Bulldogs

The San Antonio Spurs have been playing one of their best basketball stretches this season, winning 18 of their last 20 games, and they are now back in familiar territory. The Spurs have won 50 games or more again for the first time since the 2016-17 season, and the conversation for the team has shifted into something far more serious.
The San Antonio Spurs are no longer a feel-good story. They are no longer just a young team figuring things out or a rebuilding group showing flashes. That last 50-win team was elite, built around Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge while still anchored by the championship DNA of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. That group knew how to win, knew how to execute, and most importantly, knew how to close games when everything slowed down.
This current Spurs team has been reincarnated from the same success. But this time, only younger, and still evolving. Yet somehow, the results are starting to look familiar.
The ball is moving and the defense is connected, just the way Spurs basketball is supposed to be played. The confidence is growing with every win. There is a rhythm to how they play, a sense of control that does not always show up in the standings but becomes obvious when you watch them over a stretch of games.
So the question now becomes unavoidable. Can the Spurs actually go out and win it all this season?
<h3>A foundation built on something rare</h3>
There are flashes of greatness with this team that go beyond typical rebuilding success. This is not just about stacking wins or overachieving expectations but rather about identity, and more importantly, sustainability.
San Antonio is playing a brand of basketball that feels both modern and timeless. They prioritize ball movement, spacing, and trust. They currently rank near the top of the league in assists per game, a clear reflection of their commitment to finding the best shot rather than forcing one.
Even with a generational talent leading the way, they are actively avoiding hero ball by design. Possessions rarely end with isolation-heavy sets unless absolutely necessary. Instead, the ball swings, players cut, and defenses are forced to rotate until something breaks.
That balance is what makes this team dangerous, and it is also what makes them historically unique.
The Spurs are on the verge of something rarely seen in NBA history. <a href="https://x.com/SpursReporter/status/2033475088729706608?s=20">They are close to becoming the only team to sustain eight players averaging double figures over a full season since the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets.</a> That Nuggets team became the gold standard for high-powered offense, averaging a league-record 126.5 points per game while embodying the idea that everybody eats.
San Antonio is knocking on that door. That kind of depth changes everything when the playoffs arrive. It gives them multiple counters, gives them flexibility, and it allows them to survive off nights from their stars because someone else can step up and carry the load. That is not common for a team this young, and what makes them a contender heading into the playoffs.
<h3>Victor Wembanyama is already that guy</h3>
At the center of it all is Victor Wembanyama.
There is no longer a need to temper expectations or speak in hypotheticals. He is a once-in-a-generation player, and more importantly, he is already playing like someone capable of leading a championship team.
At just 22 years old, Wembanyama is putting up numbers that place him firmly in the MVP conversation. He scores efficiently, protects the rim at an elite level, and continues to expand his offensive arsenal with every passing month.
His impact goes beyond scoring or defense. He alters games in ways that cannot always be captured in the box score. Opponents change their shot selection because he is on the floor. Guards hesitate on drives, and bigs are forced away from their comfort zones.
He is the type of player every contender wants. A player who can take over when necessary, but also elevate everyone around him.
That is the key difference, because Wembanyama does not just dominate. He fits within a system that empowers others, which makes the Spurs far less predictable and far more difficult to scheme against in a playoff setting.
And when the game slows down, when possessions tighten and defenses lock in, having a player who can create something out of nothing becomes invaluable. Wembanyama is already that kind of player.
<h3>A supporting cast that fits perfectly</h3>
Championship teams are never built on one player alone. What makes this Spurs team intriguing is how well the pieces around Wembanyama complement his strengths, both stylistically and mentally.
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox gives them a legitimate second star. His speed, shot creation, and ability to collapse defenses provide a different dimension to the offense. He can push the pace, create advantages early in possessions, and attack gaps before defenses are set.
More importantly, Fox knows how to handle pressure. He has been through playoff battles. He understands what it takes to execute late in games when every possession matters.
Devin Vassell continues to be one of the most reliable scorers on the roster. His midrange game is automatic, and his ability to space the floor as a catch-and-shoot threat makes him an ideal fit alongside both Fox and Wembanyama. He thrives in the gaps created by their gravity.
Stephon Castle has quickly established himself as a defensive anchor on the perimeter. He takes on the toughest assignments nightly and continues to grow offensively, showing more confidence as a slasher while steadily improving his jump shot.
Dylan Harper has been impactful from day one. As a rookie, his ability to attack the rim adds pressure to opposing defenses, and his development trajectory suggests he will be a key piece not just now, but for years to come.
Around them, the Spurs have built a roster filled with purpose.
Julian Champagnie and Harrison Barnes provide consistent shooting from the wings and corners, giving the offense the spacing it needs to operate at a high level. Their presence forces defenses to stay honest, opening driving lanes for Castle, Fox and Harper.
Keldon Johnson brings relentless energy off the bench. He plays with urgency, attacks the rim with force, and serves as the emotional heartbeat of the team. His willingness to embrace a bench role speaks volumes about the culture being built in San Antonio.
Luke Kornet offers stability as a backup big. He understands his role, plays within the system, and brings the experience of a champion, which can be valuable in moments when composure is needed.
Carter Bryant has quietly emerged as a hidden gem. He can defend multiple positions and knock down open shots, giving the Spurs another versatile piece in their rotation.
This is functional depth for the Spurs where every player has a role, and every role has value. More importantly, every player understands where they fit within the bigger picture, a usual recipe of success for a championship team.
<h3>The numbers are starting to align</h3>
For years, there has been a simple benchmark used to identify true contenders. The 40-20 rule.
Teams that reach 40 wins before 20 losses historically have a strong chance of competing for a championship. The Spurs have met that criteria, placing them firmly in the conversation with the league&rsquo;s elite.
As mentioned, they have also secured their first 50-win season since 2016-17, a reminder of the franchise&rsquo;s sustained excellence during its peak years. That stretch of 18 consecutive 50-win seasons remains one of the most remarkable runs in NBA history, and it set a standard that this new group is now trying to live up to.
After years of losing after their golden age, this season feels like the beginning of something new, yet strangely familiar. It speaks to the growth of their young core, and it reflects the internal development of players who have embraced their roles and elevated their games.
It also highlights the impact of head coach Mitch Johnson. Taking over in a post-Gregg Popovich era is no easy task. The expectations are different, the pressure is constant, and the comparisons are inevitable. Yet Johnson has managed to guide this group with clarity and confidence, maintaining the Spurs&rsquo; identity while adapting to the strengths of a new generation. He has done more than just keep the system intact &ndash; he has evolved it and fine tuned it for the foreseeable future.
<h3>The upcoming playoff reality check</h3>
However, even for all the reasons to believe, there are still questions that cannot be ignored.&nbsp;
The playoffs are a different environment. The pace slows down. Possessions become more valuable. Execution becomes everything.
And that is where experience often separates contenders from champions.
The Spurs are still young. Wembanyama may be playing at an MVP level, but this will be his first true playoff run with real expectations. The same goes for much of the roster. Fox and Kornet bring experience, but beyond them, this group has not been tested deep into the postseason.
That raises an important question. How will their inexperience show up when the stakes are at their highest?
Will their ball movement hold up against elite defenses that are specifically game-planning to take away their strengths? Playoff opponents will scout every action, every tendency, every preferred spot on the floor.
Will the Spurs be able to adjust on the fly when their first option is taken away? Or will they struggle when forced into late-clock situations where individual shot creation becomes necessary?
There is also the matter of their role players. During the regular season, depth wins games. Over an 82-game stretch, having multiple contributors averaging double figures is a luxury. But in the playoffs, rotations tighten, and the margin for error shrinks.
Will those same role players continue to produce when minutes become more defined and defensive intensity rises? Or will the Spurs find themselves needing more from their top-end talent than they have relied on so far? These are the questions that only the postseason can answer.
<h3>The narrative question that could define them</h3>
Beyond the X&rsquo;s and O&rsquo;s, there is another layer to this conversation. Every championship team has a defining narrative. Some teams are built through adversity. Others are driven by redemption. Some rise through experience after repeated failures.
The Spurs are still writing their story.&nbsp;
Are they a team that is arriving ahead of schedule, simply enjoying a breakthrough season before taking the next step in the coming years? Or are they a group that is ready right now, capable of skipping the usual timeline and capturing a title earlier than expected?
Then, there is also the pressure of expectation. At the start of the season, there was no burden. Every win felt like progress. Every loss was part of the process.
That has changed since then. Now, there is something at stake. Now, there is something to lose. How they handle that shift could define their postseason, because belief can shift a series. Confidence can change outcomes, and sometimes, a team that does not know it is supposed to wait ends up winning sooner than anyone predicted.
<h3>Can they actually do it and win it all?</h3>
On paper, the Spurs have the ingredients. They have a generational superstar playing at an MVP level. They have a second star who complements him. They have depth, shooting, defense, and a system that emphasizes trust and unselfishness.
They have momentum, they have belief, but championships are not won on paper. They are earned through experience, execution, and resilience under pressure.
The Spurs are close &ndash; closer than anyone expected this early in their timeline. Whether they are ready to take that final step this season remains the biggest question in the league. And that is what makes them one of the most fascinating teams to watch as the playoffs approach.
Because if everything clicks, if their identity holds, and if their young core rises to the moment, this may not just be the start of something special: it could be the moment it all comes through and arrives, and it is theirs for the taking.

The San Antonio Spurs are surging behind Victor Wembanyama and elite depth, but are they truly ready to win an NBA title this season?

Can the Spurs go out and win it all?

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Anthony Edwards had 33 points in 25 minutes and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed San Antonio 151-131, the most points allowed in regulation under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on Saturday at the Moody Center.
Minnesota shot 56% on 3-pointers while making a season-high 24 3s.
&ldquo;From the beginning of the game I feel like everybody was hitting and it just carried over,&rdquo; Edwards said.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points, Mike Conley had 20 points and Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves won for the sixth time in nine games. Minnesota will finish no lower than ninth in the Western Conference but still have a chance of finishing eighth ahead of New Orleans, who they host Sunday.
Julian Champagnie had 24 points to lead San Antonio, which will finish with one of the league&rsquo;s three worst records. Keita Bates-Diop added 22 points and Tre Jones had 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
The Spurs&rsquo; final home game of the season was played in Austin. The Spurs played their final two games at the Moody Center on the campus of the University of Texas as part of the Spurs&rsquo; regional outreach initiative.
San Antonio struggled offensively with its entire starting lineup out with injury except for Jones.
&ldquo;Minnesota was really hot from 3,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;They must have had close to 25 3s. I mean, big, but guys did well. They had 21 assists in the first half. Played physically, lot of guys got minutes that normally don&rsquo;t get those minutes. Great learning situation for everybody.&rdquo;
Minnesota led by as many as 33 points in the second half after being tied at 35 in the first quarter.
&ldquo;Come out and be aggressive (in the second half)," Edwards said. "Do what we normally do, blow stuff up. In the first half we were just kind of letting them get into their action. Came out and blew stuff up and that pretty much changed the intensity of the game.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Minnesota co-owner Alex Rodriguez was sitting courtside near former San Antonio star Tony Parker. Popovich greeted Rodriguez prior to tip-off. &hellip; The Timberwolves split their four-game series with the Spurs this season. The average margin of victory in each game was 12.5 points.
Spurs: Washington scored the most points against San Antonio under Popovich, defeating the Spurs 157-153 in double overtime on Feb. 25, 2022. &hellip; Popovich said the team sent C Zach Collins home after the finger he recently received stitches on began swelling. &ldquo;Looks like some sort of infection,&rdquo; Popovich said. Collins will not play in the Spurs&rsquo; finale Sunday in Dallas. &hellip; Starters Keldon Johnson (sprained right foot), Jeremy Sochan (sore right knee) and Devin Vassell (injury management for left knee) all sat out with injuries. Also missing were reserve wings Doug McDermott (sprained right ankle) and Devonte&rsquo; Graham (left adductor strain). &hellip; San Antonio honored former All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge following the first quarter. Aldridge recently announced his retirement after playing 16 seasons in the league, including 5 1/2 with the Spurs. Aldridge starred at Texas before being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers in 2006. &hellip; San Antonio finished 14-27 at home this season. The Spurs were 16-25 at home last season.
WE&rsquo;LL BE BACK
Popovich said the Spurs are eager to return to Austin after selling out both games at the Moody Center.
The Spurs had 16,023 attend Thursday&rsquo;s game and attracted 16,148 Saturday after allotting more standing-room only tickets.
&ldquo;Obviously, people enjoy it,&rdquo; Popovich said of a return. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to see the place packed like that. It&rsquo;s a great town, so hopefully we will be doing it more.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host New Orleans on Sunday.
Spurs: At Dallas on Sunday.

Anthony Edwards had 33 points in 25 minutes and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed the San Antonio Spurs 151-131 on Saturday.

Anthony Edwards scores 33, Timberwolves beat Spurs

Nekias Duncan checks back in with this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through the end of February.

