Golden Bears

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the 2024&ndash;25 NBA Rookie of the Year, marking the second consecutive season a Spurs player has earned the honor, following Victor Wembanyama's win last year. Castle secured 92 of 100 first-place votes, totaling 482 points in the voting, ahead of Atlanta's Zaccharie Risacher and Memphis' Jaylen Wells.&nbsp;
Selected fourth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft from the University of Connecticut, Castle led all rookies with 14.7 points per game, adding 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 74 steals across 81 games, including 47 starts. He also made 95 three-pointers, showcasing his offensive versatility.&nbsp;
Castle's performance intensified late in the season, especially with Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox sidelined. Over the final 30 games, he averaged 22.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per 36 minutes, a feat matched only by LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and LaMelo Ball before turning 21.
His accolades include being named MVP of the 2025 Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend and earning Western Conference Rookie of the Month honors in January and March.
Castle joins Spurs legends David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and Wembanyama as Rookie of the Year recipients, solidifying San Antonio's reputation for developing top-tier talent.
With this award, Castle becomes the first UConn alum to win Rookie of the Year since Emeka Okafor in 2005, adding to his impressive resume that includes a 2024 NCAA championship and Big East Freshman of the Year honors.
Castle's emergence as a cornerstone for the Spurs signals a promising future for the franchise, building upon its storied history of nurturing young talent.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle has been named the 2024–25 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Stephon Castle captures 2024–25 NBA Rookie of the Year award

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Adama Sanogo stood on the sideline watching his UConn teammates dribble out the final seconds to secure the program&rsquo;s fifth NCAA championship. He looked eager, ready to sprint in at the first chance.
When the horn sounded, reserve Andrew Hurley used both hands to spike the basketball near midcourt and start the celebration &mdash; only to see Sanogo run straight in and secure it like a fair catch.
&ldquo;I need that ball. That&rsquo;s a ball I want to save for my kids, my grandkids,&rdquo; Sanogo told The Associated Press. &ldquo;I need that ball.&rdquo;
It was fitting for the first souvenir to go to the big man who had been the rugged interior presence all season for the Huskies.
Sanogo finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Monday night&rsquo;s 76-59 win against San Diego State in the national title game. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound big man from Mali was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after tallying his fourth double-double in six tournament games, making him the centerpiece of the Huskies&rsquo; dominant run to title No. 5 &mdash; just as he had been all season, really.
While teammates cut down the nets, Sanogo confessed that he had been planning all day to keep track of the ball at the horn if UConn completed its dominant tournament run.
&ldquo;He was sitting on that one, I guess, before the game,&rdquo; Hurley said with a chuckle.
And with Sanogo&rsquo;s play, was there really any question who deserved that ball?
&ldquo;Oh, he has every right to keep it,&rdquo; guard Nahiem Alleyne said when told Sanogo snagged the ball. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the most outstanding player of this tournament. He&rsquo;s been a dominant force this whole tournament. I mean, without this guy, we wouldn&rsquo;t be here, simple as that.&rdquo;
After coming into the game averaging team-highs of 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds, he was efficient, going 5 for 9 from the field and 7 for 8 from the foul line. He was active, with five of his rebounds coming on the offensive glass. And it all came from a player who has spent recent weeks managing a strict fast from dawn until sunset to observe Ramadan as a Muslim.
&ldquo;He wanted to step up,&rdquo; forward Alex Karaban said. &ldquo;He wanted this moment so badly.&rdquo;
For Sanogo, it was the end of a yearlong push after a first-round exit from the NCAA Tournament in a loss to New Mexico State. That included getting to visit with former UConn great Emeka Okafor &mdash; the top big man on the program&rsquo;s 2004 title winner &mdash; last fall and picking his brain about what it would take to win a championship.
Roughly seven months later, Okafor was standing on the court, watching the Huskies players cut down the nets and pose for trophy photos.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just done an excellent job being just a foundation,&rdquo; Okafor said.
&ldquo;He did it defensively, he did it offensively. He made big plays when you needed it. And this past weekend he did it while fasting. I think that&rsquo;s just a testament to his mindset, his will and his dedication to achieving the goal set to achieve at the beginning of the year.&rdquo;
His biggest offensive rebound came after UConn&rsquo;s once-comfortable lead had shrunk, the pressure rising. Tristen Newton drove into the paint and launched a floater that bounced off the back of the rim, only for Sanogo to jostle a San Diego State rebounder for position and bat the ball with his right hand off the backboard and straight through the net for a 58-50 lead with 7:12 left.
It was part of a night when the Huskies squandered most of a 16-point first-half lead, but kept coming up with key plays &mdash; a stop here, a basket there &mdash; after the Aztecs kept repeatedly pushing back and got as close as five with 5 1/2 minutes left.
Ultimately, UConn reestablished its comfortable margin down the stretch, allowing coach Dan Hurley to sub out his top-of-lineup guys to enjoy the finish from the bench. That included Sanogo checking out with 30.2 seconds left and walking straight to Hurley, who was already locked in a hug with Karaban.
It didn&rsquo;t matter. The big man wrapped his arms around both Hurley and Karaban to turn it into a brief group hug to share the moment.
Well, except for making sure to snatch that ball once the horn sounded.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely keeping it,&rdquo; he said with a big smile. &ldquo;Yeah, definitely, definitely.&rdquo;

“I need that ball. That’s a ball I want to save for my kids, my grandkids,” Sanogo told The Associated Press.

