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Knicks

One of the breakout stars of this year&rsquo;s NBA playoffs has been Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson. He&rsquo;s old-school, unconventional, talented, savy and up for a big pay day this summer. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard and Villanova alum was selected No. 33 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft and is one of the better second-round draft picks over the past few classes.
Last year, he was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, averaging 12.6 points and 5.5 assists on 52/41/80 shooting splits in this third season with the Mavericks. This season, as a full-time starter, while watching his minutes jump from 25.0 to 31.9 per game, his productivity increased to 16.3 points and 4.8 assists per game on 50/37/84 shooting. In the playoffs (35.2 minutes per contest), Brunson jumped to 21.6 points and 3.7 assists per contest on 47/35/80 shooting.
His 2022 postseason included signature performances like a 41-point game in a win over the Utah Jazz in Game 2 without Luka Dončić and a 31-point effort against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. He also had a meaningful 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting in Dallas&rsquo; shocking Game 7 romping of the Phoenix Suns.
But now, he&rsquo;s an unrestricted free agent. Dallas has a lot of questions to answer. How can they best build around Dončić? What do they do with Tim Hardaway Jr.? If they want to upgrade at center, what's the best answer at that position?
Among the most important questions is: do they extend Brunson? Here are some teams to watch in the Brunson sweepstakes this offseason.
NEW YORK KNICKS
The New York Knicks haven&rsquo;t had a reliable point guard since Raymond Felton in their famed 54-win season back in 2012-13. Since then, it&rsquo;s largely been a revolving door of meh at the point of attack at Madison Square Garden. Jose Calderon was past his peak when he got to New York. Iman Shumpert, though very talented, wasn&rsquo;t a natural point guard. Frank Ntilikina is closer to a three-and-D wing than a true floor general. Jerian Grant never panned out. Neither has Kemba Walker. Derrick Rose has arguably been the best of the bunch.
Walker, Rose, Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley and Miles McBride make up the Knicks' point guard depth chart for 2022-23, in no particular order. Walker&rsquo;s health can&rsquo;t be trusted for an entire season. Burks isn&rsquo;t a true point guard and might be a trade chip. Quickley, if he starts, is probably better suited next to a natural point, and the same could be said for R.J. Barrett. And McBride is young, raw and inexperienced. Brunson is better than all of them, hard stop.
Because Brunson will be unrestricted, the highest-bidder has a chance. The bad news for the Knicks is that <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/new-york-knicks/cap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they&rsquo;re pretty much capped out</a>.
That means getting Brunson to New York would require a sign-and-trade. The good thing is that the Mavericks need a Mitchell Robinson type of center, and for about two years, I've been pushing for Brunson-Robinson swap. The Knicks should throw in something else, be it draft capital and or an additional young piece to make the deal work (for cap purposes too), but that&rsquo;s the framework that can come from this. Robinson gives Luka a lob threat, gives the team a higher upside defensively, and gives the coaching staff a player who can share the floor with just about anyone on the roster.&nbsp;
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
If Brunson can play with Dončić and Spencer Dinwiddie, he can share a backcourt with Reggie Jackson. Kawhi Leonard has <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted a point guard</a>, but the Clippers still don&rsquo;t have one. It&rsquo;s Jackson, and that&rsquo;s it. Norman Powell, Luke Kennard and Terance Mann are guards, but they're all wings. 2021 second-round pick Jason Preston still hasn&rsquo;t played due to injury, and Xavier Moon was a two-way guy last year who played just 10 games. <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/10/19/report-kawhi-leonard-wants-clippers-to-add-point-guard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leonard&rsquo;s been wanting a point guard for two seasons</a>, and it&rsquo;s time for the Clippers to address that spot since both Leonard and Paul George are due back next season.
Given the Clippers' cap situation, this would most certainly be a sign-and-trade. Powell, Marcus Morris, Kennard and Robert Covington all make between $12 and $16 million next season, and any of them could make sense going to Dallas. Only one or two of them would probably need to go at most, among other compensation (i.e. young players and picks).
Brunson in L.A. would join the starting line-up alongside Jackson, Leonard, George and a center. Ivica Zubac is an expiring $7.5 million contract next season, and he could actually be a piece Dallas wants in return. Assuming he stays in Los Angeles, Zubac rounds out their starting five and gives Los Angeles a true point guard, which they&rsquo;re clearly missing.
DALLAS MAVERICKS&nbsp;
The Mavericks reportedly had multiple opportunities to sign Brunson to a four-year, $55.5 million deal before and during the season, <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/25/report-mavericks-didnt-offer-jalen-brunson-contract-extension-until-after-trade-deadline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per reports</a>, but did not. As a result, he could be looking at <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2952513-latest-nba-trade-intel-lakers-realistic-targets-myles-turner-landing-spots?share=sms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">something in the $80 million range</a>, and possibly more after these playoffs.
Clearly, the offense works with him and Luka in the backcourt, blending in Dinwiddie in a natural role as a combo guard off the bench who can finish games. Dallas can keep their core together (those three and Dorian Finney-Smith) and work around the margins.
After losing to the Warriors in Game 5, Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban said that keeping Brunson is a priority, and damn near guaranteed that it&rsquo;ll happen.
"We can pay him more than anybody,&rdquo; Cuban said. "I think he wants to stay, and that's most important. I think [Jason Kidd] has a big part to play in that... JB blossomed as a player as much as anybody on this squad. From where he was last year to how far he came this year is a tribute to how hard he worked. And the support he got from his dad and his family and his girlfriend, but also, what he was able to learn from [Kidd]. I think he recognizes that, and I think he wants to stay."

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mcuban</a> reflecting on the 2021-22 Dallas Mavericks season with Marc Stein. <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> | 📺 BSSW | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dALLasIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dALLasIN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheSteinLine</a> <a href="https://t.co/YZROfVsnq0">pic.twitter.com/YZROfVsnq0</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1530038560673435658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Brunson didn&rsquo;t have the exact same tone, but he&rsquo;ll cross that bridge when he gets there, it seems.
"When it&rsquo;s time, it&rsquo;s time. I&rsquo;m not worried about it right now," Brunson said, <a href="https://twitter.com/sixfivelando/status/1530037759955636242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life</a>. "I&rsquo;m just really happy I got to play with these guys and what we did this year. I&rsquo;ll think about that later.&rdquo;
For Dallas, this is probably the move. Keep Brunson and build around the margins, particularly on the interior. Four years in, we can now say, as long as you have Luka, you have a chance. You just have to nail what&rsquo;s around him, and Brunson is someone you should want back in Dallas.
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Jalen Brunson was a breakout star for the Mavericks this postseason and is now an unrestricted free agent. Where will he end up?

Examining potential free-agent destinations for Jalen Brunson

In spite of Luka Dončić only playing half of the series, the Utah Jazz have been eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs, which can only mean it&rsquo;s time to blow them up!
Okay, not really... but maybe? Virtually everyone is expecting organizational changes given the team's recent underachievement in the playoffs stemming from successful regular seasons. This incarnation of the Jazz was established in 2017-18, behind then-rookie Donovan Mitchell&rsquo;s quick rise to stardom and Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s emergence as an annual Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
That season, Mitchell &mdash; filling the void left by Gordon Hayward &mdash; finished his first season as a 20-point-per-game scorer despite being picked No. 13 overall and averaging just over 14 points per game in his first 19 appearances. Gobert, even having played only 56 games, was awarded his first of now three DPOY awards.
In these five years, there have been as many playoff trips &mdash; three as the No. 5 seed (including this season), one as the No. 6 in the Orlando Bubble, and another as the top overall seed in the Western Conference last year.
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In 2017-18, the Jazz overachieved, taking down the Russell Westbrook-Paul George-Carmelo Anthony-led Oklahoma City Thunder in six games before losing to the No. 1 seed Houston Rockets in five contests.
In 2018-19, Utah lost to the Rockets again in five, this time in the first round, and Houston even led 3-0 with a +55 scoring margin before dropping Game 4.
In 2019-20, the Jazz squandered a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets, losing Game 7 in the final seconds of the opening round.
Last season &mdash; despite the Los Angeles Clippers losing Kawhi Leonard to a torn ACL (that he&rsquo;s still not back from) &mdash; the Jazz <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2yBy-EqnU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost in six games to the Clippers</a> in the West semifinals, and Gobert was dunked on by both Terance Mann and social media in the ending.
And finally, this postseason &mdash; in a series with Dončić missing the first three games with a calf injury, in which Utah still trailed 2-1 upon his return &mdash; Utah lost on yet another last-second heartbreaker.&nbsp;
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THE PLAYOFF DROUGHT IS OVER. THE DALLAS MAVERICKS ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND SINCE 2011!<a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> | 📺 BSSW | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dALLasIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dALLasIN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://t.co/VcWGAdSOL4">pic.twitter.com/VcWGAdSOL4</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1519896562079518727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Given <a href="https://twitter.com/tribjazz/status/1482077811019902980">the sniping back-and-forth between Mitchell and Gobert</a>, the Jazz's inability to break through and how far behind they appear from the top teams in the West, this seems like the summer where sizeable moves will be coming.
Personally speaking, it feels like we&rsquo;re heading toward Mitchell requesting a trade and moving on, but either way, one of Mitchell or Gobert &mdash; perhaps both &mdash; may be on the move in the coming months. Our Evan Sidery <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently looked at five trade ideas involving Gobert</a>.
Today, let's look at where Mitchell could end up, <a href="https://fanspo.com/nba/trade-machine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">using this trade machine</a>.
Mitchell is due $30.3 million next year, $32.6 million in 2023-24, $34.9 million in 2024-25, and has a player option for $37 million in 2025-26. Keep that in mind as we embark on this journey together. (Why did I sound like Professor Oak there?)
New York Knicks
Mitchell&rsquo;s father, Donovan Sr., works with the New York Mets organization. The 25-year-old Mitchell himself is a native of Elmsford, New York. Naturally, with the New York Knicks, there will be Mitchell smoke until a deal (or something else) actually happens. Because Tommy Beer already <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down the possibility of a Mitchell-to-New-York trade</a>, we won&rsquo;t stay here too long.
Regarding the Knicks&rsquo; actual proposal, the first look would be to RJ Barrett, who is extension eligible this summer, entering year four and making $10.9 million next year. The idea, for New York, should be to team Barrett and Mitchell together. If that&rsquo;s not possible, and the Mitchell deal were to have to get done, Barrett is your chief trade chip, along with first-round draft picks. The Knicks have all their own first-rounders as of this writing.
Usable salaries for the Knicks next year include Evan Fournier, who&rsquo;ll be at $18 million, Derrick Rose at $14.5 million, Alec Burks at $10 million, Nerlens Noel at $9.2 million and Kemba Walker at over $9.1 million. Rose, Burks and Noel all have team options for 2023-24, so they have ostensibly expiring deals. Walker&rsquo;s next season is his last under contract, and Fournier is signed through 2025, but that also includes a team option. Cam Reddish and Taj Gibson also enter the last year of their respective deals, at about $6 million and $5.1 million each, respectively.
The contract elephant in the room is Julius Randle&rsquo;s, which is a four-year, $117 million extension that begins next season at $26.1 million. It&rsquo;ll gradually increase until his player option for $32.4 million kicks in for 2025-26. The Knicks might try to move Randle instead, but what sense does that make for Utah? And if Utah isn&rsquo;t getting Barrett, would they want a package of the aforementioned veterans (say, Fournier and Burks), along with one or two of Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, or Miles McBride (who make between $1.6 and $2.3 million next year) and picks?
It&rsquo;ll be hard to do without Barrett, and maybe Randle gets involved in a three-team deal, but the Knicks have the picks, salaries and prospects to make it work, if that&rsquo;s the route the Jazz want to go.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons seem like a team that could be a version of this past season&rsquo;s Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; not in terms of play style or once being a top-four team in the Eastern Conference standings necessarily, but from the standpoint of being competitive a year sooner than we think and playing meaningful games down the stretch (like one or two in the Play-In Tournament).
Given that 20 of 30 NBA teams will have games beyond the regular season, the Pistons may (should) attempt to get one of those spots.
Last year&rsquo;s No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham is <a href="https://youtu.be/I9OLPXxgYWk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">someone you can build with</a>. Saddiq Bey should be a more efficient scorer with more experience and better teammates. Most of the rest is to be determined, but Detroit can start by using Jerami Grant&rsquo;s near $21 million expiring deal next summer.
What comes next depends on what stage the Jazz want to be closer to. If this is a rebuild, you can ask for a combination of Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo (both of whom make over $5 million next year), for example, and Hayes has a $7.4 million team option for 2023-24. If not, Kelly Olynyk has $12.8 million coming to him next year that&rsquo;s usable. Utah can in throw in, hypothetically, Royce O&rsquo;Neale&rsquo;s $9.3 million deal next year and get Olynyk anyway.
So the player framework can look something like:
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk</li>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo</li>
<li>Donovan Mitchell and Royce O&rsquo;Neale for Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes, Hamidou Diallo and Kelly Olynyk plus a sh*t ton of draft picks. The Pistons would be moving something like three first-rounders in the deal, and potentially multiple first-round pick swaps.</li>
</ul>
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Miami Heat
I brought this up during <a href="https://youtu.be/XBQwn0pOAa4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's NBA Trade Deadline stream</a>.&nbsp;
The Heat didn&rsquo;t do it then, but it might still be on the table depending on how these playoffs go. The Heat might not offer the best return package because of their draft picks, but they did unlock additional firsts by moving KZ Okpala to Oklahoma City in February. And, for Miami, we&rsquo;re mainly talking about one package. But again, it depends on the results of this postseason.&nbsp;
Currently, the Heat are getting ready to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, a matchup they&rsquo;re favored to win (albeit narrowly). If they lose this particular series, or if they win and Tyler Herro continues to struggle in the playoffs, or even if Miami makes a deep run and Herro elevates from a slow start, he&rsquo;d be the primary chip in a Mitchell deal. Furthermore, the <a href="https://twitter.com/GregSylvander/status/1482101290964504580" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heat are on Mitchell&rsquo;s shortlist</a>, according to Greg Sylvander of Five Reasons Sports.
The deal, as I mentioned on our stream, would include Herro &mdash; who is still on a rookie-scale contract ($5.7 million next year), but is extension-eligible this summer and wouldn&rsquo;t kick-in until 2023. Then comes Duncan Robinson, who&rsquo;ll enter the second year of a five-year, $90 million deal next season, which bookends with a near $20 million player option and rises to $16.9 million next season.
According to the trade machine, Omer Yurtseven&rsquo;s $1.7 million next season makes the math work, and would give Utah a Gobert backup who&rsquo;ll, if nothing else, get you 10 rebounds in 15 minutes on occasion. Would the Heat have to throw in at least one of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus or Haywood Highsmith (all of whom make between $1.7 and $1.8 million next year)? Perhaps. And from there, Miami has tradeable first-rounders in 2022, 2024 and 2026. So, in summation, it could look like this:
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Omer Yurtseven, one of Gabe Vincent/Max Strus/Haywood Highsmith, draft capital</li>
</ul>
But if Herro has a big playoff run moving forward, the Heat may instead opt to move Robinson in a separate, smaller deal for a worthy big man in their rotation, and mostly run it back otherwise.
Atlanta Hawks
Alright, now you saw what the Heat did to Trae Young in the first round. The Hawks clearly are not only poised to get Young some help, but make a 3-for-1-ish deal to consolidate some depth into a higher-end starter &mdash; or in the case of Mitchell, a fellow offensive starter. His teammate, Gobert, is probably the better fit, but one, I&rsquo;m not writing about Gobert (our Evan Sidery will handle that) and two, if Gobert is frustrated with Mitchell&rsquo;s defense...
But anyway, you gotta start somewhere. And for Atlanta, part of why the Heat neutralized Young is their malleability defensively, but also, the Hawks don&rsquo;t have another true star to account for on the perimeter. Mitchell would give Young a viable tag team partner offensively to spread the defensive focus. To do so, the Hawks could play this a few different ways.
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The obvious trade chip is John Collins, and there could be questions about his fit next to Gobert, but it&rsquo;s not a bad place to start if you&rsquo;re moving someone of Mitchell&rsquo;s caliber. Collins will make $23.5 million next year, and between $25.3 and $26.6 million through 2025-26. Collins has had rumored friction with Young, though they&rsquo;ve downplayed it over the years. From there, if you use Collins in a possible deal, it gets interesting.&nbsp;
De&rsquo;Andre Hunter &mdash; who makes $9.8 million next year in the last season of a rookie deal and is extension-eligible this summer &mdash; seems logical for both the Jazz to want and the Hawks to keep. Hunter was Atlanta's best player against the Heat, and has been a quality two-way wing when healthy. Is a framework of Collins and Hunter for Mitchell straight up enough of a deal for both sides? Sheeeeeiiiiit, ask them, but it sounds good to me!
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for John Collins and De'Andre Hunter</li>
</ul>
No Collins? Okay. You&rsquo;re not moving Clint Capela&rsquo;s long-term deal for Utah in a Mitchell move, so that&rsquo;s out of the picture. Kevin Huerter would absolutely have to be part of this, and no, that&rsquo;s not a white Utah joke. Hu-why would you think that?&nbsp;
Huerter begins his $65 million extension next year, the first of four, banking $14.5 million in 2022-23. Hunter probably stays in the deal because Utah has to get something really good, and the Hawks simply can&rsquo;t extend everyone. Again, Atlanta should want to keep Hunter, but this is the price of doing business. But if you&rsquo;re throwing in Huerter instead of Collins (which does work on the trade machine since different rules apply in the offseason than in-season), you&rsquo;ll need multiple first round picks &mdash; of which the Hawks have all their own &mdash; so that could get done.
Could Utah also want Onyeka Okongwu? Sure, but he seems like Atlanta's 5-man of the future, and a separate deal moving off Capela might be more likely. So the second proposal could look like this:
<ul>
<li>Donovan Mitchell for De'Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter, draft capital</li>
</ul>
Now, the Hawks would still need to figure some things out defensively, seeing as how they&rsquo;d be led by two 6-foot-1 scorers in the backcourt. They could just became the new Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to some extent, but <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-salute-to-the-defiance-of-damian-lillard-and-cj-mccollum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Portland Trail Blazers are as much to blame for that &ldquo;not working,&rdquo;</a> and the Hawks can learn from those team-building mistakes.&nbsp;
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Bryan Fonseca takes a look at four logical landing spots for Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell.