2022-23 NBA award front-runners Vol. 2: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

Cleveland Cavaliers president Koby Altman is typically one of the NBA's busiest executives when the trade deadline comes around. In fact, since taking over for David Griffin as the Cavs' general manager in July 2017, there hadn&rsquo;t been a single deadline where he stood pat.
On Thursday, that changed, as the Cavaliers decided not to make a trade.
&ldquo;My guys over there, they said, 'Koby I'm proud of you,' for not [making a move],&rdquo; Altman said with a grin at Cleveland Clinic Courts in his first media appearance this season. &ldquo;Because you could make deals. You can. There's things you can land the plane on. Don't just do something to do something. Let's be very, very intentional with what we're doing. It's different when you're in asset collection mode. It's different when you're trying to accumulate picks. That becomes a different motivation. I think where we are now is being very, very intentional [with] how you're going to help this young core grow and set them up for success. And if the move wasn't there to do it, don't do it. I guess we sat this one out.
&ldquo;I think there's value in continuity. I think there's value in giving this group a runway. And sometimes as a GM, you just say to yourself, 'Don't mess this up.' And I think that was a big key for us this deadline. [That's] not easy for me; you guys know I'm volume-heavy. But to take a step back and realize the growth we've seen already, mixed with the results... I didn't see anything that was appreciably gonna make us better and put us over the top. And so, I'm really happy with where we are and where we're going.&rdquo;
We all know the NBA community abides by a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately code, but remember Donovan Mitchell? The 26-year-old first-time All-Star starter who&rsquo;s already stamped his name in the Cavs history books and helped lead Cleveland to a torrid start? One of the best shooting guards in the league who&rsquo;s already won two Player of the Week awards and has brought 39 games worth of playoff experience with him to the team? The dude who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-breaking-news-donovan-mitchell-scores-nbaseasonhigh-cavs-franchisebest-71-in-win" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped 71 freaking points in one night</a>?
Lest we forget that Altman already launched his full-court heave on the first day of September, prior to the frenzy that was this past week.
&ldquo;I'm really glad we did what we did in the summer, to bring in a Donovan Mitchell, because it's so competitive &mdash; hyper-competitive in the trade market, hyper-competitive in the standings. And so, that was our big move to really lift our ceiling,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;I knew that we weren't going to top that move come trade deadline (laughs). I think it's been a seamless fit. I think it's been some really exciting basketball... I think we had a great future without Donovan, and I can't imagine not having him right now.
&ldquo;We don't need to take swings. We don't need to take these &lsquo;find this incredible talent that you have to build around&rsquo; (approaches). I think we've found that, which is the hardest part. And now, does it work within the group and does it make the team better?&rdquo;
Altman&rsquo;s reasoning behind this approach is logical in short-term and long-term lenses. First and foremost, he brought up the delicate nature of a rare, connected locker room. That&rsquo;s why, though he&rsquo;ll leave open the idea of scouring the buyout market with an open roster spot available, everything will be about fit and skill set when it comes to any addition.
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The Cavs are in a position that they haven&rsquo;t been in during his tenure. They boast the fifth-best record in the NBA while employing the second-youngest starting five (average age of 23.2 years old) in the league, and a majority of that core still has yet to experience postseason basketball.
&ldquo;There's no trade I could've accomplished that was going to account for Darius Garland playing in his first playoff series, Evan Mobley playing in his first playoff series, Isaac Okoro playing in his first playoff series. We have to go through that as a team,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;We're gonna have to go down the stretch here and battle for our position. We're gonna have to go in, hopefully, knock on wood, to a playoff series and see what that feels like, and I'm excited about that.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And that's the growth, that's the maturation that I wanna see from this group down the stretch, and really take a step back and let them experience this kinda basketball that's very, very new for us, and give them the runway to achieve, have setbacks and grow from those experiences. But it's a really, really exciting place to be... Give this group what they deserve [with] what they've already accomplished.&rdquo;
Given his expiring contract situation, there were a lot of questions surrounding Caris LeVert, a hot name on the trade front. Multiple teams inquired about his status with the Cavs and what it&rsquo;d take for the franchise to part ways with him. Altman instead revealed that &ldquo;there&rsquo;s a lot of interest to keep him here,&rdquo; and explained his rationale behind sticking with LeVert.
&ldquo;We acquired Caris last year in vastly different circumstances. If you remember, we had Darius Garland and no other ball-handlers; Ricky [Rubio] was out for the year, we had lost Collin [Sexton] for the year. And so, we brought Caris in under vastly different pretenses. I think what he's done this year is try to adapt his game to two ball-dominant, all-world guards," Altman said. "He's gotten better at his spot-up shooting; he's at a career-high this year at 37% in terms of shooting, and that's not even his real piece. He's just a really good basketball player, and I think he's embraced the challenge of being a defensive stopper.
&ldquo;The thing that really speaks to me too is, and I'm a softy for this, but guys that really want to be here. Guys that show up every day to work, that have a great attitude, that whatever their role is &mdash; and he had to take a substantial step back, be a sixth-man type when he could be starting in the NBA on a lot of different teams &mdash; and being like, 'I want to make this work. I want to be here.' That's meaningful to me, that's meaningful to this organization and it's a big reason why he's here. The other thing too is, let's be honest, we're not playing guys 82 games a year anymore. And to be able to spot start Caris at times is an absolute luxury. We learned that last year we can't have enough ball-handlers. We'll see in the playoffs. I know it's been a few years now, [but] to break your man off the dribble when everything else breaks down and your set play is not working, you're gonna need guys to go get some stuff for you and manufacture some runs. He remains a very important part of what we're doing. He's just a really good basketball player. I know he's thrilled to still be here, and we're happy that he's here as well.&rdquo;
As per usual, Kevin Love&rsquo;s name surfaced in rumblings for another year. This time around, it made sense because he&rsquo;s recorded five straight DNP-CDs and missed action in the three previous games due to a bothersome thumb injury. Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff stated Wednesday night that the veteran big man is healthy and available, but wants to see what this new, healthy iteration of the team can do.&nbsp;
Asked about Love, Altman responded by saying that he&rsquo;s never had conversations with him or his representation about a buyout and doesn&rsquo;t anticipate it happening. He did however share that he and the 35-year-old have talked about making a sacrifice and staying ready when his chance to play comes again. Altman feels he&rsquo;ll have that opportunity at some point this season.
After striking a rhythm over the last week, Altman is pleased with what he&rsquo;s seen from this current Cavs rotation that&rsquo;s added some bodies off the injured list. Ricky Rubio &mdash; whom he considers midseason acquisition-like &mdash; came back in the fold less than a month ago and is rounding into form with the bench bunch, and Dean Wade has been getting his legs back under him since returning on Jan. 21, providing meaningful spacing and defensive chops.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Are the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> finding stability? J.B. Bickerstaff, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade weigh in (with hand signals and all 🎢). <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/oTD1TBWkyl">pic.twitter.com/oTD1TBWkyl</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1623719182910070786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

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When the franchise pulled the trigger on the Mitchell blockbuster, it created a significant void left by now-Utah-Jazz-All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen. For much of the season, the wing has been anything but consistent and a point of contention around town. A whopping 18 different starting lineups is an obvious indication of that, which has included starts at small forward from LeVert, Okoro, Wade and Lamar Stevens. (That&rsquo;s due to injury and mixing and matching.)
However, to Altman&rsquo;s point of internal additions, Cleveland has seen a fresh version of Okoro emerge since the turn of the new year. From Jan. 4 and on &mdash; when &ldquo;Ice&rdquo; reentered the starting five &mdash; the burly third-year swingman over 19 games has averaged 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest on 58.5% from the field, including a scorching 49.0% clip beyond the arc.&nbsp;
Coupling his already-stout defense with the threat of knocking down triples in the corner &mdash; and playmaking for teammates off the catch when closed out on &mdash; has helped Okoro earn the Cavs&rsquo; trust.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so happy for Isaac, who puts the most work in that now he deserves that sorta 3-and-D position that we drafted him as, that can guard 1-through-4, that really puts pressure on the defense,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;I think what you're seeing from us and from Isaac specifically is a dude that, right away, you feel that defense as soon as you get across half-court, or you want to take a shooter out and he's making you catch 40 feet out. That sets the tone for your defense, and he does that remarkably well. And now, he's hitting the three-ball and giving space to our guards, which we really need.&rdquo;
It also played a factor in Altman avoiding a potential disruption in Okoro&rsquo;s rhythm.
&ldquo;Obviously, everybody wants more shooting. It's something I looked at. But I also know... where are those minutes gonna go to?&rdquo; Altman argued. &ldquo;And that starting five, which has been really good with Isaac Okoro, who are you taking off the floor there when that group as a starting five is a plus-7.3 net rating with a substantial size now? Who are you taking off the floor there, right?
&ldquo;Between him, Dean, Cedi [Osman], we always wanted to hopefully have that be internal and not use more assets to go outside and hope it works. That's the other part too is, at the deadline, you're making these deals and hoping that it fits. You're ingratiating a new person into this system, everybody has to adapt around this person, you have to change the way you play a little bit to accentuate their positives. Keeping the continuity and letting the internal growth happen, I think, was a big part of (standing pat). And seeing those signs certainly gave us pause to... Isaac's only 22 years old, and he's getting better every single day. Let's let that play out.&rdquo;
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Flexibility is still present in Cleveland&rsquo;s books despite being over the salary cap. Altman noted how Mobley still being on his rookie-scale deal will allow the Cavs to re-sign LeVert and Love and use their mid-level exception if they choose. There are also second-round picks at their disposal, and if Thursday taught us anything, it&rsquo;s that they can be quite valuable.
Mitchell and Garland are meshing well with one another as the games pass, Mobley and Jarrett Allen have not shown signs of slowing down and Okoro is coming into his own. Rubio, LeVert, Wade and Osman have had their moments individually and are looking to put it all together to bolster the bench production. As long as the team can stay away from the injury bug, with a softer schedule in the second half of the season, there&rsquo;s no reason to expect any kind of decline. &nbsp; The overlying theme of the Cavs' strategy at this point? If it ain&rsquo;t broke, don&rsquo;t fix it.

Spencer Davies summarizes Cavaliers president Koby Altman's first press conference of the season after a quiet trade deadline.

Koby Altman counting on Cavaliers' continuity, growth from within

STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Joey Calcaterra scored all of his 14 points in the second half to help second-ranked UConn rally from its first second-half deficit of the season for an 84-73 victory over Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Tristan Newton had 17 points and seven assists, while Adama Sanogo added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (13-0, 2-0 Big East). Jordan Hawkins scored 15 points and Andre Jackson finished with seven points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Primo Spears had 19 points and Qudus Wahab 16 points and nine rebounds for Georgetown (5-8, 0-2).
UConn led by seven at halftime, but a dunk by former UConn forward/center Akok Akok gave Georgetown a 51-49 lead with 16:35 left to play. It was the first time this season that the Huskies have trailed in the second half this season.
NO. 5 ARIZONA 85, MONTANA STATE 64
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Kerr Kriisa scored 18 points, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 16 and Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Montana State.
Arizona (11-1) pulled it out by wearing down Montana State and hitting 10 of 25 3-pointers for its 26th straight home win. Oumar Ballo had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Wildcats scored 20 points off Montana State&rsquo;s 20 turnovers. Kriisa went 6 of 9 from 3.
Jubrile Belo had 18 points and RaeQuan Battle added 17 for the Bobcats (7-6), who shot 3 for 24 from the 3-point arc.
NO. 22 MIAMI 66, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 64
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 24 points and Miami held on during a frantic finish to beat Virginia.
Jordan Miller finished with 11 points while Norchad Omier had 10 for the Hurricanes (12-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a six-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
Miami led 61-51 on a free throw by Wong with 1:56 to play. Virginia (8-2, 1-1) went on an 8-0 run from there. Kihei Clark&rsquo;s layup with 26 seconds left made it 61-59, and Clark made three free throws with 5 seconds remaining to get the Cavaliers within 65-64, but Virginia couldn&rsquo;t finish it off and lost its second straight.
Ohio University transfer Ben Vander Plas scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, his highest-scoring game for the Cavaliers. Clark had 13 points and Beekman finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
NO. 9 ALABAMA 84, JACKSON STATE 64
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Noah Gurley scored a season-high 16 points and Mark Sears had 15, all in the second half, to Alabama past Jackson State.
The Crimson Tide (10-2), coming off a 100-90 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, struggled much of the way and even trailed a minute into the second half against the Tigers (1-11).
Nick Pringle had 14 points and nine rebounds for Alabama after coming into the game scoring less than one per game.
Ken Evans led Jackson State with 18 points.
NO. 11 GONZAGA 85, MONTANA 75
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Gonzaga won its 72nd straight home game.
Gonzaga&rsquo;s home win streak is tied with UNLV (1974-78) for the ninth-longest in NCAA history. It&rsquo;s the longest streak since Lamar&rsquo;s 80-game run from 1978-84.
Timme started 4 for 9 from the free throw line but went 4 for 4 down the stretch to seal the game for the Bulldogs (10-3) after a late Montana rally. The Grizzlies (6-6) cut a 17-point, second-half deficit to five with 3:06 to play on Josh Bannan&rsquo;s jumper but couldn&rsquo;t get any closer.
Bannan scored 19 points for Montana.
NO. 12 BAYLOR 58, NORTHWESTERN STATE 48
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and Baylor pulled away from Northwestern State.
LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner added 11 points apiece for the Bears (9-2), who have won four in a row.
Baylor went on a 14-0 run to take control for good after Northwestern State&rsquo;s DeMarcus Sharp made a jumper to open the second-half scoring and tie the game at 24.
Sharp had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwestern State (8-4).
WAKE FOREST 81, NO. 14 DUKE 70
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Tyree Appleby had 18 points and eight assists as Wake Forest ended Duke&rsquo;s eight-game road winning streak.
Cameron Hildreth added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led nearly the entire game. Wake Forest led 39-30 at halftime, then pushed that margin to as many as 15 points. Wake Forest shot 49.1% and had five double-figure scorers.
Jaylen Blakes scored a career-high 17 points to lead Duke (10-3, 1-1), which never got closer than seven after the break.
DRAKE 58, NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 52
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Roman Penn scored 19 points, Sardaar Calhoun made four of his career-high five 3-pointers in the second half, and Drake handed Mississippi State its first loss.
Calhoun finished with 17 points and Tucker DeVries added 15 for Drake (9-3), which beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2013.
Eric Reed Jr. scored all of his team-high 11 points in the first half for Mississippi State (11-1).
DeVries&rsquo; floater in the lane put Drake up 52-50 with 1:51 left in the neutral-site game, and Penn hit a jumper for a four-point lead with just over a minute left. Penn made four free throws in the last 10 seconds to secure Drake&rsquo;s first win over a Power Five opponent since it beat Kansas State in the 2020-21 season opener.
NO. 18 INDIANA 96, ELON 72
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Race Thompson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and short-handed Indiana beat Elon.
The Hoosiers were missing their two leading scorers. Center Trayce Jackson-Davis (16.4 points per game) sat for precautionary reasons with nagging back and hand injuries, and point guard Xavier Johnson (9.9 points) was sidelined by a foot injury.
But the Hoosiers (9-3) had too much depth against the visitors from the Colonial Athletic Association as they ended a two-game skid. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino had 17 points and seven assists for the Hoosiers.
Max Mackinnon led Elon (2-11) with 19 points and Sean Halloran added 15.
PROVIDENCE 103, NO. 24 MARQUETTE 98, 2OT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins had 29 points and 23 rebounds &mdash; both career highs &mdash; and grabbed the offensive board on a missed free throw with 15 seconds left in the second overtime to help Providence run out the clock and beat Marquette.
The Friars (10-3, 2-0 Big East) won their fourth straight game and improved to 4-0 in overtime this season. Devin Carter and Ed Croswell scored 20 points apiece for Providence, which beat a ranked team for the fourth straight season.
Native Rhode Islander Tyler Kolek scored a career-high 29 points before fouling out in the second overtime, and Kam Jones added 24 points for the Golden Eagles (9-4, 1-1).
Marquette blew a nine-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and rallied from an eight-point deficit in the first overtime.

