Shock

It appears as though the New Orleans Pelicans are playing harder and more aggressively, and with a greater sense of urgency and more passion, than the Phoenix Suns are at this point of their playoff series.
Herb Jones is putting on a Superman cape to leap tall buildings in a single bound and block three-point attempts. The scrappy Jose Alvarado forced Chris Paul into an eight-second violation in the backcourt, something that very rarely happens to the veteran point guard. The bench is fired up for the entire game, and the team is playing with a passion that hasn&rsquo;t been seen in New Orleans for quite some time.
Nobody outside of that city could&rsquo;ve imagined that this series would be tied at two games apiece with the highly-favored, 62-win, defending-Western-Conference-champion Suns.&nbsp;
Having said that, there seems to be a feeling of disrespect from the national media for a team that has exceeded the expectations of so many in the sports world.&nbsp;
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I spoke with Pelicans color analyst Antonio Daniels about his assessment of the team and that national media disrespect toward New Orleans.
Etan Thomas: First, how great is it to see the Pelicans prove a lot of people wrong who didn't even give them a chance?
Antonio Daniels: "Oh, man. Well, for me, it's not even about it being great, proving people wrong. The great part is what I've seen this team accomplish. People are going to doubt no matter what. I don't care who you are, or what you've ever done, how good you are. People are always going to doubt. But you can't allow people's doubts to actually affect the way that you think about yourself. I have said this about this team from Day 1, and I actually have it bookmarked in my Twitter feed; Nov. 5, I said at this time, 'This team gets healthy, they're a playoff team. If they get healthy, they're a playoff team.' And I remember I was doing the pregame show and David Wesley, who's a good friend of mine, turned and faced my way and was almost like to say, 'Whatever.' You know what I mean?
Etan: Right.
Daniels: "Here's the thing, Etan. When you're talking about success in this league, it's not going to [happen] if you don't have a culture of overachievement. It doesn't happen. You have to have guys that overachieve, guys that are outplaying the expectation. You can go all the way back to the Golden State Warriors. What they did with Steph Curry and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and those guys. They all overachieved. Did you think when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were coming out that they would be the best shooting backcourt in history? Or when Draymond Green was coming out, at this point in his career, he would be a Hall-of-Famer? No. But they created a culture of overachievement.
"What you have here in New Orleans is, a lot was going on early on in the season, new pieces trying to fit in along with head coach Willie Green. And that's a lot to take on early; 1-12, 3-16 is what this team started. And now, at that time, the talk was, 'Let's tank. There's no Zion.' Fans all said they should just tank the season. Even when you acquired CJ McCollum. I remember Stephen A. Smith saying, 'Oh, I don't know what they're doing. Why would CJ McCollum want to go there? New Orlenas ain't going anywhere anyway.'
"The disrespect from the national media is, I think, what guys really pay attention to. And I think they do somewhat use that as motivation. But to be a part of this journey, Etan, from Day 1 of training camp, to Zion being hurt [and] not being available throughout the course of this team's season, being without your best player and seeing what this team has been able to accomplish, climbing out of that 3-16 start, it's been special."
Etan: Talk about the addition you mentioned of CJ McCollum and how much that has helped the entire team.
Daniels: "I'll say this first: What people forget about in that addition is that Larry Nance was in that [trade] as well, and people aren't talking about that. People are talking about CJ, and CJ's been fantastic. But I'll tell you what, I don't think that the Pelicans are at this point without Larry Nance Jr. He was the difference in the Play-In game against the Clippers because what he offers you is versatility at the 5 spot that you didn't have prior to him. Versatility and experience. When teams go small, like you see a lot of the NBA doing now, and they're basically playing five forwards like the Toronto Raptors, it&rsquo;s problematic for opposing teams. You need a big that is experienced, knowledged, but understands strengths and weaknesses [and] also has the skill set to compete. Larry Nance Jr was great. And people don't talk about him enough."
Etan: Great point.
Daniels: "But to get to CJ &mdash; CJ's playing the best basketball of his career. And from his words, he's a servant leader. And I love it because he's not very vocal, but he leads by example. He came in and he said, 'You know what, man? I want Brandon Ingram to be the best version of himself' on Day 1. Because if B.I.'s the best version of himself, that will allow me (meaning CJ McCollum) to be the best version of myself. And I remember asking CJ, when I sat down and I interviewed him, talking about, 'How do you develop chemistry between you and B.I.?' And he said, 'You know what? I'll do the same thing with him that me and Dame [Lillard] did. We sat down and we watched films together. I want to know where he wants to ball. I want him to be vocal with me. I want to know where his hotspot is, what plays he likes, when he needs me to back down and allow him to be the best version of himself.' The communication between those two from Day 1 was at an all-time level.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝙋𝙀𝙇𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉 ⚜️ Brandon Ingram : 30 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST ⚜️ Jonas Valanciunas : 26 PTS, 15 REB, 4 AST ⚜️ Cj McCollum : 18 PTS, 9 REB Les <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> l'emportent 118-103 et reviennent &agrave; 2-2 face &agrave; Phoenix ! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WBD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WBD</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbghiMm2fU">pic.twitter.com/zbghiMm2fU</a>
&mdash; NBA France (@NBAFRANCE) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFRANCE/status/1518469593290919937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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"But, Etan, what really helped this team was the All-Star break. Because if you look at what this team has done post-All-Star break, that was the chemistry between CJ and B.I. really starting to take off. We opened up in Phoenix. First game at the All-Star break, we opened up in Phoenix. And they talked at length about the dinner that they had in Phoenix the night before, where they just got an opportunity to connect to one another and to communicate with one another. This team has been rolling ever since when those two are on the floor together with a healthy starting five."
Etan: I want you to talk a little bit about Coach Willie Green. I actually posted and tweeted the clip of <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1515310682945855488?s=20&amp;t=jxzjmwJgR9FJ3SYvF7c53w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">him motivating the guys</a>. It made me feel like I want to go out there and lace them back up and get ready to go play. Talk about how great he has been for this team.
Daniels: "Listen, Etan, I can't put it into words the respect that I have for Willie Green from Day 1. You know it's funny. Because when you're losing, people don't want to hear about it. People don't want to hear about the positives when you're losing. They only want to hear about the positives when you start playing well. And when this team was 1-12, and then, when they were 3-16... I'll tell you, Etan, we've both played on bad teams; you know what a shootaround is like walking into the gym when you're 3-16. This was not it. I have never seen more spirited shootarounds from, at the time, what seemed to be a bad basketball team. And that started with Willie Green. He never blinked. He never allowed this team to lose confidence. His faith in this team never wavered, and he stands on his faith as a whole.
"I'll give you a quick example. You know how many coaches have the open-door policy where you can come in and talk? I meet with Willie Green from time-to-time. We'll go into his office. We'll talk or sit or chat or go out to dinner. Etan, our meetings ended with prayer. How many coaches have you ever gone in to meet with and talk about the team or whatever it may be and, when it's all said and done, you guys are at his desk praying together? That speaks to the man that Willie Green is. He is one of those guys that is so inspiring because he makes you want to be a better version of yourself. I don't hoop no more, Etan. If that's how he makes me feel, I can imagine how he makes players feel. When you have guys like Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, Jaxson Hayes &mdash; all these guys, when their number was called, they were ready to go. Because when they weren't playing, Willie Green was still speaking grace, life and confidence into them. And I had an opportunity to see it up close and personal. I am at every practice, at every shootaround. I've traveled with the team. I eat with the team. To see his communication with them, his ability to relate to them [is incredible].
"And I'm a proud believer, Etan, that the best coaches in this league are role players. You know why? Because they can relate to everybody from 1-to-15. If you're a star player, you can't relate to the guy who hasn't played in six games or the guy who's major inconsistent. Willie Green has started in this league, he's been a sixth man, he's been in situations where his minutes weren't guaranteed and he's also been in a situation where he hadn't played at all. Tell me who on that bench he cannot relate to! And there's nothing more important in today's NBA than a coach's ability to relate to his players. I don't care about your defensive schemes, I don't care about your X's and O's. If the players feel like you can't relate to them, they will not play as hard for you. But the moment that they feel like you care about them as men, as fathers, as husbands &mdash; they will run through a wall for you. And I'm telling you, Willie Green has that locker room so engaged, because of the way that he handles himself throughout adversity."
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Etan: Wow. That's great to hear, and I thought that about him already, just from knowing who he is. But it's great to hear you say that. Let me ask you one more thing. I know you don't worry about the haters and the noise and social media, all that stuff, but they keep bringing up the fact that because Devin Booker isn't there, that's the reason why the Pelicans are in this series. I was like, 'Well, wait a minute. Y'all forget that Zion isn't there either?' I'm like, y'all forgot about that part.
Daniels: "Here's the thing. Has there ever been an NBA champion where there's not a 'What if?' attached to it? Let's just go back to a year ago. Remember when Trae Young got hurt against Milwaukee? Remember when Kyrie Irving got hurt against Milwaukee? Remember James Harden had to come back as a shadow of himself with half of a hamstring versus Milwaukee? Remember a couple years back when Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson got hurt, and then Toronto won the championship? Look, ain't nobody tripping on that. This is the league full of injuries. You get certain things that are out of your control. So If people say, 'Oh man, the only reason that the Pelicans won is because (fill in the blank), well, okay.' But you are not going to find an NBA champion, a NFL champion where breaks don&rsquo;t go somebody's way.
"But I'll tell you this, there are two teams in the NBA who have yet to play with their best player. I'm talking about not even one practice. Not even one practice this year with their best player. It's the L.A. Clippers and the New Orleans Pelicans. Kawhi [Leonard] literally practiced one time. But let me tell you the difference. The difference is, Kawhi Leonard has practiced with Tyronn Lue before. He's practiced with him before, last year. Zion does not have one practice with Coach Willie Green. Not one. The last that Zion has been on the floor is when he was averaging 26 points per game and shooting 61% from the field under Coach Stan Van Gundy.
"So people can sit here and say, 'Oh, well, the only reason is, because...' So what? So what? Your job is to go out and your job is to play. Plain and simple. Look at the playoffs now. Khris Middleton is sidelined. Luka [Doncic] was sidelined. Kyle Lowry is sidelined. You get guys that are injured all the time. What are the Pelicans supposed to say? 'Ah, you know what man? Devin Booker's not there. Let's wait. Let's wait until they have help and then come back to finish this series.' No. Your job is to take advantage of the situation that's given."
Etan: That&rsquo;s absolutely correct.
Daniels: "And I'll tell you this, Etan, it goes along with the national narrative of the lack of respect that's given to the Pelicans. It goes right along with it. It doesn't matter. You know this better than anybody. It doesn't matter what people think about you. 'You ain't never believed in me as long as I believe in myself.' And this is a team, right now, that believes in themselves."
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Etan Thomas speaks with former teammate and Pelicans color analyst Antonio Daniels about NOLA's playoff surge vs. Phoenix.

Antonio Daniels: Pelicans have been disrespected by national media

Featuring four sure-fire Hall-of-Famers, the Los Angeles Lakers flamed out and ended up not living up to the expectations.
Unfortunately, the additions of Karl Malone and Gary Payton just weren&rsquo;t enough to get it done.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal joined forces with the legends during the 2003-04 season, and sought to win a fourth title in five years, but the Lakers ultimately fell short against Larry Brown and his Detroit Pistons in what was one of the biggest NBA Finals upsets in history.
You know how they say history always repeats itself? It&rsquo;s true. So it should come as no surprise to recall that the ensuing offseason, the Lakers found themselves looking for a new head coach. The search led to Mike Krzyzewski&rsquo;s living room.
Coach K would famously turn down a five-year, $40 million offer from the Lakers, which would have amounted to an annual salary raise of about 700%.
After a lost season, the Lakers (and Kobe) would eventually patch things up with Phil Jackson, and Bryant would lead the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010.
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Unfortunately for Frank Vogel, that bit of history doesn&rsquo;t seem likely to repeat itself.
Now, in 2022, the Lakers find themselves on the lookout for a new head coach to lead their locker room. Let's take a look at five candidates who may fit the bill.
Juwan Howard
Before his February <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ray-jackson-i-was-afraid-juwan-howard-was-going-to-be-fired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confrontation with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard</a>, Juwan Howard&rsquo;s name was mostly mentioned in the press for the right reasons.
Since taking over for the Michigan Wolverines in 2019, Howard helped the university maintain its status as one of the premier basketball programs in the country &mdash; his Wolverines have reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Elite Eight in 2021.
Although it would be difficult to pull Howard from his alma mater, especially when he&rsquo;s enjoyed success thus far, the Lakers head coach job wouldn&rsquo;t be an easy one for a toiling coach to turn down. Despite all the Lakers have been through, it remains a dream job for many in the profession. Aside from that, Howard&rsquo;s connections to both Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and LeBron James is hard to ignore.
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Pelinka and Howard were teammates at Michigan for Howard&rsquo;s three seasons there, and although Howard and James' paths diverged, those two would eventually unite in Miami. They played three years together as teammates before Howard retired and immediately moved into an assistant coach role, the first of which coincided with LeBron&rsquo;s final season in Miami.
Howard spent the next five years alongside Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra before being tapped to assume the helm at Michigan.
Whoever the Lakers entrust with the tall task of getting them back on track, it would make sense that the candidate would need to have exhibited some level of success and also be able to earn the confidence of both Pelinka and James. It should also be noted that, in 2019, Howard was granted an interview for the Lakers&rsquo; head coach opening. The job, obviously, eventually went to Vogel.
Although Howard has been vocal in his love for his alma mater, he would appear to check the boxes. At a minimum, among the sea of potential candidates, he is one who should be watched closely.
Quin Snyder
Now in his eighth season with the Utah Jazz, Quin Snyder has overseen the organization's ascension after the departure of mainstay Jerry Sloan and three less-than-stellar years under Tyrone Corbin.
Although thanks in large part to the presence of Rudy Gobert, under Snyder&rsquo;s leadership, the Jazz have consistently ranked as one of the league&rsquo;s top-five defenses. His staff has also assisted the development and thriving of a number of young players who have found their way in the league.
As it stands, Utah is much closer to contention than the Lakers, but the Jazz themselves haven&rsquo;t exactly been trending upward. There has been consistent speculation as to whether Donovan Mitchell is destined to become the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">next superstar who lands on the trading block</a>, and according to veteran scribe Marc Stein, Snyder and his representatives have rebuffed Utah&rsquo;s attempts to extend his current contract.
If Snyder did sense that &mdash; as often reported &mdash; the marriage between Mitchell and Gobert wasn&rsquo;t one that would continue for the long term, he could be proactive about a fresh start elsewhere.
During the 2011-12 season, Snyder served as an assistant coach in Los Angeles under Mike Brown. At a minimum, he&rsquo;s no stranger to the franchise.
Mark Jackson
To this day, there are many who wonder if the Golden State Warriors could have fulfilled their dynastic potential if Mark Jackson remained coach. That&rsquo;s probably why there&rsquo;s a fair amount of people still hoping that one of the greatest point guards in NBA history gets another shot to lead an NBA team. There is another faction, however, that believes the Warriors may have actually been held back by their former coach.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
What can&rsquo;t be argued, however, is that in his three seasons in Golden State, Jackson led the Warriors to a 121-109 record and brought the team to consecutive postseason berths for the first time in over 20 years. He at least helped to lay the foundation of the team&rsquo;s championship trajectory.
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It&rsquo;s also worth noting that LeBron has long been an advocate for Jackson. That may have something to do with the fact that Jackson &mdash; like LeBron and Anthony Davis &mdash; is represented by Klutch Sports, or it could be that LeBron just believes that he can coach.
Back in 2014, James reportedly pushed for Jackson as a candidate before the Cavs opted for Tyronn Lue to replace David Blatt, and according to The Athletic&rsquo;s Sam Amick, James could make a similar appeal on Jackson&rsquo;s behalf this time around. If he did, it could be quite meaningful.
John Calipari
If the Lakers are looking to make a splash, John Calipari would seem to fit the bill.
It&rsquo;s been more than 20 years since Coach Cal was head coach of an NBA team, but for the past 13 years, he&rsquo;s served as head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats &mdash; arguably the bluest of the blue-blood collegiate basketball programs. He led the Wildcats to the National Championship in 2012, and in that season, managed to unlock the potential of a talented freshman in Davis.
In all, Coach Cal has coached his teams to six Final Four appearances and has previously been linked to NBA openings, including with the New York Knicks.
The difficulty with pursuing collegiate coaches at big-time programs is stature. At the collegiate level, coaches are kings of their programs, particularly those with national championships and a track record of helping young players get to the NBA. In that regard, Calipari&rsquo;s record is unmatched.
According to CoachCal.com, Calipari is the only coach to have coached four No. 1 overall selections (Derrick Rose, John Wall, Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns) and the only coach to have five first-round selections in the same NBA Draft (2010).
In 2012, he also became the first coach to have two of his players go first and second in the draft. That year, Davis and teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took that honor.
Cal probably knows that he can coach for as long as he wants to at Kentucky, just like Krzyzewski. But a 2021 report from Yahoo Sports cited Cal&rsquo;s believed ambition and wanting to prove that he can succeed at the NBA level as the thing that could push him back to the NBA.
That, and, of course, the right opportunity.
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Nick Nurse
It&rsquo;s hard to argue with Nick Nurse&rsquo;s success, and it&rsquo;s easy to see why a team like the Lakers could be interested. Nurse has earned a reputation for unorthodox methods and game planning, but it&rsquo;s impossible to argue with the success he&rsquo;s enjoyed as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
One of the biggest challenges that the Lakers face is with respect to its roster construction. If Russell Westbrook is to remain with the team, the franchise will need a coach who is capable of thinking outside the box and implementing systems and rotations that can maximize pieces that may not necessarily be an obvious fit.
It could be argued that these have been the hallmarks of his tenure in Toronto. That and, of course, winning. That may end up being the biggest obstacle for the Lakers if Nurse truly is the team&rsquo;s choice.
As the head coach who finally got Toronto over the hump, Nurse is beloved by the franchise, and the Raptors certainly seems to have more going for them than the Lakers do right now. Not the least of which is organizational leadership, which has proven to be competent and capable of developing players who can achieve at the highest level.
Leaving the Raptors for the Lakers in that regard would be a leap of faith for Nurse. Hailing from Iowa, Nurse isn&rsquo;t a natural-born Canadian, but he is currently serving as the head coach of the Canadian Men&rsquo;s National Basketball Team.
While that role wouldn&rsquo;t prevent him from making a jump to Los Angeles, it at least suggests a commitment to something bigger than simply being a coach. In the end, it may be a lot for the Lakers to overcome, especially since the Raptors&rsquo; ownership group has demonstrated it has deep pockets.
Nonetheless, it is possible that Nurse could view an opportunity to coach the Lakers as the one he has spent his entire career working toward. Having led the Raptors to a championship &mdash; similarly to Kawhi Leonard &mdash; he could perhaps be enthused about a new challenge.
----
Unfortunately for the community, we&rsquo;ve seen head coaches in the NBA become increasingly disposable. Just two years after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to its 17th championship in franchise history, Vogel was fired, and rather unceremoniously, at that.
If the Lakers are to win an 18th championship, it will be under new leadership.
Maybe one of the aforementioned five could be the answer.
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Moke Hamilton takes a look at five candidates who could make sense as the Lakers' next head coach.

