it or to win a series, and it is clear that Zion is the difference that separates them from winning or losing a playoff series.

s eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its own set of unique challenges.

2024 Western Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question heading into the playoffs

Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez is expected to be hired as the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Fernandez, 41, will take over a rebuilding Nets squad that finished the 2023-2024 season with a 32-50 record, 11th in the East. He will replace interim head coach Kevin Ollie, who was appointed in the middle of the season after Brooklyn fired Jacque Vaughn.
Fernandez will continue to be part of Mike Brown&rsquo;s staff in Sacramento as they prepare for the 2024 Play-In Tournament for a spot in the 2024 Playoffs.
The Barcelona, Spain native has been one of the leading candidates for the position as one of the fast-rising young coaches in the league. He led the Canadian National team last summer in the FIBA World Cup 2023 to a bronze medal finish &ndash; the country&rsquo;s highest-ever in the tournament.&nbsp;
Starting next season, Fernandez will now handle the Nets featuring their young talent in Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, Ben Simmons, and Cameron Johnson as they trek the second year of the post-Big Three era of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden.

Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez is expected to be hired as the next head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

Kings’ Jordi Fernandez emerges as top candidate for Brooklyn Nets head coaching job

For some NBA players, things don&rsquo;t click right away. But a rookie struggling is no reason to fret; most rookies in the NBA are, to put it bluntly, kind of bad. Adjusting to the size, speed and strength of NBA veterans is a tall task, but franchises understand that and will usually show patience regarding rookies.&nbsp;
Sometimes things don&rsquo;t click in year two either. Of course, teams want to see improvement in a player&rsquo;s counting statistics and feel for the game, but growing pains are expected for sophomores too. If things haven&rsquo;t clicked by year three though, alarms start to go off. When a player still looks lost on the floor &ndash; or is already on his second or third team &ndash; his future prospects start to look a little bleak.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s why the stories of Dennis Smith Jr. and Kris Dunn are massively impressive. Both are former top-10 picks who lasted less than two years with the teams that drafted them (the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively). They have each been waived, overlooked and altogether neglected. But now, Smith and Dunn have found homes with teams that expect legitimate production from them this season &ndash; and maybe beyond.&nbsp;
Smith signed a one-year, $2.5-million deal with the Brooklyn Nets this summer and he will serve as the team&rsquo;s backup point guard, leading a second unit that will also include Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O&rsquo;Neale &ndash; and has some serious potential for excitement on the defensive end. Dunn, meanwhile, just had his 2023-24 contract guaranteed by the Jazz and will almost certainly get regular minutes in Utah&rsquo;s backcourt.&nbsp;
For DSJ, this is all happening about 18 months after he was cut from an actively tanking Portland Trail Blazers team when an elbow injury sidelined him for a few weeks. A midseason waiving by one of the league&rsquo;s worst teams certainly feels like the metaphorical closing of a curtain that could signal the end of a player&rsquo;s career.
Less than a month before the 2022-23 season, though, the Charlotte Hornets signed Smith to a one-year deal. The signing was mostly out of necessity, as the Hornets didn&rsquo;t have a point guard to back up LaMelo Ball &ndash; but it was a deal nonetheless. If there was ever an example of &ldquo;last, last chance,&rdquo; this was it.&nbsp;
Back in his home state, Smith showed from day one that he wasn&rsquo;t going to let this be the end of the line, becoming one of the best guard defenders in the entire league last season. He was in the 95th percentile for deflections per 36 minutes (via CraftedNBA), fifth in the entire league in steal rate (2.6%) and opposing teams averaged 10.7 fewer points per 100 possessions when&nbsp;
Smith was on the floor. That can&rsquo;t all be attributed to him, of course, but that number in conjunction with other defensive stats show just how important Smith was to Charlotte&rsquo;s (surprisingly) stout defense.&nbsp;
Smith showed flashes of defensive brilliance long before last season; here he is in 2018 locking up Paul George on a crucial crunch time possession.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
HOLY DEFENSE DENNIS SMITH JR. <a href="https://t.co/KEwMsLiQmT">pic.twitter.com/KEwMsLiQmT</a>
&mdash; Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickVanExit/status/1079563179171201024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2018</a></blockquote>
But his complete buy-in on that side of the ball in 2022-23 is what solidified Smith as someone who will more than likely stick around for years to come. Stops like this one against Stephen Curry became the norm for DSJ.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
HORNETS beat the WARRIORS! Dennis Smith Jr had 13/9/8 &amp; forced OT with this bucket &amp; defense on Steph Curry <a href="https://t.co/2pCMn4eltC">pic.twitter.com/2pCMn4eltC</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1586532732380753920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
