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76ers

We&rsquo;re two weeks into the 2023-24 NBA season, which is far too early for overarching declarations, but not too early for a statistical deep dive into some numbers that jumped out at us. Put on your wetsuits.
52&nbsp;
Portland Trail Blazers sophomore Shaedon Sharpe has been assisted on 52% of his made baskets this season, down considerably from the 67% he was assisted on last season. That number dropping, combined with Sharpe&rsquo;s points per game rising (20.1 PPG, up from 9.9 last season), allows us to infer a few things.&nbsp;
First, it shows that Sharpe&rsquo;s role has increased significantly, which we expected. With Damian Lillard gone and Anfernee Simons sidelined for a few months with an injury, Sharpe was the obvious next man up regarding shot attempts. And the 20-year-old isn't afraid to put up shots, as he's attempting over 15 per game.&nbsp;
Secondly, it shows that Sharpe is getting his own buckets. His self-creation ability is one of the main reasons he was the No. 7 overall pick in last year's draft &ndash; despite not playing any college ball &ndash; and he&rsquo;s starting to turn that creation potential into a real skill on a nightly basis.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Shaedon Sharpe&rsquo;s 26-point second half: <a href="https://t.co/lyhXlJzCcg">pic.twitter.com/lyhXlJzCcg</a>
&mdash; Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1719899721110577389?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
36.9&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s how many minutes Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis is playing per game thus far, which would be a career-high. While that number will surely come down as the season progresses &ndash; we don&rsquo;t think Darvin Ham wants to run AD into the ground during the regular season &ndash; it&rsquo;s a good sign nonetheless that he can play that many minutes a night.
Davis is making the most of his minutes too. He is leading the league in blocks per game (3.3) and has shot the ball extremely well from three-point range (42.9%). Maybe more importantly, he&rsquo;s shooting just one three-pointer a game! That&rsquo;s a great number!&nbsp;
100.7&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s the league-leading defensive rating of the Minnesota Timberwolves. This would be the best DRTG in the NBA since the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs, who finished the season with a simply outrageous 98.2 DRTG.&nbsp;
Is Minnesota the best defensive team in almost a decade? Probably not, but they do have the potential to be elite defensively, and they are showing that through two weeks. Rudy Gobert is blocking 2.4 shots per game &ndash; much closer to his career average (2.1) than last season, when he was down to 1.4 blocks per game.&nbsp;
Surrounding Gobert is Kyle Anderson (who is still being a pest, while averaging 1.9 steals + blocks per game), a healthy Jaden McDaniels (who solidifies any defense), a 36-year-old Mike Conley (who has lost a step but still provides intelligent play on both ends), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (who is blocking shots like a madman, with a 2.7 block percentage) and budding (budded?) superstar Anthony Edwards (who is as bought in defensively as he ever has been).&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Anthony Edwards is a two-way force - hard closeout + block on defense - tough PnR euro + finish through contact on offense <a href="https://t.co/G3zZJNVJKf">pic.twitter.com/G3zZJNVJKf</a>
&mdash; Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) <a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1720972196477120711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
50&nbsp;
That is Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s AST% right now. Seriously. If a player on the Indiana Pacers makes a shot, there&rsquo;s a coin flip chance that Haliburton assisted it. Sustainable? Maybe not. But I am confident in calling Haliburton a top-three facilitator in the league, and he could absolutely get to No. 1 on that list if his game continues to ascend at the pace it has in his first few seasons.
Haliburton has flash in his game, of course:&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Haliburton with the no-look pass🙈<a href="https://t.co/daZesj2sml">pic.twitter.com/daZesj2sml</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1719136140861813166?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
But like all the great distributors, some of his best passes don&rsquo;t even end up as assists &ndash; like this cross-court dime against Charlotte last Saturday:&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
This is a great cross court pass from Haliburton and swing to Buddy. Pay attention to Charlotte's defense Melo sprints over to Brown but no one else tries to make a run at Hield until after he's making the catch. <a href="https://t.co/A0msdX9Cih">pic.twitter.com/A0msdX9Cih</a>
&mdash; Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoDakhil_NBA/status/1721252256899846227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
10.3 and 13.8&nbsp;
The first number is how many assists Chris Paul records for every turnover he commits. Paul&rsquo;s facilitation is still elite, and the Golden State Warriors' second unit is benefitting mightily because of it. Point God lives on.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Here come the Dubs 👀 <a href="https://t.co/oPW29CMIgg">pic.twitter.com/oPW29CMIgg</a>
&mdash; Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1721331455669014769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
The second number, however, is Paul&rsquo;s three-point percentage this season. Paul is struggling to score regularly right now.&nbsp;
Dario Saric has been a nice surprise for Golden State off the bench, Jonathan Kuminga is scoring nearly 13 points per game and Gary Payton II is shooting the ball well too. Everyone plays better when Paul is distributing at an elite level like this.
81.0
That&rsquo;s Mark Williams&rsquo; field goal percentage through six games. The Charlotte Hornets' second-year big man is looking like the big rim presence the franchise has desperately needed in recent years. 
Williams was solid in a starting role down the stretch of last season &ndash; and he appears to have refined pretty much every aspect of his game in year two.&nbsp;
As a prospect, Williams was widely perceived as a defensive force with minimal offensive ability. But seemingly every game, Williams gets more comfortable on the offensive end, showcased by a career-high 27 points on November 4.

Quinn Everts dives into some interesting numbers that jumped out from the first two weeks of the 2023-24 NBA season.

Picking Cherries: 7 NBA statistics that stand out so far this season

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard scored eight of his 41 points from the foul line in the final three minutes Sunday night to the lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 122-119 win over the Orlando Magic.
Jerami Grant added 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Blazers, and broke a tie with a 3-pointer for the game&rsquo;s final field goal with 35 seconds left.
&ldquo;We had to have this one,&rdquo; said Lillard, who also had a game-leading nine rebounds to help the Blazers break a three-game losing streak. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got 19 games left now. Everybody else is playing with a sense of urgency because they know the race is tight. Lose one and you can drop three spots. Win a couple and you can really make up some ground.&rdquo;
The Blazers are one game behind Utah and New Orleans for a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 26 points. Franz Wagner added 24, and Markelle Fultz finished with 15 points, eight assists and four steals.
Two 3-pointers by Lillard and one by Shaedon Sharpe filled a run late in the third quarter that broke an 83-all tie and left Portland with a nine-point lead, the largest of the game.
The Magic did not catch up until Fultz drove for a layup to tie it at 113 with 58 seconds left.
Nassir Little answered with a 3-pointer, and the rest of the game was all free throws.
&ldquo;The ball was swung to (Little) and he hit the biggest shot of the game,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;It showed a lot of growth on his part.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We know everybody&rsquo;s going to do the best they can to take Dame away, and everybody else has to be aggressive,&rdquo; said Portland coach Chauncey Billups. &ldquo;That was a big-time shot.&rdquo;
Portland led 58-56 after a first half in which Banchero made all seven of his shots and scored 16 points.
Lillard scored 14 points in the first half and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. The second half was a different ball game, especially for Lillard.
&ldquo;He shot 20 free throws tonight. It just kind of makes it hard to guard him. You just want to put your hands behind your back,&rdquo; said Magic guard Jalen Suggs, who had 15 points and three steals. &ldquo;When he shoots 20 free throws by himself, it&rsquo;s kind of hard to stop him from having a huge night.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Blazers: Lillard (17 for 20) missed more than one free throw for the first time since Jan. 25. In the 16-game interim he shot 168 for 176 (95.5%). ... G Anfernee Simons missed a second game with a sprained right ankle. ... C Jusuf Nurkic missed a 13th game with a strained left calf. . . . Grant and Lillard had 4-point plays.
Magic: C Wendell Carter Jr. (left hip pain) and G Gary Harris (hip) did not play. ... The Magic played for the first time at home since losing F Jonathan Isaac to season-ending surgery on a torn adductor muscle. Isaac played 124 minutes in 11 games after missing 2 1/2 seasons due to knee injuries.
BIG REVERSAL FOR BLAZERS
The game hinged on a replay reversal.
With 2:07 remaining and the Blazers up by one, Lillard tried to slide through two Magic defenders and was called for a charge. But Billups challenged the call, and a review determined that Suggs had not &ldquo;established position&rdquo; outside the arc before the contact. Lillard then made two free throws.
&ldquo;It was a big moment in the game,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;A big play.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Blazers: Play at Detroit on Monday night.
Magic: Play at home against Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

Damian Lillard scored 41 points on Sunday night to the lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 122-119 win over the Orlando Magic.

Damian Lillard scores 41, Blazers hold off Magic 122-119

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Franz Wagner scored 29 points, Wendell Carter Jr. added 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-106 on Tuesday night.
Wagner had 15 points in the fourth quarter alone.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s why you play basketball, those important plays, those important moments,&rdquo; Wagner said.
The Magic led 19 points in the first half, but the Blazers closed the gap in the second quarter to tie it at 50 at halftime.
After trailing 82-73 to start the final quarter, Portland pulled to 89-84 on Anfernee Simons' layup. Orlando stayed in front, going up 104-94 on Wagner's 3-pointer with 3:35 left.
Damian Lillard's layup with 1:32 left got Portland as close as 105-101. Gary Harris fouled Lillard on a 3-point attempt &mdash; and Lillard made all three free throws to pull the Blazers closer at 107-106 with 25.1 seconds to go.
Markelle Fultz made free throws for Orlando and Portland missed a flurry of 3-point attempts in the final moments.
Lillard finished with 30 points for the Blazers, who lost their fourth straight. Portland has lost nine of their last 12 games.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just in a little funk, man. I don&rsquo;t know what it is. I can&rsquo;t really pinpoint it,&rdquo; Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.
Paulo Banchero added 19 points for the Magic. They were coming off a 115-101 loss at Sacramento the night before.
&ldquo;I felt like we did a really good job, even when it got a little chaotic, we made all their shots tough,&rdquo; Carter said.
Jerami Grant made a pair of layups to cap a 16-1 run that erased Orlando's first-half lead and got the Blazers within 40-36. Jusuf Nurkic's layup and free throw tied the game at 47 and the teams went into halftime knotted at 50.
After the Blazers scored a season-low 20 points in the opening quarter, they outscored the Magic 30-17 in the second. Nukic started despite battling a non-COVID illness and led all scorers in the first half with 18 points, along with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
The Magic opened the second half with an 15-0 run. Simons ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer 4:40 into the half. Lillard's emphatic dunk pulled Portland to 79-70 late in the third quarter.
TIP INS
Magic: Center Bol Bol was available after missing four games because of health and safety protocols but he did not play. ... The Magic were 0-7 on the second night of back-to-backs heading into the game. ... It was the third of a five-game trip for Orlando.
Trail Blazers: Gary Payton II made his season debut a week ago against Detroit, after rehabbing from an offseason core injury. He missed the next three games because of an ankle sprain but played Tuesday.
PORTER'S RETURN
Former Trail Blazers great Terry Porter, whose number hangs from the rafters at the Moda Center, has returned to the team as an alumni ambassador. He'll foster relationships with other former players as the Blazers enhance their alumni program, the team announced on Tuesday.
Porter most recently served as basketball coach at the University of Portland for five seasons until 2021. He joins fellow ambassadors Brian Grant and Bob Gross.
ISAAC'S RETURN
Magic forward Jonathan Isaac, who hasn't played for two seasons, is set to play for the G-League Lakeland Magic as he continues his return from a torn ACL. He has been practicing with Orlando since December.
&ldquo;I mean, that is such great news," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;You talk about the journey he&rsquo;s been on since being hurtt. To put it in perspective, it&rsquo;s 892 days, tomorrow since he&rsquo;s played in a full game.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Franz Wagner scored 29 points, Wendell Carter Jr. added 20 points and the Orlando Magic beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-106

Franz Wagner has 29 points, Magic hold off Blazers 109-106

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; The Golden State Warriors have been working to find their defensive groove, and Draymond Green leads the charge. On Friday night, Green and his supporting cast got it done in crunch time.
Jordan Poole scored 41 points, Klay Thompson made a key 3-pointer with 1:36 left and added 31, and the Warriors held off Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 to improve the league&rsquo;s best home record to 16-2.
Green's defense keyed a late 12-0 run after the Warriors trailed by eight with 5 minutes to play, and now the reigning champions have their first four-game winning streak all season.
&ldquo;That is incredible. That is absolutely amazing," Green said. &ldquo;I think we're just starting to fight.&rdquo;
Lillard did his best to rally the Trail Blazers after halftime and finished with 34 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Poole notched his second 40-point game in the past 15 contests. His 3 with 2:57 remaining got Golden State within 110-109 but he turned the ball over the next possession before Jonathan Kuminga's driving, two-handed slam for the lead moments later.
Ty Jerome hit a half-court buzzer-beater to end the first quarter that put Golden State ahead 41-25, <a href="https://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP/status/1609048995422408705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much to the delight of a cheering Stephen Curry</a> as the reigning NBA Finals MVP missed his eighth straight game with a partially dislocated left shoulder. Poole has been the Warriors' top scorer in nine of the 10 total games missed by Curry so far.
&ldquo;All four wins required an element of grit,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;Our fans can feel it, our fans have been great. I think they&rsquo;re really enjoying watching this team grow.&rdquo;
The Blazers, who have lost four of five, began the third on a 19-9 burst to go ahead 75-69. Anfernee Simons added 22 points and seven rebounds.
Lillard and Simons were a combined 8 for 26 from long range.
Portland called timeout at the 10:25 mark of the first after the Warriors jumped out to a 9-0 lead by making their first four shots &mdash; three by Thompson.
Golden State has won the last four in the series and also four in a row at home.
GP2'S RING NIGHT
Portland guard Gary Payton II, yet to play for the Trail Blazers as he recovers from surgery for a core muscle injury after signing a $28 million, three-year deal, received his championship ring from the Warriors and Green delivered it.
&ldquo;It's just amazing,&rdquo; Payton said during a quick stop at halftime. He greeted dozens of old friends and arena workers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Gary Payton II loved the moment getting his sparkling ring, and even shook my hand with it, too. <a href="https://t.co/AXjJTNhfx3">pic.twitter.com/AXjJTNhfx3</a>
&mdash; Janie McCauley (@JanieMcCAP) <a href="https://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP/status/1609040371392339969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty sure it&rsquo;s a validating moment to be able to first and foremost earn a championship ring,&rdquo; Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;He just wasn&rsquo;t on the team and kind of watching from the sideline, he helped earn that ring, and he played his part. So it&rsquo;s actually awesome for him, all the attention will be on him tonight.&rdquo;
Golden State had cut him in the preseason then brought him back.
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t win the championship without him, I know that,&rdquo; Kerr said.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Big man Jusuf Nurkic sat out with an illness, the second game he has missed in the past five. ... The Blazers shot 12 for 39 from deep. ... Billups said Payton is &ldquo;close, very close,&rdquo; to making his season debut. ... Portland last won on Golden State's home floor with a 124-108 victory on March 26, 2021.
Warriors: C James Wiseman rolled his left ankle taking part in a 3-on-3 scrimmage after the morning shootaround and Kerr said &ldquo;it doesn't seem too serious.&rdquo; All-Star Andrew Wiggins also took part in that scrimmage as he works back from an illness that followed his stint sidelined by tightness in his right upper leg &mdash; 13 in a row missed overall. The hope is he will play Monday after one more practice day. ... F JaMychal Green is out of the league health and safety protocols but now dealing with an infection in his lower right leg.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Return home for one game to host Billups' old Pistons team Monday night.
Warriors: Host Atlanta on Monday night.

Jordan Poole scored 41 points and the Warriors held off the Blazers 118-112 to improve the league’s best home record to 16-2.

