Knights

Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis are already one of the best big men in the league with the variety of skills they offer on the basketball court. Both bigs are considered top 5 in the position by being the best of the best defensively along with a deep offensive bag. However, if there was one hole in their games that both needed to fill up, it is their three-point shooting.&nbsp;
Both Adebayo and Davis have demonstrated their shooting forms and technical abilities, suggesting they could excel as 3-point shooters. However, neither has historically attempted threes as often as their talent might allow. Now, entering the 2024-25 season, both stars are increasing their 3-point volume as seen in the preseason, and this shift could be the key to elevating their teams to new heights.
Bam Adebayo&rsquo;s ability to impact a game is undeniable. He is one of the best defenders in the league, being known for his defensive versatility and ability to guard all five positions. Adebayo brings value to the Heat with his offensive playmaking from the center position, and over the years he has been the main engine of Miami&rsquo;s offense. But what he&rsquo;s rarely done is consistently shoot from deep. In the 2023-24 NBA season, Adebayo averaged just 0.6 3-point attempts per game, preferring to stick to his mid-range game and finish inside.
However, Adebayo&rsquo;s shooting took a noticeable step forward during the 2024 Olympics, where he averaged 1.5 attempts per game from beyond the arc for Team USA. His confidence seemed to soar after the tournament, and that momentum has carried into the 2024-25 preseason, where he&rsquo;s now taking 3.3 3-point attempts per game.
This increase in volume shows that Adebayo is ready to fully integrate the 3-point shot into his game, something he&rsquo;s always been capable of given his shooting form. With his smooth mechanics and growing confidence, Adebayo&rsquo;s expanded range could be the key to unlocking the Miami Heat&rsquo;s full offensive potential.
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BAM-ing it from downtown 🎯 Bam Adebayo has significantly upped his 3-point attempts from last season to this preseason 😲 2023-24 season ➡️ 0.6 2024 Paris Olympics ➡️ 1.5 2024-25 Preseason ➡️ 3.3 Stretch Bam incoming? 👀 (h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@statmuse</a>) <a href="https://t.co/OxX6yP8v72">pic.twitter.com/OxX6yP8v72</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1846751205386780929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2024</a>
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Similar to Adebayo, Anthony Davis has always had the ability to shoot from deep but hasn&rsquo;t consistently utilized it. Davis proved his 3-point prowess throughout the younger years of his career&mdash;but most notably during the 2019-20 season when he helped lead the Lakers to a championship by shooting 33% from beyond the arc. However, injuries and shifting roles have seen Davis shy away from shooting threes in recent seasons.
In the 2023-24 campaign, Davis averaged just 1.4 3-point attempts per game, a sharp drop from the 3.5 attempts he averaged during that 2020 title run. Like Adebayo, Davis has the form and touch to be a consistent 3-point threat but hasn&rsquo;t taken as many shots from deep as he&rsquo;s capable of.
For the Lakers, a healthy and confident Anthony Davis shooting more threes could be a game-changer. His ability to stretch the floor would open up the lane for LeBron James and the Lakers&rsquo; slashing guards, creating a more dynamic and less predictable offense. If Davis can regain his 3-point shooting form from his championship run, the Lakers will be far more difficult to defend.
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4 THREES FOR AD IN THE FIRST QUARTER 😱<a href="https://t.co/8PxKpnr4ZQ">pic.twitter.com/8PxKpnr4ZQ</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1847103115394535893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2024</a>
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<h3>Why Does Adebayo and Davis Increasing Their 3-Point Attempts Matter?</h3>
<ol>
<li> Floor Spacing and Offensive Flexibility Both Adebayo and Davis shooting more threes could radically improve their respective teams' floor spacing. For Miami, Adebayo&rsquo;s ability to pull opposing big men out to the perimeter will open up driving lanes for Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, giving the Heat more room to operate. For the Lakers, Davis stretching the defense would allow LeBron to work in a more open paint, while also freeing up shooters like Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.</li>
<li> Deeper Pick-and-Pop Potential Adebayo and Davis could both become elite pick-and-pop players. Their ability to shoot from mid-range has already made them dangerous in these situations, but adding 3-point range would make them even more difficult to guard. Forcing defenders to decide between contesting their shot or stopping a drive could lead to easy points for their teams.</li>
<li> Defensive Dilemmas for Opponents With both big men capable of hitting threes, opposing defenses will be forced to make tough choices. Typically, teams like to sag off big men who are stationed at the perimeter, allowing them to pack the paint. However, if Adebayo and Davis can hit threes at a consistent rate, defenses will be stretched thin, making it harder to defend both the perimeter and the paint effectively.</li>
</ol>
It&rsquo;s important to note that neither Adebayo nor Davis are bad three point shooters. Both have had excellent shooting forms since early in their careers, but for various reasons&mdash;be it team strategy or personal preference&mdash;they haven&rsquo;t leaned heavily into their perimeter game and added it to their shot diets. Adebayo&rsquo;s shooting mechanics are smooth, and Davis has long been recognized for his soft touch from deep.
The difference now is volume and confidence. Both players have shown they can make threes, and now, with their respective teams needing more floor spacing and offensive versatility, the time is right for them to fully embrace their perimeter games.
While the increased 3-point attempts from Adebayo and Davis are promising, consistency here will be the major factor. Both players will need to prove that they can not only take more threes but also hit them at an efficient rate throughout the long NBA season. Shooting in the preseason or during international competition is one thing; doing so under the pressure of regular-season games and in the playoffs is another.
There&rsquo;s also the question of how this shift in offensive focus will affect their defensive roles. Both Adebayo and Davis are the anchors of their teams&rsquo; defenses, often patrolling the paint and protecting the rim. If they spend more time on the perimeter, it could pull them away from their defensive responsibilities, potentially impacting their teams on that end of the floor. They could also potentially exert more energy on offense when taking these types of shots, and could affect their games on the other end of the floor.
If Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis can fully integrate the 3-point shot into their games, the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers could be looking at major improvements in their offensive efficiency and flexibility. For Miami, Adebayo&rsquo;s ability to space the floor and create more room for Butler and Herro could make them a more dangerous and unpredictable team. For the Lakers, Davis hitting threes at a consistent rate would allow LeBron and the rest of the roster to play more freely and dynamically.
Both players have always had the skill to shoot from deep, but this season may finally be the year where they embrace it fully. And if they do, the Heat and Lakers could be poised for deep playoff runs, with their star big men leading the charge in this new era of positionless basketball.

Bam and AD are increasing their 3-point volume and this shift could be a key to elevating their teams to new heights.

Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis shooting more threes should elevate Heat, Lakers

When the New Orleans Pelicans were missing the services of sharpshooter Trey Murphy III to start the season, head coach Willie Green turned to rookie Jordan Hawkins. The 21-year-old from Connecticut can shoot the lights out and he filled in the shooter role nicely, becoming a release valve for drive and kicks to stretch out the defense.
In nine games as a starter, Hawkins averaged 15.4 points while playing 35 minutes a game. As the Pelicans got healthier, his minutes decreased. For his first 20 games, Hawkins averaged 26 minutes a game, stepping up as a reliable bench piece even as a rookie.
However, once Murphy returned, Green relegated Hawkins back to the bench, and he hasn't seen daylight since. Over his last 20 games, the shooting guard has averaged just 9 minutes per game (including four DNPs). He has been buried on the bench behind guys like Jose Alvarado, Dyson Daniels, and Naji Marshall &mdash; all of who have played specific roles for the Pelicans over the past two years.
Despite this up-and-down role, Hawkins has delivered every time he has been given an opportunity.
While shorthanded against the Dallas Mavericks, Green started Hawkins again and the rookie had 34 points with 6 triples on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. He added 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, leading the Pelicans as they stole a game on the road without Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Murphy.
Hawkins has shown signs of improvement as the season has progressed. In his first few games, the usual scouting report on him was to run him off the three-point line. But on two separate occasions in the first quarter against the Mavs, he displayed an expanded way of attacking closeouts: dropping it off to his teammates twice (one to Daniels and one to Herb Jones) for an assist.
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Improving his playmaking and consistently doing stuff like this would be the next step in his development and allow him to earn significant minutes again.
Another area where he could improve is the in-between game. While he doesn't have that elite burst that allows him to separate from defenders to get to the rim, he can just stop and shoot the pull-up jumper. Against the Mavs, Hawkins drilled three of these mid-range jumpers.
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Given his natural ability to stretch out the defense because of his threat from deep, knocking down those middies will be essential to earn a place in Green&rsquo;s rotation once again.
Hawkins' impact has become undeniable and he clearly provides value to this team. With his ability to stretch the floor as a respected shooter, teams won't sag off of him that much compared to his fellow reserves. This gives Williamson and Ingram more space when operating from inside the paint, and they know they have another guy they can kick out to when they get doubled and they trust him to knock down threes consistently.
In a league that values spacing more than anything, Hawkins should have a place in Green&rsquo;s rotation.

Jordan Hawkins has delivered every time he has been given an opportunity, and it's time for the Pelicans to give him more minutes.

The Pelicans should find more minutes for Jordan Hawkins moving forward

In today&rsquo;s NBA, the league is undeniably dominated by big men. 
The last five MVPs went to Giannis Antetokounmpo (two), Nikola Jokic (two) and Joel Embiid. Rookies Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren stand at a towering 7-foot-4 and 7-foot-1 respectively, and both are starting to make their mark in the NBA.
As the league embraces this new era filled with giants, it is awesome to see the two sub-6-foot guys match up against each other: New Orleans&rsquo; Jose Alvarado and Minnesota&rsquo;s Jordan McLaughlin.
Alvarado and McLaughlin, who are both listed as 5-foot-11 without shoes, have each carved out a role on their squad. The two provide different valuable skills off the bench, and they have been vital pieces to their team&rsquo;s success. 
Alvarado impacts the game on the defensive end by suffocating and pestering ball-handlers. He also comes up with his signature blindside steals, which earned him the nickname Grand Theft Alvarado (GTA). McLaughlin, on the other hand, is a crafty playmaker who sets up the Wolves' offense off the bench and serves as a reliable backup for Mike Conley.&nbsp;
In a league where there are 34 players who are 7-feet or taller this season alone, Alvarado and McLaughlin remain outliers and part of a dying breed.
There are only 12 players who are listed at 6-feet or below in the NBA this season, with the shortest being Markquis Nowell at 5-foot-7 and Jacob Gilyard at 5-foot-8. Together, they represent only 3% of the league population &ndash; which means small guards are largely going extinct in the NBA.
Unless you&rsquo;re an established point guard like Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry or Chris Paul, there has been little to no room for these shorter players on NBA rosters.&nbsp;
The current trend of positionless basketball and do-it-all forwards has certainly hurt these smaller guards. Whether it be less reliance on traditional point guards to set up an offense or getting hunted out for switches defensively, teams have been shifting away from said player prototypes. Even a former All-NBA teamer and super scorer like Isaiah Thomas was virtually driven out of the league mainly because of his unfortunate trait of getting exploited on defense due to his height.
Given this, it&rsquo;s impressive how Alvarado and McLaughlin are staying in the league. This could be attributed to their specific skill-sets. Both guys show that short players still have a place in the NBA as long as they provide value and play a certain role effectively and efficiently. In a league where height is often equated to success, it&rsquo;s refreshing to see two sub-6-foot players hold their own on the court.

As sub-6-foot players, New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado and Minnesota’s Jordan McLaughlin are the last of a dying breed.

