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Nuggets

By appearing in the Western Conference Finals, the Dallas Mavericks showed that they have collected some of the ingredients of an NBA title contender.
Prior to that, the Mavs had not made it out of the first round of the playoffs since winning the Finals in 2010-11, and had exited the postseason in the first round each of the last two years. Even this season, Dallas had its doubters in the first round against the Utah Jazz, and most of the national audience was against them versus the dominant Phoenix Suns.&nbsp;
Then, the Mavericks won. Luka Doncic continues to ascend as one of the best basketball players on the planet. Several supporting cast members helped carry the load as well, whether it was Jalen Brunson in the first round, Maxi Kleber's Round 2 fireworks or Spencer Dinwiddie's production in the West Finals.
For so long, the narrative in Dallas had been: Does Luka have any help? After 2021-22, we at least know the Mavs have pieces to the puzzle. This summer presents the opportunity to shape the vision of a championship under Doncic and second-year head coach Jason Kidd.
The Mavericks boasted the sixth-best Defensive Rating (109.4) in the NBA during the regular season, per Basketball-Reference. That's impressive growth from a 20th-ranked unit in 2020-21 that didn't undergo massive roster overhaul. Our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-do-the-mavericks-have-an-elite-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nekias Duncan covered Dallas' defense back in January</a>, and it kept up the work even after trading Kristaps Porzingis away in the deal that returned Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.&nbsp;
No single, All-Defense-caliber player even stands out on the roster right now. Dorian Finney-Smith is very solid and so is Frank Ntilikina, though his minutes are too inconsistent currently. It's a true team-wide shift that significantly raises the team's floor come playoff time.&nbsp;
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With that being said &mdash; finding a true center to anchor the paint and provide stability on the glass remains a high priority. Dallas was 15th among the 16 playoff teams in offensive rebounding percentage (45.1%) and second chance points per game (9.0). They also gave up 14.2 second-chance points per game to their opponents, ranking fourth-highest in the postseason. The Mavs scored just 42.9 points in the paint per game during the regular season (ranked 29th of 30) and 35.4 in the playoffs (13th of 16) despite boasting two of the league's best driving threats in Doncic and Brunson.
Dwight Powell is a fine, rotation-caliber NBA player, but his minutes decreased in each subsequent series. Kleber is an awesome sharpshooting big and solid defender, but not an impactful interior presence.
Fortunately, there are several available free agents who Mavs president and general manager Nico Harrison could pursue in his second offseason with the team. Unfortunately, they have severely hamstrung themselves financially. According to Spotrac, they're a luxury taxpayer, which only leaves a mid-level exception worth just over $6.3 million to spend on a free agent. Dallas has virtually no path to cap space this season.
Jusuf Nurkic and Mitchell Robinson are the biggest names to hit unrestricted free agency as a center. They would almost instantly plug the rebounding hole, but are they the types of defenders and rim-runners who would thrive with Doncic? And is there a realistic way for the Mavericks to even sign them?
Other free agent centers who could fit in the mid-level exception include JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond and Bismack Biyombo, for some quick suggestions. Dallas does also hold a $10.2 million trade exception that it created when the team traded Josh Richardson to the Boston Celtics. It expires on June 27, before free agency begins, but it provides another avenue to acquire a rotation-level player.
It might make more sense for the Mavs to pursue a sign-and-trade with a restricted free agent. Obviously, Deandre Ayton is the marquee man. Evan Sidery toyed with <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-deandre-ayton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">potential trade packages for the Suns</a>; could Dallas offer something in this ballpark?
I personally am intrigued by Mo Bamba's potential fit. The 2018 No. 5 overall pick had a solid developmental year in Orlando, but appears to be the odd man out in a crowded young locker room. Bamba feels like a worthwhile gamble as a rebounder and rim-protector with a bit more mobility and shooting than your traditional bruising center.
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Of course, all this free agency discussion will come after the Mavericks address their largest elephant in the room. Jalen Brunson broke out as a secondary scorer this season, culminating in his huge games that gave Dallas the edge against Utah. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-jalen-brunson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He's an unrestricted free agent</a> who deserves a bag this summer.
"It&rsquo;s the top priority,&rdquo; Harrison said about re-signing Brunson in his <a href="https://www.mavs.com/brunson-is-top-priority/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exit interview Friday</a>. &ldquo;We got to figure that out. Obviously, we&rsquo;re not in control of it. But he&rsquo;s definitely a priority. We want to re-sign him. He knows it. And we want him back. He&rsquo;ll be a big part of our future.&rdquo;
The Mavs' last route to improve is with their No. 26 overall draft pick. Dallas has been a mixed bag with drafting in recent seasons, but this is the first year Harrison will be at the helm after the franchise passed on the process in 2021. Most recently, the franchise selected Josh Green at No. 20 and Tyrell Terry at No. 31 in 2020. Green's development has been slow but notable through two seasons, while Terry is no longer in the organization.&nbsp;
Matt Babcock's latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> projects the Mavericks to select Max Christie, a freshman wing from Michigan State. Christie was a five-star high school talent who struggled to produce as a college freshman. But his tools as a shooter, scorer and on-ball defender have all flashed and can be sharpened in the right environment.&nbsp;
Aside from Brunson, reserves Trey Burke and Theo Pinson are the only other players entering free agency. However, Dallas notably has just four players under fully guaranteed contracts in 2023-24, per Spotrac: Doncic, Finney-Smith, Bertans and Tim Hardaway Jr. If the squad underwhelms next year, the 2023 offseason could open up a serious roster makeover.&nbsp;
Dallas is on the cusp of true title contention. This offseason is all about checking off some final boxes, keeping the successful core intact and adding depth to a team that persevered through several injuries during the season.
If the summer breaks right, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Mavericks emerging as everyone's favorite championship sleeper by October.
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The Mavericks exited the Western Conference Finals with a strong playoff run, but have several glaring needs.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Dallas Mavericks?

The Oklahoma City Thunder came out of last Tuesday&rsquo;s NBA Draft Lottery as the night&rsquo;s runner-up, taking home the No. 2 overall pick.&nbsp;
The Thunder have never received the first-overall pick in their franchise history, which technically goes back to 1967 when they were still the Seattle Supersonics. They have selected second on two occasions though, and both worked out really well (Kevin Durant in 2007 and Gary Payton in 1990).
The Thunder have a war-chest of draft picks in the coming years, but those picks are meaningless if they don&rsquo;t select a franchise-altering talent. Fortunately, the No. 2 pick should provide an opportunity to do so. The 2022 draft class features a few &ldquo;can&rsquo;t-miss&rdquo; prospects, including Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren and Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero. All three have their pros and cons, but adding any of them to the existing core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey should work out beautifully.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Thunder made six selections, but they traded three of those players. They added Giddey (who was named to the 2021-22 All-Rookie Second Team), Tre Mann and Aaron Wiggins &ndash; none of whom are bigs. The Thunder did trade for a seven-footer in the 2020 draft (Aleksej Pokusevski), but he&rsquo;s still extremely raw and is not the same caliber of player as the top-three prospects.
Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done through the scouting process to effectively evaluate all three of this draft's most-coveted prospects, but a look back at the last 10 NBA drafts reveals a murkier history than one might assume. After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-the-success-of-teams-selecting-first-in-the-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">examining the success of teams selecting No. 1 in the NBA Draft</a> last week, let's look at how recent No. 2 overall picks have fared.&nbsp;
2012 NBA Draft: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
The Hornets bombed with the second pick in 2012. Kidd-Gilchrist had a fine career, averaging 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game across eight seasons in the NBA. The thing is, Bradley Beal was selected third and Damian Lillard was selected fifth, and both of those guys are All-NBA-caliber players annually. Comparatively, that&rsquo;s a huge miss for Charlotte.
Verdict: Failure.
2013 NBA Draft: Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic
The Cavaliers certainly surprised many of us by picking Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick, but the Magic stuck to the script. Oladipo was universally seen as a top-three player in this draft, and he became the second-best player in the class before knee and quad injuries derailed his career.
As much as injuries have robbed much of what Oladipo was, he is still an intriguing player, and he&rsquo;ll probably command some decent free-agent offers this offseason. Obiously, CJ McCollumn (selected 10th) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (selected 15th) are better players, but neither was being considered by the Magic. Considering that Oladipo is a two-time All-Star, an All-Defensive selection and a one-time All-NBA selection, I&rsquo;d say the Magic did a fine job in picking Oladipo.
Verdict: Success
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2014 NBA Draft: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
The 2014 draft was a weird one. Neither the first nor the second pick ended up being the best player from this draft class. Andrew Wiggins found a good role, even if he is far less successful than most thought he&rsquo;d be, but Jabari Parker really underwhelmed. Granted, Parker stuck around in the league for eight seasons, including some of the current one, but his career simply never materialized even if it&rsquo;s not his (nor Milwaukee&rsquo;s) fault.
Parker tore his ACL twice. He looked like he was becoming a pretty darn good player (even if he was a defensive liability) before the second ACL injury, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 2016-17. However good Parker could have been, the fact of the matter is that Joel Embiid was intriguing enough as of draft night to be taken one pick later, and that stings.
Verdict: Failure
2015 NBA Draft: D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Here&rsquo;s an instance where a player actually was worth a top-three pick. The problem is that the Lakers had the second pick, and there&rsquo;s a big difference between Karl-Anthony Towns or Devin Booker and Russell. Making matters worse, the Lakers sent Russell to Brooklyn before he matured. His immaturity was part of the reason he was traded, but that doesn&rsquo;t change the fact that the Lakers picked him and moved on very quickly. Russell may or may not end up being a franchise-altering talent, but he hasn&rsquo;t realized his full potential yet, and he clearly won&rsquo;t do so for the Lakers.
Verdict: Failure
2016 NBA Draft: Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers
Ingram is one of the best No. 2 picks in the last 10 drafts. He&rsquo;s a true number one option on a playoff team, a career 18.5 points-per-game scorer and a one-time All-Star. It&rsquo;s debatable that Jaylen Brown (selected third) and/or Jamal Murray (selected seventh) are as good or better players, but both have played alongside more talented teammates throughout their careers.
Ingram has been the best player on the New Orleans Pelicans for a few years now, and we shouldn&rsquo;t take for granted the fact that Ingram led a playoff team this season. Sure, the Lakers didn&rsquo;t cash in on him specifically, but he was part of the package that led to Anthony Davis landing in Los Angeles. So, it worked out for them too.
Verdict: Success
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2017 NBA Draft: Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers picked second overall again in 2017. They weren&rsquo;t as successful this time around. First, there&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum to consider. Tatum was selected third and is the best player in the 2017 draft class. Being selected by the Lakers wouldn&rsquo;t have changed that, and that should be enough. But there&rsquo;s also Ball&rsquo;s rough shooting mechanics to consider. Sure, he&rsquo;s grown into a good shooter, but the Lakers didn&rsquo;t benefit from that. It&rsquo;s hard to categorize Ball&rsquo;s selection as an outright failure because like Ingram, he helped facilitate Davis to the Lakers. Still, it's tough to classify his selection a success.
Verdict: Push
2018 NBA Draft: Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento Kings
Bagley might be the worst second pick in the last 10 years. The 2018 NBA Draft will forever be remembered as the Luka Doncic class. The Kings could have drafted Doncic, as he was still on the board, but they chose to go with Bagley instead. Bagley isn&rsquo;t even on the Kings any longer, and his time in Sacramento was not memorable.
Bagley is a sub-par defender and three-point shooter. He&rsquo;s scored the ball at a decent pace, averaging 19.5 points per-36 minutes, but he&rsquo;s never earned a big enough role to demonstrate what he can really do, and he&rsquo;s exclusively been on losing teams. Comparatively, Doncic and Trae Young (selected No. 5 in 2018) have turned their franchises around.
Verdict: Failure
2019 NBA Draft: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Ingram was the best second pick in the last 10 years, until 2019. Morant stole that made-up accolade almost immediately in his rookie season. The thing is, the 2019 NBA Draft was supposed to be all about Zion Williamson. However, unlike Williamson, Morant has backed up all the hype and then some. So, while Williamson has dealt with injuries for much of his young career, Morant has brazenly become the face of his draft class.
Morant is drawing comparisons to numerous superstars, and he was named to the 2021-22 All-NBA Second Team. No one selected after him comes close to making the Grizzlies think twice about their decision.
Verdict: HUGE success
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2020 NBA Draft: James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors
Unlike his brother Lonzo, LaMelo Ball was deserving of the second pick in 2020. Instead, the Golden State Warriors went with James Wiseman, though the logic behind the pick is clear, even in retrospect. The Warriors already had two All-NBA guards. The thing is, Jordan Poole looks pretty good alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, doesn&rsquo;t he? So, it&rsquo;s feasible to assume that Ball would have fit too.
After two seasons, Ball is a significantly better player, but he&rsquo;s also had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate that fact. Wiseman has had terrible health-related luck. He played in 39 of the Warriors' first 53 games in 2020-21, but he tore his meniscus in Golden State&rsquo;s 53rd&nbsp;game of the season and hasn&rsquo;t been seen since. Wiseman could still be a serious contributor, as his per-36 numbers were impressive for a rookie (19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists on .542/.316/.628 shooting). This is one we&rsquo;ll have to continue monitoring.
Verdict: Unclear
2021 NBA Draft: Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
Basing the success of a pick on only a rookie season is tough. Green posted an impressive rookie campaign, but his defensive deficiencies were clear. That&rsquo;s an understandable flaw for a rookie. Green was the assumed second-best player in the class. Having the luxury of hindsight, we now know that Scottie Barnes (selected fourth) and Evan Mobley (selected third) translated to the NBA incredibly well. But wing scorers have a tougher time making the jump, as they must shoot deeper three-pointers and compete against far more athletic competition. Green&rsquo;s floor may be lower than that of Barnes and Mobley, but I'd argue that his ceiling is still higher. Let&rsquo;s give him a little more time.
Verdict: Unclear&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
In the last 10 drafts, the second overall pick has clearly been one of the best players in the draft class just three times (2013, 2016 and 2019).&nbsp;
A deeper examination of No. 2 overall picks reveals a limited number of franchise-altering talents. For every Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Earl Monroe and Bill Russell, there are a number of players who didn't live up to expectations. Sometimes, there isn't a generational player on the board; other times, the team picking No. 2 overall just overthinks it or goes in the wrong direction. Either way, No. 2 hasn&rsquo;t produced as many all-time greats as you might expect, but there have been quite a few significant contributors.
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Oklahoma City will pick No. 2 in the 2022 draft. A look back at the last 10 drafts reveals that there are no guarantees for No. 2 picks.

