Eagles

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke scored 16 points and Aliyah Boston added 12 to help No. 1 South Carolina remain unbeaten with a 58-51 win over Mississippi State on Sunday.
The Gamecocks were held to a season-low point total but were able to find a way. Boston added 15 rebounds in the win.
South Carolina (16-0, 3-0 SEC) had a massive advantage at the free throw line where the Gamecocks were 14 of 24 while MSU was 2 of 5. The Gamecocks also dominated the boards with a 53-35 edge including 22 offensive rebounds.
Jerkaila Jordan led the way for the Bulldogs (12-5, 1-3) with 13 points and five rebounds. Jessika Carter had 11 points and nine rebounds.
NO. 2 STANFORD 60, CALIFORNIA 56
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Haley Jones scored the go-ahead layup with 1:17 to play, Cameron Brink had 25 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots as NBA pal Stephen Curry watched courtside, outdueling Leilani McIntosh down the stretch as Stanford held off California.
Jones wound up with 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Cardinal (16-1, 4-0 Pac-12) ran their winning streak to 11 games.
McIntosh finished with 19 points for the Golden Bears (10-5, 1-3).
Stanford won its 38th straight game against Pac-12 teams including the past two conference titles and postseason.
NO. 3 OHIO STATE 87, ILLINOIS 81
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Taylor Mikesell scored a game-high 31 points as Ohio State erased a halftime deficit and avoided an upset.
Mikesell shot 50% from the field and Cotie McMahon added 22 points for Ohio State (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten). Taylor Thierry had 12 points and swiped four steals.
Kendall Bostic notched her sixth double-double of the season behind 27 points and 15 rebounds. Genesis Bryant finished with 20 points, Makira Cook had 12 and Brynn Shoup-Hill tallied 10 for Illinois (14-3, 4-2).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA 60, NO. 4 NOTRE DAME 50
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; First-year guard Paulina Paris scored 11 of her season-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to help North Carolina push past Notre Dame.
Deja Kelly added 14 points for the Tar Heels (10-5, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a four-game skid that had drained some of their early season buzz.
Olivia Miles had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead Notre Dame (12-2, 3-1), which had entered Sunday as one of two unbeaten teams in ACC play.
NO. 6 INDIANA 72, NORTHWESTERN 50
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Indiana beat Northwestern.
Grace Berger finished with 16 points and five assists for the Hoosiers (14-1, 4-1).
The Wildcats got a boost off the bench as Jasmine McWilliams added eight points on 3-for-3 shooting in the third. McWilliams and Sydney Wood led Northwestern (6-9, 0-5 Big Ten) with 10 points each in their seventh loss in nine games.
NO. 7 LSU 67, KENTUCKY 48
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Flau&rsquo;jae Johnson scored 26 points, including eight during a 12-0, second-quarter run to break the game open, Angel Reese also scored 26 and LSU earned its best start in school history.
Reese had 13 rebounds for her nation&rsquo;s-best 16th double-double. The Tigers (16-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) outshot Kentucky just 40%-35% but dominated nearly every other statistical category including rebounding (45-23).
Maddie Scherr had 22 points for Kentucky (8-8, 0-4), which dropped its fourth in a row and lost its second game this season in Rupp Arena, home of the men&rsquo;s basketball team.
MIAMI 77, NO. 9 VIRGINIA TECH 66
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Jasmyn Roberts scored a career-best 23 points, Haley Cavinder added 19 and Miami held off Virginia Tech.
Roberts was 8 for 12 from the field, 5 of 7 from 3-point range for the Hurricanes (10-6, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their third straight game. Cavinder was 6 for 12 from the field, and Miami shot 54%.
Elizabeth Kitley scored 20 for Virginia Tech (13-3, 3-3), which had beat Miami five consecutive times. Georgia Amoore added 13 for the Hokies.
NO. 10 NC STATE 87, VIRGINIA 62
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jada Boyd scored 13 points and No. 10 North Carolina State snapped a two-game home losing skid.
Camille Hobby and Mimi Collins both had 12 points, and Diamond Johnson and River Baldwin added 10 points apiece for the Wolfpack (13-3, 3-2). Jakia Brown-Turner and Madison Hayes each finished with nine.
Camryn Taylor scored 16 points, Taylor Valladay had 13 and Sam Brunelle 12 for Virginia (13-3, 2-3), which dropped a game to a top-10 team for the second time in four days after losing Thursday at No. 9 Virginia Tech.
NO. 17 OKLAHOMA 82, NO. 11 IOWA STATE 79
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Ana Llanusa scored 23 points, Skylar Vann hit the final go-ahead basket, and Oklahoma defeated Iowa State in a matchup of the Big 12&prime;s top two offenses.
In a game with 25 lead changes, Oklahoma struck last.
Vann finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma (12-2, 2-1 Big 12). Nevaeh Tot also scored 13 points, and Taylor Robertson finished with 10.
Ashley Joens finished with 27 points and nine rebounds. She made 12-of-13 free throws. Lexi Donarski scored 20 and Nyamer Diew 14 for the Cyclones (10-3, 2-1).
NO. 12 UCLA 61, SOUTHERN CAL 60
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Freshman Londynn Jones scored 13 of her career-high 22 points in the second half and UCLA used a big fourth-quarter run to beat Southern California.
Emily Bessoir hit 3 of 5 from 3-point range and finished with 11 points for UCLA (13-2, 2-1 Pac-12). Charisma Osborne scored six of her nine points in the fourth quarter.
Rayah Marshall had 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for Southern Cal (11-4, 1-3) and Kayla Williams also scored 15 points. Okako Adika added 11 points and Destiny Littlejohn 10.
NO. 15 ARIZONA 79, NO. 18 OREGON 71
TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Madison Conner scored 16 second-half points to lead five Arizona players in double figures and the Wildcats beat Oregon.
Shaina Pellington had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jade Loville scored 13 points and Esmery Martinez 11 for Arizona (14-2, 4-1 Pac-12). Kate Reese had 10 points.
Grace VanSlooten led Oregon (12-4, 3-2) with 18 points. Te-Hina Paopao and Endyia Rogers scored 17 apiece, Chance Gray added 10 and Phillipina Kyei had six points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 Kyei has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in eight consecutive games.
NO. 24 ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 71, XAVIER 52
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jayla Everett scored a season-high 26 points and St. John&rsquo;s bounced back after its first loss of the season.
Jillian Archer had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (14-1, 5-1 Big East Conference).
Mackayla Scarlett had 18 points for the Musketeers (7-9, 0-7), who have lost six straight as well as 15 straight to St. John&rsquo;s.
NO. 25 CREIGHTON 68, MARQUETTE 42
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Lauren Jensen scored 19 points and Creighton defeated Marquette after holding the Golden Eagles to 14 points in the first half.
Chloe Marotta scored 20 points for Marquette and Jordan King added 13. Only four players scored for the Golden Eagles (10-6, 3-4 Big East).
Jensen made 9 of 14 shots and added three rebounds and five assists. Morgan Maly had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Emma Ronsiek scored 10 for the Bluejays (10-5, 4-3) who had lost four of their last five games.