Jose Alvarado, Jordan McLaughlin are the last of a dying breed

San Antonio Spurs No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama is arguably the most hyped-up draft prospects in NBA history, and all eyes will be on him throughout his rookie season.
Being the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft isn't easy; it comes with a ton of pressure and attention. Some players are able to overcome this and become superstars, while others aren't able to live up to the extreme expectations.
Today, let's take a look back at the best No. 1 overall picks in NBA history.
1. LeBron James, 2003 NBA Draft, Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James entered the league with unparalleled hype and somehow lived up to the immense expectations. James possesses a unique combination of size, athleticism and basketball IQ. With four NBA championships, four MVP awards and numerous All-NBA selections, James has solidified his place as arguably the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball, and certainly the best No. 1 overall pick of all-time. LeBron is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last season.&nbsp;
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1969 NBA Draft, Milwaukee Bucks
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formerly known as Lew Alcindor, was the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. Standing at an impressive 7-foot-2, Abdul-Jabbar possessed exceptional skills and athleticism. Throughout his illustrious career, he amassed six NBA championships and six MVP awards. His iconic skyhook shot and dominant presence in the paint revolutionized the game and cemented his status as one of the greatest players ever.
3. Magic Johnson, 1979 NBA Draft, Los Angeles Lakers
Magic Johnson, selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1979 NBA Draft, brought a new style of play to the league and helped usher in the Showtime era of Lakers basketball. At 6-foot-9, Johnson possessed exceptional court vision and ball-handling skills as well as terrific leadership abilities. He led the Lakers to five championships and was a three-time MVP. His rivalry with Larry Bird captivated fans and elevated the popularity of the NBA, making him one of the most influential players in basketball history.
4. Tim Duncan, 1997 NBA Draft, San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, selected as the first overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 1997, exemplified consistency and excellence throughout his career. Known for his fundamental skills, basketball IQ and unassuming demeanor, Duncan led the Spurs to five NBA championships and earned two MVP awards. His dominance in the paint, defensive prowess and exceptional leadership made him the cornerstone of the Spurs' dynasty for nearly two decades.&nbsp;
5. Shaquille O'Neal, 1992 NBA Draft, Orlando Magic
Drafted as the top pick by the Orlando Magic in 1992, Shaq's combination of size, strength and agility was unprecedented. Standing at 7-foot-1 and weighing over 300 pounds, he dominated the paint with his powerful dunks and sheer force. O'Neal's impact was undeniable, leading the Magic to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance in 1995. Throughout his career, he won four NBA championships and was a three-time Finals MVP. Shaq's larger-than-life personality and dominant style of play made him a fan favorite and an iconic figure in the sport. He's widely regarded as one of the most dominant players in NBA history.
Will Wemby be able to crack this list someday? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Let us know what you think by tweeting at us</a>!

Basketball News takes a look back at the best No. 1 overall picks in NBA history.

Ranking the best No. 1 overall draft picks in NBA history

Add Fairleigh Dickinson to the list of giant-killing New Jersey schools in March Madness.
The 16th-seeded Knights pulled off a mammoth upset Friday night, upsetting&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/no-16-fairleigh-dickinson-stuns-no-1-seed-purdue-in-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top-seeded Purdue 63-58</a>&nbsp;in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Undersized FDU played big against the Boilermakers and became only the second No. 16 seed to topple a No. 1 seed.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-tournament-umbc-no-1-seeds-march-madness-df6c353dc4ff76ec99278efd69a8b454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maryland-Baltimore County was the first,</a>&nbsp;knocking off Virginia in 2018.
FDU&rsquo;s win blew up&nbsp;most of the remaining brackets.&nbsp;Just who are these guys?
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Entering today, only .065% of March Madness brackets remained perfect. Now, after No. 16 FDU&rsquo;s upset victory over No. 1 Purdue, there are ZERO perfect brackets remaining in ESPN&rsquo;s bracket challenge. There were more than 20 million entries, but they&rsquo;re all busted by Day 2. 😅
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1636902393366433793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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WHERE IS FDU?
The school has&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.fdu.edu/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">two campuses in New Jersey</a>: Teaneck and Florham. The school&rsquo;s website list a total enrollment of 11,400 students, though U.S. News &amp; World Report lists the number as 7,860 as of fall 2021. The Teaneck campus is close to New York City; the Florham campus is on a former country estate of socialites Florence Vanderbilt and Hamilton Twombly. FDU has owned the campus since 1958. FDU also has campuses in Wroxton, England, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
WHAT&rsquo;S FDU KNOWN FOR?
Founded in 1942, notable alumni include billionaire and NFL Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf; Peggy Noonan, journalist and speechwriter to former President Ronald Reagan; former college basketball coach and ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg; and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Delaware Democrat.
WHO ARE THE FDU STARS?
Demetre Robinson (16.6 points per game), Grant Singleton (14.3), Ansley Almonor (14.1) and Joe Munden Jr. (10.6). Sean Moore, the Knights&rsquo; leading scorer in the Purdue game with 19 points, came in averaging 6.7.
HOW DID THE KNIGHTS GET HERE?
FSU&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/fairleigh-dickinson-merrimack-664ffd8a126a62c7dec293f536924ac1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lost in the Northeast Conference Tournament final to Merrimack by a single point</a>&nbsp;but got the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney because Merrimack wasn&rsquo;t eligible as it transitions to Division I.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/fairleigh-dickinson-texas-southern-ncaa-446ebf664cbbba7960caeaf2f52fe6d4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FDU routed Texas Southern in the First Four play-in round</a>&nbsp;to earn a date against Purdue.
DID YOU KNOW?
The FDU win is just the latest in eye-catching victories by New Jersey schools.
A year ago, Saint Peter&rsquo;s toppled No. 2 seed Kentucky in overtime to bust a bunch of brackets and then&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-purdue-boilermakers-mens-basketball-st-peters-peacocks-mens-basketball-sports-college-basketball-20b5611db138644c0ff32550749e11a9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became the first 15-seed to reach the Elite Eight</a>&nbsp;by beating ... Purdue. FDU&rsquo;s shocker also came just one day after No. 15 seed Princeton ousted No. 2 seed Arizona, 59-55.

Here's everything you need to know about No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson after they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history.

March Madness: Where and what is Fairleigh Dickinson?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Fairleigh Dickinson brought down a giant.
Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, the undersized, underdog Knights stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58 on Friday night, becoming the second No. 16 seed to win a game in March Madness.
The shortest team in the tourney, the Knights (21-15) showed no fear in swarming 7-foot-4 All-America center Zach Edey from the start and simply outplayed the Big Ten champion Boilermakers (29-6).
&ldquo;If we played them 100 times, they&rsquo;d probably beat us 99 times,&rdquo; FDU coach Tobin Anderson said. &ldquo;Play them 100 times, we have one win. But tonight&rsquo;s the one we had to be unique, we had to be unorthodox. We had to make it tough on them, just be different.&rdquo;
Sean Moore scored 19 points to lead FDU and a relentless defensive charge &mdash; the Knight pressed most of the game &mdash; by a team that now has everyone&rsquo;s attention.
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No. 16 FDU pulls off the upset over No. 1 Purdue! <a href="https://t.co/TgqzuzTVmi">pic.twitter.com/TgqzuzTVmi</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1636898050625921030?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Five years ago, UMBC showed the way for the little guys by overwhelming Virginia in the first 16-over-1 victory after numerous close calls over the years. Still, No. 16s had a 1-150 record against No. 1s and were 1-151 overall before FDU&rsquo;s shocker.
After the final horn, FDU&rsquo;s players mobbed each other on the floor of Nationwide Arena, where the fans from Memphis and Florida Atlantic who were waiting for the day&rsquo;s final game joined forces in cheering on the Knights in the final, frantic minutes.
The Knights will now meet the Memphis-FAU winner on Sunday for a Sweet 16 berth and a trip next week to play at Madison Square Garden in New York &mdash; just a short drive from the private school&rsquo;s campus in Teaneck, New Jersey.
&ldquo;Man, I can&rsquo;t even explain it,&rdquo; Moore said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still in shock right now. I can&rsquo;t believe it. It&rsquo;s crazy. But it feels amazing.&rdquo;
Fairleigh Dickinson didn&rsquo;t even win the Northeast Conference Tournament, falling by one point in the title game to Merrimack, which couldn&rsquo;t participate in the NCAA Tournament because of an NCAA rule that bars it from the postseason because it&rsquo;s still completing its four-year transition from Division II.
FDU held Purdue scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes down the stretch and moved ahead by five on a 3-pointer by Moore &mdash; who is from suburban Columbus &mdash; with 1:03 left.
The Knights held on from there, becoming the third straight double-digit seed to send the Boilermakers home. Purdue was a No. 3 seed when it lost to No. 15 seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s, another small New Jersey school, in the Sweet 16 last year. The Boilermakers were bounced in the first round by 13th-seeded North Texas in 2021.
&ldquo;Our job was just to come into the game and throw a punch,&rdquo; said FDU&rsquo;s Demetre Roberts, 20 inches shorter than Edey. &ldquo;We knew they would throw multiple punches. Just throw a punch back. We knew what type of game this was.&rdquo;
Edey finished with 21 point and 15 rebounds in what may have been his final college game, but the Knights were masterful against him in the second half. Edey didn&rsquo;t attempt a shot in the final nine minutes, and anytime he touched the ball there were Knights all around him.
&ldquo;A lot of times they would have one dude guarding from behind and one dude basically sitting in my lap,&rdquo; Edey said. &ldquo;They were full fronting the entire game. Made it very hard to get catches. Credit to them, they had a great game plan coming in. And they executed it very well.&rdquo;
When Purdue&rsquo;s late push fell short and its season ended, Edey squeezed the shoulder straps on his jersey and walked stone-faced toward Purdue&rsquo;s locker room.
The junior center is a possible NBA lottery pick, but the bitterness of this defeat could sway Edey to stick around for another year.
&ldquo;I have no opinion on that,&rdquo; Edey said when asked about his future. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make my decision going forward.&rdquo;
The Knights&rsquo; two prior NCAA Tournament wins came in the First Four, including this year, when they drubbed Texas Southern 84-61. After that game, Anderson told his players he believed they could handle Edey and Co.
&ldquo;The more I see Purdue, the more I think we can beat them,&rdquo; Anderson said with a camera in the locker room.
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FDU Tobin Anderson called it! &ldquo;The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let&rsquo;s go shock the world!&rdquo; No. 16 FDU did just that, beating No. 1 Purdue 63-58 in the NCAA Tournament. <a href="https://t.co/s3r9Wqoqny">pic.twitter.com/s3r9Wqoqny</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1636900043142602753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Some of Purdue&rsquo;s players said they felt disrespected by the comments, which turned out to be prophetic.
&ldquo;It was the right message, wrong audience,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;I would have said that with no camera in there. I didn&rsquo;t mean to get Purdue upset. That was not the idea at all. But that&rsquo;s got to be the message. We&rsquo;re trying to win the next game. We just can&rsquo;t be happy to be here.&rdquo;
&ldquo;And the guys gotta believe.&rdquo;
Just being in the tourney was quite an accomplishment for FDU, which went 4-22 a year ago.
This was Anderson&rsquo;s first season at the school, and after he landed the job in May, he held a practice the first night just so he knew what he had to work with from a team that had the second-worst record in the program&rsquo;s 58-year history.
It wasn&rsquo;t a lot, so he brought three players &mdash; Roberts, Grant Singleton and Moore &mdash; along with him from Division II power St. Thomas Aquinas.
Turns out, they&rsquo;re giant slayers.
And it was the Boilermakers, not the undersized Knights, who were scrambling from the opening tip.
Purdue may have had Fairleigh Dickinson outsized on the floor and in the stands as a boisterous group of Boilermakers fans gave their team what felt like a home-court advantage despite being 240 miles from West Lafayette, Indiana.
However, when the Knights&rsquo; Joe Munden drained a step-back 3-pointer in the first half, &ldquo;F-D-U!&rdquo; chants broke out inside the arena and it became obvious this small team had big dreams.
Without a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-6, Fairleigh Dickinson sometimes needed two players to guard Edey &mdash; one in front and one behind &mdash; and he missed his first three shots before a dunk.
Edey showed some frustration and at one point told one of the officials, &ldquo;Sir, he&rsquo;s holding my left arm.&rdquo;
Purdue eventually settled in and reeled off 11 straight points &mdash; four on Edey free throws &mdash; to take 24-19 lead. The Knights, though, responded with their own spurt and Heru Bligen&rsquo;s layup after a steal helped FDU take a 32-31 into halftime.
Roberts finished with 12 points and 6-4 forward Cameron Tweedy had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting for FDU.

Pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, undersized, underdog FDU stunned top-seeded Purdue 63-58.

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson stuns No. 1 seed Purdue in March Madness

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; DJ Horne had 20 points and Arizona State raced to a big halftime lead and scored the most points ever in a First Four game, burying Nevada 98-73 on Wednesday night.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. &mdash; a Nevada transfer &mdash; scored 17 points as Arizona State (23-12) led 53-26 at the half and then kept up the pressure on the way to the rout. The first-half output was a season high for Arizona State, which advanced as a No. 11 seed to face TCU in a West Region first-round game on Friday in Denver.
Arizona State hit 67.7% of its shots from the floor and forced 10 turnovers in the first half, piling up a 22-2 run over eight minutes to pull away.
Will Baker scored 17 and Tre Coleman had 14 for the Wolf Pack (22-11). One of Nevada&rsquo;s top players, Kenan Blackshear, picked up three fouls early and sat on the bench for more than five minutes of the opening half. Averaging 14.4 per game, he was held to four points.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 84, TEXAS SOUTHERN 61
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) &mdash; Ansley Almonor scored 23 points and Fairleigh Dickinson earned its first NCAA Tournament win in four seasons.
Fairleigh Dickinson shot 50% and advanced to the East Region to play top-seeded Purdue in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.
Joe Munden Jr. scored 17 points, Demetre Roberts had 15, Grant Singleton finished with 13 and Sean Moore 10 for Fairleigh Dickinson (20-15).
John Walker III led Texas Southern (14-21) with 22 points. Joirdon Karl Nicholas added 10.

The First Four of the 2023 Men's NCAA Tournament concluded with victories by the Sun Devils and the Knights on Wednesday.

Arizona State races to early lead, beats Nevada 98-73

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

PARIS (AP) &mdash; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-las-vegas-6f4ac3d44f624ef36ddb00e314cf0401">Victor Wembanyama was sitting courtside,</a> the 19-year-old French phenom and presumed No. 1 NBA draft pick watching some of the players he&rsquo;ll go up against next season.
And a guy with a French surname put on quite a show.
Zach LaVine &mdash; who said his great-grandfather was French &mdash; scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls never trailed in a 126-108 win over the Detroit Pistons at the NBA Paris Game on Thursday.
&ldquo;Maybe the air up here was good for me,&rdquo; LaVine said.
DeMar DeRozan added 26 points for the Bulls, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 25 points. Killian Hayes, the only French player on either roster, scored four points for Detroit on 2-of-13 shooting, but had a game-high eight assists.
Hamidou Diallo had 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting for Detroit, while Saddiq Bey and Jaden Ivey each scored 16 for the Pistons.
&ldquo;It was a bit frustrating to not be the winners tonight," Hayes said.
It was the capper to several days of celebrating the NBA in France, after both teams took part in clinics, touristy events like visits to the Eiffel Tower, some upscale dinners and even a private show for the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-rodney-mcgruder-268c20ad7406e6f162bc0dc0f5a3a410">Pistons at the Paris Opera House</a>.
And while the game counted &mdash; Chicago (21-24) stayed in 10th in the Eastern Conference and what would be the last play-in spot with the win, while Detroit fell to 12-36, the second-worst mark in the NBA &mdash; it also was no mundane middle-of-the-season regular-season matchup.
The celebrity list included NBA greats like Magic Johnson, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Tony Parker; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-richard-hamilton-8002bc599b1b4e27789f6624d61de0cc">a Bulls legend and native French son in Joakim Noah;</a> the rising star that everybody can&rsquo;t stop talking about in Wembanyama; WNBA players like Gabby Williams; even Grammy winners and Formula 1 drivers.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to quite compare this to All-Star,&rdquo; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-france-government-africa-efc212a60bce5820d7673a54fd4bea5b">NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said,</a> &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s the closest thing to a European All-Star Game that we have.&rdquo;
It was also a celebration of the continued strength of the international footprint on today&rsquo;s NBA game. When the Bulls and Michael Jordan &mdash; along with B.J. Armstrong, then a Bulls guard, now an NBA agent who was at the game Thursday &mdash; played in Paris during the preseason in 1997, about 1 of every 14 NBA players was born outside the U.S.
Now, that&rsquo;s about 1 in 4.
&ldquo;It is special because we&rsquo;re representing not only Detroit, but the NBA,&rdquo; Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re trying to put the brand in a good place &mdash; in a place where basketball is taking off.&rdquo;
<a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1616197195878830089?s=20&amp;t=gIeSQODhSY64TYUk1bgQew">Wembanyama and his family</a> made their way to courtside seats about 15 minutes before tip-off, immediately attracting a huge crowd. When the camera found him and he was shown to the French fans on the big in-arena screens in the second quarter, he clapped and smiled, as did his mother seated one row back over his right shoulder &mdash; as the crowd positively roared in delight.
Both teams are flying home Friday.
&ldquo;It's great for people here in Paris to get an up-close look at the NBA," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. &ldquo;It makes you realize that the sport is followed so closely around the world. It was amazing. The place was sold out."
TIP-INS
Bulls: Derrick Jones Jr. had 12 points for Chicago, <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1616196916945031181?s=20&amp;t=gIeSQODhSY64TYUk1bgQew">including four highlight-reel dunks</a> &mdash; no surprise for a former NBA dunk champion. ... Ayo Dosunmu scored 13 for the Bulls. ... Chicago shot 54%.
Pistons: Jalen Duren had an imperfect start to the trip &mdash; he misplaced his passport &mdash; then got that settled and had a perfect shooting game, 4-for-4 from the field on his way to a 11-point, 12-rebound effort. ... Isaiah Stewart grabbed 11 rebounds.
GLOBAL GAME
The NBA has teams in the U.S. and Canada, of course, and this game in France pushed the list of nations where the league has played or practiced this season to seven.
Mexico played host to a game between San Antonio and Miami last month. The Heat also had training camp in the Bahamas, and the league went to two other countries for preseason games &mdash; Golden State and Washington played twice in Japan, while Milwaukee and Atlanta played twice in the United Arab Emirates.
ROAD TRIP
It was a &ldquo;home&rdquo; game for the Pistons, even though Paris is about 4,000 miles from Detroit. As the home team, the Pistons got to bring a slew of staffers on the trip &mdash; including some game operations workers and members of the stat crew that works at the scoring table.
James Capers, Karl Lane and Natalie Sago got sent to officiate the game. All three referees had games Saturday in the U.S., then traveled to Paris.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host Atlanta on Monday.
Pistons: Host Milwaukee on Monday.

Zach LaVine scored 30 points and the Chicago Bulls never trailed in a 126-108 win over the Detroit Pistons.

LaVine scores 30, Bulls defeat Pistons 126-108 in Paris

With 6:45 left in the first quarter, Terance Mann brings the ball up the right side of the floor.
Kawhi Leonard (yeah, he's playing) attempts to set a flat screen on Tobias Harris to help pry Mann open, but mostly whiffs on the pick. Mann finds himself in the right corner, staring down Harris as the clock ticks.&nbsp;
Ivica Zubac steps up to set a screen this time, this time to Mann's left. With the right side emptied, Mann could run Harris off a bruising screen and force Joel Embiid to defend the 2-on-1 with minimal help.&nbsp;
Instead, Mann rejects the screen and continues driving to his right. He's able to get two feet in the paint, <a href="https://youtu.be/WwY__zWQArs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nashing around</a> while drawing the attention of Embiid and (a trailing) Harris. That opens up a window for a dump-off pass to Zubac, leading to two points.
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It's a simple possession that takes half the shot clock to complete. It features three things we haven't seen enough of from the Los Angeles Clippers this season: Kawhi as a screener, a paint touch from a guard and easy, efficient offense being created.
The Clippers have been disjointed all season long. Their 23-23 record and minus-0.7 net rating screams "mid," not "sure-fire title contender." There's obvious bail to shoot; of the 46 games the Clippers have played, their best three players &mdash; Kawhi, Paul George and Zubac &mdash; have only appeared in 15 games together. Even with that, the Clippers have <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/advanced?CF=GROUP_NAME*E*leonard:GROUP_NAME*E*george:GROUP_NAME*E*zubac&amp;GroupQuantity=3&amp;TeamID=1610612746&amp;slug=advanced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">barely won those minutes</a> &mdash; plus-14 (+2.6 NET) in 260 minutes.
That's probably the most concerning portion of this Clippers season for me. It's one thing to be searching for continuity; everyone was already banking in maintenance days for Kawhi, specifically. I am not here to argue about the merits of that; do it on your timeline, if you must.
But it's another thing to be searching for&nbsp;answers. It's felt more like the latter from the Clippers this year. That's baked into some of the lineup choices of course, but you've also seen it with the&nbsp;roles&nbsp;on the roster.
No player speaks to this dynamic quite like Mann. His rise in the rotation has been a joy to watch. From energy piece, to connector, to "Hey, he's kinda baking Rudy Gobert right now" to connector-plus-defensive-stopper to... point guard? To point guard!
Mann has started the last five games as the nominal point, and he's mostly produced. His box-score numbers are up: 15.4 points (59.4% from two, 45.8% from three on 4.8 attempts), 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists (0.8 turnovers) per game.
Naturally, his usage <a href="https://go.nba.com/zu548" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is way up</a>: Mann ranks second on the team in touches per game (68.6), time of possession (4.8), and fourth in seconds per touch (4.2) and dribbles per touch (3.4).
Mann has done a solid job of mixing in his snappy nature with more on-ball patience. He's served as&nbsp;the&nbsp;rim threat among the Clippers' starters, parlaying that gravity into reads like the one above.&nbsp;
To that point: On trips featuring a Mann-led ball-screen during this stretch, the Clippers are generating 1.13 points per possession (PPP) &mdash; a mark on par with Luka Doncic's league-leading clip.
(Of course, the volume and responsibility isn't close between those two &mdash; Mann's at 13 picks per 100 possessions during this stretch, while Luka's at nearly 69 per 100 on the year &mdash; but the point is that the Clippers have been getting good stuff from Mann as of late.)
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Pick-and-rolls aren't the only part of half-court offense though. And zooming out, the Clippers have posted a 95.7 offensive rating in the half-court; that ranks 21st over the last five games, and is only slightly better than their season-wide mark (94.8, 24th).&nbsp;
The idea of Mann kicking off possessions has a similar feel to Marcus Smart (or Derrick White) with the Boston Celtics. If Mann (Smart/White) is tilting the defense with a drive, that means he's kicking it out to Kawhi and George (Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown). The theory is sound.
Mann doesn't have the kind of passing chops that Smart does, which lessens the overall impact of that gambit. Beyond that, Smart's role in that dynamic is a bit of a luxury. The Clippers currently&nbsp;need&nbsp;Mann to shoulder that kind of load right now.
That speaks to the growth Mann has shown throughout his young career, but it also signals a problem team-wide. And this is where we put on our glasses and look at what the Clippers have gotten out of John Wall and Reggie Jackson lately.
It ain't good.
Let's take a cursory glance at the box-score numbers since the beginning of December, shall we?
<ul>
<li>John Wall (16 games): 9.6 points (37% on twos, 36.2% from three), 4.9 assists (2.4 turnovers), -68 in 351 minutes</li>
<li>Reggie Jackson (18 games): 9.1 points (40.8% on twos, 33.8% from three), 2.6 assists (1.8 turnovers), -58 in 430 minutes</li>
<li>Terance Mann (22 games): 9.8 points, (55.8% on twos, 39.1% from three), 2.2 assists (0.8 turnovers), +32 in 530 minutes</li>
</ul>
The efficiency isn't really close. Narrow it down to the latest five-game sample, and the gap <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=5&amp;TeamID=1610612746&amp;PerMode=PerGame&amp;DateFrom=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is even wider</a>.
On drives specifically, you really start to see difference between the three. Per Second Spectrum, here are the numbers on drives that feature a paint touch since Dec. 1:
<ul>
<li>Wall: 81 drives, 0.82 PPP on direct plays (Wall shoots, or passes it to a player who immediately shoots)</li>
<li>Jackson: 82 drives, 1.01 PPP</li>
<li>Mann: 82 drives, 1.08 PPP</li>
</ul>
Add in just how much better Mann has been defensively, and you start to understand why we're getting close to recycling the "Do the Clippers need a point guard" question from the past two seasons.&nbsp;
It's undeniable that they've gotten underwhelming results from their point guard stable this season, so much that Mann has had to shoulder more of that load as of late. The Clippers could certainly benefit from better point guard play.
Do they need an actual point guard? I'm still not sure I'd press that button, though it's worth mentioning they've <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-trade-rumors-clippers-interested-in-mike-conley-suns-a-fred-vanvleet-suitor-jazz-eyeing-john-collins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently been linked</a> to Mike Conley, per the reporting of Substack's Marc Stein. Maybe they think so.
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Conley could help some of the half-court quarterbacking. He's averaging a career-high 7.5 assists this year, and can still get busy behind the arc. On the flip side, he's in the midst of his worst inside-the-arc season; he's converting a career-low 42.9% of his twos, with a lot of that due to a career-low 50% clip inside of three feet.
If they're interested in Conley, would they be willing to kick the tires on a reunion with Chris Paul? Like Conley, he could provide some structure in the half-court. There's a similar aversion to the rim, and uptick in volume from beyond the arc. Both have partial guarantees for next season (and beyond, for Paul). I'm just sayin'.
Before he was eventually moved to the New York Knicks, the Clippers were <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/report-clippers-still-interested-in-acquiring-derrick-rose" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linked to Derrick Rose</a> as a potential suitor. Rose currently finds himself outside of the Knicks' rotation; I'd doubt it would take much to acquire him if there was still interest there.
The answer could be another wing to operate as the tip of the spear. Maybe the perpetually-available Eric Gordon, since we're on the topic of reunions.
Regardless of which pathway is chosen, the current setup feels untenable. They haven't done enough from beyond the arc, in terms of volume (12th in three-point rate) or efficiency (37.3%, 10th), to compensate for the lack of juice they're getting at the rim &mdash; 23rd in rim rate, 26th (63.8) in efficiency.
Until we see change in one or both of those areas, the Clippers' title hopes will be just that: Hope.