Examining the success of teams selecting No. 2 in the NBA Draft

<a href="https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1530331004786855939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Boston Celtics confirmed</a> that Marcus Smart and Rob Williams will both available for Game 6.
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Marcus Smart and Rob Williams are both available for Game 6, per the Celtics.
&mdash; Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1530331004786855939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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ANALYSIS:&nbsp;If the Celtics finish off the Heat tonight, that gives both Smart and Williams six days of well-needed rest for their injuries before the NBA Finals. By playing them both, it appears Boston is going for the kill tonight no questions asked.

The Celtics confirmed that both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III will both be available for Game 6 against the Miami Heat.

Celtics: Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III available for Game 6

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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.<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

The Golden State Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road and hope for familiar results when they return home.
For the third straight series, the Warriors lost their first chance to advance while playing on the road. But they can make it to their sixth NBA Finals in the past eight years by finishing off the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday night.
The Warriors managed to rebound after those slipups in the first two rounds against Denver and Memphis and are hoping for a repeat after losing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-dallas-mavericks-nba-sports-luka-doncic-4a70ca4c9a8f0b1f9a786f97cba535a1">119-109 at Dallas</a> on Tuesday night when the Mavericks got off to a fast start and didn't slow down until the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good lesson learned,&rdquo; guard Stephen Curry said. &ldquo;You tip your hat to them because they made a lot of shots. We had a couple breakdowns in our zone that gave them easy looks, and they made us pay. We knew to close them out, it&rsquo;s going to be tough. So you&rsquo;ve got to strap up on defense. When we go home, Game 5 and figure out how to slow them down, especially in the first quarter.&rdquo;
STAYING ALIVE
The Mavericks have staved off elimination three times this postseason, winning Games 6 and 7 against Phoenix in the second round and then again against the Warriors in Game 4. None of the games have been particularly close, with Dallas outscoring the opponents by 70 points in the three wins. Luka Doncic has led the way with 98 points and 35 rebounds in the three wins but says the key has been aggressiveness on offense and more commitment to defense.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to believe,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;I think our defense was way better today, and I think we attacked the paint. Those two things are key, and that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve got to bring to San Francisco.&rdquo;
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Warriors got back into the game in the fourth quarter thanks to a young lineup featuring 22-year-old Jordan Poole and 19-year-old rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. That trio, along with Nemanja Bjelica and Damion Lee, cut a 29-point deficit to eight points in the first 8:38 of the fourth quarter before Curry and the starters began to return.
The Mavericks closed it out from there but the flashes from the young group could earn them more time. Kuminga hadn't played at all the previous two games before scoring 17 points in just under 22 minutes in Game 4.
&ldquo;It was great because they had an opportunity to go out there and make their presence felt, impact the game, build some confidence and some experience in this series and what it feels like to be out there,&rdquo; Curry said.
ROLLER COASTER
It's been a up-and-down series for Dallas' Reggie Bullock and getting the best version of him will be key if the Mavericks want to stay alive. Bullock made six 3-pointers and scored 21 points in a Game 2 loss before becoming the fifth player since at least 1968 to take at least 10 shots and score no points in a playoff game.
Bullock responded in Game 4 by making 6 of 10 3-pointers and scoring 18 points. That took pressure off Doncic, along with bounce-back performances from Dorian Finney-Smith, who had 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and Maxi Kleber, who went 5 for 6 for 13 points after missing 12 of 14 shots the first three games.
&ldquo;We just made shots and we also was getting stops, so we got the chance to play a little faster, and we got them open shots early in the shot clock and not like end of the shot clock trying to shoot a bomb,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
TALL TASK
No team has ever rallied from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven playoff series in NBA history and even getting it back to Dallas for Game 6 would be rare. Of the 146 previous teams to take a 3-0 lead, 90 finished off the series with a sweep with 42 more winning it in five. With a win Thursday, the Mavs would be the 12th team to force a Game 6 and only three teams have gotten to a Game 7 before losing.

The Warriors find themselves in familiar territory after failing to close out a series on the road and hope for familiar results when they return home.

Warriors look to close out Mavs and get back to NBA Finals

There are few certainties in life.
Death. Taxes. And Dorian Finney-Smith corner threes.
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Death, taxes&hellip;and a Dorian Finney-Smith corner three. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mavs</a> <a href="https://t.co/meTTIRgc18">pic.twitter.com/meTTIRgc18</a>
&mdash; Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) <a href="https://twitter.com/DorothyJGentry/status/1501718770460602369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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When Finney-Smith entered the league six years ago, the Dallas Mavericks wing was told that the corner three is the easiest shot in the NBA and that he&rsquo;d &ldquo;make a lot of money" if he could knock it down consistently. &nbsp; &ldquo;I was already playing into the corner my rookie year, and once I realized how many corner threes I was going to get, I just worked on it,&rdquo; Finney-Smith told BasketballNews.com in a one-on-one conversation.
He laughs, as if he's just now realizing that it has become his trademark shot. Then, he shouts out the former teammate who helped his corner three become so deadly.
&ldquo;Wesley Matthews was a good vet for me. He was always telling me that I needed to get that (corner three) shot down pat if I wanted to be on the court," Finney-Smith said. "And I did!"
He would spend the next few years focused, head down, determined to prove he belonged in the league. He developed into a reliable shooter and perfected the corner three, just as Matthews advised.
This season, Finney-Smith shot 46.1% on corner threes &mdash; a huge improvement from his rookie year, when he shot just 26.3% from that spot. During the 2022 NBA Playoffs, he's been even better, knocking down 52.5% of his corner threes.
&ldquo;I had the confidence that I could shoot. I shot the ball well in college, it just ain&rsquo;t translated the first couple of years in the NBA,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said.
He knew there was only one way to get his shot back: stay in the gym and work.
&ldquo;Repetition builds confidence," Finney-Smith explained. "Also, I think my teammates seeing how hard I worked, it also built confidence in them. The ones who have been here with me throughout this journey &mdash; like Maxi [Kleber], Dwight [Powell], Luka [Doncic] &mdash; I think they see the work I put in and that also gives them confidence to give the ball to me in late-game situations.
&ldquo;Guys see the work you put in; they can tell if you've been in the gym or if you been BSing, and I built confidence with those guys, especially Luka, to pass me the ball in those clutch situations. They have trust in me, even when I miss it.&rdquo;
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Finney-Smith also earned the trust of Dallas' front office. After playing his best basketball and helping the Mavs win a lot of games (in the regular season and now in the playoffs), Finney-Smith is getting the recognition he deserves. The undrafted baller from Portsmouth, Virginia, was also rewarded with the biggest payday of his career.
In early February &mdash; six years after signing a non-guaranteed contract with the Mavs &mdash; Doe-Doe (as he is affectionately called) signed a four-year contract extension worth a reported $55 million. After earning $4,000,000 this season, he'll reportedly be paid $12,402,000 next year.
He has played his way into a starting role and into the hearts of MFFL&rsquo;s, becoming one of the fan favorites. Finney-Smith has established himself as an integral piece of the Mavs' future after averaging a career-high 11.0 points along with 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 threes, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals (while shooting 47.1% from the field and 39.5% from three-point range).
During the postseason, he has elevated his game to a higher level. In Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, Finney-Smith finished with a playoff-career-best 24 points (on 8-12 shooting from three) and 8 rebounds. He became just the third player in Dallas' franchise history to make at least 8 three-pointers in game, joining Maxi Kleber (8 threes against the Utah Jazz on April 18, 2022) and Jason Terry (9 threes against the Los Angeles Lakers on May 8, 2011 &mdash; exactly 11 years to the day).
On Tuesday night, with the Mavs down 0-3 to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, he helped lead Dallas to victory with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 threes and 2 assists while shooting 69.2% from the field and 57.1% from three.
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The underrated 3-and-D specialist opened up to BasketballNews.com about this Mavs team, his happy place, his experience going undrafted, what talent he wishes he had and much more.&nbsp;
In your own words, how did the Mavs get here &mdash; to the Western Conference Finals?
Dorian Finney-Smith: "Just by staying together. Early in the year, we weren&rsquo;t shooting the ball as well as we wanted to. I feel like we just stuck with it. We didn&rsquo;t blame nobody else; we looked inward and we took accountability as a team. And shout out to the coaches: J-Kidd, he did a good job of making us hold each other accountable. All those close games that we were in the last couple of years, I feel like this year we made that step &mdash; finishing the game the right way."
After going undrafted, what allowed you to keep going mentally? And who's been in your corner?
Finney-Smith: "I have a big family. [The answer is] them. My kid&rsquo;s mom (Jasmine).
"I always felt like when I first made the team, I just wanted to get on the court. And once I got on the court, I just wanted to make sure I showed everyone I belonged. Once I started playing on the regular, I just always wanted my presence to be felt, even if I was making or missing shots."
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Did you ever think that playing in the NBA wasn&rsquo;t going to happen for you? Did you ever get down on yourself?
Finney-Smith: "Nah. Nah. Hell nah. I never got down. I was a little mad I didn't get what I wanted on my first deal. I played a whole lot, then I started&hellip; just me being&hellip; At times, it was a little frustrating just because I&rsquo;m human."
Who are you closest to on the team?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "Trey Burke, Reggie [Bullock]. Actually, we all pretty much hang out together. We are a close-knit team; even Luka comes and kicks it with us. This is probably the closest Mavs team I've been on. When I first got here, I had an older team: Devin Harris, JJ [Barea], Dirk [Nowitzki]."
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Finney-Smith: "Quiet. Or with the kids playing around. When I am not on the court, I am quiet."
What living person do you admire most?
Finney-Smith: "My mom because of her resiliency, and how she never let what she was going through show."
What talent would you most like to have?
Finney-Smith: "I wish I could sing. If I could sing, I probably&hellip; woo&hellip; I would sing all the time. I would sing myself out of trouble. (laughs)"
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?&nbsp;
Finney-Smith: "I don&rsquo;t know. God gave me everything I got for a reason, so nothing."
What drives you? What&rsquo;s your motivation?
Finney-Smith: "I would say fear of failure. Coming from where I came from, a small city, I always grew up around a whole bunch of 'I used to be' or 'what I could have done' stuff like that, so I am just trying to make the most of my opportunity because I know a lot of people may never get this opportunity or the chance to even get this opportunity."
Who is your favorite WNBA team and player?
Finney-Smith: "The (Dallas) Wings. Elizabeth Williams (of the Washington Mystics) is my favorite player. She is from Virgina; we both came out together in high school. She&rsquo;s a Virginia girl."
Who or what is the greatest love(s) of your life?
Finney-Smith: "My kids or my mom."
If you died and could come back as anything or anyone, what would it be and why?
Finney-Smith: "A lion. 'Lion King' is my favorite movie, and I love lions."
If you enjoyed this piece, be sure to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reggie-bullock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Dorothy J. Gentry's exclusive interview with Dallas Mavericks wing Reggie Bullock</a> as well.
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Dorian Finney-Smith opens up about his breakout season, the Dallas Mavericks' playoff run, going undrafted, his happy place and more.

