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Wizards

For a third of the NBA, summer break comes early.&nbsp;
Though 10 teams didn't make the playoffs, it's not all doom and gloom. Several NBA bottom-feeders took tangible steps forward in their rebuilding efforts, while others &mdash; well, they're not supposed to be here.
Every franchise enters the offseason with summer plans. As teams get eliminated from the postseason, I'll be rounding up every team's offseason outlook and posing one question they must answer over the summer. You'll see each squad's 2022 NBA Draft chest, plus their potential free agents, along with the central question.&nbsp;
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Let's get started!
DETROIT PISTONS 
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick (via Brooklyn)
Potential free agents:&nbsp;Marvin Bagley III (restricted), Cory Joseph (player option), Hamidou Diallo (team option), Frank Jackson (team option), Luka Garza (team option), Carsen Edwards (team option), Rodney McGruder 
Central question: How do the Pistons build an offense around Cade Cunningham?
This was a pretty solid season for Detroit as far as rebuilding efforts go. Cade Cunningham emerged as a Rookie of the Year front-runner and two-way centerpiece who has fans ecstatic about his ceiling. The Pistons finished a solid 10-14 after the All-Star break, and have shown flashes of an improving defense. They did still finish with the 28th-ranked offense, per Cleaning the Glass, and one of the worst shooting rates in the NBA.
Cunningham had to carry a ridiculous offensive load in the latter stages of the season. Detroit has the power to change that in 2022-23, starting with its high draft pick. Maybe Jabari Smith's lights-out scoring means he's an ideal secondary option? Perhaps Paolo Banchero thrives as an additional creator, or maybe Chet Holmgren makes sense as a finisher and spot-up threat? The fun part about Cunningham is that his versatility creates so many pathways for the Pistons in the draft &mdash; whether or not the ping pong balls fall their way.
Detroit wields a cap hold of approximately $28 million on Bagley, and once that lifts (either via a new contract or letting him walk), the Pistons should have a solid chunk of cap space to add to the supporting cast.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), better of Brooklyn/Miami first-round picks
Potential free agents: John Wall (player option), Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando (restricted), Jae'Sean Tate (team option), Anthony Lamb (qualifying offer), Trevelin Queen (qualifying offer)
Central question: How patient is the front office willing to be?
Houston's 2021 draft strategy of "draft talent, figure out the fit later" appears to be working out. Jalen Green demonstrated an Anthony Edwards-esque leap post-All-Star break, Alperen Sengun is already one of the NBA's best passing bigs, and guys like Josh Christopher and KJ Martin routinely hinted at upside. Houston gets another prime shot at a franchise cornerstone this draft cycle. We're approaching Stage 2 of the strategy, though: figuring out how the pieces fit.&nbsp;
The Rockets were one of two NBA teams with bottom-five ratings on offense and defense. They led the league in rim frequency and were fourth in three-point frequency, but posted mediocre shooting clips. Houston evokes memories of the rebuilding Nets, who played a similarly extreme brand of ball for a few years as the team slowly reshaped into a fun playoff squad. Does the front office have the foresight to let head coach Stephen Silas work things out with his roster of young guns?&nbsp;
INDIANA PACERS
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How is there a &ldquo;rebuild&rdquo; to afraid of if it isn&rsquo;t a rebuild? <a href="https://t.co/0pDD7E6Mss">pic.twitter.com/0pDD7E6Mss</a>
&mdash; Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) <a href="https://twitter.com/C2_Cooper/status/1512127632758001664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (10.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick (if 15-30, via Cleveland), Second-round pick (via Houston), Second-round pick (via Phoenix)
Potential free agents: Ricky Rubio, T.J. Warren, Jalen Smith, Lance Stephenson, Nate Hinton (restricted), Oshae Brissett (team option)
Central question: How extreme is the incoming rebuild, and what veterans mesh with the future vision?
Notably unlisted among the potential free agents are Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield and T.J. McConnell. All range from solid starters to rotational complements, and 3 of the 4 (not Turner) will be 30 next season. The Pacers are clearly retooling, as evidenced by their trade-deadline fireworks and Tyrese Haliburton's subsequent high usage. They also have publicly flip-flopped regarding the direction of the team; see the above Tweet.
Indiana doesn't have the pure depth of talent to straddle the line. The Pacers can trade many of these talented players and build up a chest of draft picks and young pieces, or they can charge ahead, turn their picks into win-now players and hope Haliburton is ready for the playoff push. But a middle ground doesn't exist in an Eastern Conference where just about every team has solidified its direction.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Draft assets: None
Potential free agents: Russell Westbrook (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Austin Reaves (team option), Stanley Johnson (team option), Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, D.J. Augustin, Wenyen Gabriel, Mason Jones (restricted)
Central question: What does team-building around two injury-prone superstars look like?
LeBron James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-i-dont-have-a-cap-on-how-long-i-want-to-play" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turns 38 next season</a>, and has played 60-plus games just once in the past four seasons. Anthony Davis has now missed more than half the season in back-to-back years. Sure, the Lakers were a mess regardless of their stars' health, but going forward, is pursuing fits next to James and Davis even worthwhile if the two won't consistently be on the court?
With just three players under contract (the aforementioned stars, plus Talen Horton-Tucker), the Lakers enter another offseason of a roster overhaul. This time, I'd recommend almost entirely forgetting about James and Davis when building the squad and simply try to assemble units that make sense together.&nbsp;
NEW YORK KNICKS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, could change based on Play-In results), Second-round pick via Boston and Charlotte (if 56-60)
Potential free agents: Mitchell Robinson, Ryan Arcidiacono 
Central question: What's going to happen with the veterans?
The top six moneymakers for the Knicks next season are all 27 or older, and I think many fans would say that out of the group, only Julius Randle should have started &mdash; and he seriously regressed this season. The young Knicks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/explain-one-play-young-knicks-playing-chess" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clearly showed they're ready to take the mantle</a>.
So what happens with Randle, Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Kemba Walker? Is Tom Thibodeau prepared to reduce their (their meaning Burks specifically in this case) minutes and usage, will trades be coming, or will Madison Square Garden burn when Immanuel Quickley opens the season by playing 16 minutes off the bench? New York has drafted extremely well in recent seasons, but the ceiling of the young core is capped if these youngsters don't get a chance to prove themselves in meaningful situations.
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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 
Draft assets: First-round pick (12.5% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via Clippers, First-round pick via Phoenix, Second-round pick
Potential free agents: Derrick Favors (player option), Mike Muscala (team option), Lu Dort (team option), Isaiah Roby (team option), Melvin Frazier (restricted)
Central question: What is the pathway in the frontcourt?
I've stanned Sam Presti's team-building strategy for years now, and I still think it's on track for a serious payoff. Josh Giddey slots in somewhere on your All-Rookie ballot, and draft classmates Tre Mann, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aaron Wiggins flashed rotation-caliber play as well. It is simply a joy to watch a random young player have a breakout game on any given night, and OKC has already shown the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-oklahoma-city-thunders-emerging-defensive-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early stages of a prominent defense</a>.
Next up: Capitalize on a draft loaded with intruiging frontcourt players. Banchero, Holmgren and Smith are obviously the best of the best. But even if the Thunder slide in the lottery, they could pounce on an athletic shot-blocker like Jalen Duren, or use one of their later picks on a center like Mark Williams. I'm just spit-balling, but the point is that OKC has plenty of chances to find its big-man anchor and further flesh out its core.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Draft assets: First-round pick (14.0% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Indiana
Potential free agents: Gary Harris, Robin Lopez, Bol Bol (restricted), Ignas Brazdeikis (restricted), Admiral Schofield (restricted)
Central question: How do the offensive pieces fit together?
Orlando quietly logged a 17th-ranked defense this season, and an 11th-ranked unit since Feb. 1. A dismal offense ultimately doomed the Magic, who were riddled with inconsistent shotmaking and poor team efficiency marks throughout the half-court. We don't need to sound any player alarms; it takes time for young guards in particular to grasp the responsibilities of running NBA offenses.&nbsp;
But what if I told you Orlando has wielded bottom-10 offensive ratings every season for the last decade?&nbsp;
Change can start in the draft, again with some of the top offensive forward options like Banchero or Smith. Adding another ball-dominant guard in Jaden Ivey might be overkill, but AJ Griffin and Bennedict Mathurin feel like good wing fits at first glance. Spotrac estimates the Magic could have up to $30 million in practical cap space, leaving plenty of room for veteran players to accentuate the young talent.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
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THE D IN DREW STANDS FOR DUNK DO NOT GOOGLE THIS <a href="https://t.co/2AojdAskYV">pic.twitter.com/2AojdAskYV</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1508636734900166659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Draft assets: First-round pick (9.0% chance at No. 1), First-round pick via New Orleans (if 5-14), Second-round pick, Second-round pick via Memphis
Potential free agents: Joe Ingles, Jusuf Nurkic, Ben McLemore, Anfernee Simons (restricted), CJ Elleby (restricted), Elijah Hughes (restricted), Keljin Blevins (restricted)
Central question: Is Portland actually trying to win "now" or win soon?
Some really great development happened for the Blazers during the "wash" portion of the season in the form of players like Trendon Watford, Keon Johnson and Drew Eubanks. Add them to Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little and the incomng draft picks, and Portland suddenly has... kind of a sneaky-deep prospect pool? There's real potential to mold this group into a rotation cast that gives Portland one of its deepest rosters in years.
That's why these <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jerami-grant-trade-rumors-portland-is-still-the-frontrunner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerami Grant trade rumors concern me</a>. Giving up a possible lottery pick to try and piece together a short-term playoff team risks too much and keeps the Trail Blazers in the limbo they have lounged in for several years. Understandably, the franchise wants to build a contender while Damian Lillard is invested and in his prime. With some patience, Portland can without sacrificing sustainibility.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Draft assets: First-round pick (7.5% chance at No. 1), Second-round pick, Second-round pick (via Chicago)
Potential free agents: Jeremy Lamb, Josh Jackson, Damian Jones, Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Neemias Queta (restricted), Trey Lyles (team option)
Central question: How does Sacramento turn into a competitive NBA defense?
The Kings have trotted out lackluster defenses for as long as I can remember. In fact, they haven't ranked above 20th in Defensive Rating since 2005-06 &mdash; notably, the last time they made the playoffs.
And that didn't change under interim head coach Alvin Gentry. (Gentry will not return as head coach next season, but is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shams-alvin-gentry-no-longer-interim-coach-of-the-kings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in talks for a front-office role</a>, per ESPN.) However, the on-paper roster actually shines some hope. Davion Mitchell made highlight reels out of his "Off-Night" defense. Justin Holiday is a solid individual defender, as is Harrison Barnes, and even De'Aaron Fox has his sporadic moments.&nbsp;
Can Sacramento find a head coach who turns a group of intriguing players with defensive potential into even an average squad? What draft and free agency options exist? Of course, the Kings would like to end their NBA-leading playoff drought. That'll come with changing the culture on defense.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Draft assets: First-round pick (2.5% chance at No. 1, depends on Play-In results), Second-round pick (via Dallas)
Potential free agents: Bradley Beal (player option), Thomas Bryant, Raul Neto, Tomas Satoransky, Anthony Gill (restricted), Cassius Winston (restricted)
Central question: What style of guard play is a feasible best fit?
Okay, so obviously the biggest question mark surrounds Bradley Beal's free agency. But from a conceptual standpoint, Washington has tried and failed over the past few seasons to find Beal's best-fitting partner in crime. John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Spencer Dinwiddie were each supposed to provide the downhill juice Beal lacks. The Wizards either did this at serious expense of another skill area (Wall, Westbrook), or it just didn't translate their at-rim ability (Dinwiddie). All battled injuries as well.
"I think we need bigger guards," <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/bradley-beal-outlines-what-wizards-need-build-contender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Beal said in March</a>. "We need more guys that can get in the paint for us, more ball-handlers, more guys that can really create and get two feet in the paint, but also who can knock down threes."
I mean, Beal's needs make total sense. The problem is that every other basketball team on Earth also wants this type of guard.
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Ethan Fuller sets the offseason stage for each team that missed the NBA playoffs.

