Gyrenes

In a heartfelt ceremony at Barclays Center on January 25, 2025, the Brooklyn Nets honored Vince Carter by retiring his iconic No. 15 jersey. This tribute, held during halftime of the Nets' game against the Miami Heat, marks the seventh jersey retirement in the franchise's history.&nbsp;
Carter, visibly moved during the ceremony, reflected on his tenure with the Nets from 2004 to 2009. During this period, he earned three All-Star selections and became the third-leading scorer in the franchise's NBA history. He expressed deep gratitude, stating, "This is truly something my family and I will cherish forever."&nbsp;
The event was graced by Carter's family, former teammates, ex-coach Lawrence Frank, team president Rod Thorn, and fellow Nets legends Julius Erving, Bill Melchionni, and Buck Williams. A poignant video tribute narrated by Erving, along with messages from Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, added to the evening's significance.&nbsp;
Carter's No. 15 now joins the esteemed ranks of Nets' retired numbers, including Dražen Petrović (#3), Jason Kidd (#5), John Williamson (#23), Bill Melchionni (#25), Julius Erving (#32), and Buck Williams (#52).
This honor underscores Carter's lasting impact on the Nets and the broader basketball community, celebrating a career that inspired many and left an indelible mark on the sport.&nbsp;

On January 25 2025 at the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets honored Vince Carter by retiring his iconic No. 15 jersey.

