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Tar Heels

As the 2025 NBA Playoffs tip off, every team in the Eastern Conference brings with it a burning question. Some are looking to validate their dominance, others are hoping to make noise for the first time, and a few are simply trying to recapture playoff magic from the past. Here&rsquo;s one key question for each East playoff squad heading into this year&rsquo;s postseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers &ndash; Are they for real?
The Cavaliers were expected to take a leap under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, but few predicted it would be this significant. Cleveland posted a 64-18 record, up from 51 wins last season, and ranked eighth in the NBA in defensive rating (111.8) while climbing to the best in the league in offensive rating (121.0). It&rsquo;s a massive leap in two-way consistency, anchored by Evan Mobley&rsquo;s breakout campaign and a more dynamic offense tailored around Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.
Mobley&rsquo;s development has been a game-changer. The 22-year-old averaged career-highs in points (18.5), rebounds (9.3), and assists (3.2), while maintaining elite rim protection (1.6 blocks per game). Offensively, his confidence as a shot creator and short-roll playmaker opened up space for the rest of the team. The Cavs now run more actions through Mobley, especially from the elbows, and his improved jump shot has made him far more difficult to guard.
But make no mistake &ndash; Mitchell remains the barometer. The All-Star guard battled injuries down the stretch but still averaged 24.0 points, 4.5 assists, and 5.0 rebounds on 44.3% shooting. If he can stay healthy and lead confidently on both ends, Cleveland has the pieces to make a legitimate run to the conference finals.
The Cavs have the metrics, the momentum, and the maturity. Now it&rsquo;s about proving they belong with the league&rsquo;s elite when the lights are the brightest.
Boston Celtics &ndash; Can they go back-to-back?
The reigning champions enter the playoffs with a sense of unfinished business &mdash; not because they failed last year, but because they&rsquo;re now chasing greatness. The Celtics finished 61-21 this season for back to back 60-win seasons. They had the league&rsquo;s second best net rating at +9.4, fueled by elite balance: second in offensive rating (119.5) and fourth in defensive rating (110.1).
Jayson Tatum continues to evolve as one of the NBA&rsquo;s most complete stars. His 26.8 points per game came with improved efficiency (58.2% true shooting) and a career-high 8.7 rebounds. Tatum has learned to pick his spots better, moving the ball when doubled and attacking mismatches when given space. Jaylen Brown, fresh off his Finals MVP last season, has become a more consistent creator as well, averaging 22.2 points.
Add in Kristaps Porzingis&rsquo; floor spacing and rim protection, Jrue Holiday&rsquo;s stability on both ends, and Derrick White&rsquo;s ability to do everything in between, and the Celtics are again the most complete team in basketball. But repeating is never easy. No team has done it since the Warriors in 2018, and even small injuries or matchup issues can derail a title defense.
Boston is built for this moment, but with every other East contender gunning for them, the question looms large: can they close the deal twice in a row?
New York Knicks &ndash; Can they stay healthy?
When fully healthy, the Knicks look like a team that can hang with anyone &mdash; and that includes Boston and Cleveland. But that&rsquo;s been the caveat all season. Jalen Brunson missed 17 games, Karl-Anthony Towns sat for 10, and OG Anunoby dealt with multiple absences due to elbow and hamstring issues. New York&rsquo;s starting five of Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns had time to play with pace and their own style, and they looked formidable.
Brunson has been the Knicks&rsquo; engine, averaging 26.0 points and 7.3 assists while continuing to elevate in crunch time. His pairing with Towns gave New York a new level of offensive versatility, and Mikal Bridges&rsquo; ability to guard top wings allowed them to scheme freely. But concerns about wear and tear remain &mdash; especially under Tom Thibodeau, whose rotations have leaned heavily on his starters. All five starters have averaged in the top 15 of the most minutes played in the league, and that can likely put a strain on their bodies.
Depth is another concern. The Knicks rely on Precious Achiuwa, Cam Payne, Delon Wright, and Landry Shamet to absorb the bench minutes. A deep run hinges on all starters being available and fresh throughout the postseason. If any one piece breaks down, New York could fall short of its championship aspirations.
This is their most talented team in years &mdash; but availability may be just as important as ability.
Indiana Pacers &ndash; Do they have enough to make a deep run once more?
Last year, the Pacers surprised many by reaching the second round, aided in part by injuries to their first-round opponent. This year, expectations are higher &mdash; and the margin for error is thinner. Indiana finished 50-32 and ranked 9th in offensive rating at 115.4. Their identity remains clear: run fast, shoot threes, and trust in Tyrese Haliburton to control the tempo.
Haliburton posted 18.6 points and 9.2 assists per game this season, and despite shooting efficiency dipped slightly as teams began pressuring him more aggressively, he bounced back quite nicely and got back to the high level he was playing at. That&rsquo;s where Pascal Siakam comes in to help him and provide a stabilizing frontcourt presence, while defending opposing bigs.
Depth-wise, the Pacers have the tools. Myles Turner remains one of the league&rsquo;s best shot blockers, Andrew Nembhard has been solid alongside Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin has been a spark off the bench, and Aaron Nesmith&rsquo;s development as a 3-and-D wing adds much-needed versatility. Still, the question remains: can they win when the pace slows and every possession becomes a grind?
Indiana is fun, fast, and fearless. But deep playoff success often requires more grit than style &mdash; and this postseason will test how much of both they truly possess.
Milwaukee Bucks &ndash; How lethal can the Giannis-Dame combo be?
It&rsquo;s been a bumpy road for the Bucks since pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but they enter the playoffs with renewed hope. Injuries limited their time together but when both were on the floor, Milwaukee looked like a top 4 team in the East. The potential for a dominant inside-out attack remains, even as questions swirl around their chemistry and late-game execution.
Giannis put up another MVP-caliber campaign (30.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 6.5 APG) on 60.1% shooting, while Lillard added 24.9 points and 7.1 assists per game, albeit with a slight dip in efficiency (44.8 FG%, 37.6 3P%). Their pick-and-roll tandem has shown flashes of brilliance, especially with spacing provided by their teammates. But Milwaukee&rsquo;s defense remains a glaring concern, particularly at the point-of-attack.
Much of that responsibility falls on new head coach Doc Rivers, who took over midseason and has spent much of his tenure reshaping the defensive schemes. The team has shown better connectivity lately, but consistency is key. If the Bucks can get solid two-way contributions from Brook Lopez, Taurean Prince, and Kyle Kuzma, their ceiling rises considerably.
This postseason is the first true test of the Giannis-Dame partnership after a failed one last year. Can it deliver in crunch time and carry Milwaukee back to the Finals?
Detroit Pistons &ndash; Can they win a playoff series?
One of the most surprising stories of the season, the Detroit Pistons went from dead last in 2024 to securing the No. 6 seed in 2025 with a 44-38 record. It&rsquo;s a dramatic turnaround fueled by internal growth, better health, and the emergence of Cade Cunningham as a legitimate star. Cunningham averaged 26.1 points, 9.1 assists, and 6.1 rebounds, and improved his shooting splits across the board &mdash; including a respectable 35.6% from three.
Head coach J.B Bickerstaff deserves credit for stabilizing the young roster. Jaden Ivey (despite being out for the year to injury), Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren have all taken steps forward in their roles, and the addition of veterans Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Tobias Harris has added much-needed floor spacing and leadership. The Pistons ranked 10th in defensive rating at 112.5 &mdash; a massive leap from their abysmal finish last season
Still, playoff basketball is a different animal. Detroit lacks experience, and their margin for error will be slim. Can Cunningham carry the offense when defenses trap him? Can their shooters hit timely shots? And can Duren hold his own against seasoned playoff bigs?
Winning a series would be monumental for the franchise &mdash; and a sign that Detroit&rsquo;s rebuild is truly behind them.
Orlando Magic &ndash; Can their offense hold up?
There&rsquo;s no questioning the Magic&rsquo;s defensive pedigree. They finished second in defensive rating (109.1) and boast a switch-heavy scheme built around length, versatility, and discipline. But the big question entering the playoffs: can they score enough? Orlando ranked just 27th in offensive rating (108.9), and the loss of Jalen Suggs and Mo Wagner due to injuries further thins their already-limited shot creation.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner carry the bulk of the offense, but both have faced inconsistent stretches. Teams often sag off sub-par shooters like Cory Joseph or Jonathan Isaac, daring Orlando to hit perimeter shots &mdash; something they&rsquo;ve struggled to do all year. Against Boston&rsquo;s elite defense, those issues could be magnified.
Orlando will try to control tempo, force turnovers, and win the possession battle. They&rsquo;ve been excellent in close games, but whether they can consistently generate efficient halfcourt looks remains uncertain.
Defense may win championships, but the Magic need buckets to even stay in the fight.
Miami Heat &ndash; Will they be able to replicate the Heat playoff magic this year?
The Heat have built a reputation as a team you never want to face in the playoffs &mdash; especially as a lower seed. In 2023, they made the Finals as an 8-seed. In 2024, they made the Celtics work despite key injuries. But can they pull off another surprise run this year? The roster remains largely intact, but injuries, aging stars, and inconsistency have clouded their outlook.
Without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo must step up on offense while anchoring the defense. Tyler Herro&rsquo;s scoring punch is much needed, and the role players should contribute as well. But questions linger around depth and chemistry within their lineups after a shaky year.
The Heat finished just 21st in offensive rating (112.4) and 9th in defensive rating (112.0), a sign that the margins are tighter than ever. Still, if any team knows how to punch above its weight class, it&rsquo;s this one. Erik Spoelstra will maximize every mismatch, he always finds a way to manipulate the opposing team.
Don&rsquo;t count them out just yet but don&rsquo;t expect the same magic to happen each and every time as well.