Summer plans for the NBA's 10 non-playoff teams

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; LeBron James moved into second place on the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring list Saturday night, surpassing Karl Malone in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; game at Washington.
James now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the lead. He entered the game 19 points behind Malone&rsquo;s total of 36,928. After a six-point first quarter, James went on a scoring binge in the second that included a dunk and three 3-pointers.
The last of those 3s brought him even with Malone. Then he made a layup off a backdoor cut with 5:20 left in the quarter to move ahead.
Moments later, as Washington's Tomas Satoransky prepared to shoot free throws, James' accomplishment was put up on the video screen, and the crowd in Washington gave him a standing ovation. James acknowledged the cheers with a wave of his hand and exchanged a hug with Washington's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a former teammate.
James then checked out of the game and received congratulations from teammates on the sideline.
Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his career. James has a chance to break that record next season if he&rsquo;s healthy enough.
James passed Malone in the same building where Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals moved past Jaromir Jagr and into third place on the NHL&rsquo;s career list in goals earlier in the week.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James moved into second place on the NBA’s career scoring list Saturday night, surpassing Karl Malone.

LeBron James passes Karl Malone for 2nd all-time in scoring

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 50 points for the 15th time in his career and helped rally the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half to a 122-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
It is the second straight home game during which James has scored at least 50 and the third time he has done it with the Lakers. He had a season-high 56 in a win over Golden State last Saturday.
James was 18 of 25 from the field and made six 3-pointers in 36 minutes. He also had six rebounds and moved past Dikembe Mutombo into 12th place on the NBA's career defensive rebounds list with 8,553.
James rallied the Lakers back with 12 straight points during a 22-8 run when they took an 82-75 lead with 2:25 remaining. James' flurry included a thunderous dunk midway through the quarter to put Los Angeles up 73-70.
He then had 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers steadily pulled away. Los Angeles, which had dropped six of their last seven coming into the game, led by as many as 18 midway through the fourth.
Malik Monk scored 21 points and Talen Horton-Tucker added 15 for the Lakers.
Kyle Kuzma, who played for the Lakers for four seasons, led Washington with 23 points and rookie Corey Kispert scored a career-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers.
WELCOME BACK
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma, who were part of the Lakers' 2020 NBA championship team, were given a video salute during the first timeout. Both players were traded to Washington during the offseason to acquire Russell Westbrook.
Caldwell-Pope struggled in his return to LA. He was 1 of 6 from the floor and had only four points. He also received a technical foul late in the first quarter.
TIP INS
Wizards: Washington had a 62-53 lead early in the third quarter before the Lakers made their run. ... Rui Hachimura had 13 of his 15 points in the first half. ... Kristap Porzingis had a season-high 14 rebounds along with 14 points. ... Tomas Satoransky had 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Lakers: Westbrook had nine assists and passed Andre Miller for 11th on the career assists list. Westbrook has 8,529 in his 13-year career. ... Austin Reaves had 12 points.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Continue their four-game road trip at Portland on Sunday.
Lakers: Travel to Phoenix on Sunday.

LeBron James scored 50 points for the 15th time in his career and helped rally the Lakers to a 122-109 victory over the Wizards.

LeBron James scores 50, rallies Lakers past Wizards for 122-109 win

Although some top-tier players who were expected to hit free agency this coming summer have already signed extensions, the 2022 NBA free-agent class will feature quite a few stars.
In particular, the crop of guards up for grabs is quite impressive, which is where we will begin this three-part ranking series.
1. James Harden &mdash; Philadelphia 76ers &mdash; Player Option
James Harden holds a player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022-23 season, and it was reported that Harden would exercise it in conjunction with his trade from Brooklyn to Philadelphia. Although he hasn't done so yet, Harden has said he plans to. Over the summer, the maximum offer the Sixers can present to Harden is a pact that would pay him up north of $270 million over the next six years, which ESPN analyst Bobby Marks declared would be the "worst contract in NBA history." Here's a look at what Harden's annual salary would look like:
2022-23: $47.4 million 2023-24: $49.7 million 2024-25: $53.7 million&nbsp; 2025-26: $57.7 million 2026-27: $61.7 million&nbsp;
2. Zach LaVine &mdash; Chicago Bulls &mdash; Unrestricted
Zach LaVine bet on himself instead of signing a four-year, $105 million extension last offseason, and the gamble has most certainly paid off. He's averaging 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.9 made three-pointers while shooting 40.0% from downtown and a career-high 85.7% from the free-throw line. Steph Curry is the only player in the NBA to match or exceed LaVine in those statistical categories this season. With LaVine playing at such a high level and the Bulls near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, Chicago is fully expected to offer him a max deal of five years at approximately $200 million. The most any other team can offer LaVine is around $160 million over four years.
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3. Bradley Beal &mdash; Washington Wizards &mdash; Player Option
The Wizards announced last month that Bradley Beal underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. Prior to the injury, Beal's scoring average had dipped dramatically (from 31.3 points per game in 2020-21 to 23.2 this season), and he was shooting just 30.0% from downtown, but the three-time All-Star was averaging a career-high 6.6 assists. Beal's player option for the 2022-23 season is worth $36.4 million.
4. Kyrie Irving &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Player Option
It's been a tumultuous season for both Kyrie Irving and the Nets. Kyrie's refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 &mdash; which resulted in him being banished from the team for the first half of the year before Brooklyn welcomed him back to play in road games &mdash; reportedly was an important factor in James Harden's decision to demand a trade. In the preseason, the Nets were heavy favorites to take home the title, but find themselves below .500 and in ninth place in the East. Brooklyn is just 1-9 in the last 10 games Irving has appeared in. Considering all the drama (and the reports that Irving would consider retirement if he was traded), it seems safe to assume Kyrie will remain in Brooklyn. But when it comes to Mr. Irving (who has a player option for the 2022&ndash;23 season worth $36,934,550), making assumptions often proves unwise. Stay tuned.&nbsp;
5. Anfernee Simons &mdash; Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; Restricted
It could be argued that Anfernee Simons has increased his value more than any player in the league over the last five months. After averaging a modest 7.8 points per game last season, Simons is pouring in 17.3 points per game in 2021-22, which represents the largest year-over-year increase in the NBA this season. And his numbers are even more impressive dating back to the start of the New Year, when he was permanently inserted into the starting lineup.
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38 points (9 threes), 3 rebounds, 3 assists in 40 minutes. If you're not taking notice of <a href="https://twitter.com/AnferneeSimons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@anferneesimons</a> yet, you should be! <a href="https://t.co/5IPvZXFvyo">pic.twitter.com/5IPvZXFvyo</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1500324039100755972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Over the 27 games he's appeared in since the calendar flipped to January, the 22-year-old Simons is averaging 23.4 points, 5.8 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 4.4 made triples, while shooting 42.3% from downtown and 86.6% from the charity stripe. Simons leads the league in made three-pointers (119) in 2022. Yes, he's struggled on the defensive end, but one of the primary reasons the Blazers made multiple major moves before the deadline (trading away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington) was to clear up cap space to sign Simons to a considerable extension this summer. They are not going to let him walk.
6. Jalen Brunson &mdash; Dallas Mavericks &mdash; Unrestricted
After two solid, if unspectacular, seasons to start his NBA career, Jalen Brunson took a significant step forward last season; he averaged 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 treys in 25.7 minutes per game, while shooting 52.3% from the floor and 40.5% from downtown. The Villanova product has continued to improve in 2021-22, posting career-highs in points (16.2), assists (5.3) and rebounds (3.7) per contest. Brunson also showed he could shoulder increased responsibility by stepping in and stepping up when Luka Doncic missed 14 of Dallas' first 35 games this season. Jalen played the best basketball of his NBA career over an eight-game stretch in mid-to-late December, when he averaged 22.4 points and 7.9 dimes a night. This offseason, Brunson reportedly will be seeking a four-year, $80 million deal. The New York Knicks are among the teams expected to express serious interest.
7. Collin Sexton &mdash; Cleveland Cavaliers &mdash; Restricted
Collin Sexton injured his left knee in a game in early November, and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus. He had surgery a week later, sidelining him for the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign. It will be fascinating to see what offers he receives on the open market. Last season, Sexton averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% from downtown and 81.5% from the free-throw line. However, he struggled defensively, and the Cavs registered a league-worst 60-159 record over the first three years of his career. With Sexton out of action this season, Cleveland is 10 games above .500. Because he is restricted, the Cavs can match any offer he receives this summer.&nbsp;
8. Malik Monk &mdash; Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; Unrestricted
Mailk Monk, the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, failed to live up to expectations over the first four years of his career in Charlotte. He made just one career start as a member of the Hornets, and had averaged 9.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 233 appearances while shooting below 34% from downtown. As a result, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to ink him to a one-year contract at the veteran minimum ($1.7 million) for this season. Surprisingly, Monk has established himself as one of the Lakers' most consistent and effective players. In the 23 games he's started for L.A., Monk has averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists while posting a True Shooting percentage of 58.8%. He will look to cash in with a significant pay raise in July.&nbsp;
9. Russell Westbrook &mdash; Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; Player Option
Besides Monk's unexpected success and the MVP-caliber performance of the ageless wonder that is LeBron James, the 2021-22 Lakers season has been an absolute nightmare. L.A. is eight games below .500 and desperately fighting just to make the Play-In Tournament. And Russell Westbrook is the player <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/russell-westbrook-opens-up-about-shaming-from-lakers-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the public has pilloried and pinned the Lakers' failures on</a>. Russ has a player option for the 2022-23 season worth a whopping $47,063,478, so there is almost zero chance of him opting out. The Lakers will undoubtedly explore all possible trade scenarios this offseason.
10. John Wall &mdash; Houston Rockets &mdash; Player Option
John Wall showed flashes of his immense talent last season, when he averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Rockets, but he hasn't set foot on an NBA court since April 2021. Wall will almost certainly exercise his player option for 2022-23 worth $47.4 million. At that point, he'll be on an expiring contract, which will make it far easier for Houston to move him.
Best of the Rest: Dennis Schroder, Patty Mills (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Victor Oladipo, Gary Payton II, Gary Harris, Lonnie Walker IV (restricted), Tomas Satoransky, Ricky Rubio, Goran Dragic, Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Facundo Campazzo (restricted), Bruce Brown Jr., Donte DiVincenzo (restricted), Pat Connaughton (player option), Jeremy Lamb, Tyus Jones, Cory Joseph
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Tommy Beer ranks the top guards who could be available as part of the 2022 NBA free-agent class.

2022 NBA Free Agency Preview: Ranking the top-10 guards

ESPN Sources: The San Antonio Spurs and point guard Tomas Satoransky have agreed to a contract buyout, clearing the way for him to sign a free agent deal with the Washington Wizards.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1497618613221605381?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Satoransky played in one game for the Spurs, scoring three points in nine minutes. The 30-year-old was traded to San Antonio from the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-team deal prior to the trade deadline. Satoransky spent the first three years of his NBA career in Washington.

Satoransky spent the first three years of his NBA career in Washington.