Examining potential trade desinations for Donovan Mitchell 

It's not uncommon for high-profile athletes in New York to experience ups and downs throughout their careers. Yet, in just the three seasons Julius Randle has spent as a Knick, he's endured nearly unprecedented swings, from extreme lows to intense highs and everything in-between...
After making the difficult decision to trade away Kristaps Porzingis in February 2019, the Knicks inked Randle to a three-year, $63 million deal the following summer, hoping Randle could carry the team offensively and help them return to respectability.
However, Randle struggled to handle the bright lights of Broadway during his first year in NYC. After averaging over 21 points per game on 52.4% shooting during his sole season in New Orleans, Randle's scoring average dipped to 19.5 points per game on 46.0% shooting in 2019-20. And while his overall counting stats were solid (19/10/3), his inefficiency and defensive lapses contributed to the Knicks' putrid 21-45 record.
In an article he <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/reputation-julius-randle-new-york-knicks-basketball-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">penned for the Players Tribune</a>, Randle acknowledged that he wasn't quite prepared for the pressures that came along with being the top dog in the Big Apple.
"To be honest, I don't think I realized everything that goes into being a No. 1 option in the NBA," Randle <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/reputation-julius-randle-new-york-knicks-basketball-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a>. "Another problem, looking back, is that I think I was so focused on proving myself as a No. 1 option, that I lost sight of some of my other responsibilities to the team."
Randle added: "I know you only get one chance to make a first impression in a city &mdash; and I was so disappointed in myself for how that first season in New York had gone."
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Well, his second impression was incredible.&nbsp;
Randle wasn't just good during his second season in NYC; he authored one of the finest all-around seasons in Knicks franchise history.
The winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player, Randle finished the 2020-21 campaign averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game, ranking in the top-20 in all three statistical categories. Prior that that, the only other players in NBA history to average at least 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists over an entire season were Wilt Chamberlain, Nikola Jokić, Larry Bird, Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.
Randle also averaged 2.3 made three-pointers and 0.9 steals while shooting 45.6% from the floor, 41.1% from downtown and 81.1% from the free-throw line. According to Basketball-Reference, Randle was just the second player ever to average more than 10 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting over 40% from three-point territory and over 80% from the charity stripe. (The only other player in this exclusive club is Bird, who posted those numbers in 1984-85 en route to winning the Most Valuable Player award.)
Knicks fans inside MSG would serenade Randle with boisterous "MVP" chants nearly every time he stepped to the free-throw line over the last two months of the season.&nbsp;
Randle would finish eighth in MVP voting and be named to the All-NBA Second Team alongside Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid and LeBron James.&nbsp;
Last summer, fresh off his career year, the Knicks inked Randle to a four-year contract extension worth up to $117 million.
Consequently, expectations were sky-high for Randle and his Knicks entering the 2021-22 campaign...
As we know, New York instead finished the year with a disappointing 37-45 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
While Randle's counting stats were once again solid, his offensive inefficiency and porous defense were crippling. After shooting 41.5% on mid-range jumpers in 2020-21, he converted just 33.3% of his mid-rangers this past season. Of the 66 players who attempted more than 500 jump shots this past season, Randle was the least efficient. Every other player in the league who attempted more than three such shots per game converted over 35% &mdash; except for Randle.
Randle also struggled from long distance. After shooting over 41% from behind the three-point arc in 2020-21, that percentage tumbled all the way down to below 31% in 2021-22.
To put Randle's inefficiency in context, consider this: In 2021-22, Randle became the first and only player in NBA history to attempt more than 300 three-pointers and 300 free throws, yet shot below 42% from the floor, below 31% from downtown and below 76% from the charity stripe.
Oh, and his assist average decreased (from 6.0 to 5.1) while committing a career-high 245 turnovers.
Yet, if only his subpar production were an issue, the Knicks front office &mdash; led by team president Leon Rose &mdash; might be far more comfortable bringing Randle back in 2022-23 and hoping he can rebound from a rough year.
However, there are a number of concerns that complicate the situation.&nbsp;
The relationship between the burly power forward and Knicks fans turned toxic at various points over the past six months. During a home game against the Boston Celtics in early January, some New York fans inside Madison Square Garden booed Randle and his teammates after the Knicks fell behind by 25 points. Randle aimed a thumbs-down gesture at the crowd at one point in the fourth quarter. He acknowledged the gesture was directed at the fans after the game (which included a miraculous Knicks comeback, capped by RJ Barrett sinking a miraculous buzzer-beater).
When asked by reporters what it was for, Randle <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/06/julius-randle-gives-knicks-fans-thumbs-down-shut-the-f-k-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replied</a>: "To shut the f&ndash;k up."
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Unsurprisingly, the relationship remained rocky the rest of the way. As New York piled up losses and Randle continued to miss shots he had made a year earlier, the crowd continued to get on the team's highest-paid player. Making matters worse, <a href="https://tommybeer.substack.com/p/thibs-needs-to-send-a-strong-message?s=w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Randle's lack of effort</a>, especially on the <a href="https://tommybeer.substack.com/p/thibs-needs-to-send-a-strong-message?s=w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defensive end</a>, drew the intense ire of the fan base.
Poor shooting or effort errors (such as giving up an easy bucket because you close out too hard) are frustrating but forgivable. However, New Yorkers won't tolerate consistently failing to box out or hustle back on defense. And, for long stretches this winter, Randle was guilty of such offenses.&nbsp;
Last month, <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/julius-randle-could-be-forcing-way-off-knicks-in-james-harden-type-of-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc Berman of the New York Post reported</a> that people around the league felt Randle was "acting in a 'James Harden type of way' that suggests he wants a new place of work next season."
Berman <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/julius-randle-could-be-forcing-way-off-knicks-in-james-harden-type-of-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that "some NBA sources believe the Knicks will shop Randle for a package revolving around a center if they lose Mitchell Robinson."
Randle has said publicly he wants to remain in New York, but has also stated that his wife and young son were forced to leave their courtside seats at some home games this season due to unwelcome comments from the crowd. Being traded to a new franchise could allow Randle to start fresh and hopefully re-establish himself as an All-Star.
The best resolution for both the player and the team may be parting ways this summer.&nbsp;
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From the Knicks' perspective, trading away an All-Star less than a year after you ink him to a max extension is never ideal. The front office hoped Randle would be a foundational cornerstone for the remainder of his prime. However, New York must acknowledge that this past season was a mess in more ways than one.&nbsp;
Interestingly, one bright spot over the second half of the season was the awe-inspiring play of Obi Toppin. When a sore quad sidelined Randle in late March, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft stepped in and most definitely stepped up. Fans who had been begging for Toppin to see more minutes finally got their wish.
Toppin started each of the Knicks' final five games and averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 made three-pointers, 2.8 assists and 1.0 blocks. He shot over 55% from the floor, over 46% from downtown and over 86% from the charity stripe. He was one of just seven players to average more than 27 points and 6 boards per game in April. The other six were Jokic, Embiid, LeBron, Luka Doncic, Pascal Siakam and Kevin Durant. (And of this group, Toppin and Doncic were the only players to knock down more than three treys a night.)
While it's foolish to make too much out of relatively meaningless games late in any season, it's impossible to watch Toppin and not recognize he possesses tantalizing upside. And remember, this is the same dude who was named the NCAA National Player of the Year in 2020 due to his dominant play at Dayton, where he averaged 20.0 points to go along with 7.5 rebounds while shooting a scorching 63.3% percent from the field and 39.0% from behind the arc.&nbsp;
Toppin will be due for a contract extension of his own soon, and the Knicks need to determine if he is worth a hefty investment. Trading Randle would open a spot in the starting lineup for Toppin, who is closer in age to the Knicks' young core of Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, etc.
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The issue for New York is that it would have to "sell low" on Randle relative to where his league-wide value was just six months ago. Would the Knicks be content to trade him away if they would only be able recoup around 70 cents on the dollar? On the other hand, would another team be willing to trade for the $100+ million remaining on Randle's contract?
My guess is that the all-around skill set Randle showcased in 2020-21 will be more than enough to entice a few general managers.
Keep in mind that even in a "down year" in 2021-22, Randle averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes. The only players to exceed those numbers in each category this season were Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. In addition, although Randle's contract is certainly not a bargain, it's not an albatross by any means &mdash; even with its 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
More than 50 players in the league will earn more than Randle next season. A contract averaging around $26 million a year is reasonable for a player with Randle's immense talent and proven durability (he's appeared in 207 of a possible 222 games over the last four seasons).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Also, the fact that Randle is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26) would appeal to several teams, especially small-market clubs.&nbsp;
Furthermore, there are always other GMs looking to move their own high-priced players due to positional log jams or salary constraints.
For instance, <a href="https://theathletic.com/3243084/2022/04/11/whats-next-for-lakers-notes-on-nick-nurse-russell-westbrook-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multiple</a> league insiders have <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/indiana-intrigue?s=r" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Indiana Pacers are "open to trade conversations around Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield this offseason." Brogdon, whose name has been bandied about in trade rumors since Indiana acquired Tyrese Haliburton in February, has three years left on his deal. He and Randle have nearly identical salaries for next season, meaning they could be swapped straight up for each other.&nbsp;
With the Knicks still in desperate need of a point guard, which side would say no to a potential Brogdon-Randle deal?
It's also worth noting that <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10032521-who-will-lead-lamelo-ball-and-promising-hornets-into-their-prime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a> recently reported Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward is "interested in a change of scenery this offseason." A swap sending Kemba Walker, who is still beloved in Charlotte, and Randle to the Hornets in exchange for Hayward works under the cap. Would Charlotte be willing to include draft capital to get a deal done?
We know the Los Angeles Lakers would love to rid themselves of Russell Westbrook, who has just one year left on his current contract. And if we're thinking outside the box, would the Knicks be willing to consider a reunion with Kristaps Porzings?
The point is, if New York is genuinely willing to make Randle available, the franchise will have plenty of interested parties, which could make for a very interesting offseason.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer analyzes what went awry for Julius Randle in his third season with the Knicks and ponders options for both parties.

Julius Randle and the Knicks should part ways this summer

Julius Randle wasn't quite as good. The New York Knicks weren't nearly as good.
A rare playoff appearance in 2021 was followed by the familiar struggles in New York, where the Knicks went 37-45 in Tom Thibodeau's second season as coach. They don't deny the disappointment but insist things aren't that bad.
&ldquo;We fell short of what our goals were and so we&rsquo;re motivated to get back to work,&rdquo; Thibodeau said.
The Knicks went 41-31 last season, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference. Thibodeau was voted Coach of the Year and Randle the Most Improved Player. They gave the power forward a new contract in the offseason, added Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier and hoped to come back even better.
Instead, they fell all the way to 11th in the East.
&ldquo;I think the one thing with a team that has talent and didn&rsquo;t make the playoffs like us is that we didn&rsquo;t find ourselves," Fournier said. &ldquo;We never really found a rhythm and couldn&rsquo;t find a way to do it consistently every night.&rdquo;
Randle still averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, but his 3-point accuracy was way down (from about 41% to 31%) and his frustration was up &mdash; with referees, opponents, and even fans. He has such a large role on the team that the Knicks couldn't overcome him being just a little worse than a season ago.
But RJ Barrett took a good leap in his third season and Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley played well down the stretch of their second. The Knicks hope that will carry over into next season after they get over the disappointment of this one.
&ldquo;We wanted to be in the playoffs, we wanted to take a step, but I feel as though since the All-Star break, the team&rsquo;s shown some momentum and has shown some good signs,&rdquo; Knicks president Leon Rose said in an interview with team broadcaster MSG Network.
Things to know as the Knicks head into the offseason:
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Starting center Mitchell Robinson, who continues to improve but can't shake injuries, will be an unrestricted free agent. Barrett is eligible for an extension on his rookie contract and made a good case to earn it after averaging 20 points.
STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE POINT
The Knicks couldn't solve their perennial problems at point guard. Walker's homecoming didn't work out and he wasn't even with the team at the end of the season. Derrick Rose was limited to just 26 games by ankle problems. The Knicks may have to decide if they think Quickley is the long-term solution or if they need to look elsewhere.
BETTER TOGETHER?
Toppin's development was slowed in part by playing the same position as Randle, who plays heavy minutes. Toppin scored 35 and a career-best 42 points in the final two games of the season, but that was without Randle playing. The Knicks need to determine if the two can flourish while playing together.
PLENTY OF PICKS
Rose said the Knicks have 13 picks in the next three drafts, including four in the first round. Those can help add to their young core, or perhaps be used to acquire veteran help in a trade.
KEEP THE KIDS?
Thibodeau's rotation late in the season was filled with players 24 and younger, including three rookies. Even Randle is only 27. Perhaps the core will continue improving. But even with time they may never be good enough to catch up in an Eastern Conference where four teams won 50 games, so Rose needs to weigh whether the Knicks simply need more time, or more talent.
&ldquo;I love the guys, but it&rsquo;s also the NBA,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;Like, there&rsquo;s constant change and whether it&rsquo;s free agency, draft, whatever it might be, you have to be open to whoever you have. And once you have your team, you love the guys. But I love the way these guys work. So I think there&rsquo;s a huge upside for us.&rdquo;

A rare playoff appearance in 2021 was followed by the familiar struggles in New York, where the Knicks went 37-45.