Sanogo snags ball, MOP honors for UConn in NCAA title win

Shortly after Paolo Banchero committed to the Duke Blue Devils back in 2020, then-assistant coach Jon Scheyer connected the five-star recruit with Jayson Tatum. Banchero would text Tatum often, picking his brain about playing for Mike Krzyzewski and what to expect at the collegiate level.
The two remained in touch, which Banchero admits is pretty surreal since Tatum is someone he modeled his game after.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve known him for about two years now,&rdquo; Banchero told Basketball News. &ldquo;He was always one of my favorite players growing up. I&rsquo;ve watched him since he was in high school [and kept watching him] all the way through Duke and now throughout his career in the NBA.&rdquo;
Last offseason, Banchero had some tough decisions to make as he was declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft. Once again, Tatum was there for him every step of the way. Looking back, Banchero says that Tatum was &ldquo;the main guy&rdquo; who helped him navigate the pre-draft process.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s helped me with a lot, mainly when I was coming into the league. Like during pre-draft, I asked him about signing with an agent, signing a shoe deal &ndash; and I ended up signing with Jordan Brand, where he&rsquo;s at,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;All of that stuff coming into the league is stuff that I ran by him and tried to get his opinion on, just because he was in a lot of these same positions that I'm in. I&rsquo;ve definitely used him as a resource.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Obviously, during the season I haven&rsquo;t hit him as much since we&rsquo;re both in-season, but he&rsquo;s a guy who was always open. I mean, he made himself available to me. He offered me his number and said, &lsquo;If you ever need anything, don&rsquo;t hesitate.&rsquo; And he just kinda took me under his wing, and I appreciate him for that.&rdquo;
Tatum, who has referred to Banchero as his little brother in the past, believes it&rsquo;s only right to pay it forward to the next generation.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s just our responsibility. Somebody helped me [when I was younger], and somebody helped the person that helped me,&rdquo; Tatum told Basketball News. &ldquo;[Paolo] is somebody that I was close to while he was in college. Amile Jefferson is one of my best friends and he&rsquo;s an assistant coach at Duke, so all three of us kind of talked all the time while he was in college.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a big fan of his; he loves the game and he works hard. And I know what it&rsquo;s like to come from Duke and be a top lottery pick and have a lot of expectations, so anytime I can help, I feel like I&rsquo;m obligated to do that.&rdquo;
Tatum knows what it's like to enter the NBA and have your idols become rivals. He&rsquo;s just not used to being on the other side of this dynamic.
&ldquo;It means a lot. It is funny, I guess. I&rsquo;m in my sixth year now and guys are coming in that are 19, so they&rsquo;ve been watching me all of their high-school career and first year in college &mdash; the tables have turned,&rdquo; Tatum <a href="https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2022/10/23/i-couldnt-be-happier-for-him-jayson-tatum-is-proud-of-paolo-banchero/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rookie Wire</a>. &ldquo;I remember being in that position and playing against guys I really admired and looked up to. The best part about it is the respect is always there. The way you show it is to go out there and compete. No matter how much I like his game or like him as a person, I&rsquo;m not going to take it easy on him at all. I think, even moreso, I&rsquo;m trying to guard him and go at him to kind of let him know I respect his game and I know what he is capable of and things like that.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_19637215.jpg" alt="" width="685" height="418" />
In addition to Tatum&rsquo;s mentorship, Banchero says that other former Blue Devils have been there for him too. Paolo believes that this network of support (often called &ldquo;The Brotherhood&rdquo;) is one of the biggest advantages of attending Duke. Entering the 2022-23 NBA season, there were 25 Duke alumni in the NBA &ndash; the second-most of any program, trailing only Kentucky (27).
&ldquo;Everyone hears &lsquo;The Brotherhood&rsquo; and probably thinks it&rsquo;s corny, but it&rsquo;s a real thing,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;Jayson isn&rsquo;t the only one [who&rsquo;s helped me]. I&rsquo;ve talked to Zion [Williamson] plenty of times. I&rsquo;ve talked to Grant Hill a lot and he&rsquo;s helped me a lot. A lot of guys would come back [to Duke], like Jahlil Okafor came back, R.J. Barrett came back. All of those guys, they&rsquo;re just around and they try to get back any time that they can. And if they were in the same city that we were playing in back in college, we&rsquo;d have guys coming to the games.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just an elevator where they send it back down and help the next guys out. I was definitely helped by that, talking to those guys in college and hearing from those guys. It helps you a lot.&rdquo;
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR LOCK
Barring injury, Banchero seems like a lock for the Rookie of the Year award. 
He currently leads all rookies in points per game (20.8) while also averaging the third-most assists (3.8), third-most steals (1.1), fourth-most rebounds (6.4) and sixth-most made threes (1.4). Banchero has the most 30-point games (four) and 20-point games (26) among all rookies too.
&ldquo;He is just a tough matchup,&rdquo; Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said of Banchero. &ldquo;[In addition to] his skill level, his stature is just tough in itself. The way they play, and the lineups they play, allows him to be aggressive. He has been having a stellar rookie year so far.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a bigger wing; he&rsquo;s 6-foot-10 and he&rsquo;s got to be 230 [pounds] or something like that. He can create off the bounce, he can shoot, post up,&rdquo; Tatum said of Banchero. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had a hell of a year. I think, obviously, probably Rookie of the Year. He has been playing at a high level. It looks like he has gotten better every month and is getting accustomed to the game. I&rsquo;m happy for him.&rdquo;
The Orlando Magic went 3-1 against the Celtics this season, including three straight wins. Banchero seems to elevate his game against Tatum and other superstars that he once idolized.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s super fun,&rdquo; Banchero said of facing his favorite players. &ldquo;Going against Tatum, Luka [Doncic], KD (Kevin Durant), LeBron [James]... it&rsquo;s kinda surreal at first. But then once you get past it, it becomes even more fun than just playing a regular team because this is the best of the best. These guys are as good as you&rsquo;re gonna see, so you&rsquo;ve gotta be on your A-game.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Paolo grabs the lead back as the first half comes to an end ✅ Bally Sports+ is a new option to watch Magic basketball. Learn more here ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/uVNZdsxxKl">https://t.co/uVNZdsxxKl</a><a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OrlandoMagic</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MagicTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MagicTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ln48dhfHBa">pic.twitter.com/Ln48dhfHBa</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Florida: Magic (@BallyMagic) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallyMagic/status/1617689809471799296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Banchero has been on his A-game for much of the season, stepping in as a focal point for Orlando from Day 1.
He has led the Magic in scoring a team-high 18 times this season. In December, Banchero scored 20 or more points in seven consecutive games, tying the longest streak by a rookie in franchise history (which was previously set by Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal in February 1993). Banchero would go on to earn the NBA&rsquo;s Rookie of the Month award for December.
Banchero's best game of the season was his 33-point, 16-rebound performance against the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 5. He became just the second teenager in NBA history to record at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a game, joining LeBron James. After scoring 30 points in the following game against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 7, he became just the fifth teenager in NBA history with back-to-back 30-point outings, joining James, Doncic, Williamson and Devin Booker.&nbsp;
Overall, he has made the prep-to-pro transition look relatively easy.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been good, it&rsquo;s just been a learning process. I&rsquo;m still learning, but I&rsquo;m definitely more comfortable than I was at the beginning of the season,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;I think as the year goes on, stuff changes. In this game, you have ups and downs. I think I started off really hot and then you slow down and then you heat back up, and that&rsquo;s just kinda how it goes.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s just what I&rsquo;ve been learning &ndash; how to sustain a solid focus and intensity that you can bring every night. There&rsquo;s so many games, so that&rsquo;s really just what I&rsquo;ve been trying to learn and pick up on. It&rsquo;s been a learning process, but I&rsquo;ve had a lot of fun so far.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Orlando has defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers among others in recent weeks.
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley has said that his young group is very coachable and great about responding to the coaching staff&rsquo;s feedback. Also, the players do a fantastic job of holding each other accountable.
&ldquo;Everyone is here to help me &mdash; all of the coaches and a lot of the guys on the team, they all hold me accountable,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t just let me [do what I want]. If I&rsquo;m out there making mistakes or not playing up to my abilities, they&rsquo;re gonna let me know about it.&nbsp;They&rsquo;re gonna challenge me, and that&rsquo;s why I love them.
"They don&rsquo;t hand anything to me. They just make sure I&rsquo;m always focused. As a team, I think that&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re starting to come together. Everyone is keeping that communication and holding each other accountable.&rdquo;
Orlando entered this season with the fourth-youngest roster in the NBA (with an average age of 23.94 years old), and there&rsquo;s a lot to be excited about going forward. Banchero and Franz Wagner are clearly franchise cornerstones that the Magic can build around. It&rsquo;s not easy to defend a pair of 6-foot-10 point forwards who can create for themselves and others.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re an unorthodox team to play against,&rdquo; Brown said of the Magic, &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got that Toronto kind of feel but longer. Kinda like how Cleveland was last year. A lot of bigs, a lot of length, guys who can cover ground and get a lot of deflections. Tough team to play against.&rdquo;
With Banchero leading the way, Orlando has emerged as one of the league&rsquo;s most entertaining teams, with the potential to be scary good in a few years.
"We play a fun brand of basketball. We have a lot of young talent on the team, I think that always gets people excited," Wagner said. "I think obviously with Paolo playing well, Markelle coming back, Bol Bol playing really well and making plays, I think that just gets people going. And just overall, how we&rsquo;re playing as a group, it&rsquo;s exciting.&rdquo;

Paolo Banchero has made his NBA transition look easy, but he's had some help along the way from fellow Duke alum like Jayson Tatum.