A recap of Sunday's women's college basketball slate features the top-ranked Gamecocks in a battle with the Bulldogs.

No. 1 South Carolina battles back to beat Mississippi State

It&rsquo;s an annual occurrence in the NBA. Teams change head coaches and the roster of candidates who should get those jobs starts getting bandied about, and especially in recent years those lists almost always included Black candidates.
Case in point: Ime Udoka, who is of Nigerian descent.
For five years, he was one of those can&rsquo;t-miss candidates but never got hired. That is, until the Boston Celtics gave him the opportunity. And all Udoka did in Year 1 was reach the NBA Finals.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand what took so long, to be honest,&rdquo; Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said.
Udoka&rsquo;s hiring by the Eastern Conference champion Celtics, who open the NBA Finals on Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors, was part of a transformative year for the league when it comes to diversity within the coaching ranks. In the last 12 months, eight coaching jobs have been filled by Black candidates &mdash; and for the first time, half the league&rsquo;s franchises, 15 of the 30, have Black head coaches.
&ldquo;It means a lot,&rdquo; said Golden State assistant Mike Brown, one of the eight recent Black hires; he&rsquo;s taking over the Sacramento Kings when this series ends. &ldquo;When my son, and my oldest son&rsquo;s about to have his first son, when they turn on the TV and they see people that look like them leading an NBA team on the sidelines, it can be inspiring.
&ldquo;For me, carrying the torch and then passing it to the next generation is something that I think about often &mdash; not just for my family, but for others out there.&rdquo;
Detroit&rsquo;s Dwane Casey, Phoenix&rsquo;s Monty Williams, Cleveland&rsquo;s J.B. Bickerstaff, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Doc Rivers, the Los Angeles Clippers&rsquo; Tyronn Lue, Houston&rsquo;s Stephen Silas and Atlanta&rsquo;s Nate McMillan are the seven Black coaches who had their current jobs last season. They&rsquo;ve been joined in the last year by Udoka, Brown, Portland&rsquo;s Chauncey Billups, Dallas&rsquo; Jason Kidd, Orlando&rsquo;s Jamahl Mosley, Washington&rsquo;s Wes Unseld Jr., New Orleans&rsquo; Willie Green and last week, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham.
Mosley interviewed for nine jobs before getting hired in Orlando. Ham, like Udoka, had been a can&rsquo;t-miss name for years, but never got a chance until now.
&ldquo;Darvin is about as good a guy as you&rsquo;re going to see, a big competitor,&rdquo; Boston&rsquo;s Al Horford said. &ldquo;Extreme competitor. The Lakers are really lucky to have a guy like him. He&rsquo;s the kind of guy that you want.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s been nearly 60 years since Bill Russell broke the NBA coaching color barrier when he became the first Black man to coach a team; he accepted the role as player-coach of the Celtics starting with the 1966-67 season and won a championship in his second season.
Al Attles and Lenny Wilkens were the next two Black coaches to get opportunities; they would eventually become champions as well. There have been roughly 260 different coaches in the NBA, excluding short-term interim fill-ins, since Russell was hired, and 1 out of 3 of those coaches have been Black. But most of those Black coaches have either lasted in their first job no more than three years or not gotten a second chance at leading a team.
Players wanted that to change. Evidently, so did other coaches.
&ldquo;For many years qualified young coaches of color like Ime Udoka, Jamahl Mosley, Willie Green, Wes Unseld Jr., Darvin Ham and Stephen Silas, to name just a few, were not getting consistent opportunities to interview for NBA head coaching positions,&rdquo; said Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. &ldquo;The last two years changed everything. The league office has tirelessly made franchises more aware of the qualifications and journeys of these talented young coaches. This increased awareness has led to qualified coaches of all backgrounds having greater opportunity to interview and the numbers speak for themselves.&rdquo;
Part of that awareness came from a meeting that three league officials &mdash; Commissioner Adam Silver, chief people and inclusion officer Oris Stuart and president of social responsibility and player programs Kathy Behrens &mdash; had with Carlisle, representing the NBCA, in February 2019.
Out of that meeting, the NBA Coaches Equality Initiative was born. The NBCA worked with the league in many ways to get it started, including the building of a database; in a couple of clicks, teams in need of coaches could get information, including qualifications, experience and even an on-camera interview in some cases, on every available candidate.
&ldquo;You have to talk about these issues all the time,&rdquo; Silver said Thursday. &ldquo;If you care about diversity and inclusion in your workplace ... it has to become a focus.&rdquo;
There are still areas where the NBA can improve in terms of diversity. Most front-office positions are not held by people of color and Michael Jordan is the lone Black principal owner of a franchise; Jordan leads the Charlotte Hornets, the only team that has a coaching vacancy right now.
It&rsquo;s an issue, and while there has been improvement in some areas, Silver wants more.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s more work to be done,&rdquo; Silver said.
That said, the numbers in the NBA wildly exceed the other major U.S. pro leagues.
There are three Black coaches in the NFL: Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mike Tomlin, Houston&rsquo;s Lovie Smith and Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Todd Bowles. That does not include Miami&rsquo;s Mike McDaniel; his father is Black, but McDaniel identifies as biracial. The person McDaniel replaced in Miami, former coach Brian Flores, is suing the Dolphins and the NFL for what he says is racial discrimination in hiring practices.
&ldquo;Our league leads the charge,&rdquo; Mike Brown said. &ldquo;Hopefully other leagues will follow suit.&rdquo;
But he also points out that he longs for a day when 50% of the coaches in a league being Black won&rsquo;t seem like a milestone, saying that&rsquo;s &ldquo;the dream.&rdquo; And Silver echoed those sentiments.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m particularly proud of numbers and roughly 50% of our head coaches are Black now, the goal is that that&rsquo;s not newsworthy,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;And when people are hired, the first reaction isn&rsquo;t the color of their skin.&rdquo;

“Our league leads the charge,” Mike Brown said. “Hopefully other leagues will follow suit.”

