https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/nba-logos/den.png

Nuggets

A few weeks after the surgery that ultimately ended his season, Bradley Beal was talking with reporters when he was asked a simple question: Was it fair to say he was leaning toward re-signing with Washington?
&ldquo;It's fair,&rdquo; Beal said in early March, without offering any more assurance than that.
Now the Wizards embark on a massive offseason, and all eyes are on Beal, who can become a free agent this summer. His next move will obviously have a big impact on the franchise's direction.
Beal had surgery in February on his left wrist and didn't play again. A Washington team that started fast under new coach Wes Unseld Jr. ended up going 35-47 and missing the playoffs.
Washington began the season by winning 10 of its first 13 games. <a href="https://apnews.com/0a2695fdd5ae8dd8fe48470ed51ef2e9">The trade</a> that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers was paying dividends, with Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell all contributing after coming to Washington in that deal.
By the time Beal went down, however, the Wizards were already slipping. That injury certainly didn't help their prospects, and they ended up making <a href="https://apnews.com/article/washington-wizards-nba-sports-spencer-dinwiddie-davis-bertans-f47895e153d50f9b23d4d5ce09121a0d">more significant moves</a> at the deadline. Spencer Dinwiddie, who was acquired to play point guard before the season, was dealt to Dallas in a deal that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Washington. The Wizards also traded Harrell.
The 7-foot-3 Porzingis played well for Washington, averaging 22.1 points in 17 games for the Wizards. He never got to play alongside Beal, and the question now is whether he'll have that chance next season.
&ldquo;Slowly, we're kind of figuring each other out, especially my teammates with me, because I just got here," Porzingis said late this season. &ldquo;I think we're still pretty far away from where we want to be, in terms of chemistry and stuff like that, but it's not bad for this short a period of time. It's pretty good. I'm excited to see what's ahead of us.&rdquo;
AT THE POINT
The point guard spot has often been a strength for Washington, with Westbrook, John Wall and Gilbert Arenas having occupied it. Dinwiddie had big shoes to fill when he arrived, and his tenure with the Wizards didn't last long. Now Washington needs to find another solution.
DEFENSIVE ISSUES
The Wizards remain a work in progress on defense after Unseld's first season. They finished 25th in the league in defensive rating.
&ldquo;We had to change how we defended certain things, pretty much in the middle of the season," Unseld said. "A bit of a hiccup, but that's what we had. So we had to adjust things a little bit, and it took a little time to get back on track in that area.&rdquo;
Washington ranked last in the NBA in steals.
LONG DISTANCE
The Wizards also finished last in the league in made 3-pointers, but in this area, their defense did succeed. No team held opponents to fewer 3-point attempts than Washington, and only two teams allowed fewer made 3s.
NEW ADDITIONS
Kuzma averaged 17.1 points, his highest average since his second season with the Lakers in 2018-19. Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.2 points.
EFFICIENT
Daniel Gafford averaged a career-high 9.4 points per game on 69% shooting from the field. The 23-year-old Gafford doesn't have the height of Porzingis, but his athleticism could be an asset for the Wizards in the seasons to come.
&ldquo;I think overall, he's shown growth in a lot of areas. He still has a lot of untapped potential, in my opinion,&rdquo; Unseld said. &ldquo;He's very impressionable. I think at times, his confidence wanes, but that's all young players.&rdquo;

The Wizards will embark on a massive offseason, and all eyes are on Beal, who can become a free agent this summer.

All eyes on Bradley Beal as big offseason begins for Wizards

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Obi Toppin scored a career-high 35 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 114-92 on Friday night.
RJ Barrett scored 14 points for the Knicks before leaving the game with a sprained right knee. His early exit came on a night when a number of key players from both teams didn't play at all. Both teams are eliminated from playoff contention. New York (36-45) moved a game ahead of Washington (35-46) for 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks allowed the game's first 10 points and shot just 2 of 9 from 3-point range in the first quarter, but they dominated after that. New York was 14 of 30 from long distance the rest of the way.
The Knicks took control when they outscored Washington 36-19 in the second quarter to lead 59-50 at halftime.
New York scored the final six points of the first half on a dunk and then a four-point play by Toppin. Then the Knicks scored the first 13 of the third quarter. Toppin capped the run with two more 3-pointers to make it 72-50.
Rui Hachimura led the Wizards with 21 points. Immanuel Quickley had 23 points and 10 assists for New York.
DID NOT PLAY
The Wizards have been without Bradley Beal (left wrist) for more than two months, and Kyle Kuzma (right knee) was out for a 12th straight game. Kristaps Porzingis (right knee) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (rest) did not play either.
Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Kuzma, Porzingis and Caldwell-Pope will also miss the team's finale at Charlotte.
New York was without Julius Randle (right quadriceps tendon) for a fourth straight game. The Knicks have also been without Nerlens Noel (left foot), Cam Reddish (right shoulder), Derrick Rose (right ankle) and Kemba Walker. Quentin Grimes (right knee) and Mitchell Robinson (non-COVID illness) each missed a second straight game.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Toppin's previous career high was 20 points.
Wizards: Washington was blown out despite shooting 51% from the field. The Wizards had 22 turnovers, which led to 33 New York points.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Toronto on Sunday night.
Wizards: At Charlotte on Sunday.

Obi Toppin poured in a career-high 35 points in Friday's win over the Washington Wizards.

Toppin scores 35, Knicks rout Wizards 114-92

There wasn&rsquo;t exactly a consensus about how the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; season would end, but it&rsquo;s probably safe to say that nobody foresaw this.
On Tuesday night, the Lakers saw their bleak playoff hopes reduced to zero when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets, and immediately thereafter &mdash; and rightfully so &mdash; Frank Vogel, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were all in the news.
In the end, there&rsquo;s no single reason the Lakers turned in one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history &mdash; there&rsquo;s enough blame to go around.
What Rob Pelinka needs to figure out is how to fix it.
The answer, ironically, would probably be to start thinking small.
This past season, the team managed to find some serviceable pieces to augment the star-studded core, but only Davis, James, Talen Horton-Tucker and Austin Reaves are under contract next season. The Lakers hold a team option on Stanley Johnson and Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn both have player options they are likely to pick up.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The official 2021-22 Kendrick Nunn highlight reel 🎥 <a href="https://t.co/wDPehJyqpN">pic.twitter.com/wDPehJyqpN</a>
&mdash; Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersLead/status/1508967570560458762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Combined &mdash; thanks in large part to the commitments to Westbrook, James and Davis &mdash; the Lakers are in line to have about $148 million on their 2022-23 ledger, which is already about $26 million over the projected salary cap.
Said differently, outside of offloading one of Westbrook, James or Davis without taking much salary back in return, the team wouldn&rsquo;t be able to manufacture enough cap space to have a competent opportunity of improving via free agency. Obviously, the club could go the route it went this past season and hand out one-year, minimum salary contracts to aging veterans, but the players who could actually make a difference for the Lakers won&rsquo;t exactly be lining up to sign on the dotted line given the performance of this year&rsquo;s team.
To make matters even worse, the Lakers don&rsquo;t own a pick in this year&rsquo;s draft. Their first rounder was sent to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade, while their second-round pick is owned by the Spurs.
So how does a team with no cap space and no draft picks improve?
Simple: by thinking small.
Ask the Brooklyn Nets, and look toward the Miami Heat.
A historically frugal franchise, Miami has never necessarily found itself in the kind of salary cap hell the Lakers are in at the moment. Part of the reason why is because one of the constants during Pat Riley&rsquo;s tenure has been investing heavily in scouting and player development. The same rings true of most successful small market franchises.
Players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis may win you the championship, but throughout history, it&rsquo;s always been players like Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who get you there in the first place.
Contenders invariably unearth valuable and sometimes unknown role players and maximize those role players' talent. For example, this year's Miami team has enjoyed the combination of Tyler Herro, Max Strus and Omer Yurtseven combining to earn only about $7 million. That's about $3 million less than Talen Horton-Tucker alone. Strus and Yurtseven are far from household names, but Miami wouldn&rsquo;t be entering play on April 6 as the first seed out East without them, especially considering the injuries the team has dealt with this season.
Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn also go on a list that features the likes of Bam Adebayo, Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem as players drafted and developed by the staff in Miami.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Some time ago, the Lakers had what looked like a competent core of young players. It&rsquo;s hard to imagine that just four years ago, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson were all teammates in Los Angeles. They&rsquo;ve all come and gone, most to facilitate the arrivals of LeBron, Davis and then Westbrook.
The Lakers do have a championship to show for that roster churn, but from this point forth, the way out might actually be to go back to the drawing board. Sean Marks and his Brooklyn Nets, another franchise that Lakers VP of Operations Rob Pelinka would be wise to mimic this summer, provide a blueprint for how to go about doing that.
When Marks took over the Nets in 2016, Brooklyn was not in a good place. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry had all come and gone, and the draft picks that became Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Collin Sexton were living their best lives elsewhere. The Nets had a bloated payroll, a team of scrubs and no future.
The NBA's Chicago Draft Combine was only two months after Marks was hired in Brooklyn, and despite not owning a first-round pick, he sent quite a contingent to the Windy City. Their directive was to do as much recon work as possible to find Marks some players who could help. Marks used Thaddeus Young to trade his way into the first round and came away from the draft with Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead. Within the next six months, he signed two diamonds in the rough, Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie.
One season later, Marks drafted Jarrett Allen and landed D&rsquo;Angelo Russell in a trade with the Lakers, and that was essentially the core that both got Brooklyn back on track and ultimately landed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Highlights Kyrie Irving &amp; Kevin Durant 🆚 Sixers<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NetsWorld?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NetsWorld</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBATwitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBATwitter</a> <a href="https://t.co/viw7ZzQQIZ">pic.twitter.com/viw7ZzQQIZ</a>
&mdash; Back2Back (@B2BFR) <a href="https://twitter.com/B2BFR/status/1502186067541307394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Obviously, that all took time to come to fruition, and time isn't something that LeBron James has. But the point is that no matter how daunting the situation, a competent NBA front office can build a team without having the most obvious assets readily available. That the Lakers have two superstars should actually make the task a bit less difficult.
In this league, there are generally two types of teams: those who rely on free agency and trades to build their contender, and those who build their programs organically, most often through the draft. Big-market teams tend to be the former, while small market teams usually go the other route.
If either Marks or Riley were put in charge of the Lakers&rsquo; front office, they would probably trade Horton-Tucker for draft capital after realizing he&rsquo;s not the right fit there. They&rsquo;d engage the Pelicans, Blazers, Thunder, Rockets, Pacers and Grizzlies &mdash; teams who may have multiple first-round picks &mdash; and find a way to come away from the draft with a young piece and at least one more promising player from the summer circuit. Only then would they go knocking on the doors of guys like Tristan Thompson, Semi Ojeleye and Victor Oladipo, all of whom could help and potentially be had for cheap.
By the time the 2022-23 season tips off, the team could be remade. Some names we&rsquo;d know, and many we wouldn&rsquo;t. But as we&rsquo;ve seen before, often, it&rsquo;s the names we don&rsquo;t know who end up making the biggest difference. Alex Caruso, anyone?&nbsp;
Neither DeMar DeRozan, Buddy Hield nor Kyle Lowry will be coming to save the day; Pelinka and James got themselves into their current mess, and they&rsquo;ll have to get themselves out.
With their season ending much sooner than anyone could have imagined, the Lakers will have plenty to address over their long summer.
But, at least in the NBA, small steps can lead to major strides.
With few options, the Lakers should be so wise.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

With the Los Angeles Lakers out of playoff contention, they must now focus on rebuilding like a small-market team.

