Big Red

The Portland Trail Blazers and center Deandre Ayton have agreed to a contract buyout, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.&nbsp;
This paves the way for Ayton to enter free agency as the veteran center, who held one year and $35.6 million on his deal, will waive that salary to pursue a fresh opportunity elsewhere.
At 26, Ayton averaged a robust 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.0 block over 40 games last season before a left calf injury ended his year early. A former No. 1 overall pick and member of the NBA All-Rookie First Team, he's maintained double-double averages across seven seasons, distinguishing himself among active centers.
Portland, fresh off adding young big men Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen through the 2024 and 2025 drafts, as well as carrying Robert Williams III and Duop Reath, had limited space for Ayton&rsquo;s minutes. Unable to find a suitable trade, the buyout became the most viable exit strategy.&nbsp;
After clearing waivers (expected by Wednesday evening), Ayton can sign with any NBA team &ndash; even those over the second apron &ndash; providing flexibility in his next move.
Portland retains Ayton on its cap until his new contract begins, potentially stretching the buyout over multiple seasons to maximize cap flexibility.
However, the move aligns with their development-first vision, granting floor time to Clingan, Hansen, and Williams without drafting another center-heavy rotation. 
The Blazers have offloaded a big salary to prioritize young frontcourt talent and cap health. For Ayton, this marks a fresh start, as he should draw interest from contenders seeking size and rebounding at a modest cost.

The Portland Trail Blazers and center Deandre Ayton have agreed to a contract buyout, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Trail Blazers agree to buy out Deandre Ayton

The first round of the 2025 NBA Draft has been completed, and the second round will tip off on Thursday, June 26 (8 ET, ESPN) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This will be the second time in NBA history that the draft will be held over two days, following its introduction over a year ago.
Here are all the first-round selections courtesy of the NBA: (article to be updated with the second-round picks)
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/cooper-flagg">Cooper Flagg</a> (Duke) to the Dallas Mavericks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/dylan-harper">Dylan Harper</a> (Rutgers) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/vj-edgecombe">VJ Edgecombe</a> (Baylor) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/kon-knueppel">Kon Knueppel</a> (Duke) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/ace-bailey">Ace Bailey</a> (Rutgers) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/tre-johnson">Tre Johnson</a> (Texas) to the Washington Wizards</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/jeremiah-fears">Jeremiah Fears</a> (Oklahoma) to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/egor-demin">Egor Demin</a> (BYU) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/collin-murray-boyles">Collin Murray-Boyles</a> (South Carolina) to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/khaman-maluach">Khaman Maluach</a> (Duke) to the Houston Rockets &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/suns-rockets-trade-kevin-durant">Traded to Suns</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/cedric-coward">Cedric Coward</a> (Washington State) to the Portland Trail Blazers &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/memgrizz/status/1938089198935834700">Traded to Grizzlies</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/noa-essengue">Noa Essengue</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Chicago Bulls</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/derik-queen">Derik Queen</a> (Maryland) to the Atlanta Hawks &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/derik-queen-nba-draft-trade-forward-center-maryland-new-orleans-pelicans-atlanta-hawks-first-round-draft-pick-13">Traded to Pelicans</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/carter-bryant">Carter Bryant</a> (Arizona) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/thomas-sorber">Thomas Sorber</a> (Georgetown) to the Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/hansen-yang">Yang Hansen</a> (Qingdao) to the Memphis Grizzlies &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/blazers/news/trail-blazers-acquire-draft-rights-to-yang-hansen">Traded to Trail Blazers</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/joan-beringer">Joan Beringer</a> (Cedevita Olimpija) to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/walter-clayton-jr">Walter Clayton Jr.</a> (Florida) to the Washington Wizards &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/utahjazz/status/1938070621159616606">Traded to Jazz</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/nolan-traore">Nolan Traor&eacute;</a> (Saint-Quentin BB) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/kasparas-jakucionis">Kasparas Jakučionis</a> (Illinois) to the Miami Heat</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/will-riley">Will Riley</a> (Illinois) to the Utah Jazz &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/WashWizards/status/1938082193785397462">Traded to Wizards</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/drake-powell">Drake Powell</a> (North Carolina) to the Atlanta Hawks &ndash; <a href="https://x.com/BrooklynNets/status/1938071333008482655">Traded to Nets</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/asa-newell">Asa Newell</a> (Georgia) to the New Orleans Pelicans &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/hawks/news/atlanta-hawks-acquire-the-draft-rights-of-asa-newell-the-no-23-pick-in-the-2025-nba-draft">Traded to Hawks</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/nique-clifford">Nique Clifford</a> (Colorado State) to the Oklahoma City Thunder &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/kings/news/kings-acquire-draft-rights-to-nique-clifford">Traded to Kings</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/jase-richardson">Jase Richardson</a> (Michigan State) to the Orlando Magic</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/ben-saraf">Ben Saraf</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/danny-wolf">Danny Wolf</a> (Michigan) to the Brooklyn Nets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/hugo-gonzalez">Hugo Gonz&aacute;lez</a> (Real Madrid) to the Boston Celtics</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/liam-mcneeley">Liam McNeeley</a> (Connecticut) to the Phoenix Suns &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/hornets/news/charlotte-hornets-agree-in-principle-to-acquire-the-draft-rights-to-liam-mcneeley">Traded to Hornets</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2025/prospects/yanic-konan-niederhauser">Yanic Konan Niederhauser</a> (Penn State) to the Los Angeles Clippers</li>
</ol>

The first round of the 2025 NBA Draft has been completed, and the second round will tip off on Thursday, June 26, still in Brooklyn.

2025 NBA Draft: Full results

Syracuse University will honor the 2003 championship team this weekend. It is the 20th anniversary of the title and many of the championship team&rsquo;s players will make their way to upstate New York to celebrate. The guest list includes Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany and more.&nbsp;
I caught up with Warrick, who will also be honored with his jersey officially being retired alongside his teammate McNamara. The jersey retirements will take place on Saturday, March 4, when Syracuse hosts Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome. Warrick&rsquo;s jersey will be hoisted into the rafters, joining Syracuse legends such as Dave Bing (22), Roosevelt Bouie (50), Louis Orr (55), Derrick Coleman (44), Sherman Douglas (20), Dennis DuVal (22), Billy Gabor (17), Vic Hanson (8), Lawrence Moten (21), Billy Owens (30), Rony Seikaly (4), Carmelo Anthony (15), Wilmer Sidat-Singh (19), Pearl Washington (31) and John Wallace (44).
Needless to say, he is in some very good company.&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: Syracuse is going to honor you on Saturday night, a member of Syracuse's only championship team. They&rsquo;re going to retire your jersey and G-Mac&rsquo;s jersey. There will be a lot of guys from your team going back for this special occasion. How does it feel?&nbsp;
Hakim Warrick: "It feels great. It&rsquo;s definitely an honor. Like you said, this is going to really be a special night. To have my name up there with some of the Syracuse greats, it&rsquo;s definitely an honor."
Etan: Let's talk about how special that 2003 team was. Y&rsquo;all were such a deep team. Y&rsquo;all had so many different weapons coming off the bench.&nbsp;
Hakim: "It was a really special team. I think one of the things that made us so tough to beat was that everyone knew their roles and played them to the best of their ability. We also had a situation where everyone knew that at some point, it was going to be their night, and we were so selfless that we would just feed the hot man. It didn&rsquo;t matter who it was. We went like nine or 10 deep. And you know, that&rsquo;s not regular for Syracuse (laughing). Coach Boeheim has been notorious for cutting that rotation real short, but we had a lot of guys who could really play."
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Etan: Of course, Carmelo got a lot of the attention, but y&rsquo;all were definitely not a one-man show. Y&rsquo;all had a lot of different pieces.&nbsp;
Hakim: "Sure, we knew Melo was the focal point and we knew that a lot of teams were going to be keyed in on him. We had guys like Gerry, who kept everyone honest in spacing the floor. He could knock down the three from anywhere. Kueth was our senior leader who provided guidance and picked us up when we were down and motivated us and played with passion. We had bigs in Craig Forth and Jeremy McNeil, who both brought a different element to the center position. Craig was more of a passing big, screen-setter [whereas] Jeremy could block shots like you and was athletic and strong, so they complemented each other really well. We had guys like Josh Pace and Billy Edelin, who would run the team and keep the offense moving and put people in their spots. They really were both floor generals. We just always played as a team and some nights it would be Melo&rsquo;s night, some nights it would be my night, some nights it would be G-Mac&rsquo;s night, and we just piggy-backed off each other."
Etan: Can you talk about how competitive your practices were? I&rsquo;ve heard people talk about that quite often because you guys were so deep and every position had a lot of competition, so you guys really pushed each other and made each other better.
Hakim: "Yeah, we definitely went at each other, but it started in the offseason when everyone first got up to school that year and there was so much hype around this freshman from Baltimore (Carmelo). And I remember looking at him the first day like, 'Who is this little chubby dude that everyone is hyped about?' (laughing) But I knew from those first pick-up games that we were going to be a special team."
Etan: You know, I&rsquo;ve heard people talk about those early pick-up games, so what was it specifically about those runs that made you feel that this was going to be a special team?&nbsp;
Hakim: "I mean, I&rsquo;m not saying I knew we was gonna be a championship team, I&rsquo;m not saying all that. I mean, at that time, we weren&rsquo;t even ranked nationally. People from the outside looking in didn&rsquo;t have high expectations for us. But there was something about when we were working out, the chemistry and how competitive we were, I knew we were gonna surprise a lot of people, and that&rsquo;s exactly what we did."
Etan: Now, during the season, you all took a few bumps. There were a few spots where things weren&rsquo;t going well, like all teams have throughout the course of the season. But how did you all bounce back from those bumps? Because what happens with a lot of teams, especially young teams, is that they crumble. They don&rsquo;t get over those humps, but that didn&rsquo;t happen with you guys.
Hakim: "We just believed. I think the fact that we were all young and naive probably helped us as well. We didn&rsquo;t listen to any outside noise and we believed in each other no matter what happened. Like you said, we had some bumps, but our confidence and our swag never stumbled. Also, having someone like Kueth as our leader, he had been through the ringer. He was the wise old veteran, and he did a great job of making sure nobody ever got down &mdash; even when things weren&rsquo;t going well. We just learned from every experience, whether good or bad, and as the season went on, we just kept gaining even more and more confidence in each other and in ourselves. We had a lot of comeback victories that year, and we never thought that we was out of a game &mdash; no matter how much we got down. It&rsquo;s like we just knew we would be able to come back, and a lot of times we did just that."
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Etan: Okay, so I gotta ask you about &ldquo;The Block&rdquo; against Kansas in the championship game. Every Syracuse fan knows of this block, and many fans have the poster of this amazing play that you made. That really was a game-winning play because I think that three from the corner was gonna go in if you didn&rsquo;t block it. Walk me through that play.&nbsp;
Hakim: "So right before that, I missed the free throw, so I&rsquo;m already like, 'Man, I could&rsquo;ve ended the game right there with the free throw, but I missed it,' so I knew I had to do something to make up for that. We were not going to lose this championship because of me. I just remember them swinging the ball, and I remember Kueth closing out way past the three-point line, but he had to because they had shooters. And I knew that as far stretched out as he was, there was no way that he was going to be able to get all the way down to cover the corner three. I just sniffed out the play before it happened and pre-rotated out there, but I was all the way under the rim, so I didn&rsquo;t really think I would be able to get all the way out there to actually block it. I wanted to at least contest it and make it a tough shot for him.
"But as I jumped and was in the air, I thought, 'Man, I may be able to block this!' So I stretched out my arms as long as I could and turned my body so I didn&rsquo;t get the foul after I got the block, and I was able to get a piece of the ball and there was only a couple tenths of a second left, and we won the game. I really couldn&rsquo;t believe it. All of the hard work, all of the hours of practice and ups-and-downs of the season finally came into fruition. Absolutely amazing feeling."
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Etan: Well, it was a play that will always be etched in stone in Syracuse history. Not just for Syracuse, but also in March Madness and Final Four history. So last question: there are so many guys coming back to Syracuse from that '03 championship team this weekend. How much are you looking forward to seeing all of your teammates again, being in the Dome and feeling the love from the crowd?
Hakim: "I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. There are a lot of guys that I haven&rsquo;t seen in years. This will, in fact, be my first game back at the Dome since my senior night, so I&rsquo;m really looking forward to that. I&rsquo;ve seen the team, I was there when they went to the Final Four; in fact, I saw you there. I caught them down in DC a couple of times. But I haven&rsquo;t had the chance to actually be back at the Dome, so I&rsquo;m super excited to feel the love and that magical atmosphere and be able to share all of that with my teammates. I&rsquo;m really looking forward to it. It&rsquo;s going to be a special weekend."
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Etan Thomas catches up with fellow Syracuse legend Hakim Warrick to discuss his jersey retirement, the 2003 championship team, more.