Tomas Satoransky to sign with Wizards after Spurs buyout

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 36 points, Tyler Herro added 27 off the bench and the Miami Heat overcame an early 16-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 133-129 on Saturday night.
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points in 30 minutes to help Miami improved the Eastern Conference's best record to 40-21. Butler didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Lowry had maybe the biggest shot of the night, a 3-pointer with 1:37 left to put Miami up by seven. San Antonio got within two on a 3-pointer by Keita Bates-Diop with nine seconds left, but Miami held on.
&ldquo;I've got to do my part," Adebayo said.
The Heat win kept Spurs coach Gregg Popovich at 1,334 regular-season wins in his career, meaning he remained one victory behind Don Nelson &mdash; one of his former bosses &mdash; on the NBA's career list.
&ldquo;Being in this position is awkward, surreal, unexpected, never planned and all of the above,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the best way to describe it.&rdquo;
Devin Vassell had a career-high 22 points for the Spurs. Bates-Diop and Lonnie Walker IV also had 22 apiece for San Antonio, which got 19 points and 11 assists from Tre Jones.
Lowry finished with 13 points and 10 assists for Miami.
The Spurs were without their three leading scorers. All-Star Dejounte Murray was held out with a bruised left knee &mdash; &ldquo;probably being overly cautious,&rdquo; Popovich said &mdash; while Olympic gold medalist Keldon Johnson and starting center Jakob Poeltl were both sidelined by low back soreness.
Perhaps it lulled Miami into a seriously false sense of early security, because the Spurs got whatever they wanted for most of the first half.
The Spurs scored 157 points &mdash; the most ever by a San Antonio team in the Popovich era &mdash; in a double-overtime win at Washington on Friday, then kept the scoring going to get things started in Miami. San Antonio led 28-12 early and 40-28 when the first quarter was done, matching the most points the Heat had yielded in any quarter this season.
After 16-1/2 minutes, the Spurs were already up to 50 points.
And over the final 7-1/2 minutes of the half, San Antonio managed only eight points. Miami outscored the Spurs 20-8 to close the quarter, got its first lead of the game on a three-point play by Butler with 38.6 seconds left before intermission and went into the break up 61-58.
The Heat pushed the lead out to 68-58 after a quick start to the third, but the defense went missing again and Miami wound up allowing 39 points in the quarter &mdash; with the teams going back and forth on the lead.
Adebayo made a 21-footer at the buzzer to put Miami up 99-97 going into the final quarter. That was the start of him scoring 15 points in a span of 4:02, but the Heat still had to sweat it out all the way to the end.
TIP-INS
Spurs: San Antonio&rsquo;s first 18 points were all scored from inside the paint. ... Vassell had a four-point play with 8:43 left in the third, his corner 3 being accompanied by a foul from P.J. Tucker. He then hit another 3 on the next possession, giving him seven points in 26 seconds. ... Murray didn&rsquo;t play in either game against Miami this season.
Heat: A monster week awaits Miami, with the team&rsquo;s next four games coming up against fellow Eastern Conference contenders Chicago, Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Philadelphia. ... Miami committed seven fouls in the first half, then was whistled for 12 in the third quarter alone, plus a technical on head coach Erik Spoelstra. ... The Heat got down double-digits almost immediately for the second consecutive night; it was 10-0 at New York on Friday, 12-2 against the Spurs in this one.
FAN NIGHT
Among those in the crowd: new Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, along with Floyd Mayweather, Antonio Brown and Alex Rodriguez.
STATEMENT MADE
A fan unfurled a Ukrainian flag inside the arena during the first half, drawing cheers. Later, the Heat displayed the same flag on the massive video screen that adorns the front of the building.
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SPURS MOVE
A few hours before the game, the Spurs waived guard Tomas Satoransky. He appeared in one game with the Spurs after being acquired in a trade two weeks ago.
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visit Memphis on Monday.
Heat: Host Chicago on Monday.

Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 36 points, Tyler Herro added 27 and the Heat overcame an early deficit to beat the Spurs 133-129.

Adebayo scores season-high 36 points, Heat top Spurs 133-129

In case you&rsquo;ve been overly consumed by the NBA, college basketball, or the WNBA off-season, now would be a great time to remind y&rsquo;all that the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers are going on.
And in case you didn&rsquo;t know, the host countries for the 2023 World Cup are Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines &mdash; more on that later.
The last World Cup was right before the 2019-20 season, but feels so long ago because this whole COVID thing hadn&rsquo;t yet clapped us up. If you remember, the 2020 Olympics took place in 2021 &mdash; as in, last year. Yeah, I know, the international stuff can get confusing, but I&rsquo;m here to help you. Trust me.
Now, perhaps quietly to some, international play quickly resumed this past November with the first window of 2023 World Cup qualifying, which we&rsquo;ll recap shortly.
You have four sets of qualifying regions: Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe. There are six windows played over a 15-month span (starting from this past November), where the competing squads normally would participate in two games per window. COVID had other ideas &mdash; more on that later.
Currently, each region has groups of four, and the top three in each group will advance to round two following the June/July window. This current round of qualifying is between Nov. 20-30, Feb. 21-March 1, and June 27-July 5, after which we&rsquo;ll enter round two. Round two also occurs over three windows: August 22-30, Nov. 7-15, and Feb. 20-28, then those who will have qualified will enter group drawing next March, and we&rsquo;ll see them compete between August 25-September 10 &mdash; the World Cup.
Now, let&rsquo;s lay out all the things you should probably know and, if you see a number in parenthesis next to a team that&rsquo;s listed, that&rsquo;s their current world ranking, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/rankingmen">according to FIBA</a>. So if you feel like your people are being misrepresented, leave me alone and take that up with them. (Unless &hellip; unless you mean, you know, actual greater good/societal misrepresentation, then &hellip; let&rsquo;s talk, because me, too.)
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African Region
2019 WC qualifiers: Angola, Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia
As they did in 2019, Africa will get five of the final 32 World Cup spots. Though they&rsquo;re hoping for a better result, because none of them advanced past&nbsp;group play. The Groups are as follows:
<ul>
<li>Group A: Nigeria (22), Mali (72), Cape Verde (74), Uganda (78),</li>
<li>Group B: Tunisia (28), Cameroon (64), South Sudan (82), Rwanda (84)</li>
<li>Group C: Angola (31), Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire (40), Central African Rep. (75), Guinea (99)</li>
<li>Group D: Senegal (34), Egypt (59), Congo DR (81), Kenya (103)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Africa has a slightly different format. Groups A and C each played three games from Nov. 26-28, the biggest perhaps being Cape Verde&rsquo;s 79-71 upset over Nigeria, which helped move their ranking from No. 100 to No. 74 in the world. Thus, Groups A and C will return in the summer window. Nigeria and Mali are 2-1 and lead Group A, and Cote d&rsquo;Ivoire went 3-0 in November, sitting atop Group C. Groups B and D begin qualifying on Feb. 25 at Dakar Arena in Senegal, which will be three straight days of games through the 27th.
Tunisia&rsquo;s To Lose?: Tunisia went 10-2 in their World Cup qualifying for the 2019 tournament, and is expected to have similar production in group play here. Tunisia won the 2021 AfroBasket this past September, led by tournament MVP Makrem Romdhane, and All-Tournament guard Omar Abada. There&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/african-qualifiers/news/the-african-champions-are-ready-to-soar-in-dakar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also a chance star center Salah Mejri suits up for Tunisia</a>. The 7-foot-2 former Dallas Maverick <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/teams/tunisia/2019.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led Tunisia with 16.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game</a> in their second ever World Cup appearance three years ago.
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The Biggest What If: Tunisia plays Cameroon on Feb. 25. Cameroon is one of the many wild cards worth keeping tabs on. They still haven&rsquo;t been able to piece together the dream frontcourt of Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who hasn&rsquo;t played since the NBA bubble. <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com/2017/2/7/14539418/joel-embiid-named-cameroon-preliminary-roster-fiba-afrobasket-2017-luc-mbah-a-moute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Embiid came close in 2017</a>, but ultimately didn&rsquo;t play. Obviously, NBA players rarely can compete in these qualifying windows because of, well, them being in the NBA. But if Cameroon could do well enough and qualify, who knows if that&rsquo;ll be enough to lure Embiid and Siakam into international play.
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American Region
2019 WC qualifiers: Argentina (silver medalist), Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USA, and Venezuela.
The Americas will, again, send seven to the World Cup late next year. The Americas have the standard format across the board, so this window will mark two games for each club. The groups are:
<ul>
<li>Group A: Argentina (7), Venezuela (17), Panama (50), Paraguay (77)</li>
<li>Group B: Brazil (15), Uruguay (41), Colombia (67), Chile (68)</li>
<li>Group C: Canada (18), Dominican Republic (20), U.S. Virgin Islands (54), Bahamas (62)</li>
<li>Group D: U.S.A. (1), Puerto Rico (19), Mexico (24), Cuba (65)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico are all 2-0. U.S.A. and Puerto Rico are the only 1-1 teams in the Americas, and will play each other on Tuesday in Washington D.C. Notably, for Team U.S.A., Jim Boylen coached the club in the November window, in which they held off Cuba 95-90, then lost to Mexico in Chihuahua City, 97-88. Although Cuba is 0-2, their star, Jaisel Rivero, is good enough to steal them a game. Rivero put 34 (13-18 shooting) with 9 rebounds and 3 threes on Team USA in their narrow loss. Rivero currently competes with Liga ACB and EuroCup&rsquo;s Valencia Basket in Spain, where he averages 11.1 points (second on team) and 4.9 rebounds (third on team) across all competitions.
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21 points for <a href="https://twitter.com/isaiahthomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@isaiahthomas</a> last night, including 4 made threes, none bigger than this dagger. 👀 Team USA defeated Cuba 95-90 to start 2023 World Cup Qualifiers. They face Mexico tonight. 📹: <a href="https://t.co/nNQDfvcF82">https://t.co/nNQDfvcF82</a> (via FIBA) <a href="https://t.co/dhAUAUVHLy">pic.twitter.com/dhAUAUVHLy</a>
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1465437069073858560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a>
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Uncle Iso Joe: Among <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/americas-qualifiers/game/0407/Mexico-USA#|tab=boxscore">the notables who suited up for Team USA in November</a> were Isaiah Thomas, Luke Kornet, Chasson Randle, Haywood Highsmith and Shaquille Harrison, among many other current and former NBA players. Seven-time All-Star and 40-year-old Joe Johnson, who famously was a Boston Celtic briefly earlier this season, is <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/americas-qualifiers/news/nba-experience-leads-revamped-united-states-roster-for-second-window-of-2023-fiba-world-cup-americas-qualifiers">confirmed to be suiting up with Team USA</a> in this February window. Brian Bowen II is the only player returning from the November window. Other Team U.S.A. members include current G Leaguers Jordan Bell, David Stockton, Langston Galloway and Justin Wright-Foreman, among others.
La Nueva Era de Baloncesto: Both Mexico and Puerto Rico announced new head coaches shortly before the November window. Mexico&rsquo;s led by long-time NBA assistant Kaleb Caneles, while Puerto Rico hired Nelson Colon, who is a three-time champion and Coach of the Year in Baloncesto Superior Nacional, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s top pro basketball league. Former long-time NBA guard Carlos Arroyo was also appointed the <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/news/puerto-rico-appoints-carlos-arroyo-as-its-male-national-team-general-manager#:~:text=Americas-,Puerto%20Rico%20appoints%20Carlos%20Arroyo%20as%20its%20male%20National%20Team,of%20the%20men's%20national%20team.">Puerto Rican National Team&rsquo;s General Manager last June</a>.
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Both Puerto Rico and Mexico starting this cycle with new coaches, too: <a href="https://t.co/PCDaPmNumy">https://t.co/PCDaPmNumy</a>
&mdash; Bryan Fonseca 🇵🇷 (@BryanFonsecaNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1465151054278967302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Asia-Oceania Region
2019 WC qualifiers: Australia (finished fourth), China, Iran, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, South Korea and the Philippines.
The hosts &ndash; Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia &ndash; typically automatically qualify for the World Cup. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171213161459/http:/www.philstar.com:8080/sports/2017/12/13/1767946/learning-2019-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indonesia&rsquo;s qualification is more provisional</a> due to their lack of international success. Japan and the Philippines are automatically in, but they&rsquo;re all scheduled to participate in World Cup qualifiers anyway.
In the 2019 World Cup, Asia/Oceania sent eight teams over, which they&rsquo;ll do again in 2023. Here are the groups:
<ul>
<li>Group A: New Zealand (27), South Korea (30), Philippines (33), India (80)</li>
<li>Group B: Australia (3), China (29), Japan (37), Chinese Taipei (66)</li>
<li>Group C: Jordan (39), Lebanon (55), Indonesia (91), Saudi Arabia (79)</li>
<li>Group D: Iran (23),&nbsp;Kazakhstan (70), Syria (85), Bahrain (104)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Due to travel restrictions (COVID), <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/asian-qualifiers/news/update-to-the-fiba-basketball-world-cup-2023-asian-qualifiers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several games had to be canceled</a>, so while the format was originally the same as the Americas, it came with some modifications. No one in Group A has played yet, so they&rsquo;ll each play four games to compensate, all of which will take place between Feb. 24 and Feb. 28. In Group B, only China and Japan were able to play, and China smacked them twice, 79-63, and 106-73. Australia and Chinese Taipei are each scheduled to play three times between Feb. 25 and Feb. 28. Japan will play twice in this window, once against each of them, and China will return for four games in the third window to end round one.
Medal Momentum: This will mark the first we see of Australia since finally winning their first medal at the 2020 Olympics (that were played in 2021). Australia had lost the bronze medal game in the 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2016 Olympics before finally medaling in their fifth attempt. In their history, they&rsquo;ve never had a better World Cup finish than in 2019, where they lost in &hellip; another bronze medal game. Perhaps Australia is really turning a corner now. &nbsp;
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🥉 HISTORY MADE 🥉 The Boomers have done it- Australia have secured their first ever men&rsquo;s basketball Olympic medal! The bronze is coming home! 💚💛<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tokyo2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tokyo2020</a> <a href="https://t.co/ngxiYRwHdk">pic.twitter.com/ngxiYRwHdk</a>
&mdash; Basketball Australia (@BasketballAus) <a href="https://twitter.com/BasketballAus/status/1423988352987013120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2021</a>
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European Region&nbsp;
2019 WC qualifiers: Czech Republic, France (bronze medalist), Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain (gold medalist), Turkey.
Europe is the largest region of basketball playing powers here, so their rules are slightly different. Instead of four groups, there are eight. As a result, they&rsquo;ll get 12 World Cup bids.
Here are the groups:
<ul>
<li>Group A: Serbia (6), Latvia (26), Belgium (36), Slovakia (63)</li>
<li>Group B: Greece (10), Turkey (16), Great Britain (44), Belarus (48)</li>
<li>Group C: Slovenia (4), Croatia (21), Finland (35), Sweden (51)</li>
<li>Group D: Germany (11), Poland (13), Israel (42), Estonia (49)</li>
<li>Group E: France (5), Montenegro (25), Hungary (43), Portugal (58)</li>
<li>Group F: Lithuania (8), Czech Republic (12), Bosnia (45), Bulgaria (53)</li>
<li>Group G: Spain (2), Ukraine (32), Georgia (38), North Macedonia (52)</li>
<li>Group H: Italy (9), Russia (14), Netherlands (47), Iceland (46)</li>
</ul>
First Window Summary: Everyone here was able to play two games in November. Your 2-0 teams are as follows: Belgium, Slovenia, Israel, France, Lithuania, Bosnia, Spain and Russia. Your 0-2 teams are Netherlands, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Croatia and Slovakia. Czech Republic was a story from the 2019 World Cup. They shockingly punched above their weight and reached the quarterfinals. Czech Republic, led by Tom&aacute;&scaron; Satoransky, finished sixth, one spot above Team U.S.A. But, so far, they haven&rsquo;t won a game in 2023 qualifying. Czech Republic lost to Bosnia 97-90 and Lithuania 74-66. They should have a breakthrough against Bulgaria on the 24th, but it&rsquo;ll be difficult to set themselves up for a repeat of 2019, which was their first World Cup bid.
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The State of Spain: After winning the 2019 World Cup with an incredibly stacked team, including tournament MVP Ricky Rubio, captain Rudy Fern&aacute;ndez, Marc Gasol and Willy Hernang&oacute;mez, Spain was knocked out of the Olympic quarterfinals by the United States. Their Olympic team featured many of their same heavy-hitters, including even Pau Gasol, who retired in October and is now a member of the International Olympic Committee. Like the United States, many of the players you&rsquo;d expect to see on their World Cup roster <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/european-qualifiers/team/Spain#|tab=roster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">likely won&rsquo;t participate much until then</a>. Even so, expect them to continue reigning as one of the top teams in the world. We could talk about the age factor around this time next year, perhaps.
The Sleeping Giant: Slovenia famously jumped 12 spots after their debut Olympic performance, largely led by Luka Dončić, accompanied by standout pro teammates Mike Tobey, Zoran (Goran&rsquo;s brother) Dragić,&nbsp;and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlatko_%C4%8Can%C4%8Dar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vlatko Čančar</a>. Slovenia finished fourth, losing to Australia in the bronze medal game. They didn&rsquo;t qualify for the 2019 World Cup, but did win the 2017 EuroBasket, in which Goran won MVP and Luka, at 18 years old, was named to the All-Tournament team. (Anthony Randolph played for the Slovenian team, then. Who knew?!?) Dragić and Tobey are <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023/european-qualifiers/team/Slovenia#|tab=roster" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed on the roster for this window</a>. Look for them to continue raising hell in qualifiers, and if Dončić suits up, in the World Cup, too.
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For even more World Cup info and complete schedules, <a href="https://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">go here</a>.
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Bryan Fonseca gives an overview of the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Things to monitor as FIBA World Cup’s next qualifying window arrives