Five head coaches who could make the most sense for the Lakers

There&rsquo;s not much of a better way to enter a three-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend than by canning eight triples to put a bow on the first half of your season in winning fashion, and Los Angeles Clippers sharpshooter Luke Kennard did just that.
Better yet, Kennard carried that momentum into a first-round high score of 28 in the competition, making it into the top-three. Unfortunately, Karl-Anthony Towns shocked the world and oddsmakers with a blistering 29 to defeat Kennard and Trae Young&rsquo;s 26 for the shooting crown, but there was a silver lining.&nbsp;
About three hours northeast of his hometown of Middletown, Kennard&rsquo;s family and friends were watching it all happen live at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland.
&ldquo;It means everything, man. Just being from Ohio, hearing that the All-Star Game was gonna be back in Ohio, I wanted to be here so getting the invite meant a lot,&rdquo; Kennard told BasketballNews.com at Mountain Dew and Ruffles&rsquo; The Block event prior to All-Star Saturday.
&ldquo;I had a lot of family and friends come in. Just to be around the city, I know a couple that [weren't able] to be there and said ticket [prices] were crazy. Just being around the city and enjoying the experience, it means a lot. The goal is to represent Clipper Nation. Just have fun with it, enjoy the weekend."
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Luke Kennard got HOT in the first round, finishing with a score of 28 🔥<a href="https://t.co/79sv97YuVT">pic.twitter.com/79sv97YuVT</a>
&mdash; Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1495223894340300803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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A super standout at Franklin High School from 2011 to 2015, Kennard&rsquo;s claim to fame &mdash; at the time and still to this day &mdash; was <a href="https://www.ohsaa.org/sports/records/bbkrecrd.htm#IPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surpassing LeBron James&rsquo; career scoring record</a> at St. Vincent-St. Mary&rsquo;s. In his four seasons with the Wildcats, Kennard recorded a total of 2,977 points to LeBron&rsquo;s 2,646 with the Irish. (He currently sits second in Ohio high school history behind former Ohio State sniper Jon Diebler, and holds the record for the most made free throws in a career with 760.)
So in addition to having familiar faces in the audience cheering him on, sharing the festivities with another Ohio high school legend in LeBron at an All-Star weekend in their home state was &ldquo;awesome&rdquo; for the 25-year-old.
&ldquo;He's done so much for the state of Ohio, especially where he came from and his city [of Akron]. It's really cool,&rdquo; Kennard said of James. &ldquo;He's a Northern Ohio-ish kinda guy, I'm Southern Ohio, so together we've done a lot. Ohio means everything to us. It's where we're from. We never forget where we came from, so it's pretty special. And to be back here together, enjoying this weekend, it's a lot of fun."
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After topping that sort of record held by The King, it&rsquo;s no wonder that Duke University came calling. Kennard spent two years playing for the Blue Devils, finding his footing as a sophomore and serving as the team&rsquo;s top option alongside Jayson Tatum, Grayson Allen and Frank Jackson. He averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game that season, playing with more efficiency and comfortability than he did as a freshman.
Having learned under the tutelage of the legendary Mike Krzyzewski in Durham, NC, Kennard believes he owes a debt of gratitude to the soon-to-be retiree, and notes that Coach K stays in contact with him almost daily.
&ldquo;He meant a lot [to my career]. Coach, he gave me an opportunity to play at the best university in the world, play for the best coach to ever coach the game," Kennard said. "It was a lot of fun. I mean without going there, [there's] no way I would be where I am today. He's great. He's such a family guy. Anytime I have a big game, he's always texting me like after the game. He keeps in touch with a lot of his players. I'm happy for him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He's done everything he's wanted to do while coaching the game. There's no better guy or coach for everything that's happened to him &mdash; he deserved it all. Happy retirement to him. He's gonna enjoy it now, he's gonna enjoy his family and grandkids. I'm happy for him though. I keep in touch with him all the time, and hopefully they can go out with a bang and try to get him a national championship this year. It's been fun to watch."
Nowadays, Kennard is in the midst of his fifth NBA campaign and his second with the Clippers. Year 2 in L.A. has brought on a more significant role for the sniping swingman, as he&rsquo;s producing to the tune of 11.8 points per contest on 61.6% True Shooting in a hair under 28 minutes per night. On the surface, you&rsquo;ll see nearly the exact same perimeter percentage (&sim;45%) in back-to-back seasons. However, Kennard has more freedom to fire off these treys this season.
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To this point in 2021-22, Kennard&rsquo;s three-point rate is at a career-high 67.0%, which is almost 13 percentage points above last season&rsquo;s 54.1%. There&rsquo;s not one zone beyond the arc where he&rsquo;s shooting below 40%, per InStat.
Take a more specific dive into his <a href="https://go.nba.com/xqpn0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touch-time data</a>, and you&rsquo;ll find that he&rsquo;s launching from distance almost right upon the catch without hesitation. This season, Kennard has taken 263 threes with less than 2 seconds of touch time and he's made 45.6% of those attempts, well on track to double last season&rsquo;s output (177) as a whole. Kennard's also had games where he&rsquo;s gone for it early in the shot clock more often, meaning he&rsquo;s being put in great positions by Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and his teammates to hoist off of screens and handoffs.&nbsp;
"It's just the people around me. The people around me building that confidence in me and just putting that trust in me to take those shots,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;I think last year, like in the offseason, I worked on shooting difficult shots, like coming off screens... When you're considered one of the elite shooters in the NBA, you attract a lot of attention. Guys don't like to leave you that much. So credit to T-Lue for putting me in positions to get open and my teammates for finding me when I'm open and when I have that little amount of time and space.
&ldquo;But for me, I feel like I've grown a lot [by] taking those shots. I feel like a couple years ago, even last year some, I wouldn't take some of the shots I'm taking this year. So just credit to [my] teammates for building that confidence and trusting me. I feel like I've learned a lot and I've grown a lot."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot-2022-02-23-183159_lg.png" alt="" width="550" height="905" />
(Chart via InStat)
Kennard didn&rsquo;t stop there with his praise for Lue, who has guided L.A. to a 30-31 record in spite of missing Kawhi Leonard all year and Paul George for over half of the season.
&ldquo;He's great. He's a players' coach, man. He knows how to coach the game. He's one of the best coaches in the NBA. I love playing for him,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;He really builds a level of confidence in his players. My role's definitely bigger this year than it was last year. We have dealt with some injuries, but at the same time, we've won 30 games this year. We've lost some really close games that we should've won. And with what we did in the playoffs last year, being down 2-0 in a few series, it speaks a lot about what kind of coach he is and how much trust we put into him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I love being around him, love playing for him. So he's built a lot of confidence in me, and just allows us to play and be free and be who we are. It's been a lot of fun."
Reggie Jackson has had a lot to do with Kennard&rsquo;s shooting successes as well. The veteran point guard has the most passes to Kennard on the team currently, and the quick-trigger man has <a href="https://go.nba.com/0t5pe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nailed a blistering 58.7% of those attempts from downtown</a>. Whether it be looking up in transition, bulleting the ball over after an Ivica Zubac high screen or slinging it to the outside following a drive, they have hooked up 29 times thus far.&nbsp;
Maybe it&rsquo;s the synergy between the two from their time spend together in Detroit, or perhaps it&rsquo;s the lighthearted, supportive nature of Jackson that has everybody not only self-assured, but also loose.
"Reggie, he's one of our vocal leaders. He's always talking to us, always has a smile on his face. He lightens up the room. He's great man. He's one of your biggest hype [men] you can get,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;You could probably look up a lot of postgame interviews with other guys and Reggie's in the background dancing or doing something crazy.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But we love Reggie. He loves being in L.A. He has a lot of friends there. Him and PG are really good friends. So they enjoy each other. Reggie's great. I played with him in Detroit, I mean, that was my vet. So I've known him for a while now since I've been in the league and just to be back on a team with him is awesome. He gets us going though. He's a great player and he's had a really good year so far, so I'm happy for 'em."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
We&rsquo;ve found out a lot about this particular Clippers group this season. While a ton of the attention this team is getting has to do with the future and what could happen when the roster is at full strength with PG and Kawhi, L.A. is showing an admirable amount of resiliency in the here and now.
&ldquo;We've got a really good team. Obviously when we get guys like PG, Kawhi, Norman Powell &mdash; whenever those guys come back, that's just gonna take us up to an entirely different level, a scary level honestly,&rdquo; Kennard said. "We have a really good group, we've won a lot of games so far, we're in that fight for the playoffs. Right now, we're in the play-in area, but we told each other after our last game before the break: 'We want to hit the ground running when we come back. We want to be ready to go. We want to start winning more games.' And that's our goal.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We want to continue to build what we have going on, just trusting in each other, trusting what the coaches are doing, but have fun with it as well. It's been a good year... It's been up and down. It's been a weird year &mdash; like the COVID situation [where] guys have been out &mdash; but we've fought through it and guys have stepped up big and had big moments for us. So it's exciting to be a part of a team that loves winning and expects to win."
It&rsquo;s fun to think about the future, but the Clippers don&rsquo;t plan on looking ahead anytime soon.
They&rsquo;re gonna make you earn it.
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Spencer Davies catches up with Luke Kennard on his sharpshooting season, the Clippers' year under Ty Lue and more.

Luke Kennard letting it fly with a quicker trigger for game Clippers

With the NBA trade deadline over and done with, the BasketballNews.com staff wants to share our thoughts on the moves that went down. Since Nekias Duncan thoroughly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grading-every-move-from-the-2022-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">graded each and every trade from the past week</a>, we asked the rest of our team to react to the results of the ever-so-eventful week.
Here are our staff's thoughts on the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-who-are-your-biggest-2022-nba-trade-deadline-losers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losers of the 2022 NBA trade deadline</a>. Now, in our latest Roundtable, we asked our writers the following question:
Who are the biggest winners of the NBA trade deadline? 
Alex Kennedy: My trade deadline winners are the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers. I was someone who believed that Daryl Morey should trade Ben Simmons sooner than later, because I thought Simmons' trade value would only decrease over time. I didn't think the 76ers would actually be able to land a star player for Simmons, but I was clearly wrong. Morey's gamble paid off and now he's reunited with James Harden. As for the Pacers, I love&nbsp;what they did over the last week. We all knew that they were going to make drastic changes, but I was really impressed with how much they were able to get back for Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert and Torrey Craig. I love the addition of Tyrese Haliburton, and I truly believe he's going to develop into a star in Indiana. I also liked the buy-low addition of Jalen Smith, who was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Kevin Pritchard and Chad Buchanan deserve credit for pulling off some smart trades and assembling an impressive young core.
Spencer Davies: I&rsquo;m going to be contrarian here, but good for the win-now teams who aren&rsquo;t really in a position to contend this season, yet still went for a swing. I&rsquo;m talking about the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers. The Pels acquired a 20 point-per-game scorer in CJ McCollum to put next to Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson (defense we&rsquo;ll worry about later; Herb Jones and his 10 arms have it all covered anyway). My thoughts on the Kings acquiring an All-Star such as Domantas Sabonis are well-documented, and now, they&rsquo;ve added an underappreciated two-way guard in Donte DiVincenzo, who&rsquo;s still finding his form since his playoff injury last year. Finally, as for the Clippers, Norm Powell and Robert Covington are championship-caliber veterans who will get acclimated the rest of the season as L.A. stays afloat &mdash; and fit like a glove in Tyronn Lue&rsquo;s rotation next year beside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Individually, I also have to give big-ups to Daryl Morey for sticking to his guns.
Ethan Fuller: The Celtics and Pacers each made the right moves for their franchise directions. Boston needed to find another ball-handling guard to fit with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the team did exactly that by adding Derrick White. They also brought back a perfect third center in Daniel Theis while clearing roster space to pursue bench upgrades on the buyout market. Indiana is crushing its rebuild initiation. Tyrese Haliburton is obviously the headliner, but the Pacers also netted a first and second-round pick, plus a noteworthy flier in Jalen Smith and tradeable players like Buddy Hield. They also didn't overextend with any forced moves.
Bryan Fonseca: It would be silly to say Indiana, and as much as I do like Tyrese, I'm not a *full-blown* Haliburton hipster. He can be an All-Star, for sure, but Domantas Sabonis is already that. The deal isn't *that* one-sided. I could say Brooklyn or Philly for getting themselves out of a situation, but both teams might've just traded one set of problems for another. In fact, I'd say that's likely. So, you know what, I really enjoy what New Orleans did. You can't rebuild forever and Zion Williamson's already extension-eligible this summer. We'll have to see him again at some point, and with CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram, you should be competitive, especially next year &mdash; if you have mostly good health. To me, it's a diet version of the Chicago Bulls adding DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Evan Sidery: Exiting this year&rsquo;s trade deadline, it's rare to list both teams from the biggest transaction as winners. That's exactly what happened in the Sixers and Nets&rsquo; blockbuster when James Harden and Ben Simmons swapped places. Harden joins Joel Embiid forming a lethal, potentially transcendent one-two scoring combination. Philadelphia pushed the chips in as Embiid continues to display rare big man dominance. For Brooklyn, this situation was untenable with Harden&rsquo;s on-court pouting. The Nets&rsquo; Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden will be looked back on with so many questions down the road. Both teams shook it up, and in the end it's fair to say both teams made weaknesses a strength. Harden is Daryl Morey&rsquo;s big moment in Philly, but Simmons could finally be fully maximized alongside Durant.
Mat Issa: Of course, the 76ers are &ndash; any time you can end an annoying, eight-month-old saga by securing a top-12 player in the world, you&rsquo;ve won immensely. However, the team that really stands out to me is their counterpart in the deal, the Brooklyn Nets. Despite having their back against the wall with very little leverage (thanks to Harden&rsquo;s displeasure being confirmed the morning of the deadline), the team netted a pretty nice return. Say what you will about him, but Simmons was a solid All-Star in a suboptimal situation in Philadelphia. Next season, he&rsquo;ll be operating with the perimeter gravity that the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, and Seth Curry (another valuable piece from the deal) afford you. Also, adding a solid backup center and some draft capital is always nice, as well.
Justin Lewis: The Brooklyn Nets, because they just became a better team. The Detroit Pistons paid next to nothing for a shot at Marvin Bagley. The Memphis Grizzlies because Dallas got worse and no one in the West really made a move to pull closer or further away from them.
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Who are your biggest NBA trade deadline winners? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

Roundtable: Who are the biggest winners of the NBA trade deadline?