Hakim Warrick Q&A: 2003 Syracuse championship and jersey retirement

Now in his eighth season with the Indiana Pacers, Myles Turner is easily the team&rsquo;s longest-tenured player. In fact, no other Pacer on the current roster has been in town longer than four seasons.
Turner arrived in Indiana as a wide-eyed teenager who was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. In the years that followed, Turner would watch as the team continually changed around him. He has played for four different head coaches &mdash; Frank Vogel, Nate McMillan, Nate Bjorkgren and Rick Carlisle &mdash; and witnessed a ton of roster turnover. But despite Turner&rsquo;s name surfacing in trade rumors annually, he has been the one constant in Indiana.
As a rookie, Turner suited up alongside stars like Paul George and Monta Ellis. During his sophomore campaign, he called Al Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, Jeff Teague and Lance Stephenson teammates. The following year, Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis, Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison joined the squad. Turner has also played with veterans such as Tyreke Evans, Ty Lawson, Rodney Stuckey, Caris LeVert, Doug McDermott, T.J. Warren and C.J. Miles over the years.
However, one could argue that no teammate has had a greater impact on Turner&rsquo;s game than his current star running mate: Tyrese Haliburton.
When the Pacers <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings</a> prior to last year&rsquo;s trade deadline, Turner was ecstatic. He was a fan of Haliburton&rsquo;s game and potential, and couldn&rsquo;t wait to team up with the pass-first point guard. Unfortunately, Turner wasn&rsquo;t able to play alongside Haliburton in the second half of last season due to a stress reaction in his foot.
This year, the Pacers&rsquo; one-two punch of Haliburton and Turner has been on full display, and they have become one of the most productive pick-and-roll duos in the NBA.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
pretty.😍 Tyrese Haliburton to Myles Turner for two. <a href="https://t.co/TupiSM909t">pic.twitter.com/TupiSM909t</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1629656051175026688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Turner has set 814 picks for Haliburton, which is the third-most of any pick-and-roll duo in the league, per Second Spectrum. The only tandems who have run the pick-and-roll more are Philadelphia&rsquo;s James Harden and Joel Embiid (893 picks) and Phoenix&rsquo;s Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton (897). Possessions featuring a Haliburton-Turner pick-and-roll have generated 1.063 points per possession &mdash; the fifth-best PPP of the 24 duos with at least 500 picks.
&ldquo;This has been a wonderful opportunity for Myles to play with a playmaking guard of Tyrese&rsquo;s caliber,&rdquo; Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle told Basketball News. &ldquo;A couple weeks ago, we checked and they were top-five or top-six in the league as a successful pick-and-roll connection, and that&rsquo;s pretty amazing. Myles is getting all different kinds of stuff &mdash; he&rsquo;s getting rolls for dunks, he's getting a little bit of mid-range, he's getting good looks for threes and he's getting some late passes underneath for dunks as well.
"I just love the force that he&rsquo;s playing with. Tyrese has had a wonderful impact on Myles and certainly the rest of the team, but the connection those two guys have has been special.&rdquo;
The partnership has been mutually beneficial. Turner gets easy looks from an elite floor general who ranks second among all players in assists per game (10.2) and assist percentage (46.9%), while Haliburton gets a unique big-man partner who can score inside (62.8% on twos) and out (40.3% on threes). It&rsquo;s no coincidence that both players are having career years.&nbsp;
Turner is averaging career-highs in points (18.2), rebounds (8.0), field-goal percentage (54.9%), three-point percentage (40.3%) and made threes (1.7), while also contributing 2.3 blocks, 1.4 deflections and 0.6 steals per game. Turner's dominance shows up in his analytics too, as he's posting personal bests in win shares per 48 minutes (.157), Box Plus/Minus (+2.6), True Shooting percentage (65.8%), Player Efficiency Rating (20.6) and total rebound rate (14.7%).
&ldquo;Myles has blossomed this year. We've seen the relationship with him and Ty; they're one of the best pick-and-roll [duos] in the league right now,&rdquo; Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said recently. &ldquo;This is the beginning of a nice core &mdash; no, a great core.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Haliburton <a href="bit.ly/3AyPKHC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">became a first-time All-Star</a> after averaging career-highs in points (20.1), assists (10.1) and threes (2.8), while also contributing 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. Haliburton is also posting personal bests in advanced stats like assist percentage (46.9%), PER (23.0), VORP (3.8), BPM (+6.9) and WS/48 (.189).
&ldquo;It was unfortunate that I didn&rsquo;t get a chance to play with him last year and really start to develop that synergy, but I think we&rsquo;ve really picked it up quickly,&rdquo; Turner told Basketball News. &ldquo;Ty is someone who&rsquo;s easy to play with. Obviously, he sees the floor well. And as the season has progressed, we&rsquo;ve done a better job of communicating with each other. It&rsquo;s been a fun experience.&rdquo;
Despite the fact that they&rsquo;ve only played 44 games together, they have developed a strong connection and can often anticipate each other&rsquo;s next move.
&ldquo;I think I know what he&rsquo;s going to do before he does it in a sense,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think that just comes with playing with him.&rdquo;
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this sequence.🔥 a huge block by Myles Turner followed by a huge dunk by Tyrese Haliburton.👀 <a href="https://t.co/4MpAf4Kp0B">pic.twitter.com/4MpAf4Kp0B</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1630770909442191360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;We just needed time together, that&rsquo;s all,&rdquo; Haliburton told Basketball News. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;ve had pretty good chemistry with my bigs throughout my NBA career, and I knew that playing with Myles wasn&rsquo;t going to be any different. He brings a different dynamic than what I&rsquo;m used to, with his ability to space the floor. And he&rsquo;s the best shot-blocker that I&rsquo;ve ever played with, so that gives me confidence on the defensive end to be able to take more risks and get into the ball a little bit more.
"I think it&rsquo;s a mutual relationship where he&rsquo;s got my back and I&rsquo;ve got his.&rdquo;
Not too long ago, Turner&rsquo;s days in Indiana seemed numbered. After all, the team traded away nearly all of its veterans last season (including Sabonis, LeVert, Torrey Craig, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb), and Turner&rsquo;s name continued to pop up in trade rumors. However, since Turner is only 26 years old, the Pacers&rsquo; brass felt that he could be on a similar timeline as Haliburton, who is 23.
It certainly seems that the Pacers are building around this duo, especially after Turner was given a two-year, $60 million extension in January.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad that we got it done. I think it was a win-win for both sides,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think I have a good relationship with (Pacers owner) Herb Simon, and I think he has a big belief in what I&rsquo;m capable of as well. I&rsquo;m glad that we were able to come to terms on an agreement. Behind the scenes, for me personally, I was open to the idea of free agency, but I also wanted to at least give Indy a fair chance, and both sides came to an agreement.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable. I&rsquo;m where I want to be. I&rsquo;m growing with a young team that&rsquo;s hungry. I think we&rsquo;re just trying to get better and better every day, and that&rsquo;s the main goal of this whole thing. I have a lot of belief in this city, a lot of belief in this program and a lot of belief in the guys in this locker room, so that was a big initial factor in me wanting to stay here.&rdquo;
Since Turner was a popular trade candidate, many fans of other teams got excited about the possibility of him joining their favorite squad. When Turner inked his extension with the Pacers, some of these fans reacted negatively &mdash; upset that he was no longer on the market.&nbsp;
&ldquo;What fans don&rsquo;t realize is that this is a business, and both sides have to do what&rsquo;s best for them,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t work out where you&rsquo;re able to stay with the same team, but I&rsquo;ve been blessed and fortunate enough to be with the same team for my entire career. That&rsquo;s not something that happens a lot, and I never take that for granted. That was obviously something that went into my decision as well. For the casual fan, they have to realize that while basketball may be a fun game, the business aspect of it will always reign supreme.&rdquo;
As Turner mentioned, not many players stay with one NBA team for the entirety of their career. He admits that retiring in Indiana would mean a lot to him.
&ldquo;Yeah, obviously, it&rsquo;s something that would be very special,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Like I always talk about, the business of basketball always reigns supreme, but my loyalty is with the organization that drafted me and the city that took me in, and hopefully it&rsquo;s able to stay that way for years to come.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Turner has been a part of many different iterations of Pacers basketball. Now, looking at the current pieces around him, he&rsquo;s excited about the team&rsquo;s promising future.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen the growth in a lot of our young guys throughout the entire year,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;The best thing for them was getting a chance to play early. For <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-feature-interview-indiana-pacers-rookie-andrew-nembhard-rick-carlisle-tj-mcconnell-gonzaga-florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Drew [Nembhard]</a>, Ben [Mathurin] and those guys, playing heavy minutes early was big for their development, and not every rookie has a chance to do that. The fact that they&rsquo;re getting battle-tested so early is going to bode well for them.
"I&rsquo;ve just enjoyed the overall spirit and fight of this team. We&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys who clock in and work hard day in and day out, and they&rsquo;re coming in here and getting a chance to compete after working their whole life to get here.&rdquo;
While playing alongside Haliburton has certainly helped Turner, the big man does deserve a lot of credit for the leap he has taken this season. He&rsquo;s put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to maximize his potential and make the most of his opportunity.
&ldquo;I attribute [my career year] to patience and obviously the hard work I put in over the offseason to prepare for these moments,&rdquo; Turner explained. &ldquo;I also attribute it to just the years that I&rsquo;ve been in the league, where I&rsquo;ve been able to play out on the perimeter at the 4 position and now I&rsquo;m able to play my natural position (the 5).
"I&rsquo;m thankful that I was able to just stick it out those years that I was here and see what the other side of basketball was like, outside of just getting what you want when you want it. I think I waited my turn and, obviously, I&rsquo;m thriving now, and I&rsquo;m only hoping to get better from here.&rdquo;
Nekias Duncan contributed to this article.