Breaking down the biggest question facing each team in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

2025 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs: Each team’s biggest question in the playoffs

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The Raptors finally returned home to Toronto on the night Kyle Lowry got going in Miami.
The longtime star north of the border is now running the point in South Florida.
The first full night of NBA preseason action started with the Raptors playing in their own arena for the first time since Feb. 28, 2020. They beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-107 on Monday in a game without the familiar starting point guards for either team.
Lowry now plays for the Heat and the 76ers don't know if or when Ben Simmons will rejoin them. He has not reported to the club this season while hoping for a trade.
The Raptors were on a road trip before the NBA season was suspended in March 2020 because of the coronavirus, then played the 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida, because of virus restrictions that prevented teams from traveling across the border.
Instead of coming back to Toronto with the Raptors, Lowry went to the Heat in a sign-and-trade deal. Toronto fans will see him again Feb. 3 when Miami makes its first trip there this season.
When they do, the Heat will arrive as a title contender if Lowry <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kyle-lowry-makes-early-impact-in-miami-heat-debut" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fits like they expect</a>. They had to like what they saw Monday, as <a href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1445214731829133319?s=20">Lowry had seven assists</a> in 15 minutes of a 125-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
RAPTORS 123, 76ERS 107
OG Anunoby scored 21 points for Toronto and Justin Champagnie had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie Scottie Barnes, the No. 4 pick in the draft, finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Precious Achiuwa, acquired from Miami in the Lowry trade, had 13 points and seven rebounds. Goran Dragic, whose number 7 in Miami is now being worn by Lowry, started and had eight points.
Andre Drummond, starting while Joel Embiid sat out, had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey scored 10 points starting in Simmons' spot.
HEAT 125, HAWKS 99
Tyler Herro scored 26 points and Bam Adebayo threw down five dunks before halftime as Miami rolled at home.
Herro shot 9 of 12 overall and 3 of 4 from 3-point range as the Heat finished 21 of 41 (51.2%) from deep.
The Hawks&rsquo; Trae Young left the contest early in the third quarter after he took a knee in the right thigh from Miami&rsquo;s Gabe Vincent. Atlanta reported Young sustained a right quad contusion, which was not considered serious.
Young, John Collins and Danilo Gallinari scored 14 points apiece for Atlanta.
Miami held Jimmy Butler out of action for rest. He brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped in a napkin into the Heat bench area to start the third quarter, giving it to Adebayo as an in-game treat. Adebayo, who wasn&rsquo;t playing in the second half, smiled a bit sheepishly when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spotted the sandwich as he made his way to his seat.
WARRIORS 121, TRAIL BLAZERS 107
Jordan Poole scored 30 points and Otto Porter Jr. scored 19 and Golden State hoisted 69 3-pointers in a win over host Portland.
Poole finished 7 for 13 from deep, and Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins each scored 13.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"But Poole was still able to find his rhythm as Steph was still showing that he's still the man."<a href="https://twitter.com/Dennis3DScott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dennis3DScott</a> explains to <a href="https://twitter.com/JaredSGreenberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JaredSGreenberg</a> why Jordan Poole is so valuable to the <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@warriors</a>. <a href="https://t.co/aF7bOg1A9o">pic.twitter.com/aF7bOg1A9o</a>
&mdash; NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1445245864511868929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Damian Lillard buried five 3s in the first half to lead Portland with 19 points. Jusuf Nurkic scored 15 and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Houston Rockets hold the NBA regular-season record for single game 3s taken with 70 in 2019.
CELTICS 98, MAGIC 97
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum scored 18 in Boston before Romeo Langford made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left.
Brown logged 26 minutes and Tatum 25 for new coach Ime Udoka.
Jalen Suggs, the No. 5 overall pick in this year&rsquo;s draft, buried the preseason&rsquo;s first <a href="https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1445184315516674051?s=20">&lsquo;logo 3&rsquo;</a> with time winding down on the shot clock to give the Magic a 41-35 lead with 4:32 before halftime.
The rookie out of Gonzaga finished with nine points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Cole Anthony and Moritz Wagner each scored 16 points for Orlando. Mo Bamba had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
HORNETS 113, THUNDER 97
Rookie James Bouknight scored 20 points and Lamelo Ball had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in Oklahoma City.
Terry Rozier&rsquo;s pull-up jumper with 5:21 left in the first quarter sparked a 20-7 Hornets spurt for a 34-18 lead at the end of one.
Charlotte&rsquo;s Kelly Oubre Jr. left in the third quarter with a right lower leg strain and didn&rsquo;t return. Coach James Borrego said the injury wasn't serious and said the forward would be day to day.
Josh Giddey, the 6-foot-8 No. 6 overall pick out of Australia for the Thunder, led Oklahoma City with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting, adding seven rebounds and three assists.
TIMBERWOLVES 117, PELICANS 114
D'Angelo Russell scored 19 points as Minnesota held on at home. Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Anthony Edwards, last season's runner-up for Rookie of the Year, chipped in 10 points.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 22 points and rookie Trey Murphy III made six 3-pointers and added 21.
Brandon Ingram had 14 for the Pelicans, who are without Zion Williamson as he recovers from a broken bone in his foot.
SPURS 111, JAZZ 85
Dejounte Murray and rookie Josh Primo each scored 17 points and rebuilding San Antonio distributed 22 assists on 40 made baskets against visiting Utah.
Primo, the No. 12-overall pick out of Alabama, was 7-for-8 shooting in his 18-minute debut.
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Josh Primo showed out for the Spurs in his rookie preseason debut 😯 17 PTS, 7/8 FG for the youngest player in the NBA <a href="https://t.co/UXbbXX01Xs">pic.twitter.com/UXbbXX01Xs</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1445220054812004356?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Absent Rudy Gay, Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles for the Jazz, San Antonio enjoyed a 60-47 rebound advantage with Jakob Poeltl finishing with 10.
Jared Butler scored 16 points for Utah. Jordan Clarkson scored 11 points and Donovan Mitchell added 10 on 5-for-19 shooting (0 for 6 from 3).
KINGS 117, SUNS 106
Harrison Barnes scored 18 points and Marvin Bagley III scored 15 as Sacramento beat visiting Phoenix.
Buddy Hield scored 14 and Tyrese Haliburton 11 for the Kings.
The defending Western Conference champs opted to sit Devin Booker, Jae Crowder and Chris Paul for rest.
Landry Shamet and Jalen Smith led the Suns with 13 points apiece.
CLIPPERS 103, NUGGETS 102
Terance Mann scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and host Los Angeles rallied to beat Denver.
Markus Howard missed a deep, contested 3-pointer attempt at the horn for Denver. Michael Porter Jr. scored 21 of his 23 points in 16 minutes of the first half.
The Nuggets played without last season's MVP Nikola Jokic. The Clippers opted to sit Paul George.

The first full night of NBA preseason action started with the Raptors playing in their own arena for the first time since Feb. 28, 2020.