A recap of Tuesday night's men's college basketball slate features a handful of top-15 upsets and a close one for the Huskies.

Calcaterra, No. 2 UConn pull away in second half to beat Hoyas

&ldquo;On 12/15/2022, Louis Orr was called home to be with the Lord as his battle with cancer has come to an end. He was a dearly loved and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He will forever be missed!&rdquo;
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A STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY OF LOUIS ORR On 12/15/2022, Louis Orr was called home to be with the Lord as his battle with cancer has come to an end. He was a dearly loved and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He will forever be missed! <a href="https://t.co/VPn8AO1kSn">pic.twitter.com/VPn8AO1kSn</a>
&mdash; Georgetown Hoops (@GeorgetownHoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgetownHoops/status/1603799542767357958?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
This news hit me and my wife Nichole like a ton of bricks.
Coach Orr actually introduced me to Nichole during our freshman year at Syracuse back in 1996. She had already caught my eye a few days prior, and I remember it clear as day. Coach said to me, &ldquo;Etan, I have someone I want to introduce you to. She&rsquo;s a nice young lady from Cali and she plays on the women&rsquo;s team. I just think you two would vibe really well."
And we have been vibing ever since. In fact, decades later, we are married with three kids and just celebrated our 18th year anniversary.&nbsp;
For me, Coach Orr was much more than a coach. I could quote him for days, but some of the best advice he gave me was when he told me this:
&ldquo;Basketball is not supposed to be easy. There is a reason only special people make it. They don&rsquo;t quit when things get tough. They don&rsquo;t point the finger at everyone else. They make adjustments and learn from every game &mdash; whether they score 20 or hardly play.&rdquo;
These were his words to me during my freshman year. He told me this while I was going through my &ldquo;freshman blues&rdquo; stage at Syracuse. Now, if you don&rsquo;t know what the freshman blues are, I&rsquo;ll explain.
It was my first time away from home. I was homesick, and missed my family and friends. Basketball wasn&rsquo;t going the way I expected it would go. It was cold, it started snowing and it just wouldn&rsquo;t stop. I had what felt like a never-ending cold, and I discovered that the coach who recruited me was not the same nice, smiling, joking person who sat in my living room on my recruiting trip.
I went from being a blue-chip All-American, back-to-back state champion at Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, Oklahoma &mdash; and the No.1 player in my class in the state &mdash; to being at the bottom of the totem poll at Syracuse. I mean the very bottom. Couldn&rsquo;t get any lower.&nbsp;
I was playing behind senior center Otis Hill, who the previous year had gone to the NCAA championship in '96 with that special group of John Wallace, Lazarus Simms, Todd Burgan and Co. I had a lot to learn. Looking back on it now, playing against Otis in practice every day my freshman year really showed me how hard I needed to work to be successful in the Big East. Back then, every night there was another dominant monster we would be playing against &mdash; Jahidi White at Georgetown, Jason Lawson at Villanova, Adonal Foyle at Colgate, Danya Abrams at Boston College. There were literally no nights off.&nbsp;
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But for me, in the position I was in as a freshman center, It felt like I could do no right on the court in Coach Jim Boeheim&rsquo;s eyes. Even in practice, it felt like I could do no right. Everything was my fault.
"Etaaaaaaaan, what are you doing?" Coach Boeheim would say. "Rebound the ball, run the floor, get back, get up, get over! You&rsquo;re not in the right spot, what are you doing!"
I remember thinking that maybe he recruited the wrong person. Maybe he thought I was somebody else because it doesn&rsquo;t seem like he liked me at all. And to be honest, I didn&rsquo;t like him very much either. (Again, just being honest.)
But Coach Orr wouldn&rsquo;t allow me to pout, catch an attitude, stop working hard, feel sorry for myself, give up, quit, lose my temper or flip out on Coach Boeheim (which honestly almost happened). He consistently wrapped his arm around me, encouraged me, imparted wisdom and made me keep working.
I remember the first time he came to me after a game; I played probably all of two-and-a-half minutes, but somehow I still got fussed at as if I was the reason we lost. I remember thinking, &ldquo;I did all of that wrong in two-and-a-half minutes?&rdquo; And Coach Orr must&rsquo;ve seen me at the point of snapping. He came to me and whispered quietly in my ear, &ldquo;Meet me at the gym at 10 p.m.&rdquo; I remember being like, &ldquo;Excuse me, did you say at 10 p.m. coach?&rdquo; But he saw I needed it
So we had an angry workout. Hard, violent dunk drills. Aggressive power moves. He had one of the managers (or someone he just brought to the workout) bang me with the pad, and I would have to power through the contact and make my move to the basket over and over again. We were there for maybe two hours. So once I reached the point of exhaustion, he came over and sat down next to me on the floor. He asked, &ldquo;You feel better now?" And honestly, I did.&nbsp;
After that, Coach Orr's message to me was to keep working, do extra, stay locked in, find out what coach wants and do that, and stressed that it was the only solution. Keep working until it is apparent that it&rsquo;s a lost cause, but in order to get to that point, you have to make sure you are doing everything possible on your end. He told me that I wasn&rsquo;t the first player on earth to be unhappy with their situation on the court, but it was how I handled it and what I chose to do in order to overcome this hurdle that would set me apart.
He said anybody can quit. People quit all the time. He told me that he&rsquo;d been in situations where a coach didn&rsquo;t have the confidence in him yet and he had to prove himself. He told me there were situations where he felt like it was literally him against the coach. But he had to make it so the coach couldn&rsquo;t take him out of the game even if he wanted to, and that&rsquo;s exactly what I had to do.
Coach Orr also told me that things would get better and that I&rsquo;d get past it, but to not forget that feeling when I did have success, but to remain humble and hungry. Don&rsquo;t ever get complacent but keep this same drive, passion, anger, tenacity, chip-on-your-shoulder mentality &mdash; even when Coach Boeheim starts singing your praises and the papers start raving about you.
He also said that there would come a time where I am going to be encouraging someone else who is in the same situation that I was in and don&rsquo;t know how to handle it. And sure enough, that&rsquo;s exactly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ncaa-college-basketball-syracuse-orange-jesse-edwards-excited-for-upcoming-season-nba-draft-prospect-jim-boeheim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what I did with Jesse Edwards throughout his early years at Syracuse</a>.&nbsp;
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But this became Coach Orr and I's routine. We would just have extra workouts regularly. Sometimes, he would let me just vent and fuss; sometimes, he would vent and fuss. Other times, we wouldn&rsquo;t say a word. Just drill after drill after drill.
There were some occasions where we would come to the gym, sit on the floor and just talk, and the topics varied. Sometimes we talked about basketball, and other times, we talked about everything but basketball. We talked about life. He would relate the ups and downs on the court to the ups and downs of life. He would tell stories of when he played and different things that he experienced in college and the pros.&nbsp;
We started going to church together on Sundays, and Coach Boeheim actually moved practice to a little later in the day on Sundays so we could keep our church routine.&nbsp;
I can easily say that if it weren&rsquo;t for Coach Orr, I wouldn&rsquo;t have made it through Syracuse. He had become much more than just a coach.
The thing is, he didn&rsquo;t have to do any of that.
He didn&rsquo;t have to take me to church. He didn&rsquo;t have to encourage me the way he did off the court. He didn&rsquo;t have to teach me life lessons. That was all way beyond the call of duty of being an assistant coach. He didn&rsquo;t even work with my position; he worked with the forwards. But we had a connection that would last a lifetime.
That&rsquo;s what makes a coach more than a coach. Anyone can draw up plays or drills or point out when you aren&rsquo;t doing what you&rsquo;re supposed to be doing. But a coach who takes an interest to learn a player's needs, situation, mind state, temperament and understands when they need encouragement because they&rsquo;re down, when they need to be fussed at because they&rsquo;re messing up, holds them accountable, doesn&rsquo;t crush their spirit but uplifts their spirit &mdash; it&rsquo;s just special.
Coach Orr wore many hats for me that extended far beyond a coach. Mentor, father figure, disciplinarian, confidant, motivator, teacher, spiritual advisor, relationship expert, psychologist, therapist, teacher and friend.
Rest In Peace, Coach Orr. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Etan Thomas pays tribute to his former mentor, friend and coach, the late, great Louis Orr.

When a coach is more than a coach: Etan Thomas remembers Louis Orr

Nekias Duncan takes an early look at this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through mid-December.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award front-runners: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

Let's relive the last 33.5 seconds of Friday's matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans.
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If you're reading this at work and can't open the video, your boy has you on the recap.
<ul>
<li>33.5 to 25.9: With the Suns down seven, Chris Paul tries to create against Jose Alvarado. He winds up tossing up some nonsense that doesn't hit anything.&nbsp;</li>
<li>23.6 to 18.2: CJ McCollum catches the airball. He could dribble the ball out, but instead chucks it ahead to Larry Nance Jr. for an uncontested layup.</li>
<li>18.2 to 9.2: Cam Payne frantically dribbles the ball up the left side of the floor. Paul is chilling behind half-court, then jogs up to receive a pass from Payne. Paul drives by the half-hearted stance of Zion Williamson, past a soul-less dig &mdash; if you want to call it that &mdash; from Nance Jr., then takes a mostly uncontested layup. He somehow misses it.</li>
<li>7.9 to 1.9: Nance Jr. chucks one ahead to Williamson, who treats the crowd &mdash; and anyone watching on television &mdash; to a clean reverse 360 windmill that Vince Carter <a href="https://youtu.be/7QtljAdtwgQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">would be proud of.</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>0.0: A little bit of #static occurs after the final whistle, with multiple players jawing back and forth at each other.</li>
</ul>
A nine-point loss is one thing; an 11-point loss is cause for fisticuffs!
In all seriousness, it felt like unneccesary chippiness following a cool moment. A different angle of the post-dunk credits gave me the impression that this was more about the Paul-Alvarado mini-battle than it was about Williamson's dunk.
Regardless, we got more chippiness postgame. Brandon Ingram didn't play, but safe to say he was <a href="https://twitter.com/JaiIpose/status/1601438432818913281?s=20&amp;t=fqm3XNzi7oFZCwhAAvGsRg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hyped on Instagram</a>. Payne had the most to say on the Suns' side, all in the name of ... sportsmanship.
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"Game was pretty much over and they kept playing. Feel like that was a little unsportsmanship. We don't really like that. We do the right thing and I feel like they should've did the right thing and they didn't. We don't take it well." Cameron Payne on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Suns</a>-<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pelicans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pelicans</a> ending.
&mdash; Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1601436580161495041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Okay.
(Can we not turn this into baseball with unwritten rules and such? Teams generally hold the ball when the shot clock is off in a situation. The Pelicans didn't. It didn't change the outcome of the game, and no crime was committed. It's not like Williamson dunked over an unsuspecting Suns player; it was a breakaway. Let's not be lame.)
Funny enough, the main characters didn't have much spice to add. Alvarado wouldn't even mention Paul by name, referring to him as "that person" when asked about his own availability. Paul played it coy, alternating between "it is what it is" and "I don't know" when asked about the back-and-forth with Alvarado.
The dunkster <a href="https://youtu.be/CTH_hUbCSok">gave us this</a>:
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And with that, can I just note how awesome this is? How awesome this can be?
Like, move past the late-game pettiness for a moment and recognize the care level that led to the late-game pettiness.
We aren't that far removed from Williamson's commitment level &mdash; to himself, and to the Pelicans at large &mdash; being questioned. He threw down a monstrous dunk &mdash; one he called "out of character" &mdash; to punctuate a win against the team that knocked his out last postseason. It's a callback to his excitement about finally <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsNO/status/1520169809031356423?s=20&amp;t=90vrWkm5Jn1V2I4WMpkMYw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting on the floor</a> with his teammates.&nbsp;
Even Alvarado referring to Paul as "that person" was a callback to some Paul pettiness. After the series-clincher, Alvarado was asked about his battles with Paul and capped it with, "I bet he knows my name now."
In typical Paul fashion, he struggled to remember his name.
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Between the Paul-Alvarado feud, the Williamson dunk, Ingram's bars, Payne's comments &mdash; and McCollum's "get back on defense, then" response &mdash; it's safe to say we have a budding rivalry on our hands.&nbsp;
I'm 10,000% here for older teams being petty, and younger teams rocking the boat. Grizzlies-Warriors is fun, and should be fun moving forward for those reasons. Suns-Pelicans is on the same path, if it isn't there already.
Luckily for us, Friday night's matchup was the first of&nbsp;three&nbsp;that we'll get in a 10-day span. They'll be back at it on Sunday night, then again next Saturday (12/17).
Get your popcorn ready, folks.

Last night's chippy contest between the Suns and Pelicans is the first of three head-to-head matchups in a 10-day span.

Suns vs. Pelicans is the kind of rivalry we need

While at Cleveland Cavaliers Media Day, BasketballNews.com had the time to catch up with Cavs forward Lamar Stevens. A former two-way contract player, Stevens earned a standard contract following his contributions as a rookie in April 2021.
Over his two seasons in Cleveland, J.B. Bickerstaff has taken a liking to Stevens' tenacity on the defensive end and his ability to run the floor. Last year, the coaching staff entrusted Stevens so much that the former Penn State Nittany Lion earned 13 starts and played over 16 minutes per contest in 63 total appearances.
Coming off his sophomore campaign &mdash; one where he averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per 36 minutes &mdash; Stevens is optimistic about the season ahead with the wine and gold. 
Does it feel like Season 3 for you?
Lamar Stevens: &ldquo;Yeah, it&rsquo;s crazy how time flies. Those years just fly by. It&rsquo;s crazy how it&rsquo;s Year 3 [for me].&rdquo;
How does it feel coming into camp?
Stevens: &ldquo;It feels good. I feel really comfortable with the team, with the guys. It&rsquo;s been for the most part the main core guys that&rsquo;s been here the whole time, so just growing with these guys and just seeing everybody&rsquo;s growth has been great.&rdquo;
What have you been working on over the offseason and adding to your game?
Stevens: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working a lot on becoming a better shooter from three, just being more consistent. [I&rsquo;ve been] watching a lot of film and just seeing different ways offensively where I can impact the game and just learning how to play off guys like Darius [Garland] and Evan [Mobley] and stuff like that. But mainly, the three-point shot for me.&rdquo;
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Lamar Stevens agrees that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> battle for the 3 spot will be iron sharpening iron. He's been working hard on his threes this summer. <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/ens22JIriO">pic.twitter.com/ens22JIriO</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1574450841838403585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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How about what the coaches have asked of you?
Stevens: &ldquo;Just the three-point shot and also just becoming better with the ball in my hands, being able to play in dribble-handoffs and pick-and-rolls and stuff like that, and be a reliable person for that.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s going to be a lot of competition for that starting 3 spot going in. How do you feel going into that against your guys?
Stevens: &ldquo;I was going to say, &lsquo;Iron sharpens iron.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m just excited for the opportunity to compete, and I think it&rsquo;s gonna make all of us better in the end.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies briefly catches up with Cavs forward Lamar Stevens about his summer and more.