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Dejounte Murray tied his career highs with 32 points and 15 assists to go with 10 rebounds for his 11th triple-double this season, Keldon Johnson scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 136-121 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
The Spurs shot 24% on 33 3-point attempts in Wednesday&rsquo;s loss at Cleveland, but they got off to a sizzling start. The were 8 for 9 to take a 43-29 lead at the end of the first quarter. San Antonio tied a season high with 18 3-pointers.
Murray was there the whole way, going 11 of 18 from the field, including 8 of 9 on 3-pointers, and leading a relentless defensive attack on the perimeter that held the Hawks, who entered second in the NBA on 3s, to 29.3% beyond the arc.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the thing in this league," Murray said. &ldquo;You make shots, you miss shots, and I think tonight we made shots, but we also kept our composure and matured. From the first quarter to the fourth quarter, we didn&rsquo;t let up. We knew we couldn&rsquo;t let up against a scoring team like Atlanta. That&rsquo;s really what it was tonight."
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 23 points in a reserve role and Trae Young, the league&rsquo;s third-leading scorer, finished with 16 for Atlanta. The Hawks had won eight of nine at State Farm Arena but began the game 10th in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Just flat," Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand where that came from. As we&rsquo;ve talked about the last couple of days, with the position we&rsquo;re in and the urgency we need to play with, we were just flat.
&ldquo;They outworked us. They played harder than us. They executed better than us, and it happened for 48 minutes. This is a surprise."
The Spurs, who began the night 13th in the West, had dropped 13 of 18, but this game was hardly in doubt as they pushed the lead to 26 at the 9:16 mark of the third on Murray&rsquo;s jumper. A 14-3 run by Atlanta trimmed the lead to 12 late in the third, but San Antonio wasn&rsquo;t further threatened, going up by 23 on Devin Vassell&rsquo;s dunk with 7:47 remaining.
Murray punctuated the fourth by tying his career high in points with a steal and a dunk that made it a 24-point lead with 4:10 to go. He left the game with the rest of the starters at that point.
&ldquo;Special, that&rsquo;s all I can say is special," Vassell said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s who I look up to. He texted me before the game. That&rsquo;s my guy. That&rsquo;s my dog for life. To see him and he helps all of us go. So when we see him getting out and getting steals and just being Dejounte, it fires all of us up. He&rsquo;s special. That&rsquo;s all I can say."
Murray&rsquo;s 3 made it 21-11 for the game&rsquo;s first double-digit lead. From there, Johnson and Vassell hit 3s and Jakob Poeltl a pair of free throws to put the Spurs up 34-17 with 4:49 left in the first.
Atlanta pulled within six midway through the second, but quickly gave back the momentum and trailed by 17 again on Zach Collins&rsquo; 3. The Spurs, up by as many as 18 in the first half, led 73-56 at intermission.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Murray set the Spurs&rsquo; franchise mark for career triple-doubles with 15, breaking a tie with David Robinson. ... Vassell started after Derrick White was traded to Boston on Thursday and finished with 20 points. ... Poeltl hit from halfcourt for his first 3-pointer of the season to beat the second-quarter buzzer. ... G Tomas Satoransky, acquired from Portland in a three-team trade this week, will join the team in New Orleans on Saturday. ... G Josh Richardson and swingman Romeo Langford, acquired in the deal with the Celtics, are expected to join the team in Chicago on Monday. ... San Antonio traded for G Goran Dragic in a deal that sent F Thaddeus Young to Toronto, but he is expected to be bought out. Dragic has played only five games this season after not cracking Raptors coach Nick Nurse&rsquo;s rotation. ... The Spurs have three first-round picks heading into this year&rsquo;s draft.
Hawks: Young notched his NBA-leading 13th 30-point, 10-assist game in Tuesday&rsquo;s blowout win over Indiana. Since the NBA-ABA merger, only James Harden and Russell Westbrook in 2016-17 have accumulated more 30-point, 10-assist games before the All-Star break.
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STANDING PAT
The Hawks made no moves at the trade deadline. That McMillan fine.
&ldquo;If nothing makes sense and you feel comfortable with what you have, which we do, you stay put, which is what we did,&rdquo; McMillan said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to be able to move on from the trade deadline. We know that we&rsquo;re going to be the group that finishes this season together and we can focus on that.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Spurs: At New Orleans on Saturday.
Hawks: At Boston on Sunday.
&nbsp;

Dejounte Murray and the Spurs cruised to victory against the Atlanta Hawks.

Murray has 11th triple-double, Spurs roll past Hawks 136-121

Nekias Duncan thoroughly grades every NBA trade from 2022 Deadline Week.