Only fix for LeBron’s Lakers is to operate like a small-market team

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, Jayson Tatum had 22 and the Boston Celtics cruised to a 144-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday in their regular-season home finale.
Jockeying for one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, Boston posted a season-high 39 assists en route to its 13th win in 16 games with three games left in the regular season.
&ldquo;Man, we've come a long way,&rdquo; Brown said his team's resurgence.
The Celtics were struggling with a 16-19 record in late December. They've gone 33-11 since.
&ldquo;I'm feeling comfortable. I'm being aggressive, just trying to take it to the next level heading into the playoffs,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Making the right reads and the right passes. Shots fell tonight, which is good.&rdquo;
Derrick White added 17 points, Grant Williams 16 and Payton Pritchard 14 for the Celtics, who finished 28-13 at TD Garden. Tatum had seven assists and six rebounds, while Brown added seven boards with five assists.
Boston closes with a tough road trip to Chicago, Milwaukee and Memphis.
&ldquo;It'll be a great test,&rdquo; coach Ime Udoka said. &ldquo;This all kind of leans into going into the playoffs, and it'll keep us sharp and focused.&rdquo;
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kristaps Porzingis each had 17 points for Washington, and Ish Smith finished with 16.
Eliminated from playoff contention earlier this week, the Wizards had won four of five.
&ldquo;I think we got hit and we were playing catch-up the entire game,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;That train continues to move. They&rsquo;ve been playing the best of anybody in the NBA since January 1.&rdquo;
Appearing bored by the lack of challenge by Washington, the crowd started the wave in the final quarter, something rarely seen at home games.
Boston opened a double-digit lead late in the first quarter on Tatum&rsquo;s driving layup and was never tested.
The Celtics, who scored 35 points in each of the first two quarters, led by 13 after one quarter and 11 at halftime.
They pushed the lead to 20 &mdash; 80-60 &mdash; on Al Horford&rsquo;s 3 from the top of the key three minutes into the second half.
&ldquo;We became stagnant and weren't moving the ball," Caldwell-Pope said. &ldquo;We couldn't get a shot moving to the basket. They played great defense. They switch one-to-five and make it tough."
Boston led by 25 points after three quarters, allowing Udoka to rest his starters.
EXPERIMENTING
Udoka said before the game he&rsquo;s most concerned with how his team&rsquo;s performing going into the playoffs.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a balance, we&rsquo;re worrying about ourselves and how we&rsquo;re playing more so than the opponent and where we&rsquo;re going to fall,&rdquo; he said.
He&rsquo;s also planning on trying different lineups after center Robert Williams III was lost for 4-to-6 weeks following left knee surgery on March 30.
&ldquo;We need to keep looking at rotations and see what works best for us going forward,&rdquo; he said.
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
Tatum warmed up before the game, slowly jogging with a resistance band around his waist being held by a member of the team&rsquo;s staff with his 4-year-old son, Deuce, running in front of him.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Opened a three-game road swing Sunday. ... Porzingis scored the Wizards&rsquo; final eight points of the first half after a relatively poor start.
Celtics: Tatum didn&rsquo;t play the final quarter and Brown saw just a couple of minutes. ... Udoka said Tatum tested his sore right knee to see if he was able to play, as he has since he missed a game in Toronto on March 28. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of been the process the last few games,&rdquo; the coach said. ... Marcus Smart addressed the crowd before the game on Fan Appreciation Day, thanking them for &ldquo;being the best sixth man you can ask for.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Wizards: At the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Celtics: At the Bulls on Wednesday.
&nbsp;

Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, Jayson Tatum had 22 and the Celtics cruised to a 144-102 victory over the Wizards.

Jaylen Brown scores 32 points; Celtics rout Wizards 144-102

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; DeMar DeRozan scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls pulled away for a 107-94 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Nikola Vucevic scored 27 points for Chicago, which is trying to stay in the top six in the Eastern Conference and avoid the play-in round of the postseason. The Bulls (44-32) took a half-game lead over Toronto (43-32) for fifth place in the East, and they lead seventh-place Cleveland (42-33) by 1 1/2 games.
Chicago has played 12 of its last 15 on the road, but the Bulls now have only six games remaining in the regular season &mdash; and the next five are at home.
Rui Hachimura scored 21 points for the Wizards, who had their modest two-game winning streak snapped. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20.
The Bulls rebounded from a loss to the New York Knicks the previous night, and they overcame a scoreless first half from Zach LaVine, who finished with 14 points. DeRozan was just 2 of 12 from the field in the half, but he went 10 of 15 in the second.
Chicago led 75-73 after three quarters, but the Bulls made their decisive run early in the fourth. DeRozan's breakaway dunk made it 90-80 &mdash; the first double-digit lead for either team &mdash; and Chicago comfortably closed the game out from there.
Vucevic scored 20 points in the first half, and the Bulls led 51-46 after two quarters.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Javonte Green scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting. That included a one-handed dunk in the second quarter and an alley-oop moments later.
Wizards: Washington is without star Bradley Beal (left wrist), and Kyle Kuzma (right knee) wasn't available either. ... Kristaps Porzingis and Deni Avdija scored 14 points apiece.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
Wizards: Host Orlando on Wednesday night.
&nbsp;

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points as the Chicago Bulls earned a 107-94 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Bulls alone in 5th place after 107-94 win over Wizards

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; LeBron James moved into second place on the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring list Saturday night, surpassing Karl Malone in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; game at Washington.
James now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the lead. He entered the game 19 points behind Malone&rsquo;s total of 36,928. After a six-point first quarter, James went on a scoring binge in the second that included a dunk and three 3-pointers.
The last of those 3s brought him even with Malone. Then he made a layup off a backdoor cut with 5:20 left in the quarter to move ahead.
Moments later, as Washington's Tomas Satoransky prepared to shoot free throws, James' accomplishment was put up on the video screen, and the crowd in Washington gave him a standing ovation. James acknowledged the cheers with a wave of his hand and exchanged a hug with Washington's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a former teammate.
James then checked out of the game and received congratulations from teammates on the sideline.
Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his career. James has a chance to break that record next season if he&rsquo;s healthy enough.
James passed Malone in the same building where Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals moved past Jaromir Jagr and into third place on the NHL&rsquo;s career list in goals earlier in the week.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James moved into second place on the NBA’s career scoring list Saturday night, surpassing Karl Malone.

LeBron James passes Karl Malone for 2nd all-time in scoring

Stephen Curry dazzled for 47 points on his 34th birthday, Draymond Green returned from a 29-game absence to ignite the defense as usual, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 126-112 on Monday night.
Reigning scoring champion Curry shot 16 for 25 with seven 3-pointers, dribbling past defenders and shaking coverage to make off-balanced shots. The Warriors wound up shooting 53.6% from the floor in snapping a three-game losing streak to Washington. Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole scored 20 apiece.
Green, who had been sidelined with a disk injury in his lower back and played for the first time since Jan. 9, finished with six points, seven rebounds and six assists in 20 minutes. It marked the first time he, Curry and Thompson were on the court together since Thompson went down with a left knee injury in the deciding Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, won by Toronto. Thompson had surgery then missed last season recovering from a repaired right Achilles tendon.
Green entered <a href="https://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP/status/1503558520871948289">at the 4:50 mark of the opening quarter</a> to a warm ovation, then knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:42 left in the period, yelling &ldquo;Yeah!&rdquo; in delight. Coach Steve Kerr opted to bring Green off the bench at least for a game or two &mdash; &ldquo;This is very temporary,&rdquo; Kerr said &mdash; since Green is on a minutes restriction initially.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points and Kenatavious Caldwell-Pope 19 in the Wizards&rsquo; fourth straight loss, fifth of six and sixth in a row on the road.
Rui Hachimura's basket with 5:25 to play got the Wizards within single digits at 110-101 before Curry connected moments later.
JAPAN TOUR
The Warriors and Wizards will play a pair of preseason games Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 in Saitama, Japan, outside Tokyo.
&ldquo;Participating in the upcoming NBA Japan Games gives us great optimism about the continued growth of basketball around the world and the opportunity to unite through a shared love of the game,&rdquo; Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Brandon Schneider said.
The games at Saitama Super Arena will be the Wizards&rsquo; first trip to Japan and the 15th and 16th games in the country for the NBA.
FAMILIAR FACE
First-year Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. was a Warriors assistant in 2011-12 during Thompson&rsquo;s rookie season and the third year for Curry.
&ldquo;This place was a lot of fun,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Not only the city but the arena, the energy.&rdquo;
WISEMAN PLAN
Second-year center James Wiseman will play another game &mdash; his third &mdash; with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, then the Warriors will decide on the next step.
He hasn't played this season while recovering from right knee surgery and not in an NBA game since April 10.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington shot 6 for 20 from deep in the first half to trail 73-57 at the break and committed seven turnovers that led to 15 Golden State points. ... The Wizards shot 51.2% but were outrebounded 44-35.
Warriors: Golden State missed starting forward Andrew Wiggins because of an illness. ... G Gary Payton II sat out a sixth straight game with soreness in his left knee. ... The Warriors are 12-2 at home against the Eastern Conference. ... Andre Iguodala missed a 15th straight game and 23rd in 24 with lower back tightness but Kerr said &ldquo;we want to do everything possible to have him healthy&rdquo; for the stretch run and playoffs.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Denver on Wednesday night, a respite in the middle of tough stretch with eight of 10 on the road.
Warriors: Host Celtics on Wednesday night, having lost the last three and five of six to Boston at home.

Stephen Curry dazzled for 47 points on his 34th birthday and Draymond Green returned from a 29-game absence to ignite the defense as usua

Curry dazzles for 47 points on 34th birthday, Warriors win

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 50 points for the 15th time in his career and helped rally the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half to a 122-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
It is the second straight home game during which James has scored at least 50 and the third time he has done it with the Lakers. He had a season-high 56 in a win over Golden State last Saturday.
James was 18 of 25 from the field and made six 3-pointers in 36 minutes. He also had six rebounds and moved past Dikembe Mutombo into 12th place on the NBA's career defensive rebounds list with 8,553.
James rallied the Lakers back with 12 straight points during a 22-8 run when they took an 82-75 lead with 2:25 remaining. James' flurry included a thunderous dunk midway through the quarter to put Los Angeles up 73-70.
He then had 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers steadily pulled away. Los Angeles, which had dropped six of their last seven coming into the game, led by as many as 18 midway through the fourth.
Malik Monk scored 21 points and Talen Horton-Tucker added 15 for the Lakers.
Kyle Kuzma, who played for the Lakers for four seasons, led Washington with 23 points and rookie Corey Kispert scored a career-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers.
WELCOME BACK
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma, who were part of the Lakers' 2020 NBA championship team, were given a video salute during the first timeout. Both players were traded to Washington during the offseason to acquire Russell Westbrook.
Caldwell-Pope struggled in his return to LA. He was 1 of 6 from the floor and had only four points. He also received a technical foul late in the first quarter.
TIP INS
Wizards: Washington had a 62-53 lead early in the third quarter before the Lakers made their run. ... Rui Hachimura had 13 of his 15 points in the first half. ... Kristap Porzingis had a season-high 14 rebounds along with 14 points. ... Tomas Satoransky had 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Lakers: Westbrook had nine assists and passed Andre Miller for 11th on the career assists list. Westbrook has 8,529 in his 13-year career. ... Austin Reaves had 12 points.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Continue their four-game road trip at Portland on Sunday.
Lakers: Travel to Phoenix on Sunday.

LeBron James scored 50 points for the 15th time in his career and helped rally the Lakers to a 122-109 victory over the Wizards.