After rare playoff appearance, Randle, Knicks take step back

For a third of the NBA, summer break comes early.&nbsp;
Though 10 teams didn't make the playoffs, it's not all doom and gloom. Several NBA bottom-feeders took tangible steps forward in their rebuilding efforts, while others &mdash; well, they're not supposed to be here.
Every franchise enters the offseason with summer plans. As teams get eliminated from the postseason, I'll be rounding up every team's offseason outlook and posing one question they must answer over the summer. You'll see each squad's 2022 NBA Draft chest, plus their potential free agents, along with the central question.&nbsp;
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Let's get started!
DETROIT PISTONS 
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Marvin Bagley III (restricted), Cory Joseph (player option), Hamidou Diallo (team option), Frank Jackson (team option), Luka Garza (team option), Carsen Edwards (team option), Rodney McGruder 
Central question: How do the Pistons build an offense around Cade Cunningham?
This was a pretty solid season for Detroit as far as rebuilding efforts go. Cade Cunningham emerged as a Rookie of the Year front-runner and two-way centerpiece who has fans ecstatic about his ceiling. The Pistons finished a solid 10-14 after the All-Star break, and have shown flashes of an improving defense. They did still finish with the 28th-ranked offense, per Cleaning the Glass, and one of the worst shooting rates in the NBA.
Cunningham had to carry a ridiculous offensive load in the latter stages of the season. Detroit has the power to change that in 2022-23, starting with its high draft pick. Maybe Jabari Smith's lights-out scoring means he's an ideal secondary option? Perhaps Paolo Banchero thrives as an additional creator, or maybe Chet Holmgren makes sense as a finisher and spot-up threat? The fun part about Cunningham is that his versatility creates so many pathways for the Pistons in the draft &mdash; whether or not the ping pong balls fall their way.
Detroit wields a cap hold of approximately $28 million on Bagley, and once that lifts (either via a new contract or letting him walk), the Pistons should have a solid chunk of cap space to add to the supporting cast.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), better of Brooklyn/Miami first-round picks
Potential free agents: John Wall (player option), Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando (restricted), Jae'Sean Tate (team option), Anthony Lamb (qualifying offer), Trevelin Queen (qualifying offer)
Central question: How patient is the front office willing to be?
Houston's 2021 draft strategy of "draft talent, figure out the fit later" appears to be working out. Jalen Green demonstrated an Anthony Edwards-esque leap post-All-Star break, Alperen Sengun is already one of the NBA's best passing bigs, and guys like Josh Christopher and KJ Martin routinely hinted at upside. Houston gets another prime shot at a franchise cornerstone this draft cycle. We're approaching Stage 2 of the strategy, though: figuring out how the pieces fit.&nbsp;
The Rockets were one of two NBA teams with bottom-five ratings on offense and defense. They led the league in rim frequency and were fourth in three-point frequency, but posted mediocre shooting clips. Houston evokes memories of the rebuilding Nets, who played a similarly extreme brand of ball for a few years as the team slowly reshaped into a fun playoff squad. Does the front office have the foresight to let head coach Stephen Silas work things out with his roster of young guns?&nbsp;
INDIANA PACERS
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How is there a &ldquo;rebuild&rdquo; to afraid of if it isn&rsquo;t a rebuild? <a href="https://t.co/0pDD7E6Mss">pic.twitter.com/0pDD7E6Mss</a>
&mdash; Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) <a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper/status/1512127632758001664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (10.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick (if 15-30, via Cleveland), Second-round pick (via Houston), Second-round pick (via Phoenix)
Potential free agents: Ricky Rubio, T.J. Warren, Jalen Smith, Lance Stephenson, Nate Hinton (restricted), Oshae Brissett (team option)
Central question: How extreme is the incoming rebuild, and what veterans mesh with the future vision?
Notably unlisted among the potential free agents are Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and T.J. McConnell. All range from solid starters to rotational complements, and 3 of the 4 (not Turner) will be 30 next season. The Pacers are clearly retooling, as evidenced by their trade-deadline fireworks and Tyrese Haliburton's subsequent high usage. They also have publicly flip-flopped regarding the direction of the team; see the above Tweet.
Indiana doesn't have the pure depth of talent to straddle the line. The Pacers can trade many of these talented players and build up a chest of draft picks and young pieces, or they can charge ahead, turn their picks into win-now players and hope Haliburton is ready for the playoff push. But a middle ground doesn't exist in an Eastern Conference where just about every team has solidified its direction.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Draft assets: None
Potential free agents: Russell Westbrook (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Austin Reaves (team option), Stanley Johnson (team option), Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, D.J. Augustin, Wenyen Gabriel, Mason Jones (restricted)
Central question: What does team-building around two injury-prone superstars look like?
LeBron James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-i-dont-have-a-cap-on-how-long-i-want-to-play" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turns 38 next season</a>, and has played 60-plus games just once in the past four seasons. Anthony Davis has now missed more than half the season in back-to-back years. Sure, the Lakers were a mess regardless of their stars' health, but going forward, is pursuing fits next to James and Davis even worthwhile if the two won't consistently be on the court?
With just three players under contract (the aforementioned stars, plus Talen Horton-Tucker), the Lakers enter another offseason of a roster overhaul. This time, I'd recommend almost entirely forgetting about James and Davis when building the squad and simply try to assemble units that make sense together.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, could change based on Play-In results), Second-round pick via Boston and Charlotte (if 56-60)
Potential free agents: Mitchell Robinson, Ryan Arcidiacono 
Central question: What's going to happen with the veterans?
The top six moneymakers for the Knicks next season are all 27 or older, and I think many fans would say that out of the group, only Julius Randle should have started &mdash; and he seriously regressed this season. The young Knicks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explain-one-play-young-knicks-playing-chess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clearly showed they're ready to take the mantle</a>.
So what happens with Randle, Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Kemba Walker? Is Tom Thibodeau prepared to reduce their (their meaning Burks specifically in this case) minutes and usage, will trades be coming, or will Madison Square Garden burn when Immanuel Quickley opens the season by playing 16 minutes off the bench? New York has drafted extremely well in recent seasons, but the ceiling of the young core is capped if these youngsters don't get a chance to prove themselves in meaningful situations.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 
Draft assets: First-round pick (12.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via Clippers, First-round pick via Phoenix, Second-round pick
Potential free agents: Derrick Favors (player option), Mike Muscala (team option), Lu Dort (team option), Isaiah Roby (team option), Melvin Frazier (restricted)
Central question: What is the pathway in the frontcourt?
I've stanned Sam Presti's team-building strategy for years now, and I still think it's on track for a serious payoff. Josh Giddey slots in somewhere on your All-Rookie ballot, and draft classmates Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins flashed rotation-caliber play as well. It is simply a joy to watch a random young player have a breakout game on any given night, and OKC has already shown the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-oklahoma-city-thunders-emerging-defensive-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early stages of a prominent defense</a>.
Next up: Capitalize on a draft loaded with intruiging frontcourt players. Banchero, Holmgren and Smith are obviously the best of the best. But even if the Thunder slide in the lottery, they could pounce on an athletic shot-blocker like Jalen Duren, or use one of their later picks on a center like Mark Williams. I'm just spit-balling, but the point is that OKC has plenty of chances to find its big-man anchor and further flesh out its core.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Indiana
Potential free agents: Gary Harris, Robin Lopez, Bol Bol (restricted), Ignas Brazdeikis (restricted), Admiral Schofield (restricted)
Central question: How do the offensive pieces fit together?
Orlando quietly logged a 17th-ranked defense this season, and an 11th-ranked unit since Feb. 1. A dismal offense ultimately doomed the Magic, who were riddled with inconsistent shotmaking and poor team efficiency marks throughout the half-court. We don't need to sound any player alarms; it takes time for young guards in particular to grasp the responsibilities of running NBA offenses.&nbsp;
But what if I told you Orlando has wielded bottom-10 offensive ratings every season for the last decade?&nbsp;
Change can start in the draft, again with some of the top offensive forward options like Banchero or Smith. Adding another ball-dominant guard in Jaden Ivey might be overkill, but AJ Griffin and Bennedict Mathurin feel like good wing fits at first glance. Spotrac estimates the Magic could have up to $30 million in practical cap space, leaving plenty of room for veteran players to accentuate the young talent.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
THE D IN DREW STANDS FOR DUNK DO NOT GOOGLE THIS <a href="https://t.co/2AojdAskYV">pic.twitter.com/2AojdAskYV</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1508636734900166659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (9.0% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via New Orleans (if 5-14), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Memphis
Potential free agents: Joe Ingles, Jusuf Nurkic, Ben McLemore, Anfernee Simons (restricted), CJ Elleby (restricted), Elijah Hughes (restricted), Keljin Blevins (restricted)
Central question: Is Portland actually trying to win "now" or win soon?
Some really great development happened for the Blazers during the "wash" portion of the season in the form of players like Trendon Watford, Keon Johnson and Drew Eubanks. Add them to Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little and the incomng draft picks, and Portland suddenly has... kind of a sneaky-deep prospect pool? There's real potential to mold this group into a rotation cast that gives Portland one of its deepest rosters in years.
That's why these <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jerami-grant-trade-rumors-portland-is-still-the-frontrunner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerami Grant trade rumors concern me</a>. Giving up a possible lottery pick to try and piece together a short-term playoff team risks too much and keeps the Trail Blazers in the limbo they have lounged in for several years. Understandably, the franchise wants to build a contender while Damian Lillard is invested and in his prime. With some patience, Portland can without sacrificing sustainibility.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Draft assets: First-round pick (7.5% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick (via Chicago)
Potential free agents: Jeremy Lamb, Josh Jackson, Damian Jones, Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Neemias Queta (restricted), Trey Lyles (team option)
Central question: How does Sacramento turn into a competitive NBA defense?
The Kings have trotted out lackluster defenses for as long as I can remember. In fact, they haven't ranked above 20th in Defensive Rating since 2005-06 &mdash; notably, the last time they made the playoffs.
And that didn't change under interim head coach Alvin Gentry. (Gentry will not return as head coach next season, but is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shams-alvin-gentry-no-longer-interim-coach-of-the-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in talks for a front-office role</a>, per ESPN.) However, the on-paper roster actually shines some hope. Davion Mitchell made highlight reels out of his "Off-Night" defense. Justin Holiday is a solid individual defender, as is Harrison Barnes, and even De'Aaron Fox has his sporadic moments.&nbsp;
Can Sacramento find a head coach who turns a group of intriguing players with defensive potential into even an average squad? What draft and free agency options exist? Of course, the Kings would like to end their NBA-leading playoff drought. That'll come with changing the culture on defense.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, depends on Play-In results), Second-round pick (via Dallas)
Potential free agents: Bradley Beal (player option), Thomas Bryant, Raul Neto, Tomas Satoransky, Anthony Gill (restricted), Cassius Winston (restricted)
Central question: What style of guard play is a feasible best fit?
Okay, so obviously the biggest question mark surrounds Bradley Beal's free agency. But from a conceptual standpoint, Washington has tried and failed over the past few seasons to find Beal's best-fitting partner in crime. John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Spencer Dinwiddie were each supposed to provide the downhill juice Beal lacks. The Wizards either did this at serious expense of another skill area (Wall, Westbrook), or it just didn't translate their at-rim ability (Dinwiddie). All battled injuries as well.
"I think we need bigger guards," <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/bradley-beal-outlines-what-wizards-need-build-contender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beal said in March</a>. "We need more guys that can get in the paint for us, more ball-handlers, more guys that can really create and get two feet in the paint, but also who can knock down threes."
I mean, Beal's needs make total sense. The problem is that every other basketball team on Earth also wants this type of guard.
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Ethan Fuller sets the offseason stage for each team that missed the NBA playoffs.

Summer plans for the NBA's 10 non-playoff teams

Is it fair to say this is a fun time for the Knicks?
No, the season hasn't gone as expected. Missing the play-in altogether a year after a strong regular season and playoff berth wasn't on the bingo card for most, especially in light of their acquisitions this offseason.
If there's a silver lining, it's this end-of-season stretch. The Knicks have gone 11-11 since the All-Star break, boasting a net rating (plus-3.1) higher than the Mavericks (plus-2.8), Nets (plus-2.5) and Warriors (plus-0.8).
As far as the fun goes, it's nice that the young guys are driving a lot of the success. Immanuel Quickely is making real strides as a lead ball-handler. Ditto for RJ Barrett, whose shoulder-chucking drives are putting dents in this chest of his defenders and the hearts of defenses. And if the Knicks don't have the most athletic frontcourt in the league with Obi Toppin and Jericho Sims, they can't be far from the top.
It's hard not to leap off your couch watching these dudes jet after misses or turnovers. Quickley's bound to pull-up from anywhere. Barrett is a freight train. Toppin and Sims can highpoint lobs with the best of them. But from a projection standpoint, possessions like this one from Friday night's action stand out:
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The Knicks push after a miss but pull things back since an early advantage isn't present. Not yet, at least.
Toppin is defended by Cassius Winston, an unfavorable cross-match that was formed by a switch on the prior possession. Toppin goes to the block early in the possession but retreats to the corner after Quickley makes the call.&nbsp;
This is where the fun begins.
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Quickley calls up Sims to set a screen -- a screen that Quickley doesn't really plan to use. While Sims is coming up to Quickley, Toppin works his way back to the right block with Winston on him.
With Sims above the free throw line, his defender (Thomas Bryant) is able to provide relief on the interior. The only player who could make a rotation to help on the Winston-on-Toppin mismatch is Isaiah Todd, though he's occupied by Feron Hunt in the left corner.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-04-09-at-12-18-56-pm_lg.png" alt="" width="569" height="324" />
With Winston attempting to front and no help on the backside, there's a lob available for Toppin. Quickley nails the pass, leading to the easiest half-court bucket of the night for Toppin. Two of Toppin's career-high 35 points, might I add.
The Quickley-Toppin connection hasn't just been fun; it's been good. Consider these numbers since the All-Star break:
<ul>
<li>The Knicks have generated 1.09 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Quickely-Toppin ball screen. It's a number on par with combos like Monte Morris and Nikola Jokic (1.09 PPP), Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns (1.08 PPP), and DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic (1.06 PPP), per Second Spectrum.</li>
<li>With Quickley and Toppin <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;GroupQuantity=2&amp;SeasonSegment=Post%20All-Star&amp;TeamID=1610612752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on the court</a>, the Knicks have outscored opponents by 11.1 points per 100 possessions.</li>
</ul>
The jury is out on what this roster will look like come October. But at the risk of sounding recency bias-y, it's hard to argue against prioritizing these young guys.
Toppin has flourished in the non-Julius Randle games, boasting averages of 23.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists over his last four contests. The answer may not be to flat-out trade Randle, but there should be more time carved out for Toppin moving forward regardless.
Quickley has shown spark-plug potential since his rookie season, and we're starting to see him grow more in half-court settings. Look further down the roster, and you'll remember the Knicks flipped a first rounder (among other assets) for Cam Reddish a couple of months ago. It would behoove them to find room for him, too.
It's time for the younger pieces to be prioritized and empowered. The next era of great Knicks basketball may depend on it.
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Nekias Duncan highlights a possession showcasing growth from the Knicks' young core.

Explain one play: Young Knicks playing chess

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Obi Toppin scored a career-high 35 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 114-92 on Friday night.
RJ Barrett scored 14 points for the Knicks before leaving the game with a sprained right knee. His early exit came on a night when a number of key players from both teams didn't play at all. Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention. New York (36-45) moved a game ahead of Washington (35-46) for 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks allowed the game's first 10 points and shot just 2 of 9 from 3-point range in the first quarter, but they dominated after that. New York was 14 of 30 from long distance the rest of the way.
The Knicks took control when they outscored Washington 36-19 in the second quarter to lead 59-50 at halftime.
New York scored the final six points of the first half on a dunk and then a four-point play by Toppin. Then the Knicks scored the first 13 of the third quarter. Toppin capped the run with two more 3-pointers to make it 72-50.
Rui Hachimura led the Wizards with 21 points. Immanuel Quickley had 23 points and 10 assists for New York.
DID NOT PLAY
The Wizards have been without Bradley Beal (left wrist) for more than two months, and Kyle Kuzma (right knee) was out for a 12th straight game. Kristaps Porzingis (right knee) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (rest) did not play either.
Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Kuzma, Porzingis and Caldwell-Pope will also miss the team's finale at Charlotte.
New York was without Julius Randle (right quadriceps tendon) for a fourth straight game. The Knicks have also been without Nerlens Noel (left foot), Cam Reddish (right shoulder), Derrick Rose (right ankle) and Kemba Walker. Quentin Grimes (right knee) and Mitchell Robinson (non-COVID illness) each missed a second straight game.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Toppin's previous career high was 20 points.
Wizards: Washington was blown out despite shooting 51% from the field. The Wizards had 22 turnovers, which led to 33 New York points.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Toronto on Sunday night.
Wizards: At Charlotte on Sunday.

Obi Toppin poured in a career-high 35 points in Friday's win over the Washington Wizards.

