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Heat

Nekias Duncan breaks down the 2022 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors from a multitude of angles.

2022 NBA Finals Scouting Report: How the Celtics and Warriors match up

The NBA is undergoing an epiphany on positional value, much like the NFL has begun to re-evaluate modern-day running backs. Since positions are becoming less and less important and versatility is the name of the game, what&rsquo;s next for NBA centers?
Centers are slowly but surely being phased out, aside from some rare exceptions. Long gone are the Roy Hibbert-archetype bigs who patrolled the paint with slow-footed speed. The upgraded version looks more like Rudy Gobert in Utah, producing at an even higher level. But even with Gobert, long-term questions have arisen due to his bloated super-max salary.
If Gobert&rsquo;s on-court value is diminishing as well, which bigs will be deemed worthy of a lucrative second contract? It&rsquo;s an elite club where the positional value more than outweighs the price tag: Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo top the list. For all other centers, will they be worth their price in the long run?
For the Phoenix Suns, a $100-plus million decision awaits on Deandre Ayton, their only No. 1 overall pick in franchise history. Does Ayton deserve to be mentioned among those names, or does he fall a tier or two below? Ayton is an anchor of the Suns&rsquo; historic defensive turnaround under head coach Monty Williams, plus his soft touch on the offensive end already brings super efficient scoring value too.
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The Suns and Ayton&rsquo;s representation are about to enter an awkward period, and it seems like the odds of Ayton playing elsewhere next season are increasing. Do the Suns believe Ayton is worth a max-level contract? Does Suns general manager James Jones believe Ayton can be on the same tier as an Adebayo or Gobert?
Based on Ayton's usage within Williams&rsquo; system (19.8% usage rate since 2020-21), Phoenix&rsquo;s need to reconstruct the roster for more wing-based scoring as well as the big man's own desire to be a more featured piece on offense (plus his desire for a max deal), I wouldn't be surprised if Ayton&rsquo;s days with the Suns are numbered.
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One could argue that Ayton would be even more valuable if he were to leave Phoenix and sign elsewhere. In another situation &mdash; in Detroit with Cade Cunningham, for example &mdash; giving Ayton the max would be an acceptable allocation of resources that benefits both parties. However, in the Suns&rsquo; system, I don&rsquo;t believe Ayton is worthy of max-level money.
A fatal flaw that prevents Ayton from being mentioned in the top tier of big men is his lack of self-creation ability, which he's failed to develop throughout his first four seasons with the Suns. According to Cleaning The Glass, 74.8% of Ayton's shots have been assisted on in his career. Compared to his max-salary counterparts, Ayton is nowhere close on self-creation capabilities. And at this point, I have serious doubts that this will ever become a consistent part of his game during his upcoming prime years.
Percentage of FGs Assisted in 2021-22
Deandre Ayton: 81%
Rudy Gobert: 72%
Nikola Jokic: 62%
Karl-Anthony Towns: 62%
Bam Adebayo: 61%
Joel Embiid: 54%
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 43%
The NBA&rsquo;s elite big men buck the trend of super small-ball and three-point-shooting barrages because they bring unique traits to the table.&nbsp;Antetokounmpo and Embiid can simply punish any defenses that are thrown at them. Jokic&rsquo;s demigod-like ability to run an offense and be its primary scoring engine speaks for itself. Towns is one of the greatest perimeter-shooting bigs of all-time. Adebayo&rsquo;s defense and playmaking versatility, coupled with his recent development as an on-ball creator, raise his value. Gobert&rsquo;s price tag is a tough pill to swallow, especially later on, but he&rsquo;s one of the most impactful rim-protectors we&rsquo;ve ever seen (while also providing efficient scoring around the rim).
Ayton is a very good basketball player, but he fails to emphatically check any of the boxes that the other max bigs do. He brings immediate value as a scoring threat and rim-protector, with a rare ability to easily rack up 20-and-10 outings like it&rsquo;s nothing. His stat line shows that there&rsquo;s real promise if he is fed like a primary offensive hub, but that&rsquo;s not going to happen in Phoenix.
The Suns are moving away from the inside-out approach in favor of outside-in, a modern flip of the script that likely provides some insight into how they view centers. JaVale McGee was an excellent free-agent addition for Phoenix last summer, and he ended up putting up nearly identical numbers to Ayton on a per-36-minute basis:
Ayton: 21.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 blocks, 65.6 TS%
McGee: 20.9 points, 15.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.5 blocks, 65.1 TS%
McGee is another example where working within the Suns&rsquo; system, especially playing alongside Chris Paul and Devin Booker, brings immense improvement on the margins. From the Suns&rsquo; perspective, would they rather just pay McGee $5 million again and add a difference maker elsewhere for the same price as Ayton? For example, would it make more sense to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-deandre-ayton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bring aboard a unique modern fit in Jerami Grant via a sign-and-trade deal</a>? There&rsquo;s no doubt that these discussions are ongoing for the Suns, because this decision will decide what direction the team is heading in the post-CP3 era.
As a restricted free agent, Ayton is heading toward a negotiation standoff with Phoenix. If the organization doesn&rsquo;t view him as a max-level player, expect to see the Suns&rsquo; offer come in around a similar annual value as Al Horford ($27.8 million) or Nikola Vucevic ($25.0 million). John Collins provides a recent example of restricted free agency leading to a cheaper payday, as he signed a five-year, $125 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 offseason.
For Ayton, it seems like a lock that he'll get a max contract from some front office. The Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers are all expected to show interest once free agency's moratorium period opens on July 1. Will Phoenix try to pull off a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-deandre-ayton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign-and-trade to bring back some win-now pieces</a>? If another team extends a max-level offer sheet, would the Suns match it or let him walk? These are the big questions entering this offseason.
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Another angle that is falling under the radar is how the Suns view Ayton&rsquo;s motor. Will Ayton continue to improve his game or eventually become an albatross contract a few years from now?&nbsp;
&ldquo;Definitely getting to my second contract; that&rsquo;s my success,&rdquo; Ayton said before being drafted by the Suns.
Throughout Ayton&rsquo;s career in Phoenix, teammates like Paul, Booker and Mikal Bridges have had to keep him locked in throughout games to ensure he's playing at a certain intensity level. They have even mentioned it during press conferences. When Ayton is locked in, he&rsquo;s one of the most dominant two-way bigs in the NBA. The issue is his inconsistency and those moments where he loses focus. It's unclear why this occurs, but there are some games where it's apparent in the first few minutes whether it will be a positive or negative outing for the big man. If there are concerns about Ayton&rsquo;s motor, that will also enter this discussion.
Jones and Williams know more about Ayton's work ethic and motor than just about anyone given all the time they've spent with him behind the scenes, so we'll see if this factors in to their decision.&nbsp;
The drive to be great and the sheer will to refuse failure are what separate great players from good ones. Does Ayton possess this trait to become one of those exceptions to the rule for non-floor spacing bigs within the modern NBA?
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This year&rsquo;s Finals matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics further paints a picture of spacing and wings/on-ball creators buttering the bread of success nowadays. For their bigs, the postseason usage rate is a tell-tale sign of letting the perimeter-oriented stars cook (Al Horford: 13.0 USG%, Robert Williams: 13.0%, Kevon Looney: 11.2%). Can the Suns rely upon Ayton to be a player who takes over 20% of their offensive possessions? If it&rsquo;s a hit-or-miss proposition in their eyes, Ayton will be looking for greener pastures within the next six weeks.
As an elite finisher around the rim who also excels in pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations, Ayton already brings a rock solid baseline for a floor. When you add in his supreme athleticism for his position, it brings even more intrigue as a two-way force. Entering into his age-24 season in 2022-23, what&rsquo;s the next step for Ayton? If there&rsquo;s not much room left for Ayton on the developmental curve, a max contract shouldn&rsquo;t be coming his way from Phoenix.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s so divisive here,&rdquo; Suns owner Robert Sarver told BasketballNews.com in April about Ayton&rsquo;s future in Phoenix. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s improved each year, helps us both on the defense and the offense. I think offensively, you see this year he&rsquo;s taken another good step in terms of his touch and his ability to score around the basket. So, he&rsquo;s been a key part of what we&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;
Ayton averaged 17.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.7 blocks for the Suns this past season. In an environment where he's more heavily featured, those numbers likely rise closer to 22-23 points and 12-13 rebounds per game. Is that the way to go though?
Welcome to the new evaluation process of great, non-transcendent bigs. Ayton is the first case study, and this expensive decision that's on the horizon is going to change the Suns&rsquo; future one way or another.
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With centers becoming the NBA's version of running backs, is Deandre Ayton worthy of a max deal? Evan Sidery explores.