Nekias Duncan highlights Terance Mann's recent success at point guard and what the Clippers need to do to get back on track.

With the Clippers searching for direction, where should they turn?

In recent years, the NBA G League <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shareef-abdurrahim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has grown in popularity</a>. Teams are utilizing the benefits it provides, players are taking advantage of the opportunity it presents and fans are tuning in to see talents who will eventually be gracing the big stage in the Association.
Due to the increasing demand of more coverage around the league itself and the top-prospect-laden Ignite program, the G League has aligned with The General Insurance to produce an eight-part docuseries called "The Break."
Two shows in since premiering last month, "The Break" will drop new episodes roughly every three weeks and conclude in April. The project features <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/scoot-henderson-aspirations-far-exceed-any-hype-we-can-give-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rising Ignite star Scoot Henderson</a>, 2020-21 G League Rookie of the Year Mac McClung and longtime veteran and two-time NBA champion Norris Cole. In these episodes, you're taken both behind the scenes and on the court with exclusive footage that illustrates these players'&nbsp; respective paths to the NBA.
To learn more about the series, the process behind it and more, Basketball News discussed "The Break" with G League Head of Partnerships George Wilson.
The amount of attention that was on Scoot Henderson and Victor Wembanyama this fall before the season began was historic. Was that the basis for the idea to start the show? If not, what was?
George Wilson: "We decided to create this docuseries with The General so we could bring our fans closer to the game by following our players as they strive to realize their goal of making it to the NBA.
"But, the attention surrounding Scoot and Victor &mdash; the presumptive top two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft &mdash; is certainly undeniable, and they served as the perfect starting point for this series in the first episode. Beyond Scoot and Victor, the basis in developing this series was to foster deeper connections between our fans and the players around the league. The G League is filled with incredible talent, improving year after year, with almost half of NBA players on opening night rosters having played in the G League. So we are glad this docuseries could further shine a light on their journeys."
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Could you give some background as to why you chose Scoot Henderson, Mac McClung and Norris Cole to be featured on the show throughout the eight-part series in particular? 
Wilson: "Scoot, Mac and Norris are all playing in the G League, but each is on a different path to the next level in the NBA. They really represent the diversity in the league, and that it is a place for players at different stages of their careers to achieve their dreams. Whether it&rsquo;s through a likely top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft in Scoot Henderson, the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Rookie of the Year in Mac McClung or a two-time NBA Champion in Norris Cole, we sought to effectively showcase that this league doesn&rsquo;t have one linear path. The NBA G League is filled with hundreds of players who have such compelling stories, all looking to achieve a common goal, and we&rsquo;re glad our fans can be a part of their journeys through this docuseries."
What were each of those three players' reactions when you told them they'd be a part of this series? Was there any input on their end idea-wise?
Wilson: "The players were very excited to be featured in the series and bring our fans along the way throughout the season. They have input throughout, from start to finish. Before each episode, we work with them as they offer any suggestions. For example, earlier this season, Mac&rsquo;s family came to a game and nearly 30 of his family members and friends wore &ldquo;Mac&rdquo; T-shirts in the crowd, so when Mac gave us a heads up, we wanted to be sure to capture that as part of the episode. Our job in collaboration with the team at Blue Cup Productions is to ensure that we&rsquo;re authentic in the way in which we feature our players and personalities. So their input and ideas are critical to this project&rsquo;s overall success."
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Why is it important for the G League to share the inside track to these players/teams off the court?
Wilson: "We continue to hear from our fans that they are seeking increased access to our players and teams. This docuseries allows us to meet our fans where they are, offering them continued compelling content to engage with our league and players. A player&rsquo;s path through the G League can often be overlooked, so it was important through our collaboration with The General to showcase these players&rsquo; incredible journeys and the amount of work they put in throughout the season to achieve their goals. The league and its players also continue to garner added attention each season, so we are glad this docuseries met the demand we saw from our fans in wanting increased content."
To that point, do you feel like this docuseries will help illustrate the G League's growing popularity? Also, why do you think so many people have taken notice of it in these recent seasons?
Wilson: "Our hope is that the docuseries showcases the league&rsquo;s growing popularity and the tremendous talent filled in this league. The G League&rsquo;s growth, particularly over the past few years, has truly been remarkable. As mentioned, nearly half of the players on NBA opening night rosters played in the G League. Ten years ago, that percentage sat at roughly 19%. That also extends to coaches, with six NBA head coaches having spent time on G League benches, and more than 75 NBA assistant coaches were assistant or head coaches in the G League.
"The G League has also helped the NBA infrastructure grow, and we have always been an effective testing ground for NBA rules and procedures. The Coach&rsquo;s Challenge and the 14-second reset on offensive rebounds were initially used in our league and are now a staple of every NBA game. This past week, we employed Final Target Scores at the 2022 AT&amp;T NBA G League Winter Showcase, and the data from those finishes is extremely valuable in helping potentially enhance the game experience for fans and players. We&rsquo;ve also been using Final Target Scores throughout the regular season, as every G League game that goes into overtime ends on a target score.
"Certainly, we&rsquo;ve seen a significant amount of attention recently surrounding our NBA G League Ignite team with the number of talented players from that team now in the NBA. Additionally, the Capitanes&rsquo; first season in Mexico City marks an important milestone for the G League and the NBA in our ongoing commitment to growing the game across Latin America.
"We&rsquo;re looking forward to ongoing momentum throughout the rest of the season and beyond, with additional players landing on NBA rosters, and our league continuing to serve as a hub for innovation."
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Why did partnering with The General make sense for this particular project?
Wilson: "The General was a perfect fit and collaborator for this project, with its brand positioning focused on serving as an empathetic and flexible insurance company that is committed to putting its customers first and giving them a break when they need it most. This docuseries spotlights the players in the G League who are working for the break they deserve, which aligns with the series title &ndash; 'The Break presented by The General.'&nbsp; From the beginning of our marketing partnership, The General has been passionate about spotlighting the athletes who push themselves to succeed, and we are proud to help bring that to life, helping provide our players with the attention they deserve through this docuseries."
What is the process like in putting together the episodes and the length of the editing process?
Wilson: "The filming and editing process is a very lengthy and detailed one, considering the amount of footage we capture. The audio producer for this series also creates custom music and sound for each episode to set the mood for each scene, almost creating more of a movie-like atmosphere. There&rsquo;s an incredible amount of detail and care behind each frame of each episode, which is a credit to our talented team &mdash; in particular the director in Taylor Sharp, the editor and shooter in Holland Gallagher, as well as the audio producer in Russell Perna."
Looking ahead, what is your goal for this project? Is this a series you could see coming back next season? &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Wilson: "We are looking forward to continuing to engage our fans with this docuseries and the additional episodes that will run through April. The fan response and engagement thus far has truly been incredible and we are excited for what we have planned for the rest of the season, and from there, we&rsquo;ll see what&rsquo;s in store for ahead."

Spencer Davies and G League Head of Partnerships George Wilson discuss the league's eight-part YouTube docuseries and its details.

