Wolverines

Heading into <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DateTo=05%2F22%2F2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this week's action</a>, Atlanta Dream rookie Rhyne Howard was leading the WNBA in scoring (20.5 points). It was an incredible feat for an incredible talent, one that we've talked about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-atlanta-dream-struck-gold-with-rhyne-howard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in this space</a>.
Her jumper is pure, and she's able to get to it in a multitude of ways. To the Dream's credit, they've done a great job moving her around the chess board to stress defensess. Playing drop coverage against the Dream is practically begging for them to run a movement set for Howard.
They've run this doozy for Howard a few times this season. The decoy action may vary, but the goal for the Dream is to clear one side of the court before setting a flare screen for Howard to fill that empty space. The Los Angeles Sparks were ill-prepared for it earlier in the season.
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The options are endless. If the screen hits, Howard can flow into a jumper like she did in the clip above. If the screen navigation is a little better, she has plenty of space to attack off the bounce. She can reset and go iso. It can flow into an empty corner pick-and-roll with whoever set the initial flare screen. Heck, they can just flip the angle of the screen and have her come the other way.
On May 20, Howard came out of the gates firing. She was facing the red-hot Washington Mystics, but it didn't feel like they could keep track of her. Howard would score 15 of her 21 points in the opening frame, including a bucket off an all-too-familiar action.
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Backup big Tianna Hawkins (#21) sees it coming. Twice in the action--once while Aari McDonald (#2) is executing a handoff in the left corner, and again as Naz Hillmon (#0) is setting up the flare screen for Howard--Hawkins points toward the empty side. She knows Kennedy Burke has her work cut out for her, but she gets hung up on the screen anyway.
Howard wasn't able to shake loose like that for the rest of the game. Again, she scored 15 in the opening frame but just six points the rest of the way. After the Dream dropped 25 points in the first, they scored 19, 14 and 15 points the rest of the way.
That brings us to the Tuesday matchup, where the Dream wanted to exact revenge for their five-point loss. Where Howard wanted to make up for a quiet three-quarter stretch. The Mystics simply weren't having it, and it was evident from the opening tip.
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On the left side of the floor, you have Natasha Cloud (#9) blowing up the pindown and getting reattached to Kristy Wallace. Howard and Cheyenne Parker (#32) attempt to set screens in the middle of the floor to get the Mystics moving, but Ariel Atkins (#7) is able to navigate the muck and stay attached to Erica Wheeler (#17) as she clears the right side.
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From there, it's go time.&nbsp;
The flare for Howard is coming, but look at the prep work Alysha Clark (#22) does. She gets inside of Howard's jersey before the screen is even set:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_05_28_17_56_53_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
As Parker sets the pick, Clark is able to slow Howard up with a grab before she attempts to fly over it.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_05_28_17_57_33_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
Doing the homework early essentially blew up the first portion of the set. Howard and Parker attempt to go into a pick-and-roll with an empty side from there, but the Mystics had other plans. They sprang a trap on Howard, essentially pinning her in the right corner.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_05_28_18_00_26_lg.png" alt="" width="577" height="325" />
That's good work on Howard from Clark and rookster Shakira Austin. Cloud has the Parker assignment. Atkins has Wallace. Elena Delle Donne is on the backside of the action, keeping tabs on two Dream players on the right side of the floor. In other words, there are no easy outlets here.
Howard is able to jump-pass her way out of it, but the Mystics are able to rotate behind that pass. Wallace gets the release pass and is immediately pressured. The Dream do a good job of countering with a pin-in screen on Delle Donne, but she fights over it and gets a late-clock contest on the three from Wheeler.
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Whew.
Things didn't get easier for Howard or the Dream. On the individual front, Howard would miss all nine of her field goal attemtps and end the game with [checks notes] zero points. It was easily her worst outing as a pro. Her scoring averaged dropped from a league-leading 20.5 to 17.6, a clip that ranks 10th in the league.
And without Howard getting buckets, the rest of the team faltered. The Dream scored 50 points on the evening as the Mystics racked up a 70-50 victory.
Because of that game, the Mystics now hold the WNBA's <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/teams/advanced/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">best defensive rating</a> at 92.3. Even before that game, the Mystics have impressed with their blend of ball pressure and activity on the backline.&nbsp;
If you want a not-so-hidden joy when watching this team, peep their activity whenever an offense tries to run a pick-and-roll from the wing. They attempt to "ICE" most of them, meaning the on-ball defender shades the ball handler toward the sideline. The fun really perks up from there, though.
Because they don't have a pure anchor in drop coverage, the pick-up points for their bigs are a little higher. And because&nbsp;all&nbsp;of their bigs--Austin, Delle Donne, Hawkins, Myisha Hines-Allen and freshly-in-the-fold Elizabeth Williams--are active with their hands, ball-handlers find themselves in trouble quickly.&nbsp;
Watching the Delle Donne-Austin frontcourt has especially been fun. There were questions about how Delle Donne would hold up defensively after her injury-riddled layoff. And it's always fair to wonder how quickly a rookie big like Austin can get acclimated to the big leagues. Both have embraced the challenge; in fact, the Mystics are allowing a defensive rating of 85 (!) when those two <a href="https://stats.wnba.com/lineups/advanced/?Season=2022&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;GroupQuantity=2&amp;TeamID=1611661322&amp;sort=NET_RATING&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=MIN*GE*50" target="_blank" rel="noopener">share the court</a>.&nbsp;
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Getting ball pressure from Cloud and Clark--a pair of wings with All-Defensive team selections under their belts--or Rui Machida off the bench (she's fun) is one thing. Having active bigs can add another layer of mayhem. Combining that with opportunistic help defenders can make an offense feel like it's suffocating.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is currently leading the team in steals (1.6), mostly off the strength of her off-ball prowess. Atkins (1.5 steals) isn't too far behind her, showcasing why she's also made multiple All-Defensive teams in her career.
I mentioned Burke getting burned by the flare action for Howard earlier in the piece, but she's already been a problem for offenses as a help defender.&nbsp;
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That activity has been important. The Mystics currently rank third in opponent turnover rate, with offenses coughing up 21.2 turnovers per 100 possessions. That's way up from last season (17.9), and not too far off the franchise record (21.6) set back in 2005.
(And on that note, team offenses were way worse back then; the league average opponent turnover rate in 2005 was 18.1, much higher than the 15.9 mark this season. And we're early in the year, so that number will likely fall as the season goes on.)
We know what a healthy Mystics team can do offensively. Delle Donne is one of the most versatile offensive talents in basketball history. Cloud is a dynamic slasher and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/natasha-cloud-shines-through-shooter-wnba-on-notice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confident shooter</a>. There's plenty of shot-making, shooting and driving equity on the roster.
The defense has been a pleasant surprise, though we may see regression at some point. Opponents are only shooting 31.4% from 3, and the multiple efforts needed to make their scheme work can create some openings on that front.
They may not be the&nbsp;best defense in basketball. But if they hover around 3rd or 4th, that's still much better than they were last season (104.4 defensive rating, 11th out of 12 teams). And if the defense can hang, we need to start talking about this team as a serious title contender.
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Nekias Duncan breaks down why the Washington Mystics' defense has been so successful to start the season.