Toppin scores 35, Knicks rout Wizards 114-92

He can&rsquo;t be a lead guard.
He&rsquo;s not a point guard.
He can&rsquo;t get to the rim.
You&rsquo;ve probably seen these kinds of phrases thrown around as long as you&rsquo;ve watched the NBA, and for good reason. Lead guard/primary ball-handler play is pretty essential to good offense.
Driving the ball, getting to the rim, collapsing the defense and forcing a defensive rotation/help at the rim with a well-timed pass to the vacated spot where the help came from (or an even more ambitious pass to where help is coming from next) are staples of modern offense in the league.
Ja Morant, Luka Doncic and Trae Young are three of the idyllic rim-pressure threats in their own variations.
Morant is the absurd downhill athlete with incredible at-rim pop. Defenses sell out to stop him from even nearing the paint. Doncic (No. 2 in the league in drives per game) breaks down his man with strength, rhythm and angles
Young is a pull-up artist with a type of guile in his movements that forces overplays on the exterior, and he uses it to his benefit, gliding to the paint and utilizing one of the best floaters in the league (also disguised as a lob!) to punish the defense. Young takes the least shots at the rim of the three, but getting there is not an issue in the slightest, and he's worked his game to use his touch and shiftiness to his advantage.
All three are varying levels of passers ranging from very good to preternatural, but the point remains that their differing gifts, along with their honed craft, are the perfect catalysts for destructing defenses.
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What about the guards/ball-handlers who are imperfect though? I'm not sure I've been more interested in such a thought than I have been this season.
Darius Garland, a player whom many draft analysts wondered if he could get to the rim enough, just makes it work. Prolific pull-up shooting, a phenomenal handle and stellar court vision allow him to work around his own at-rim struggles. He gets to the rim and to the paint with regularity, but due to his lack of verticality, finishing there isn't his forte. Drop-offs, dump-offs and well-placed and disguised lobs in tandem with his floater (in the same vein of Young) formulate the ability to set up his fantastic array of lob partners.
That timing aspect &mdash; VERY IMPORTANT.
Part of what makes this work for Garland is how sneaky he is with his interior game. Everything he does is lightning quick, often even taking his bigs by surprise (I swear at least one-third of his turnovers are bobbled passes that shock the recipient). Quickness, pace and timeliness.&nbsp;
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Oh my word, Darius Garland <a href="https://t.co/fYhSjPzfUP">pic.twitter.com/fYhSjPzfUP</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1459617261405327369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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First off, this pass is freakin sick. Second, this is a great (albeit exaggerated) microcosm of what makes Garland so effective: the defense is always guessing. He's always pushing and probing and again, the defense is on its heels as he keeps the pressure on making it look like he could score. If stifled, he's superb at moving the ball, moving himself with quickness and then making himself available for the ball again as soon as possible. He's like a hornet, constantly stinging with an absurd work rate that's so difficult to keep pace with as a defender.
Immanuel Quickley enters stage left
The aforementioned three questions have been asked over and over again this year in regard to Immanuel Quickley and his ability to lead an offense. They're the same questions that were asked when he was drafted.
By definition, Quickley IS a combo guard. He is not Garland, as he lacks the same handle and playmaking ability that made the Cavs' maestro a first time All-Star, but through that same lens, there are some comparisons that can be drawn.
Since the All-Star Break (20 games, Knicks 10-10), Quickley is averaging 15.2 points and 4.2 assists with 1.2 turnovers per game on 61.1% True Shooting in slightly over 26 minutes of play per night. He's bombed away from three, taking 5.1 treys per game hitting at a 39.2% clip; most importantly, it's how he's getting these shots off.
Three-and-a-half of these long-distance tries per game are pull-up threes (shooting 41.4%), forcing defenses to prioritize his jumper and consistently forcing his defender to go over on ball-screens he runs.
One of my favorite and the most encouraging things: He is becoming quite cunning at grifting for fouls (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-defense-of-fouldrawing-a-gift-not-a-grift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a gift</a>), averaging 4.8 trips to the line per game after the break. He's eighth in percentage of points derived from free throws in that time frame, actually ahead of RJ Barrett, who has been putting work in at the line.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/8kr9vr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
He's so good at snaking, using his body to wall off his man and baiting him into contact. He has a real knack for selling fouls while also deserving them if that makes sense, even if it is grifty! This is an awesome development and legitimate way to buoy his offensive game.
Quickley is shooting 45.0% from 4 to 14 feet over that span (30% of his total shots), a large portion of his offense. The <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-immanuel-quickleys-unusual-shot-diet-can-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floater is essential for him</a>. Much like we've seen with Bruce Brown in his ebbs and flows, the floater diet is a tough one; if it's not falling, the defense will adjust accordingly. But, if it is at a high clip, it puts the defense in a quandary. It is just a really hard shot to NOT contest even if it typically has less inherent value than a layup in theory.
Quickley is a good passer, not a great one &mdash; an important distinction. Ideally, he's not your best playmaker on the floor. I would honestly love to see him be more aggressive in some of the reads he makes. He'll make really good quick decisions, but he can be rather safe with the ball at times. He doesn't have the typical downhill burst of a primary ball-handler who will fully break a defense, but the quickness and timing of the passes he does make &mdash; due to the gravity he commands as a pull-up threat out of pick-and-roll &mdash; can allow him to imitate some of those looks.
Since the All-Star Break, Quickley is averaging 8.3 potential assists, accounting for all passes that lead to a shot attempt regardless of a make or miss. That puts him in the same ballpark of Jimmy Butler (8.2), DeMar DeRozan (8.6) and Julius Randle (8.5), all players with a significant usage and substantially higher minutes played than Quickley. That's not to say that he's a better scorer or playmaker, but rather to illustrate that he's doing more than the assists might indicate at face value.
This possession is such a great encapsulation of what Quickly brings offensively.
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The young Knicks who move the ball quickly and with purpose are just joyous Really fun possession <a href="https://t.co/tKXGZb4irJ">pic.twitter.com/tKXGZb4irJ</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1511079654471442434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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RJ Hampton sells out for the Quickley stepback three. Quickley makes a really quick outlet pass to Obi Toppin in the slot and moves himself immediately.
A quick pause: YES. This is so huge; the relocation and constant movement. A great way to offset the lack of other primary skills is to push the tempo &mdash; always moving, always scanning and always relocating after you're out of an action. If you immediately make yourself available after the ball leaves your hands, you can put some added strain on a defense. Simple, but very effective. (This is something Tyrese Haliburton is great at.)
Yes, the initial dent Quickley puts in the defense might be lesser than that of a true primary, but with a good offensive ethos and the principles laid out, we've seen the ability for some really solid offenses to live on continuous advantage creation and maintenance.
Quickley gets far enough in to draw Devin Cannady over in a help scenario before kicking to Barrett for the corner three. I don't have a "for sure" answer, but it feels like if Quickley is able to get another step into the paint with even more of an at-rim/floater sell, perhaps he puts even more of a dent in the defense. I'm nitpicking, but it's also important to note that this is just a harder way of life as an offensive player. If Cannady is actually a wing-sized player guarding Barrett, it's a shot that's much easier to contest.&nbsp;
With Robinson in the dunker spot, Robin Lopez is rather frozen, and on the IQ fake, he immediately seeks out Robinson's body to prevent the lob or box him out on a shot attempt.
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There are subtleties in pacing Quickly can improve upon (he's already shown great signs of growth) that could make him even more impactful. Pairing him with lob partners like Robinson and Jericho Sims makes his floater and the threat of it that much more impactful, as he starts to work on masking his shot and pass to mimic one another. Sims' screening has been very fun to see work in tandem with Quickley as well; he's easily the best screener on the team that isn't IQ.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Knicks' offense scores 5.3 points per 100 possessions more with Quickley on the floor. Yes, on/offs are extremely finicky and New York's awful starting unit plays a huge part in this sizable differential. Yet, that's also part of the point, no?
When IQ is on the floor, the Knicks actively seek more opportunities in transition and push more off of live rebounds. Truly, they just move quicker and with more purpose, something that's been a real issue for this Knicks team. The young guys play with pace, actively relocate, make quick decisions and continue to exploit advantages.
Barrett is the power wing that was promised, currently in the midst of his own breakout with high usage. In some ways, tasking IQ and Barrett with overlapping usage and quasi-primary creation together could be (and has been) a boon. RJ is one of the best in the league at getting to the rim (the finishing deserves its own article), and the pair together can mask some of its offensive flaws/inefficiencies. Both can start sets, both can capitalize upon advantages, and both are still feeling out their own abilities as creators.
Per Cleaning the Glass, lineups with Quickley and Barrett that don't feature Randle are outscoring opponents by 4.8 points per 100 possessions (747 possessions total, a solid sample). This is not intended as a refrendum on Randle; it's just a case in point when looking at who is commanding usage on the court.
Quickley doesn't get to the rim with regularity, but he does things that can emulate lead guard play. It's a harder diet to survive on, but so is *checks notes* everything else the Knicks have tried this season. He's shown enough encouraging signs that he can thrive.
It's been time for the Knicks' front office/Tom Thibodeau/whoever the heck is in charge there to prioritize Quickley and his ability to elevate the offense &mdash; and with hope, that's what they'll do this offseason.
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While Immanuel Quickley might not get to the rim like a traditional point guard, he elicits lead ball-handler traits with regularity.

Immanuel Quickley: Pressuring the rim without getting there

After the Utah Jazz were eliminated by the shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers last June, the rumors swirling around Donovan Mitchell and his potential departure from the team began in earnest.
Following an ugly five-game losing streak earlier this year, the rumors picked up more steam. In late January, NBA analyst <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/is-grayson-allen-a-dirty-player-nba-insiders-weigh-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ric Bucher of FOX Sports reported</a> that the "incessant buzz around the league is that there are those in Mitchell's circle who believe he is too big of a star for Salt Lake City."
The league-wide gossip has only intensified, as the Jazz have imploded over the past three months and descended down the Western Conference standings in the process.&nbsp;
Utah was 26-9 over its first 37 contests this season and trailed the West-leading Suns by just a game on New Year's Day. However, the Jazz are four games below .500 (18-22) over their last 40 games. And things have gone from bad to worse as of late.
Not only have they lost 6 of their past 7 contests, but they've also somehow managed to blow massive leads in back-to-back defeats (bungling a 25-point advantage to the Clippers and a 21-point lead in a loss to the Golden State Warriors). On the season, the Jazz have lost 15 games in which they've held double-digit leads. During this current seven-game stretch, Utah's defense has been non-existent, allowing a whopping 123.2 points per 100 possessions.&nbsp;
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The Jazz currently find themselves sitting in the No. 6 spot out West, just one-and-a-half games ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves, which means Utah could potentially slip into the Play-in Tournament.
The relationship between the star duo of Mitchell three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert has been notoriously rocky in years past, and it appears to be wobbly once again.&nbsp;
Mitchell not sharing the ball with Gobert has become a topic of conversation. On the season, Mitchell has passed the rock to the big man just 151 times, or on average, <a href="https://twitter.com/DustinT_NBA/status/1510492258063163393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less than twice per game</a>.
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Donovan Mitchell's full response at shootaround this morning when he was asked about the number of times he passes to Rudy Gobert per game: <a href="https://t.co/OTez0jURfz">pic.twitter.com/OTez0jURfz</a>
&mdash; Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) <a href="https://twitter.com/andyblarsen/status/1511390020136964102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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After Utah choked away a massive lead to the Clippers last week, Gobert was brutally honest in his postgame presser.
"Nobody hits nobody. We don't get our hands dirty. We never get our hands dirty," <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2022/03/30/triple-team-jazz-lost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gobert told reporters</a>. "We're a very good basketball team, but I get f***ed up every night, and guys are literally beating me up every night, as they should. It's basketball; it's a physical game. But we have to get to the point where we do that to the other team too. But teams don't really expect that from us."
Mitchell was later asked about finger-pointing while the team was struggling.
"That's childish, in my opinion,"&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sltrib.com/sports/jazz/2022/04/01/utah-jazz-vow-not-fall/">Mitchell replied</a>. "If we do that, then we've got some big problems."
Three days later, Utah blew another double-digit fourth-quarter lead in Golden State. "I don't know how many times it's gonna happen," Gobert said afterward. Jazz beat writer <a href="https://theathletic.com/3226333/2022/04/03/jazz-blow-another-big-lead-and-seem-to-have-no-answers-to-some-troubling-questions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tony Jones wrote</a> that the Jazz "play as if they have zero trust in each other, and that's the hard truth."
If the Jazz flame out in the playoffs later this month (they are just 10-17 in the postseason over the last three years), Utah's front office will have some tough decisions to make. And many NBA insiders believe Mitchell may force the organization's hand.&nbsp;
Appearing as a guest on the "The Lowe Post" podcast last Friday, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/schwartz-and-macmahon/id986595124?i=1000555962078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim MacMahon proclaimed</a>:
<blockquote>
The idea that Donovan Mitchell is going to spend his entire career in Utah is absolutely ridiculous. That's one of the things that's staring them in the face this summer. That's also one of the things that has been looming over this franchise all season long. 
</blockquote>
MacMahon added that "other teams have been planning to make a run at Mitchell" for quite some time.
On a podcast in February, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trade-deadline-megapod-part-2-the-losers/id1078713316?i=1000550747046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated</a> also painted a grim picture of the situation in Salt Lake City:
<blockquote>
I think they're in trouble because this thing has run its course, and we know there are some tensions that are in that locker room. And I've been told recently that they might be a little worse than we've even been led to believe. And so, if this doesn't end well this postseason, and there's no reason to think that it will... Those "Donovan Mitchell wants out" rumors are going to be starting, like, as soon as the season is over.
</blockquote>
However, Mitchell signed a five-year, $163 million contract extension in November 2020, which includes a player option worth $37 million for the 2025-26 season. Thus, he is still under contract in Utah for at least three more years.
Despite some ups and downs as of late, Mitchell is undeniably one of the most dynamic and productive young players in the entire league. This season, at the ripe age of 25, he is producing 26.1 points and 4.1 rebounds to go along with career-high averages in assists (5.4), steals (1.5), made three-pointers (3.5) and field goal percentage (45.4%).
Mitchell has already tallied over 8,000 points, 1,500 assists and 1,400 rebounds in his young career (343 games). The only players to exceed those totals in these statistical categories in fewer career contests are LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan, Pete Maravich and Oscar Robertson. That's decent company.
And although the Jazz have stumbled in the playoffs, it's unfair to pin those defeats on Mitchell. He has played some of his best basketball when the spotlight shines brightest. In the 17 postseason games Utah has played over the last two years, Mitchell's averaged a whopping 33.9 points and 4.9 treys per contest. Kevin Durant and Luka Doncic are the only other players averaging more than 30 points per game in the playoffs since 2020.
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So, to make a long story short, the Jazz will only consider trading away their three-time All-Star if he demands to be moved.
Should Mitchell inform Utah he wants out, plenty of pundits predict that New York will be his preferred destination.&nbsp;
There is plenty of connective tissue between Mitchell and the Big Apple. For starters, Mitchell was born and raised in New York. His father, Donovan Mitchell Sr., is a former minor league baseball player who works for the Mets as the club's director of diversity, equity and inclusion. The younger Mitchell spends much of his offseasons in New York and <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1494377515300786176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1494377515300786176%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fwashington%2Fnationals%2Fson-mets-exec-donovan-mitchell-makes-pitch-juan-soto-go-queens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">often tweets about his favorite MLB team</a>.&nbsp;
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The only time we&rsquo;re happy to have a 🕷 in the house. <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spidadmitchell</a> <a href="https://t.co/G4J7Lb2a2F">pic.twitter.com/G4J7Lb2a2F</a>
&mdash; New York Mets (@Mets) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mets/status/1131326274834763776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2019</a></blockquote>

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Mitchell also has a very close relationship with Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, who mentored Mitchell during his days in Utah before joining head coach Tom Thibodeau's staff. Marc Berman of the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/20/knicks-hopes-of-landing-donovan-mitchell-could-hinge-on-assistant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post has reported</a>, "Bryant is a key figure in the Knicks' long-term hopes of Mitchell tiring of playing in one of the NBA's most obscure markets in Salt Lake City." In addition, New York team president Leon Rose served as Mitchell's agent before leaving CAA to join the Knicks' front office.
"Some say it&rsquo;s only a matter of time before he joins former Creative Artists Agency agent and current New York Knicks president Leon Rose," <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/is-grayson-allen-a-dirty-player-nba-insiders-weigh-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ric Bucher wrote</a> earlier this year. He added that an Eastern Conference scout told him: "They're a first-round exit from Donovan being in New York."&nbsp;
While Utah has not lived up to expectations thus far this season, their struggles pale in comparison to the dissatisfaction New Yorkers have dealt with. The Knicks have, once again, failed to advance to the playoffs coming off last season's first-round postseason exit. The franchise has won a grand total of one playoff game over the last nine years. Yes, one.
New York has not been shy about courting superstars in the past. And coming off a disappointing and unsuccessful season, the pressure will be ramped up on Rose and Co. to make a major move. A native New Yorker with All-NBA talent about to enter the heart of his prime seems like an ideal target.
So, while Knicks fans won't be able to cheer for their favorite team in this year's playoffs, you can rest assured they will be rooting very hard for one club in the first round &mdash; whichever team is matched up against the Jazz.&nbsp;
In terms of assets involved in a potential blockbuster, the Knicks have several promising young players on their roster, including RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley (who has been <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-immanuel-quickleys-unusual-shot-diet-can-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">playing at a high level since the All-Star break</a>), as well as Cam Reddish, Quentin Grimes and Obi Toppin. New York also owns six first-round draft picks over the next five years. And if Utah were interested, the Knicks would certainly be willing to send Julius Randle (who struggled this season, but was named to the All-NBA Second Team a year ago) packing in a package deal for Mitchell.
Yet, it's important to note that even if Mitchell demands a trade and wants to relocate to New York &mdash; and whether the Knicks are willing to push all their chips into the middle of the table to bring him home &mdash; the Jazz are going to do what's best for their organization. That means canvassing the league and looking for the best possible offer.
And, make no mistake, several teams will gladly surrender a king's ransom for a young superstar under contract for three more seasons.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer explores the timeline of Donovan Mitchell's frustration in Utah and how it could lead to a change of scenery.