Poole scores 41, Thompson 31 as Warriors beat Blazers 118-112

This marks the first time that NBA opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons

NBA features 120 international players from 40 countries, 6 continents

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis scored 28 points in his return to the Lakers lineup after missing two games due to injury, and Los Angeles defeated Golden State 124-121 Sunday night in the Warriors' first game since the practice altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.
Matt Ryan made a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to seal the win. Davis, who sat out two games with lower back tightness, shot 9 for 18 for the Lakers, who won without LeBron James, Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook in the lineup.
Davis, who scored 24 points before halftime, played the opening shift of the second half before taking a seat after 21 total minutes. Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points and Ryan added 20 on 6-for-9 shooting from outside the arc.
Poole led the Warriors with 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and added six assists. Green fought with Poole during practice Wednesday. Green apologized to the team a day later and general manager Bob Myers said any potential discipline would be handled internally. Meanwhile, Green was unavailable, saying he will take some time away from the team.
Stephen Curry scored 24 points and Andrew Wiggins added 15 for the Warriors. Jonathan Kuminga (12 points) started in Green&rsquo;s place, while Poole replaced Klay Thompson, who is still building up for the regular season.
In the first half, Davis performed at the level the Lakers will need him if they are to improve on last season&rsquo;s 33-49 regular-season record that left them out of the postseason. Davis shot 7 of 13 before the break, making all eight of his free throws.
The game became close in the second half, and neither team led by more than six points in the fourth quarter.
BULLS 115, RAPTORS 98
DeMar DeRozan had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Chicago used a second-half rally to beat host Toronto.
DeRozan converted 7 of 12 shots and all seven of his free throws. Javonte Green scored 17 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 14. Nikola Vucevic finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Paschal Siakam led the Raptors with 18 points and nine rebounds. The starting Toronto backcourt of Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet carried the Raptors to a lead in the first half. Trent finished with 17 points and VanVleet had 13.
Both teams played their regular starters, except for missing Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who is recovering from a meniscus tear suffered in January.
The Raptors built a 10-point halftime lead behind Trent and VanVleet. The tandem combined for 25 points before the break, including Trent connecting on all five of his shots. Defensively, they had six steals in the half, including four by VanVleet. The Bulls had 16 turnovers in the first half.
The Bulls erased the lead in the third and pulled away in the fourth. Chicago outscored Toronto 68-41 in the second half.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, CLIPPERS 117
Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points, six assists and six rebounds in his preseason debut to lead visiting Minnesota.
Naz Reid had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, while Bryn Forbes added 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards had 14 points.
John Wall led the Clippers with 20 points. Paul George scored 14 and Marcus Morris Sr. added 13 points.
The Clippers saw a vision of their regular rotation as Kawhi Leonard, George, Wall and Reggie Jackson all played. Meanwhile, Towns saw his first action of the preseason for the Timberwolves after missing games due to a hospitalization. Still, there was not a glimpse of the potential twin towers in Minnesota as Rudy Gobert, acquired from Utah over the summer, sat out.
The teams were tied at 115 with under two minutes to play when Austin Rivers scored on a layup and Luka Garza hit a 6-foot hook to create enough of a buffer for Minnesota to remain undefeated in its three preseason games.
PELICANS 111, SPURS 97
In San Antonio, Trey Murphy III had 27 points and eight rebounds, Zion Williamson finished with eight points, nine rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes to lead New Orleans over the Spurs.
Naji Marshall scored 15 points for the Pelicans, and Jonas Valanciunas added 14 as New Orleans continued to play with stars resting or recovering from injury. Among those not active were CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Jaxson Hayes, who suffered a left elbow injury earlier in the week.
Murphy was 10 of 15 from the field, including 7 for 10 from beyond the arc.
Devonte Graham and Willy Hernangomez each scored 11 points. Graham added six assists and Hernangomez grabbed 10 rebounds.
Doug McDermott led the Spurs with 14 points, and Josh Richardson finished with 12. Veteran Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio.
KINGS 126, TRAIL BLAZERS 94
In Sacramento, Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick in the draft from Iowa, scored 16 points and eight players reached double figures in leading the Kings past Portland.
Terence Davis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 14 points apiece for the Kings, while Domantas Sabonis added 13 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points. Anfernee Simons scored 16 and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Damian Lillard was held to eight points, making only two of his 10 shots, including missing all four of his 3-points attempts. He did hand out six assists.
THUNDER 144, MACCABI RA&rsquo;ANANA 97
Eugene Omoruyi scored 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting in Oklahoma City's win over visiting Maccabi Ra&rsquo;anana.
Luguentz Dort had 23 for Oklahoma City, while Ousmane Dieng, the 11th pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft, had 16 points for the Thunder. Aleksej Pokusevski and Jalen Williams, the 12th overall pick from Santa Clara, scored 15 points apiece.
Jason Suggs led Maccabi with 40 points on 15-for-26 shooting, including 5 of 9 from long distance. Terrence Jones had 15 points and Norris Cole contributed 12.
Willy Workman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Maccabi.
Oklahoma City sat a number of key players, including Josh Giddey, Tre Mann and Darius Bazley. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dealing with a left MCL sprain, remained unavailable.

Davis, who scored 24 points before halftime, played the opening shift of the second half before taking a seat after 21 total minutes.

Anthony Davis scores 28 in return, Lakers defeat Warriors 124-121

It's hard to predict when a slump ends without the benefit of hindsight.&nbsp;
Even the best NBA shooters are vulnerable to outlier struggles that can last an entire season, and those years jump out at you on the stat sheet. But how do we distinguish between an outlier and a harbinger before letting the full story play out? With so much context to account for &mdash; new teams, new roles and changing health status &mdash; that becomes a challenging question to address.
In this week's NBA Stats Notebook, we'll highlight five players with enough indicators to make me believe that they'll bounce back from last year's struggles. By no means are these predictions a guarantee, however, as I also outlined what hurdles could stand in the way of them getting back on track.&nbsp;
Let's dive in and think "positive regression!"
SADDIQ BEY, DETROIT PISTONS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Cory Joseph talks about the improvement he&rsquo;s seen in Saddiq Bey&rsquo;s game and what Bojan Bogdanovic brings <a href="https://t.co/vzL7ZIisLD">pic.twitter.com/vzL7ZIisLD</a>
&mdash; Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) <a href="https://twitter.com/omarisankofa/status/1575894014280097794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Bey is a quiet, but still vital piece to a Pistons rebuild that has quickly ramped up. The 2020 first-round pick logged some massive games last season, including a 51-point explosion on March 17. But he took a step back as a perimeter scorer on a team with few reliable long-range threats; Bey sported a 34.6% three-point clip that isn't horrendous, but still feels disappointing given his stature as a spacer.
With that said, Detroit fans should bank on a big swing. For starters, the Pistons added Jaden Ivey, who will command quite enough attention as an individual scorer. Cade Cunningham should improve his own perimeter presence, and Bojan Bogdanovic joins the squad as an immediate marksman. To his part, Bey should get more catch-and-shoot chances and create less as a pull-up scorer, which should in turn help his final percentage.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Bey is a much better shot-maker off the catch. According to InStat Scouting, he knocked down a whopping 51.4% such threes in his sophomore year at Villanova. So, even though he doesn't have a long NBA track record yet, Bey has proven himself as a shooter and should continue to this season.
Additionally, Bey seems to be merging the 3-and-D role that began his career with some of the off-dribble skills he added last season, <a href="https://theathletic.com/3645146/2022/09/30/pistons-training-camp-saddiq-bey/?source=emp_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic</a>. I'm happy to bet on natural growth from a young player and more manageable responsibilities, giving Bey a path to success.
MAXI KLEBER, DALLAS MAVERICKS
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
remember when Maxi Kleber hit 8 3s in a huge game 3 against the Jazz the second most 3s in a playoff game in Mavs history <a href="https://t.co/4y6diQm2ZP">pic.twitter.com/4y6diQm2ZP</a>
&mdash; Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) <a href="https://twitter.com/BiasedSlightly/status/1570831726536192001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Kleber's shooting slump already ended in the 2022 postseason. The stretch big man was unreal for the Mavericks last spring, knocking 'em down to the tune of 43.5% from distance in Dallas' three series. That dwarfs the 32.5% rate he posted in the regular season, which was the worst since his rookie year.
The 30-year-old has made strides with his NBA shot since entering the league in 2017. His catch-and-shoot clip improved for four straight seasons (up to 41.0% in 2020-21) before it took an absolute nosedive to 32.9% last year. Kleber's 2021-22 struggles are not a fair indicator of his career growth.
His health, however, is a fair question mark. Kleber battled injuries at five different points of last season, <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nba/maxi-kleber-player-injuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Fox Sports</a>. To build a rhythm, he needs a string of good fortune. Hopefully the Mavs' beefed-up big rotation, including new additions Christian Wood and JaVale McGee, can lessen the load.
DAMIAN LILLARD, PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
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"I just felt relaxed. I just wanted to come out and have fun, just hoopin' again." Damian Lillard on his first game in 10 months "I was just happy that I felt good out there. I didn't have anything on my mind other than just playing"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RipCity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RipCity</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dame_Lillard</a> <a href="https://t.co/WvohbUbJOm">pic.twitter.com/WvohbUbJOm</a>
&mdash; Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) <a href="https://twitter.com/orlandokgw/status/1577201323807604737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Dame Time is one of the best pull-up scorers basketball has ever seen. But between coming back from the Tokyo Olympics, injuries, team discord and his own lackluster play, Lillard's 2021-22 was a derailment from his past superstardom. He played just 29 games before shutting things down as the Blazers hit mini-rebuild mode. In those contests, Lillard made a career-low 32.4% of his triples.
According to PBP Stats, Lillard converted just 29.8% of his "self-created" three-point attempts (shots coming after having possession for at least two seconds). That's by far the lowest rate of his nine-year career to date. Lillard typically hovers around 35% on self-created threes. Can he get back there?
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The positive argument claims that Portland is in a far better offensive situation. Jusuf Nurkic is healthy, Jerami Grant is a nice acquisition and, though CJ McCollum is gone, Anfernee Simons appears capable of filling his shoes. The counterargument: Lillard is 32 years old and coming off of a long recovery from an abdominal injury. He'll still be a star, but it remains to be seem how much Lillard looks like his usual self.
DUNCAN ROBINSON, MIAMI HEAT
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Highest Career 3P% On 6+ 3PA per game: 42.8 &mdash; Stephen Curry 41.7 &mdash; Klay Thompson 40.6 &mdash; Duncan Robinson 39.8 &mdash; Buddy Hield <a href="https://t.co/lRoB0a6XTd">pic.twitter.com/lRoB0a6XTd</a>
&mdash; NBA Muse (@NBAMuse24) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAMuse24/status/1574765864435466241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The case for a Robinson rebound year is easy. He's one of the best shooters in the world, and it's going to take more than one down season (in which he still made 37.2% of his threes, by the way) to jostle that reputation. Robinson knocked down just 34.7% of his catch-and-shoot triples in 2021-22; in his prior two years, he reached marks of 41.7% and 46.0%. He also actually made a career-high 45.1% of his pull-up attempts last season. Nekias Duncan even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-curious-case-of-duncan-robinson-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down why this slump was so odd</a> early in the fall.
Robinson is, quite plainly, a much better shooter than he showed last year, and he even returned to his regular self as the winter went on. Robinson canned over 41% of his threes in three of the final four months of the regular season. The problem: His playing time also decreased in each of those months, and in the playoffs, the sharpshooter averaged just 12.2 minutes per game.
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What is Robinson's place in this year's Heat rotation? He played 18 minutes in Miami's first preseason game, suggesting he's still a fixture in Erik Spoelstra's vision. If that's true, he should be an obvious bounce-back candidate. But Robinson has to keep that spot by shooting well and at least reaching the bar defensively for a tough Heat squad.
KRISTAPS PORZINGIS, WASHINGTON WIZARDS
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These players were true long-range shooters last season 🏀 <a href="https://t.co/kvdsCk3M0a">pic.twitter.com/kvdsCk3M0a</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1555174776804614145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Porzingis was a shooting mess with the Mavericks last season before somewhat regaining his perimeter success following a trade to Washington. But across his 75 games, he made just 31.3% of his threes after holding the ball for less than two seconds &mdash; easily a career-low percentage.
Fans should be confident that rate rises; it's unclear to what extent. Porzingis has always been a somewhat streaky scorer, which unfortunately fits right in with a lot of Washington's current offensive threats. As with Kleber, health also plays into developing some consistent momentum as a shooter. Porzingis has the history of prolific perimeter prowess, though, with some of the more difficult shot diets for an NBA big man.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Yep, Victor Wembanyama is pretty good! (Can you guess who did this in the NBA?)</li>
</ul>
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Wembanyama finishes with 7 three-pointers and 5 blocks, something that's only happened once in NBA history
&mdash; Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBADraftWass/status/1577514952725856259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Yep, Victor Wembanyama might be really good!</li>
</ul>
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The NBA record that everyone assumed would never be broken, suddenly feels very...breakable 😂 <a href="https://t.co/RrpQ8Yw2v5">pic.twitter.com/RrpQ8Yw2v5</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1577711805316489217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>A noteworthy graphic from SIS Hoops that shows how Malcolm Brogdon can really add some juice to the Boston Celtics' offense:</li>
</ul>
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Last season, Malcolm Brogdon's pick-and-roll proficiency ranked near the top of the league. Check out how his pick-and-roll advantage creation ability stacks up with the rest of Boston's returning players: <a href="https://t.co/bErVKOIHBY">pic.twitter.com/bErVKOIHBY</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1576978735256911877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller highlights Damian Lillard, Duncan Robinson, Saddiq Bey and others as candidates for positive shooting regression.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who could have bounce-back shooting years

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Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz has suffered a fracture in his big left toe. No surgery is required. He has been placed in a walking boot and his return to play will depend on how he responds to rehabilitation and treatment. Fultz suffered the injury during a preseason workout prior to returning to Orlando and imaging confirmed the fracture.
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Fultz played in 18 games (three starts) last season with Orlando, averaging 10.8 points, 5.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.11 steals per game in 20 minutes, while shooting 80.6% (25-31) from the free throw line. He led (or tied) the team in assists seven times. Fultz scored in double figures 13 times, including a season-high 19 points on Mar. 30 @ Washington. He dished out 10+ assists twice, including a career-high 15 assists on Apr. 10 vs. Miami, and had one double-double.
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Originally selected No. 1 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by Philadelphia, Fultz has appeared in 131 career NBA regular season games (86 starts) with Philadelphia and Orlando, averaging 10.9 points, 4.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.12 steals in 24.8 minutes per game. He has also played in eight career playoff games (five starts), averaging 8.1 points, 3.9 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.
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Fultz was acquired by Orlando from Philadelphia in exchange for Jonathon Simmons, a 2020 protected first-round draft pick and a 2019 second-round draft pick on Feb. 7, 2019. He has played in 98 games (71 starts) with the Magic, averaging 11.9 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.20 steals in 26.2 minutes per game.
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Training camp for the Orlando Magic begins on Tuesday, Sep. 27, at the AdventHealth Training Center.
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Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz has suffered a fracture in his big left toe.