Stifling defense wasn&rsquo;t the only reason Smith earned another contract though; he posted the lowest turnover rate of his career and the best assist-to-turnover ratio of his career too. His own shooting splits weren&rsquo;t pretty (47.5% true shooting), but Smith protected the ball and made enough things happen for his teammates that calling him a defensive specialist feels like a disservice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The man with a vision🤞 <a href="https://twitter.com/Dennis1SmithJr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dennis1SmithJr</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/PJWashington?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PJWashington</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/HornetsOnBally?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HornetsOnBally</a> <a href="https://t.co/XPbrrP6J8Y">pic.twitter.com/XPbrrP6J8Y</a>
&mdash; Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1594493295799173120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
Dunn&rsquo;s career has been just as big of a roller coaster as Smith&rsquo;s. After just one season in Minnesota, he was essentially a throw-in piece of the Zach LaVine-to-Chicago-Bulls trade on draft night in 2017.&nbsp;
He spent three years with Chicago, showing some promise in his first season there. But his production declined over the next two seasons, and the Bulls let him walk after the 2020 season. Short stints in Memphis, Atlanta and Portland were discouraging too, and Dunn was teamless throughout most of the 2022-23 season. It looked like the end.&nbsp;
Shortly after an opportunity presented itself for Smith, Dunn was also given a chance to redeem himself. Dunn was playing in the G League when he got the call from the Jazz, who were basically just looking for a healthy body to provide backcourt depth after Collin Sexton went down with an injury. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Former No. 5 overall pick Kris Dunn is signing a 10-day contract with the Utah Jazz, sources tell me and <a href="https://twitter.com/Tjonesonthenba?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tjonesonthenba</a>. Dunn, a six-year NBA veteran, has played for Capital City Go-Go in G League this season.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1628105973561974784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
However, Dunn was much more than just a healthy body. He scored in double figures in his first seven games with Utah, while also averaging almost two steals per game. Overall, he posted counting stats of 13.2 points, 5.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 53.7% from the floor. His turnover rate &ndash; a big problem in all of his stops &ndash; was at a career low 11.0% too.
These weren&rsquo;t just empty stats or &ldquo;gimme&rdquo; buckets either. Dunn was creating for both himself and others at a pretty high level in his 22 games with Utah. (A small sample size, but still impressive). Only 25% of his buckets were assisted, putting him in the 87th percentile among point guards &ndash; AKA Ja Morant, De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and James Harden territory.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
kris dunn is shooting 97.13% on really difficult-looking layups since joining the jazz. don't bother fact-checking this. it's incredibly accurate. you can tell because i went out two decimal places and everything. <a href="https://t.co/TtUptfzc01">pic.twitter.com/TtUptfzc01</a>
&mdash; Dan Favale (@danfavale) <a href="https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/1644803650236153863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
That flare for creation carried over to the preseason as well:&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Well this is tough stuff from Kris Dunn <a href="https://t.co/ZsflOF2Jq6">pic.twitter.com/ZsflOF2Jq6</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1713579298282475566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
Smith and Dunn&rsquo;s late-blooming nature brings a few things to mind.&nbsp;
Firstly, it exemplifies just how talented the NBA is right now. Smith was solid enough in his short tenure with Portland, and it was an injury that got him cut &ndash; a move that was pretty darn close to ending his NBA career.&nbsp;
The margins are so thin around the edges of the league that a ton of NBA-caliber players are left without teams &ndash; forced to battle for an incredibly small number of roster spots. Is this a good thing? Well, an excess of talent is a better problem to have than a dearth of talent, and the NBA does deserve some credit for investing in the G League and giving it the resources necessary to become a legitimate minor league system. So&hellip; kind of.&nbsp;
Secondly, it raises a question about how patient teams should be when trying to develop players. How patient should teams be? Because at first glance, paying players who haven&rsquo;t proven much of anything on the court seems a little reductive. But the NBA may have reached a point where there are enough examples of guys developing into good, productive players three-plus years into their career that extending guys based on upside might become as common as drafting them for upside.&nbsp;
If teams fully embrace the development of players rather than giving up when the development is actually an intensive process, it could pay dividends. But it&rsquo;s certainly a risk &ndash; doubling down on a player because of their perceived ceiling could look pretty bad if he never turns into that guy.
Regardless, we could be watching that shift happen already. In recent days, players like Zeke Nnaji (Denver Nuggets) and Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards) signed contract extensions with the teams that drafted them. Both are highly talented to be sure, but neither has blossomed into the player they were drafted to be &ndash; hence, they mostly got extended based on their untapped potential, not what they&rsquo;ve shown on the court thus far.&nbsp;
But no matter what Dennis Smith Jr. and Kris Dunn&rsquo;s success stories say about the NBA &ndash; if anything at all &ndash; these guards are two of the best stories in the NBA this season. Brooklyn and Utah are reaping the rewards of two journeymen who have finally started to become the players that teams wanted them to be from the start.