NBA Preseason: Raptors return home, Poole has 30, Langford hits winner

The Bradley Beal Sweepstakes may finally be heating up.
There's been smoke around Beal's name for well over a year now. As teams hunt for the next disgruntled star to trade for, Beal has popped out as an ideal target.
First and foremost, he's really freakin' good at basketball. Beal is averaging a 29-5-5 stat line over the past three seasons on a robust 58.4% True Shooting percentage (TS%). Known as an elite shooting prospect coming out of Florida many years ago, Beal has transformed himself into one of the most complete offensive players in the sport.
His 35.1% clip on threes over the past three seasons undersells his shooting ability. His volume (7.3 attempts per game) and degree of difficulty -- he takes a ton of threes off the bounce -- factor into that lower-than-you-think number. At this point, the three-point shooting complements the rest of this game, not the other way around.
There aren't many better slashers than Beal. While not a LaVine-like leaper, Beal uses his lower body strength, varying stride length and keen understanding of body angles to generate good looks -- and does so often. He's converted at least 60% of his shots inside of three feet in all but one season of his career, and is now a regular at the free-throw line.&nbsp;
Beyond that, Beal may finally be <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bradley-beal-mulling-future-in-washington-decision-could-be-made-next-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ready to look for greener pastures</a>. He's been steadfast in his desire to build something in Washington, provided that they build a winner around him. And to the team's credit, genuine efforts have been made. Most notably, the Wizards traded former franchise cornerstone John Wall in a deal for Russell Westbrook to add much-needed star power to the roster.
Ultimately, it hasn't worked thus far. Combine that with Beal's contract status, and it's easy to see why things are starting to come to a head. According to <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2946317-sources-bradley-beal-considering-trade-request-before-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer</a>, Beal may make a decision on his future as early as this week.
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If a trade request does come, here are a few teams that should throw their hats in the ring for the All-Star guard.
BOSTON CELTICS
The connection between Beal and Jayson Tatum is an obvious one. Depending on what some of the teams on the fringes decide to do, a strong argument could be made for Jaylen Brown being the best player that could be offered to Washington.&nbsp;
The Wizards would likely ask for more -- picks, prospects like Robert Williams and/or Payton Pritchard, and maybe Marcus Smart, as well. The Celtics wouldn't have to bend on literally all of it, but this is more so to show that they have the assets necessary to swing.
PHILADEPHIA 76ERS
The Sixers desperately need a boost in three-level shot creation. In addition, they need a boost in half-court playmaking. Beal would provide both of those things, the former in abundance.
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The bag of opinions on Ben Simmons is mixed right now, but he's still a young All-Star that's locked in long-term. The Sixers have more to offer on the asset front -- specifically Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle -- if it comes down to it.&nbsp;
TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raptors may not be openly shopping any of their core guys or the No. 4 pick, but they also don&rsquo;t seem overly attached to anyone outside of OG Anunoby. The Raptors can get in the dance if they want; how many teams are beating two of Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet or Anunoby, plus (future) pick capital? Not many, from my view.&nbsp;
Of course, the question of Beal re-signing would make the Raptors antsy. You also don't want to remove too much of the defensive infrastructure if you're bringing Beal in. This remains one of my favorite landing spots for Beal if the Raptors are serious about him, though.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
The Warriors fit seems a bit wonky to me -- Steph Curry, Beal and post-post-injury Klay Thompson doesn't scream "elite defense," for whatever that's worth to you -- but it's hard to fault <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/warriors-interested-in-bradley-beal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Warriors for being interested</a>. That is a ton of offensive firepower, and Steph deserves to have someone to spell him of some of his on-ball creation burden.&nbsp;
Andrew Wiggins gives you the salary. James Wiseman is (Golden State's version of) the blue-chipper. Two lottery picks (No. 7, No. 14) this season, plus virtually all of their first-rounders moving forward, give the Warriors enough ammo to put together an intriguing package.
ATLANTA HAWKS
The Hawks are fresh off a surprise Eastern Conference Finals appearance. They have their clear alpha in Trae Young, and are primed for a consolidation deal as payday nears for some of their younger guys.&nbsp;
They're not going to be able to -- well, they're just not&nbsp;going to -- pay all of John Collins, De'Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, Onyeka Okongwu and Kevin Huerter over the next three offseasons. A combination of two, maybe three of those guys plus picks could get a conversation started.&nbsp;
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OTHER SUITORS
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
They're in the Atlanta class for me, but I'd love to see the Grizzlies take a shot at Beal. They have a good enough mix of young pieces, veterans and pick capital to get on the phone at least. The real make-or-break component of this is if they'd be willing to part with Jaren Jackson Jr. -- because the Wizards would rightfully ask for him. From Memphis' side, the point of a Beal trade would be to form a Big Three with him, Jackson Jr., and Ja Morant. Beyond that, they'd have to be certain that Beal would want to re-sign. Improbable, but not impossible is how I'd view it.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Even after their <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mem-trades-jonas-valanciunas-no-17-pick-to-pelicans-for-eric-bledsoe-no-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deal with the Grizzlies</a>, the Pelicans still have picks to dangle from the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades, plus young prospects (Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaxson Hayes, Kira Lewis Jr.) to toss in. They, uh, also have Brandon Ingram to headline a deal if it comes down to it, though the Pelicans would obviously prefer not to do so.
MIAMI HEAT
The Heat have been linked to Beal for the entirety of this process. I would imagine that two things are true: Wizards brass doesn't view Tyler Herro as lowly as NBA Twitter does at this point, but it's also unlikely that they view him as a blue-chipper. Without a bunch of firsts and swaps to throw in (thanks, OKC), the Heat would need Beal to push for them specifically. That's not impossible, but it's hard to justify them as a top-tier destination with that many hoops to jump through.&nbsp;
DENVER NUGGETS
The Nuggets can get into this if they want to with a package built around Michael Porter Jr. Healthy Jamal Murray, Beal and Nikola Jokic is enough to guarantee an elite offense year round. The funky question I don't have a real grasp for yet: Do you trust Beal or Porter Jr. more on the defensive end at this point?

Nekias Duncan examines potential trade partners for Wizards star Bradley Beal if he decides to ask for a trade.

Examining potential trade destinations for Bradley Beal

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It's safe to say that Kyle Kuzma and the Los Angeles Lakers did not expect to be sitting at home at this time of the year. Due to a number of factors &ndash; including injuries, a shortened season and tough luck &ndash; things just didn't shake LA's way.
In an <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2945630-kyle-kuzma-talks-lakers-role-lebron-james-kobe-bryant-more-in-br-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway</a>, Kuzma opened up about how he felt this past year, ranging from his inconsistent role, to the Lakers being eliminated in round one, to what he feels he's capable of going forward.
Prior to this season, Kuzma had found the perfect niche in the Bubble as the guy to make the big-time, team-first plays and provide second chances. He scrapped for loose balls, played solid defense and sacrificed for his teammates. Those responsibilities were much different than his first two years in LA, when he was depended on for his aggressiveness as a scorer and facilitator; in his second season with the team, Kuzma averaged 18.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with the most field goal attempts on the team aside from LeBron James.
Afterwards, he'd struggled when his field goal attempts decreased, as his role within the offense scaled back and his rhythm as a shooter was interrupted. But in 2019-20, he helped win games outside of the box score, especially as a key cog in the postseason en route to a title.
With a different roster, plenty of setbacks and changes on the team, the 2020-21 playoffs were much different. Putting it nicely, Kuzma's postseason numbers &ndash; 6.3 points and 3.8 rebounds on 29.2% from the field and 17.4% from deep &ndash; were dreadful, and not nearly reflective of his capabilities.
"A little bit of everything," <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2945630-kyle-kuzma-talks-lakers-role-lebron-james-kobe-bryant-more-in-br-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kuzma said of what went wrong</a>. "Injuries throughout the season, changing roles, certain guys in the lineup, certain guys not in the lineup. The NBA season is already mentally draining, and when you have a lot of that, it just adds to it...
"...If you look at all the teams that were in the Bubble and played long, they had a lot of injuries," <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2945630-kyle-kuzma-talks-lakers-role-lebron-james-kobe-bryant-more-in-br-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kuzma continued</a>. "Look at Denver with [Jamal] Murray, even looking at the Heat this year how many injuries they had, along with us, too. Having [Anthony Davis] out, Bron out, [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] out a few games, [Alex] Caruso out a few games, a lot of people missed games, and I contribute that to the Bubble. If you think about the injuries from a player's perspective, it wasn't enough time for players to get their bodies ready. But at the same time, you gotta go out and compete and take care of your body. I'm definitely not complaining; they pay us a lot of money to go out there and compete."
As the reigning and defending NBA Champions, a first-round exit was not exactly what the Lakers had in mind when it came to this season and playoffs. Kuzma admits that the inconsistency of his role wasn't what he had in mind, either.
"My biggest thing is I just want to play within a consistent role. If I have that ability, I'll be able to showcase what I can really do," <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2945630-kyle-kuzma-talks-lakers-role-lebron-james-kobe-bryant-more-in-br-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kuzma said</a>. "There were parts of this year &mdash; and even anywhere else in my career &mdash; when I'm in a consistent space, I'm out there handling the ball, making teammates better, scoring, shooting, defending, rebounding. I think if I'm in that space, I'll be good."
In the interview, Kuzma said that he'll be focused on working on his ball-handling this offseason in order to be on the court "more efficiently" instead of only being a corner catch-shooter. Also, he insisted that he's capable of being a 25-point-per-game scorer and an All-Star.
"I definitely can. I definitely believe that, too," <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2945630-kyle-kuzma-talks-lakers-role-lebron-james-kobe-bryant-more-in-br-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kuzma said</a>. "I don't really care what nobody thinks or says. I know myself, and I know my ability. It's hard to be consistent in an inconsistent role. I'm excited for a more consistent space next year.
"I've done a great job every offseason of trying to build something and add something to my game. I've turned myself into a great defender. My rookie year, I was a stop sign on defense. I didn't really stop anybody. Now, whether it's elite wings, 4 men, even point guards and shooting guards, I have the ability to guard four positions now and really affect the game on that end of the court."

Kyle Kuzma opened up about this past year, including his inconsistent role with the Lakers and what he feels he is capable of.