Transformative year: Black coaches now lead 50% of NBA teams

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an NBA season-best 56 points by Atlanta's Trae Young, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 136-131 win over the Hawks on Monday night.
Young shot 17 for 26 from the field, 7 for 12 from 3-point distance and 15 for 15 from the line for his career-high scoring total, and added 14 assists. His 56-point game eclipsed Kevin Durant's 51-point performance for the Nets at Detroit on Dec. 12. Golden State's Stephen Curry and Boston's Jaylen Brown have had 50-point games this season.
Young became the first player with 50-plus points and 14-plus assists in a game since James Harden with the Houston Rockets on Dec. 31, 2016. 
Simons had a career-high nine 3-pointers, the most for a Portland player this season. After missing Portland's last game, Simons started in place of All-Star Damian Lillard, who was out because of injury management. 
Portland trailed at the start of the final quarter, but took a 112-107 lead after Ben McLemore's layup and Nassir Little's 3-pointer with 7:43 left. Simons' floater extended the lead to 118-111, but the persistent Hawks kept it close down the stretch. 
Young came down hard on the court after an attempted layup with less than a minute left, but recovered to make a pair of free throws that closed the gap to 127-125. 
Jusuf Nukic made a layup and added a free throw to make it 130-125 and Portland held on for the win. 
Atlanta coach Nate McMillan entered the league's health and safety protocol on Saturday. But six Hawks players were available to return from protocols for the game against the Blazers, including Sharife Cooper, Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Onyeka Okongwu and Delon Wright. 
Five Hawks, including Bogdan Bogdanovic, remain in the protocol. At one point, Atlanta was without a league-high 12 players. 
Joe Prunty took over in McMillan's absence. The Hawks were coming off a 121-118 win in Cleveland on Friday that snapped a three-game losing streak. 
The Blazers were without Lillard because of abdominal tendinopathy, which has bothered him since the Olympics. The team was also still missing backcourt teammate CJ McCollum because of a collapsed lung. 
But Nurkic, the starting center, returned from the protocols for the game against the Hawks, <a href="https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1478141321630023683">announcing his availability personally via Twitter. </a> He finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. 
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups also was back on the sideline after missing three games. 
Portland jumped out to a 18-7 lead midway through the opening quarter. Atlanta perked up after its sluggish start, taking a 37-36 lead on Delon Wright's 3-pointer. 
The Blazers reclaimed the lead and went up 58-46 on Nassir Little's 3-pointer. Portland led 70-65 at the break. 
Young had 29 points and nine assists in the first half. He has scored 29 or more points in 16 straight games to tie Dominique Wilkins’ team record, set between December 1985 and January 1986. 
The Hawks took a 91-90 lead on Huerter's layup and held on for a 105-100 lead going into the final quarter. 
TIP INS
Hawks: Atlanta is in the midst of a season-long six-game road trip. ... Young's streak of games with 25 or more points is the longest in the NBA this season. ... Young is the first NBA player to reach 29 points and nine assists in the first half of a game this season. 
Trail Blazers: Portland's Dec. 23 game against the Brooklyn Nets that was postponed has been rescheduled for Jan. 10 at the Moda Center. 
UP NEXT
Hawks: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. 
Trail Blazers: Host the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. 
___

Trae Young scored 56 points, but the Atlanta Hawks fell to the Portland Trail Blazers, 131-136.