LeBron James scores 50, rallies Lakers past Wizards for 122-109 win

Prior to last month&rsquo;s NBA trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards pulled off arguably the most surprising deal of the week, swapping Kristaps Porzingis for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
Porzingis hadn&rsquo;t been mentioned in any trade rumors leading up to the deadline, so it was shocking to see the 26-year-old former All-Star on the move.
Dinwiddie, on the other hand, was very clearly on the block. Multiple reports suggested that he was available, and Kevin O&rsquo;Connor of The Ringer <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/1/31/22910354/los-angeles-clippers-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> that Dinwiddie&rsquo;s &ldquo;teammates don&rsquo;t want him there.&rdquo; The 28-year-old guard even <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dinwiddie-says-his-leadership-wasnt-necessarily-welcomed-by-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke out</a> about how his vocal leadership &ldquo;wasn&rsquo;t necessarily welcomed" in the Wizards' locker room.
It was a surprising turn of events. Just a few months earlier, Bradley Beal made it clear to the Wizards&rsquo; front office that he wanted Dinwiddie and even helped recruit him, as general manager Tommy Sheppard <a href="https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNBA/status/1429130174617079818" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has discussed</a>. This played a significant role in Dinwiddie signing a three-year, $62 million contract with Washington.&nbsp;
The Wizards ultimately traded Dinwiddie, Bertans and Montrezl Harrell. Shortly after, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope <a href="https://twitter.com/ChaseHughesNBCS/status/1491998119713779730" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attributed</a> the team&rsquo;s pre-deadline struggles to &ldquo;agendas and egos,&rdquo; adding that players &ldquo;were complaining about minutes [and] not getting the ball.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Dinwiddie was understandably bothered by these reports and comments, which insinuated that he was disliked and causing problems in the Wizards&rsquo; locker room.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s what hurt the most. I&rsquo;ve never bashed Washington. I&rsquo;ve never said an ill thing about the team," Dinwiddie told reporters. "I thanked the owner, Ted [Leonsis]. I thanked Tommy Sheppard, the GM, for collectively deciding to give me my contract. They didn&rsquo;t have to pay somebody coming off an ACL [injury]. I appreciate that. Wes [Unseld Jr.], being a first-time head coach, has a wealth of basketball knowledge. So to be bashed on the way out the door hurt my feelings, for sure. I&rsquo;m human, of course.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And you got to remember: When we were [10-3] and everybody was going crazy and we had all those clutch games, I was the one hitting the game-winners. Look at the Indiana game, the two Boston games, I was the one doing that. And that was back when I wasn&rsquo;t playing back-to-backs. When the role changed and they wanted me to pass more, they thought I was scoring a lot, I did that. I took my foot off the gas for a while because that&rsquo;s what they felt the team needed. So to get kind of kicked out the door was a wild feeling. I hadn&rsquo;t really experienced that before. But I still have nothing ill to say other than, yes, it hurt my feelings. But like anything else, you become cautious. And so far it&rsquo;s a great fit [in Dallas]. I love what they ask me to do here, which is get in the paint, and I&rsquo;m going to continue to do that and try to be of service.&rdquo;
Dinwiddie has been thriving with the Mavericks through seven games, averaging 17.6 points, 5.1 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 threes and just 1.4 turnovers, while shooting 56.3% from the field and 41.4% from three-point range. And in his first start with Dallas, Dinwiddie contributed a season-high 36 points to go along with 7 assists and 2 rebounds in a 114-113 win over the Sacramento Kings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Spencer Dinwiddie was balling for <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> dropping 36 PTS while shooting 50% from the field in the comeback victory! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a><a href="https://twitter.com/SDinwiddie_25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SDinwiddie_25</a>: 36 PTS (11/22 FGM), 7 AST <a href="https://t.co/lvgltC2xTS">pic.twitter.com/lvgltC2xTS</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1500471290490195969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

During his 44 games with the Wizards, Dinwiddie averaged 12.6 points, 5.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 threes per game on inefficient .376/.310/.811 shooting splits.
The Mavericks have won six of seven games with Dinwiddie in the lineup.
&ldquo;I knew I had a couple of friends here in [Reggie] Bullock, Theo [Pinson] and JD (Jared Dudley) on the coaching staff. You still approach the situation with kiddie gloves to see what&rsquo;s going on,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said of his fit with the Mavericks. &ldquo;Everything they said to me so far has been authentic, and everybody has bought into doing what they need to do to win. They encouraged me to be aggressive.
&ldquo;I missed my first three layups [against the Kings] and I felt like those were good shots. They aren&rsquo;t mad. It&rsquo;s not like Bullock and Doe-Doe (Dorian Finney-Smith) are like, &lsquo;Man, why am I not shooting? Like, what are you doing?&rsquo; They&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;No, bro, if you get another layup, shoot it! Until they stop you, if you can keep getting layups I don&rsquo;t care if you missed 20 of them, we believe in you to be aggressive.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s the culture of the group, and I&rsquo;m going to stay in attack mode.&rdquo;
Pinson has helped his former Brooklyn Nets teammate get acclimated in Dallas.
&ldquo;Theo is the best hype man, culture guy, whatever you want to call it, in the NBA,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in the NBA eight years &mdash; I&rsquo;ve been on like five teams or something like that &mdash; Theo is the best. I&rsquo;ll take him on a team any day. The mood is instantly lighter. It&rsquo;s instantly better. You going through some tough times? He&rsquo;s going to make you laugh. You going through some good times? He&rsquo;s going to make you feel great&hellip; I&rsquo;ll take him on my team any day. I promise you that.&rdquo;
Dinwiddie seems excited about his future in Dallas. He's meshing with his teammates, and he appreciates that everyone knows their role.
&ldquo;I just think our commitment to the collective and to winning games is all that matters,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to catch me out here picking up De&rsquo;Aaron Fox 94 feet; that would be out of character. I&rsquo;m not a ball-pressure guard. I&rsquo;ll sit there and guard you 1-on-1, but it&rsquo;s not my role and I&rsquo;m not going to do that. My job on offense is to get in the paint and make plays. I&rsquo;ll shoot the three when I have the switch and when I&rsquo;m open, but I&rsquo;m not just casting 30-footers like I&rsquo;m Steph Curry. I do what I do, and I don&rsquo;t do what I&rsquo;m not supposed to do. That goes 1 through 15. Everybody here follows that type of mentality because we understand that to not just win basketball games in the regular season, but in the playoffs, you need that.&rdquo;
It certainly seems like this change of scenery has been beneficial for Dinwiddie. Not only is he succeeding individually, but he&rsquo;ll also get to return to the playoffs (barring a collapse) since the Mavs are 39-25 and currently stand as the Western Conference's fifth seed. 
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Spencer Dinwiddie felt like he was "bashed on the way out the door" by the Wizards. Now, after a change of scenery, he's thriving.

Spencer Dinwiddie thriving with Mavs after messy exit from Wizards

After the Los Angeles Lakers were embarrassed by the Milwaukee Bucks at home on Tuesday night (before Los Angeles lost to a bad Portland Trail Blazers team missing half their roster), a reporter asked LeBron James how his squad stacks up against Milwaukee and the league's other elite teams.
LeBron gave a surprisingly candid response: "<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-players-believe-changes-must-be-made-before-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We ain't on their level</a>."
When asked if he believed the Lakers could eventually reach the Bucks' level this season, <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/lebron-james-admits-lakers-are-not-on-championship-level#:~:text=After%20the%20game%2C%20LeBron%20James,a%20flat%2C%20%22No.%22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James replied</a>, "Where they are right now? I don't know. Do I think we can reach the level where Milwaukee is right now? No. Is that what you want to hear from me? No. We can't get to where they are right now. They're the defending champions for a reason and I guarantee you if you would've asked teams coming out of the bubble if they could get to the level that we were playing at when we won a championship, they would've said the same thing."
Let's flashback to the championship group for a second, shall we?
It may seem like it's been 16 years or so since LeBron led LA to a title in the bubble, but, incredibly, it's been less than 16 months. The Lakers beat the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Finals on Oct. 11, 2020. The team's two cornerstones, Anthony Davis and LeBron, remain, but the rest of the rotation has been turned over completely.&nbsp;
So, how did this team go from raising the Larry O'Brien trophy, to being four games under .500 and fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament just a year-and-a-half later?&nbsp;
Let's break it down.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
In the offseason following their championship, LA's major move was trading Danny Green (a significant two-way contributor on their title team) and LA's 2021 first-round pick (Jaden McDaniels) to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schroder. That summer, LA re-signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (three years, $39 million) and used its cap space to ink free agent Montrezl Harrell to a two-year, $18.9 million contract. They also brought in Wesley Matthews and Markieff Morris for the veteran minimum and inked Marc Gasol to a two-year, $5.3 million deal.&nbsp;
In mid-March, in the days leading up to last season's trade deadline, the Lakers were cruising. More than halfway through the 2020-21 campaign, the Lakers' were 15 games above .500 and owned the league's second-best record at 28-13.&nbsp;
At that point, the Lakers made a decision that would come back to haunt them. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but the Lakers arrived at a fork in the road and chose the wrong path. They've been headed downhill ever since. (Over the past 11 months, the Lakers are 43-51 in the 94 games they've played).&nbsp;
On the eve of the 2021 trade deadline, the Lakers and Toronto Raptors were engaged in serious discussions on a potential deal that would have sent Kyle Lowry to LaLa Land, giving LeBron and Co. the established veteran point guard (and proven winner) the team desperately needed. The Lakers and Raps <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> were close to finalizing a swap sending Schroder, Caldwell-Pope and some draft capital to Toronto in exchange for Lowry. Yet, in the hours right before the deadline arrived, "the sticking point was the inclusion of Talen Horton-Tucker," <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Jovan Buha and Bill Oram of The Athletic</a>.&nbsp;
"Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations, insisted that price was too high for the 35-year-old Lowry, and that he was not willing to trade Horton-Tucker, the 20-year-old combo guard who has emerged as a valuable rotation player for the Lakers in his second season," Buha and Oram <a href="https://theathletic.com/2477311/2021/03/25/what-the-lakers-were-willing-to-trade-for-kyle-lowry-and-what-it-says-about-the-future/">reported</a>.
Looking back, it's impossible not to wonder how the future of several franchises might have changed if the Lakers had been willing to pony up for Lowry, who is now averaging 13.0 points and 8.1 assists per game for the Heat. This is the same Heat team that is poised to enter the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference.&nbsp;
As we know, the Lakers stood pat at last year's deadline and would struggle mightily in the six subsequent weeks. Over a 25-game stretch from mid-March through the first week in May, LA posted an 8-17 record.
The Lakers would eventually be eliminated in six games by the Suns in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. Anthony Davis returned to the Lakers' starting lineup in Game 6 after missing the second half of Game 4 and all of Game 5 due to a groin injury, but logged just five minutes before limping off the court. It was the first and only time in LeBron's career that he lost a first-round series (he had been 14-0).
"What matters to me is getting this team back healthy," James told reporters after the loss to Phoenix.
Well, as it turns out, Pelinka and James were unwilling to run it back with the same squad and hope the group would avoid injuries.&nbsp;
Instead, the Lakers rolled the dice, agreeing to one of the most dramatic and controversial trades in recent NBA history.&nbsp;
On the evening of July 29, both Woj and Shams <a href="https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1420855153410854925" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Lakers had consented to take on Russell Westbrook (and his onerous contract).&nbsp;
A week later, the trade was officially announced. LA had traded away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson (whom the Lakers had selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft) in exchange for Russ and several future second-rounders.&nbsp;
The justification from the Lakers was that they viewed Westbrook as an offensive powerhouse that could lighten the load LeBron had been forced to carry.&nbsp;
The Lakers rounded out their roster this past offseason by adding Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, Carmelo Anthony, Malik Monk and Rajon Rondo. They gave Kendrick Nunn the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.9 million for two years). They also re-signed Horton-Tucker to a three-year deal worth $32 million.
Shockingly, despite advanced analytics that confirmed he was a near-perfect fit playing alongside LeBron, the Lakers decided not to bring back Alex Caruso, who had excelled as a role player in LA. Caruso's aggressiveness and versatility on the defensive end, as well as unselfishness on offense, made him an ideal wingman to AD and King James.&nbsp;
However, having Westbrook on the books for $44.2 million in 2021-22 and another $47.1 million in 2022-23 undoubtedly played a part in Pelinka's decision to let Carouso leave.&nbsp;
Still, as he explained on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-the-lakers-botched-alex-carusos-free-agency-and-lost-a-key-piece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JJ Redick's "Old Man and the Three" podcast</a> back in November, Carouso had hoped to re-sign with the Lakers and was even willing to give them a hometown discount. Before ultimately accepting the offer he received from Chicago (a four-year, $37 million contract, though the final season only carries a $3 million guarantee), <a href="https://twitter.com/oldmanandthree/status/1458257821405954052?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Caruso said</a> he and his agent "went back to L.A., asked if they could do the same, they said no. We asked for something else that was a little bit less; they said no."
As it turns out, the concerns many critics envisioned over the summer related to potential issues arising from the addition of Westbrook have reared their ugly head. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Westbrook's declining athleticism has hamstrung the former All-Star.
At various points this season, Westbrook's alarming regression has been uncomfortable to watch. In the closing minutes of LA's victory over the New York Knicks last weekend, Russ found himself alone in the corner and as he was about to launch a three-pointer, the home crowd <a href="https://twitter.com/FanMahome/status/1490172360892329985">screamed at him not to shoot</a>. Coach Frank Vogel yanked him out of the lineup in overtime vs. New York. In the Lakers' embarrassing loss to the Bucks on Tuesday, Westbrook was benched for the final 14 minutes of the game, including the entire fourth quarter. Russ sat out Wednesday's loss to Portland with a "lower back" injury.&nbsp;
His counting stats on the season are solid (18/7/7), but the peripheral numbers are putrid, and his plus/minus is the worst on the team. This season, the Lakers have been outscored by 123 points with Westbrook on the floor, whereas they have outscored their opponents by 35 points with Russ on the bench.
The situation has careened toward rock-bottom this month. Over the Lakers' last four games, Westbrook is shooting just 27% from the floor, 15% from downtown and 55.0% from the free-throw line. He's also leading the league in turnovers.
Yet, now that the 2022 trade deadline has passed, we know that Lakers fans have no choice but to hope Russ can somehow locate his confidence and contribute to winning.&nbsp;
It has been rumored this week that the Houston Rockets were willing to trade John Wall to the Lakers for Westbrook, but Pelinka was reportedly unwilling to include LA's 2027 first-round pick, which Houston was demanding. Will the decision come back to bite LA, as refusing to include THT at last year's deadline did? Even if Wall failed to live up to expectations, would it have amounted to addition by subtraction?&nbsp;
Although Monk has been fantastic, and Melo has given LA as much as they could have hoped for, Howard, Ellington and Bazemore have failed to deliver. Ariza is averaging 4.2 points while shooting 36% from the floor. Rondo is no longer on the roster. Nunn, hampered by a bone bruise in his right knee, has yet to log a single second in an NBA game this season. Horton-Tucker is converting career-lows from the floor (41%) and behind the arc (27%). Despite playing nearly six more minutes per game, THT is averaging fewer assists this season (2.7) than he did in 2020-21, while still committing 1.5 turnovers a night.
Sum it all up, and you see why the Lakers have lost more than half of their games and find themselves in ninth place in the West, despite LeBron authoring the greatest season in NBA history by a 37-year-old.&nbsp;
This is a particularly bitter pill for Lakers fans to swallow considering the team purportedly had several different options to choose from this summer when shopping around their Kuz/&rsquo;Trez/draft picks package, including a deal for Sacramento sharpshooter Buddy Hield. In that scenario, the Lakers could have held onto KCP and added Hield, and the combined salary of both players still would have been $8 million less than Westbrook's cap hit of $44.2 million.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
To be fair, it's worth noting that in 2020-21, Westbrook played his best basketball of the season after the All-Star break. Over the Wizards' final 35 games of the season, he averaged 23.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 13.4 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting a respectable 44% from the floor, 32% from behind the arc and 72% from the FT line. Washington closed the regular season by going 17-6 over their final 23 contests and advanced to the playoffs.&nbsp;
Will Russ and his teammates feel less pressure now that the deadline has passed? LeBron and the Lakers don't need Westbrook to dominate the ball and chase triple-doubles, but they do need him to focus on playing the best defense of his career and help facilitate the offense, especially when James needs a breather.&nbsp;
If Russ cannot shake out of his slump, LA will have a very tough time getting back on track and achieving the goals they set for themselves back in October.&nbsp;
And if Los Angeles fails to right the ship (wasting a year of "Prime LeBron" in the process), the team's fans will look back with rage on the terrible trades and free-agency failures over the past 12 months that led to the Lakers' demise.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Tommy Beer delves into the errors of the Lakers' ways following their championship success one-and-a-half years ago.

