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Spurs

After trading OG Anunoby and acquiring youngsters RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, the Toronto Raptors seem poised for a rebuild.
This recent trade with the New York Knicks begs the question: Is All-Star Pascal Siakam the league&rsquo;s most desired player as the Feb. 8 trade deadline approaches?
With Toronto likely looking to jumpstart their rebuild, the 29-year-old does not fit the timeline of their other high-value players, including Scottie Barnes (22 years old) and Barrett (23 years old). Barnes is averaging career-highs in nearly every major statistic, and he's the Raptors' second-leading scorer behind Siakam. Barrett has not lived up to expectations as a former No. 3 overall pick, but he has proven himself as a solid scorer, averaging 18.2 points on 42.3% shooting. The Raptors are entering 2024 with a lineup that's built to compete in the coming years rather than this season.
Many organizations believe they have a cast strong enough to compete for a championship or, at the very least, a playoff berth. There are very few sellers this season, and the lack of teams interested in parting ways with their key contributors further enhances Siakam&rsquo;s value. With so few impact players on the market, many front offices around the NBA could view Siakam as their missing piece.
There is an argument for stars such as Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen or Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro being the most sought-after player, but neither has the newfound availability of Siakam. Also, it seems unlikely that either of those players will be traded, whereas a Siakam deals seems more likely, especially since he'll be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39209777/knicks-acquiring-raptors-og-anunoby-trade-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski</a> reports that "Toronto is expected to continue to explore trades involving forward Pascal Siakam." While he points out that "there are no deals with traction now," that's likely to change as the trade deadline gets closer.
Siakam is a two-time All-NBA forward who's averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 51.2% shooting. Teams seeking a player to stretch the floor should consider looking elsewhere, as Siakam is shooting 26.1% from three-point range through 32 games. He's an offensive engine who has the ability to create his own shot, with just 58.1% of his points being assisted. For comparison, reigning MVP Joel Embiid is assisted on 56.8% of his makes.
Two of the strongest contenders for Siakam are the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings.
Philadelphia could benefit from a third scoring option alongside Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers' tandem is averaging a combined 61.3 points. The 76ers sit as the No. 3 seed in the East, trailing the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.
Forward Tobias Harris provides solid contributions, but lacks the offensive skill-set of Siakam. Harris would likely act as the center of Philadelphia&rsquo;s offer. The 31-year-old is averaging 17.3 points and 6.1 rebounds on 51.3% shooting. It's no secret that Daryl Morey has been pursuing a third star ever since trading James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Meanwhile, the Kings currently hold the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. If they add a third star to the exhilarating duo of De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento could elevate further up the standings. The organization has a multitude of valuable assets, including Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk. 
However, it remains to be seen whether Sacramento is willing to part with these pieces and push their chips to the middle of the table. Murray is averaging 15.5 points per game in his sophomore season, while Monk and Huerter provide solid scoring and shooting from beyond the arc.
While the 76ers and Kings make sense as landing spots for Siakam, plenty of teams will likely call about the forward in the coming weeks. Don't be surprised if there's a bidding war for Siakam's services.

After trading OG Anunoby, the Raptors could look to move All-Star Pascal Siakam, who will be highly coveted in the coming weeks.

Is Pascal Siakam the NBA's most sought-after player?