Trae Young scores NBA season-best 56 points, Hawks fall to Blazers

The NBA is already in wonderful hands, with the next generation of young stars ready to take the baton very soon. Each year, so many incredible talents join the Association and various franchises help develop them into full-fledged gems. At this point, who are the top-10 players under 25 years old?
Below is a ranking of players under age-25 based on their current standing in the league. This list doesn't factor in their upside or long-term potential, just their current contributions. If you&rsquo;re wondering where players like Devin Booker, Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell are, I excluded players who will turn 25 years old during the upcoming NBA campaign.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive into the list of franchise-changing stars.
LUKA DONCIC, DALLAS MAVERICKS
Doncic is the favorite to win this season's NBA MVP award for good reason. He&rsquo;s already established himself as one of the best players in the league with an effortless, beautiful brand of basketball that allows him to fill the stat sheet. Each year, Doncic has significantly improved various aspects of his game. We haven&rsquo;t seen a prospect get off to this kind of start in the NBA since LeBron James, which puts Doncic on a generational path.
Doncic has already reached a level where he can carry his Dallas Mavericks to a playoff berth, and potentially to a top-four seed in 2021-22 with another leap. Next, he'll try to help the Mavs win their first playoff series since their championship run in 2011. The Slovenian phenom has next, and he certainly seems poised to take over the league. And while this ranking is solely based on each player's current contributions, it's wild to think that Doncic is still only 22 years old (meaning he's younger than some of the incoming rookies, including Davion Mitchell and Chris Duarte).
TRAE YOUNG, ATLANTA HAWKS
After an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, Young has reached league-wide superstardom. Everything clicked together for the Hawks when Nate McMillan took over for Lloyd Pierce as head coach. Atlanta rode this momentum while Young took a leap and became one of the best point guards in the Association.
Young can go off for 30-to-40 points whenever he pleases, and his playmaking ability is reminiscent of a young Steve Nash. Young&rsquo;s trajectory is to the moon, and Atlanta gaining postseason experience with last year's deep playoff run should only help Young. This season, it'll be interesting to see how Young adjusts to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-the-nba-is-trying-to-eliminate-unnatural-foulbaiting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA's new rules against unnatural foul-baiting</a> (which were added in large part due to him).
JAYSON TATUM, BOSTON CELTICS
Tatum is one of my favorite NBA betting <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/5-best-bets-on-future-nba-awardwinners" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dark-horse options to win MVP</a>. Boston has built a team around Tatum that allows him to continuously produce buckets. Once the calendar hit March, Tatum averaged nearly 30 points per game with an impressive efficiency clip. Alongside Jaylen Brown, who turns 25 years old next month, Boston&rsquo;s dynamic wing duo could vault the Celtics into the Eastern Conference's second tier of contenders.
Among the young wings in the league, I&rsquo;m riding with Tatum to be the most valuable in 2021-22 and beyond. He&rsquo;s just now realizing how special of a scorer he can become in Boston.
ZION WILLIAMSON, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Williamson has already seen immense organizational turnover around him in the Bayou State. Through it all, he&rsquo;s still showcasing superstar potential on a nightly basis. Williamson just averaged 27.0 points in his age-20 season. And with the Pelicans building a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/by-making-zion-williamsons-job-easier-the-pelicans-should-finally-have-real-playoff-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more competent rotation</a> to space the floor, Williamson could average 30-plus points per game in 2021-22.
Williamson is a titan in the paint, and he should continue to establish his dominance throughout his career. Soon enough, New Orleans is going to become a force to be reckoned with thanks to Williamson and the rest of their young core.
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BAM ADEBAYO, MIAMI HEAT
It&rsquo;s hard to name an NBA big man who's more versatile than Adebayo. Not only can Bam score effectively around the rim with an improving range, he can also run the offense and protect the rim with the best of &lsquo;em. Adebayo already plays such a pivotal role for the Heat, and he&rsquo;s going to be a critical piece this season as they hope to make an NBA Finals run.
If Adebayo continues to develop into a more well-rounded scorer throughout his prime, he will quickly become one of the best overall bigs in the NBA. Having Kyle Lowry as his point guard will do wonders for him immediately as well.
BRANDON INGRAM, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Ingram is flying under the radar right now, and he shouldn&rsquo;t anymore. After his first All-Star appearance in 2019-20, Ingram still flashed jaw-dropping scoring capabilities as a perfect sidekick alongside Zion Williamson.
Ingram can score from all three levels while also drawing fouls at a star-like rate. Once everything clicks together &ndash; and he if shows improved defensive acumen &ndash; he could crack the top-five of this list next season.
SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Oklahoma City nabbing SGA in the Paul George trade was a franchise-altering moment for the organization. Sure, the Thunder are continuing their tanking efforts by stockpiling copious amounts of draft picks throughout the 2020s, but Gilgeous-Alexander has quickly emerged as one of the most promising young players in the NBA.
Somehow, the Thunder were floating around .500 near last year's All-Star break thanks in large part to Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s brilliance. Last season, SGA averaged 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds while posting a 62.3 True Shooting percentage.
Gilgeous-Alexander plays a unique brand of basketball and he should only continue to improve as the Thunder&rsquo;s No. 1 option moving forward. SGA has earned his place as the face of the franchise in Oklahoma City. Now, let&rsquo;s hope the Thunder can use their draft picks and assets to surround him with talent during his prime years.
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JA MORANT, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Morant is so much fun to watch. The modern-day version of prime Derrick Rose, Morant&rsquo;s explosive scoring components bring endless amounts of energy to this new era of Memphis Grizzlies basketball. In his second season, Morant helped push Memphis to the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and gave their young core some much-needed playoff experience. He can already create endless match-up problems in transition and isolation situations, and he should continue to improve as a perimeter scorer.
Morant has yet to average at least 20.0 points per game in his career, but that leap should happen in 2021-22. If the Grizzlies improve upon their impressive finish to last season, it will be in large part due to Morant taking the next step in his development.
DE&rsquo;AARON FOX, SACRAMENTO KINGS
It&rsquo;s a shame the Kings have yet to make real progress throughout Fox&rsquo;s career, because he continues to add more tricks to his bag. Last season, Fox averaged a career-high 25.2 points on a 56.5 True Shooting percentage. With some impressive draft picks in the last two years (Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell), maybe we'll finally see the Kings break their 15-year long playoff drought sometime soon.
Fox will climb this list if he works on his three-point shooting and free-throw efficiency. Thus far, Fox has shot a pedestrian 32.6% on three-pointers plus 71.8% on free throw attempts over the course of his four-year career. Even if those percentages don&rsquo;t significantly improve, Fox is already a blur in transition who continues to put up impressive outings on a nightly basis.
DEANDRE AYTON, PHOENIX SUNS
If Ayton could create for himself as a scorer, he would be much higher on this list. Although Ayton won&rsquo;t pop as a 20-plus-point-per-game big just yet, his career development is taking an interesting turn following the Suns&rsquo; improbable NBA Finals run. Playing the No. 3 role behind Devin Booker and Chris Paul, Ayton embraced doing all the dirty work &mdash; hard screens, dominating the glass, protecting the rim while staying out of foul trouble, etc.
Ayton is becoming a more valuable big in playoff situations than Rudy Gobert. Yes, that might seem like a hot take right now, but the exponential growth we saw from Ayton as a defensive anchor has changed his trajectory entirely. As one of the most efficient paint scorers to go along with elite-level defense with versatility to guard ball-handlers on switches, Ayton is the perfect center for playoff situations.
Ayton should eventually jump back into the primary No. 2 role alongside Booker as Paul ages gracefully into his new four-year, $120 million extension. In the meantime, Ayton has already thrived on the biggest stage, proving how valuable his skill set is in today's NBA. This season, Ayton will be one of the most intriguing players to follow for this very reason. And if takes a step forward with his self-creation, that would change the game again for the Bahamian big.

A new era of young stars are taking over the NBA. Which under-25 players will crack the top-10?