How the Washington Mystics are winning with activity

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

WNBA Power Rankings 5/22

Eight places.
The 2021-22 Memphis Grizzlies' offense has improved eight places from its 15th-ranked placement last season. What&rsquo;s so different about this year&rsquo;s unit? Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Dillion Brooks, De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson are all still here. Jaren Jackson Jr. is finally healthy, but he&rsquo;s still more of a defensively-calibrated player at this stage of the game.&nbsp;
What gives? Hmm...
Well, let&rsquo;s see what Cleaning the Glass has to say about this&hellip;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-02-07-at-1-20-21-am_lg.png" alt="" width="647" height="442" />
*Wipes tired eyes aggressively and looks again*
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-02-08-at-5-42-06-am_lg.png" alt="" width="585" height="267" />
Holy crap. It&rsquo;s none other than Steven Adams atop the offense points per possession differential.&nbsp;
Now, you don&rsquo;t need me to remind you that on/off data can be extremely noisy and that Adams is probably not the Grizzlies&rsquo; best offensive player. But if you do a little digging in the weeds, there is something to Adams being such a positive on that end of the floor. Since the 2016-17 season, Adams has finished in the <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/21/onoff#tab-team_efficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">77th percentile or higher</a> in this category &mdash; despite playing on three different teams during this time frame.
On this current team, all of the Grizzlies I mentioned earlier (with the lone exception being Jackson) average higher True Shooting percentages with Adams on the floor than with him on the bench (per PBP Stats).
I know what you&rsquo;re thinking now: Is this guy some sort of wizard?
No, but what he is doing for this offense is pretty darn magical.
Offensive Rebounding
The worst kept secret in the NBA is that Adams is an elite offensive rebounder. He&rsquo;s ranked in the 91st percentile or higher in that avenue since 2017-18 (per Cleaning the Glass). You don&rsquo;t need film study to tell you that.&nbsp;
But you do need it to explain this:
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On the surface, this play looks like the typical Morant bull rush on the rim. However, look a little closer, and you&rsquo;ll see that center Thomas Bryant doesn&rsquo;t even attempt to contest Morant&rsquo;s shot &mdash; or go for the board on the miss &mdash; because he&rsquo;s too concerned with preventing this from happening again:
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That&rsquo;s right, six offensive rebounds in one quarter. Adams so thoroughly punctured the soul of his opponent that Bryant would rather invite Morant to the rim than leave Adams free to run wild in the box.
The best part about Adams&rsquo; work on the glass is that it doesn&rsquo;t bleed too much value from their transition defense. The Grizzlies still have the <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/team/15/team#tab-context_trans_defense">11th-ranked</a> fastbreak defense and the No. 7 defensive unit in those scenarios overall.
Screening
Advantage creation comes in many flavors (speed, strength, guile, etc.), and for Adams, his tool for power play initiation is the subheading of this section. This season, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle/?sort=SCREEN_ASSISTS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only three players</a> average over the 5.4 screen assists per game that Adams is good for on a nightly basis. And similar to how a boxer develops many different deliveries for landing a punch, Adams has schemed a handful of clever tricks for deploying his body shield without garnering an offensive foul.
His favorite move consists of him positioning himself for a screen and then, at the very last second, subtly jerking himself forward a half-step to latch onto the ball-handler&rsquo;s defender for an extra half-second.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Three baskets in the third quarter for Morant in part due to some great screens by Adams that help get the feisty Thybulle away from him momentarily. <a href="https://t.co/Rl4wTb2Hix">pic.twitter.com/Rl4wTb2Hix</a>
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1490451694534246403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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When he&rsquo;s not spamming that nifty little parlor trick, Adams shows the other cards in his deck some love. He can be randomly hulking down the court, then suddenly stop on a dime and set a pick. He can execute the screen version of putting a defender in jail. And he&rsquo;ll even try setting up a barrier while he and his ball-handler are both in the paint.
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The hidden value that Adams&rsquo; screening provides permeates into his teams&rsquo; pick-and-roll numbers, as both the New Orleans Pelicans and Grizzlies improved in this department upon his arrival.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Check this out: Pick &amp; Roll Ball Handler PPP Pelicans 19-20 (w/o Adams): 30th Pelicans 20-21 (w/Adams): 16th Pelicans 21-22 (w/o Adams): 28th Grizzlies 20-21 (w/o Adams): 25th Grizzlies 21-22 (w/Adams): 17th A lot of other variables at play in all of this, but wow🤯🤯
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1489639468835422212?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Even more important for the Grizzlies is the effect he&rsquo;s having on their two offensive cornerstones in Morant and Bane.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 14.38%;">Player</td>
<td style="width: 38.2079%;">
Pick &amp; Roll Ball Handler ('20-21)*
</td>
<td style="width: 40.3442%;">
Pick &amp; Roll Ball Handler ('21-22)*
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 14.38%;">
Morant
</td>
<td style="width: 38.2079%;">
41st percentile
</td>
<td style="width: 40.3442%;">
74th percentile
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 14.38%;">
Bane
</td>
<td style="width: 38.2079%;">
11th percentile
</td>
<td style="width: 40.3442%;">
52nd percentile
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Data provided by NBA.com
Again, not all this growth can be attributed to the arrival of Adams, but man has his solid frame sure made navigating ball-screens easier for those two.
Passing
The most shocking revelation I had during my analysis was that Steven Adams is a pretty darn good passer. His 8.5 passer rating gives him the seventh-highest score in the league and the third-highest score among big men behind passing savants Draymond Green and Nikola Jokic (per Backpicks).
This score, of course, by no means vaults him into the top tier of passing big men. It&rsquo;s fair to deduce that his high standing in that measure is, in part, due to his conservative passing style.&nbsp;
On this play, there&rsquo;s probably a split-second window available for Adams to hit Bane on his cut to the rim, but Adams opts against it and chooses to live to fight another day. Nothing wrong with that. He just won't be bending the defense too often with that sort of prerogative.
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Still, the passes he does choose to participate in are performed crisply. As both <a href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/2021/12/20/22834086/the-balancing-force-of-steven-adams-nba-memphis-grizzlies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parker Fleming</a> and Basketball News&rsquo; own <a href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/2022/1/21/22888990/the-inverted-two-man-game-of-steven-adams-and-desmond-bane-jokic-draymond-wiggins-curry-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justin Lewis</a>, note in breakdowns for Grizzly Bear Blues, Adams has great synergy with the team&rsquo;s perimeter players, and he's no stranger to diming them up on cuts to the rim.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
You can see where Ziaire Williams has been watching that Desmond Bane tape! Really good off-ball movement here on the give-and-go. Steven Adams continues to be fantastic at hitting cutters <a href="https://t.co/fLWn8hJJaM">pic.twitter.com/fLWn8hJJaM</a>
&mdash; Parker Fleming (@PAKA_FLOCKA) <a href="https://twitter.com/PAKA_FLOCKA/status/1479501108284428290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;We've got a great relationship,&rdquo; Desmond Bane&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/desmond-bane-cementing-himself-as-essential-part-of-nextgen-grizzlies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said of Adams in a recent exclusive with BasketballNews.com</a>. &ldquo;He seems like he's always finding me &mdash; whether it's backdoor cuts or handoffs or whatever the case may be. Steve-O's a great teammate to play with... You obviously gotta use your mind and use your smarts to your ability. I watch a lot of film and study a lot of different players and just try to pick up on some of their tendencies that work [against] them."
What&rsquo;s more, Adams can fuse his other offensive superpowers with his passing.
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In this first play, he runs a dribble handoff action with Tyus Jones and gifts him a clean look by stonewalling his defender with a screen. In the second, instead of corralling the offensive board and restarting the possession, he has the presence of mind to volley the ball to an open shooter. Either way, Adams is creating great looks for his teammates.&nbsp;
The Grizzlies are the promising bunch &mdash; there is no question. What&rsquo;s equally without a doubt is the important role their overwhelmingly talented young core will play in the team&rsquo;s future success. That&rsquo;s a discussion for a later period in the timeline though.
Right now, let&rsquo;s relish the integral role Adams plays in the present-day version of this team. He&rsquo;s their possession extender, their pick-and-roll enforcer, and their sneakily solid two-man game playmaker.
But most importantly of all, he&rsquo;s their gatekeeper.
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Mat Issa breaks down Steven Adams' importance to the Grizzlies, his impact on the offensive end and more.