Kyle Kuzma sounds off on inconsistent role with Lakers

Let's start here: The NBA is a superstar league.&nbsp;
If history has taught us anything, it's that an NBA franchise needs a superstar if they want to have a legitimate chance to capture a championship.&nbsp;
While the New York Knicks' 2020-21 season was undeniably encouraging, and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-knicks-are-finally-winning-but-theyre-positioned-for-longterm-success-too">their future is bright</a>, they don't currently have a player capable of pushing them over the top.&nbsp;
Which is why, if the opportunity presents itself, New York should push all their chips into the middle of the table and go all-out to obtain Damian Lillard.&nbsp;
As you have undoubtedly heard, Lillard may be running out of patience in Portland. After being eliminated by the Denver Nuggets earlier this month, Dame quoted lyrics from rapper Nipsey Hussle in an Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CPr8Btxgyzk/?utm_medium=copy_link">post</a>: "How long should I stay dedicated? How long til opportunity meets preparation?"&nbsp;
Make no mistake, Lillard is a bonafide superstar &mdash; a rare, precious commodity in today's NBA. And, despite the fact that he will celebrate his 31st birthday next month, he is still squarely in the heart of his prime and clearly playing at an elite level.&nbsp;
In this year's first-round playoff series against Denver, Lillard averaged 34.3 points (on a 66% True Shooting percentage), 10.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He knocked down 35 three-pointers in the six-game series, the most threes in any playoff series in NBA history.&nbsp;
During the 2019-20 regular season, Lillard averaged a career-high 30.0 points to go along with 8.0 assists, 4.3 boards and 4.1 made three-pointers. The only other players in league history to average at least 30/8/4 over an entire season are Oscar Roberston, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Michael Jordan.&nbsp;
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During a five-game stretch last February, Dame averaged 48.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, and 8.0 made three-pointers, while shooting 54% from the floor, 56.3% from downtown and 91% from the free-throw stripe. In the bubble last August, Portland needed to win its final three games to qualify for the playoffs; Dame averaged 51.3 points and 9.0 dimes over those three contests. And, yes, Portland won all three.&nbsp;
His recent success certainly isn't a fluke. Lillard has been named either First- or Second-Team All-NBA in each of the past four seasons (and in six of the past eight). Lillard is one of only two players in NBA history to record at least 1,500 points and 400 assists in each of their first nine seasons; Oscar Robertson is the other.
It's also important to note that these aren't empty-calorie stats Lillard is compiling. They have resulted directly in team success. The Blazers have advanced to the playoffs in each of the past eight seasons. That's the longest active streak in the NBA.&nbsp;
Lillard has single-handedly carried his team to victory by knocking down big shot after big shot throughout his career. And this past season was no different. Lillard led the NBA in clutch scoring, pouring in 162 points while shooting 51.1% from the field, 39.1% from deep and 94.7% from the free-throw line in clutch situations.&nbsp;
Over the course of his career, Lillard has made 35 go-ahead buckets in the final minute of a game, including the playoffs. That's the most in the NBA since the start of the 2012-13 season.&nbsp;
Some pundits knock Lillard for his inability to carry Portland to a championship. However, as noted above, his production in the postseason has been top-notch. His supporting cast, on the other hand, has often failed to carry their weight. Pinning defeats on Lillard is misguided, at best. Consider Game 5 vs. Denver earlier this month, which the Blazers lost despite Lillard scoring 55 points. Dame scored 20 of the Blazers' final 22 points in that contest. Over the last 10 minutes, he shot 7-of-9. His teammates combined to score two points on 1-of-14 shooting.&nbsp;
It's also imperative to point out that the Blazers have run into some elite teams in the playoffs. In 2014, Portland lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the second round, and the Spurs would go on to win the championship. Portland was eliminated by the dynastic Golden State Warriors in 2016 and 2017 and, most recently, in the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Last year, Portland lost to the Los Angeles Lakers team that took home the title.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Imagine <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dame_Lillard</a> balling at the Mecca 👀 <a href="https://t.co/VKsA6K9KUX">pic.twitter.com/VKsA6K9KUX</a>
&mdash; DraftKings (@DraftKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/DraftKings/status/1409529573709058052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Surprisingly, many Knicks fans have voiced strong opposition to pulling the trigger on a trade for Lillard. Some argue that Lillard is too old. Or that he's not worth the hefty price New York would have to pay to pry him from Portland.&nbsp;
Let's address the age issue first. As highlighted above, Lillard has shown no signs of wearing down. In fact, he's only gotten better and more efficient over the past few years. Furthermore, Lillard has never been overly dependent on his quickness or athleticism. His skillset is perfectly suited to excel in today's NBA, which places an astonishingly high premium on long-range marksmanship. It's not hyperbole to assert that Lillard is one of the best shooters the sport has ever seen.&nbsp;
So, this isn't Allen Iverson breaking down on the wrong side of 30. Dame's game is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-damian-lillard-stephen-curry-are-exception-to-rule-bad-shot-trae-young-three-pointers">more akin to Stephen Curry</a>. And, if you noticed, Curry, who celebrated his 33rd birthday this year, is still able to dominate defenses. In 2020-21, Curry averaged career-highs in scoring (32.0), rebounds (5.5), three-pointers (5.3) and free-throws (5.7). Lillard won't turn 33 until the summer after the 2022-23 season.
In addition, Lillard has proven to be exceptionally durable. Over the first three-plus seasons of his career, he played in 275 consecutive contests. Over the past three seasons, he's played in 213 of a possible 223 games (95.5%).&nbsp;
The reluctance among Knicks fans to part with precious assets is understandable. Fans fall in love with homegrown talent and teams that exceed expectations. However, successful executives don't let emotions get in the way of savvy business decisions. The Knicks shocked the basketball world with their success in 2020-21. While the franchise is appropriately positioned to continue its push toward consistent contention, there&rsquo;s no guarantee that New York won't stumble and take a step back next season.&nbsp;
To enter the league's upper-echelon, the Knicks need to import a superstar.&nbsp;
To acquire a player on Lillard's level, New York will need to pony up. Ideally, the Knicks could acquire Lillard without having to give up RJ Barrett. Suppose Dame demanded a trade and made it clear he wanted to play in New York, thus limiting the Blazers' leverage. In that case, New York could conceivably snag Lillard in exchange for a bevy of future first-round picks and a combination of Immanuel Quickley, Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox and Obi Toppin.&nbsp;
However, if push comes to shove, and refusing to include Barrett would be a deal-breaker, the Knicks would be wise to pull the trigger. When trading for a future Hall of Famer in his prime, no player on the current Knicks roster should be considered off-limits.&nbsp;
Knicks fans on Twitter are quick to claim a trade for Lillard would gut the roster, leaving New York incapable of putting a quality, well-balanced team on the floor. This is not the case.&nbsp;
Remember, New York will enter this offseason with more cap space than any team in the league. If the Knicks are forced to trade away Barrett and include Knox in the deal, New York would be sending out more than $14 million in salary between just those two players. Thus, even after they take back Lillard's $39.3 million pact, New York would still have plenty of cap space.&nbsp;
Speaking of Lillard's contract, next season is the first year of the four-year extension he signed in 2019. That means Dame is under contract through at least 2023-24, with a $48.8 million player option for 2024-25. So, it's not as if New York would be trading for a stud and hoping they'd be able to convince him to stay.&nbsp;
The Knicks have rightly received plenty of praise for protecting their assets, including their future first-round picks. (New York owns seven first-rounders over the next five years; the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets are the only teams with more.) However, if we are to believe the Knicks have turned the corner, the importance of those picks is diminished. Selections in the late teens and early 20s don't have nearly the same value as lottery picks.
Regarding Barrett specifically, I have detailed how impressive he was as a sophomore in 2021. But the odds of him developing into one of the 10-best players in the NBA, as Lillard is right now, are slim. And it could be argued that New York might be selling high on RJ if they traded him away since he&rsquo;s coming off his stellar season. Think back to this past November, when James Harden told the Rockets that his three preferred destinations were Brooklyn, Miami and Philly. The Sixers reportedly refused to part with Ben Simmons in a potential deal, and the Heat were rumored to be unwilling to include Tyler Herro in a swap. Think about how far the value of those two players plummeted in the six months that followed.&nbsp;
If they don't trade for Lillard, how will the Knicks add the franchise-defining superstar they've coveted since Patrick Ewing left town? Teams carve out cap space in the hopes of signing a stud in free agency, but that's always a crapshoot. Knicks fans were hoping LeBron James would relocate to NYC in 2010; we know how that panned out. Kevin Durant was the apple of the city's eye in 2019, and he ended up across the river.&nbsp;
The other avenue to top-tier status is utilizing hard-earned cap space and draft picks to facilitate a trade for a disgruntled superstar.&nbsp;
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As far as what a post-trade Knicks lineup might look like, the two cornerstones would be Lillard and Julius Randle. Both players made the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, which would give the Knicks one of the more dynamic duos in the league. Over the last decade, the only squads to boast two First- or Second-Team All-NBA players in the same season are the Lakers (LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who carried L.A. to a title in 2020) and the Warriors (Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, who won two rings together).&nbsp;
For all his regular-season success last year, Randle fizzled out in the playoffs. Even at his peak, Randle is best suited to be the second-banana on a good team. Randle would be arguably the best teammate Lillard has played with in his career. If the Knicks could also keep Barrett, a trio of Dame, Randle and RJ would be a dream scenario for New Yorkers.&nbsp;
Regarding the rest of the roster, if New York was able to enter free agency with north of $30 million in cap room, and Lillard and Randle as the two foundational pieces, plenty of talented players would likely be enticed by the prospect of joining a talented, New York-based team capable of making a deep playoff run.&nbsp;
Kawhi Leonard is the gem of the summer's free-agent class. It was rumored that there was mutual interest between the Knicks and Kawhi when he last hit the open market in 2019. Even if they weren&rsquo;t able to land Leonard, there are plenty of players to pursue.&nbsp;
For instance, DeMar DeRozan is the second-best wing on the market. At 31 and an assassin in the mid-range, he'd fit in very nicely alongside Lillard and Randle. Other free-agent options include Lonzo Ball (restricted), Norman Powell, Duncan Robinson (restricted), Evan Fournier, Lauri Markkanen (restricted), Montrezl Harrell, Gary Trent Jr. (restricted), Otto Porter, Spencer Dinwiddie, Victor Oladipo, Josh Hart and Justise Winslow, to name a few.
It's also entirely possible Portland would be willing to include center Jusuf Nurkic in a potential Dame deal. Earlier this week, Nurk said he would bolt from the Blazers if Lillard leaves. "If [Lillard] goes, then I leave Portland as well," Nurkic declared.&nbsp;
Fleshing out the roster with quality veterans would be far easier with Dame as a drawing card. Year after year, we've seen vets willing to accept minimum contracts to play for a contender. It&rsquo;s safe to assume Carmelo Anthony would relish a role off the bench in New York to cap off his career. Players such as Serge Ibaka, JJ Redick, Patty Mills, Blake Griffin, PJ Tucker, Nicolas Batum, Paul Millsap, and Andre Iguodala are respected, free-agent vets who would potentially be willing to prioritize the right situation over the highest offer.&nbsp;
Players who excelled last season in New York, such as Reggie Bullock, Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel, would also be welcomed back to the Big Apple at the right price. And playing behind Lillard would be ideal for Derrick Rose at this stage of his career.&nbsp;
Ultimately, it all comes down to Dame. If he doesn't demand a trade, he won't be traded. If he does, he'll let the Portland front office know which team(s) he wants to go to. If New York is one of his desired landing spots, the Knicks should absolutely go all in.

New York should do everything in their power to try to acquire Damian Lillard, and no current Knick should be considered off-limits.

The Knicks should prepare to go all-in for Damian Lillard

Nekias Duncan dissects every detail of the moves that went down at Thursday's NBA trade deadline and gives them grades.