After being waived and nearly seeing their NBA careers come to an end, Dennis Smith Jr. and Kris Dunn bounced back in a major way.

Dennis Smith Jr. and Kris Dunn are NBA's paragons of persistence

We may be entering uncharted waters regarding the James Harden situation in Philadelphia.&nbsp;
The 10-time All-Star spoke at an Adidas media event in China earlier today and had some choice words about 76ers president Daryl Morey.
&ldquo;Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he&rsquo;s a part of," Harden said. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he&rsquo;s a part of again."
This comes in response to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38180876/76ers-ending-trade-talks-james-harden-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski's report</a> on Saturday that the Sixers were <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-sixers-ending-trade-talks-involving-james-harden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking Harden off the trade market</a> and expecting Harden to show up for training camp.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
James Harden: &ldquo;Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be part of an organization that he&rsquo;s a part of. Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be part of an organization that he&rsquo;s a part of again.&rdquo; 😳 <a href="https://t.co/r2Gv07wAH7">pic.twitter.com/r2Gv07wAH7</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1691039621776379904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

The root of Harden&rsquo;s displeasure with Morey and the front office comes from the team&rsquo;s unwillingness to offer him a long-term maximum-level contract extension, according to Wojnarowski.&nbsp;
The Sixers had preliminary conversations with the Los Angeles Clippers, Harden&rsquo;s desired destination, but no deal came close to materializing. This was partially due to the Clippers' unwillingness to part ways with Terance Mann as well as Morey's insistence in getting a star-level return for a player of Harden&rsquo;s caliber.
Despite being reportedly taken off the trade market, Harden&rsquo;s desire to play elsewhere has not changed, and he still does not plan to report to training camp, according to <a href="https://theathletic.com/4771337/2023/08/12/james-harden-sixers-trade/?access_token=126038&amp;redirected=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s Sam Amick</a>. Given his recent comments, one would certainly not expect Harden to change his mind anytime soon.
Harden has already shown his ability to &ldquo;stir the pot&rdquo; when it comes to forcing his way to a new destination. In 2020, Harden requested a trade from the Houston Rockets and when they didn't deal him prior to the start of the season, he responded by showing up late and out-of-shape to training camp and making disparaging comments toward his teammates once the season started. These actions ultimately led to the Rockets dealing the star guard to Brooklyn, where he asked out again just a year later.
However, Harden&rsquo;s request out of Philadelphia differs for two main reasons: his contract and Morey.&nbsp;
In June, he unexpectedly accepted his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season and, in turn, asked to be sent elsewhere. Under this contract agreement, Harden is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If the star guard is adamant about not playing again for the Sixers, he may face some challenges in holding out of training camp.
As relayed by <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1691064721825513474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s front office insider Bobby Marks</a>, the NBA&rsquo;s Collective Bargaining Agreement has specific guidelines for players withholding their services in the final year of their contract.
&ldquo;Withholding services: A player who withholds playing services called for by a Player Contract for more than thirty (30) days after the start of the last season covered by his Player Contract shall be deemed not to have &lsquo;complet[ed] his Player Contract by rendering the playing services called for thereunder,&rdquo; Marks <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1691064721825513474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conveyed</a> on Twitter. &ldquo;Accordingly, such a player shall not be a Veteran Free Agent and shall not be entitled to negotiate or sign a Player Contract with any other professional basketball team unless and until the Team for which the player last played expressly agreed otherwise.&rdquo;