Should Suns give Deandre Ayton a max deal? Positional value says no

Changes are coming in Minnesota.
Fresh off a 46-36 campaign and competitive first-round exit, the Timberwolves have already gone swinging. There's a new sheriff in town, with former <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nuggets-tim-connelly-to-become-wolves-president-of-basketball-ops" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly joining the team</a> in a similar role. The price was huge: a five-year deal worth north of $40 million and&nbsp; &mdash; and! &mdash; equity in the organization, per The Athletic. It's a monstrous deal with the potential for more &mdash; a deal, as my Dunker Spot co-host <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Jones Jr.</a> described on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our latest episode</a>, that the Nuggets weren't likely to match.
There's obvious intrigue in Connelly's move to Minnesota, namely him leaving a successful division rival that currently rosters a back-to-back MVP in Nikola Jokic to do so. But the interest for me has come with the reporting around the move. Take this passage from The Athletic's <a href="https://theathletic.com/3320881/2022/05/18/timberwolves-tim-connelly-president-basketball-ops/?source=emp_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania</a> as negotiations were heating up between the two sides.
<blockquote>
Leaving the two-time MVP for upstart Minnesota would be a bold move. But the Timberwolves do have a pair of building blocks in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, promising young talent in Jaden McDaniels and Jarred Vanderbilt, a coach who is revered throughout the organization and an ownership group that appears to be motivated to invest in the organization.
</blockquote>
Hmm... notice anyone missing? Also, the "ownership group that appears to be motivated to invest" portion could be seen as subtle shade toward the organization that was on track to lose Masai Ujiri (killing it in Toronto since 2014) and Connelly due to being outbid.&nbsp;
And how about this one, from Krawczynski and Charania again, after the <a href="https://theathletic.com/3326241/2022/05/23/tim-connelly-wolves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deal was done</a>?&nbsp;
<blockquote>
There are reasons beyond financial for him to be optimistic about the situation in Minnesota. Connelly will be taking over a team with two stars in Towns and Edwards, promising young players in Jaden McDaniels and Vanderbilt and a top-notch coach in Chris Finch, who spent one season working with Connelly in Denver as an assistant on Malone&rsquo;s staff. D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had a strong season before struggling in the playoffs and Patrick Beverley asserted himself as a tough, veteran leader for a young group.
</blockquote>
Ah,&nbsp;there's&nbsp;the name. But you see why my brow is raised, right? Towns and Edwards represent the core. McDaniels and Vanderbilt are the young pieces dubbed to grow alongside them. The 26 year-old Russell &mdash; one of Towns' best friends making north of $30 million this season &mdash; went from not being mentioned at all in the lead-up piece, to essentially getting a throw-in line with Beverley in the update five days later.
Oh, it doesn't help that Jordan McLaughlin was closing out playoff games while a healthy Russell watched in Round 1. Add in the fact that Russell's future has <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/03/report-timberwolves-will-attempt-to-trade-dangelo-russell-this-offseason/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already been questioned</a>, and I think it's fair to assume what the big&nbsp;roster&nbsp;swing for the Wolves will be.&nbsp;
Any team acquiring him will be on the hook for over $31 million next season, though that's the only&nbsp;year left on Russell's deal.&nbsp;
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WHAT RUSSELL BRINGS
Russell remains a smooth operator. He's a proactive passer, one who's able to see and&nbsp;fire into a gap before most players know what's happening. You'll see it with his transition hit-aheads, as well as some of the reads he'll make in pick-and-roll.
And about pick-and-roll: Not many players blend pull-up shooting and high-level passing like Russell does. You can't afford to duck under against him, or drop your big back too far. He will absolutely waltz into jumpers. Once he gets hot, you're forced to press up &mdash; and that opens up even more passing windows for him.
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Russell was one of 31 players to receive at least 1,500 on-ball picks this season, per Second Spectrum. Russell-led ball screens were good for nearly 1.03 points per possession (PPP), a top-10ish mark in NBA among high volume ball-handlers.
You can thank the jumper for that &mdash; Russell converted 37% of the pull-up threes he attempted out of pick-and-roll, per InStat tracking. For comparison, that put him in line with high volume pull-up artists like Stephen Curry (38.9%) and Trae Young (37.0%).
(Also: Shout out to Darius Garland for bombing away at a 42.5% clip. That guy's getting paid.)&nbsp;
LIMITATIONS
Russell is what I'd describe as a two-level scorer. He's comfortable firing from deep, and he's able to snake and hunt shots around the elbow area with the best of them. Rim pressure is... simply not his thing. Only 16% of Russell's shots came at the rim last season, a mark that ranks in the 16th percentile per Cleaning The Glass. (Not great!)
And as someone who rarely got to the rim, Russell didn't draw many shooting fouls either. The lack of "easy points" lends to a boom-or-bust nature in Russell's game. His pull-up jumper is a legit weapon, but things kinda crater for him if it isn't falling in a way that isn't helpful for your&nbsp;lead&nbsp;ball-handler.&nbsp;
I think a truth has become (more) clear &mdash; Russell needs to be paired with a ball-dominant rim threat to get the best out of him.
That was the intrigue around Edwards taking more of a lead role in the second half of the season. In theory, Edwards ability to touch the paint on any given possession would lead to easier catch-and-shoot &mdash; or catch-and-drive &mdash; opportunities for Russell. A team trading for Russell should have a similar infrastructure in place.
Defensively, Russell found his home as a middle linebacker. Most teams rely on their primary rim-protector to call out coverages and actions. For Minnesota, that responsibility was Russell's. It was an odd dynamic, but one that worked. He was often seen and&nbsp;heard barking out instructions while he zoned up behind the action.
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I remained worried about him in more conservative defensive schemes. Russell isn't the quickest laterally. And while he's improved a bit from his rookie season (I'd hope so!), screen navigation remains an issue for him overall.
With the Wolves, Russell was blessed with the opportunity to roam off-ball (his ideal role) while having the screen navigation issues limited due to his big hedging ball-screens with him. If Russell's dumped into a drop scheme, the onus flips back on him to stay attached to ball-handlers. That could be a tricky bet.
LANDING SPOTS
Due to Russell's contract and the context needed to unlock him on both ends, it's hard to imagine 20+ teams blowing up the phones in Minnesota. There are a few teams that:
1) Make theoretical sense for Russell's game
2) Have the contracts to at least get conversations started
The New York Knicks have been searching for a calming presence at point guard for ages; at the very least, a guy that can grease the wheels of an offense with pick-and-roll play. While an in-house option is staring them in the face &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explain-one-play-young-knicks-playing-chess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I'm with you, Knick fans</a> &mdash; it wouldn't shock me to see the Knicks take a flier on a talent like Russell, especially if it doesn't cost a core piece.&nbsp;
The contracts of Alec Burks, Derrick Rose, and Nerlens Noel get you in the ballpark of Russell's number. The Knicks have the Mavericks' first rounder in 2023 &mdash; a likely low 20s pick &mdash; to toss in if the Wolves don't think that's enough.
In theory, you'd have Russell playing off the rim-battering of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle. Maybe you get a more unlocked Randle with someone that can thread the needle on tight-window passes more consistently.&nbsp;
The Wolves would be able to bolster their depth, adding some rim pressure (Rose), movement shooting (Burks) and a big that can do work in an aggressive scheme (Noel). The Knicks losing the latter would be buffered by the retention of Mitchell Robinson and the likely growth from Jericho Sims.
Quick question: Who's the best passer for the Los Angeles Clippers? Follow-up question: How many names did you list before naming an actual guard? The combined deals of Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard get you in the door. I can hear arguments about that already being too much for L.A. I'd argue that Russell gives you more on the playmaking front, gives you more size in the backcourt and helps your defense without tapping into your wing depth. Again, there's at least a conversation to be had.
If you're looking to pair Russell with a ball-dominant rim threat, how about Luka Doncic and Dallas? At worst, Russell could serve as a buffer to Jalen Brunson signing elsewhere. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dwight Powell would give the Wolves the movement shooting, plus big-man depth combination to bolster their supporting cast. I'd argue the Mavericks may have to throw in a pick, though they're a little light on that front.
Lastly, would you rather have Russell or Cole Anthony? Actually, don't answer that.
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Nekias Duncan looks at potential landing spots for Wolves guard D'Angelo Russell this offseason.

Examining potential trade destinations for D'Angelo Russell

TyTy Washington Jr. remembers being in awe gazing at the banners in Madison Square Garden as he watched the New York Knicks meet the Cleveland Cavaliers and the feeling he had two days later when Kentucky faced Duke at the famed arena.
Something else he won&rsquo;t forget? The reaming he got from coach John Calipari when the team watched video in the Hall of Famer&rsquo;s basement the next day.
&ldquo;He came up to me, he was like, &lsquo;Kid, you don&rsquo;t play hard enough&rsquo; and just started going in on me,&rdquo; Washington said Thursday at the NBA draft combine. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had coaches go in on me, but I&rsquo;ve never had a coach tell me I don&rsquo;t play hard.&rdquo;
Those experiences were invaluable to Washington, whether it was the feeling he had just being at The Garden or the feedback he got from Calipari after playing poorly in Kentucky&rsquo;s season-opening loss. And he&rsquo;s banking on them to help him make the jump to the NBA.
The college game can offer opportunities that aren&rsquo;t available through other avenues, with the exposure through TV deals and the NCAA Tournament and all that comes with it. The burgeoning name, image and likeness chances that were created last year when the NCAA&rsquo;s Board of Directors cleared the way for college athletes to start earning money without endangering their eligibility or putting their schools in jeopardy of rules of violations are another incentive for top prospects.
Options remain overseas and in the G League Ignite. A new basketball league called Overtime Elite offers top high school players a path to the pros along with six-figure salaries. Two from there &mdash; Dominick Barlow and Jean Montero &mdash; got invitations to the combine compared to three from NCAA champion Kansas.
Though the winners of the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player Award the past four years did not play college ball, with Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic repeating after Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo won it two years in a row, the top prospects in the draft next month went the NCAA route. Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren, Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero, Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith and Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey are likely to go in the top four.
&ldquo;The NCAA is changing a lot,&rdquo; Wisconsin All-America guard Johnny Davis said.
The NIL is a major game-changer.
Banchero worked with Creative Artists Agency and got deals that included becoming the first player featured in the latest NBA 2K video game as well as a basketball trading card from Panini as part of a multi-year agreement. He&rsquo;s about to make more money in the NBA, and he&rsquo;s hardly the only one.
&ldquo;I think college basketball is in a good state right now,&rdquo; said Michigan State guard Max Christie, a Chicago-area product.
He mentioned the quality of the players as well as the impact the NIL is having, even if it wasn&rsquo;t a big factor for him.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to turn down money at some point,&rdquo; he said.
Washington said this year&rsquo;s draft shows, &ldquo;You can still go to college, still do your academic stuff and still be in the same position as everybody else who didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
The NIL, he said, helps &ldquo;a lot.&rdquo;
&ldquo;With us being able to make money off our names now, it should encourage more people to go to college,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;If you are an outgoing person, you can also succeed in (NIL), in school and in basketball. I feel like that&rsquo;s three huge wins in life.&rdquo;
Washington had opportunities to play in Australia and the G League. But once Calipari and Kentucky entered the picture, he couldn&rsquo;t see himself going anywhere else.
Washington averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds while starting 29 of 31 contests in his lone college season. The play-making guard also broke John Wall&rsquo;s single-game school record for assists with 17 against Georgia.
Washington missed three Southeastern Conference games because of injuries and scored just five points in Kentucky&rsquo;s loss to Saint Peter&rsquo;s in the NCAA Tournament East Region first round. But he also smoothed things out after a bumpy beginning.
Washington flashed back to that video session following the Duke game and how the energy changed once Calipari entered the basement. He said he never had a coach tell him he wasn&rsquo;t playing hard. But Calipari backed it up by showing clips of him walking up the court.
The next practice wasn&rsquo;t much fun, either.
Calipari pushed the team hard and made sure everyone knew exactly who was responsible.
&ldquo;He was like, &lsquo;Y&rsquo;all know why I&rsquo;m doing this, y&rsquo;all know who I&rsquo;m doing this for.&rsquo; Everybody&rsquo;s just looking at me,&rdquo; Washington said. &ldquo;From that day on, I felt that definitely helped me because that just opened up my eyes.&rdquo;

College can offer opportunities unavailable through other avenues, with the exposure through TV and the NCAA Tourney and more.

NBA prospects see value of college despite other options

The Minnesota Timberwolves are talking to Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly about their vacant president of basketball operations role, The Associated Press has confirmed.
The talks were confirmed by a person familiar with the discussions, who spoke with AP on condition of anonymity because neither franchise is commenting publicly. The talks were first reported by The Athletic.
Connelly is one of the NBA's rising top executives. He has built the Nuggets into a perennial playoff team that is expected to compete for a championship next season if Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. can return to health and rejoin <a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-nba-sports-nikola-jokic-6b7dc34c311b6810ec67c76ee2208c2d">two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic</a> on the court.
Connelly, who succeeded Masai Ujiri as the Nuggets' prime decision-maker in 2013 when Ujiri left to run the Toronto Raptors, has been courted before, by the Washington Wizards for their president of basketball operations position in 2019.
He's built both a solid roster and a respected front office in Denver, where the Nuggets have reached the playoffs the last four seasons under coach Michael Malone, including the Western Conference Finals in the Orlando bubble two years ago.
They <a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-nba-sports-jamal-murray-nikola-jokic-98c0c6136a8c3b14423c54f889a09a5d">won 48 games</a> in 2021-22 despite the absences of Murray (knee) for the entire season and Porter (back) for all but nine games before losing to Golden State in the first round of the playoffs.
In addition to losing Ujiri, the Nuggets lost front office executive Arturas Karnisovas in 2020 when he left to take the Chicago Bulls' executive vice president job. Karnisovas' departure led to the promotion of Calvin Booth from assistant GM to general manager in Denver.
The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9d7a219a489c09c76fcd763eeed7041d">Timberwolves also are a resurgent team</a>, coming off a season in which they doubled their win total from the previous season to 46. They pushed the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies hard in a six-game first-round playoff loss.
That was only the second appearance in the playoffs for the club in the last 18 years. With Karl-Anthony Towns inside and Anthony Edwards outside, there is an enviable foundation in place on the floor.
The Wolves have had plenty of turnover in the top front office job over the years, mirroring the franchise&rsquo;s tumultuous and largely unsuccessful history.
They fired Gersson Rosas right before training camp began last fall in response to mounting tension around him in the building. Sachin Gupta was promoted to be president of basketball operations in Rosas&rsquo; place, with the caveat that the position would be evaluated again this summer.
Gupta drew raves within the organization for his humble, steady leadership, notably from head coach Chris Finch. The franchise is currently in an ownership transition, with Glen Taylor in the process of handing over control to co-buyers Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez in a sale that&rsquo;s scheduled to be completed by the end of next year.
If the Wolves were to hire Connelly, or anyone from outside the organization, Gupta would more than likely be given the chance to stay with the team in a prominent position.
___
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed from Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves are talking to Nuggets president Tim Connelly about their vacant president of basketball operations role.