Ranking the top-10 players under age-25 for the 2021-22 season

In addition to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., MVP favorite Nikola Jokic now has Aaron Gordon flanking him, and the Denver Nuggets are better than they were a year ago when they went to the Western Conference Finals.
They got JaVale McGee, too, which means Mike Malone can give The Joker a breather and not have to hold his breath, and so we put the Denver Nuggets squarely in the winners column of today's NBA trade deadline results.
The Portland Trail Blazers did well Thursday, too, acquiring Norman Powell from the Toronto Raptors as an eventful day went down without Kyle Lowry or Andre Drummond or Hassan Whiteside being dealt, although there were teams that were trying.&nbsp;
The Miami Heat kept their cap space for the summer and added Victor Oladipo and Nemanja Bjelica, and the Atlanta Hawks will be the newest place where Lou Williams will continue his illustrious career, joining a young group that has turned things around under new head coach Nate McMillan.
The Chicago Bulls not only landed Nikola Vucevic, but also Boston Celtics big man Daniel Theis and Al-Farouq Aminu from the Orlando Magic, as Arturas Karnisovas aced his first trade deadline. Even if they stick in 10th place and are a play-in team, Vucevic is an All-Star who will give them a puncher&rsquo;s chance should they make it out of the play-in and go up against one of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Their fans finally have hope.
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The Magic basically traded every good player they had on their roster, but does that necessarily make them losers? Once Markelle Fultz went down in the first month of the season, that franchise quickly came to realize it had topped out at the end of last season. The Jonathan Isaac injury made this year an exercise in futility, and general manager John Hammond did what he had to do -- get whatever he could for the three best players on his team in Vucevic (sent to the Bulls), Gordon (sent with Gary Clark to the Nuggets) and Evan Fournier (sent to the Celtics).
Hammond and Orlando received keepers in return, like Gary Harris, Wendell Carter and R.J. Hampton, so that grade is &ldquo;incomplete" because it was necessary. Perhaps more importantly, the Magic got a top-five protected 2025 first-round pick from the Nuggets, two first-round picks from the Bulls ('21 top-four protected, '23 with light protection) and a pair of second-rounders from the Celtics.
Boston was dealing from a position of strength because nobody else had the cap space (via the Gordon Hayward trade exception) to absorb Fournier&rsquo;s contract. We shall see if Moritz Wagner and Luke Kornet in the middle will be better than what they had in Theis. It could also mean more playing time for Robert Williams III.
Fournier gives the Celtics another player who gets the job done on both ends of the floor, and the core of his team (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart) is a proven commodity -- no matter what their record says. If Boston can gather a head of steam heading into the postseason, it will not matter what their seed is. So Ainge goes into the winners column, tentatively.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15355437-1-1_lg.jpg" alt="" />
The same goes for Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and the Dallas Mavericks, who got themselves a pair of shooters in JJ Redick and Nicolo Melli, who can knock down threes when Luka Doncic drives and dishes. Redick is one of the strongest character guys in the league and a huge locker room voice. This trade is sneaky good.&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers picked up George Hill from the Oklahoma City Thunder, giving them a veteran point guard to add to a rotation of a team that has somehow stayed atop the East throughout Joel Embiid&rsquo;s injury absence. And Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers did not have to trade Mike Scott, who was the only rotation player mentioned in pre-deadline trade possibilities. It appears we are down to Rivers vs. Monty Williams for Coach of the Year. (Sorry, Thibs)
We have to have some losers in this, don't we? By default, that distinction includes the New Orleans Pelicans, who were unable to find a taker for Lonzo Ball by virtue of the fact that he is going to be a restricted free agent in the offseason. Once the Bulls were out of the picture following the Vucevic trade, the team best equipped to give something up for him -- the New York Knicks -- made the wise decision to wait until free agency to see if they can get him that way. All that Leon Rose surrendered were spare parts in Austin Rivers and Ignas Brazdeikis; the Knicks will roll the dice in the postseason with Julius Randle doing everything in the meantime and Tom Thibodeau game-planning for whatever opponent they end up going up against.
It would be easy to throw Toronto into the losers column because they did not get much for Powell or Matt Thomas (Gary Trent Jr. could potentially bolt as a free agent, and they did not get anything for Kyle Lowry, who stayed put. But giving away a player of that caliber for less than a fair price represents Masai Ujuri standing his ground in the face of what he felt were subpar offers from the Heat, Sixers and Los Angeles Lakers. A sign-and-trade could be an option over the summer, and Lowry may even decide to stay with the Raptors.&nbsp;
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The thing about the trade deadline is that it is only one of three key transactional periods &ndash; draft night being the second, and the opening days of free agency being the third.
The Blazers have been a sleeper all season and now have Powell, a 27-year-old averaging nearly 20 points per game, who can continue to send out Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the years ahead. Neil Olshey did well. Trent and Rodney Hood were superfluous.
By the end of the season, it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see whether Powell to the Blazers or Gordon to the Nuggets ended up being the better trade. Both of those West contenders got a heck of a lot better, and the Lakers are clearly on notice with a bunch of teams gunning for them -- and that includes the Los Angeles Clippers, who cut bait with Lou Williams and will take their chances with Rajon Rondo.
New Orleans can still move Ball in a sign-and-trade, so the runaway winner of the loser portion is the Houston Rockets, who turned Victor Oladipo into Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley and a potential ability to swap 2022 draft picks.
Let&rsquo;s not forget that Rockets general manager Rafael Stone could have kept Caris LaVert and Jarrett Allen from the Brooklyn Nets, or received Ben Simmons from Philadelphia earlier this season -- before the James Harden trade turned into a four-team deal. Instead, now with Oladipo off to Miami, the Rockets ended up with pennies on the dollar for a guy who may end up winning an MVP award and an NBA championship, depending on how the Nets do in the playoffs.&nbsp;
We shall wait and see if the Clippers join that column. What remains to be seen is whether Kawhi Leonard decides to exercise his player option over the summer. If he declines, he can go to the Heat (who did not take on any long-term contracts) or New York to write the next chapter of his career.
But for now, the winners outnumber the losers, and that makes this a good trade deadline day.

Chris Sheridan recaps a busy day in the NBA with who performed the best and who performed the worst at the 2021 trade deadline.