The 2023 NBA Finals start Thursday in Denver. Here's a preview of the series:
8TH SEED MIAMI HEAT (44-38, 12-6) vs. 1ST SEED DENVER NUGGETS (53-29, 12-3)
How they got here: Heat &mdash; beat No. 1 Milwaukee 4-1, beat No. 5 New York 4-2, beat No. 2 Boston 4-3. Nuggets &mdash; beat No. 8 Minnesota 4-1; beat No. 4 Phoenix 4-2; beat No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers 4-0.
Season series: Nuggets, 2-0. Denver&rsquo;s two victories came by a combined nine points, with a 124-119 home win on Dec. 30 and a 112-108 victory in Miami on Feb. 13.
Schedule: Thursday and Sunday at Denver, June 7 and 9 at Miami, June 12 at Denver if necessary, June 15 at Miami if necessary, June 18 at Denver if necessary.
Starters: Heat &mdash; F Jimmy Butler, F Caleb Martin, C Bam Adebayo, G Max Strus, G Gabe Vincent. Nuggets &mdash; F Michael Porter Jr., F Aaron Gordon, C Nikola Jokic, G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, G Jamal Murray.
Key reserves: Heat &mdash; F Kevin Love, F Haywood Highsmith, F Duncan Robinson, C Cody Zeller, G Kyle Lowry. Nuggets &mdash; F Bruce Brown, F Jeff Green, F Christian Braun.
Storyline: The Nuggets have cruised to the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history behind Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP who is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists in the postseason. The Heat are here for the seventh time, though this is their most surprising trip. Minutes away from missing the playoffs entirely, they went on to become the second No. 8 seed to reach the finals, joining the New York Knicks in 1999.
Injury watch: Miami&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, out since breaking his hand in the postseason opener against Milwaukee, has been working out in hopes of playing in this series.
Numbers of note: The Heat haven&rsquo;t won in Denver since Nov. 30, 2016. ... Denver is 8-0 at home in the postseason and has won six straight overall since being tied 2-2 with the Suns. ... The Heat have won Game 1 on the road in all three series thus far. ... In Jokic and Murray (27.7 ppg), the Nuggets have two of the top nine scorers in this postseason. Butler (28.5) is seventh. ... Miami&rsquo;s bench has outscored its opponents by 213 points in the postseason. ... The Heat lost their past two home games after winning their first six of the postseason.
Prediction: Denver is a nine-point favorite in Game 1,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/basketball/nba/miami-heat-@-denver-nuggets-32391896" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>&nbsp;But with the Nuggets perhaps rusty since finishing off the Lakers on May 22, the Heat may have another chance to open with a road win. Even if they do, this time it won&rsquo;t matter. Jokic and Murray are on too much of a roll to be stopped now. It took Denver a long time to get to the NBA Finals, but it will be worth the wait. Nuggets in 6.

The 2023 NBA Finals start Thursday in Denver. Here's a preview of the series.