Expect the Knicks to make a real run at Donovan Mitchell this summer

Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-101 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday.
Garland led seven Cavaliers in double figures as Cleveland snapped a two-game losing streak.
Caris LeVert finished with 19 points. Moses Brown and Isaac Okoro each added 16. Brown also had 13 rebounds. Kevin Love had 15 off the bench. Cedi Osman and Lauri Markkanen both added 10 for Cleveland.
&ldquo;We're starting to put something together,&rdquo; Garland said.
Added Love: &ldquo;We're a very good team.&rdquo;
After a four-game winning streak, New York has lost two straight.
Obi Toppin scored a career-high 20 points. Evan Fournier had 19. Immanuel Quickley scored 17 off the bench. RJ Barrett finished with 12, and Alec Burks had 11 for New York.
&ldquo;We lost today so it really doesn't mean anything to me,&rdquo; Toppin said about his career day. &ldquo;We (have to) learn from today and just get better and win these next couple games.&rdquo;
The Cavaliers never trailed in sweeping the regular-season series. Cleveland shot 54.3% from the field (44-for-81) and 44.1% from 3 in the matinee at Madison Square Garden.
&ldquo;We finally made some shots,&rdquo; Garland said.
New York was 31-for-77 from the field (40.3%) and 13-for-30 from 3 (43.3%).
But the Knicks were unable to score a go-ahead basket at any point. And Cleveland took every opportunity to build on its advantage including a 57-second sequence in the third quarter.
Barrett made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 80-74. The Cavaliers responded with an Okoro tip-in, an Okoro 3, and a spectacular two-handed dunk from Brown to push the lead to 13.
The spurt increased into an 22-11 quarter-ending run, allowing Cleveland to enter the fourth with an 102-87 advantage.
&ldquo;It was definitely something we talked about within the huddle in that second half,&rdquo; Love said of the Cavaliers ability to put the game away. &ldquo;When we got up we said we (didn't have to) stop and let's continue to make the right play; play for each other.&rdquo;
Osman&rsquo;s four-point play with 9:28 left put the game away.
&ldquo;They have a lot of guys who can stretch the floor,&rdquo; said Quickley. &ldquo;We didn't play our best.&rdquo;
Cleveland rookie Evan Mobley missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: With slightly more than a week remaining in the regular season, the Cavaliers are in the midst of a playoff race. Entering the day, Cleveland was seventh in the East which places them amongst the teams in the play-in mix. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obviously a step forward for us,&rdquo; Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before the game.
&ldquo;No matter what team has been built (and) how long they&rsquo;ve sustained success, they&rsquo;ve had to go through this process and they&rsquo;ve gone through the process of being heartbroken and learning through disappointment.&rdquo;
When asked specifically how he thought his team was handling being in a playoff push, Bickerstaff said he believed they were &ldquo;handling it well.&rdquo;
Knicks: New York star forward Julius Randle missed the game with an injured quadriceps, and coach Tom Thibodeau said before the game it is &ldquo;most likely he will be out the rest of the way.&rdquo; Randle, 27, averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 72 games this season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had this nagging thing going on for awhile,&rdquo; he said.
Thibodeau said Randle will not travel with the team to Orlando for Sunday&rsquo;s game against the Magic. Following Sunday, New York will have three games left in what has been a disappointing season.
&ldquo;Most likely where we are, just let him get healthy and go from there,&rdquo; Thibodeau said.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: host Philadelphia on Sunday.
Knicks: visit Orlando on Sunday.

Darius Garland had 24 points and 13 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 119-101 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Darius Garland leads Cavaliers to 119-101 win over Knicks

The lone late game on Tuesday night featured Paul George returning triumphantly to lead the Los Angeles Clippers through a nationally-televised meltdown from the Utah Jazz. Naturally, the two ensuing talking points centered on George's 34-point outing and Donovan Mitchell's <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/donovan-mitchell-voices-frustration-with-jazzs-loss-to-clippers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">postgame quotes</a> about Utah's pattern of spring failures.
But a third name emerged from Los Angeles' win. Isaiah Hartenstein tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists to help fuel the comeback win and garnered several "who's-this-guy, he's-good" types of tweets from casual fans throughout the night. News flash: Hartenstein has been balling for the ragtag Clippers all season and has taken his game to another level over the last month.
The 23-year-old is averaging 10.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 21.3 minutes per game since the All-Star break. It hasn't always equated to winning &mdash; Los Angeles is 7-8 during that time &mdash; but Hartenstein has emerged as a multifaceted contributor and one of the best backup centers in the league.
Let's start with the passing, which I can define with one word: crisp.
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This Isaiah Hartenstein no-look was filthyyyy <a href="https://t.co/oQWxdTuAer">pic.twitter.com/oQWxdTuAer</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1509231181899960322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a>
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Hartenstein rifles basketballs to cutters. The above clip is nuts, but he does this pretty regularly. Hartenstein can operate as a QB1 at the top of the arc, out of the post or at the elbow. In fact, he sports a 22.2% assist rate from the elbow, good for third among the 20 players with at least 200 elbow touches this season.
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Then, he turns around and displays some impressive processing speed when he rolls or cuts. Hartenstein has great hands and solid body control for a seven-foot center and, coupled with his vision, can find passing lanes many bigs might not see.
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Hartenstein has an elite 18.5% assist rate that ranks in the 92nd percentile among all bigs this season. Since the All-Star break, that has soared up to 24.3%. And he maximizes his passing opportunities at some of the highest big-man levels in the league.&nbsp;
According to NBA Stats/Second Spectrum, Hartenstein ranks sixth among all centers (min. 40 games) with an 11.2% adjusted assist-to-pass ratio in 2021-22, behind only Nikola Jokic (13.2%), Mason Plumlee (11.8%), Alperen Sengun (11.7%), Steven Adams (11.6%) and Karl-Anthony Towns (11.5%). This means that 11.2% of Hartenstein's total passes result in points or free throws for the recipient. He is second in adjusted assist-to-pass ratio (13.4%) since the break, behind only Jokic (13.8%).&nbsp;
We are talking about, for my money, one of the five best passing bigs in the NBA.
Hartenstein's court vision separates him from most centers. He's also a force around the basket as a play-finisher. Hartenstein has punched home 83% of his attempts at the rim post-All-Star break and 74% on the year, per Cleaning the Glass.&nbsp;
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With his size and mobility, Hartenstein possesses some advantages inside. He has yet to expand his game consistently beyond the arc or even in the mid-range. However &mdash; and for those of you who have read the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-immanuel-quickleys-unusual-shot-diet-can-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">past</a> <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-bruce-brown-is-an-enigma-in-all-the-right-ways" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two</a> notebooks, I swear this is not supposed to be a trend &mdash; Hartenstein is lighting up the wider paint with floaters and hook shots.
Cleaning the Glass designates the zone between four feet and the free throw line as the "short mid-range." Hartenstein attempts 37% of his shots in that zone (96th percentile among centers) and is hitting on 53% of them (88th percentile). He methodically waits to strike at the right opportunities. Look at how Hartenstein circles up to an open shot on back-to-back possessions against the Jazz defense.
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According to InStat Scouting, Hartenstein has canned an impressive 57.3% of his 103 floaters. Many of them look like this jumping lefty push-floater seen above. He has an impeccable sense of timing for when to circle up, and can then either use this shot or explode to the basket.&nbsp;
Together, Hartenstein's bag of tricks as a passer and interior scorer make him an offensive weapon even without a viable jumper. Then on defense, he blocks shots and contests the rim with proficiency.
BBall Index says that when Hartenstein is on the floor, he contests more than 47% of the opponents' shots at the rim. More than 22% of his contests become blocks; that's in the 81st percentile among all players at his position. His 10.8 rim contests per 75 possessions are in the 99th percentile among bigs.
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Biggest differential between expected and actual FG% within 6 feet of the rim (5 or more FGA defended per game) Jarrett Allen -14.7% Jaren Jackson Jr -14.5% Rudy Gobert -12.2% Wendell Carter Jr -11.4% Isaiah Hartenstein -11.3% Evan Mobley -11% Isaiah Stewart -10.8% Giannis -10.8%
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1506702830903644168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Hartenstein's block rate (3.4%) and steal rate (1.9%) are in the 93rd and 91st big-man percentiles, respectively, per Cleaning the Glass. Only six other rotation players have cleared even 2.0% and 1.5% this season, nevermind approaching Hartenstein's rates.
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Against other bigs and larger forwards, Hartenstein appears mobile. He absorbs contact with his 250-pound frame and stays engaged with his hands. The discipline isn't perfect; Hartenstein has a 5.7% foul rate, in the 14th percentile for big men. But it's a fair trade with how he can affect shots inside.
Now, this isn't to say Hartenstein is an All-Defensive candidate. The Clippers big man typically comes off the bench and faces opponents with less of an offensive role. He was fairly helpless in a recent matchup against Joel Embiid &mdash; though to be fair, aren't we all?
Hartenstein also really struggles to defend guards in space. The stats don't paint him as an overt negative, but Utah in particular attacked him in switches and beat him off the dribble. You'll see two such examples within this reel:
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I would certainly label Hartenstein an "active" defender, though his size and limited foot speed hinder him in aspects of today's NBA. He's not an anchor, but there are enough valuable tools that teams can integrate into the right defensive cast.&nbsp;
Hartenstein is making just $1.73 million on his one-year contract with the Clippers. That should skyrocket this summer when he signs his next deal as a free agent. At base level, Hartenstein is a connector, finisher and bruiser. But if unlocked, he could be a secondary orchestrator for an offense and a valuable rim-protector on defense &mdash; an archetype modern teams covet.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>If you haven't seen it yet, watch this video:</li>
</ul>
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The Lakers social media team got some explaining to do 😂 <a href="https://t.co/sB5pNxXAFW">pic.twitter.com/sB5pNxXAFW</a>
&mdash; KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) <a href="https://twitter.com/KOT4Q/status/1508267758831779849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Todd Whitehead of Synergy posted the NBA's leaders in handoff assists. As the NBA MVP race comes down to the wire, there was some Twitter discussion about if certain players' assist totals are padded by handoffs. So take a look at this chart, and specficially look at the rate stat:</li>
</ul>
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NBA handoff assist leaders. <a href="https://t.co/bakrC7i4MN">pic.twitter.com/bakrC7i4MN</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1509179893094895621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>While I was writing this article, I kept noticing Alperen Sengun's name pop up among passing leaders. It's quite amazing how he is impacting the game as a rookie.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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I&rsquo;m doing a piece on a different passing big but it should be noted how some of the numbers support Alperen Sengun as an awesome passer His 11.7% Adj. AST/Pass ratio is second among all centers only behind Jokic. That means 11.7% of his passes become assists or free throws
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1509274412511547401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Isaiah Hartenstein has emerged as a high-end passing center, finisher and rim-protector with the Los Angeles Clippers.

NBA Stats Notebook: Isaiah Hartenstein is the Clippers' secret weapon

We have reached the final installment of this season's NBA Sour Rankings and it's been a wild ride.
Of the 30 NBA teams, 28 appeared on the list at some points in the season. I inversed each ranking and turned it into a point value to tally up the most prominent members. The Los Angeles Lakers (134 points), Sacramento Kings (117), New York Knicks (113) and Portland Trail Blazers (99) were the highest point-getters, and continuously peppered the rankings since they each disappointed at consistent levels throughout the year.
Who never touched the Sour Rankings? The San Antonio Spurs and Orlando Magic. I bet you didn't expect them. Those squads had the combination of extremely low expectations and frequent flashes from young talent. Despite those franchises never being on top of the NBA sphere, I never felt frustrated by by either team because there was always a silver lining after every game.
So we arrive at the final ranking with several playoff contenders sputtering to the finish.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that are so common throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they are updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst outlooks. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going.
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;The Dallas Mavericks have climbed up to fourth in the Western Conference standings and flipped to home-court advantage against the Utah Jazz, who they'll likely play in the postseason. The Chicago Bulls have somewhat righted the ship and maintain a hold on fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks may be out of the playoff picture, but they've suddenly been hit with a wave of developmental flashes from the young core. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-immanuel-quickleys-unusual-shot-diet-can-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Immanuel Quickley leads the way</a>.&nbsp;
10. Boston Celtics (47-28)
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ESPN Sources: Celtics C Robert Williams has suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee and will minimally miss several weeks. Further evaluation today will help provide a timetable. Boston moved into first-place Sunday, and Williams has been immense part of NBA&rsquo;s best defense.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1508469824195899398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Man... <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-celtics-center-robert-williams-feared-to-have-torn-meniscus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that is pain</a>. What else is there to say?
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Brooklyn Nets (39-36)
Brooklyn boasts the league's fourth-ranked offense over the past two weeks, and that was before the New York City vaccination policies changed, allowing Kyrie Irving to play in home games. The Nets can end their season with some positive momentum, as they face just three more teams at .500 or better.
One of those teams is the Atlanta Hawks, who Brooklyn is currently slotted to play in the Play-In bracket. The race for the eighth seed is dead even between the Nets and Charlotte Hornets, and that's a battle within a battle to get at least two extra shots at a playoff spot. Should the Nets lose, do they want to face a dominant Trae Young with their not-so-dominant defense?
(Last week: 8)
8. Golden State Warriors (48-27)
The Warriors have lost 5 of their last 6 games and just took a 123-115 defeat against the Wizards. They are 6-10 since the All-Star break, and while those losses have come with a mix of injured absences involving Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, it's concerning that the rest of the cast can't keep things together &mdash; even against bad teams. Golden State is currently two games up on the Mavericks for the third seed, but only four games separate the team from the sixth-place Denver Nuggets. This is a sneaky-close middle tier with the Warriors holding little momentum.
(Last week: 10)
7. Atlanta Hawks (37-37)
As mentioned, the Hawks face a potential playoff preview with the Nets. But they'll likely have to meet both Brooklyn and Charlotte in some order in the postseason. Atlanta went 2-2 against the Hornets in the regular season, and is 0-2 vs. the Nets prior to this coming Saturday's matchup. That doesn't inspire much confidence that the Hawks, as the No. 10 seed, can storm through both to the playoffs.
(Last week: 7)
6. Utah Jazz (45-30)
Utah received a quality playoff test this past week with games against the Nets, Celtics, Hornets and Mavericks. The Jazz lost all four games, though they missed Gobert. Their perennially stalwart defense is down to 20th over the past two weeks, and against the Celtics in particular, they couldn't seem to contain anyone. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 26.4 points per game since the All-Star break, but even that isn't mattering when the defense doesn't show up beyond Gobert.
(Last week: Unranked)
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5. Miami Heat (47-28)
Bryan Fonseca wrote a great piece this past week about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-miami-heats-blow-up-was-necessary-but-now-the-rest-is-up-to-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">that Heat meltdown on Wednesday</a> against the Warriors. His message was that these types of altercations don't have to define the rest of the season. But the dust-up certainly is right now, as the Heat have lost their grip on the East's top spot. They followed up the defeat with two more bad losses to the Knicks and Nets.
Miami still has conference powers in Boston, Chicago and Toronto left on the schedule. With the top four seeds separate by half a game, the Heat could easily plummet to the bottom of the tier.
(Last week: Unranked)
4. Washington Wizards (32-42)
Let's talk about Corey Kispert! The No. 15 pick flailed, as most rookies do, to open his NBA career. But Kispert has meaningfully caught fire in recent weeks. The 23-year-old sharpshooter is drilling 42.4% of his three-pointers in March. He just hit six triples on his way to a career-high 25 points in the team's aforementioned win over the Warriors. Washington hasn't had too much to get excited about in these last two weeks, so at least Kispert is helping send the young core into the summer on a high note.
(Last week: 2)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (27-47)
According to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jerami-grant-trade-rumors-portland-is-still-the-frontrunner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James L. Edwards III of&nbsp;The Athletic</a>, the Trail Blazers are still the front-runner to trade for Jerami Grant this offseason. "I think a lottery pick would be the kind of sweetener that would [get a deal done]," Edwards told HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.
I just don't understand how a team so badly in need of a reset can cash in what will likely be its highest draft pick in a decade to go make a last-ditch attempt at keeping the current group relevant. Portland does not have a playoff-caliber roster regardless of Damian Lillard's health. Trading away several key future pieces for Jerami Grant will not change this. I'm simply against this move for the franchise's future.
(Last week: 4)
2. Los Angeles Lakers (31-43)
Here we go!
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WHAT A COMEBACK 😱 The Pelicans rally from a 23-point deficit to take down the Lakers in NoLa! <a href="https://t.co/MmFRQr8n2l">pic.twitter.com/MmFRQr8n2l</a>
&mdash; NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1508254421804716033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The Lakers are on a two-game skid and the Spurs are on a three-game win streak. Los Angeles has eight games to try and hold off San Antonio and at least survive to reach the postseason. Over the past two weeks, in which the Lakers have gone 2-5, they have the league's ninth-ranked offense and 27th-ranked defense. Their last eight games include the Mavericks, Jazz, Pelicans, Suns, Warriors, Thunder and Nuggets (twice).
Whew, this is not going to be easy!
(Last week: 1)
1. Sacramento Kings (27-48)
The Kings shut down Richaun Holmes for the season due to "personal reasons" and did not specify why. Robin Epley of the <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article259668860.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sacramento Bee found out</a>: Holmes is facing serious domestic violence allegations amid an ongoing custody battle.
Obviously this is an ongoing process with no conclusion yet. But Epley makes the point painfully clear in her article.
"I&rsquo;m not convicting Richaun Holmes ahead of his court date. It does, however, appear that the Kings were focused on covering up a serious situation involving allegations of domestic violence by one of their players. When I contacted the team this week, they refused to comment on the serious charges facing their player, or say anything beyond the cryptic announcement of Holmes&rsquo; departure," she writes.
Epley goes more into some important statistics surrounding domestic violence cases in the U.S. and in the NBA. I seriously implore you to read them if you haven't yet. But the point is: This is yet again another case being swept under the rug by the league and its franchises.
(Last week: 3)
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Ethan Fuller ranks the most frustrating NBA teams in the last Sour Rankings of the season.