Dorian Finney-Smith Q&A: 'This is the closest Mavs team I've been on'

Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 119-109 on Tuesday night to avoid being swept in the Western Conference finals.
It was the 10th double-double in his 14 games this postseason for Doncic, who also had nine assists and got some help from his supporting cast to extend this series. He had 40 points in Game 3, when Reggie Bullock shot 0 for 10 shooting with seven misses from 3-point range.
Dorian Finney-Smith had 23 points and Bullock had 18 on 6-of-10 shooting &mdash; all 3-pointers. Jalen Brunson had 15 points. The Mavs were 20 of 43 on 3-pointers.
The loss snapped the Warriors&rsquo; nine-game winning streak in Western Conference finals games, though they are still firmly in control of this series headed back to California for Game 5 on Thursday night.
Stephen Curry had 20 points and returned to the game with 3:22 left &mdash; his first appearance in the fourth quarter &mdash; after the Warriors had cut a 29-point deficit to 110-102. But they never got closer even with Curry and other starters returning to the floor.
Doncic then drove for a dunk and Bullock made his sixth 3-pointer.
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Only three of the 146 teams to fall in that deep hole have even been able to force a seventh game.&nbsp;
Jonathan Kuminga had 17 points and Andrew Wiggins 13 points for the Warriors, who had seven players score in double figures.
There was even a 16-minute rain delay, when the start of the second half was held up because of rain leaking through the roof at American Airlines Center. There was heavy rain outside, and there were at least two leaks. One was dropping water near the Golden State bench, and at the other end of the court water appeared to be falling in the stands.
A 3-pointer by Doncic put the Mavs up 81-56 with 6:57 left in the third quarter, their largest lead to that point.
Draymond Green was fouled on the ensuing Golden State possession, and his first free throw attempt stopped on the wide back side of the rim. After Doncic and Green stood in the lane together laughing about that, before the ball was eventually knocked down, Green then missed the second attempt as well, though that one just didn&rsquo;t go through the rim and was rebounded by Doncic.
Dallas went ahead to stay with a 25-6 run over a nearly 7-minute span of the second quarter during which the Warriors missed nine of 10 shots and had two turnovers.
Golden State was up 31-29 after a jumper by Moses Moody, then had only one made basket the next seven minutes. A 3-pointer by Davis Bertans put the Mavericks in the lead for good.
The Mavericks had a 62-47 halftime after Doncic drove for a hard layup, responding to Curry&rsquo;s basket at the other end.&nbsp;

Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Warriors 119-109 on Tuesday night to avoid the sweep.

Doncic, Mavs avoid sweep with 119-109 win over Warriors

May 5, 2006. That was the last time the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200605050SAC.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played in a playoff game</a>. That contest took place 5,863 days ago.&nbsp; To put that into context: During that 2005-06 season, Chris Paul was a rookie and Bruce Bowen, who was born in 1971, was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. Steve Nash won his second consecutive MVP award and Boris Diaw was named the league's Most Improved Player.
The Kings made history last month, the type of history that no organization wants to be known for. Sacramento, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 30-52 record, failed to qualify for the postseason for the 16th straight season, breaking the NBA record for the longest playoff drought. (The Kings had been tied with the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers prior.)
So, while <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-lottery-teams-who-should-trade-to-win-now-or-at-least-sooner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many teams in this year's draft lottery</a> are rumored to be interested in potentially trading their pick, arguably no team is more motivated to add an established player (as opposed to an unproven rookie) in hopes of avoiding a return trip to the all-too-familiar lottery dais next May than the Kings.
As proof of their urgency to win now, the Kings shocked pundits back in February by trading away Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league's most promising young point guards, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a package that included Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.&nbsp;
Thus, it isn't shocking to learn that Sacramento, who jumped up to land the No. 4 overall pick in last week's lottery, is reportedly willing to wheel and deal if presented with the right offer.&nbsp;
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, "there's a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."
The other issue likely factoring into the Kings' thought process is that the top tier of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> consists of three players (Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero), with a bit of a dropoff after those elite prospects. Nonetheless, "the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect" which puts the Kings' front office in a "<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong trade position</a>," per Fischer.&nbsp;
Additionally, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype recently <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-nba-mock-draft-lottery-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-trade-rumors/">reported</a> that NBA executives "are monitoring the Sacramento Kings" as a team that could trade their pick "in search of player(s) that can help immediately." Scotto added that after acquiring Sabonis, the Kings have "made it clear the goal is to end the franchise's playoff drought" and that "rival teams are keeping an eye on Sacramento to trade this pick."
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So, let's examine some deals that might make sense for both the Kings and a potential trading partner.
Detroit Pistons send Jerami Grant, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) to the Kings in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick, Richaun Holmes, Maurice Harkless and Alex Len
Earlier this offseason, Sacramento general manager Monte McNair <a href="https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=260358905&amp;intcid=ab_archive">conceded</a> that the team needs to add players who can knock down shots and fit in alongside the franchise's cornerstones, Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox.
"I think shooting, we can clearly acknowledge, will be a huge priority," McNair declared. "Length, athleticism, versatility &mdash; we've talked about all that as well. Obviously, you want the whole package, but shooting will be a big priority for us."
Grant most certainly checks those boxes. During his two years in Detroit, he has averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot over 37% from downtown on 4.5 attempts over the past four seasons and is a versatile, plus defender. As a stretch-4, Grant &mdash; who just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime &mdash; could conceivably fit in well in the frontcourt alongside Sabonis, who likes to operate on the low block and is a good passer from the post. Moreover, Fox-Grant pick-and-rolls would be difficult to defend.&nbsp;
The issue in this potential trade is that Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. However, as long as Grant is traded before Aug. 9, he is eligible to sign an extension with his new team for up to $112 million over four years. After previously spurning the Nuggets to sign with the Pistons, we know that Grant is not afraid to join a team that hasn't enjoyed recent success. Would he be willing to commit to Sacramento long-term? If so, a Big Three of Fox, Grant and Sabonis might be talented enough to finally push the Kings into the postseason.&nbsp;
For the Pistons, they would add Holmes (a quality center on a team-friendly contract) and enter next month's draft with 2 of the top 5 picks, which would allow them to add a pair of promising prospects to a core centered around Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. 
Washington Wizards send Kyle Kuzma and the No. 10 overall pick to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, Justin Holiday and Terence Davis
After a disappointing end to his tenure as a Los Angeles Laker, Kuzma bounced back with a very productive season for the Wizards in 2021-22. He averaged 17.1 points and 1.9 made three-pointers while setting career-highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (3.5) and blocks (0.9) per game. He led the Wiz in double-doubles with 24 (which ranked tied for the sixth-most among all forwards in the NBA). Adding Kuzma's offensive versatility would provide Sacramento with some much-needed depth at forward. In addition, the Kings would still have a lottery pick, dropping back just six spots, which would allow them to add another young asset to the roster.&nbsp;
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The Wizards would likely entertain such a deal if they fell in love with a prospect &mdash; such as Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe &mdash; whom they feel relatively sure won't still be on the board at 10.
Kuz has two years left on his current contract but can opt out in the summer of 2023. However, he will be eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $70 million this October if his $13 million player option for 2023-24 is declined.&nbsp;
A similar package featuring one of the Wizards' other young forwards (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert) instead of Kuzma might also be feasible, depending on the value the Kings/Wizards place on the respective players.&nbsp;
Houston Rockets send the No. 3 overall pick and Eric Gordon to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, a (protected) future first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, Richaun Holmes and Justin Holiday
Is it possible that Sacramento views Smith, Holmgren or Banchero as talented enough to make a substantial impact as a rookie? If so, would the team be willing to pony up sufficient capital to move up one spot?
The Kings would snag one of this draft's three most prized prospects in this hypothetical scenario. The 7-foot Holmgren is one of the most versatile prospects to enter the draft in recent history. Banchero possesses a freakish combination of size, strength and athleticism. Smith projects as a lethal stretch-4 who could fit in nicely alongside Sabonis.&nbsp;
Gordon is a respected, established veteran with just one year of guaranteed money left on his contract. He shot a scorching 41.2% from three-point territory this past season, the second-best mark of his career.&nbsp;
Such a deal would make sense for the Rockets if they feel whichever of the top-tier prospects that falls to them isn't significantly better than the next highest-ranked player on their board. During a post-lottery press conference last week, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Houston is <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to trading the No. 3 pick</a>.
"I'm definitely not gonna block them out," Stone <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says">told reporters</a>. "If they wanna talk, I'm always available to talk... If it's the case that they're interested in doing something, we're always available to listen. If there's something that makes sense for both teams, something will get done."
Adding a quality young center in Holmes would give the Rockets leverage in negotiations with Christian Wood, or potentially enable them to trade him out of Houston.&nbsp;
New York Knicks trade Julius Randle and the No. 11 overall pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes, the No. 4 pick and a second-round pick (No. 37 overall)&nbsp;
Randle playing alongside Sabonis could be viewed as a clunky fit, but Sabonis did play 80% of his minutes at center for Sacramento after arriving via the midseason trade. The pairing would undoubtedly be problematic defensively, but the duo would be dynamic on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Randle and Sabonis were 2 of only 4 NBA players to average double-digit boards and more than 5 assists per contest. (The other two players in this club were Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.)
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After being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, Randle's offensive inefficiency regressed dramatically this past season. In addition, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the relationship between Randle and Knicks fans turned toxic</a> at various points during the year. Yet, even in a "down year," he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes per game. A fresh start in California might help Randle regain his All-Star form. Also, he is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26), which means the Kings wouldn't have to worry about their key players entering free agency anytime soon.&nbsp;
From the Knicks' perspective, this move would allow them to jump up and snag a highly-touted prospect, possibly combo guard Jaden Ivey, who New York was rumored to be interested in. And, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as I wrote last month</a>, moving Randle would enable the Knicks to insert Obi Toppin (who averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers per game in April) into the starting lineup while also clearing Randle's contract off their books. Barnes will celebrate his 30th birthday next week, but is still playing at a high level and has just one year left on his current deal.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins and the No. 16 pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes and the No. 4 pick
After signing a massive five-year contract worth $125 million last summer, Collins struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2021-22. His disappointing production was one of the reasons Atlanta failed to meet lofty expectations this season. One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks spent much of this past season below .500 and were easily eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round.
Would they be willing to part way with Collins (and his contract) to jump 12 spots in the draft?&nbsp;
Much like the aforementioned Randle/Knicks deal, the Kings would have to decide if Collins could mesh with Sabonis and Fox.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets trade Gordon Hayward, the No. 13 pick and the No. 15 pick (via NOLA) to the Kings in exchange for Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless, Alex Len and the No. 4 pick
Attempting to determine Hayward's value league-wide is difficult. When healthy, he's been remarkably productive throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by injury issues and has missed 58 games since signing a four-year, $120 million pact with the Hornets in 2020. He has two years and $61.5 million left on his current contract, which also contains a 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer highlights a number of possible trades that the Kings could execute to improve their roster this summer.