Report: Timberwolves in talks with Nuggets' Tim Connelly

Every year, the NBA Draft Combine rolls around and offers opportunities for both fans and scouts alike to overreact to physical testing. Some around the league put a lot of stock into measurements, while others do not. The eye of the beholder takes each test into account in his or her own way.&nbsp;
Our Sr. NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock is in Chicago at the NBA Draft Combine, and he shared his thoughts on the testing process: &ldquo;I certainly value the anthro testing and learning the basic measurements of draft prospects, as possessing positional size is an essential part of a player's typical recipe for success. I was particularly impressed by the measurements of Duke's Mark Williams and Mega Basket's Nikola Jovic.&rdquo;
Here are a few of my own takeaways from anthro testing:
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/mark-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Williams</a>, Duke
Mark Williams measured in at 7-foot without shoes and added a 7-foot, 6.5-inch wingspan. These, along with his 9-foot-9 inch standing reach put him in some rare air among past prospects. Don&rsquo;t expect him to be on the board too long next month.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/walker-kessler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walker Kessler</a>, Auburn
Similar to Williams, Walker Kessler measured in at 7-foot and 1.25 inches without shoes and posted a 7-foot, 4.25-inch wingspan. His 9-foot-5 inch standing reach was shorter than Williams', but his rim-protection is still a simple projection to the next level, as he was one of the best in the country.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/nikola-jovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikola Jovic</a>, Mega Basket
Nikola Jovic is a skilled, confident teenager who shows <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/former-nba-scout-breaks-down-nikola-jovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">great promise in the NBA</a>. He measured in at 6-foot-9, 0.25 inches without shoes with a 7-foot wingspan. These are great measurables for the wing/forward as he looks to solidify himself as a first-round pick this week.
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jalen-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jalen Williams</a>, Santa Clara
Jalen Williams led the day in wingspan differential at +9.75. He stands 6-foot, 4.5 inches without shoes and has a 7-foot, 2.25-inch wingspan. Along with his pick-and-roll potential and shooting prowess, he&rsquo;s a fascinating prospect to track this week.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/moussa-diabate-michigan-wolverines-on-the-rise-2022-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moussa Diabate</a>, Michigan
It remains to be seen if Moussa Diabate will stay in the 2022 NBA Draft, but after measuring in at 6-foot, 9.25 inches without shoes and posting a 9-foot, 1.5-inch standing reach with 2.7% body fat, the confidence in him as a prospect is solid regardless of when he declares.
Leonard Miller, Fort Erie International Academy
Leonard Miller is a fascinating, talented, mostly-unknown prospect as we head into the draft. He&rsquo;s skilled and shows great promise as a two-way player, and measured in at 6-foot, 8.5 inches without shoes to go along with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. Solid numbers from the young Canadian. Certainly one to follow this week.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/collin-gillespie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collin Gillespie</a>, Villanova
Collin Gillespie recorded the shortest wingspan of the day at 6-foot-4, and also measured in at 6-foot, 1.5 inches without shoes. While he&rsquo;s a proven winner and projects well as a reliable backup guard at the next level, these numbers are worth noting.
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Derek Murray highlights key observations from the anthro testing portion of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.

2022 NBA Draft Combine: Takeaways from anthro testing

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Golden State's defense held Luka Doncic in check, and the Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-87 on Wednesday night for a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Doncic scored 20 points but shot just 6 for 18 and 3 of 10 from deep. He made back-to-back 3-pointers late in the first half to get his team within 54-45 at the break, but Curry and Klay Thompson helped the Warriors pull away in the second half.
Jalen Brunson scored 14 points but missed all five of his 3s for the surprising Mavs, who stunned the top-seeded Suns in a 123-90 thumping in Game 7 on Sunday in Phoenix.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Friday night at Chase Center, where the raucous, yellow-clad sellout crowd brought back memories of that 2007 &ldquo;We Believe&rdquo; Warriors playoff team that shocked the No. 1-seeded Mavericks in a six-game first-round upset at Oracle Arena.
That helped propel Golden State back to prominence. The Warriors reached five straight NBA Finals from 2015-19 but missed the playoffs the past two years before this run. Now, they're one win closer to getting back to the big stage.
Andrew Wiggins added 19 points, getting Golden State going by making six of his first eight shots on the way to shooting 8 for 17.
Doncic received a scratch across his face early from a first-quarter swipe by Wiggins. The mark went from the bridge of his nose across his right cheek under the eye. Donic also tugged at his troublesome right shoulder that has been taped previously during these playoffs.
Stopping Doncic is the tall task this time after the Warriors already handled two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic in the first round, then Ja Morant early last series before his knee injury.
Curry hit two quick 3s in sparking a 10-2 burst to begin the third for a Golden State squad that eliminated Memphis in a six-game semifinal series. Thompson scored all of his 15 points after halftime, his first of the game on a layup at the 10:22 mark of the third after missing his first four shots.
Curry, last season's scoring champ, missed his initial five 3-point tries &mdash; four in the first &mdash; before connecting with 50 seconds left in the first half when he was 1 for 7. But he got involved other ways by dishing out four assists and grabbing seven rebounds in the first half.
Kevon Looney remained in the starting lineup for Steve Kerr as the coach made his return to the bench after sitting out the final three games against Memphis with COVID-19.
Looney finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists after coming in to start in the Game 6 clincher against the Grizzlies.
Coach Jason Kidd&rsquo;s Mavericks couldn't keep up in a drastic contrast of styles featuring the slow-paced Dallas attack and up-tempo Warriors.
&ldquo;We would like to play our pace but the Warriors have a unique pace, they're going to get out and put a lot of pressure on your defense in transition," Kidd said. "We have to be cautious of that. We don't want a track meet.&rdquo;
MAVS FINED
Dallas received a $50,000 fine by the NBA &mdash; the team's second penalty this postseason &mdash; for &ldquo;team bench decorum&rdquo; during the Suns series after players and a member of the coaching staff remained standing for extended time far enough from the bench area that they were &ldquo;encroaching upon the playing court during game action&rdquo; during Game 7 against the Suns.
&ldquo;Just trying to figure out what we did wrong to get the fine,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;... Who complained? It was a blowout so I don't think the fans were complaining. I thought the guys did what they were supposed to do. They were cheering on their guys.&rdquo;
The previous fine against the Mavs was for $25,000 on May 6.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Reggie Bullock shot just 4 for 12 &mdash; 3 of 10 from long range &mdash; for 12 points. ... The Mavericks were outrebounded 28-18 in the first half as Curry led all players with seven.
Warriors: F Otto Porter Jr. returned after missing Game 6 with soreness in his right foot and contributed 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes, one of seven Warriors to score in double figures. ... Golden State, which averaged 19.2 turnovers per game last series, had six in the first half leading to 11 Dallas points and 15 overall. &ldquo;I'm confident we'll get that straightened out,&rdquo; Kerr said pregame. ... Golden State improved to 7-0 at home this postseason. ... The Warriors are 21-2 in Game 1s since their 2015 title run that ended with the franchise's first championship in 40 years. ...

Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was a blowout, as Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors won 112-87.

Curry's 21 points, 12 boards lead Warriors in Game 1, 112-87

For those who don't know, when I am not living the dream as an NBA writer at BasketballNews.com, I moonlight as a law school student at the venerable Michigan State University. (Sidebar: That&rsquo;s also where I got my undergraduate degree. We bleed green for life here, folks).
Over my first year of law school, I like to think I learned a thing or two. However, the bit of information I will rely upon the most as I continue my journey as an analyst is my experience with the argumentative technique of concessions.
Before we continue, a quick vocabulary lesson: The term concessions, as it pertains to argumentative literature, means:
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2022-05-13-at-10-55-08-am_lg.png" alt="" width="562" height="370" />
*Source: SuperSummary.com
This technique is highly prevalent in legal arguments. It&rsquo;s basically the lawyer saying, &ldquo;Yeah, this, this and this may be in the opposition's favor, but my client should win because of this, this and this."
In legal situations, seldomly does one come across a fact pattern that 100% favors their client. There&rsquo;s almost always some small piece that they end up having to heed to their opponent. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean they lose because, in the law, you don&rsquo;t need a bulletproof case to win. You just need to present enough evidence to meet the standard of review necessary for victory in that jurisdiction.&nbsp;
In many ways, the NBA playoffs are like a legal argument. In order to advance, you don&rsquo;t need to best your adversary in every singular component of the game. You just need to beat them four times in a best-of-seven series.&nbsp;
Such conditions open the door to the possibility of concessions. In the NBA, teams are too damn good for one team to completely stymie all their sources of income, so teams need to strategically pick and choose which aspects they will hone in on stopping and what aspects they are willing to concede.&nbsp;
To further paint this illustration in your mind, let&rsquo;s go over some overarching examples of concessions in this year&rsquo;s playoffs.
No Middle For You
After DeMar DeRozan decided it was time to stop playing Mr. Nice Guy and lit the Bucks up for 41 points in Game 2 of the first round, Milwaukee decided it was not going to let him get <a href="https://streamable.com/jnedo4">two feet in the paint</a> anymore.&nbsp;
So, the Bucks chose to turn to <a href="https://medium.com/the-basketball-dictionary/ice-f9ea7d7d7d51">ICE pick and roll coverage</a> on ballscreens featuring DeRozan and his co-star teammate, Zach LaVine.&nbsp;
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The hallmark feature of this alignment is that the point-of-attack defender forces the ball-handler to reject the screen and lures them towards the sideline, in the process hindering their quest for the interior.
Defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau is <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/07/29/nba-experts-break-down-strengths-of-knicks-tom-thibodeau/">often credited with popularizing this configuration</a>, but the coverage does come with an inherent fatal flaw.&nbsp;
You&rsquo;ll notice in the above plays that the player defending the screener has to sink back into a drop position, which helps protect the interior. But it leaves them vulnerable <a href="https://streamable.com/ac24oq">if the screener decides to pop out for a three-pointer</a>.&nbsp;
The Bucks knew such a shot was a necessary evil in order to execute their gameplan, so they decided to concede this shot to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explaining-why-we-need-to-appreciate-screening-more">Bulls&rsquo; most prominent screener</a>, Nikola Vucevic.&nbsp;
To his credit, Vucevic has developed into a pretty solid outside shooter over the last couple of years, but this season he regressed to a <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/202696/shots-dash">32.6% conversion rate on wide-open attempts</a>.&nbsp;
The Bucks were willing to surrender these open looks to Vucevic over having DeRozan and LaVine knife their way into the paint. They did the &ldquo;Yeah, but&rdquo; thing. Yeah, you&rsquo;re going to get open threes with Vucevic, but your two best players won&rsquo;t be able to collapse our defense with drives to the paint. Ultimately, this argument worked for Milwaukee, as they held the Bulls to a 91.1 offensive rating over the final three games of the series. For reference, the 1964 Boston Celtics posted a 90.9 offensive rating.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;ve also seen Dallas turn to this <a href="https://streamable.com/o9h6my">defensive philosophy</a> a little more against Phoenix, and it&rsquo;s contributed to their ability to claw their way back into that series.&nbsp;
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Can&rsquo;t Do it Alone
Although the sample size is small, Nikola Jokic experienced a dip in his usual assist rate and an increase in his field-goal attempts from the regular season to the playoffs.
Nikola Jokic Regular Season v. Postseason Stats (Per 100 Possessions)
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 47.9111%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 17.2029%;">&nbsp;</td>
<td style="width: 2.66546%;">Assists*</td>
<td style="width: 9.80786%;">FGA Attempts*</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 17.2029%;">Regular Season</td>
<td style="width: 2.66546%;">11.6</td>
<td style="width: 9.80786%;">26.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 17.2029%;">Playoffs</td>
<td style="width: 2.66546%;">8.4</td>
<td style="width: 9.80786%;">30.7</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Source: Basketball Reference
This change is a byproduct of the Warriors' decision to concede Jokic&rsquo;s individual scoring brilliance in order to mitigate the value of his playmaking.
Golden State did this by playing him straight up in most instances and largely avoiding sending a second defender to dig or stunt at the ball until they were certain he had built up the conviction to score.&nbsp;
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This (and Draymond&rsquo;s prodigious defensive abilities) helped the Warriors limit the amount of <a href="https://streamable.com/cln6xv">double team, kickout, swing, swing power play sequences</a> and forced his motley crew supporting cast to create advantages for themselves. Of course, the Nuggets couldn&rsquo;t manage to do this, and the jury reached a 4-to-1 verdict in favor of the Warriors.&nbsp;
Concessions Don&rsquo;t Always Work
There are plenty of times when an opponent miscalculates the depth of their opponent's powers and lets the wrong person burn them.&nbsp;
For instance, the Minnesota Timberwolves opted to <a href="https://medium.com/the-basketball-dictionary/show-f1461d61b8">hedge/blitz</a> ballscreens captained by Ja Morant, which means after the low man rotates over, they were conceding the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdILqIRFh0A">weakside corner skip pass</a> (please click this hyperlink, Manu is so cool, man).
In these spots, Coach Taylor Jenkins was wise to make sure that the person waiting in that corner was none other than <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/desmond-bane-and-the-truth-about-the-nba-playoffs">Desmon Bane</a>.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" src="https://streamable.com/e/g30mal" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Bane eviscerated the Timberwolves to the tune of 23.5 points on 67.3% True Shooting, and in the end, many cite his contributions as one of the main reasons Minnesota couldn&rsquo;t pull off the Cinderella upset against Memphis.
In this round, the Grizzlies&rsquo; prerogative over the first three games of the series was to try and limit the Warriors' perimeter opportunities, which led to them getting absolutely throttled in the <a href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2022/05/nba-playoffs-how-the-golden-state-warriors-are-beating-the-memphis-grizzlies-at-their-own-game/">points in the paint battle</a>.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the Bucks&rsquo; decision to concede relatively open catch-and-shoot threes in order to let Brook Lopez and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/slowing-giannis-the-wall-still-the-way">Giannis Antetokounmpo</a> protect the paint led to the Celtics torching them from downtown in Game 2 (shooting 46.5% from three). This shooting forced the Bucks to switch from allowing more open catch-and-shoot threes to them forfeiting over more lightly-contested pull-ups (which the Celtics also figured out how to exploit in Game 5, but that&rsquo;s for a different article).&nbsp;
As we continue to project the outcomes of playoff series until we move to Mars (I am shagging back on Earth if that happens), it&rsquo;s important that we stop and ask ourselves a few questions: What is each team willing to concede to the other? What are the consequences that come with these concessions? And, most importantly, can they endure these consequences and put together a strong enough counterargument to warrant progressing to the next round?
Huh. Maybe law school isn&rsquo;t so bad after all.&nbsp;
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A big part of NBA Playoff success is practicing the art of making concessions, which some teams have quite well this postseason.