Alex Kennedy catches up with Pacers big man Myles Turner to discuss his extension, playing with Tyrese Haliburton and more.

Pacers' perfect pairing: Turner, Haliburton form dominant 1-2 punch

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Colin Castleton is accustomed to being double-teamed every time he touches the ball, so he was pleasantly surprised &mdash; maybe even downright stunned &mdash; when Tennessee opted to guard him with a single defender in the second half.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to take advantage of that,&rdquo; Castleton said.
He did. Castleton scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and Florida upended the second-ranked Volunteers 67-54 on Wednesday night.
Kyle Lofton added 14 points for the Gators, who delivered coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville. It was Florida&rsquo;s second Quad 1 win in the last two weeks.
The Volunteers, playing with their highest ranking in four years, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10.
&ldquo;Our guys are disappointed,&rdquo; Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re better than this, but tonight we weren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) looked like it had taken control midway through the second half. They outscored Florida by 10 points in the early going to take a six-point lead.
But the Gators (13-9, 6-3) stormed back behind Castleton, who scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied. The senior had a dunk, two free throws, a three-point play, a layup and a short jumper &mdash; essentially putting the team on his back down the stretch.
&ldquo;They went small, and I felt like I had a mismatch,&rdquo; Castleton said.
Myreon Jones and Will Richard chipped in nine points apiece for the Gators.
Zakai Ziegler led the Vols with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Olivier Nkamhoua added 11 points and nine rebounds for the visitors, who also got 11 points and eight boards from Vescovi Santiago.
The Gators were red hot to start the game, making six of their first eight shots &mdash; including all three from 3-point range &mdash; while building a 17-4 advantage. But they quickly cooled against the nation&rsquo;s best defense, missing nine of their next 11 as Tennessee made cut it to 22-21.
The Vols had it going coming out of the locker room, with Ziegler getting into the paint and making things happen. But it was short-lived &mdash; thanks mostly to Castleton.
&ldquo;We gave them a chance to start believing in what they&rsquo;re doing, and they took it,&rdquo; Barnes said.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Tennessee surely will drop a few spots in next week&rsquo;s AP Top 25 college basketball poll.
BIG PICTURE
Tennessee: The Volunteers gave up 10 points in the opening four minutes of the games, a rare sluggish start for the nation&rsquo;s best defense. Tennessee had held four of its first eight SEC opponents scoreless at the first media timeout, roughly the first four minutes of games. It was a sign of things to come.
&ldquo;We kept fighting uphill all night long,&rdquo; Barnes said.
Florida: The Gators are two games into the toughest stretch of their season. Coming off a loss at Kansas State, they have road games against Kentucky and Alabama up next. So to say they needed this one would be an understatement.
&ldquo;It was a desperation game,&rdquo; Castleton said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a tough schedule here and we&rsquo;ve got to win games. We were able to claw and fight.&rdquo;
IN THE HOUSE
Football coach Billy Napier watched the game from a few rows behind Florida&rsquo;s bench alongside his two sons and receiver Ricky Pearsall. Former Florida tennis star Ben Shelton, the NCAA singles champion in 2022, also was in attendance. So was former Gators and NFL quarterback Doug Johnson.
UP NEXT
Tennessee hosts No. 25 Auburn and former coach Bruce Pearl on Saturday.
Florida plays at Kentucky on Saturday. The Gators have lost seven of eight in the series.
NO. 1 PURDUE 80, PENN STATE 60
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mason Gillis broke the Mackey Arena record by making nine 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points as Purdue beat Penn State.
Gillis went 10 of 14 from the field and 9 of 12 from beyond the arc. Zach Edey added his 18th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (22-1, 11-1) have won nine straight overall, six straight in the series and are the only Power Five team with fewer than two losses this season.
Seth Lundy had 18 points to lead the Nittany Lions (14-8, 5-6).
NO. 14 MARQUETTE 73, VILLANOVA 64
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek scored 20 points and Marquette rallied down the stretch to beat Villanova and maintain a share of the Big East lead.
Kam Jones added 18 points for Marquette (18-5, 10-2), which has won four straight games and nine of 10.
Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels scored 14 each for Villanova (10-12, 4-7), which committed a season-high 19 turnovers. Brendan Hausen added 12 points.
In a game neither team led by more than six until the final minute, Kolek put Marquette ahead for good at 63-62 by sinking two free throws with 4:32 remaining, starting a 10-0 spurt.
NO. 16 XAVIER 85, NO. 17 PROVIDENCE 83, OT
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 23 points and 14 rebounds as Xavier held off Providence in overtime.
Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 20 for the Musketeers, who won a first-place showdown in the Big East without injured forward Zach Freemantle.
Noah Locke had 22 points and Ed Croswell added 21 for Providence (17-6, 9-3), which had beaten Xavier three straight times.
A layup by Boum put the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2) ahead 82-79 with 51 seconds remaining in overtime. A layup by Devin Carter cut Xavier&rsquo;s lead to one with 24 seconds left. Boum hit one of two free throws, and Jared Bynum&rsquo;s 3-point attempt from the left corner rimmed out at the buzzer.
NO. 25 AUBURN 94, GEORGIA 73
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome scored 19 points and matched a career high with 18 rebounds, Allen Flanigan scored a season-high 22 points, and Auburn beat Georgia.
Wendell Green Jr. added 18 points and six assists and made two 3-pointers during a 17-0 first-half run for the Tigers (17-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference).
Broome secured his seventh double-double of the season with 2:54 remaining in the first half, then added six points and six rebounds in the second half.
Mardrez McBride led the Bulldogs (14-8, 4-5) with 20 points.

A recap of Wednesday night's action in men's college basketball includes an impressive upset in SEC play from the Gators.

Florida upends No. 2 Tennessee 67-54 behind Colin Castleton

The 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player race is wide open, as evidenced by the ever-shifting odds. Since the start of the season, four different players have been listed as the MVP favorite at some point.
In October, Luka Doncic had the best odds. In November, Giannis Antetokounmpo became the favorite. In December, Jayson Tatum narrowly took the lead. This month, Nikola Jokic has emerged as the front-runner.&nbsp;
Jokic (-110) currently has the best odds, as he tries to win his third-straight MVP award, followed by Doncic (+430), Tatum (+700), Joel Embiid (+800) and Antetokounmpo (+1100).&nbsp;
Earlier this week, Tatum weighed in on the MVP race.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of talented guys &ndash; guys having tremendous years and putting up great numbers. You&rsquo;ve got Jokic, Embiid, Luka, Giannis&hellip;" Tatum said. "There&rsquo;s a lot of great guys having great years on great teams.
"I think winning plays a part [in the MVP race] so, for me, it's just continue to play at a high level and continue to help my team win and at the end of the year, what&rsquo;s supposed to happen will happen. And we&rsquo;ll go from there.&rdquo;
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Tatum is having an excellent season, posting career-highs in points (31.0), rebounds (8.6), assists (4.4) and three-pointers (3.3). The 24-year-old has also been incredibly efficient, posting the best True Shooting percentage of his career (61.1%).
His trainer, Drew Hanlen, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-an-inside-look-at-jayson-tatum-dominant-start-to-the-season-boston-celtics-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently spoke to Basketball News</a> about Tatum's offseason training.
&ldquo;When we look at the last couple years, he hasn't really had offseasons as much,&rdquo; Hanlen told me in July. &ldquo;The one year, they go in the Bubble and they go all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals; we had like two weeks that offseason and then he goes and plays and he starts off really slow.
"Then, [the next summer], he goes to play with USA Basketball and wins a gold medal; we have a couple-week offseason and he starts really slow. This year, we finally had a full offseason so that he can start the season strong instead of kind of working his way in.&rdquo;
Tatum has led the Celtics to an NBA-best 35-14 record. Boston currently boasts the NBA's third-best offense (scoring 115.3 points per 100 possessions) and seventh-best defense (allowing 109.3 points per 100 possessions).

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum recently shared his thoughts about this year's wide-open MVP race.