Paolo Banchero showing glimpses of brilliance, making Jayson Tatum proud

Following a 12-year NBA career, Shareef Abdur-Rahim retired from basketball on September 22, 2008. The former All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and No. 3 overall pick averaged 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds over the course of 836 NBA games.
After his playing days, Abdur-Rahim spent five years as an assistant coach and assistant general manager with the Sacramento Kings, then served as the general manager of the NBA G League&rsquo;s Reno Bighorns. From there, he spent two years working in the NBA league office.
All of these jobs helped prepare him for his current role: president of the NBA G League. Over the last four years, the 46-year-old has helped the G League grow &ndash; from the launch of the G League Ignite to the league&rsquo;s expansion into Mexico with the addition of the Mexico City Capitanes (the first G League team outside of the United States and Canada).&nbsp;
Abdur-Rahim opened up to Basketball News about the G League&rsquo;s growth, the league&rsquo;s decision to acquire the Capitanes, what his job entails and much more.
The G League acquired the Mexico City Capitanes from the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. What went into the decision to add the Capitanes to the G League?
Shareef Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Starting broader, there&rsquo;s the ongoing commitment that the NBA has had to Latin America and Mexico City. [Tonight] is the 31st game that the NBA has brought to Mexico, and there&rsquo;s an overall commitment of developing players and developing basketball there &ndash; we have an NBA Academy there. So, I think that was really the start, just the commitment that the NBA has had over the years to Mexico and Latin America.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Then, from a G League perspective, we are flexible and positioned in a way where we can add a team. The process of doing that isn&rsquo;t as extensive as it is [in the NBA] &ndash; even though it&rsquo;s been a lot of work. We can add a team and have a permanent residency in Mexico City in a way that maybe right now the NBA can&rsquo;t. It just made a lot of sense and, so far, it&rsquo;s been going really well. We&rsquo;re really proud of the opportunity we have with Capitanes."
As you mentioned, tonight will be the 31st NBA game in Mexico City, and today marks the 30th anniversary of the NBA&rsquo;s first-ever game there. How have the local fans responded to the Capitanes and has the G League become more popular in Mexico?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Everything points to it being positive. It&rsquo;s early, so it&rsquo;s hard to say the total impact and the numbers and that sort of thing. But you think of having 50 games broadcast in Mexico [and the impact that has]. Attendance has been strong. Merchandise of the Capitanes is selling well and setting records in the G League, setting a new tone for what teams can do with merchandise. Last year, when they weren&rsquo;t in Mexico City, you had fans traveling to the United States to support the team. Not to mention, the size of the market and everything we can do there. It&rsquo;s early, but all of the early indicators are extremely positive and point to there being a lot of excitement and support around the team.&rdquo;
(Editor&rsquo;s Note: The Capitanes&rsquo; home debut drew a crowd of 7,391 fans, which is the largest home-opener crowd in the G League since 2019.)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17393217.jpg" alt="" width="661" height="471" />
Does the G League hope to continue expanding and adding more international teams in the near future?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something that I&rsquo;ll close the door on. But I can say: there aren&rsquo;t a ton of markets &ndash; maybe Canada &ndash; where you have the travel ease. Mexico comes with some challenges, but [it&rsquo;s somewhere] our teams can get to. I wouldn&rsquo;t close the door on it, but it&rsquo;s not something that we&rsquo;re focused on at the moment.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The G League is known for getting creative and trying new things, especially in recent years &ndash; from creating the G League Ignite, to acquiring the Capitanes, to experimenting with different rules. Are there any other creative ideas you guys are actively considering?&nbsp;
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;This year, all of our overtime games have the final target score &ndash; the first team to 7 is the winner. That&rsquo;s just innovation and trying things and experimenting with rules; that&rsquo;s kinda the lifeblood and DNA of the G League. It&rsquo;s something that we always want to look at and try to do. We want to be a little bit different. That&rsquo;s always a part of what we do, and we&rsquo;ll keep doing that. Historically, a lot of that [experimenting] has been based on basketball rules, but we want to continue to push the envelope from a business and fan-engagement standpoint as well.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
You were named the president of the NBA G League in 2018, and the league has seemingly made huge strides over the last four years. From when you took over to now, what are your thoughts on the G League&rsquo;s growth and how far it has come?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about it, but I think we&rsquo;re still just scratching the surface as far as what we can be. I&rsquo;m just looking forward to us continuing to grow, continuing to try new things and continuing to be bigger and stronger as a basketball league, but also an overall business.&rdquo;
The G League Ignite have attracted top prospects and helped them become top picks in the NBA Draft. What are your thoughts on the Ignite and the success they&rsquo;ve had?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re really proud of them. I think there have been something like eight NBA draft picks and 10 players overall who are in the NBA. And I think we&rsquo;ve got another good group this year. I&rsquo;m really proud of what we&rsquo;ve been able to do with the Ignite and what they mean to the G League and the opportunity we&rsquo;ve been able to give young players.&rdquo;
You played in the NBA for more than a decade, and then you worked as an NBA assistant coach, an NBA assistant GM and a G League GM before becoming president of the G League. How did your time as a player, coach and executive help prepare you for your current role in the G League?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;I think those jobs all prepared me in different ways for this role and kinda giving me context about the G League. They definitely prepared me, man. And they positioned me and set me up to learn and grow. Some of my skills and the information I have come from my past, and then there was a lot that was left for me to learn and get up-to-speed with, and that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve tried to focus on and do.&rdquo;
Can you share what a typical day is like for you and what your job as NBA G League president entails?&nbsp;
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;A typical day ranges from speaking to our G League team presidents and owners about how we continue to grow the G League and grow our game, to visiting markets and those sort of things, to meeting with our business partners &ndash; be it someone like The General Insurance, who is a new partner, or someone like ESPN, who is a more established partner. I think of myself like the chief advocate of the G League &ndash; telling our story, communicating the vision and sharing the prospects of our league.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And then there is the stuff that&rsquo;s fun like watching basketball, talking about basketball. [Having conversations like], &lsquo;What&rsquo;s the future of basketball?&rsquo; Thinking of how we can continue to make the league better for our players. Our players are unionized now, so there&rsquo;s now an element of my day where I&rsquo;m co-existing with and working in partnership with the players&rsquo; union. It&rsquo;s all of that. There are some standard meetings and stuff that we do, but every day has a level of variety and I enjoy that.&rdquo;
Do you have goals going forward &ndash; either individually or for the G League as a whole?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Yeah, I think we kind of go through a [goal-setting] process as a league, and my goals are all pretty much connected to our league. For one, we want to continue to be the best place in the world to develop and prepare for the NBA. I know people hear that and think of players, but it&rsquo;s really for all people at this point &ndash; coaches, officials, business people, operations people, media, everything. We want to continue to establish that pipeline even more. We think we have something really exciting and special with the G League when we look at how the talent in the league is evolving and our connection to the NBA, so we want to continue to sell that story and build our audience. I think that telling our story and sharing that message [is important] along with continuing to build up our teams. The success at our team level and, locally, engaging with communities and having 30 strong teams is important, so we want to continue to do that. And we want to keep trying new things. Try to do things in a way that distinguishes the G League in its own way, so it is its own brand. That&rsquo;s what we want to do.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
I feel like there used to be a stigma that came with playing in the G League, especially if you were a top pick or a veteran player. Now, there are so many players with G League experience and it feels like that stigma is gone, which is great. Why do you think that is?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;Well, I think it&rsquo;s two things. For one, I think players have seen so many examples of players who have had success &ndash; guys like Jeremy Lin, Seth Curry, Khris Middleton and all of our alumni. There are stories every year of players who start in some form in the G League and then elevate, so we&rsquo;ve become a real option for players and not something that&rsquo;s looked down upon. And then I think the integration with the NBA &ndash; with so many NBA teams owning G League teams and being connected to their G League team and truly integrating and seeing value in their G League team &ndash; has just improved the experience. Without a doubt, NBA teams know and understand the talent in the G League and have continued to invest in the G League, so the experience for players continues to get better, the coaching continues to get better and the opportunities for players continue to get better. As a league, we continue to try to improve the quality of life and the opportunity and the platform [for players] &ndash; from the number of teams, to the number of nationally televised games, to adding international games, to having higher salaries, to having more opportunities to get called up or signed to the NBA. All of that has just changed the idea of the G League and we want to continue to build on that.
&ldquo;This is a really exciting time for the G League. We have 30 teams for the first time &ndash; the 28 teams that are connected to NBA teams and then the two independent teams that have their own focuses and purposes &ndash; the international team in Mexico and the [Ignite] for young players. If you look at the young talent across our league, I think it&rsquo;s really a changing dynamic of our league where it&rsquo;s not just the players who have been overlooked anymore; now, we have these young, exciting players that NBA teams have assigned. We&rsquo;ve had 14 first-round picks get assigned [this season], from Washington&rsquo;s Johnny Davis to Charlotte&rsquo;s Mark Williams. In the past, lottery picks weren&rsquo;t really assigned to the G League, [but that&rsquo;s changing]. You also have the younger players who are sort of in-between like Sharife Cooper, Mac McClung &ndash; really good players who are just on the cusp &ndash; to experienced players like Jahlil Okafor, Norris Cole who are waiting to see what their next opportunity will be. I think it&rsquo;s just a really exciting time for our league and we want to continue to elevate it and tell our story.&rdquo;
You&rsquo;ve been very successful since retiring. What advice would you give to active players who are approaching retirement?
Abdur-Rahim: &ldquo;If possible, I think it starts earlier than retirement. People tell you this forever, but just know that your time as a player will end, so try to be curious and try to learn as much as you can and don&rsquo;t just limit yourself to just what you do on the court. There&rsquo;s so much that&rsquo;s going on around the game, so try to be curious about that and build relationships. And then, take your time to really find where your path is and what things you want to contribute beyond just being on the court. I think those are some of the really important things. Start early if you can. Be curious and learn as much as you can. Always value relationships &ndash; the same people I dealt with as a player are a lot of times the same people that I&rsquo;m dealing with in my role now. It is a transition, but be open to continue learning and don&rsquo;t be afraid of it.&rdquo;

NBA G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim opens up about the league's growth, international expansion and more.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim on NBA G League's growth, Ignite's success, more

Kenny Atkinson always saw more in Jarrett Allen.
When Allen, drafted No. 22 overall by the Brooklyn Nets in 2017, hit a rookie wall the following March, the then-head coach of the Nets (and now Golden State Warriors assistant) pivoted to <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2018/3/29/17174070/whatever-the-plan-is-jarrett-allens-at-the-center-of-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying the near 7-footer&rsquo;s struggles will make him a better player</a>. When the towering Texan would show just a hint of touch in games and practices, Atkinson would tell us that he&rsquo;d hope Allen would <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1103428843317182469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expand his range to hit corner threes</a>. And while the Cleveland Cavaliers' center still hasn&rsquo;t quite adopted that, he hasn&rsquo;t needed to. He has a shot at being one of the league&rsquo;s only first-time All-Stars in 2021.
(Maybe now you&rsquo;re seeing why <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2879918-nets-deandre-jordan-denies-bulls-t-reports-after-kenny-atkinson-firing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people thought it was funky</a> that Allen was sent to the bench for DeAndre Jordan immediately after Atkinson and the Nets parted ways.)&nbsp;
But enough bringing up old sh**, for now.&nbsp;
Prior to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bam-adebayo-suffered-torn-ucl-in-thumb-monday-will-undergo-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffering a torn UCL last week</a>, Bam Adebayo was likely going to add the second All-Star bid of his career while manning the frontline of the Miami Heat, a team many deem as an NBA contender on some level. With Adebayo out for an undetermined amount of time &mdash; it&rsquo;ll be several weeks, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOytII_2m_8&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to 5 Reasons Sports</a> &mdash; he's likely knocked out of All-Star contention. In turn, that opens the door for other frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference, and in the spirit of showing centers the respect they deserve, why not Allen?
Since Collin Sexton &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/cavaliers-g-sexton-done-for-season-following-knee-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who's out with a torn meniscus for the rest of the season</a> &mdash; last played, the Cavaliers have gone 7-8, but still sit at 14-12 and would be a play-in team if the season ended today.
This season, Darius Garland&rsquo;s been All-Star worthy, and is now at 19.5 points and 7.2 assists per game on 47/39/89 shooting splits. Since Sexton went down, he&rsquo;s up to 21.9 points, and 7.0 assists on 47/37/90 shooting splits. But he&rsquo;s also a guard in the same conference as Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, LaMelo Ball, Fred VanVleet, James Harden and &mdash; if counted as a guard instead of a forward, albeit unlikely &mdash; Jimmy Butler. (Shouts to Tyler Herro and Malcolm Brogdon as longshot possibilities, perhaps?)
Evan Mobley is the Rookie of the Year frontrunner, but at 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game, and 2.0 blocks per game on 48/33/79 shooting, he&rsquo;s a step or two away from the All-Star game. But Allen is not only cashing in on Atkinson&rsquo;s prior <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/forget-the-old-school-afro-nets-have-found-their-modern-center-in-rookie-jarrett-allen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beliefs in him as a franchise big man</a>; he just flat out has been one of the best centers in the league this season. (It also helps that, regarding All-Star voting, the frontcourt competition isn&rsquo;t as steep. We&rsquo;ll get to that momentarily, and, in part, it's why this case is being presented.)
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OJZPXNqq-8U" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Allen is averaging 17.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game &mdash; the first two figures stand as career-high counting stats, as does his 70.4% shooting from the field. The Fro&rsquo;s 18.4 points per 36 minutes are easily the best of his career, and he currently leads the Cavs (by far) in Offensive Rating (129) and Defensive Rating (102) among qualified players. His 4.1 Box Plus-Minus, 1.2 VORP and .240 win shares per 48 minutes also lead the Cavaliers, the latter two by a safe distance. Furthermore, he&rsquo;s only doing this with an 18.4% usage rate, which is in the middle of the pack on the team. For reference, other bigs on the squad like Kevin Love (23.7%), Lauri Markkanen (19.5%), and Evan Mobley (19.0%) have a higher usage.&nbsp;
And lastly, his True Shooting percentage is at a ridiculously-high 71.7%. His commitment to efficient shooting this season has been as persistent as the will to keep his afro perfectly round. (Remember, this is a man who has <a href="https://twitter.com/bryanfonsecany/status/1035231134957928450?lang=bg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken kids to get haircuts</a> while never even thinking about giving braids a chance.)&nbsp;
By some metrics people care about &mdash; and y&rsquo;all know a lot of them are not created equal &mdash; Allen is excelling beyond what many may have anticipated so far this season from a team standpoint. Here&rsquo;s how some of these numbers stack up around the NBA per Basketball-Reference:
<ul>
<li>70.4% field goal percentage &mdash; 3rd</li>
<li>71.7% True Shooting percentage (qualified players) &mdash; 3rd&nbsp;</li>
<li>11.3 rebounds per game &mdash; Tied for 7th</li>
<li>18.4% rebound percentage &mdash; Tied for 12th</li>
<li>.240 win shares per 48 minutes &mdash; 7th overall /4th among centers</li>
<li>1.2 VORP &mdash; tied for 12th overall /6th among centers</li>
<li>23.8 PER &mdash; 12th overall /6th among centers &nbsp;</li>
<li>4.1 BPM &mdash; tied for 12th overall /7th among centers</li>
<li>102.0 DRTG &mdash; tied for 3rd among centers</li>
<li>18.4% usage rate &mdash; Tied for 121st</li>
</ul>
(He&rsquo;s also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2022_shooting.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second in dunks</a> with 77 &mdash; so put him in the contest!)
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OAdbji_gsJ0" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
When you comb through the numbers, Allen is popping up around All-Star-caliber centers such as Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokić, and Anthony Davis, among others, and those three are out west. When you watch Allen, he&rsquo;s constantly adjusting, opposing shots at the rim and seemingly always in the right spots. He is finding useful ways to play to his strengths, coloring within the lines as well as anyone on a fun Cavs roster.
Regarding his competition in the Eastern Conference frontcourt, it will be forward-heavy. Names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler (again, assuming he&rsquo;s a forward, which is likely) and DeMar DeRozan are shoo-ins, health prevailing. Though he hasn&rsquo;t been awesome, Jayson Tatum will likely 24-foot fadeaway himself into All-Star Weekend as well, *just* beating out the shot clock every single time.
The bubble Allen resides in includes guys like Miles Bridges, Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis, John Collins and Jerami Grant. Along with numbers, this will also clearly be influenced by injuries, unfortunately. (Additionally, it serves as the case for 15-man All-Star teams, but we can discuss that closer to February.)
Allen&rsquo;s come a long way from fighting for minutes amongst a frontcourt including Timofey Mozgov, Tyler Zeller and current-free-agent Jahlil Okafor, that&rsquo;s for sure. (Good call by Atkinson, by the way... let&rsquo;s hope he doesn&rsquo;t settle for the Sacramento Kings.)
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2FmmcZTQd8o" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Bryan Fonseca presents the case for Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen as an NBA All-Star among his peers.