Brooklyn Nets retire Vince Carter’s no.15 jersey

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

Fresh off the 2023 Basketball Africa League Combine and heading toward the NBA Paris Game between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons in France, retired 13-year basketball pro Joakim Noah is soaking up every second of the international scene.
With Noah on site for both, Basketball News had the chance to catch up with the longtime Bull and former national-champion Florida Gator to discuss the rise of the BAL, the Paris Game on Thursday, basketball expanding to a global stage and much more.
Being at the BAL Combine and seeing the momentum of the league going into its third season, what's the energy like there?
Joakim Noah: "Well, it's very special to be in Paris. This is a full-circle moment for me personally, and to be able to come to the Combine and to see the energy of the young men trying to get jobs and work in the BAL, I thought it was really special. Obviously, we're building a professional league and it's growing. To build something sustainable... to see the growth from year-to-year is really special, but also to see the energy of the kids who want to be a part of it. Kids who are from all around the world, and everybody, you can feel that the kids are just in really high spirits and want to be a part of it. This is obviously so much bigger than basketball, and everybody who was at the Combine felt that way."
There are many former players who are heavily invested in the BAL, including guys you've played with and against like Grant Hill, Dikembe Mutombo, Ian Mahinmi and Luol Deng to name a few. All of you coming together and contributing to this, how does that feel?
Noah: "I think the contributions of some of the players that were able to invest is great because it also changes our mindset. Because you know, we were raised as competitors and competition can be very divisive, and just to be able to be in a position to be able to grow and unite is special. Not everybody has an opportunity to have that, to be at the table with the big dogs and see how we can grow something from scratch is really special. And now that we have this platform, especially for African players, it's really powerful."
What is the ultimate goal for the league?
Noah: "I think just to have a really powerful league on the continent where African kids don't feel like they have to go anywhere to get paid off of basketball. The game is growing, it's the fastest growing sport in the world and a lot of the talent comes from the motherland. So just to be a part of this and to watch the growth and seeing it at the highest level, but also on a grassroot level, is what it's all about. And now, we're able to have those conversations at a table altogether and look at the big picture and see where the growth needs to happen.
"I mean, Africa's so big, so different culturally. I'm learning a lot, and I feel like not only am I involved in something that I know a little bit about &mdash; because basketball has been my whole life &mdash; but I feel like I found my purpose. And there's a lot to be proud of with that. I didn't grow up on the continent, I wasn't born on the continent, but this is my heritage, and I feel like a lot of people feel that way. I felt that at the Combine (Monday). It's like, people came from all around the world to be a part of this and the energy was that the people who were involved really understand that big picture, and just want to see this game grow. And it's bigger than them just playing and getting a check. A lot of the time with basketball, that's what it becomes, but with this opportunity, I think that people really feel the purpose and I'm proud to be a part of that."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2023_01_16_bal_combine_-151-1.png" alt="" width="732" height="366" />
You kind of mentioned it, but internationally, the game is becoming so popular and has a ton of momentum. Even in the NBA, you're seeing more of that at a rapid pace, as there were 58 European players and nine different players from France on opening night. We know that Victor Wembanyama is at the top of NBA Draft conversations. In general, the way basketball is growing across the world, why do you think it's happened so fast and is this going to continue in that trajectory?
Noah: "You know, I remember being in Paris and going to my first NBA game and seeing Michael Jordan play and the power of his influence all around the world. My father brought me to the game in Bercy. And 25 years later, the Bulls are coming to play in Paris again. The French players have had that kind of access. And now, the future of not just French basketball, but the future of basketball is this kid Wemby, who's an unbelievable talent. He grew up seeing a lot of winning, not just in basketball, but you think of France with winning the World Cup. He was raised and he saw what winning is all about and he knows that it's very possible.
"So when I was coming up, [Tariq] Abdul-Wahad was the only NBA player. And I remember seeing Tony Parker coming up at 15 years old playing at ABCD Camp and seeing the career that he had, that was my inspiration. And now, there's just a whole generation of French players and they're just taking it to the next level. But France is a country that has all the resources to be the best. They have everything. They have the coaching, they have the structures, they have the stadiums. They have everything. So you see the growth, and that's what we're trying to do in Africa. The structures aren't there yet, and we have to build it step-by-step."
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You brought up the Paris game. The Bulls are going to be taking on the Detroit Pistons, and Killian Hayes is a French player who's found his stride this year. How special is it to play in your home country in such an event?
Noah: "Well I can't even imagine how he feels, but it's a beautiful story being able to play in front of your family and friends in your country. Nothing gets better than that. So it's gonna be really special for him. And just understanding that there's gonna be younger kids there watching him, and he's gonna be inspiring as well. So not only is it an unbelievable feeling to play on that court, but understanding every layup, every dunk, every opportunity that he gets on the court is inspiring for the next generation."
Going back to finding your purpose in working with the BAL, but on a broader subject, what has your transition to retirement been like? It sounds like you have a solid feel of what you're trying to accomplish post-career.
Noah: "Oh, a hundred percent. I think that everybody who's in this position, our careers are short. It's crazy to know that I won't be playing basketball anymore. It happens so fast. You have a dream from when you're a kid and not everybody gets to live out their dreams as players, and I was able to do that. I got to do it at the highest level, and I'm really proud of that. Now, I have my family. I just got married this summer, I have my kids. So I'm really happy, trying to find that balance of working and working on my purpose work and raising my family."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Joakim Noah (<a href="https://twitter.com/JoakimNoah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoakimNoah</a>) lending a hand to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JrNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JrNBA</a> ‼<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAParis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAParis</a> <a href="https://t.co/23ejEVVfqz">pic.twitter.com/23ejEVVfqz</a>
&mdash; NBA Cares (@nbacares) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbacares/status/1615701027122036736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Do you still keep in touch with your college teammates like Al Horford who's still playing and Corey Brewer who's coaching in New Orleans and your old Bulls teammates?
Noah: "Oh of course. These are people that I shared some of the most special times of my life with. I love Corey. We just sat down not long ago. Obviously, I have strong relationships with everybody and was able to do a beautiful trip with Derrick [Rose] to Africa, where he brought the Simeon (Academy) kids to Senegal this summer. These are all trips, these are all moments that I'm really proud of the relationships that I build off the court. And I just want to keep building."
If there are any players in the NBA today that you have your eye on, who would you say stands out?