We're flipping our calendar at BasketballNews &mdash; but not before taking one look back at a memorable 2021.
Sports never cease to give us compelling storylines. Last year, they came from all places, from the pros in the U.S. and abroad, to college, to youth levels, and even off the basketball court. Below are some of our staff's best stories, arranged in several categories. Read the Best of BasketballNews 2021:
Best Features
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gary-payton-ii_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths">Gary Payton II on growing up in father's shadow: 'We have two different paths'</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Former NBA execs, Overtime Elite seek to revolutionize amateur-to-pro p</a><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reparation</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-daniel-gafford-washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-bradley-beal-tony-falce-arkansas-razorbacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Gafford, Wizards surging since trade: 'When I got here, it clicked automatically'</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pj-dozier-took-a-whirlwind-journey-to-the-denver-nuggets-starting-lineup">Two-way threat: PJ Dozier reflects on whirlwind path to Nuggets</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/g-league-finals-mvp-devin-cannady-remains-focus-bigger-goals">NBA G League Finals MVP Devin Cannady remains focused on bigger goals</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/theres-plenty-of-blame-to-go-around-for-frank-ntilikinas-failure">There&rsquo;s plenty of blame to go around for Frank Ntilikina&rsquo;s failure</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-vucevic-may-finally-get-credit-he-deserves-with-newlook-bulls">Nikola Vucevic may finally get credit he deserves with new-look Bulls</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/meet-juste-jocyte-15-year-old-phenom-and-professional-record-breaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet Justė Jocytė: 15-year-old phenom and professional record-breaker</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kristaps-porzingis-renewed-confidence-leading-to-resurgent-season-with-mavericks">Kristaps Porzingis' renewed confidence leading to resurgent season</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/scoot-henderson-aspirations-far-exceed-any-hype-we-can-give-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA G League star Scoot Henderson's aspirations far exceed the hype</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
Best Interviews and Q&amp;As
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/markelle-fultz_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-richaun-holmes-qa-interview-free-agency-all-defensive-team">Richaun Holmes Q&amp;A: 'I definitely feel I&rsquo;m deserving of the All-Defensive Team'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-orlando-magic-rj-hampton-q-and-a-i-dont-think-you-can-put-a-cap-on-our-ceiling">Magic's R.J. Hampton Q&amp;A: 'I don&rsquo;t think you can put a cap on our ceiling'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-8-episode-7-stephen-curry">The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins Episode 7 - Stephen Curry</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-10-episode-9-james-jones">The Rex Chapman Show: James Jones on Suns' culture change, player-to-GM leap</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-san-antonio-spurs-derrick-white-dejounte-murray-gregg-popovich-colorado-buffaloes">One-on-One: Derrick White, Spurs' youth trying to make a name for themselves</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-one-on-one-patrick-patterson-los-angeles-clippers-tyronn-lue-paul-george-kawhi-leonard-demarcus-cousins-kentucky-wildcats-basketball">One-on-One: Patrick Patterson opens up as Clippers begin playoff run</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/larry-nance-jr-qa-i-did-not-come-out-here-to-halfass-this-thing">Larry Nance Jr. Q&amp;A: 'I did not come out here to half-ass this thing'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jermaine-oneal-on-reconciling-with-ron-artest-i-didnt-know-about-mental-health">Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal on reconciling with Metta World Peace: 'I didn't know about mental health'</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/markelle-fultz-reveals-what-really-happened-with-his-shot-shoulder">Markelle Fultz reveals what really happened with his shot, shoulder</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-alex-kennedy-podcast/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-29-thad-young-on-getting-blindsided-by-trade-to-spurs,-dealing-with-recent-trade-rumors,-the-key-to-nba-longevity,-more-ep-29">Thad Young on being blindsided by Spurs trade, trade rumors, key to longevity</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
Best Player Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/kyle-lowry_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/on-lock-how-jrue-holiday-became-the-nba-finals-xfactor-">On Lock: How Jrue Holiday became the NBA Finals&rsquo; X-Factor</a> &mdash; by Jannelle Moore
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/enough-no-bag-talk-giannis-antetokounmpo-put-the-nba-on-notice-finals-mvp-champion">Enough 'no bag' talk: Giannis Antetokounmpo put the NBA on notice</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-kyle-lowry-brings-to-the-miami-heat">Film study: What Kyle Lowry brings to the Miami Heat</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dime-fest-breaking-down-courtney-vandersloot-historic-night-wnba-playoffs">Dime Fest: Breaking down Courtney Vandersloot's historic night</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/all-signs-pointing-to-marcus-smart-as-the-celtics-swing-player">What does Marcus Smart at point guard look like for the Celtics? </a>&nbsp; &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rudy-gay-is-injecting-the-jazz-with-funk">Rudy Gay is injecting the Jazz with funk</a> &mdash; by Mark Schindler
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/is-jaren-jackson-jr-a-star-in-making-or-something-else">Is Jaren Jackson Jr. a star in the making, or something else?</a> &mdash; by Matt Brooks
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dissecting-desmond-bane-role-memphis-grizzlies-offense">Dissecting Desmond Bane's growing role in the Grizzlies' offense</a> &mdash; by Jackson Frank
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/is-dave-bing-right-about-cade-cunningham">Is Cade Cunningham a franchise player the Pistons can build around?</a> &mdash; by Mat Issa and Bryce Simon
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/making-the-nba-all-star-case-for-cavs-big-man-jarrett-allen">Making the NBA All-Star case for Cavs big man Jarrett Allen</a> &mdash; by Bryan Fonseca
Best Team and League Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/jarrett-allen_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-to-tank-or-not-to-tank-analyzing-the-toronto-raptors-present-and-future">To tank, or not to tank? Analyzing the Raptors' present and future</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nba-draft-lottery-is-not-rigged-and-heres-why">The NBA Draft Lottery is not rigged, and here's why</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-big-men-take-more-time-to-develop-in-the-nba-than-guards-and-wings">Why NBA bigs take more time to develop: 'They're used to imposing their will'</a>&nbsp;&mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/as-the-offseason-revs-up-what-nba-teams-are-in-the-dead-money-doldrums">As NBA offseason nears, which teams are in the dead money doldrums?</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/suns-create-unnecessarily-awkward-situation-not-signing-deandre-ayton-to-extension">Suns create unnecessarily awkward situation by not extending Ayton</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-the-nba-length-matters-unedited">Length matters: The NBA's long-ball revolution may be coming</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grindhouse-how-the-grizzlies-are-winning-with-defense">The Grindhouse: How the Grizzlies are winning with defense</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tom-thibodeau-isnt-the-only-reigning-coach-of-the-year-to-struggle">Tom Thibodeau isn&rsquo;t the only reigning Coach of the Year to struggle</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-power-rankings-warriors-reclaim-top-spot-from-suns">NBA Power Rankings: Bulls are hot, Warriors reclaim top spot from Suns </a>&nbsp;&mdash; by Tommy Beer
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-embarrassing-defense-sinking-their-enticing-potential">Hornets' embarrassing defense sinking their enticing potential</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
Best Opinion
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/draymond-green_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/injuries-galore-the-nba-all-too-soon-return-has-made-losers-of-us-all">Injuries Galore: The NBA&rsquo;s all-too-soon return has made losers of us all</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-can-the-nba-do-to-prevent-ugly-fan-incidents">What can the NBA do to prevent more ugly fan incidents?</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rachel-nichols-maria-taylor-incident-exposes-espn-racism-sexism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rachel Nichols-Maria Taylor incident exposes ESPN&rsquo;s racism, sexism&nbsp;</a> &mdash; by Imman Adan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-discourse-around-nba-superteams-is-tiresome-stars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The discourse around NBA stars and super-teams is tiresome</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-beginners-guide-to-nba-stats-written-by-a-beginner">A beginner's guide to NBA stats: The three types of statistics</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-nba-players-could-have-realistically-played-in-the-nfl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Which NBA players could have realistically played in the NFL?</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/no-enhancement-necessary-the-nba-should-leave-well-enough-alone">No enhancement necessary: NBA should leave well enough alone</a> &mdash; by Jannelle Moore
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-nets-should-be-ashamed-of-themselves">The Nets should be ashamed of themselves</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/missing-the-forest-through-the-trees-on-christmas-day-games">Missing the forest through the trees on Christmas Day games</a> &mdash; by Mark Schindler
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/greg-monroe-and-the-brief-case-for-us-to-see-more-nba-veterans-this-season">NBA teams need to show more respect to veterans, and we're seeing why</a> &mdash; by Bryan Fonseca
Best of the NBA Draft
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/james-bouknight_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a> &mdash; by Matt Babcock
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/a-behindthescenes-look-at-james-bouknights-predraft-training">Behind the scenes with projected lottery pick James Bouknight</a> &mdash; by Matt Babcock
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-nba-draft-prospect-nahshon-bones-hyland-demands-your-attention">Q&amp;A: Draft prospect Nah'Shon 'Bones' Hyland demands your attention</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-2021-nba-draft-intel-with-lead-draft-analyst-matt-babcock-rumors-offseason">2021 NBA Draft: Matt Babcock on rumors, trades, risers, fallers</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller and Matt Babcock
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The Best of BasketballNews: 2021

Believe it or not, in the NBA, the league&rsquo;s Coach of the Year Award has become more like a kiss of death than a badge of honor.
On Tuesday night, by virtue of their 121-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the New York Knicks managed to climb back to the .500 mark at 12-12.
There are worse things than being a .500 team in the NBA, but coming off of their 41-31 campaign last season, with the additions of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier and the return of Mitchell Robinson, Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks hoped to be better.
Over the past 20 years in the NBA, we&rsquo;ve witnessed the increasing disposability of the head coach. When things go wrong, the finger is usually pointed at the bench boss. Over in Los Angeles, the exact example is happening to head coach Frank Vogel, whose Lakers are having a tough time in the early going of the season.
And while preexisting relationships with the front office in New York are expected to provide Thibodeau with at least some semblance of security, the Knicks' struggles highlight an interesting trend: COY winners' teams struggling almost immediately after winning the award.
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The league began naming a Coach of the Year in 1963 and last season, Thibodeau became just the ninth coach in league history to win the award multiple times. He previously won the award as head coach of the Chicago Bulls following the 2010-11 season, and it was shortly before then that a rather interesting trend became clear.
Since the 1999-2000 season, the award has been given out 22 times to 17 different coaches. The exhaustive list, beginning with that campaign, is as follows: Doc Rivers, Larry Brown, Rick Carlisle, Gregg Popovich, Hubie Brown, Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell, Byron Scott, Mike Brown, Scott Brooks, Tom Thibodeau, George Karl, Mike Budenholzer, Steve Kerr, Dwane Casey and Nick Nurse.
Popovich, Kerr, Casey and Nurse are still employed by the franchises with which they won the award; Popovich and Kerr are each notable for being the longest and third-longest tenured head coaches in the league. Now in his 26th season, Pop has patrolled the sidelines for the Spurs since 1996. Kerr assumed the helm for the Warriors just prior to the 2014-15 season, making this season his eighth. But they are the exceptions.
On average, since the 1999-00 season, the other winners coached their teams for an average of just 2.36 more years after winning the award. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks had the longest post-award tenure of five years.
The shortest tenures following their COY award-wins belong to Hubie Brown of the Memphis Grizzlies and George Karl of the Denver Nuggets. Brown won the award in 2004, but resigned from the Grizzlies about six months later. He cited health concerns regarding his resignation, though there was speculation that some of the team&rsquo;s players soured on him.
Karl was a part of a very interesting offseason in Denver. The Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony away in 2011, but overachieved. Together with Masai Ujiri, Karl led the Nuggets to a 57-25 record in the first full season (post-lockout in '11-12) following Anthony&rsquo;s departure. As a result, Ujiri was named the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year while Karl was named Coach of the Year. Within months, though, neither would be employed by the franchise.
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Ujiri received a lucrative offer to take over the Toronto Raptors' front office &mdash; he obviously accepted. Karl, who had one year left on his then-current deal was unhappy with Nuggets management for not rewarding him with an extension, and the franchise decided to relieve him of his duties.
Karl, unbelievably, was a reigning Coach of the Year who didn&rsquo;t even make it through the offseason.
Although the tales of Brown and Karl are interesting in the modern history of the award, neither&rsquo;s brief tenure &mdash; six months for Brown and 29 days for Karl &mdash; were factored into the earlier reported average of 2.36 years.
Of the aforementioned winners, four coaches lasted one season or less with their club after being named COY: Rick Carlisle (Detroit Pistons, 2002), Sam Mitchell (Toronto Raptors, 2007), Byron Scott (New Orleans Hornets, 2008) and Mike Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers, 2009).
Larry Brown and Avery Johnson each got two seasons (or parts thereof), while Doc Rivers, Mike D&rsquo;Antoni and Mike Budenholzer (with the Atlanta Hawks) each got three seasons. With the Chicago Bulls, Thibodeau got four more years, while Brooks, as previously mentioned, got five from Oklahoma City.
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It&rsquo;s ironic: Coaches usually win the Coach of the Year Award for defying expectations and leading their teams to better-than-expected results. But one can only wonder whether the endeavor is self-defeating.&nbsp;
Both the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns are considered, by some, to have overachieved last season, but in the NBA, what goes up... must stay up. As a community, we would be quicker to consider the Hawks and Suns as failures if they weren&rsquo;t able to replicate last season&rsquo;s results. The bar has been raised for them, and front offices have shown a propensity to judge their head coaches based on the highest watermark.
In New York, specifically, it is the front office that should carry the cross; neither Walker nor Fournier have translated well for the team, with point guard continuing to be one of the team&rsquo;s biggest areas of need. At this point, one can only wonder what the Knicks could have looked like had they instead managed to sign DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball instead of the duo ending up as teammates in Chicago.
It&rsquo;s too early for the Knicks to panic, and way too early to consider that Thibodeau may not be the man for the job.
But all things considered, it&rsquo;s at least interesting to take note of the fact that the NBA&rsquo;s Coach of the Year Award may be the ultimate embodiment of a tangible irony.
Badge of honor? Or kiss of death?
There&rsquo;s a clear trend that simply can&rsquo;t be ignored.

Moke Hamilton delves into the surprisingly unfortunate history of the NBA Coach of the Year award.