Making the NBA All-Star case for Cavs big man Jarrett Allen

The Atlanta Hawks announced via Twitter that they have requested waivers on C Jahlil Okafor, who they signed to a training camp deal a couple weeks ago.
Okafor has spent his career jumping from team to team and will now once again be on the open market, once he clears waivers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Roster Update: We have requested waivers on center Jahlil Okafor.
&mdash; Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1447658883523170305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

The Atlanta Hawks have waived center Jahlil Okafor, according to the team.

Hawks to waive C Jahlil Okafor

Basketball has evolved into a truly global sport, and the NBA pulls talent from all over the world. That&rsquo;s great for the overall quality of play, but it means that there is more competition for NBA roster spots, which are harder than ever to earn.
With Media Day in the rearview mirror and training camp underway, competition to make the final cut is heating up. Teams enter camp with as many as 20 players, but must trim the roster down to 15 by opening day (excluding the pair of two-way contracts allowed in addition for players who can move between the G League and NBA rosters).
While every team has important decisions to make, it&rsquo;s not as if every roster spot is up for grabs. On the contrary, most spots are taken by players who are signed to guaranteed contracts. It&rsquo;s the players on training-camp deals who have the most to prove this time of year; sometimes, it can be the occasional (and unlucky) guaranteed player who has underachieved so badly that his team is considering paying him to play elsewhere.&nbsp;
The last guy on the bench rarely has a great impact on his team&rsquo;s success, but it can happen &ndash; and it surely impacts the individual players. Considering the ramifications of these decisions, let&rsquo;s examine the three most interesting roster situations in the Eastern Conference.&nbsp;
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are intriguing because &ndash; while it might look as if they don&rsquo;t need much from the end of their bench on paper &ndash; their situation is more complicated than it appears. Depending on where Kyrie Irving ultimately lands with his decision to get the COVID vaccine or not, he could miss all of his home games (and games against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden). In total, Irving could miss as many as 43 regular-season games if he stands firm on being unvaccinated. And while there is more than enough star power in Brooklyn to get by, removing a key player from the rotation for half of the season puts more pressure on a team&rsquo;s depth.
So what exactly will Brooklyn look to address with its final roster spot? The team's backcourt is in relatively good shape thanks to a combination of James Harden, Patty Mills, Jevon Carter and rookie Cam Thomas, but there are other needs to address. The Nets' frontcourt could use a youth infusion, and there&rsquo;s a limit on swingmen beyond Joe Harris and Bruce Brown. After cutting Jahlil Okafor last month, Brooklyn's decision should come down to DeAndre&rsquo; Bembry or Sekou Doumbouya. No disrespect to Bembry, but Doumbouya is a 6-foot-8 <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/detroit-pistons-moving-on-from-sekou-doumbouya-is-a-headscratcher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">former first-round pick who is 20 years old</a>. He fills multiple needs, and his youth gives the added benefit that if he works out, he could be part of the team&rsquo;s future.&nbsp;
Prediction: Sekou Doumbouya makes the cut.
New York Knicks&nbsp;
The Knicks are in an interesting spot. They just cut Luca Vildoza, who signed a four-year, non-guaranteed contract with the team at the end of the 2020-21 season. He was seen as someone who would make the team as recently as June, but things happen fast in the NBA. Considering New York will start the season without its presumptive starting center, Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks might want to add another big man. Nerlens Noel is more than qualified to hold down the fort, and Taj Gibson is a valuable, albeit slightly undersized backup, but does New York want to kick off the season without any other options? What if one of those two suffers another injury?
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The Knicks have two rookies on their training camp roster who could fill that need in Jericho Sims and Aamir Simms. The former is a freakish athlete, similar in nature to Robinson, who is an above-average defender and rim-runner. Conversely, Simms possesses <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/aamir-simms-eager-to-exhibit-a-side-of-his-game-we-havent-seen-at-the-next-level" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a more polished offensive game</a>, but he lacks the burst and leaping ability of Sims. There&rsquo;s also Dwayne Bacon and Wayne Selden, who are actively competing for the team&rsquo;s final roster spot. Bacon looked good with Orlando last season, and I expect him to make the cut. The Knicks do have a two-way contract remaining, so maybe they'll use that on one of the Sim(m)s, while keeping Bacon on the main roster.&nbsp;
Prediction: Dwayne Bacon makes the cut.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are also in an interesting position, but more so because they have multiple spots to fill. Toronto has 12 guaranteed contracts, and both two-way deals are spoken for. That means Toronto can keep three of the following six players: Isaac Bonga, Sam Dekker, Freddie Gillespie, Reggie Perry, Ishmail Wainright and Yuta Watanabe. Gillespie and Watanabe are known commodities north of the border, having played with the Raptors last season, and Dekker is a former first-round pick with plenty of NBA experience. All but Perry have partial guarantees for 2021-22, but a partial guarantee will not secure you a spot in the NBA.
Bonga and Perry are both 6-foot-8 and 21 years old. Perry has just one year of NBA experience, whereas Bonga has three &ndash; but neither has made their mark yet. Beyond Goran Dragic, Fred VanVleet has the most experience of all Raptors with five professional seasons. With that in mind, expect Dekker &ndash; who has four years of NBA experience &ndash; to make the cut. Additionally, the Raptors will probably stick with the guys they know, meaning that Gillespie and Watanabe are likely to be in Toronto for the 2021-22 season, too.
Prediction: Sam Dekker, Freddie Gillespie and Yuta Watanabe all make the cut.
NBA roster decisions aren&rsquo;t entirely fair. Sometimes, players are cut because of an injury or other circumstance-related issues. But it really is just a business (rarely personal), and front offices do what they feel is in their best interest.
And at the end of the day, that&rsquo;s about as objective as it gets.&nbsp;

Drew Maresca examines the three most interesting final roster spot situations in the East.