Grading every move from the 2021 NBA trade deadline

While All-Star Weekend will look much different this year in Atlanta, Ga., the NBA still announced rosters for the Rising Stars on Wednesday despite the fact that there will be no game.
The game normally features players in their first and second seasons, and over the past few years the rosters have been split between players born in the United States and players born elsewhere throughout the world. Prior to that, the game was NBA rookies against sophomores.&nbsp;
The U.S. team is comprised of Charlotte's LaMelo Ball, Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, New Orleans' Zion Williamson, Memphis' Ja Morant, Miami's Tyler Herro, Atlanta's De'Andre Hunter, Sacramento's Tyrese Haliburton, Denver's Michael Porter Jr., Golden State's James Wiseman, and San Antonio's Keldon Johnson.
As for the World team, that features New York's RJ Barrett, Miami's Precious Achiuwa, Washington's Deni Avdija and Rui Hachimura, Memphis' Brandon Clarke, New Orleans' Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Oklahoma City's Lu Dort and Theo Maledon, Denver's Facundo Campazzo, and Golden State's Mychal Mulder.&nbsp;
The rosters were revealed via NBA Top Shot, and the video showcasing each player can be found below.
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Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and LaMelo Ball highlight the U.S. team this year.

Zion Williamson, LaMelo Ball headline NBA's Rising Stars

Here&rsquo;s a number for you: 168.
According to Synergy, Markelle Fultz had knocked down 168 jumpshots in 105 career games entering this season. He&rsquo;d converted those jumpers at a 35 percent clip, and that mark raised slightly to 36.6 percent on off-the-dribble looks.&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s a problem for a lead ball-handler. That&rsquo;s especially a problem for a lead ball-handler whose calling card was three-level scoring when he was drafted with the top pick in the 2017 draft.
The story of Fultz&rsquo;s disappearing (and disappointing) jumper has been talked about ad nauseam. In addition to its randomness, it understandably capped his ceiling in the eyes of many. That&rsquo;s what made his recent extension a somewhat surprising one: a three-year deal worth up to $50 million.
Questions about his ceiling were, and are, fair; doing so while dismissing his floor was always faulty. Through the early goings of the season, Fultz is thriving in all of the non-jumper factions of his game. He&rsquo;s a major reason why the Orlando Magic have gotten off to a 3-0 start.
TRANSITION PLAY
What makes Fultz difficult to gameplan for in the open floor is that he very rarely hits top speed. He often opts to glide, chewing up space with his long strides and complementing those steps with his yo-yo handle. It allows him to put pressure on backpedaling defenders while remaining in control.
This is a preseason clip, but you can get a feel for Fultz&rsquo;s cadence here.
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Not only is Fultz smooth, he&rsquo;s incredibly powerful. He&rsquo;s able to accelerate to gain an advantage, decelerate to evade rotating defenders and lower the shoulder to create better finishing angles for himself. Watch how Wizards wing Troy Brown Jr. bounces off of Fultz here:
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Fultz is converting nearly 63 percent of his shots in transition thus far, per Synergy. His unique blend of speed, power and craft makes him a booger to deal with in space.
HALF-COURT CREATION
Much like his transition exploits, Fultz is at his best when he&rsquo;s able to get downhill. It&rsquo;s tougher for him to do so against set defenses. Enemies usually duck under his picks in an effort to dare him into pull-ups. Fultz is so good at navigating tight spaces -- again, his handle, strength and ability to shift speeds shine through -- that he&rsquo;s able to get to his spots anyway.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/fultz-baseline-tightrope.gif" alt="" width="708" height="AUTO" />
Fultz doesn&rsquo;t get &ldquo;under&rdquo; coverage here, but you can see his craft and speed mixing on display. He uses a hang dribble to give Nikola Vucevic time to get set and hammer Mo Harkless with a screen. He uses another hang dribble to freeze Bam Adebayo and gain inside leverage on the drive. From there, he slows up as he tiptoes the baseline, then accelerates while lengthening his strides (watch the final two steps) to create separation from Adebayo on the reverse.
Those same manipulation principles apply when Fultz is looking to set up others. He has a keen understanding of the coverages defenses are throwing at him, and he is able to maneuver space in a way to create advantages for others.&nbsp;
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The highlight is the behind-the-back pass, but the read is what&rsquo;s important here. The Wizards are attempting to ICE this screen, meaning Russell Westbrook wants to force Fultz away from Vucevic and towards the baseline. Fultz is able to get a step on Westbrook, but then crosses back over to draw Thomas Bryant away from the hoop. With Vucevic diving to the rim, he gets an uncontested layup with Bryant out of the picture (and Westbrook getting caught ball-watching).
The Fultz-Vucevic pairing has been a fruitful one. No pick-and-roll pairing has generated more points (44) on direct hookups so far this season, per a source with access to Second Spectrum tracking data. Fultz&rsquo;s downhill craft vibes nicely with the skill set of Vucevic. The big fella can pop out and shoot, and has the post skills to abuse mismatches if he gets a switch.
DEFENSIVE MENACE
Fultz&rsquo;s real calling card is his defense. At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, he has the size and length to bother players at three different positions. He&rsquo;s at his best against point guards, where he&rsquo;s able to restrict their airspace and disrupt their rhythm.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/fultz-defense.gif" alt="" width="614" height="AUTO" />
Fultz does a fantastic job of getting skinny here -- slithering through the space between Jimmy Butler and Aaron Gordon, then sliding through the Adebayo handoff to stay attached to Tyler Herro. Fultz takes a tight recovery angle as he trails Herro, then comes up with the block on the pull-up jumper.
Not only is Fultz relentless on the ball, he has tremendous feel off the ball. He can diagnose actions on the floor like a veteran, and has the tools to make calculated gambles. Those gambles can obviously get him in trouble if they fail. When they hit, you get pick-sixes like this:
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/fultz-steal.gif" alt="" width="706" height="AUTO" />
It&rsquo;s the perfect marriage of instincts and scheme knowledge. Fultz knows he can be more aggressive because he has help behind him on the weak-side. The subtle fake towards Bradley Beal before jumping the pass to Bryant is just tremendous work.
Fultz still has to improve as a pull-up shooter to maximize himself and others in half-court settings. Being able to turn lemons into lemonade is a testament to his talent, but it would still be preferable for him to just have the lemonade. A 5-of-16 clip on dribble jumpers per Synergy isn&rsquo;t going to cut it, even if it&rsquo;s encouraging that he seems more willing to pull from deep.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/fultz-pull-up.gif" alt="" width="614" height="AUTO" />
But it&rsquo;s important not to miss the forest for the trees. Even without a reliable shot, Fultz is a dynamic finisher in transition and in half-court situations. He&rsquo;s a good passer with legitimate manipulation skills. His ability to hound guards on and off the court is a joy to watch. Fultz providing two-way value is already one of the best stories of this wacky season.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the film on Markelle Fultz's strong start to the season with Orlando.