G League docuseries 'The Break' spotlighting unique paths to NBA

I'll open with a bit of transparency: I don't know if I'll have more fun writing a piece than I will with this one.
It's easy to get lost in Xs and Os talk, rotation suggestions, or transaction rumors. It can be easy to be bogged down by off-court nonsense &mdash; looking at you, Josh Primo, and the Brooklyn Nets, as a concept. But there are certain teams, certain players and certain stories that bring me back to the ground floor.&nbsp;
At its core, basketball is a beautiful game. It is art; it is music. It's poetry. It's freakin'&nbsp;fun,&nbsp;man. Watching players make the impossible look mundane is what drew me to the sport. I wouldn't care about the intricacies of Spain pick-and-rolls without having "whew, what a fun/easy bucket" as my foundation.&nbsp;
There isn't a player in the league that breaks my "whew" scale &mdash; or makes me laugh uncontrollably &mdash;&nbsp; quite like the Orlando Magic's Bol Bol does.&nbsp;
He's broken my brain virtually; you're not having fun in an online 2K league without having him on your roster. The flashes he showed at Oregon broke my brain in real life. A guy that tall isn't supposed to have the shooting touch and handle capabilities that he does.&nbsp;
There were always valid concerns. The frame was an issue, as were the injuries he's had to work through because of it. There were questions about the motor, among other things. He slid to the second round of the 2019 draft due to a combination of those questions.
But my word, the Bol Experiment may be working in Year 4.
Through eight games, Bol is averaging career highs in points (11.1), rebounds (7.4), and blocks (2.6, 4th in the NBA) in a shade under 22 minutes a night. This has been more than the occasional flash that I freak out about on Twitter; he legitimately looks like a productive rotation player.
Injury and opportunity have thrusted Bol into the Magic's starting lineup over the last three games. He's responded strongly, averaging 13.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in 29.1 minutes per contest.
HOW IT'S WORKING
Honestly, "opportunistic" may be the best way to describe Bol's play to kick off the year. He's averaging nearly 2 offensive rebounds a game. Overall, 48.5% of his two-point attempts &mdash; that he's converting at an absurd 71.7% clip by the way &mdash; have been unassisted. You can think a combination of putbacks and grab-and-go sequences for that.
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The grab-and-go possessions really stand out. One, it's just wild to see someone like him bringing the ball up. Beyond that, the drives have actually been fruitful. The sample isn't large; the good folks at Second Spectrum have him pegged for 17 drives on the season. But the Magic have generated over 1.3 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Bol drive.&nbsp;
The real fun is that the drives have featured some kick-outs. If he shifts from one-track minded to 1.3-track minded, you consider that a win if you're the Magic. These aren't Luka-like reads, but this is growth worth keeping an eye on.
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Defensively, I find myself in awe of Bol's length and range.&nbsp;
You will often see Bol in an off-ball role, either defending a weaker opponent or defending an area as part of Orlando's zone. If he isn't directly involved in the action, he's able to sink down to disrupt drives and spray back out to bother (or dissuade) catch-and-shoot opportunities. Even when he isn't in great position (more on that shortly), his massive wingspan allows him to alter or block shots anyway.
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Among 77 players that have defended at least 75 shot attempts, Bol's contest rate (92.59) ranks 12th on the list, per Second Spectrum. That puts him right behind players like Anthony Davis (93.59) and slightly ahead of guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo (92.51).
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Aside from the grab-and-go potential, the shooting was the primary calling card for Bol offensively entering his draft year. He hasn't knocked down triples at a high clip (33.3%) or with much volume (1.1 attempts).
To the volume portion, a lot of that is because of Bol's limitations. Because of his struggles to deal with physicality, opponents are comfortable stashing perimeter players on him. What would be pick-and-pop situations are typically switches, negating much of the benefits for Bol.
There's a ton of room to grow as a screener. Again, the frame limits him from being a Steven Adams-esque bully, but it still doesn't feel like he has a firm handle on timing or angles to pry guys loose. I've been on a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-screen-time-vol-1-steven-adams-best-worst-screeners-anthony-davis-fred-vanvleet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screening kick lately</a>, and it should come as no surprise that Bol grades poorly in terms of contact rate &mdash; meaning how often he generates contact on his screens.
It's not a situation like Brandon Clarke, where he's good at screening but ranks low in generating contact because he's so good&nbsp;at slipping; Bol just has to get better at screening as a concept.
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If he's able to do that, more scoring opportunities should rise. Pick-and-pops will open up. The Magic could further explore his usage as a handoff hub if he generates contact better; he already has enough of a handle to fool opponents with fake handoffs. But before that can be a present threat, he has to be able to pry his handoff partner open and force rotations.&nbsp;
On the other end, Bol's spatial awareness still needs work. While his length can help cover his mistakes, it's still worth noting some of the mistakes he makes, particularly when he's tasked with tracking multiple actions at once.
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Bol is often stashed on weaker perimeter players, and that weakness speaks to that player's scoring prowess&nbsp;and&nbsp;literal strength. Bol simply doesn't have the strength to deal with 5s. Even some guards have been successful in getting into his chest on drives and pushing him backwards.
He still struggles sliding laterally, and has bigger issues flipping his hips and changing direction. That's led to some pretty ugly "contain" sequences from him. It's telling that he's among the league leaders in blocks, but opponents have converted nearly 67% of their shots at the rim against Bol to this point of the season.
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But for now, the positives are outweighing the problem areas for the first time in his career. The Magic have a plus-4.6 net rating in Bol's 173 minutes, and have been dusted (minus-13.8) in their 211 minutes without him. The split looks even better if <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612753&amp;Season=2022-23&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1629626&amp;Leverage=VeryHigh,High,Medium" target="_blank" rel="noopener">you remove garbage time</a>.
Cheers to Bol for producing, and an even bigger hat tip to him for being fun while doing it.

Nekias Duncan breaks down, and celebrates, the fun and productivity of Bol Bol with the Orlando Magic.

Magical start: Celebrating Bol Bol's early productivity in Orlando

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kevin Durant asked to leave, though figured he wouldn't. Kyrie Irving wanted to stay, but feared he might be gone.
As the chaotic Brooklyn Nets' offseason was unfolding, even the key players struggled to make sense of things.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s awkward,&rdquo; Irving recalled thinking. &ldquo;Very awkward.&rdquo;
Now the Nets are ready to leave it all behind.
With Durant still in uniform and saying he's committed, and Irving still around but with no guarantee beyond a year, Brooklyn has undeniable talent and an uncertain future.
Durant asked to be traded after the Nets were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. He said his dissatisfaction started months earlier, disappointed by the lack of fight the team showed when he was sidelined by a sprained knee ligament in January and February.
The Nets had discussions, but trading an All-Star player who is about to start a four-year extension and getting comparable value back was never going to be easy.
&ldquo;I mean, I know I&rsquo;m that good that you&rsquo;re just not going to give me away,&rdquo; Durant said.
The Nets didn't deal him, nor did they fire general manager Sean Marks or coach Steve Nash, as Durant sought. Nash said he and Durant have had a lengthy relationship, likening it to a family disagreement.
&ldquo;Everybody's entitled to their opinions and I think from us, it&rsquo;s not to hold a grudge against what Kevin said, but it&rsquo;s a little bit of saying, &lsquo;All right, if that&rsquo;s the way he feels, what&rsquo;s going on here?&rsquo;' Marks said. &rdquo;Like, what do we need to change?"
At the same time, the Nets were declining to give Irving the contract extension for which he was eligible. He missed almost all their home games last season because he wasn't vaccinated against COVID-19, as was mandated at the time in New York City. He comes into this season in the final year of his deal.
Irving said his refusal to get vaccinated created questions about his commitment to playing, which may have contributed to him still being in Brooklyn. Some teams may have been hesitant to deal for the guard, despite his talent, because they weren't sure how often they would see it.
&ldquo;There were options,&rdquo; Irving said, &ldquo;but not many, I&rsquo;ll tell you that, because again, this stigma of whether or not I want to play, whether or not I&rsquo;m going to be committed to the team, which I thought was really unfair at times. But also the timing was ideal to be able to put that on me because I wasn&rsquo;t available.&rdquo;
Not getting a long-term deal, Irving said, was a &ldquo;tough pill to swallow,&rdquo; but he said he understood the Nets' side. He also understands Durant's feelings, agreeing that the team needs the structure that was missing.
&ldquo;There was a level of uncertainty in this building, not just for last year, but for the last few years,&rdquo; Irving said, &ldquo;and that accountability that he asked for should be available and accessible at all times and we should have that type of environment.&rdquo;
MILLION-DOLLAR DECISION
Irving could have received an extension last summer and believed it would happen before the season. Talks broke off after it became clear he wouldn't be a full-time player. Marks said the Nets didn't try to force vaccination on Irving, though Irving said he felt there was an &ldquo;ultimatum&rdquo; if he wanted to get paid.
&ldquo;I gave up four years, 100-and-something million deciding to be unvaccinated and that was the decision,&rdquo; Irving said. &ldquo;The contract, get vaccinated, or be unvaccinated and there&rsquo;s a level of uncertainty of your future as to whether you&rsquo;re going to be in the league, whether you&rsquo;re going to be in this team. So I had to deal with that real-life circumstance of losing my job for this decision.&rdquo;
STICKING TOGETHER
The Nets and Durant jointly decided to continue together, and he said he wasn't disappointed to still be in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;I still love to play,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;I knew that wasn&rsquo;t going to be affected.&rdquo;
As for whether Nets fans should question whether he is truly all-in on Brooklyn?
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m committed to going forward with this team ,&rdquo; Durant added, &ldquo;so if they got doubts, I can&rsquo;t control that.&rdquo;
SIMMONS SITUATION
Ben Simmons is set to finally play for the Nets after the Philadelphia 76ers traded him to Brooklyn in February in a deal headlined by James Harden.
Simmons ended up needing back surgery. While he was rehabbing, he wondered whether he would ever take the floor with Durant and Irving in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;Obviously you know somebody asked for a trade, Kyrie wasn&rsquo;t around. Like, different things were going on, but I don&rsquo;t worry about that stuff because I can&rsquo;t control it,&rdquo; Simmons said. &ldquo;Obviously it&rsquo;s a blessing to be able to play (with talented players), but I just focus on what I can contribute and do for this team and at that moment it was getting healthy.&rdquo;
OTHER INJURY NEWS
Joe Harris said he is cleared to play after needing two ankle surgeries last season. Seth Curry said he's about 85 to 90% there after his own ankle procedure, while T.J. Warren, who played in just four games in Indiana the last two seasons because of foot injuries, said he is healed but not cleared yet because they want to be careful.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets are looking to leave an awkward summer behind and move forward.