How the Lakers managed to turn a contending team into a sub-.500 mess

If you&rsquo;re reading this, chances are, you&rsquo;re confused, too.
And if you caught <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/watch-basketballnewscoms-2022-nba-trade-deadline-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's NBA Trade Deadline Show on Thursday</a>, you saw that we were very bumfuzzled... among other things.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Here&rsquo;s <a href="https://twitter.com/MSchindlerNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MSchindlerNBA</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BryanFonsecaNY</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/esidery?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@esidery</a> and I reacting to the Kristaps Porzingis trade in real-time. 😂 We definitely didn&rsquo;t see this coming: <a href="https://t.co/SmJQ5CZbWc">pic.twitter.com/SmJQ5CZbWc</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1491900027987546119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Can you tell I didn't know how to react to the Porzingis trade ??? 😂😂😂<a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/HH4seIoS2d">pic.twitter.com/HH4seIoS2d</a>
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1491904699011944448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

But yeah, say that sh*t out loud: Kristaps Porzingis is a Washington Wizard. And Porzingis is a Wizard because Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertāns are now Dallas Mavericks.
Alright, now take a breath, and let&rsquo;s take a few minutes to attempt to understand this together.
It was clearer than Sweet Baby Ray&rsquo;s barbecue sauce being amazing that the Mavericks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kristaps-porzingis-renewed-confidence-leading-to-resurgent-season-with-mavericks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did not want any more of the Porzingis experience</a>. When moved from the New York Knicks three trade deadlines ago, KP was thought to be a franchise star joining then-rookie sensation Luka Dončić to uplift the Mavericks into whatever stratosphere we were talking about at the time. Seriously, that feels like generations ago.
But in "KP Years" it kinda was.
Back then, Porzingis was in the midst of sitting out all of the 2018-19 season, his fourth in the NBA. But the previous year, <a href="https://www.nba.com/knicks/kp-all-star" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had been named a first-time All-Star</a> in just his third season despite his Knicks being 21-27 on the day he was honored. Two weeks later, he tore his ACL, ending his season with averages of 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks on .439/.395/.865 shooting splits. In Dallas, he has come close at times, but hasn&rsquo;t been able to fully replicate his All-Star self &mdash; even as his numbers may suggest otherwise, especially on the boards.
If he was still Unicorn KP, he wouldn&rsquo;t have gotten dumped for Dinwiddie and Bertāns, the latter of whom is in the conversation for worst contract in the NBA. But to his credit, Porzingis was having a productive season.
In his tenure with the Mavs, Porzingis averaged 20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks with a .448/.345/.831 slash line. He averaged 4.4 free throw attempts per contest and 5.0 in 2019-20; however this season, it was just 3.2 FTAs a night. Even so, his free-throw rate has progressively dropped every season in Dallas, from .260 to .247 to .240.
To this point currently, Porzingis stands at 19.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks on .451/.283/.865 shooting. The 28.3% from three is coming on 5.1 attempts per game (his lowest as a Mav), which is a drop from 7.1 to 6.0 in the two seasons previous.
Porzingis had been anchoring one of the league&rsquo;s best defenses at times. As of this writing, the Mavericks stand <a href="https://www.nbastuffer.com/2021-2022-nba-team-stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third in fewest points allowed per game, fifth in defensive efficiency, and ninth in point differential</a>. Porzingis even had the team&rsquo;s second-best win shares per 48 minutes at .172, only behind Dwight Powell, and marking his personal career-high.
But as Tim Cato penned in <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/mavericks-trade-kristaps-porzingis-traded-to-wizards-for-spencer-dinwiddie-davis-bertans/c3MVzUwMssD0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>, this has more to do about the direction of Dallas as a team.
Porzingis is eating $31.6 million this year, leaving little room for the Mavericks to maneuver this pffseason without financial creativity, which hasn&rsquo;t been their strong suit in previous offseasons if you haven&rsquo;t noticed. KP is also due $33.8 million next year with a $36 million player option for 2023-24, and you can guess how that one&rsquo;ll go.
By adding Dinwiddie and Bertāns, you&rsquo;re now eating those contracts, but they&rsquo;re <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1491860693129187342?s=20&amp;t=bJ9bGyu27yBE2xBObb-Sig" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not as taxing individually</a>. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-trade-destinations-for-spencer-dinwiddie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As ran through recently here</a>, Dinwiddie is due $17.1 million this year and $18 million next year, and has a partial guarantee for $18.9 million in 2023-24. Dinwiddie has $10 million guaranteed in '23-24, but the deal <a href="https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1491861580174151692?s=20&amp;t=_BekDW8CG7k7zzJ0C5ayPg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">becomes fully guaranteed if he plays 50 games each in the two seasons prior</a>; he's played in 44 this year, so he's only six games away from satisfying half of the criteria.
Bertāns will get $16 million again next year and $17 million in 2023-24, and has a partially-guaranteed $16 million in 2024-25.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
For Dallas, these two contracts are just easier to navigate with, and it breaks up the supposed tension-filled relationship we&rsquo;ve heard about between Dončić and Porzingis for multiple years now. Dinwiddie is also insurance for pending restricted free agent Jalen Brunson, whom the Mavericks still plan to keep, <a href="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status/1491861113096523777" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ESPN&rsquo;s Tim MacMahon</a>.
The move completely reshapes how the Mavs will build around Dončić this summer and beyond, which they already signaled post-trade by signing Dorian Finney-Smith to a well-deserved four year, $52 million extension.
This season overall, Dinwiddie is averaging 12.6 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.7 rebounds on .376/.310/.811 shooting splits. Coming off his second ACL tear, his free throw rate is, at .240, the lowest of his career, which typically hovered between .252 and .270 in Brooklyn.
The big question with Dinwiddie will be how he&rsquo;ll fit next to Dončić, given that he wasn&rsquo;t his best next to another ball dominant guard in Bradley Beal; although, he did appear to play well without the Wizards' superstar, for what that&rsquo;s worth.
According to StatMuse, he averaged 10.2 points, 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds on .334/.271/.857 splits while <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/spencer-dinwiddie-stats-with-bradley-beal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">playing alongside Beal in 31 games</a>.
But <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/spencer-dinwiddie-stats-without-bradley-beal-2022">in 13 games without Beal?</a> Dinwiddie was damn near an All-Star, posting 18.5 points, 7.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game on a .441/.378/.746 slash line. Free throw percentage is down, sure, but he got there 4.5 times per contest versus the 2.7 he did when Beal was out there.
Now, in Dallas, you&rsquo;re hoping to find out that this was a not ball-dominant guard problem, as opposed to a Beal one. They did possibly snipe at one another <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/01/30/dinwiddie-said-he-tried-to-lead-wizards-spoke-up-but-it-wasnt-necessarily-welcomed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over that whole leadership thing</a> after all. For all we know, one day we could find out that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell weren&rsquo;t the only Wizards who <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/kentavious-caldwell-pope-montrezl-wizards-altercation/7taxzwsqlevs1r6c6ohhg3u5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted to beat each other&rsquo;s asses</a>.
As for Bertāns...
He averages over 14 minutes per game in D.C., is just at 5.7 points per game and shooting a career low (by far!) 31.9% from three. He got this contract after shooting above 42% from deep in back-to-back seasons, and since then, he&rsquo;s fallen off a cliff. His major redeeming quality could be tapped into while stretching the floor with a virtuoso passer like Dončić, which we theorized for a fellow Latvian a few trade deadlines ago. (Spoiler: That was Porzingis, so we&rsquo;ll see, I guess.)
As for Washington, another big reason this trade was even on the table was because of Porzingis&rsquo; lack of availability. Even now, he&rsquo;s nursing a knee injury and hasn&rsquo;t played in nearly two weeks. In Dallas, not including the lost 2018-19 season, Porzingis played 144 of a possible 218 games, including the playoffs. If you do add the games he missed while recovering from a torn ACL, that&rsquo;s an additional 31 as a part of the Mavericks.
Porzingis, who turns 27 in August, likely has already seen his best days, and might even be years removed from them. In Washington, the franchise is still reportedly trying to reshape their own future around Beal, who is expected to miss the rest of the season due to wrist surgery and could sign an extension this summer worth well over $200 million.
If the Wizards plan on building around Beal and Porzingis, wouldn't that just look like a 75% or so version of what we saw with KP and Luka in Dallas?
Does having Porzingis bring them closer to keeping Beal? And, if so, is that even the direction they should go in?
Your hypothesis might be better than mine, but hey, at least you got rid of those other contracts, I guess.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Bryan Fonseca tries to make sense of what the Wizards and Mavs were trying to accomplish at the 2022 NBA trade deadline.