Markelle Fultz sidelined with fractured big left toe

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

As we officially put the finishing touches on &ldquo;Bet Week&rdquo; here on BasketballNews.com, NBA over/under win total projections have been released for every team.
Which numbers stand out most to hammer one way or another from a betting perspective? In this piece, I unveil my over/under predictions for every team in the Western Conference. All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Phoenix Suns: Over 52.5 (-110)
Even if the Suns don&rsquo;t acquire Kevin Durant, they remain in an advantageous position to finish near the top of the Western Conference standings. Phoenix still has a stacked rotation, with the biggest difference being Dario Saric&rsquo;s return to the backup big role in place of JaVale McGee. If Devin Booker and the Suns&rsquo; formidable young core continue taking steps forward, it&rsquo;s hard to envision much of a drop-off occurring in the win-loss column.
Phoenix&rsquo;s postseason exit was one of the ugliest we&rsquo;ve seen in recent memory, but a loss like that could rattle this group enough to come back similarly to the team's Finals experience in 2021. I&rsquo;m hammering the over here, as the Suns remain one of the most dangerous squads in the Association. If Durant comes, that&rsquo;ll be the ultimate cherry on top.
Los Angeles Clippers: Over 52.5 (-110)
A fully healthy Clippers squad with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will always stay in the conversation among the league's elite tier. Last season, we were all robbed of seeing this dynamic duo in action together, but all the time off leads me to believe we should see them play more than usual. If so, the over/under of 52.5 wins is one I&rsquo;m comfortable placing the over wager upon.
Los Angeles not only has a loaded rotation similar to Phoenix, but it has a historically potent wing tandem ready to go on a revenge tour. As one of my favorite bets in the West, lock in the Clippers&rsquo; over with the utmost confidence.
Golden State Warriors: Over 51.5 (-115)
The defending champions check in third in the West, which feels like an undersell of what they just accomplished. Stephen Curry is still playing at an all-time level, and Klay Thompson began to find his footing throughout the Warriors&rsquo; run to a championship.
Feeling confident in the over also has to do with the development of the team's younger, up-and-coming players. Though dependent upon how much more Golden State will go into the luxury tax long-term, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins look to be entrenched long-term pieces. Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman are the ultimate wildcards for Golden State. Even if only one takes off from a development perspective in 2022-23, 51.5 wins is a number to hit the over on.
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Denver Nuggets: Over 49.5 (-140)
Nikola Jokic enters this season as a trendy dark-horse selection for MVP as the back-to-back award winner, which is incredible to even think about. The Nuggets have stayed competitive amidst their countless injury issues because of Jokic&rsquo;s greatness.
Now, with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. eventually expected back at 100%, Denver is a team many bettors are hammering the over on with -140 moneyline odds on 49.5 wins. Frankly, I&rsquo;m in lockstep with the sportsbooks because Denver was a team that sneakily improved on the margins this offseason. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was an underrated acquisition from the Washington Wizards, and he&rsquo;s earned a new multi-year extension upon his arrival.
If Murray and Porter&rsquo;s health cooperate alongside the all-world talent that is Jokic, 50 wins for the Nuggets just feels right to say. Even above that mark is an appropriate projection, because Jokic elevates the floor that much on his own.
Memphis Grizzlies: Under 48.5 (+105)
Ja Morant qualified as our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/best-bets-for-202223-nba-most-valuable-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under-the-radar MVP selection</a> during &ldquo;Bet Week,&rdquo; but the loss of Jaren Jackson Jr. early on looms large for the Grizzlies. Although he flies under the radar a little bit too often, JJJ is an anchor to a defense that&rsquo;s done a complete 180 over the last year.
A lot will be on the plate of Morant, which he won&rsquo;t have a problem with, but what about the rest of the West? The Clippers and Nuggets are healthy now, plus the Suns and Warriors will remain in the title race as well. If Morant can carry the Grizzlies in similar territory without JJJ, his MVP argument could become very valid.
I&rsquo;m going to tread lightly on Memphis and select the under here with plus-money value. Morant will put up spectacular numbers once more, and Desmond Bane should continue to emerge in the backcourt. For my current projection, the Grizzlies will slot in as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
Dallas Mavericks: Under 48.5 (-105)
The argument against the Mavericks is almost identical to the one I just presented for Memphis. Luka Doncic enters as the heavy betting favorite for MVP, but will he alone be enough to lift Dallas into truly elite territory? That&rsquo;s one of my biggest questions entering 2022-23, because players like Doncic and Morant fit the billing of talents who can lift teams all on their own.
Months away from it now, it&rsquo;s still stunning to think back to the Mavs&rsquo; Game 7 shellacking of the Suns in the West semifinals. Once Doncic figured out Phoenix&rsquo;s defense, it was game over. Could Doncic do this to the rest of the league? There&rsquo;s no doubt he will put up monster numbers, but the Mavericks fit into the same tier as the Grizzlies right now around 47-48 wins.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 47.5 (-140)
I&rsquo;ll continue to bang the Minnesota drum until proven otherwise because I&rsquo;m all-in on the Timberwolves taking a huge step forward. Anthony Edwards checks every box for a young superstar, and their new addition in Rudy Gobert will augment a talented rotation. Karl-Anthony Towns being flanked by Gobert makes up one of the most unique frontcourt combinations we&rsquo;ve ever seen in the modern NBA, but this type of move is a risk an organization like Minnesota must take. Towns and Edwards are ready to win big soon, so adding an elite rim-protector like Gobert allows those gifted scorers to focus on that end.
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Bookmark this if you want, but here&rsquo;s perhaps my biggest hot take: Minnesota will win the Northwest Division and become a top-four seed. With how everything stacks together for Minnesota, this is a team well-positioned to take a leap similar to the one we&rsquo;ve seen from Phoenix and Memphis in recent years.
Los Angeles Lakers: Under 45.5 (-105)
Unless Kyrie Irving is walking through the door anytime soon, I&rsquo;m taking the money and running as quickly as possible on the Lakers' under here. LeBron James and Anthony Davis will do their usual damage, but this roster is nowhere close to being finished. Also, there&rsquo;s no way anyone can truly believe the Lakers are a Finals contender with their ongoing saga surrounding Russell Westbrook. From the very beginning, Westbrook&rsquo;s fit was super clunky alongside LeBron and AD. Now, the triple-double king continues to be the main target of trade rumors, many of which are linking him to the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs as a pure salary-dump option.
Indiana is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-would-be-foolish-not-to-accept-pacers-lifeline-to-extend-their-title-window" target="_blank" rel="noopener">offering the Lakers a lifeline to fix the Westbrook situation</a>. The Pacers are willing to take on the $47 million owed to Westbrook while also sending Los Angeles back two starters in Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. The current hold-up in trade negotiations reportedly is draft pick compensation. Los Angeles refuses to offer its 2029 first-round pick on top of the 2027 selection, which the Pacers believe is more than a fair price to pay.
In the meantime, I&rsquo;m going to take the Lakers under 45.5 wins while it remains at plus value. Until any resolution is reached on the roster, I&rsquo;m betting against L.A.
New Orleans Pelicans: Over 44.5 (-140)
Compared to almost any other team in the NBA, New Orleans projects supremely well long-term if Zion Williamson&rsquo;s health cooperates. Williamson and Brandon Ingram have each shown on separate occasions they can be the No. 1 option for New Orleans. CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas are ideal veteran pieces in the starting unit as well. Well-balanced on both ends of the court, the Pelicans have completely bought into what head coach Willie Green brought over from Monty Williams in Phoenix.
With Williamson, Ingram and McCollum, the Pelicans should be a team projected closer to 50 wins. I absolutely love the over here on 44.5 wins, so don&rsquo;t be surprised if New Orleans finishes as a playoff lock instead of a Play-In Tournament competitor.
Portland Trail Blazers: Under 40.5 (-110)
Kudos to Damian Lillard because he will not leave the Blazers hanging anytime soon. He&rsquo;s all-in on winning in Portland, which reminds me so much of Reggie Miller with the Pacers a few decades back. Portland re-signed Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons, but two notable splashes occurred this offseason. Jerami Grant is the Blazers&rsquo; first true wing threat in years, and the ultimate wildcard from the 2022 NBA Draft fell into their laps at No. 7 overall. What if Shaedon Sharpe hits his ceiling? That&rsquo;s something Portland has in their back pocket, because Sharpe&rsquo;s scoring prowess forecasts very well alongside Lillard. They'll just have to hope he can get healthy and stay healthy.
The West remains a tough customer though. So, with that being said, the Blazers fall into the category of a feisty team that&rsquo;s competitive most nights on their way to a sub-40-win campaign. It's certainly not the outcome Blazers fans hope for, but there&rsquo;s a large number of teams ahead of them at the moment.
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Sacramento Kings: Over 32.5 (-120)
The Kings actually had a good offseason. Yes, you&rsquo;re reading that right. Keegan Murray at No. 4 overall looks to be a lights-out scorer with an extremely high floor. Ideally, Murray can become the third piece to a long-term trio in Sacramento alongside De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Also, don&rsquo;t forget about the Kings adding much-needed help on the perimeter with Kevin Huerter via trade and Malik Monk via free agency.
I had to double-take upon finding this fact, but the Kings have only exceeded 33 wins once over the last 14 years (2018-19 was that season).
Luckily for Sacramento, I&rsquo;m projecting them to finish with at least 33 wins for 2022-23. If the Kings underachieve once more, I wonder what the future looks like for an organization that stays in topsy-turvy mode.
Utah Jazz: Under 31.5 (-110)
Assuming Donovan Mitchell is eventually traded, this number will crumble down into the 20s. Utah is in the midst of a full-scale rebuild attempt for the first time in over a decade, and all signs point to Mitchell&rsquo;s exit soon enough from Salt Lake City. Gobert being dealt within the division to Minnesota for a historic amount of draft capital shook up the trade market for good, as it&rsquo;s holding up potential blockbusters revolving around Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Mitchell.
Moving forward, there&rsquo;s no reason why you should feel confident about betting the Utah over unless Mitchell keeps them above water staying around until February. If not, you&rsquo;re putting an awful lot of faith into the hands of Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson to carry the roster. (If they're there.)
The smart route is to go with the under for the Jazz. Lock in with extreme confidence that Jazz executive Danny Ainge eventually tears it all down within a few months.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Under 26.5 (+100)
Until the Thunder stop their tanking ways, I can&rsquo;t willfully bet an over on them. Following their aggressive draft night &mdash; obtaining three lottery picks headlined by No. 2 overall selection Chet Holmgren, who many viewed as the best overall player &mdash; maybe that "tanking" buzzword is in their rearview mirror.
OKC&rsquo;s roster is young, but the talent screams out as a team that could propel itself forward in a huge manner. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey profile as a super fun long-term backcourt pairing. Luguentz Dort is a pitbull defender who continues to improve his outside shot, which earned him a lucrative five-year extension.
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The Thunder could easily make me look foolish selecting the under, but something along the lines of 25 or 26 wins feels spot on. Can Sam Presti resist the temptation of not tanking for Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson in 2023?
Houston Rockets: Over 23.5 (-125)
The Rockets have one of the most interesting young cores to monitor heading into next season. Jalen Green began to turn the corner over the last month of the season, averaging 22.3 points on a 59.9% True Shooting percentage. Jabari Smith Jr., Houston&rsquo;s No. 3 overall selection from the 2022 draft, projects as a score-first wing/big hybrid who should excel alongside Green and Kevin Porter Jr. Alperen Sengun, a throwback Turkish big man, is an underrated prospect with an unlimited ceiling once the small aspects of his game are figured out.
Houston is nowhere close to being competitive, but that&rsquo;s totally okay. The team controls the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; draft for the next season years, so the Rockets are set up arguably as well as anyone right now with the chaos surrounding that whole situation. If the youth jells together and the organization obtains another top pick in next year&rsquo;s draft, be on the lookout for this core to ascend.
For the over/under, 23.5 wins feels a little low, in my opinion. I&rsquo;m projecting the Rockets with 25 victories, so give me the over at -125 odds on DraftKings.
San Antonio Spurs: Under 22.5 (-110)
Once Dejounte Murray was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, it sounded the alarm that the Spurs are finally waiving the white flag on competing for wins effective immediately. San Antonio obtained three future first-round picks for Murray, a haul for a team pressing the reset button at the perfect time.
Las Vegas projects the Spurs with the worst over/under for next season, and there&rsquo;s no real reason to go against them there. Keldon Johnson will put up numbers following his long-term extension, but inexperience is the main theme for San Antonio. The Spurs should be on their way to 20 wins or less, so hammer the under.

Evan Sidery goes over win totals for the Western Conference. Who stands out?

Best Bets: NBA Western Conference over/under projections

Everyone enters NBA Summer League with something to prove.
For rookies, it's their first opportunity to show they belong at the highest level of professional basketball. To veterans, it's a chance to assert themselves, showcase their development and prove that they deserve a roster or increased minutes in the rotation.
Even in the relative nonchalance of the Las Vegas heat, for some young talents, the next 11 days will take on extra significance. For 10 in particular, this is a pivotal offseason for their pro career, and a standout Summer League could put them on a much-needed course correction.
I did not list any rookies here; it's their first shot in the league, so it's a bit unfair to stamp such high stakes on their inaugural action. Everyone on this list has at least a year of NBA experience under their belt, and one has been around the league for close to a decade. Beyond the top prospects, here are some players you should keep an eye on as they make their cases during Summer League.
Bruno Caboclo, Utah Jazz
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Justin Robinson finds Bruno Caboclo for the slam! 📺: ESPN2 <a href="https://t.co/VaFH9MTUNw">pic.twitter.com/VaFH9MTUNw</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1544860272367632384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Caboclo is one of the most experienced players on this summer's rosters. The No. 20 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Caboclo is remarkably still just 26 years old, but spent seven seasons with six teams in the NBA before suiting up for Sao Paulo FC in Brazil last year.&nbsp;
This is probably one of Caboclo's last shots at sticking in the league. He has averaged double-digit minutes per game just once in seven years, when he put up 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds across 23.5 minutes per game with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018-19. He's far from the intriguing, raw prospect he was when entering the Association, so if Caboclo is going to earn a roster spot, even on a G League team, he has to show out.
Several other prospects enter Summer League in a similar situation. DJ Wilson (Raptors) and Chandler Hutchinson (Hawks) were first-round picks in the 2017 and 2018 NBA Drafts, respectively. They played 10 NBA games combined in 2021-22.&nbsp;
Usman Garuba, Houston Rockets
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Love this sequence from Usman Garuba. Does a brilliant job of switching onto Carsen Edwards, moves over to swat the ball loose from the ball-handler, and then pushes it up the floor in transition. <a href="https://t.co/WDfKs6cdG6">pic.twitter.com/WDfKs6cdG6</a>
&mdash; Dakota Schmidt (@Dakota_Schmidt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dakota_Schmidt/status/1490729110334808070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Jalen Green backed up his No. 2 overall draft slot with a stellar finish to last season, landing on the All-Rookie First Team. Alperen Sengun dazzled fans with his passing and put up 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game after the All-Star break. Josh Christopher battled typical rookie inconsistencies, but closed out his year with three games of 20-plus points in his last seven contests.
Houston's fourth 2021 first-round pick, however, went relatively unnoticed. Usman Garuba appeared just 24 times and averaged 10 minutes per game. He was billed as a versatile defender who could pair with Sengun, but injuries slowed his progression, though he flashed promise in limited G League action.
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Sometimes, rebuilds move too quickly for player development to keep up. Houston drafted Jabari Smith Jr. with the third overall pick and Tari Eason at No. 17. Both figure to occupy one, if not two, forward spots, with Kenyon Martin Jr. and Jae'Sean Tate firmly in the mix as well. Garuba must demonstrate a stable offensive floor to balance his stellar defensive tools. I'll be interested to see how he's used in Las Vegas as a smaller center.
RJ Hampton, Orlando Magic
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Yeah , I asked to play. Nothing like getting reps and rhythm during the summer against competition and connecting with our new rooks 🤟🏽
&mdash; RJ (@RjHampton14) <a href="https://twitter.com/RjHampton14/status/1542161234493165568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs have graduated from Summer League play. Hampton is the lone young Magic guard returning to the roster. Orlando acquired the high-flying playmaker in March 2021, but he hasn't synced up with his backcourt mates quite yet, and playing time will only grow more scarce as the core improves.
The 21-year-old has just struggled to score efficienctly at any level. Despite his athleticism and power, Hampton made just 52.5% of his attempts at the rim last season and finished with a 48.1% True Shooting percentage.
In a featured role with this Magic summer group, he needs to display some takeover playmaking ability and consistent shotmaking. Hampton seems to be embracing the extra reps, which offer a promising chance for him to ball out with No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero.
Killian Hayes, Detroit Pistons
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Killian Hayes Is looking good 👀 Via 🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/DetroitXay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DetroitXay</a> <a href="https://t.co/xv97YJKAdl">pic.twitter.com/xv97YJKAdl</a>
&mdash; Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pistons__Talk/status/1541958241147658241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Our Nekias Duncan highlighted <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/views-from-the-bottom-young-players-to-keep-an-eye-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hayes' solid end to the 2021-22 season</a>. Though the overall stats might not show it, the former No. 7 pick did take meaningful strides as an off-ball player next to Cade Cunningham and a downhill driver when he had opportunities. Duncan also called Hayes "one of the most underrated guard defenders in the sport already."
That didn't stop Detroit from selecting Jaden Ivey to be Cade Cunningham's backcourt partner. Hayes is still very much part of a talented Pistons core, but his long-term projection with the franchise is murky right now. A standout effort in Vegas could solidify his standing, not only in the rotation, but also in the eyes of other teams around the league.
Kai Jones, Charlotte Hornets
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Kai Jones taking fight for the nasty dunk <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllFly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllFly</a> <a href="https://t.co/rrhOfVjnrj">pic.twitter.com/rrhOfVjnrj</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1424516813417811970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Most expected Jones to be more of a developmental draft pick when Charlotte selected him No. 19 overall last year. He played just 63 total minutes with the Hornets and appeared in eight games for the G League affiliate Greensboro Swarm. Then, the Hornets went back to the NBA Draft for frontcourt help, selecting Mark Williams at No. 15 overall a few weeks ago.
What does this mean for Jones? Summer League head coach Jordan Surenkamp said more time at the four might be a possibility:
"Yeah, I still think that's up in the air. I think it kind of depends on what we're looking at from an organization standpoint in terms of rotations and things like that," <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/hornets/news/quick-hits-early-impressions-of-rookies-role-for-kai-jones-balancing-sl-minutes-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Surenkamp said.</a> "But like I said, he's been very willing to play at that position so far just as much as he has been at the five, which is more of what he's done in this league up to this point. In terms of how many minutes and how often, those are still things that are up in the air. Those are conversations that we'll have before Friday."
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I'm admittedly a skeptic toward this type of role shift for Jones. But Summer League is an excellent laboratory for him and the Hornets to try out the fit.
Aleksej Pokusevski, Oklahoma City Thunder
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And y'all expect me to quit Poku lol TUH <a href="https://t.co/2vRTHbLWrO">pic.twitter.com/2vRTHbLWrO</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1544496249994465280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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One of the most unique players in the entire NBA enters his third season with the Thunder. But this will actually be Pokusevski's first NBA Summer League experience after OKC decided not to have him join the team last year (and there was no competition in 2020).&nbsp;
Pokusevski has his staunch advocates and critics on either side after another up-and-down season in 2021-22. But he was much better after the All-Star break, averaging 12.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists across 19 games. Poku still has a ways to go in his individual development, and the Thunder have shown a willingness to be patient as the seven-foot wing progresses. A strong summer showing against less experienced competition would help justify the franchise's belief in him.
Paul Reed, Philadelphia 76ers
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Paul Reed dropped 20 PTS and snatched 15 boards in Game 1 of the Salt Lake City Summer League for the <a href="https://twitter.com/sixers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sixers</a>! 20 PTS | 15 REB | 4 STL <a href="https://t.co/NlAd1vxQSr">pic.twitter.com/NlAd1vxQSr</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1544495884829954048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Big-man depth behind Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris was one of the more pressing concerns for the 76ers in the postseason, and the franchise has done nothing in the offseason to bolster their bigs so far. For now, the responsibility falls on Reed and/or Charles Bassey to take the mantle as a backup.&nbsp;
At 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds, Reed has a bit more in his tool kit offensively then Bassey and really battles hard on the glass. This is an atmosphere where he can physically dominate. Reed already posted 20 points and 15 rebounds in a Salt Lake City Summer League showing against the Grizzlies.&nbsp;
Xavier Tillman, Memphis Grizzlies
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Xavier Tillman &amp; Ziaire Williams combined for 31 points to lead the <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@memgrizz</a> to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBASummer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBASummer</a> win!<a href="https://twitter.com/therealZiaire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@therealZiaire</a>: 15 PTS, 8 AST, 2 STL<a href="https://twitter.com/Rookiedunker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Rookiedunker</a>: 16 PTS, 4 AST <a href="https://t.co/rD5YnPb63N">pic.twitter.com/rD5YnPb63N</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1544497186821619713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The No. 35 pick from the 2020 NBA Draft logged a really solid rookie season with Memphis, but saw his playing time and efficiency scale back in 2021-22. Tillman struggled to finish at the basket and lost the flashes of three-point promise that appeared in his first year. With Brandon Clarke surging back as a notable piece, Jaren Jackson Jr. healthy and Steven Adams locked in at center, Tillman only had scraps of big-man minutes left over.
However, he's still a notable Grizzlies prospect. Tillman is the type of multifaceted big defender that today's game craves, and he can rebound and pass well for his position. Like Reed, Tillman has the chance to impose his will inside against younger, leaner Summer League players, and he can state his case for more playing time to the team.
Brandon Williams, Portland Trail Blazers
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Brandon Williams has been lighting it up for the <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@trailblazers</a>! He dropped a career-high 27 points in his first career start last night - his second consecutive 20+ point game. 💪 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GLeagueAlum?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GLeagueAlum</a> <a href="https://t.co/WYteuaeBWm">pic.twitter.com/WYteuaeBWm</a>
&mdash; NBA G League (@nbagleague) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbagleague/status/1501331791558414340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Lost in the Trail Blazers' aimless second half was the emergence of Williams, an undrafted rookie guard whom Portland locked up on a two-way contract in February. He had played just two NBA games before the All-Star break, but averaged 13.7 points, 4.2 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game in 22 contests afterwards. Nekias Duncan even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/views-from-the-bottom-young-players-to-keep-an-eye-on" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted him in that same piece</a> for his pick-and-roll passing promise.
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Was Williams' opportunity solely because Portland was marred with injuries and well out of the playoff picture? Or does he have a real chance at a rotation spot this season? It's admittedly tough to envision with Damian Lillard getting healthy, Anfernee Simons secured on a lucrative extension and Keon Johnson on the rise. But there's no better case for Williams to assert his talent than at Summer League.
James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors
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Here is the full update from Jama Mahlalela on James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga. Said Wiseman probably won&rsquo;t play on Friday, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;d definitely imagine in the next few (summer league) games we&rsquo;ll see him.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/FxLFQJ71Bn">pic.twitter.com/FxLFQJ71Bn</a>
&mdash; Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1544806078507954176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Warriors Summer League coach Jama Mahlalela said that he expects Wiseman to participate in Vegas at some point. It's been a long road of recovery for the 2020 No. 2 overall draft pick, who missed all of last season while rehabbing a torn meniscus. Wiseman's absence has fueled a chorus of critics to question his place with the defending champions.
Obviously, there's only so much Wiseman can do here as he continues to focus on his body. NBA training camp and the actual season far surpass any importance Summer League can provide. But if Wiseman does make appearances over the next two weeks, he'll assuredly be one of the summer's most-discussed players.