3 roster-spot battles to watch for in the Eastern Conference

The 2021 NBA offseason featured plenty of surprises and quite a bit of player movement. While there has been plenty of discussion about the stars who changed teams, there were also many talented players who ended up signing for the veteran&rsquo;s minimum.
These are the kind of low-risk, high-reward moves that could end up being some of the biggest steals of the offseason. Some of these players will inevitably outperform their contract and become a huge bargain for their respective teams.&nbsp;
For example, when the Los Angeles Lakers won the championship in 2019-20, their roster featured quite a few minimum-contract contributors including Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Markieff Morris, Talen Horton-Tucker and Jared Dudley.&nbsp;
In the NBA, the veteran's minimum varies from player to player depending on their years of experience. For example, a rookie who signs a minimum deal will earn $925,258 this season. A second-year player on the minimum will earn $1,489,065. By the time a player has played 10 or more years in the NBA, their minimum contract is worth $2,641,691.
So while all of the players listed in this piece signed for the veteran minimum, they won&rsquo;t receive the same paychecks. However, their cap hit will be the same. <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/08/nba-minimum-salaries-for-2021-22.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Luke Adams from Hoops Rumors explains</a>:
&ldquo;Because the NBA doesn&rsquo;t want teams to avoid signing veteran players in favor of cheaper, younger players, the league reimburses clubs who sign veterans with three or more years of experience to one-year, minimum salary contracts. Those deals will only count against the cap &ndash; and against a team&rsquo;s bank balance &ndash; for $1,669,178, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience.&rdquo;
So while Andre Iguodala will earn $2,641,691 this season, he&rsquo;ll only cost the Golden State Warriors $1,669,178, and the NBA will make up the difference.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Across the board, minimum salaries increased by 3% over last year&rsquo;s numbers. Here&rsquo;s a look at some notable players who signed for the minimum:
Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat: After earning $21,000,000 last season with the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets, Oladipo will make $2,389,641 this season with the Miami Heat. A significant quad injury impacted his stock entering free agency, which is why this two-time All-Star is on a minimum deal just three years after making an All-NBA team. Last year, Oladipo averaged 20.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.6 threes and 1.3 steals in 29 total games with the Rockets and Pacers. If healthy, Oladipo could end up being a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/victor-oladipo-minimum-deal-may-become-nba-offseason-biggest-steal-miami-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key contributor for Miami</a>.
Andre Drummond, Philadelphia 76ers: Last season, Drummond averaged 14.9 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in 46 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. The 28-year-old was earning $27,957,238 with the Cavs, but then he agreed to a buyout and joined the Lakers. He hoped to win a title alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Co., but Los Angeles was eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. Now, he&rsquo;ll serve as Joel Embiid&rsquo;s backup on the 76ers while earning $2,401,537.
Blake Griffin, Brooklyn Nets: Like Drummond, Griffin was bought out halfway through the 2020-21 season. With $75 million remaining on his contract, Griffin reportedly agreed to leave $13.3 million on the table in order to exit his deal with the Detroit Pistons and hit unrestricted free agency. Shortly after, he joined the Brooklyn Nets in pursuit of a ring. Still, he went from earning $32,670,565 last year to $2,641,691 during the upcoming campaign.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15822822_lg.jpg" alt="" width="524" height="403" />
Otto Porter Jr., Golden State Warriors: Porter received larger offers during free agency, but he decided to join the Warriors on a $2,389,641 salary (after earning $28,489,239 last season with the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic). He should fit perfectly alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and then he&rsquo;ll hit free agency again next offseason. Last year, the 28-year-old averaged 9.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 threes in 28 games.
Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors: After spending five years with the Warriors (from 2013-14 to 2018-19), Iguodala joined the Miami Heat for a two-year stint. Now, he&rsquo;s returning to Golden State on a one-year deal. Last season, he averaged 4.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game, while also serving as a strong veteran leader in the locker room. After earning $15,000,000 last season, he&rsquo;ll make $2,641,691 in 2021-22.
DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Lakers: Last season, Jordan earned $10,375,678 from the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 7.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21.9 minutes per game. Recently, the Nets traded Jordan and four second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor. Shortly after, the Pistons bought out Jordan, and he signed a one-year, $2,641,691 deal.
Other Notable Minimum-Contract Players:&nbsp;
Carmelo Anthony, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)
Enes Kanter, Boston Celtics ($2,641,691)
Paul Millsap, Brooklyn Nets ($2,641,691)
Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)
Cody Zeller, Portland Trail Blazers ($2,389,641)
Malik Monk, Los Angeles Lakers ($1,789,256)
Nemanja Bjelica, Golden State Warriors ($2,089,448)
Rajon Rondo, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)
Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers ($2,641,691)

Alex Kennedy highlights key players who signed for the veteran's minimum this offseason after being on lucrative deals previously.

Examining minimum-contract bargains from 2021 NBA offseason

Free agent center Jahlil Okafor is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell&nbsp;The Athletic.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1438537666564435969">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Okafor was with the Detroit Pistons last season, where he averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. The 25-year-old was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft to the Philadelphia 76ers. Okafor was dealt to Brooklyn in the recent trade for DeAndre Jordan before being waived by the Nets.

Okafor was dealt to Brooklyn in the recent trade for DeAndre Jordan before being waived by the Nets.

Jahlil Okafor signing non-guaranteed deal with Hawks

The Nets have waived center Jahlil Okafor.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1436068338552147973" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: Okafor, who was recently acquired from the Detroit Pistons in a deal that featured DeAndre Jordan, will hit the open market after averaging 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game last season for Detroit.

According to Shams Charania, the Brooklyn Nets have waived center Jahlil Okafor.

Nets waive center Jahlil Okafor

The Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons struck a peculiar deal on Friday.
No, it&rsquo;s not because it was a &ldquo;salary dump,&rdquo; one of the most common maneuvers made by regretful front offices in the NBA. Rather, it was peculiar because the team that moves on from a player on a bloated salary rarely wins these kind of deals.
In this trade, the Nets were able to save $47 million in salary and luxury-tax penalties by sending out DeAndre Jordan and four future second-round picks to Detroit. That&rsquo;s a heck of a move by Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks considering Jordan, who was making approximately $10 million annually, didn&rsquo;t appear in a single playoff game for the team. Sure, Marks had to attach draft capital to entice another team to take on his contract, but it ended up being more than worth it.
That&rsquo;s because the Pistons traded Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor in the process. Apparently, Detroit&rsquo;s front office feels that a quartet of late selections will be more valuable than its No. 15 overall pick from two years ago.&nbsp;
Okafor&rsquo;s expendability is understandable with a crowded frontcourt and his journeyman nature over the last few years. Doumbouya, however, was not a player to include in this type of deal, particularly when the talent they got in exchange was immediately bought out.
Sure, his role with the Pistons would have been non-existent or scaled back further with the addition of Cade Cunningham in this past summer&rsquo;s draft. That said, as a team in asset-accumulation mode, wouldn&rsquo;t it serve them best to try to continue developing Doumbouya behind-the-scenes and get him back into the rotation? He&rsquo;s shown signs of upside before and, guys, he&rsquo;s not even of legal drinking age yet in the United States! You can never have enough wings in today&rsquo;s NBA.
It&rsquo;s not like Detroit was paying him a ton of money, either, nor would he hold the organization back. He seemed to have a great attitude despite seeing sporadic minutes from game-to-game. Why rashly move on from Doumbouya in this kind of manner when you&rsquo;re not getting anything of substance in return, now or later? (Unless one of those second-rounders hits or leads to a bigger deal &mdash; then we can revisit this and have a laugh).
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Understanding that the writing was on the wall, it feels like there was a better way to handle this. Truthfully, with all due respect to Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, it appears to be a situation where a player left over from a previous regime drew the short end of the stick and didn&rsquo;t fit into the current team&rsquo;s vision. It&rsquo;s tenable to say that Doumbouya hasn&rsquo;t lived up to expectations to this point, and maybe that was to blame for his jettisoning out of Detroit, but the team didn&rsquo;t give him a whole lot of room for error in the first place, either.&nbsp;
If Brooklyn decides to keep Doumbouya around the team or mature his game with its G League affiliate &mdash; the Long Island Nets &mdash; who knows how much that could pay off? And let&rsquo;s be real &mdash; &nbsp;the Nets probably didn&rsquo;t expect to get back a young player with untapped potential in a transaction like this.&nbsp;
Should the Pistons have mailed it in on their first-rounder from two seasons ago? As a team embarking on a rebuild, you should want as many young, talented players as you can possibly get your hands on, and depth is never a bad thing. It's surprising that they gave up on a raw, 20-year-old prospect at this stage.
At his age, Doumbouya could take a number of years before he gets a consistent opportunity. He almost certainly won&rsquo;t be a part of the Nets' rotation from the jump. However, it's tough to think of a better way to pass that time than learning from the greats of the game and veterans that are currently on this Brooklyn roster.
Doumbouya has shown promise in spurts. He&rsquo;s fast and furious, and has the athleticism. It&rsquo;s all about putting everything together with his physical frame. There's no guarantee that he'll pan out, but why move on now before finding out?
Marks and the Nets made a low-risk, high-reward decision to bring him in, while the Pistons may have lost out on a prospect who hasn&rsquo;t even scratched the surface of what he can be.

Spencer Davies argues that the Pistons shouldn't have moved on from Sekou Doumbouya so quickly.

Pistons moving on from Sekou Doumbouya is a head-scratcher

After retiring with heart concerns five months ago, seven-time All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge is returning to the Brooklyn Nets on a one-year, $2.6 million deal, his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, told ESPN on Friday.
Source: <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32141145/lamarcus-aldridge-cleared-heart-concerns-re-signing-brooklyn-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN </a>
ANALYSIS: According to ESPN, Aldridge, 36, has been medically cleared by a number of doctors -- including those both independent and Nets-affiliated -- to make a return for his 16th season.
Here is Aldridge on making his return to the NBA and the Brooklyn Nets (via ESPN):
"I retired in April based on what I believed was the wisest precautionary decision for my personal health at the time, but further testing and evaluation by several top physicians has convinced the doctors, myself and the Nets that I'm fully cleared and able to return to the rigors of the NBA," Aldridge told ESPN in a statement. "I loved my brief time with Brooklyn and am excited to rejoin the team in pursuit of a championship."
In order to make room for the signing of LaMarcus Aldridge, the Nets announced their plans to waive forward Alize Johnson. Wojnarowski added that the Nets are fond of Johnson, but are loaded at his position and will allow him to play elsewhere.
It has been a busy day for the Brooklyn Nets as they also <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-trading-deandre-jordan-to-pistons-for-sekou-doumbouya-jahlil-okafor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traded away center DeAndre Jordan to the Pistons </a>to clear cap space.

According to ESPN, the Nets have signed LaMarcus Aldridge and waived forward Alize Johnson.

Nets sign LaMarcus Aldridge, waive forward Alize Johnson

ESPN Sources: Brooklyn is trading C DeAndre Jordan, four future-second round picks and $5.78M to Detroit for Jahlil Okafor and Sekou Doumbouya. Pistons plan to work through a buyout on two-years, $20M owed Jordan; Nets will save $47M in salary and tax on deal.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1433889032291954691" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Wojnarowski adds that Brooklyn will send Detroit its own second-round picks for 2022 and 2027 and also give up a 2024 pick (via Washington) and a 2025 pick (via Golden State). Doumbouya was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, while Okafor has bounced around the league since being selected third overall in 2015. Jordan averaged 7.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game during his time in Brooklyn.
In response to the move, the Nets <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1433894523059507221" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plan to waive forward Alize Johnson</a>, per Wojnarowski.

Jordan averaged 7.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game during his time in Brooklyn.