The NBA Playoffs and the art of concessions

After the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the 2022 NBA Playoffs on Thursday night, Joel Embiid was asked about the disappointing play of James Harden, who finished with just 11 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Embiid, who is never afraid to speak candidly, replied: "I'm sure since we got him, everybody expected the Houston James Harden, but that's not who he is anymore."
It's through that pragmatic prism that the Sixers and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey must approach the most pressing offseason issue in Philadelphia: How much is Harden worth?&nbsp;
Make no mistake, Harden is still an elite NBA player. In the 21 regular-season games he played for Philly after arriving in the blockbuster deal with Brooklyn, he averaged 21.0 points, 10.5 assists, 7.1 assists, 2.2 treys and 1.2 steals. The only other players to average at least 20/7/7 over the second half of the season were Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Dejounte Murray and Nikola Jokic.&nbsp;
However, Harden's numbers dipped in the postseason when he posted 18.6 points, 8.6 dimes and 5.7 boards per game, while shooting below 41% from the floor. He also averaged 4.2 turnovers. The Beard all but disappeared in Thursday's season-ending loss, taking just two shots over the entire second half.&nbsp;
(It's worth noting that the relationship between Ben Simmons and the Sixers fractured after the team and city seemed to pin last year's loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Simmons, who sinfully passed up an open lay-up. Yet, in that Game 7 loss to Atlanta, Simmons finished with 5 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds and just 2 turnovers, to go along with a +1 plus/minus. In Game 6 on Thursday, Harden finished with 11 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and was -16. Simmons made one shot in the second half of Game 7, or one more than Harden in Game 6).
Watching him this past season, it became abundantly clear that Harden didn't have the same explosive first step that made him arguably the league's most lethal offensive weapon at the peak of his prime. (Harden has scored more points than anyone in the league over the past decade and is the last player not named Giannis or Nikola to win an MVP award).
Harden also shot a career-worst from three-point territory (32.6%) and on <a href="https://www.nba.com/player/201935/james-harden">lay-up attempts (49%)</a> in 2021-22. And according to ESPN Stats and Info, Harden blew by his defender on just 29% of his drives this past season (down from 44% in 2019-20).
When asked if he plans to stay in Philadelphia, Harden gave a short response.
"I'll be here," Harden declared, adding that he would do "whatever it takes to help this team continue to grow."
Well, that's where things get very interesting.&nbsp;
Harden has until June 29 to make a decision regarding his player option for the 2022-23 campaign, which is worth $47,366,760. If he opts in, he would be eligible to sign a four-year extension worth a whopping $233 million.
Here's an annual breakdown of what that max contract would look like:
2022-23: $47.4 million (opt-in) 2023-24: $49.7 million&nbsp; 2024-25: $53.7 million 2025-26: $57.7 million&nbsp; 2026-27: $61.7 million&nbsp;
Summing it all up, that brings the five-year total to a mind-boggling $270+ million, which would be the largest contract in NBA history.
Harden will turn 33 in August and will celebrate his 37th birthday before the start of the 2026-27 season. Recently, we've seen players such as LeBron James and Chris Paul play at an extremely high level on the wrong side of 35, but it's crucial to remember that those athletic freaks are the exceptions to the rule. Most players begin to break down in their mid-30s. Over the last two seasons, Harden has missed 39 games due primarily to nagging hamstring issues.
Committing to pay Harden north of $60 million at age-37 would be a nightmare, bordering on organizational malpractice. But would Harden be willing to meet the Sixers halfway, or might he dig in and back Morey into a corner? Considering all that the Sixers gave up to acquire him (Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks), Philly can't afford to let Harden leave via free agency. Even if Harden walked out the door in July, the Sixers would still have more than $105 million in salary on the books for next season. Wasting the window of Embiid's prime would be catastrophic to the franchise.
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If Harden did opt-out, he would be an unrestricted free agent and could sign a four-year deal with another club for roughly $200 million. However, only three clubs (Detroit, Orlando and San Antonio) are projected to have significant cap space, and it's doubtful any of the three would be interested in maxing out Harden (and it seems unlikely that The Beard would have any interest in joining a rebuilding team).
The Sixers could explore some sign-and-trade or extend-and-trade possibilities (the Los Angeles Lakers could make some sense for all parties involved), but that would require Harden agreeing to join his fourth team in the past 24 months.&nbsp;
The ideal scenario for Philly is bringing back Harden at a reasonable rate. On "<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6RVNT4C0NVrxqGFJ2BXC7P" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic NBA Show</a>" podcast earlier this month, reporter Sam Amick stated that Harden might be willing to sign for less than the max. 
"When the Sixers got him, their intel was that he would potentially be willing to take less," <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6RVNT4C0NVrxqGFJ2BXC7P">Amick said</a>. "And obviously, you know, nobody knows him better than Daryl."
The critical question, of course, is how much less is Harden willing to take?&nbsp;
For the Sixers, they have to look forward, not back. As Embiid sagely explained, "Everybody expected the Houston James Harden, but that's not who he is anymore." Morey and Co. have to determine how much Harden will be worth over the next five years based on the current version of The Beard, not what he would have been worth had he hit the open market three years ago.&nbsp;
All of this makes for a very interesting and unpredictable summer in the City of Brotherly Love.&nbsp;
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Should the Sixers give James Harden a max contract this summer? Tommy Beer breaks down Philadelphia's tough decision.

Giving James Harden a max contract could cripple the Sixers

Joel Embiid took a shot to the face that not even his mask could help him absorb. He went down in a heap and stayed on the court in pain until he could compose himself.
Game 5 would get worse in so many ways for Embiid and the 76ers.
There was the Heat&rsquo;s 35-point win that pushed them to the brink of a series win. Embiid was completely banged up. His thumb. His eye.
Add a bruised ego.
Embid, the NBA scoring champion, craved the MVP award that went to Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic for the second straight season. Embiid was an MVP finalist for the second straight season &mdash; but fell short again of the NBA&rsquo;s highest regular-season individual honor.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s two years in a row I put myself in that position,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t happen. It&rsquo;s almost like at this point, it&rsquo;s whatever. Last year, I campaigned about it. This year, I answered questions when I was asked. In the next few years until I retire, to me, I don&rsquo;t know what else I have to do to win it. It&rsquo;s whatever. It&rsquo;s about focusing, not that I wasn&rsquo;t focusing in the bigger picture, but it&rsquo;s really time to really put all my energy into the bigger picture, which is to win the whole thing.&rdquo;
Hold up, retire in the next few years?
OK, that&rsquo;s a topic for down the road, or at least the end of this season which could come for the Sixers as early as Thursday night. The Heat hold a 3-2 series lead after a blowout Game 5 win. The Phoenix Suns also lead the Dallas Mavericks 3-2 on the strength of a 30-point Game 5 victory.
The good news for the 76ers and Mavericks, Game 6s are both at home.
The bad?
The percentages are not in their favor.
Teams in NBA history that win Game 5 for a 3-2 series lead wind up advancing 82.2% of the time.
Embiid and the 76ers, and Luka Doncic and the Mavericks look to stave off elimination and move on with Game 7 wins and advance to the conference finals.
The home team has won every game in both series. The Suns lost in the NBA Finals last season.
&ldquo;At a certain point, it just comes down to grit. Want to,&rdquo; Suns guard Chris Paul said.
Thursday&rsquo;s games:
HEAT AT 76ERS
Heat lead 3-2. Game 6. 7 p.m. EDT, ESPN
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: Blowout city. The 76ers lost Game 1 by 14 points, Game 2 by 16 and Game 3 by 35. Yikes. How low could they go if they lose again to Miami? Should the Heat build an early double-digit lead, keep an eye on the Sixers. Will they let the game get out of hand or put up a fight and force Game 7?
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: James Harden. &ldquo;The Beard&rdquo; showed in Game 5 a sensational Game 4 was more an aberration in his short tenure with the Sixers than something to build on for the postseason. Harden has 46 turnovers in the postseason and was a whopping minus-29 in Game 5.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Easy. Embiid. If injuries continue to wear down the center, the Heat will likely win the series. And history says, Miami will win in a blowout.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Let&rsquo;s flip a coin. Heads, 76ers. Tails, 76ers. Hey, it&rsquo;s the 76ers! Lose and the season is over. Win, and maybe, just maybe, a healthy-ish Sixers team can pull out a Game 7 win on the road. After all, the Hawks did it to Philly in the second round last season.
SUNS AT MAVERICKS
Suns lead 3-2. Game 6. 9:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Mavericks have been sloppy. Dallas, which had a season-low nine assists in Game 5, committed a mind-boggling 12 turnovers in a third quarter (33-14) that decided Game 5 and could end up deciding the series. The Suns had a 17-0 run in the quarter.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Doncic. He was terrible from 3-point range again (2 of 8 after 1 of 10 in Game 4). The difference was, he assisted on eight of the 20 Dallas 3s in Game 4. He had 11 assists in Game 4, two in Game 5.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Suns F Torrey Craig (right elbow contusion) was available to play in Game 5.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Dallas. The supporting cast failed Dallas again, or Dallas failed in getting them involved. Doncic and Jalen Brunson combined for 40 shots. The secondary scorers who have been so important in various victories combined for just 16. Spencer Dinwiddie&rsquo;s struggles continues. He was great in a couple of games without Doncic in the regular season, and good in the first three games against Utah. Since, he&rsquo;s averaging 8.5 points and shooting 34%. ___

The Sixers and Mavs are both in win-or-go-home situations against the two top seeds in the NBA on Thursday night.

76ers, Mavericks try and stave off elimination in Game 6

NEW YORK &ndash; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.
This is the second Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Jokić, who also earned the honor last season. &nbsp;He becomes the 13th player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Steve Nash and Bill Russell.
Jokić received 875 points (65 first-place votes) from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid finished in second place with 706 points (26 first-place votes). Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo finished in third place with 595 points (nine first-place votes), followed by Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker in fourth place with 216 points and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić in fifth place with 146 points. &nbsp;Players received 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote.
This is the first time that both the top three and four of the top five finishers in voting for the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award are international players, with Jokić (Serbia), Embiid (Cameroon) and Antetokounmpo (Greece) comprising the top three and Dončić (Slovenia) joining them in the top five. &nbsp;Jokić is the second European player to win the award more than once, joining Antetokounmpo, the MVP in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
In his seventh NBA season, Jokić averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.47 steals and 0.85 blocks per game, setting career highs in each category except assists (second highest). &nbsp;Jokić, who played 74 games and averaged 33.5 minutes, ranked sixth in the NBA in points, second in rebounds, eighth in assists, 12th steals and 33rd in blocks per game. &nbsp;He led the league in total rebounds (1,019) and total defensive rebounds (813). &nbsp;His career-high 58.3 field goal percentage was eighth highest in the NBA.
Jokić, 27, became the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season and the first player to average at least 25.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in a season. &nbsp;He led the NBA in triple-doubles with 19 and double-doubles with 66, both single-season records for a Nuggets player.
Jokić earned his fourth consecutive NBA All-Star selection and second straight All-Star start. &nbsp;He twice was named the Kia NBA Western Conference Player of the Month (January and March/April) and the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week (Jan. 24 and April 4).
Behind Jokić, the Nuggets (48-34) qualified for the NBA Playoffs presented by Google Pixel for the fourth consecutive season. &nbsp;With Denver trying to clinch a playoff spot late in the season, Jokić averaged 35.7 points, 16.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.14 steals in his final seven games.
The Nuggets selected Jokić with the 41st overall pick during the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. &nbsp;Last season, he became the lowest-drafted player to win the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award with the exception of three-time recipient Moses Malone, who was not selected in the NBA Draft.
Jokić will be presented with a special edition 75th Anniversary commemorative trophy today in celebration of the honor, gifted in addition to the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award trophy, which he will receive later. &nbsp;The commemorative trophy, composed of a solid crystal basketball, features the NBA 75 logo 3D laser etched and suspended within its center.
The voting results for the 2021-22 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award are below. &nbsp;The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young LLP. &nbsp;Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/mvp-voting-results-5-11-22_lg.jpg" alt="" width="739" height="262" />

This is the second NBA Most Valuable Player Award for Jokić, who also earned the honor last season.