Durant, Irving try to move on after Nets' turbulent summer

The WNBA Finals are here, and the matchup couldn't be more of a stylistic clash.
On one side, we have the top-seeded (26-10) Las Vegas Aces. It's a bit much to say they took the league by storm &mdash; they had the second-best record in the league last season &mdash; but their modernized approach (on both ends of the floor) was a stark shift from what we're used to. Their offensive firepower, headlined by <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/las-vegas-aces-star-aja-wilson-adds-second-wnba-mvp-to-her-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two-time MVP A'ja Wilson</a>, is undeniable. There's a reason this team led the league in offensive rating (109.6), and posted the second-best offensive season in WNBA history.
On the other side, we have the third-seeded Connecticut Sun. They were once again a regular-season success, finishing a game behind the Aces and Chicago Sky in record (25-11) but actually leading The W in net rating. Their plus-9.5 clip was nearly two points higher than the second-ranked Aces (plus-7.7). The Sun are known for their second-ranked defense (96.3 defensive rating), but quietly ranked second in offensive rating this season (105.8) too.
Two elite teams. Two elite offenses. Two completely different methods of attack, driven by unique personnel.&nbsp;
The Sun (63%) and Aces (62.2%) ranked fifth and sixth in the percentage of shots that came at the rim or from three this season, though they found themselves on different ends of the how-they-got-there spectrum. The Sun led the league in rim rate (36.9%) while finishing 11th (out of 12) in three-point rate (26.1%); the Aces were 11th in rim rate (24.6%) and third in three-point rate (37.6%).
A major battleground for this series will be generating good, comfortable shots in the half-court. They may not always be analytically friendly; the Sun are a heavy post team, and the Aces have made the Finals primarily behind insane mid-range shooting. I'm intrigued by how these teams will attack, and how they'll be countered defensively.&nbsp;
It's not clear who has the larger margin for error in this series. Why worry about your process if you can clean the glass to the degree the Sun can? How much do the details matter if Chelsea Gray can just splash home pull-up jumpers in the faces of helpless defenders?
I do think it's worth investigating the Aces side of things. They've faced a team that attempted to muck things up (Phoenix Mercury), and the Seattle Storm were a stout defensive unit with enough mobility and off-ball smarts to bring the Aces into the mud. The Sun are a mix of both, with more size and physicality.
My biggest question of the series: what coverage will the Sun come out in?
During the regular season, the overwhelming answer was "we're going to put two on the ball and dare you to navigate it." It's an aggressive, high-risk scheme, but you can do that when Alyssa Thomas and Jonquel Jones are your bigs.
Jones is massive and moves her feet well. There are things to poke at in space &mdash; she opens up too much for my liking, opening avenues for ball-handlers to split the hedge and get downhill &mdash; but your reward for beating a Jones hedge is dealing with Thomas behind it.
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It's a late-clock possession, but you see the issue. Jones forces Gray to string out the drive. Wilson rolls to the empty side, but Thomas peels way off Dearica Hamby (left corner) to play in the passing lane to take Wilson's roll off the board while Jones recovers. The result is a heavily contested pull-up jumper from Gray. She's been draining those all postseason, but it's not what she&nbsp;wants&nbsp;to feast on.
If Thomas is directly involved, you're not likely to have a good time. The "best-hedge-defender-in-the-league" debate is between Thomas and Candace Parker. Who you choose is your perogative, but just recognize that you're dealing with greatness either way. Thomas is a one-woman wrecking crew when defending ball screens. If you're able to make it past her, good look finishing over the outstretched arms of Jones.
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That's tremendous effort from the Sun on that possession, particularly from Jones on the closeout. They get the miss and the rebound, but allowing Wilson to roll into that much space doesn't seem to be ideal. The Aces were <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/teams/shooting/?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;sort=Mid-Range%20FG%20PCT&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">easily the best mid-range shooting team</a> in the league this season; Gray (50%) and Wilson (45.1%) were the best volume mid-range shooters in the league, and they've been <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/players/shooting/?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;sort=Mid-Range%20FG%20PCT&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=Mid-Range%20FGA*GE*2.5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even better</a> during the postseason.
To that point, this is going to be an important jump-shooting series for Wilson. If the Sun stick with their aggressive scheme, there will be opportunities for her to pop. This is a miss, but this shot is well within Wilson's wheelhouse.
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The Aces will have to decide which of the bigs are worth engaging directly, and how they'll counter the Sun showing aggressive help off of non-shooters. It's unclear if the Aces will keep Kiah Stokes in the starting lineup or go back to Hamby, but both players will likely get the same (non)treatment off the ball.&nbsp;
It'll be important to see where Hamby or Stokes will be spaced. Having them on the perimeter won't do much for spacing, especially if Thomas gets that assignment. She'll take that matchup as an opportunity to cause havoc as a helper. Wilson makes this shot, but look at how quickly she darts down to meet Wilson on her roll.
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As counterintuitive as it sounds, it may be worth going at Thomas directly. Getting into your offense may be tougher, but it could be easier to make plays on the back end. Again, Jones is pretty mobile for her size, but her comfort toggling assignments tends to decrease the further away she is from the rim. This possession seems instructive.
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The Aces go with a Gray-Hamby ball screen, which puts Thomas into the action. Jones is the Sun's last line of defense here, but she also has the Wilson assignment. Jones is locked into Gray's eyes, and Gray makes her pay with a nice feed to Hamby.
It's worth noting how Wilson is used here though. She isn't just off the ball; she's setting up a pindown for Kelsey Plum. It puts Natisha Hiedeman in a bind; she has to fight over and stay attached to Plum, or Gray has an easy outlet for a high-quality three. If Wilson pops to the corner after that screen, she'd have an open jumper considering where Jones is.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Keep an eye on the Aces' off-ball screening in this series. That's going to be the hack for Stokes or Hamby if they're on the perimeter. If they're able to engage the Sun off the ball, their half-court offense will be more difficult to contain.
A fun wrinkle to keep an eye on: inverted ball screens to get the bigs downhill. We only saw it twice during the regular-season series, but the Aces experimented with a big-small pick-and-roll out of HORNS.
For those who aren't familiar, the HORNS alignment features a player in each corner, and two screeners at each elbow (or higher) to give the ball-handler an option of which screen to use.
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Don't be surprised if Becky Hammon pulls this out of her back pocket out of a timeout, or late when the Aces need a bucket.
The Sun also have fun flowing out of HORNS. When you have a frontcourt tandem as uniquely talented as Thomas and Jones &mdash; with reigning Sixth Player of the Year and All-Star Brionna Jones coming off the bench &mdash; it's hard not to stress out defenses.
A popular set for them involves one of their bigs setting a screen before diving to the basket, while the other big lifts and receives a pass to set up a high-low opportunity.
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That's a pretty tough action to defend, especially if you're putting two on the ball like the Aces did here. DeWanna Bonner and Courtney Williams are stashed in the corners, which means the help &mdash; either Jackie Young or Gray &mdash; would be small. Hamby could've sagged way off to bump Jones on the roll, but Thomas is Draymond-esque in her ability to snap into quick-hitting handoffs.&nbsp;
Jones isn't just a diver; she's one of the best shooters in basketball. The Sun are comfortable spacing her or getting her looks off movement. Here's a quick example of HORNS Flare.
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You'll notice, again, that Hamby is put in a bit of a bind. Your mind says "stick with Jones no matter what," but the Other Jones may be the best big in the league at generating deep seals. Wilson is a tremendous defender, but she's still at a size and strength disadvantage with that matchup. Hamby hangs a beat too long, and that's all the space that Jones needs to fire from deep.&nbsp;
If Courtney Williams is in the left corner when they set up HORNS, don't be surprised if an Iverson cut is coming. It's a way to get Williams (and her defender) moving, and helps them set up ball screens with an empty corner.&nbsp;
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(I can't tell if it was scripted or a great read from Bonner, but her bump before clearing to the left side of the floor essentially turns this into an Elevator screen to trap Gray.)
The Sun have to be careful about where that screen is set. Setting it on Williams' right would force her baseline, and task the big with rolling toward the middle of the floor. That will make it easier for the Aces to load up their help. Williams will make the tough pull-up below, but keep an eye on Hamby and how she roams off Thomas to provide help on Jones' roll.
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I wonder what defensive scheme we'll see from the Aces. They went more switch-heavy in the second half of the season, and that's continued throughout the postseason. I'm not sure how much they can get away with that considering how much size the Sun have.
It wouldn't be a huge surprise for the Aces to play more drop coverage. They would be daring the Sun's guards to beat them with pull-ups, but having the bigs hang back would make it easier for them to contain the rolls and, more importantly, get a head start on boxing out to limit the Sun on the offensive glass.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
It may behoove the Sun to go more conservative as well. Going with more switching instead of hedging would eliminate a lot of the gaps the Aces want to create in the half-court, as we saw for large swaths of their series against the Storm.
Hammon and Curt Miller are two of the best coaches in The W. If nothing else, I'm excited to see what types of adjustments are made on each side. This may not be the Finals series many expected, but it's slated to be a darn good one.

Nekias Duncan examines how the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun will attack each other in the WNBA Finals.

WNBA Finals: How will Aces and Sun attack each other in half-court?

Najee Garvin played at three different colleges, the last being an HBCU. Being on an NBA court and wearing the NBA logo sometimes didn&rsquo;t seem realistic.
He dealt with adversity after being arrested on an assault charge that was ultimately dropped. He went nearly two full years without playing a game. Garvin even became a cook at Chili&rsquo;s to pay the bills.
On Monday, he wore that NBA logo after all.
Garvin was one of 28 players invited to the inaugural HBCU Showcase at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. With a few dozen scouts in the stands, and four former NBA players &mdash; all of them now at historically Black colleges and universities &mdash; doing the coaching, Garvin ran through drills and played in scrimmages, getting an audition like no other in his career.
&ldquo;A job,&rdquo; Garvin said, when asked what would make the day a success for him. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just authentic. A job. Nowadays, it&rsquo;s hard to get a job. You&rsquo;ve got to be put in the right place, around the right people, who know the right stuff.&rdquo;
The NBA is hoping that it put that combination of right place, right people and right stuff together &mdash; with this showcase the latest way the league hopes to give HBCU players opportunities.
There&rsquo;s only one player from an HBCU school currently in the NBA, that being Robert Covington of the Los Angeles Clippers. No HBCU player has been drafted in a decade. Of the 30 rosters for teams in Las Vegas, only five featured an HBCU alum.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a visionary,&rdquo; said Mo Williams, the former NBA guard who now coaches at Jackson State. &ldquo;We have a lot of talent at the HBCU level that don&rsquo;t get those invites to the NBA Combine, to Portsmouth, the G League Combine now, to things like that. We feel like those kids are talented enough to be professional athletes. This is a start.&rdquo;
HBCU football players haven't been left out of the spotlight. Some got the opportunity to showcase their talents in early February <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-college-football-sports-jackson-deion-sanders-fa50c854b34cd633c3cc588541ef1837">when the NFL hosted its first HBCU combine</a> during Senior Bowl workouts.
The NBA has made strides for basketball players in recent years to address areas where it feels changes were needed. There are a record 15 Black coaches in the NBA right now, eight of those hires coming in the last year or so.
The 2021 NBA All-Star Game generated at least $3 million for HBCUs through donations to scholarship funds &mdash; and the exposure those schools got during the game was worth even more. The league has started a paid fellowship program that places HBCU students in jobs with the league office and with NBA and WNBA teams. And this past season, All-Star weekend included a game between Howard and Morgan State.
And now, the attention turns to individual players.
&ldquo;The showcase is a chance for us to continue creating opportunity for the world&rsquo;s best talent,&rdquo; said Morgan Cato, an NBA vice president who is about to become an assistant general manager with the Phoenix Suns. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a perception of HBCU programs not necessarily being able to turn out talent. But all of our investments from the league office are about creating opportunity, creating access, and letting great players really have the opportunity to be seen by teams.&rdquo;
Many NBA players have spoken out in the last couple years about the need to help HBCU programs and improve the college experience for those players.
But there&rsquo;s also a clear belief that if a player is good enough to play in the NBA -- whether that player is at a Power 5 school, or overseas, or at a low-major school -- someone from the league will find them.
&ldquo;One thing that is undeniable is this is the best league in the world,&rdquo; said <a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-damian-lillard-las-vegas-79c76345f0ff7a3623777d8ded6d13c6">Portland guard Damian Lillard</a>, who played his college ball at Weber State and was still a lottery pick. &ldquo;We want HBCUs to get more recognition. We want them to have better funding, better facilities and resources. It could be a lot better. I think that&rsquo;s what has to happen.&rdquo;
The showcase lasted a few hours and was basically an NBA practice: Williams, Bethune-Cookman coach Reggie Theus, Fisk coach Kenny Anderson and LeMoyne-Owen coach Bonzi Wells broke the groups into four teams, and after some drills, the players went through scrimmages.
It&rsquo;s still a longshot that any of the 28 makes the NBA. But Monday might have been a step in the right direction toward getting another HBCU player to the league.
&ldquo;Why hasn&rsquo;t it happened? Let&rsquo;s call a spade a spade: They&rsquo;re not looking,&rdquo; Anderson said. &ldquo;The kids are not getting looked at.&rdquo;
Wells said he has yet to see a pro scout at any of his team&rsquo;s home games. But he presses on, insisting that he must keep trying to do his part to raise the HBCU profile at both the college and pro level, much in the same way that Deion Sanders has done with football at Jackson State.
&ldquo;If we don&rsquo;t do this, who will?&rdquo; Wells said. &ldquo;Who will? This is a blessing for us to be coaches. It&rsquo;s tough for former NBA players to get jobs, and be head coaches. This is a blessing for us to have the platform that we have.&rdquo;
There might be a G League opportunity for some of these players; that was the path Covington took on his way to the NBA after going undrafted. Playing internationally is another option. Former Prairie View A&amp;M player Jawaun Daniels said he&rsquo;d even listen if the Harlem Globetrotters came calling.
&ldquo;My mind is always open to everything,&rdquo; Daniels said.
All 28 of the players are dreamers. And maybe Monday got them one step closer to where they want to ultimately be.
&ldquo;Today is the opportunity of a lifetime,&rdquo; said Garvin, who played at Charlotte, Nicholls State and Hampton. &ldquo;No matter where, no matter what level, it&rsquo;s all about getting a job. We&rsquo;ve all been overlooked, all at the bottom of the pole, and today reminds us that we can still find our way to the top.&rdquo;