Breaking down 6 hypothetical trades for the Kings' fourth draft pick

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have won nine consecutive games in the Western Conference finals.
They can make it an even 10, eliminate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals after three years away with a victory in Game 4 in Dallas on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to fast forward,&rdquo; Curry said after a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-klay-thompson-2f6a0c58ab25f6512ffe1f090224f272">109-100 victory in Game 3</a> for a 3-0 series lead. &ldquo;We can play better, but we&rsquo;re finding ways to win games. There&rsquo;s no expectation other than what&rsquo;s the challenge ahead of us, and the challenge now is to close out a series against a really good team to get back to an opportunity to win the Finals.&rdquo;
The Warriors haven't lost in the West finals since erasing a 3-2 deficit to Houston in 2018, when they won the last of their three titles in four years by beating Cleveland in the NBA Finals. Golden State swept Portland for a fifth consecutive trip to the Finals in 2019 before losing in six games to Toronto.
The Mavericks are playing beyond the first round for the first time since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-golden-state-warriors-milwaukee-bucks-brooklyn-nets-nba-7e323815c5abcc72eefbad4c6a6b2f36">first-year coach Jason Kidd</a> was the point guard on the Dirk Nowitzki-led team that won the 2011 title.
Dallas was down 2-0 to top-seeded Phoenix in the West semifinals before winning twice as the home team took the first six games. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-dallas-mavericks-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-1e6827985892edd105afa343820edddb">The Mavs stunned the Suns</a> with a 33-point victory in Game 7 in Phoenix, putting Doncic a year ahead Nowitzki's schedule in reaching his first conference finals.
Golden State rallied from 19 points down to win Game 2 at home before erasing a nine-point deficit in the final four minutes of the first half in Game 3 &mdash; and ending any hope of Dallas repeating its Phoenix feat.
Instead of winning four out of five, the Mavericks have to win the last four games of the series. No NBA team has done that.
Doncic scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, but a desperate Dallas rally never gained traction. The young superstar masked a mediocre first half by hitting a 32-footer at the first-quarter buzzer.
&ldquo;I think the first two quarters I played very bad. That&rsquo;s on me,&rdquo; Doncic said after the Mavs fell to 2-6 in three playoff years when their All-Star scored at least 40. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m still learning. I think after this season is done, whatever we are, I think we&rsquo;re going to look back and learn a lot of things. I&rsquo;m 23, man. I&rsquo;m still learning a lot.&rdquo;
Doncic also learned what it's like to be on the wrong end of a moment that will live forever on highlight reels.
The three-time All-Star who is used to sending defenders stumbling with crossover and step-back moves was posterized on a dunk by Andrew Wiggins.
Yes, the same Wiggins was who criticized by some after being chosen as an All-Star starter in his first appearance this year. He got the nod over Doncic, who started the season poorly by his standards because of issues with weight and conditioning.
That wasn't Wiggins' only dunk on his way to a playoff career-high 27 points, and he had another off one of his six offensive rebounds, just one fewer than Dallas had as a team.
The 2014 No. 1 overall pick also has been one of the primary defenders on Doncic in a multifaceted scheme that has limited Dallas' career triple-double leader to five assists per game &mdash; three below his career playoff average.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a fantastic two-way player,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t win in the playoffs without guys like Wiggs. We&rsquo;re basically mirroring Doncic&rsquo;s minutes so that Wiggs can stay on him and he&rsquo;s another guy like Steph who just never seems to get tired. He&rsquo;s in amazing shape.&rdquo;
The Mavericks are in bad shape in this series because they've been outscored on average 62-47 in the second half. Part of the reason is the inconsistency of Doncic's supporting cast.
In Game 3, Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 of Dallas' 28 bench points after the Mavs' reserves were outscored 36-13 in Game 2. But key 3-point specialists Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber and Reggie Bullock combined for just nine points &mdash; all of them from Finney-Smith after Kleber and Bullock missed all 12 of their 3s and all 15 of their shots overall.
Pardon the Mavs if they sounded a bit defeated, knowing the history of 3-0 deficits.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in a battle, you&rsquo;re not thinking about the big picture,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;But as we reflect this summer, whenever that starts, we&rsquo;ll understand what we did and how we can get better. And that&rsquo;s the blessing of this whole thing is, we truly believe we belong here.&rdquo;
For now, the Mavs have to believe they can prolong things.
&nbsp;

The Warriors look to eliminate the Mavericks and return to the NBA Finals after three years away with a win in Game 4.

Curry, Warriors go for sweep of Doncic, Mavs in West finals

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Andrew Wiggins added 27 while posterizing Luka Doncic on a dunk and the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 Sunday night for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Klay Thompson scored 19 with a pair of big fourth-quarter 3-pointers as the Warriors moved within a victory of a return to the NBA Finals, three years after the end of a run of five consecutive trips that yielded three championships.
Golden State, which swept Portland in its most recent West finals in 2019 before Toronto won the title, goes for the sweep in Game 4 on Tuesday in Dallas. No team has rallied from 3-0 down to win an NBA playoff series.
Doncic scored 40 and beat the first-quarter buzzer with a 32-footer that got the crowd going with the Mavericks again at home trailing 2-0, as they did against top-seeded Phoenix before winning the West semifinal series in seven games.
But that shimmy-inducing bucket was a blip on an otherwise rough night from 3-point range for the Mavericks, who missed their first seven and finished 13 of 45.
Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber, two long-range specialists for Dallas, missed all 12 of their 3s combined and were 0-15 overall. Both went scoreless, offsetting Spencer Dinwiddie's 26 points off the bench. Jalen Brunson scored 20.
Wiggins' dunk over Doncic was originally ruled an offensive foul midway through the fourth quarter. The Warriors challenged, and the ruling was Wiggins' elbow to Doncic was incidental contact, giving Golden State a 93-83 lead.
About a minute later, Wiggins, who had 11 rebounds, moved quickly down the right baseline for a follow dunk on a miss by Curry as the Warriors extended their NBA record with a 26th consecutive series in which they won at least one road game.
One of Dinwiddie's 3-pointers got Dallas within five points with 1:15 remaining, but Jordan Poole answered with one from the left wing just inside the final minute.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
The most tense moment of the series came late in the first half after <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1528557592779165697?s=20&amp;t=cABubKSbS8jV6RFWmjglSw">a corner 3 from Curry capped an 8-0 run</a> that put the Warriors in front by a point and helped them to a 48-47 halftime lead. And it left Curry confused.
Curry ran the length of the court with his tongue hanging out after Dallas called timeout. As he circled back toward his bench, Curry walked by Doncic with teammate Juan Toscano-Anderson nearby.
Doncic appeared to take issue with something Toscano-Anderson said and started toward the Golden State bench before officials along with coaches and players from both teams intervened. Meantime, Draymond Green and injured Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr. exchanged unpleasantries about 45 feet apart.
After the timeout, Curry could been seen saying, &ldquo;What happened?&rdquo; and approached Doncic to talk about it. The exchange ended with Green as the peacemaker with Doncic.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Green got a technical foul, his second of the series, after an extended conversation with official Marc Davis when he was called for a backcourt violation when he hurriedly tried to step back over the midcourt line to catch a long, unexpected pass from Curry. The crowd was howling for a technical and finally got it. Seconds later, Green was called for his first foul and didn't like the call. But he directed his complaint at his own bench instead of the officiating crew. ... Otto Porter Jr., who averaged 10.5 points on 82% shooting the first two games, limped to the locker room in the first half and was ruled out with left foot soreness.
Mavericks: <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1528536430280065024?s=20&amp;t=cABubKSbS8jV6RFWmjglSw">Bullock won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar social justice award</a>. He has been active in the LGBTQ+ community. His sister, a transgender woman, was killed in 2014. Bullock worked with several organizations in the Dallas area after signing as a free agent in the offseason and has long been active in similar pursuits in his native North Carolina. ... Dorian Finney-Smith got a technical early in the second half for an elbow to the back of Green after a made Dallas free throw.

Behind big games from Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Golden State Warriors took a 3-0 series lead over Dallas.

Curry, Warriors take 3-0 lead on Mavericks with 109-100 win

The Orlando Magic came out of Tuesday&rsquo;s NBA Draft Lottery as the big winners, winning the No. 1 overall pick for the fourth time in franchise history.
Winning the lottery is a big deal for any team, as it gives them a tremendous opportunity to add an elite young talent. The <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 draft class</a> features a few &ldquo;can&rsquo;t-miss&rdquo; prospects who have already adequately separated themselves from the other top youngsters. Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren and Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero are easily the most electrifying players in the 2022 class.
All three of these prospects are versatile big men, which is a role that the Magic would be well-served in addressing. Orlando had two lottery picks in 2021, which they used on Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs and Michigan small forward Franz Wagner. If the Magic add a big man who grows into a superstar, their roster will be mostly set for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the allure of prospects wears off almost immediately after the draft. Ignoring the scouting process and all the work that goes into prosect evaluation, a look back at the last 10 NBA drafts reveals that first-overall picks are far from the sure things we make them out to be:
2012 NBA Draft: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Ten years ago, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick. Davis grew into a superstar quickly, and his impact on the Pelicans was clear almost immediately. He led the Pelicans to the playoffs twice, in 2014-15 and 2017-18. The 2017-18 team was particularly good, winning 48 games in the regular season with a core of Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Jrue Holiday. Cousins&rsquo; injury played a major role in Davis departing the Pelicans, as New Orleans failed to replace Davis&rsquo; friend and running mate. Had Cousins stayed healthy, who knows how good New Orleans could have been?
Still, Davis is clearly a great player who was absolutely worthy of the No. 1 pick. He has become an eight-time All-Star and earned a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team. Davis helped the Los Angeles Lakers win a championship in 2020, and he has career averages 23.8 points, 10.2 rebounds 2.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.4 steals.
Verdict: Success, although not necessarily for New Orleans.
2013 NBA Draft: Anthony Bennett, Cleveland Cavaliers 2014 NBA Draft: Andrew Wiggins, Cleveland Cavaliers 
The Cleveland Cavaliers picked first overall in 2013 and 2014. The strange thing about both picks is that neither Anthony Bennett nor Andrew Wiggins made an impact in Cleveland. Both were sent to Minnesota in a package for Kevin Love. Bennett played one uneventful season with the Cavaliers, and Wiggins was sent out prior to the start of his rookie season. So, which team do we assess? Cleveland or Minnesota? Let&rsquo;s review both.
Technically, getting two consecutive first overall picks and trading them to the Timberwolves helped Cleveland win their first championship in franchise history. That&rsquo;s a big win for the Cavaliers, even if it cost them both players. Cleveland&rsquo;s championship was more so a product of LeBron James (and Kyrie Irving to a lesser extent), but Love was impactful and the trade worked out.
Conversely, Minnesota did not fare well with Wiggins and Bennett. They qualified for the playoffs only once in Wiggins&rsquo; five-and-a-half seasons in Minnesota, and Bennett was off the team after only one season. Wiggins seems to have found a home in Golden State, but he's the team&rsquo;s fourth-best player, which is not what most people expect from No. 1 picks (especially one with Wiggins' hype).
Verdict: Both are failures relative to expectations, but Wiggins has become a significant contributor.
2015 NBA Draft: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Speaking of Minnesota, they fared so poorly following the aforementioned Love-for-Wiggins-and-Bennett trade that they received the No. 1 overall pick in 2015. Yes, that means they technically had the first overall picks from three consecutive drafts on their roster, at least for a short period of time.
The pick in 2015 turned out to be Karl-Anthony Towns, who has now played seven seasons in Minnesota. Until recently, the Timberwolves' front office failed to surround him with the talent needed to compete. Towns has led Minnesota to the playoffs only twice, but regardless how one views the lack of team success, Towns was a good pick. He's a career 20-and-10 guy who shoots an unbelievable 40% from three-point range. The 26-year-old is a perfect big man for today's NBA.
Verdict: The Towns pick is a relative success.
2016 NBA Draft: Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers 2017 NBA Draft: Markelle Fultz, Philadelphia 76ers
We can&rsquo;t really discuss the first overall picks of the past 10 seasons without diving into Sam Hinke&rsquo;s Philadelphia 76ers. Hinke led the &ldquo;Trust the Process&rdquo; 76ers from 2013-2016, during which time he received significant scorn from the NBA, media and basketball purists who felt he was cheapening the game by blatantly losing to increase the odds of being awarded the first overall pick.
Thoughts on Hinke&rsquo;s philosophy aside, he picked first overall in two consecutive seasons. Philadelphia won the draft lottery in 2016, selecting Ben Simmons. Then, they traded up to No. 1 overall in 2017 to nab the rights to Markelle Fultz.
Neither Simmons nor Fultz fulfilled their potential in Philadelphia. Fultz had a misdiagnosed shoulder injury, which resulted in an awkward shooting motion. After two sub-par seasons in Philadelphia, he was traded to Orlando, where he&rsquo;s played better but still nowhere near what's expected from a No. 1 pick.
Simmons was better for the 76ers, co-leading them to the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. But Simmons&rsquo; time in Philadelphia ended infamously last season, culminating with him forcing his way to Brooklyn after a lengthy holdout.
Verdict: Degrees of failure, though Fultz was considerably more disappointing than Simmons. At least Simmons became a three-time All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year runner-up.
2018 NBA Draft: Deandre Ayton, Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns picked first in the 2018 NBA Draft, which is another strange case. Objectively, Deandre Ayton is a major piece on Phoenix&rsquo;s roster. In his fourth NBA season, he averaged an impressive 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
Can we really analyze players in a vacuum though? Ayton was picked a few selections before Luka Doncic, who received serious first-overall-pick buzz that June. Imagine if the Suns had paired Doncic with Devin Booker? Like the Rockets and Trail Blazers both did in 1984, the Suns simply overthought this one.
2018 is too recent to accurately judge the long-term impact of this pick. Ayton could very possibly end up being a major contributor on a championship team. Still, this is a push at best, and if he ends up signing elsewhere this offseason, that makes the Ayton selection look even worse.
Verdict: Who the hell knows?
2019 NBA Draft: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans also picked first overall in 2019, selecting the electric athlete, Zion Williamson, who is the toughest first pick to grade in the last 10 years. In his lone injury-free season, he averaged 27 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 62% on two-point attempts.
But injuries make it far more difficult to grade him. Williamson has played in only 85 of a possible 202 career games, missing the entire 2021-22 season.
Verdict: Time will tell.
2020 NBA Draft: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota is experiencing a major resurgence, and the credit belongs to Towns and the 2020 first overall pick Anthony Edwards. Edwards had a good rookie season, but he exploded in his sophomore campaign.
This season, he helped lead Minnesota to the playoffs, averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.0 threes and 1.5 steals on 44.1/35.7/78.6 shooting splits. In the postseason, he took his game to another level, contributing 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.8 threes, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks on 45.5/40.4/82.4 shooting splits.
Verdict: After only two seasons, Edwards looks like a huge win for Minnesota.
2021 NBA Draft: Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
Last but not least, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham first overall in 2021. Despite playing alongside less talent than most of his peers, Cunningham's rookie campaign was successful. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds, was named a unanimous All-Rookie First Team selection and placed third in Rookie of the Year voting.
One season is too small of a sample size to grade a young player, but Cunningham looks like the absolute right pick.
Verdict: Success (so far).&nbsp; &nbsp;
In the last 10 drafts, the first overall pick has clearly been one of the best players in the draft class just four times (2012, 2015, 2020 and 2021). He has been a complete dud twice (2013 and 2017), a good player twice (2014 and 2018), a malcontent once (2016) and an injury-prone player once (2019). Five of the last 10 first picks were traded too. If Ayton is allowed to leave this offseason, then six of the last 10 are no longer with the team that drafted them, erasing the benefit of player development.
For every franchise-changing No. 1 overall pick &mdash; such as LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar &mdash; there are a handful of players who didn't work out in the long run. Sometimes, there isn't a generational player on the board; other times, the team picking No. 1 overall just overthinks it or goes in the wrong direction.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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The Orlando Magic came out of Tuesday’s NBA Draft lottery with the first overall pick. How successful does history suggest they will be?