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić wins 2021-22 NBA Most Valuable Player award

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which is scheduled for May 18-20 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago.
The 2022 NBA Draft Combine is an important step in the draft process for NBA prospects, leading up to 2022 NBA Draft on June 23.&nbsp;
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games, shooting drills and strength-and-agility drills from May 18-20. Coverage of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine begins Thursday, May 19 on ESPNews from 3-5 p.m. ET and transitions to ESPN2 from 5-7 p.m. ET. The coverage continues on Friday, May 20 from 1-2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 2-5 p.m. ET on ESPNews.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-field-of-44-draft-prospects-for-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 16-17 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.
Here is the complete list of expected attendees for this year's NBA Draft Combine (and check out <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> to see where each player is projected to go):&nbsp;
<table style="font-weight: 400;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="832">
Player (College/Club)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Justin Lewis (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Paolo Banchero (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Marjon Beauchamp (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matthew Mayer (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Hugo Besson (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bryce McGowens (Nebraska)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Malaki Branham (Ohio State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Leonard Miller (Fort Erie Intl. Academy [Canada] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Braun (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Josh Minott (Memphis)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kendall Brown (Baylor)
</td>
<td width="442">
Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
John Butler Jr. (Florida State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jean Montero (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Max Christie (Michigan State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Keegan Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
</td>
<td width="442">
Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
</td>
<td width="442">
Gabriele Procida (Fortitudo Bologna [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
JD Davison (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Moussa Diabate (Michigan)
</td>
<td width="442">
David Roddy (Colorado State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Ryan Rollins (Toledo)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Khalifa Diop (Gran Canaria [Spain] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Dereon Seabron (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jalen Duren (Memphis)
</td>
<td width="442">
Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Tari Eason (LSU)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Smith (Auburn)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Keon Ellis (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jeremy Sochan (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Collin Gillespie (Villanova)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matteo Spagnolo (Cremona [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
AJ Griffin (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Hardy (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Dalen Terry (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Walker (Colorado)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Harrison Ingram (Stanford)
</td>
<td width="442">
TyTy Washington Jr. (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
</td>
<td width="442">
Peyton Watson (UCLA)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td width="442">
Blake Wesley (Notre Dame)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Nikola Jovic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Alondes Williams (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jalen Williams (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ismael Kamagate (Paris [France] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Jaylin Williams (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trevor Keels (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Mark Williams (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Walker Kessler (Auburn)
</td>
<td width="442">
Trevion Williams (Purdue)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Koloko (Arizona)
</td>
<td width="442">
Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which takes place May 18-20 in Chicago.

NBA announces 76 prospects who will attend 2022 NBA Draft Combine

Let me be clear: Nikola Jokic had a great season.
He averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, and the 19 triple-doubles he recorded this past year actually ranks seventh all-time in NBA history. Nobody can deny his level of production this season.
In fact, statistically, Jokic was top-10 in the league in points, rebounds and assists per game. He carried the Denver Nuggets to a 48-34 record, which is an incredible feat&nbsp; &mdash; especially without two key players in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
(Editor's Note: Jokic has reportedly won the 2021-22 NBA MVP award for the second straight season, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/woj-nuggets-nikola-jokic-wins-mvp-for-second-straight-year-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per ESPN</a>.)
So before I get into what I have to say, this is no slight or disrespect to Jokic in any way, shape or form.
The NBA has never had co-MVPs in the regular season. There have been plenty of times when there was a strong case for it, but it's never actually happened.&nbsp;
With that being said, what Joel Embiid accomplished this year was worthy of at least strong consideration for co-MVP, if not winning the MVP award flat-out by himself.&nbsp;
Embiid led all scorers in the NBA with 30.6 points per game, which hasn&rsquo;t been done by a center since Shaquille O'Neal did it in the 1999-2000 season (and subsequently won the MVP award).
Embiid also averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. According to NBA Stats, the Philadelphia 76ers' opponents shot just 39.4% in the paint and 40.6% from mid-range when <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/opponent-shooting/?CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*Joel%20Embiid&amp;DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;PerMode=Totals&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Embiid was the one guarding them</a>.&nbsp;
The 28-year-old big man also produced a league-best 13 games with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds this season, and he was the Sixers' leading scorer in 57 of the 69 games he played.
And throughout all of the Ben Simmons/management drama, Embiid kept the team focused and on task, and literally carried the 76ers to their 51-31 record this season.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g5MU4JYa1tY" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
It&rsquo;s important to note that, throughout Embiid&rsquo;s career, there have been many people who have written him off due to injuries that were beyond his control, questions of whether he was in shape, management issues of his own and a host of other issues. But this season, he proved all of his doubters wrong.
Not to mention, while Denver barely avoided being swept by the Golden State Warriors in the first round, the 76ers have managed to tie their series against the Miami Heat at two games apiece; it's mostly due to the fact that Embiid somehow miraculously returned to play after missing the first two games of the series with a broken thumb, a right orbital fracture and concussion sustained in the first round.
In fact, Embiid's return for Game 3 against the Heat was still up in the air 40 minutes prior to tip-off, and the team was consequently fined for <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-fines-76ers-50k-for-not-disclosing-joel-embiids-injury-status" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not disclosing his status</a> &ldquo;in a timely manner." But according to multiple sources, Philadelphia honestly didn&rsquo;t know if Embiid was going to be able to play. He had spent the entire week feeling groggy from his concussion. He told reporters that he couldn&rsquo;t even read his cell phone. On top of that, his broken thumb is still in need of surgery.
But Embiid wore his black mask and pushed through all of the pain and injuries to sacrifice his body for the team, and willed his 76ers to victory. He didn&rsquo;t just have an inspirational entrance where the crowd erupted when seeing him run through the tunnel; he also played 36 minutes, racked up 18 points and 11 rebounds and kept his team afloat when it was down 0-2 and in danger of being swept.
In Game 4, Embiid tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds as the 76ers again beat Miami 116-108 on Sunday night to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Again, this team was likely going to be swept by Miami in the East semifinals without Embiid, while the Nuggets were almost swept in the first round of the playoffs with Jokic.
Although the voting takes place before the playoffs, it&rsquo;s difficult to make a case that Joel Embiid&rsquo;s accomplishments and importance to his team weren't worthy of acknowledgment.
Until the 1979-80 season, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since the 1980-81 season, the award-winner has been decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for first-to fifth-place selections.
Maybe it&rsquo;s time to go back to the players voting because it appears as though the sportswriters and broadcasters got this one wrong.
At the very least, Embiid and Jokic should&rsquo;ve been co-MVPs for this season. &nbsp;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/violalogo1_lg.png" alt="" width="700" height="350" />
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Etan Thomas argues that Joel Embiid's accomplishments and importance to the Sixers shouldn't go unacknowledged.

Joel Embiid was robbed and should’ve at least been NBA co-MVP

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season, <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1523643566639108096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player for a second consecutive season, sources tell ESPN. A formal announcement is expected this week.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1523643566639108096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

ANALYSIS: It was another massive season for the Nuggets star, averaging 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists. He also showed considerable improvement on the devensive end of the court where he averaged 0.9 blocks and 1.5 steals per game.
He also became the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season.
Jokic lead the Nuggets to a 48-34 record and the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference without its other two stars in Jamal Murray &ndash; who miseed the entire season &ndash; and Michael Porter, Jr. who only played in nine games.
We'll see how close the voting was later in the week when the NBA makes the official announcement with Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo who were both finalists for the award.
AP Story by Pat Graham:
DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic put up numbers never seen before in NBA history. Not from Wilt. Not from Kareem. Not from &ldquo;Air Jordan.&rdquo; Not from LeBron.
With a historic season, the Denver Nuggets big man earned his second straight Most Valuable Player award, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. The NBA was preparing to make the announcement in the coming days, likely this week, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the voting results have not been announced.
ESPN, citing sources, first reported that Jokic would be named MVP again.
The 7-foot center became the first player in league history to eclipse 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season. And that sort of dominance by the player nicknamed &ldquo;Joker&rdquo; helped convince voters that he should be the 13th player of the NBA&rsquo;s exclusive MVP back-to-back club.
The other finalists &mdash; who will finish second and third in some order &mdash; were Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who led the league in scoring average, and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks.
The 27-year-old Jokic averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists on a team that was missing two max players in Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back). Required to carry the load night in and out, the big man from Sombor, Serbia, answered the call and guided the Nuggets to a 48-win season. They earned the No. 6 seed in the West before losing in five games to the Golden State Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just remarkable what he&rsquo;s done,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone recently said of Jokic. &ldquo;I know that I&rsquo;m very biased, I admit it wholeheartedly &mdash; the MVP isn&rsquo;t even a competition. There&rsquo;s other great players, I&rsquo;m not saying they&rsquo;re not great players, but what Nikola Jokic has done this year, with this team, with everything that we&rsquo;ve had to go through, is incredible.&rdquo;
The award is likely the start of a huge offseason for Jokic, who is eligible for a supermax extension that could guarantee him nearly $254 million over five seasons starting with 2023-24. He&rsquo;ll make $32.4 million next season.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing more important&rdquo; than keeping Jokic, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly recently said.
Jokic joins rarefied company in winning for a second straight season. The other players to win two in a row include Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, LeBron James (twice), Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (twice). Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell each won the award in three straight seasons.
Next year, Jokic will have his chance at a threepeat as well.
The award comes as no surprise to his teammates. They had a front-row seat to his performance every night.
Guard Bones Hyland posted on Twitter: &ldquo;Man.. All year I&rsquo;ve been saying it, I just woke up happier then ever like I won the award!! I&rsquo;m so proud of my boy man!! Great Player but a even better Leader &amp; Great Role model! Thanks for showing me the ropes this year Jokey! Congrats Ma Brother.&rdquo;
Former Nuggets coach George Karl posted: &ldquo;Incredible Jokic! He earned it. He was better this year than last and carried his team all season.&rdquo;
Known for his pinpoint passing as much as his soft touch, Jokic finished with a league-leading 19 triple-doubles. The 41st pick of the 2014 draft now has 76 in his career, which trails only Chamberlain (78) among centers.
After being knocked out of the playoffs &mdash; he averaged 31 points, 13.2 rebounds &mdash; Jokic was asked how he might celebrate should he win MVP.
&ldquo;Probably with some music, beer, friends around, family,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Like how you&rsquo;re supposed to do probably.
&ldquo;But if I don&rsquo;t get it, I&rsquo;m not going to die. I&rsquo;m just going to keep playing, keep trying to play the right way like I did my whole life.&rdquo;
There was a time when the Jokic was maligned for his game. More specifically, his defense and not being able to jump. His once-pudgy frame &mdash; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich good-naturedly ribbed him about it &mdash; has more strength to it.
Ever bother him that his game doesn&rsquo;t seem to generate the level of respect as other standout players?
&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t care less, brother,&rdquo; Jokic said.
He sees the court with the clarity of a point guard and has an arsenal of shots that includes smooth baby hooks around the rim and a soft 3-point touch.
Popovich had the apropos answer when asked if it was more important to take away Jokic&rsquo;s shot attempts or passes: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody has figured that out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great one.&rdquo;
Jokic cares immensely about winning &mdash; games, not hardware. He&rsquo;s not one to lobby on his own behalf, just letting his numbers do his talking. Last season when he won, he averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 boards and 8.3 assists. This season, he took his game to another level in making his fourth straight All-Star team.
&ldquo;If that&rsquo;s enough, it&rsquo;s enough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If not, you cannot control that.&rdquo;
Funny story about his MVP trophy from a season ago: A few weeks ago, he said he wasn&rsquo;t exactly sure where it was as his family moves.
&ldquo;It is here in Denver,&rdquo; Jokic recently cracked.
___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds, AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton and freelance writer Michael Kelly contributed to this report.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season,

Report: Nuggets' Nikola Jokic wins MVP for second straight year

On Friday night, Joel Embiid returned for the Philadelphia 76ers, contributing 18 points and 11 rebounds in the team's Game 3 win over the Miami Heat.
After the game, our Moke Hamilton spotted an interesting detail in <a href="https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2022/news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA.com's Game 3 recap</a>:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Very interesting&hellip; Joel Embiid may not have officially been named NBA MVP in real life&hellip; But it seems he was on the NBA Mobile App&hellip; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhoIsTheRealMVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhoIsTheRealMVP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StopPlayingBro?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StopPlayingBro</a> <a href="https://t.co/JaOi07QvPJ">pic.twitter.com/JaOi07QvPJ</a>
&mdash; Moke Hamilton (@MokeHamilton) <a href="https://twitter.com/MokeHamilton/status/1522758271181987840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

"Kia MVP Joel Embiid."
Now, it's possible that they meant to write "Kia MVP finalist," but it's an interesting error that's worth noting. Nikola Jokic seemed to be the MVP favorite after tallying the votes that were made public, but perhaps Embiid still has a shot?
This wouldn't be the first time that something like this happened: Back in January, the NBA app accidentally leaked that LaMelo Ball had been selected as an All-Star, which ended up being true.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Did the NBA just leaked LaMelo Ball as a first time All-Star? 👀 <a href="https://t.co/28yT6xFzcu">pic.twitter.com/28yT6xFzcu</a>
&mdash; League Alerts (@LeagueAlerts) <a href="https://twitter.com/LeagueAlerts/status/1487468042141540353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
UPDATE: NBA.com just updated the article to say "Kia MVP finalist Joel Embiid." When the MVP award is announced, we'll find out if it was an honest typo or an accidental leak.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/image-from-ios-3_lg.jpg" alt="" width="416" height="862" />

Did NBA.com accidentally leak that Joel Embiid is this season's NBA Most Valuable Player in their Sixers-Heat Game 3 recap?