James Wiseman, Kai Jones and Killian Hayes are among the players who could use a standout Summer League showing in Las Vegas.

10 NBA veterans with a bit more to prove at Las Vegas Summer League

Bookmark this page and we'll keep you up-to-date on every NBA rumor. We'll continue updating this tracker over the next 24 hours.

NBA Rumor Tracker: Compiling the latest news and intel

It&rsquo;s Christmas in late June for NBA fans.
The 2022 NBA Draft is hours away, and the rumor mill is churning. BasketballNews has compiled every major rumor to keep you up-to-date on the latest rumblings around the Association.
If you missed yesterday's NBA Rumors Notebook with updates on Malcolm Brogdon, John Collins, Gordon Hayward and more, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-draft-2022-news-reports-atlanta-hawks-malcolm-brogdon-new-york-knicks-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check that out here</a>.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s jump into the juicy intel.
Kevin Durant will request trade if Kyrie Irving leaves Nets
On Wednesday, ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped this blockbuster nugget in his <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/34130810/how-kyrie-irving-contract-talks-change-kevin-durant-long-term-commitment-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN+ story</a> detailing the the uncertainty surrounding the Nets and Kyrie Irving. Woj said that the star point guard has a huge leverage play in negotiations: Irving knows that if the Nets refuse to sign him to a long-term extension, Kevin Durant will soon follow him out the door in Brooklyn. Wojnarowski said the Nets are aware of this situation, so their front office is trying to walk this tightrope.
Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/kyrie-irving-latest-more-trade-talk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added on Substack</a> that he&rsquo;s heard Irving and LeBron James have been in contact recently, potentially about reuniting on the Los Angeles Lakers. Wojnarowski relayed on NBA Today that the Lakers are considered "the biggest threat" to acquire Irving outside of Brooklyn too. Also, Stein said don&rsquo;t rule out the Miami Heat as a possible suitor via sign-and-trade.
The Irving drama has already created a negative impact on the Nets&rsquo; free-agency plans. Wojnarowski said on NBA Today that Brooklyn is having a hard time retaining their own free agents, plus Durant isn&rsquo;t recruiting potential names to the Nets as well.&nbsp;
"In previous offseasons, rival agents and players would tell you of Durant's eagerness in talking to potential free agents. So far, that hasn't been the case with him, sources say," Wojnarowski <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/34130810/how-kyrie-irving-contract-talks-change-kevin-durant-long-term-commitment-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote on ESPN+</a>.
Durant has also been putting pressure on the Nets to sign Irving long-term, per Wojnarowski.
All of a sudden, the possibility of the Nets breaking up feels very real. Could we actually be looking at a scenario where Durant is requesting a trade over the next few weeks? If Irving's contract situation isn&rsquo;t resolved soon, it sure feels like it.
OG Anunoby joining Jerami Grant in Portland?
According to <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1539759808907284480" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo Sports&rsquo; Chris Haynes</a>, the Portland Trail Blazers aren&rsquo;t done trying to make massive moves to improve their roster. After acquiring Jerami Grant for a bargain price on Wednesday, Haynes relayed that Portland is offering the Toronto Raptors the No. 7 overall pick in today's NBA Draft in exchange for versatile wing OG Anunoby.
There has been persistent smoke surrounding Anunoby in trade talks over the last few weeks, and now things have kicked into overdrive.
If the Blazers are able to land Anunoby alongside Grant, it&rsquo;s a dream wing pairing to place alongside the high-usage backcourt of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons. Assuming Portland also re-signs Jusuf Nurkic, they could become a playoff contender once again.
Deandre Ayton, Suns heading for a split?
Deandre Ayton may have played his final game with the Phoenix Suns. Even though things seemed to be heading in this direction after the Suns' shocking postseason exit, Wojnarowski confirmed Wednesday on NBA Today that the organization doesn&rsquo;t view&nbsp; their former No. 1 overall pick as a max-level player. Woj added that Phoenix plans to engage in serious sign-and-trade discussions surrounding Ayton.
Keep an eye on the Detroit Pistons as a potential landing spot for Ayton, especially after the Grant trade went down. The Pistons now have more than $40 million in cap space, which means they can offer Ayton a max contract without any hiccups. According to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3379072/2022/06/22/jerami-grant-blazers-pistons-deandre-ayton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s James Edwards III</a>, Detroit is &ldquo;heavily expected&rdquo; to pursue Ayton.
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Will James Harden opt in?
Wojnarowski mentioned on NBA Today that James Harden was likely to exercise his $47 million player option for next season and sign a short-term extension with the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden&rsquo;s new deal with Philadelphia will come in at a figure slightly below the max, as Woj relayed on ESPN2. This lines up with <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038916-latest-nba-intel-sources-say-james-harden-will-sign-short-term-extension-with-sixers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent report</a> from Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Philadelphia has <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-draft-2022-news-reports-atlanta-hawks-malcolm-brogdon-new-york-knicks-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already been linked to Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker</a> this offseason, so we'll see if the 2018 Houston Rockets are planning a reunion. Would adding Gordon and Tucker be enough to put Philadelphia over the top in the Eastern Conference?
The Sixers are also shopping the No. 23 overall pick, Matisse Thybulle and Danny Green, per <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038916-latest-nba-intel-sources-say-james-harden-will-sign-short-term-extension-with-sixers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer</a>.&nbsp;
Thunder planning blockbuster trade to move up draft?
<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/34121058/2022-nba-mock-draft-projecting-all-58-picks-based-latest-intel-scouting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to ESPN&rsquo;s Jonathan Givony</a>, the Oklahoma City Thunder are aggressively trying to trade up from No. 12, with their primary targets being Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey and Kentucky&rsquo;s Shaedon Sharpe.
The Thunder are hoping to come out of this draft with two of the top prospects; OKC also has the No. 2 and signs seem to point to them taking Chet Holmgren.&nbsp;
Could you imagine Oklahoma City trotting out a core that features Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Holmgren and either Ivey or Sharpe? That&rsquo;s simply unfair.
Hawks pursuing Dejounte Murray trade?
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Bleacher Report&rsquo;s Jake Fischer</a>, the San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks have discussed a deal that would involve swapping Dejounte Murray and John Collins. Fischer noted that the price for Murray to leave San Antonio would be &ldquo;Jrue Holiday-like&rdquo; in terms of the return. If that&rsquo;s the case, the Spurs would likely have to part with multiple first-round picks to land the versatile guard.
The Athletic's Chris Kirschner joined BasketballNews' Twitter Spaces last night and confirmed that these talks are ongoing, but added that a deal isn't close. He has also heard that the asking price for Murray is significant.
With this coming out of nowhere, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise to see the Spurs be a very aggressive team during tonight's NBA Draft.
Knicks all-in on Jalen Brunson?
Stein <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/kyrie-irving-latest-more-trade-talk?sd=pf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Wednesday that the New York Knicks are viewed as a real threat to sign Jalen Brunson, if they can clear the necessary cap space. The Knicks are trying to offload the expiring contracts (if you count their 2023-24 team option) of Alec Burks, Kemba Walker and Nerlens Noel. Wojnarowski added later in the day on ESPN2 that New York will be aggressive in clearing said space.
Stein dropped another Knicks-related note involving underrated rim protector Mitchell Robinson. <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/nba-draft-forecast-trades-aplenty?sd=pf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Stein</a>, the Knicks are expected to re-sign Robinson, which may close the door on potential draft options like Memphis&rsquo; Jalen Duren or Duke&rsquo;s Mark Williams at No. 11 overall.
Yesterday, ESPN&rsquo;s Brian Windhorst mentioned on NBA Today that New York has been unwilling to include No. 11 in any trade talks involving Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon. The availability of Brogdon continues to be a hot topic, which included <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038623-latest-nba-intel-sources-expect-zach-lavine-to-re-sign-with-chicago-bulls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer reporting</a> that league executives believe Brogdon is the Knicks' backup option after Brunson.
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Pacers accepting rebuild?
On ESPN's NBA Mock Draft Special on Tuesday, Wojnarowksi said that the Pacers plan to reshape their roster and move toward a rebuild under head coach Rick Carlisle. Woj added that Indiana is hopeful to add a second lottery selection since there are multiple prospects they like in that range.
The full expectation is that Brogdon will be moved soon. However, when it comes to Myles Turner's future, the Pacers may wait for better offers or hold onto him long-term. Both Brogdon and Turner have constantly popped up in trade rumors, and that likely isn't changing until there's a resolution.
Indiana deciding on a full-scale rebuild opens up a lot of roster possibilities, and it further suggests that Brogdon, Turner and maybe even Buddy Hield could be on the move. Leading up to the draft, Indiana continues to be one of the most active teams on the trade market.
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer mentioned on Wednesday</a> that the following teams have shown interest in a Turner trade: the Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets.
D&rsquo;Angelo Russell staying in Minnesota?
Speaking of the Timberwolves, another interesting tidbit was shared on Wednesday morning by <a href="https://theathletic.com/3363956/2022/06/22/dangelo-russell-future-timberwolves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s Jon Krawczynski</a>: Minnesota has not come close on any potential trades involving D&rsquo;Angelo Russell or any other players. Russell is on the final year of his contract, but his season ended with some fourth-quarter benchings in favor of Jordan McLaughlin during the playoffs.
Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly <a href="https://twitter.com/JonKrawczynski/status/1539694720108085248" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> on Wednesday that the organization is &ldquo;super open&rdquo; to trading the No. 19 pick. Connelly added that they would welcome a win-now piece in exchange for the top-20 selection.
Cavs open to trading back?
According to <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2022/06/cleveland-cavaliers-getting-trade-offers-for-the-no-14-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-sources-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com</a>, the Cleveland Cavaliers are open to trading back from No. 14 overall. This lines up with what <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-bradley-beal-bobby-portis-nicolas-batum-lakers-nets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported</a> earlier this week. Scotto added that the Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks have called about the No. 14 pick.
Holding the final pick in the lottery, Cleveland could fetch a solid return on the trade market. The Cavs are reportedly hoping for a future first-round pick, but they&rsquo;re open to adding a win-now role player in a trade-back scenario as well.&nbsp;
If the Cavaliers are able to move back while also improving the top of their rotation, it would be a huge win for the up-and-coming team.
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Suns shopping Jae Crowder?
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Fischer</a>, the Suns have reached out to rival teams to gauge Jae Crowder's trade value. Over the last two seasons, Crowder has played a pivotal role in the Suns&rsquo; historic turnaround. However, with a looming extension for Cameron Johnson, it could make sense to clear more playing time for he and Mikal Bridges on the wing.
Phoenix has no picks tonight, but they are rumored to be interested in getting into the draft. While they have looked into buying a second-round selection, perhaps trading Crowder could get them into the first round.
If the Suns send Crowder to Philadelphia for the No. 23 pick and Danny Green&rsquo;s non-guaranteed salary, would that make sense for both sides?
Wizards listening on Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039635-latest-nba-offseason-rumors-san-antonio-spurs-discussing-dejounte-murray-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Fischer</a>, the Wizards are open to discussing Kuzma and KCP in deals. Earlier in the week, Wojnarowski listed Washington as one of the most active teams in trade discussions.
After a strong season with the Wizards, Kuzma could provide a strong return. KCP&rsquo;s expiring contract would be a strong match with Indiana for Malcolm Brogdon, which has been rumored for several days.
Blazers, Pelicans draft preferences
Closing out the notebook, here are two draft-related notes. First up, if the Portland Trail Blazers stay put at No. 7, they are reportedly fans of Dyson Daniels and Shaedon Sharpe, per <a href="https://theathletic.com/3377254/2022/06/22/nba-mock-draft-trades-rumors-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s John Hollinger</a>. Both Daniels or Sharpe could be real complements on the wing alongside Lillard, Grant and Simons. If Portland nails their lottery pick, they are set up to potentially rebound in 2022-23.
The New Orleans Pelicans&rsquo; top choices at No. 8 are Daniels and Arizona&rsquo;s Bennedict Mathurin, per <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/please-dont-aggregate-this/id1618992995" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fischer on his podcast</a>. If neither Daniels nor Mathurin are on the board, New Orleans would be more inclined to listen on potential trade-back scenarios.
Buckle up, folks, as this is going to be a crazy day! BasketballNews will keep you updated on all the latest NBA news and rumors.
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The 2022 NBA Draft is hours away, and the rumor mill is churning. Here are all of the latest rumblings from around the Association.

NBA Rumors Notebook: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Deandre Ayton, more

As the old saying goes: "The great ones will always get theirs."
Despite being stymied by the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-celtics-game-1-defense-on-kevin-durant-showcased-their-greatness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston Celtics&rsquo; physicality</a>, Kevin Durant still averaged 26.3 points per game against them in their recent first-round duel. In 2019, Giannis Antetokounmpo still averaged 22.7 points a night when Air Canada built a wall in front of him. Hell, Dirk Nowitzki stumbled his way into 19.7 points per game when he got punked by the "We Believe" Golden State Warriors in 2007.&nbsp;
When it comes to the great ones, you can try to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/slowing-giannis-the-wall-still-the-way" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slow them down</a>, but you can never take them out of the dance entirely.
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But what about the really good ones?
For them, we&rsquo;ll need a different maxim. One that reads: Styles make fights.
In the right matchup, a player may dominate to the point where you wonder why he or she wasn't garnering more praise and recognition in the first place. Catch that individual in the wrong matchup, and you may feel the need to <a href="https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/462362175257206784?s=20&amp;t=_h9u5Y92QrIaa4uiBSwEBg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hang missing person posters</a> with his or her image and likeness plastered all over them.&nbsp;
Such is the story of Desmond Bane in the 2022 playoffs &ndash; except, fortunately for him, Memphis fans have refrained from doing him as dirty as Brooklyn did <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ten-years-ago-deron-williams-dropped-57-points-so-lets-talk-about-what-couldve-been" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D-Will</a> (there&rsquo;s still time though).
I hinted at this a bit in my recent article for <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2022/5/5/23056975/nba-playoffs-2022-young-players-grades-jalen-brunson-ja-morant">SB Nation</a>, but Bane was the primary beneficiary of the Minnesota Timberwolves&rsquo; blitzkrieg initiative for defanging Ja Morant.&nbsp;
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An interesting wrinkle here in these playoffs worth keeping tabs on: Desmond Bane w/Ja Morant (207 minutes): 69.8% TS Desmond Bane w/o Ja Morant (53 minutes): 38.5% TS This disparity marks the highest change in TS% of anyone on the team w/ or w/o Morant. Per PBP Stats.
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1521465156391292928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Minnesota regularly sent two at the ball on ball-screens featuring Morant (an alignment commonly referred to as a blitz/hedge). This led to the low-man defender constantly rotating over to tag the roller. And as a result, it created an open opportunity for Bane (a.k.a. the almighty conqueror of the <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1518193886866415618?s=20&amp;t=QaP2dugfYp6ZNzkvC5G9Qg">fly-by closeout</a>).
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Bane was electric against Timberwolves, shredding nylons to the tune of 23.5 points per game on 67.3% True Shooting &mdash; a performance that powered many to call him the Grizzlies&rsquo; best player in that series.&nbsp;
Now, here we are against Golden State, and, as <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dunker-spot/id1547857052">The Dunker Spot</a> crew likes to say, the math has changed (and, unfortunately, the physical integrity of his <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/warriors/news/desmond-banes-updated-injury-status-for-game-two" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back</a>).
First vs. Second Round Stats
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 17.3894%;">Desmond Bane</td>
<td style="width: 19.7392%;">Points Per Game*</td>
<td style="width: 16.8672%;">True Shooting*</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 17.3894%;">Minnesota&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 19.7392%;">23.5</td>
<td style="width: 16.8672%;">67.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 17.3894%;">Golden State&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 19.7392%;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 16.8672%;">38.2%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Data Provided by Basketball-Reference
The Warriors have opted to switch or go under on screens, sag off Morant when he's got the ball and contest Ja's <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeVirayNBA/status/1520877541992845312?s=20&amp;t=ZChHUIVIRZnLSMkpyHiN3w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pull-up attempts softly</a>. This is all in order to avoid conceding interior looks to the league leader in points in the paint. (Hint: It hasn&rsquo;t worked <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1522600176413814786?s=20&amp;t=xjgbtFvQNK2kRYODJvxNZw">particularly well</a>.)
The theoretical benefit of this for the Warriors is that they aren&rsquo;t putting their defense in a state of automatic rotation, which negates a good portion of Bane&rsquo;s offensive value (he&rsquo;s made a killing this season capitalizing off the bent floors that Morant materializes for him).&nbsp;
This change in hardwood climate for Bane has coerced an adjustment in his shot diet. According to NBA.com shot-tracking data, Bane has gone from taking 6.2 catch-and-shoot jumpers against the Wolves to a mere 3.5 against the Warriors. With his off-ball volume being down, he&rsquo;s been forced to resort to multi-dribble looks to try and get himself going. And at this point in his development, these situations are just not optimal.
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With all this said, Golden State has still been showing help at the nail on Morant&rsquo;s drives, but every defensive scheme has its own idiosyncratic help principles for different players/matchups.
While Golden State's off-ball defenders may sag off and offer supplementary aid to whoever is tasked with point-of-attack duties, they are hesitant to overhelp off of Bane (which is great for the Grizzlies spacing).
Also, to their credit, the Warriors have been particularly stout in navigating screens when the Grizzlies attempt to feature Bane in his usual off-ball sets; <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1521838810694365185?s=20&amp;t=HWJUxLn0B1h-uEC11gW2bw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steph Curry</a> has been especially diligent in these spots.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
Warriors clearly locked in on Desmond Mane, comes off this screen, Klay there on the catch. Not giving him room. <a href="https://t.co/CmMwn8gyfJ">pic.twitter.com/CmMwn8gyfJ</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1521671132763545600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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This situation reminds me of a Mike Prada tweet I often ponder over internally in the doldrums of my mind. (Congrats on the new position, by the way!)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Bev is well-equipped to guard Booker b/c he hits first. Devin wants to speed into the play, stop, hit you, then pivot off you. You disrupt that by getting into him early, and that's what Bev does. (This is also why Luka fried him. His move cadence is the inverse of Book's) <a href="https://t.co/aLvAd2k7EZ">https://t.co/aLvAd2k7EZ</a>
&mdash; Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikePradaNBA/status/1408268764886482950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Don&rsquo;t get me wrong. Bane is a better basketball player than Patrick Beverley (I have him in the top 50), but the former's current struggles are parallel with the ones the latter experienced last postseason.&nbsp;
Beverley went from starting in Games 1 and 2 against Dallas, to coming off the bench in Games 3 through 5, to never taking off his warmups in Games 6 and 7. In the following round, he was in the rotations, but only garnering 16-to-20 minutes with the second unit against the Utah Jazz.
However, Beverley would find his way back into the starting lineup against the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, and administered a <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201976/head-to-head?SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;Season=2020-21">9-of-31 shooting</a> chokehold on Devin Booker in the 35-plus minutes he shadowed the All-Star guard.
Another example of this trend of matchups dictating production can be illustrated through Fred VanVleet, the guy many now call <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-all-star-case-fred-vanvleet-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;Freddy All-Star.&rdquo;</a>&nbsp;
In 2019, the smaller guard had no place against the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; lengthy backcourt duo of Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons, and so, he was relegated to 16.9 minutes per game and posted an awful 24.3% TS.
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However, VanVleet's math changed when he was gifted a <a href="https://www.sportscasting.com/fred-vanvleets-child-might-have-won-the-toronto-raptors-the-2019-nba-finals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">newborn child</a> and a more formulaic backcourt dynamic against the Milwaukee Bucks. In that series, he averaged 27.3 minutes and sizzled his way to an excellent 64.4% TS efficiency.
And then, in the following round, VanVleet's penchant for screen navigation and chasing Curry around off-ball made him an essential ingredient in the Toronto Raptors&rsquo; title-clinching series.&nbsp;
Even looking at the opposite side of this series, Jonathan Kuminga went from playing ~5 minutes per game against the craft-based Denver Nuggets to requiring ~15 per game against this more athletic Grizzlies unit.
We could do this all day, but for the sake of time (although it is a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mhZBLUyybo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flat circle</a>), we will not be doing that.&nbsp;
The intent of this written soliloquy isn&rsquo;t to argue for less Bane in this series. He&rsquo;s so good that his defensive intensity, and the threat of his marksmanship, is enough to warrant a high-minute load (if he&rsquo;s healthy).&nbsp;
The point of this is to offer an explanation for his recent dip in play, and provide some solace for concerned fans who may fear that his recent slump hampers his long-term potential.&nbsp;
Unless you are a superstar-caliber player &mdash; or possess an incredibly versatile skil lset &mdash; your production on a series-to-series basis is likely to vary quite a bit based on your matchups.&nbsp;
Such is the truth about the NBA playoffs.
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Mat Issa discusses Desmond Bane's last two games in the postseason and how it illustrates the meaning of matchups.