There were 28 players invited to the inaugural HBCU Showcase at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

HBCU players at NBA summer league seeking opportunities

The New York Knicks have had ample opportunities to develop young players in the recent past. Yet, somehow, they&rsquo;ve fumbled that opportunity over and over again, and Mitchell Robinson&rsquo;s story doesn&rsquo;t stray too far from that reality.
Robinson entered the pros with a lot of question marks. After ranking as 24/7 Sports&rsquo; best center and the ninth-best player in the 2017 high-school class, Robinson decommitted from Western Kentucky University after a suspension for a violation of team rules and chose to prepare for the NBA instead.
Despite the limited tape on him, Robinson&rsquo;s raw talent was undeniable, and the Knicks selected him with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Robinson&rsquo;s career began with a good amount of success. In his rookie season, Robinson averaged 7.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 20.6 minutes per game. In per-36-minute terms, that translated to 12.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and an eye-popping 4.3 blocks, which was obviously promising.
There were some noticeable flaws though. Robinson was fairly injury prone early in his career, and he clearly needed to bulk up, as he was regularly pushed out of position by bigger opponents. In addition, Robinson regularly found himself in foul trouble. In fact, despite his limited playing time, Robinson averaged 3.3 fouls per game in his rookie season, fouling out of eight games. As a sophomore, it was more of the same.
Prior to the 2021-22 campaign, Robinson answered the bell by adding some muscle, which helped him avoid those foul troubles. (Robinson averaged just 2.7 fouls in 25.7 minutes per game this season.)
Robinson&rsquo;s improved frame may have also helped with those aforementioned durability issues. After a rough 2020-21 season in which he played just 31 games, Robinson appeared in 72 games this season and started in all but 10 of them. But teams need more from a starting center than relative durability, and having covered Robinson in New York since he was a rookie, it's obvious that he badly wants to be a starter.
However, one drawback of Robinson bulking up was losing some of his explosiveness. After being regarded as one of the best shot blockers in basketball in his first two years, he has taken a slight step back over the last couple campaigns. After averaging 2.4 and 2.0 blocks per contest in his first two seasons, respectively, he averaged only 1.5 rejections in his third year and 1.8 in his fourth despite playing more minutes.
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There are holes in Robinson&rsquo;s game that must be addressed. Specifically, Robinson has absolutely no jump shot to speak of, and he lacks the ability to stretch the floor, hoisting up zero three-point attempts in his entire four-year career. In fact, this past season alone, Robinson did not attempt a single shot farther away than 10 feet from the basket. Though it doesn't need to be a primary part of his skill set, that can be prohibitive to his team&rsquo;s offensive spacing and continuity.
Robinson enters this offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Ultimately, his future will boil down to which team offers the most money and opportunity. Considering that Robinson has not yet cashed in with a big deal, that&rsquo;s the right way to approach free agency.
But where will he end up?
Unfortunately for Robinson, there are few teams below the salary cap. In total, only five teams &mdash; Detroit, Indiana, Orlando, Portland and San Antonio &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-nba-teams-have-the-most-cap-space-entering-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will have significant cap space</a>. Further, there are other attractive centers who will hit free agency, including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-deandre-ayton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deandre Ayton</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-mo-bamba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mo Bamba</a> (and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rudy Gobert</a> could be available on the trade block).
Despite differences in play style, Robinson will probably attract many of the same suitors as Bamba. Compared to Bamba, Robinson is already more established, but Bamba has more upside and he has won over scouts with his shooting ability.&nbsp;
Ultimately, the extension that Robert Williams III signed last summer is probably a good starting point for negotiations. Williams signed a four-year extension worth $54 million. That could seem a tad pricey, but it&rsquo;s probably right around where a deal will land.
One additional note: the Dallas-Houston trade that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-christian-wood-trade-provides-optionality-for-dallas-mavericks-luka-doncic-houston-rockets-kristaps-porzingis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landed Christian Wood in Dallas</a> resulted in one less suitor. The Mavericks were rumored to be interested in Robinson, but the acquisition of Wood fills their hole in the middle.
With that said, let's review the likeliest teams to court Robinson when free agency arrives.
NEW YORK KNICKS 
Robinson has spent all four of his professional seasons with the Knicks, and he&rsquo;s seen all the dysfunction up close. He&rsquo;s played for four different head coaches and, at just 24 years of age, he&rsquo;s somehow the longest-tenured Knick. Still, there&rsquo;s comfort in familiarity.
He&rsquo;s played for Tom Thibodeau for the past two seasons, which means he at least knows and understands what&rsquo;s expected of him. And he finally solidified the starting job in 2021-22, starting 62 of 72 games in which he appeared.
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The Knicks have the inside track on re-signing Robinson, who is clearly their best option at center right now. They can still sign him to a four-year, $48 million deal before June 30. If they don&rsquo;t, they&rsquo;ll be able to exceed that amount.
But exactly how much will New York be comfortable paying considering how far they are from contention?
CHICAGO BULLS 
The Ringer&rsquo;s Kevin O&rsquo;Connor <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/6/6/23156358/donovan-mitchell-rumors-jazz-nba-finals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently cited</a> the Bulls' interest in adding either Gobert or Robinson. The thinking here is probably simple: Adding an above-average defensive center will help balance out the team, as Nikola Vucevic was a defensive liability in 2021-22. Of all players who played at least 2,000 minutes in 2021-22, Vucevic recorded the sixth-worth Defensive Rating, according to <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nba-defensive-rating-leaders-this-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">StatMuse</a>.
Robinson could replace Vucevic in the starting lineup, but it's more likely that he would either split big-man duties with Vucevic or that the Bulls would look to move Vucevic. The two could technically play alongside one another in a twin-tower-style lineup, but neither is nimble enough to defend some of the more mobile power forwards.
If Robinson and the Knicks do not reach an agreement before June 30, he&rsquo;ll probably command a deal in the $12-to-$15 million range annually, which is far less money than the five-year, $205 million extension Gobert signed in December 2020. While Gobert is clearly the better player of the two, Robinson would help the Bulls defensively in his own right. If Chicago can offer him a starting job and&nbsp;convince him to go slightly lower at $10.3 million per year with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, it could probably be more attractive than toughing it out in the Big Apple, while the Knicks try to break out of their seemingly endless rebuild.
DETROIT PISTONS 
The Pistons are another team rumored to be interested in Robinson. Joining Detroit could be alluring given the presence of Cade Cunningham, and the team should take another step forward after Thursday&rsquo;s NBA Draft, as the Pistons currently own the fifth overall pick. Most importantly, Robinson would probably cruise into the starting lineup, as the team lacks any valid 7-foot options at the position.
The Pistons are also one of a select few teams with cap space, meaning they could actually sign him without making any other moves. Given the cap space and presumed role he could take on, Detroit might be Robinson&rsquo;s preferred destination.
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PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 
Like Detroit, Portland has a good deal of cap space. There could also be a vacancy in the Trail Blazers&rsquo; front line given that Jusuf Nurkic will hit free agency, though the reported expectation is that Portland re-signs Nurkic. But if Portland is primed for bigger changes and has second thoughts, it's a move the franchise could make, as the Blazers appear ready to make another run behind star point guard Damian Lillard.
Robinson isn&rsquo;t capable of catapulting a team into contention, but he is more than capable of being the anchor for a team in need of defensive help. In 2021-22, Portland gave up the fourth-most points per game, grabbed the fourth-fewest rebounds per games and blocked the 10th-fewest shots per game.
ORLANDO MAGIC 
Considering the Bamba comparison above, it would be mildly ironic if Robinson lands in Orlando as his replacement, but it could happen. Why? Orlando could opt to not match an offer for Bamba, and/or the organization might just see Robinson as a better player. But remember, the Magic have the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, meaning they could onboard Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero &mdash; any of whom can be seen as the team&rsquo;s long-term answer in its positionless roster setup.
Robinson is capable of making an impact and finding a long-term home, but he needs to play for a demanding coach who will push him to be the best version of himself.
If he can maximize his talent, he can become one of the better defensive centers in the league. If he doesn&rsquo;t, he&rsquo;ll bounce around the league for the next few seasons.
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Mitchell Robinson exhibited durability and strength in 2021-22. Drew Maresca looks at possible landing spots for the young center.

Examining potential destinations for Mitchell Robinson

With the 2022 NBA Draft less than a week away, our Senior NBA Draft Analyst shares his updated his 2022 NBA Mock Draft.