Noah: "I love Bol Bol. Bol Bol is probably my favorite player to watch right now. I love to see his growth. Obviously, his back story is unbelievable. His father was so much more than just a basketball player. And just to see him become the player that he is and you just see him... you're not used to seeing somebody who's that tall &mdash; 7-foot-2 African guy &mdash; with handles, with that kind of ability. It just shows how much the game has grown. I just love watching him play. He's just a really exciting player. I wish him nothing but the best."
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More infomation regarding the BAL and the NBA Paris Game:
<ul>
<li>The third BAL season will tip off on March 11 and once again feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African cities playing games in Dakar, Senegal; Cairo, Egypt; and Kigali, Rwanda over three months in 2023</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<ol>
<li>The 12 club champions will be divided into two conferences.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>The Sahara Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Dakar Arena in Dakar from March 11-21.</li>
<li>The Nile Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 26 &ndash; May 6.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The top four teams from each conference will advance to an eight-game, single elimination Playoffs and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali from May 21-27.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Each of the 12 BAL teams will have up to 13 players, at least eight of whom will be citizens in their respective team&rsquo;s home country and up to four of whom can be from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li>One roster spot on each team is reserved for an NBA Academy Africa prospect as part of the BAL Elevate program, which will once again provide an opportunity for the next generation of African prospects to participate in a professional league, showcase their talent on a global stage and help their respective teams compete for the 2023 BAL Championship.</li>
</ul>
<li>The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that completed its second season in May 2022.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA&rsquo;s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.</li>
<li>On May 28, Tunisia&rsquo;s US Monastir defeated Angola&rsquo;s Petro de Luanda 83-72 to win the 2022 BAL Finals in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,000 at BK Arena.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The 2022 BAL season featured players from 23 countries across Africa, Europe, and the U.S, reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 14 languages - including all 54 African countries - and generated more than 600 million online engagements.</li>
</ul>
NBA Africa
<ul>
<li>With the support of strategic partners, in May the NBA launched NBA Africa as a new, standalone entity that conducts the league&rsquo;s business in Africa, including the BAL.</li>
</ul>
o&nbsp;&nbsp; The investors&rsquo; and strategic partners&rsquo; expertise in a wide range of industries and established relationships with African businesses, governments and NGOs will help accelerate the NBA&rsquo;s growth across the continent.&nbsp;
o&nbsp;&nbsp; The funding will contribute to the growth of the BAL, help expand the NBA&rsquo;s presence in priority African markets and Africa&rsquo;s basketball ecosystem, and deepen the league&rsquo;s engagement with players and fans through initiatives such as the launch of additional NBA Academies and social responsibility initiatives that improve the livelihoods of African youth and families.
<ul>
<li>The strategic investors include a consortium led by Babatunde &ldquo;Tunde&rdquo; Folawiyo, Chairman and CEO of Yinka Folawiyo Group; and Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation (HFP), led by Tope Lawani, Co-CEO of HFP and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners.</li>
</ul>
o&nbsp;&nbsp; NBA Legends Junior Bridgeman, Luol Deng (South Sudan), Grant Hill, Ian Mahinmi (France; ties to Benin), Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Joakim Noah (grandfather from Cameroon) have also invested in NBA Africa and will use their collective influence to contribute to our growth goals.
<ul>
<li>In July, the NBA announced that former President Barack Obama has joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner and will help advance the league&rsquo;s social responsibility efforts across the continent, including programs and partnerships that support greater gender equality and economic inclusion.</li>
<li>In December, global economist and New York Times best-selling author Dr. Dambisa Moyo and Academy Award-winning actor and social activist Forest Whitaker joined NBA Africa as strategic investors.</li>
</ul>
The NBA Paris Game 2023
<ul>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will feature the six-time NBA champion Chicago Bulls and the three-time NBA champion Detroit Pistons playing a regular-season game at the Accor Arena in Paris on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023.</li>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will mark the first NBA game in Europe since 2020 and the league&rsquo;s 12th game in France since 1991.&nbsp; The NBA Paris Game 2020 &ndash; the first regular-season NBA game in Paris &ndash; took place Jan. 24, 2020, and featured the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks.</li>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will mark the Bulls&rsquo; third game in Paris, having played two preseason games in the French capital in 1997.
<ul>
<li>The Bulls are among the top three most-popular NBA teams in international merchandise sales (No. 2 in Europe), among the top five most-popular teams on NBA League Pass outside the U.S. (No. 5), and among the top five most-popular NBA teams on social media in terms of following (No. 2 on Facebook, No. 4 on Instagram, No. 4 on Twitter)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Pistons will be playing their first game in France, having previously played regular-season games in London (2013) and Mexico City (2019).</li>
</ul>
NBA in France
<ul>
<li>NBA games and programming have aired in France since 1985.</li>
<li>During the 2022-23 NBA season, fan in France can watch the NBA on beIN SPORTS, the NBA&rsquo;s exclusive Broadcast &amp; Digital partner in France, and NBA League Pass. beIN SPORTS airs up to 14 live games per week during the regular season, as well as the Play-In, Playoffs, all Conference Finals, Finals, All-Star Weekend, the Draft and Classic Games.</li>
<li>The 2022-23 regular season features 45 games that will air in primetime in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of &ldquo;NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by NBA 2K23,&rdquo; marking the 10th consecutive regular season that the league has scheduled weekend games that air in primetime in EMEA.</li>
<li>France ranks fourth among European markets in League Pass subscriptions.</li>
<li>Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 games &ndash; featuring French star and top 2023 NBA Draft prospect Victor Wembanyama &ndash; are available for free on the new NBA App throughout the 2022-23 including the LNB All-Star Game and select LNB Betclic ELITE Playoffs and Finals games.</li>
<li>The NBA&rsquo;s localized social media channels in France (Facebook and Twitter) have more than 1.5M collective followers.</li>
<li>The NBA Paris Game 2023 will mark the second regular-season game in France, the 12th NBA game overall in France (dating back to 1991) and the 94th NBA game in Europe (dating back to 1984).</li>
<li>Opening-night rosters for the 2022-23 NBA season featured 58 European players, including nine players from France.
<ul>
<li>France has had more players drafted into the NBA than other country outside North America and has been the most-represented European country in the NBA for each of the last 16 seasons.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <a href="https://pr.nba.com/nba-fanatics-paris-store-open/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://pr.nba.com/nba-fanatics-paris-store-open/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1674099893476000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Pk9FJqixBAsT8n3qeg9n7">NBA Paris Store</a> &ndash; the first in France &ndash; opened&nbsp;in July 2022 and has featured player appearances by Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat and Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls. Top selling teams Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.</li>
<li>The NBA works with 18 marketing partners in France: adidas, EA, FDJ/ParionsSport, Foot Locker, Hennessy, Hotels.com/Expedia, ISG, Kellogg&rsquo;s, Microsoft, Mitchell &amp; Ness, New Balance, New Era, Nike, Rakuten, SAP, Tissot, Under Armour, Yop, and 2K Sports</li>
</ul>