Examining the success of teams selecting No. 1 in the NBA Draft

Through two weeks of the WNBA season, where does each team stack up and what are some prime takeaways?

WNBA Power Rankings 5/22

Following the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; shocking postseason exit, all eyes are now on Deandre Ayton's free agency.
After the Suns declined to sign Ayton to a five-year, rookie-scale max extension before the 2021-22 season, restricted free agency is now on the horizon for the athletic big man. During the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Ayton&rsquo;s agent Bill Duffy discussed Ayton's future on SiriusXM&rsquo;s NBA show.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re disappointed. We wanted a max contract,&rdquo; Duffy <a href="https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1527772160923619328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;He went out and was a solider the whole year, played well, improved his statistics. So, we&rsquo;re proud of him. A lot of guys handle things differently, but he was very mature about it. Things will work out for Deandre. He&rsquo;s a valuable player. There&rsquo;s other teams in the league as well. He&rsquo;s a restricted free agent, so we&rsquo;ll see how this process unfolds.&rdquo;
Ayton averaged 17.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.7 blocks on a career-high 65.6% True Shooting percentage during the 2021-22 campaign. Ayton was a key asset for the Suns on both ends of the court, especially around the basket as an easy lob threat and defensive anchor. Ayton has been a key piece for the Suns, but is he worth a max contract? Based on Duffy&rsquo;s comments earlier this week, it sounds like Ayton&rsquo;s camp won&rsquo;t settle for anything less than the max entering free agency.
From the Suns&rsquo; perspective, they saw improvement from the 2018 No. 1 overall pick this season before the team's disappointing postseason showing.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s improved each year, helps us on both the defense and the offense,&rdquo; Suns owner Robert Sarver told <a href="http://BasketballNews.com">BasketballNews.com</a> recently about Ayton. &ldquo;I think offensively, you see this year he&rsquo;s taken another good step in terms of his touch and his ability to score around the basket. So, he&rsquo;s been a key part of what we&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;
Taking all of this into consideration, what if Ayton's days in Phoenix are numbered? Here's a look at the most realistic sign-and-trade destinations for Ayton this summer.
Note: It's important to remember that sign-and-trade deals rarely return the same value as a traditional trade. The Suns have let it be known that they won't simply let an asset like Ayton walk for nothing. If Ayton&rsquo;s time in Phoenix is indeed over, the Suns won&rsquo;t be leaving the relationship empty-handed.
San Antonio Spurs
Spurs receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones
San Antonio is one of the few teams this offseason with secured max-level cap space. All that needs to be done in order to chase Ayton is renounce the restricted rights to Lonnie Walker.
Being at the bottom of the NBA standings is new for the Spurs. After being one of the league's model organizations for over two decades, they have officially hit a playoff drought. San Antonio was hoping for some lottery luck, but now they have to try another plan to bring in a star.
San Antonio&rsquo;s dynamic young duo of Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson is so fun to watch, but the they need a third game-changer to take this rebuild back into playoff mode. Ayton would be an ideal solution, mainly because of his excellent two-way fit in the Spurs&rsquo; system. Dropping Ayton into the Spurs&rsquo; player-development program could make some in Phoenix worry about the long-term consequences of this deal.
For Phoenix, cooperating with a long-time rival would hurt. However, if the relationship between team and player becomes fractured, the Suns won&rsquo;t have much of a choice if he finds a max offer on the open market.
The Suns won&rsquo;t let Ayton leave Phoenix unless they receive strong assets in return. The Spurs can actually provide a solid package that helps in the short and long-term.
In this deal, Phoenix could land one of the most underrated big men in the Association as well as two young players who have shown flashes. The Jalen Smith experiment was a disaster for the Suns after taking him No. 10 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Vassell went one pick later. Phoenix can right that wrong while also obtaining an intriguing point guard to develop in Jones.
This feels like a win-win for both sides. San Antonio would have a new Big 3 in Ayton, Murray and Johnson, while the Suns could acquire their new starting center and two pieces to bolster the bench unit.
Charlotte Hornets
Hornets receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Terry Rozier, PJ Washington and draft compensation
There might not be a team with a more dire offseason need than the Hornets and their hole at center. Charlotte was one of my NBA League Pass teams this season due to their fun offensive pace, but the defense often bordered on disastrous. Montrezl Harrell and Mason Plumlee aren&rsquo;t going to cut it, so it&rsquo;s time for Charlotte to get aggressive.
Given Charlotte&rsquo;s roster, they would have to move some salaries around to make an Ayton chase realistic. Offloading Gordon Hayward&rsquo;s contract is going to be a tough task and they may even have to relinquish one of their top-15 picks to do so, but it would have to happen in order for them to pursue Ayton. Hayward is due $61.6 million over the next two seasons, and Charlotte simply can&rsquo;t afford to keep biting that bullet with restricted free agent Miles Bridges due for a payday and LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s own rookie-scale extension on the horizon. Trading away Hayward and Mason Plumlee would give the Hornets max space.
Landing Ayton is Charlotte's dream scenario. Not only would Ayton continue to get spoon-fed easy looks from an elite point guard, he would help stabilize the Hornets' defense to respectable levels. Thanks to his freakish athleticism, Ayton would be able to cover up a lot of holes around him defensively.
Phoenix would love to pull off a double sign-and-trade to nab Bridges, but that seems unlikely. Instead, this deal allows them to find their long-term answer at point guard post-Chris Paul. While Terry Rozier is a shot-chucker, he has improved as a playmaker in Charlotte. In the short-term, Rozier could step in as the Suns&rsquo; sixth man and provide the exact boost that they need in offensive guard creation. PJ Washington is an interesting add because he could slide right into the small-ball 5 role played previously by Dario Saric.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/aytonturn.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="377" />
Indiana Pacers
Pacers receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Myles Turner, Chris Duarte, TJ McConnell
What&rsquo;s the next step for Indiana? Long gone are Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert. Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield could be the next Pacers veterans to be shipped out via trade as Indiana fully embraces a rebuild attempt. It&rsquo;s been long overdue for the Pacers to pull the plug on the core that continued to stagnate once the postseason arrived.
A year later, Indiana&rsquo;s future looks much brighter with a talented, new-look core of Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Isaiah Jackson and whoever is selected at No. 6 overall.
Ayton couldn't ask for a better pick-and-roll partner than Haliburton. Already making magic happen with CP3, Ayton&rsquo;s rolling ability would help accentuate Haliburton&rsquo;s biggest strengths. Also, Ayton&rsquo;s defensive versatility would be a welcome arrival for a team that nosedived in that category last season.
For Indiana, the price would be hefty. Not only would this trade require a four-year max contract for Ayton, but the Pacers would likely need to ship out a key piece of their young core via sign-and-trade (such as Duarte).
This trade would be a huge win for Phoenix, but it also looks great for the Pacers. The Suns would have a starting center who adds floor-spacing equity and elite rim protection, a capable veteran backup point guard who can spell Paul at times, plus one of the most impactful rookie wings in the Association. Having to include Duarte could leave the Pacers apprehensive, but they are reportedly enamored with adding another explosive piece via the draft, as Jaden Ivey (Purdue), Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky) and Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona) have all been linked to Indiana early in the pre-draft process.&nbsp;
Detroit Pistons
Pistons receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart, Cory Joseph and draft compensation
Another team that has considered making a run at Ayton this offseason is the Pistons, and they can create max space very easily: trading away Kelly Olynyk&rsquo;s contract.
The Pistons struck gold with Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey and they are helping usher in a new era in Detroit. Ayton&rsquo;s arrival would be the final piece to the puzzle for a team seemingly pushing their chips in on postseason play as early as 2023.
It would be best for Ayton to land with a capable lead guard who can feed him regularly. Already capable of tallying 20 and 10 most nights, Ayton would be set up for long-term success alongside Cunningham and Bey.
The question is, what would the Pistons need to send Phoenix&rsquo;s way in order for this sign-and-trade to go through? It&rsquo;s going to be a lot, and it would be a blockbuster-type transaction.
Blockbuster indeed, because Grant is now heading back to the Valley in this scenario. If the Suns and Pistons want to cooperate on a Ayton deal, I have to imagine one of Grant or Bey would have to be involved. Stewart is another enticing trade chip because he&rsquo;s shown the versatility to space the floor from three-point range. While he doesn't have the same touch as Ayton, Stewart brings nastiness and a tenacity on both ends of the court that Phoenix would absolutely love.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ayton1.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="373" />
Atlanta Hawks
Hawks receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic
No ifs, ands or buts about it, Trae Young would make Ayton an All-Star next season. What a fun inside-out duo this is to envision. While Atlanta is nowhere close to reaching the necessary cap space to absorb a massive Ayton deal on their own, a sign-and-trade becomes feasible with all of the talent that could fit into the Phoenix roster.
For the Hawks, Ayton represents another foundational building block to place alongside Young for the long-term. John Collins could be the guy, but he&rsquo;s been in trade rumors for the past year with no signs of those slowing down. Onyeka Okongwu could also grow into that role, but the Hawks signing Clint Capela to a long-term extension perhaps signals that they see him more as a piece to the puzzle rather than a true building block.
Ayton would arrive in Atlanta and instantly average around 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. On box-score fit alone, this would be the best landing spot for Ayton thanks to the greatness of Young.
If Phoenix had drafted Luka Doncic rather than Ayton at No. 1 overall in 2018, Phoenix may have considered adding Clint Capela to their frontcourt. Four years later, Capela being re-routed to Phoenix in an Ayton sign-and-trade is a plausible scenario to imagine. Capela would provide similar numbers to Ayton while requiring less of an offensive workload. Meanwhile, Bogdan Bogdanovic might vault to the top the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year leaderboards in the near future. Bogdanovic and Cameron Johnson leading the Suns&rsquo; second unit? That&rsquo;s a filthy thought.
***
None of these trades are perfect, but they do illustrate how challenging it will be for Phoenix to find a home for Ayton while also returning the value they'd love to get back for him. Ultimately, it may be in the Suns' best interest to re-sign Ayton this offseason and trade him at some point down the road when his value isn't so depressed.
Whatever happens, Ayton&rsquo;s name will continue to pop up in rumors throughout the spring and summer until the Suns and Ayton's camp find common ground at the negotiation table. This situation could become awkward and dragged out, which would surely kick the trade rumors into high gear. This isn't the last we'll hear about Ayton and the possibility of him changing teams.
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With Deandre Ayton's future in Phoenix becoming murky, it's time to examine potential destinations for the former No. 1 overall pick.