In simpler terms, if Harden chooses to hold out for more than 30 days into the regular season, he will no longer be able to hit free agency next summer because he would not have completed the terms of his contract (unless the Sixers let him). Not to mention, the star guard would incur a significant amount of fines if he has a lengthy holdout. To my knowledge, this clause has never needed to be applied in NBA history to this point.
Harden may have no choice but to show up for training camp due to these restrictions. But would the Sixers even want him at camp if he is going to be a nuisance, much like he was in Houston back in 2020? Just two years ago, Philadelphia had to deal with the Ben Simmons situation, where he created a toxic atmosphere that led to the organization sending him home until his trade request was met later that season.&nbsp;
However, the reason Simmons&rsquo; trade request lasted all the way through the 2021-22 trade deadline is because Morey insisted on a star-level return for the young three-time All-Star. The trade just so happened to reunite him with his old colleague from his days in Houston: James Harden.
Morey and Harden&rsquo;s relationship dates back to when Houston acquired Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2012. The two were able to reach two Conference Finals during their run together and were presumed to have a good working relationship. Morey even acquiesced to Harden&rsquo;s request to trade for his former OKC teammate Russell Westbrook, a move that did not prove to be successful.
When Harden was brought to Philadelphia, he worked with Morey to sign a team-friendly contract during the summer of 2022 to leave room for the team to sign valuable pieces like PJ Tucker and Danuel House. As part of this deal, it has been suggested that the team gave Harden a &ldquo;wink-wink&rdquo; deal on a new long-term contract that would&rsquo;ve been extended this past offseason (which might explain Harden's comment).
Given the lack of any talks on a long-term deal, the relationship has since soured to the point of Harden directly calling Morey a liar. But that shouldn&rsquo;t stop Morey and the Sixers from trying to bring Harden back into the fold.&nbsp;
The only solution for Philly if they wish to compete for a championship in 2023-24 is bringing Harden back. The trade market has made clear that a Harden return package would not meet either of the Sixers' desired outcomes of keeping them in title contention or keeping cap flexibility for next summer. If they let Harden hold out, triggering the Withholding Services Clause or even allowing him reach free agency next summer, they would relinquish much of their cap flexibility that they hope to have next offseason.
We would be remiss if we didn&rsquo;t mention the other domino in the City of Brotherly Love: Joel Embiid. If the 76ers pull the trigger on a Harden deal, they may have to waste a prime year for Embiid, which will only stretch his patience to win a title in Philadelphia thinner. Remember, earlier this offseason, Embiid <a href="https://twitter.com/ajtorres1230/status/1680762456082202624?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>: "I just want to win a championship, whatever it takes. I don't know where that's going to be, whether that's in Philly or anywhere else, I just want to have a chance to accomplish that."
Lastly, anytime a player bashes a front-office member in a very public way, the league office should take notice. Expect them to monitor this situation closely to see if there were any possible under-the-table discussions, promises or agreements that violated league rules, similar to <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/nba-joe-smith-illegal-contract-timberwolves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a situation that occurred in the early 2000s with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joe Smith</a>. If the NBA discovers there was any kind of agreement on a future long-term deal between Harden and the Sixers prior to him signing his team-friendly deal in 2021, then Philadelphia could face serious punishment.
Overall, this situation has become an absolute mess. Both sides have some form of leverage over the other, and neither seems to be in the &ldquo;right.&rdquo; The NBA seemingly never sleeps, and it seems as though we will have to keep an eye on what Harden or the 76ers' next moves might be.&nbsp;

Blake Stern examines a specific clause in the NBA's CBA and how it may throw a wrench in James Harden's plan to holdout.