Grading every move from 2022 NBA trade deadline week

Tommy Beer is back with his latest version of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings. To read last week's version, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-power-rankings-sixers-and-nuggets-on-come-up-nets-sliding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics (thanks to their dominant defense) are three of the big climbers this week, while the Nets continue to head in the wrong direction.
1. Phoenix Suns (44-10) &harr;️ Last Week: 1
Despite posting the NBA's best record, the Suns are reportedly looking to upgrade their roster. <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-james-harden-ben-simmons-caris-levert-collin-sexton-malik-beasley-thaddeus-young/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype</a>, Phoenix is one of two teams (the Minnesota Timberwolves being the other) that have expressed interest in trading for San Antonio Spurs veteran Thaddeus Young.
2. Golden State Warriors (41-13) &harr;️ Last Week: 2
It appears Klay Thompson is finding his groove, which is bad news for the rest of the NBA. Klay has scored over 20 points in back-to-back games and is averaging 19.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.6 made treys (while shooting 42.9% from downtown) over his last five contests. &nbsp;
3. Memphis Grizzlies (38-18) &harr;️ Last Week: 3
The Grizz just keep on winning. They've won 6 of their last 7 games and 19 of their previous 23. Memphis has not lost consecutive contests since before Christmas. Over their last 20 games, Ja Morant is averaging 29.9 points (while shooting over 51% from the floor), 6.7 dimes, 6.3 assists, 1.6 made triples and 1.1 steals. Those are jaw-dropping numbers for any player, let alone a 22-year-old kid in just his third pro season.
4. Milwaukee Bucks (35-21) ⬆️ Last Week: 9
Interesting statistical factoid from the Bucks 137-113 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. In that game, Milwaukee became the first team in NBA history to have each member of its starting lineup score at least 15 points, grab at least 5 rebounds and knock down at least 2 three-pointers.
5. Miami Heat (35-20) &harr;️ Last Week: 5
When the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, Miami clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference through the end of last week, which means Erik Spoelstra and his staff will head to Cleveland later this month to coach Team Durant in the All-Star Game.
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6. Chicago Bulls (33-21) &harr;️ Last Week: 6
The Bulls, playing without two of their best perimeter defenders in Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, have lost 3 of their last 4. However, after playing Wednesday in Charlotte, Chicago begins a six-game homestand that wraps around All-Star weekend. Following the matchup with the Hornets, the Bulls don't play on the road again until Feb. 28.&nbsp;
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (33-21) ⬆️ Last Week: 8
The Cavs acquired Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for injured point guard Ricky Rubio and three draft picks over the weekend. "Very excited to add a dynamic young player of this caliber and experience," Cleveland president Koby Altman told reporters. "LeVert fits uniquely into our culture, and his Ohio roots bring an immediate connection to our community. We look forward to seeing what type of impact he can make on this roster." It's an excellent addition for the Cavs to supply them with the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reaction-caris-levert-fills-blended-need-for-cavs-as-pacers-reset" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring wing they were looking for</a>, making Cleveland that much scarier come playoff time. LeVert is expected to be active for Wednesday's game against the Spurs.
8. Philadelphia 76ers (32-22) ⬇️ Last Week: 4
The Sixers are 10 games over .500 and Joel Embiid is doing much of the heavy lifting. Over his last 10 games, the big man is averaging 36.0 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists. In the process, he may have established himself as the odds-on favorite to take home the MVP award entering the All-Star break. &nbsp;
9. Dallas Mavericks (32-23) ⬆️ Last Week: 10
Reggie Bullock tallied 22 points (on 8 of 14 shooting with 6 made three-pointers), 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. He's been a big part of the Mavs success of late. Over Dallas' past seven games, Bullock is averaging 17.9 points (while shooting 50.0% from the floor), 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 treys, 1.3 steals and just 0.6 turnovers.
10. Utah Jazz (33-21) ⬆️ Last Week: 11
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Donovan Mitchell sealed the win for the <a href="https://twitter.com/utahjazz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@utahjazz</a> with 3 fourth-quarter steals, after GOING OFF for 21 points in the first half! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TakeNote?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TakeNote</a> 🕷 <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spidadmitchell</a>: 32 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 4 STL <a href="https://t.co/IiPsFfYDIu">pic.twitter.com/IiPsFfYDIu</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1490927965319970816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Donovan Mitchell racked up 32 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in Utah's victory over the Knicks on Monday night. Rudy Gobert (left calf strain) did not play in the win, but the Jazz are hoping he is cleared to return to the action later this week. They also just acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nickel-alexanderwalker-on-the-move-again-as-blazers-jazz-spurs-complete-threeteam-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a three-team deal</a> to add some youth (and depth) to their backcourt.
11. Denver Nuggets (30-24) ⬇️ Last Week: 7
Nikola Jokic was at it again Sunday, registering another triple-double in Denver's 124-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Joker finished with 27 points (on 12 of 15 shooting), 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and just 2 turnovers in only 30 minutes. This one (his NBA-leading 14th triple-double) was notable because it was the second time in Jokic's career he's recorded a 25-point triple-double while also shooting above 80% from the floor. Wilt Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history with more than one such game.
12. Toronto Raptors (29-23) ⬆️ Last Week: 14
The Raptors, who are currently riding a six-game winning streak, have discussed a trade that would send Goran Dragic (and his $18 million expiring contract) to the Hawks in exchange for Danilo Gallinari, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953236-nba-trade-intel-cj-mccollum-has-become-best-player-likely-dealt-at-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>.
13. Boston Celtics (31-25)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 15
The Celtics have posted a 13-4 record dating back to New Year's Eve, and it's their defense that has turned Boston's season around. Over this 17-game stretch, the C's are allowing just 101.5 points per 100 possessions. To put that number in context: No team in the NBA other than Boston is allowing fewer than 106.5 points per 100 possessions over the past six weeks. Boston ranks first in Net Rating in 2022 as well. As usual, Marcus Smart has led the charge (pun intended) on the defensive front. He leads his team in pass deflections (64 more than any other Celtic) and charges drawn.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves (29-25) ⬆️ Last Week: 17
In the 18 games this season in which Minnesota has been able to roll out its preferred starting five of D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley, the Wolves are 13-5.
15. Brooklyn Nets (29-25) ⬇️ Last Week: 12
The Nets have lost nine straight games. They are 12 games under .500 dating back to late December. Kevin Durant is still weeks away from returning to action after spraining the medial collateral in his left knee last month. James Harden looks puffy and is nursing a hamstring injury. Joe Harris suffered a setback in his recovery from left ankle surgery in late January and reportedly could need a second surgery. Of the 27 games remaining on the Nets schedule, 14 of them are on the road. However, four of those contests are against either the New York Knicks or Raptors, which means Irving will only be able to suit up for (at most) 10 games. But, yeah, other than that, everything is all good in Brooklyn.&nbsp;
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16. Charlotte Hornets (28-27) ⬇️ Last Week: 13
Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953236-nba-trade-intel-cj-mccollum-has-become-best-player-likely-dealt-at-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> this week that the Hornets are one of several teams that have expressed interest in Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl. The Bulls and Raps have also been rumored to be interested in Poeltl.
17. Atlanta Hawks (26-28) ⬇️ Last Week: 16
The Hawks were just 1-3 in their previous four games prior to Tuesday (although that one win was impressive &mdash; a victory at home over the Suns last Thursday, which snapped their 11-game winning streak). Atlanta took advantage of a reeling Indiana Pacers squad Tuesday night, beating them 133-112.
18. Los Angeles Lakers (26-29) &harr;️ Last Week: 18
Over the Lakers' last four games, Russell Westbrook is shooting a putrid 27.5% from the floor, 15.4% from downtown and 55.0% from the charity stripe. Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's victory over the Knicks, when Westbrook was alone with the ball in the corner, the home crowd shouted at him not to shoot. When New York forced overtime, head coach Frank Vogel benched Russ for Talen Horton-Tucker. Westbrook was also benched for the final 14 minutes in Tuesday&rsquo;s loss to the Bucks. Will the Lakers admit they made a mistake before the deadline and reroute Russ out of Los Angeles?
19. New Orleans Pelicans (22-32) ⬆️ Last Week: 23
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🔥 Brandon Ingram WENT OFF for 17 points in the 3rd quarter on his way to 33 points and the <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> win! <a href="https://twitter.com/B_Ingram13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@B_Ingram13</a>: 33 PTS, 12 AST, 3 STL <a href="https://t.co/3uT1ocPpgg">pic.twitter.com/3uT1ocPpgg</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1490683017949552641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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New Orleans, who won just one of their first 13 games this season, is now riding a four-game winning streak and has jumped up into 10th place in the Western Conference. And on Tuesday, the team <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-the-pelicans-pushing-chips-in-on-cj-mccollum-was-a-wise-investment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added a stud scorer to its roster</a>. The Pels acquired CJ McCollum along with Larry Nance and Tony Snell from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Jason Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada and draft compensation. I love this deal for New Orleans.&nbsp;
20. Los Angeles Clippers (27-29) ⬇️ Last Week: 19
Last week, the Clippers made a shrewd trade, sending Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and a second-round pick to the Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington. It will help not only help them make a playoff push this year, but will also <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/breaking-down-why-the-blazersclippers-deal-works-for-both-sides" target="_blank" rel="noopener">round out their roster next season</a> when they can count on both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George returning to full strength. Powell looked great in his Clippers' debut on Sunday, tallying 28 points on 9 of 16 shooting in just 24 minutes. He followed that up with a 16-point night in a lopsided loss to the Grizz.
21. Washington Wizards (24-29) ⬇️ Last Week: 20
After the 2021-22 season started with plenty of promise, the Wiz have lost 8 of 9 heading into Thursday's matchup with the Nets. They will likely look to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-trade-destinations-for-spencer-dinwiddie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade the struggling Spencer Dinwiddie</a> before the deadline arrives.&nbsp;
22. New York Knicks (24-31) ⬇️ Last Week: 21
New York has lost 10 of its last 12 games, but Mitchell Robinson had been playing some of the best basketball of his career before sitting out Tuesday's loss due to a back injury. Over the last month, Mitch Rob is averaging 11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. During this stretch, the only other players in the NBA also averaging double-digit points and rebounds to go along with at least 1.4 blocks are Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
23. San Antonio Spurs (20-34) ⬆️ Last Week: 24
Spurs fans learned Monday that Dejounte Murray will make his NBA All-Star Game debut after being named an injury replacement by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Murray is averaging 19.6 points, 9.2 assists, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals this season, and has a chance to become just the third player ever to average at least 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals per game over an entire season.&nbsp;
24. Sacramento Kings (20-36) ⬆️ Last Week: 26
The Kings shook up the league Tuesday afternoon, trading Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2027 second-round pick. It is stunning that Sacaremto would part ways with Haliburton. The 21-year-old has exceeded all expectations since being drafted in 2020. He is on pace to become just the second player in NBA history to average at least 5 assists and 2 made three-pointers per game while shooting over 40% from downtown in each of his first two pro seasons. (The only player to have accomplished this feat is Stephen Curry.)
25. Portland Trail Blazers (21-34) ⬇️ Last Week: 22
The Blazers made waves on Tuesday, trading away former franchise cornerstone CJ McCollum. It continued on Wednesday afternoon, as Portland rerouted Nickeil Alexander-Walker to Utah for Joe Ingles' expiring $14 million deal in a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nickel-alexanderwalker-on-the-move-again-as-blazers-jazz-spurs-complete-threeteam-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three-team trade</a>. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that "Portland plans to fully reshape the roster around Damian Lillard now... the plan is to pursue high-end talent now, not retreat." The team's also created a ton of cap space in the process and has a $21 million trade exception at its disposal.
26. Indiana Pacers (19-37) ⬇️ Last Week: 25
The Pacers, who are just 5-18 since Christmas, began breaking down their roster by trading Caris LeVert to the Cavs on Sunday, and then <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pacers-exit-blockbuster-trade-with-kings-as-huge-winners-thanks-to-tyrese-haliburton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shipped off Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento</a>, as noted above. As our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bucks-interested-in-trading-for-myles-turner-pacers-may-keep-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Kennedy reported</a>, Myles Turner is "a big fan of Tyrese Haliburton's game and is excited about the possibility of playing with the young guard." It appears Turner may stay in Indiana.
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27. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-36) &harr;️ Last Week: 27
The Thunder lost to the Warriors on Monday night, but Luguentz Dort had another strong outing, tallying 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. In the three games OKC has played without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort is averaging 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 three-balls.
28. Houston Rockets (15-39) ⬆️ Last Week: 29
The Rockets would love to join this week's wheeling and dealing by exchanging veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon for draft capital. We'll see if they find a willing trade partner.&nbsp;
29. Orlando Magic (13-43) ⬆️ Last Week: 30
We know the Magic hope to flip Terrence Ross and Gary Harris in exchange for draft picks before Thursday's deadline. The question is whether they will also look to deal big man Mo Bamba. After struggling over his first three years in the NBA, Bamba is posting career-highs across the board this season. However, Orlando inked center Wendell Carter Jr. to a four-year, $50 million contract extension back in October. The Magic are reportedly willing to listen to offers for Bamba, who has a $10.1 million qualifying offer for 2022-23 and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
30. Detroit Pistons (12-42) ⬇️ Last Week: 28
Killian Hayes has played a bit better of late, but he has failed to live up to expectations since being selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. This season, Hayes is one of only two players in the NBA logging more than 20 minutes per game yet shooting below 38% from the floor and averaging fewer than 10 points per contest. For his career, he is just 50-of-179 from downtown (27.9%)... The Pistons have lost 9 of their last 10 contests.
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Tommy Beer checks in with an installment of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: Bucks back into top tier, Mavs vault into top-10

The Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs are the latest teams in the Western Conference to make deals ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline. On Wednesday, a three-team transaction saw a lot of moving parts be shuffled around, per <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1491489079451652100?s=20&amp;t=ob8kvMxJoZSwMngQCMHDPQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker heads to Utah from Portland in exchange for Joe Ingles' expiring contract. San Antonio also received Tomas Satoransky's expiring to make salaries work as Juancho Hernangomez joins Alexander-Walker with the Jazz. Portland continues to open up oodles of cap space for the upcoming summer, or a potential big-time trade within the next 24 hours.
This is an intriguing roll of the dice for Utah, especially with how Alexander-Walker fits within their backcourt depth. NAW could be a reliable bench piece, but how does he mesh alongside Jordan Clarkson? Meanwhile, San Antonio clears some future salary moving off Hernangomez for Satoransky.
What comes next for the Trail Blazers is the most interesting aspect to all of this. Will they make another aggressive move to appease superstar point guard Damian Lillard? Would Jerami Grant check boxes alongside Lillard?
Stay tuned to BasketballNews.com as the deadline dominoes continue to fall as they may.

On Wednesday, a three-team deal between the Pelicans, Spurs and Jazz occurred. Which pieces are moving where?