Nets trading DeAndre Jordan to Pistons for Sekou Doumbouya, Jahlil Okafor

The NBA announced in early August that the 2021-22 season&rsquo;s salary cap would be $112.414 million, and the luxury tax threshold will be $136.606 million. That means that if rosters remain unchanged for the duration of the season &ndash; which we know will never happen &ndash; 13 teams will pay the luxury tax.
Those teams will be the Brooklyn Nets ($176.573 million in payroll), Golden State Warriors ($174.854 million), Los Angeles Clippers ($166.384 million), Los Angeles Lakers ($163.121 million), Milwaukee Bucks ($158.206 million), Utah Jazz ($153.954 million), Philadelphia 76ers ($143.668 million), Boston Celtics ($143.524 million), Portland Trail Blazers ($140.566 million), Miami Heat ($139.645 million), Washington Wizards ($138.710 million), Toronto Raptors ($137.624 million) and the Indiana Pacers ($137.567 million), <a href="https://hoopshype.com/salaries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to HoopsHype.com</a> &nbsp;&ndash; meaning that nearly half of the league will pay into the luxury tax.&nbsp;
The NBA utilizes a progressive tax system that dictates that teams less than $10 million over the threshold pay a dollar-for-dollar tax, teams over by between $10-to-$15 million pay $2.50 for every dollar over the threshold, teams over by between $15-to-$20 million pay $3.25 for every dollar over the threshold and so on. But ignoring the business implications of paying the luxury tax, how many of these teams are getting the bang for their buck in relation to the total cost of those payrolls and how easy might it be for them to get back under it? Let&rsquo;s explore each team's situation:
Brooklyn Nets: $39.967 million over 
The Nets enter the 2021-22 season as the presumptive favorites to win the NBA championship. They re-signed Kevin Durant to a 4-year/$198 million extension. They also added Patty Mills and James Johnson, but lost Jeff Green. Ultimately, it&rsquo;s worth the price for Brooklyn so long as Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden can remain healthy for playoffs &ndash; so if you&rsquo;re the Nets, you pay anything you can to keep this group together. (Editor's Note: This payroll will change once <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-trading-deandre-jordan-to-pistons-for-sekou-doumbouya-jahlil-okafor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Friday's trade for Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor</a> is made official on Sept. 15)
Takeaway: Worth it!
Golden State Warriors: $38.239 million over
The Warriors are in a very different situation than the Nets. They are not presumptive favorites. In fact, they may be in a fight for a playoff spot in the Western Conference for another year. Still, the Warriors have to shell out the dough. Their new arena, the Chase Center, opened in downtown San Francisco just in time for the 2019-20 season. COVID-19 has obviously hindered the Warriors ability to extract income from their new home, but it&rsquo;s finally time to cash in. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will fill the arena&rsquo;s seats. They probably won&rsquo;t be pure buyers at the deadline &ndash; although we could see a move in which Golden State swaps some of its young talent in exchange for a more age-appropriate fit &ndash; but the Warriors will not ship out pieces just to cut costs.
Takeaway: Not objectively worth it; but not *not* worth it.
Los Angeles Clippers: $29.778 million over
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is probably a little stressed right now &ndash; or he would be if paying his team&rsquo;s payroll had any real impact on his net worth. Either way, the Clippers appear poised to write a big check to the NBA for... another championship-less season. With Kawhi Leonard out for the foreseeable future with a partially torn ACL, the team's hopes for a title are likely out too &ndash; and they&rsquo;re on the hook for his $36 million this season, which is essentially dead money. Fortunately, the Clippers' roster is still formidable. They&rsquo;ll still be a playoff team, even in the brutally competitive West, meaning they&rsquo;ll continue to be must-see TV. They can get back to contending for a championship next season.
Takeaway: Not worth it this year; but tough it out, next season will be better.&nbsp;
Los Angeles Lakers: $26.515 million over
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_10629395_lg.png" alt="" width="572" height="286" />
The Lakers are in a good spot... for now. Sure, they are on the hook for a big, honking tax check; but they also look like the best team in the West. Acquiring Russell Westbrook (in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell) adds another major salary to the Lakers&rsquo; books. But Westbrook, along with Carmelo Anthony, Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, Kent Bazemore, Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo, are big-time additions. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook might not coexist perfectly, which could result in as disappointing an outcome as the 2003-04 Lakers, but what options did they have? The Nets are stacked, and the Lakers want to win.
Takeaway: Worth it, but it could also end really badly.&nbsp;
Milwaukee Bucks: $21.6 million over
The Bucks are obviously happy with the outcome of last season. And despite what Jerry Krause would&rsquo;ve had you believe, you always bring back a defending-champion roster; Milwaukee did mostly that. The team brought George Hill back on board and added Grayson Allen. They interestingly let P.J. Tucker walk, but they&rsquo;re still well-stocked. The Bucks could be buyers at the deadline; but they&rsquo;ll be operating under a hard cap, so it&rsquo;ll be tricky.
Takeaway: The champs should always be kept together. Worth it!
Utah Jazz: $17.348 million over
The Jazz are unassuming, but their roster is rock solid, and they finished last season with the best record in the NBA. Had it not been for injuries to Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell heading into the playoffs, who knows what might have been in a year where the presumptive favorites were both eliminated before the conference finals. But the Jazz enter the 2021-22 season looking even better, having added Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside, and re-signing Mike Conley. Utah let Derrick Favors and Georges Niang walk, but still enter the season with approximately $154 million in salary. Utah will likely stand pat for the season in hopes of making a run at a championship.
Takeaway: Worth it!&nbsp;
Philadelphia 76ers: $7.062 million over
The 76ers are in an unenviable situation with Ben Simmons, who has decided that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-tells-sixers-he-wants-out-intends-to-skip-training-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he wants out of Philadelphia</a>. Simmons will make $33 million in 2021-22, and his deal is guaranteed through the 2024-25 season. So, it&rsquo;s safe to assume there will be some changes regarding the Sixers' team salary. The two teams most <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commonly associated with Simmons</a> &ndash; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings &ndash; have payrolls below the luxury tax threshold, meaning they both have more wiggle room to maneuver in trades. Philadelphia could end up with a slightly lower payroll than it has now after a Simmons deal inevitably takes place, but the team's outlook is very much undecided less than a month from the start of the season. That&rsquo;s not where you want to be as a team with championship aspirations.
Takeaway: Depends on what happens with Simmons, but it&rsquo;s probably not going to be worth it. &nbsp;
Boston Celtics: $6.918 million over 
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15355620_lg.png" alt="" width="570" height="285" />
From a salary standpoint, Boston and new team president Brad Stevens have maneuvered smartly. They shed Kemba Walker&rsquo;s painful contract, receiving Al Horford in the exchange. They backfilled Walker&rsquo;s spot with Dennis Schroder, who only cost $5.9 million for a year. They also added Josh Richardson ($11.615 million) via free agency and a $17 million trade exception from a sign-and-trade with the Knicks for Evan Fournier. If the right player becomes available, they could use that TPE, or they could punt on 2021-22 in hopes of a brighter future. Still, the Celtics will only go as far as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown take them. (Editor's Note: This payroll will change once <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mem-agrees-to-trade-hernangomez-to-bos-for-dunn-edwards-pick-swap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Friday's trade for Juancho Hernangomez</a> is made official on Sept. 15)
Takeaway: Not worth it, but Boston made some headway in cleaning up a previously cluttered salary cap.
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.96 million over
Portland finally did something this offseason, swapping out Derrick Jones Jr. for Larry Nance Jr in a three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. Nance will be a good fit for the Trail Blazers, but they didn&rsquo;t add nearly enough to improve to the extent that they&rsquo;ll compete in the Western Conference.&nbsp;
Takeaway: Not worth it. Portland should get very creative, and fast &ndash; or risk losing Lillard.
Miami Heat: $3.039 million over
It seems like Miami is perpetually either in contention or one piece away from it. After a surprise trip to the NBA Finals in 2019-20, the Heat very well may have added that piece in Kyle Lowry. They also stole PJ Tucker away from Milwaukee, and kept their core intact. The Heat&rsquo;s cap situation gets very tricky in a few years, and it&rsquo;ll get even tricker if they sign Tyler Herro to a long-term extension; but for now, you can&rsquo;t blame Miami for going for it.
Takeaway: Worth it, for now.&nbsp;
Washington Wizards: $2.104 million over 
The Wizards had themselves a good offseason. They turned Russell Westbrook into Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Montrezl Harrell, and they added Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday. Still, the Wizards are going to have to play incredibly well just to qualify for the playoffs, and that&rsquo;s not what teams paying the luxury tax hope to accomplish.
Takeaway: Not worth it, but at least they&rsquo;ll be competitive.
Toronto Raptors: $1.018 million over
The Raptors are entering a mini-rebuild. With Kyle Lowry moving on, the Raptors will look to build around Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes. They&rsquo;ll probably look to move Goran Dragic, who publicly voiced displeasure with landing in Toronto, so they&rsquo;ll likely end the year with a slightly different look.
Takeaway: Not worth it, but they could be interesting.&nbsp;
Indiana Pacers: $961,000 over
Indiana didn&rsquo;t make any major changes, and is stuck in quasi-purgatory as the Pacers gauge what their team can do. Ultimately, they will probably let results dictate their course of action. If they&rsquo;re in the playoff picture as we approach the trade deadline, they could be buyers. Conversely, if Indiana struggles, it could just as easily sell some assets.
Takeaway: Well-positioned to move under the tax threshold.&nbsp;
The luxury tax can be incredibly punitive; and, unfortunately, it impacts how teams make roster decisions. Looking beyond profitability, owners are right to demand a good return-on-investment when paying the luxury tax. No one wants to cut a big check for nothing. Be on the lookout for teams that aren&rsquo;t competitive to look to shed salary before the deadline. Conversely, teams in contention will look to add talent regardless of where they are pertaining to the luxury tax.&nbsp;

Drew Maresca examines the 13 teams in the NBA paying the luxury tax and whether their respective rosters justify the spending.