Jayson Tatum weighs in on the NBA's wide-open MVP race

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Destiny Littleton scored 18 points with six assists as Southern California pulled off a program-defining victory Sunday with a 55-46 upset victory over No. 2 Stanford.
Okako Adika scored 11 points with 11 rebounds, while Taylor Bigby and Kayla Williams added nine points each as the Trojans set the tone with their defense and held on late to end a 14-game losing streak against the Cardinal, who had won 51 straight against unranked opponents.
It was USC&rsquo;s first victory over Stanford (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) since the 2014 conference tournament. Cameron Brink scored 11 points with 14 rebounds for Stanford, which saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end.
USC (13-4, 3-3) held Stanford to four points in the first quarter, its low for any period this season.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 81, MISSOURI 50
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her 71st career double-double and South Carolina won its 24th straight by beating Missouri.
Boston&rsquo;s 11th game with double-figure points and rebounds moved her with one of program-record holder Sheila Foster &mdash; and kept the Gamecocks perfect at 18-0 and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
Zia Cooke added 16 points and Ashlyn Watkins 13 for the Gamecocks.&nbsp;
Missouri (14-5, 3-3) lost its third straight after opening SEC play with three consecutive victories. Lauren Hansen finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers.
NO. 4 UCONN 65, GEORGETOWN 50
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Aaliyah Edwards scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as UConn opened up a close game against Georgetown in the second half.
Huskies leading scorer Azzi Fudd left the game in the first half when she appeared to reinjure her right knee. Fudd was playing in just her second game back after missing the previous eight after hurting that knee in December.
Dorka Juhasz had 13 points for the UConn (15-2, 8-0 Big East), and Nika Muhl and Lou Lopez Senechal each added 12.
Brianna Scott led Georgetown (8-9, 1-7) with 11 points.
NO. 5 LSU 84, AUBURN 54
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 23 points and 15 rebounds to maintain her streak of double-doubles in every game this season, and LSU improved its program-record best start to 18-0 with a win over Auburn.
Jasmine Carson scored 18 points, and Alexis Morris had 12 points and 10 assists for LSU, which led the entire way to end up 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play &mdash; winning each of those by 19 or more points.
Precious Johnson scored 13 points and Kharyssa Richardson added 10 for Auburn (10-7, 0-5), which lost its fifth straight since opening SEC play.
NO. 6 INDIANA 93, WISCONSIN 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points and Yarden Garzon added 19 to help Indiana run to a 93-56 win over Wisconsin.
Indiana (16-1, 5-1 Big Ten) shot 55% from the field, including 8-for-20 from beyond the arc, while its defense held Wisconsin (6-12, 2-5) to 35% shooting.
The Badgers had no answers for Holmes, who shot 11-for-15 from the field in her 26 minutes.
Wisconsin was led by Brooke Schramek&rsquo;s 13 points and Serah Williams&rsquo; 10.
NO. 7 NOTRE DAME 72, SYRACUSE 56
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles scored 13 of her game-high 23 points during the second half of Notre Dame&rsquo;s win over Syracuse.
Dara Mabrey chipped in 15 points for the Irish (14-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were coming off a dominant 86-47 victory over Wake Forest on Thursday. Miles also had seven boards and seven assists.
Dyaisha Fair&rsquo;s 14 points led the way for the Orange (13-5, 4-3), who entered Sunday on a three-game winning streak.
NO. 8 UCLA 87, CALIFORNIA 70
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Freshman Londynn Jones had 18 points and Charisma Osborne added 17 to lead UCLA past Cal.
UCLA star freshman Kiki Rice had a double double with 15 points and a career-high 12 assists.
The Bruins (15-3, 4-2 Pac-12) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but came back. Cal played well on the road and kept it close until the fourth, when UCLA, trailing by two points, went on a 12-2 run.
Kemery Martin had a game-high 23 points for the Bears ((10-7, 1-5).
NO. 9 MARYLAND 80, RUTGERS 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 17 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Maryland forced 17 first-half turnovers in a victory over Rutgers.
The Terrapins (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) rebounded from a loss at No. 6 Indiana earlier in the week. Brinae Alexander led Maryland with 20 points, surpassing 1,000 for her career, and Abby Meyers added 14 with three steals.
The Terps beat Rutgers (8-11, 2-5) for the second time in 14 days. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 22 times in the first meeting, and they had 23 on Sunday against Maryland&rsquo;s pressing defense.
Kaylene Smikle scored 21 points for Rutgers and Chyna Cornwell contributed 15.
NO. 10 UTAH 80, NO. 14 ARIZONA 79
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored 27 points, including the winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left, to lead Utah past Arizona.
Pili went 11 of 16 from the field, while Gianna Kneepkens finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Utes (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12). Issy Palmer added 10 points.
Cate Reese tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arizona (14-4, 4-3). Jade Loville finished with 17 points and Esmery Martinez and Shaina Pellington chipped in 10 apiece for the Wildcats, who lost their second straight game.
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA 56, NO. 11 N.C. STATE 47
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kennedy Todd-Williams scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, Destiny Adams scored all of her eight points in the final 4 minutes and North Carolina beat rival N.C. State.
Alyssa Ustby added nine points and a career-high 18 rebounds for North Carolina (12-5, 3-3 ACC).
Jakia Brown-Turner led N.C. State (13-4, 3-3) with 14 points and Camille Hobby scored 13 in a game that saw 10 lead changes and six ties through the first three quarters.
TEXAS 68, NO. 15 IOWA STATE 53
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; DeYona Gaston scored 17 points and Shaylee Gonzales had five of her 11 in a game-breaking 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and Texas defeated Iowa State.
Izzi Zingaro&rsquo;s layup to open the fourth quarter pulled the Cyclones within 52-49 but they went scoreless for the next 6:17, missing five shots with five turnovers as the Longhorns increased the defensive pressure.
Sonya Morris added 11 points for the Longhorns (13-5, 4-1 Big 12 Conference), who have won 10 of 11 since a 5-4 start knocked them out of the rankings.
Ashley Joens scored 21 points for Iowa State (11-4, 3-2) and grabbed six rebounds to become the Cyclones&rsquo; all-team leading rebounder.
NO. 16 DUKE 65, GEORGIA TECH 47
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 13 points, Elizabeth Balogun added 12 and Duke overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech for its 11th straight win.
The Yellow Jackets managed only six of their 19 second-half points in the fourth quarter and Duke (16-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) did not allow a point in the final 5:45 of the game, outscoring Georgia Tech 9-0 down the stretch.
Kayla Blackshear led Georgia Tech (9-9, 0-7 ACC) with 14 points. She made 7 of 10 shots and grabbed eight rebounds. Tonie Morgan added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 18 BAYLOR 65
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Madisen Smith and Ja&rsquo;Naiya Quinerly scored 17 points apiece, Jayla Hemingway added 15 points and 14 rebounds and West Virginia&rsquo;s defense forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers in its win over Baylor.
West Virginia (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) has won three consecutive games and improved to 4-22 all-time against Baylor.
Sarah Andrews hit four 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Caitlin Bickle scored 10 points for Baylor (12-4, 3-1).
WASHINGTON STATE 85, NO. 21 OREGON 84, OT
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Bella Murekatete scored 20 points, Jessica Clark scored six of her career-high 14 in overtime and Washington State defeated Oregon for its first win over a ranked team since 1998.
Washington State won despite giving up a 14-point lead in the final four minutes, allowing the tying free throws with 0.1 left in regulation and surviving an Oregon shot in the closing seconds of overtime. The Cougars never trailed in the extra session, which started with a Clark layup for a 78-76 lead.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points for Washington State (13-3, 3-3 Pac-12 Conference), Johanna Teder had 15 and Ula Motuga had 14 with 10 rebounds.
Endyia Rogers scored 33 points, making 6 of 8 3-point attempts, for Oregon (13-5, 4-3), Chance Gray added 22, Te-Hina Paopao 11 and Grace VanSlooten 10.
NO. 24 ILLINOIS 70, MINNESOTA 57
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Makira Cook scored 20 points, Genesis Bryant added 18 and Illinois celebrated its first game as a ranked team in 23 years with a win over Minnesota.
Brynn Shoup-Hill and Adalia McKenzie both added 13 points for the Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten Conference), who haven&rsquo;t had a winning season since 2012-13, haven&rsquo;t made the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and were last ranked on Nov. 27, 2000.
Alanna Micheaux scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (8-10, 1-6), who have lost five straight. Micheaux was 11-of-16 shooting, her teammates 12 of 46 (26%).

A recap of Sunday's top-25 action in women's college basketball includes the Trojans' first victory over the Cardinal in nine years.

USC topples No. 2 Stanford, its first vs Cardinal since 2014

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown will miss tonight's game against the Brooklyn Nets due to a right adductor strain, and he could be sidelined for "a week or two," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35433957/boston-celtics-jaylen-brown-sidelined-adductor-strain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Tim Bontemps</a>.
"I anticipate it being pretty short," Mazzulla told ESPN prior to the Nets game. "Probably a week or two."
Brown has appeared in 40 games this season, averaging career-highs in points (27.2), rebounds (7.1), field-goal percentage (49.8%) and free-throw percentage (79.5%).
On Wednesday, Brown recorded a season-high 41 points as well as 12 rebounds in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans &mdash; Boston's fourth-straight victory.&nbsp;
The Celtics are currently 30-12, which is the best record in the NBA. Boston's offense has been dominant through the first half of the season, scoring 115.9 points per 100 possessions (which ranks first in the NBA). They also have the ninth-best defense in the league, allowing 109.4 points per 100 possessions.
Brown has been a huge reason for the Celtics' success. In his absence, Boston will be relying heavily on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-an-inside-look-at-jayson-tatum-dominant-start-to-the-season-boston-celtics-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jayson Tatum, who is also in the midst of a career-year.</a>

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown could miss the next week or two while he recovers from a right adductor strain.

Celtics' Jaylen Brown could miss 1-2 weeks with adductor strain

Shortly after the Boston Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in last year&rsquo;s NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum received a text from his trainer Drew Hanlen.
&ldquo;The first text message I sent to him was, &lsquo;Hey, you're gonna be back. And you're gonna be better because of this,&rsquo;&rdquo; Hanlen recalled to Basketball News.
Hanlen knew that the Finals loss would light a fire under Tatum. Over the offseason, Hanlen predicted that Tatum was about to make a big leap and become a &ldquo;monster.&rdquo; He saw the work that Tatum was putting in and how much untapped potential he still has.
"I mean, Jayson went on an unbelievable run. He's 24 years old and he's been to three Eastern Conference Finals and one NBA Finals. He's a two-time All-NBA [selection], a three-time All-Star and a two-time All-Star starter,&rdquo; Hanlen said last summer. &ldquo;And he's got so much room to grow.&rdquo;
And for the first time in several years, Tatum had a full offseason to work on his game.
&ldquo;When we look at the last couple years, he hasn't really had offseasons as much,&rdquo; Hanlen told me in July. &ldquo;The one year, they go in the Bubble and they go all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals; we had like two weeks that offseason and then he goes and plays and he starts off really slow. Then, [the next summer], he goes to play with USA Basketball and wins a gold medal; we have a couple-week offseason and he starts really slow. This year, we finally had a full offseason so that he can start the season strong instead of kind of working his way in.&rdquo;
When asked what things Tatum worked on over the summer, Hanlen mentioned driving through contact, playing through fouls and finishing at the rim.
He also wanted Tatum to be more consistent with his pull-up jumper and three-point shot, particularly early in the season (rather than struggling out of the gate and improving as the season progressed, as he did in recent years).
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It&rsquo;s clear that Tatum&rsquo;s offseason work is paying off. He is in the midst of a career-year, averaging 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.2 threes, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game on .472./351/.856 shooting splits.
According to Cleaning The Glass, he's finishing 71% of his shot attempts at the rim this season, which is a career-best. Also, Tatum is drawing a shooting foul on 14.4% of his shot attempts, which is the highest rate of his career (and up from 11% last season). This ranks in the 81st percentile among forwards.&nbsp;
And to Hanlen&rsquo;s point about shooting well out of the gate, Tatum shot the ball really well at the beginning of the season. In October, he shot 55.7% from the field, 40.8% from three-point range and 90.2% from the free-throw line.
If you compare Tatum&rsquo;s early-season production in recent years, you can see just how effective he was to begin the season. Here&rsquo;s a look at his pre-Christmas numbers over the last four years:
2022-23: 55.2 eFG% | 70% at rim | 36% 3PT
2021-22: 48.5 eFG% | 60% at rim | 33% 3PT
2020-21*: 50.4 eFG% | 63% at rim | 38% 3PT
2019-20: 48.6 eFG% | 54% at rim | 36% 3PT
*The 2020-21 season started late, so these are his stats through Feb. 25 &mdash; a similar two-month span.
As of late, Tatum has struggled to maintain this efficiency. He's been dealing with a bit of a shooting slump (particularly from deep) in recent weeks. Still, Tatum has emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate, with most sportsbooks giving him the second- or third-best odds to win the award.
The Celtics are currently 28-12, which is the best record in the NBA. They have the league's top-ranked offense (scoring 115.8 points per 100 possessions) and 10th-ranked defense (allowing 109.5 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
Boston is determined to make another Finals run, and Hanlen can't wait to dunk on Tatum's doubters if he finally hoists the Larry O'Brien trophy.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When he lost the Finals, that whole night, I don't think I caught my second wind. Like, it felt like I lost; my gut was turning, and I wasn't even out there playing,&rdquo; Hanlen told me in July. &ldquo;It's just, I felt what he felt.&nbsp;
&ldquo;For about the next hour, I wasted an hour of my time screen-shotting all these notable analysts or notable people with big followings that were criticizing, hating and doubting Jayson, and I put them all in a folder. And I cannot wait to arrogantly send them out when he finally holds up a championship trophy.&rdquo;
Basketball News writer Ethan Fuller contributed to this article.