Examining what the CBA says about James Harden's plan to holdout

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving wants to run it back with Luka Doncic.
The enigmatic guard and the Dallas Mavericks agreed Friday on a $126 million, three-year contract in the opening hour of NBA free agency, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because contracts can&rsquo;t be signed until Thursday.
The person said the Mavericks also had an agreement on a two-year deal with guard Seth Curry, who is set for his third stint with the club.
Irving, who wouldn&rsquo;t talk about his future during his partial season with Dallas and declined to meet with reporters after the season, appeared to reference&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1674933191386202113?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his decision to return in a one-word tweet</a>&nbsp;with &ldquo;peace&rdquo; and &ldquo;love&rdquo; emojis.
The Mavericks paired All-Star starters for the first time in franchise history by adding Irving in a blockbuster deal with Brooklyn last February, but stumbled down the stretch to miss the playoffs for the first time since Doncic was a rookie in 2018-19.
Dallas was in the middle of the postseason chase when Irving joined the club, but the eight-time All-Star and Doncic, a four-time choice, were just 5-11 together with both missing multiple games because of injuries.
The Mavericks won their first two games with Irving but went 7-18 the rest of the way and couldn&rsquo;t even make the play-in tournament a year after reaching the Western Conference finals.
Irving originally had been offered an extension by the Nets last summer, before their relationship fell apart and Irving asked to be dealt.
General manager Nico Harrison&rsquo;s second blockbuster deal for Dallas didn&rsquo;t provide the spark of his first &mdash; a 2022 trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington and gave the Mavs a key playoff contributor in Spencer Dinwiddie.
Dinwiddie was one of two players Dallas sent the Nets, as was defensive stalwart Dorian Finney-Smith. Defense was high on the list of reasons the two-month trial of Doncic and Irving didn&rsquo;t work.
Doncic has three years remaining before the player option on the $215 million rookie max extension he signed two summers ago. He said after the season he wants to see where the superstar pairing can go.
&ldquo;I wish we could continue that chemistry, relationship,&rdquo; said Doncic, who finished second in the scoring race at a career-best 32.4 points per game. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not going to happen in a day, in a week. It&rsquo;s a building process.&rdquo;
Dallas&rsquo; tumultuous season ended under the&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-playoffs-nba-investigation-tanking-7ac5f76590adafd9df1c7c590a78d346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cloud of an NBA investigation</a>&nbsp;after Irving didn&rsquo;t play and Doncic was limited to the first quarter when the Mavs still had play-in hopes with two games remaining.
The 31-year-old Irving and Doncic both sat for a meaningless season finale after a&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-bulls-luka-doncic-kyrie-irving-3389c5065a65f8e73d13ce67bcd38720" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loss to Chicago in the game in question</a>&nbsp;eliminated the Mavs a season after they went to the Western Conference finals.
The 0-2 finish helped Dallas retain the 10th pick in the draft, which the Mavs parlayed into a pair of first-round picks in Duke center Dereck Lively II at No. 12 overall and Marquette&rsquo;s Olivier-Maxence Prosper at 24. Had Dallas dropped to 11th or lower, the pick would have gone to the New York Knicks.
Before the trade, Irving spent three-plus seasons in Brooklyn dealing mostly with self-induced drama.
Irving missed almost all of the home games in 2021-22 because he wouldn&rsquo;t get vaccinated against COVID-19, and missed eight games early last season after the team suspended him after he tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic material. Nike ended its relationship with Irving over the tweet.
Days after sending Irving to the Mavericks, the Nets traded Kevin Durant to Phoenix in another blockbuster as the celebrated Brooklyn pairing ended with a whimper &mdash; and just one playoff series victory.
Curry, the younger brother of Golden State superstar Stephen Curry, kick-started his career the first time he was with the Mavs in 2016-17, three years after entering the NBA as an undrafted free agent.
He averaged 12.8 points in 70 games after playing just 50 games in his career before that, then spent one season in Portland before having another solid year in Dallas.
Curry left again in free agency in 2020, signing with Philadelphia. He then joined Irving in Brooklyn when he was dealt as part of the trade that sent James Harden to the 76ers and Ben Simmons to the Nets in 2022.

Kyrie Irving is running it back with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