Spencer Davies speaks with Joakim Noah ahead of the 2023 NBA Paris Game about his BAL passion, international hoops and more.

Joakim Noah Q&A: NBA Paris Game, investing in BAL, basketball's growth

Jackson Frank breaks down the film and collaborates with Nekias Duncan and Mark Schindler to pick the 2021-22 All-NBA teams.

2021-22 All-NBA Teams: Praising this season's 15 best players

We had a whopping <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grading-every-move-from-the-2022-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">15 NBA trades</a> go down in an eight-day span.
The league buckled down for one of the biggest fireworks shows in recent deadline memory. Front offices dealt All-NBA superstars and hammered out four-team mazes. By the time the clock struck 3 p.m. on Thursday, we saw some teams go all-in on a playoff push, others cash out and move towards rebuilding, and many surprisingly pass on the spectacle entirely. It's a perfect time to set the table ahead of the stretch run with a fresh Sour Rankings.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst outlooks. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going.
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;By most accounts, the Indiana Pacers crushed it with their trade deadline moves. Tyrese Haliburton instantly becomes the bedrock of the franchise's next era, and he's looked pretty good in limited time so far. Indiana also snuck in a solid flier by acquiring Jalen Smith and didn't trade away any of its veteran players just for the sake of making a move. The Detroit Pistons were also briefly in the Sour Rankings, but escape after acquiring former No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III without giving up long-term pieces.
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10. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-39)
Of all the teams to hold their chips at this year's deadline, OKC might be the most surprising. The Thunder had several players worth trading for &mdash; including Kenrich Williams and Mike Muscala &mdash; and had oodles of salary cap room to take on guys with undesirable contracts. Instead, they only clocked-in one deal, trading a second-round pick to the Miami Heat for KZ Okpala, who was subsequently waived. Though it's not a colossal general-managing blunder, the Thunder may have missed some good opportunities to add to the stockpile.
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Charlotte Hornets (29-29)
The Hornets added Montrezl Harrell to fill the backup center spot on paper, and he should help as a play-finisher. However, Harrell does little to address the returning defensive woes for a Charlotte team that is 3-7 in its last 10 games. The squad has also hit an offensive shooting slump while also ranking 22nd in turnover rate since the start of February. A seven-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday overshadowed a horrendous two-way performance in the first half that had me concerned.
(Last week: 10)
8. Utah Jazz (35-21)
The Jazz got involved in one minor three-team deal at the trade deadline, and it didn't do much to squelch the raised voices about their title pretender status. Mark Schindler <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-who-are-your-biggest-2022-nba-trade-deadline-losers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labeled them a loser of the week</a> despite acquiring a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/can-nickeil-alexanderwalker-fill-the-gaps-for-the-utah-jazz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prospect he liked in Nickeil Alexander-Walker</a>:
"There's an intriguing foundation with him that Utah could unearth more of and help him build upon, but the issue is where the Jazz are right now. They needed immediate help defensively at the point of attack and the wing, yet NAW is not really that guy right now."
Utah is on a five-game winning streak, however, which deserves some credit. The team stays where it is in these rankings for now.
(Last week: 8)
7. Houston Rockets (15-40)
Here's another rebuilding franchise that balked at the chance to capitalize on the rush of apparent buyers. Houston didn't need to trade Eric Gordon in my opinion, but he certainly could have returned value. I was more surprised that Christian Wood not only remains on the team, but also was barely brought up in public trade rumors. He has not been nearly the player he can or should be with the Rockets, and I don't know if anything he does in the next two months changes that outlook. Of course, John Wall is still on the roster too.
(Last week: Unranked)
6. Portland Trail Blazers (23-34)
The Blazers are a confusing team to nail down for me. They traded CJ McCollum to New Orleans in a move many expected, but didn't get a whole lot back (aside from a very solid rotation player in Josh Hart and a protected first-rounder). A couple days go by, and then, the aforementioned Alexander-Walker &mdash; the best young player in the first trade &mdash; heads to Utah for a second-round pick, an expiring and injured Joe Ingles and a more obscure flier in Elijah Hughes.
Nekias Duncan gave those two moves a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grading-every-move-from-the-2022-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">C-minus and D in his trade deadline grades</a>. I think I'd agree, because at the end of it all, I still don't know what Portland is doing other than clearing some cap room.
(Last week: 6)
5. Sacramento Kings (22-36)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Sabonis and Fox will be a natural fit 👉🏽 That P&amp;R with a guard who can slash, pass and play in between with pace paired with a highly skilled big man who is great around the rim and can shoot comfortably from 15 feet. This is the co-star both guys needed. 🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/kings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kings</a> <a href="https://t.co/ngj5TdjPp0">pic.twitter.com/ngj5TdjPp0</a>
&mdash; Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) <a href="https://twitter.com/balldontstop/status/1491657233897119746?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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I'll give the Kings a little credit for the auspicious stretch they've had with Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox together since that big blockbuster move. A lot of people, myself included, probably overreacted to the deal and didn't give enough thought to what Sabonis can unlock for the players around him in Sacramento. They also did a sneaky-great job turning Marvin Bagley III into three players who can help the team win now at various levels.
I still have a hard time getting over the Kings trading Tyrese Haliburton, their most promising young player and a public advocate for turning a losing culture around.&nbsp;
(Last week: 4)
4. Washington Wizards (25-30)
Kristaps Porzingis was perhaps the most shocking name to be dealt this season; his name hadn't really popped up at all until Thursday morning. While it's fair that the Wizards needed to end the Spencer Dinwiddie-Bradley Beal experiment and Porzingis makes them better purely on paper, I don't love the fit. Will he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/so-how-does-this-kristaps-porzingis-spencer-dinwiddie-davis-bertans-thing-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener">make a meaningful difference for a Washington team</a> that is one of two NBA squads with bottom-five Offensive and Defensive Ratings over the past two weeks? I'm doubtful.
The Montrezl Harrell trade was also super weird because it brought back two players who probably should not be in the rotation. Washington's big mix is still backed up now with Porzingis, Daniel Gafford, Thomas Bryant and Vernon Carey Jr., plus larger forwards in Kyle Kuzma and Rui Hachimura.&nbsp;
(Last week: 2)
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3. New York Knicks (26-31)
Whew, Saturday's blown lead to the Trail Blazers was a stinger. The Knicks led by 23 at one point before coughing up the game to a Portland team that just went through a widespread, trade-deadline fire sale. New York, meanwhile, didn't make any moves despite the glaring underperformance in recent weeks. The Knicks have two extremely winnable games against the Thunder and Brooklyn Nets before the All-Star break. If they can't find something, I'll have serious doubts about them even being close to a Play-In team.
(Last week: 5)
2. Brooklyn Nets (29-27)
In a vacuum, the Nets moved on from a disgruntled star in James Harden and returned three players who can instantly (once healthy) slot into a thin rotation. Ben Simmons makes a ton of sense as a defensive boost, Seth Curry can replace the shooting lost by Joe Harris' injury, and Andre Drummond at least gives Brooklyn a presence on the glass and center depth.
But they still gave up James Harden. Brooklyn's Big Three played 16 games together in total, and the Nets are still neck-deep in an 11-game losing streak. Things are most definitely bad.
(Last week: 1)
1. Los Angeles Lakers (26-31)
If a franchise arrives at a point in the season where <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33250361/los-angeles-lakers-feel-urgency-make-changes-trade-deadline-nears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the locker room itself wants trades to happen</a>, then the front office should listen. But Rob Pelinka had to go all Bumi from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and embrace neutral jing &mdash; a.k.a. doing nothing. The Lakers made zero trades this season. They are the most underwhelming team in the NBA and they made zero trades.&nbsp;
(Last week: 3)
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Ethan Fuller lines up the league's biggest underperformers, including teams who failed to maximize the NBA trade deadline.