Desmond Bane and the truth about matchups in the NBA Playoffs

For the umpteenth season in a row, Buddy Hield is on the trade market and actively being shopped by the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article256556286.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee</a>.
<blockquote>
One source said the Kings are still shopping a package including Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III in hopes of getting a good player in return.&nbsp;
</blockquote>
With Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s emergence and Davion Mitchell&rsquo;s initial pop, Sacramento has consistently relied upon three-guard lineups &mdash; four of the top five players in minutes played for the Kings this season are guards.&nbsp;
While I wouldn&rsquo;t argue that Hield is the most replaceable of the guards, he is the oldest by a wide margin and the only guard on a non-max or rookie-scale contract, likely making him the easiest to trade without tearing apart the team structure in its entirety (hence why he&rsquo;s been in trade talks for multiple years).
The initial $24 million hit on his four-year contract, inked during the 2019 off-season, likely played into reticence or difficulty to trade for Hield. A descending scale on his deal and looming <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mortenjensen/2021/09/19/with-new-tv-deal-looming-nba-teams-could-spend-big-on-extensions/?sh=51344fc73e85" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cap spike</a> could potentially temper trade discussions to the right degree.
While Hield has had a slow start to the season, he&rsquo;s caught fire the past two weeks, indicating a return to form. He's shooting 47% from three over the last 10 days on 9.4 attempts per game.
Buddy Hield is undoubtedly a specialist, but the level to which he specializes as a shooter brings much more value than that &ldquo;shooter&rdquo; label may imply.&nbsp;
Per Stathead, no player has hit more threes since the 2018-19 season than Hield, nailing just shy of a thousand in that span (950) with the next closest player, James Harden, nearly 100 behind (862).&nbsp;
He&rsquo;s an elite shooter off-the-catch and from a standstill, but his shooting variety is what makes him such a remarkable offensive player. An elite combination of movement, flexibility, and footwork open up his arsenal.
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He maintains balance and can start and stop on a dime, which allows him to create the slivers of space necessary to garner clean looks. Basketball Index uses NBA tracking data to contextualize data and create metrics to track overarching aspects of the game. For instance, Buddy Hield is in the fourth percentile of openness rating this season, which combines numerous factors to estimate how open a player is on average when they shoot. In essence, Hield is almost never open, which tracks with the eye test &mdash; defenses swarm him.
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One of my favorite aspects of Hield's game is his utility as a screener. The Sacramento Kings run "Spain" pick-and-roll a great deal, mostly with Hield as the back-screener in the action, flaring up after making contact to fly out for an open shot.&nbsp;
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Hield&rsquo;s proficiency as a movement shooter out of these sets has allowed the Kings to create a sort of gravity well between De&rsquo;Aaron Fox&rsquo;s downhill drive and Hield&rsquo;s shooting threat. It has created constant headaches for defenses for multiple seasons now. I cannot stress enough how rare it is for a player to be able to replicate this kind of action and hit that shot with consistency.
On the subject of the ridiculous number of difficult shots in his diet, he&rsquo;s particularly an artist as a pull-up shooter &mdash; especially on pick-and-roll actions.&nbsp;
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Hield is hitting 35.3% of his 3.7 pull-up three-point attempts per game, well above the league average (~31%). Putting that into context, this is actually the worst he&rsquo;s shot on threes off-the-dribble since his first full year in Sacramento (35.9%).&nbsp;
That prolific ability as an off-dribble shooter makes it nearly impossible to go under on-ball screens involving Hield. He doesn&rsquo;t possess great accuracy or court vision as a passer, but the windows provided to him by his scoring gravity are consistently there, and his playmaking out of the pick-and-roll has blossomed the past few years.
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No, Buddy Hield is not a perfect player, and his shortcomings as an athlete and defender do require gameplanning and proper roster construction to amplify what he does well. However, the right team could get the most out of his skill set moving forward if he is traded.
Which teams around the league should be looking into a deal for Buddy Hield and what would it take for a trade to work?
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Orlando Magic
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Orlando is currently 10th in three-point attempts but only 26th in three-point percentage &mdash; spacing has been an issue across the majority of the Magic&rsquo;s lineups. Hield would immediately be the best shooting threat on the team, and could be an intriguing off-ball partner to Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner as they continue to grow on-the-ball.
Terrence Ross&rsquo; career-low shooting has played a part in Orlando&rsquo;s spacing issues, and he seems ripe for a new opportunity for a myriad of reasons.
The main purpose of the deal for Sacramento is to add depth via Ross and potentially Michael Carter-Williams (whose timetable for return <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/08/24/magic-michael-carter-williams-to-miss-start-of-season-with-ankle-injury/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is still indefinite</a>), while also adding an intriguing young player in Chuma Okeke on the wing. Okeke missed the beginning of the season recovering from injury after a solid close last season, and he has struggled to find his footing offensively. He hasn&rsquo;t looked quite the same post-injury in general, and the budding potential of Franz Wagner &mdash; along with the looming return of Jonathan Isaac to an already loaded frontcourt &mdash; makes it appear that Okeke could be on the outside of the lineup looking in.
I probably wouldn&rsquo;t be ready to move on from Okeke if I was in charge of the Magic's front office but, all things considered, there&rsquo;s sensibility to this deal on both sides &mdash; but it may need evening out in the way of draft capital from Orlando.
Memphis Grizzlies
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/tradenba-snap-1640110776777_lg.png" alt="" width="684" height="390" />
The Grizzlies have been in need of a consolidation trade for a few seasons now, and this is probably not the one! But it's an intriguing look for both sides nonetheless.&nbsp;
Memphis is two years away from new contracts hitting the cap sheet for Ja Morant (presumably) and other members of the core rotation. While Hield isn&rsquo;t the star likely envisioned as the next player to tip the scales in Memphis, he could be someone who does push the needle while smoothing out a jammed rotation. He'd also provide shooting and spacing to a team that&rsquo;s relatively average in that area, and lacks the elite dynamic that few players can add to an offense like Hield.&nbsp;
In a year and a half or two years from now when the Grizz need to re-up, Hield will be on an expiring deal and maybe part of the consolidation trade that does net Memphis a third star. Regardless, he offers a skill set that&rsquo;s intriguing to ponder alongside Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Kyle Anderson&rsquo;s role has decreased in Memphis after starting all of last year, and he would likely slide back into a starting role with Sacramento. His defense, along with his connective passing and positive decision-making on both ends, could do wonders for the Kings. While he is on an expiring deal, perhaps trading for him could give them a better path to re-signing Anderson than would be available if he were on the open market.
Jarrett Culver has looked like an NBA player in his short time in Memphis, which has been awesome to see. Admittedly, that would make me wary of trading him to Sacramento, but in the reality of this trade, the Kings would love to add a young player at a position of need. John Konchar is a solid role player who would likely factor into the back end of the rotation &mdash; that's a spot the Kings need more consistent play from.
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Detroit Pistons
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This is my favorite deal with regards to potential for both sides. Jerami Grant has grown as a player in Detroit, but has been overtaxed in his role. Shams Charania of The Athletic <a href="https://theathletic.com/3011544/2021/12/13/optimism-for-a-kyrie-irving-return-the-latest-on-ben-simmons-trade-talks-and-more-nba-news-and-notes-inside-pass/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently reported</a> that the Pistons are fielding calls for Grant.
I do wonder what it would look like, and particularly if there would be growing pains if Grant tried to return to a reduced role after high-usage play and some success with the Pistons. However, he would fit pretty well on this team. Ideally, both he and Harrison Barnes are fours, but Grant is a better option at the three-spot than anyone the Kings have employed there since&hellip; Rudy Gay? (Bogdan Bogdanovic was a two-guard)
While the Kings would miss Hield&rsquo;s powers as a spacer, Grant can and will shoot, albeit at a lesser level &mdash; but adding size and athleticism on the wing would be a boon for this team.
On the other hand, Hield to Detroit intrigues me a great deal. The Pistons are the worst shooting team in the league, and while part of that is explained by a slow start from pretty much everyone, it&rsquo;s largely held up. Cade Cunningham and Frank Jackson have both shot well over the past month and a half and Saddiq Bey has come on in the past week, but this is just a bad shooting team regardless of shot luck.
Imagining "Spain" actions with Hield, or even Hield as a direct screener for Cade is so enticing. The best way to get the most out of a young player and bolster his development is to surround them with veterans who can maximize their best skill sets, or ease the load they carry. Hield would do wonders for Detroit&rsquo;s offense (though he couldn't possibly fix them), and could be a quality running mate for Cunningham as he grows as an initiator.
None of these deals are perfect, but most trades aren&rsquo;t &mdash; there are some merits for both sides making these moves. While it&rsquo;s unlikely that any of these deals end up ultimately being made if the Kings do finally move Hield, they provide an interesting framework for viewing his fit within some of the organizations that are reportedly active in the trade market. Regardless, Buddy Hield is one of the higher profile players that&rsquo;s been in reported trade talks in the young season, and he could alter a team&rsquo;s identity prior to the trade deadline.

Buddy Hield is on the trade block again. Mark Schindler writes on what he brings and some possible landing spots that make sense.

Examining potential trade destinations for Buddy Hield

The Houston Rockets are trending upward.
We're three weeks removed from <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2950751-sources-houston-rockets-weighing-future-of-head-coach-stephen-silas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on-the-hot-seat reporting</a> from Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer concerning head coach Stephen Silas. The offense was bland and ineffective; the defense was spotty, to be kind. It wasn't all on Silas, as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/whats-wrong-with-the-houston-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained in this space</a>, but things certainly didn't look good.
Since that report, the Rockets have won eight of their last 11 games behind an elite offense (116.4 Offensive Rating, 3rd in the NBA). The defense still ain't great &mdash; it's actually gotten worse (115.7 Defensive Rating, 26th) during this stretch &mdash; but it hasn't bitten them yet.
Despite the recent success, the Rockets are aware of where they are: Stage 1 of the rebuild. As such, the phone lines are open for some of their veterans. Chief among them is Christian Wood, an All-Star caliber frontcourt talent.
On the surface, that's a surprise. When you think of Rocket vets that could swap teams, you'd likely land on 32-year-old Eric Gordon (absolutely balling as of late) or 29-year-old Daniel Theis. Not only is Wood better than both players, he's also much younger (26 years old).&nbsp;
But over the last week, <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/rockets-willing-listen-offers-christian-094911591.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim MacMahon</a> and Bleacher Report's Fischer have hinted at a willingness to at least hear offers for the big man. The price would likely be steep &mdash; Fischer ballparks it at "a first round pick plus further capital" <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2951461-latest-nba-trade-buzz-sourced-intel-on-simmons-kyrie-lakers-and-more" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in his latest report</a> &mdash; but that could be worth it for a team looking for help up front.
WHAT WOOD BRINGS&nbsp;
As our Jackson Frank wrote <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/christian-woods-offensive-versatility-will-benefit-houstons-core" target="_blank" rel="noopener">before the season</a>, there aren't many centers more gifted than Wood on the offensive end of the floor.
He's a dynamic partner in ball-screens, able to beat defenses as a roller or popper. He transitions smoothly from screener to roller or popper, allowing him to get a jump on the defense depending on what coverage they're in.
Wood has had to pop more this season due to the spacing around him, but he remains a paint threat due to his ability to pump-and-go. Leave him completely open and he'll fire above the break; close-out too hard, and he'll get downhill.
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Wood's ability to handle could be an added dimension for a team. He's not a Giannis-type threat to grab-and-go after misses, but he can push a break and allow offenses to attack earlier. His handle also allows him to initiate &mdash; or fake &mdash; handoffs against unbalanced defenses.
This is a down year for Wood as a finisher &mdash; spacing and playmaking issues have put a more difficult self-creation load on him &mdash; and he's still converting 73% of his shots inside of 3 feet, per Basketball-Reference. There's room to believe he could be even more effective with more room to operate, and/or more dynamic ball-handlers to work with.
LIMITATIONS
While Wood is able initiate some early offense in Delay sets, he doesn't have the passing chops to act as a true offensive hub. That's not inherently a bad thing; a team hoping to acquire him just has to understand he's a play-finisher that can sometimes get you into your offense, not Western Conference Domantas Sabonis.
Wood isn't the quickest processor when forced to make playmaking reads, and his actual pass accuracy leaves a bit to be desired. Combine those traits, and you get some rough turnovers when he's in creator mode.
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Defensively, Wood doesn't have the spatial feel to hold up as a primary rim-protector. His drop coverage film is littered with possessions of him conceding too much space to the ball-handler, or playing too high up (in a hunched over stance, no less) on the floor, allowing his assignment to get behind him for lobs.
Wood has shown some comfort switching out on the perimeter. He also possesses the mobility and hands necessary to play in more aggressive schemes. The swing skill for him would be his recovery; cutting off a ball-handler is one thing, but finding your assignment after the hedge is a separate task that he's had uneven results with.&nbsp;
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Even with some of his limitations, he's shown to be an active communicator. He's been a competent weak-side rim-protector. So long as you have good personnel around him, Wood can be a positive cog in a system.
LANDING SPOTS
If you're looking for a team with 1) a dynamic ball-handler, 2) plenty of spacers and 3) a strong defensive infrastructure, look no further than the Golden State Warriors.&nbsp;
Among the many weapons the Warriors have at their disposal, a vertical spacer is one they currently lack. It's safe to say Wood could slot right into that role. This may shock you, but Stephen Curry has had success with those type of partners.&nbsp;
Since the 2017-18 season, ball-screens spearheaded by Curry have generated roughly 1.08 points per possession &mdash; the best high volume mark in the NBA over that stretch, per Second Spectrum. When working with an athletic vertical threat &mdash; let's say JaVale McGee, Damian Jones, and Marquese Chriss &mdash; that number jumps to 1.12.
Last season's blockbuster trade cut the sample short, but it's worth noting just how successful the James Harden-Wood connection was last season (north of 1.13 PPP). It's fair to believe the Curry-Wood pairing would be a darn good one.
And if you need defensive covering for Wood, is there a better guy to pair him with than Draymond Green? Curry would be step up from what Wood has had to cover for at the point of attack this season; doubly so when Curry is replaced by Gary Payton II in the lineup.&nbsp;
The complicated matter would be the price. I would imagine the Rockets would want two of the Warriors' three young prospects &mdash; James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody &mdash; if possible.
The Athletic's Tim Kawakami recently laid out <a href="https://theathletic.com/3006586/2021/12/09/kawakami-why-the-warriors-absolutely-positively-are-not-trading-james-wiseman/?redirected=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a strong argument</a> regarding why the Warriors don't want to part with Wiseman right now. Beyond that, it would be shocking if the Rockets prioritized Wiseman considering they just drafted Alperen Sengun (please play him more!) and Usman Garuba over the summer.&nbsp;
Kuminga and Moody might be considered steep for the Warriors; only flipping one of those would make salary matching a bit of a chore. The Warriors do have all of their future firsts, sans a 2024 pick that will likely transfer to the Grizzlies.&nbsp;
For an off-the-radar team, how about the Minnesota Timberwolves?&nbsp;
Their defense has been surprisingly sturdy (6th in half-court defense, 12th in overall DRTG) thanks to an aggressive scheme. The offense has lagged behind (26th in half-court offense, 24th overall ORTG) behind spotty shooting and a quietly-subpar conversion rate at the rim.
The (admittedly reductive) question I have: What do the Wolves look like with Wood instead of Jarred Vanderbilt in the lineup?
Wood is not the overall defender that Vanderbilt is, but how much of the backline workload could he replicate?&nbsp;More importantly, is the gap between the two as defenders greater than the gap in scoring chops?
I would answer "maybe 75-80% of it" and "absolutely not" to those questions.
To the defense point, the Wolves often play at, or above, the level of the screen when defending pick-and-rolls. That puts strain on the backline to clean up messes behind it. Like this, basically:
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One blocked shot doesn't mean he can be peak Paul Millsap in this role, but again, Wood does possess legit weak-side rim-protection chops. If he can nail those rotations, the Wolves shouldn't see a major slide defensively. It also helps that Wood is one of the best defensive rebounders in the sport. The Wolves have, uh, struggled (30th in defensive-rebound rate) in that regard.
The offensive upgrade is an easier case to make. Wood has shot 36.9% from three dating back to his Detroit season (2019-20), and has converted 40% of his corner threes in that time frame. He's both a better shooter, and more of a threat to beat a (soft) closeout than Vanderbilt is.
With Karl-Anthony Towns often setting up shop above the break or from the mid-post, Wood seems more equipped to convert catch-and-shoot looks, or to take advantage of the space Towns provides with drives, and cuts, or to work as the screener in pick-and-rolls.
About those pick-and-rolls: I'm be interested in seeing what he could do when screening for D'Angelo Russell or Anthony Edwards.
Like the Warriors example, the price is worth the pause. The Wolves have all of their firsts moving forward. They also have Jaden McDaniels, an intriguing, rangy forward worth investing in.
The salary filler is where things could sputter. Taurean Prince probably isn't enough short-term help; Malik Beasley would further crowd the guard room, and I'm not sure how willing the Wolves would be to part with him. There's an intriguing package to be made, though.&nbsp;
I'd like to live in a world where Luka Doncic has a legitimate roll man (and thus, a complement to Kristaps Porzingis up front), but I'm not sure the Mavericks have the horses to get a deal done. What exactly is Tim Hardaway Jr. doing for this version of the Rockets?
The Hornets haven't just been linked to Wood in the past; they literally had him on their roster a few years ago, though this was obviously before he broke out. They could use some frontcourt juice, and have enough wing talent (hello, Kelly Oubre Jr.) to potentially intrigue the Rockets.
We'll keep an eye on the talented Houston big man moving forward, because there are bound to be plenty of suitors.