How projected NBA luxury tax-payer teams look in 2021-22

Luka Garza, the 2020-21 NCAA Player of the Year, is showing his worth during 2021 NBA Summer League. After being selected with 52nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, Garza has become a folk hero in the Sin City thanks to his outstanding performances.
A four-year starter for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Garza was one of the most productive big men on the college level in recent years. With a non-stop work ethic, wanting to always expand his game to new heights, Garza became one of the best players in college basketball over the last few seasons, winning Big Ten Player of the Year in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Garza is on the roster bubble fighting for a permanent spot with the Pistons, but his Summer League outings should be turning heads within Detroit&rsquo;s front office. Garza is stuffing the stat sheet with supreme efficiency, shooting an impressive 42.9% on three-pointers while averaging 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in only 19.8 minutes per game. He&rsquo;s rehaped his own physique to make a strong first impression on the NBA level; Garza has lost over 20 pounds since leaving Iowa.
For a player with such an illustrious college resume, Garza feels an even bigger motivational chip upon his shoulders as he fights for a roster spot.
&ldquo;I know for sure that I&rsquo;m coming out here with one mindset [that] is to win -- help my team win in any way I can,&rdquo; Garza said after the Pistons&rsquo; win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. &ldquo;I want to show everybody that I&rsquo;m a guy who can help a team win in the NBA. Obviously this is Summer League, but I feel confident I can have this positive impact on my team in the regular season as well. So, whatever role it means, I know for me it doesn&rsquo;t matter. I&rsquo;m going to get to where I want to go because I&rsquo;m going to work as hard as I can. And I feel like I&rsquo;m just really grateful and blessed the Detroit Pistons took a chance on me when, obviously, 51 other picks passed on me.&rdquo;
As a late second-round pick, Garza will need to fight for a two-way contract or a spot on the bottom of the Pistons&rsquo; regular season roster. Either way, the results Garza is showing in Las Vegas demonstrate his college success is translatable to the pros, no matter the role. In Summer League action, Garza is showcasing his potential as a multi-faceted big man who can score in bunches off the bench.
Looking ahead to Garza&rsquo;s likely future in the pros, especially early on, he will be put into a 10-15 minute role as a backup center who can adequately space the floor and continuously make the smart read on the court.
When you compare Garza&rsquo;s per-36 minute stats in summer league to his final season at the University of Iowa, they&rsquo;re very similar. Translating his proficient production onto an NBA floor is an encouraging sign for Garza in terms of maintaining a long-term roster spot in Detroit or elsewhere:
Summer League (four games): 24.5 points, 15 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 blocks
Iowa Senior Season: 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks
&ldquo;Good results happen when you put in the work,&rdquo; Garza said.
After the Pistons traded Mason Plumlee on draft night to the Charlotte Hornets, they drafted Garza at No. 52 overall as a depth big who will compete with Jahlil Okafor for backup minutes behind Isaiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk.
Pistons GM Troy Weaver should give Garza a legitimate look at a small role within their rotation next season. For a team with little chance of making the playoffs, potentially right back near the top of the lottery odds, the Pistons have little to lose by seeing what they could have with Garza. We&rsquo;ve already seen what Okafor can provide, and it may not be enough for him to maintain a roster spot over Garza. This has the makings of a battle that will sort itself out throughout training camp and the preseason.
In the meantime, Garza is making it very interesting for Detroit. If the Pistons hit on a long-term reserve big, it&rsquo;s another feather in the cap of a strong offseason put together by Weaver.

NCAA National Player of the Year Luka Garza is showing his success in college was no fluke during NBA Summer League action.

Luka Garza is showing he belongs in the NBA

"Eight Mile Rock solid." That&rsquo;s what I said of the Bahamian-born Buddy Hield.
Selected with the sixth overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, Hield immediately became the torchbearer for an entire generation of Caribbean-born basketball players who long dreamed of translating their dominance on the track to the hardwood.
Although scores of first-generation Caribbean players had found stardom in the United States and in Canada, Caribbean nationals have seldom found success in the NBA, much less as lottery picks.
That is, <a href="https://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-sunday-buddy-hield-defying-the-odds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">until Hield</a>. Hailing from a town called Eight Mile Rock in the Bahamas, Hield&rsquo;s hope was that scores of others would take the baton from him and sprint toward the winning post.
Deandre Ayton has.
Ayton&rsquo;s basketball story is one littered with the exact same obstacles and blessings as his fellow countryman who was drafted two years before him. But as a key member of the Western Conference Champion Phoenix Suns, he's experienced a higher level of success.
Ayton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. To some, he may have seemed like just another big man in a long line of those selected first overall, but the Caribbean-born Ayton&rsquo;s selection became a beacon of hope not only for the Bahamas, but for the Caribbean at large. The region is still relatively untapped, though the NBA has slowly begun to come around to the fact that the area is a basketball-talent goldmine.
At Barclays Center on the night of the 2018 NBA Draft, dozens of Ayton&rsquo;s friends and family were in attendance, as were throngs of media from his native Bahamas. And when we eventually sat down for a one-on-one conversation, Ayton&rsquo;s messaging to me was clear&hellip;
I&rsquo;m not the best of us. And I hope to open the door for the entire Caribbean community.
As the Phoenix Suns arrive on the precipice of their first-ever NBA Championship, that mission is far from accomplished, but it&rsquo;s safe to say that Ayton has done all that he can to ensure that the well-kept secret gets out.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of them,&rdquo; Ayton told me in 2018 when asked about other talented players in the Caribbean.
&ldquo;Yeah, there&rsquo;s a lot, especially in basketball. Guys just need the opportunities.&rdquo;
With Chris Paul and Devin Booker helping to show him the way, Ayton has made the most of his. He enters Game 5 of the 2021 NBA Finals averaging 15.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.0 block while shooting 68.1% from the field during the 2021 postseason &mdash; his first playoff appearance and coming-out party.
It&rsquo;s safe to say that Phoenix probably wouldn&rsquo;t be in this position without Ayton's efforts. Paul and Booker have said as much.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ayton223_lg.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="404" />
Looking back on our sitdown in 2018, it&rsquo;s difficult to ignore his messaging and his motivation.
&ldquo;I think it was in the pre-draft, when they were doing the lottery for the teams, I was saying &lsquo;Hey, you know, there&rsquo;s times where I just wanna go back and not have people have to leave the Caribbean to exceed their goals,&rdquo; he said back then.
And since then, he&rsquo;s quietly dedicated himself to bringing attention down to the Antilles &mdash; the same attention that eluded him for far too long.
One of the major turning points for him, he recalled, was attending the Basketball Without Borders camp in Toronto in 2016. There, aside from receiving instruction and inspiration from Yao Ming, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Rui Hachimura, Frank Ntilikina, Thon Maker and others. The neophytes all hoped to make it in the NBA. Some have succeeded, many haven&rsquo;t.
Nonetheless, the experience opened Ayton&rsquo;s eyes, in a number of ways.
&ldquo;I met Yao Ming, that was the exciting part of it,&rdquo; Ayton recalled in 2018. &ldquo;I played with different players, you had kids my age, 14, 15, that were playing pro and you know their IQ and the way how they handle themselves was way more mature, and you wanna be mature too. If a kid is your age and you see his swag on and off the floor, being around players helps you develop, so I just fed off of them.&rdquo;
From then to now &mdash; in just three short years &mdash; he&rsquo;s come pretty far.
The road from Nassau, Bahamas to the NBA Finals has been long, but it has been as inspiring for those coming behind Ayton as it&rsquo;s been fulfilling for him.
&ldquo;As a foreigner, it&rsquo;s not gonna be easy,&rdquo; Ayton said of the journey. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of trials and tribulations, you just gotta keep pushing&hellip; If you really wanna succeed in your craft, you will be successful.&rdquo;
Ayton recalled some of the struggles he encountered along the way, and as he looked forward to becoming a force in the league, he looked back at them with a smile.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy&hellip; Especially if you&rsquo;re coming out the Bahamas young," Ayton said. "People mess with your accent, there&rsquo;s all types of trolls around you, and if you&rsquo;re not good starting out, people are gonna doubt you and put you down.&rdquo;
He encountered the doubters. He heard people question his desire to be great and whether he could help anchor a championship contender. Those questions have now been answered. Emphatically.
&ldquo;You just gotta find some type of motivation that can give you an outlet and just have you keep going. Basketball is my outlet, so when I&rsquo;m not in [a good] mood, I just play basketball. It&rsquo;s something to do to get your mind off of [negative] things,&rdquo; he said back then.
For those who have been around Ayton from the beginning, his growth has been appreciable. And with the arrival of Chris Paul, he has the opportunity to play with a point guard who has a long legacy of maximizing and effectively utilizing his big man. Ayton now joins a long list of big men that includes David West, Tyson Chandler, Emeka Okafor, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Clint Capela &mdash; all of whom enjoyed some of their most productive years playing alongside the Point God.
In a league where guards dominate the ball more than ever, perhaps we all now realize what&rsquo;s been missing for Ayton &mdash; someone who can effectively and consistently set the table.
In his own right, though, Ayton has developed the skills necessary for a big man who wishes to succeed in today's NBA, which embraces switching on the defensive end and floor-spacing on offense. He&rsquo;s unusually quick and nimble for a man his size and is a better-than-advertised midrange shooter.
As he enters next season &mdash; the final year of his rookie contract &mdash; win or lose in these Finals, the Suns will have an important decision to make with respect to the investment they wish to make in the big man.
Ayton, to his credit, has made it a rather easy decision.
Nonetheless, as he approaches stardom in the NBA as well as the most elusive goal, a championship, through it all, he hasn&rsquo;t forgotten where it all began &mdash; on an outdoor court in Nassau.
Dreaming of becoming one of the few Caribbean-born NBA champions, Ayton&rsquo;s journey is really just beginning.
Already having traveled pretty far &mdash; in a number of ways &mdash; that&rsquo;s perhaps what&rsquo;s most inspiring.

Deandre Ayton's success with the Suns has become a beacon of hope not only for the Bahamas, but for the Caribbean at large.