Tom Thibodeau isn’t the only reigning Coach of the Year to struggle

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jonas Valančiūnas scored 29 of his career-high 39 points in a spectacular first half, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time this month, 123-104 on Monday night.
New Orleans rolled to a 21-point lead in the first half with a phenomenal effort from Valančiūnas, the 10-year Lithuanian veteran in his first season with the Pelicans. The 6-foot-11 Valančiūnas hit seven 3-pointers without a miss in the first half to the increasing delight of his teammates and even himself.
&ldquo;The guys were calling him Dirk Valančiūnas,&rdquo; New Orleans coach Willie Green said with a grin.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jonas Valanciunas is up to a career-high 7 threes...at halftime. 🤯 He hasn't missed. Watch on NBA League Pass: <a href="https://t.co/w2ntIgyLjw">https://t.co/w2ntIgyLjw</a> <a href="https://t.co/uKTYhu6Ays">pic.twitter.com/uKTYhu6Ays</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1465540392384970752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Valančiūnas isn&rsquo;t quite ready to call himself the next Dirk Nowitzki, even if he resembled the Dallas great at times.
&ldquo;Everybody wants to be him,&rdquo; Valančiūnas said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the greatest big guys in the game, but I&rsquo;ve still got to work a lot to be like him.&rdquo;
Valančiūnas, who surpassed his career high for 3s in the first half alone, had dropped 26 points and 13 rebounds on Los Angeles 10 days earlier in the Pelicans&rsquo; 94-81 win in New Orleans. He added 15 rebounds to his prolific scoring in the rematch.
&ldquo;He changed the game for us tonight,&rdquo; said Brandon Ingram, who scored 27 points for New Orleans. &ldquo;He came out with a lot of energy and looked like he played loose. He was the head of the snake of everything we did.&rdquo;
Green and the Pelicans&rsquo; coaching staff are constantly encouraging more long-range shooting from Valančiūnas, who didn&rsquo;t make a single 3-pointer in the first five years of his NBA career in Toronto. Valančiūnas added the shot to his arsenal through years of hard work, yet he is still reluctant to unleash his jumper even though he knows it improves the Pelicans&rsquo; spacing and ball movement.
A night like this is a boon for his confidence.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable when I see them going in,&rdquo; Valančiūnas said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not comfortable when they&rsquo;re not going in. It was just a team effort. Working with the guys, getting me open, running the plays for that is five guys&rsquo; effort on the court.&rdquo;
Paul George scored 27 points and Reggie Jackson had 19 for the Clippers, who have lost three of four and six of nine after a seven-game winning streak.
&ldquo;We just couldn&rsquo;t stop them tonight,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We were due for a bad defensive game ... but they got anything they wanted, and we couldn&rsquo;t get in any rhythm offensively.&rdquo;
George closed the margin to eight midway through the fourth, but Ingram scored eight points in the quarter and led a 17-8 run to put it away for New Orleans. George lamented the Pelicans&rsquo; 47-35 rebounding advantage.
&ldquo;Every team, they&rsquo;re going to crash (the boards) against us,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s honestly our kryptonite. Every team goes toward that, sending guys to the glass. They just think they can do that and there&rsquo;s no penalty to it because we haven&rsquo;t been a great transition team once we get rebounds. We&rsquo;re just going to see that every night.&rdquo;
Herbert Jones added 16 points for the Pelicans, who rebounded from their second-worst loss of the season at Utah last Saturday to finish their three-game road trip with two victories.
The Pelicans have won three of four, doubling their season win total in the past six days after a 3-16 start without injured Zion Williamson. Their star forward has been cleared for a full return to basketball activities, further boosting New Orleans&rsquo; hopes of turning around its season.
The Clippers (11-10) still won&rsquo;t have Kawhi Leonard anytime soon, and they&rsquo;re struggling to keep pace in the competitive Western Conference.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Josh Hart had 12 rebounds and nine assists, but only four points on 1-for-9 shooting. ... New Orleans committed just eight turnovers.
Clippers: Marcus Morris got a rest after playing Sunday. Amir Coffey had nine points while starting in the veteran&rsquo;s place. ... Nicolas Batum missed his fifth straight game. He is in the NBA&rsquo;s health and safety protocol.
B.I. IN L.A.
Ingram spent his first three seasons with the Lakers before he went to New Orleans in the blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, and he still knows plenty of Staples Center employees.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun being back here,&rdquo; Ingram said. &ldquo;I definitely felt it tonight with the Clippers fans. I heard my name a lot tonight, and it felt good.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Clippers: Host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Jonas Valančiūnas scored 29 of his career-high 39 points in a spectacular first half, and the Pelicans beat the Clippers for the second time this month.

Jonas Valanciunas has career-high 39, Pelicans beat Clips again

Since I decided to take my talents into the media world, I have a newfound appreciation for the craft. But one of the questions I get asked most often is whether my attitude toward the media has changed at all because of it, and it certainly has. Truth be told, most NBA players don&rsquo;t trust many members of the media, and I can&rsquo;t blame them.&nbsp;
Back in 2007, I'd just landed in Boston, and with the roster that was assembled over there, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-james-posey-championship-expectations-boston-celtics-doc-rivers-kevin-garnett-paul-pierce-ray-allen-cleveland-cavaliers-lebron-james-tyronn-lue-miami-heat-pat-riley-shaquille-o-neal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expectations were really high</a>. One day after practice, Doc Rivers called a team meeting and singled me out. I was the only player on the squad who had won a championship.&nbsp;
Doc knew that I knew what it felt like being under the microscope, and he asked me to share some of my insight about distractions and about what it takes to win.&nbsp;
In Miami, we had Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning, and we were coached by Pat Riley. Anywhere any of us went, people were trying to ask us questions and stick microphones in our faces. Shaq had a well-publicized feud with Kobe Bryant, and D-Wade was coming into his own as a young superstar. There was a lot to talk about.
So in Boston, basically, my message to the team was to be careful about what you say, because for the most part, drama is what sells. That&rsquo;s not unique to sports, but it sure applies in that world.
Think about it: When you open up a newspaper or turn on the news at night, so much of what is talked about is about negativity and drama. The unfortunate reality is that the NBA media has become so much about that too. Some people think that it&rsquo;s worse today than ever before. Today, most of the conversations and stories are less about the game and more about free agency, contracts, trades or people getting fired.&nbsp;
As a whole, we just seem to spend much less time talking about and loving the game than we do talking about the dramatic storylines that the game creates.
So that was my message to those guys in Boston when Doc kind of put me on the spot. That&rsquo;s what I said. Part of that perspective came from an experience I had as a young second-year player in Denver. There, I found myself in the middle of a huge controversy because a reporter twisted my words and misrepresented my message.
Lesson learned.
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I was drafted by Denver in 1999, and Dan Issel was my first coach. Coach Issel had worked for Denver for a while and was the coach of the 1994 Nuggets squad that became the first eighth-seeded team to beat the No. 1 seed in the first round. Nobody talks about it, but that team actually took Utah to seven games in the second round before losing, so they overachieved for sure.
At this time, I was a young player coming into the league, trying to establish myself and figuring out how to stick. I had some good vets in my corner and developed some relationships that I cherish to this day, but I learned the hard way to be careful not only about what I said, but how I said it.&nbsp;
Sometimes, things can be misinterpreted, and truth be told, some guys in the media would rather take something you said and put a controversial twist to it than to double-check with you to make sure you meant what you said.
In some ways, it&rsquo;s like they&rsquo;re out to get you.
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So, the Nuggets made the playoffs in 1994 (where they scored the upset over Seattle) and then in 1995. They missed the playoffs the next four years, and then, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-night-my-life-changed-reflecting-on-my-1999-nba-draft-selection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I was drafted</a>. Coach Issel came back to the bench that same year. We missed the playoffs my rookie year, so the franchise was trying to get back there as soon as we could.
We had some proud veterans and guys who were competitors on the team, and those kind of guys don&rsquo;t really have the patience for rebuilding. As an older veteran, if you spend a few years on a non-playoff team, the next thing you know, you might be out of the league.
My second year in the league was the 2000-01 season, and we started 10-8, but we went out east on a road trip and lost all four games. Nobody was happy.
Suddenly, we were 10-12 and, coincidentally, were going back home to play the Miami Heat.
Typically, after a long road trip, a coach would give the players a day off, even if they had a bad trip. At the end of the day, guys need time to regroup, rest and collect their thoughts, but Coach Issel had other ideas.
Coach made some comments in the media that were critical of some of our vets, and it rubbed some guys the wrong way. But bigger than that was the fact that, as a team, we were fatigued.&nbsp;
Today, we&rsquo;re so much smarter about sports science and helping athletes take care of their bodies. The league has reduced back-to-back games, for example. When I was in the league, we often had to play four games in five nights, and during the lockout season, every team had at least one situation where they had to play three games in three nights.
In Denver that season, we played 16 games in November, which means on average, we played more than one game every two nights. We played three games the first four nights of the season and the trend continued. We were exhausted by the time we left for our first long Eastern road trip of the season, and to make matters even worse, we were playing all four games in five nights. We had a back-to-back in Miami and Orlando, a day off, then another back-to-back in New York and Boston.
So when Coach Issel scheduled practice the day after we returned to Denver, some of the veterans on the team suggested that we take a stand and tell coach we needed some rest &mdash; we weren&rsquo;t going to be able to break the losing streak if we were too tired to perform come game time.
Now, we&rsquo;re going back 20 years, so I can&rsquo;t directly quote what I said to the reporter who asked a few questions before our first game back after the road trip. But I know for sure that, in context, I never said that we, as the players, were going to boycott that first game and refused to play. I never meant to suggest that we, as the players, were turning our backs on Coach Issel.
First of all, I&rsquo;d never do that, and second, I was a second-year player! Who was I to be the voice of the team?
Regardless, that&rsquo;s exactly what was written in the paper that will remain nameless.
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Next thing I know, I&rsquo;m the center of attention. All over the mainstream news across the country, people were talking about the Nuggets players and how we&rsquo;re planning to boycott games and all kind of crazy stuff. And to make matters even worse, I&rsquo;m the one that everyone is looking to with their questions, because I was the &ldquo;money quote&rdquo; in the story that ended up becoming a national headline.
Obviously, our veteran players had my back and spoke to the media themselves and clarified the team&rsquo;s position, but I&rsquo;ll tell you, as a second-year player, that was a lesson learned.
Now, to be fair, I&rsquo;ll say that &mdash; especially back in those days &mdash; a lot of us players didn&rsquo;t really have the same kind of education and savvy when it came to how to approach certain questions and how to choose our words wisely. What was worse back then, too, was the fact that there was no social media and no way for players to control their own messaging and get their own words out.&nbsp;
In a way, we had to rely on the media to get our thoughts and messages out to fans, and that just wasn&rsquo;t ideal, because we didn&rsquo;t necessarily have the same goals as those who were spreading our message.
So in a nutshell, I&rsquo;d say that&rsquo;s the answer to the question. A lot of players (and coaches, too) don&rsquo;t like speaking in public because we feel that a lot of news organizations are more concerned with making headlines than reporting accurate facts.
At least today, with social media and the internet, teams can control their own messages, and players can, too. But for a lot of players, me included back in my day, there was a distrust for reporters that still exists today.
That was the experience I shared with Doc and my Celtics teammates, and I carried that entire experience in Denver with me for the rest of my career. I wasn&rsquo;t treated fairly, and I think reporters who I interacted with at each of my other stops &mdash; including in Boston, New Orleans and Indiana &mdash; paid some of the price for that.
It&rsquo;s ironic now that I work in the media, but having been on both sides of the equation, I think I&rsquo;m smarter for it.
When I look back on my time in Boston, as I&rsquo;ve written before, I wish it could&rsquo;ve lasted longer. But I have some fond memories, and even more so, a hilarious observation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
It's not easy entering an NBA season as the favorite to win it all. James Posey wrote this piece for <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> about the pressure and challenges that come with championship expectations. He details his experience on the 2008 Celtics and 2016 Cavs: <a href="https://t.co/GV0uemEpfK">https://t.co/GV0uemEpfK</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1342216272910692354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2020</a></blockquote>

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On the 2008 team, we didn&rsquo;t really trust reporters or any of the media, to be honest. We didn&rsquo;t really care too much for making headlines or getting any attention. We just wanted to come together, focus and play the game at a high level.
But when you look back at the roster, so many of us went on to work for media companies.&nbsp;
Big Kendrick Perkins is doing his thing at ESPN, and he&rsquo;s become one of their biggest basketball voices. Paul Pierce did some great work there for a while too.&nbsp;
I think everyone who watches TNT remembers that Kevin Garnett had &ldquo;Area 21&rdquo; on Inside the NBA, and Glen &ldquo;Big Baby&rdquo; Davis was a regular on his segment.
Brian Scalabrine is doing color commentary for the Celtics, and even Scot Pollard has found a home in front of the camera. He&rsquo;s done everything from sports television work to radio play-by-play. He was even a contestant on Survivor a few years ago.
And me? I&rsquo;m <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/posey-joining-tina-thompson-at-university-of-virginia-was-20-years-in-the-making" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enjoying life at an assistant coach on Tina Thompson&rsquo;s staff</a> at the University of Virginia. But I&rsquo;m obviously enjoying working in the media, as well.
Funny how life can sometimes come full circle. I&rsquo;m enjoying the view from this side of the fence, but when current and former players express negative attitudes toward the media and reporters, I can certainly understand why.
Maybe I can be a part of the solution, because one thing is for sure: I can understand why today&rsquo;s players feel the way they feel. I lived through a helluva experience in Denver.

James Posey gets why players distrust the media. He details an experience with the Nuggets from his second year in the NBA.