NBA Sour Rankings: The final countdown

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Just when it looked as if the Miami Heat were going to open a little bit of breathing room atop the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks had other ideas.
And a stunning rally might set the stage for some down-the-stretch chaos.
Immanuel Quickley scored 20 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, leading a huge comeback that carried the Knicks past the reeling Heat, 111-103 on Friday night.
RJ Barrett scored 18 points for the Knicks, who trailed by 17 points with 11 minutes left before closing on a 38-13 run and handing Miami a third consecutive loss &mdash; all of them against teams who were missing top players.
&ldquo;These guys have been great," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;They've been practicing well, they're playing winning basketball and we just want to keep getting better."
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 30 points. Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo each added 17 for Miami, which was again without Tyler Herro and saw its East lead trimmed to a half-game over idle Milwaukee.
New York turned 18 offensive rebounds into 28 second-chance points.
&ldquo;A lot of bad bounces, in my opinion," Adebayo said. &ldquo;Collectively, just got to get in the trenches again, look at film and bounce back."
Markieff Morris opened the fourth quarter with a basket for Miami that gave the Heat a 90-73 lead &mdash; their largest of the night.
Things changed quickly. Or Quickley, to be precise.
Quickley scored eight points in 58 seconds &mdash; two 3-pointers sandwiched around two free throws &mdash; to get the lead right back down to single digits, and the Knicks cranked up the defense. Miami missed 11 of its next 12 shots, the Knicks getting stop after stop and chipping away at what was left of the lead.
Obi Toppin added 15 points for New York, which is five games behind the final play-in tournament spot with eight games remaining.
&ldquo;Every day, we just try to get better," Quickley said.
The approach worked Friday.
Quickley hit a short jumper to tie the game, Quentin Grimes made a 3-pointer on the next possession and the Knicks &mdash; to the delight of plenty of New York faithful who always make their way to Knicks games in Miami &mdash; had come all the way back to grab the lead.
The Heat lost to Philadelphia on Monday night, even though the 76ers weren&rsquo;t playing Joel Embiid or James Harden. They lost to Golden State on Wednesday night, with the Warriors without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
And this loss to the Knicks came with plenty of New York players sidelined, most notably Julius Randle. It leaves four teams in the East &mdash; Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Boston &mdash; all with either 27 or 28 losses, meaning the No. 1 seed is in play for all those clubs.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Randle missed his third consecutive game with a sore right quadriceps tendon. &ldquo;Julius just needs a little more time,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. ... It was the fourth-largest comeback of the season for New York. The Knicks rallied from 20 down against Sacramento on March 7, 21 down against Milwaukee on Nov. 5 and 25 down against Boston on Jan. 6.
Heat: Butler got his 1,000th assist in a Miami uniform, the 14th player to reach the milestone. Only Tim Hardaway, Sherman Douglas and LeBron James did it faster than Butler, who got there in his 161st game with the club. ... Adebayo has now made at least 50% of his shots in nine consecutive games, one away from matching his single-season career best streak.
UNHAPPY DAY
Lowry turned 36 on Friday. He&rsquo;s now 0-6 on his birthdays &mdash; five of those losses in the NBA, the other a 67-66 loss by Villanova to North Carolina in the 2005 NCAA tournament at Syracuse&rsquo;s Carrier Dome, when his 3-pointer in the final seconds wasn&rsquo;t enough to save the Wildcats.
THE RIVALRY
Miami and New York have met 130 times in regular-season play &mdash; and the Knicks kept the all-time lead, which is now 66-64. The Heat were bidding for their eighth sweep of the Knicks and the second such instance of it happening in back-to-back years, after doing it in 2004-05 and 2005-06 as well.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Visit Detroit on Sunday.
Heat: Host Brooklyn on Saturday.

Immanuel Quickley scored 23 points leading a huge comeback that carried the Knicks past the reeling Heat, 111-103.

Knicks close on 38-13 run, stun reeling Heat 111-103

NBA shot charts are a bit like handprints.
Each player's shot chart has its own quirks, but for many examples, if you know the player, you can generally guess the outline of the chart when you look it up. Luka Doncic's heatmap will have a heavy dose of above-the-break threes and paint shots. Kevin Durant has two arcs around the three-point line and the elbows. P.J. Tucker is confined almost entirely to the corners, and Robert Williams III sticks to the restricted area.&nbsp;
Shot charts can also make you wonder. That happened for me this week when I checked in on Immanuel Quickley, who has surged in recent weeks even as the New York Knicks continue their bumpy season. Quickley is posting 14.4 points per game since the All-Star break and shooting 41.7% from long range with an eye-popping 64.2% True Shooting percentage. Here's how he's doing it (via Cleaning the Glass):
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/img_7134_lg.jpg" alt="" width="475" height="434" />
Rim pressure has been a question mark for Quickley dating back to his college days at Kentucky. He maneuvers into the paint with relative comfort &mdash; but look at the gap at the rim. The second-year guard rarely gets all the way to the hoop despite his length and apparent positioning. He has attempted just 56 shots within 4 feet of the basket this season, but has tried 137 shots in CTG's "short mid-range" zone (between 4 feet and the free-throw line).&nbsp;
This puts Quickley in very interesting company. He one of eight NBA players (min. 800 minutes) to attempt less than 15% of his shots at the rim, but more than 20% of his shots in the short mid-range, according to Cleaning the Glass (scroll right on mobile to view full table):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Player</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">% of FGA at rim</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">% of FGA at short-mid</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">FG% at rim</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">FG% at short-mid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Chris Paul</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">5%&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">33%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">64%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">53%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Marcus Morris</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">9%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">28%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">56%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">48%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Immanuel Quickley</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">12%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">25%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">57%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">42%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Mike Conley</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">14%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">33%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">52%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">43%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Kevin Durant</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">14%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">35%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">75%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">52%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Tyus Jones</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">14%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">42%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">62%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">48%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Khris Middleton</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">15%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">25%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">65%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">44%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 18.1409%;">Devin Booker</td>
<td style="width: 17.0729%;">15%</td>
<td style="width: 22.5467%;">28%</td>
<td style="width: 14.4026%;">66%</td>
<td style="width: 18.5414%;">43%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
From a pure math perspective, it feels like these shot diets are inefficient. All eight see their shooting clips decrease with this slight movement away from the basket, and they post much better at-rim rates even while they're not elite finishers (except Durant). And unlike the whole mid-range vs. three-point discourse, there's no change in point value at stake.
Yet, Durant, Booker and Middleton are some of the best bucket-getters in the NBA. Paul and Conley have carved up opposing defenses for over a decade. Underwhelming rim pressure is clearly not a death sentence for scorers as long as they can maximize their chances. Quickley is starting to do that.
Since the All-Star break, the 22-year-old is hitting on 62% of his attempts at the rim and 49% of his short-mid-range shots without major changes in frequency. He's shooting 54.3% on drives to the basket, a respectable 15th out of 72 players with at least three driving shot attempts per game.
What's helping him is the almighty Immanuel Quickley Floater that he has practically trademarked.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
More pistol action, here we see that RJ/IQ chemistry. When RJ is the primary initiator IQ is able to revert to his more natural role; secondary creator/spacer. Look at the attention RJ draws. IQ pumps his way past a Danny Green close-out to set up his floater. Scope the Obi cut. <a href="https://t.co/V3c0ImA0h6">pic.twitter.com/V3c0ImA0h6</a>
&mdash; The Strickland (@TheStrickland) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheStrickland/status/1499437563785920517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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An effective floater is simply a deadly weapon in today's pick-and-roll-heavy game. If guards beat a switch or aggressive screen coverage, they have the floater at their disposal before help can arrive. The threat of a running shot can freeze roll-man defenders and open up lobs.&nbsp;
Quickley is knocking down 45.8% of his 131 floaters this season, according to NBA Stats, and is up to 57.6% post-All-Star break. Compare that to Trae Young (46.0% of 335 attempts in 2021-22), perhaps the most devastating floater assassin in the league. This shot helps Quickley compensate for a lack of downhill speed and strength.&nbsp;
The floater also points toward another high-IQ (heyo!) trait: foul-drawing. Quickley has become elite with this, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-defense-of-fouldrawing-a-gift-not-a-grift" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as Nekias Duncan detailed</a>, that's a good thing. He's been hacked on a whopping 19.9% of his shots coming out of the break per Cleaning the Glass &mdash; more than any other combo guard in the NBA. About half of those drawn fouls have come in the short-mid-range zones.
On the season, his 10.3% drawn-shooting-foul rate is in the 85th percentile at his position. It pays off; Quickley is canning 90.6% of his free throws.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Immanuel Quickley has been studying film on Trae Young, Steph Curry, and Chris Paul to help strategically get calls: "I'm not consciously trying, but if I see someone out of position, I try to get 'em" <a href="https://t.co/8NdSYpM2sO">pic.twitter.com/8NdSYpM2sO</a>
&mdash; Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1505026547434020867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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(Darth Sidious cackle)
Floaters and fouls don't mean Quickley is becoming the next Trae. He still has to improve his reads when he's in the paint, and attack instead of leaning on the floater as a crutch. But there's a blueprint here, and his blistering perimeter shooting only crescendos the excitement.
Much of the positivity surrounding Quickley's offensive fit was dampened earlier this season by his long-range slump. He shoulders a heavy load of pull-up attempts; over 30.7% of his total shots are pull-up threes. After some time off, Quickley has returned to a heat wave (scroll right to view full table):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Season Segment</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Pull-up 3P Freq.</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Pull-up FG%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Above-the-break Freq.</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Above-the-break 3P%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Catch-Shoot 3PT Freq.&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 12.4388%;">Catch-Shoot 3P%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Pre-All-Star</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">36.6%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">31.9%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">51.0%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">32.5%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">21.4%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4388%;">33.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">Post-All-Star</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">30.7%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">43.6%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">44.1%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">41.1%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4305%;">16.5%</td>
<td style="width: 12.4388%;">38.1%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Quickley is clearly locked in from beyond the arc, and those slight decreases in three-point frequency correspond to an approximate 10% rise in shot frequency within 10 feet of the basket. It's still not all the way at the rim, but it is more IQ Floater territory. Quickley has a history of shooting proficiency through various levels of his basketball career. Though I won't bank on him being one of the best pull-up threats in the game, I do think this is a sign of growth versus a flash in the pan.
Before we wrap this up, I'd like to highlight a great thread from Ben Ritholtz at Knicks Film School:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🎞🏀Knicks Film Thread🏀🎞 Featuring analysis by <a href="https://twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BenRitholtzNBA</a>. Todays Lesson: Quick in the Paint Tracking IQs progress through the lens of his last 6 games. Roll the Tape! 1/12) The IQ from last year had one way to access the paint: PNR ➡️ get defender on back ➡️ floater. <a href="https://t.co/MEOAzTDRMO">pic.twitter.com/MEOAzTDRMO</a>
&mdash; Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSkool) <a href="https://twitter.com/KnickFilmSkool/status/1506141343172767744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I recommend you watch all of the clips, but to summarize, Ritholtz is pointing out how Quickley is slowly improving his overall paint presence and outgrowing the reliance on the floater. It may be Quickley's go-to, but it can't be the standalone in his bag. Quickley has seriously fleshed out his handle, and can change direction at better speeds to get to his shot, catch a defender for a foul or create a lane. And I'm not even touching on the facilitation chops, which have flashed serious promise as Quickley continues to assume more on-ball responsibilities.
Quickley will regress at least slightly from his current scorching three-point rates. Would it be nice if he had a more forceful presence at the rim and a consistent mid-range jumper? Definitely. The point is his current shot diet &mdash; floaters, free throws and far-away threes &mdash; can be the foundation for a high-level scorer. As Quickley develops, those pillars should open up new ways for him to impact the Knicks' offense.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>How are the league's best offenses maximizing efficiency? Daniel Bratulic mapped out the top eight teams' playtype data. Transition and spot-up points seem to be popular:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
In the latest episode of <a href="https://twitter.com/AthleticNBAShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AthleticNBAShow</a>'s Nerder She Wrote, folks mentioned that the top teams are playing in a very diverse way. I tried to capture that through some radar charts displaying their preferences based on the play type. <a href="https://t.co/4SsJ6vZgRr">pic.twitter.com/4SsJ6vZgRr</a>
&mdash; Daniel Bratulić (@daniel_bratulic) <a href="https://twitter.com/daniel_bratulic/status/1506006295354171393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>SIS Hoops is back at it with another great informational table. Kevin Durant and DeMar DeRozan are taking full advantage of their green lights:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Some of the most confident players in the league, here&rsquo;s who has the greenest lights when it comes to getting shots off despite heavy defense early in the shot-clock: <a href="https://t.co/5U44nidVAJ">pic.twitter.com/5U44nidVAJ</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1506683542905962502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<ul>
<li>Going back to the leaders in driving FG% since the All-Star break &mdash; how about this top three: Jordan Poole (68.0%), Kevin Durant (67.3%) and Josh Hart (63.0%).&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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Immanuel Quickley is averaging 14.4 points per game with a 64.2% True Shooting clip since the All-Star break.