Steven Adams: The gatekeeper of the Grizzlies' offense

The San Antonio Spurs are confronting basic questions they have not faced in decades.
Who is taking the last shot of the game in a critical situation? Which player will provide the team with leadership?
It&rsquo;s a dilemma Gregg Popovich has not had in 25 seasons while coaching players like David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge DeMar DeRozan with the Spurs.
All the uncertainty has the 72-year-old absolutely stoked.
&ldquo;I have no idea who I&rsquo;m going to give it to or what play we&rsquo;re going to run,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something we&rsquo;re going to figure out as we move along, and to me, that&rsquo;s exciting as hell.&rdquo;
San Antonio went all in on its youth movement this season, allowing DeRozan and veterans Patty Mills and Rudy Gay to leave through free agency. The franchise is now fully entrusted to 20-somethings like Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker IV and Devin Vassell.
&ldquo;We all love to be around each other on and off the court,&rdquo; Walker said. &ldquo;There is a lot of opportunity on the court as teammates. We have a lot to prove.&rdquo;
At 25 and in his sixth season, Murray is the most tenured player on the roster. He has taken a leadership role since supplanting Parker as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard in 2017.
&ldquo;Leading by example,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;I feel like me, (Dejounte) and Derrick, we stay in the gym trying to perfect our craft. Everybody else does the same. That&rsquo;s all you can ask for. I feel like for such a young group, we&rsquo;ve got a really strong bond.&rdquo;
The Spurs also return Jacob Poeltl and Drew Eubanks at center along with free-agent addition Jock Landale from Australia.
The Spurs brought back Bryn Forbes, who won a championship last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, and added Doug McDermott, Zach Collins, Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu for 3-point shooting and a veteran presence.
Still, the Spurs are willing to let their youths run wild.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m thrilled with this group,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;They are basically young, energetic, have got a lot of speed. There is no need to pace yourself. Nobody is going to play 39 minutes a game, don&rsquo;t have to worry about stats or individual honors or anything like that. These guys are just going to have a ball playing. It&rsquo;s going to be simple, simple stuff at both ends of the court. We want a lot of activity and a lot of pace. Just play fast. Hopefully smart along with fast, but the pace should be really enjoyable to watch.&rdquo;
The Spurs open the season at home Oct. 20 against Orlando.
WELCOME BACK
While the Spurs have fresh faces on the court, Popovich was ecstatic the franchise welcomed back a familiar one for the front office: Ginobili returned as a special adviser after retiring in 2017 following a 16-year career with the team. The 44-year-old will assist throughout the franchise.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to do everything,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to help Brian (Wright, Spurs general manager) with management. He&rsquo;s going to help me with coaching. He&rsquo;s going to help the players with development, probably going to scout some people. I think he&rsquo;s probably going to figure out a two-week trip to Italy to scout foreign players. I might go with him.&rdquo;
ALL THAT GLITTERS
Johnson has been proudly wearing the gold medal he won at the Tokyo Olympics as a member of the U.S. Men&rsquo;s National Team all summer. Johnson&rsquo;s teammates said they don&rsquo;t mind.
&ldquo;I think I got a little part of that,&rdquo; Walker said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in the practice gym with him, I&rsquo;ve been working out with him. I&rsquo;ll say I get at least .01% of that gold medal.&rdquo;
PARING THE ROSTER
The Spurs waived former first-round pick Luka Samanic on Monday. Drafted 19th overall in 2019, Samanic spent two seasons moving between the team&rsquo;s G-League affiliate in Austin and the Spurs&rsquo; bench. He appeared in 36 games, averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.9 minutes.

The Spurs franchise is now fully entrusted to Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker IV and Devin Vassell.