NBA trade deadline winners and losers

Prior to this year's NBA Trade Deadline, BasketballNews.com rounded up its writers and asked them to share their thoughts and predictions ahead of Thursday's flurry of moves. Over the next few days, we'll be dropping a number of these Roundtable articles. Today, we asked our staffers:&nbsp;
Which team is in desperate need of a trade?
Nekias Duncan: Though I have my doubts about a Kyle Lowry deal getting done, Toronto absolutely should opt to take a step back. This season has never really been fair to them: relocation, injuries, COVID. On the flip side, they&rsquo;re now presented with an opportunity to sell high on at least one of Lowry or Norman Powell, nab a high lottery pick, and retool for next season and beyond.
Spencer Davies: If your answer isn&rsquo;t the Boston Celtics here, you&rsquo;d be crazy. Understanding how much COVID protocols, the recovery process, injury and lineup inconsistencies have affected their season, there is no reason a team with two All-Stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown should have a sub-.500 record. Our Ethan Fuller <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-boston-celtics-ball-movement-problems-go-beyond-eye-test-jayson-tatum-jeff-teague-kemba-walker-brad-stevens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detailed the issues in his latest breakdown</a> of the C's obsession with isolation offense; there&rsquo;s a lack of ball movement. Is there a player out there that fixes that issue alone? No. But a Harrison Barnes certainly wouldn&rsquo;t hurt, nor would a George Hill-type.
Alex Kennedy: After losing 12 of 14 games, the Toronto Raptors should be active before the deadline. They should get as much as they can for Kyle Lowry rather losing him for nothing this offseason when he hits unrestricted free agency. Also, Norman Powell is playing his way into a huge payday this offseason, so trading him now may be Toronto's best move (if they aren't interested in matching the offers he's bound to receive). The Boston Celtics are an obvious pick to shake things up, but Toronto stands out to me.
Chris Sheridan: Boston. The Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season and are the East's biggest underachievers. In fact, nobody is a close second (thanks to Nate McMillan in Atlanta). They are one game under .500 and need someone who can give them what Gordon Hayward gave them a year ago. Kemba Walker has never been a great shooter, but 39 percent this season is not getting it done. I would not be surprised to see Danny Ainge trade him.
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Moke Hamilton: I&rsquo;d probably say the Celtics. When I look at the standings, they strike me as being the biggest underachiever relative to the expectations, and while that can be partially explained by their injury misfortunes, they&rsquo;re simply too talented to be the eighth seed out East. Fortunately, the Celtics have some assets that they could package in an attempt to land an impact player... Hopefully, for their sake, they manage to do something that&rsquo;ll change their fortunes.
Ethan Fuller: Honestly, quite a few teams need to make a move, but I'd pick the Celtics as a standout team right now. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are certified young stars, yet this team hangs below .500 over halfway through the season. Danny Ainge has also <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-boston-celtics-danny-ainge-our-roster-obviously-is-not-good" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly criticized the makeup of the roster</a>. Now he has to back up his criticisms and bring in better-fitting talent.
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Danny Cunningham: There are a few teams that come to mind. The Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics certainly qualify, but the Denver Nuggets look like a team that needs a bit more to reach the level they were able to get to last year during the playoffs. If the Nuggets are going to only go as far as Nikola Jokic can take them, the playoffs probably won&rsquo;t be as fun this year as they were in 2020.
Jannelle Moore: The Golden State Warriors are in desperate need for a trade for the present and their immediate future. They need help offensively to make a significant push to avoid the play-in tournament this year and to solidify depth next year. However, I don't believe they will do much (if anything at all) because of salary-cap constraints, and not to mention taking their time in finding players that will fit.
Jonathan Concool: The Boston Celtics have underachieved in just about every way this season; they currently sit at 21-22 on the season, which is tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are a year removed from being a top three-team in the conference, and with their roster not changing much from last season, there are a lot of questions surrounding the team. I expect Danny Ainge to be very active this week in trying to acquire a notable player like Aaron Gordon or Jerami Grant.
Sharon Brown: The Boston Celtics need a big rebounder to help them in the postseason. The Celtics received a $28.5 million Traded Player Exception when Gordon Hayward was traded to the Charlotte Hornets via a sign-and-trade. Nikola Vucevic from Orlando might be what they're missing (although the Orlando Magic may not be willing to part with him). Vooch is averaraging 24.6 points and 11.8 rebounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;
MORE ROUNDTABLES: <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-roundtable-will-this-be-an-active-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will this be an active trade deadline?</a> <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-roundtable-who-is-the-biggest-name-that-will-be-moved" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Who's the biggest name that will be dealt?</a>

Which NBA team desperately needs to shake things up prior to Thursday's trade deadline? BasketballNews.com's staff weighs in.

NBA Trade Deadline Roundtable: Which team is in desperate need of a trade?