Kyrie Irving agrees to stay with Mavs, Doncic on a $126 million, 3-year deal

<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-paul-trade-golden-state-jordan-poole-d26c307001fd0cc6ce5835bdb09b0030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Paul has already been traded</a>&nbsp;twice this offseason, ending up with Golden State.&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wizards-suns-trade-bradley-beal-55adab5fa31d5dfbc35b83223743d9c6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bradley Beal</a>&nbsp;is now with Phoenix,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/hawks-jazz-trade-collins-gay-a6567f15f798ebf9fc99612ad00e4a7f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Collins</a>&nbsp;was sent to Utah, and&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-wizards-kristaps-porzingis-marcus-smart-grizzlies-94e7fa907d2523a354665b8c6ce0908c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristaps Porzingis</a>&nbsp;is about to start anew with Boston in a deal that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis.
They have new places to call home. It&rsquo;s time to see if&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-kyrie-irving-luka-doncic-nico-harrison-9a3d80b6c325195faedde1a6324a4e51" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrie Irving</a>,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/draymond-green-option-nba-482b28f097e3c99a934fff1ea46137b8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Draymond Green</a>,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-khris-middleton-197ecec12092f80f9988bf6d6670680e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khris Middleton</a>&nbsp;and dozens more will be on the move in the next few days.
As proven by the run of trades in recent weeks, and big news from James Harden on Thursday, NBA teams aren&rsquo;t waiting for free agency to make moves. The window of offseason player movement begins Friday at 6 p.m. EDT, when teams are permitted to start talking to free agents &mdash; with the caveat that most deals cannot become official until July 6.
&ldquo;Obviously, money&rsquo;s a thing. I mean, that&rsquo;s just for anybody,&rdquo; said Miami guard Max Strus, a free agent who&rsquo;s in line for a big payday, going from $1.8 million last season to potentially $12 million a year or more. &ldquo;These are moments that you work for, and these are opportunities that could be life-changing &mdash; so you can&rsquo;t ever take that out of it. But I love playing basketball and that&rsquo;s always going to be the first thing for me.&rdquo;
Money and fit. That&rsquo;s what players like Strus will be seeking, and that&rsquo;s what teams will be weighing over the next few days &mdash; especially with a new&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-labor-players-0cf524b13e459eeb5853dad9a455e0e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collective Bargaining Agreement</a>, and new rules designed to at least slightly curb spending by the deeper-pocketed teams, set to go into effect on Saturday.
That&rsquo;s part of the reason some trades have been made in recent days and more are almost certainly coming. The Warriors gave up Jordan Poole to get Paul from Washington in part because Paul&rsquo;s contract expires in a year and Poole is on the books for four years (at more than $30 million annually on average), and Atlanta sent Collins to Utah for Rudy Gay for similar reasons.
Harden could be the next big name on the move. He decided not to enter free agency and exercised his $35.6 million option for the coming season Thursday, with Philadelphia now likely to trade the 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champion,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-james-harden-free-agency-d9f9a6fa001d68e58f04cd60251802ab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.</a>
&ldquo;I think a lot can be made of all the challenges that are coming our way, whether it be aging roster, the new CBA with some of the limitations there, anything else you can bring up,&rdquo; Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of all those things. But we also feel like we&rsquo;re in a great, great place, because we&rsquo;ve got a competitive owner willing to spend ... so we feel confident we can navigate it.&rdquo;
Another potential trade: Plenty of eyes remain on Portland and whether Damian Lillard will ask to be dealt elsewhere &mdash; to Miami or Brooklyn, specifically &mdash; or remain with the Trail Blazers for a 12th season.
In the interim, there will be some massive deals struck &mdash; some possibly reaching $200 million.
Green turned down a $27.5 million option with Golden State to seek a longer deal. Milwaukee has decisions to make with both Middleton and Brook Lopez, two key members of their championship in 2021.
&ldquo;Both of those guys specifically are core to who we have been,&rdquo; Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. &ldquo;Ultimately, what matters is we&rsquo;re hopeful to have them back. We&rsquo;ve been really good and they&rsquo;re a big part of that and we want to try to keep them.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s also intrigue in Dallas with regard to Irving&rsquo;s future.
Irving&rsquo;s talent is unquestioned. He averaged 27 points in 20 games with the Mavericks after getting traded there for the stretch run last season. For his career, he&rsquo;s averaged 23.4 points, is an eight-time All-Star and won a title alongside LeBron James in Cleveland in 2016.
He and Luka Doncic could form one of the league&rsquo;s most powerful 1-2 punches. Irving also is coming off a season where he was suspended by Brooklyn for eight games after the team said it was dismayed by his repeated failure to &ldquo;unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.&rdquo; And that saga came after many others involving Irving, who has raised eyebrows for things ranging from saying the Earth is flat to not getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Still unclear: How many years, and how much money, Dallas will commit to keep him.
&ldquo;Obviously, he&rsquo;s someone that we&rsquo;ve already told everybody that we want to re-sign and we&rsquo;re excited about,&rdquo; Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison said.
The new champions have a big decision looming as well.
Denver&rsquo;s biggest free agency issue is versatile guard Bruce Brown, who was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets during their run to the NBA title. All the Nuggets can offer Brown is one year at $7.8 million; other teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, may be prepared to offer more. Denver can give Brown a longer, richer deal next summer &mdash; so it&rsquo;s up to Brown to decide whether to bet on himself or get more money now.
At the team&rsquo;s championship parade, Nuggets coach Michael Malone made clear that Denver intends to keep Brown.
&ldquo;Is Brucie B going anywhere? Hell no,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://youtu.be/oqwc1vg1mCY?t=242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malone shouted, as the crowd roared in approval.</a> &ldquo;Hell no. Hell no. We&rsquo;re running this ... back.&rdquo;
The next few days will tell if Malone is right.