So, how does this whole Porzingis, Dinwiddie, Bertans deal work?

Nekias Duncan thoroughly grades every NBA trade from 2022 Deadline Week.

Grading every move from 2022 NBA trade deadline week

Five years ago, around this time, Brooklyn Nets fans were arguing over Yogi Ferrell and Spencer Dinwiddie with hostility.
Seriously, go back and look. You would&rsquo;ve had no idea unless you were covering the Nets, but it was a divisive time in Brooklyn&rsquo;s era. (Even if it didn&rsquo;t rise to the publicity of, say, Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s vaccination status.)
Almost to this exact date in 2017, Ferrell memorably had what is still the best game of his NBA career, dropping 32 points in a nationally-televised game between his Dallas Mavericks and Damian Lillard&rsquo;s Portland Trail Blazers while on a 10-day contract. That same day, Dinwiddie netted 13 (which tied for his second-highest output of the season), and it would be the last time he broke double figures for 10 more days.
The debate grew hilariously one-sided the following season, and Dinwiddie became a fringe All-Star candidate in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. But the reason no one saw this coming initially is because Dinwiddie came up as a pass-first, low-turnover, traditional point guard &mdash; somebody who at one time went <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dinwisp01/gamelog/2017">five games (134 minutes)</a> without committing a turnover and took eight shot attempts per 36 minutes; that figure leapt to 13.1, 15.6, and 18.4 the next three seasons.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Dinwiddie&rsquo;s game has seen multiple iterations.
The score-first, old-school point guard from 2016-17.
The inefficient, yet ultra-timely scorer who still rarely turned the ball over as a floor general in 2017-18.
The near All-Star who became a full-fledged, scoring point as a sixth man in 2018-19.
The even-nearer All-Star combo guard who averaged around 20.0 points and 7.0 assists and got to the free-throw line at will in 2019-20.
But last year, he tore his ACL for the second time in his basketball-playing life, and is still working his way back while in Washington.
The Wizards <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-focusing-chemistry-after-bradley-beal-speech-and-players-only-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had a players&rsquo; only meeting before the regular season began</a>. Since a 10-4 start, the team's gone 13-22. Even worse, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/washington-wizards-kentavious-caldwell-pope-montrezl-harrell-separated-after-fight-at-halftime-oklahoma-city-thunder-052704731.html#:~:text=At%20halftime%20of%20their%20122,to%20The%20Athletic's%20Shams%20Charania.&amp;text=Caldwell%2DPope%20banked%20in%20a,to%20its%20second%2Dstraight%20win">tried putting on a WBC Heavyweight Title bout in the Wizards locker room</a> a few weeks ago.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UUhBioGkI6E" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Dinwiddie, who turns 29 in April, claims that the topic of leadership <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dinwiddie-says-his-leadership-wasnt-necessarily-welcomed-by-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wasn&rsquo;t welcomed when he brought it up earlier this season</a>. (<a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2017/3/21/15009886/the-dude-is-different-dinwiddie-on-sports-social-media-and-the-8-billion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He's never been shy.</a>) And now, <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2022/1/31/22910354/los-angeles-clippers-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin O&rsquo;Connor of The Ringer is reporting</a> that the Wizards don&rsquo;t even want Dinwiddie there:
<blockquote>
&ldquo;The Wizards want to move Dinwiddie because he looks like a shell of his former self and his teammates don&rsquo;t want him there. Schr&ouml;der is fine, but he leans too far toward scoring and would be an awkward fit next to Jackson.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
To be fair, this entire Wizards team looks like a shell of their 10-4 selves from this past November, but anyway...
Dinwiddie, who is averaging 13.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds on .383/.314/.807 shooting splits is in the first season of a three-year, $54 million deal signed this past summer. After earning $17.1 million this campaign, he&rsquo;ll rake in $18 million in 2022-2023; he has $10 million of $18.9 million guaranteed for the season after. And since the Wizards evidently want to trade him, let&rsquo;s help &lsquo;em out.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cavaliers receive: Spencer Dinwiddie, 2026 or 2028 first-round pick 
Wizards receive: Ricky Rubio 
This trade is quite simple on paper, and it starts with Ricky Rubio&rsquo;s $17.8 million expiring contract heading to Washington in exchange for Dinwiddie. Rubio has a torn ACL and is expected to return at some point, just not this season. It feels like someone should send the other a draft pick or two here, but you could make the case going either way.&nbsp;
For the Cavs, they&rsquo;d be sending over Rubio while inheriting Dinwiddie&rsquo;s sizable contract as a result, so they should probably ask for some draft compensation as a result &mdash; and would be right to do so. In the Wizards' case, they&rsquo;d be trading Dinwiddie for someone who may never suit up for them and may want compensation for that reality alone.
To me, Cleveland should get the draft compensation since this deal could impact how it maneuvers this summer &mdash; including Collin Sexton&rsquo;s future, which still needs addressing. The good thing is the pathway to doing that would remain, and Dinwiddie could play the Rubio role this season.
Rubio averaged 13.1 points and 6.6 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest in all but eight games off the bench, while posting .363/.339/.854 shooting splits. He was as impactful as he possibly could&rsquo;ve been given the poor shooting, if you simply watched. Dinwiddie&rsquo;s numbers, as outlined earlier, are strikingly similar, and coming off the bench for a good team might be more ideal for him than starting for an aimless one. And the reason the Wizards' pick is so far into the future is because <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-trade-deadline-2022-how-complex-stepien-rule-decides-which-teams-can-and-cant-deal-first-round-picks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Stepien Rule prevents them from moving anything sooner</a>. (It makes this more difficult.)
Boston Celtics
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17062188_lg.jpg" alt="" width="651" height="434" />
Celtics receive: Spencer Dinwiddie, 2026 or 2028 first-round pick&nbsp; 
Wizards receive: Dennis Schr&ouml;der, Josh Richardson 
As<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reshaping-the-celtics-for-a-playoff-push-part-1-the-backcourt" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Justin Lewis noted last week in our Celtics two-part retooling series</a>, these dudes need an actual point guard. The version Dinwiddie seems to play now is a less-effective version of the 2018-19 combo guard he became, but again, let&rsquo;s consider the environment. The Celtics are probably looking for a bigger trade deadline splash, but if pure-point Dinwiddie were to arrive in Boston, that&rsquo;s a better fit next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown than Dennis Schr&ouml;der is.
Because Dinwiddie's deal runs longer than Richardson's or Schr&ouml;der's, you're attaching a first here, Washington, at a minimum. Maybe add a second-rounder that would come sooner.&nbsp;
A big part of why Dinwiddie&rsquo;s been less effective isn&rsquo;t only his shooting splits, but his free-throw rate is the lowest of his career at .240, and he&rsquo;s only averaging 3.9 attempts from the line per 36 minutes, the lowest figure since his rookie season in 2014-15. That free-throw rate needs to elevate in Boston, and playing next to the Jays should provide those open lanes for spaced threes and clear drives to create more of that rim pressure we haven&rsquo;t seen much of in Washington.&nbsp;
Philadelphia 76ers
76ers receive: Bradley Beal, Spencer Dinwiddie, Davis Bertāns, 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick 
Wizards receive: Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris 
This looks ugly as hell, and is probably not very likely, but it could actually work.&nbsp;
For Washington, you get rid of two unfavorable contracts; Bertāns especially. You also acquire Simmons, who is beginning his max extension (has he even gotten paid from it yet since he hasn't played?) that'll run through 2025. Beal, as we know, has a player option for next summer, but is more likely to sign an extension this summer that will take him well into his 30s. The Wizards <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/wizards-trade-deadline-notes-bradley-beal-domantas-sabonis-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly still don't want to trade Beal</a>, but what's honestly the upside in keeping him now? To be Portland East? Regarding Tobias Harris, the Wizards may (and probably should) try rerouting him under this scenario. Harris will see over $38 million next season, and over $40 million in 2023-24.&nbsp;
For Philly, it finally rids the organization of the Simmons experience, which it'll probably they need to do to have any chance of competing this year. It also gets rid of Harris, but at a price. At least, Dinwiddie gives the Sixers a real point guard option to mix in, who can even play with Tyrese Maxey and has one fully guaranteed year left. Bertāns is getting between $16 and $17 million each year through the 2024-25 season, though that's partially guaranteed. Functionally, he can be a 4 next to Embiid, which may even help given the way Embiid is passing this season. The first-round picks are the reward for taking back bad contracts, and, of course, getiting Beal.&nbsp;
I'm still not positive it's a deal either of these teams want, but sometimes, we don't know what's best for us anyhow.&nbsp;
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Bryan Fonseca takes a look at three logical landing spots for Wizards point guard Spencer Dinwiddie.