NBA Sour Rankings: Reshuffling the deck post-trade deadline

The bedrock of any fruitful offense is a player who generates advantages, and is either adept enough to capitalize individually or surrounded by teammates capable of doing so. As such, Spencer Dinwiddie, despite missing most of the 2020-21 campaign after tearing the ACL in his right knee, should be one of the most coveted free agents in the NBA this offseason.
Dinwiddie is a premier advantage creator. His 2019-20 showing underlined his value to an offense, as he averaged 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds on 54% True Shooting percentage. Kevin Durant&rsquo;s year-long absence and Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s injury struggles left the Brooklyn Nets low on initiators. That thrust Dinwiddie into an outsized lead ball-handling role, though one that enabled him to exhibit the depths of his entire game and illuminate why he&rsquo;d provide considerable impact to potential suitors moving forward.
According to Synergy, only 11 players logged more isolation possessions than him in 2019-20. Despite the mammoth volume (205 possessions), he ranked in the 69th percentile in points per possession (0.951), which was seventh among the 12 players meeting that threshold. James Harden, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Doncic, Chris Paul and Jayson Tatum were the only players to finish above him. Dinwiddie blends both usage and production in a manner emulated by a select number of preeminent offensive orchestrators.&nbsp;
The foundation of his isolation excellence is a standstill burst accompanied by a mastery of pace. His 0-60 acceleration is elite. He regularly burns defenders with sudden tweaks of tempo and explodes out of dribble moves or changes in direction, while maintaining leverage by getting lower than opponents. Bigs caught on an island are ruthlessly exposed; by controlling the cadence in ball screens, he forces these desirable matchups. At 6-foot-5, he overwhelms opposing guards and varies his stride length to cover ground as he deems appropriate. He&rsquo;s technically savvy and athletically gifted, rendering him a high-level isolation scorer.
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Contriving buckets out of thin air is a rare and critical commodity in the NBA. Fitting that criteria is Dinwiddie, who also sat near the top of the league in pick-and-roll possessions two seasons ago. Over 48% of his offense came via pick-and-rolls and he was in the 61st percentile. (His 667 pNr possessions slated fifth overall behind Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Lillard and Doncic).
Factor passes into the equation and his 1,286 possessions were fourth, good for the 62nd percentile at 0.974 PPP.
Using high ball-screens against a drop-coverage big is his forte. He loves side pick-and-rolls, and is particularly dangerous when rejecting the screen to scoot downhill with a head of steam. His footwork gifts him the shiftiness to shimmy around or perplex rim protectors and find space to finish. He&rsquo;s entirely comfortable embracing physicality, ramming into the chest of big men to score. The change of pace and quickness remain boons. He craftily primes screens with his handle, body angles and dexterity.
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Commandeering such substantial workloads and conserving relatively efficient numbers is a skill in itself. The volume signifies a malleable approach to creation that prevents defenses from keying in one certain tendency and eliminating it to curtail functionality in those actions. Pick-and-roll initiation is typically central to offense, as is individual creation. Dinwiddie offers both to many teams lacking those traits in a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2021-nba-free-agency-ranking-kawhi-leonard-chris-paul-and-the-top-10-offseason-players-on-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free-agent class</a> short on star talent.
All of this works because he&rsquo;s one of the NBA&rsquo;s best downhill guards. According to Cleaning the Glass, his 38% rim frequency ranked in the 74th percentile, and he shot 60% around the basket (59th percentile). Not only is Dinwiddie manufacturing a ton of quality looks, but he&rsquo;s also converting at an above-average rate. It&rsquo;s one thing to create those shots; it&rsquo;s immensely more valuable to be equipped to score effectively there.
Part of what makes him such a multifaceted downhill threat in ball screens and isolation is his capacity for drawing fouls. Among 35 players to average at least 20 points per game in 2019-20, his .437 free-throw rate ranked eighth behind Joel Embiid, Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis, Doncic and Young.&nbsp;
He seeks out and anticipates contact. An overzealous/poorly-timed stunt or brazen hand-check will be seen by the officials. Any misplaced limb is a death knell for defenders. He is unafraid to charge directly toward a big man, absorb the hit and draw a pair of foul shots. Sometimes, his tricks end poorly and the upshot is an errant heave toward the rim. But largely, he parades to the charity stripe with ploys emblematic of Young and Harden&rsquo;s chicanery.
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As a passer, he touts live-dribble faculty and marvelous placement on lobs, and probes in the paint for drop-off feeds. He can seamlessly rifle skip passes in pick-and-rolls, guide big men into space on alley-oops and instantly transition from dribble to pass. His advantage creation is amplified because he preserves those advantages, occupying defenders cognizant of his speed and pace manipulation.&nbsp;