Drew Hanlen details his offseason work with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who is playing the best basketball of his career.

Analyzing Jayson Tatum's dominant start to the NBA season

Basketball News highlights the reporting, analysis and podcasts that defined a year of basketball in 2022.

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

For the last four years, Nikola Jokic has set a standard as the offensive fulcrum in the NBA.
The two-time Most Valuable Player led the league in touches per game from 2018-19 through 2021-22, according to data tracked by NBA Stats and Second Spectrum. He became the first player in tracking history (dating back to 2013-14) to average over 100 touches per game across an entire season in 2020-21, then did it again last year.
But for the first time in five years, Jokic isn't atop the leaderboard in that statistical category.
That spot currently belongs to Tyrese Haliburton.&nbsp;
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The dynamic young guard is averaging 97.1 touches per contest through his first 21 games &mdash; easily a career high, and even an uptick from his two-month stretch last spring after the Indiana Pacers acquired him before the trade deadline. That mark is on pace to be the fourth-highest non-Jokic touch diet recorded in 10 years of tracking.&nbsp;
At just 22 years old, Haliburton has rapidly ascended to his current status as the NBA's assist leader and one of its premier orchestrators. Just look at the latest history he made:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Tyrese Haliburton has posted 40 assists and zero turnovers across his last three games 🔥 Per NBA Stats, he&rsquo;s the first player to do that in a three-game span since individual turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/3EKLBYNd73">pic.twitter.com/3EKLBYNd73</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1597745470264131589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
&ldquo;I want to be a 20-and-10 guy and I want to be an All-Star,&rdquo; Haliburton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told our Alex Kennedy before the season</a>.
So far, he's on track, posting 19.3 points and 11.2 assists per game, even after a dud outing against his former Sacramento Kings team. Many people, myself included, expected Haliburton to stuff the stat sheet this year on a bad Pacers team destined for the NBA Draft lottery.
Except... the Pacers haven't been bad. They're 12-9 and fourth in a crowded middle pack of the Eastern Conference. In that time, Haliburton has been the clear best high-volume passer in the league.&nbsp;
Seriously, pick a site and pick a stat. Haliburton is responsible for 51.3% of his team's assists, the best mark in the NBA, and his 1.76 assist-to-usage rate is also tops in the league, per Cleaning the Glass. He passes the ball more than anyone else (76.2 times per game) and 18.3% of those passes turn into assists or free throws (ranked 7th), according to Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
BBall Index has 11 listed metrics for playmaking traits; Haliburton is in the 98th percentile or higher in 10 of them. But I'd like to specifically highlight his 11.7 "high value assists" per 75 possessions, which track his rate of creation for three-point, at-rim and free-throw assists.
Haliburton leads the NBA by a significant margin with 4.76 three-point assists per game. His instinctual processing is otherworldly, as he'll show us:
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Tyrese Haliburton takes us inside the mind of the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nba</a>&rsquo;s assists leader, sharing his thought process during the final play of last night's game when he found Andrew Nembhard for the game-winning three. <a href="https://t.co/u6D1McSmqD">pic.twitter.com/u6D1McSmqD</a>
&mdash; Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1597663024386801666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The most popular assist combination in the league, according to PBP Stats, is Haliburton setting up Buddy Hield. He's done it 61 times; no other player has connected with a teammate more than 50 times this season. Haliburton also has another, quieter frequent-assist partner: Jalen Smith, who's been the beneficiary 44 times this season (seventh-most in the NBA).&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/pgk1nd" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Haliburton recognizes that defenses don't fully respect Smith as a perimeter shooter yet. But the combo guard is still happy to hit up his teammate for an open shot, and Smith has lately been knocking them down as a trailing or spot-up shooter. Then Haliburton also capitalizes with his ball-screen savvy, drawing in defenders to hit Smith as the roller or as a separate cutter.&nbsp;
These dishes might not always seem flashy, but they reinforce two key developments: Haliburton's overall pristine court awareness, and his growing gravity as an individual scorer. Here's a snapshot of his presence at the rim in his career, per Cleaning the Glass:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 15.6944%; height: 44px;">Season</td>
<td style="width: 13.9972%; height: 44px;">% of FGA At Rim</td>
<td style="width: 23.3968%; height: 44px;">% of Rim FGM That Were Assisted</td>
<td style="width: 19.6108%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FG%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15.6944%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 13.9972%; height: 22px;">16%</td>
<td style="width: 23.3968%; height: 22px;">40%</td>
<td style="width: 19.6108%; height: 22px;">67%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15.6944%; height: 22px;">2021-22 (SAC)</td>
<td style="width: 13.9972%; height: 22px;">15%</td>
<td style="width: 23.3968%; height: 22px;">28%</td>
<td style="width: 19.6108%; height: 22px;">64%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15.6944%; height: 22px;">2021-22 (IND)</td>
<td style="width: 13.9972%; height: 22px;">22%</td>
<td style="width: 23.3968%; height: 22px;">49%</td>
<td style="width: 19.6108%; height: 22px;">64%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 15.6944%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 13.9972%; height: 22px;">30%</td>
<td style="width: 23.3968%; height: 22px;">18%</td>
<td style="width: 19.6108%; height: 22px;">67%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Haliburton is getting to the cup more than ever and doing some serious heavy lifting by himself to create those shots. Yet, he's experienced no falloff in efficiency whatsoever.&nbsp;
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I mean &mdash; this just looks so easy! Haliburton is changing directions quickly into mismatches, getting low and turning corners with purpose, using changes in stride to decelerate, finishing off buckets with his length and touch, and, in the last clip, just making defenders look downright silly. He was not supposed to have this in his bag coming out of Iowa State. He just makes attacking with the basketball look effortless.
Haliburton is scoring on 51.7% of his driving field goal attempts; that's not a world-beating rate, but it's very good for his volume, and it sufficiently threatens opponents. This means more defenders stay focused on Haliburton, resulting in more passing lanes appearing on his internal radar.
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This glosses over Haliburton's perimeter shot-making, which has started cold, but is a hallmark of his game. The third-year guard has canned just 34.0% of his catch-and-shoot treys while keeping a better, 38.0% clip on pull-ups. The catch-and-shoot numbers are bound to improve; he's been over 43% in each of his prior two years and has a long track record of shooting prowess.&nbsp;
Revisiting Kennedy's <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">summer feature</a>, Haliburton said that becoming an imposing scorer would allow both himself and his teammates to prosper:
"I think being more aggressive as a scorer will allow me to also open up more things as a facilitator; I think it boosts both things for me... [I&rsquo;ll] still be facilitating, but I&rsquo;ll also be looking for my own [shot], and that's gonna help everybody at the end of the day," Haliburton said.
It is remarkable that, in the span of 21 games, Haliburton has manifested these results. It's another testament to his vision, both on the basketball court and of his own stardom.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Returning to the touches leaders: Jokic ranks third currently at 93.1 touches per game. The slight dip makes sense; Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have hit a string of consistent health, and Bones Hyland's role continues to grow. Don't let the change distract from Jokic remaining one of the sport's unique artists.</li>
<li>The Boston Celtics!</li>
</ul>
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Jump Shooting By Team. <a href="https://t.co/DJav9GGB6d">pic.twitter.com/DJav9GGB6d</a>
&mdash; Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) <a href="https://twitter.com/kirkgoldsberry/status/1597984396732428293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>With the continued demise of mid-range shooting and a push towards creating quality shots at the rim, we might be hitting a math-breaking point for the league:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
eFG% on 2PAs has passed that of 3PAs as 2P% keeps climbing. <a href="https://t.co/lujr2qBEYy">pic.twitter.com/lujr2qBEYy</a>
&mdash; Tom Bassine (@tvbassine) <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1598314428042280961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Would like to give a shoutout to Jalen Williams, who just won NBA Rookie of the Month for November and has absolutely been one of my favorite rookies to watch all season long:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jalen Williams is shooting 62.1% on two-pointers this season and only 45% of those have been assisted. He's already got such a smooth ability to change pace, finish with strength and length, and use floater touch. Some great moments from his 27-point game: <a href="https://t.co/fZxV1Uuacx">pic.twitter.com/fZxV1Uuacx</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1598340267588861952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Tyrese Haliburton is the NBA's leader in touches per game and has made the most of his offensive impact.

NBA Stats Notebook: Tyrese Haliburton arriving as an offensive engine

Spencer Davies details Jamal Cain's climb from Pontiac, Michigan to the NBA level through the lens of longtime friend Mychal Covington.