Lamar Stevens Q&A: Cavs training camp, offseason focus, competition

Jae Crowder seems ready to begin a new chapter away from the Phoenix Suns, which shouldn&rsquo;t come as a surprise if you&rsquo;ve followed his social-media activity throughout the offseason. From openly mentioning that he wants a fresh start elsewhere to liking tweets about him joining the Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks, Crowder&rsquo;s intentions have been out in the open for a while now.
This awkward tension potentially reached a boiling point on Friday night, less than a week from when Phoenix opens up training camp following their jaw-dropping postseason exit in the Western Conference Semifinals.
After the Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin tweeted about how the position battle between Crowder and Cam Johnson would be a key storyline to watch during training camp, Crowder tweeted (then quickly deleted): &ldquo;99 WONT BE THERE!.&rdquo;
Phoenix has reportedly been shopping Crowder in recent weeks, including in trade discussions with the Utah Jazz as the Suns targeted Bojan Bogdanovic, who was ultimately dealt to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee. Arizona Sports 98.7's John Gambadoro reported that talks between the Suns and Jazz broke down over the potential inclusion of Jarred Vanderbilt alongside Bogdanovic, but the deal would&rsquo;ve involved Crowder heading out of the Valley.
With Crowder seemingly wanting to leave Phoenix, will a deal be struck before training camp opens on Tuesday? For a team looking to bounce back from postseason failure, it might not be the best idea to keep a disgruntled Crowder in the equation.
Although the veteran wing can be extremely volatile as an outside shooter, his winning tendencies and overall two-way presence would be a major boon for any contender around the Association.
Which teams make the most sense to pursue Crowder? Let&rsquo;s go ahead and dive into some potential destinations.
CHICAGO BULLS
Before injuries ravaged their roster last season, Chicago was nestled into the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed thanks to their well-balanced attack on both ends. Now, Lonzo Ball's future up in the air due to a nagging meniscus issue, the Bulls need to find some more help defenders who can hold their own. Right now, Crowder could be the ideal remedy when forecasting all of the elite score-first wings in the East.
Bulls receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Coby White, Javonte Green
Immediately, Crowder slides into an important slot for Chicago where he could benefit from a low-usage role similar to his current environment in Phoenix.
For the Suns, this type of haul should be the expectation in any potential Crowder-related transaction. If Bogdanovic was unable to net a first-round pick for Utah, it&rsquo;s hard to envision Crowder topping that barometer either.
With the inconsistencies of Cameron Payne plaguing the Suns&rsquo; guard play last season, especially in the playoffs, taking a flier on White for the price of Crowder makes sense. Meanwhile, Green is a smaller version of Crowder but someone who could play a role off the bench and produce when called upon.
It's possible that Chicago would want a pick back in this trade since they are parting with the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (who is still just 22 years old), which could become a sticking point in negotiations.
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TORONTO RAPTORS
If you&rsquo;re a capable wing, there&rsquo;s no doubt that Toronto will show some level of interest. The Raptors are building their entire identity around wings, and the results are really beginning to bear some fruit. Inserting Crowder within Toronto&rsquo;s rotation would be a huge win, especially as a veteran mentor for younger players at his position like OG Anunoby and reigning Rookie-of-the-Year Scottie Barnes.
Raptors receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Thaddeus Young, Malachi Flynn
Phoenix has been interested in Young since last year, when a trade or buyout from the San Antonio Spurs seemed inevitable. Instead, Toronto acquired the veteran in exchange for Goran Dragic and a protected 2022 first-round pick. Young is a strong candidate to replace Crowder, because what he doesn&rsquo;t provide in shooting he offers in spades everywhere else. Within head coach Monty Williams&rsquo; &ldquo;0.5&rdquo; system, he would thrive as a pass-happy connecting 4 who could play alongside Deandre Ayton or Dario Saric.
Flynn has been unable to find his footing in Toronto, but could get a long-term look in Phoenix off the bench. After Payne&rsquo;s postseason woes, the Suns would be wise to find some competition heading into training camp.&nbsp;
It's possible that Toronto is content keeping Young, whom they just signed to a two-year extension. It all depends on how they value the 32-year-old Crowder and whether they think he's a big enough upgrade over Young to justify giving up Flynn.
MIAMI HEAT
Crowder&rsquo;s top choice seems to be a reunion with the Heat, but the Suns have no real value to extract there. It&rsquo;s doubtful that Miami would want to include Caleb Martin, who isn&rsquo;t eligible to be traded for another few weeks anyway. Instead, the Heat will have to get creative if they want to bring Crowder back into the fold and rope in a third team to facilitate.
Well, guess what? One organization has openly expressed a desire to do just that, as long as they get back an enticing young prospect or a draft pick. Say hello to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-indiana-pacers-enter-uncharted-waters-searching-for-longterm-sustainability-kevin-pritchard-chad-buchanan-tyrese-haliburton-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Indiana Pacers&rsquo; new vision</a>. They are expected to be one of the Association&rsquo;s most active teams from now through February&rsquo;s trade deadline.
Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-indiana-pacers-enter-uncharted-waters-searching-for-longterm-sustainability-kevin-pritchard-chad-buchanan-tyrese-haliburton-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently told Basketball News</a> that they want to keep stockpiling ammunition while taking advantage of their newfound salary-cap flexibility. Not many teams would be willing to take on Duncan Robinson&rsquo;s contract, but Indiana is in the position to bite the bullet for another pick.
Quickly cobbling together a three-team deal with the Suns, Heat and Pacers, here&rsquo;s a potential framework where all sides could potentially walk out happy:
Heat receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Oshae Brissett, future second-round pick (via Miami)
Pacers receive: Duncan Robinson, future first-round pick (via Miami)
For Phoenix, landing Brissett from Indiana is the right kind of flier to take. Consistently showing an improved offensive game, Brissett could shine in the Suns&rsquo; system, spelling Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson off the bench. And with the Pacers wanting to have a large rotation to play as many young pieces as possible, Brissett&rsquo;s role could be slightly reduced heading into 2022-23.
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ATLANTA HAWKS
The Hawks have pushed their chips to the middle of the table this offseason when they swung for the fences by acquiring Dejounte Murray. With their star backcourt of Trae Young and Murray, Atlanta is in win-now mode so acquiring Crowder certainly makes a lot of sense. Not only would Crowder help take some pressure off defensively, he would be set up well by Young and Murray on the perimeter.
As evidenced by the Suns insisting that Vanderbilt be included alongside Bogdanovic in a potential trade with Utah earlier this week, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a shock to see them try a similar method here with Atlanta.
Hawks receive: Jae Crowder, Landry Shamet, two future second-round picks
Suns receive: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Justin Holiday
Instantly, the Suns upgrade their third guard spot with Bogdanovic, plus they add a hard-nosed, versatile wing as well. Who knows if the price would be a first-round pick, but maybe Phoenix could pull this one off with multiple second-round selections because of Bogdanovic&rsquo;s injury concerns over the past few years?
As ESPN&rsquo;s Brian Windhorst relayed earlier this week, the Suns are willing to take on salary past this upcoming season. Bogdanovic has an $18 million player option for 2023-24, but his fit within the Suns&rsquo; offense would be well worth the price.
Based on the other packages, this feels like the best bet for Phoenix leading into training camp, and Atlanta would welcome a win-now addition into the fold as well.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
All of the sudden, Cleveland looks like a real threat to make a deep postseason run. Thanks to the jaw-dropping addition of Donovan Mitchell earlier this month, the Cavaliers&rsquo; rotation is stocked to the brim going nine or 10 players deep. What about adding another piece like Crowder to bolster this strength even more?
Cavaliers receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens
Crowder could slide into a starting role for Cleveland ahead of Isaac Okoro because of his shooting ability or headline the second unit alongside fellow veteran Kevin Love. Assuming Crowder jumps into a starting spot, which seems to be his desire, here&rsquo;s how the Cavaliers&rsquo; rotation would look:
Starters: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jae Crowder, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Second Unit: Ricky Rubio, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Kevin Love
With a rotation like that, it allows Cleveland to offload Osman and save some money on the backend for 2023-24. In Phoenix, Osman and Stevens would find roles within the second unit and benefit greatly from the spacing provided. The Suns covet shooters, so it wouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise to see them utilize Osman off the bench, while Stevens plays a smaller role as wing depth.
Over the next 72 hours heading into media day and training camp, Crowder&rsquo;s seemingly uncertain future in the Valley will be a story worth monitoring. We shall see whether Crowder stays with the Suns or heads elsewhere when the dust ultimately settles.

Jae Crowder's days with the Phoenix Suns appear to be numbered. Evan Sidery breaks down five possible landing spots for Crowder.