2022 NBA Mock Draft: 6/17/22

It&rsquo;s the most wonderful time of the year. The days are long, the nights are warm and the NBA Finals have come back around.
The Finals stage is where legacies are made. The entire season leads up to this series.
But with the good comes the bad; such is the nature of life. For those with allergies, like myself, June also brings about itchy eyes and a runny nose. And for basketball purists, the bad comes in the form of recycled cliche talking points that, at times, dwarf the discourse surrounding the game itself.
The Finals are where we finally find the answers to season-long, and sometimes career-long, questions.
Can Dirk Nowitzki lead a team to a title?
Did Kobe Bryant need Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal?
Is LeBron James clutch?
This season is no different.
Today's question du jour: Does Stephen Curry need a Finals MVP and another championship sans Kevin Durant to shore up his legacy as one of the 10 best to ever play the game?
One might think the Golden State Warriors would be impervious to these conversations. After all, they won an NBA championship in 2015, the same year they entered the upper echelon of the league before questions could even emerge. And yet, here we are &mdash; eight years, six Finals runs and three titles later &mdash; questioning Curry&rsquo;s greatness and ultimate legacy.
So, what is the answer to that aforementioned question?
First, let&rsquo;s take a look at Curry&rsquo;s legacy. In short, he is an all-time great who's responsible for revolutionizing the Three-Point Era.
It is too simple to reduce Curry to just "the greatest shooter of all-time&rdquo; and limit his skills to only one facet of his game. Because not only is Curry the greatest shooter ever, he is also an elite finisher with both his right and left hand, and he sports one of the best handles we&rsquo;ll ever see. And yet, despite all of his on-ball skills, he is even deadlier off the ball.
In the words of Warriors president and general manager Bob Myers, who joined The Morning Roast on 95.7 The Game on June 7: &ldquo;This guy is a made-man. Forget about this Finals; it's already been done. He's already done it. He's already proven it. I don't know what else he has to continue to prove.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Bob Myers believes Steph Curry has nothing left to prove in the NBA Finals 🐐 <a href="https://t.co/JXkLpiRj4b">pic.twitter.com/JXkLpiRj4b</a>
&mdash; 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1534234887221219328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Myers is correct. Curry has cemented himself as an all-time great.
But all titles matter, and winning this one is important for Curry&rsquo;s legacy. Just as the fourth title mattered to LeBron. Just as the fourth and fifth mattered to Kobe. Just as the fifth and sixth mattered to Michael Jordan.
They all matter when cementing your legacy.
And that&rsquo;s because, unlike other accolades, championships are not debatable. Being the last team standing is a matter of fact, and not decided on by a select group of media.
Players aren't awarded titles. They win them. Curry&rsquo;s greatness is shown by reaching this objective season after season. With each new ring, it cements what should never be up for debate.
Finals MVP, however, is a subjective award. And when it comes to subjectivity, Curry&rsquo;s greatness regularly gets called into question. Being a pioneer in any industry means having your name etched into the history books, but with that comes some bad: you&rsquo;re ahead of your time. And, as a result, people often can&rsquo;t keep up with your greatness as it happens.
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Take the 2015 NBA Finals, for example, Curry&rsquo;s impact was not immediately visible on the box score; although, he was no slouch there either. Curry finished the series averaging 26.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game on .443/.385/.885 shooting splits. (An efficiency dip from the regular season, where he averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game on a .487/.443/.914 slash line.)
They were numbers that paled in comparison to LeBron, who finished the series with averages of 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per contest, leaving many to believe Curry failed in the role of a superstar on the biggest stage.
Dominance in the form of counting stats is easy to quantify, but dominance in creating an ecosystem that benefits those around you &mdash; is not. Thus, the true value of Curry is hard to measure.
And that&rsquo;s why, of the 11 votes for Finals MVP, LeBron received four, Andre Iguodala received seven and Curry received headlines calling Matthew Dellavedova his kryptonite.
That&rsquo;s right. Curry received no votes, and Iguodala won the 2015 Finals MVP.
Many voters point to the tides turning after Game 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers had taken a 2-1 series lead, and the Warriors adjusted by swapping Iguodala in for Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup &mdash; a rare move that offered major benefits on both sides of the ball.
At a distance, the case for Iguodala over Curry for Finals MVP is such:
Iguodala guarded the best player in basketball and limited LeBron&rsquo;s impact to sub-40% shooting, the Warriors never lost a game once he entered the starting lineup, and, as a starter, he averaged 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He also shot 47.8% from the floor and 40.9% from three, numbers that closely resembled Curry&rsquo;s with much better efficiency.
Take a closer look, and we can see how that&rsquo;s all the more reason Curry deserved the Finals MVP. Without taking anything away from Iguodala, who was a valuable piece that allowed the Warriors to unlock this lineup, Steph made it unstoppable.
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Introducing Iguodala into the starting lineup in place of Bogut allowed the Warriors to play a five-out lineup with passing.
Curry, being the best shooter ever, gets the most attention, and the way he moves off-ball &mdash; constantly in motion and always a threat to shoot &mdash; opens the floor up for all of his teammates in ways that are not yet quantifiable. Curry running by two defenders and pulling them towards him is not a screen assist, but it still opens up a driving lane or a shot in a similar way.
Iguodala directly benefited from that gravity. According to NBA.com, 46% of the shots Iguodala took were considered &ldquo;wide open&rdquo; with the closest defender at least six feet away, and 20% were considered open with a defender four-to-six feet away.
With Bogut on the floor, the Cavs could tilt their defense toward Curry without any blowback. With Iguodala&rsquo;s passing and shooting in Bogut&rsquo;s place, the Cavaliers' defense was forced to make a choice. More often than not, their decision was to dare Iguodala to shoot, and to his credit, he knocked them down.
Curry&rsquo;s court vision and decisive actions create excellent opportunities for teammates, as he led the Warriors in assists. Iguodala was the prime beneficiary, accounting for nearly 40% of his points as a starter in catch-and-shoot situations, according to NBA.com. (That includes all of his made field goals in the deciding Game 6.)
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Decades from now, when people think back on the Warriors&rsquo; first championship, losing Finals MVP to Iguodala won&rsquo;t be an indictment on Curry and his game, but instead on our ability to appreciate what doesn&rsquo;t show up in the box score.
It&rsquo;ll be a capsule in time, defined by our limited scope.
The predicament is similar to the NBA's 2007 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Marcus Camby won the award, given to the best defender in a season, over Tim Duncan, who finished third behind San Antonio Spurs teammate Bruce Bowen.
Despite being one the greatest defensive anchors of all time, Duncan never won the honor &mdash; a gaffe on the part of voters and a result of our limited ability to measure defense.
In 2007, after finishing with his second blocks title in what would be a three-year reign, Camby was awarded Defensive Player of the Year instead.
Over time, we&rsquo;ve come to learn that blocking shots, though flashy and easily quantifiable, is far less a marker of a great defender than one who deters opponents from even attempting a drive.
NBA.com can track how well opponents shot against you in various areas on the court, and despite Camby&rsquo;s higher blocks-per-game average of 3.3 to Duncan&rsquo;s 2.4, players shot 8.3% worse when met by Duncan over Camby in the restricted area.
Blocks per game also remains the sole stat that favors Camby over Duncan defensively. The Denver Nuggets even performed better defensively with Camby on the bench.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 67.1558%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Metric</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">Marcus Camby</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">Tim Duncan</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Efficiency</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">105.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">96.5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Win Shares</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">5.1</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">6.8</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Box Plus-Minus</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">3.9</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">3.2</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Opponent FG% in RA</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">60.5%</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">53.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 29.0771%; height: 22px;">Defensive Pts Per Poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.18%; height: 22px;">+2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.7594%; height: 22px;">-8.8</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
And though not one of these stats alone is a clear indicator of which player is a better defender, all of them together make it pretty obvious that Duncan was better than Camby in 2007.
Then, there are other factors that can&rsquo;t be measured, like how often the presence of a defensive force such as Duncan prevents teams from even passing to a guy guarded by the stalwart.
Defensive Player of the Year awards began in 1982-83. Ten of the first 28 winners led the NBA in blocks. Since then, no player who led the league in blocks has gone on to win DPOY. Nowadays, it would be laughable to base a defensive argument on something as basic as blocks.
I think this is how we&rsquo;ll understand Curry not winning a Finals MVP in his first three chances, namely in 2015. The Finals MVP is supposed to highlight the most valuable player during the most important stretch of basketball all year. That was undeniably him.
The mark of a great offensive player is that teams would prefer to play 4-on-3 versus 1-on-1, and in 2015, Iguodala benefited from being the man open. But that&rsquo;s entirely thanks to the gravity of Stephen Curry.
Because, at the end of the day, every NBA defense is trying to get the ball out of Steph's hands.
And, in the words of Max Kellerman, they want Iguodala.&nbsp;
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Imman Adan details how Stephen Curry's impact can't be quantified by looking back on the 2015 NBA Finals.

Understanding Stephen Curry's gravity and a 2015 NBA Finals MVP gaffe

The Atlanta Hawks had to face the burden of expectations in 2021-22.&nbsp;
Fresh off a surprise trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, Atlanta entered the season as a picturesque franchise with a mixture of realized star power and unrealized potential. Unfortunately, not every young team progresses linearly.&nbsp;
On Jan. 14, the Hawks were seven games under .500. As late as Jan. 27, they were 11th in the Eastern Conference standings. And despite a spectacular rally to 43-39 and a successful Play-In Tournament run, Atlanta still looked hopeless for most of its first-round series against the Miami Heat.
And yet, the Hawks still finished with the second-best Offensive Rating in basketball, per Cleaning the Glass. Trae Young took the next step as a bona fide superstar. Onyeka Okongwu arrived after an injury-plagued rookie year. Even though Atlanta did underachieve, they still have several talented young players with room to grow. So how can the franchise get back on the right track?
Hawks principal owner <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/hawks-owner-ressler-says-team-wont-stand-pat-this-offseason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tony Ressler has hinted at a possible offseason overhaul</a>.
&ldquo;I think if you asked our front office they would say that we thought based on last season&rsquo;s visit to the Eastern Conference finals, that we could bring back predominantly the same team and get better and expect it to be better,&rdquo; Ressler said. "I don&rsquo;t think that worked out the way we thought.
"So yes, I think we should have tried to get better rather than bring back what we had. That won&rsquo;t happen again, by the way. It was a mistake, in my opinion."
Atlanta first has to answer The John Collins Question.&nbsp;
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The Hawks signed Collins to a massive five-year, $125 million contract extension last summer, essentially locking him in as Young's partner in crime. His first year under the new deal went woefully off-script.
The 24-year-old appeared in just 54 games this past season, and just four after the All-Star break, due to injuries. He posted the worst True Shooting percentage of his career (still a pretty nice 61.0%) and saw his lowest usage rate in four seasons. In January, Collins went on record voicing his displeasure about his role, and as of that moment, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stats-notebook-has-john-collins-role-with-the-hawks-really-changed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had statistical evidence to back him up.</a>
Collins possesses undeniable on-court synergy with Young, but is that enough for him to want him to stay, and for the front office to keep faith?
Ressler also made two other notable comments that could pertain to Collins. One is that he's not afraid of spending into the luxury tax to make the Hawks a championship contender. Perhaps this means Atlanta values Collins regardless of his salary and wants to fortify other areas. But Ressler also added:&nbsp;"I think every team in the NBA should add a superstar whenever they can, and I promise you we&rsquo;re no exception.&rdquo;
Collins would surely help Atlanta chase a superstar if he were included in a trade. We'll see if he's on the table for Atlanta.
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The Hawks don't have many major in-house free agency questions to address. Their most notable upcoming free agent is probably Delon Wright, who assumed duties as a backup point guard as the season went on and provided solid play on low usage. Other free agents who did not lock down a rotation spot include: Lou Williams, Kevin Knox, Gorgui Dieng, Skylar Mays and Sharife Cooper.
Cooper should expectedly be re-signed. The rookie point guard was one of the surprise fallers of the 2021 NBA Draft and showed promise in the G League, averaging 16.3 points and 6.7 assists per game with the College Park Skyhawks.
The relative roster security does mean, however, that Atlanta is strapped for cap space. Spotrac estimates that the franchise won't even come close to achieving any sort of practical cap space for the summer with Young, Collins, Danilo Gallinari, Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic each making more than $18 million next season. The best they'll have to work with is the taxpayer mid-level exception, valued at about $6.3 million. Any significant addition will have to be via trade.
Atlanta will also have just its own draft picks at Nos. 16 and 44. These are quality chances for the Hawks to beef up their bench or add a defense-first piece, and as they know from last year with Cooper, there's always a chance to grab a steal in the second round.
Our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock projects the Hawks to select Ohio State wing Malaki Branham with the 16th pick in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest NBA Mock Draft</a>. Branham is a dynamic scorer already as a freshman and could pack a punch off the bench with his ability to pull up and get to the rim. At No. 44, Atlanta is projected to select Wake Forest's Jake LaRavia, who has been a recent draft riser (at least in the podcasts I listen to!).
Whatever moves the Hawks decide to make, they need to positively impact the defense. Atlanta ranked 26th in Defensive Rating this season and was abjectly awful for most of the year. De'Andre Hunter only appeared in 53 games due to injuries, but his presence can't be the sole supporting beam for the perimeter defense.&nbsp;
With an owner itching to make trades and a roster still full of optimism and question marks, the Hawks should be a must-watch team as the offseason approaches.
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The Hawks underachieved in 2021-22, setting the stage for some major potential offseason moves.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Atlanta Hawks?

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

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

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