Outwork everybody: Two-way Heat rookie Jamal Cain catches you sleeping

After becoming a popular guest on J.J. Redick&rsquo;s podcast &ldquo;The Old Man and the Three,&rdquo; Tyrese Haliburton was constantly getting asked the same question by fans.
"I get asked all the time: 'Yo, when are you starting your own podcast?'&rdquo; Haliburton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me over the offseason</a>. &ldquo;People walking around on the street [ask me that].&rdquo;
Now, Haliburton is giving the people what they want.&nbsp;
This week, the Indiana Pacers star launched his own video podcast with <a href="http://www.autograph.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Autograph</a>, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady. &ldquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted with Tyrese Haliburton&rdquo; debuted on November 1.&nbsp;
Haliburton and Autograph created the show to contribute to the education around web3, break down barriers to entry and help more people holistically understand NFTs. Each episode will feature an influential guest from the world of sports, entertainment, music or tech.
The series will give web3 newcomers exclusive insights into the industry as Haliburton drives conversations on six different episodes weekly, including:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Tony Hawk on Etching His Skating Legacy into Web3 (Nov. 1)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Eva Longoria on Hollywood, Inclusivity and Creativity in Web3 (Nov. 8)&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Charli and Dixie D&rsquo;Amelio on NFT 101: Introduction to Web3 (Nov. 15)&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Justin Blau (3LAU) on The Future of Music in Web3 (Nov. 22)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Arianna Simpson on What&rsquo;s Next in Web3 (Nov. 29)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">TBC on Web3&rsquo;s Influence on Sports (Dec. 6)</li>
</ul>
&ldquo;I am so excited to make my podcast debut alongside Autograph with &lsquo;Get Minted.&rsquo; I know firsthand how intimidating it can be to enter web3, and this podcast will give web3 and NFT newcomers a place to get started,&rdquo; Haliburton said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait for listeners to hear all of the amazing guests, and to share bits of my own web3 journey along the way.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Since Autograph&rsquo;s inception, our goal has been to bring NFTs to a mainstream audience and reduce barriers to entry for people new to web3,&rdquo; said Patrick Cassidy, CMO of Autograph. &ldquo;Autograph&rsquo;s new &lsquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted&rsquo; podcast is one of the many ways we are working to create pathways for mainstream consumers to learn more about the value web3 provides across industries, from sports to music and entertainment. Tyrese Haliburton is a great advocate for the space, and we feel lucky to have him serve as our host.&rdquo;
Hawk and Longoria, who are both on Autograph&rsquo;s Board of Advisors, are the show's first two guests.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve focused on emerging technology throughout my life, from playing video games to buying gadgets, and now, my involvement in web3 and NFTs. I&rsquo;m excited to help people understand the industry,&rdquo; Hawk said of the series. &ldquo;&lsquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted&rsquo; will be an iconic platform for others in the NFT space to help more people understand the value of the technology.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I always tell people who want to get into web3 that they need to do their homework, educate themselves, and figure out how they want to be involved, whether it&rsquo;s as an investor, a collector, or a creator,&rdquo; said Longoria. &ldquo;Autograph was my first exposure to this world, and it got me excited to learn more and find my own path in the industry. You have to want to learn and put in the effort, and a podcast like &lsquo;Autograph Presents: Get Minted&rsquo; is a great place to start.&rdquo;
Check out the first episode below:&nbsp;
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The Indiana Pacers star has launched his own video podcast with Autograph, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady.

Tyrese Haliburton launches NFT-themed podcast 'Get Minted'

Nekias Duncan thoroughly breaks down all five teams in the Central Division ahead of the 2022-23 season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Central Division

The Indiana Pacers have entered new, uncharted waters recently. Embracing a full-scale rebuild attempt for the first time in 30-plus years, the fresh energy surrounding the organization is palpable. An infusion of young talent headlined by Tyrese Haliburton and No. 6 overall pick Bennedict Mathurin suggests that a brand new vision is beginning to take shape in Indianapolis.
Stuck in neutral for a long period, the Pacers realized what had to be done and pressed the rebuild button. This decision is already showing immense promise, as they have a long-term outline that was simply nonexistent beforehand. Tearing down a veteran-heavy core that once featured Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon was a step-by-step process, and now, Indiana has ultimate amounts of optionality after moving on from all three veterans.
The Memphis Grizzlies' blueprint has stood out to the Pacers&rsquo; brain trust. It's a model that the organization hopes to follow, according to Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard.
&ldquo;We looked at some of the teams that have really drafted well, and now that they&rsquo;re a pretty good team... You look at the Memphis&rsquo;s and the teams like that that have built and now they&rsquo;re going to be powerhouses for the next couple of years. So, I think what we came away from our studies [with] is there&rsquo;s no quick fix," Pritchard told Basketball News in a small scrum setting on Thursday. "We can&rsquo;t make a trade or two trades or three trades or use our draft picks and become what we want to become, which is great. So, how do you do it? You&rsquo;ve got to pay your dues, and you&rsquo;ve got to get everybody on board. And that takes multiple meetings and conviction from your head coach (Rick Carlisle), your president, your GM (Chad Buchanan) and your owner. Mr. [Herb] Simon is 100% on this. It can&rsquo;t be easy.
"Nobody wants to walk in and think rebuild, and I hate that word because we have some players that we really like that we can build around. It&rsquo;s going to take some time. We&rsquo;re going to enjoy the heck out of it. And we&rsquo;re going to build this team back up to make it a really special team, guys that have true character that want to have deep roots in this community. I think that is something we&rsquo;ve talked about. How do you do that? At the end of the day, you draft well, develop relationships. [It] is your best recipe for high-level talent, high-level characters and the ability to keep players for a long time. I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s a secret to this.&rdquo;
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It&rsquo;s hard to avoid the "rebuild" phrase for the Pacers, but the upside is flowing into the facility with former lottery picks integrating. With one of the league&rsquo;s youngest rosters heading into the season, Haliburton quickly acclimated himself and is being labeled as the new face of the franchise. (Our Alex Kennedy <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-interview-tyrese-haliburton-indiana-pacers-chad-buchanan-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner-sacramento-kings-domantas-sabonis-trade-drew-hanlen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke with Haliburton about this and his hopes for the upcoming season last month</a>.)
With Haliburton acclimating himself with a full offseason in Indianapolis, the Pacers are having fun building a roster around their point guard&rsquo;s unique traits.
&ldquo;It starts with Tyrese, don&rsquo;t get me wrong, his ability to make plays for others,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News in the scrum. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll say this: By having Tyrese and having players say, &lsquo;You know, I really like playing with that,&rsquo; I think that was a big decision in Jalen [Smith] (re-signing). I think Myles [Turner] is really looking forward to playing with Tyrese. The league has changed in that the point guard position has turned into like score first, then maybe I pass. Well, Tyrese is unique; he&rsquo;d rather pass. It&rsquo;s like a quarterback. If you&rsquo;ve got a great quarterback that&rsquo;s hitting you in the chest every time, he is that.
"We&rsquo;ve got to build around that and he&rsquo;s gotta build us. There&rsquo;s going to be games where he looks amazing and he&rsquo;s going to get 15 assists. And we&rsquo;re going to need him to do a lot of things, we&rsquo;re going to ask a lot, but we&rsquo;re not going to put too much [on him]. I&rsquo;ve seen where teams put too much on players. It&rsquo;s going to be collective with our young players and our vets. The good thing is a lot of of players are going to play this year. You&rsquo;re going to see more athletic plays, and we&rsquo;re going to play harder than we&rsquo;ve ever played. From what I&rsquo;ve seen so far, it&rsquo;s easy to stand up here and say it. I want to be about actions. I think we&rsquo;re going to be a super-hard-playing team. I think you&rsquo;ll see a lot of growth.&rdquo;
There's plenty of internal optimism for Haliburton to take a massive jump within the Pacers&rsquo; organization. (A stat line flirting near 20 points and 10 assists wouldn&rsquo;t come as any sort of a surprise in Indiana.) Outside of Haliburton and the aforementioned rookie in Mathurin, their highest draft pick selected since 1988, many new-core players are taking notable steps forward in their development.
Chris Duarte, who was sidelined to end his rookie campaign with a nagging toe injury, is mentally processing the game at a different speed. Isaiah Jackson, who Pritchard said has gained 15 to 18 pounds, is poised for a massive breakout as well. Smith, who re-signed with Indiana, continues to flash his former top-10 pick upside following his exit from the Phoenix Suns.
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A gym full of athletes and prospects looking to improve provides a breath of fresh air compared to the all-too-familiar unknown of whether or not the team would make it past the first round of the playoffs.
&ldquo;We are giddy,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News of their young core they&rsquo;re building together. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting, when watching (scrimmages) and you throw them out there and let them play, what you find out is Tyrese, TJ McConnell, [Andrew] Nembhard are really fast players, and everyone kinda fills in. There have been times where I have been in awe about how fast our team is, which, that&rsquo;s young legs right? That&rsquo;s young, exciting legs. We&rsquo;ve seen more plays at the rim where it&rsquo;s a blocked dunk, sprint down, dunk on someone. We&rsquo;ve had more alley-oops &mdash; I think Chad Buchanan was joking with me the other day about three or four years ago we had two lob dunks in the whole year. We had 10 [on Thursday].
"The league is getting more athletic. A couple years ago we decided, 'We&rsquo;re going to look at this draft and trades, and let&rsquo;s get some of these athletes because they&rsquo;re fun to watch.' Balancing that... Coach Carlisle loves shooting. So, if you can find a great athlete that is a great shooter, I&rsquo;m all-in.&rdquo;
Not only are the Pacers all-in on their new long-term vision, one where patience is the most important part, but they&rsquo;re also in a new position as an organization &mdash; optimizing future flexibility via multiple avenues. Indiana still has oodles of cap space ($29.6 million per Cleaning The Glass), which allows for new opportunities to fall into their lap. The Pacers are open about their desire to continue bringing in more assets, either young players or future draft picks, to accelerate their plan.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve gotta do right now. We&rsquo;ve gotta capitalize on cap space, on picks,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;In any way we can, we got to be gritty as a staff, if can we acquire more of those to have a chance to be part of our big core. And we&rsquo;re developing the core. People ask me all the time, do you have that core? Maybe, maybe not, but we&rsquo;re getting closer and next year we&rsquo;ll be closer.
"That&rsquo;s the fun part of our business is being creative and generating ideas. Look, we have three first-round picks it looks like next year. We have close to $30 million in cap space. And we&rsquo;ll be active to use that cap space to acquire more assets. That&rsquo;s just natural, but I think it gives us the ability to pivot in a lot of different ways. We have optionality out the butt. At the end of the day, I want to be able to sit in the room with Herb and management and coach and say, 'Alright, here&rsquo;s our possibilities. Where do we want to go?&rsquo; In the past it&rsquo;s been, 'We&rsquo;ve got to go down this path. This is the path we&rsquo;ve got to go down. It&rsquo;s only going to get us so far, we know there&rsquo;s only so far, we&rsquo;ve got a freaking ceiling.' What I want to do is remove a ceiling and that takes time. It&rsquo;s going to take time.&rdquo;
Outside of that excitement for the new-look youth taking over the roster, an uncertain future remains for veteran mainstay Myles Turner. A subject of trade rumors for the last few years, which picked up immense steam once the Pacers hit the reset button, Turner saw the organization openly flirt with replacing him by chasing Deandre Ayton in restricted free agency.
Entering a contract year, Turner&rsquo;s future feels murkier than ever in Indianapolis. And with the way the subject was broached on Thursday, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a stunner to see Turner play in another uniform before February&rsquo;s trade deadline passes. Pritchard admitted his recent conversation with Turner was one filled with emotions, and the ever-changing nature of the business leaves the door open for anything to happen there.
&ldquo;I sat down and talked with Myles for an hour, hour-and-a-half the other day. It was a heart-to-heart,&rdquo; Pritchard said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to tell you exactly what was said, but I&rsquo;ll give you the crux, and that is I think he&rsquo;s super excited about playing with Tyrese. I think he wants to play the 5 exclusively. I think he wants to be a defensive monster. And I think that he&rsquo;s okay planting deep roots here. But, you know, he&rsquo;s going to be a free agent next year. There&rsquo;s a lot of things that can happen. What we think today isn&rsquo;t something that we know is going to happen tomorrow. This is the most dynamic business in the world.&rdquo;
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Turner is eligible for a contract extension, but Pritchard didn&rsquo;t want to publicly say whether or not that route remains on the table with their starting center.
&ldquo;Respectfully, I&rsquo;d like to keep that between me and him,&rdquo; Pritchard said.
Based on the Pacers&rsquo; turn into a fresh era, one where internal development takes priority over the win-loss column in the meantime, veterans like Turner and Buddy Hield will be names to watch from a leaguewide lens throughout the season from a potential trade market perspective. Nowadays, optionality, flexibility and patience will be the key buzzwords heard out of Indiana. And it&rsquo;s for the best with how its roster was running into a brick wall over and over again before the light finally turned on to rebuild from the ground up.
With the Pacers armed with draft capital and cap space, on top of a roster filled to the brim with potential &mdash; including their tantalizing backcourt combination of Haliburton and Mathurin &mdash; the vision is as clear as day. It&rsquo;s a new era in Indiana, and a route that everyone internally acknowledges should have been explored even earlier. If all goes to plan for the Pacers, these tough times could soon turn into a sustained success that hasn&rsquo;t been witnessed for the organization since nearly a decade ago.
&ldquo;We were an aircraft carrier and it was really hard to turn. And right now, we&rsquo;re a little speedboat and we&rsquo;ve got all of these ways to maneuver,&rdquo; Pritchard said. "That&rsquo;s exciting. That&rsquo;s really exciting for us, because it&rsquo;s hard to turn the big boats. For better, we&rsquo;re all-in.&rdquo;