Many NBA players don’t trust the media today, and I can’t blame them

The GOAT argument has heated up in recent years, with a growing contingent claiming LeBron James over the incumbent greatest of all-time, Michael Jordan. But no matter if it&rsquo;s Jordan, James, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, championships are a prerequisite.
Of course, team success is predicated on talent, and in basketball, one player impacts outcomes more so than in football or baseball. Still, the idea that the best player ever should inevitably be a decorated champion is oversimplified.&nbsp;
Ultimately, I posit that great players can achieve only so much on their own. A great supporting cast is also necessary. And if you examine the GOAT list, it becomes clear that great supporting casts are also a prerequisite. And with that being said, let&rsquo;s identify the best supporting casts of all time.
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5. Boston Celtics, 1980-1988
Key role players: Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Cedric Maxwell, M.L. Carr, Danny Ainge, Nate &ldquo;Tiny&rdquo; Archibald, Dennis Johnson
Championships: 3 (1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86)
These teams saw some turnover, but the core remained mostly intact throughout the '80s &ndash; Bird, McHale, Parish and Archibald or Johnson. The 1983-84 and 1985-86 iterations had five players average 30 or more minutes per game, and all three championship teams featured five players averaging double figures in points per game. They were incredibly role-oriented and players were intimately familiar with those roles. But ultimately, the main case for the Celtics is that they boasted three of the 50 greatest players ever for their entire run in the '80s.
Side note: Despite having a reputation for being banged up, Bird missed very few games in his prime, making it incredibly difficult to examine how the Celtics fared in his absence. In fact, between the 1980-81 and 1985-86 seasons, Bird missed only five regular-season games. While that&rsquo;s clearly a ridiculously small sample size, the Celtics were 5-0 in those games without Bird. It&rsquo;s not enough to make the case that the Celtics&rsquo; supporting cast achieved anything significant in his absence, but it&rsquo;s something.
4. Miami Heat, 2012-2016
Key role players: Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller
Championships: 2 (2011-12, 2012-13)
The Heat were a surprisingly deep team. All we really remember is the Big Three and Ray Allen&rsquo;s clutch three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. But there was far more depth in Miami than we care to remember. Udonis Haslem, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Chris Anderson and Norris Cole all played big roles for the Heat. While there was a high degree of turnover in Miami in the 2010s, the key contributors were mostly the same. And they utilized lots of players; the 2011-12 team played 12 guys for 13 or more minutes per game, and the 2012-13 squad did so with 11 players.&nbsp;
But clearly nothing was more important for Miami than the Big Three. James was obviously the team&rsquo;s engine, but Wade and Bosh were crucial to Miami&rsquo;s success. Wade averaged more than 21 points per game in both championship seasons, whereas Bosh averaged slightly less than 20 points per game while taking on significantly more defensive responsibilities than in Toronto. Wade and Bosh combined to make the best one-two punch of any of the supporting casts on this list, making their inclusion here obvious.&nbsp;
3. Golden State Warriors, 2014-2018
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Key-role players: Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Ande Iguodala, Shaun Livingston
Championships: 3 (2014-15, 2016-17, 2017-18)
This team is the hardest to write about, mainly because calling Durant a role player feels like it's backwards. Durant has half as many MVP awards as Curry and more scoring championships. But the premise of the article is that the great teams have supporting casts and that great supporting casts support starts &ndash; and Curry is that star. He was in Golden State for their first championship without Durant, and he remains there following Durant&rsquo;s departure. In total, Golden State won three championships in a relatively short amount of time, and in the one year which they did not win the championship, they set a new single-season NBA win record (73).&nbsp;
But however you view this team, it accomplished a great deal &ndash; and it was not predicated on one star. On the contrary, the Warriors spread the wealth. The 2017-18 Warriors, for example, averaged 113.5 points per game, 73 of which came from Curry, Durant and Thompson. And everyone on this team felt like part of the supporting cast at times. Further, 14 players averaged 13 or more minutes per game &ndash; which is more than any other team on this list.&nbsp;
2. Chicago Bulls, 1995-1998
Key role players: Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley
Championships: 3 (1995-1996, 1996-1997, 1997-1998 &mdash; six in total, but the teams and supporting casts are distinctly different, separated by Jordan&rsquo;s retirement)
Eras make a difference. And the 1990s Bulls, featuring Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, were just flat-out better than every other team in the NBA in the 1990s. Want proof? The Bulls were one of only five teams with two starters in the All-Star games in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Oh, and their second All-Star, Pippen, was second runner-up for MVP in 1993-94, leading the Bulls to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference in 1993-94 without Jordan. Ironically, Pippen was probably the most equipped to go head-to-head with Jordan.
Jordan, Pippen and Rodman brought unmatched defensive versatility, and Jordan and Pippen were unstoppable, thanks to an unprecedented combination of size and skill. Add in a 6-foot-6 point guard (Harper), a big, ultra-skilled wing (Kukoc) and a dead-eye shooter (Kerr), and it was just too much for teams in the 90s to handle. Bottom line: Jordan was obviously unstoppable. But one player can&rsquo;t do everything on his own, and the fact that this team is still arguably the best team ever more than 30 years since they were dismantled speaks to just how great their supporting cast really was.
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1) Los Angeles Lakers 1979-1988
Key role players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Byron Scott, James Worthy, Mychal Cooper, A.C. Green and Mychal Thompson.
Championships: 5 (1979-80, 1981-82, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88)
The Showtime Lakers are about as unique a team as you&rsquo;ll come across in basketball history. Their most important player was unquestionably their point guard, Magic Johnson, evidenced by his leading the Lakers to a championship as a rookie while filling in as center in a decisive game. Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer and arguably, at his peak, the best player ever. James Worthy is also an all-time great, having been named a member of the NBA at 50&rsquo;s top 50 players of all time.&nbsp;
But nothing speaks to the team&rsquo;s versatility more than this &ndash; Byron Scott led the Lakers in scoring in 1987-88 (21.7 points per game) despite the presence and health of Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and Worthy.&nbsp;
Great players are clearly the building blocks on which great teams are built. But great supporting casts are a necessary part of all dynasties, too. Without them, teams run out of gas and get out-maneuvered by complicated defensive schemes. At the end of the day, you need both &ndash; and sometimes more &ndash; to win championships in the NBA.

Drew Maresca takes a look at some of the best supporting casts around NBA GOAT candidates.

Which NBA teams had the best supporting casts of all time?

It&rsquo;s not often that an aspiring professional basketball player makes their debut on the big screen and the NBA hardwood simultaneously, but Michael Foster is right on track.
Projected as a first-rounder in the 2022 NBA Draft, the burly 18-year-old power forward is set to appear in Adam Sandler&rsquo;s upcoming Netflix film, "Hustle," in a small role. There's no concrete release date, so it&rsquo;s conceivable that Foster will kick off his NBA and acting careers in the same year.
&ldquo;That opportunity really came out of nowhere,&rdquo; Foster told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &nbsp;&ldquo;I was at a tournament when my guy Avery [Smith] had told Chianti [Clay Sr.] about it, and then Chianti told me that I had to do a little audition. I'm like, 'I gotta do an audition?'&nbsp;
&ldquo;It seemed so simple. I had to just dunk the ball, turn around, say a couple lines. But it's tough once you've got two phones recording you, flashlight on. It's like, 'Aw, you've got to say it like you really mean it.&rsquo; It's tough, but I got through it and they liked it and now I'm there."
Before either happens, however, Foster has the task of spending the next season preparing in Walnut Creek, California with the G League Ignite. Though it won&rsquo;t technically be on the top stage, this will still be his introduction to the pro level. He&rsquo;ll be competing in games against former NBA players scattered throughout the G League, as well as practicing against former pros and other top prospects on the Ignite (including Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beauchamp and Fanbo Zeng).
Foster already got a taste of what that will be like. While he was in Los Angeles in early August, he participated in scrimmages with players from the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons for a few days prior to NBA Summer League. He played with a number of guys who were a part of the 2021 draft class as well, so he got a little bit of a head start before the Ignite start camp for the upcoming campaign.
&ldquo;It's pretty fun [knowing I&rsquo;m getting ready for my first pro season]. It motivated me a lot to get up every morning, go extra hard in the gym, push myself,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;Of course I've never played an NBA game, but I've been hooping with a couple professional basketball players... I'm an open book for anything. I know the game's gonna be different &mdash; the speed of the game, the physicality, all things like that &mdash; so it's just a mental state I've gotta keep myself in."
It always helps to have an NBA-ready body before you get there. At 6-foot-10 with an imposing 220-pound muscular frame, Foster has that part taken care of &mdash; and he might not be done.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm growing by the month actually,&rdquo; he said with a laugh.
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&mdash; Michael Foster (@MichaelFoster__) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelFoster__/status/1391575734427082753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Foster believes that his strength separates him from the pack, but he knows that this alone won't get him very far.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I know everybody be like, 'He got a pro body already,' but people don't understand that one of the major things on the next level is being able to control your body, be able to guard bigger, better players, faster,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;You go in there &mdash; and it's no offense to the skinnier and little guys &mdash; but at some point, you're gonna have to hit that weight room... unless you leap like Kevin Durant, and it ain't that many people like that."
When asked if he feels he'll be able to beat up players at the next level, Foster doesn't hesitate.
"Ain't no question. Playing against a couple pros, everybody be like, 'Oh my God, his strength is on another level.' But I'm still learning to control my strength and my body control and things like that..." he said, before adding that he wants to be a multi-dimensional player.
"I probably look at the game differently... Once you're bigger &mdash; 6-foot-8, 6-foot-10, 6-foot-9 &mdash; everybody wants to be that forward that can do it all, [like] Kevin Durant or LeBron James. I'm pretty sure everybody's mimicking their game after them too."
Foster believes his best attributes are "my strength, my speed, the way I move [despite being] this big of a guy." He&nbsp;is extremely confident in his scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking abilities. He additionally insists that he&rsquo;s a good defender who can guard 1-through-5 and play positionless basketball. As for aspects he needs to improve on, Foster points to his outside stroke and decision-making with the ball in his hands.
&ldquo;My shot selection. Like, take the first one instead of taking the hard one, turning to a stepback, doing fades when I don't got to," Foster said when asked of what he's got to get better at. "And overthinking sometimes, for sure.&rdquo;
BasketballNews.com's Lead NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock is a big believer in what Foster brings to the table, especially after watching Foster work out a few weeks ago.
Michael Foster&rsquo;s physical profile and athleticism are intriguing as he is 6-foot-9 and possesses extreme power and explosiveness. He also has a solid skill set, including an ability to shoot the ball from outside. This year while he is with the G League Ignite, I&rsquo;d like to see him simplify his game. If Foster limits how much he tries to do off of the dribble, improves his shot-selection, and uses his physical tools more effectively, I think he will elevate his game and draft stock exponentially.
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It was great to see Michael Foster before he heads out to join the G League Ignite. Foster possesses big-time physical tools and major upside. I&rsquo;ll certainly be tracking him closely this season in preparation for the 2022 NBA Draft. <a href="https://t.co/w381xbDtNO">pic.twitter.com/w381xbDtNO</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1428014146235240452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Ignite&rsquo;s roster features plenty of future NBA talent for Foster to develop alongside. Aside from the highly-talented Jaden Hardy (whom he&rsquo;s gone head-to-head with in high school), Foster doesn&rsquo;t have previous relationships with his new teammates. &nbsp;He keeps in touch with Hardy and Scoot Henderson over texts here and there, and they've all been getting to know one another while taking a financial literacy class together via Zoom.
In late July, it was announced that Jason Hart would be taking the Ignite's head-coaching reins from Brian Shaw, who took an assistant coaching job under Tyronn Lue with the Los Angeles Clippers. During the the team's mini-camp last month, Foster said that Shaw informed the group of his plans to pursue an NBA coaching opportunity that he'd been chasing. The message? That this is a business and when chances like that come along, you&rsquo;ve got to do what&rsquo;s best for your family.
Foster said that he&rsquo;s had some brief conversations with Hart, whom he met in Los Angeles while working with NBA shooting specialist Chris Matthews, known as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lethalshooter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Lethal Shooter"</a> on social media.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a cool guy,&rdquo; Foster said of Hart. &ldquo;He understands that the game is evolving. He understands he's got young guys going against older, stronger guys. He told us that they're gonna want to play on their [own] level. They're gonna try to slow the game down, this and that. But he said we've got to do our best to speed 'em up and keep our composure."
As we saw in this most recent NBA Draft, the Ignite program helped elevate its inaugural prospects into top-tier picks. Foster relays that seeing Jalen Green go No. 2 to Houston and Jonathan Kuminga go No. 7 to Golden State on draft night only solidifies his trust in the Ignite and what they can do for him.
Foster is quite familiar with both of those guys, as well as Isaiah Todd (No. 31 to the Washington Wizards). He and Green were on the same Team USA junior squad, and the two shared Co-MVP of the 2019 Chick-Fil-A Classic. And before Kuminga reclassified, he and Foster were in the same class.
&ldquo;We was debatable; they had me I think like fifth [overall] and he was No. 1, but we was always the two cats... [Like], 'Okay, them pros. It ain't too many people like that in our class of 2021,&rsquo;" Foster said of Kuminga. &ldquo;He went there [to the Warriors]. He boosted my confidence by that. The G League did a great job making him who he is today. That right there just made me like, 'Okay, they're really over there wanting better for the kids.'
&ldquo;We always had that competitive edge, being debated as the two best in the class. Of course we're going at each other every time we'd see each other. So [I&rsquo;m] pretty sure that he knows about me; we for sure know about each other.&rdquo;
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As he&rsquo;s embarked on this journey from his hometown of Milwaukee to Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix to the West Coast, Foster has leaned on his strong support system. Chianti Clay Sr. (his coach and mentor) and Chianti Clay Jr. (his coach's son and former teammate, who's a great prospect in his own right) have been by Foster&rsquo;s side since his middle-school days. Avery Smith and Josh Williams are &ldquo;his guys&rdquo; who work out with him and help motivate him. Foster&rsquo;s mother, sister, brother and father support and pull for him too.
&ldquo;In my inner circle, I've got them wanting me to be the greatest I can be. And that's also my mindset. My mindset is the main thing,&rdquo; Foster said.
Clay Sr. told Foster that he's different from any of the other players he's taken under his wing.
&ldquo;He had plenty of guys that could've made it out of Milwaukee, but they decided to do anything that got theirself put in a different situation. But me, see, I'm just different. I'm more low-key of a guy,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;I've got one goal in life, and that's to become an NBA player and take care of my family. Ain't nothing gonna stop me from getting there. God forbid I get injured or anything like that, but I feel like I can bounce back from anything if I really put my mind to it.&rdquo;
At Hillcrest Prep, Foster averaged 32.2 points and 18.4 rebounds per game during his senior season. He was an All-American who tore up the high-school scene as the No. 7 prospect in the 2021 class before becoming the Ignite&rsquo;s first commit for the 2021-22 season. The school hadn't seen that kind of dominance from a big man since Deandre Ayton.&nbsp;
In an <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/high-school/2021/01/21/hillcrest-preps-michael-foster-aspires-better-than-7-footayton/4235442001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview last winter with The Arizona Republic</a>, Foster sternly spoke about being associated with the Phoenix Suns star: &ldquo;I want to be better than him.&rdquo;
That sentiment has not changed, and now a year away from achieving his NBA dream, his objectives extend beyond himself.
&ldquo;Being the best I can be, that's one goal,&rdquo; Foster said. &ldquo;I don't know what the [Ignite] record was last year, but the team goal is to have a better record [than 8-7]. Go for the championship for the G League or being a better playoff seed than the previous year.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Of course, I want to get my numbers up, but you know, you've got to do what you've got to do first. To get your numbers up, you've gotta play team ball, you've got to play more games. So that's the goal, be a better team than last year."

G League Ignite forward Michael Foster speaks with Spencer Davies about his game, his goals for the upcoming season and more.

G League Ignite's Michael Foster won't let anything stop his NBA dream

Etan Thomas speaks with Obinna Ekezie on Nigeria's massive win over Team USA over the weekend and the rise in talent in the nation.

OBN Academy founder, former Terp Obinna Ekezie Q&A on Nigeria beating U.S.