Examining potential sign-and-trade destinations for Deandre Ayton

There are many avenues to crafting a successful defensive scheme, Personnel is the main decider, of course. For example, you're not running a switching scheme with bigs that can't slide their feet or with guards who have weak centers of gravity. But depending on who you have, you can do pretty much anything if you nail the details.
For years, I've loved watching the Storm defend. Their style borders on frenetic: constant ball pressure, aggressive help and plenty of strain placed on their bigs when asked to scoot above screens. When they're locked in, it feels like there's nowhere to go with the ball. Basic pick-and-roll reads aren't there, and even if you get off the ball early against their pressure, the backline is rotating on time and on target.
It should come as no surprise that the Storm have ranked 3rd, 4th, 1st and 5th (but less than a point per possession shy of 3rd) in defensive rating over the past four seasons. In that same span, they've also been near the top of the leaderboard in opponent turnover rate, the percentage of possessions on which their opponents commit a turnover.
Range is the name of the game for the Storm. In the early portion of this season, no player embodies that quite like third-year big and first-year starter Ezi Magbegor.
Magbegor is a bit slight for the center position, as she is <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/m/magbeez01w.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed at 6-foot-4 and 176 pounds</a>, nearly identical to Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker. But she's able to counter that with her length (6-foot-7 wingspan) and her impressive mobility. That combination of traits allows her to toggle between schemes.
When directly involved in action, guards see their windows close in a flash. It's especially true when Magbegor is tasked with playing to the level of the screen or higher. She's too long to comfortably flip passes over her, and she moves well enough to cut off driving angles. Pocket passes are your best live-dribble option, but even then you're asking a lot of your guards.
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It's worth noting that Magbegor is still trying to learn the nuances of drop coverage. There are possessions where she commits to a guard too early or sinks too far back to cut off a rolling big. But because of her length, she's able to chew up space when she's wrong. There aren't many bigs in the W with a larger margin for error than her.
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Trying to attack Magbegor one-on-one is a challenge. Bigger centers are able to establish position against her in the post, but she counters that by making entry passes a pain in the butt. And if you're trying to trying to run your offense higher up, be careful.
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Even if teams make an entry pass, trying to shoot over the top isn't easy. Magbegor is long, active and a quick leaper. She blocked post behemoth Liz Cambage three times&nbsp;on Friday night. Honestly, the back-and-forth between them was a fun watch.
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We've also gotten fun flashes from her defending in space by her lonesome. She's able to toggle between both frontcourt slots, and she hasn't looked out of place when matched up with guards. Ask Courtney Vandersloot and Skylar Diggins-Smith.&nbsp;
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The scary part is Magbegor is also a menace when operating off the ball. Trying to run 1-4 pick-and-rolls against the Storm is another issue altogether,particularly when Breanna Stewart is the 4 being "attacked." The double whammy, however, is activating Magbegor as a helper. She can fly around, man.
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That's Jantel Lavendar involved instead of Stewart, but you see the intrigue. Diana Taurasi drawing two to the ball should create an advantage situation, yet Magbegor is able to play between two, taking away the roll from Tina Charles before sliding up to swat Bri Turner at the rim.
Trying to make passes in her area is also a futile endeavor. Lazy passes&nbsp;will&nbsp;be plucked from the air. Desperation feeds are as good as hers.&nbsp;
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Now for the numbers: Magbegor ranks second in the W in blocks (2.8) and is 14th in steals (1.5). Her 4.3 stocks (steals plus blocks) lead the W, with Sparks guard Brittney Sykes (3.0 steals, 1.0 blocks) being the only other player averaging at least four.
The Storm allow 94.4 points per 100 possessions with <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/wnba?TeamId=1611661328&amp;Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1629496" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Magbegor on the floor</a>--a mark, when extrapolated, that would rank third in the league. Oh, and the defense is nearly 16 points per 100 possessions worse when she's on the bench. Opponents see their two-point percentage drop by nearly eight points when Magbegor is on the floor.
I think you get my point.
Magbegor moves like a 3, has the size of a 4 and is able to cause havoc in the paint at the 5. Her size and mobility unlocks a ton of scheme versatility for the Storm, which in turn makes them an elite unit when she's on the floor.
She's racking up ridiculous counting stats without fouling. Tallying 26 stocks to 14 fouls is wild considering what she's asked to do and who she's been asked to do it against. She's seen Cambage, A'ja Wilson, Charles, and Sylvia Fowles in a two-week stretch.
She still needs some refinement, but we're in the midst of something special with Magbegor.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down the early defensive excellence of Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor.

Seattle Storm's Ezi Magbegor cares not for your space

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic was dominating, yelling in celebration and flexing his arms in Stephen Curry&rsquo;s house.
Then Curry and the Golden State Warriors delivered one of those signature third-quarter flurries that have defined so many of their postseason runs &mdash; with this one being sparked by Kevon Looney.
Just like that, they&rsquo;re two wins away from getting back to another NBA Finals.
Curry scored 32 points with six 3-pointers and eight more rebounds, Looney had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Warriors rallied past the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 on Friday for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
&ldquo;I feel honored just to be a part of the ride,&rdquo; Looney said.
Doncic scored 42 points and the Mavericks led most of the way before the Warriors took their first lead of the night on Otto Porter Jr.&rsquo;s 3-pointer 18 seconds into the fourth.
Doncic had 18 points in the first quarter &mdash; two shy of his 20-point Game 1 total. His 3-pointer with 13 seconds before halftime &mdash; the Mavs&rsquo; 15th of the first half &mdash; made it 72-58 at the break and gave him 24 points.
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&ldquo;Against someone that good you&rsquo;re just trying to limit some of the easy stuff,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Doncic even got a Twitter shoutout from&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://twitter.com/MCHammer/status/1527835832458960898" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland&rsquo;s own MC Hammer</a>: &ldquo;Ok young Luka &hellip; We see you.&rdquo;
But Golden State answered with a 25-13 third quarter to pull to 85-83 going into fourth &mdash; coming out of halftime with a performance reminiscent of those thrilling third quarters of past.
&ldquo;We know how good they are as a third-quarter team,&rdquo; Dallas forward Reggie Bullock said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just something that slipped away from us as the game continued to go on.&rdquo;
Doncic shot 12 for 23 and shined in a game of brilliant shotmaking &mdash; the Warriors finished 56.1% from the floor. In the first half alone, Dallas edged Golden State 52.3% to 51.2%, including a remarkable 55.6% to 53.3% from 3-point range.
The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday. Golden State is two wins from a return to the NBA Finals for the first time since making five straight trips from 2015-19.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re on the road against one of the best teams in the league. It happens. They held serve,&rdquo; Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen this in Phoenix so now we have to go back and just focus on Game 3.&rdquo;
Jordan Poole scored 23 points off the bench, Andrew Wiggins had 16 and Klay Thompson &mdash; held scoreless in the first half of the series opener &mdash; added 15 points for a second straight game. Golden State scored 62 points in the paint.
Jalen Brunson scored eight of the first 14 Dallas points on the way to 31. The Mavericks didn&rsquo;t have to see as much of Draymond Green, who picked up his fifth foul with 6:01 left in the third, then returned with 6:33 left before fouling out with 2:25 to go.
The teams tangled with 8:03 left in the second quarter in front of the Dallas bench. Warriors reserve Damion Lee closed out as Davis Bertans hit a 3-pointer from the corner and Bertans tripped Lee and sent him in a flip hard to the floor. Lee had to be held back by official Eric Lewis.
The players were issued double technicals.
In Game 1 two days earlier, Doncic faced smothering defense from Wiggins and shot just 6 for 18 and 3 of 10 from deep. Kidd expected a far better outing in Game 2.
Golden State continued to push the pace and committed 16 turnovers after 15 in the opener.
RELIABLE LOONEY
Moved back into the starting lineup for the clinching Game 6 of the semifinals against Memphis, Looney shot 10 for 14 after making all five of his field goals in Game 1.
He notched his second career postseason double-double.
&ldquo;Tonight was my night to make a big difference and I just stepped up,&rdquo; Looney said.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas led by as many as 16 in the opening quarter. ... The Mavs were outrebounded again at 43-30 after a 51-35 disadvantage in Game 1. They committed one fewer turnovers with 12 after Doncic had seven in the series opener. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to take care of the ball because the Warriors once you turn the ball over, they&rsquo;re gone, and a lot of times it&rsquo;s an open 3,&rdquo; Kidd said beforehand.
Warriors: G Gary Payton II &mdash; who broke his left elbow on a hard foul when Memphis star Dillon Brooks clobbered him May 3 on a fast break for a Flagrant 2, ejection and one-game suspension &mdash; is doing light individual work on court that includes shooting with his non-dominant right hand and will be re-evaluated in a week. ... F Andre Iguodala missed his ninth straight game with a disc injury in his neck is continuing his rehab with physical therapy and training in the weight room with some light on-court work. The Warriors said they will provide an update when he&rsquo;s cleared to practice. ... Golden State improved to 8-0 at home this postseason and is 18-5 in Game 2s dating to the 2015 title run. ... Green was voted to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;Steph is the best-conditioned athlete in this game, he never stops moving.&rdquo; -- Kidd
</div>

The Golden State Warriors rallied from an early deficit to take their second straight win in the Western Conference Finals.