Spurs facing unknown with youth replacing its veteran past

Hi, hello, and welcome to yet another edition of Roaming The Baseline! This will be a weekly endeavor where I point out some things that caught my eye: a hot or cold streak from a player, a developmental flash, a well-run play, a funny tweet, who knows? There will be film -- it&rsquo;s me, so of course there will be film -- but this will also be a bit looser. It&rsquo;s an extension of my Twitter feed, if you will.&nbsp;
With that said, let&rsquo;s roam the baseline.
BRING ME LIBERTY, OR BRING ME DEATH (BY PICK-AND-ROLL)
Well, well, well. If it isn't the New York Liberty, fresh off a 2-20 season, getting off to a 3-0 start. Quibble over the early strength of schedule if you will, but it's fair to say this team looks different.
That different look starts with Sabrina Ionescu, a dynamic lead initiator that combines high-level pull-up shooting with I-see-everything court vision. There isn't a surefire way to slow her down. You can attempt pressing her, but she's pretty darn good at navigating her defender into screens.
If you get caught on a screen against Sabrina, you're practically dead.
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Just peep the patience from Ionescu on this possession. She's able to get a little separation from Danielle Robinson as she flies off the screen. From there, the hang dribble freezes Teaira McCowan (#15), and causes Victoria Vivians (#35) to rotate over. A timely cut from Sami Whitcomb (#32) puts Kelsey Mitchell (#0) in a tough spot, freeing the corner skip to Betnijah Laney (who's making an early case for MIP).
Ionescu leads the WNBA in pick-and-roll possessions (32) by a wide margin, per Synergy. She's generating north of 97 points per 100 pick-and-roll possessions (passes included), placing her in the 83rd percentile right now.
This is obviously early season stuff, but Ionescu is also the only player that ranks in the top-five in scoring (21.0) and assists (9.0), while also leading the WNBA in three-pointers made (10). It wouldn't be a total shock for any of those designations to hold throughout the season if she stays healthy.&nbsp;
She's that darn good.
TEAIRA MCCOWAN, DOING HER WORK EARLY
Send this clip to every big (wo)man camp in the country.
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There is no play-call here. No frills. This is Teaira McCowan busting it up the floor, knocking Kylee Shook back and setting up shop in a threatening post position.&nbsp;
She's able to put Shook on her right shoulder to create a wider window for the entry pass from Robinson. There is absolutely nothing Shook can do to prevent the pass, nor does she have the length to bother the shot.
It's textbook stuff, stuff that McCowan was doing at Mississippi State. It's what she did as a rookie; for the life of me, I still do not understand why she didn't get more playing time last season.&nbsp;
If you want a number, I'll present you with this one: per Synergy, McCowan leads the WNBA in points (15) off those deep middle seals. Liz Cambage is the only other player in double digits (10).&nbsp;
JAYSON TATUM HAS FULLY ARRIVED
23 points. 7-of-10 from the field, 2-of-3 from three. Three assists, one measly turnover.&nbsp;
That's a darn good game for a hired gun off the bench. A play-finishing wing that sprinkled in some transition dimes or something.&nbsp;
The fact that this is what Jayson Tatum did during the third quarter of Tuesday night's play-in game is absolutely absurd.
There's only so much you can do against Tatum now. As I <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1383148215181135879?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote last month</a>, he's rounding out the rough parts of his game. He's gotten more comfortable operating in the intermediate areas. He gets downhill more often, and with more purpose. You don't luck your way into 17 free throws.
The fun part of getting good at the average stuff is that it simply unlocks more of your great stuff. In a way, the hesi-and-drive to Tatum's left against Rui Hachimura ultimately helps him set up this stepback against Davis Bertans.
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50 points. Big win. Playoff spot secured. The Leap is happening right before our eyes, folks.
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO "HMMMM"
<ul>
<li>We're working with a 30-minute sample right now, but the early returns for the A'ja Wilson-Liz Cambage combo have been positive (plus-6.4 net rating). A'ja took a three on Saturday and made it. Let's just say I'll be keeping tabs on that all season long.</li>
<li>I am just especially fascinated by how the Atlanta Dream plan to find minutes for Chennedy Carter, Courtney WIlliams, Aari McDonald, Odyssey Sims and&nbsp;Tiffany Hayes. They've shown some early willingness to go with three guards, but I am terrified of what the defense will look like.</li>
<li>Breanna Stewart (averaging 27 &amp; 12 through two) is the obvious draw for the Storm, but I'm intrigued by Ezi Magbegor. She got the start on Tuesday night against the Aces; her blend of size and skill provides a nice complement to Stewart's, well, everything.</li>
<li>A quick glance at the blocks per game leaderboard will highlight two members of the Phoenix Mercury: Brittney Griner (2.7, 2nd) and Brianna Turner (2.3). Unsurprisingly, among the teams that have played multiple games, none have allowed a lower field goal percentage than the Mercury.</li>
<li>The Sky outscored the Mystics by 19 points in the 25 minutes that Candace Parker was on the court. This might be as scary as we <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1356406720260677639" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thought it would be</a>.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
PLAYS I LIKED
Pick Your Poison
The Indiana Pacers absolutely molly whopped the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night. Among the many, many, many&nbsp;plays in which the Hornets looked unequipped to defend this team, this play caught my eye.
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I appreciate the misdirection to kick things off, with Justin Holiday kinda faking a connection with Doug McDermott before lifting above the break. McDermott does a great job of setting Terry Rozier up, and Domantas Sabonis finishes the job by sliding over a step to prevent Rozier from shooting the gap.
Watch Your Back(cut)
MOAR TATUM.
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It's all about playing against tendency here. Boston loves to run pindowns for Tatum to get him attacking on the move. Bradley Beal has positioned himself -- back to Marcus Smart, practically hugging Tatum -- to prepare for this screening action.
Tatum uses that so-called knowledge (and that positioning) against Beal, juking before darting to the basket for an easy lob.&nbsp;
Slotting Up
I talked about Ionescu's pick-and-roll proficiency a little bit earlier, but I like this set-up from the Liberty.
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We get a Pistol/21 look as Ionescu trots up the left side of the floor. Laney "ghosts" the screen before running off a flare from Shook. That action between Laney and Shook not only occupies their defenders; it also puts strain on the weak side since Ionescu is able to gain inside leverage on the drive.
The drive forces a rotation, which leaves Crystal Dangerfield (#2) splitting the difference. Whitcomb recognizes that dilemma and cuts inside, receiving a pass and getting an uncontested lay-up as a result.
Good stuff all around.
THE READING LIST
There is plenty of high-level basketball content out here if you know where to look. I wouldn&rsquo;t be where I am as a writer without reading a ton of Zach Lowe or Chris Herring or Caitlin Cooper or Mirin Fader or... well, you get the point.&nbsp;
Anyway, here are some -- not all, but some! -- of the stories I&rsquo;ve read this week that I think you should check out. Their Twitter handles will be linked under their names, so click and follow if you don&rsquo;t already.
<a href="https://twitter.com/MirinFader" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mirin Fader</a> knocks this <a href="https://twitter.com/MirinFader/status/1395020533872222223?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andre Drummond feature</a> out of the park.
<a href="https://twitter.com/Herring_NBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Herring</a> brought the goods on <a href="https://twitter.com/Herring_NBA/status/1395032294059085826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Atlanta Hawks</a>, and what Trae Young means to them.
This was technically for last week, but I can't recommend <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVPina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Pina</a>'s <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVPina/status/1392115303698534404?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feature on Dejounte Murray</a> enough.
ESPN's <a href="https://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/1394299631736172544?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">massive playoff guide</a> is well worth your time.
<a href="https://twitter.com/alexaphilippou" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexa Philippou</a> gave us the deets on <a href="https://twitter.com/alexaphilippou/status/1394408732725964800?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tiffany Hayes' return</a>.

In Nekias Duncan's weekly notebook, he shares things that have caught his eye. He breaks down players, teams, plays and stats.

Roaming the Baseline: Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Teaira McCowan

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; The Houston Rockets say that guard Sterling Brown was assaulted by unknown individuals after the team arrived in Miami late Sunday night, suffering cuts to his face.
Brown was not playing Monday against the Heat, though the team said that was because of a recent knee injury that has kept him out for a total of five games and not the altercation.
&ldquo;Last night, Sterling Brown was the victim of an assault,&rdquo; the Rockets announced in a statement issued Monday evening. &ldquo;He had no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants. He suffered facial lacerations but will make a full recovery.&rdquo;
The team did not divulge any other details. It was not immediately known if any incident reports were filed with police.
Brown sued officials in Milwaukee after getting taken to the ground, shocked with a Taser and arrested during an encounter surrounding a parking violation with police in 2018, contending in that lawsuit that police used excessive force and targeted him because he is Black.
Brown illegally parked in a disabled spot outside a store and was talking with a group of officers while waiting for his citation when the situation escalated. He did not immediately remove his hands from his pockets, as ordered, and officers used a stun gun. Brown and the city agreed on a settlement where he would receive $750,000 plus an admission from the city that his civil rights were violated was agreed to last November.
Brown was among a small group of NBA players invited to the Vatican last fall to speak with Pope Francis, who hailed them as &ldquo;champions&rdquo; for social justice. Brown told the pope about what he and the Milwaukee Bucks went through in the NBA&rsquo;s restart bubble &mdash; particularly when they decided to sit out a playoff game against Orlando in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas said he spoke with Brown on Monday and was relieved that he would be fine.
&ldquo;Heart-wrenching. Rips your heart out,&rdquo; Silas said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of your guys, someone on your team that you care about, someone that you&rsquo;re with every day. As far as how I&rsquo;m feeling and how the team is feeling, we&rsquo;re all just thankful, No. 1, that he&rsquo;s going to be OK &mdash; and also down about what happened.&rdquo;
Brown is averaging a career-best 8.2 points this season, his fourth in the NBA and first with the Rockets. He spent his first three NBA seasons with Milwaukee.