Among the top-30 players in total assists in 2019-20, just Westbrook (93%) and Harden (92.4%) had a higher percentage of their assists resulting in threes or shots at the rim than Dinwiddie (92.1%), according to PBPStats. The dude catalyzes highly valuable shots for others, and does so through advanced means.
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There are, however, bouts of overly audacious lobs. In general, his decision-making can drift too much toward being premeditated. He&rsquo;ll zone in on a certain read, whether it&rsquo;s deciding between passing and shooting or different passing options, and not deviate from it when needed. Traps are prone to flustering him.&nbsp;
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The premeditated tendencies, in conjunction with his poor off-the-bounce shooting, is the foremost factor standing between him and top-tier initiator status. He shot just 29.2% on pull-ups in 2019-20 and 33.7% the year prior. His willingness often skews too confidently or timidly. Defenders sag off to mitigate driving lanes.&nbsp;
As Dinwiddie hits the free-agent market, his struggles to scale into a larger off-ball role really blur things. Despite the passing, driving and self-creation intersection, he&rsquo;s not good enough to spearhead elite offense because of the shaky jumper. That wouldn&rsquo;t be much of an issue for his future employer if he was comfortable in a secondary role.&nbsp;
Theoretically, a 6-foot-5 guard with viable off-ball shooting, versatile passing, foul-drawing guile and burst should function well in a complementary spot. Dinwiddie, though, prefers to dictate the action on his terms. He&rsquo;s methodical when the ball swings his way and gun shy on spot-up chances, even though he&rsquo;s drilled a reasonable 37% of his catch-and-shoot triples (176-for-476) since 2017-18. That mark should be lucrative enough to provoke consistent close-outs and open lanes to the paint. Flashes of him puncturing a titled defense as a driver exist.
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Assessing his value through the prism of a new team -- the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards or New Orleans Pelicans, for example -- each franchise rosters a (super)star better qualified to be the No. 1 offensively. Dinwiddie in a condensed role is useful, but brings diminishing returns. An upgrade in offensive talent compared to the 2019-20 Nets could spur a retooled style from him. It&rsquo;d likely be necessary to maximize his opportunities.&nbsp;
The one team presenting a clear fit without a well-established, superior perimeter creator is the New York Knicks, a logical marriage for both sides. While the Knicks could stand to sign more shooting, what they truly require is a perimeter advantage creator who is better than Derrick Rose. Dinwiddie would be that.&nbsp;
Dinwiddie would help relieve Julius Randle&rsquo;s cumbersome usage by increasing the first-time All-Star's pick-and-pop or short-roll reps, while turning the latter's mid-post isolations into a feature rather than a staple. His slashing would empower RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to serve as practical second-side handlers against compromised defenses. He and Mitchell Robinson would harmonize in pick-and-rolls.&nbsp;
On the other end, New York should house much of the infrastructure to insulate Dinwiddie. He is not an abjectly terrible defender, but he is also not good, existing somewhere between those broad endpoints. Inactivity defines his imprint, and he has a habit of floating for long stretches. That is not necessarily bad on its own, but his impact is felt mostly through negative occurrences &mdash; though not abundantly.&nbsp;
Dinwiddie struggles around screens. Ball-handlers achieve dribble penetration against him because he&rsquo;s a bit weak, passive and slow laterally at the point of attack. When he plays with physicality, he can pose issues for creators and deny or top-lock assignments off the ball; those instances are irregular though.&nbsp;
He&rsquo;s also behind the curve with off-ball positioning and rotations. He will make many of the necessary decisions &mdash; a closeout, splitting the difference between weak-side shooters, stunt-and-recovers &mdash; but the execution might fall short. That dichotomy produces inconsistent outcomes. At other times, he&rsquo;s just harmful as an off-ball defender, losing sight of his assignments.
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Brooklyn&rsquo;s personnel tasked Dinwiddie with guarding an array of offensive stars. He&rsquo;s not a bottom-rung defender. Periods of physicality, while anomalous, transpire on and off the ball. A context conducive to off-ball deployment &mdash; shadowing guys with his size and physicality to neutralize screens or pinning him to the least threatening creator &mdash; would mitigate his shortcomings.&nbsp;
The Knicks could probably provide that and enable him to remain the principal perimeter handler. They would vastly benefit from his offensive services and he would benefit from their defensive core. The pairing is sensible.
Dinwiddie is very good. Few free agents are better. Through pick-and-roll or isolation play, he checks many important boxes offensively: rim pressure, diverse passing and fashioning of easy scores.&nbsp;
Gauging a player is closely tied to discerning their strengths and weaknesses, recognizing the value of each and ranking them. Dinwiddie&rsquo;s most prevalent strengths &mdash; advantage creation and capitalization &mdash; are vital for team-building. His most prevalent weaknesses &mdash; offensive scalability and on-ball defense &mdash; are well down the list of damning issues.&nbsp;
Soon, a team will sign him. That team will almost assuredly improve offensively because of his addition and be quite satisfied. The gems of this free agency class are scarce, but Spencer Dinwiddie is one of them.&nbsp;