It’s time to see if Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton and dozens more free agents will be on the move in the next few days.

Busy NBA offseason continues with free agency starting today

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; James Harden picked up his $35.6 million contract option for next season with the Philadelphia 76ers, with the franchise exploring trades to move the veteran scorer, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
Harden informed the 76ers of his choice Thursday ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline to pick up the option, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision was not made public.
The 33-year-old Harden could have declined the option and decided to try for free agency. The Sixers had the right to offer him a $210 million, four-year deal, $8 million more overall than any other team.
But the person who talked to the AP on anonymity Thursday said it while it wasn&rsquo;t definite Harden would be traded, the player nicknamed The Beard expressed a desire to win a championship &mdash; which he has yet to do in his career that dates to his 2009 rookie season &mdash; in Philadelphia or with another contender.
The 76ers, per league rules, could not talk contract with Harden&rsquo;s representatives before Friday and they were set to abide by the terms after they were found guilty of tampering last offseason and ultimately stripped of second-round draft picks.
The stage, though, seems set for yet another blockbuster Harden trade after he forced his way out of Houston and Brooklyn.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: 76ers G James Harden is picking up his $35.6 million option and sides are beginning to work together in exploring trade scenarios, sources tell ESPN. It&rsquo;s expected that Harden has played his last game for Philadelphia. <a href="https://t.co/GguWgysfNZ">pic.twitter.com/GguWgysfNZ</a>
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1674519780106153985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Nick Nurse, hired last month as Philadelphia&rsquo;s coach, has stumped for Harden&rsquo;s return.
&ldquo;James has a decision to make, and I&rsquo;d be very happy if he came back,&rdquo; Nurse said this month.
Sixers forward Tobias Harris, himself in a bit of a contract quandary this summer and a perfect package fit in a Harden trade, said this week he wanted Harden back on the team.
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&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not many guys that can go out and drop 40 in a playoff game. I think that goes under the radar a little bit too much,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;I think James is a phenomenal player, somebody who works his tail off, and somebody&rsquo;s who&rsquo;s an overall great leader. Of course I want him back.&rdquo;
But it appears playing as the second option behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid and chasing a championship in Philly is no longer seriously on the table.
Harden led the NBA in assists last season with 10.7 per game but it was his wildly fluctuating offense that frustrated Sixers fans and helped doom them in the Eastern Conference second-round loss to Boston.
Harden, acquired at the 2022 trade deadline from Brooklyn for Ben Simmons, scored 45 points in Game 1 and 42 in Game 4 victories against the Celtics. Harden, who turns 34 in August, and was 0 for 6 on 3s in Game 2 and Game 6 losses. He scored only nine points in Game 7, and he went scoreless in the second half.
Harden blossomed into an insolation superstar in Houston but has largely deferred to Embiid with the Sixers.
Team president Daryl Morey, who traded to bring Harden to Houston a decade ago, needs to get a big return in any deal with the Sixers in win-now mode. The Sixers have limited salary cap space, making it all but impossible to sign a quality free agent, especially one with Harden&rsquo;s pedigree.
So now they&rsquo;ll look to get assets in a deal &mdash; a common factor in Harden&rsquo;s career. If Harden is traded, per NBA rules, he would have to play under his 2023-24 contract and would not be eligible for free agency until next season.
Harden is a 10-time All-Star but essentially forced his way with trades out of Houston and Brooklyn.
The Rockets traded Harden to the Nets in January 2021 where he was expected to form a championship trio with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. When the Big 3 fizzled, Harden was sent a year later to the Sixers for the disgruntled Simmons.
Harden declined his $47.4 million player option with the 76ers for last season and instead agreed to a two-year deal that will paid him $32 million in 2022-23. It included a player option for this coming season. He opted out of an old deal ahead of last season to stay with the 76ers and made about $14.5 million less last season than he could have earned under his previous contract.
The seven-time All-NBA player is a member of the league&rsquo;s 75th anniversary team.
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James Harden picked up his $35.6 million contract option for next season, but he's working with the Sixers to find a trade.