Nickeil Alexander-Walker on move again in 3-team deal

The pressure is on in the Bayou for a multitude of reasons.
Zion Williamson&rsquo;s generational talent is now being questioned with looming long-term injury issues, as he's yet to see the floor this season. Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has also been under fire for transactions New Orleans has made to enhance its team around Williamson and All-Star talent Brandon Ingram.
Well, that move to take a step forward with emphasis just occurred for the Pelicans.
Tuesday morning, New Orleans <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pelicans-finalizing-deal-to-acquire-cj-mccollum-in-trade-with-blazers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired veteran guard CJ McCollum from the Portland Trail Blazers</a> in exchange for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a protected first-round pick and two future second-rounders. (The protection on the first-round pick being dealt to Portland is 5-14 in 2022.) The Pelicans also netted athletic big man Larry Nance Jr. and rotation wing Tony Snell.
An instant starter, plus two capable bench pieces who bolster that unit, makes New Orleans a better on-court product. It&rsquo;s incredible to see how the organization swindled Nance away from Portland alongside McCollum, an underrated aspect that will help the Pelicans become a more versatile team on both ends.
With the uncertain questions now hovering over the franchise with its potentially generational superstar in Williamson, this was a necessary move to push the needle in 2021-22 and beyond. McCollum&rsquo;s presence will provide stability for the next two-and-a-half years in New Orleans&rsquo; backcourt. Also, McCollum will take plenty of pressure off Williamson and Ingram moving forward in the scoring department.
So far this season, McCollum is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds on a pedestrian 53.2% True Shooting percentage. McCollum&rsquo;s certified bucket-getting ability is underrated, because he&rsquo;s never had a full year as a starter where he scored fewer than 20 points per game. As the third option in New Orleans, McCollum is an ideal roll of the dice by Griffin and Co.
In the Pelicans&rsquo; system under head coach Willie Green, a tree off Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams' renowned "0.5 offense," expect to see McCollum&rsquo;s passing rise. McCollum is an underrated facilitator who can carry the load, especially when there are strong scorers alongside him. And as we all know, McCollum&rsquo;s scoring could really push the Pelicans squarely into the Play-In tournament conversation post-All-Star break.
On the other end, Portland could go any direction but the obvious signs point towards a rebuild after trading McCollum, Norman Powell and Robert Covington. The Blazers reportedly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/portland-trail-blazers-still-hope-to-add-detroits-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could be in on Jerami Grant</a> to appease Damian Lillard, but it&rsquo;s a wait-and-see situation unfolding there.
New Orleans now has its starting lineup locked it for the next few seasons at minimum: Devonte&rsquo; Graham, CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas.
Is that a capable group to push the Pelicans up another rung on the Western Conference ladder? It&rsquo;s totally possible, but Williamson is a complete wildcard for this scenario to unfold. Hopefully, Zion returns from his nagging foot issues and produces at an All-NBA level once again for the Pelicans. In the short-term, I&rsquo;m intrigued to see how Nance fits into the Pelicans&rsquo; offense. He&rsquo;s a player who could provide a real impact upon arrival without any adjustment period.
Williamson being at one-hundred percent alongside a 1-2 perimeter combo of Ingram and McCollum is impressive. It&rsquo;s definitely an aggressive push, but one that has to be done; it's a cloudy immediate future with potentially luscious long-term results.
The Pelicans have a war chest of future draft capital they barely touched even after bringing aboard McCollum. Griffin has enticing salaries to make more moves down the line, but the Pelicans now become better while maintaining real flexibility.
Moving away from the deadline after this week, reassessing how the Pelicans stand in the Western Conference will be a fun exercise to monitor. New Orleans has all the ingredients to make a Michelin-star gumbo on the court, but the mixer (Williamson) needs to help bring it all together soon.
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The Pelicans pushed some chips in on CJ McCollum with a colossal trade. For New Orleans, it's a very smart wager.

Why the Pelicans' bet on CJ McCollum is a wise investment

The New Orleans Pelicans have finalized a deal to acquire Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum, <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1491069131541688321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sources told Shams Charania of The </a><a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1491069131541688321" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Athletic</a>.
ESPN's <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1491081418684112903?s=20&amp;t=5zdXFsgsdr0ivohM4Ag0AQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski reports</a> that the Pelicans will also acquire Tony Snell and Larry Nance Jr. in the deal. In return, the Blazers will receive Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a 2022 protected first-round pick and two second-rounders.
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;McCollum will depart the team that drafted him No. 10 overall in 2013. The 30-year-old is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game this season and has made 39.6% of his career three-pointers. Hart, meanwhile, has also had a strong year with career highs in points (13.4) and assists (4.1) along with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Story via The Associated Press:
The New Orleans Pelicans have acquired guard C.J. McCollum from the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a seven-player trade, said two people familiar with the situation.
The Pelicans will also receive forwards Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell in the deal, while the Trail Blazers get forward Josh Hart, and guards Tomas Staoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Didi Louzada, as well as draft compensation in the form of a 2022 protected first round draft choice and two future second-rounders. The people spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been made official.
The trade marks the end of an era in Portland, where McCollum has been paired with Damian Lillard in the backcourt since 2013. Portland has reached the playoffs every season since they drafted McCollum. However, the Blazers struggled in the postseason, reaching the Western Conference finals only once while being eliminated in the first round five times.
The 30-year-old McCollum is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds this season.
He gives the Pelicans a needed outside shooting threat at a time when New Orleans appears to be on the upswing under first-year coach Willie Green &mdash; despite playing this season without star forward Zion Williamson. After starting 1-12, the Pelicans (21-32) entered Tuesday's games on the heels of a three-game road winning streak and occupying the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Williamson, incidentally, has been in Oregon trying to rehabilitate from offseason surgery to repair his fractured right foot. It is unclear if he will be ready to return this season.
New Orleans is making less than 33% from 3-point range this season and they are 29th in the league 3-pointers made. McCollum has shot no less than 37.5% from beyond the arc every season from deep in every season of his career, while shooting 38.4% overall for his career.
In 2019, McCollum signed a three-year contract extension worth $100 million that runs through the 2023-24 season. It took effect this season.
This marks the second multiple-player trade the Blazers have made in advance of Thursday&rsquo;s deadline. On Friday Portland sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow and Keon Johnson. That move was widely seen as financial, as it put the Blazers below the luxury tax threshold.
Lillard, a six-time All-Star, has been sidelined since the start of the year with an abdominal injury that required surgery. Like Williamson, it is unclear when, or if, he will return this season, but Lillard was at the team&rsquo;s practice facility on Monday putting up a few shots.
Hart this offseason agreed to a three-year extension with New Orleans which is worth $37.9 million and includes a third-year player option. He has been a popular and productive role player in New Orleans since being traded to New Orleans during the 2019 offseason &mdash; along with forward Brandon Ingram, guard Lonzo Ball and two first-round draft picks &mdash; from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a deal that paired Anthony Davis with LeBron James on the Lakers.
Ball has since been traded to Chicago. Hart has averaged 13.4 points and 7.8 rebounds this season.
Alexander-Walker was one of three first-round draft choices the Pelicans made in 2019. He went 17th overall, after New Orleans had taken Williamson first with their own draft choice and center Jaxson Hayes eighth with the first of the two first-rounders acquired from the Lakers.
Alexander-Walker has struggled to produce consistently in his first three season but has been prolific in spurts. He is averaging 12.8 points this season with a season-high of 33 points and a career-high last season of 37 points.
The Blazers have lost five straight and are in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.
The Pelicans were set to host Houston on Tuesday night, when the Blazers were at home against Orlando. ___
AP Sports Writers Anne Peterson and Steve Reed contributed to this report.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

McCollum will depart the team that drafted him No. 10 overall in 2013.

Pelicans land CJ McCollum in trade with Blazers

The 2021-22 NBA season has presented us all with its share of surprises &ndash; chief among them is the Chicago Bulls.
Chicago&rsquo;s 2020-21 season was messy. The Bulls ended the season 31-41, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference. The 2021 NBA draft marked Chicago&rsquo;s fourth consecutive lottery appearance, and the fact that none of their recent lottery picks appeared on track to lead a playoff team resulted in limited optimism. But, as is often the case, looking too far ahead results in incorrect assumptions.
Chicago had a surprising 2021 offseason centered around three key additions &ndash; DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso. Ball, the first to sign, was a highly sought-after 2021 free agent. Chicago was forced to relinquish their next second-round pick for violating league rules while solidifying a sign-and-trade deal for the guard. Prior to suffering a recent knee injury that will cost him between six and eight weeks, Ball was averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals (career high) per game, shooting 42.3% on three-point attempts. Caruso was playing well, too, averaging career-highs (or near career-highs) in points, rebounds, assists and steals. But like Ball, Caruso is also out for between six and eight weeks with an injury of his own.
The loss of Ball and Caruso will certainly hurt the Bulls, a team that has been playing its best basketball in years; but they are still projected to be an East leader, thanks in no small part to DeRozan. DeRozan is an enigma, in that he&rsquo;s produced everywhere he&rsquo;s been, and yet he&rsquo;s still looked over when discussing the best players in the league.
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DeRozan entered free agency hoping to head home to Los Angeles. A sign-and-trade was being discussed by the San Antonio Spurs and the Lakers, but the latter decided on adding Russell Westbrook instead. Thus, DeRozan landed in Chicago, where he is averaging a career-high 26.4 points per game.
The Bulls have won 30 of their first 47 games thanks in part to their offseason additions. But Chicago&rsquo;s success is obviously about more than just three players. Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are both playing excellent basketball, as are Coby White, Patrick Williams and Ayo Donsunmu. Vucevic is another recent addition, having been added via trade at the deadline last season.
Much of Chicago&rsquo;s recent maneuvering was about keeping LaVine in Chicago. LaVine will enter free agency this upcoming offseason, and the Bulls knew they had to convince him that he could compete soon. And while LaVine and Vucevic are foundational pieces, they&rsquo;re not enough to compete without other stars around them. So, what if Ball, Caruso and/or DeRozan chose to sign elsewhere?
As far as All-Star caliber players go, only Chris Paul, John Collins, Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry hit free agency, meaning Chicago&rsquo;s options were limited last offseason. Of those four, only Lowry changed teams &ndash; and Lowry-to-Miami was the worst kept secret in the NBA for some time.
Had Ball not signed with Chicago, the Bulls probably would have pursued Spencer Dinwiddie or Dennis Schroder. Dinwiddie was immediately linked to Washington, whereas Schroder had fewer suitors. Schroder eventually signed with Boston on a one-year $5.9 million deal, making it fathomable that Schroder was an option.
The Bulls could have also pursued Victor Oladipo, who signed with Miami for the veteran&rsquo;s minimum. But Oladipo is still recovering from a torn quadricep. And while he&rsquo;s projected to return sometime in February, that type of addition tells a very different story to potential free agents. Adding Schroder and Oladipo wouldn&rsquo;t have had nearly the same impact as Ball, Caruso and DeRozan on the Bulls&rsquo; play, thus jeopardizing their ability to retain LaVine.
Who else would remain in Chicago? Obviously LaVine, Vucevic, White, Williams and Donsunmu would still be around. The Bulls dealt Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu to San Antonio for DeRozan; Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple to New Orleans for Ball &ndash; and finally Lauri Markkanen to Cleveland for Derrick Jones. Young, Aminu and Satoransky were still under contract, but Temple and Markkanen signed new contracts with their new teams after being traded. Markkanen was an RFA in 2021, whereas Temple was a UFA.
Ultimately, the lack of difference-maker free agents means that if the Bulls hadn&rsquo;t signed Ball, Caruso and DeRozan, their roster would look eerily similar this season to that of last season &ndash; and as we established above, last season&rsquo;s roster was flat-out ineffective.
Without Ball, Caruso and DeRozan, the Bulls would be mediocre at best. Their roster would be inferior to that of Miami, Cleveland, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Charlotte &ndash; and they would be in the same class as disappointing teams like Boston, Washington and New York. They would probably still qualify for the playoffs (or at least the play-in tournament), but they would struggle to compete with a top-four seed.
Talking longer term, LaVine would inevitably test free agency, taking meetings with teams with the requisite cap space or creativity to shape a deal. DeRozan joined, partially, because he wasn&rsquo;t prioritized as an elite free agent. But let&rsquo;s be clear, established superstars don&rsquo;t join teams without a clear path to compete, like DeRozan did last offseason. That means the Bulls would be under intense pressure to perform with no alternate courses of action.
Like the rest of the league, the Bulls had limited options last offseason. Fortunately for Chicago, the Bulls made the absolute best of a bad situation, signing the crown jewel of free agency in DeRozan. Free agency, and the 2021-22 season, could have gone significantly worse for Chicago. As it is, it couldn&rsquo;t really be much better.
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The Chicago Bulls made a splash in free agency, adding three impact players. What if they chose a different path forward?

What if the Bulls didn't go all-in this past offseason?

The NBA uses player-tracking technology to find out interesting info like a player's total distance traveled, average speed and more.