The Rockets say that Sterling Brown was assaulted by unknown individuals in Miami late Sunday night, suffering cuts to his face.

Rockets say Sterling Brown was attacked, injured in Miami

Nekias Duncan dissects every detail of the moves that went down at Thursday's NBA trade deadline and gives them grades.

Grading every move from the 2021 NBA trade deadline

While the NBA&rsquo;s trade deadline is one of the busiest days of the year, there are plenty of names that are talked about, but ultimately don&rsquo;t end up being traded. That doesn&rsquo;t mean that the player movement is done for the year. In fact, this year may see bigger names bought out and signed than you see them traded.
The buyout market often brings more hope than it does productivity. The last player to receive a buyout and then play over 100 minutes in the playoffs for a team that won a championship was Peja Stojakovic for the Dallas Mavericks all the way back in 2011. More often than not, this type of move isn&rsquo;t made for a difference-maker. But this is as abnormal of a season as we&rsquo;ve seen in the NBA, so this very well may be the year that things change.
Below are some of the players that could end up in the buyout market after the dust settles.
Andre Drummond, Center - Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers have been shopping Drummond ever since the team jumped in and acquired Jarett Allen from Brooklyn as part of the James Harden deal. The issue with shopping Drummond on the trade market was that few teams had the ability to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-rumors-houston-rockets-orlando-magic-victor-oladipo-aaron-gordon-evan-fournier-andre-drummond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absorb his cap hit of nearly $30 million</a>. He hasn&rsquo;t played for Cleveland since the beginning of February and will be recieving a buyout. Signs seem to indicate him heading to the Los Angeles Lakers, although the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks also may have interest.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Power Forward - San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs very rarely make trades during the season, and despite publicly announcing earlier this month that the organization had agreed to part ways with Aldridge, no team traded for him and he will be bought out by the Spurs. While Aldridge isn&rsquo;t the player he once was, he still is a player that can help a winning team make a push in the playoffs. His numbers this year are the lowest since his rookie year in the NBA, but never underestimate what a change of scenery can do for a player with a desire to win. The Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns are two teams to watch here, and it&rsquo;s worth noting he did take meetings with both franchises prior to signing with the Spurs in 2015.
Austin Rivers, Guard - New York Knicks
When the New York Knicks traded for Derrick Rose earlier this season, it made Austin Rivers a very expendable player -- and one who likely won&rsquo;t finish the season in New York. If he&rsquo;s bought out, he&rsquo;s capable of providing a scoring punch off the bench for a team that needs it. The Milwaukee Bucks could be a relatively intriguing fit. Rivers was dealt to the Thunder as part of a trade that saw George Hill end up in Philadelphia, but still could be bought out.
Hassan Whiteside, Center - Sacramento Kings
Ever since signing a max deal with the Heat a few years back, Whiteside has been a bit of an afterthought in the NBA. Now, he&rsquo;s in Sacramento and not seeing the floor too often. He&rsquo;s played in 27 games off the bench for the Kings, averaging just 14.7 minutes per game. Maybe he can be an end of the bench &ldquo;break glass in case of emergency&rdquo; big man on a team that has a roster spot available.
Gorgui Dieng, Center - Memphis Grizzlies
Dieng isn&rsquo;t going to change the equation for a team that&rsquo;s vying for a championship, but he can add a bit of frontcourt depth to a team that needs it. Dieng isn&rsquo;t very mobile, but has a reliable jumper and can protect the rim at a passable level. He&rsquo;s also a good fit in almost any locker room.
Ben McLemore, Guard - Houston Rockets
The Rockets parting ways with McLemore could mean that a contender adds a depth piece in their backcourt. While McLemore hasn&rsquo;t had a great year in Houston this is a situation that could change with a new change of scenery, or serve as an insurance policy for a team with higher-end guards.
Jeff Teague, Guard - Orlando Magic
Teague was part of the trade that sent Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, and was told that he will be waived and hit the open market, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaBRobbins/status/1375168932802404354?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>. Teague hasn't been very effective this season in Boston, and didn't have a great year last year between Minnesota and Atlanta. It could, however, make some sense for him to head back to the Hawks after Rajon Rondo was traded away for Lou Williams. He could provide veteran leadership to the franchise that was home to his best days.&nbsp;
Otto Porter Jr., Forward - Orlando Magic
Like Teague, the Magic acquired Porter Jr. on Thursday. Porter Jr. was sent to Orlando with Wendell Carter Jr. and a pair of first-round picks for Nikola Vucevic. It's not a certainty that Porter Jr. is bought out by Orlando, but if he is there will be interest on the open market for him. He could be a wing defender off the bench for a team like Boston, Milwaukee, or Golden State if it does happen, though.&nbsp;
Jabari Parker, Forward - Sacramento Kings
Parker hasn't lived up to the expectations that come along with being the No. 2 overall pick, as he once was. He's been on the Kings this season but has played in just three games and will be released, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/mr_jasonjones/status/1375175829081059328?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>. It's tough to envision Parker making an impact on a contender right now, but he could be the ultimate buy low lottery ticket for a team should he be able to stay healthy and earn playing time.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Danny Cunningham dives into who could hit the buyout market after this year's NBA trade deadline and where those players could land.