Examining potential trade destinations for Spencer Dinwiddie

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks beat Washington 112-98 on Tuesday night to hand the Wizards their sixth straight loss.
The Wizards were playing without star guard Bradley Beal due to a sprained left wrist. The Wizards had announced Monday that Beal would miss at least the rest of this trip, which ends Wednesday at Philadelphia.
Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said before the game that Beal had left the team to visit a specialist earlier in the day. 
“There was a level of discomfort,” Unseld said. “I think he had some swelling in there. There was some pain. Obviously that’s always a concern. They tried to treat it in-house and it didn’t respond as well as they’d like, so we’re just making sure. We’re checking all the boxes and doing the best we can for him to make sure there’s nothing further to worry about. Get it checked out, have him see a specialist… and hopefully we’ll get some good news.”
Jrue Holiday scored 22 points, Bobby Portis 17, Khris Middleton 13 and Grayson Allen 10 for the Bucks. Kyle Kuzma scored 25, Montrezl Harrell had 20 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 12 for the Wizards.
The Bucks squandered a 17-point lead before rallying in the fourth quarter as they bounced back from a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-milwaukee-918d76f69fb02ace7c62c9d2067156cc">136-100 home loss </a> to the Denver Nuggets, their second-most lopsided defeat of the season.
Washington trailed 20-5 with the game barely five minutes old but clawed its way back into the game and finally took its first lead on Rui Hachimura’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 8:35 left.
Antetokounmpo scored the game’s next five points and put the Bucks back ahead by converting a three-point play with 7:50 left, driving to the basket, scoring off the glass and drawing a foul on Hachimura.
Harrell made a 12-footer to tie the game with 7:25 remaining, but Holiday sank a 3-pointer 11 seconds later to start a 7-0 Bucks run.
Washington got within 95-94 on consecutive 3-pointers by Spencer Dinwiddie and Caldwell-Pope, but Kuzma missed a 3-point attempt that would have put the Wizards ahead with 4:33 left. Milwaukee answered as Antetokounmpo clinched his triple-double by recording his 10th assist on Portis' layup.
The Wizards wouldn't threaten again.
FLAGRANT FOUL
Antetokounmpo took a hard foul from Harrell while driving to the basket with 6:10 left. The nature of the foul angered Portis, who expressed his displeasure to the Wizards.
Harrell originally was called for a common foul, but it was upgraded to a flagrant-1 foul upon review. Antetokounmpo made both free throws to extend the Bucks’ lead to 95-88, then Harrell and Antetokounmpo slapped hands in an apparent peace offering before Milwaukee’s ensuing inbounds pass.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Thomas Bryant left the game in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. ... Aaron Holiday, the younger brother of Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, started in Beal’s place and had three points in 19 minutes.
Bucks: Antetokounmpo has scored at least 30 points in each of his last three triple-doubles. ... George Hill missed a second straight game due to neck soreness. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he doesn’t expect Hill to play Saturday at Portland, the opener of a four-game trip. “I think he’s going to miss a few games here,” Budenholzer said. “We’re going to have to give him a little bit of time and see how he responds to some treatment, to some time off.” 
UP NEXT
Wizards: At Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Wizards have split two home games with the 76ers this season, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-entertainment-sports-joel-embiid-philadelphia-76ers-09d250ce635e460f3e0663df41e329ef">losing 117-96</a> on Dec. 26 and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-business-washington-wizards-bradley-beal-c02565ce7ebe41c1ead8bd4ac0717945">winning 117-98 </a> on Jan. 17.
Bucks: At Portland on Saturday.
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo posted a triple-double, and the Milwaukee Bucks took down the Washington Wizards.

Antetokounmpo's triple-double helps Bucks top Wizards 112-98

Physical length and height seem to be what NBA draft darlings are made of these days. Coming into the league as a part of the 2020 class, Desmond Bane didn&rsquo;t have either. At 6-foot-6 and 215 pounds, the former TCU standout was more chiseled and built than lanky and wide.
Heck, that still rings true today... but here&rsquo;s the catch: It hasn&rsquo;t mattered one damn bit, and those old concerns are being put to bed with each lights-out performance and accompanying Memphis Grizzlies win.
&ldquo;It was obviously a question mark coming in. But you can't measure somebody's heart,&rdquo; Bane told BasketballNews.com over the phone. &ldquo;You can measure wingspan, you can measure hand-width, vertical, all that stuff. But you can't measure how bad somebody wants to accomplish something. So for all the people out there that said I wouldn't make it because of whatever reason, that's just [adding] more fuel to the fire.
Taken with the No. 30 overall pick and traded away by the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft, Bane recently <a href="https://theathletic.com/3049343/2022/01/06/were-talking-about-wingspan-desmond-bane-was-overlooked-now-he-and-ja-morant-are-leading-a-memphis-revival/?source=nbatw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Athletic that he will not forget those that passed on him</a>. Following up on that, Basketball News asked him when he began counting.
&ldquo;Realistically, I didn't think that I'd be a top-10 pick,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;We had a little bit of interest with Phoenix at 10; they had 10 or were going to trade back from 10 or whatever. But we had a little bit of interest there. So really once we started getting to 10 and a little bit beyond is when I started really taking notice."
Well, fast forward to now, and Bane isn&rsquo;t just on the verge of a breakout; he&rsquo;s already broken out. In one year&rsquo;s time, the bulky swingman has gone from a rookie figuring things out to an everyday starter, nearly doubling both his shot attempts (14.3) and scoring (17.7) averages. Somehow, someway, he&rsquo;s maintained an almost-identical 46.8% field-goal percentage despite a significantly increased usage rate (23.0).
"I learned a lot [from my first season]. I learned just how to be a pro first and foremost,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;The schedule last year was grueling due to all the games being canceled and so forth, so I had to learn how to just continue my habits more than anything. Stack good habits on top of each other and let the good days stack up, and learn how to be a pro essentially.
&ldquo;I mean, last year I knew that I'd have a chance to play in the league for a while. I knew that I had a role that I could play in the NBA. But you know, after this year and how we've won and how I've played, I have different goals and a new mindset on how I can really impact not only our team, but the league."
Competing in his first game in nine days following a stint on the COVID health and safety protocol list on Wednesday, Bane scored 11 first-quarter points on 7 attempts and finished with 20 points total in a Grizzlies victory in San Antonio. However, despite that production, he noticed that his opponents were defending him a little differently than usual &mdash; a sign that he&rsquo;s gaining respect as a real nightly threat.
&ldquo;The Spurs were running a box-and-one on me. That's a testament to my hard work and how far I've come as a player,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;Last year, I was a guy who was probably on the bottom of the scouting report, and [Wednesday night] teams are game-planning to take me out of the mix. So it's a good feeling, but also, new challenges ahead."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The city of Memphis is fully embracing GRZ NXT GEN, and for good reason. The Grizzlies have built on their coming-out party a season ago with a 34-17 record, standing tall and in pursuit of the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns for top playoff positioning. Recognizing that he&rsquo;s contributing to that success on both ends, along with developing as an individual in the process, is &ldquo;hard to put into words&rdquo; for Bane.
&ldquo;I'm a kid from a small town in Richmond, Indiana with 30,000 people, and now I'm playing on one of the best teams in the Western Conference, and playing a big part in that. So it's definitely something to be proud of,&rdquo; Bane said.
"I think [why it clicks] has to do with our culture, with our locker room. We don't have any egos. I mean, I think it starts at the top with Ja Morant, Jaren [Jackson Jr.], Dillon Brooks, myself &mdash; we're all on one agenda, and that's winning basketball games. Nothing really gets in the way of that mentality and that mindset. It's always about winning."
That includes when Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant went down with a significant knee sprain in late November. While many on the outside were expecting Memphis to drop down without the face of its franchise, the team responded by going 10-2 in his absence.
&ldquo;It was on all of us. Obviously my role changed a bit with Ja going down, but it was on all of us,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;That's what stays true with us. That's the reason why we're in the position that we're in is because it's been a next-man-up mentality all year long.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We've had guys who were on two-way contracts previous to the year beginning step up and even play big minutes and earn themselves a full contract. So it's been great to see. But honestly, it hasn't been too big of a surprise given the culture and the guys that we have here in this program."
At first glance, the first thing you notice about Bane is his willingness to let the three-ball fly. Dating back to his high school days and his run in college with the Horned Frogs, he&rsquo;s always tickled the twine from downtown as a high-volume sniper (career 43.3% perimeter clip over four years at TCU).
Nothing has changed on the big stage, as Bane is drilling 41.9% of his 6.8 triple tries per contest. He can spot up on either elbow (&ldquo;definitely one of my favorite spots&rdquo;) or pull up with a quick side-step when he&rsquo;s in rhythm &mdash; in transition or in halfcourt. As to why he&rsquo;s been able to nail down his jumper so consistently, it just comes down to reps in his eyes.
&ldquo;I just put the time in. There&rsquo;s no other way to explain it,&rdquo; Bane said bluntly.
Don&rsquo;t dare put Bane into a specialist category though. He&rsquo;s been able to put more tricks of his trade on display this year, as he&rsquo;s found a balance between firing away from distance and putting it on the deck. He points to the experience he had at NBA Summer League, where he was featured more on the ball, and that carried into training camp and on.
And off the ball, he&rsquo;s as cunning as he is dangerous, often using his Mountain Man teammate Steven Adams as a catalyst for easy looks. Bane tends to sit back ever-so-patiently... until he burns his assignment on a curl for a quick mid-ranger or finds a hole in the defense to zoom-in from the perimeter to create a point-blank look, to which Adams will feed him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Steven Adams- great pass Desmond Bane- great finish Memphis Grizzlies- great team <a href="https://t.co/5DAzDwq5D0">pic.twitter.com/5DAzDwq5D0</a>
&mdash; GRIZZ TIME&trade; (@WillisMemphis) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillisMemphis/status/1483184190518669313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

According to NBA.com, <a href="https://go.nba.com/24ypw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adams has the most assists to Bane</a> on the team with 58 helpers, and the second-year wing has made 58.1% of his shots off his passes.
&ldquo;We've got a great relationship,&rdquo; Bane said of Adams. &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."
There&rsquo;s also that Morant guy, who is right behind the Grizzlies big man with 52 assists to Bane. Those connections tend to be more of the draw-defenders-in-and-kick variety, which has worked like a gem almost instantly.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We've got a lot of chemistry,&rdquo; said Bane, who&rsquo;s also racked up a team-high 24 dimes to Morant in return. &ldquo;Last year, we just didn't really have those minutes on the floor together as much. We had Grayson [Allen], who was playing the majority of those minutes with Ja. But I feel like Ja and I's chemistry and relationship has evolved."
Morant&rsquo;s campaign to his first All-Star starter selection is well-deserved. He is the unequivocal head of the snake in Memphis, dancing, and spinning his way into crunch-time buckets like it&rsquo;s nothing. There is no taking away the magician-like capabilities of &ldquo;12&rdquo; when the chips are down, or when closing time arrives.&nbsp;
Believe it or not, however, it is Bane who leads the Grizzlies in clutch shooting by the league&rsquo;s standard metric (ahead or behind by 5 points with 5 minutes or less left in the game).
Albeit on less volume, the big-time shots from Bane fall 53.6% of the time. Going by those who have played at least 50 minutes and attempted at least 20 field goals total (min. 20 games), Bane <a href="https://go.nba.com/fufso" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ranks fourth in clutch-time percentage</a> behind Patty Mills, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and, unsurprisingly, Chris Paul.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A career night for Desmond Bane! He came up clutch against the <a href="https://twitter.com/jazz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jazz</a> tonight to help the <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@memgrizz</a> pick up a great win ‼️ 28 Points (Career High) 4 Rebounds 4 Assists 4 3PTS 2 Steals 60% FG<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GrzNxtGen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GrzNxtGen</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBATwitter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBATwitter</a> <a href="https://t.co/KGObN1zTsc">pic.twitter.com/KGObN1zTsc</a>
&mdash; Vendetta Basketball (@VendettaHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/VendettaHoops/status/1463043727694385159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Self-described as &ldquo;hungry,&rdquo; delivering when the team needs it most has become second nature.
&ldquo;It's just basketball,&rdquo; Bane said. &ldquo;I've played in so many games throughout my career, been in so many different situations. I think I would credit my four years in college and just all the basketball experience that I had coming into the NBA is what kinda made me ready for these moments."
Bane should be adding another moment to his list in a few weeks at All-Star Weekend. He&rsquo;s <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/desmond-bane-believes-hes-most-improved-player-candidate-plans-to-win-3-point-contest-if-invited-190708203.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already expressed his desire to be in the Three-Point Contest</a> (and to win Most Improved Player), but participating in the Rising Stars game would &ldquo;mean the world to me and my city.&rdquo; His ambitions don&rsquo;t just end there.
"I'm not a guy that really has like concrete goals. But I mean obviously, I'm a team-first guy and I want to be a champion before anything&hellip; Maybe becoming an All-Star at some point in my career &mdash; those are all things that I think are possible,&rdquo; Bane said.
If (or when) Bane ends up in Cleveland on the weekend of Feb. 18, he&rsquo;ll have the chance to link up with his former TCU teammate R.J. Nembhard, who is currently on a two-way contract with the Cavaliers trying to carve his own path.&nbsp;
Both Bane and Nembhard were teammates of Kenrich Williams, and the former recently tweeted about him: Without this dude, ain&rsquo;t no way I&rsquo;m in the league.&nbsp;
"Just seeing somebody accomplish what I wanted to accomplish,&rdquo; Bane said of what Williams means to him. &ldquo;When you think about the NBA, you think about as being something that is almost unattainable just because so few people get to do it and get to attain that goal. Him doing it at a high level now, seeing that [he's] kinda making a name for himself, making a career for himself is huge for me and my confidence."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Perhaps it&rsquo;s the fact that all three of these guys played four years of college ball in Fort Worth. Williams was the first of the trio to get to the NBA despite being undrafted, and now, teams are coveting him at the trade deadline. Nembhard is the most recent to make it to the next level, but he too was not selected in the draft and has had to earn his keep on a two-way contract.
Bane is the lone member of that group to have made it as a draft pick. For whatever reason, upperclassmen tend to take a backseat to blue-chip prospects with potential and one-and-dones when it comes to the current landscape.&nbsp;
He thinks that his immediate impact on a winning team should help those more experienced at the collegiate level with NBA aspirations earn some more love with organizations when it comes to the draft process.
&ldquo;Everybody's situation is a little bit different, but I don't see why not. It all depends on where the organization's going. Everybody has a different timeline. Some people want younger guys to develop them, and some people want guys who are more ready that they can kind of plug-and-play. I wouldn't necessarily say there's a bias, but it's all about preference.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Usually guys are looking to hit home runs in the draft rather than singles or doubles."
Looking at what Bane has done on a consistent basis as quickly as he has, it&rsquo;s time front offices start going for those base hits in addition to knocking one out of the park.
Zach Kleiman and the Grizzlies have found that happy medium, and judging by this trajectory, Bane is about to cross home plate anyways.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