Examining 5 potential trade destinations for Jae Crowder

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

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

As the Cleveland Cavaliers prepare to make their NBA Summer League debut in Las Vegas, all eyes in Northeast Ohio will be squarely on Ochai Agbaji, the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, who ultimately became a bonus selection when the wine and gold fell just one victory short of making the playoffs.
Starting Friday afternoon, Agbaji will get the lion&rsquo;s share of shots, have the ball in his hands and go a little out of his comfort zone by being utilized as a playmaker &mdash; similar to what Cleveland asked of Isaac Okoro at this time last year. Knowing Agbaji&rsquo;s strengths after a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cleveland-cavaliers-prepared-to-throw-ochai-agbaji-in-the-fire-with-presentday-focus-jb-bickerstaff-koby-altman-darius-garland-isaac-okoro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">year-by-year ascension at Kansas</a>, the organization is set on developing other areas of his game at Summer League and entering training camp.
In fact, a Cavaliers team source told Basketball News that the plan is to bring Agbaji along slowly at the beginning of the season. And with the guard room filled to the brim, it&rsquo;ll be difficult for the rookie swingman to crack the rotation right away.
&ldquo;There's really no expectations on him," the Cavs source said. "He doesn't have to play or have to contribute right away."
There will be some real battles for minutes come training camp, especially in the backcourt. Not only does Cleveland have Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Okoro and Agbaji, the Cavs also added Raul Neto and brought back Ricky Rubio.
To top things off, the team source is quite confident that Collin Sexton will be back with Cleveland since free-agency money is drying up. Either the two sides will reach an agreement or "at worst," Sexton will sign for the qualifying offer (worth $7.2 million).
If you&rsquo;re keeping count, that&rsquo;s seven players who will be duking it out for floor time between two positions, most notably at the 2. The team source suggested that J.B. Bickerstaff could regularly play 10 guys this season. On a team that&rsquo;s still seemingly missing a &ldquo;true&rdquo; small forward who can score on both ends of the floor, it seems like overkill. Yet, as the Cavs found out the hard way last season, depth is absolutely necessary to stay above water.
Despite their success with him sidelined, Sexton&rsquo;s absence was painfully felt as the season progressed. The obvious way was as a scorer who &ldquo;can get 15-to-20 in his sleep.&rdquo; From another perspective, it was about how he got those points &mdash; getting into the paint, breaking down the defense and knocking down those 9-1-1 types of shots &mdash; that really could&rsquo;ve saved an offense that ran out of gas.&nbsp;
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&ldquo;Collin's built for big moments. He's not afraid at all, and I just think he would've made some kind of impact,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;I think he would've helped us more than hurt us. Everyone wants to say the success was because he's not here, which I think is completely false. Say what he can't do, but what can he do?
&ldquo;I just think it was a tough year for him because all he cares about is hoop. That's literally 24/7, 365. I think it was really, really hard for him. But he's even more motivated because he was out and he saw the success. He's rippin' and roarin'. I've seen some of the videos of him working out and stuff; I think he's gonna be back and be better than ever this season.&rdquo;
While Sexton&rsquo;s knee injury was the first blow, Rubio tearing his ACL in New Orleans before the turn of the new year rattled everybody in the franchise.
&ldquo;It just really hurt Cedi [Osman] and really hurt Kevin [Love] 'cause that second unit was rollin',&rdquo; the team source said. "And Kevin and Cedi, Ricky just put them in spots. They didn't have to do anything. They just had to finish. But Ricky set 'em up perfectly. That was the beginning of it. It was a big blow. I just think if we have Ricky healthy all year, we're probably a four or five seed.&rdquo;
(Subsequently, the team source said that Jarrett Allen&rsquo;s broken thumb &ldquo;just killed us.&rdquo;)
Even with Rubio returning, the team source told Basketball News that his recovery timeline for the 2022-23 campaign is &ldquo;unknown,&rdquo; so the experienced Neto should be able to fill that void until Rubio is cleared for action. And considering that Cleveland&rsquo;s options last season were two-way guard Brandon Goodwin and first-year-NBAer Kevin Pangos before attempting to patch up the roster wound with Rajon Rondo and LeVert, Neto should be able to get the job done.
Because they had such a good thing going in the short- and long-term last season, the Cavs did not want to mess with team chemistry too much. The organization viewed last year's LeVert trade as a pure addition that wouldn't affect the building&rsquo;s energy. He&rsquo;d take on some of the playmaking duties and the scoring responsibility with no Rubio (who was hurt and sent to Indiana as part of the deal) or Sexton (who was still rehabbing).
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Off the floor, it worked out just fine, as LeVert fit right in with Cleveland&rsquo;s culture.&nbsp;
On the floor, it was a mixed bag.
&ldquo;He comes, he plays what, four games? He has that huge game in Indiana, then we go on the break and then he's out for a month. And then he comes back and he wasn't himself,&rdquo; said the team source.
LeVert even told the organization that he couldn&rsquo;t get his legs under him after initially spraining his foot. LeVert also admitted to bringing some of his bad habits from Indiana to Cleveland.
&ldquo;Obviously we saw the kid, the character, the work ethic, but he just wasn't on the floor, especially with most of our main guys. We were trying to figure him out, he was trying to figure us out. There just wasn't enough time,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;Maybe if he's healthy that whole second half, I think it would've been better, but it was just hard for everyone involved just because he was learning on the fly. I think we had, like, two real practices after we traded for him. So, there was no time to really jell with the guys. He just kinda had to do it on the fly in games.&rdquo;
When asked to evaluate LeVert&rsquo;s half-season stretch with Cleveland, the team source described it as &ldquo;incomplete.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I think he's gonna have a good year because he'll have had a whole summer, he's been with our guys, he's been back and forth here,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;We're gonna have a full training camp, and I know Coach [Bickerstaff] is saying we've learned a lot about him and where we can put him in different spots.&rdquo;
The sole reason the Cavs stacked the guard room was to take just a semblance of the burden off Garland. Carrying the playmaking load &mdash; putting the team on his shoulders from January and on &mdash; resulted in him hurting his back. But unlike his first two injury-riddled NBA seasons, Garland showcased his durability and fought through the nagging pain to will Cleveland to a spot in the Play-In Tournament.&nbsp;
For the first time in his career, Garland was an All-Star, finished as a top-20 scorer and ranked sixth in assists among his NBA peers. Last Saturday, the Cavs rewarded Garland with a five-year, $191 million rookie-maximum extension that could reach up to $231 million in earnings.
&ldquo;What he did this year was pretty incredible, the growth he's made, and I think he's still only gonna get better and hopefully take a couple more steps,&rdquo; the team source said of Garland. &ldquo;We've been looking for kind of an All-Star, a franchise pillar since LeBron left. He wants to be here. Everyone loves playing with him. He embraces the city. There's just too many boxes to check there. I think he's only gonna get better and trying to get healthy, and just get better players around him so he doesn't have to do so much. He's still only 22 years old. I think the future's bright with him, and we're excited to have him.&rdquo;
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Continuing to get stronger will be a priority for Garland, as will the team&rsquo;s desire to &ldquo;unleash him off the ball.&rdquo; We saw glimpses of that with the Rubio-Garland duo prior to the veteran&rsquo;s untimely setback. After that, Garland was the table-setter, had the ball in his hands and served as the primary scorer. By having even a possession off here or there, Cleveland could preserve Garland&rsquo;s wind, allowing him to run off screens to shoot or simply stand in the corner to spot up for a triple.
Finding ways to employ Garland&rsquo;s off-ball skills will be one piece to the puzzle. Another is figuring out how to make Evan Mobley more selfish on the offensive end, per the team source. He&rsquo;s always going to make the right play because of his natural instincts, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he shouldn&rsquo;t be aggressive.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think it's just in between his ears,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;It's just a mentality. &lsquo;I know I can score 25.&rsquo; Getting him more aggressive, his mentality changing. When he catches it, [we want him thinking], &lsquo;Hey, I can get 25 tonight and no one can stop me.' I'm excited for him. I think he's gonna have a&nbsp;big jump 'cause he was playing that whole rookie year in quicksand. He's so smart and he's so skilled and he works. I'm really, really excited to see what he's gonna look like come October.&rdquo;
Mobley can put the ball in the basket, as we&rsquo;ve already seen. Fine-tuning his jump shot will be a point of emphasis, as will sharpening his handle and adding some muscle to withstand the physical element of the NBA game. In addition, the Cavs want Mobley to shoot more threes to ultimately help space the floor since that's been an issue when Allen and Okoro are on the floor with him.
That spacing agenda goes for everybody. Lauri Markkanen was able to shoot it at a decent clip when he was healthy, as was Love and the recently re-signed Dean Wade. Okoro had his moments, but then he experienced a shooting slump as soon as April hit. Lamar Stevens got better at the three-ball, but it&rsquo;s not nearly enough to make defenses close-out.&nbsp;
Osman got off to a terrific start in that department, but tailed off. Sparingly used Dylan Windler wasn&rsquo;t able to establish any sort of jumper in his 50 games. With those two specifically, it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see who Cleveland parts with if/when Sexton re-enters the fold, because the roster will be one man over the limit.&nbsp;
It sounds like Windler&rsquo;s chances to stay afloat are worse than Osman&rsquo;s due to his lack of shot-making, and Cedi having his share of high moments. As for how Cleveland&rsquo;s front office will execute the crunch, there could be opportunities to consolidate via a trade later this offseason.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We have a whole summer to figure it out,&rdquo; the team source said.
(Had the Cavs found someone they wanted to use their mid-level exception on, the front office would&rsquo;ve considered moving Osman or Windler to Indiana in a sign-and-trade for Rubio. However, the talent pool dried up quickly and Cleveland just decided to sign the veteran point guard outright.)
With Summer League action off and running, the Cavs are set to open their schedule in Las Vegas on Friday. It&rsquo;s the first of many steps toward not only getting back to where they were, but surpassing that and becoming a consistent playoff presence.
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&ldquo;I think the big thing for our group is we were so close. I think we're motivated, we're hungry,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;But when people come into Cleveland, it's not, 'Alright, we got the same old Cavs. We can kinda just dilly dally for three-and-a-half quarters and then we'll just win at the end.' No. We're gonna have a target on our back, and how do these guys respond? How are they gonna react when teams are coming in here giving their best effort where that wasn't the case the last three, four years?&rdquo;
The Eastern Conference is improving and Cleveland won&rsquo;t be sneaking up on anybody anymore, so it&rsquo;ll be on this young group to withstand the storm headed its way and come out with more passion and fire than ever before.

Spencer Davies speaks with a Cleveland Cavaliers source about their offseason moves and what's next for the young team.

After exceeding expectations, Cavaliers expect a target on their back

It's unfortunate that the treasure-hunting roller coaster of business in the NBA often leaves player development in the dust.
A rumor, a ping-pong ball or a phone call can accelerate a franchise's competitive life cycle out of nowhere. With just about every major leap, however, comes a squeeze, where young players suddenly find their professional lives dramatically altered.
Every fan has a "What if?" story of a player who felt close to figuring things out, but simply ran out of time as the next big move packed him up and sent him away. Maybe it's the Los Angeles Lakers and Brandon Ingram, or the Lakers and Lonzo Ball, or the Lakers and Josh Hart, or &mdash; you get it. My personal wistful regret is the Minnesota Timberwolves dealing specifically Kris Dunn (along with Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen, of course) in the 2017 trade that returned Jimmy Butler. Even if the trades and draft picks made sense, we still wish we could have just a small peek at the alternate universe.
It feels like Mo Bamba is about to fall into that category. The 2018 No. 5 pick struggled to find his place in the NBA while wading through myriad injuries over his first few years. Then, this past season, he finally started to lay down a pattern of production with his flashes of potential, even as the Orlando Magic languished at the bottom of the league.
The problem: Orlando has the No. 1 pick in a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> with three game-changing bigs ranking among the consensus top prospects. Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Franz Wagner and *insert top pick* cannot all share a starting frontcourt now, in three years or in 10 years. Someone is probably getting squeezed out.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Bamba appears to be on the outside looking in. And regretfully, it's understandable. Wagner had a <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA_University/status/1536109881853218816?s=20&amp;t=-gBn7I0iLjpdqhaqWAM2hQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">phenomenal All-Rookie First Team season</a> and Carter appears fully entrenched as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wendell-carter-jr-dont-publish-yet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cornerstone big man</a>. Still, Bamba truly took a leap in his own right, and it's worth reestablishing what makes him such a promising young player.
Bamba appeared in a career-high 71 games and averaged a career-high 25.7 minutes per game in 2021-22. He started 69 of those contests after earning six combined starts across his first three seasons. The availability alone is a major positive; just look at <a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nba/mohamed-bamba-player-injuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all of the injuries Bamba battled through four years.</a> With the increase in playing time came corresponding career highs in practically every major box-score category. But Bamba's most notable leap by far came from his deadeye perimeter shooting.
Bamba canned 38.1% of his 4.0 three-pointers per game, including a scorching 44.6% clip after the All-Star break. All of the sustainability indicators are there; Bamba hit 78.1% of his free-throws, improved from the arc as the year went on and proved himself on high volume.
According to Synergy, over 26.6% of Bamba's offensive plays last year were spot-ups. He also demonstrated comfort on pick-and-pop actions, where he cashed in plenty of open threes.
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Defenses dared Bamba to make them pay because he hadn't yet in his career, and the 24-year-old fired away. Opponents will likely pay more attention to him next season, but if you were to pair Bamba with scoring guards who can create advantages with his screens, he'll find open shots.
Bamba is a better screener than he gets credit for. The screen-assist stats from this season (1.7 per game) won't show it because Carter was the chief impediment, but Bamba averaged 3.0 screen assists per game in 2020-21 despite playing just 15.8 minutes per game. He's not a brick wall, but Bamba has greatly improved his build and strength since entering the league.
As a paint presence, Bamba is essentially a pure finisher at this stage. He made 70.4% of his shots in the restricted area, which is fine, but he doesn't create chances on his own and hasn't shown nearly enough as a passer or connector.
Then, you flip to the defensive end and you see why Bamba was so high-regarded before the 2018 draft. He contested over 46.7% of opposing shots at the rim this season, ranking in the 96th percentile at his position, according to The BBall Index. A whopping 29.5% of those contests resulted in blocks (93rd percentile), and opponents shot over 6% worse than expected at the rim when facing him (92nd percentile). Questions still remain about how he guards on the perimeter and how he handles 1-on-1 drives and post-ups. The bottom line is that few intimidate at the rim more than Bamba.&nbsp;
Despite the dissonance on paper, Bamba and Carter fared pretty well as a tandem. Together, they anchored Orlando to the 13th-ranked defense during the regular season. The five-man lineup of Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Wagner, Carter and Bamba was a plus-5.8 per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. Not bad for a lineup that played a lot together on a 22-win squad.
The final pitch for Bamba is that he is an efficient low-usage scorer who you can trust to boost teammates as a screener and cash in on his perimeter and lob chances. He's not quite an "anchor" yet on defense, but he is a pillar. Do teams buy that he can grow as a switching player, and do they buy that he can stay on the floor enough to stack his bright moments into a foundation? Those are the major question marks.
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Fortunately, several NBA teams should take interest in a 7-foot center with valuable traits and an untapped ceiling. Bamba is a restricted free agent, which means a pursuing team has to overwhelm Orlando with a contract and, most likely, a trade package. But loads of avenues exist for a deal that benefits Bamba, the Magic and his possible new franchise.
So, let's look at where Bamba could end up this summer.
ORLANDO MAGIC
The Magic hold all the power at the end of the day. They can match any contract opposing teams try to throw at Bamba, and maybe they want to. Orlando isn't a probable playoff contender, so why lose a young talent when the current objective is to amass young talent? The guessing game comes down to what the contract extension looks like.&nbsp;
Bamba has the pedigree of a No. 5 overall pick and the trajectory of a sturdy starting center with a concerning injury history and still-unrealized potential. it's pretty difficult to estimate what his next salary could look like.&nbsp;
If&nbsp;(and it's a big if) I had to compare, the most similar scenario would be the Boston Celtics inking Robert Williams III to a four-year, $48 million deal last summer. Like Bamba, Williams had a prior history of ailments and flashed starter ability. Williams had shown a lot more for a competitive basketball team &mdash; but also didn't carry the same stature Bamba does. So I'd say those cancel out, and for visualization's sake, we can estimate his extension would look something like $12 million per year .
Should Bamba stay in Orlando, he likely won't have long as a starter if Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero are waiting in the wings. But he'd absolutely continue as a high-end back big for an Orlando roster that boasted a pretty solid defense last year.&nbsp;
BROOKLYN NETS
Nic Claxton (restricted free agnet), Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge all hit free agency this summer. This is Brooklyn's chance to mold a center rotation that complements Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and (most likely?) Kyrie Irving. Those three, plus Bruce Brown (also a free agent), are all excellent playmakers and passers. Bamba would simply be asked to finish his looks, be it as a stretch-5 or a lob threat. He'd have no burden to create on offense and could fill similar rim-protecting roles as his predecessors on defense.
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How could a trade work? Let's stick with Bamba's current salary estimate of $12 million for at least next season. Fanspo's trade machine says a deal exchanging Bamba for Joe Harris, Kessler Edwards and a future first-round pick works financially.
I think this is a fair starting point. Harris is making just over $18 million for the next two years, but Orlando shouldn't be concerned with cap space, and I actually love the idea of the Magic adding a movement shooter on the wing. Orlando is going to have a tough defense again next season; this is an easy way to give its slashing guards an outlet.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Bamba is absolutely not Kristaps Porzingis, but he can take on some of the same responsibilities as an above-the-break shooter, screener and rim-protector while playing as a more versatile defensive center than Porzingis has ever been. The Mavericks desperately need size on the glass as well, and Bamba can grab rebounds while fitting into the team's overall spacing.
Dwight Powell is a solid NBA player. His minutes also decreased in every subsequent playoff series this spring, and he played just 9.8 minutes per game in the Western Conference Finals. Does Bamba have the two-way versatility to stick in these matchups against Golden State Warrior-like squads? It's difficult to say for certain, but I think he can get there.
Trading Bamba for Powell, Josh Green and/or the No. 26 overall pick works in the trade machine. It would be a complicated move to pull off because Bamba's restricted free agency begins after draft night, but this would be my guess at the framework.
MIAMI HEAT
How does Miami feel about Bam Adebayo as its long-term center? Obviously, he's a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pat-riley-like-most-of-us-wants-more-bam-adebayo-offense-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener">core piece to the overall team</a>, but is he best-equipped anchoring a smaller lineup or working alongside another big man? Bamba might be the ideal test.
Adebayo can operate as his All-Defensive self, taking on any matchup on the floor, while Bamba lurks as a shot-blocker and helper. Then, on offense, Bamba can space for Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. If the move doesn't work out, Bamba would at least be a significant upgrade over Dewayne Dedmon in a worst-case development scenario.&nbsp;
This deal, like with the Nets, starts with trading an elite movement shooter in Duncan Robinson. The Heat also have the No. 27 overall pick at their disposal and could add another flier prospect like Omer Yurtseven.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The Thunder have an exciting backcourt duo in Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who could both use a pick-and-pop big to heighten their impact. OKC does not yet (though the draft could change things) have a certified stopper in the frontcourt. Enter Bamba, who plugs the on-paper hole at center and could reasonably fit alongside any of the top picks in the draft.
With picks and prospects galore, OKC can kind of take this deal in any direction that gets Bamba to the city. Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins seem to fit some Magic needs at first glance.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
The Trail Blazers surprisingly have oodles of cap space this offseason and a vacant starting center spot with Jusuf Nurkic hitting free agency. It's certainly possible Portland re-signs Nurkic, extends Anfernee Simons and heads on its merry way. But we've all expected some roster overhaul, as the franchise tries to throw one last contender together around Damian Lillard. Bamba won't vault Portland to the playoffs on his own, but he might be a suitable replacement for Nurkic on a manageable contract with room to grow.
Keon Johnson feels like an obvious return target for the Magic as a long, athletic wing with two-way upside. Perhaps the trade conversations start there and include an additional rotation player, plus some draft compensation.
I do ultimately hope that Bamba lands in a situation that is willing to be patient with his development. He's hit some rotten luck with injuries and deserves a extended chance to shine &mdash; whether that's in Orlando or somewhere else.&nbsp;
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The Nets, Mavericks, Heat and Trail Blazers could be possible, logical landing spots for Mo Bamba. Ethan Fuller explains.