Buyout Watch: Players who may hit free agency following trade deadline

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

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

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

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

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

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Andre Drummond have come to a mutual decision to keep the All-Star center inactive until the team finds a trade for him, league sources confirmed to BasketballNews.com. The news was first reported this morning by <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1361341496461586434" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30905655/sources-cleveland-cavaliers-play-andre-drummond-try-trade-star-center-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a>.
"Nothing is imminent on the trade front, though," the source told BasketballNews.com.
According to the source, a buyout is off the table between the Cavs and Drummond, as Cleveland searches for a landing spot for the 27-year-old big man prior to the NBA trade deadline on March 25.
Per <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2021/02/cleveland-cavaliers-to-sit-andre-drummond-while-looking-for-trade.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor</a>, the situation hasn't been easy on the veteran, who's in the prime of his career. Drummond reportedly didn't want to move on, but the team envisioned a different future after bringing Jarrett Allen into the fold.
The Cavs view Allen as one of their cornerstones moving forward and they are prioritizing his growth and chemistry with his new teammates. Cleveland is set on Allen as the long-term answer at the five, so splitting minutes between he and Drummond wasn't going to benefit either party.
Drummond will still be with the team, and the decision to move forward in this manner was a mutual agreement. Constructing a trade will not be easy, as Drummond makes roughly $28.7 million. The Cavaliers will need to take back at least $23 million in salary in order to execute a deal.
We also have to remember that the Cavaliers acquired Drummond at last season's trade deadline for little-used Brandon Knight and John Henson, plus a future second-round pick. A potential trade involving Drummond likely won't be focused on the haul back, but more about opening more minutes for Allen and getting something in return for the impending free agent.
So as he watches from the sidelines until Cleveland finds him a new home, let's take a look at potential fits and possible deals that could work.
Toronto Raptors
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Cavaliers have engaged in trade talks with the Toronto Raptors about Drummond. It makes sense considering the defensive woes that have plagued the Raptors, who have begun climbing out of the Eastern Conference basement and back into the postseason hunt. Drummond's rim protection and activity on defense this season have been arguably the best of his career to this point, something that's been missing for Nick Nurse and his crew.
To match salaries, Toronto would have to include Norman Powell, Aron Baynes and Patrick McCaw, plus one more player (Matt Thomas, Terence Davis or Paul Watson could work). With the resurgence of Stanley Johnson and the role DeAndre' Bembry has carved out, it's unlikely the Raptors would give them up. Knowing Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster, it's possible that the Raptors will try to get a third team involved, which could help from a salary-matching standpoint.
We also have to keep in mind that Cleveland would have to get creative with its roster. By waiving Dean Wade prior to his Feb. 24 guarantee date, it would allow the Cavs to take back three players for one (Drummond). Fitting a fourth would take some roster tinkering.
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Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs were recently mentioned as a possible suitor on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keepin-it-94/id1545629382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our Keepin' It 94 podcast</a>. Beyond missing shots (although they're finding a rhythm now), Dallas' problem is that there's absolutely zero resistance in the paint for their opponents. Watch how Damian Lillard waltzed right to the cup in this possession. (It's not pretty).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
DAME DUNK <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dame_lillard</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAllStar</a> <a href="https://t.co/3V8glwkmz7">pic.twitter.com/3V8glwkmz7</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1361117856998567936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Mavs have the contracts to get a trade done, but are they really willing to give up a starter? James Johnson has an expiring $15.7 million salary. Include Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Burke and it almost gets you there, which would probably be very suitable. Substitute Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the hearts of that team, for Burke and <a href="https://tradenba.com/trades/PBVwpjcGz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it does work</a>. Tim Hardaway Jr. has a sizable salary, but would the Mavs be open to either of those things? Another option: Cleveland deals Drummond and JaVale McGee for Johnson and Dwight Powell in a bigs-for-bigs swap? Otherwise, again, there'd probably have to be a four-player deal. Just thinking out loud here.&nbsp;
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Brooklyn Nets
While there's a feasible way for the Nets to trade for Andre Drummond, it would come at a price. Spencer Dinwiddie, the face of the one of the most beloved franchise turnarounds we've seen in the NBA in recent years and an amazing talent, would have to be included in the deal along with DeAndre Jordan. Let's not forget that DJ came to town with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant at the latter's request. If you toss in Tyler Johnson with those two, the framework checks out.
Joe Harris cannot be traded until March 3 because he re-signed with Brooklyn and got a raise using his Bird Rights, but a Dinwiddie-and-Harris-for-Drummond trade would work as well when the time comes -- although, who in the world would give up a 50-percent three-baller on a team that thrives off drive-and-kicks? They're better off waiting to see if the Cavs can't find a trade partner and buy him out post-deadline. If Drummond hits the buyout market, Brooklyn has to be considered the frontrunner to land him.
Sacramento Kings
Here's an idea that hasn't been mentioned yet. The Kings are in the hunt for the playoffs in the Western Conference. Yes, Richaun Holmes has been busting his tail off at the 5 and it shouldn't be necessary to fix something that's not broken. However, who knows what Kings general manager Monte McNair is thinking. Is it possible he wants to strike while the iron's hot?
A potential framework that could get Drummond in a Kings uniform is simple. There are two guys out of the rotation in Nemanja Bjelica (who wants out) and Jabari Parker (who hasn't played a game yet). Throw in Cory Joseph and have Cleveland send back Damyean Dotson, who's had spotty minutes since the team's primary guards returned from injury. I don't think this idea is that far-fetched, but again, Holmes is playing out of his mind this year.
New York Knicks
With $15 million in cap room, the Knicks don't have to match salaries exactly to acquire Drummond. With Mitchell Robinson out for the next month or so due to a broken hand, they could try to strike a deal while still in contention for the postseason.
A package of Nerlens Noel and out-of-rotation reclamation projects Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox would make a ton of sense for Cleveland and it would keep New York in the hunt. Before we talk about Robinson's effectiveness, we know how much Tom Thibodeau loves his veterans. The Knicks just traded for Derrick Rose and seem interested in win-now moves. Also, by acquiring him now, the Knicks would have Drummond's Bird rights, which would make it easier to re-sign him this offseason if they are interested in him as more than a rental.
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Boston Celtics
We'll see if Celtics president Danny Ainge has any interest in Drummond. Boston holds a massive $28.5 million trade exception from this past offseason's Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade, but here's the caveat: Drummond's $28,751,774 salary is still too much for the Celtics to flat-out absorb.
The only chance they'd have at a deal is one that includes Marcus Smart, which is not going to happen. A Drummond-for-Kemba-Walker deal would work too, but that also isn't happening. It has been reported that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-boston-celtics-searching-for-upgrades-to-wing-big-positions-danny-ainge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston is looking for upgrades,</a> but unless a third team gets involved, it'll be very difficult for the Celtics and Cavs to figure out a trade for Drummond. Perhaps Boston is an option if he is bought out.
Charlotte Hornets
There's a way for Cleveland to get a four-player return for Drummond and Wade from Charlotte, but it involves the Hornets dealing Cody Zeller, Malik Monk and Bismack Biyombo. Aside from that, any other deal would require Charlotte to move All-Star candidate Terry Rozier or PJ Washington and that isn't going to happen. Unless the Cavs want even more centers in the locker room, this isn't a great fit (unless they can find a third team).
Oklahoma City Thunder
Sam Presti is a patient man who is trusting his rebuilding process, so this is nothing more than an idea. But if the Thunder sent Trevor Ariza, Darius Miller and Mike Muscala to Cleveland, they could theoretically bring in Drummond.
As you can plainly see, there a number of possibilities when it comes to trade partners for Cleveland. However, it's going to take some creativity to get a deal done with Drummond's massive contract.

Spencer Davies looks into a number of destinations that could work for Andre Drummond as Cleveland searches for his new home.

Where could Andre Drummond land? Here are possible destinations

Ethan Fuller ranks NBA teams by their success plans, with loads of parity through three weeks of action.