Spencer Davies chats with Grizzlies swingman Desmond Bane about his breakout second year and what his next goals are.

Desmond Bane cementing himself as essential part of next-gen Grizzlies

Oh, they're tapping into their Bubble Bag.
That was my initial thought once I caught wind of Anthony Davis' opening bucket against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. With Davis making his return after missing over a month of basketball, it made sense to try to get him going early. I can't say I expected "opening possession of the game" early, but it certainly wasn't a bad plan.
The possession started with Russell Westbrook bringing the ball up the floor. The possession ended with a LeBron James-Davis pick-and-roll from an empty corner. Neither of those things are special on their own; combined with each other, you actually get a bit of a rarity.
I would like to present an obscure stat, if you don't mind.
Heading into Tuesday's action, there had been 471 instances of Davis setting a screen for LeBron with an empty corner; only 43 of those came after a point guard &mdash; we'll say Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso &mdash; brought the ball up the floor first, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
A few things about that.&nbsp;
<ol>
<li>Tracking data is equal parts fascinating and terrifying with how deep in the weeds it can get.</li>
<li>The degree in which LeBron has not only made half-court decisions, but dictated things from the inbound pass is&nbsp;wild&nbsp;to me. So much responsibility for a guy this deep into his career.</li>
<li>Funny enough, the guard-bringing-it-up possessions have been much more fruitful (nearly 1.3 points per possession) than the LeDoItHimself ones (0.96 PPP), though you obviously have to account for the difference in volume.</li>
</ol>
(To the latter point, this kinda signifies the push-and-pull of LeBron usage in the half-court. On one hand, you want to get LeBron off the ball some to take pressure off of him &mdash; if not full-blown breathers &mdash; at least in an attempt to get him attacking an already-bent defense instead of asking him to do the bending [word to Janet]. On the other hand, do you really want to take LeBron James off the ball too often? He's a human computer!)
As for the actual play, the design was nifty. Let's take a look at it, then dig into why it works.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/g2itj6" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
I can't stress how much I love the setup. Things kick off with LeBron snapping the ball to Westbrook, which is just good fun. More importantly, we get Iverson action to get LeBron stationed on the left side of the floor.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_01_26_15_48_52_lg.png" alt="" width="586" height="330" />
From there we get, depending on your read of this play, either Option 1 of the set (Westbrook-Davis pick-and-roll) or a decoy to set up the juicy stuff. Stanley Johnson is the tell here; he's in position to screen for LeBron, though the real fruit is what that does for James Harden. In theory, Harden has to decide between tracking (read: switching) an off-ball LeBron screen or providing weak-side help if Davis rolls to the basket.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_01_26_16_10_47_lg.png" alt="" width="584" height="329" />
With the Westbrook-Davis pick-and-roll leading to nothing (intentional or not), Stanley Johnson relocates to the right corner. Harden follows &mdash; well, kinda &mdash; setting up the empty corner ball screen.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_01_26_16_11_04_lg.png" alt="" width="586" height="330" />
Day'Ron Sharpe is a lot of things &mdash; we'll dig into him in the next Rookie Report on The Dunker Spot (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subscribe!</a>) &mdash; but "strong vertical leaper" is not one of those things. The Lakers (read: LeBron) know that, which makes the setup particularly cruel. You're asking a rookie big with leaping challenges to defend a Davis lob with no help present. You already know how the play ends.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot_2022_01_26_16_11_26_lg.png" alt="" width="586" height="330" />
This play took me back to the Bubble, particularly the Lakers' series against the Portland Trail Blazers. They also dabbled in off-ball trickery while setting up an empty corner for LeBron, though they went the HORNS Stagger route.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/ckrlmt" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
If you see a player in each corner, and a player stationed at each elbow at the beginning of a possession, you can bet your bottom dollar it's a HORNS alignment. The "stagger" portion is the two screens being set for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.&nbsp;
The strain is pretty evident. You have to account for the movement shooting threat, while also being in position to load up against LeBron and Davis. That isn't an easy thing to do!
Davis only finished with 8 points (on 8 shots) on Tuesday. As he ramps up, it wouldn't shock me to see the Lakers tap into more of these actions to get him back in rhythm.
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan breaks down Anthony Davis' first bucket since mid-December, and what it could mean for the Lakers moving forward.

Explain one play: Breaking down Anthony Davis' return bucket

The 2021-22 NBA season has presented us all with its share of surprises &mdash; chief among them is the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers' 2020-21 season ended badly, after a disappointing six-game series lost against the Phoenix Suns. Los Angeles entered last season as favorites to win, which would have meant back-to-back championships. But their 2021 first-round elimination forced the team's management to confront the reality that their LeBron James-led title window was closing. Sure, Anthony Davis is also in tow, but Davis was far less successful in New Orleans without James as a running mate.
So, the Lakers did what any big market team would &mdash; they went shopping for another star. Ultimately, they added Russell Westbrook. But Westbrook&rsquo;s fit has been questionable, with the Lakers winning only 23 of their first 46 games &mdash; good for seventh in the West.
Injuries and COVID protocols have played a big role in Los Angeles&rsquo; struggles with Davis, James and Westbrook sharing the floor for only 290 minutes across 15 games. Still, the Lakers are just 8-7 in those games, with a +2.6 point differential when all three share the court. For context, Davis-James-Westbrook is the Lakers&rsquo; seventh-most successful three-man combination, having logged the sixth-most minutes &mdash; that&rsquo;s not the desired outcome when you add someone owed $91 million over two seasons.
But what if, instead of trading for Westbrook, the Lakers went in a different direction &mdash; would they be better-positioned to win a championship? Let&rsquo;s explore an alternate reality.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Before we look at what could have been, let&rsquo;s review what was given up. In the deal for Westbrook, the Lakers sent out Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the rights to the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 draft.
Kuzma is averaging 15.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 33.3 minutes per game, after just 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.0 minutes per game across the past two seasons &mdash; the only seasons that he played with James and Davis. Caldwell-Pope is also playing better without James and Davis, averaging 11.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, up from 9.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in the previous two seasons. Then there&rsquo;s Harrell, whose per game averages are mostly the same, but is posting a career-best 25.2 PER.
James and Davis rank 15th and 27th in usage rate, respectively. Comparatively, there is only Beal &mdash; 14th in usage &mdash; to contend with in Washington, which obviously means more opportunity; the next-highest usage rate on the Wizards is Kuzma, who is 72nd. Ultimately, keeping Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and Harrell might have meant a better record presently because of the games missed by Davis and James. But the same logjam would exist come the playoffs if all are healthy, which seems likely to result in ineffective contributions from at least Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope.
So, Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and Harrell didn&rsquo;t work, and neither has Westbrook. But what other options existed?
Rumors Involving Star Players
Let&rsquo;s start with the low-hanging fruit: a Lakers-Kings deal appeared imminent prior to the Westbrook deal, with talks centering around a swap of Kuzma for Buddy Hield. As a I recently alluded to in a piece about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2021-offseason-redos">off-season redos</a>, Hield-to-Los Angeles made much more sense.
Would the Lakers be better with Hield? Probably. Hield&rsquo;s 15.1 points, 22.3 usage rate and 52.7% Effective Field Goal percentage is better than Westbrook&rsquo;s 18.5 points per game, 27.7 usage rate and 46.6% eFG. Like Westbrook, Hield has played in all of his team&rsquo;s games this season, too.
Further exemplifying Hield&rsquo;s fit &mdash; 65% of his shot attempts come off one dribble or less, which pairs perfectly with James&rsquo; style of play. Comparatively, 33% of Westbrook&rsquo;s shots require seven or more dribbles, and another 33% require between three and six dribbles.
But the Lakers apparently examined both deals and chose Westbrook. Were there any other deals the Lakers considered?
The biggest <a href="https://hoopshype.com/storyline/demar-derozan-to-lakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rumor</a> involved San Antonio and would have seen the Lakers enter into a Kuzma-for-DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade deal. Regardless of what combination of Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and Harrell would have been required to get him, DeRozan is clearly an upgrade on Westbrook &mdash; or at least he would be if he&rsquo;d have performed as well for the Lakers as he has for Chicago.
DeRozan was the centerpiece of the Chicago Bulls&rsquo; offseason face lift. The Buller are presently 28-16, after winning just 43% of their games last season. DeRozan&rsquo;s usage rate &mdash; 31.2, which is good for 12th in the NBA &mdash; is significantly higher than Westbrook&rsquo;s, and it&rsquo;s higher than James, too; but the difference between DeRozan and Westbrook is obvious. DeRozan shoots 22% of his shots at the rim, 24% from between three and 10 feet, 40% from between 10 and 16 feet, 36% from 16 feet to the three-point line and only 13% from beyond the arc. And he's shooting, 64%, 41%, 53%, 45% and 33% from those ranges, respectively. Comparatively, 21% of Westbrook&rsquo;s shot attempts are three-pointers, of which he connects on only 30%. And while he&rsquo;s still relatively effective at the rim (58%), he&rsquo;s less efficient from three to 10 feet (37%), 10 to 16 feet (38%) and 16 feet to the three-point line (41%).
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Other Possible Deals
The Lakers were clearly on the hunt for offense, and there weren&rsquo;t many other difference-makers traded in 2021 &mdash; with the exception of Kyle Lowry. Lowry accepted a lesser role to join the Heat, but his impact has been obvious. Lowry is scoring less while collecting more assists, receiving about as many minutes as he has in the previous four seasons.
Lowry&rsquo;s box plus/minus is 1.0. For context, a 0 box plus/minus is that of an average starter and a 2 is that of a good starter, according to <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/about/bpm2.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">basketball-reference.com</a>; Westbrook has posted a -1.2 box plus/minus so far this season, DeRozan&rsquo;s is a 2.1 and Hield&rsquo;s is a -.2.
This hypothetical deal never made its way into the rumor mill, but Lowry&rsquo;s $27 million in 2021-22 is a near match for Caldwell-Pope ($13.038 million) and Kuzma ($13 million). Could adding in Talen Horton-Tucker and future draft compensation have been enough to rival Miami&rsquo;s deal? Maybe, though I admit most probably not.
The Lakers upgrade options were clearly limited. Instead of an incremental upgrade, Los Angeles chose to take a major high risk, high reward gamble. Now, the league&rsquo;s preeminent franchise must confront the fallout from a gamble-gone-wrong.&nbsp;
Looking to go to the hottest concerts, sports, theater &amp; family shows near you? Get 100% guaranteed tickets to more than 125,000 live events from TicketSmarter, the official ticket marketplace of BasketballNews.com. <a href="https://www.ticketsmarter.com/?utm_source=basketballnewscom&amp;utm_medium=tsaff&amp;utm_campaign=referral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Order online now</a>!