Nekias Duncan breaks down potential trade destinations for Rockets big man Christian Wood.

Examining potential trade destinations for Christian Wood

The Indiana Pacers are finally embracing a rebuild. After years of toiling around in mediocrity, the Pacers realized their slow start and league-low attendance weren't going to turn around anytime soon. According to The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania and Bob Kravitz, Indiana is open to trading the following players before February&rsquo;s deadline: Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner.
We already covered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-caris-levert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five potential destinations for LeVert</a>, who quickly became expendable with Chris Duarte emerging as a long-term building block. Nekias Duncan has some <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-domantas-sabonis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade ideas cooking on Sabonis</a> as well. So now, to round things out, it&rsquo;s time to reveal the best win-win deals involving Turner.&nbsp;
Unlike Sabonis, who some teams may need to reinvent their entire system around, Turner is the ideal complementary piece for any contender looking to take a leap forward &mdash; this season and beyond. As a modern center who can stretch the floor and block shots at an elite level, many teams will be calling Indiana to inquire about a potential deal.
So, which teams actually make sense for Turner? Let&rsquo;s reveal our six best destinations:
Charlotte Hornets
I already mentioned Turner to the Hornets as a perfect fit for both player and team last week when discussing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/five-potential-trades-that-make-way-too-much-sense-leading-up-to-februarys-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five potentially playoff-altering trades before the deadline</a>. Charlotte is so close to taking a massive step forward in the Eastern Conference. All the Hornets need is an adequate rim-protector to help them from leaking too many points to opponents on a nightly basis. Acquiring Turner not only solves that issue, it also raises the ceiling for young superstar point guard LaMelo Ball as well.
Imagining Turner catching lobs from LaMelo and spacing the floor is so much fun, in addition to what he would provide defensively. Charlotte&rsquo;s potential core of Ball, Miles Bridges, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and Turner would be a well-put-together starting lineup. The Hornets could still have James Bouknight and Kai Jones developing off their bench as long-term lottery tickets too.
With Turner expected to fetch a nice return for Indiana, what actually makes sense in terms of an offer? There are two different scenarios to parse through:
Option 1: Kelly Oubre Jr., PJ Washington and a protected future first-round pick
Option 2: Gordon Hayward and a protected future first-round pick
The only reason why Hayward is included here is because we already know Indiana was seriously pursuing the former Indianapolis native during the 2020 offseason. When the Pacers offered Turner for Hayward in the past, former Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge didn't budge. Hayward instead bolted to Charlotte, receiving a big bag of cash in the process.
Would Indiana be open to revisiting a similar package 18 months later?
Pacers owner Herb Simon has been reluctant to dip his toes into any luxury-tax payments, so we know that&rsquo;s not happening as sellers. So, how about this Hayward-centric return to try out a &ldquo;soft rebuild&rdquo; or retool?
Pacers receive: Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington, JT Thor, protected first-round pick
Hornets receive: Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday
Hayward would slide in as the 4 next to TJ Warren on the wing, forming an interesting duo. Washington&rsquo;s role in Charlotte isn&rsquo;t growing anytime soon, so giving the former lottery pick a bigger opportunity in Indiana makes sense as well. And from a pure fan perspective of putting butts in the seats, Brownsburg, Indiana native and former Butler Bulldog Gordon Hayward absolutely does that.
From Charlotte&rsquo;s perspective, it&rsquo;s a massive win. Acquiring Turner raises the team's immediate and long-term ceiling, with Lamb and Holiday bolstering that bench.
I doubt Indiana would be interested in Oubre, so let&rsquo;s roll with the options revolving around Hayward. What do you think of this big move for both sides?
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New Orleans Pelicans
As I mentioned yesterday with LeVert, keep an eye on New Orleans as the most desperate team in the NBA. Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin knows the hourglass could soon be running out on his tenure, plus Zion Williamson&rsquo;s injury history continues to pile on.
How about acquiring Turner as an ideal buffer between Brandon Ingram and Zion? It makes a lot of sense to help out a team that's in desperate need of a consistent defensive identity.
Turner is an absolutely perfect third piece to the puzzle in New Orleans, and hopefully a healthy and dominant version of Williamson reappears as well.
However, for a valuable piece like Turner, what would the Pelicans need to send back the Pacers&rsquo; way? Hint: it&rsquo;s going to be a lot.
Here&rsquo;s what I cooked up for a potential Pacers-Pelicans blockbuster revolving around Turner:
Pacers receive: Josh Hart, Kira Lewis Jr., Jaxson Hayes, two future first-round picks (via Lakers and Bucks)
Pelicans receive: Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb, Brad Wanamaker
Indiana acquires two young assets in Lewis and Hayes, plus another player yet to hit his prime with Hart. The two first-round picks from the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are the icing on top of the cake from the Pelicans.
Yes, the Pelicans have Jonas Valanciunas and he&rsquo;s playing at an awesome level right now, but you have to begin thinking about accelerating the rebuild. New Orleans could play Turner and Valanciunas together at some points if necessary, but they could reroute the 29-year-old Valanciunas with his value at an all-time high.
With all three players age-25 or under, a trio of Williamson, Ingram and Turner is something to invest real assets into before it&rsquo;s too late.
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Golden State Warriors
Could you imagine Turner in the same role Kevon Looney is filling right now for Golden State? The Warriors&rsquo; defense would be incredible, and completely unfair. Turner and Draymond Green would make up a terrifying frontcourt duo, plus the former&rsquo;s floor-spacing is an ideal fit in Golden State&rsquo;s offense.
From Indiana&rsquo;s point of view, though, what makes sense in return for Turner? If I&rsquo;m in Pacers president Kevin Pritchard&rsquo;s shoes, I&rsquo;m holding out for Jonathan Kuminga in any Turner deal with Golden State. If push comes to shove with the Warriors refusing to include Kuminga, the following may make sense for both sides:
Pacers receive: James Wiseman, Moses Moody, Damion Lee, future protected first-round pick
Warriors receive: Myles Turner, Kelan Martin
Indiana would acquire two young prospects in Wiseman and Moody to add alongside Duarte and fellow first-round pick Isaiah Jackson. Golden State would probably become the true NBA Finals favorite bringing aboard Turner, plus a sharpshooting wing who can provide spot minutes in Martin.
The Warriors have the assets to make a title push even more likely. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if they have already called Indiana about Turner or Sabonis, because either one makes this team even more of a juggernaut in the Western Conference.
Chicago Bulls
This one is interesting, especially when you consider it would be Pacers 2.0 all over again with an offense-first big alongside Turner in Nikola Vucevic. However, Vucevic's contract expires after this season. If the Bulls retooled a little bit and moved Vucevic this summer, could you imagine the spacing and defensive versatility a frontcourt duo of Turner and Patrick Williams would provide? That sounds like a massive upgrade to me, allowing the ball to be in the hands of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan even more.
Indiana would of course ask for Williams if the team were to trade Turner within its own division, but that would be a swift, "No." Instead, what about this compelling offer with a young prospect, salary filler and multiple first-round picks going back to Indiana?
Pacers receive: Coby White, Derrick Jones Jr., 2022 first-round pick via Portland, 2026 heavily protected first-round pick
Bulls receive: Myles Turner
Assuming Turner coming aboard would put into motion a long-term vision of him and Williams sharing a frontcourt (the more I talk about it, the more I love this idea), Chicago could offload Vucevic this offseason to recoup some sort of draft capital lost here.
LaVine and DeRozan being insulated defensively by the likes of Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Turner and Williams is a dream scenario for Chicago. This would make the Bulls a terrifying team in the East for years to come.
Meanwhile, Indiana could be the ideal reset for a former lottery pick in White, who wasn&rsquo;t selected by the Bulls&rsquo; current front office regime.
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Milwaukee Bucks
Another Central Division team knocking down the door of Indiana? Again, this one seems far-fetched, but the possibilities are endless here. Imagining a modern big like Turner alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo brings forth mouth-watering possibilities for the Bucks.
However, with little draft capital, would Indiana even be interested in a package revolving around Brook Lopez&rsquo;s contract and Donte DiVincenzo? Maybe with a future pick or two thrown in, it could entice a conversation with Indiana.
Don&rsquo;t forget, there&rsquo;s already trade history between these two divisional teams. When the Pacers pulled off a sign-and-trade for Malcolm Brogdon, it was structured to be a win-win deal for both sides.
Could history repeat itself with Turner joining the Bucks this time around?
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Plopping Turner within the Bucks&rsquo; core is a game-changing move for them. Immediately, Milwaukee would stake its claim as the top team in the East in 2021-22 and beyond. Turner&rsquo;s shooting and rim-protection would essentially give Milwaukee a younger version of Lopez.&nbsp;
I would say this move is doubtful, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if Milwaukee calls about Turner to try to go all-in as they look to repeat.&nbsp;
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland needs to do something soon. Damian Lillard is obviously frustrated with the direction of the team, so what&rsquo;s going to happen with the Trail Blazers&rsquo; roster? As a team with little to no defensive integrity, currently and historically, inserting Turner would be a massive win for Portland.
Turner would become an immediate upgrade over Jusuf Nurkic, who would be sent back to Indiana as salary filler in this scenario. On top of Nurkic, the Blazers would attach promising combo guard Anfernee Simons.
Although Portland loves what it has seen from Simons and Nassir Little in terms of player development, these types of moves have to occur in order to raise the ceiling and floor of the team's current roster.
From Indiana&rsquo;s perspective, this deal is very interesting. The Pacers&rsquo; primary prize here would be Simons alongside a future first-round pick. (Nurkic may even be flipped again or bought out since a rebuilding team has no need for a veteran big on an expiring contract). Seeing Simons in a bigger role would be very intriguing, and that's exactly what would occur in Indy alongside Duarte.
***
So, there we have it. Six teams who stand out as possible landing spots and who should be banging down Indiana's door in pursuit of a perfect modern big man.
This isn&rsquo;t even the tip of the iceberg in terms of Turner&rsquo;s potential destinations though. Many other teams not listed will certainly call about the 25-year-old. As a floor-spacer and rim-protector who might not have hit his true ceiling yet, expect over the half of the league to inquire about Turner in some fashion.

The Pacers are about to blow up their roster. Which teams make the most sense to pursue Myles Turner? Evan Sidery lists six.