Did the NBA accidentally leak that Joel Embiid is the 2021-22 MVP?

Michael Malone says the Denver Nuggets realize they won't transform into NBA title contenders simply by getting Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back on the court.
Denver's coach said Wednesday the Nuggets need to vastly improve on defense, whether that's through attitude adjustments or player acquisitions.
Thanks to an historic season by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets won 48 games despite Murray missing the entire season while recovering from ACL reconstruction and Porter missing the final 73 games and the playoffs following back surgery.
The Nuggets lost to Golden State in five games in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs with their two max players looking on in street clothes from the bench.
Malone called this &ldquo;<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-offseason-preview-whats-next-for-the-denver-nuggets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a huge offseason</a>&rdquo; for the Nuggets, who aim to surround Jokic with the proper supporting cast to capitalize on his prime years.
"Everybody wants to just say, &lsquo;Well, it&rsquo;s just Michael and Jamal coming back healthy.&rsquo; And that's just a starting block, but it doesn&rsquo;t end there,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;We have a window and I think windows are only open so long. We have a 27-year-old phenom who will hopefully soon be named a back-to-back MVP.
"We have to capitalize while we have a special player in Nikola and do everything that we can as an organization &mdash; and I know we will &mdash; to put the best players around him to give ourselves the best chance to win the world championship.&rdquo;
There's the draft, trades and free agency, Malone said, &ldquo;but I always tell our players they have to come back better players. We as a coaching staff have to come back and prove we can find ways to help this team.&rdquo;
That starts with becoming a tougher team to score on.
&ldquo;Our defense against Golden State was not good enough,&rdquo; Malone said. "I think we had the 16th-ranked defense in the playoffs, which is dead last."
During the season, Malone noted, Denver allowed 17&frac12; points per game on turnovers, &ldquo;so we fuel teams' breaks, we give them easy baskets."
&ldquo;And then in the half-court, our inability to guard one-on-one, contain the ball, led to a lot of rim attacks and I think we were 30th in opponents' rim field-goal percentage. We were 29th in blocks per game,&rdquo; Malone said.
&ldquo;That's a bad combination if you struggle to guard the ball on the perimeter and you don't have Dikembe Mutombo blocking shots behind you.&rdquo;
Malone said &ldquo;to be a dangerous, deep playoff team you have to have an elite defense, and that's one of the areas we have to really focus on.&rdquo;
Malone added that &ldquo;the best perimeter defenders are tough dudes&rdquo; and he has two on his roster in forward Aaron Gordon and guard Austin Rivers, a pending free agent along with center DeMarcus Cousins, guards Bryn Forbes and Facu Campazzo and forwards Vlatko Cancar, Davon Reed and Markus Howard.
Malone said his expectations for Murray and Porter next season are &ldquo;just to take it slow and not expecting &lsquo;bubble&rsquo; Jamal Murray and not expecting &lsquo;peak&rsquo; Michael Porter right away."
&ldquo;It's really an important offseason for both those guys,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;They weren't able to play this year and that was tough for a lot of people to understand. But they weren't ready, and that's all there was to it.&rdquo;
Malone said that at different times he felt both players would return to action last season, but the patience the organization displayed with them will continue next season.
&ldquo;I think tempered excitement,&rdquo; is how Malone describes his outlook next season with his stars regaining their health. "And as the season goes along they're going to get more and more comfortable. They're going to get their rhythm back, their confidence back and then they're going to get back to their old selves.
&ldquo;But that's not going to be the case come October, whenever the first game comes around. We have to have patience.&rdquo;

Michael Malone said the Nuggets need to vastly improve on defense, whether that's through attitude adjustments or player acquisitions.

Nuggets need more than healthy Murray, Porter to contend

Kevon Looney had never missed a game before he came to Golden State. Not one.
He figures that's a couple of thousand consecutive games, all the way back to youth basketball as a boy in Milwaukee.
Looney's time with the Warriors has been far different, so it's no surprise how badly he wanted to play all 82 games this season to prove to himself and everyone else that he is healthy again. He promised coach Steve Kerr he would be honest if his body ever needed a break.
<a href="https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1513379503933833216">&ldquo;Iron Man Loon," as they call him, beamed when he received the game ball from</a> the Warriors' 128-107 victory at New Orleans on April 10 that wrapped up the regular season and the big man's quest to play the full 82. Only four other players in the NBA did so this season.
"It was just good for my psyche, good for my confidence,&rdquo; said Looney, who gifted the ball to mother Victoria. &ldquo;... I wanted to put that in my head that I&rsquo;m putting all the injury stuff in the past, that I made it to this point, that I can play every game, I feel good and I don&rsquo;t have to be playing in fear.&rdquo;
Looney's emergence as a model of consistency was something these Warriors desperately needed with stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson all missing significant time &mdash; and veteran Andre Iguodala sitting out for stretches with various injuries.
That durability could become even more critical in the Warriors' physical series with the Grizzlies. Golden State has already lost Gary Payton II, who <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-draymond-green-b49c8d89dc667ca4734df9bcb42c9621">suffered a broken left elbow early in Game 2 on Tuesday after a hard foul by Dillon Brooks</a>. Game 3 is Saturday in San Francisco, with the series even at one game apiece.
Looney's interior defense and rebounding have been keys to Golden State's latest playoff run.
For five games in the first round, he muscled in the paint with reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Looney realizes his role changes this round with smaller lineups used against the Grizzlies and he is coming off the bench, vowing to &ldquo;stay ready.&rdquo;
That's how he always did it during that remarkable run of playing every game before reaching the NBA.
There were approximately 1,015 AAU games over 10 years starting in second grade. Another 20 for Samuel Morse Middle School and 100 more at Alexander Hamilton High. Then, Looney played all 36 games during his lone season at UCLA in 2014-15, when he had an NCAA freshman-best 15 double-doubles and helped the Bruins reach the Sweet Sixteen.
Early on as a pro, Looney endured his share of hard luck. He underwent surgeries on both of his hips as a rookie in 2015-16 and played just five games.
&ldquo;Missing that first season for him was tough,&rdquo; said Looney&rsquo;s longtime youth coach, Shelby Parrish, who can't even recall a single missed practice &mdash; and he served on the high school staff, too.
Looney came back for his second professional season to appear in 53 NBA games for Golden State.
A hurt hamstring kept later him out of training camp and the preseason in 2019-20, then he returned only to be sidelined again with a nerve issue. In May 2020, Looney had surgery on an injured core muscle.
Through it all, Looney longed to shed this label he felt he owned as being the injured guy. He has done that.
&ldquo;He came into the league at 18, 19, back-to-back hip surgeries to start his career,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s worked like crazy to get himself in this position and his durability this year was a key to our regular season for sure.&rdquo;
Kerr, who still takes great pride in playing all 82 games over four straight years in his career, came close to resting Looney at Toronto on Dec. 18, but the 6-foot-9 center pushed to play. Each time thereafter, Looney reassured Kerr and Rick Celebrini, vice president of player health and performance: &ldquo;I feel great."
&ldquo;I told them I wouldn't push it and be stupid about it,&rdquo; Looney said. &ldquo;They gave me that trust and I appreciate them for that.&rdquo;
Curry, who has come close on a handful of occasions to playing all 82, witnessed Looney's determination day after day.
&ldquo;Only he can probably tell you some of those games he woke up in the morning and was probably feeling it more than others and had to really drag himself to the level of availability that he wanted," Curry said, "but the fact that he accomplished that goal is so impressive."

The durability and consistency of "Iron Man Loon" has been, and will be, critical for the Warriors in a physical series with the Grizzlies.

Kevon Looney becomes model of durability for Warriors

After spending more than 20 years working as an international scout and serving as director of international scouting for the Portland Trail Blazers, Jason Filippi continues his scouting journey by evaluating players for BasketballNews.com. Today, Filippi evaluates top European prospect Nikola Jovic of Mega Basket in Serbia.
Nikola Jovic has had a very up and down season. But even as a victim of both his inconsistency and the unrelenting pressure of high expectations, he is still arguably the top international prospect in the upcoming <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> and a likely first-round pick.
Admittedly, Jovic struggled a bit early in the season, but I think he has improved a lot since then and is slowly starting to live up to expectations. In his defense, people often forget that this was his first real full season at the pro level; he only played in just a handful of games with the senior Mega Basket team at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Jovic was forced into the spotlight as an 18-year-old with huge expectations, and perhaps too much responsibility, for a kid his age. And while it is true that the Mega Basket club he plays for does everything possible to promote their young star prospects and groom them for the NBA Draft, it is also true that he had to face a lot of scrutiny &mdash; along with a significant amount of pressure &mdash; to perform.
(Editor's Note: Over 25 games in the Adriatic League [ABA], Jovic averaged 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest, shooting 42.8% from the field and 35.6% beyond the arc.)
I think that he did an excellent job keeping his focus through it all.
Early in the season, Jovic looked a bit flustered at times, and lost his confidence, swagger and cockiness. Still, he seems to have regained his "mojo" now, as he has been much more assertive over the last couple of months. And, in general, he has seen his role on the team grow since the start of the season. He has also been shooting it better, and is now looking much more confident from three-point range.&nbsp;
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Having scouted Jovic very closely over the past three years, I have witnessed firsthand his career progression, which has been quite impressive. Here is a list of accomplishments he has earned just over the past two seasons:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">MVP of 2021 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">MVP of 2021 Serbian Junior League Finals&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">MVP of 2021 Adriatic League ABA U19 Championship;</li>
<li aria-level="1">All-Tournament team at 2021 FIBA World U19 Championships</li>
<li aria-level="1">2021-22 Adriatic League Top Young Prospect</li>
</ul>
In addition, this past February, Jovic also made his debut with the Serbian senior national team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.&nbsp;
Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, Jovic is a very skilled and versatile combo forward with excellent positional size; he stands a legit 6-foot-10 with shoes, albeit with just an average wingspan. He has a long but narrow frame, and will need to add muscle to play at the NBA level. Jovic moves pretty well for his size and is very smooth &mdash; everything seems to come easy. He is not an explosive athlete, but still seems to be able to get to wherever he wants to with the ball. He is a decent leaper who can make athletic plays in space or off the move. However, his lateral quickness is more of a question mark for me, especially from an NBA perspective.
Jovic has a very polished offensive game, and I think his versatile skill set will help him succeed at the NBA level. He has excellent ball skills; he can drive, shoot and pass, and help handle the ball. Although he can be somewhat of a ball-stopper at times, he makes excellent reads with the ball, sees the court well and can serve as a facilitator. I have also seen him make plays for others as a ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations. In addition, he is a good ball-handler in the open court who will routinely lead fast-break offense. He'll eventually be able to help initiate the offense even in the half-court too.
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One of the keys to Jovic's development has been the fact that he started his basketball career as a guard, but then had a huge growth spurt. So this allowed him to transition to the frontcourt while still retaining the feel and ball skills of a backcourt player, giving him a considerable edge over others in his new position.
Whether Jovic will be able to handle and create off the dribble as easily at the NBA level or not is a legitimate question, but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his skill level and feel for the game. He may not have an explosive first step, but he can still get to the rim well enough (in my opinion) thanks to his craftiness, excellent use of fakes and changes of speed and direction. The kid has a fantastic mid-range game also. At the junior level, he showed the ability to exploit favorable mismatches, and displayed some nice post-up moves. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to do it as much at the pro level thus far. However, if he can gain strength physically, it will help him.
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One area he will need to improve is his perimeter shooting, which can be very erratic. Although he is a better shooter than his current three-point percentage would suggest, Jovic is far from the type of knockdown shooter he will need to be in order to take his game to the next level. His shot is a bit "rigid,'' and he will need to tweak his mechanics to make it more fluid. He also tends not to always follow through well. On the positive side, Jovic is working on developing a nice step-back move and a side-step move.&nbsp;
As good as he is on offense, Jovic still has a lot of work to do on the defensive end, and this will be a key factor in determining his potential success at the NBA level. At the moment, he struggles to defend both forward spots &mdash; even at the European level. He will have to bulk up more to play effectively at the 4, which will likely become his long-term default position at the NBA level, as he lacks the necessary physicality to be a 5. He currently struggles too much to defend the wing at the pro level; he has just average lateral quickness and often plays too stiff &mdash; he needs to learn to bend his knees more.
Jovic has been drawing comparisons to many current and former NBA players like Hedo Turkoglu, Dario Saric, Deni Avdija and even Joe Ingles. However, the one player he reminds me of the most is Danilo Gallinari, and I think his potential career arc could be very similar.
I have followed both players since they were 16 years old, and have noticed remarkable similarities in these two at the same ages. Both were guards before growth spurts who kept those guard-like ball skills, and were mediocre long-range shooters at a young age, but continuously improved. Gallinari has become a great shooter, so I don't see why Jovic can't become the same soon. They also faced similar defensive challenges at the pro level, as both often played too stiff and had just average foot speed as big wings. And in addition, they were both thrown into the spotlight at age-18 and faced similar challenges resulting from the pressure of high expectations.
It may take him some time to adjust his game to the NBA, but I am sure that Nikola Jovic will figure things out and enjoy a long NBA career! 
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Jason Filippi shares his in-depth evaluation of top 2022 NBA Draft prospect Nikola Jovic of Mega Basket in Serbia.