Fred VanVleet leads NBA in miles run per game for second-straight year

The New Orleans Pelicans believe that Jonas Valanciunas will play a crucial role for their team going forward, as he can help unlock Zion Williamson's game by making an impact inside (as a rebounder and shot-blocker) and out (as a three-point shooter who provides spacing). That's why the Pelicans agreed to lock up Valanciunas for two additional years via a $30.1 million extension earlier this week, ensuring that the 29-year-old will remain with New Orleans throughout his prime.
It isn&rsquo;t easy to find a center who can do everything the Pelicans are asking. After all, Valanciunas was the only player in the NBA to average at least 12.0 rebounds per game while shooting 35.0% from three-point range last year, which is why the Pelicans went out and traded for him this offseason.
New Orleans acquired the 29-year-old from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a three-team deal where the Pels traded away Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe.
Valanciunas was dealt after a career-year in which he averaged 17.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 59.2% from the field, 36.8% from three and 77.3% from the free-throw line. His 12.5 rebounds ranked third-best in the NBA, and his average of 4.1 offensive rebounds per game was second-best in the league. He posted a career-high 49 double-doubles, and he grabbed his 5,000th career rebound on Dec. 30.&nbsp;
Now, the Pelicans are hoping he can provide the same kind of versatility and production over the next three years.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He can do a little bit of everything &mdash; post up, early entry, set great screens, great roller, he can shoot the ball,&rdquo; Kira Lewis Jr. said of Valanciunas. &ldquo;He really doesn't have any holes as far as a big man, so he's a big piece to our team&rsquo;s success, and I'm looking forward to how he keeps playing down the season."
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The big man won over head coach Willie Green with his effort and competitiveness during the preseason when he refused to take any plays off. He even got thrown out of the Pelicans&rsquo; exhibition against the Orlando Magic after picking up a pair of technicals.
&ldquo;He's a competitor,&rdquo; Coach Green said. &ldquo;Jonas, he gets in there and mixes it up. Look, he got two technicals in preseason! He got kicked out! I haven't seen that before. I'm not paying his fine, but I don't mind the fact that he's trying to set the tone."
Green is excited to have Valanciunas for the next three years, and he pointed out that JV can also provide veteran leadership (which is something New Orleans lacked last season). The 10-year vet made a similar impact last season in Memphis, where he helped the young Grizzlies win 38 games and make the playoffs.
&ldquo;Jonas brings a veteran presence to our team,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;He can post, he can shoot the ball from outside. More than that, he's a great guy to have around. He's done it for a number of years now and we need his know-how.&rdquo;
The Pelicans have a number of new faces including Valanciunas, Devonte&rsquo; Graham, Trey Murphy III, Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple among others. The team will need to develop chemistry as the year goes on &mdash; and Zion is currently out for a bit after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot &mdash; but there&rsquo;s no question that the Pelicans have a high ceiling once they get to full strength. 
&ldquo;There's a lot of new guys, [and] we all are trying to learn each other,&rdquo; Naji Marshall said. &ldquo;Just like Coach Green is trying to learn us, we're trying to learn him, so it's a chemistry thing. As the season goes on, we'll get better... It's all great vibes on and off the court. We just have to learn each other &mdash; how we like the ball, how we move and stuff, just some small chemistry things, easy fixes that come with time and reps."
New Orleans is hoping to end its three-year postseason drought and become a perennial playoff team, with Valanciunas playing a huge role on and off the court.

The Pelicans brought in Jonas Valanciunas for many reasons, but his veteran mentorship and competitive attitude stand out.

Pelicans made right decision to extend Jonas Valanciunas

With NBA training camps open for business, teams are getting back in the swing of things. We are just two days away from the first preseason game between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers (Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET), meaning the 2021-22 campaign is right around the corner.
While these two teams are commanding the spotlight more than any other squads around the league, there are plenty of franchises that would love to knock them right off their pedestal, or at least have some of that light shone on them.
In our latest Roundtable, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers the following question:
Who is your favorite dark-horse team entering the 2021-22 season? 
Alex Kennedy: The Washington Wizards are my dark-horse team because I really liked their offseason moves. They acquired Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Corey Kispert, Aaron Holiday and Isaiah Todd among others. Dinwiddie and Bradley Beal should form a terrific one-two punch in the backcourt, and it&rsquo;s very possible that Deni Avdija (20 years old), Rui Hachimura (23), Daniel Gafford (23) and Thomas Bryant (24) will make significant strides as they take the next step in their development. Suddenly, Washington has some nice depth and a very solid supporting cast around Beal. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if they exceed expectations.
Nekias Duncan: Do the Milwaukee Bucks count here? It&rsquo;s hard to think of a title-winning team that&rsquo;s been disregarded quite like this one. I get the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; optimism, I do, but the Bucks feel pretty slept on at large.&nbsp;
Ethan Fuller: The Toronto Raptors are going to massively exceed expectations after they faced arguably the most challenging circumstances of any team in 2020-21. They're back in Toronto with a team that screams positive regression. Pascal Siakam is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-which-nba-player-will-have-a-major-bounceback-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a prime bounce-back candidate</a>, Fred VanVleet continues to fly under the radar and the young core might be one of the more underrated groups in the NBA. I'm excited to see guys like OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn take their next steps.
Spencer Davies: I can't just land on one in particular. There's so much love (and rightfully so) for the Lakers and Nets that the possibility of any other teams making it to the NBA Finals would be a shock to many. In the Eastern Conference, watch out for the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. It seems that the Heat like to sneak up on people when they least expect it, and uh, that shouldn't be the case considering they were in the Finals at this time one year ago in the NBA Bubble. Kyle Lowry's going to prove to be a tremendous pickup if he can stay healthy, and Jimmy Butler seems to perform at his best when he's not being paid attention to. There's also that Bam Adebayo guy, who's somehow a Swiss Army knife with room for growth. As for the Celtics, a new head coach has the potential to inject a sense of freshness into the air. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have already been unleashed, but Ime Udoka may just be the one to kick the door open further. Plus, those contract worries over the last couple of seasons have been put to rest with Marcus Smart. Oh, and Al Horford's back with gang green, too &mdash; never a bad thing to see a familiar face.
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Moke Hamilton: I&rsquo;d probably have to go with the Denver Nuggets. It&rsquo;s tough to pick a dark horse from the Western Conference because there are a ton of teams out there that are worthy of the respect of being called a credible contender... But I think most people are looking at the Lakers, Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns as the teams to beat. Denver often gets left out of the conversation, especially since Jamal Murray is still on the shelf. Nonetheless, I like them. If Murray can return to form and Michael Porter Jr. continues to grow, they&rsquo;ll be formidable.
Jackson Frank: Before the injury bug caught them in recent weeks, I would&rsquo;ve loved to slot the Indiana Pacers here, but my pick is the New Orleans Pelicans. I&rsquo;m not sure this means much more than competing for a low playoff seed &mdash; still an improvement, comparatively &mdash; but they seem a bit discounted among preseason projections. The acquisitions of Devonte&rsquo; Graham and Jonas Valanciunas should really help this team approach elite offense territory. Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoransky are steady veterans who can contribute in the rotation. The Pelicans house a bevy of young dudes, and while it&rsquo;s unlikely all of them will experience substantial strides, banking on a few of them to do so is prudent. Jaxson Hayes had an encouraging second half of 2020-21. Nickeil Alexander-Walker fared quite well as a shooter and complementary handler in his 19 starts. Naji Marshall brings versatile defense, playmaking and slashing. Zion Williamson&rsquo;s exploits speak for themselves. Brandon Ingram is a very good second scorer. To cap it off, new head coach Willie Green is an excellent offensive mind, and should serve as a general upgrade over Stan Van Gundy&rsquo;s struggles on the sidelines. I like the Pelicans to take a notable step forward and compete for a playoff spot &mdash; or a little better.
Drew Maresca: What exactly constitutes a dark-horse team? Technically, everyone is a dark-horse team except for the Lakers and Nets. As it relates to the question though, I really like the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is going to pick up right where he left off, Michael Porter Jr. should immediately begin earning the five-year, $207 million extension he just signed and Aaron Gordon is the same cat he&rsquo;s been for the past few seasons. If Jamal Murray can return at nearly full strength at any point this season, the Nuggets are going to be scary.
Jesse Blancarte: The Los Angeles Clippers. With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, the Clippers are no longer considered a championship contender for the upcoming season. However, the Clippers are bringing back their core players and have plenty of wing depth to keep the ship level during the season. With Leonard sidelined, I predict Paul George will have a big season, while other players like Marcus Morris, Terance Mann and Justise Winslow could help fill the void. If Leonard can return in time for the postseason, the Clippers may have a shot at advancing deep into the postseason. &nbsp;
Chris Sheridan: The Charlotte Hornets. If they can get a full healthy season from Gordon Hayward, that will be the key. I love the pickup of Mason Plumlee at center, and we all learned last season what LaMelo Ball can do. They play way under the radar because of their market size.
Alexander Cohen: My favorite dark-horse (and also NBA League Pass) team is easily the Pelicans. David Griffin has received a great deal of mostly-warranted slack for his offseason due to asset management, but I think New Orleans has a good team here. While I&rsquo;m not a fan of letting Lonzo Ball walk, moving on from Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe should both be additions by subtraction. Bringing on Jonas Valanciunas and Devonte&rsquo; Graham &mdash; two dark horses in their own right as top players on their former teams despite LaMelo Ball and Ja Morant being understandably more publicized &mdash; should also be instrumental additions. They provide scoring presences the Pelicans lacked last season, with Graham and Valanciunas being worlds more aggressive than Ball and Adams. The two-man combo of Willy Hernangomez &mdash; who has a similar skill set to Valanciunas &mdash; and Zion Williamson had a staggering net rating of plus-11.9 last season. Factor in those changes with the anticipated improvement of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaxson Hayes and Kira Lewis, and the Pelicans should be a thrilling team this year with a healthy Williamson.

Who is your dark-horse team to watch entering the 2021-22 NBA season? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

NBA Roundtable: Who is your dark-horse team for the 2021-22 season?

In an interview with Czech Daily, recent New Orleans Pelicans addition Tomas Satoransky was adamant in his stance that Zion Williamson has no unhappiness with New Orleans, and that any rumors of this have been drummed up by the media.
&ldquo;I have a feeling that some American media which cover the NBA want to break up teams and create fake stories so that something&rsquo;s happening,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This one&rsquo;s dissatisified. This one wants to leave. Most of the time, the truth is elsewhere or in the middle.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely not true that Zion in his third season is thinking about not having good players around him,&rdquo; Satoransky added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m convinced of it.&rdquo;
Source: <a href="https://www.talkbasket.net/132893-tomas-satoransky-claims-nba-media-create-fake-narratives-around-zion-williamson-and-pelicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Czech Daily via TalkBasket</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;While it's unclear if Satoransky is referring to a specific report, one rumor as recently as June claimed that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-patience-of-zion-williamsons-family-with-pelicans-wearing-thin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Williamson's family was unhappy in New Orleans</a>. The Pelicans made a number of moves this offseason to surround their young star with new talent, including acquiring Satoransky and Garrett Temple in a sign-and-trade that sent Lonzo Ball to the Chicago Bulls.

Satoransky was recently acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans this summer.