Examining potential destinations for Mo Bamba

Zion Williamson told reporters, including <a href="https://www.espn.in/nba/story/_/id/34075393/do-want-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Lopez of ESPN</a>, that he wants to stay in New Orleans long-term.
"I do want to be here. That's no secret. I feel like I've stood on that when I spoke," Williamson told reporters. "It was a long year for me for rehab and mental battles. I'm fine now. I'm ready to get to work."
Williamson later acknlowdged how exciting it was to see the team in the playoffs and praised his teammates for their part in how successful their season turned out.
"Pels in the first round. That's all I needed to see to really be excited to get back out there," Williamson said. "It was exciting to see young players. Jose [Alvarado], Trey [Murphy III], Herb [Jones], Jaxson [Hayes]. Just blossoming into players I knew they could be and they knew they could be. Then watching [Brandon Ingram]. The name speaks for itself. Then CJ [McCollum] being added, it was something to watch. The fans made it so much better."&nbsp;
ANALYSIS: This is very encouraging for New Orleans. Especially after the season they just had. Getting Zion back fully healthy and committed could do marvelous wonders for the team long-term. Of course, one can't help but wonder if Zion's commitment to the team comes from the Pelicans' surprising success after a miserable start. They say that winning cures all. Even if that's the case, the Pelicans have to feel good that Zion is, for the time being, committed to them.

Zion Williamson told reporters that he wants to be in New Orleans.

Zion Williamson says he wants to stay with the Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are a team on the rise.
Despite stumbling out of the gates this season (losing 12 of their first 14 games), the Pels were able to right the ship and advance to the postseason. Over the second half of the 2021-22 campaign, New Orleans finished in the top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive Efficiency. Their Net Rating of plus-4.7 in the 23 games played after the All-Star break was tied with the Miami Heat for the sixth-best mark in the NBA.
After beating both the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the Play-In Tournament, the Pelicans gave the Phoenix Suns a battle in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out in six games.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The addition of CJ McCollum at the trade deadline paid immediate dividends for New Orleans, as he averaged over 24 points per game to go along with 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 made three-pointers after coming over from Portland. McCollum also quickly established himself as a team leader on and off the floor. Jonas Valanciunas is another respected veteran still producing at a very high level as well.
The rest of the roster is teeming with promising young players. Brandon Ingram, who is still just 24 years old, was a beast in the postseason, averaging 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting over 40% from downtown in the series vs. Phoenix. The team's three rookies &mdash; Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado &mdash; were all significant contributors too.
Jones exceeded even the loftiest of expectations, immediately establishing himself as an elite defender. The 35th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he led all rookies in total steals with 130 (50 more than Scottie Barnes, who ranked second) and was third in blocks. According to Basketball-Reference, he is the only rookie in New Orleans franchise history and just the seventh first-year pro in league history to tally more than 125 steals and 50 blocks. Jones' terrific all-around play earned him a spot on the NBA's All-Rookie Second Team.&nbsp;
Jaxson Hayes, who just celebrated his 22nd birthday last month, is coming off the best year of his young career. Despite an up-and-down season with different roles, Devonte' Graham still averaged double-figures.
And, remarkably, 14 of the 15 players on the Pels roster to end the season are under contract for at least one more season. The only free agent on the team is Tony Snell, who didn't log a single minute for New Orleans in the playoffs.
So, it'll be a stress-free summer for the Pelicans front office, as they don't have any significant decisions to make this offseason, right?&nbsp;
Wrong.&nbsp;
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On the contrary, the Pels have to make one of the most important determinations in the history of the franchise. As of next month, Zion Williamson will be eligible to sign a five-year, $181 million max rookie extension, which could increase by an additional $36 million, all the way up to $217.5 million, if he were to be named to an All-NBA team next season.
Let's start by recognizing that, dating back to high school, Williamson has been utterly dominant on both ends of the floor whenever he's been healthy enough to step foot on a basketball court.&nbsp;
During his lone season at Duke, Williamson was the consensus National Player of the Year. He tied for the ACC lead in scoring with 22.6 points per game, was third in rebounding (8.9 rebounds), second in steals (2.1) and fifth in blocks (1.8) on average. He also shot 68.0% from the floor, which led the ACC and was second nationally. Zion is the only NCAA player ever to average over 20 points a night and tally at least 70 steals and 50 blocks in the same season.
As a rookie in New Orleans, Williamson averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and gave glimpses of the enormous potential he possesses thanks to his almost unimaginable combination of size, strength and athleticism.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In 2020-21, his age-20 season, Zion averaged a whopping 27.0 points (including over 20 points per game in the paint &mdash; the most since Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-00), 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while shooting over 61% from the floor. In the process, he became the first player in NBA history to average at least 27 points on 60-plus% shooting for an entire season. Williamson tallied ​​20 or more points in 25 straight games, which is the longest streak in NBA history for a player under 21 years old.
He was named to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the 10th player in league history to earn All-Star recognition before celebrating his 21st birthday and becoming the fourth-youngest player in NBA history behind only Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
Through his first 60 career games, Williamson scored 1,457 points, trailing only Michael Jordan (1,664) for the most in the last 40 seasons.
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Zion Williamson will go off next season! NBA career stat line: 25.7 PPG (60.4% FG) 7.0 RPG, 3.2 APG <a href="https://t.co/oGRNIQXYt7">pic.twitter.com/oGRNIQXYt7</a>
&mdash; Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtsideFilms/status/1532019142718640130?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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So, given this nearly unprecedented production, signing him to a max contract in order to lock him up immediately is a no-brainer for New Orleans, right?&nbsp;
Wrong.
While Zion has been unguardable when he's on the floor, his inability to stay on the court has been a recurring concern.&nbsp;
Since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2019, Williamson has appeared in just 85 out of a possible 226 games. He missed the first 44 contests of his rookie season after tearing his meniscus, dealt with a thumb sprain, a fractured left ring finger and right knee soreness as a sophomore&nbsp;and sat out the entire 2021-22 season following surgery to repair a broken foot.
Over the last 30 years, the only top pick to play fewer games over his first three years in the league is former Portland Trail Blazer big man Greg Oden.&nbsp;
In addition to the injury issues, there have been reports about Williamson's unhappiness in New Orleans. Yet, when he was asked back in April if he would agree to sign a max offer from the Pels, <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1520095546752516096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1520095546752516096%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnba.nbcsports.com%2F2022%2F04%2F29%2Fzion-williamson-says-hed-sign-contract-extension-if-pelicans-offer-of-course-i-couldnt-sign-it-fast-enough%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zion responded</a>: "Of course, I couldn't sign it fast enough."
However, Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin acknowledged that contract-extension talks with Williamson would be difficult.
"Obviously, that conversation is going to be one that will be a challenge," <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_043ffe96-c7fd-11ec-a2e1-a7e798041444.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Griffin said</a> early last month. "When it's time to have that, we'll have it. And right now what we're focused on is him being healthy, and (being in) kind of elite condition to play basketball, and we'll start there."
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Williamson has one year left on his rookie-scale deal, which will pay him $13.5 million in 2022-23. If Zion and the Pels don't agree on an extension this offseason, he will be a restricted free agent next summer. In that scenario, both sides would be carrying considerable risk. Williamson would be gambling on not having his future earning power crippled by a career-altering injury, while, at the same time, the Pels would risk potentially losing a franchise-altering talent via free agency.
Meeting in the middle probably makes the most sense for both parties. When discussing the parameters of a compromise, the agreement between the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid back in 2017 provides a blueprint.
After sitting out the entirety of his first two NBA seasons due to a devastating foot injury, Embiid suited up for only 31 games in his third year. Although Embiid looked fantastic when he was finally cleared to play, the Sixers were understandably hesitant to commit massive sums of guaranteed money to the injury-prone big man.
Thus, that offseason, Philadelphia and Embiid agreed to a five-year, $148 million extension, but the deal included offset language that protected the team if the player could not stay healthy. If Embiid missed 25 or more games or played fewer than 1,650 minutes in any of the final four seasons of the extension, Philadelphia had the right to waive him and get out of paying the remaining years of his contract.
As it turned out, Embiid avoided the injury bug and established himself as one of the league's premier players, finishing second in MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. Last summer, he inked a four-year, $196 million supermax pact that will keep him with the 76ers through the 2026-27 season. His entire salary is fully guaranteed.&nbsp;
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In late May, <a href="https://twitter.com/FletcherWDSU/status/1530212975310667776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported</a>:
<blockquote>
From what I have been told, the Pelicans, at this point, are not willing to offer a full five-year guaranteed deal. A lot of it is flowing down from ownership. Gayle Benson, the owner, is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints. And I have been told they're going to take a football-style, Saints-style mentality with this contract negotiation. They will offer him a huge contract, but will not guarantee all of it.
</blockquote>
It's possible such an approach by the Pels could offend Zion and lead to a standoff between the two parties. But the alternative (signing a max deal with no protections) seems like a non-starter for New Orleans ownership. So, even if the Pels front office were willing to gamble with the team's cap space, Benson likely wouldn't be willing to roll the dice.&nbsp;
Again, a compromise appears to be the most reasonable and plausible outcome. In this scenario, Zion would still bank north of $90 million if he was unable to stay healthy.
It's difficult to imagine a player who hasn't set foot on an NBA court during an actual game in over 13 months turning down that type of payday.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer ponders how the Pelicans should handle Zion Williamson's extension-eligible period and weighs their options.

Should the Pelicans sign Zion Williamson to a max contract?

Objectively, Damian Lillard is as accomplished as nearly anyone in the NBA, but the legacies of all-time greats are judged against other all-time greats. Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal teases Charles Barkley on "Inside the NBA" about having won zero championships because he can. Win one, and you&rsquo;re forever a member of the club. Fail to do so, and you&rsquo;ll remain on the outside looking in.
Granted, being an all-time great is a good club to be a part of, but failing to win a championship can be utterly haunting. Just watch players like Barkley and Patrick Ewing talk about failing to win on the biggest stage. You hear regret in their voices. And pain. And there&rsquo;s nothing they can do about it.
It&rsquo;s premature to lump Lillard in with the aforementioned greats. After all, he&rsquo;s still only 31, meaning he has years remaining before we can have an honest discussion about his place amongst league legends (with or without a championship). I&rsquo;ll happily wait until he&rsquo;s retired to assess his legacy.
What I will address now is the fact that Lillard&rsquo;s inability to deliver a championship to Portland in his 10 seasons is actually not his fault. In fact, I posit that that no superstar in recent memory can be blamed less than Lillard for his team&rsquo;s shortcomings. Lillard has faced a grueling uphill battle since joining the Trail Blazers as a rookie, and his presence has resulted in Portland consistently outperforming their talent.
First, let&rsquo;s inventory how Lillard&rsquo;s Trail Blazers have fared in the postseason. In total, Portland has missed the playoffs twice since Lillard was drafted: once during his rookie year and again in 2021-22, a season in which Lillard was shut down in late December due to abdominal surgery. Had Lillard been healthy all season, his Blazers may have made their ninth consecutive postseason appearance.
Once there, Lillard is an impactful postseason player, posting 25.7 points and 6.2 assists per game in 12 career postseason series. Across his playoff career, he&rsquo;s shot 41.2% from the field, 36.9% on threes and 88.7% on free throws. He&rsquo;s also had several epic shots that were either game-winners or series-enders, which probably inspired Robert Horry, an all-time great shooter himself, to recently refer to Lillard the best clutch shooter ever.
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Robert Horry calls Damian Lillard the best clutch shooter ever over Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant &ldquo;He has hit a clutch shot versus every team in the NBA.&rdquo;<a href="https://t.co/lg34EjTZNB">https://t.co/lg34EjTZNB</a>
&mdash; NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1525203234650050562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Despite his heroics, Lillard&rsquo;s Trail Blazers have never reached the NBA Finals. They did succeed in reaching the Western Conference Finals once in 2019. They ultimately lost to the Golden State Warriors. They also lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2014, the 73-9 Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2016 and the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round in 2020. So, four of Lillard&rsquo;s eight postseason appearances ended against either the eventual champions or the dynastic Warriors.
Like Barkley and Ewing before him, Lillard has been a victim of time and circumstance, as his prime fell right in the middle of the Golden State Warriors&rsquo; historic run. But in Lillard&rsquo;s case, his struggles have been about more than his opponents. After all, Lillard is not dominated by any one player like how Jordan dominated his era. His circumstances are more a result of his supporting cast, or lack thereof.
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Lillard&rsquo;s stance on recruiting is that he wants to remain in Portland. He&rsquo;ll assist in recruiting free agents to Rip City, but he will not entertain recruiting pitches from other teams&rsquo; stars, a fair and respectable stance. For whatever reason, Lillard has been unsuccessful in recruiting others thus far. For example, he failed to land Kelly Oubre in Portland just last summer. However, there are limited examples of a dedicated push by Lillard in recruiting. Whether he foregoes recruiting or fails at it , the result is the same, and it hurts.
But as much as Lillard could participate in team building, there is a management team that is paid a handsome salary to build the team into a legitimate contender, regardless of Lillard's recruitment style. Frankly, that front office has failed to surround Lillard with top-tier co-stars.
A quick inventory of recent NBA champions reveals that Portland&rsquo;s talent is simply insufficient. Seven of the last 10 champions had multiple All-Stars. The other three were San Antonio in 2014, Cleveland in 2016 and Milwaukee in 2021, and we know all three teams had far more talent than any Portland team. Comparatively, battling all-time great competition, Lillard&rsquo;s only active All-Star teammate has been LaMarcus Aldridge, and they only overlapped as All-Stars twice.
There is also CJ McCollum, who was the 2015-16 Most Improved Player. Despite not being named to an All-Star team, he&rsquo;s certainly been an All-Star caliber player for much of his career. He&rsquo;s even (slightly) better in the playoffs, where he&rsquo;s scored 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 13 series.
McCollum's and Aldridge&rsquo;s better seasons sadly didn&rsquo;t overlap. Aldridge&rsquo;s final season in Portland (2014-15) was McCollum&rsquo;s sophomore season, and McCollum wasn&rsquo;t yet the McCollum we've come to know.
Portland could be on to something now. Anfernee Simons could prove to be a valid backcourt mate for Lillard. The former IMG star had a breakout season last year, averaging 17.3 points per game on 40.9% on three-pointers. If Joe Ingles can regain his pre-injury form and Jusuf Nurkic can remain healthy, there are some promising pieces in the mix.
However, the Trail Blazers still need at least one more creator. Fortunately, Portland has a 37.2% chance of sneaking into the top-four in this year&rsquo;s NBA Draft. Doing so would equip them with a valuable trade chip that could deliver exactly the type of player they need and maybe get them closer to becoming NBA Champions.
Regardless as to what happens with Portland in the immediate future, a closer look at Lillard's body of work reveals just how great he really is. Soon, he may join that elusive and exclusive championship club, but even if he doesn&rsquo;t, we should be careful how we refer to his failures. Because more so than practically anyone in NBA history, not winning a championship shouldn't paint our perception of Lillard.&nbsp;
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Damian Lillard is already an all-time great. We can't ignore his postseason failures, but he can't be defined by them, either.