2022 NBA Draft: An in-depth evaluation of Nikola Jovic's game

Ever since Artūras Karni&scaron;ovas and Marc Eversley took over the Bulls&rsquo; front office two years ago, Chicago has been one of the most aggressive teams in the NBA. Their fingerprints are all over this roster, with notable acquisitions such as DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso.
These moves have translated to on-court success, as the Bulls posted their best winning percentage since the 2014-15 season and ended their four-year playoff drought. This year, Chicago was 46-36 &mdash; more wins than they had in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons combined. (Zach LaVine and Coby White are the only remaining players from that 2019-20 squad).
The Bulls entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference while boasting the NBA's 11th-ranked offense (scoring 111.0 points per 100 possessions) and 23rd-ranked defense (allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
While this season marked a step in the right direction, the Bulls&rsquo; first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks showed that there&rsquo;s still plenty of work to be done. Despite Milwaukee losing their second-best player, Khris Middleton, to a sprained MCL in Game 2, the Bucks completed a gentleman's sweep against the Bulls. Chicago wasn&rsquo;t at full strength either, with Ball sidelined due to a knee injury and LaVine (COVID-19) and Caruso (concussion) each missing Game 5. Still, the reigning champions were a good litmus test.
Entering the offseason, where does Chicago go from here? Are big changes coming?
RE-SIGNING ZACH LAVINE
Entering this offseason, Chicago&rsquo;s top priority should be re-signing LaVine, who is set to hit unrestricted free agency. The 27-year-old has emerged as a perennial All-Star, earning a spot on the Eastern Conference squad in each of the last two seasons.&nbsp;
This year, LaVine averaged 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 threes, while reducing his turnovers to 2.6 per game and shooting 47.6% from the field, 38.9% from three and 85.3% from the free-throw line.&nbsp;
LaVine will certainly expect a maximum contract from the Bulls, which would <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay him</a> $212.3 million over five years. The most he could receive from another team is $157.4 million over four years. This is a relatively weak free-agent class, so it seems very likely that LaVine will get a max deal from some team.&nbsp;
The Bulls would be wise to re-sign their star shooting guard, as replacing his production would be difficult, and the team would certainly take a step back if LaVine signed elsewhere.
"I plan to enjoy free agency," LaVine said recently. &ldquo;We're going to have to experience A through Z without making any fast decisions. I think that's something me and [Rich Paul] are going to go through and experience."
LaVine was asked if the Bulls are the front-runners to sign him, but he wouldn&rsquo;t say.
"You guys have been a really, really soft spot in my heart," LaVine said to the Chicago media. "I have to do this as a business decision, as a man, to not just be viewed one way and be like, 'I'm automatically coming back,' or, 'I'm automatically leaving.'"
In multiple interviews, LaVine has reiterated that he wants to be paid what he feels he deserves.
"I just want my respect. I think that's the main thing," LaVine <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/zach-lavine-prepares-olympic-quarterfinal-bulls-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last August. "I outplayed my contract; I've been very loyal to Chicago, I like Chicago. I just want my respect."
FREE AGENCY
Aside from LaVine, the bulk of Chicago's core is under contract for the foreseeable future.&nbsp;
The Bulls have $103,181,950 in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season, spread across nine players: DeRozan, Vucevic, Lopez, Caruso, White, Patrick Williams, Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu and Marko Simonovic. Projections set next year&rsquo;s salary cap at $122 million and the luxury tax at $149 million.
Derrick Jones Jr.,Tristan Thompson and Matt Thomas will be unrestricted free agents. Tony Bradley has a player option worth $2,036,318, so he could opt out and test the market as well.
The team will have three restricted free agents (assuming Chicago extends a qualifying offer to each): Troy Brown Jr. ($7,228,448 QO), Tyler Cook ($1,576,305) and Malcolm Hill ($1,576,305).
Last year, the Bulls were very aggressive in free agency, making splashy moves left and right. Given their cap situation, it seems unlikely that Chicago will be able to go star hunting, but they&rsquo;ll likely try to improve their depth and add certain specialists. For example, Chicago could use a rim protector, as they averaged just 4.0 blocks per game (which ranked 27th in the NBA). Can they afford Mitchell Robinson? Could they throw an offer sheet at or sign-and-trade for a restricted free agent like Nic Claxton or Mo Bamba? Can they add a veteran like JaVale McGee or Hassan Whiteside?&nbsp;
In addition to a rim protector, it would make sense to add other defensive reinforcements as well (especially if Jones signs elsewhere). Caruso and Ball give Chicago a strong defensive backcourt, but they need some help if the Bulls want to improve their 23rd-ranked defensive rating (113.2). Some of the top defensive role players who are hitting the market include Bruce Brown, Gary Payton II and PJ Tucker. Lu Dort and Jae'Sean Tate each have a team option, but it seems unlikely that either will be available given their bargain contracts.
The Bulls will look to add a contributor or two using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $10,349,000. Last offseason, that is how Chicago was able to sign Caruso to a four-year, $37 million deal, which ended up being a terrific addition. Other players who signed for the non-taxpayer MLE last offseason include McGee (Phoenix Suns), Tucker (Miami Heat), Reggie Bullock (Dallas Mavericks) and Khem Birch (Toronto Raptors).
It will be interesting to see what the Bulls do in free agency. However, keep in mind that some of Chicago&rsquo;s biggest additions in recent years were acquired through trades.
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TRADES
After watching the Bulls&rsquo; front office trade for Vucevic, DeRozan and Ball, fans are understandably thinking big when it comes to Chicago&rsquo;s trade targets entering the offseason.
Myles Turner has been mentioned as a possible target for the Bulls since he could solve their rim-protection issues, but the window on acquiring Turner may have slammed shut as a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/despite-trade-talks-the-pacers-want-to-keep-myles-turner-longterm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent report</a> suggested that the Indiana Pacers are now expected to keep the 26-year-old long-term.
Another dominant shot-blocker who may become available is Rudy Gobert. The Utah Jazz just had another season end in disappointing fashion, and there has already been a <a href="https://twitter.com/realOCsports/status/1521141215411941376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that the Jazz will be forced to choose between Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. If Utah opts to keep their young shooting guard, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Defensive First-Team selection could suddenly be obtainable.
If that happens, the Bulls should at least reach out and start a conversation. Our Evan Sidery recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-rudy-gobert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke down potential destinations for Gobert</a> and listed Chicago as the top landing spot. Here&rsquo;s what he wrote:
Imagine the possibilities for Chicago with Gobert patrolling the paint with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso hawking the perimeter. It&rsquo;s the perfect complement to offensive dynamos Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. Chicago&rsquo;s new starting lineup of Ball, Caruso, LaVine, DeRozan and Gobert would seemingly have no holes in it from a two-way perspective. I absolutely love this idea for Chicago, and they should be blowing up the Jazz&rsquo;s phone this summer if it seems plausible.
Jazz receive: Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, Coby White, draft compensation Bulls receive: Rudy Gobert
It remains to be seen if either side would do this, but it&rsquo;s an intriguing idea.
With that said, if the Bulls are committed to Vucevic and don&rsquo;t want to trade for a new big man, HoopsHype&rsquo;s Yossi Gozlan <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/bulls-offseason-preview-zach-lavines-free-agency-nikola-vucevic-extension-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">points out</a> that an extension for Vooch could make sense this offseason.
If that happens, perhaps Chicago just looks for a complementary shot-blocker who can play behind Vucevic like one of the free agents we mentioned above or more of a minor trade target such as New York&rsquo;s Nerlens Noel or Minnesota&rsquo;s Jarred Vanderbilt.
It&rsquo;s also worth noting that the Bulls have a $5,000,000 trade exception that expires on July 7, 2022, from their Daniel Theis deal.
DRAFT
The Bulls have the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. In BasketballNews.com's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>, our senior NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock has Chicago selecting Ohio State forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/ej-liddell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EJ Liddell</a>.&nbsp;
The 6-foot-7, 21-year-old junior is a well-rounded, NBA-ready player who makes sense for a Bulls team that wants to win now. Last season, Liddell averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.6 blocks, 1.4 threes and 0.6 steals, while shooting 49.0% from the field, 37.4% from three and 76.5% from the free-throw line.
&ldquo;Although he is a bit undersized for the position, the Buckeyes often used Liddell as a 4 or 5 in their lineups,&rdquo; Babcock noted in his scouting breakdown. &ldquo;He is physical and versatile on both ends of the floor, scoring both inside and out. He appears more comfortable in the mid-range and paint, which works well for his college system but raises questions in regards to his translatability to the NBA. Liddell filled up the box score and played with great effort and toughness. He has certainly carved out a spot for himself in the 2022 NBA Draft.&rdquo;
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Other players who are projected to be available in that range are G League Ignite wing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/marjon-beauchamp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MarJon Beauchamp</a>, Baylor forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kendall-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kendall Brown</a>, LSU forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/tari-eason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tari Eason</a>, Notre Dame guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/blake-wesley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blake Wesley</a>, G League Ignite guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/jaden-hardy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jaden Hardy</a>, Serbian forward <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/nikola-jovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikola Jovic</a> and Tennessee guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-nba-mock-draft/players/kennedy-chandler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kennedy Chandler</a>.&nbsp;
If the Bulls aren&rsquo;t interested in any of these prospects, or if Karni&scaron;ovas and Eversley continue to be aggressive on the trade market, Chicago could look to deal the No. 18 pick as part of a win-now move.
It&rsquo;s worth noting that Chicago must forfeit their next-available second-round pick after an NBA investigation revealed that they contacted Ball prior to the start of the NBA&rsquo;s free-agency period. As it stands, the Bulls&rsquo; next-available pick is the team&rsquo;s 2026 second-rounder, but Chicago can&rsquo;t acquire a second-round pick before then because they&rsquo;d have to forfeit it.
***
After a few rough years, the Bulls seem to be back on the right trajectory, and there&rsquo;s no question that this team has the talent to be a perennial playoff squad in the East. Winning 46 games despite trying to get so many new players acclimated is impressive, especially when you factor in the injuries to Ball, Caruso, Williams, etc.
Even if the Bulls bring back largely the same roster, they will benefit from that continuity and improved chemistry. However, given what we&rsquo;ve seen from this front office in recent years, don&rsquo;t be surprised if they look to wheel-and-deal in order to take the roster to the next level.