Steph Curry, Warriors rally past Mavs for 2-0 lead in West finals

The energy in The Bay was palpable, a crowd starved for its team's first Western Conference Finals berth since 2019. The dominant rule of this Golden State dynasty had been rudely interrupted by a once-in-a-generation global pandemic, a slew of untimely injuries and a superstar migrating across the country to skyscraping lands. Even the Chase Center flooring glimmered in anticipation.
The only thing that gleamed more was the twinkle in the eye of the Warriors' team defense.
The Warriors faced a new challenge in the West Finals, going from containing the quick-twitch athleticism strewn across the Memphis Grizzlies' roster to now containing the pick-and-roll craftsmanship of Luka Doncic, arguably the best player of the 2022 postseason. Luka's a nightmare to deal with, to say the least. He can attack your bigs or smalls on switches in isolation. He makes passes that only a select few across the globe can make should he even gain the slightest bit of an advantage. Most of all, he's a true-blue three-level scorer, geared up with step-back threes, post-ups with Dirk Nowitzki-legged fadeaways, sikly floaters and elongated layups at his disposal.&nbsp;
Containing a player of that ilk is not as simple as just throwing one perimeter player his way and hoping for the best. And while Luka's primary defender, Andrew Wiggins, did an admirable job on Wednesday of holding Doncic to 4-of-10 shooting, it was Golden State's medley of defensive coverages that kept Dallas at bay during the 25-point evisceration.&nbsp;
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Steve Kerr's crew threw out six different coverages in the first half &mdash; blitzes, hedge-and-recovers, a shallow drop coverage, pick-and-roll switches, a 3-2 zone and even a Box-and-1 &mdash; to stifle Dallas' second-ranked playoff half-court offense to a crawl. Golden State's coordinated chaos worked effectively, as Dallas put up just 78.8 points per 100 possessions in the half-court during Game 1 (10th percentile, yikes!), well below the 101.3 Offensive Rating that Dallas normally averages in this setting.&nbsp;
We'll touch on a few of those coverages momentarily, but it was Golden State's zone looks that were particularly interesting. The Mavericks haven't seen a ton of zones this postseason, especially coming off a series against the Phoenix Suns that featured mostly drop coverage or the occasional switch with Deandre Ayton manning the middle.
Interestingly, Golden State aligned its 3-2 zone so that Stephen Curry was atop the formation, meaning that he was typically Luka Doncic's primary defender. This goes against conventional thinking; normally, you'd expect the Warriors to hide Curry in the corners on one of Dallas' non-threatening options (think: how Miami deployed Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro in the 2020 postseason) instead of guarding the best mismatch-hunter on the floor. The Warriors, however, felt confident about shuttling defensive possessions to Curry at the point-of-attack, trusting their superstar to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stephen-currys-defense-continues-to-shine-for-the-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">utilize his best defensive attribute</a> &mdash; his quick hands&mdash; to frustrate Maverick ball-handlers.
Of course, it helps with Wiggins and Draymond Green situated at the nearby wings, able to sink down and contain should Doncic bullrush his way past the slighter Curry. That's exactly what happened during this first-quarter possession below; Curry bothered Doncic's dribble by sticking in an arm, and when Doncic gathered himself and prepared his attack, Wiggins provided assistance at the nail to erase the driving lane and coerce the kick out. Jalen Brunson, of course, misses the spot-up three (a trend on Wednesday night), and Golden State gets its desired result from the 3-2 zone.
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There's some irony in the Warriors &mdash; the same team that once complained about Toronto's "junk defenses" in the 2019 NBA Finals &mdash; throwing out Box-and-1s to fluster Dallas' heliocentric offense. And yet, a minute later, Golden State busted out that janky look, with Curry, Jordan Poole, Green, and Otto Porter Jr. spread across the lane lines to form the "box," and Wiggins smothering Luka from basically the mid-court line.
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When Maxi Kleber comes to set a screen for Doncic, Poole and Wiggins trap Luka and use the sideline as a third defender to force the pass. Dallas hot-potatoes the ball across the perimeter, frantically searching for a vialble option, and eventually the Mavs are left with a 27-foot three from Kleber. A result the Warriors will live with.
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The Mavericks mustered up just 18 total points in the first quarter, which effectively set the tone for the rest of Game 1. Looking ahead after the brutal loss, it begs the question: Where can the Mavericks go next?
Well, there's the obvious answer, for one: Make more friggin' threes. Duh. The Mavericks whiffed on 37 of their 48 total outside looks, with some of those misses being <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT-vnjKYwf0&amp;ab_channel=MattBrooksNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pretty dang brutal</a>. But there's more to the game than just blindly hoping for better results.
Thinning Out the Hedges
As mentioned, one of the coverages that Golden State threw at Luka was hedging and recovering on pick-and-rolls. Typically, this was done when Doncic and the Mavericks looked to target Curry in screening actions. Dallas would have Curry's defender &mdash; Reggie Bullock in the first clip; Spencer Dinwiddie in the second&mdash;set a screen on Luka's defender, Wiggins.
Rather than having Curry switch outright onto Doncic, Steph would instead jump out toward the 6-foot-8 ball-handler to buy Wiggins time as he recovered back to his assignment. Though it goes in, a tightly contested step-back three &mdash; which Luka is shooting just 32.1% on in the postseason &mdash; is a result the Warriors can stomach, especially with one of its smallest defenders (Curry) involved in the play.
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Thus, going at Curry with a slew of straight pick-and-rolls wasn't particularly profitable in Game 1. Golden State is too experienced, too disciplined and too even-tempered to be caught off-guard by opponents repeatedly targetting its superstar. After all, that's been the game plan since, what, 2015? Steph is well-versed in evading such narrow offensive game planning.
But Dallas has some unexplored avenues.
One such way could be to mix in more slips to the rim. Below, after Golden State pre-switches to initially neutralize the Doncic-Bullock pick-and-roll, Luka calls for a second screen from Brunson to bring Curry into the fold. When Steph hedges, Brunson then cuts to the rim instead of flaring out to the perimeter. And although the possession is smothered by Draymond Green audibling a switch with Curry and playing some free safety (goodness was he ever incredible in Game 1!), Dallas was able to get two feet into the middle of the paint to make decisions.&nbsp;
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Flipping the angle of the screen at the very last second, which is something the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grizzlies-flattening-out-the-warriors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grizzlies did against the Warriors</a> in the second round, is a counter yet to be tested by the Mavericks' offense. When Dallas did elect to re-screen in Game 1, it was only because the initial screen failed to connect.&nbsp;
Dallas could also add some intricacy to its pick-and-rolls by forcing Golden State to navigate secondary screens. Screen-the-screener (STS) plays were, once again, something the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/memphisminnesota-game-5-was-a-masterclass-in-playcalling-wizardry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grizzlies tinkered with</a> in the earlier rounds of the postseason, and forcing Curry to navigate an off-ball screen before being dragged into a ball-screen for Luka could put him behind the play, thus throwing off the timing of his hedge.
All Doncic needs is a moment of hesitation to create for himself or others, so mixing in each of the following&mdash; re-screens, slips to the rim, ram screens and/or STS plays and straight pick-and-roll&mdash;to keep the Warriors on pins and needles could prove to make the difference going forward.
Sniffing Out the Proper Switches
So yes, scoping out Curry on pick-and-roll-induced switches didn't go as planned for Dallas in Game 1 given his comfort level with hedging those plays into oblivion; but that's not to say that Dallas failed to get any sort of traction when Golden State swapped assignments after ball screens.
Here's something that should keep Mavericks fans up at night: Dallas was hunting the wrong Warrior guard. Poole was tested by both of Dallas' secondary and tertiary options (Brunson and Dinwiddie), and he looked like a fish out of water on switches. Collectively, Dinwiddie and Brunson went 2-for-3 from the field when defended by Poole in Game 1.
Dinwiddie is both too tall and too quick to be even slightly bothered by Golden State's prolific 22-year-old, and Brunson's veteran craft left Poole stumbling. Jalen's portfolio of pump-fakes, B-Boy dancer pivots and up-and-unders was one hell of a handful for the third-year player.
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Even when Golden State attempted to hide Poole with hedges, he just wasn't disciplined enough to masterfully pull off this coverage with regularity. Here, he "shows" (or hedges) way, way too high up the floor against Brunson, who has yet to burn Golden State with pull-up threes, and Poole ends up getting flamb&eacute;d in isolation.
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Dallas' one-two punch of Doncic and Brunson also got off some pretty clean looks when served up Kevon Looney on a platter. Look, Looney had himself one hell of a Wednesday evening and was maybe the Game 1 MVP, but his lateral mobility was tested by Dallas' lead options. Take a look for yourself:
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Dallas should continue to hammer this home in the series. Though it's admirable that Looney feels empowered to pick up individual creators of Doncic and Brunson's ilk so high up the floor, his hip flexibility doesn't afford him the requisite oomph when changing directions on either player's array of dribbling moves. Doncic found relative consistency in forcing Golden State rotations and passing to open shooters after beating Looney off the dribble; Brunson, meanwhile, danced and jitterbugged his way to his spots to go 3-of-4 when defended by the Warriors' starting center.
It's integral that Dallas continues to exhaust Curry by involving him in a never-ending loop of pick-and-rolls. The more mileage put on his body defensively, the better. But there's also some value in getting some easy ones against guys like Looney and Poole.
Other notes:
<ul>
<li>Testing Klay Thompson, still fresh off two major injuries, is inherently not a terrible idea. Doing so by posting him up and allowing him to use his strong base and 6-6 frame, however, is not so brilliant. Doncic wasn't able to gain any ground against Golden State's sturdy wing, and the Mavericks would be better suited having the bursty Dinwiddie or even the guileful Brunson go at Thompson in space.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Speaking of Brunson, how often he can make Golden State pay via pull-up threes should be a major theme in the West Finals. Golden State regularly went under ball-screens against Brunson, daring him to shoot, and he responded with a whole bundle of record-scratch moments. Brunson has shot a combined 30.4% on pull-up three-pointers in the regular season and the postseason on just 105 total attempts, and if he continues to feign at chucking them up when the defense drifts underneath screens, Dallas' offense will sludge itself to death.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>The Mavericks are one of those teams where you just wish they'd incorporate a little more movement into their offense. Dallas leaves food on the table with screening actions on the weak side of the floor, and it allows the low man to stay engaged when helping over should Doncic (or Brunson or Dinwiddie) discover a crack in the defense. That's particularly problematic against a team like the Warriors and Green, a hellish secondary defender to tangle with. Notice how Golden State preoccupies Luka, the low man in the clip below, with screening action between Wiggins and Thompson. When Looney slips to the rim, Doncic is late on his rotation because of the ensuing traffic on the weak side.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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It'd be great if Dallas could incorporate some of&nbsp;that&nbsp;stuff into their pick-and-roll heavy offense.
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Matt Brooks goes in-depth to break down what the Mavericks can improve on offensively against a stout Warriors defense.

How the Warriors' defense flummoxed Dallas, and where the Mavs go next

Jason Kidd has been here before in his first season as coach of the Mavericks, down 1-0 in a third consecutive NBA playoff series. 
The Bay Area native is looking for another bounce-back from Luka Doncic and company in his first trip to the conference finals as a coach, which just happened to start in San Francisco.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/basketball-dallas-mavericks-milwaukee-bucks-kobe-bryant-nba-a6934fb817052fb13539d1d0bc4c2f31">Kidd is guiding the franchise</a> that was his first home away from home nearly 30 years ago, and is this deep in the postseason for the first time since Kidd was the point guard on the Dirk Nowitzki-led team that won the 2011 title.
“There’s a team out there that’s won a championship starting the same way, losing the first game,” Kidd said after Wednesday's <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-phoenix-suns-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-8d9a4604e727cdb17fb6bc6e394e1a06">112-87 loss to Golden State in Game 1</a> of the Western Conference finals. Game 2 is Friday night.
Kidd has kept the conversations on championships since replacing his coach from that 2011 title year, Rick Carlisle. In this case, he could have been referring to those Mavs, who beat Miami in six games after losing the opener.
With a steady hand as the coach, Kidd has help Dallas rally from a 16-18 start to finish in the top four in the West for the first time since 2011. 
The Mavericks started the playoffs without Doncic following <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-mavericks-san-antonio-spurs-nba-sports-jason-kidd-619222aa783a75cdbff2b01bf986cedb">Kidd's questionable decision to keep him in a regular-season finale</a> that had clearly become meaningless before the young superstar strained his left calf.
Kidd rejected the idea that he should have pulled Doncic, then the Mavericks won their second game without their All-Star against Utah and did it again when the first-round series moved to Salt Lake City. Dallas eliminated the Jazz in six games, with Doncic returning for the final three.
After losing the first two games at top-seeded Phoenix, neither of which was particularly close, Dallas won four of the last five, capped by a 33-point Game 7 victory. It was the only victory for the road team in the series.
“Coach did a good job of getting everybody to buy in,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “He's the only person in the locker room who's been in this situation. He's always got a cool, calm, collected attitude, and I think we take that from him.”
Kidd has acknowledged learning lessons from taking a hard-charging approach to his second job as a head coach in Milwaukee, where he was fired in the middle of his fourth season after the Bucks gave up draft picks to get him from Brooklyn.
There was an unflattering anecdote in a book about Giannis Antetokounmpo released shortly after the Bucks won the title last year, describing a grueling practice on Christmas Eve when Kidd was upset over a loss.
Dallas guard Sterling Brown, who played for Kidd in Milwaukee, has suggested his current teammates are seeing a different version of Kidd. What matters most, of course, is his relationship with Doncic — which appears to be all good so far.
“I think we’re a way better team now,” Doncic said during the season. “He’s been great for us. He communicates with the players. He’s just been great, helping not just me but everybody, just to see a better picture.”
The picture has developed into the best one in a decade for a franchise still led by a European star. Doncic, from Slovenia, is a year ahead of Nowitzki (Germany) in getting to the conference finals — both in age (23 vs. 24) and seasons (four vs. five).
Kidd, drafted second overall by Dallas in 1994 before getting traded 2 1/2 years later and returning to win his only title, reached the NBA Finals with each of the three teams he went this far with during a Hall of Fame playing career.
To do it again, his team will have to beat coach Steve Kerr and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, both of whom faced Kidd on the court.
“The way he conducted his teams from that point guard spot, coaching seemed like a perfect fit,” said Kerr, whose final season as a player was with San Antonio when the Spurs beat Kidd and the Nets in the 2003 NBA Finals. “But you never know; a lot of superstars don’t go into coaching. I’m glad he went down this path. He’s done an amazing job with Dallas.”
Curry's overlap with Kidd was four years, capped by Kidd's final season as a player with the New York Knicks in 2012-13.
“My favorite memory of him is all the reactions and mannerisms he had when he was on the bench in New York and I was going off,” Curry said.
Kidd wasted no time getting into coaching, joining Brooklyn immediately upon retiring and leading the Nets to the second round in 2014. He couldn't repeat that with the Bucks, losing in the first round twice. 
“I love the chess aspect of the game,” Kidd said. “I love the mental aspect of the game. I love helping players achieve their goals — financially or winning. As a player, I played to win. As a coach, you play to win. Your impact is a little bit less, but you’re here to help guide the guys to achieve their goal.”
His Mavericks will have to dig out of another hole to do it.
___
AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.
___
NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">https://apnews.com/hub/nba</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks are hoping for a bounce-back game against the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the WCF.