The NBA trade deadline is now nine days away, and while we can safely assume that all 30 teams want to get better, we must proceed expecting two teams --the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks -- to play big roles in dictating what the market will look like.
There are lots of big men available, and anybody who tells you that Andre Drummond or Hassan Whiteside or JaVale McGee would not make a difference in an Eastern Conference playoff series has not been paying attention. Or as Gregg Popovich would say: &ldquo;Living in a phone booth.&rdquo;
Also, those who assume the Knicks (with $15.7 million in cap space) are not in win-now mode do not understand Tom Thibodeau. The guy is married to a basketball, and he is anxious to do in New York what he was unable to do in Minnesota and, to a lesser degree, in Chicago.
And then we have the Celtics, who are sitting on the largest trade exception ($28.5 million) in NBA history and are worse off that they were a year ago when they made the Eastern Conference Finals. Danny Ainge cannot stand pat and expect to get past the Nets, Sixers, Bucks or Heat.
The rumor mill will be churning between now and March 25, and every contending team in the East will be scheming to make an addition that attacks the weaknesses of Brooklyn and Philadelphia, while every Western team will try to find a way to compete with the three-point shooting of the Utah Jazz and the depth and experience of the Los Angeles Lakers.
So let&rsquo;s go through the league alphabetically and assess each team&rsquo;s needs, expectations and expendables.
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ATLANTA HAWKS: Nate McMillan is 5-0 as head coach, and the most active team in the weeks leading up to training camp remains built (if fully healthy) to advance if all of the pieces can fit together with almost zero practice time. John Collins is entering restricted free agency and is not as productive as he was a year ago, but he makes just $4.1 million. Put him in a deal with Tony Snell, though, and those combined salaries equal $16.3 million, which can get you a nice player.
BOSTON CELTICS: What made them special a year ago was the ability to get offensive production from three All-Star caliber starters: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward. But Hayward is gone, Enes Kanter is doing big things in Portland (remember how he was a game-changer for Boston in the postseason a year ago?) and Kemba Walker is shooting 38% in his 10th season. Standing pat is not an option.
BROOKLYN NETS: At some point they will need a third center to join DeAndre Jordan and Nicolas Claxton, but the buyout market or the China market (the CBA season ends before the NBA playoffs) may be the easiest way for Sean Marks to add an extra big body if they cannot get a big man whose contract fits into their $5.7 million disabled player exception. Spencer Dinwiddie is the only superfluous player on the roster, but he is out for the remainder of the season, and the Nets have no future draft picks to throw into a deal. They used them all in the Harden trade.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS: Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team is 100-1 to win the East despite having the lock for Rookie of the Year, a four-game winning streak and a roster chock full of young and hungry players who, for the most part, lack postseason experience. At a certain point, they have to realize they could have done better than Cody Zeller ($15.4 million) with the fourth pick of the 2013 draft. It might be time to sacrifice a future first-round pick or two to upgrade at center. Malik Monk has been playing well lately, otherwise, we would predict his imminent departure. The Hornets have an open roster spot and $4 million in cap room.
CHICAGO BULLS: It would be delusional of them to think they can advance beyond the first-round of the playoffs, which is why they have to consider getting a good young player from a contender in exchange for Thaddeus Young ($13.5 million), who is the leading candidate to finish a distant second to Jordan Clarkson in Sixth Man of the Year voting. &nbsp;Tomas Satoransky ($10 million this year and next year) is 29 years old and could be combined with Young to bring in a good young player. Here is an idea:
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Who says no? <a href="https://t.co/Pc61DX8jQV">pic.twitter.com/Pc61DX8jQV</a>
&mdash; Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/sheridanhoops/status/1371826941804883973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Aside from the inevitable Drummond and McGee moves (best offers arrive at 2:59 p.m. on deadline day), Koby Altman will probably keep quiet after acquiring Jarrett Allen from the Nets and sending Kevin Porter Jr. to the Rockets. Kevin Love is going to be dead money for two more seasons and Cedi Osman is looking like he will be in the same category, though not quite as expensive. It&rsquo;ll be a long road back.
DALLAS MAVERICKS: They should be better than their record (20-18), but the West is tough. Dwight Powell ($11 million this season and the next two) is not worth what he is being paid and could be packaged with more future No. 1 picks (the Mavs can&rsquo;t trade their own first-round draft pick until 2025 because they owe the Knicks their 2021 and 2023 picks), if mortgaging the future is something Mark Cuban is cool with. Powell and James Johnson for Drummond works cap-wise.
DENVER NUGGETS: A rumor is out there that the Nuggets have spoken to the Magic about acquiring Aaron Gordon, and the price would include Bol Bol. They currently do not look like they have enough to come out of the West, and JaMychal Green has not been an adequate replacement for Jerami Grant. To a lesser degree than Boston, standing pat does not seem like the most prudent option. They have a $9.6 million trade exception, so expect them to make some sort of acquisition that improves the roster. They are one player away from being one player away.
DETROIT PISTONS: Troy Weaver might have already made his &ldquo;deadline deal&rdquo; in getting Hamidou Diallo from the Thunder. Wayne Ellington is superfluous, and one would think teams might like a 14-year veteran who shot 42% from three-point range with a manageable $1.6 million salary&hellip; But the Knicks couldn&rsquo;t find a taker for him a year ago.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Limbo sucks, but Klay Thompson will be back next season. In the meantime, the best they can do is hope that the Wolves&rsquo; pick is not top three and they can get another high lottery pick to put next to James Wiseman for the years ahead. Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore, Brad Wanamaker and Marquese Chriss are all on expiring contracts. Their combined salaries total $20.6 million. The Warriors can acquire a player into Thompson&rsquo;s $9.25 million disabled player exception.
HOUSTON ROCKETS: We are seeing a flurry of Victor Oladipo trade rumors, which is strange because he was the biggest piece they got in the Harden trade. If they are disappointed in him (and his expiring $21 million contract) they must not have been watching Pacers playoffs games the past few seasons. Kevin Porter Jr. was a nice pickup, and Rafael Stone is probably on the hunt for another player who has worn out his welcome for non-basketball reasons. P.J. Tucker is headed somewhere. Dante Exum (expiring $9.6 million contract) didn&rsquo;t quite work out for a fifth overall pick, eh?
INDIANA PACERS: Acquiring Caris LaVert for Oladipo as part of the Harden trade will go in Kevin Pritchard&rsquo;s trophy case, so the question now becomes &ldquo;What next?&rdquo; aside from waiting for T.J. Warren&rsquo;s broken foot to heal. They are in 10th place, which wasn&rsquo;t exactly what they had in mind for this season. Still, Indiana has a nice mix of players in their mid-to-late 20s. Doug McDermott (expiring $7.3 million) and T.J. McConnell (expiring $3.5 million) could be a useful shooter and pest duo for a playoff team willing to give up a draft pick and a matching expiring salary. Indiana is probably better off keeping both and rolling the dice in the play-in postseason.
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: They have everything they need except the Lou Williams they had gotten used to over the past three seasons. His scoring average is down almost six points. Serge Ibaka (scoring average down 4.5 points) is showing his age at 31 and has a 15% trade kicker. Both still have plenty of playoff experience, but Jerry West likes to make trades when he can find the right ones. The Clippers are an interesting team to watch at the deadline because they have an open roster spot, but they are also within a $500,000 of the hard cap, which limits their options.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS: They need nothing except for Anthony Davis to be healthy, so the Lakers are the winner of the &ldquo;Most Unlikely To Make A Trade&rdquo; award. They are option No. 1 for pretty much everybody getting a buyout after the deadline.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: More than a year later, we are still trying to figure out the Justise Winslow acquisition. Taylor Jenkins&rsquo; rotation goes 10 deep, not including the team&rsquo;s highest-paid player in Gorgui Dieng -- $17.2 million. They are young and they are not a good team, yet they are still in contention for a play-in spot, so that incentivizes them to get creative.