After winning 46 games and losing in the first round, where will the Bulls go from here? Alex Kennedy previews Chicago's summer.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Chicago Bulls?

On paper, a matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat is a tantalizing one.&nbsp;
Plenty of star power with Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, James Harden, and Bam Adebayo. Young guards (Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro) that can take the top off a defense if its shift too much attention elsewhere.
A pair of Hall-of-Fame coaches who've already shown off their defensive chops in this year's playoffs; the Heat's gameplan against Trae Young was superb, while the Sixers pressed plenty of buttons (zone, coverage alterations vs. Pascal Siakam) in their close-out win on Thursday. Expect a grind in this series.
But injuries -- bleep injuries, honestly -- are here to dampen the fun.&nbsp;
Embiid won't start the series. He's out indefinitely with a mild concussion and an orbital fracture suffered during the late stages of Thursday's matchup. While the Heat turned Young's water off for good earlier in the week, they did so without Butler (knee inflammation) and Kyle Lowry (hamstring). Butler should be back for the beginning of the series, but Lowry's status <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1520800327347458048?s=20&amp;t=35oLEYfpS1Nm_hNQDljqAw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is more problematic</a>. It'll be worth tracking their health moving forward.
At the risk of sounding like an annoying optimist, I'd argue that there's still plenty of intrigue left in this series. I still expect a hard-fought, in-the-mud battle. And that should ramp up when (if?) Embiid returns.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: TRANSITION + EARLY OFFENSE
This is the "selective running" battle if I've ever seen it.&nbsp;
Per Cleaning The Glass, the Heat (14.5%) and Sixers (14.1%) ranked 19th and 20th in transition frequency, respectively. It makes sense once you look at the personnel for each side. Neither squad has an abundance of track stars.
On the Sixers' side, Maxey drives the bulk of it. He generated 1.34 points per possession (PPP) in transition during the regular season, one of the best marks in the NBA, per InStat tracking. That number rose slightly against the Heat (1.35 PPP), largely due to the fact that there's no physical match for Maxey's speed on the roster.
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Embiid can cause some problems in transition himself. He can do the classic big man thing: grab the board, hit the guard, then high-tail it down the middle of the floor for a deep seal. Or, since he's turned himself into a terrifying grab-and-go threat, he also can take matters into his own hands.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Sixers look to bump up their pace in this series. Losing their MVP will necessitate it to a degree. Embiid led the NBA with 72 post-ups within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, and the Sixers scored well over 1.3 PPP on those trips via Second Spectrum. Nikola Jokic (50) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (38) were the only guys that came close in terms of volume.
That would mean more Maxey early in the clock, but it would especially mean more Harden. Early drag screens to get downhill or force a mismatch has been his MO, and they'll need him to force the issue a little bit more.
I'd wager DeAndre Jordan gets the non-Embiid starts. We can quibble about that, but he does have chemistry with Harden as an early drag screener.&nbsp;
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Jordan isn't nearly the scorer that Embiid is (duh), but he does provide a little more juice as a vertical threat. His ability to slip will be important against Miami's switching.&nbsp;
Miami didn't run often, but they did so efficiently. The Heat were the NBA's most efficient transition team during the regular season, generating 133.4 points per 100 transition plays, per Cleaning The Glass.
What the Heat lack in pure speed, they make up for in processing speed. Neither Lowry nor Butler can beat Maxey in a foot race, but their well-timed outlet passes can appromixate the threat. Add in a willingness to pull from deep, and you have a pretty annoying team to keep tabs on when they decide to push.
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On a similar note, just about everyone is allowed to bring the ball up the floor. Adebayo is a freakish grab-and-go threat in his own right. You'll see PJ Tucker bring it up after misses. This allows the Heat to flow into their array of handoffs early in the clock. Only two teams -- the Sixers and Pelicans -- ran early-clock handoffs at a higher rate than the Heat during the regular season.
You have to match up quickly or run the risk of giving up open triples.
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Lowry pushes early, doesn't have a gap, then kicks it to Dewayne Dedmon. Embiid's deep in a drop, so Duncan Robinson sprints into a handoff. That suddenness is something the Sixers will have to be ready for.
Transition play is going to be an important battleground for this series. Both teams ran selectively, were efficient when they did run, and... quietly gave up a ton of points on the other end. The similarities are pretty wild.
Their transition frequency marks -- the percentage of possessions that started with a transition play -- were nearly identical (15.6% for Miami, 15.4% for Philadelphia). The Heat ranked 21st in PPP allowed after missed shots (1.203), and the Sixers ranked 20th (1.202).
The Heat faced the largest share of transition possessions following a miss (30.9%), which is a point in favor of Philadelphia until you realize they aren't far behind in that, either (29.7%, 25th).&nbsp;
Speed has consistently given the Heat issues. The Sixers are at a similar deficit in terms of overall athleticism, and it doesn't help that they have, let's say, effort issues at times from their stars.
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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: OUT OF BOUNDS
The Heat like to set up movement with their sideline plays. They went to Chicago action -- a pindown that flows into a dribble handoff --&nbsp; pretty frequently during the regular season meeting. This play is going to be a turnover, but you can see the openings Miami can create from this action.
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Beyond that, keep an eye on their post splits if there's plenty of time on the shot clock. Heck, sometimes they'll blend both together.
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The Sixers also went to Chicago action during the regular season series, though their goal was to get downhill more than it was to generate movement threes.&nbsp;
Other than that, there wasn't much creativity. It was an inbound to set up a high pick-and-roll or an inbound to the perimeter while they waited on Embiid to set up shop for a post-up.
I'm honestly curious about Maxey's usage after deadballs. Most of Philadephia's more intricate looks came while Seth Curry was on the roster. I liked this one from the first meeting, an Iverson cut from Curry that flowed into an empty corner ball screen with Embiid.
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I'd like to see the Sixers tap into that kind of stuff with Maxey. If they can give him head starts, good things should follow.
KEY QUESTIONS
1) Will the Heat use the Trae Young Gameplan for James Harden while Joel Embiid is out?
It would be easy to make that leap, right? The Heat stifled a One Man Band in Atlanta and will be facing another one in Philadelphia while Embiid is out. Throwing the same sink at Harden -- a revolving door of different match-ups while mixing in full-court pressure and traps -- seems logical.
But I'd be a little careful if I were Miami.&nbsp;
Part of what made their aggressive gameplan work was the lack of size from Young. Traps hit a little harder when you can't really see over/past them. The Heat did a great job of flustering Young if he tried to set up shop near the sidelines. Harden won't be bothered to the same degree.
The real reason I'd be worried about the traps in particular: the Sixers' other players have been humming this postseason.&nbsp;
Tobias Harris looked as decisive as ever in the first round. If he keeps that rolling, I'd be worried about feeding him a steady dose of catch-and-shoot or catch-and-go opportunities.&nbsp;
The real kicker is Maxey, who, again, has a level of speed the Heat typically struggle to defend. Maxey averaged 21.3 points against the Heat this year on absurd efficiency (67% from two, 40.9% from three on 5.5 attempts).
He deserves your full attention. Sagging off to help elsewhere is an invitation for Maxey to bomb away, and sloppy closeouts will lead to interior buckets more often than not.
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With respect to the Hawks, the Sixers aren't them. Philadelphia has non-stars that can shoot and&nbsp;threaten the paint in a way Atlanta couldn't.&nbsp;
If the Heat's lone matchup against Harden (as a Net) is any indication, there's a balance to be struck between letting him work on an island and completely selling out.&nbsp;
Butler got the bulk of the Harden assignment in that meeting. When Harden was able to draw favorable switches, the Heat were able to peel in to help elsewhere. Something to watch for: a Heat defender digging from the strong side corner, a gambit we saw plenty of in the Hawks series.
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2) Can the Heat stars beat the gap?
If you're ready for round 387 of the "What does this team look like in the half-court?" question, this section is for you!
We just saw Butler rip the Hawks to shreds with a mix of hard-nosed drives, push shots, and where-did-this-come-from three-point shooting. We also saw Adebayo average 12.4 points while shooting 52.4% on twos, which was a significant dip below his regular season mark (56.2%).
Neither guy had much success against the Sixers. Butler averaged 18.7 points while shooting 36.6% from the field. Haters can have fun with the remove-the-free-throws figure if they have extra time on their hands.
(Haters always have extra time on their hands.)
Adebayo was slightly better (14 points on 50% shooting), but he took four total free throws in his two showings against Philly.
And when working in tandem, the Heat generated under 0.43 PPP on trips featuring a Butler-Adebayo pick-and-roll. I don't think I need to explain how bad that is.&nbsp;
With Embiid missing some time, there should be a little more freedom to attack the paint. If I'm Philly, I'd still be comfortable playing that ball screen straight up or even switching it.
Harris mostly did a good job of bodying up Pascal Siakam in round one, and he has the upper body strength to absorb body blows from Butler or Adebayo. Jordan should at least make either guy shoot over the top, even if he isn't (close to) the rim protector he once was.
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One wrinkle we may see: the Heat having someone screen for Adebayo before he sets one for Butler. Forcing Jordan (or Embiid, when healthy) to navigate a screen before settling into coverage could create an opening for Butler to attack.
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3) How will the Heat dole out the perimeter assignments?
This only matters to an extent, since the Heat will likely switch a ton of screens, anyway. But I am curious about this one.&nbsp;
A popular move for the Heat this season has been to place PJ Tucker on a primary ball-handler, which would turn any pick-and-roll with that ball handler and their big into a switch. Tucker on Maxey sounds wild out loud, but it's really a way for the Heat to flatten a Maxey-Embiid ball screen.
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If no screen comes, I'd be worried about Maxey blasting by Tucker off the bounce. Harden may be a more "natural" matchup for Tucker under this line of thinking, but that leads into a Butler-or-Lowry (when healthy) question.&nbsp;
Do you want Butler trying to track Maxey considering his offensive workload on the other end? Does Lowry have a chance against him at this stage of his career, especially coming off a hamstring injury?&nbsp;
I might go unconventional: Lowry on Matisse Thybulle, Tucker on Maxey, Butler on Harris, and Max Strus on Harden.
Miami can use Strus as their innings eater. Give Lowry the free safety role since he's better as a roamer (and charge taker) than an on-ball stopper at this stage. Butler can bang with Harris on post-ups, and he should still have a little leeway to fly around (and dare Harris to continue his streak of decisiveness in the process).
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>I'm curious to see how much zone coverage we get in this series. The Sixers flustered the Raptors a bit during their Game 6 win, if you want the most recent example. We also saw it sprinkled in against the Heat during the regular season series. The sample is small -- 20 possessions, per Second Spectrum -- but the Heat only mustered a 65 offensive rating against the zone. The Sixers had much more success against Miami's zone (1.15 PPP on 61 possessions), though Embiid's presence will definitely be missed.</li>
<li>Lost in Miami's dominant series win over the Hawks: Tyler Herro didn't have a good showing. The scoring wasn't there (12.8 points, 39.1% from the field), and the defense was, well... let's not talk about the defense. He should see more drop coverage in this series, so the opportunity to bounce back is there. But he'll also be one of Harden's primary targets when they share the floor.&nbsp;</li>
<li>On a related note: boy, will this be a feast-or-famine series for Duncan Robinson. His movement shooting will be needed against the Sixers, provided they're in drop. But he'll also 1.) have to cash in those shots, and 2.) stay out of foul trouble on the other end.</li>
<li>On that note, this could be a prime opportunity for Victor Oladipo to carve out more of a role for the Heat. He doesn't present the defensive limitations that Herro or Robinson do, and his ability to get to the rim could be useful.&nbsp;</li>
<li>This keeps nagging at me, so I'll toss it here: what if the Sixers just go small while Embiid's out? The Maxey-Harden-Harris trio with Georges Niang and Danny Green has played two (2) possesions together this season, for example. Why not test it out in spurts?</li>
<li>Please keep Paul Reed as part of the rotation. If you aren't going to go full small-ball, Reed certainly needs to get playing time.</li>
<li>The Twitter barbs between these two fanbases are going to be ... whew. Godspeed, everyone.</li>
</ul>
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Nekias Duncan previews the second-round match-up between the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.