Markelle Fultz is thriving with surprising Magic

This year&rsquo;s NBA Draft was always going to be a fun one. There was no clear-cut superstar prospect in the class, which led to a lot of uncertainty at the top. There was plenty of noise that virtually every team in the top five was looking into trading their pick, though ultimately none of those rumors came to fruition.
Still, we had plenty of movement in terms of trades, and we got the usual brand of surprise swings (hi, Jalen Smith to the Phoenix Suns at No. 10) and somewhat inexplicable slides from players that will outperform their draft slot (more on that shortly).
Is it too early to dub teams winners and losers of a draft that we won&rsquo;t have a real handle on for half a decade?&nbsp;
Yes.
Will that stop me from doing so?
Absolutely not.
Without further ado, here are some of the winners and losers from last night&rsquo;s action:
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
Have yourself a night, Daryl Morey.
It&rsquo;s hard to argue that any team addressed their needs in the manner that the Sixers were able to. They land Tyrese Maxey, one of the best guard defenders in the draft with some on-ball chops. He had an underwhelming shooting season during his lone stint at Kentucky, but his lower-level sample -- AAU, high school, etc -- leaves room for optimism that his Kentucky year was the outlier, and that he should settle in as a plus-shooter in the future.
It doesn&rsquo;t stop there, of course.
Isaiah Joe was a steal at No. 49, even more so considering the Sixers basically told anyone who would listen (and even those who wouldn&rsquo;t) that they planned on taking Joe at some point. Joe is one of the best shooters in the class, so his role on a team with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons couldn&rsquo;t be more obvious.
The big move was turning Josh Richardson -- a talented defender and jack-of-all-trades offensive piece that has been miscast into a somewhat heavy creation role for two consecutive seasons -- and the pick that became Tyler Bey into Seth Curry, one of the league&rsquo;s most lethal shooters and an underrated pick-and-roll initiator. The dribble-handoff sets that JJ Redick and Embiid infuriated defenses with should be replicated easily with Curry, with even more on-ball creation available.&nbsp;
The Sixers are dangerous - on paper, at least - and there&rsquo;s still time for them to make moves this offseason.&nbsp;
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Loser: New York Knicks
It&rsquo;s fun to crack jokes at the Knicks&rsquo; expense. I do it, and you probably do too. Your favorite tweeter probably does it. It&rsquo;s low-hanging fruit, but an apple a day keeps the doctor away. You know the vibes.
And as much as I would like to give the Knicks a little leeway with their draft, I just can&rsquo;t get there with the Obi Toppin pick. There are ways to talk yourself into it. He&rsquo;s an absurd pick-and-roll finisher, decent enough shooter, and has shown hints of short-roll passing ability. Mitchell Robinson is one of the best rim protectors in the sport; surely he can cover for some of Toppin&rsquo;s defensive shortcomings, no?
Well &hellip; I kinda lean no.
Toppin is an incredible offensive talent. Most of his skills should translate. But to be a pick-and-roll menace, you need someone to feed you the ball; at the very least, you have to have someone that can draw attention so somebody else can feed you the ball. The Knicks don&rsquo;t really have that. RJ Barrett has a ways to go as a lead ball-handler, and teams are going to duck under his picks until he proves he can shoot anyway.
I don&rsquo;t really see any upside with Toppin defensively. He doesn&rsquo;t have the length to play small-ball 5; his hip movement is awful (to be kind), which limits how well he moves laterally. What exactly is the hope there, playing almost exclusively ICE defense (hi, Thibs) and hoping he can funnel drivers to Robinson, who famously doesn&rsquo;t have issues with fouls whatsoever?&nbsp;
Can you feel the sarcasm?
I like the addition of Immanuel Quickley, a solid shooter with some defensive upside. But the Knicks desperately need to get someone that can set up their offense. Free agency is going to be huge for them. Address that need, and their draft selections will look a little better. For now, though, it&rsquo;s hard to be a fan.
Winner: Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton not going in the top five isn&rsquo;t a surprise. His lack of scoring aggression and physical strength made his statistical profile a little less impressive than it looks on the surface. There are real questions about him being a lead guard or a top-end on-ball defender because of those limitations. Landing on a team with an actual point guard would be huge for Haliburton, because it would allow him to slot in as a secondary creator and defend wings, unlocking his strength as an off-ball/team defender.
Enter the Sacramento Kings, who have their franchise point guard in De&rsquo;Aaron Fox.
Fox can get to the rim whenever he wants. Haliburton is a reliable spot-up threat, and has the passing chops to beat an already-bent defense as a close-out attacker or someone that can navigate a secondary pick-and-roll. The Kings still have work to do on the perimeter; it doesn&rsquo;t appear Buddy Hield wants to be there, and there&rsquo;s no telling where Bogdan Bogdanovic is going to end up at this point (if the sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks is, in fact, dead). But for Haliburton, it&rsquo;s hard to think of a much better on-court fit among teams in the lottery.
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Loser: Patrick Williams
Williams going No. 4 to Chicago was the first surprise of the draft. He was a late riser in the process, with his age (the youngest guy in the draft), physical tools and versatility on both ends providing plenty of intrigue to evaluators. The Bulls taking a swing is very good for Williams&rsquo; bank account, but I&rsquo;m not sure if I love the basketball fit.
The frontcourt is a bit jumbled with Wendell Carter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and vets like Otto Porter Jr. and Thaddeus Young that will have a claim to minutes at the 4 as long as they&rsquo;re on the roster. Williams doesn&rsquo;t quite have the ball skills or defenses-have-to-account-for-you shooting ability to survive at the 3. There also isn&rsquo;t a true tablesetter to get Williams easy looks; Zach LaVine and Coby White are talented scorers, but they aren&rsquo;t the kind of gravitational forces to make life easier on their frontcourt partners.
Winner: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs did pretty darn well for themselves, landing Devin Vassell at No. 11, then snagging Tre Jones at No. 41.&nbsp;
Vassell can slot in now as a genuine 3-and-D piece, though he&rsquo;s shown enough flashes at Florida State with the ball in his hands to believe he could grow into a more complete player. Jones is a tremendous decision maker and point-of-attack defender. How you feel about his jumper - improving but still a tad underwhelming - will shape how you feel about his long-term prospects, but he adds point guard depth to a team that has to make some decisions pretty soon.&nbsp;
Patty Mills&rsquo; name has been swirling in trade rumors over the past couple of weeks. Bryn Forbes is set to hit free agency. Derrick White is going to be up for a payday pretty soon, and the extension of Dejounte Murray just kicked in. If the Spurs decide to make some changes, there will be room for Jones to provide value in Year 1.&nbsp;
Loser: Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s future at point guard
If acquiring Eric Bledsoe and George Hill as part of the Jrue Holiday package wasn&rsquo;t enough to seal Lonzo&rsquo;s fate as a lead ball handler, drafting Kira Lewis Jr. at No. 13 was surely the last blow. During <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-2020-basketball-news-show-live-stream-alex-kennedy-matt-babcock-fran-fraschilla-derek-murray-jason-filippi-doc-martin">BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s NBA Draft Show</a>, our Matt Babcock said that the Pelicans view Lewis Jr. as their point guard of the future and that the team will likely trade Ball.
Lewis Jr. is an absolute speed demon with complementary passing and off-the-bounce shooting chops. The common De&rsquo;Aaron Fox comparison falls apart because they use their speed to win in different ways - Lewis Jr. with his shot, Fox with his rim finishing - but Lewis Jr. has the profile of a half-court creator that Lonzo just doesn&rsquo;t.
I&rsquo;m not sure what Lonzo&rsquo;s future in New Orleans is, but he&rsquo;ll definitely be off the ball more if he stays. That should be good for him, should he accept it. He&rsquo;s at his best as a connector in the half-court, making the first swing in a swing-swing sequence, or capping off possessions with catch-and-shoot opportunities. If he still fancies himself as an actual point guard, it wouldn&rsquo;t shock me to see him push for greener pastures elsewhere via trade, or once he hits restricted free agency next summer.
Winner: Draft Twitter&nbsp;
And by Draft Twitter, I mean the Memphis Grizzlies for apparently being secret members of Draft Twitter.
Their 2019 draft saw them land the electric Ja Morant, then nab Brandon Clarke late in the first (HOW DID THIS HAPPEN). Morant would of course go on to win Rookie of the Year, while Clarke had a strong case for being the second-most productive rookie in the league last season. Clarke&rsquo;s slide was infuriating to watch during last year&rsquo;s draft. He was arguably the best non-Zion player in college basketball that year, showcasing elite movement skills, vertical pop, intermediate and paint touch, and IQ on both ends of the floor. But because of his age and wingspan, teams talked themselves out of him. Memphis swooped in and the rest was history.
Desmond Bane and especially Xavier Tillman fit the bill as upperclassmen with NBA-ready games that had no business sliding to the 30s in terms of their skill level. They went a step further after the draft, adding the super talented but oft-injured Killian Tillie.&nbsp;
The Grizzlies now have Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Clarke, Tillman, Bane, Tillie, John Konchar (post-draft addition), Jontay Porter, and other funky guys like Justise Winslow and DeAnthony Melton on their roster or books. They are very, very high on my League Pass list this year and moving forward.
Loser: LaVar Ball
I mostly like the LaMelo Ball pick for Charlotte. He has arguably the highest ceiling in this year&rsquo;s class, a virtuosic passer at 6&rsquo;8 (!!!!) who can and will fling shots from anywhere on the court. The Hornets need star talent and a star personality; Ball can provide both.&nbsp;
It was also pretty clear that LaMelo&rsquo;s father, LaVar, was, uh, less than enthused about ending up in Charlotte. I&rsquo;m not sure he&rsquo;s unfolded his arms yet. As someone that basically lives in the area, I think the Hornets have a pretty underrated and devout fanbase. They&rsquo;ll take to the Ball Family if the family takes to them. One trip to Cook Out should boost morale for everyone.
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STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">I love that the entirety of the Precious Achiuwa-to-Miami analysis was some variation of &ldquo;this is a Heat pick.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Provided he stays healthy, Josh Richardson will probably have the best season of his career next year. He&rsquo;s never been surrounded by this level of playmaking and shooting, and should slot in rather easily as Dallas&rsquo; best perimeter defender.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Malachi Flynn to Toronto is a fun selection, with a smidge of writing on the wall about the Fred VanVleet free agency. Let&rsquo;s say the writing is in pencil; the Raptors are still the favorites to bring him back.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Simply can&rsquo;t believe Grant Riller almost went undrafted. The College of Charleston guard will head a couple hours north to Charlotte, finally giving them a guard who CAN GET TO THE FREAKING BASKET</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">I was honestly surprised the Thunder didn&rsquo;t cash in some of their chips to move up for LaMelo, but landing Aleksej Pokusevski (Poku!) is still quite the upside swing. There&rsquo;s no telling how bad the Thunder will be next season, if at all, but they&rsquo;re set up nicely for the Cade Cunningham Sweepstakes next year.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Seriously, how the heck did Xavier Tillman not go Round 1?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">RJ Hampton to Denver is one of my favorite on-court pairings in the draft. Hampton being coached by Mike Malone is something I&rsquo;m a little uneasy about. I wonder how much leeway he&rsquo;ll get to make some mistakes and grow. If he&rsquo;s afforded a little freedom, the rim pressure he can provide in lineups alongside Jamal Murray could be pretty darn valuable.</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan shares his early winners and losers from the 2020 NBA Draft (including the Knicks, Spurs and 76ers among others).