The Lakers swung for the fences with their 2021 offseason addition of Russell Westbrook. But were there other, more promising options?

What if the Los Angles Lakers didn't trade for Russell Westbrook?

Kyle Kuzma had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Bradley Beal added 13 points in his return from a three-game absence to lift the Washington Wizards to a 117-98 victory over Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. missed a second straight game after entering health and safety protocols. Assistant Pat Delany, who coached the team Saturday, also entered the protocols, forcing assistant Joseph Blair to take over for this game.
Beal had been out since entering the protocols himself, but he returned and scored 11 points in the first quarter. Washington went on an early 11-0 run and never looked back.
Embiid scored 32 points for the 76ers, but he was on the receiving end of the game's biggest highlight when Kuzma dunked over him in the second quarter. Philadelphia lost for only the second time in its last 11 games.
After the Wizards led 61-55 at halftime, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored seven quick points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that put Washington up 72-59.
It was a six-point lead early in the fourth before the Wizards went on a 22-5 run to put the game away.
Washington had seven players in double figures. Montrezl Harrel led the way with 18 points, and Thomas Bryant had 15.
CROWD PLEASER
Kuzma dunked over Embiid <a href="https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1483169194493554688">with one hand</a> to give the Wizards a 58-47 lead. Moments later, he blocked a shot attempt by Embiid at the other end.
TIP-INS
76ers: Andre Drummond and coach Doc Rivers were both called for technical fouls. ... Philadelphia was without Danny Green (right hip) for a third straight game, and Matisse Thybulle (right shoulder) was out for a second in a row. ... Tyrese Maxey (18 points) was the only player besides Embiid in double figures for the 76ers.
Wizards: Bryant and Harrell were called for technicals. ... Caldwell-Pope scored 14 points, and Corey Kispert and Rui Hachimura contributed 11 each.
UP NEXT
76ers: Host Orlando on Wednesday night.
Wizards: Host Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

Kyle Kuzma had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Bradley Beal added 13 points in his return from a three-game absence to lift the Wizards.

Kuzma, Beal lead Wizards to 117-98 rout of 76ers

Almost every franchise has cleared the halfway point of its schedule. At this mark, I'm listing the most aggravating, season-defining gripe for every squad on this week's list. Some are out of teams' control, like injuries and COVID absences. Others could on-court tendencies, front office decisions or underachieving players.
Teams stuck in the NBA Sour Rankings are all there for the same reason: they're disappointing. But how teams arrive there, and what really gets a fan base on edge, can vary wildly.&nbsp;
<div>
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst power rankings. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
</div>
<div>
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going:
</div>
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;No one! It looks like we've found a sweet spot. Every team stays.
10. Houston Rockets (13-32)
The Rockets are trudging through a rebuild, and most of their young talent has at least flashed promise at some point in the season. Mark Schindler and Mat Issa just wrote a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rocket-revival-evaluating-houston-rockets-young-core-part-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fantastic two-part breakdown</a> on the prospect core. But Houston's best player has also been one of its biggest concerns so far.
Christian Wood is, on paper, the leader of the team. But he's been ranging from inconsistent to uninterested this season. That includes a team-imposed one-game suspension for refusing to sub into a game (on top of being benched for showing up late to practice) and fluctuating effort on defense, as Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. referenced on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-73-first-team,-all-defense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot</a>. Wood sets the tone for Houston's culture and intensity in many ways, and you never know if he'll bring it on any given night.
(Last week: 9)
9. Los Angeles Clippers (21-23)
The Clippers have soldiered on through brutal circumstances with significant injuries to their two stars. Now, according to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/clippers-reportedly-willing-to-discuss-majority-of-veterans-in-trades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer</a>, they're willing to listen to offers on the majority of their veterans and potentially viewing this season as a Warriors-esque mini-tank.&nbsp;
That's probably the right idea at this point, given they are reportedly moving forward as if George will be out for the season. Those injuries have been the worst part of the season, and unfortunately puts a pause button on any attempt at a title.
(Last week: 8)
8. Washington Wizards (22-21)
Bradley Beal is hitting just 29.8% of his three-pointers. Davis Bertans is posting a 33.8% clip. Raul Neto is at 23.1%. Each of those are career-lows. Spencer Dinwiddie (32.6%), Kyle Kuzma (32.2%), Corey Kispert (32.1%) and Deni Avdija (29.8%) have also experienced ups and downs. The Wizards are 26th in team three-point percentage and have two rotation players &mdash; Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Holiday &mdash; hitting above 34% from long range.&nbsp;
I mean... that's pretty ice-cold. And with a defense that was expectedly mediocre, something has to settle in for Washington to get back on track in the playoff race.
(Last week: 6)
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
7. Los Angeles Lakers (21-22)
We're not going to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-russell-westbrook-experiment-has-been-a-huge-failure-for-lakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discuss Russell Westbrook here</a>, because as polarizing as he is, the Lakers have bigger things to solve. Hollywood boasts the second-best offensive rating in the NBA over the past two weeks. But the team is 2-3 in that span because it wields the second-worst defensive rating, part of a consistent collapse from recent years.
The Lakers get destroyed by opponents on the offensive glass. They give up the second-highest frequency of at-rim attempts out of any team in the league. Anthony Davis' injury has once again exposed a complete lack of rim-protection, and with less effective perimeter stoppers, opponents can attack whenever they want.
(Last week: 10)
6. New York Knicks (22-21)
The Knicks have a nice little three-game winning streak and swung a trade for Cam Reddish that has been given a consensus "good for you" by the public sphere. They accordingly get a positive bump in the Sour Rankings with RJ Barrett coming to life over the recent stretch.&nbsp;
Julius Randle's regression has been the most frustrating development over the course of the season. His three-point rate has plummeted ten percentage points and made 2020-21 look like a serious outlier. He's had a difficult time making the right play consistently on offense, while his defense on the perimeter has been lacking. Six months ago, Randle was the face of the franchise. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/as-a-franchise-player-julius-randle-has-left-a-lot-to-be-desired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Now he's inspiring pessimism</a>.
(Last week: 3)
5. Sacramento Kings (18-28)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Tyrese Haliburton is delightfully good, his development is staggeringly impressive <a href="https://t.co/8TahmI2tVA">pic.twitter.com/8TahmI2tVA</a>
&mdash; Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackfrank_jjf/status/1481075155145302016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

The clock appears to be ticking on De'Aaron Fox's development as a cornerstone for the Kings. <a href="https://theathletic.com/3066096/2022/01/12/nba-trade-deadline-looms-but-ben-simmons-remains-a-sixer-what-do-we-know-and-which-teams-could-deal-for-him/?article_source=search&amp;search_query=sam%20amick" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sam Amick of The Athletic reports</a> that Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are up for discussion in trade conversations. Fox in particular has been the prized piece in Sacramento's rebuild attempt, but the point guard has hit a road block in his growth.&nbsp;
This season, Fox has seen his scoring and passing numbers go down in the box score. Per Cleaning the Glass, he actually has the worst assist-to-usage rate of any player at his position. His defensive energy still waxes and wanes, and he's shooting 25.3% from long range. If Fox does get traded, it signals another failed era and a rollover for the Kings.&nbsp;
(Last week: 5)
4. Indiana Pacers (15-28)
The most annoying part of the season to date is that Indiana hasn't made a move yet. The Pacers are 15-28 and clearly out of the playoff race, and yet they still roll with a largely similar rotation as the trade deadline nears. Of course, there's no real rush to make a move between now and February, but fans anticipating a teardown can get antsy.
<a href="https://theathletic.com/3060724/2022/01/10/update-on-ben-simmons-trade-talks-frustrated-hawks-star-john-collins-a-possible-match-nba-news-and-notes/?article_source=search&amp;search_query=shams%20charania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Shams Charania last week</a>, things are moving with regard to potential Myles Turner and Caris LeVert deals. A Domantas Sabonis trade seems less likely, which makes sense given his tier of stardom. Either way, the next month is a critical juncture for the Pacers to maximize their future path, and should leave no trade-talk stone unturned by the All-Star break.
(Last week: 7) 
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
3. Boston Celtics (22-22)
Celtics fans yell about all sorts of problems with this team, but I think the real dagger has been the second-half woes, because there simply isn't an easy answer. Boston is 2.5 wins below their expected count (26th in the NBA), per Cleaning the Glass, in large part due to some epic meltdowns.
The Celtics are shooting 31.4% from three-point range in the fourth-quarter, which is the fifth-lowest mark. They average 4.8 assists per game as a team in the fourth quarter &mdash; second-lowest. They are 9-16 in clutch games &mdash; the fourth-worst winning percentage. The breakdowns have been spectacular.
(Last week: 4)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (17-25)
So changing to a first-year head coach and making some minor rotation tweaks didn't flip around a flawed roster with years of bad defense on record? Interesting.
Portland gives up the highest opposing effective field goal percentage of any team in the NBA. They give up top-10 shooting percentages from every area on the court except the least valuable spot &mdash; the long two. The Blazers are working extremely hard to pass Houston for the worst defensive rating, which would be quite the... achievement. There's way too much to fix in Portland.
(Last week: 2)
1. Atlanta Hawks (17-25)
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/stats-notebook-has-john-collins-role-with-the-hawks-really-changed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote recently</a> about how John Collins' frustrations regarding his role have at least some stats-related ground to stand on. The conclusions spawn plenty of questions on his fit with Clint Capela, Nate McMillan's strategy and where the Hawks even plan to go next.
That's been the most distressing development: this young team, with a young superstar in Trae Young, has gotten markedly worse when it should be trending up. Now Collins could be a trade asset when he has been the No. 2 cornerstone for the franchise since he was drafted in 2017. The pieces should be here &mdash; why isn't it equating to winning when it did last season?
(Last week: 1)

Ethan Fuller ranks what facets of teams' slow starts have been the most concerning through the halfway point.

NBA Sour Rankings: The frustrating parts of the most frustrating teams

Washington Wizards guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and center Montrezl Harrell got into a physical altercation at halftime of Tuesday night&rsquo;s home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and their tussle needed to be separated by teammates.
Source: <a href="https://theathletic.com/news/wizards-montrezl-harrell-kentavious-caldwell-pope-get-in-physical-altercation-at-halftime-of-thunder-win-sources/W3Ag4OkWvsPM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic </a>
ANALYSIS: Charania went on to report that, "Harrell became upset with Caldwell-Pope for not passing him the basketball on a play before the first half concluded, and the two started jawing during the walk to the locker room. As the two exchanged words, Harrell and Caldwell-Pope took swings toward each other &mdash; with neither connecting &mdash; and became entangled before teammates separated them, sources said."
Charania added that the altercation ended by the time the players got into the locker room, but there was an increased security presence to ensure tension didn't escalate. 
Caldwell-Pope and Harrell have been teammates for consecutive seasons now after both being dealt to Washington from Los Angeles and it will be interesting to see what, if anything comes from this altercation or if either player speaks publicly about it.

Wizards' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell reportedly got into a physical altercation at half-time.