Examining potential trade destinations for Myles Turner

Nearly one month into the 2021-22 NBA season, fantasy managers are already looking back at their drafts &mdash; celebrating certain steals and kicking themselves over their biggest busts.
It&rsquo;s always fun to track which players are overachieving from a fantasy standpoint. This list features a wide variety of surprise breakouts &mdash; from rising stars who have made a significant leap forward, to prospects who are making the most of an increased role, to veterans who find themselves in the right place at the right time following a change of scenery.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s break down the NBA players who have exceeded expectations out of the gate and helped fantasy managers get off to a strong start. (This article uses fantasy scoring from Yahoo's points leagues and all stats are up-to-date to reflect games played through Nov. 11).&nbsp;
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs | 46.18 FPPG, 9th in NBA
Entering this season, Dejounte Murray was a popular breakout candidate among fantasy analysts and managers, which is why he was being drafted in the third or fourth round of most fantasy drafts. However, nobody saw this kind of leap coming, as he&rsquo;s been a top-10 fantasy option through 11 games. The 25-year-old has become the focal point of the Spurs&rsquo; attack, averaging 18.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.4 threes, 0.5 blocks and just 2.1 turnovers in 34.3 minutes. Murray is filling the stat sheet on a nightly basis, like when he posted a monster 21-point, 15-assist, 12-rebound, 2-steal, 2-block performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 26. San Antonio has shifted its focus to rebuilding and developing their young talent, so Murray's role isn't changing anytime soon.
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies | 46.29 FPPG, 8th in NBA
Like Murray, Ja Morant was being selected as a third- or fourth-rounder in fantasy drafts, but he has dominated out of the gate, and his 46.29 fantasy points per game rank eighth-best among all NBA players. Morant is averaging a career-high 26.5 points (up from 19.1 PPG last year) to go along with 7.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 threes and 1.7 steals. Also, this has been his most efficient campaign, as he&rsquo;s shooting 48.5% from the field, 34.5% from three-point range and 77.9% from the free-throw line (all of which are career-highs). He needs to limit his turnovers, as he's averaging 4.4 per game (which is eighth-most in the league). But otherwise, he's been an absolute steal for managers who bet on the high-upside guard.
Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans | 43.65 FPPG, 13th in NBA
Jonas Valanciunas has been a solid fantasy option in recent years, totaling the 30th-most fantasy points in the league last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. However, after changing teams over the offseason, the fantasy community wasn&rsquo;t sure what to expect from the 29-year-old. Fantasy Pros&rsquo; preseason Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) had Valanciunas projected as the <a href="https://www.fantasypros.com/nba/rankings/overall-points-yahoo.php?filters=34c251ed83" target="_blank" rel="noopener">69th-best player</a>, and his Average Draft Position (ADP) was <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/average-draft-position/basketball?league=h2h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">74.09</a>. Well, through 12 games, he's been a top-15 fantasy weapon, averaging a career-high in points (20.0), rebounds (14.0), assists (2.7), threes (1.0) and steals (0.8). With Zion Williamson recovering from offseason foot surgery and Brandon Ingram sidelined due to a hip contusion, Valanciunas has taken on a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pelicans-made-right-decision-by-extending-jonas-valanciunas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much bigger role than initially anticipated</a>, and he&rsquo;s made the most of the opportunity in New Orleans. He&rsquo;ll likely come back down to earth at some point, but he absolutely deserves praise for his impressive start.
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Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets | 41.35 FPPG, 23rd in NBA
One week before the season tipped off, Miles Bridges had an ADP of <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/average-draft-position/basketball?league=h2h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">103.70</a>. That means he was typically being picked in the same range as Klay Thompson (who remains sidelined) and Delon Wright (who&rsquo;s averaging 9.18 FPPG). Now, the 23-year-old is suddenly a top-25 option, averaging 21.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 threes, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks and just 2.5 turnovers in 36.2 minutes per game. Bridges is one of the biggest surprises of this fantasy season because nobody outside of Miles&rsquo; family could've seen this kind of breakout campaign coming. With Morant and Murray, there was plenty of talk about how this could be their year, but Bridges wasn&rsquo;t receiving that kind of hype. The high-flyer has always been a ton of fun to watch, and it&rsquo;s been a pleasure seeing him round out his game and realize his full potential. Bridges has been incredibly consistent so far this season, finishing with 36.0 or more fantasy points in 10 of 12 games.
Al Horford, Boston Celtics | 37.23 FPPG, 42nd in NBA
It&rsquo;s easy to see why fantasy analysts and managers didn&rsquo;t feel like they could trust Al Horford entering this season. While a reunion with the Celtics was nice, he turned 35 years old in June and played in just 28 games last season for the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder (who were trying to showcase him and increase his trade value). Horford understandably slipped to the 11th or 12th round in drafts (and even went undrafted in some leagues), but he&rsquo;s been outstanding for Boston. Through nine games, he&rsquo;s averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.4 blocks, 0.9 steals, 1.1 threes and just 1.1 turnovers in 28.9 minutes per game. Prior to this season, Horford had never averaged over 1.5 blocks per game, so his 2.4 rejections have been a surprise. And the last time he averaged this many rebounds was back in 2012-13, when he was on the Atlanta Hawks. Horford has turned back the clock, and it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see just how much of this production is sustainable going forward.
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Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic | 37.29 FPPG, 41st in NBA
As of Oct. 17, Cole Anthony&rsquo;s ADP was <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/nba_player_news/Cole_Anthony/adp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">146.68</a>, which means he went undrafted in some leagues and some lucky managers landed a stud off of waivers. This season, Anthony has emerged as Orlando&rsquo;s leading scorer, averaging 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.0 threes, 1.3 steals and 2.8 turnovers in 33.9 minutes per game, while shooting 44.0% from the field, 39.1% from three and 85.0% from the free-throw line. The 21-year-old has become a fan favorite thanks to his aggressiveness, swagger and <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1457528011700547588" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amazing interviews</a>. The Magic have assembled an impressive young core that is a lot of fun to watch.
Mo Bamba, Orlando Magic | 32.56 FPPG, 59th in NBA
Speaking of Orlando's young core, Mo Bamba also deserves a mention on this list. His ADP was even lower than Anthony&rsquo;s at <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/nba_player_news/Mo_Bamba/adp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">151.47</a>, but he&rsquo;s been playing at a high level on both ends. Shortly after he became the sixth pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, his trainer Drew Hanlen <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/07/29/nba-offseason-training-joel-embiid-gordon-hayward-jayson-tatum-markelle-fultz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> that he was a very raw project; it would likely take three-to-five years before he could become a real low-post threat on offense since he needed to bulk up, improve his lower-body strength and learn to make the right reads. Bamba put in work behind the scenes, following the same developmental plan that Joel Embiid used under Hanlen earlier in his career. Well, here we are four years later, and Bamba looks like the real deal. The 23-year-old is averaging 11.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.8 assists, 1.6 threes and 0.9 steals on 49.5/40.4/70.8 shooting splits, and it's clear his best basketball is still ahead of him.
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings | 37.52 FPPG, 40th in NBA&nbsp;
Barnes has been a serviceable role player for fantasy teams throughout his 10 years in the NBA, but he's been much more impactful this season now that he's playing the best basketball of his career. Barnes, who had an ADP of <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/nba_player_news/Harrison_Barnes/adp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">99.1</a>, is averaging the 40th-most fantasy points in the league (37.52) thanks to his 21.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.6 threes, 1.2 steals and 2.0 turnovers (plus his efficient 49.0/42.5/86.7 shooting splits). While he has certainly helped many managers in point leagues, he has been even better in category leagues (where he's a top-15 option).
Ricky Rubio, Cleveland Cavaliers | 30.41 FPPG, 73rd in NBA
Following a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ricky-rubio-will-demand-the-best-out-of-young-cleveland-cavaliers-himself" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrific Olympic showing with the Spanish national team</a> &mdash; during which he averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 threes on 47.8% shooting from deep &mdash; Ricky Rubio has picked up right where he left off. The 31-year-old is putting up a career-high 14.3 points as well as 6.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 threes, 1.3 steals and 3.0 turnovers while shooting a personal-best 41.0% from three-point range. Now, with Collin Sexton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/with-collin-sexton-sidelined-whos-next-man-up-for-cavs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sidelined indefinitely due to a torn meniscus</a>, Rubio will take on a larger role and workload, and become an even bigger steal. Though Isaac Okoro appears to be the team's new starting guard, in the four games that Rubio's played over 30 minutes for Cleveland this season, he&rsquo;s averaged 19.5 points, 7.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 threes and 1.5 steals on insane 50.0/50.0/100.0 shooting splits.
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Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers | 30.21 FPPG, 74th in NBA
Once it became clear that Ben Simmons wouldn't be suiting up for the start of the season, Tyrese Maxey became an interesting sleeper to keep an eye on at the end of drafts. But instead of emerging as a quality role player, the sophomore guard has looked like a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tyrese-maxey-centered-on-getting-1-better-every-day-for-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rising star for the 76ers</a>. Two nights ago, Maxey had 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 0 turnovers against the Milwaukee Bucks, and then he followed that up with a 33-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound, 2-block, 1-steal, 2-turnover performance against the Toronto Raptors. The 21-year-old doesn't lack confidence. On the season, he's now averaging 17.1 points, 4.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 threes, 0.9 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.5 turnovers in 35.8 minutes, while shooting 50.6% from the field, 38.1% from three and 87.2% from the free-throw line.
Honorable Mention: The 2021 Rookie Class&nbsp;
Fantasy managers who put their faith in the 2021 NBA Draft class have largely been rewarded, especially if they bet on Scottie Barnes (33.70 FPPG, 56th-ranked), Evan Mobley (33.33, 57th) or Josh Giddey (30.44, 72nd) &mdash; all of whom are averaging at least 30.0 FPPG and currently top-75 options.
Franz Wagner (25.86, 106th) and Chris Duarte (25.01, 114th) have been the biggest surprises among rookies, as they each got off to a hot start after stepping up amidst injuries. (The Orlando Magic started the season without Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz and Chuma Okeke, while the Indiana Pacers have dealt with injuries to Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb).
Other rookies such as Cade Cunningham (23.48, 134th), Jalen Green (23.31, 135th), Alperen Sengun (21.98, 153rd), Jalen Suggs (21.06, 160th) and Davion Mitchell (20.74, 164th) have shown flashes early on as well.

One month into the NBA season, which players have been fantasy-basketball steals? Alex Kennedy breaks down 10 overachievers.

Fantasy basketball steals: 10 players exceeding expectations

After rolling out my<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ranking-the-top-150-nba-players-for-fantasy-basketball-in-2021-22" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Top-150 NBA Fantasy overall rankings</a> last week, I have broken down each position into tiers.
It is important to state that these rankings are based on a nine-category roto format (points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, three-pointers, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage and turnovers). Also, please note position eligibility is based on Yahoo&rsquo;s fantasy settings and, as a result, many players qualify at multiple positions.
Guards
The two biggest question marks among all guards reside in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Ben Simmons has (awkwardly) returned to Sixers, but it is still unclear whether Big Ben plans to "merely report to the team or truly rejoin the team," <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-arrives-in-philly-takes-covid19-test" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN</a>. Thus, Simmons is arguably the biggest boom-or-bust fantasy pick in the NBA this season.
Irving, on the other hand, is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/itll-be-difficult-for-kyrie-and-the-nets-to-come-back-from-this" target="_blank" rel="noopener">persona non grata in the borough of Brooklyn</a>. Although Kyrie is eligible to participate in the Nets' away games, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday that Irving will not be allowed to play or practice with the team at all until he gets vaccinated. &ldquo;He has a choice to make, and he made his choice,&rdquo; Marks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-say-kyrie-irving-cant-play-or-practice-with-team-while-unvaccinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters Tuesday</a>. &ldquo;And my job here is to make what we deem is the best choices for the organization moving ahead and as a whole.&rdquo; There is certainly still a chance Irving gets his jab and is cleared to play, but it&rsquo;s too much of a risk to roll the dice until late in the draft, in my opinion.
Tier 1: James Harden PG, SG (BKN)&nbsp; Luka Doncic PG, SG (DAL) Stephen Curry PG, SG (GSW) Damian Lillard PG (POR)
Tier 2: Bradley Beal SG, SF (WAS) Trae Young PG (ATL) Jimmy Butler SF, PF, SG (MIA) LeBron James PG, SG, SF, PF (LAL)
Tier 3: Fred VanVleet PG, SG (TOR) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander PG, SG (OKC)
Tier 4: Jrue Holiday PG, SG (MIL) Chris Paul PG (PHO) &nbsp; Zach LaVine SG, SF (CHI) Donovan Mitchell PG, SG (UTAH)
Tier 5: Khris Middleton SF, PF, SG (MIL) Jaylen Brown SG, SF (BOS) De'Aaron Fox PG (SAC)&nbsp; Devin Booker SG, SF, PG (PHO)
Tier 6: LaMelo Ball PG, SG (CHA) CJ McCollum PG, SG (POR) Russell Westbrook PG (LAL) Kevin Porter Jr. SG, SF, PG (HOU)&nbsp; Dejounte Murray PG, SG (SAS) Malcolm Brogdon PG, SG (IND)&nbsp; Terry Rozier PG, SG (CHA)
Tier 7: Mikal Bridges SG, SF (PHO) Lonzo Ball PG, SG (CHI) Gordon Hayward SG, SF (CHA) Ja Morant PG (MEM) Bogdan Bogdanovic SF, PF, SG (ATL) Darius Garland PG, SG (CLE) Anthony Edwards SG, SF (MIN) DeMar DeRozan SF, PF, SG (CHI) Kyle Lowry PG (MIA) Tyrese Haliburton PG, SG (SAC) Derrick White PG, SG (SAS)
Tier 8: Mike Conley PG (UTAH) Jalen Suggs PG, SG (ORL) Spencer Dinwiddie PG, SG (WAS) Cade Cunningham PG, SG (DET) Ben Simmons PG (PHI) Caris LeVert SG, SF (IND) D&rsquo;Angelo Russell PG, SG (MIN) Collin Sexton PG, SG (CLE) Marcus Smart PG, SG (BOS) Jordan Poole PG, SG (GSW)&nbsp;
Tier 9: Andrew Wiggins SG, SF (GSW)&nbsp; Nickeil Alexander-Walker SG, SF, PG (NOP) Devonte&rsquo; Graham PG, SG (NOP) Evan Fournier SG, SF (NYK) Buddy Hield SG, SF (SAC) Norman Powell SG, SF (POR) Kemba Walker PG (NYK) RJ Barrett SG, SF (NYK) Reggie Jackson PG, SG (LAC) Dennis Schroder PG (BOS) Jordan Clarkson PG, SG (UTAH) Joe Ingles SG, SF, PF (UTAH) Joe Harris SG, SF (BKN)&nbsp; Malik Beasley PG, SG, SF (MIN) Kyrie Irving PG, SG (BKN)&nbsp;
Tier 10:&nbsp; De&rsquo;Anthony Melton PG, SG (MEM) Jalen Green SG (HOU) Klay Thompson SG, SF (GSW) Dillon Brooks SG, SF (MEM) Matisse Thybulle SG, SF (PHI) T.J. McConnell PG, SG (IND) Derrick Rose PG, SG (NYK) Tim Hardaway Jr. SG, SF (DAL) Kelly Oubre Jr. SG, SF, PF (CHA) Eric Bledsoe PG, SG (LAC) Kevin Huerter SG, SF (ATL) Josh Giddey PG, SG, SF (OKC) Tyrese Maxey PG, SG (PHI)
Forwards
Looking for a potential sleeper at forward? I&rsquo;d suggest highlighting Pascal Siakam or Evan Mobley on your cheat sheet.&nbsp;
After a phenomenal 2019-20 campaign, in which he was named to the All-NBA Second Team, Siakam failed to live up to expectations last season; his scoring average, three-point makes and effective field goal percentage all decreased. In addition, Pascal is still working his way back from surgery on a torn labrum, which has forced his ADP (Average Draft Position) to plummet. However, earlier this week, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said his star forward has been &ldquo;going 100%&rdquo; without contact for about 4-6 weeks, and could return later this month.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Evan Mobley is going to be a special defender in the NBA. GMs believe that Mobley will be the best player from his draft class in five years 👀 (🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Schmitz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mike_Schmitz</a>) <a href="https://t.co/iPiaabn2Gu">pic.twitter.com/iPiaabn2Gu</a>
&mdash; NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1446161049753882629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Mobley&rsquo;s stock is soaring after impressive performances and extended usage for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the preseason (he&rsquo;s leading his team in playing time, logging 28.4 minutes per game). Mr. Mobley is probably worth the gamble, as his upside is emarkably enticing.&nbsp;
Tier 1: Nikola Jokic PF, C (DEN)
Tier 2: Jayson Tatum SF, PF (BOS) Giannis Antetokounmpo PF, C (MIL) Kevin Durant SF, PF (BKN) Joel Embiid PF, C (PHI) Anthony Davis PF, C (LAL)&nbsp; Bradley Beal SG, SF (WAS) Paul George SF, PF, SG (LAC)
Tier 3: Jimmy Butler SF, PF, SG (MIA) LeBron James PG, SG, SF, PF (LAL) Domantas Sabonis PF, C (IND) Bam Adebayo PF, C (MIA) Michael Porter Jr. SF, PF (DEN Zach LaVine SG, SF (CHI)
Tier 4: Khris Middleton SF, PF, SG (MIL) Jaylen Brown SG, SF (BOS) Julius Randle PF, C (NYK) Devin Booker SG, SF, PG (PHO) Myles Turner PF, C (IND) OG Anunoby SF, PF (TOR)&nbsp; Tobias Harris SF, PF (PHI)
Tier 5: Richaun Holmes PF, C (SAC) Brandon Ingram SF, PF (NOP) Christian Wood PF, C (HOU) Kristaps Porzingis PF, C (DAL) John Collins PF, C (ATL) Kevin Porter Jr. SG, SF, PG (HOU)&nbsp; Zion Williamson PF (NOP)
Tier 6: Pascal Siakam PF, C (TOR) Mikal Bridges SG, SF (PHO) Jaren Jackson Jr. PF, C (MEM) Chris Boucher PF, C (TOR) Gordon Hayward SG, SF (CHA) Bogdan Bogdanovic SF, PF, SG (ATL) Anthony Edwards SG, SF (MIN) DeMar DeRozan SF, PF, SG (CHI) Robert Williams III C, PF (BOS)
Tier 7: Draymond Green PF, C (GSW) Jerami Grant SF, PF (DET) Caris LeVert SG, SF (IND) Robert Covington PF, C, SF (POR) Miles Bridges SF, PF (CHA) Kelly Olynyk PF, C (DET) Buddy Hield SG, SF (SAC)&nbsp; Isaiah Stewart PF, C (DET) Andrew Wiggins SG, SF (GSW)&nbsp;
Tier 8: Nickeil Alexander-Walker SG, SF, PG (NOP) Evan Fournier SG, SF (NYK) P.J. Washington PF, C (CHA) Norman Powell SG, SF (POR) Kyle Anderson SF, PF (MEM) Jonathan Isaac SF, PF (ORL) Evan Mobley C, PF (CLE) Larry Nance Jr. PF, C (POR) Harrison Barnes SF, PF (SAC) Mason Plumlee PF, C (CHA) Bobby Portis Jr. PF, C (MIL) De&rsquo;Andre Hunter SF, PF (ATL) Daniel Gafford C, PF (WAS)
Tier 9: Thaddeus Young PF, C, SF (SAS) Joe Ingles SG, SF, PF (UTAH) Lauri Markkanen PF, C (CLE) Joe Harris SG, SF (BKN)&nbsp; Keldon Johnson SF, PF (SAS) Malik Beasley PG, SG, SF (MIN) T.J. Warren SF, PF (IND) Jae'Sean Tate SF, PF (HOU) Daniel Theis PF, C (HOU) Brandon Clarke PF, C (MEM) Saddiq Bey SF (DET)\ Klay Thompson SG, SF (GSW) Derrick Favors C, PF (OKC) Al Horford PF, C (BOS)
Tier 10: Kyle Kuzma SF, PF (WAS) Matisse Thybulle SG, SF (PHI) Nicolas Batum SF, PF, SG (LAC) Derrick Rose PG, SG (NYK) Marcus Morris Sr. PF, C, SF (LAC) Dillon Brooks SG, SF (MEM) Alperen Sengun PF, C (HOU) Tim Hardaway Jr. SG, SF (DAL) Montrezl Harrell PF, C (WAS) Kelly Oubre Jr. SG, SF, PF (CHA) Nerlens Noel PF, C (NYK)&nbsp; Isaiah Roby C, PF (OKC) Kevin Huerter SG, SF (ATL) Khem Birch PF, C (TOR) Aaron Gordon SF, PF (DEN)
Centers
Centers take on added importance in fantasy hoops due to the scarcity. That&rsquo;s part of the reason why Jokic is viewed as the near-unanimous top overall selection in drafts this year.&nbsp;
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Last season, Jokic authored a season for the ages. Not only did he score a career-high 26.4 points and rip down 10.8 rebounds per game, but he also dished out an average of 8.3 dimes each night, joining Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average at least 25 points, 10 boards and 8 assists over a season. Incredibly, Jokic tallied a total of 599 assists in 2020-21, which was the third-most in the entire league. Wilt Chamberlain, who led the NBA with 8.6 APG in 1967-68, is the only center to post a higher assist-average over a full season. As a fantasy cherry on top, the Joker proved incredibly durable, appearing in every game last season.
Tier 1: Nikola Jokic PF, C (DEN)
Tier 2: Karl-Anthony Towns C (MIN)
Tier 3: Giannis Antetokounmpo PF, C&nbsp; Joel Embiid PF, C (PHI) Anthony Davis PF, C (LAL)
Tier 4: Nikola Vucevic C (CHI) Domantas Sabonis PF, C (IND) Bam Adebayo PF, C (MIA) Rudy Gobert C (UTAH)
Tier 5: Myles Turner PF, C (IND) Clint Capela C (ATL) Julius Randle PF, C (NYK) Richaun Holmes PF, C (SAC) Deandre Ayton C (PHO) Christian Wood PF, C (HOU)&nbsp; Kristaps Porzingis PF, C (DAL) John Collins PF, C (ATL)
Tier 6: Jaren Jackson Jr. PF, C (MEM) Jusuf Nurkic C (POR) Pascal Siakam PF, C (TOR) Chris Boucher PF, C (TOR)&nbsp; Robert Williams III C, PF (BOS) Jonas Valanciunas C (NOP) Draymond Green PF, C (GSW) Robert Covington PF, C, SF (POR) Jarrett Allen C (CLE) Kelly Olynyk PF, C (DET) Isaiah Stewart PF, C (DET)
Tier 7: P.J. Washington PF, C (CHA) Evan Mobley C, PF (CLE) Mitchell Robinson C (NYK) Larry Nance Jr. PF, C (POR) Jakob Poeltl C (SAS) Wendell Carter Jr. C (ORL) Brook Lopez C (MIL) Mason Plumlee PF, C (CHA) Bobby Portis Jr. PF, C (MIL)
Tier 8: Daniel Gafford C, PF (WAS) Thaddeus Young PF, C, SF (SAS) Lauri Markkanen PF, C (CLE) Daniel Theis PF, C (HOU) Brandon Clarke PF, C (MEM) Ivica Zubac C (LAC) Derrick Favors C, PF (OKC) Al Horford PF, C (BOS)
Tier 9: Marcus Morris Sr. PF, C, SF (LAC) Mo Bamba C (ORL) Montrezl Harrell PF, C (WAS) Thomas Bryant C (WAS) Nerlens Noel PF, C (NYK)&nbsp; Alperen Sengun PF, C (HOU)&nbsp;
Tier 10: Khem Birch PF, C (TOR) Isaiah Roby C, PF (OKC) Andre Drummond C (PHI)&nbsp; Steven Adams C (MEM) Serge Ibaka PF, C (LAC)&nbsp; James Wiseman C (GSW) Naz Reid C (MIN) Marvin Bagley III PF, C (SAC) LaMarcus Aldridge PF, C (BKN) Nicolas Claxton PF, C (BKN) Kevin Love PF, C (CLE) Hassan Whiteside PF, C (UTAH)

Tommy Beer divides the top NBA fantasy guards, forwards and centers into 10 tiers each based on their value.