NBA Sour Rankings: COVID Chaos

Kyrie Irving is missing, for lack of a better word. Players keep disappearing at random times because of COVID-19 -- the latest being Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas, who had to leave the team&rsquo;s game vs. the Brooklyn Nets during the second quarter due to the league&rsquo;s protocols.
The Philadelphia 76ers will only have eight guys available this afternoon vs. the Denver Nuggets, and other teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics are missing multiple players for COVID-related reasons as well.
There are 16 teams who are at (or within one game of) .500. The Los Angeles Lakers are clearly the best team out there, but what on Earth has happened to last season&rsquo;s top teams (like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks)?
This is a strange NBA season. It&rsquo;s been more than a month since training camps opened, and each day there&rsquo;s a new head-scratching story.
Irving&rsquo;s whereabouts and motives remain unclear two days after he no-showed for Brooklyn&rsquo;s game against Philadelphia. The Nets are not saying much, and Irving&rsquo;s publicist, Ashley Blackwood, is not returning phone calls. After looking like world-beaters to open the season, the Nets now sit at .500 following last night&rsquo;s loss in Memphis.
Normally, beat writers would meet with players and coaches after the game to get an explanation. Then, the next day, they&rsquo;d show up at practice and get even more information. Not this season. COVID-19 protocols are keeping everyone away from one another and leading to more questions than answers. Almost every arena is empty, every journalist is communicating with players and coaches via Zoom, and basketball fans are squirreled away in their homes hoping that some sense of normalcy returns soon.
The Sixers looked excellent until they ran into the Irving-and-Durant-less Nets at Barclays Center on Thursday and laid an egg, causing Charles Barkley to ridicule them for their lack of defense. The Clippers have looked with notable exceptions: Last night vs. the Golden State Warriors and their Dec. 27 game against the Mavericks when they trailed by 50 points at halftime (setting a new NBA record).
The Lakers have been the Lakers: a 117-115 victory over the Chicago Bulls last night put them atop the Western Conference at 7-3, and if there is a legitimate threat in the West to keep them out of the NBA Finals, that team has yet to emerge. This despite Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being injured.
The guy running away with the scoring title, Bradley Beal (35.0 PPG), plays for a 2-7 team that is tied with the Detroit Pistons for the worst record in the East. This isn&rsquo;t how the Wizards envisioned their season going when they added Russell Westbrook, but the team is incredibly inconsistent and it&rsquo;s a mystery what you&rsquo;re going to get from them on any given night.
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James Harden remains in Houston, where he is tied for the league lead in assists with 11.3 per game (taking the spot from Nikola Jokic). In the assists race, Harden is tied with Westbrook, whose assist-to-turnover ratio was 8-to-7 last night against the Celtics.
Stephen Curry is making 4.6 three-pointers per night, but C.J. McCollum is outdoing him with 4.8 per night for a Portland Trail Blazers team that is third-worst in the West defensively, allowing 118 points per night. They should be better than 4-4, but Jusuf Nurkic has been ordinary after his All-Bubble performance last summer.
Jokic&rsquo;s Nuggets are 3-5, trolling the depths of the West along with the Memphis Grizzlies (who had the misfortune of losing Ja Morant) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (who are without Karl-Anthony Towns).
The Bucks are 5-4, which makes them every bit as good as the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. The defending champions in the East, the Miami Heat, are 3-4, but at least that puts them light years ahead of the Toronto (Tampa) Raptors, who are 2-6 after dropping 144 points on the Sacramento Kings last night despite being without Kyle Lowry (personal reasons, which is the euphemism of the year).
The longest winning streak in the league belongs to the Boston Celtics, who have won four in a row and will try to make it five tonight against Miami, which will be on the second night-of a back-to-back in D.C. in which they may or may not have to face Westbrook (who has sat out back-to-backs). Westbrook has played in seven of nine games for the Wizards, who are dead last in the NBA in defense (allowing 122.9 points per game). &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t guard a parked car," Beal said, summing up Washington's rough start.
The flavor of the week from a week ago, the Atlanta Hawks, are enduring <a href="https://theathletic.com/2307304/2021/01/08/atlanta-hawks-john-collins-trae-young/">a feud</a> between Trae Young and John Collins that contributed to three-straight losses after a 4-1 start. They are a mess, as are the Clippers, who blew a 22-point second half lead last night to remind us all of what happened in last year&rsquo;s playoffs. Golden State scored 52 of the game&rsquo;s final 70 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for just four fourth-quarter points. Yes, you read that previous sentence correctly.
At least we have the Indiana Pacers as a feel-good story, with Myles Turner blocking shots at a crazy pace, Malcolm Brogdon emerging as the most astute social-justice voice (and playing the best basketball of his career) and Domantas Sabonis dropping a double-double every single night. Remember this name: Nate Bjorkgren. If he keeps this up, he could emerge as the favorite for the Coach of the Year award.
The season is 10 games old in many cases, so we are just getting started. Remember: The new normal is not normal. It is abnormal.
And what we are seeing in the NBA thus far this season is a reflection of that fact.

If the first 10 games are any indication, this is going to be a strange NBA season. Chris Sheridan recaps the first few weeks of action.