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Memo to Trae Young: Make &lsquo;em pay!
Take this as a sign of disrespect, young man. Their names are Nash, Rivers, Spoelstra, Stevens, Budenholzer, Donovan, Casey, Nurse, Borrego, Clifford, Thibodeau, Bickerstaff, Bjorkgren and Brooks. Print out their photographs, make yourself a &ldquo;WANTED&rdquo; poster and tape it to the ceiling of your bedroom.&nbsp; You will see them in your sleep that way, and they will cause you many a restive night.
And that will make you angry.&nbsp;
And that anger will then channel into passion and production.&nbsp;
And on the receiving end of your venom will be the 14 coaches who may or may not have voted for you. Nobody outside of NBA headquarters knows for sure exactly which of those 14 guys left you off their All-Star ballots, but enough of them did so that they must pay collectively.
Your career-high is 50 points. Ask yourself:&nbsp; &rdquo;Is this the best I can do?&rdquo;
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Because you know it isn&rsquo;t. Nobody in the NBA has made more free throws than you this season. Nobody aside from LeBron James has more 20-point, 10-assist games over the past three seasons than you, and LeBron only leads you by one, 56-55. No player in NBA history ever got to 400 3-pointers quicker than you did (159 games). Only Michael Jordan, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and LeBron have had more 40-point games in their first three seasons than you, kiddo.
So when the All-Star game is played in your home arena and you are not among the 24 &ldquo;best&rdquo; players in the NBA, let it eat you, Trae. Watch closely. They left you out -- maybe because your team is 11th in the Eastern Conference, maybe because you play for a woebegone franchise that hasn&rsquo;t been all that good over a sustained period of time since Dominique Wilkins was lacing &lsquo;em up. Maybe it was the sub-44 percent shooting percentage.
Whatever.&nbsp;
Channel it, young man.
The snub of Young was the most glaring omission Tuesday night as the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-all-star-reserves-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA All-Star reserves were announced</a>, and it is not surprising that several very, very good players got left off. That&rsquo;s what happens when the sides consist of 12 players each. The math works against a bunch of guys, and this year those players are named DeMar DeRozan, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker and Domantas Sabonis. There are four first-timers: Jaylen Brown, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle and Zion Williamson. None of them are undeserving. Again, it&rsquo;s just the math.
But Young&rsquo;s absence is still the most glaring omission because he is eighth in the league in scoring and third in assists, that latter stat a tribute to his unselfishness. The Hawks have had a tough month, going 3-7 heading into Tuesday night&rsquo;s game against the Cavs, and given that their young trio of Young, Clint Capela and John Collins was accentuated by the offseason additions of veterans Rajon Rondo, Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic, bigger and better things were expected (injuries have been a factor, of course).
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Each omission is glaring in its own particular way. DeRozan plays for a Spurs team that nobody expected to be sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference. Booker is scoring more than 24 points per game and shooting above 50 percent for a Phoenix Suns team that is the NBA&rsquo;s most pleasant surprise. Yes, Chris Paul was deserving, but so was his backcourt partner. The Suns are 20-10 and fourth in the West, and it will surprise absolutely no one if Booker is named an injury replacement for Anthony Davis. Sabonis is a one-man show for an Indiana Pacers team that traded away Victor Oladipo, but is a virtual lock to make the postseason.
There is nobody from the Miami Heat, who made it to last year&rsquo;s NBA Finals, and you can be fairly certain that Pat Riley got on the phone with Adebayo and Jimmy Butler and had a few choice inspirational words Tuesday night. There is nobody from the Toronto Raptors, who are sacrificing like no other NBA team, playing every single one of their games on the road, for all intents and purposes. Khris Middleton is the most conspicuously absent member of the Bucks; same for Tobias Harris of the first-place Sixers.&nbsp;
They are all snubs &hellip; but Young is the biggest snub of them all, especially with the game being played in Atlanta.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s hope Trae gets this memo. We all expected better from the Hawks, and maybe this will help them get where they should be. The NBA needs another &ldquo;it&rdquo; team, and the Hawks were supposed to be that team. There is a lot of the regular season left, plenty of time for somebody to do exactly what the Heat did in the bubble last summer &ndash; surprise everyone.
The 22-year-old is best known as the player traded for Luka Doncic on draft night. But that will change over time once Young becomes an established winner. He is not there yet, and maybe he needed a kick in the pants. 
Those 14 East coaches may have just delivered it.