Pacers president Kevin Pritchard discussed the franchise's new era and focus on the long-term vision, Evan Sidery writes.

Pacers enter uncharted waters searching for long-term sustainability

Alex Kennedy goes 1-on-1 with Tyrese Haliburton, who opens up about getting traded, the Pacers' future, his offseason training, etc.

Tyrese Haliburton won’t let trade 'resentment' define new Pacers era

Nearly one month into the 2021-22 NBA season, fantasy managers are already looking back at their drafts &mdash; celebrating certain steals and kicking themselves over their biggest busts.
It&rsquo;s always fun to track which players are overachieving from a fantasy standpoint. This list features a wide variety of surprise breakouts &mdash; from rising stars who have made a significant leap forward, to prospects who are making the most of an increased role, to veterans who find themselves in the right place at the right time following a change of scenery.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s break down the NBA players who have exceeded expectations out of the gate and helped fantasy managers get off to a strong start. (This article uses fantasy scoring from Yahoo's points leagues and all stats are up-to-date to reflect games played through Nov. 11).&nbsp;
Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs | 46.18 FPPG, 9th in NBA
Entering this season, Dejounte Murray was a popular breakout candidate among fantasy analysts and managers, which is why he was being drafted in the third or fourth round of most fantasy drafts. However, nobody saw this kind of leap coming, as he&rsquo;s been a top-10 fantasy option through 11 games. The 25-year-old has become the focal point of the Spurs&rsquo; attack, averaging 18.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.4 threes, 0.5 blocks and just 2.1 turnovers in 34.3 minutes. Murray is filling the stat sheet on a nightly basis, like when he posted a monster 21-point, 15-assist, 12-rebound, 2-steal, 2-block performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 26. San Antonio has shifted its focus to rebuilding and developing their young talent, so Murray's role isn't changing anytime soon.
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies | 46.29 FPPG, 8th in NBA
Like Murray, Ja Morant was being selected as a third- or fourth-rounder in fantasy drafts, but he has dominated out of the gate, and his 46.29 fantasy points per game rank eighth-best among all NBA players. Morant is averaging a career-high 26.5 points (up from 19.1 PPG last year) to go along with 7.3 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 threes and 1.7 steals. Also, this has been his most efficient campaign, as he&rsquo;s shooting 48.5% from the field, 34.5% from three-point range and 77.9% from the free-throw line (all of which are career-highs). He needs to limit his turnovers, as he's averaging 4.4 per game (which is eighth-most in the league). But otherwise, he's been an absolute steal for managers who bet on the high-upside guard.
Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans | 43.65 FPPG, 13th in NBA
Jonas Valanciunas has been a solid fantasy option in recent years, totaling the 30th-most fantasy points in the league last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. However, after changing teams over the offseason, the fantasy community wasn&rsquo;t sure what to expect from the 29-year-old. Fantasy Pros&rsquo; preseason Expert Consensus Rankings (ECR) had Valanciunas projected as the <a href="https://www.fantasypros.com/nba/rankings/overall-points-yahoo.php?filters=34c251ed83" target="_blank" rel="noopener">69th-best player</a>, and his Average Draft Position (ADP) was <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/average-draft-position/basketball?league=h2h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">74.09</a>. Well, through 12 games, he's been a top-15 fantasy weapon, averaging a career-high in points (20.0), rebounds (14.0), assists (2.7), threes (1.0) and steals (0.8). With Zion Williamson recovering from offseason foot surgery and Brandon Ingram sidelined due to a hip contusion, Valanciunas has taken on a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pelicans-made-right-decision-by-extending-jonas-valanciunas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much bigger role than initially anticipated</a>, and he&rsquo;s made the most of the opportunity in New Orleans. He&rsquo;ll likely come back down to earth at some point, but he absolutely deserves praise for his impressive start.
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Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets | 41.35 FPPG, 23rd in NBA
One week before the season tipped off, Miles Bridges had an ADP of <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/average-draft-position/basketball?league=h2h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">103.70</a>. That means he was typically being picked in the same range as Klay Thompson (who remains sidelined) and Delon Wright (who&rsquo;s averaging 9.18 FPPG). Now, the 23-year-old is suddenly a top-25 option, averaging 21.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 threes, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks and just 2.5 turnovers in 36.2 minutes per game. Bridges is one of the biggest surprises of this fantasy season because nobody outside of Miles&rsquo; family could've seen this kind of breakout campaign coming. With Morant and Murray, there was plenty of talk about how this could be their year, but Bridges wasn&rsquo;t receiving that kind of hype. The high-flyer has always been a ton of fun to watch, and it&rsquo;s been a pleasure seeing him round out his game and realize his full potential. Bridges has been incredibly consistent so far this season, finishing with 36.0 or more fantasy points in 10 of 12 games.
Al Horford, Boston Celtics | 37.23 FPPG, 42nd in NBA
It&rsquo;s easy to see why fantasy analysts and managers didn&rsquo;t feel like they could trust Al Horford entering this season. While a reunion with the Celtics was nice, he turned 35 years old in June and played in just 28 games last season for the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder (who were trying to showcase him and increase his trade value). Horford understandably slipped to the 11th or 12th round in drafts (and even went undrafted in some leagues), but he&rsquo;s been outstanding for Boston. Through nine games, he&rsquo;s averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.4 blocks, 0.9 steals, 1.1 threes and just 1.1 turnovers in 28.9 minutes per game. Prior to this season, Horford had never averaged over 1.5 blocks per game, so his 2.4 rejections have been a surprise. And the last time he averaged this many rebounds was back in 2012-13, when he was on the Atlanta Hawks. Horford has turned back the clock, and it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see just how much of this production is sustainable going forward.
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Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic | 37.29 FPPG, 41st in NBA
As of Oct. 17, Cole Anthony&rsquo;s ADP was <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/nba_player_news/Cole_Anthony/adp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">146.68</a>, which means he went undrafted in some leagues and some lucky managers landed a stud off of waivers. This season, Anthony has emerged as Orlando&rsquo;s leading scorer, averaging 19.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.0 threes, 1.3 steals and 2.8 turnovers in 33.9 minutes per game, while shooting 44.0% from the field, 39.1% from three and 85.0% from the free-throw line. The 21-year-old has become a fan favorite thanks to his aggressiveness, swagger and <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1457528011700547588" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amazing interviews</a>. The Magic have assembled an impressive young core that is a lot of fun to watch.
Mo Bamba, Orlando Magic | 32.56 FPPG, 59th in NBA
Speaking of Orlando's young core, Mo Bamba also deserves a mention on this list. His ADP was even lower than Anthony&rsquo;s at <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/nba_player_news/Mo_Bamba/adp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">151.47</a>, but he&rsquo;s been playing at a high level on both ends. Shortly after he became the sixth pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, his trainer Drew Hanlen <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/07/29/nba-offseason-training-joel-embiid-gordon-hayward-jayson-tatum-markelle-fultz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told me</a> that he was a very raw project; it would likely take three-to-five years before he could become a real low-post threat on offense since he needed to bulk up, improve his lower-body strength and learn to make the right reads. Bamba put in work behind the scenes, following the same developmental plan that Joel Embiid used under Hanlen earlier in his career. Well, here we are four years later, and Bamba looks like the real deal. The 23-year-old is averaging 11.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 1.8 assists, 1.6 threes and 0.9 steals on 49.5/40.4/70.8 shooting splits, and it's clear his best basketball is still ahead of him.
Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings | 37.52 FPPG, 40th in NBA&nbsp;
Barnes has been a serviceable role player for fantasy teams throughout his 10 years in the NBA, but he's been much more impactful this season now that he's playing the best basketball of his career. Barnes, who had an ADP of <a href="https://www.fantasysp.com/nba_player_news/Harrison_Barnes/adp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">99.1</a>, is averaging the 40th-most fantasy points in the league (37.52) thanks to his 21.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.6 threes, 1.2 steals and 2.0 turnovers (plus his efficient 49.0/42.5/86.7 shooting splits). While he has certainly helped many managers in point leagues, he has been even better in category leagues (where he's a top-15 option).
Ricky Rubio, Cleveland Cavaliers | 30.41 FPPG, 73rd in NBA
Following a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ricky-rubio-will-demand-the-best-out-of-young-cleveland-cavaliers-himself" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrific Olympic showing with the Spanish national team</a> &mdash; during which he averaged 25.5 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 threes on 47.8% shooting from deep &mdash; Ricky Rubio has picked up right where he left off. The 31-year-old is putting up a career-high 14.3 points as well as 6.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 threes, 1.3 steals and 3.0 turnovers while shooting a personal-best 41.0% from three-point range. Now, with Collin Sexton <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/with-collin-sexton-sidelined-whos-next-man-up-for-cavs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sidelined indefinitely due to a torn meniscus</a>, Rubio will take on a larger role and workload, and become an even bigger steal. Though Isaac Okoro appears to be the team's new starting guard, in the four games that Rubio's played over 30 minutes for Cleveland this season, he&rsquo;s averaged 19.5 points, 7.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 threes and 1.5 steals on insane 50.0/50.0/100.0 shooting splits.
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Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers | 30.21 FPPG, 74th in NBA
Once it became clear that Ben Simmons wouldn't be suiting up for the start of the season, Tyrese Maxey became an interesting sleeper to keep an eye on at the end of drafts. But instead of emerging as a quality role player, the sophomore guard has looked like a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/tyrese-maxey-centered-on-getting-1-better-every-day-for-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rising star for the 76ers</a>. Two nights ago, Maxey had 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 0 turnovers against the Milwaukee Bucks, and then he followed that up with a 33-point, 5-assist, 4-rebound, 2-block, 1-steal, 2-turnover performance against the Toronto Raptors. The 21-year-old doesn't lack confidence. On the season, he's now averaging 17.1 points, 4.7 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 threes, 0.9 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.5 turnovers in 35.8 minutes, while shooting 50.6% from the field, 38.1% from three and 87.2% from the free-throw line.
Honorable Mention: The 2021 Rookie Class&nbsp;
Fantasy managers who put their faith in the 2021 NBA Draft class have largely been rewarded, especially if they bet on Scottie Barnes (33.70 FPPG, 56th-ranked), Evan Mobley (33.33, 57th) or Josh Giddey (30.44, 72nd) &mdash; all of whom are averaging at least 30.0 FPPG and currently top-75 options.
Franz Wagner (25.86, 106th) and Chris Duarte (25.01, 114th) have been the biggest surprises among rookies, as they each got off to a hot start after stepping up amidst injuries. (The Orlando Magic started the season without Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz and Chuma Okeke, while the Indiana Pacers have dealt with injuries to Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb).
Other rookies such as Cade Cunningham (23.48, 134th), Jalen Green (23.31, 135th), Alperen Sengun (21.98, 153rd), Jalen Suggs (21.06, 160th) and Davion Mitchell (20.74, 164th) have shown flashes early on as well.