Early winners and losers from the 2020 NBA Draft

The Milwaukee Bucks are on the clock.
For the second straight season, they&rsquo;ve flamed out in the second round after a dominant regular season showing. In addition to that disappointment, they now enter arguably the most pivotal offseason in franchise history. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year is super-max extension-eligible. If he turns it down -- at this point, why would he commit now? -- they&rsquo;ll need to make a splash to strengthen their title odds. Anything short of a Finals appearance next season could spell bad news for their hopes of keeping their superstar.
The Bucks won&rsquo;t have cap space to work with, but that shouldn&rsquo;t be much of an issue because all of their important pieces are locked in for next season. They&rsquo;ll have the non-tax payers mid-level exception available to them, and have enough mid-sized contracts to make a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-possible-destinations-victor-oladipo-indiana-pacers">splash in the trade market</a> if they so choose. The always-informative Keith Smith has a more thorough breakdown of their cap situation, which you can find <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks-salary-cap-space-2020/">here</a>.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s take a look at some guys they&rsquo;ll look to bring back as well as some targets that could help them come back stronger than ever.
Key In-House Decisions
Wesley Matthews*: Bring Him Back
Matthews routinely took on the most demanding perimeter defensive assignments throughout the regular season, while knocking down over 36 percent of his threes on decent volume. He then upped the ante in the postseason, something that the Heat -- and Jimmy Butler specifically -- got a firsthand look at.
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Matthews fits into one of the NBA&rsquo;s most valuable role player archetypes: a true 3-and-D wing. For that reason, it&rsquo;s fair to expect him to opt-out of his $2.7 million and see if he can grab a portion of a contender&rsquo;s mid-level exception. The Bucks should have a leg up in that situation; not only can they toss out a little bit more money with his Early Bird Rights, Matthews is more than familiar with the area having played at Marquette and slots in nicely as a fit alongside the most dominant paint presence in the sport right now. At any rate, the Bucks should do what they can to bring him back.
Kyle Korver: Circle Back Later
Korver is a strong locker room presence and one heck of a shooter, having made nearly 42 percent of his triples last season. He has clear value as a spacer and off-ball mover, even if his role needs to be limited in the postseason because of his defensive limitations. There are more talented free-agent perimeter guys on the market -- heck, there are intriguing young guards like Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton on the current roster that have a claim for more minutes next year if the Bucks bring them back. It shouldn&rsquo;t cost more than the veteran's minimum to bring Korver back in any case, so doing some shopping first makes sense. &nbsp; Robin Lopez*: He&rsquo;ll Be Back
Lopez was mostly fine as a backup, operating as an extension of Milwaukee&rsquo;s &ldquo;no paint shots no matter what&rdquo; ethos. He contested shots at the rim, boxed out for others and oscillated between flipping up those swooping hook shots and chucking threes above the break to middling results (33.3 percent). There are better backups out there, but it&rsquo;s hard to see him turning down a player option worth a hair over $5 million.
Free Agent Guards
Mid-Tier Options: Jordan Clarkson
It&rsquo;s fun to speculate about the Bucks trading for a shot creator. Chris Paul is a popular name; Victor Oladipo is starting to pick up some steam. You can talk yourself into a one-year Mike Conley gamble if you squint hard enough.
What if the need isn&rsquo;t that stark? If you&rsquo;re of the mindset that the Bucks need a boost, but not an All-Star-caliber boost, bringing Clarkson into the picture would fit that idea.
Clarkson is coming off of, by far, the most efficient season of his career. He gave the Jazz a much-needed scoring punch once he arrived, averaging 15.6 points with a 56.9 True Shooting percentage during the regular season. Both of those marks increased (16.7, 57.7) during Utah&rsquo;s first-round showdown with the Denver Nuggets.&nbsp;
Him trading out some of his frustrating long-twos for threes made him a more efficient option. He&rsquo;s an underwhelming defender to be kind about it, but the Bucks have the personnel to mask some of his limitations. Going after Clarkson with the mid-level exception would allow the Bucks to bolster their guard room, or at least provide some insurance if they do decide to enter the trade market.&nbsp;
Bargains: Tyler Johnson
Johnson had a pretty quiet regular season campaign, kicking things off in Phoenix before finding his way to the Brooklyn Nets mid-season. Johnson performed well in the postseason, averaging a shade under 14 points while unloading the clip from deep (39.3 percent on 7.0 attempts). He&rsquo;s a fearless driver and underrated rebounder; he isn&rsquo;t afraid of mixing it up with bigger players.&nbsp;
Free Agent Wings
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Mid-Tier Options: Justin Holiday
Holiday is more 3-and-Decent than 3-and-D, but he&rsquo;s coming off of the best shooting season of his career (40.5 percent from three-point range on 4.5 attempts) while being a credible option against 2s and 3s. He&rsquo;d boost Milwaukee&rsquo;s transition attack with his athleticism, and could add some much-needed randomness as an off-ball mover in half-court situations. He should be an option even if Matthews returns.
Bargains: Garrett Temple*
Temple would give the Bucks another plus, multi-positional defender with a solid three-point stroke (35.3 percent over the past five seasons). The asterisk is present on Temple's name because the Nets hold a $5 million team option on him, though it&rsquo;d come as no surprise if they let Temple walk to free up tax room to bring back Joe Harris.
Free Agent Forwards
Mid-Tier Options: Danilo Gallinari, Paul Millsap
If Gallinari is serious about going the &ldquo;winning &gt; pay day&rdquo; route, then it&rsquo;s hard to envision a better landing spot for him than Milwaukee. He would immediately boost Milwaukee&rsquo;s shooting and shot creation. His ability as a downhill creator would be a welcome addition to a team that doesn&rsquo;t have much outside of Giannis and Bledsoe (and even that&rsquo;s a bit of a wildcard).&nbsp;
Millsap slipped a bit last season, sometimes laboring while operating as Denver&rsquo;s back-line defender in their aggressive pick-and-roll scheme. Still, he&rsquo;s able to hold his own against power wings and fours and provides a little bit of everything on offense. He&rsquo;s coming off the best shooting season of his career (43.5 percent from three), though that came on limited volume. He can mash smaller players on the block and flow between rolling and popping in pick-and-roll.&nbsp;
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He could operate as a "super sub" in Milwaukee while providing plenty of late-game flexibility. Want to size up? Sit Bledsoe and run something like Middleton-Matthews*-Giannis-Millsap-Lopez to close out games. Sizing down and switching? Bledsoe-Matthews-Middleton-Millsap-Giannis could do the trick.
Bargains: Lance Thomas, Carmelo Anthony
Lance Thomas has flown under the radar for years as a sneaky-solid forward defender that can knock down open threes. He&rsquo;s converted 38.5 percent of his triples over the past five seasons, though that comes on limited volume. He&rsquo;d be a solid get as a 9th man to get you through the regular season.&nbsp; Anthony proved last season he had a little left in the tank as a shooter and mid-post creator. He&rsquo;s still a mess defensively, but that can be hidden with the perimeter quickness, length and size Milwaukee can play. For the minimum, why not juice the bench a bit?
Free Agent Bigs
Bargains: JaVale McGee
The Bucks likely won&rsquo;t be in the market for a big unless Robin Lopez declines his player option, which is hard to see happening. If Lopez does go, they could pry McGee out of Los Angeles.&nbsp;
He remains one of the NBA&rsquo;s top lob threats, equipped with solid leaping ability and a silly catch radius. He uses those limbs to putback misses and swat shots on the other end. Fouls and an inability to navigate space limit his ceiling, though he&rsquo;d only be needed for 12-15 minutes to spell Brook Lopez. You can make the argument that the Bucks are lacking a true vertical spacer outside of Giannis. "The Lopii" mostly operated as pick-and-pop threats last season. Adding that element to their half-court attack could make things easier for everyone involved, even if it&rsquo;s mostly a regular season thing.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Bucks' own free-agent decisions and suggests some players that Denver should target at each position.