Chris Sheridan reacts to the deserving 2021 NBA All-Star reserves that were left out of this year's mix.

Sheridan: Hawks guard Trae Young is the biggest NBA All-Star snub

Steve Nash, the incoming coach of the Brooklyn Nets, got peppered with so many different questions about so many different things on Tuesday that he literally ran out of answers.
But the ones he provided were revealing.
Nash is the first ex-player to take on an NBA head coaching job with no prior head coaching experience since Derek Fisher and Steve Kerr did it in 2014. Jason Kidd preceded them in 2013, and others who have &ldquo;jumped the line&rdquo; include Mark Jackson, Vinny Del Negro, Kevin McHale, Isaiah Thomas, Doc Rivers and Larry Bird.
That puts Nash in a pretty exclusive club, and he sounded more than ready to take on the task in an hour-long &ldquo;Town Hall&rdquo; broadcast on the YES Network hosted by Nets play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle.
And despite the offensive talents that Nash will have at his disposal in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris (if he is retained as an unrestricted free agent), Nash said his singular focus in discussions with the team thus far has been defensive philosophy. He refused to put a number of how many points he expects opponents to average, but he sounded especially genuine, emphasizing that defense wins championships.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The offense is still to be determined. I don&rsquo;t want to come in with a whole lot of concepts and designs,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;When I played under Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, he let it evolve. We want to play fast, space the floor and incorporate philosophical thoughts that fit our group, but we&rsquo;ve spent recent time building our defense.&rdquo;
The interview was sort of a <a href="https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1321162538722168835?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting-to-know-Nash session</a>, with many of the questions submitted by Nets season-ticket holders via Facebook. Eagle was the only media member asking questions.
Nash said the biggest change that he has seen in the NBA since his playing days ended is the emphasis on analytics, including how they are at the heart of creating defensive strategies and opportunities for three-pointers.
&ldquo;You see that on the floor a lot without knowing how much of it is data-driven,&rdquo; he said.
Nash was hired over the summer by longtime friend and Nets general manager Sean Marks. Nash was a player-development consultant on the Golden State Warriors while Durant was on the team. Nash's assistant coach, Adam Harrington, also worked with Durant in the past as KD's personal coach.
Nash called Kyrie Irving &ldquo;as skilled of a player as I have ever seen in this league.&rdquo; He noted that because they both have played point guard, they share a commonality on the court, as well as a commonality off of it -- related to Irving&rsquo;s offseason donation of $1.5 million to WNBA players who sat out their bubble restart for a variety of reasons.
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Asked by one season-ticket holder to define what &ldquo;success&rdquo; would look like for this team, Nash replied: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing for a championship. I don&rsquo;t want to say anything less than a championship is a failure, but we&rsquo;re playing for a championship.&rdquo;
That is music to the ears of Brooklyn fans. New Yorkers have watched the crosstown Knicks fail to make the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons while being spurned by big-name free agents, including Durant and Irving a year ago. This interview also offered a stark contrast between the two metropolitan-area franchises in terms of their approach to engaging their fans. Nash was colorful and engaging, showing personality and humor. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is similarly engaging, although he has been kept mum by New York's front office (aside from brief Zoom interviews following the Delete-Eight mini-bubble practices).
Nash said he was impressed by the Nets' 5-3 performance in the NBA bubble despite the team missing so many of its regular players, singling out LeVert and Jarrett Allen as players who were especially impressive.
The geographical separation of the team members due to COVID restrictions has been a hindrance in preparations, but about two months still remain before the season could reportedly begin. The Nets still have to make two draft picks (No. 19 and No. 55) on Nov. 18; Nash said he is largely staying out of the draft process other than offering his opinion when asked, saying that the front office's responsibility.&nbsp;
Nash was barraged with a variety of personal questions including what he can cook best (avocado toast), what his favorite concert was (Jay-Z, Prince, Radiohead), who his favorite soccer players are (Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle and Lionel Messi), which athlete posters he had on his bedroom wall as a child (Michael Jordan and Darryl Strawberry), his favorite Christmas present (Air Jordan 1s), who he would most like to have dinner with (Barack Obama) and which actor he would choose to play him in a Steve Nash biography (Sean Penn). He had no answer when asked what his biggest hidden talent was.
All-in-all, it was an entertaining and insightful window into a two-time MVP who is better known in Phoenix, Dallas and Canada than he is in Brooklyn, where he lives with his wife and five children.
The Nets are projected as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference by many sports gambling companies, and the expectations are huge after the fan base waited out Durant&rsquo;s recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and Irving endured sporadic injuries that sidelined him for 52 games.
Nash will be the 23rd coach in franchise history.
&ldquo;Over the last five years, I realized I had the itch [to coach],&rdquo; Nash said.
Now he gets to scratch it, and the Nets more than scratched the surface of what kind of a person Nash is with one of the better television interviews that the franchise has produced in ages.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am not here to raise my profile or get credit,&rdquo; Nash said.
But those things will happen if he leads the Nets to a championship, which is his own stated goal.

Chris Sheridan breaks down Steve Nash's appearance at the Brooklyn Nets Town Hall and what we learned.

Pedro