Sixers working with James Harden to find a trade after opt-in

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid and the 76ers battled in yet another playoff game with the Raptors, this time in 2022, when the All-Star center barked at Toronto coach Nick Nurse &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcmeFUhbDSY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in a quite PG-13 fashion</a>&nbsp;&mdash; to stop whining about foul calls.
Embiid&rsquo;s beef with Nurse didn&rsquo;t end in the playoffs. After the two-time NBA scoring champion was held &mdash; held, in quotes &mdash; to 28 points in a 2022 regular-season game, Embiid charged the Raptors &ldquo;don&rsquo;t care about winning&rdquo; as long as a player of his stature was held below his scoring average.
Hey, what could go wrong this season? The 76ers didn&rsquo;t even play the Raptors in the playoffs.
Yet, when Brooklyn frustrated Embiid in a first-round series, the league MVP complained the Nets &ldquo;kind of took the Nick Nurse route of begging for free throws and calling out the referees.&rdquo;
OK, the introductions might be awkward. Or at least good for a laugh. But the 76ers are now counting on Embiid and Nurse to work together in a productive relationship as the new pair chases the franchise&rsquo;s first championship since 1983.
With the fate of 10-time All-Star James Harden in the balance, the 76ers remained all-in with their championship pursuit on Monday, selecting Nurse as their new coach to try and end more than two decades of playoff failure.
The 76ers hired the 55-year-old Nurse following his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/raptors-nick-nurse-fired-c2b7dc404915ee3ae12fe1a52e589830">exit last month from Toronto Raptors,</a>&nbsp;a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.
Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship after they beat Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 76ers not only haven&rsquo;t a title in 40 years, they haven&rsquo;t advanced past the second round since 2001.
Nurse will replace&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-nba-doc-rivers-fired-09368e77a8f741576222c975c3affe55">Doc Rivers, who was fired</a>&nbsp;after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-mvp-joel-embiid-76ers-jokic-giannis-a216b687de694125309fb9eed1ad5031">NBA MVP Embiid</a>&nbsp;but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.
The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.
The 76ers still have to decide if they will try to bring back Harden &mdash; who is expected to decline the $35.6 million option on his contract and become a free agent &mdash; but making a move for a championship-winning coach like Nurse shows the franchise is still all in as it goes in for a championship with Embiid still in his prime.
Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons as coach in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. He also spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Dwane Casey before taking over the top job.
Nurse seemingly made his first play for the 76ers&rsquo; job in March when the Raptors were in town for a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/raptors-nurse-3e49f4c04182360739105a582e988b91">regular-season visit</a>. Nurse said his relationship with president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster was at a crossroads and time would be needed to decide on his future.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been 10 years for me now, which is a pretty good run,&rdquo; Nurse said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know, over those 10 years, we&rsquo;ve got to be up there with number of wins for anybody in the league. I don&rsquo;t know what it is, but we&rsquo;ve had a lot of good seasons.&rdquo;
Nurse was right: Only Golden State (.661) had a better winning percentage than Toronto (.613) in that span.
Nurse played at Northern Iowa, then started his coaching career there as an assistant. He wound up becoming a head coach at Grand View University when he was just 23. He coached in Belgium and Britain &mdash; winning a pair of British Basketball League titles as a coach in Birmingham in 1996 and London in 2000 &mdash; then got a couple of titles in what is now called the G League.
The second G League crown with Houston&rsquo;s team got Nurse noticed, with the Raptors calling because they wanted to talk to him about offense. They ended up hiring him as an assistant, and he&rsquo;d been with Toronto ever since.
The Raptors finished 41-41 this season before losing at home to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in round of the postseason.
Sixers president Daryl Morey continues to build the team around his old Houston Rockets connections. Besides Harden &mdash; and PJ Tucker and Danuel House, among others &mdash; Nurse coached Houston&rsquo;s G League-affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers for two seasons while Morey was in charge. Nurse won the G-League title in 2013 before moving on to a successful NBA career.
Nurse led the Raptors to the title in his debut season. And despite Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s departure, the Raptors were playing well before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season in March 2020. Toronto wasn&rsquo;t the same in the bubble and lost to Boston in seven games in the second round of the playoffs, though Nurse did win the NBA Coach of the Year.

The Philadelphia 76ers are hiring Nick Nurse as their next head coach.

Hayden