2020 Free Agency Preview: Milwaukee Bucks

The 2019-20 campaign -- bubble escapades and all -- has finally concluded. As such, it&rsquo;s time to shift to the most hectic time of the year: transaction season.
We&rsquo;re not exactly sure what the financial climate will be like this offseason; the impacts of COVID and, to a lesser extent, one particularly <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/daryl-morey-tweet-controversy-nba-china-explained/togzszxh37fi1mpw177p9bqwi">controversial tweet</a>, are still being sorted out. We do have some reasonable projections <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/nba-salary-cap-comparison-2020/">via Keith Smith</a> that show six teams with significant cap space in the coming months.
This offseason, in particular, is an interesting one. On top of a handful of teams having meaningful space to navigate (if they so choose), there&rsquo;s also the balancing act teams are executing: trying to improve while maintaining financial flexibility for the vaunted 2021 free agency class that could include Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Another player on that list is Victor Oladipo, whose presence could alter quite a bit over the next 12 months. He&rsquo;s set to test the market next offseason, but there are indications that he may want out of Indiana <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/victor-oladipo-looking-to-move-on-from-pacers/">sooner than that</a>.&nbsp;
The jury is out on Oladipo. At his best, he&rsquo;s an All-NBA-caliber talent who can give you 25 and snatch cookies on the other end. His 2017-18 campaign saw him slap up a 23-5-4-2-1 line while nearly leading his Pacers to a first-round upset over the LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, we&rsquo;re two years -- and a few injuries -- away from that campaign.
Our last sighting of Oladipo came in this year&rsquo;s postseason. He looked fine tracking guys like Duncan Robinson around screens and shot north of 36 percent from three on a heavy diet of pull-ups. He also struggled to <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/oladivi01.html#playoffs_shooting::none">get to the rim</a>, and struggled to finish when he got there.&nbsp;
The shooting will likely be the swing skill for Oladipo. He has converted 33.4 percent of his threes over the past two seasons, though that comes on 1) a &ldquo;meh&rdquo; sample size (55 games, 320 total attempts) and 2) a steady diet of pull-ups as he worked his way back.
Very quietly, Oladipo shot 37 percent on catch-and-shoots over that span, and has converted at that same clip over 849 attempts since 2015-16, per NBA.com&rsquo;s <a href="https://stats.nba.com/player/203506/">tracking data</a>. There&rsquo;s enough evidence present to suggest Oladipo can space the floor and attack in a secondary role.
Maybe Oladipo isn&rsquo;t a number-one option on a good playoff team, but he&rsquo;s someone that can inject a contender with a boost of secondary offense (with potential for more) and perimeter defense. If he is going to be moved, here are some teams that should come calling.&nbsp;
(Keep in mind that Oladipo&rsquo;s injury concerns and one-year rental status would impact his trade value. All trades have been tested via <a href="https://tradenba.com/trade-machine">tradenba.com</a>.)&nbsp;
Miami Heat
The Heat are fresh off a miracle run to the Finals, though you can&rsquo;t tell them this was <a href="https://www.fivereasonssports.com/voices/how-erik-spoelstra-transformed-the-heats-offense/">anything but planned</a>. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo (when relatively healthy) led the way with two-way brilliance, while the Heat&rsquo;s feisty hodgepodge of role players filled the gaps. They&rsquo;ve gone from an annoying second-round-ish team to a legitimate contender overnight, and expectations have risen as such. They&rsquo;re still primed to strike in 2021, but there&rsquo;s more incentive to make a win-now move if it doesn&rsquo;t cost them too much in the future.
It&rsquo;s easy to see the fit with Oladipo defensively. While the Heat can and should be lauded for the way they shifted between defensive schemes all season, it&rsquo;s only fair to point out that a not-insignificant portion of that decision was forced by their personnel. They struggled to contain shifty guards all season long. Their point guard stable -- Kendrick Nunn and Goran Dragic -- struggled to fight over screens, which would put the rest of the defense in rotation to compensate.
Adding Oladipo is an easy way to alleviate that concern, and would allow the Heat to go back to their traditional drop defense. Oladipo&rsquo;s ability to read passes also makes him prime to operate at the top or edge of Miami&rsquo;s match-up zone, and can hang with some power wings in a pinch whenever the Heat go switch-heavy.&nbsp;
The offensive fit is more of a concern, though there&rsquo;s room for optimism thanks to his ability to spot up. His shooting could help open some driving lanes for Butler and Adebayo. The presence of those two could take the pressure off of Oladipo to create against set defenses.
Starter Offer: Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn, KZ Okpala, 20th pick of the 2020 NBA draft
Salary relief and cost-controlled assets are the name of the game for this package.&nbsp;
Olynyk is a serviceable big man who can operate as a first-unit spacer, or a second-unit high-post hub. His role will likely depend on how real the noise around Myles Turner is. If Turner isn&rsquo;t moved, you&rsquo;d be hard pressed to find a better third big option.&nbsp;
Before a nightmarish slump in the bubble, Nunn was one of the NBA&rsquo;s better rookies, ranking third among first-timers in scoring (15.3 points). There were hints of a three-level scorer shown, though he relies on his pull-up to set up the rest of his game. In theory, his spacing could provide a nice complement to the no-nonsense driving of Malcolm Brogdon.
Okpala is the real wildcard. His rookie campaign was halted with an Achilles injury, but he showed real flashes as an off-ball defender and slasher in the G-League and in limited minutes on the parent club.
This is an underwhelming package for someone of Oladipo&rsquo;s peak talent. Once you factor in injury concerns, Oladipo&rsquo;s expiring deal and the flexibility the Heat want to maintain for 2021, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a shock for them to start the negotiations pretty low.
Last Ditch Offer: Duncan Robinson, Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn
The Heat would obviously love to make a deal without including any of their top four assets: Adebayo, Butler, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.&nbsp;
Of the four, though, Robinson seems to be the most expendable. He&rsquo;s one of the NBA&rsquo;s most dangerous movement shooters; his partnership with Adebayo in dribble handoffs is one of the deadliest dances in the sport right now. Potentially moving him for a rental can be seen as malpractice.
The counter: Much of the actions Robinson thrived in -- traditional handoffs, quick pitch-backs in semi transition, Chicago action -- can be run with Herro, with more on-ball creation upside. Including Robinson in a deal could allow the Heat to keep their draft picks, which could be used to replace Nunn (hello, Tyrese Maxey!), Robinson (hello, Desmond Bane!), or as a sweetener in a different deal.
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Los Angeles Lakers
The &ldquo;We Believe&rdquo; Lakers are fresh off of their first title since &hellip; [checks notes] &hellip; 2010? Seriously? Wow.&nbsp;
Anyway.&nbsp;
The Lakers were able to win behind their Big Two of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, conservatively regarded as two of the six or so best players in the NBA right now. The human carousel affectionately known as &ldquo;the Lakers&rsquo; third best player&rdquo; changed about as often as the weather. Solidifying that distinction could go a long way to strengthening their repeat chances.
Oladipo would certainly fit the bill.&nbsp;
Starter Offer: Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma
Green remains one of the better team defenders in the NBA, as well as someone who can defend either wing spot credibly. His three-point shooting fell from his career-high mark last season, but he&rsquo;s still a tremendous spot-up shooter and an even more dangerous relocation threat.
Kuzma was (almost predictably) inconsistent as he adjusted from a moderately high-usage guy to a role player getting in wherever he could fit in. There was growth as a perimeter defender, particularly in the postseason. There is a 2.5-level scorer in Kuzma if you look closely enough; he is a strong finisher and has comfort operating in the midpost. His three-point stroke just hasn&rsquo;t gotten back to his rookie-year levels, which complicates his long-term potential.
If the shot does come around or at least settles in at average, Kuzma is an intriguing scoring prospect with better-than-advertised defensive acumen. He can be slotted in as a 3 or 4, depending on whatever frontcourt moves the Pacers make this offseason, and flourish moving forward.
Last Ditch Offer: Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, Talen Horton-Tucker, 28th pick of the 2020 draft
There&rsquo;s a little more in the treasure chest for the Lakers to offer. Their first-rounder could net the Pacers one of the many &ldquo;he&rsquo;ll-be-good-if-he-just&rdquo; wing prospects in this year&rsquo;s class. Horton-Tucker is one of the more unique youngsters in the league already; a chiseled 6&rsquo;4 guard with a massive 7&rsquo;1 wingspan who&rsquo;s equipped with enough ball skills to make you go, &ldquo;Hmmm&hellip;&rdquo;&nbsp;
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they&rsquo;re still behind the 8-ball in terms of assets and would likely be outbid by more serious suitors.
Dallas Mavericks
The Luka Doncic-led Mavericks made their return to the postseason behind, statistically, the greatest offense in NBA history. Doncic pick-and-rolled his way into rim forays and stepback jimmies; Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-popped his way into triple after triple. Gunners like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry thrived off of the open looks created by the Doncic-Porzingis tango.&nbsp;
The next step for Dallas is finding someone to take some on-ball pressure off of Doncic, and to improve their perimeter defense as a whole. This is where Oladipo can come into play.
Starter Offer: Delon Wright, Dwight Powell, 18th pick of the 2020 draft
Wright had a smaller role than anticipated in his first year in Dallas, only starting five games and averaging a shade under 22 minutes a night. Still, he provided solid perimeter defense across multiple positions, and showcased some improved craft in pick-and-roll. Wright pick-and-rolls (including passes) generated a little over 1.08 points per possession, per Synergy. Wright can slot in nicely alongside Malcolm Brogdon, and there&rsquo;s enough size between the two of them to throw out three-guard lineups with those two plus Aaron Holiday.
Powell is one of the more underrated bench bigs in the league, an elite roll option in ball screens and solid positional defender. There may be some hesitancy in taking on the remainder of his contract, especially with him coming off an Achilles injury, but that concern can be somewhat alleviated by the acquisition of the 18th pick.
Last Ditch Offer: Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr., 31st pick of the 2020 draft
Upping the ante would be going with a more cost-controlled option in Brunson, a former Naismith Player of the Year award winner, and Hardaway Jr. Brunson is a shifty pick-and-roll guard with legit scoring chops. Hardaway Jr. is coming off his most efficient season as a pro, posting career highs in three-point percentage (39.8) and True Shooting percentage (58.1).
It would hurt to lose the playmaking of Brunson, the shooting of Hardaway Jr, and what amounts to a late first, but there&rsquo;s enough shooting and playmaking on the roster as is. Being able to keep the 18th pick would allow the Mavericks to replace one of the guards being lost, while also adding Oladipo&rsquo;s two-way prowess to the fray.&nbsp;
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Milwaukee Bucks
Another year, another disappointing second-round exit for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Once again, the Bucks had the best record in the league behind an MVP campaign from Giannis Antetokounmpo. And once again, a versatile, well-coached group was able to capitalize on the Bucks&rsquo; inflexibility and lack of supporting on-ball juice.&nbsp;
This is a big offseason for rather obvious reasons. Giannis is up for a supermax extension. The Bucks will offer it, because of course they will. It&rsquo;s fair to assume that Giannis will turn it down, forcing the Bucks&rsquo; hands in a way. They need to show him they&rsquo;re serious about making a big splash to improve the roster, especially since they&rsquo;re a year removed from losing Brogdon.
Oladipo may not be Chris Paul, but he would be a nice consolation prize, one that could take much-needed pressure off of Giannis and Khris Middleton.
Starter Offer: Eric Bledsoe, DJ Wilson, 24th pick of the 2020 draft
Bledsoe is a polarizing figure. On one hand, he&rsquo;s legitimately one of the best defenders in the league. There aren&rsquo;t many, if any, players who can avoid screens the way he can. He&rsquo;s also one of the NBA&rsquo;s best drivers, able to slither into the lane almost at will, then use his strong base to dislodge off-balance defenders.
On the other, Bledsoe has wilted in each of the past three postseasons. His inconsistent jumper leaves him at the wrong times, and his decision making comes and goes like his jumper does. He&rsquo;s objectively a good player on a fine contract, and there&rsquo;s a fit (and familiarity) alongside Brogdon in a potential Pacers backcourt.
Wilson is an interesting big who&rsquo;s been buried on the bench for &hellip; well, your guess is as good as mine. It&rsquo;s worth exploring how real his three-point stroke is, and how switchable he can be defensively. If either of those skills stick, there&rsquo;s a useful role player there for the taking. If both hit, Wilson projects as an ideal frontcourt partner alongside Turner or Domantas Sabonis moving forward. Adding a first-rounder would allow the Pacers to go wing hunting for cheap.
Last Ditch Offer: George Hill, Donte DiVincezo, Ersan Ilyasova&nbsp;
If the Pacers aren&rsquo;t keen on potentially three years of Bledsoe, they could ask for Hill back. An elite spot-up shooter, solid defender across both guard spots and good decision-maker, Hill could flourish in an off-ball role alongside Brogdon.&nbsp;
DiVincezo has equity as a driver, and has already proven to be one of the better screen-avoiders in the league on the other end. The jumper is his swing skill, but he has the skill-set and size to float between three positions in a pinch. Ilyasova serves as cap filler here, but his shooting makes him a solid option as a back-up 4, flanking either Turner or Sabonis as a stretch option.

Nekias Duncan looks at four potential destinations for Victor Oladipo if the Indiana Pacers decide to trade their All-Star this offseason.

Breaking down possible trade destinations for Victor Oladipo

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