From the Bahamas to the NBA Finals, Deandre Ayton shouldered the load

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

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

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today.&nbsp; He is the third player to win the annual award with Charlotte, joining Larry Johnson (1991-92) and Emeka Okafor (2004-05).
Ball received 84 first-place votes and earned 465 total points from a global panel of 99 sportswriters and broadcasters.&nbsp; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards received the other 15 first-place votes and finished in second place with 309 points.&nbsp; Sacramento Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton finished in third place with 114 points.&nbsp; Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.&nbsp;
Ball averaged 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.59 steals in 28.8 minutes in 51 games (31 starts), leading all rookies in assists and steals and ranking second in points and rebounds.&nbsp; He is the seventh rookie to average at least 15.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.50 steals in a season since steals became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season, joining Magic Johnson (1979-80), Penny Hardaway (1993-94), Steve Francis (1999-00), Chris Paul (2005-06), Michael Carter-Williams (2013-14) and Ben Simmons (2017-18).&nbsp; Ball was one of two NBA players to reach all four of those averages this season, along with Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler.
On Jan. 9, Ball recorded 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against the Atlanta Hawks at 19 years, 140 days old, becoming&nbsp;the youngest player in NBA history to have a triple-double.&nbsp; In other standout performances, Ball posted a career-high 34 points, eight assists and zero turnovers against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 5 in his third career start, and he had 30 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 1.&nbsp; Despite missing 21 games with a wrist injury, Ball finished with the second-most assists (313) and third-most three-pointers made (92) by a rookie in Hornets history.&nbsp;
Ball was selected as the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in each of the first three months of the season (December/January, February and March).&nbsp; He was also named to the U.S. Team for the 2021 NBA Rising Stars rosters.
Charlotte selected Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.&nbsp; Ball played for the Illawara Hawks of Australia&rsquo;s National Basketball League during the 2019-20 season, where he was named the NBL Rookie of the Year.
The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award are below:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/roy2.png" alt="" width="749" height="215" />

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has won Rookie of the Year, reports ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

LaMelo Ball wins 2020-21 Rookie of the Year award

Before dismissing the Washington Wizards as a fluke team with no chance of advancing, ask yourself this: Who are the two best players in the Washington-Philadelphia first-round series?
The easy answer is Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The unpopular answer is Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, because Westbrook is polarizing and Beal has been playing on one good leg.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between, so the important question to ask is this: Who has had the better spring?
Westbrook has had seven triple-doubles this month, just missing an eighth Thursday night as Washington took apart the Indiana Pacers, 142-115, in their play-in game for the eighth seed in the conference. He will now go up against Simmons, whose last triple-double was March 17 in an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, one of four triple-doubles Simmons put together this season.
Westbrook has had four of &lsquo;em since May 8, folks, and broke Oscar Robertson&rsquo;s career record while accumulating 38 of them this season. So dismiss him and his Wizards at your own peril.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some tough guys in this locker room that I believe in,&rdquo; said Westbrook, who tossed his sneakers into the crown with just over four minutes left when this one had long since been decided. &ldquo;Hopefully we can shock the world.&rdquo;
What was astonishing about Thursday night was the severity of the beating Washington put on the Pacers, who failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2014-15. They have not won a single playoff game since the first round in 2017-18, and although the absence of Caris LaVert (health and safety protocols) Myles Turner, T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb (injuries) are a huge part of the explanation for their lost season, Indiana now appears to be the clubhouse leader in the race to determine which franchise will go nuclear in the offseason.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
But back to the Wizards, who will be counted out by those prone to hyperbole.
Before jumping on that bandwagon, consider the fact that Westbrook has 106 career playoff games on his tires, along with the exact type of competitive spirit that Philly coach Doc Rivers has been working all year to harness from Embiid, a finalist for MVP, and Simmons, a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year.&nbsp;
In their three matchups this season, Westbrook shot 10-for-19 on March 12, 8-for-18 on Jan. 6 and 9-for-22 on opening night, as the Wizards lost three times.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NaAG4vNwJeE" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
But March 12 was eons ago, and it should be noted that what we have seen from Washington since April 7 is 18 wins in 24 games. You know who can match that winning percentage over that same span? Only one team, and if you knew it was the New York Knicks, congrats on staying engaged during this strangest of NBA seasons.
But aside from win-loss percentage, even the Knicks cannot stand up to the Wizards&rsquo; points per game (123.9), field goal percentage (49.8%) and points in the paint production (60.5). All are the best in the entire NBA since April 7.
A big part of that has been Westbrook, who has carried the team over the final part of the regular season as Beal has struggled with a hamstring injury. Beal had 25 points in just 28 minutes Thursday night, and big contributions came on the defensive end from Alex Len and Daniel Gafford in making Domantas Sabonis work extra hard for each of his 19 points.
Gafford had five blocks in the first half and finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in what will be remembered as his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-daniel-gafford-washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-bradley-beal-tony-falce-arkansas-razorbacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coming-out game</a>. Len, now in his eighth season after switching teams five times since being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, is headed to the postseason for the first time. Lots of folks have given up on him already, but he is one of the guys still standing this season.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not always easy, but none of our coaches can say anything bad about any of our guys because they compete real hard every night,&rdquo; said Brooks, who recalled &ldquo;knowing what we were getting&rdquo; when Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard pulled the trigger on the deal that sent John Wall to Houston for Westbrook.
Brooks recalled how Westbrook addressed the team midseason and angrily told his teammates he was determined not to miss the playoffs, saying that was likely the moment when everyone on the Wizards sort of jumped aboard the resiliency bandwagon and put their 17-32 record behind them.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Brooks was especially appreciative of the noise produced by the crowd of roughly 5,000 fans, which was the largest and loudest crowd in the nation&rsquo;s capital since&hellip; oh, never mind. Jan. 6 is not an important day in Washington basketball history. April 7 is, because that is the day that the Wizards&rsquo; season turned around.
Beal has nine years in the bank along with 40 career playoff games as the guy who by far is the longest-tenured member of the organization when it comes to the roster. Beal has been around long enough to have been teammates with the likes of Earl Barron, Nene Hilario, Shaun Livingston, Emeka Okafor, Andre Miller, Drew Gooden and Al Harrington. The 27-year-old finished second to Steph Curry in scoring at 31.3 points per game. Curry averaged 31.98 in the closest scoring race since Carmelo Anthony (28.66) topped Kevin Durant (28.15) in 2012-13.
The Wizards were the third-highest-scoring team in the NBA and took more free throws per game (20.1) than anyone. They were among the teams hit hardest by COVID-19 early in the season (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-washington-wizards-troy-brown-jr-bradley-beal-russell-westbrook-outbreak-covid-19-coronavirus-virus-contract-health-safety-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as covered here in this behind-the-scenes piece by former Wizard Troy Brown Jr.</a>), and they had a front-row seat for all of the histrionics that have taken place in the District of Columbia since 2020 turned into 2021.
They are still standing, led by Westbrook, Beal and Brooks, an NBA lifer who kept a jersey from every single NBA team he ever played for. He is tight with Westbrook, whose competiveness should not be underestimated, Brooks warned.
Let&rsquo;s see what happens vs. Philly, but one guarantee: With the way the Wizards have been playing the past six weeks, they are not going to be an easy out.
&ldquo;In Boston, I was terrible; I let my teammates down,&rdquo; Westbrook said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some tough guys in this locker room that I believe in. Hopefully we can shock the world.&rdquo;

The Washington Wizards are a different team from the last time they took on the Philadelphia 76ers, writes Chris Sheridan.

Do the Wizards have a shot against the Sixers?

Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 16 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls kept their play-in chances alive with an 108-94 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
Zach LaVine scored 30 points as the Bulls (29-39) moved within 2 1/2 games of the Indiana Pacers (31-36) for the last Eastern Conference play-in spot.
&ldquo;We know the challenge right now, and we came in with a lot of energy,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;We've got to keep playing like this if we want a chance to keep our season alive.&rdquo;
Chicago, which also got 21 points from Coby White, had lost five of six.
&ldquo;Those three really work well together, especially the way Coby and (Vucevic) have learned how to play off each other,&rdquo; Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. &ldquo;I'd still rather have games where we have seven guys in double figures than relying just on those three, but they got it done tonight.&rdquo;
Detroit, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games, played without leading scorer Jerami Grant (knee) and point guard Cory Joseph (ankle). Rookies Killian Hayes (21 points), Saddiq Bey (20) and Isaiah Stewart (19) combined for 60 points and 21 rebounds.
&ldquo;This is a step forward in the development of this team,&rdquo; Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;It's still a loss, and we need to get to a point where we are turning these games into wins, but we had a lot of young players do nice things tonight.&rdquo;
Hayes and fellow rookie point guard Saben Lee both played more than 30 minutes, with Hayes spending time at shooting guard.
&ldquo;I love being out there with Saben and being off the ball,&rdquo; said Hayes, who finished with a career high in points along with eight assists, seven rebounds and seven turnovers. &ldquo;It's a different way to let me attack defenses and we work well together.&rdquo;
Chicago outshot the Pistons 54.5% to 37.5% while building a comfortable 57-39 halftime lead. LaVine had 16 points while Vucevic added 14 points and nine rebounds.
&ldquo;I thought our defense was really good in the first half,&rdquo; Donovan said. &ldquo;We are definitely a better team than we were at the start of the year. I wish it hadn't taken this long.&rdquo;
The Pistons were within 15 at 83-68 at the end of the third quarter, but never seriously threatened in the final 12 minutes.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Swept the three-game season series with Detroit and have now won seven straight against the Pistons.
Pistons: G Frank Jackson did not return after leaving the game in the first quarter with a right ankle injury.
YOUNG OFFENSE
Detroit got 85 of its 96 points from rookies, with Lee (13) and Tyler Cook (12) also reaching double figures. Jahlil Okafor was the only player older than 23 to score for Detroit.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night as the Bulls try to earn a play-in spot.
Pistons: Host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in a game with draft lottery implications for both teams.
&mdash;
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

With the win, Chicago moved within two-and-a-half games of the Pacers.

ND