Calm. Cool. Collected.
Those are three of the first words that come to mind for me when someone asks about Tyronn Lue. Whether it was the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, or a game where much less was on the line, Ty never lost his cool. It&rsquo;s one of his best qualities, and even though his Los Angeles Clippers ended up losing to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, he deserves a round of applause for the job he did this past season.
Ty took over a team that had championship aspirations, and he had to earn the trust of his players. Even with the challenges of this condensed season and the Clippers' injury issues, he was able to lead the team to its first-ever Western Conference Finals. They fell down 0-2 to the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz and still managed to win those series, despite being without Kawhi Leonard for the last two games against Utah.
Maximum respect.
I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach under Ty in Cleveland, and helping bring a championship to my hometown is an accomplishment I&rsquo;ll always cherish.
It&rsquo;s funny how we ended up together. After my playing career ended, David Griffin got wind of me wanting to coach. Griff reached out to me to see if I&rsquo;d be interested in an assistant coaching opportunity with the Cavs&rsquo; D-League affiliate, the Canton Charge. I&rsquo;d just had my youngest son, though, and I really wanted to be around him at that time. But I told Griff that if the same opportunity existed the following year, I would be in.
Knowing what I know now, I realize how lucky I was. There are a lot of guys out there who are looking for an opportunity, and most of them would&rsquo;ve jumped at that chance when Griff presented it. But my family is very important to me and the timing just wasn&rsquo;t right. I turned it down, even though some guys wouldn&rsquo;t have.
Fortunately, Griff called me back the next year! And this time, I was happy to take on the challenge of beginning my coaching career. So, I took my talents to the D-League.
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Ty, on the other hand, had already been an assistant coach in the league for a few years. He started out in Boston with Doc Rivers, then followed Doc to the Clippers. By the time I got involved with the Cavs, Ty had been hired as David Blatt&rsquo;s associate head coach in Cleveland. I eventually got called up from the D-League to join Blatt&rsquo;s staff along with Larry Drew, Jim Boylan, Phil Handy and Vitaly Potapenko. That&rsquo;s where it all started, and things worked out for the two of us while we were together there. So it was all thanks to Griff, to be honest.
I think most people assume that me and Ty were friends going back to our playing days, and it makes sense. He came into the league one year before me and we were contemporaries, but we weren&rsquo;t close at all. I mean, I knew who he was and I respected the hell out of him. We were similar in that we were role players, played tough defense and seemed to have similar values, but it wasn&rsquo;t until Griff brought us together that we really became friends. Our friendship developed naturally because I respected Ty and everything he brought to the table.
As a coach, he&rsquo;s extremely knowledgeable. He&rsquo;s well-prepared, he&rsquo;s creative and he just has a level of understanding for the game and how to make things work on the basketball court. As a player who played for great coaches, it&rsquo;s easy for me to recognize that Ty was coached by amazing basketball minds, including Phil Jackson. I think what most people appreciate about him, though, is the fact that he is someone who never, ever loses his cool. Even in 2016, when we were down 3-1 to the Warriors in the NBA Finals, we all knew that no team had ever come back from that deficit to win the championship, but Ty didn&rsquo;t change anything about his preparation or about his delivery.
Of course, we made some minor adjustments, but there was zero panic in this man. It&rsquo;s fair to say that he just exuded so much confidence that our plan would work that it was contagious.
I&rsquo;ll never forget, after Game 4, when Ty was doing his press conference with the media, he repeated to the press what he said to the team right after we lost the game: &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t think we can win, don&rsquo;t get on the plane.&rdquo;
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Before you knew it, LeBron James was saying the same thing. Tristan Thompson was saying the same thing. It became a rallying cry.
Ty basically said, &ldquo;Hey look, we gotta go to Oakland to play a game. Then, whether we win or lose, we all gotta come back to Cleveland, right? So if we&rsquo;re going to Oakland to play a game and then coming back to Cleveland, we might as well play a game in Cleveland, too.&rdquo;
It might sound silly, but Ty being such a calm and collected person was what helped the team through, I think. That and, of course, LeBron and Kyrie Irving.
So I wasn't surprised at all to see the Clippers climb out of the 0-2 hole they found themselves in against Dallas and Utah, and even when they fell down 3-1 to Phoenix, I didn't count them out.
We all hear people talk about how much a player&rsquo;s confidence affects their ability to perform on the court (and yes, it is true)&hellip; I can tell you from experience that players who believe in their coach also play harder and play better. If they don&rsquo;t think you know what you&rsquo;re talking about, or if they don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;re prepared, they&rsquo;re just not going to go out there and give you 100% effort.
But if they do? They&rsquo;ll run through a wall for you. That&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m not surprised by what the Clippers were able to do this postseason, even without Kawhi Leonard. And I definitely wasn't surprised that they were able to go into Phoenix and win Game 5 of that series.
I&rsquo;ll also tell you this: Ty is a realist. He doesn&rsquo;t try to sell you B.S. or give you any false advertisements. He&rsquo;ll admit to you when your opponent made some big plays and did a few things that exploited some of his own weaknesses or his own team&rsquo;s weaknesses, and I think players respect that accountability.
But let me tell you this: By the time Ty comes to talk to you to tell you he recognizes an area where he or the team fell short, he already has a solution to the problem and a counter-solution to however he thinks the other coach is going to respond. At the same time, he doesn&rsquo;t walk around with his chest puffed out acting like he&rsquo;s the smartest guy in the room, or making others feel like he doesn&rsquo;t respect them or their opinions. He gives everybody a voice, even though he knows that at the end of the day, the route his team takes is going to be his decision.
Some coaches are good at making speeches and doing all the &ldquo;rah-rah&rdquo; stuff with the storytelling and the fables and the morals and all that; that&rsquo;s not Ty.
Ty never tried to be Pat Riley or Doc or any of those coaches. His thing has always been planning and showing guys the result of great preparation. He&rsquo;s always been about practicing hard, studying in film sessions and preparing his team for success by getting them on the same page and getting them to believe in a game plan. He&rsquo;s definitely more like Hubie Brown and Byron Scott in that regard, and he's always done things his way.
Being a former player, especially one who&rsquo;s experienced the highest level of success, Ty has been in those shoes before. He knows what pressure feels like, he&rsquo;s been in some tough locker rooms, he&rsquo;s been rattled and has overcome it all. There&rsquo;s nothing he hasn&rsquo;t already seen.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, Chris Paul just refused to be denied when it came down to it. He's been waiting 16 years to get to the Finals, and without Kawhi, Ty and the Clippers just didn't have enough. Even with that being the case, I&rsquo;m happy that Ty finally seems to be getting his just due.
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LeBron made it to the Finals 10 times and with five different coaches. He&rsquo;s won with three of them. A lot of people might have looked at Ty&rsquo;s success with the Cavs as a given because everyone has won with LeBron. They may have thought that we were able to overcome that 3-1 deficit against the Warriors in spite of him, and not necessarily because of him. After seeing what the Clippers did this past season, though, I think everyone now knows a little better.
Ty Lue is a master of preparation, and he has developed into one of the best coaches in the game. Although it ended in disappointment, this past season is definitely an example of that. I was by his side for five years, though, so I already knew.
But now, the secret is out, and it&rsquo;s about time we all put some respect on Ty Lue&rsquo;s name.

Even without Kawhi Leonard, Ty Lue led the Clippers to their first Western Conference Finals. Respect is due, writes James Posey.

It’s time we all put a little more respect on Tyronn Lue’s name

The NBA still has a long, long way to go as it relates to opportunities being given to Black head coaches, but one thing I can say is that, at least with respect to Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics, we&rsquo;ve taken a step in the right direction.
Ime Udoka is going to get the opportunity he&rsquo;s been working for, and at the end of the day, that&rsquo;s all that most aspiring coaches &mdash; especially former players &mdash; want.&nbsp;
I know because I am one&hellip; We just want a fair shake. For some, that opportunity never comes. Thankfully, that&rsquo;s not the case this time.
By the time I left Boston after we won the championship in 2008, I was already thinking about what I wanted to do after my playing career ended. The Players' Association was really good about helping us prepare for life after our playing careers ended, and they had separate programs to help players who wanted to go into the media or coaching or management.
For me, and Ime, coaching was the route that we chose.
Now I won&rsquo;t sit up here and act like I was good friends with Ime or anything like that, because that would be disingenuous, but I do have some firsthand experience with him. And I can tell you, straight up, that he&rsquo;s been preparing for this opportunity for a long time.
I know because, about 10 years ago, I was there.
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I first got wind of the NBPA&rsquo;s coaching camps at the University of Virginia from some of the union leaders somewhere around 2010. During the offseason, the NBPA would invite aspiring coaches to the school, where it would host a week-long program specifically designed for those who wanted to lead teams. The union would organize coaches to come in and do workshops with us and give us a bootcamp to teach us how to become effective motivators, as well as introduce us to the hard work and dedication needed to succeed on the bench. It was an eye-opening experience; we had 14-hour days, beginning at 7:30 a.m. and we wouldn&rsquo;t get back to our hotel room until 9:30 p.m...
Some of us have unrealistic expectations about what it takes to be an effective coach. As players, most of the time, once you leave the gym or the training facility or whatever, you have some time to unwind and relax. When you&rsquo;re a coach, though, the work never stops. That&rsquo;s one of the first things I learned at UVA.
There, we&rsquo;d do our own workshops and training sessions before eventually having the opportunity to coach some of the top high-school kids from across the country. They were invited to UVA&rsquo;s campus to participate in the camp and allow us to apply what we learned.
Although it was only a total of about three weeks, my experience at those mini-camps was amazing; it&rsquo;s what helped me get my feet wet and decide that coaching was truly for me. I&rsquo;m pretty sure that Royal Ivey, Jarron Collins and John Lucas III would all say the same thing. Those are just a couple of the other guys I remember working alongside at those camps.
Afterward, I got an opportunity to coach in the D-League (which has since been renamed the G League) and to work under Tyronn Lue in Cleveland. Royal is currently on Steve Nash&rsquo;s staff in Brooklyn, while Jarron got an opportunity with Steve Kerr and the Warriors and John served as an assistant in Minnesota.
There are a lot of other guys from those camps that I don&rsquo;t remember, but there&rsquo;s one more that I do: Ime Udoka.&nbsp;
Ime and I didn&rsquo;t really talk that much, but we stood shoulder-to-shoulder as we tried to absorb everything we could. The one thing that stands out to me more than anything else was us both recognizing that being a great coach would require a lot of time, energy, effort and sacrifice. Obviously, after all these years, he&rsquo;s stuck with it, and now, he&rsquo;s getting the benefit.
That&rsquo;s a big part of why his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/boston-celtics-to-hire-ime-udoka-as-next-head-coach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being hired by the Celtics</a> feels good.&nbsp;
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As former players and aspiring coaches, especially former players who are Black, we view a team hiring someone like Ime as a victory for the communities that he represents &mdash; the player community, and the Black-player community.
Us former players know all about competition. As players, we compete against one another, and at the end of the day, the competition doesn&rsquo;t end on the basketball court. Whether you want to go into media, the front office or coaching, you&rsquo;ve got to compete against other guys for a limited number of opportunities. There&rsquo;s just not enough of the cake for everyone to get a slice.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, most of us get passed over way more than anyone would ever know. Some of us put in the work for years and never get a shot. Some of us, like Mark Jackson or Brian Shaw, don&rsquo;t get second chances when it comes to being a head coach.
Meanwhile, we see other coaches getting recycled and getting one opportunity after another. It just makes you wonder.&nbsp;
As it relates specifically to former players, we have to overcome some negative stereotypes about our work ethic, IQ and leadership abilities. Some people assume that players are just &ldquo;dumb jocks&rdquo; and that some of us are lazy and incapable of becoming successful head coaches. It&rsquo;s tough to overcome that.
When you&rsquo;re trying to get your feet wet and learn about coaching, you typically are fed lines about &ldquo;working your way up&rdquo; and &ldquo;working hard&rdquo; and &ldquo;building a resume,&rdquo; but when you constantly see other people jump the line, doubt creeps in. I&rsquo;m sure that, at one point or another, we&rsquo;ve all been there. Is it really the resume and the accomplishments that get you hired? Or do front offices just hire whoever they want because of preexisting relationships?
At the end of the day, it is what it is. If you&rsquo;re hired to run a team as a president or a general manager, you&rsquo;re free to hire whoever you want. That&rsquo;s one of the benefits of the job. But when we continually see qualified people who&rsquo;ve put in the work over the years get passed over for great opportunities, it&rsquo;s discouraging to the entire community.
Fortunately, though, in this case, the opposite happened.
The hiring of Ime Udoka in Boston is uplifting to us all.
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So to Ime, I need to just say: Congratulations, bro. We see you and we&rsquo;re inspired. I know, firsthand, that you put in the work and that you deserve the opportunity to be the head coach of the Boston Celtics. You're someone who worked your way up from the bottom and you haven't taken any shortcuts, so it&rsquo;s great seeing you succeed Brad Stevens.
After a seven-year playing career and nine years as an assistant (including a championship in 2014), this is a well-deserved opportunity, and Brad and the Celtics organization deserve credit for opting for some fresh blood who&rsquo;s paid his dues.
Experience counts, so of course we&rsquo;ll see accomplished coaches switch teams and get multiple opportunities with NBA teams &mdash; Doc Rivers, Dwane Casey and Rick Carlisle, to name a few. But at the same time, the league needs to be just as open-minded about giving former players chances to lead teams.
Patrick Ewing and Juwan Howard both had to go to the NCAA to get a shot, while guys like Sam Cassell have been putting in the work for years, and to no avail.
Fortunately, the same won&rsquo;t be said for Ime Udoka. The league is better for this, even if we still have a long way to go.&nbsp;

James Posey congratulates Ime Udoka and shares why it's a step in the right direction for Black players who aspire to be head coaches.