2021-22 NBA Fantasy Basketball Rankings: 10 tiers for each position

With the start of the season just three weeks away, here is my ranking of the top 150 players for the 2021-22 campaign.
It is imperative to note that this list is based on nine-category roto scoring formats (points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, three-pointers, field goal percentage, free-throw percentage and turnovers) .&nbsp;
I've added comments to a handful of players to help explain the rationale behind some of their rankings.&nbsp;
So without further ado, let's get to it.
1. Nikola Jokic PF, C (DEN) 2. James Harden PG, SG (BKN): The Beard was the top-ranked fantasy player in back-to-back seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He's healthy and ready to rock in Brooklyn. 3. Luka Doncic PG, SG (DAL) 4. Stephen Curry PG, SG (GSW) 5. Karl-Anthony Towns C (MIN) 6. Damian Lillard PG (POR): Dame is one of only two players in NBA history to record at least 1,500 points and 400 assists in each of their first nine seasons; Oscar Robertson is the other. 7. Jayson Tatum SF, PF (BOS) 8. Giannis Antetokounmpo PF, C (MIL): There have been some mildly concerning signs regarding Giannis' left knee since the start of training camp. (The reigning NBA Finals MVP <a href="https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1445846786657112074?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assures us he's alright</a>.) He should be ready for opening night, but I fully expect the Bucks to rest their franchise cornerstone early and often to reduce wear-and-tear on the knee.&nbsp; 9. Kevin Durant SF, PF (BKN) 10. Joel Embiid PF, C (PHI) 11. Bradley Beal SG, SF (WAS) 12. Paul George SF, PF, SG (LAC) 13. Anthony Davis PF, C (LAL): AD finished both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 season ranked second overall in nine-category fantasy formats. Yes, the injury issues are certainly a concern, but he's a steal in the second round due to his unmatched ceiling.&nbsp; 14. Nikola Vucevic C (CHI) 15. Trae Young PG (ATL) 16. Jimmy Butler SF, PF, SG (MIA) 17. LeBron James PG, SG, SF, PF (LAL) 18. Fred VanVleet PG, SG (TOR): Last season, VanVleet joined Harden and Curry as just the third player in NBA history to average more than 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 made triples and 1.5 steals per game. 19. Domantas Sabonis PF, C (IND) 20. Bam Adebayo PF, C (MIA) 21. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander PG, SG (OKC): The Oklahoma City Thunder's max-man is primed for a breakout campaign. 22. Rudy Gobert C (UTAH) 23. Michael Porter Jr. SF, PF (DEN): MPJ shot over 40% from downtown in each of his first two seasons (42.2% and 44.5%). The only other active players to do that in each of their first two NBA campaigns (min. 100 three-point attempts) are the Splash Brothers: Curry and Klay Thompson. 24. Jrue Holiday PG, SG (MIL) 25. Chris Paul PG (PHO) &nbsp; 26. Zach LaVine SG, SF (CHI) 27. Donovan Mitchell PG, SG (UTAH): In the 19 games he appeared in after the All-Star Break, Mitchell averaged 29.6 points per contest. The only player with a higher post-ASB scoring average was Curry. 28. Tobias Harris SF, PF (PHI) 29. Khris Middleton SF, PF, SG (MIL) 30. Jaylen Brown SG, SF (BOS) 31. Myles Turner PF, C (IND) 32. De'Aaron Fox PG (SAC): Over a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-can-deaaron-fox-save-the-sacramento-kings-postseason-play-in-tournament-playoff-hopes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12-game stretch late last season</a>, Fox averaged 30.6 points (on 53.4% shooting), 6.7 dimes and 4.2 boards. If he can improve his offensive efficiency and cut down on his turnovers, Fox has a chance to establish himself as a fantasy stud. 33. Clint Capela C (ATL) 34. Julius Randle PF, C (NYK) 35. Devin Booker SG, SF, PG (PHO) 36. OG Anunoby SF, PF (TOR): In 2020-21, OG finished the year ranked 35th overall in nine-category leagues (one spot behind LeBron James). 37. Richaun Holmes PF, C (SAC) 38. Brandon Ingram SF, PF (NOP) 39. Deandre Ayton C (PHO) 40. Christian Wood PF, C (HOU)&nbsp; 41. LaMelo Ball PG, SG (CHA): I'm not nearly as high on LaMelo as the rest of the industry seems to be. He exceeded expectations as a rookie, but I'm worried about his effective field goal percentage (eFG%) dropping and his turnover rate increasing. 42. CJ McCollum PG, SG (POR) 43. Zion Williamson PF (NOP): Zion underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his right foot early in the offseason. The team "hopes" he'll return by the start of the regular season, but this is a problematic injury for the high-flying big man. ​​44. Russell Westbrook PG (LAL) 45. Kristaps Porzingis PF, C (DAL): If KP plays even 65+ games, he's a steal in the fifth round. 46. Dejounte Murray PG, SG (SAS) 47. Malcolm Brogdon PG, SG (IND)&nbsp; 48. Terry Rozier PG, SG (CHA) 49. John Collins PF, C (ATL) 50. Kevin Porter Jr. SG, SF, PG (HOU): KPJ is gonna get buckets and dimes (he averaged 17.2 PPG and 6.3 APG over the final two months of the 2020-21 season); my only concerns are his high turnover rate and poor percentages.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
25 PTS for <a href="https://twitter.com/Kevinporterjr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kevinporterjr</a> power the <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HoustonRockets</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPreseason?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPreseason</a> <a href="https://t.co/iDXezFBiBi">pic.twitter.com/iDXezFBiBi</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1445590596987482121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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51. Mikal Bridges SG, SF (PHO) 52. Jaren Jackson Jr. PF, C (MEM): Jackson is one of two active players averaging at least 1.5 blocks and 1.5 three-pointers per game for his career. The issue has been <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-gms-believe-jaren-jackson-jr-is-poised-for-a-breakout-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">staying on the floor</a>, as injuries have limited JJJ to a total of just 126 games in three seasons. 53. Lonzo Ball PG, SG (CHI) 54. Gordon Hayward SG, SF (CHA) 55. Ja Morant PG (MEM): The upside is tantalizing, but Morant was the only player in the NBA last season to attempt more than 15 shots per game and shoot below 45% from the floor, below 75% from the FT and below 31% from downtown. 56. Jusuf Nurkic C (POR) 57. Bogdan Bogdanovic SF, PF, SG (ATL) 58. Darius Garland PG, SG (CLE) 59. Chris Boucher PF, C (TOR): Boucher finished last season ranked 40th overall in nine-category formats despite logging just 24.2 minutes a night. However, he just had surgery on his dislocated left middle finger and is expected to miss a "minimum" of 3-to-4 weeks.&nbsp; 60. Anthony Edwards SG, SF (MIN) 61. DeMar DeRozan SF, PF, SG (CHI) 62. Kyle Lowry PG (MIA) 63. Pascal Siakam PF, C (TOR): Once fully healthy, I think Siakam will bounce back in a big way and inherit plenty of scoring opportunities with Kyle Lowry no longer in the picture. Still, Siakam had shoulder surgery in June and will likely miss at least the start of the season. 64. Robert Williams III C, PF (BOS) 65. Tyrese Haliburton PG, SG (SAC): He finished last season ranked 65th overall in nine-category fantasy formats, and I think he has a chance to crack the top-50 this year.&nbsp; 66. Derrick White PG, SG (SAS) 67. Jonas Valanciunas C (NOP) 68. Kyrie Irving PG, SG (BKN): Kyrie could end up missing every Nets home game <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kevin-durant-im-envisioning-kyrie-being-a-part-of-our-team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">if he refuses to get vaccinated</a>. So many unknowns are swirling around him right now. I'll pass.&nbsp; 69. Draymond Green PF, C (GSW) 70. Mike Conley PG (UTAH) 71. Jalen Suggs PG, SG (ORL): My pick for Rookie of the Year. Suggs can do it all and should see all the minutes he can handle for a rebuilding Orlando Magic squad.&nbsp; 72. Spencer Dinwiddie PG, SG (WAS) 73. Cade Cunningham PG, SG (DET) 74. Caris LeVert SG, SF (IND) 75. Jerami Grant SF, PF (DET) 76. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell PG, SG (MIN) 77. Collin Sexton PG, SG (CLE): Last season, Sexton became the second-youngest player in NBA history (behind only KD) to average more than 24 points per game while shooting above 47% from the floor and 37% from downtown. 78. Robert Covington PF, C, SF (POR) 79. Jarrett Allen C (CLE) 80. Miles Bridges SF, PF (CHA): Over his final 15 games last season, Bridges averaged 21.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 blocks and 3.1 made three-pointers. He did so while shooting over 50% from the floor, 42% from downtown and 84% from the charity stripe. 81. Marcus Smart PG, SG (BOS) 82. Kelly Olynyk PF, C (DET): Kelly-O averaged a whopping 19.0, 8.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 treys and 1.4 steals in the 27 games he played in Houston last season. The Pistons signed him to a big contract in August, hoping he can come close to replicating those numbers. 83. Isaiah Stewart PF, C (DET) 84. Kemba Walker PG (NYK) 85. Andrew Wiggins SG, SF (GSW): Now that he's vaccinated, we know he'll be <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/andrew-wiggins-has-been-vaccinated-will-be-eligible-for-all-games" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cleared to play</a> in all Golden State Warriors home games this season.&nbsp; 86. Devonte&rsquo; Graham PG, SG (NOP) 87. Evan Fournier SG, SF (NYK) 88. P.J. Washington PF, C (CHA) 89. Buddy Hield SG, SF (SAC): Dating back to the start of the 2018-19 campaign, Buddy has knocked down more triples (831) than any other player in the NBA (Harden, Lillard and Curry rank second, third and fourth, respectively). 90. Nickeil Alexander-Walker SG, SF, PG (NOP) 91. NOPman Powell SG, SF (POR) 92. Kyle Anderson SF, PF (MEM) 93. Mitchell Robinson C (NYK): In 2018-19, Mitch Rob led all rookies in blocks (2.4) and field goal percentage (69.4%). As a sophomore in 2019-20, he made 74.2% of all field goals he attempted, setting the all-time NBA record for the highest single-season field goal percentage ever, passing Wilt Chamberlain. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/its-been-three-years-and-mitchell-robinson-still-has-a-lot-to-prove" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Can he stay healthy</a> in 2020-21? 94. Larry Nance Jr. PF, C (POR) 95. RJ Barrett SG, SF (NYK) 96. Jakob Poeltl C (SAS) 97. Ben Simmons PG (PHI): Impossible to try and figure out this Simmons situation going forward. I'm not willing to roll the dice until the value starts getting ridiculous. 98. Jonathan Isaac SF, PF (ORL) 99. Wendell Carter Jr. C (ORL) 100. Reggie Jackson PG, SG (LAC) 101. Brook Lopez C (MIL) 102. Harrison Barnes SF, PF (SAC) 103. Mason Plumlee PF, C (CHA) 104. Bobby Portis Jr. PF, C (MIL) 105. De&rsquo;Andre Hunter SF, PF (ATL) 106. Dennis Schroder PG (BOS) 107. Malik Beasley PG, SG, SF (MIN): Beasley has appeared in just 51 games for the Wolves since being acquired at the trade deadline in 2020, but has averaged 19.9 points, 4.6 boards, 2.4 dimes and a whopping 3.5 made treys. A great late-round value pick if he can stay on the court.
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Malik Beasley 29 points in 32 minutes last night... averaging 20/5 on the season... time to starting giving him his flowers as a top young talent in the NBA <a href="https://t.co/wz7XnezAzf">pic.twitter.com/wz7XnezAzf</a>
&mdash; Ben Stinar (@BenStinar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenStinar/status/1357329089997209602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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108. Thaddeus Young PF, C, SF (SAS) 109. Jordan Clarkson PG, SG (UTAH) 110. Joe Ingles SG, SF, PF (UTAH): He's not the sexiest pick, but Ingles will help in nearly every fantasy category and doesn't hurt you in any way. 111. Lauri Markkanen PF, C (CLE): The Cleveland Cavaliers have excess depth up front, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been raving about Markkanen during camp. He was a forgotten man in Chicago last season, but the dude is a 7-footer who can stretch the floor, is still just 24 years of age and averaged 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds during his age-21 season. 112. Daniel Gafford C, PF (WAS) 113. Joe Harris SG, SF (BKN)&nbsp; 114. Keldon Johnson SF, PF (SAS) 115. T.J. Warren SF, PF (IND): Yes, Warren's injury history is undoubtedly concerning &mdash;&nbsp; and he is currently still recovering from a stress fracture in his foot &mdash; but this is a guy who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-100-million-payday-awaits-tj-warren-if-he-continues-to-silence-the-critics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finished inside the top-50</a> overall back in 2019-20.&nbsp; 116. Jae'Sean Tate SF, PF (HOU) 117. De&rsquo;Anthony Melton PG, SG (MEM) 118. Daniel Theis PF, C (HOU): Theis ranked inside the top-100 overall when he logged starter minutes for the Boston Celtics in 2019-20. He could see 25 or more minutes a night for a Houston team that has little depth up front. Don't sleep. 119. Jalen Green SG (HOU) 120. Brandon Clarke PF, C (MEM) 121. Jordan Poole PG, SG (GSW): In the seven games Poole started last season, he averaged 21.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.8 made treys. With Klay still sidelined, Poole is expected to start early on this season. (And he's already off to a fast start, having <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/raptors-finally-return-to-toronto-as-lowry-begins-in-miami" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped 30 points</a> in Golden State's preseason opener.) 122. Saddiq Bey SF (DET) 123. Klay Thompson SG, SF (GSW): I'm concerned that the Warriors will limit Klay's minutes and rest him often, even after he is cleared to return to game action (whenever that is). The Dubs have to think long-term, as Thompson still has three years and $120-plus million left in his contract. 124. Ivica Zubac C (LAC) 125. Derrick Favors C, PF (OKC) 126. Al Horford PF, C (BOS) 127. Kyle Kuzma SF, PF (WAS) 128. Dillon Brooks SG, SF (MEM) 129. Matisse Thybulle SG, SF (PHI) 130. T.J. McConnell PG, SG (IND): McConnell led the NBA in steal percentage last season at 3.4% and shot 55.9% from the floor. He was one of just eight players to record an assist rate above 34% and a True Shooting percentage above 58% (the other seven members of this elite club were Lillard, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Jokic.) 131. Evan Mobley C, PF (CLE) 132. Nicolas Batum SF, PF, SG (LAC) 133. &nbsp;Derrick Rose PG, SG (NYK) 134. Marcus Morris Sr. PF, C, SF (LAC): Mook will see an increased share of the offensive pie with Kawhi Leonard sidelined for the first half of the season (and possibly more). 135. Mo Bamba C (ORL): This is a make-or-break season for Bamba. The Magic will give their former lottery pick every opportunity to earn playing time. If he plays significant minutes, he'll supply blocks and treys. (Bamba has looked sharp early on in the preseason.) 136. Tim Hardaway Jr. SG, SF (DAL) 137. Montrezl Harrell PF, C (WAS) 138. Kelly Oubre Jr. SG, SF, PF (CHA) 139. Thomas Bryant C (WAS) 140. Nerlens Noel PF, C (NYK)&nbsp; 141. Alperen Sengun PF, C (HOU): Sengun looked fantastic in Vegas, averaging 14.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 dimes, 1.3 steals and 3.0 blocks in 25 minutes a night during summer league action. He'll have a chance to stuff the stat sheet for a Rockets team looking to play its youngsters.&nbsp; 142. Eric Bledsoe PG, SG (LAC) 143. Khem Birch PF, C (TOR) 144. Isaiah Roby C, PF (OKC) 145. Kevin Huerter SG, SF (ATL) 146. Tyrese Maxey PG, SG (PHI): Maxey will be one of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tyrese-maxey-centered-on-getting-1-better-every-day-for-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">primary beneficiaries</a> of Simmons' eventual departure from Philly. 147. Aaron Gordon SF, PF (DEN) 148. Andre Drummond C (PHI): If you draft Embiid early, you probably want to handcuff him with Drummond later on. 149. Steven Adams C (MEM) 150. Josh Giddey PG, SG, SF (OKC): Giddey started the Thunder's preseason opener and looked good, tallying 18 points (8-of-12 FGs), 7 rebounds, 3 assists and two triples. Considering his talent, the No. 6 overall pick is worth a late-round dart throw.&nbsp;
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⭐ 18 points (8-12 in the field inc. 2-4 from range) ⭐ 7 rebounds ⭐ 3 assists Josh Giddey looked at 🏠 at NBA level! FULL HIGHLIGHTS ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/Sw7U4nEjdT">pic.twitter.com/Sw7U4nEjdT</a>
&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1445211953421557767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Tommy Beer lists his best 150 fantasy basketball players available for the 2021-22 NBA season.