Tomas Satoransky thinks media has spread false Zion Williamson rumors

Several marquee players who were expected to hit the open market in 2022 have signed extensions, so next summer's free-agent crop isn't nearly as star-studded as other classes.
However, there are still plenty of quality players who may be up for grabs. In this three-part series, we&rsquo;ll examine the best players who will potentially enter free agency next July. Today, we start with the top-10 guards who could be available.
1. James Harden - Brooklyn Nets - Player Option
Harden is under contract through the upcoming 2021-22 campaign and holds a player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022&ndash;23 season. Considering the massive amount of assets the Nets parted with to acquire Harden (including Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, their 2022, 2024 and 2026 first-round picks, plus pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027), the Nets would undoubtedly love to lock up Harden long-term rather than risk losing him for nothing next year. Kevin Durant has already inked a max contract extension this summer; we'll see if Harden does the same. The most Brooklyn can offer is $161.1 million over four years.
2. Bradley Beal - Washington Wizards - Player Option
It seems as though the basketball world has been waiting for Beal to demand a trade out of D.C. for years now, yet the Wizards' star shooting guard has opted to remain patient despite the team's struggles. Washington would prefer to sign Beal to a four-year extension this offseason, worth roughly $181.5 million, but the three-time All-Star can earn more money if he waits until next offseason to ink a new deal. Beal has a player option worth $37.3 million for the 2022-23 season and he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he chooses not to exercise it. Should he go that route, the Wizards could still offer Beal a super-max pact worth around $235 million over five years.&nbsp;
3. Kyrie Irving - Brooklyn Nets - Player Option&nbsp;
Like his backcourt mate, Irving has a player option for the 2022&ndash;23 season (worth $36,934,550). At the press conference announcing Durant's extension last month, GM Sean Marks <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sean-marks-confident-irving-and-harden-will-sign-extensions-with-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the Nets were talking to Irving and Harden about contract extensions. Marks added that he is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sean-marks-confident-irving-and-harden-will-sign-extensions-with-nets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"very confident"</a> that both deals will get done by the time training camp starts. Brooklyn can offer Irving a four-year extension that would pay the point guard approximately $181 million.
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4. Zach LaVine - Chicago Bulls - Unrestricted
LaVine is entering the final year of his current contract. It's widely assumed that he will choose not to sign an extension this offseason, as the most the Bulls can offer is $105 million over four years, which is well below LaVine's market value. Speaking to the media from the Tokyo Olympics in early August, the 26-year-old was asked about free agency and <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2021/8/2/22605846/bulls-zach-lavine-respect-contract-extension-olympics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replied</a>, "I just want my respect. I think that's the main thing. I outplayed my [current] contract, I've been very loyal to Chicago, I like Chicago. I just want my respect. If it's now, later, it's something that we gotta work out internally and we'll go from there." If the Bulls don't extend LaVine this summer, he will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent. Chicago controls his rights, so they can offer him more money and years than any other team in free agency.&nbsp;
5. Russell Westbrook - Los Angeles Lakers - Player Option
Westbrook's player option for the 2022-23 season is worth a whopping $47,063,478, making it highly unlikely that he would decide to test his luck on the open market. However, last year at this time, most pundits felt close to 100% confident predicting that Chris Paul would exercise his $44.2 million player option for the 2021-22 season. Instead, after greatly exceeding expectations and helping lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals, CP3 opted out last month and inked a four-year deal that could be worth up to $120 million.&nbsp;
6. Dennis Schroder - Boston Celtics - Unrestricted
Schroder was burned badly in free agency, and his current situation highlights the perils of turning down a lucrative extension offer. During the 2020-21 season, Schroder <a href="https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/31163904" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> rejected a four-year, $84 million contract extension from the Lakers, as he was confident he'd be able to secure a deal worth close to $100 million in free agency. However, after a bout with COVID-19 and a subpar showing in the playoffs, Schroder didn't have nearly as many suitors as he'd hoped. Ultimately, he ended up settling for a one-year deal worth $5.9 million to join the Boston Celtics. Schroder will be looking to recoup some of those lost wages next summer.&nbsp;
7. Collin Sexton - Cleveland Cavaliers - Restricted
Sexton is a polarizing player. On the one hand, he's proven he is a potent offensive weapon. Last season, Sexton poured in 24.3 points per game and dished out 4.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the floor, 37.5% from downtown and 81.5% from the free-throw line. In the process, he became the second-youngest player in NBA history (behind only Kevin Durant) to average more than 24.0 points per game while shooting above 47% from the floor and 37% from deep. However, some critics will argue Sexton has put empty-calorie stats on bad teams. The Cavs are just 60-159 since drafting Sexton, and they have been outscored by 1,446 points with Sexton on the court over his first three seasons in the league. <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/06/25/nba-combine-notebook-post-lottery-cade-cunningham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sports Illustrated reported</a> in June that the Cavaliers began to explore trade options involving Sexton, noting that there's a "belief around the league that Cleveland prefers to move on from Sexton, rather than sign him to a deal that would greatly inhibit their flexibility moving forward."&nbsp;
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8. John Wall - Houston Rockets - Player Option
Wall has a massive player option worth $47.4 million for the 2022-23 campaign. Thus, despite showing flashes of his former self last season (when he averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists per game for the Rockets), it's incredibly improbable that Wall would leave all of that guaranteed money on the table. Even if Wall had another strong season in Houston, his alarming injury history would significantly limit his free-agent appeal.&nbsp;
9. Victor Oladipo - Miami Heat - Unrestricted
Just three years ago, Oladipo was named the league's Most Improved Player after averaging 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists along with an NBA-best 2.4 steals. He was selected to the All-NBA Third Team in 2017-18, and he became a two-time All-Star. However, his career has since been derailed by injuries. Oladipo will not be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season as he recovers from surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his right quad and he could reportedly be sidelined until the All-Star break or beyond. He re-signed with the Miami Heat on a one-deal worth the veteran&rsquo;s minimum last month (around $2.4 million). If he can prove he is healthy toward the end of the upcoming season, he'll be able to cash in next July. Miami will have Oladipo's Bird rights and will have the inside track on keeping him.&nbsp;
10. Gary Harris - Orlando Magic - Unrestricted
Harris, who was dealt from Denver to Orlando at the deadline last March, has one year remaining on the four-year, $84 million pact he signed in 2018. Harris has proven himself as a solid, versatile two-way player, but he hasn&rsquo;t been able to stay healthy in recent years. He has appeared in fewer than 58 games in each of the past three seasons. In 2020-21, Harris missed nearly two full months due to a left adductor ailment. If he can remain on the court in 2021-22 and put up solid numbers for the rebuilding Magic, Harris should be able to boost his stock in advance of his foray into free agency.&nbsp;
Best of the Rest
Tomas Satoransky, Ricky Rubio, Jalen Brunson, Goran Dragic, Patrick Beverley, Delon Wright, Patty Mills (player option), Kendrick Nunn (player option), Malik Monk, Luguentz Dort (team option), Lou Williams, Facundo Campazzo (restricted), Bruce Brown

Tommy Beer ranks the top players who could be available as part of the 2022 free-agent class. Today, he examines the top-10 guards.

2022 NBA Free-Agent Rankings: Harden, Beal, LaVine among top-10 guards

Are the New Orleans Pelicans finally ready to ascend up the Western Conference standings?
With an enticing young core led by Zion Williamson, who&rsquo;s on the brink of superstardom (if he&rsquo;s not there already), New Orleans could easily become this season's surprise breakout team. In addition to Williamson&rsquo;s freakish talents, New Orleans has Brandon Ingram, who made his own leap to near-star status after the Pelicans acquired him as the centerpiece of the Anthony Davis trade.
Williamson and Ingram form a terrific one-two punch and they should have the Pelicans competing for a playoff spot. However, put quite simply, New Orleans hasn't been able to construct a roster around their young duo that is best suited to their strengths. With a lack of spacing &ndash; a death sentence in today&rsquo;s NBA &ndash; the Pelicans clipped their wings and were unable to fly towards legitimacy. Also, last season, the coaches didn't connect with the young core. Stan Van Gundy was a fun idea on the surface, but his old-school ways didn&rsquo;t fit with the Pelicans&rsquo; roster and there was <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_f8018c0c-bb0b-11eb-a5ee-e3ae926a7b70.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> <a href="https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/article_a42c8c30-c970-11eb-80a3-4317f063a7bb.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tension</a> behind the scenes. That&rsquo;s why hiring former Phoenix Suns lead assistant Willie Green as their new head coach is significant.
Green was an integral piece to the Suns&rsquo; puzzle over the last two seasons, serving as head coach Monty Williams&rsquo; right-hand man. The former NBA veteran was tasked with running Phoenix&rsquo;s defense and helping as a primary player development assistant. Green thrived in both roles, helping the Suns go from a completely undisciplined squad on the defensive end to one of the NBA's best with the flip of a switch.
Meanwhile, key pieces of the Suns&rsquo; young core such as Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson improved their all-around games under Green&rsquo;s tutelage. Even NBA castaway Cameron Payne <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/cam-payne-ready-for-next-chapter-of-improbable-journey-lifes-crazy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revived his professional-basketball career in the Valley</a> after joining the Suns right before the Bubble. Now, given what the team needs from their new head coach, Green and the Pelicans are a perfect match. Not only will Green have New Orleans&rsquo; key players hustling on both ends (and likely improving their 23rd-ranked defense), he'll be able to connect with the young core and help them reach their full potential while also providing a calm, relaxing presence since he's seen just about everything at the NBA level.
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While Green seems like a perfect solution to the Pelicans&rsquo; on-court issues from a schematics standpoint, how did GM David Griffin do from a roster-construction perspective? Acquiring Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams last offseason was a mistake, but Griffin seemingly owned up to that by sending them packing this summer in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Although the Pelicans gave up the No. 10 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft (which became Ziaire Williams) in the deal, they only moved down seven spots and obtained Jonas Valanciunas to replace Adams. And with the No. 17 pick, New Orleans selected sharpshooting wing Trey Murphy III, who's widely regarded as one of the most high-character, NBA-ready prospects in the entire draft and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trey-murphy-iii-is-showing-why-hes-a-perfect-fit-for-the-pelicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exactly what the Pelicans needed</a>. Valanciunas is a smoother fit next to Wililamson compared to Adams since he provides a bit of extra spacing. While Adams didn&rsquo;t have any range (making just one three-pointer throughout his career), Valanciunas will at least keep defenses honest at times since he shot 35.8% on 1.1 three-point attempts over the last two seasons. During NBA Summer League, Murphy showed that he's already too good for that stage, so he may be poised for a 20-plus-minute-per-game role right out of the gate in New Orleans.
The Pelicans&rsquo; biggest blow this offseason was losing Lonzo Ball to the Chicago Bulls in a sign-and-trade that saw them acquire veteran guards Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple. Ball and New Orleans were ready to move on from one another, as the former No. 2 overall pick wanted a fresh start and the organization didn&rsquo;t feel comfortable paying him over $20 million annually on a new deal. Valanciunas, Satoransky and Temple will provide veteran leadership to a young locker room in desperate need of it.
To offset the loss of Ball in the starting lineup, New Orleans hoped to sign six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry, but he opted to join the Miami Heat. Instead, the Pelicans made their most interesting offseason move: dealing a future protected first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a sign-and-trade for Devonte&rsquo; Graham. In Charlotte, Graham's ceiling was capped after LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier thrived last season and the Hornets drafted James Bouknight at No. 11. In New Orleans, Graham should slide right in as a starting guard who provides even more floor-spacing value for Williamson and Ingram. Graham&rsquo;s offensive profile is unique and rather inefficient &mdash; 37.6 FG%, 36.4 3PT%, 53.4 TS% &mdash; however, he won&rsquo;t be asked to do anything but provide a little playmaking and stay beyond the three-point line.
Last season, Graham&rsquo;s three-point attempt rate was at 71.3%, which is well above-average and a significant jump from his 60.7% rate in 2019-20. If Graham shoots 8-to-10 threes per game at a near-40% clip, he will have done a fantastic job for the Pelicans.
This offseason, New Orleans' main focus was to ease the scoring burden for Williamson, who just averaged 27.0 points per game in his age-20 season. The only players in NBA history to score at least 27.0 points per game before turning 21 years old are LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Williamson. That&rsquo;s legendary, best-player-in-the-world company for Zion.&nbsp;
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And as he began to get even more comfortable in the second half of the 2020-21 campaign, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/zion-williamson-is-breaking-basketball-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Orleans made him a point-forward and ran the offense through him on every possession</a>. Despite Williamson&rsquo;s youth, that&rsquo;s absolutely the right decision because he could become a LeBron-esque bully in one-on-one situations driving towards the rim. Williiamson flashed that potential during his lone collegiate season at Duke, and he&rsquo;s already doing this on a regular basis in the NBA, taking veterans' lunch money in scoring situations.&nbsp;
The Pelicans set out to make Williamson&rsquo;s job easier, which in turn should help everyone around him as well. Now, there&rsquo;s real potential for Williamson to average around 30.0 points per game this season, which could lead to some <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/5-under-the-radar-mvp-candidates-for-the-202122-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dark-horse MVP discussion</a> if all goes well for New Orleans and they take the next step as a team. Add in Ingram&rsquo;s ascension as one of the best young wings in the NBA and New Orleans just needs their new additions to play their role to the best of their abilities in order to climb the standings. If that occurs, the Pelicans should (at the very least) fight for a spot in the play-in tournament. And if Williamson makes an even bigger leap and becomes a top-10 player in the league (which could actually occur given his insane ceiling), New Orleans could comfortably make the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Entering the 2021-22 season, here&rsquo;s a look at the Pelicans&rsquo;&nbsp; projected rotation:
Starters: Devonte&rsquo; Graham, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Reserves: Kira Lewis Jr., Tomas Satoransky, Josh Hart, Trey Murphy III, Jaxson Hayes
With all the youth New Orleans has added in recent years, this is a team that is just now turning the corner and cracking open their contention window. Led by Williamson, who's poised to be one of the faces of the Association for the next decade-plus, the Pelicans seem to have aced this offseason after being rightfully questioned at various points.&nbsp;
By adding the right complementary pieces around their superstar and hiring Willie Green to help the young core continue their development, the Pelicans seem to be pushing all of the right buttons.

After putting the right complementary pieces around Zion Williamson, the Pelicans seem poised to contend for a playoff spot in 2021-22.