One month into the NBA season, which players have been fantasy-basketball steals? Alex Kennedy breaks down 10 overachievers.

Fantasy basketball steals: 10 players exceeding expectations

When Karl-Anthony Towns tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-January, the Minnesota Timberwolves desperately needed somebody to rise to the occasion in their star's absence.&nbsp;
Naz Reid knew he had to be the one to step up.
The burly big man had already been making his mark as a regular in head coach Ryan Saunders' rotation, playing 20 minutes a night until that point. But with his face-of-the-franchise teammate sidelined, Reid burst onto the scene while holding down the fort as a starter (aside from one matchup at Cleveland).
In 11 games between Jan. 18 and Feb. 8, Reid averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, emerging as an efficient contributor on offense and a stout presence on defense. He notched eight double-digit scoring efforts and recorded a pair of double-doubles.
&ldquo;I mean, going out as a team, one of our best players is out, so going out there and trying to do something similar to what he did, if not better,&rdquo; Reid told BasketballNews.com in an exclusive phone interview. &ldquo;And also, within the game, helping myself moving forward.
"[KAT] means a lot. Like I said, he's one of our better players on the team. He can do it [all] -- passing, shooting, defense, all that stuff. So when we don't have him, we're missing a big factor for this team. And stepping up in his role, it was definitely a big role, but I was able to get it done for the most part."
Reid&rsquo;s relationship with Towns goes back many years to their upbringing in the New Jersey area, with Naz at Roselle Catholic High School and Karl-Anthony just 11 miles north at St. Joseph. Despite the four-year difference in age, the two played on the same AAU team together.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;'s a little bit of a bond already built," said Reid, who&rsquo;s reunited with his friend at the pro level. "I've learned a lot [from him], from outside of basketball to being on the court and doing what I do best -- from angles to high-post; it's a lot of things.&rdquo;
Unfortunately, we&rsquo;ve only seen a handful of minutes with both bigs on the floor together (Reid believes he and Towns are interchangeable at the four and the five). They have thrived separately, though.
Coming off of the bench on Wednesday night, Reid dropped his third 20-plus-point game of the season, and his second of the last three games. Arguably the most encouraging part of his sophomore campaign has been the different ways he puts the ball in the bucket.
Reid is an avid pick-and-popper. The Wolves draw up a ton of sets where he sets high screens for his teammates and, with a quick twitch, retreats to the top of the perimeter. When he attempts a jumper off these designs, he is <a href="https://basketball.instatscout.com/players/36606/playtypes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring 1.22 points per possession,</a> according to InStat. When he decides to put it on the floor off a pump fake, the results are similarly positive.
"I try to really just play to my strengths, being able to shoot the ball, [I] can drive the ball off the roll and score at the rim,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;So I kinda just pick and choose off of what the defenders and my point guard's doing [and] just read that."
Whether it&rsquo;s a pop or a roll situation where he screens and moves into the paint, Reid doesn&rsquo;t have a particular preference. He just wants to get points out of the possessions he&rsquo;s involved in. There&rsquo;s more than one effective way he goes about accomplishing that.&nbsp;
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In the post, he has a soft jump hook with great touch using either hand. He knows just how to time it and when to go to it, keeping an eye on which shoulder his defender is guarding him on and where the opposing help may come from. When he doesn&rsquo;t need to rush it, he&rsquo;ll turn and toss it up. When the opportunity presents itself, he&rsquo;ll immediately flip the ball towards the cylinder. He is &ldquo;very confident&rdquo; in that aspect of his game and takes it seriously.
On the outside, Reid possesses a feathery, rainbow jumper that&rsquo;s cashed in at a 39.7 percent clip on catch-and-shoots. Though the typical stretch-big stations himself in the corner -- and Reid does have 15 attempts from the left corner -- he tends to sneak back above the break or position himself at the right elbow. At his size and with a quick release, he agrees with the notion that it is a shot that is basically unblockable. He also understands that he can keep improving it.
&ldquo;It's always been like that since a younger age, since middle school, high school,&rdquo; Reid said of his high-arcing jumpshot. &ldquo;I would definitely say it's a leg up because a lot of bigger guys can't really defend pick-and-pop or know how to defend pick-and-pop, so it's definitely an advantage.
&ldquo;I've been shooting threes since I started playing basketball, really, and not knowing that big guys really don't shoot threes -- I just was firing 'em. Then, once I realized that can be a great expansion in my game, I worked on it a whole lot since I've really locked into basketball. I've had a lot of help from others. I don't think you're ever too old to learn anything, so I definitely [have] learned that and I'm still learning."
If you&rsquo;re looking for a mid-range savant, don&rsquo;t expect it from Reid. A couple of weeks ago, he became an analytics favorite by telling the world of his disdain for those looks. Even though it&rsquo;s more of a &ldquo;comfortability thing,&rdquo; he expanded on the thought to BasketballNews.com.
&ldquo;It's not that I can't shoot it. It's just ...I don't know. If I'm that close to the rim, I may as well get to the basket,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;If I'm a little bit further from the basket and just take a three, it counts as more points. So I don't know, I just never... I never really shot mid-range. I don't think I ever really shot mid-range at all, so it kinda fits into our system."
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If you think of a big man in the NBA, a seven-footer typically comes to mind. The Renaissance of the hybrid center is upon us, with stars such as Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid commanding defensive attention, scoring at multiple levels and making their teammates better while simultaneously intimidating their opponents with their versatility.
Reid has a desire to follow that lead. In addition to observing Towns, he has studied film of Jokic and Embiid as well as Hall-of-Famers like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal. He wants to mold himself into an all-around threat and be the best player he can be, even mentioning his goal of becoming a Hall-of-Famer someday.
Aware that he&rsquo;s not as tall as the top centers of the game at 6-foot-9, Reid utilizes his quickness, lateral movement and stronger base (a 264-pound frame) to get up under them aggressively and even the score.
"I'm a basketball player as well as them,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;I'm an offensive player, so I kinda just play to my advantages, trying to get them to their disadvantages and be the best to my ability in the predicament that I'm in. I'm not the traditional size, but my work ethic is there and that's what helped me to get to this point now, by being able to do what I can do at my size."
Though he considers himself an offensive player, Reid has done a solid job of protecting the paint. Per InStat, opponents have made just <a href="https://basketball.instatscout.com/players/36606/fieldgoals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">32 percent of their layup attempts</a> against him. That&rsquo;s especially impressive when he&rsquo;s seen the 10th-most amount of cut shots in the league as a defender. When discussing why he's had success, he mentions his awareness on the defensive end and his timing when Minnesota needs a helper.
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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Reid gets particularly competitive when scorers try to attack him, especially guards. He remembers how Luka Doncic squeezed by him often on the perimeter in a near comeback win at Dallas. It&rsquo;s a big-man pride thing. (On the opposite end, he feels the same way about smaller guys guarding him on the block.)</div>
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&ldquo;It's part of the game not to let them score on me,&rdquo; Reid said adamantly. "I definitely take that personal."
He also emphasized the importance of altering shots down low, something he&rsquo;s worked on extensively with Towns and Wolves assistant coach Kevin Hanson.
Last season, the Wolves gave a rookie Reid the opportunity to play significant minutes post-All-Star break. There were ups and downs, however, the experience gained is something he is grateful for, and it has certainly played into how far he&rsquo;s come now.
"Just having more confidence and playing with a purpose and playing hard and having a lot more energy and doing the things that the team needs to get a win,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;It wasn't easy, but I learned quickly, I picked up [things] quickly and I was able to move forward with the next step.
&ldquo;I would say that [getting used to the speed of the league] and just learning the game of NBA basketball, it's a lot different. You've got great players. I think it's one of the best leagues in the world, so you're playing against other players who can do what you can do, if not better [than you], so just trying to adjust to that."
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Just as Reid is learning, so is his team. The Wolves are the youngest team in the NBA, with an average age of 23.9 years old, and their 6-20 record is reflective of that. Handling the losing is not easy, but there are ways to turn negatives into positives.
&ldquo;Just competing, keep fighting and learning from our losses,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;I don't think it's a loss unless you learn. If you learn [from] what you've done before, you can get better at any time or any moment. I feel like that's just something that we take pride in, making it a lesson instead of a loss.
&ldquo;We know we've got a lot more fight to give and we've got a lot more to prove. It's not ideal for us to be the youngest team in the league, but it happens, so you just have to deal with it and get through it. We are getting better every day and every game, so that's something that we have to draw from since Game 1 to now. We're gonna win games. We haven't won as much as we've liked to so far, but [we're] definitely gonna win games and we're gonna keep learning and keep working hard and improving.&rdquo;
Whether Reid speaks that into existence remains to be seen, but it wouldn&rsquo;t be wise to bet against him. He&rsquo;s earned the trust of his teammates and his coaches in Minnesota, which is a testament to his hunger.
"It means a lot because they see my whole work ethic,&rdquo; Reid said. &ldquo;And I'm out there proving [myself] and they see it and they see a vision in me.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies spoke to Timberwolves big man Naz Reid about his strong play in Karl-Anthony Towns' absence and overall development.

Sean