NBA Stats Notebook: Immanuel Quickley's unusual shot diet can work

Trae Young had 45 points and eight assists in his first game at Madison Square Garden since last season's playoffs, leading a late surge that gave the Atlanta Hawks a 117-111 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
Picking up right where he left off last spring, Young made seven 3-pointers, including one that tied the game at 105 with 2:54 to play. He then set up Bogdan Bogdanovic for a go-ahead 3 and followed another by De'Andre Hunter by leaving Taj Gibson behind off the dribble and knocking down a jumper to cap an 11-0 spurt and make it 113-105 with 1:04 left.
Bogdanovic added a season-high 32 points for the Hawks, who dropped the Knicks six games behind them for 10th place in the Eastern Conference, the final spot in the play-in field.
RJ Barrett had 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 30-42 to clinch their eighth losing season in the last nine. The only winning record was when they went 41-31 last season to earn the No. 4 seed in the East.
The Hawks then beat them in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Young was the star in his first postseason series, ignoring the profane taunts from fans and getting the last word when he bowed to the crowd from near midcourt late in Game 5.
Young missed the return trip when he was sidelined for the Christmas game because of the NBA&rsquo;s health and safety protocols. Fans booed him every time he touched the ball early Tuesday, though that didn&rsquo;t last.
Alec Burks had 21 points for the Knicks, who played without Julius Randle because of a sore right quadriceps tendon. They led by 10 early in the fourth, but the game changed when Young re-entered with 7:45 remaining.
The Knicks led 34-30 after one, a lead that would have been six if not for Bogdanovic taking the ball out after Barrett's basket with 0.6 seconds left and <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1506422037480419336?s=20&amp;t=WiDja1qbxTcEeO-xDCYEeg">flinging it the length of the court to Young</a>, who caught and tossed it in all in one motion.
New York extended it to 12 in the second before the Hawks surged ahead by nine and took a 64-58 lead into halftime. Bogdanovic had 15 points and Young 13 in the second quarter, combining for four more points than the Knicks scored.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Bogdanovic had been questionable to play because of a bruised right quadriceps. ... Though they won the four that mattered most last spring, the Hawks had lost six straight regular-season matchups with the Knicks.
Knicks: Coach Tom Thibodeau said Randle has been dealing with soreness that hasn't gone away and that rest was probably the only thing that would help. He said the forward was day-to-day. ... Thibodeau said Derrick Rose, recovering from a procedure to address a skin infection on his surgically repaired right ankle, was doing a little bit more work but still not practicing yet. ... Immanuel Quickley scored 17 points.
PAY UP
Randle was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-knicks-utah-jazz-nba-sports-rudy-gobert-7fe0913910827edda9bc39abb023fede">fined $40,000 by the NBA</a> for directing hostile language at a referee after the Knicks' loss to Utah on Sunday, when he also shoved Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Randle has been fined four times for a total of $130,000 this season.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re human, there&rsquo;s going to be emotions involved in it,&rdquo; Thibodeau said regarding Randle's outbursts, &ldquo;but we have to make sure we&rsquo;re controlling our emotions.&rdquo;
SUPPORTING SCHOOLS
The Knicks hosted HBCU Night, which included Howard University's Air Force ROTC taking part in the pregame festivities and the Delaware State marching band performing at halftime. The NBA and National Basketball Players Association, led by past president Chris Paul, have made supporting the schools a priority.
&ldquo;My daughter is a graduate of Howard University, so they&rsquo;re great universities and for the NBA and our players to bring attention to those universities, to try to get more support to those universities, I think is very important,&rdquo; Hawks coach Nate McMillan said.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Visit Detroit on Wednesday.
Knicks: Visit Charlotte on Wednesday.

Trae Young had 45 points and 8 assists in his first game at Madison Square Garden since last season's playoffs.

Trae Young scores 45 in return to MSG, Hawks beat Knicks 117-111

Most NBA teams have approximately 10-12 games left on the regular season calendar. It's all about the playoff races, and as we hit the home stretch, three are worth monitoring.&nbsp;
The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets are tied for sixth place in the Western Conference, with Dallas just above them by 1.5 games. Whoever loses out on this race gets the unfortunate ticket to the play-in tournament with three other teams who simply don't measure up. But just down the standings is a tie between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers for ninth. Have the Lakers really fallen this far, and could they fall even further?
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors have jockeyed for the sixth seed in the East, but the weary Chicago Bulls have sagged into the battle as well. But Brooklyn, Charlotte and Atlanta can at least feel safe in their play-in chances since no one else appears to want a postseason spot.&nbsp;
As the tension increases, several of these playoff tightrope acts appear in this week's rankings.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that are so common throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they are updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst outlooks. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going.
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;Charlotte currently rides a four-game winning streak and has moved into ninth in the East standings with a real chance at overtaking Brooklyn for eighth place. Cleveland, despite some injury woes, maintains its hold on sixth place and could even jump the struggling Bulls.
Though Houston is among the NBA's bottom-feeders, the Rockets continue to find promise in its young core, led this week by Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and KJ Martin.
10. Golden State Warriors (47-24)
Just as Draymond Green makes his return, Stephen Curry goes down with a foot injury. Curry feels confident that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/warriors-curry-expects-to-return-by-start-of-playoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he'll be back to start the playoffs.</a> But the Warriors remain in a tight seeding race with Memphis and Utah, and will now have to sort out the West hierarchy without their centerpiece. Seeding is critical in determining when Golden State matches up against the almighty Suns and if they could catch a play-in team (by being a No. 2 seed) versus a rested playoff squad.&nbsp;
(Last week: 10)
9. Chicago Bulls (41-29)
Chicago's offense is in a state. The Bulls wield the 26th-ranked offense in the NBA since the All-Star break and have gone 3-8 out of the pause. Their halfcourt offense is ranked seventh on the season per Cleaning the Glass, but has dropped to 21st since the break and is averaging just 93.4 points per 100 possessions.
Chicago is at its healthiest in a long time with only Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams sidelined. The Bulls need to get the offense back on track before Cleveland and Toronto shoot past them in the East standings.
(Last week: Unranked)
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8. Brooklyn Nets (37-34)
Kyrie Irving, with everything that surrounds his persona and playing status, is the most electric player in basketball right now. I mean, the man is averaging 37.8 points per game since the All-Star break while shooting 55.3% on 9.4 three-point attempts per game. He dropped 60 on the Orlando Magic this past week... and then scored a combined zero points in the next two games because of his playing status.
Could Irving haved turned the tide in a narrow 113-111 home loss to Dallas? I'm guessing so. Is this a preview of how the Nets' postseason could be affected by his own actions? I think so.
(Last week: 6)
7. Atlanta Hawks (35-36)
So Atlanta is under .500 and has been hovering there for several weeks now. I was listening to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mailbag-madness/id1547857052?i=1000554467191" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Friday's episode of The Dunker Spot</a>, and Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. forced me to hit the reality-check button on the Hawks.
Atlanta is 7-6 since the All-Star break and has leveled out with an offense and defense that fall around league average in efficiency over the past two weeks. John Collins is now out indefinitely with a finger injury, depriving Trae Young of his chief running mate. The Hawks have two rotation players over age-30 (Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams) and underwent little roster change in the offseason or at the trade deadline. Yet they have undoubtedly regressed since their breakout Eastern Conference Finals run last season.
What exactly is the read on this team long-term, especially if they go out with a whimper in the play-in tournament?
(Last week: Unranked)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/qq_lg.jpg" alt="" width="727" height="367" />
6. New York Knicks (30-41)
It's bizarre to see the Knicks, Pelicans and Lakers all sitting together at 30-41 after what feels like three radically unique seasons. But though New York's playoff chances have all-but evaporated, we're getting some fun moments in the twilight of the season.&nbsp;
Enter Immanuel Quickley. The second-year guard is putting up 14.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in his last 10 contests. Quickley has finally found his perimeter touch and is making 43.2% of his long-range attempts. New York is 5-5 in March, which is a relative positive given the course of the season, and I'm still very high on Quickley's future in this backcourt.
(Last week: 5)
5. Dallas Mavericks (43-28)
<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33527472/ex-gm-donnie-nelson-sues-dallas-mavericks-says-was-fired-reporting-sexual-misconduct-team-denies-claim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Don Van Natti Jr. published a full report</a> of ex-GM Donnie Nelson's recent lawsuit against the Mavericks on Thursday. Included in the lawsuit is a claim from Nelson that owner Mark Cuban fired him "as retaliation for reporting that Cuban's chief of staff sexually harassed and sexually assaulted his nephew during a job interview in 2020."
This is obviously extremely serious, but additionally, it reinforces a pattern of discord in the Mavericks' front office that is suspiciously intertwined with a history of poisonous culture in the organization. Remember when the Mavericks were <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/nba-statement-dallas-mavericks-workplace-investigation-official-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated back in 2018</a> and the not-so-heavy punishments laid out? There's no way to properly state how dangerous this trend looks on the Mavs and the NBA at large, especially as the Suns' Robert Sarver situation is still unresolved.
(Last week: Unranked)
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4. Portland Trail Blazers (26-44)
Removing Anfernee Simons due to injury, Portland's four leading per-game scorers in March are: Josh Hart (20.5), Brandon Williams (16.6), Trendon Watford (15.9) and Drew Eubanks (12.0). I don't mean this as slander toward the players at all. Hart in particular has been a force since the trade from New Orleans and the latter three have maximized their real shots at sticking in the NBA. It's more of a reminder of where Portland is right now without any cornerstone young talent or heathy, proven veterans playing.&nbsp;
(Last week: 2)
3. Sacramento Kings (25-48)
We've hit that same old slog with the Kings, who are plum out of playoff hope and spring momentum with a 2-8 record in March. Sacramento is one of six teams with bottom-10 ratings on both offense and defense since the All-Star break.
(Last week: 3)
2. Washington Wizards (30-40)
Bradley Beal's upcoming offseason has overshadowed the floundering on-court Wizards. Shams Charania reported today that the 76ers seriously attempted to trade for Beal during the season before ultimately pivoting back to James Harden. The Heat are <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-heat-legitimate-suitor-for-bradley-beal-if-he-hits-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> a "legitimate suitor" should Beal hit free agency in the summer.
For the n-th time, the Bradley Beal sweepstakes feels more important than anything happening on the court. Washington lost six-straight before beating our top (or bottom, depending on your perspective) team.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (30-41)
The San Antonio Spurs are 5-8 since the All-Star break. Their remaining 10 games include winnable matchups against the Pelicans, Rockets and Trail Blazers (three times) and imposing tasks versus the Warriors, Mavericks, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Grizzlies. Going 5-5 or better in 10 games won't be easy for a young Spurs team that still sits 2.5 games back of a play-in bid.
All of this is to say: The Lakers are somehow making a very safe situation feel treacherous. Eight of their final 11 contests are against top-six seeds. There's a very real chance that this race comes down to the final days.
(Last week: 4)
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Ethan Fuller is back with this week's Sour Rankings as the NBA's playoff races tighten up.

NBA Sour Rankings: Lakers' Play-In bid still not guaranteed

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and the Utah Jazz finished strong to start their road trip, beating the New York Knicks 108-93 on Sunday night.
Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to score 18 of his 23 points in the first half for the Jazz, who opened a six-game road trip with the first of two games in two nights in New York. Rudy Gobert and Royce O'Neale each had 14 points.
Mitchell, a New Yorker who got a nice ovation before the game, made seven 3-pointers and threw down a powerful dunk midway through the fourth quarter when the Knicks were getting back in the game.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Evan Fournier had 17 for the Knicks, who had won two straight and five of seven. Julius Randle was 6 for 21 for 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks shot 37% from the field.
Missing some key offensive players, Utah controlled much of the game with its defense before New York trimmed it to 93-89 on Obi Toppin's dunk with 5:19 left. But the Jazz answered with a 12-0 run, holding the Knicks scoreless for nearly four minutes to pull away to a 105-89 lead with just under two minutes remaining.
Utah only had two baskets during that stretch, punishing the Knicks by getting inside and drawing fouls before Rudy Gay capped the stretch with a 3-pointer and Mitchell later added another.
Mike Conley rested his right knee ahead of the game Monday night in Brooklyn and Bojan Bogdanovic missed his fourth straight with a left calf strain. So the Jazz turned up their defense, allowing just 44 points combined in the middle two quarters of their third straight victory.
The Knicks led 31-26 after one, but Clarkson played the entire second and scored 10 points. He and Mitchell both had 18 at halftime as Utah led 60-53.
The Jazz held the Knicks to 24% shooting in the third quarter, blocking almost as many shots (5) as the Knicks had baskets (6).
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TIP-INS
Jazz: Mitchell missed the last game with bruised right calf. ... Hassan Whiteside returned after a one-game absence with an illness not related to COVID-19 but Trent Forrest missed his fifth straight game with a sprained right wrist.
Knicks: Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points. ... Coach Tom Thibodeau said he'd been using a nine-man rotation at the moment to allow plenty of minutes for players such as Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes, though might extend at times for rookie Miles McBride. McBride did get in as the 10th late in the third quarter.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
Coach Quin Snyder was asked if there were any positives in having such a long road trip so late in the season. The Jazz don't play at home again until March 31.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. We&rsquo;re going to some cities that have great restaurants,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;We anticipated this stretch for a while obviously and we&rsquo;re not healthy right now. But sometimes when we&rsquo;ve gone on the road and we&rsquo;ve found adversity, whether it be internal or your opponent, I think there&rsquo;s opportunity there.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Brooklyn on Monday night.
Knicks: Host Atlanta on Tuesday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and the Utah Jazz finished strong to start their road trip, beating the Knicks 108-93 on Sunday night.

Mitchell scores 36 points, Jazz beat Knicks to open trip

As the New York Knicks attempt to do the seemingly impossible and sneak their way into the Eastern Conference playoffs, they will now have to do so without Kenny Payne &mdash; still beloved among Tom Thibodeau&rsquo;s players, but now only a former member of his coaching staff.
On Friday, after serving as one of Thibodeau&rsquo;s assistants for nearly two years, Payne was introduced as the new head men&rsquo;s basketball coach at Louisville, his alma mater.
For Payne, the gig is his first head coaching job, but depending on who you ask &mdash; including Julius Randle &mdash; the opportunity is perhaps long overdue.
&ldquo;You know that dude is incredible, and he is going to have tremendous amounts of success over there at Louisville,&rdquo; Randle said on Friday night after the Knicks defeated the Washington Wizards, 100-97.
Randle came to know Payne well.
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Payne spent 10 years on the bench at Kentucky, first as an assistant coach, eventually being promoted to associate head coach. It was during his time there that he and Randle first met &mdash; Payne went on a recruiting visit to the Randle home in Dallas. Payne&rsquo;s objective was of course to secure Randle&rsquo;s commitment, and obviously he succeeded.
Since then, the two have remained close, with them eventually reunited when Payne was hired by the Knicks back in 2020.
&ldquo;I went to Kentucky and had nothing to worry about,&rdquo; Randle said after revealing that his mother only agreed to allow him to head to Kentucky after Payne&rsquo;s assurance that he would take care of him.
&ldquo;He took me in like I was his own kid and really looked after me. He kept me focused, he kept me on the right track whether it was class or in the gym,&rdquo; Randle said.
&ldquo;I call him &lsquo;Unc&rsquo; because that is really what he is to me. He is like a father figure.&rdquo;
Now, Payne will return to his alma mater where he&rsquo;ll attempt to lead the Louisville Cardinals back toward the top of the college basketball, after former head coach Chris Mack and the school mutually agreed to part ways in January.
The irony in it all, for Randle at least, is that Payne &mdash; who graduated from Louisville in 1989 &mdash; was a major part of the reason why the big man ended up at Kentucky in the first place. Now, though, Payne will head back to Louisville, Kentucky&rsquo;s biggest rival.
Randle will be rooting for Payne, though, all the same.
&ldquo;Even though it is the red school and I still bleed blue, I love that man to death and I&rsquo;m going to do whatever I can to help him have success, because you are talking about someone who deserves it.&rdquo;
Five years Randle&rsquo;s junior, teammate Immanuel Quickley is another Knick who was coached by Payne both at Kentucky and in the NBA. Payne &mdash; who was at Kentucky from 2010 to 2020 &mdash; was hired by the Knicks just a few months after Quickley was drafted and traded to the Knicks.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s my guy,&rdquo; Quickley said of the coach.
&ldquo;You know he is somebody who is calm on the bench, but holds everybody accountable&hellip; It doesn&rsquo;t matter who you are. But you can always go talk to him totally away from basketball. I call him 'Pops' because he is like another father to me.&rdquo;
Although only with the Knicks for two years, the sentiments are shared by many of the Knicks&rsquo; players, who cite Payne as instrumental in their growth from a player development standpoint.
&ldquo;He has been somebody I&rsquo;ve known for five years now, and I love him to death. I appreciate him a lot,&rdquo; Quickley said.
Payne leaves one challenge with the New York Knicks for another in Louisville. The Cardinals are coming off of a 13-19 season and are likely to face some stiff penalties in the aftermath of the corruption scandal that eventually led to the departure of former head coach Rick Pitino. The team hasn&rsquo;t appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2019 and hasn&rsquo;t had as much as an Elite Eight appearance since 2015.
Nonetheless, Payne, who is the first black head coach in program history, is eager to get to work.
"To accept the job at the University of Louisville, it took a lot to get to this point," he said during his <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/33536188/kenny-payne-louisville-make-six-year-deal-official-coach-prepares-rebuild-cardinals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introductory news conference</a> on Friday.
"I say, give me the worst-case scenario. Don't give it your best. I know what the best is. Give me the worst. I understand what that means."
Similar to the friends and mentees he left behind in New York City, Payne will have his work cut out for him. As it relates to the Knicks, they&rsquo;ll now attempt to move forward without one of the team&rsquo;s most beloved voices.
Randle and Quickley are both happy to see Payne get the opportunity he&rsquo;s worked so hard for, but sad to see him go.
Among Knicks fans and players, they&rsquo;re certainly not alone.
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Knicks players (and ex-Kentucky Wildcats) Randle and Quickley discuss new Louisville head coach Kenny Payne, as he leaves New York.

Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley reflect on Kenny Payne’s departure

Most NBA teams have approximately 15 games left in their regular-season schedules. Even if some squads are still mathematically in the postseason hunt, we can start to distinguish the desperate bids from the real races.
In the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards (despite how things look on the court) continue to chase the Charlotte Hornets and are three games back of an East Play-In spot. The Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs all hold some grip onto the Western Conference Play-In battle. But as the games wind down, the intensity ratchets up, and every loss can feel like a brick wall.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst outlooks. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going.
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;The Toronto Raptors are riding a three-game win streak that includes quality victories over the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. They now sit just one game back of the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers for the all-important sixth seed and definitely have enough momentum to take it with 15 games left in the regular season.
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10. Golden State Warriors (46-22)
The Warriors rallied with a massive week highlighted by two double-digit wins against the Nuggets and a Saturday primetime victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. The win over the Bucks was particularly impressive because Stephen Curry attempted just 7 field goals; Klay Thompson (38 points), Jordan Poole (30 points) and Andrew Wiggins (21 points) carried the scoring load. Golden State has looked rudderless at times without Draymond Green, but hopefully this three-game hot stretch inspires confidence.
(Last week: 7)
9. Houston Rockets (17-51)
Jalen Green is still playing superb basketball, but KJ Martin has come alive with a longer leash as Houston wades through its rebuilding season. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kj-martin-more-than-meets-the-eye" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Schindler wrote a fantastic article</a> over the weekend on Martin's mini-breakout. The 21-year-old is up to 43.8% from three-point range since the break and is much more than a slasher, as Mark illustrates. This is what you hope happens amidst all the losing, and if it continues, Houston might get out of the rankings altogether next week.
(Last week: 8)
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (38-29)
It's been a rough post-All-Star run for Cleveland, who is just 3-6 since the break. Jarrett Allen's finger fracture has impacted the Cavs' top-tier defense; it's now ranked 25th over the past two weeks. Caris LeVert, Lauri Markkanen and Rajon Rondo have also dealt with their own injuries. Cleveland is now just a single game up on Toronto in a tightly-packed East playoff race. The overall picture is still bright, but the recent downturn is simply a bummer for a franchise that can feel a tangible post-LeBron playoff appearance within its grasp.
(Last week: Unranked)
7. Charlotte Hornets (33-35)
Last week I attempted, for the second time this season, to point out a solid defensive stretch by the Hornets. Once again, they made me look like a buffoon. Charlotte gave up at least 115 points in all three of its games this past week, going 1-2 against the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Pelicans. At least Isaiah Thomas got in a nice game with 14 points against New Orleans. No matter how you feel about his viability as an NBA player, it's impossible not to root for Thomas.
(Last week: 9)
6. Brooklyn Nets (35-33)
Nets Twitter (and I presume the rest of Nets fandom) positively exploded with joy in Brooklyn's dominant 129-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. The triumph is perhaps the highlight of the season to date and hopefully a spark plug, as Brooklyn has rattled off three consecutive victories. We also need to keep talking about Bruce Brown, who is averaging 14.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game since the All-Star break.&nbsp;
(Last week: 1)
5. New York Knicks (28-40)
I'm an absolute sucker for Deuce McBride propaganda, so here you go:
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Deuce has been freakin absurd at the nail as he's finally started to get rotation minutes <a href="https://t.co/2m98NjOo4p">pic.twitter.com/2m98NjOo4p</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1502679211127054337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2022</a></blockquote>

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New York went 2-2 this week, but with some respectable losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat. More importantly, we're seeing meaningful time and flashes from young talents, whether it be McBride, RJ Barrett, Jericho Sims or Immanuel Quickley. That's all that matters over the final weeks.
(Last week: 2)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (29-38)
LeBron James has now dropped multiple 50-bombs out of the All-Star break and continues his lopsided battle with Father Time. Also lopsided? The Lakers are 2-0 since the break when James scored at least 50 points and 0-7 when he doesn't. That's... not exactly a desirable bar for success. Los Angeles now looks ahead at 6 games in 10 days with five against current playoff teams. I would not be surprised if they entered a March 27 contest against New Orleans behind the Pelicans in the standings.
(Last week: 3)
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3. Sacramento Kings (24-45)
Sacramento stands four-and-a-half games behind a Play-In spot, is 2-7 since the All-Star break and has bottom-10 metrics on both ends of the floor during that span. The Kings are giving up the ninth-highest frequency of three-pointers to opponents per Cleaning the Glass, and those teams are shooting a strong 38.2% from the floor. Sacramento has the playoff-bound Chicago Bulls, Bucks, Celtics and Suns next on tap, which doesn't bode well for them stopping the current four-game slide.
(Last week: 4)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (26-40)
Despite sitting 11th in the West and just one game behind the Pelicans, Portland simply can't put enough quality games together. The Blazers finally earned a 127-118 win over the Wizards to snap a six-game skid on Saturday. Anfernee Simons is down with a knee injury and will be re-evaluated in 1-to-2 weeks, meaning Portland loses its most coveted young player for the short-term future. Props to Josh Hart for his 44-point explosion though.
(Last week: 5)
1. Washington Wizards (29-37)
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Win, loss, tie, blowout either way: what on earth is this roster and minutes distribution man I know KP didn&rsquo;t play, but like how does that clear anything up lol <a href="https://t.co/1VkTfPnQfh">pic.twitter.com/1VkTfPnQfh</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MSchindlerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA/status/1503001470148427779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Mark Schindler highlighted the rotation discord in Washington, and it's pretty baffling. Corey Kispert is playing 39 minutes? Deni Avdijia is playing 13 minutes? Washington should either be making a last-ditch playoff push (three games out of 10th right now) or committing to playing the more experienced young lottery talents it has added over the past few years. Yet somehow, neither is happening.
(Last week: 6)
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The Wizards and Trail Blazers are tumbling in Ethan Fuller's latest Sour Rankings.

NBA Sour Rankings: Wizards, Trail Blazers in postseason peril

I'd like to take you on a trip down memory lane, if I may.
The date is Jan. 11, 2021. It's a chilly night in Charlotte, North Carolina. People are stuck in traffic, because that's how it goes after 5 p.m. in this city. There are no fewer than 12 Cook Out locations flooded &mdash; and for that, we say thank you and God bless.
More importantly, there's a basketball game going on between the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks.&nbsp;
Midway through the third quarter, then-rookie phenom LaMelo Ball decides to push the ball in transition. He glides through the middle of the floor, targeting fellow rookie Immanuel Quickley on a drive as he backpedals.&nbsp;
LaMelo decelerates before crossing to his right, then begins his gather. Something funny happens from there though.
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That's right &mdash; LaMelo attempts, possibly, the worst James Harden impersonation of all-time. He goes searching for Quickley's arm and gets nothing but air. The momentum from the flail alters his balance &mdash; the last thing he needs since he's in the midst of a wrong-hand finish.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Show 10 random NBA fans that clip, and I guarantee at least eight of them give some sort of "that's what you get" sentiment for trying to generate contact. I immediately fell &mdash; and continue to fall &mdash; on the other side of the aisle. As I <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1348806292882808833?s=20&amp;t=H-TnrjRhKj4jxJtee4KwqA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted in the moment</a>: That attempt is proof that foul-drawing is a skill.
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NBA offenses have never been as prolific as they are right now.
We're buzzing with buckets in this era, currently riding a four-season streak of the league's average Offensive Rating eclipsing <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_stats_per_game.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">110 points per 100 possessions</a>.
The emphasis on shooting and spacing &mdash; linked, but not synonymous! &mdash; has led to a more open game. Ball-handlers are more dynamic, blending slick handles, a more-willing trigger from (super) deep and driving chops that leave defenders asking, "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?"
We love buckets around these parts. Pull-ups. Stepbacks. Floaters. Eurosteps. Reverse lay-ins. Thunderous finishes. Post work &mdash; hooks, up-and-unders, fadeaways. Scoring is fun, obvious to the eye, and easy to break down and compare for the most part.
There is a brand of scoring that doesn't get the respect it deserves, however: free throws. Not only are they boring to watch, but the process in which they're earned also has an approval rating of, like, six percent.
Don't take my word for it: I asked y'all.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
What's your least favorite part of NBA offense?
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1500833149051445253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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It's anecdotal of course, but it's telling that 72.3% of the vote &mdash; well over 4,500 people &mdash; voiced their displeasure of foul-drawing. Or foul *baiting*, since that distinction matters to so many of you.
You can cycle through the replies and quote tweets if you'd like, but the common theme was a sense of gaming the system. Those dreaded non-basketball plays. The flailing. The possessions where players make moves to draw contact versus trying to make the shot.
It's a fair position in vacuum. I got a hearty laugh out of Chris Paul drawing a rip-through foul on young Jonathan Kuminga some 70 feet from the basket, but I can understand why that might be annoying.
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(On the Paul front, he t<a href="https://youtu.be/C4BKdCT95h0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alked about the rip-through</a> on JJ Redick's podcast not too long ago. I'd recommend it; also, he's right.)
What I will say, however, is that foul-drawing as a concept seems pretty underrated. Flat-out disrespected, even. I don't think enough people understand the level of skill it takes to draw fouls consistently.&nbsp;
LET IT RIP
Actually, let's talk about the Paul thing for a minute.
Did you know he's essentially made ICE coverage &mdash; the tell is when the on-ball defender positions himself in a way to force the ball-handler towards the sideline &mdash; unplayable against him?
Going into an ICE possession, you have to worry about him snaking the pick and flowing into the pull-up middy he shoots 8,032% on. He's one of the three best pocket passers in NBA history (argue with your mother), so any miscue can lead to a shot at the basket for his big. If all else fails, he can string out the pick, force a late switch and either:
<ul>
<li>Abuse it himself</li>
<li>Let his big brutalize a small guard</li>
</ul>
On top of that, you can't even press him prior to his drive because he'll locate your arm. If you think you can get your hand out of the cookie jar quickly enough, you can't. He's too quick, too good at timing it.
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Over the past three seasons, Paul-led ball screens are generating north of 1.1 points per possession against ICE coverage &mdash; the second-best mark among high-volume guards, per Second Spectrum. Again, Paul as a scorer and passer against the coverage is deadly enough.
On the foul front, only Ja Morant (91) has drawn more fouls against ICE coverage than Paul (83) during that span. Considering the stark difference in athleticism and shot profile between the two, you can surmise who's drawing what type of fouls the most.
Of course, Paul isn't the only guy that can make you pay in that way.&nbsp;
Kevin Durant might be the godfather of the move. He doesn't go to it as often anymore, but he's sure to remind you to keep your hand out of the cookie jar.
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Trae Young sprinkles it in as well, though we'll talk about him a little later.
TAKING STRIDES
Can we talk about the Cameroonian Cheat Code?
People are&nbsp;furious&nbsp;with the whistle Joel Embiid gets. I get it in a vacuum; it's a bit wild to watch a guy that&nbsp;big hit the ground (or flail his arms) as often as he does.&nbsp;But man, I really do implore you to dig into the subtleties of his foul-drawing.
Think about your priors when defending Embiid. He's bigger than you, stronger than you and likely quicker than you. You're already working at a disadvantage before digging into the skill level. Then, he's smart on top of all of that.&nbsp;
If you think guards can be handsy before an attack, bigs definitely are. Embiid has countered by mastering the rip-through in his own right. Because he's so comfortable with his jumper now, defenders are even more susceptible to his pump fake. You're truly at his mercy when he faces up.
On a related note &mdash; very, very, very,&nbsp;quietly, Embiid is one of the most skilled drivers in basketball.
The threat of the jumper (and pump fake) opens up driving opportunities for him. I've found myself in awe of the way he decelerates or changes his stride length when attacking the basket. And when those skills work in conjunction, defenders have no idea what to do with him.
I still have the foul he drew against Evan Mobley last week on a loop in my head.
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Mobley is already one of the best defenders in the sport, and he has nothing here. Embiid faces up, hits Mobley with a stutter-rip (shout out <a href="https://twitter.com/abovethebreak3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PD Web</a>) and immediately gains inside leverage. On the gather, Embiid hits the brakes on his second step and waits out the Mobley contest to draw the foul.
Think about the amount of balance it takes to pull that off, as well as the strength it takes to power through and get a shot up.
You know who else is good at throwing defenders off in that way without really getting credit for it? Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It turns out "Run and Dunk Man" has a little more to him. He doesn't just hit you with spin moves and Eurosteps; he mixes up the speed and stride length of those moves.
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LEVERAGE PLAYS &mdash; STRENGTH VS. SLICK
Zooming out, there's a difference between players who can knock defenders off-balance and players who can shift defenders off-balance. The best foul-drawers are able to do both, of course, but it's rare to find a player with a pure 50/50 split between those methods.
You generally think of bigs &mdash; Giannis and Embiid in particular &mdash; when you think of strength-based foul-drawing, which is precisely why Jimmy Butler is so unique.
He doesn't possess elite burst. The handle isn't great. His jumper is non-threatening. He's passive at times as a scorer. And yet, Butler (5.17) is one of <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/player?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four high-minute players</a> averaging at least 5 two-point shooting fouls drawn per 100 possessions: Embiid (8.16), Giannis (7.82) and DeMar DeRozan (5.03) are the others.
Butler does possess great footwork, which helps him in face-up situations. He may be the NBA's prominent stutter-rip enthusiast. But man, does he do a lot of work with his shoulder.
If he gains an inch, he's driving his shoulder into his defenders' chests. And if they try to recover, he's able to pump fake them into oblivion, or plow through them for foul calls. Look no further than his masterclass against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
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As annoyed as people have been with Harden's tricks, his ability to power through guys has gone grossly under the radar for most of his career. Remember the LaMelo play up top? Harden has the cadence down&nbsp;and&nbsp;the strength to power through.
He weaponizes his strength with a low, lull-em-to-sleep dribble that unlocks the rest of his game. Stay lax? Stepback time. Try to shade him a certain way? He's able to attack your front foot and getting downhill. Try to disrupt the dribble? He's powering through that sucker.
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Then, there's the finesse side of the equation, where unpredictability can put defenders in torturous positions.
That's where Young comes in. He's a tricky little booger you can never really catch. His ability to change directions is nearly unrivaled in the leauge.
You don't think of him as&nbsp;explosive&nbsp;because of the lack of vertical juice, but he's a pretty violent dude in terms of darting around; he's the NBA's (peak) LeSean McCoy in that regard. On top of that, I'm not sure anybody in the league decelerates quite like him. To have that, on top of his ball skills, is simply unfair.
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I'm not here to argue that watching these guys rack up 10 to 12 free throws on a given night is as fun as an ankle-breaking crossover that flows into a pull-up.&nbsp;
I do think there needs to be more credit given toward how hard it is to make defenders wrong as consistently as these guys do. There are so many split-second reads (and microskills) at play that can be missed if you aren't paying attention.&nbsp;
Or put another way: If it was easy to flop or grift your way into calls, more people would pull it off consistently.
They don't for a reason.
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Citing different methods, Nekias Duncan gives flowers to some of the best foul-drawers in the league.