Kidd, rekindled Mavs on familiar turf down 1-0 at Warriors

TyTy Washington Jr. remembers being in awe gazing at the banners in Madison Square Garden as he watched the New York Knicks meet the Cleveland Cavaliers and the feeling he had two days later when Kentucky faced Duke at the famed arena.
Something else he won&rsquo;t forget? The reaming he got from coach John Calipari when the team watched video in the Hall of Famer&rsquo;s basement the next day.
&ldquo;He came up to me, he was like, &lsquo;Kid, you don&rsquo;t play hard enough&rsquo; and just started going in on me,&rdquo; Washington said Thursday at the NBA draft combine. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had coaches go in on me, but I&rsquo;ve never had a coach tell me I don&rsquo;t play hard.&rdquo;
Those experiences were invaluable to Washington, whether it was the feeling he had just being at The Garden or the feedback he got from Calipari after playing poorly in Kentucky&rsquo;s season-opening loss. And he&rsquo;s banking on them to help him make the jump to the NBA.
The college game can offer opportunities that aren&rsquo;t available through other avenues, with the exposure through TV deals and the NCAA Tournament and all that comes with it. The burgeoning name, image and likeness chances that were created last year when the NCAA&rsquo;s Board of Directors cleared the way for college athletes to start earning money without endangering their eligibility or putting their schools in jeopardy of rules of violations are another incentive for top prospects.
Options remain overseas and in the G League Ignite. A new basketball league called Overtime Elite offers top high school players a path to the pros along with six-figure salaries. Two from there &mdash; Dominick Barlow and Jean Montero &mdash; got invitations to the combine compared to three from NCAA champion Kansas.
Though the winners of the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player Award the past four years did not play college ball, with Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic repeating after Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo won it two years in a row, the top prospects in the draft next month went the NCAA route. Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren, Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero, Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith and Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey are likely to go in the top four.
&ldquo;The NCAA is changing a lot,&rdquo; Wisconsin All-America guard Johnny Davis said.
The NIL is a major game-changer.
Banchero worked with Creative Artists Agency and got deals that included becoming the first player featured in the latest NBA 2K video game as well as a basketball trading card from Panini as part of a multi-year agreement. He&rsquo;s about to make more money in the NBA, and he&rsquo;s hardly the only one.
&ldquo;I think college basketball is in a good state right now,&rdquo; said Michigan State guard Max Christie, a Chicago-area product.
He mentioned the quality of the players as well as the impact the NIL is having, even if it wasn&rsquo;t a big factor for him.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to turn down money at some point,&rdquo; he said.
Washington said this year&rsquo;s draft shows, &ldquo;You can still go to college, still do your academic stuff and still be in the same position as everybody else who didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
The NIL, he said, helps &ldquo;a lot.&rdquo;
&ldquo;With us being able to make money off our names now, it should encourage more people to go to college,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;If you are an outgoing person, you can also succeed in (NIL), in school and in basketball. I feel like that&rsquo;s three huge wins in life.&rdquo;
Washington had opportunities to play in Australia and the G League. But once Calipari and Kentucky entered the picture, he couldn&rsquo;t see himself going anywhere else.
Washington averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds while starting 29 of 31 contests in his lone college season. The play-making guard also broke John Wall&rsquo;s single-game school record for assists with 17 against Georgia.
Washington missed three Southeastern Conference games because of injuries and scored just five points in Kentucky&rsquo;s loss to Saint Peter&rsquo;s in the NCAA Tournament East Region first round. But he also smoothed things out after a bumpy beginning.
Washington flashed back to that video session following the Duke game and how the energy changed once Calipari entered the basement. He said he never had a coach tell him he wasn&rsquo;t playing hard. But Calipari backed it up by showing clips of him walking up the court.
The next practice wasn&rsquo;t much fun, either.
Calipari pushed the team hard and made sure everyone knew exactly who was responsible.
&ldquo;He was like, &lsquo;Y&rsquo;all know why I&rsquo;m doing this, y&rsquo;all know who I&rsquo;m doing this for.&rsquo; Everybody&rsquo;s just looking at me,&rdquo; Washington said. &ldquo;From that day on, I felt that definitely helped me because that just opened up my eyes.&rdquo;

College can offer opportunities unavailable through other avenues, with the exposure through TV and the NCAA Tourney and more.

NBA prospects see value of college despite other options

All year, it&rsquo;s been an abnormally frigid campaign beyond the arc for Stephen Curry.
He shot 38% from deep during the regular season, a career-low and the first time he&rsquo;s ever dipped below 41% (his five-game 2019-20 season notwithstanding). Through 12 playoff games, he&rsquo;s at 35.7% from three-point range &mdash; the worst mark of his eight postseason appearances.
Given his volume and degree of difficulty, neither mark is truly bad. But they are low based on his standard, and that&rsquo;s the barometer here. As a reminder, &ldquo;bad&rdquo; for Curry still means 26.4 points per game on 60% True Shooting. Just don&rsquo;t forget that. The decline is from supernova scorer to very good scorer.
Where Curry has maintained a widely rosy outlook, and what&rsquo;s helping him carry on as a superstar, is his playmaking and defense. Bouts of sloppy passes still arise intermittently. However, he&rsquo;s thrived as a facilitator and defender this season, perhaps enjoying the top campaign of his career in each regard.&nbsp;
Due to a month-long hiatus, the passing required a little rust to be shaken off before he began cooking again in the playoffs. What required virtually zero buffer period is his defense. Since Game 1 of the first round against the Denver Nuggets, Curry&rsquo;s defensive exploits have amplified the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; championship pursuits.
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Steph Curry had the perfect reaction to being called a two-way player. 😅 (🎥: <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBCSWarriors</a>) <a href="https://t.co/PLHIgSGXk4">pic.twitter.com/PLHIgSGXk4</a>
&mdash; theScore (@theScore) <a href="https://twitter.com/theScore/status/1526349023728254977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The caliber of assignments have bounced around, but he&rsquo;s crafting a highly versatile impact. He&rsquo;s often hedging on ball-screens to avoid mismatches in isolation, yet he&rsquo;s also held his own on numerous occasions to stymie creation attempts.&nbsp;
Will Barton, Austin Rivers and Monte Morris all struggled to commandeer offense against him in Round 1. Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane, the latter of which was hobbled by a back ailment for much of the series, also encountered difficulty. Even Luka Doncic didn&rsquo;t seamlessly chisel his way to the rim when Curry switched onto him in Game 1. The Warriors&rsquo; timely help contributed, but Curry offered notable resistance on Wednesday.
He&rsquo;s skinnying over screens to stay attached or prompting people to reject them altogether. Between his strength and lateral quickness, ball-handlers aren&rsquo;t turning the corner with routine success. Through two-plus rounds of playoff ball, he&rsquo;s absolutely been a very good on-ball defender.
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All of those clips don&rsquo;t even include his resume as a playmaker. Whether it&rsquo;s directly altering shots, ripping the ball from an opponent&rsquo;s clutches or poking the rock out of bounds, Curry&rsquo;s dexterity and stout center of gravity are flummoxing players.&nbsp;
Rivers and Brooks experienced the most significant issues, though they&rsquo;re hardly alone in this phenomenon.&nbsp;
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According to NBA.com, players are 46-of-117 for 122 points (49.7% TS) with 20 turnovers when Curry is the primary defender. On the 868.2 partial possessions he&rsquo;s been involved in as a primary defender, the opposition has scored 882 points these playoffs (101.6 offensive rating).&nbsp;
Despite wielding his strength and hands to disrupt actions, Curry is largely staying out of foul trouble. He is averaging 3.4 fouls per 100 possessions and, through 12 games, he has just one outing with more than three fouls.&nbsp;
On-ball sequences are far from his sole talent in the postseason. He&rsquo;s also a terror off the ball. Although Bane was hampered early on by a back injury last round, his foibles were exacerbated by Curry regularly detonating dribble handoffs or back-cuts to engulf the sweet-shooting wing.&nbsp;
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Ball denial has been a reliable area of expertise for the three-time MVP, and his closeouts are following suit. He&rsquo;s scurrying to shooters under control and with high hands to delay, dissuade or influence jumpers. On help-the-helper scenarios inside, he&rsquo;s crashing down at the proper moment to eliminate passing angles.
His start-stop ability enables him to mirror off-ball motion and contain shooters off the catch; his strength complicates their aim to generate separation or an advantage.
Fixate on Curry for a defensive possession off the ball this round and you&rsquo;ll likely witness a sound rotation, closeout or ball denial. His defense is superb across numerous contexts right now.
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Curry is reading offenses like an elementary book these days. Not only is he honing in on his own assignments, his off-ball awareness is brilliant. He&rsquo;ll slide in to help on an unattended player in the paint and immediately toggle back to his responsibility when necessary. The timeliness with which he&rsquo;s functioning is laudable.
Truly absorb the impact of these clips and recognize what he&rsquo;s doing defensively. Look how many shots in the paint or potentially open threes he prevents.
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Selecting a favorite among that compilation is rather arduous, but the last one stands out. Klay Thompson and Otto Porter Jr. miscommunicate on a switch, leaving Dorian Finney-Smith open as he dives toward the rim.&nbsp;
Curry, playing the weak-side corner, is lurking off a middling shooter in Frank Ntilikina. He&rsquo;s monitoring the on-ball event the entire way. Once Thompson and Porter commit their mistake, Doncic slings a one-handed bullet to Finney-Smith. But Curry is prepared. He instantly sees Doncic readying for the dime, darts in and breaks up the pass to save two points.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s how Curry is clicking defensively in the playoffs. He&rsquo;s not some All-Defensive stopper. Yet he&rsquo;s excellent nonetheless and doing a hell of a job for a defense that looks to be harmonizing at the ideal time.&nbsp;
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Jackson Frank breaks down Stephen Curry's film and the outstanding defense he's playing during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

Stephen Curry's defense continues to shine for the Warriors

The NBA Draft Combine provides many opportunities for prospects to shine, and the scrimmages are, at times, where selections are earned. With that in mind and the first scrimmage in the books, let's look into some notable prospect performances.
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/ryan-rollins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Rollins</a>, Toledo&nbsp;
Ryan Rollins had a great showing in his scrimmage, posting 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. After measuring in at 6-foot-3 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan and recording a 36.5-inch max vertical earlier in the week, the All-MAC guard put his scoring prowess on display. Rollins averaged 18.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his sophomore campaign at Toledo. There are improvements to be made as a shooter, but he excels off the dribble and can put pressure on the rim. With good size and playmaking potential, he is a viable option in this 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/iverson-molinar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iverson Molinar</a>, Mississippi State
Iverson Molinar scored 12 points and added 5 assists in this one, using his twitchiness and speed to create good looks and get to the free-throw line. Molinar can be a bit turnover prone in spurts, but excels out of the pick-and-roll and as a spot-up shooter. He also has decent vision as a passer and is a functional on-ball defender. Considering his athleticism and scoring prowess, Molinar could be a strong option in the 2022 draft as a score-first guard.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/jabari-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Walker</a>, Colorado
Walker knocked down 2 of his 3 attempts from deep and ended with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Although he was inconsistent this season, he has shown promise as a floor-stretcher &mdash; both on the move and standstill. Walker is also a solid rebounder and adequate defender with a high basketball IQ. If he shoots the way he is capable of and makes the next steps in his development, he could be a highly coveted prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft. Also worth noting, Jabari is the son of former NBA player, Samaki Walker.
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Terquavion Smith, NC State
With 17 points, Terquavion Smith showed off his scoring ability and versatility as a creator. He averaged 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shot 36.9% from behind the arc as a freshman and is making a case for himself this week as a 2022 prospect. After measuring in at 6 foot, 2.25 inches without shoes, he then posted a 10.63 lane agility time and a 38.5-inch max vertical. He&rsquo;s twitchy and explosive, and has a chance to be a reliable guard in the NBA regardless of when he declares.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/trevion-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevion Williams</a>, Purdue
Trevion Williams posted 14 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists, making some nice passes along the way. He has incredible footwork and craftiness at the rim, and is always thinking a step ahead with the ball in his hands. He is also a decent athlete at 265 pounds, as he's quick off the ground, runs the floor well and posted a 30-inch max vertical at the Combine. Williams is old school in the way he provides points, but he does the little things well. He has good vision out of the post, plays with a great motor and is the kind of player you want in the locker room.
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Derek Murray highlights key observations from the first scrimmage of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.

Ish