Recapping the start of a strange 2020-21 NBA season

The Milwaukee Bucks recently decided to boycott Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake, 29, was shot seven times by police in Kenosha, WI. 
This comes exactly four years after Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem for the first time prior to a 49ers-Packers preseason game, showing just how much has changed in that span.
The NBA postponed all of Wednesday&rsquo;s games and players met to discuss whether they should finish the postseason in the bubble. Ultimately, the players decided to resume the playoffs, with the NBA and NBPA <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nbpa-social-justice-coalition-executive-director-michele-roberts-voting-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coming together</a> to create a social-reform coalition, turn many NBA arenas into voting locations and run ads during the playoff games that promote greater civic engagement.
Blake&rsquo;s attorney, Benjamin Crump, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CESTQkYD4Xc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted a picture</a> of Blake with his three sons (who were in the car when he was shot) on his Instagram page and wrote: &ldquo;This is Jacob Blake. He is 29 years old and a devoted father. Kenosha, WI police shot him several times in the back tonight after he was breaking up a fight between two women. His THREE SONS were in the car he was getting into when they shot him!! His sons will be traumatized forever. As a father myself, I am horrified and disgusted. We cannot let this continue! We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our children deserve better!!&ldquo;
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James discussed this incident following a Game 4 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
&ldquo;So you&rsquo;re telling me that there was no way to subdue that gentleman or detain him before the firing of guns? You&rsquo;re lying to every African-American, every Black person in the community,&rdquo; James <a href="https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=29735258" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "If you watch the video, there were multiple moments where - if they wanted to - they could&rsquo;ve tackled him, they could&rsquo;ve grabbed him, they could&rsquo;ve done that. So why did it have to get to a point where we see the guns firing? His family is there. The kids are there. It&rsquo;s in broad daylight. 
"And if that video is not being taken by that person across the street, do we know if we even see that video? &hellip; We are scared as Black people in America. Black men, Black women, Black kids, we are terrified.&rdquo;
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul also addressed this during his post-game interview following a Game 4 victory over the Houston Rockets.
&ldquo;I just want to send my prayers out to Jacob Blake and his family,&rdquo; Paul <a href="https://twitter.com/complexsports/status/1298030906024906753?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;We said we were going to continue to speak on the social injustice and the things that continue to happen to our people. It&rsquo;s not right.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Miraculously, Jacob somehow survived and is in stable condition, according to a statement from the family. However, make no mistake, the police (who are now on paid administrative leave) did not intend for him to leave there alive. Their aim was to kill him - right in front of his 3-year-old, 5-year-old and 8-year-old sons.
&ldquo;Nobody&rsquo;s more devastated than his three sons,&rdquo; Crump <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/24/jacob-blake-stable-condition-after-shooting-kenosha-police-shot-7-times/3431519001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a>. &ldquo;You can only imagine the psychological problems these babies are going to have for the rest of their lives."
"As we fight for justice and understanding, our family has and will face many trials during this time," the Blake family wrote on their <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/justiceforjacobblake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe page</a>. "Jacob Blake is a loving father of six that deserves proper medical attention and legal representation."
Why is the family and their attorney repeatedly stating that Jacob is a loving father of six and a good person? Because each and every time a Black man or Black woman is killed by the police, they are demonized and their name is dragged through the mud. This happened with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Terence Crutcher, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Akai Gurley, Stephon Clark, Andrew Kearse and countless others. The media floods the airways with justifications of why the person was shot by the police and how it was somehow their fault.
A Black man shouldn&rsquo;t have to be perfect or a college graduate or a husband or a father in order to explain why he didn&rsquo;t deserve to be shot seven times in the back by police, but I digress.&nbsp;
This is exactly why NBA players have been kneeling during the national anthem. It&rsquo;s why they have been wearing messages on the backs of their jerseys. It&rsquo;s why they have collectively let their voices be heard during this entire NBA bubble restart, despite the barrage of criticism and vitriol they have received. It&rsquo;s why there were questions about whether the players should go to the bubble at all.
Donald Trump <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2020/08/11/donald-trump-nba-players-very-dumb-kneeling-during-anthem/3343737001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> NBA players &ldquo;very nasty and very dumb&rdquo; for taking a knee during the national anthem.
Conservative political pundit Charlie Kirk <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1288975274709671936" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>: &ldquo;Hilarious to see Black NBA players who make millions a year take a knee to try and tell us black people can&rsquo;t succeed in America. Kick them out of the league. Done watching the NBA.&rdquo;
Former NFL player, head coach and current commentator Mike Ditka <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2020/07/26/mike-ditka-x-league-national-anthem-protests-womens-football/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told TMZ Sports</a>: "If you can't respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country. That's the way I feel. Of course, I'm old fashioned. So, I'm only going to say what I feel.&rdquo;
How is it possible that so many people still don&rsquo;t understand that this has nothing to do with the flag or veterans? Or are they simply dedicated to purposely misrepresenting and redirecting the issue?&nbsp;
Michael Vick spent more time in prison for killing dogs than just about every police officer who has killed an unarmed Black person over the past three decades, so it should be crystal clear what the issue is.
Joakim Noah recently <a href="https://www.fli.tv/joakim-noah-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared on my show, The Rematch</a>, and explained why he chose to put &ldquo;Justice&rdquo; on the back of his NBA jersey while in the bubble.
&ldquo;Because everyone deserves justice. Everybody does,&rdquo; Noah said. &ldquo;And the truth is that right now, and for a long time, there are a lot of people who don&rsquo;t [receive justice]. I wanted to use that because everyone deserves human rights. All of my heroes have been fighting for justice. Some have died for justice... And I hope that a lot of these people who have died - when you think of [George] Floyd and Breonna Taylor - I really hope that they can get their justice.&rdquo;
Joakim almost got emotional while saying these words. This isn&rsquo;t just a trendy thing to support, as some have suggested; this means something to Noah and these players. It&rsquo;s important for NBA players to take stances like this and verbalize to the media why this matters to them. We&rsquo;ve heard Noah, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Jerami Grant, Tobias Harris, Sterling Brown, C.J. McCollum, Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Kyle Kuzma and so many others discuss this. We&rsquo;ve heard from coaches such as Doc Rivers and Alvin Gentry. It should be crystal clear what the issue is at this point.&nbsp;
What the NBA and WNBA have done this season can&rsquo;t be overlooked: This is one of the largest collective athlete-activist movements since the 1960s. This movement has pushed entire industries to reckon with their racist history and institute programs and initiatives that weren&rsquo;t previously there.&nbsp;
For example: The NBA <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29602899/nba-establishes-fund-support-empowerment-black-community" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently announced</a> that &ldquo;all 30 NBA teams will contribute a combined $300 million over the next decade to fund the NBA Foundation, a new charitable initiative dedicated to greater economic empowerment in the Black community.&rdquo;
NBA Coaches For Racial Justice was <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/how-lloyd-pierce-is-leading-nba-coaches-in-the-fight-for-racial-justice/OSCCWK4DEZHODL6W2C3P3MIDWE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established by</a> Lloyd Pierce and now every coach in the NBA is working with grassroots organizations in their respective cities.
Former head coach and current analyst Stan Van Gundy explained the kneeling for those who still seem to be confused on the meaning and importance of the players&rsquo; stance.&nbsp;
&ldquo;If you love something, you want it to be better,&rdquo; Van Gundy said <a href="https://www.fli.tv/stan-van-gundy-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on my show, The Rematch</a>. &ldquo;As a parent, you&rsquo;re going to love your kid no matter what. But you&rsquo;re not going to just let them do whatever they want to do and not say anything or do anything - because if you really love your kids, you want them to be the best that they can be. And when they&rsquo;re not doing that, you want to try to correct their course. That&rsquo;s what the players are doing. They&rsquo;re not saying, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t want to live here,&rsquo; or, &lsquo;I hate America.&rsquo; They&rsquo;re saying, &lsquo;I want it to be the best that it can be.&rsquo;&rdquo;
NBA players took a respectful stand - not against police, but against police brutality. And they did it together, as an entire league. Coaches, referees, staff, white players, foreign players - everyone taking a stand together while utilizing the media to bring further attention to specific cases of police brutality and calling for police accountability (such as justice for Breonna Taylor and George Floyd).&nbsp;
With the horrifying shooting of Jacob Blake and the fact that none of the police officers had body cams - although Kenosha technically requires them for all of their officers - some players feel that kneeling isn&rsquo;t enough anymore. And as was the case with George Floyd, if it weren&rsquo;t for a civilian&lsquo;s recording, the &ldquo;facts&rdquo; from the police report almost certainly wouldn&rsquo;t have resulted in any officer being held accountable.&nbsp;
It is more than evident that we still have a long way to go.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/justiceforjacobblake?utm_source=customer&amp;utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link_all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This is the official GoFundMe created for Jacob Blake and his family. They need our support.</a>

The Jacob Blake shooting is exactly why NBA players have been kneeling and fighting social injustice, writes Etan Thomas.