MIAMI HEAT: The rule of thumb used to be &ldquo;Pat Riley hates making midseason trades,&rdquo; but he went out and got Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder last season and built an NBA Finals team. So you would think they would be predisposed to tinker despite their recent run of 11 victories in 12 games. Kelly Olynyk ($12.6 million) and Moe Harkless ($3.6 million) are on expiring deals, and Avery Bradley is gathering dust. They can take on long-term money if the incoming player is worthy of it, but that would likely involve trading a starter (Olynyk). They also have a $7.5 million trade exception but owe Oklahoma City two first-round picks.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: Veteran Bucks writer <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-sheridan-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-16-gery-woelfel-on-milwaukee-bucks-chances,-possible-trade,-other-east-contender">Gery Woelful said on my most recent podcast</a> that he fully expects the Bucks to try to find an upgrade from Donte DiVincenzo at shooting guard. The salaries of DiVincenzo and D.J. Wilson add up to $7.5 million, and it is hard to see Jon Horst moving anyone else on this roster. They are not last year&rsquo;s Bucks, but they theoretically have enough to get to the NBA Finals. They are very close to the hard cap and cannot trade any more picks after using so many in the Jrue Holiday acquisition.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: The team is for sale, so do not expect Gersson Rosas to take on any long-term money. They have already changed coaches, and they have nothing anybody would want except for Karl Anthony-Towns, who isn&rsquo;t going anywhere. Okay, they have Ed Davis, who may be somebody&rsquo;s consolation prize as contending teams search for bigs. Nominations for the Dumpster Fire Award are now closed.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are not available. You can safely assume that everyone else is, and David Griffin does not need to hold anybody else up because he already did that to Horst. This was not supposed to be a throwaway season, but it is. The Pelicans would like to get J.J. Redick closer to his family, who live in Brooklyn. Exactly how close? Well, when Redick played for the Sixers, he commuted to Philadelphia. So &ldquo;close&rdquo; is a relative term. Boston is drivable from Brooklyn.
NEW YORK KNICKS: As mentioned above, they are the team to watch most closely. They can take on long-term money if the incoming player is someone who can tolerate Thibodeau&rsquo;s coaching style, and they would bring in a player on an expiring contract if they believed that player&rsquo;s Bird rights would be of value over the summer. Leon Rose is one year away from having a top-three team in the East if he plays his cards right a week from Thursday.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: Sam Presti likely has George Hill, Trevor Ariza and Mike Muscala available to the highest bidders. Hill was an important piece of the Bucks last season and could help a playoff team needing a bench shooter and veteran voice in the locker room. At a certain point, Presti is going to have to package together some of the 20 extra first and second-round picks he has accumulated through trades, but that point is probably a couple of years away as the rebuild runs its course. Important: If Houston&rsquo;s pick is in the top four, the Thunder get it. Also, Presti has three trade exceptions; the largest is $27.6 million.
ORLANDO MAGIC:&nbsp; Aaron Gordon trade rumors are everywhere, which makes sense because the time to cash in on their seven-year investment is now. They need to get younger and acquire assets to build around Markelle Fultz, Nikola Vucevic and Jonathan Isaac. Their ceiling should not be the kind of first-round exits they have been producing the past two seasons, and they have not won a single playoff series since 2009-10. So, it would be shocking to see them keep Gordon, who is only 25 years old and can bring a lot in return. Gordon is a good guy who needs a change of scenery and deserves one. Same goes for Evan Fournier.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: They wanted James Harden and did not get him, and Doc Rivers still somehow kept Ben Simmons committed to the team. That is pretty huge, because players who know they have been shopped usually resent it. They are in first place in the East and have a roster with the proper pieces to match up with Brooklyn. Mike Scott&rsquo;s expiring $5 million deal and the Knicks&rsquo; 2021 second-round pick are Elton Brand&rsquo;s most movable trade assets, but Scott has been playing well lately. Terrence Ferguson, Vincent Poirier and Tony Bradley are on expiring contracts but would bring little in return.
PHOENIX SUNS: Acquiring Chris Paul checked the &ldquo;monster trade&rdquo; box, and the NBA&rsquo;s most overachieving team will likely abide by the &ldquo;If It Ain&rsquo;t Broke, Don&rsquo;t Fix It&rdquo; rule. That being said, if an on-the-ball defender capable of defending LeBron James is out there somewhere, you kick the tires on just about anything that does not include Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and Chris Paul. Ariza would seem to be a fit.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: Like Dallas, they should be better than their record&hellip; and would be if C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic had not gotten injured. At full strength, they are going to be a tough out in the postseason. Gary Trent Jr. is on an expiring contract and they may fear losing him, so keep that in mind with these guys. They are sleepers.
SACRAMENTO KINGS: What they can get for Whiteside will be interesting to see, because he was killing it for the Blazers last season. Then, Nurkic returned in the bubble. Whiteside does not exactly have the best reputation around the league, which is why he played in Lebanon and China before resurrecting his career. There are also a lot of Harrison Barnes rumors out there, and like the Magic and Gordon, it may be time for the Kings to cash in on the three-year investment they made in Barnes after acquiring him from Dallas. He makes $22.2 million. Does Nemanja Bjelica have any value? Same question has to be asked of Jabari Parker.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: The LaMarcus Aldridge era is in its final days, and you have to wonder if the Patty Mills era is, too. Derrick White is signed long-term and Dejounte Murray is damn good. The expiring contracts of Aldridge and Mills add up to $37.2 million, and if you include Rudy Gay&rsquo;s expiring deal that number becomes $51.2 million. They are 20-16, yet, as currently constituted, not good enough to do much in the postseason. R.C. Buford wins the award for the league executive most overdue to make a trade.
TORONTO RAPTORS: The name that is out there now is Kyle Lowry, who has spent nine seasons of his 16-year career playing for the team that now calls Tampa its home. Having lost five in a row and sitting in 11th place in the Leastern Conference, Masai Ujiri must determine whether it is time to turn Lowry&rsquo;s expiring $30.5 million contract into something of value. At 35 years old, Lowry can still play and, percentage wise, is hitting threes, twos and free throws better than he has over the past four seasons. But this would not be a giveaway, and a sign-and-trade in the offseason is still possible.
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UTAH JAZZ: Like Phoenix, the &ldquo;If It Ain&rsquo;t Broke , Don&rsquo;t Dix It&rdquo; rule applies. They are in first place in the West, are making threes better than anybody and have Rudy Gobert finding new and incredible ways to never, ever be mentioned in the MVP debate. None of their nine rotation players is going anywhere, and no one else on the roster has either a big contract or much trade value. Still, someone on the team could be a giveaway because the Jazz are $1.9 million over the luxury tax line. They have already traded five of their next seven second-round picks (they don&rsquo;t have one until 2025).
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: You&rsquo;ve got to feel bad for Tommy Sheppard, one of the best guys and better GMs in the league -- he was able to turn John Wall into Russell Westbrook but then lost Thomas Bryant and had his team put on ice because of COVID issues. They are now playing the busiest second-half schedule of any Eastern Conference team, and they theoretically have a puncher&rsquo;s chance against practically anyone in the conference if Westbrook keeps triple-doubling (he leads the league with 11). But they have lost four in a row and rank 12th. Robin Lopez and his expiring $7.3 million contract is their best trade asset. If they combined Lopez with Ish Smith&rsquo;s expiring contract, that totals $13.3 million.

With one week before the NBA's trade deadline, Chris Sheridan previews what could be in store for all 30 of the league's teams.

What to expect from all 30 NBA teams ahead of the Trade Deadline

Ethan Fuller resets the NBA landscape at the season's midway point.

Jaylan