Damian Lillard's inability to win isn't his fault

You hear that alarm going off? It&rsquo;s a wake-up call from Brandon Ingram reminding all NBA fans how good he truly is.
How quickly we forgot Ingram made his first All-Star Game in the 2019-20 season, carrying the Pelicans before young phenom Zion Williamson came along the follow year. Now, without Williamson all season long due to offseason foot surgery, Ingram has spread his wings in his third season in New Orleans, and is thriving under new Pelicans head coach Willie Green&rsquo;s guidance.
On the biggest stage in the NBA, Ingram is unfazed and flourishing as the best player in the team's series against the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed. The young, feisty Pelicans have the Phoenix Suns on the ropes, as the first-round series is tied through four games.
It's to nobody's surprise, but Ingram has been the catalyst behind New Orleans&rsquo; recent surge. Over the Pelicans&rsquo; last six games &mdash; including two Play-In Tournament games and their ongoing series with Phoenix &mdash; Ingram&rsquo;s numbers are gaudy: 29.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists with 63.4% True Shooting percentage. With that kind of production, he has helped back the West&rsquo;s juggernaut into an early corner and flipped this series on its head, and, as a result, it's placing all the pressure on Phoenix to finish this series off <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/devin-bookers-hamstring-injury-shifts-momentum-as-suns-prepare-for-tough-battle-with-pelicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">without its best player in Devin Booker due to a strained left hamstring</a>.
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Ingram&rsquo;s latest masterpiece unfolded in a perfect way for New Orleans in Game 4, dropping 30 points with little resistance. 16 of which came in a huge third-quarter spurt. Following the Pelicans&rsquo; 118-103 blowout win over the Suns on Sunday evening, Ingram calmly put his recent play into perspective while also applauding all of his teammates.
&ldquo;To God be the glory. I feel this is our time,&rdquo; Ingram said. &ldquo;[We] worked so hard throughout the year to become a better team, and we finally get the chance to be on a really, really big stage and continue to play together. My teammates [have] been helping me out a lot, putting me in the right spots, passing me the ball in the right areas. Just making me look good. It&rsquo;s been a team effort. I just love playing with the guys.&rdquo;
With series momentum entirely on New Orleans&rsquo; side right now thanks to Ingram&rsquo;s virtuoso scoring performances, the Suns will have to quickly find a counter-punch to the near-knockout blow that was delivered to them on Sunday.
Whether it be Jae Crowder (Ingram&rsquo;s primary assignment throughout the series), Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson or Torrey Craig, Phoenix&rsquo;s wings have had no answers to trying to guard the ascending Pelicans star. When guarded 1-on-1 by one of the Suns&rsquo; four wings, Ingram is shooting 31 of 54 (57.4 FG%). Take a gander at how easy it&rsquo;s been for Ingram as of late:
<ul>
<li>Ingram vs. Crowder: 12 of 24 (50%)</li>
<li>Ingram vs. Johnson: 7 of 10 (70%)</li>
<li>Ingram vs. Bridges: 6 of 10 (60%)</li>
<li>Ingram vs. Craig: 6 of 10 (60%)</li>
</ul>
If this continues for the Pelicans, and Ingram is seemingly unguardable against blanket coverages thrown out there from the Suns, it changes everything for this now-best-of-three showdown.
&ldquo;Extremely valuable&rdquo; Green said of Ingram&rsquo;s postseason play. &ldquo;Brandon is playing some of his best basketball of the season, and he&rsquo;s doing it on the biggest stage. It&rsquo;s great to see, and he&rsquo;s more than capable. I&rsquo;ve said it before, he&rsquo;s the real deal and he goes out on the floor he puts the work into practice and we&rsquo;re seeing it on display.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Brandon Ingram was LIGHTS OUT in the <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> Game 4 victory to even the series at 2-2, dropping 30 points for the 3rd straight game! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WBD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WBD</a><a href="https://twitter.com/B_Ingram13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@B_Ingram13</a>: 30 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST Game 5: Tue. 10pm/et on TNT <a href="https://t.co/hD5EJLBGFw">pic.twitter.com/hD5EJLBGFw</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1518454464885268480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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In Game 4, the Suns kept trying to claw back to make it a competitive back-and-forth contest, but New Orleans continued to slam the door in their face. Ingram&rsquo;s scoring package, coupled with aggressive on-ball defense from rookies Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado, led to a best-case scenario unfolding for the Pelicans.
During a pivotal stretch in Game 4, Phoenix brought it down to a one-possession game in the third quarter before Ingram decided to put the series in his own hands. Consistently delivering with extremely tough shots being made, Ingram has put everyone back on notice in regards to his superstar ceiling.
Crazy enough, Ingram is still only 24 years old. Not even close to his prime years yet, Ingram&rsquo;s dazzling postseason is another reminder of why the Pelicans are closer than we all expect. Obviously missing Williamson for the entirety of the season plays a huge factor, but this new group spearheaded by Ingram and CJ McCollum in the meantime has inspired hope once more in the Bayou.
&ldquo;It was great,&rdquo; Green said postgame of Ingram&rsquo;s 16-point third quarter. &ldquo;I could see that his mindset right away was &lsquo;I&rsquo;m gonna get us going.&rsquo; And that&rsquo;s what he did. He has moments where I can kinda see it in his eyes that he&rsquo;s going and I try to move out the way and let him do what he does.&rdquo;
This series continues to be played tingly on the margins both ways, but the Pelicans actually have a plus-12 point differential; both teams have won a game by 11 points each. Phoenix barely escaped Game 3 behind Chris Paul&rsquo;s fourth-quarter magic, and then two nights later, we all witnessed an authoritative beatdown of the league's top overall seed courtesy of the NOLA underdogs.
Can the Pelicans truly pull off the unthinkable and take down the Suns? With the way Ingram is putting the team on his back as of late, that&rsquo;s a real possibility. Never too high, never too low, Ingram&rsquo;s mindset is fully locked-in for an upcoming three-game war with the Suns.
And that alone is an uneasy feeling that the Suns have to deal with as the series shifts back to Phoenix with all momentum on the opposite side.
&ldquo;Superstar,&rdquo; Jose Alvarado said postgame about Ingram. &ldquo;He big time. He told me this is his first time (in the playoffs). It don&rsquo;t seem like it. He wants to win. He&rsquo;s going to do a lot for us. Mentally, he&rsquo;s going to be really good for us.&rdquo;
Allow Ingram to reintroduce himself as a star-caliber player &mdash; one who developed under the radar before loudly breaking out, and pushes the envelope even further for the resilient Pelicans.
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Coming off another stellar night in Game 4, Brandon Ingram is reminding everyone to not to forget about him as a young star.

Brandon Ingram is putting the NBA on notice during his playoff debut

In a game defined by its giants, being a big man has always carried a certain level of expectation.&nbsp;
And arguably no NBA franchise has this expectation looming more than the San Antonio Spurs.&nbsp;
From the early days of Artis Gilmore, to the "The Admiral" David Robinson's stint commanding the watchtower, to Tim Duncan&rsquo;s subtle dominance, to LaMarcus Aldridge&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-lt6/?Season=2017-18&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*Aldridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surprisingly effective</a> repellent nature, the Spurs have always fielded an elite defensive big man.
And that makes Jakob Poeltl the perfect successor to this chain of iconic anchors.
This season, the human fly swatter is contesting shots at a <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hustle/?sort=CONTESTED_SHOTS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">higher rate</a> than anyone in the league, while also holding opponents to <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defense-dash-lt6/?Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*Poeltl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over eight percentage points</a> below their usual average.&nbsp;
Along with his eye-popping numbers, the sophisticated beauty of his game has been easy to admire year after year (even having said he was playing on one of the most <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/matissa/2022/02/05/why-jakob-poeltl-is-a-giant-bargain-for-the-spurs/?sh=1d90fdefeb12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">valuable</a> contracts in basketball).
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So, it was time to get inside the mind of one of the league&rsquo;s best defenders.
During training camp, Poeltl made it known that San Antonio's massive roster turnaround meant he needed to be more vocal, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. And considering <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/hidden-gems-jakob-poeltl-is-the-best-center-that-nobodys-talking-about/1acr9r7wz5mg913hug0jnr42sk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renowned analysts</a> are praising his communication skills, it&rsquo;s safe to say his mission has been accomplished.
&ldquo;First of all, [communication] is one of the biggest parts of being a big man in the NBA.&rdquo; Poeltl told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;If you are not good at communicating, your guards are going to keep running into trouble over and over again.&rdquo;
Here is a perfect example of his articulation skills at work.
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Turning up the volume is recommended here; if you listen closely, you can hear Poeltl instructing nearby help defenders to &ldquo;stay&rdquo; back on their man because he&rsquo;s going to offer the necessary backline support himself. This forces Steven Adams to make the weak-side corner pass (an easier pass for the defense to close-out on), and ultimately, Poeltl's reassurance results in a missed shot.&nbsp;
Then, Poeltl dove a little deeper into specific coverages. Being the mad scientist he is, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich loves throwing a good ol&rsquo; zone at opposing offenses.
Listen to this next clip to hear Poeltl break down what&rsquo;s going through his mind in these situations.
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&ldquo;[It] comes down to a lot of communication as well," Poeltl said. "The offense is going to try and exploit weak spots. I&rsquo;m just constantly on the lookout for what they are possibly trying to set up. And telling those guys around me to move over, overload one side, whatever it might be.&rdquo;
Poeltl also emphasized the importance of ball-screen coverage in today&rsquo;s constantly evolving pick-and-roll ecosystem.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of pick-and-rolls in this league because it&rsquo;s so efficient and you're creating a lot of 2-on-1 situations," he said.
As the big man who has handled the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/roll-man/?SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TypeGrouping=defensive&amp;sort=POSS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth-most</a> ball-screens in the NBA, Poeltl knows his way around these spots.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really just trying to keep the offensive players guessing," he said. "And at the end of the day, play the percentages.&rdquo;
The next clip provides a prime example of what he&rsquo;s talking about:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/surx68" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Poeltl intentionally sags off of Mike Conley because, while he&rsquo;s a good short mid-range shooter (<a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/695#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">45%</a>), he&rsquo;s a slightly better finisher (<a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/695#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">53%</a>). But even more important, by accounting for the roller, Jakob avoids Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s lob-finishing wrath (<a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/1310#tab-shooting_accuracy">77%</a>).
"Playing the percentages" became a recurring theme throughout this conversation, and Poeltl's appreciation of the mathematics of the game bears resemblance to another defensive tactician &mdash; Bill Russell.
Like Russell, Poeltl makes himself familiar with his opponent&rsquo;s moves and tendencies in order to lure them into their least efficient spots on the court.
&ldquo;I try to play [their] tendencies," Poeltl said. "I know which moves [they] like, which moves [they] might like a little less. I try to make [them] take lower percentage shots.&rdquo;
And his astuteness appears to be paying dividends, as Poeltl has held some of the best low-post bigs in the league to numbers below their usual outputs.
Poeltl Matchup Data (2021-22)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 324px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 19.5822%; height: 54px;">
Player 
</td>
<td style="width: 25.718%; height: 54px;">
Partial Possessions*
</td>
<td style="width: 21.4783%; height: 54px;">
FG% vs. Poeltl*
</td>
<td style="width: 22.7776%; height: 54px;">
Season FG%*
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 19.5822%; height: 54px;">
Valanciunas&nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 25.718%; height: 54px;">
146.8
</td>
<td style="width: 21.4783%; height: 54px;">
52.9%
</td>
<td style="width: 22.7776%; height: 54px;">
54.3%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 19.5822%; height: 54px;">
Gobert
</td>
<td style="width: 25.718%; height: 54px;">
93.8
</td>
<td style="width: 21.4783%; height: 54px;">
54.5%
</td>
<td style="width: 22.7776%; height: 54px;">
71.3%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 19.5822%; height: 54px;">
Embiid
</td>
<td style="width: 25.718%; height: 54px;">
76.7
</td>
<td style="width: 21.4783%; height: 54px;">
42.9%
</td>
<td style="width: 22.7776%; height: 54px;">
49.6%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 19.5822%; height: 54px;">
Ayton
</td>
<td style="width: 25.718%; height: 54px;">
75.4
</td>
<td style="width: 21.4783%; height: 54px;">
46.7%
</td>
<td style="width: 22.7776%; height: 54px;">
63.8%
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 54px;">
<td style="width: 19.5822%; height: 54px;">
Vucevic
</td>
<td style="width: 25.718%; height: 54px;">
74.7
</td>
<td style="width: 21.4783%; height: 54px;">
46.7%
</td>
<td style="width: 22.7776%; height: 54px;">
47.4%
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(Mobile users scroll right to view full table)
Poeltl's work against current MVP candidate Joel Embiid deserves further examination. Poeltl is holding Embiid to 42.9% from the floor on 35 shot attempts. But what&rsquo;s more, he&rsquo;s only allowed Embiid to take 6 free throws during the nearly 77 partial possessions he&rsquo;s spent on him. This is a far cry from the <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/embiijo01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">17.4 free throw attempts</a> Embiid typically averages per 100 possessions.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/7niqah" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Poeltl does two things well while guarding Embiid:
<ol>
<li>He baits him into taking a bevy of mid-range jumpers (the least efficient shot in Embiid&rsquo;s illustrious shot profile).</li>
<li>He avoids getting handsy with Embiid and falling prey to his infamous <a href="https://twitter.com/rich_hofmann/status/816337297910153216?s=20&amp;t=IZbWympJN3SijK8xXTdMWw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rip-through</a> maneuver.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
And like Hakeem Olajuwon, Poeltl is a master at navigating the <a href="https://medium.com/the-basketball-dictionary/2-9-6fb93080023c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2.9</a> position of the paint without getting called for a defensive three seconds. (Turn your volume up.)
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/48iivd" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
&ldquo;I think that has a lot to do with reputation as well, where just being around for a long time, you figure out these little things," Poeltl said. "I remember my first couple seasons in the NBA &mdash; first of all, I was a lot more paranoid to get called for defensive three seconds, and I probably actually was getting called on it a lot more as well. So, I think the biggest thing there that I had to figure out over the years is the timing of it. Like, being in the paint at the right moment when an offensive player &mdash; like a guard or somebody &mdash; is trying to attack. Not wasting those three seconds. Like, standing in there when there is nothing happening.
"Then, I have to go out [of the paint] to clear myself, and in that moment somebody starts driving, and then I&rsquo;m late for the rotation. So, again, it comes down to timing it well, [and] trying to read what the offense is trying to do.&rdquo;
In staying with the topic of great defenders, the best not only omit shots as they come, but also deter would-be trespassers from entering their hunting grounds entirely. Poeltl looks like he&rsquo;s trending towards no-fly-zone territory.
After peaking in January, his number of contests per game has gone downward &mdash; an indication that offensive players may have finally learned their lesson.&nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-04-08-at-11-03-22-am_lg.png" alt="" width="584" height="348" />
*Data Provided by NBA.com
Poeltl's presence on the interior is almost reminiscent to that of the Dark Knight in Gotham City. Both Batman and the Spurs' rim-protector serve as a cautionary symbol of what will happen when you cross the line.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;d call myself a vigilante.&rdquo; Poeltl joked. &ldquo;I pretty much always try to make the paint look as crowded as possible. Try to discourage the other team from driving in there. At the end of the day, contesting a shot is good, but if I can make it look crowded in the first place and discourage them from coming in the paint, that&rsquo;s already a win in my book.&rdquo;
With shades of the various all-timers painted all over his game, is there a particular player that Poeltl has consciously modeled his game after?
&ldquo;Not really, to be honest," Poeltl said. "I always tried to feel the game out for myself. I always tried to find my own way.&rdquo;
Stating that he&rsquo;s just trying to find his way is an undersell.
In fact, Poeltl has more than found his own way. He&rsquo;s an elite shot-blocker, a vocal defensive quarterback and a serious contender for an All-Defensive Team nomination.&nbsp;
But most important of all, he&rsquo;s San Antonio&rsquo;s newest watchful protector &mdash; the franchise's next great defensive big man.
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Mat Issa goes one-on-one with Jakob Poeltl to discuss his defensive prowess and break down his film deterring the NBA's best.