Celtics hiring Ime Udoka as head coach is step in right direction

In this series, Matt Babcock shares his experience growing up around the Milwaukee Bucks organization since his dad, Dave Babcock, has been an executive with the team for 23 years. He also provides an inside look at the rise and fall of the Bucks during the late 1990s and early 2000s. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/growing-up-a-buck-millewahque-milwaukee-bucks-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">For Part 1, click here</a>. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/growing-up-a-buck-george-karl-arrives-in-milwaukee" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> For Part 2, click here</a>.
The 1998-99 NBA trade deadline was approaching, and the Milwaukee Bucks were in playoff contention after not having secured a playoff bid since 1991. At the time, the Bucks were built around two young, blossoming stars: 23-year-old Ray Allen and 26-year-old Glenn Robinson. However, the team&rsquo;s front-office brass questioned if the supporting cast was enough to elevate their team to being championship-worthy.
Subsequently, Bucks general manager Bob Weinhauer made two bold moves prior to that year&rsquo;s trade deadline. The first move: a three-way trade where the Bucks exchanged oft-injured point guard Terrell Brandon for Sam Cassell, the charismatic lead guard from the New Jersey Nets. The second move had Milwaukee trading power forward Tyrone Hill to the Philadelphia 76ers for a young developing forward, Tim Thomas, and veteran big man, Scott Williams -- two transactions that ultimately proved to be extremely fruitful for the Bucks.
With their core unit set, the Bucks went on to finish that lockout-shortened season with a record of 28-22, giving them the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference. After nearly a decade, the Bucks were headed back to the playoffs. In the first round, they faced a team that tied for the best record in the East, the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were loaded with talent and experience, a tall task for a developing Milwaukee team, to say the least.
Due to my dad&rsquo;s position within the Bucks&rsquo; front office, I was given countless opportunities to be with and around that Bucks team during the late 1990s. I felt like I was part of that team, and one way or another, I was going to be in that arena for Game 1. I had traveled with the team earlier in the season, but I didn&rsquo;t go on the team plane for that trip. Don&rsquo;t feel too bad for me though... I was fortunate enough to be invited to fly with Senator Herb Kohl, the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks at the time, on his private jet.
Before I knew it, my dad and I were pulling into a private hangar and boarding Senator Kohl&rsquo;s jet. Onboard that flight was my dad, Larry Harris (who worked with my dad in the front office), Senator Kohl and myself. There I was, a freshman in high school, sitting with a US Senator and NBA team owner on his private jet, heading to my first-ever playoff game.
After a quick flight, we landed in Indy, and awaiting us was a car to take us to the arena. I learned quickly that the playoffs were completely different than the regular season. I vividly remember walking into the old Market Square Arena that night. I felt like my heart was going to pump out of my chest. Everyone from arena security to players to fans all had an extra pep in their step. Energy and excitement filled the arena. The intensity of the atmosphere was unlike anything I had ever experienced, and this was before the game even began. It was unforgettable!
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Once in the arena, I beelined to the court to find Coby Karl (the son of George Karl, Milwaukee's head coach at the time) so we could do our normal routine of shooting around with the players and hanging around the court before the formal warm-ups began. I remember being in awe watching some of the Pacers&rsquo; players.
To be able to see Chris Mullin do a shooting workout up-close was special. He is probably the most detail-oriented shooter I have ever seen. He would warm up doing a spot-shooting routine, where he would have five spots around the perimeter, which is typical. However, he would have to make a certain amount of shots in a row to move to the next spot and would not count the shot as a &ldquo;make&rdquo; if the ball even grazed the rim. That specific Chris Mullin workout has always stuck with me. That was one of my early lessons that elite shooters take a scientific approach to shooting and make a conscious effort to master their craft &mdash; going through the motions or just &ldquo;getting shots up&rdquo; is not enough to be elite.
The game was set to begin, but Coby and I didn&rsquo;t have assigned seats, so we sat on the court next to the Bucks' bench, as we usually did for away games. Aside from seeing Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls team the year before, I had never been impressed by a team quite as much as I was by that Pacers team.
First of all, their head coach was my childhood hero, the legendary former player, Larry Bird, who had been the recipient of the NBA Coach of the Year award the previous season in '98. His top assistant coach was Rick Carlisle, who had been Larry&rsquo;s teammate when they both played for the Boston Celtics in the mid-1980s. It had been said that Carlisle was the actual technical mastermind behind that Pacers team, and that Larry&rsquo;s role as head coach was somewhat as a figurehead. Regardless of their coaching structure having been set up as a hierarchy or not, whatever they did, it worked. Carlisle went on to be one of the top head coaches in the industry. He has been a head coach for nearly 20 years now, and is back with Indiana for his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/indiana-pacers-hire-rick-carlisle-as-next-head-coach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second stint as the team's head coach</a>.
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That Pacers roster had so much depth, and it was filled with many accomplished veteran players. Their lead guard was Mark Jackson. He ran the show and controlled the tempo. He was a modest 6-foot-1 with a stocky build, and not very quick or athletic, but he was a magician with his playmaking. He was incredibly creative with his passing, and had an uncanny ability to see the floor to find shooters on the perimeter or big men around the basket &mdash; he had &ldquo;eyes in the back of his head.&rdquo;
In the middle, they had the &ldquo;Dunking Dutchman,&rdquo; Rik Smits, a huge, 7-foot-4, skilled center who could really score. Alongside Smits were two &ldquo;blue-collar&rdquo; big men who split playing time: Dale Davis and Antonio Davis. It was during an era of basketball when the common theme was &ldquo;no layups.&rdquo; The Davis duo, no relation, was the epitome of power forwards during that time as they were &ldquo;bruisers.&rdquo; Both of them were extremely physical and tough and they did all of the &ldquo;dirty work&rdquo; (perhaps somewhat of a lost art, in my opinion).
On the wing, the Pacers started Mullin, an aging star. He was not quite the player he had been when he was a perennial All-Star earlier in his career, but the guy just knew how to play. And although he wasn&rsquo;t moving all that well anymore, he could still shoot the lights out.
That Pacers team was so good that they had an emerging star, Jalen Rose, coming off the bench. Jalen&rsquo;s role was to come into the game and aggressively look to score. He had the full green light and would score in bunches. He was a 1-on-1 nightmare for whoever had to match up against him. A 6-foot-8 lefty, he had handles like a point guard, a sweet mid-range game, was extremely crafty and had an overall knack to score the ball.
The Indiana bench also consisted of shooting big man Sam &ldquo;Big Smooth&rdquo; Perkins, the defensively-versatile forward Derrick McKey and speedy scoring point guard Travis Best. (Ironically, I ended up coaching Travis Best years later in Italy when I was a young assistant coach for the team Virtus Bologna, and Travis was finishing up his playing career.)
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As if that Pacers roster wasn&rsquo;t enough to keep any opposing coach up late at night, those were just the complementary players to their main weapon: Reggie Miller.
Quite possibly the cockiest player the NBA has ever seen, Miller developed a reputation for being the ultimate villain when playing on the road. I remember watching him during pregame warmups wearing a Superman T-shirt. We&rsquo;ve all seen the highlights of the show he put on at the Madison Square Garden in 1995, where he hit all of those threes at the end of the game to come from behind and beat the New York Knicks &mdash; doing so as he relentlessly trash-talked Spike Lee, who had been sitting courtside. Miller even wrapped his hands around his neck to give Spike &ldquo;the choke sign.&rdquo; Reggie fed off negativity. He talked trash constantly. He was arrogant and abrasive. The more hostile the environment, the more he turned up his play. Heckling from fans only added fuel to the fire. I joined a large contingent of non-Pacers fans throughout the NBA that despised him. But now, after all of these years, I have to admit: Reggie Miller was incredible.
At 6-foot-7, a thin physical build, and an extremely unorthodox shooting release, Miller is arguably the best shooter of all-time. Of course, we have Steph Curry now and Ray Allen before him, but Reggie is the one that set the stage for them, in my opinion.
While I was a player in high school, I was fortunate enough to be able to have some of the Bucks coaches work with me on my game. I remember in one instance, Terry Stotts (an assistant for Milwaukee at the time) put me through a shooting workout, and I suppose that I impressed him with my shooting ability. I remember Coach Stotts telling me, &ldquo;Okay, you&rsquo;ve proven that you are a high-level shooter, but now we need to make sure you are able to get your shot off.&rdquo; The lesson he was trying to teach me is exactly where Reggie thrived. The NBA has had many capable shooters that could make open shots at a high percentage, but there has not been anyone that could shoot at an elite level while also being able to create an open shot for himself without the ball quite like Reggie.
During Game 1 of the playoffs versus the Bucks, I was able to watch Miller operate while sitting only&nbsp; steps away. I watched his method closely.
As Jackson would initiate the offense off the dribble, Reggie would take his defender deep into the paint -- under or around the basket -- and he would initiate contact with his defenders, many times by grabbing their jersey. He would take a couple of moments to set up his defender; then, at the right moment, he would take off, a lot of times beginning with a shove to his defender&rsquo;s chest. He would sprint toward one of the hammering screens that were to be set by Smits or one of the Davis&rsquo;; if the screener&rsquo;s defender didn&rsquo;t show, Reggie would turn the corner off those screens like a runner in baseball rounding third base going to home plate. Jackson would deliver a pass right into Miller&rsquo;s numbers as he would do a quick one-two step into his jump shot -- a high release and a high-arcing trajectory. When Miller would release a deep three, the Pacers' arena would have sound effects of a bomb being dropped while the ball was in the air, and when the ball would go through the net, it would have the sound of an explosion. The images and sounds of Reggie Miller coming off screens to bury deep threes are tattooed in my head to this day.
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Unfortunately, those sights and sounds were seen and heard routinely in that series, as the Pacers would go on to sweep the Bucks. Although the outcome was not what we had hoped for, it was nonetheless a great introduction to playoff basketball for me. The emotions I experienced during that playoff series were intoxicating. I was completely hooked and I wanted more.&nbsp;
Well, I got it.
The following season, 1999-00, the Bucks would go on to finish No. 5 in the Eastern Conference. They faced the Pacers, again. An improved Bucks team forced a deciding Game 5 versus the Pacers in an exciting and competitive series. I was there for the action, of course. Unfortunately, Miller and his Pacers were still too much for the Bucks. After defeating Milwaukee that year, the Pacers went on to the NBA Finals to face Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers. They came up just short of an NBA title, as the Lakers defeated them in six games.
As for the Bucks, in retrospect, the two consecutive years of being defeated by the Pacers in the playoffs were just what they needed to prepare for what was to come&hellip;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/growing-up-a-buck-the-2001-playoff-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read Part 4 of this series: "Growing Up a Buck: The 2001 Playoff Run." </a>
Also, check out Matt Babcock and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's latest 2021 NBA Mock Draft</a>.

Matt Babcock provides an inside look at the rise and fall of the Milwaukee Bucks during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Growing up a Buck: 'It’s Reggie Miller Time'

Kawhi Leonard carried the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 to help overcome a feisty Dallas Mavericks team and advance into the Western Conference semifinals. The Clippers now head to Utah tonight to take on the Jazz in Game 1 of what should be a great second-round series. Utah is favored to win the series at (-139) at DraftKings Sportsbook, which is why tonight&rsquo;s matchup will be a fun one to watch from a fan and bettor&rsquo;s perspective.&nbsp;
Will the Clippers have juice for tonight&rsquo;s matchup after an epic series against the Mavericks? Let&rsquo;s take a look at who has the edge in Game 1 and find out the <a href="https://betql.co/nba/odds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA best bets</a> for this playoff matchup.&nbsp;
Game Preview 
Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz (-3.5, 220.5)
Leonard, a.k.a. The Klaw, put on a show against the Mavericks in round one, averaging 32.1 points, 4.6 assists, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He did that while shooting an insane 61.2% from the field and 42.5% from three-point land. Leonard is one of the best postseason players in the history of the league, so he will be asked to carry the load once again this series. On the other hand, the Jazz possess great balance on both sides of the basketball, so this should be a great battle game-in and game-out.
Donovan Mitchell is the engine that makes the team go, and after missing one game with ankle injury, he started his postseason with a bang as well. Spida averaged 28.5 points and dished out 5.8 assists as Utah took care of business against the Memphis Grizzlies in 5 games.
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When it comes to tonight&rsquo;s matchup, the Jazz finished the regular season with the best home record in the NBA, going 31-5 at Vivint Arena. While the Clippers were 21-15 on the road during the regular season, they did win all their road games in the first round. Offensively, Utah scores almost 3 more points at home than they do on the road, which is a plus for tonight&rsquo;s game.
The Jazz finished their season with the best record in the league, and for good reason. Offensively, Utah ranked No. 4 in points and offensive rating. The Jazz also ranked No. 1 in total rebounds, three-pointers attempted and three-pointers made. They put on a show from long range in the first round, so the BetQL team expects more of the same tonight. The team passes the ball crisply, which is something you need to do to score against this strong Clippers defense to be successful.
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Defensively, Utah also ranks in the top-5 of several key defensive metrics, including No. 1 in assists allowed and three-pointers allowed, No. 3 in points allowed and No. 4 in defensive rating. On that side of the ball, the Jazz are led by their defensive anchor Rudy Gobert. This will be a much tougher test for the Clippers, as the Jazz are much better suited to take on the Clippers than the Mavericks due to their size and toughness.
Los Angeles has just as much balance on both sides of the ball, but will the Tyronn Lue and Co. be a little fatigued tonight? If they want to steal Game 1 on the road, Paul George and others will need to step up to the plate and help Leonard carry the scoring load.
Gambling wise, bettors are expecting Utah to win this game, with 65% of the betting tickets and handle on them.
While the BetQL team likes the Clippers to take this series, this particular game is a let down spot for them. Los Angeles comes into this game on short rest, off a grueling seven-game battle with Dallas and now plays a rested Utah team at a higher altitude. It&rsquo;ll be a back and forth battle tonight, but look for the Jazz to pull away late.
Pick: Jazz -3.5
BetQL Model Predictions &amp; Picks 
BetQL&rsquo;s NBA model has run 10,000 simulations of this game to provide insight on how the game will pan out, and after all those simulations, the model leans the Jazz -3.5. Currently, the point spread of this game sits at +/- 3.5 with Utah as home favorites. BetQL&rsquo;s model would have placed the line at Jazz -4, meaning there is some betting value on Utah in this game at -3.5. Keep reading below to get picks from the experts at BetQL. &nbsp;&nbsp;
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Against the Spread Pick:
The model is leaning towards the Jazz with a 1-star rating on the game, and projects the final score to be Utah 113, Los Angeles 109. As highlighted with some stats and insights above, it&rsquo;s hard to argue with the model on this pick. This series will be a fun one, but the BetQL team agrees with the model for Game 1.
The BetQL team is backing the model and betting Utah -3.5, and <a href="https://betql.co/nba/sharp-picks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the sharp bettors</a>, they are backing the Jazz as well -- but be sure to check back with BetQL to see the most updated odds, lines and spreads for this game before tip.
Over/Under Pick:
The over/under for this game is set at 220.5 points. The BetQL model recommends taking Over 220.5 for this game. Utah will come out fired up tonight, and both teams rank in the top-10 in points scored. For all those reasons, the BetQL team is backing the site's 3-star pick and taking the over.&nbsp;
If you want to check out <a href="https://betql.co/nba/odds/totals-spread" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetQL&rsquo;s over-under picks</a> for the rest of the NBA playoffs, make sure to check out their site for those picks.&nbsp;
Prop Bet Spotlight
The BetQL computer model has identified a 4-star prop that the team likes for tonight&rsquo;s matchup in Paul George under 7.5 rebounds. George averaged 6.6 boards per game during the year; he rebounded the ball well against the Mavericks, which is why this number is slightly inflated. Utah ranks No. 7 in rebounds allowed and has the size to keep PG off the glass.
Pick: We are backing the model and taking George under 7.5 rebounds tonight.
As a Basketball News reader you can get access to BetQL for 30% when you use the code BBN30, check out BetQL and win the rest of your bets for the playoffs

Here's a betting guide for Game 1 between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.