Jakob Poeltl: The San Antonio Spurs' newest watchful protector

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid did plenty of damage on his own. The Cavaliers, though, felt the big man got some unwarranted help.
Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff was highly critical of the officiating after Embiid scored 44 points &mdash; and made 20 trips to the free throw line &mdash; in Philadelphia's 112-108 win over the Cavs on Sunday night.
&ldquo;That game was taken from us,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;We deserved to win it.&rdquo;
Embiid added 17 rebounds and James Harden had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his second triple-double with Philadelphia as the 76ers locked up a playoff spot.
Embiid was questionable coming into the game with a sore ankle. But not only did the 7-footer play, Embiid dominated down the stretch, scoring 12 points in a key sequence of the fourth quarter.
He also made 17 free throws, added five blocks, made three 3-pointers and had three assists in 38 minutes of another MVP resume builder.
Embiid won&rsquo;t allow himself to get caught up in the debate.
&ldquo;If it happens, great,&rdquo; he said of winning his first MVP. &ldquo;If it doesn&rsquo;t, I don&rsquo;t know what I have to do. I&rsquo;ll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else.&rdquo;
Bickerstaff wasn't taking anything away from Embiid or Harden, but he was upset with what he thought was a major discrepancy in fouls. Cleveland was called for 28 to Philadelphia's 19 in a physical game with playoff-level intensity.
&ldquo;The one thing you can't defend is the free throw line and that's absurd,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said, referring to the Sixers' 42 attempted foul shots. &ldquo;Our guys deserved way better than they got tonight.
&ldquo;They're great players and they understand how to play through the rules,&rdquo; he said of Philly's All-Stars. &ldquo;They know how to manipulate the rules. This is no knock or disrespect to those guys. But the game has to be consistent on both ends of the floor. We were searching for that consistency and we never found it.&rdquo;
Darius Garland scored 23 and Caris LeVert and Lamar Stevens had 18 apiece for the Cavs, who played without injured 7-footers Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen but battled one of the East's top teams to the finish.
Cleveland, which is trying to hang onto the No. 7 play-in spot, was within 107-106 when Bickerstaff felt Garland drew contact from Embiid while missing an off-balance layup with 15.2 seconds left.
&ldquo;Darius was fouled,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;He did his job and got to a spot and got fouled. No whistle.&rdquo;
The Cavs were only down 109-106 after Harden made two free throws with 11.2 seconds left.
But Kevin Love made a careless inbounds pass that was stolen by Matisse Thybulle, who then made a pass from a sitting position to a streaking Tobais Harris for a game-sealing dunk with 7.2 seconds left.
Nothing came easy on offense for the Sixers, who made 21 3-pointers and scored a season-high 144 in a win over Charlotte on Saturday.
&ldquo;Yesterday we couldn&rsquo;t miss,&rdquo; coach Doc Rivers said. &ldquo;Today, we couldn&rsquo;t make.&rdquo;
But Embiid bailed his teammates out with the kind of performance that has come to be expected of him, the kind made by an MVP.
&ldquo;I get to witness his greatness every night," Harden said. "Obviously, his offensive numbers tonight are self-explanatory. Defensively, he was very active blocking shots, changing shots and clogging the paint up was key.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
76ers: Finished 35 of 42 at the line. ... F Paul Millsap, a 15-year veteran, has only played eight minutes in the last five games. Millsap has only appeared in four games since DeAndre Jordan was signed on March 3. &hellip; Philadelphia plays three of its final four regular-season games on the road. ... Rivers had high praise for Cavs guard Rajon Rondo, who played for him in Boston. &ldquo;The brightest player I've ever been around,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;He kept us (coaches) on our toes.&rdquo;
Cavaliers: Rondo (ankle) played for the first time since March 12. ... Allen missed his 15th straight game and Mobley sat his fourth in a row. Bickerstaff did not say when &mdash; or if &mdash; either will be back before the regular season ends in a week.
EM(BIID)-VP TALK
Rivers has been campaigning for Embiid to win MVP honors this season among a group of worthy candidates. For the Sixers coach, Embiid's passing, defense and leadership are overlooked parts of his well-rounded game.
&ldquo;I know he's my guy, obviously,&rdquo; Rivers said pregame. &ldquo;He has just has done so many things.&rdquo;
Rivers credits Embiid for pulling the Sixers through &ldquo;the Ben Simmons saga.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He was our second-best player at the time and was out, and at the All-Star break when we made the trade, we were a game out of first place in the East,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;There's a lot to be said about that.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
76ers: Play at Indiana on Tuesday.
Cavaliers: Visit Orlando on Tuesday.

Joel Embiid scored 44 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in Philadelphia's win in Cleveland.

Cavs cry foul after Embiid scores 44 in Sixers' 122-108 win

Although some top-tier players who were expected to hit free agency this coming summer have already signed extensions, the 2022 NBA free-agent class will feature quite a few stars.
After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-free-agency-preview-ranking-the-top-10-guards">ranking the best guards</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-free-agency-preview-ranking-the-top10-forwards">forwards set to hit the open market</a>, let's complete this series by highlighting the top-10 big men up for grabs this summer. &nbsp;
1. Deandre Ayton &mdash; Phoenix Suns &mdash; Restricted
Deandre Ayton is the crown jewel of this year's free-agent center crop. Although the Suns surprisingly chose not to offer him a max extension last offseason (worth approximately $173 million over five years), Phoenix is still in the driver's seat, as the franchise can match any offer the former No. 1 overall pick receives this summer. Expect them to do just that for a young, improving player who is a foundational cornerstone of a team with championship aspirations.&nbsp;
2. Jusuf Nurkic &mdash; Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; Unrestricted
After a disappointing 2020-21 campaign, Jusuf Nurkic bounced back impressively this season, averaging 15.0 points, a career-high 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 53.5% from the floor. Nurkic has been sidelined by plantar fasciitis for the past month, and will likely miss the rest of the season. However, he'll likely be ready to rock by the start of training camp next September. Due to Nurk's tight bond with Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, many pundits expect Portland to re-sign the big man to a multi-year deal.&nbsp;
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3. Mitchell Robinson &mdash; New York Knicks &mdash; Unrestricted
The Knicks technically have until June 30 to ink Mitchell Robinson to an extension worth up to $48 million over four years. However, the two sides have not yet reached an agreement, so it appears Mitch Rob will be able to test the market for his services. While he has flashed All-NBA Defense upside in short spurts throughout his four-year career, Robinson has battled numerous injuries and baffling inconsistency. His regression at the free-throw line (he's shooting below 50% in each of the past two seasons) is obviously worrisome as well. Nevertheless, few big men can supply the type of high-flying athleticism and rim-protection he brings to the table.
4. Bobby Portis &mdash; Milwaukee Bucks &mdash; Player Option 
With Brook Lopez sidelined for most of the 2021-22 season, Bobby Portis stepped in and stepped up for the Bucks, starting 57 of the team's last 58 games. He is averaging career-highs in scoring (15.1 points), boards (9.1), steals (0.8), blocks (0.8) and made three-pointers (2.0). Portis is currently one of only two players in the NBA averaging at least 9 rebounds and 2 made treys per game. (Luka Doncic and Karl-Anthony Towns are the other two members of this club.) Portis' player option for 2022-23 is only worth $4.6 million, so he is expected to opt-out and search for a significant raise.
5. Ivica Zubac &mdash; Los Angeles Clippers &mdash; Team Option 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Zubac is a bonafide firefighter for LAC. In one possession he 1) traps Trae 28 ft out 2) sprints towards Capela hands up to dissuade the pass to the roller 3) checks Capela and stops the Collins drive 4) gets in front of Capela as the shot goes up and wins the glass battle <a href="https://t.co/OjS3dxuz4P">pic.twitter.com/OjS3dxuz4P</a>
&mdash; Justin W. (@LAClippersFilm) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippersFilm/status/1503470104041861120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Ivica Zubac's team option for next season is $7.5 million, so it's an easy decision for the Clippers to pick it up. He just turned 25 years old last week and continues to improve steadily. Zubac is posting career-highs in just about every statistical category this season.
6. Montrezl Harrell &mdash; Charlotte Hornets &mdash; Unrestricted
Montrezl Harrell has had another productive and efficient season off the bench, averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 63.9% across 62 games for both the Wizards and Charlotte Hornets (following a midseason trade).&nbsp;
7. Mo Bamba &mdash; Orlando Magic &mdash; Restricted
After struggling mightily over his first three years in the NBA, Mo Bamba, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, is enjoying the best year of his pro career. He is on pace to become the first player in Magic franchise history to average more than 1.5 blocks and 1.0 made three-pointers per game over an entire season. However, the Magic inked center Wendell Carter Jr. to a four-year, $50 million contract extension back in October and have Mo Wagner (brother of their prized rookie, Franz) under contract next season as well. In addition, lineups with both WCJ and Bamba have not performed well. Thus, Orlando will likely let the former lottery pick walk if another team offers a contract the team is uncomfortable matching.&nbsp;
8. Nic Claxton &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Restricted
Nic Claxton continues to impress in limited playing time off the bench for Brooklyn. His per-36 minute averages this season are outstanding: 15.2 points (on 65.1% shooting), 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. The Nets have limited depth due to the high salaries of their top players, and billionaire owner Joe Tsai is unafraid of paying the luxury tax, so Brooklyn is expected to match any reasonable offer Claxton receives.&nbsp;
9. Andre Drummond &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Unrestricted
Andre Drummond has increased his value following the trade that sent him from Philadelphia to Brooklyn. He has started all 14 games he's played as a Net, and is averaging 11.4 points (on 62.5% shooting), 9.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks for Brooklyn. Drummond can boost his value significantly with a strong showing in the playoffs.&nbsp;
10. Thomas Bryant &mdash; Washington Wizards &mdash; Unrestricted:
Thomas Bryant inked a three-year, $25 million deal back in 2019 and played very well for the Wiz during the first year of that pact, averaging 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in under 25 minutes a night. He also started the following season impressively before tearing his ACL in early 2021. Bryant returned to action in January, but has seen his minutes reduced following Washington's acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis. Still just 24 years old, Bryant could be a worthwhile investment for a team in the market for a young big.&nbsp;
Best of the Rest:
LaMarcus Aldridge, JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Isaiah Hartenstein, Hassan Whiteside, Derrick Favors (player option), Tristan Thompson, Kevon Looney, JaMychal Green, Frank Kaminsky, Mike Muscala (team option), Bismack Biyombo
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Tommy Beer ranks the top centers who could be available as a part of the 2022 NBA free-agent class.

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