Everything you need to know ahead of Jazz-Clippers Game 1

&ldquo;The media&rsquo;s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that&rsquo;s power. Because they control the minds of the masses. The press is so powerful in its image-making role." - Malcolm X
I didn&rsquo;t want to touch on any of this. I even tweeted that I was going to <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1395020436392529927?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mind my business</a> on this.
However, since Kwame Brown posted that first video on his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kwan_low" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IG account</a> (plus additional videos on IG Live and his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCzh-DGFFkhDsMDvQgpvCg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube page "Bust Life")</a>, there have been multiple media outlets that have reached out to me to inquire if I would come on their show. They wanted me to get in the middle of what was going on with Kwame and Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, and my answer has consistently been an adamant, "No." I told them that they were not going to use me to fan the flames of this beef. When I first caught wind of it, I immediately tweeted that I hated seeing good Brothas beef to this level over something that could&rsquo;ve (and should&rsquo;ve) been fixed with a phone call, and I still stand by that.
I also have a lot of respect for all of them. I am still amazed at all of the work that Stephen Jackson has done around the world after George Floyd was murdered. I&rsquo;ve interviewed both Stak and Matt for my show, "<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rematch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Rematch</a>," and for my new book on white supremacy and police brutality that I&rsquo;m currently putting the finishing touches on (shout out to Haymarket Books). Kwame and I have been friends since we were teammates with the Washington Wizards for four seasons, so I have always been in his corner. I immediately ordered some shirts from <a href="https://bustlife.creator-spring.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his clothing line</a> for me and my son. (We got "Momma&rsquo;s Cooking" and "My Momma&rsquo;s Son" shirts).
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I support all of these Brothas. I do believe they will eventually reach peace in their own time and show all of the world how Brothas can resolve differences peacefully, and then, maybe even work together and achieve something that Pac and Biggie never got the chance to do. Again, I fully believe that will happen in time. And when they do squash the beef and make peace, I want to hear all of the media who have been fanning these flames to be just as loud as they are now... but I doubt we will hear a peep out of the media about that. They love to promote drama and infighting, especially with Black people. It gets ratings and that&rsquo;s why I emphatically told them all, "No." I&rsquo;m not coming on any of your shows to join you in fanning these flames.&nbsp;
In addition to the media, a lot of NBA executives and former Wizards executives started reaching out to me, saying, "Hey, we know you and Kwame were always friends. You should talk to him." My answer to all of them was, "And say what, exactly? Kwame is a grown man, and y&rsquo;all are just worried that he&rsquo;s coming for y&rsquo;all next. So, no, I am not interested in speaking to Kwame on your behalf."
Kwame has a long list of people in the media who have consistently degraded his image, his family and his reputation. They have attacked him as a man for two decades and he has finally had enough.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s like the movie "Kill Bill" when Uma Thurman had the list of all the people who tried to kill her and was crossing them off one-by-one. Well, that&rsquo;s what Kwame is doing right now. So Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and all those other media people who have assassinated his character for literally 20 years are now feeling the wrath of Kwame Brown.&nbsp;
Many people have asked why I keep bringing up the media and why I'm so anti-media. They say it&rsquo;s the media&rsquo;s job to report, and Kwame, Stak and Matt are doing all of this themselves on their own platforms. People say to me, "What about sticks and stones?" and, "Kwame is being too sensitive," and, "The media criticizes all athletes," etc.
Yes, the media&rsquo;s job is to critique athletes' play. So for instance, if they report that a player isn&rsquo;t rebounding the ball the way they should or that their defense is lacking or their shot is off or they aren&rsquo;t playing up to their potential, that&rsquo;s all fair game.
But when the media attacks someone personally and creates a false narrative about a person&rsquo;s character and manhood, that&rsquo;s an entirely different subject. It is done far too often now that media personalities are treated like celebrities and paid salaries comparable to professional athletes. It seems the louder they are and the more negative they are, the more they are rewarded.
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With Kwame, it was so much deeper than the media simply &ldquo;talking bad" about him. The public degradation and the false narratives perpetuated by the media actually hurt Kwame financially, as NBA teams listened to those narratives regardless of whether they were factual or unsubstantiated.
In fact, false narratives kept Carmelo Anthony out of the league for more than a year. NBA teams were scared to touch him. So, yes, Kwame has a valid reason to be upset with the media because they took money out of his pocket with the way those false narratives destroyed his character.&nbsp;
The media could&rsquo;ve told the story of how he persevered through an impossible situation in DC with Michael Jordan and Doug Collins, and how he fought through unbelievable adversity at 18 years old. They could&rsquo;ve covered how he never broke despite Collins and Jordan's attempts to break him. Instead, they began broadcasting a false narrative that was detrimental to Kwame when it came time for teams to sign him. It lowered his market value. They remembered what was said. It didn't matter that there were no facts or proof; the rumors that were created by the media impacted these decision-makers.&nbsp;
In one of Kwame&rsquo;s videos, he briefly mentioned how he was treated in DC and how the situation was set up for him to fail. He also said, "Ask Etan Thomas, he&rsquo;ll verify everything I&rsquo;m saying." This led to my phone being flooded with even more calls, so I decided to reach out to a few other former Wizards so we could all verify Kwame's remarks. I brought Jahidi White, Tyrone Nesby and Chris Whitney on my show, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rematch-with-etan-thomas/id1536352949" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"The Rematch,"</a> to discuss what we collectively saw. And just for the record: Kwame didn&rsquo;t exaggerate one bit about how he was treated in DC. In fact, we also recalled a few horror stories that Kwame left out.&nbsp;
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But the media didn't tell those factual stories. All they had to do was ask someone who was actually there. I was there and I still asked others for their account. Do some actual investigative work!
But that&rsquo;s not what they did. And one of the biggest culprits was Stephen A. Smith. There are countless videos -- and I will include a compilation so nobody thinks I&rsquo;m exaggerating -- of Stephen A. Smith bashing Kwame. He said, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a scrub, he can&rsquo;t play the game of basketball, he has small hands, he can&rsquo;t catch the ball, he's got bad feet, he can't really move... he doesn&rsquo;t really know what he&rsquo;s doing, he doesn&rsquo;t have a post move that he can commit to memory, he has no game whatsoever, he plays no defense, he doesn&rsquo;t have the heart, the passion, or anything that comes with it." He called him a "bust" and constantly called out Kwame's work ethic; for example, he said, "He didn&rsquo;t work hard in 10 years," and, "[He] never worked and put forth his due diligence." Stephen A. refused to pronounce Kwame's name correctly. He called Kwame &ldquo;nothing&rdquo; and actively campaigned for the Knicks not to sign him.
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At the end of this compilation, you'll see that there's actual footage of Stephen A. Smith going on a speaking tour to colleges, high schools, and middle schools to continue his public degradation of Kwame. He exploited every opportunity to further these false narratives. He shouted fabrications that were simply baseless. The footage shows him telling college students that Kwame was immature and not ready mentally, emotionally or psychologically.&nbsp;
Now, I&rsquo;m no lawyer, but I would think that Kwame Brown has a slander case that he could bring against Stephen A. Smith (and a lot of media members) considering how he was defamed, as long as there's no statute of limitations. He would likely win because&nbsp;the proof is readily available.&nbsp;
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I remember seeing articles about Kwame not knowing how to order food in a restaurant, which I knew was a lie because me and Kwame went out to eat on the road and he ordered food just fine. There were stories about how he didn&rsquo;t know how to use dry cleaners. People wrote that he was depressed. Not to mention the pieces about how he was garbage and a bust and shouldn&rsquo;t be in the NBA. They used words like "worthless" and a "waste." None of that was true or accurate, but that&rsquo;s the narrative that was constantly repeated over and over and over again until everyone just believed it.&nbsp;
When you repeat something a million times, there will be people who believe it and act accordingly. It shifts their opinion. It&rsquo;s like brainwashing. And that&rsquo;s exactly what the media did with Kwame. Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, in particular, did this and there are many others who joined in (and I&rsquo;m sure Kwame has them on his list). That&rsquo;s why I told any media member who reached out to me that I had zero interest in talking to Kwame on their behalf.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Media, Former Wizards &amp; NBA Executives: I know you two were friends, you should talk to Kwame Me: And say what ? This is y&rsquo;all problem. Looks like he has a long memory &amp; y&rsquo;all just worried he&rsquo;s comin for y&rsquo;all next. Kwame Brown is a grown man. I&rsquo;mma mind my business on this one
&mdash; Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1395501100841807880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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That narrative the media created was used in more ways than a lot of people know. For a large part of my NBA career, I was on the executive board for the Players' Union. I was also part of the negotiating team. I was one of the people whom Billy Hunter consistently included when we sat across from David Stern and the NBA Board of Governors to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement. I remember Stern using Kwame Brown and that same narrative that was broadcasted by Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless and others as a justification as to why we needed to create an age-limit rule. They said that teenagers aren&rsquo;t mature enough and that Kwame didn&rsquo;t even know how to order from a restaurant and how much of a &ldquo;disaster&rdquo; it was to have young high-school players thrown into the throes of the NBA. He actually quoted the same narrative Stephen A. and others were constantly repeating, and I heard that with my own ears.&nbsp;
Of course, Stern didn&rsquo;t use the examples of Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett or LeBron James to show that high-school athletes can successfully make the jump to the NBA. And yes, this position was loaded with hypocrisy. To have no issue with sending an 18-year-old overseas to war but adamantly objecting to them playing in the NBA because they don't have the mental, physical and emotional capacity to handle it is almost laughable. Also, there was no objection for European players turning pro at 13 years old over in Europe (and I never once heard David Stern or anyone else use Darko Milicic&rsquo;s failures to justify why there should be an age limit for Europeans). They welcomed them with open arms. Stern wanted to expand the NBA worldwide so he wouldn&rsquo;t say anything against that expansion, but he had no problem using Kwame Brown as the poster child for the age limit.&nbsp;
People always ask me: If you have such an issue with the media, why did you become a member of the media? The reason is because I want to do things differently. One of the main reasons I created <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rematch-with-etan-thomas/id1536352949" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"The Rematch"</a> was to give athletes a platform to retell their story. I wanted to give each individual an opportunity to reclaim their image from these false narratives created and spread by the media. My hope is that this makes the media as a whole rethink they way they cover athletes in general moving forward.&nbsp;
To all the media who joined in with Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and others to assassinate the character of Kwame Brown over the last 20 years: Before you say something about him now, you really should think it through -- or the next video he makes might just be about you.

For 20 years, the media spread false narratives about Kwame Brown. His former teammate, Etan Thomas, witnessed this firsthand.

After 20 years of public degradation, Kwame Brown is fed up

If there&rsquo;s one piece of advice I&rsquo;d give anybody about the Eastern Conference and the 2021 NBA playoffs, it's to not count out the Miami Heat.
I wore that Heat uniform for a couple years, won a championship under Pat Riley, and even though that was way back in 2006, nothing has changed down there.
As long as Riley is pulling the strings, the Heat are gonna have a shot. It&rsquo;s the Riley way, and Alonzo Mourning warned all of his teammates &mdash; including me &mdash; of that back in 2005.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want that man upstairs to come down here to coach,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;If you think it&rsquo;s hell now, wait until he comes down... This won&rsquo;t be tolerated.&rdquo;
&lsquo;Zo was hot. We had a pretty rough November, losing some games to some bad teams and just having a tough time putting it together. He pulled a few of us aside in a team meeting and gave us that warning.&nbsp;
We all respected him, and he knew what he was talking about. After all, Riles was his coach for seven years.
I was new in town, so was Jason Williams, Gary Payton and Antoine Walker. We were some of the new faces the team brought in after losing in the Eastern Conference Finals the season before.
The pressure was on Stan Van Gundy to lead the team, and when we sputtered out the gate, everyone began speculating about his future -- even the players. That&rsquo;s what made &lsquo;Zo so outspoken.&nbsp;
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We thought we had some time to pull it all together, but the next thing we knew, after about 20 games, Stan and Riley were having a joint press conference. Stan announced he was stepping down.
Riles took over and led us to the championship. And although I didn&rsquo;t last too long in Miami, I learned some valuable lessons there, and I carry them with me to this day.
I played in Miami over 15 years ago, but based on what I&rsquo;ve seen and what I know, ain&rsquo;t nothing changed down there. Heading into the 2021 NBA playoffs, that&rsquo;s the exact reason why I wouldn&rsquo;t count the Heat out.&nbsp;
No matter what, with Riles leading that front office, the team will always end up with the kind of tough, gritty players it needs to excel playing that special brand of Heat basketball that he brought from New York way back in 1995.
Players who suited up for Riles are like a special little club, and I know that because, on top of playing for Riles himself, I had the opportunity to play for Doc Rivers and Byron Scott. It was obvious that they took some lessons from Riles. They were both tough guards who weren&rsquo;t afraid to challenge you, and they both had their own little fables and stories and techniques that they'd use to teach you and motivate you.
They had nothing on Coach Riley, though. I remember the very first lesson he taught us. He wasted no time.
We had one of those brutal four-game, five-night road trips. Tuesday night at the Bulls, Wednesday night at the Bucks, day off, Friday night at the 76ers and Saturday night at the Cavaliers. Stan resigned at that press conference the Monday beforehand, Riles took over and his first game as our coach would be on the first game of the trip, against Chicago.&nbsp;
We beat the Bulls, and then won against the Bucks the next night. Winning back-to-back games on the road in the NBA is tough, and after that, most coaches would reward their teams by giving them a day off, especially since we were playing four in five.
Not Riles, though. Or so we thought.
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After the Milwaukee game, we got to Philly in the late-night hours, and were told that we had a bus leaving the hotel in the morning and that we had to be ready by whatever time it was &mdash; maybe 11:00 a.m.
So we wake up in the morning, get dressed, get our ankles taped and all that. ALL OF US were grumpy and tired because, especially after winning those first two games on back-to-back nights, we felt like we earned the day off, you know?&nbsp;
Instead, we had to wake up, get dressed and head to the bus.
None of us knew what our new coach had in store for us. Remember, he&rsquo;d only been on the job officially for a few days.
After driving for a few minutes, the bus parked. We ended up at a movie theater &mdash; nobody knew what was going on.
Riles pops up and tells everyone to head into the theater and find a seat. We do, and next thing we knew, we were watching the basketball film &ldquo;Glory Road.&rdquo;
The movie was about the 1966 NCAA-champion Texas Western Miners. The team was coached by Don Haskins, and the reason why it was historically significant is because in that game, Texas Western became the first team to win the national championship with an all-Black starting lineup.
Of all teams, it was Kentucky that Texas Western beat in the championship game, and even back then, Kentucky was a powerhouse. They had an incredible starting lineup that was led by a young guard named Pat Riley.
Yeah. So that was quite the introduction to our new coach.
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Of course, back in those days, everyone knew what Riles&rsquo; reputation was. People thought of him as a drill sergeant and as a no-nonsense type of coach. If he were a high school teacher, he&rsquo;d be the teacher who walked in the classroom five minutes late and made all the students stop talking, sit up straight in their desks and face the board.
I took a few things away from Riles taking us to watch that movie. First, I knew he had connections, because we saw the film a full month before it was released in the theaters. But more important was the fact that it just let you know that he was a basketball lifer.&nbsp;
I think what he wanted us to take from seeing the film, though &mdash; and what I did take away &mdash; was that he knew what it felt like to be on the wrong side of history. Riles knew that our team was capable of succeeding like Texas Western, and that even if nobody gave us a shot, we had the power to control our own destiny. Riles told us that from the opening tip of the title game, he knew they were in trouble. He knew what it felt like to be surprised by his opponent, and wanted to do all he could to make sure that never happened to him again.
The same attitude and teachings were passed down to Doc Rivers and Byron Scott, and although I never played for Erik Spoelstra, many people refer to him as Riles&rsquo; prot&eacute;g&eacute;, so I know he&rsquo;s cut from the same cloth. That&rsquo;s why I wasn&rsquo;t surprised that the Heat won the Eastern Conference last season.&nbsp;
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And to be honest with you, I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised if they managed to do it again. &nbsp;
The Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks are probably the teams that most people mention when they talk about the contenders, but the Heat should never be counted out. That&rsquo;s really what Riles&rsquo; legacy is, to me, anyway.&nbsp;
Talent-wise, Miami hasn&rsquo;t been considered among the top teams, but the discipline and the way they approach being prepared is always gonna put them in position to win any game. That&rsquo;s the kind of team that executes well, makes smart decisions with the ball, takes good shots and is physical with you. They&rsquo;re not the kind of team that beats themselves. Whoever they face, it&rsquo;s gonna be one of those series that&rsquo;s gonna be very physical and very exhausting.
The Los Angeles Lakers can tell you.
From the day Riles took over, it was the dawn of a new day in Miami. And almost 20 years later, even though he stopped coaching long ago, he still has his fingerprints all over that team. Toughness. Grit.
As long as Riles is in the building and can get his eyes and hands on that franchise, every player who walks through those doors in Miami quickly realizes the importance of mentally and physically being ready to play at a high level.&nbsp;
Believe me when I tell you, nobody who knows Pat Riley will ever count his team out. I know what&rsquo;s being preached down there every day, because I heard those messages.&nbsp;
The Heat are preparing to win it all, and when the 2021 playoffs come, just like they were last season, they&rsquo;re gonna be ready.

James Posey tells the story of Pat Riley taking over as head coach of the Heat in 2006 and how he has affected the franchise since.

As long as Pat Riley is in the picture, the Heat have a shot

Most 2020 NBA draft prospects have spent their extended offseason grinding away behind closed gym doors and doing virtual workouts for NBA teams.
But Tyrese Maxey's pre-draft process added a unique wrinkle when he participated in a televised pro-day workout with fellow top prospect Anthony Edwards. The two performed drills in front of NBA stars, and the showing was broadcast on ESPN 2. For Maxey, the day was a major success.
"To have guys like Anthony Davis, LeBron [James], Gary Trent, Trae Young and different guys just there cheering you on and appreciating the work you put in, it feels great," Maxey told reporters.
The Kentucky guard emphasized that he's worked to improve his jump shot during the year, even acknowledging his disappointing 29 percent from deep in college. Maxey said he's been focusing on his shot arc, elbow placement and consistency with trainer Chris Johnson.
Part of that grind includes waking up at 4:50 a.m. to get in the gym at 6:00, making at least 800 shots in the early morning before going off to lift, and repeating the process during the day. Maxey knows that to succeed in the NBA, a jumper is a necessity.
"You have to be able to shoot the ball at the next level," Maxey said. "As a guard my height, and guards in the NBA, period, it's hard to be on the floor and play in an NBA game without being able to knock down wide-open threes.
"I feel like I'm a way better shooter than what the numbers say."
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The potential lottery pick gave plenty of credit to Kentucky head coach John Calipari and former assistant Kenny Payne (now with the New York Knicks) for pushing him to succeed. But it was Tyrone Maxey, Tyrese's father and a former college player for Washington State, who intitially set the standard. Maxey said his father would give him basketball film to watch when he was just 8 years old.
"He just set that bar and that pedigree at a young age," Maxey said, "And it just carried over to the player [I am] and the I.Q. that I have today."&nbsp;
Maxey has only done one in-person workout (with the New Orleans Pelicans), but he has met virtually with a host of others including the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.
With the Kings, Maxey sees himself as a great backcourt fit alongside fellow UK product De'Aaron Fox, and that he would be excited to play with Sacramento's core.
"It'd be cool playing with a guy like De'Aaron," Maxey said. "They have other guys like Cory Joseph, [Bogdan] Bogdanovic, [Marvin] Bagley, Harry Giles, and [it's] a very good, young team. They're headed in the right direction."
Among other teams, Maxey appreciates how fellow Kentucky alum Keldon Johnson "plays to win" with the Spurs. Maxey is also from Garland, TX, and added that playing for his home team in Dallas would be a tremendous opportunity.
Draft analysts have cast a wide net for the young guard, ranging from potentially the top 10 to the early 20s of the first round. But Maxey carries unbridled faith in his ability to make an impact.&nbsp;
"I put in so much work when people aren't working and people aren't in the stands," Maxey said. "My confidence is so high; I believe in myself."

The Kentucky guard has worked to improve his shooting during the extended 2020 pre-draft process.

Kyron