NBA Finals preview capsule: Breaking down Nuggets vs. Heat

MIAMI (AP) &mdash;&nbsp;The reactions from Victor Oladipo&rsquo;s Miami Heat&nbsp;teammates&nbsp;told the story as he sat on the court,&nbsp;holding onto his left knee as fans watched in stunned silence.&nbsp;Kyle Lowry&nbsp;yelled a profanity.&nbsp;Max Strus&nbsp;covered his face with a towel.&nbsp;Jimmy Butler&nbsp;held his head in his hands, staring at the floor.
They feared he was hurt badly. They were right.
The Heat announced Sunday that Oladipo tore his left patellar tendon, a diagnosis that came after an MRI earlier in the day. The injury ends Oladipo&rsquo;s season and calls his availability for the start of next season &mdash; and likely beyond &mdash; into serious doubt. He will need a third major surgery in just over four years, the previous two coming after a quadriceps injury over his right knee.
No timetable will likely be known until after the surgery.
&ldquo;Yes, there are injuries. That is a part of this game. We understand that,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Sunday before the team learned of the diagnosis. &ldquo;But the human side of it, when you see somebody that&rsquo;s overcome so much and he&rsquo;s done it time and time and time again, and he always does it with an incredible positive spirit and a smile on his face even last night &hellip; that&rsquo;s why I admire him so much.&rdquo;
Oladipo&rsquo;s is the second significant injury for the Heat in the first three games of this postseason against Milwaukee. Eighth-seeded&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2023/east-first-round-1">Miami holds a 2-1 lead</a>&nbsp;over the top-seeded Bucks going into Game 4 on Monday night. Tyler Herro was lost for at least six weeks, which probably means the rest of the season no matter how far Miami advances, when he broke his right hand in Game 1 at Milwaukee.
Herro&rsquo;s injury seemed to open a door for Oladipo to have a bigger role in Miami&rsquo;s guard rotation; Oladipo played 26 minutes in Game 2 and 19 before getting hurt in Game 3.
Oladipo has missed 255 of a possible 374 games since initially getting hurt while playing for Indiana in 2019. He&rsquo;s been listed as inactive for 226 of those games, the second-most in the NBA over that span behind Orlando&rsquo;s Jonathan Isaac.
&ldquo;The physical toll of rehab is tough but mentally, it&rsquo;s even tougher,&rdquo; said Heat center Cody Zeller, who played with Oladipo in college at Indiana and has been close with him for years. &ldquo;And he&rsquo;s always so positive. He&rsquo;ll attack this rehab like he has the others. Mentally, I don&rsquo;t know how he does it. There&rsquo;s a lot of long days, a lot of slow days and it&rsquo;s tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I&rsquo;m just sick for him.&rdquo;
The injury came shortly after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1649953651824431104?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oladipo pulled off perhaps one of his top highlight-reel plays</a>&nbsp;of the season, controlling a rebound at one end, dribbling downcourt at full speed, blowing past three Milwaukee players on his way to the rim and scoring &mdash; punching the air in celebration to end that play.
The next shot he took was his last: He drove down the lane, getting past two Bucks, then appeared to slip as he tried to plant for his jump and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/BallyHEAT/status/1649955318187655168?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grabbed at his knee right away</a>&nbsp;as he landed.
&ldquo;I think of all these times behind the scenes when no one&rsquo;s watching,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;I feel like I&rsquo;ve had a front-row seat to that on all these off days the last three years, on weekends when no one is here &mdash; but he&rsquo;s on the training table, and then working his way to the weight room, usually like a four- or five-hour process and then finishing up with all the post-rehab work. &hellip; Those can be very frustrating times, but you never would see that on his face.&rdquo;
Miami&rsquo;s guard rotation is now very thin. Gabe Vincent and Kyle Lowry are the point guards. Strus and Duncan Robinson &mdash; who has been in and out of the rotation this season, but had 20 points in Game 3 &mdash; will be the primary shooting guards. There aren&rsquo;t many other options.
Oladipo,&nbsp;who has a $9.5 million player option for next season,&nbsp;was a two-time All-Star with Indiana before&nbsp;getting hurt in January 2019.&nbsp;He returned a year later, wasn&rsquo;t anywhere near the same player and Indiana traded him to Houston in January 2021. The Rockets didn&rsquo;t keep him long before&nbsp;moving him to Miami,&nbsp;with whom Oladipo played four games in March 2021 before getting hurt again.
Oladipo appeared in just eight regular-season games in the 2021-22 season while recovering from a second surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon. He got into 15 playoff games for Miami last season, then agreed on a two-year deal to stay with the Heat last summer.
He played in 42 games this season with Miami, his most in any regular season since 2017-18.
&ldquo;Never count him out,&rdquo; Robinson said. &ldquo;But it hurts.&rdquo;

The Heat announced Sunday that Victor Oladipo tore his left patellar tendon, a diagnosis that came after an MRI earlier in the day.

Heat's Victor Oladipo tears patellar tendon, latest injury setback

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Miami was desperate. So was Dallas.
Jimmy Butler and the Heat had just enough to help their playoff position &mdash; while dealing the Mavericks a big blow.
Butler had 35 points and 12 assists, Cody Zeller added 20 points and the Heat held off the Mavericks 129-122 on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Max Strus and Kevin Love each scored 18 and Tyler Herro added 15 for the Heat. Miami won despite allowing Dallas to shoot a season-best 61%.
&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily have drawn it up this way,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Luka Doncic was brilliant again for Dallas, finishing with 42 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 31 points and Kyrie Irving added 23 points and eight assists for the Mavericks.
&ldquo;A win is a win,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like the fact that they shot 61%. But I do like the fact that we finally won a game.&rdquo;
The Mavs had been 7-0 this season when shooting at least 54%, and fell to 30-2 all-time, including playoffs, in games where they shot at least 60%.
&ldquo;Our defense was nonexistent,&rdquo; Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;Couldn&rsquo;t get stops.&rdquo;
Both clubs went to the conference finals last season; the Heat are trying to get out of the play-in round, and the Mavericks are trying to just have a shot at the playoffs.
The win moves Miami (41-37) closer to securing no worse than the No. 7 seed and most advantageous spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. The Heat are now 2 1/2 games ahead of both No. 8 Atlanta (38-39) and No. 9 Toronto (also 38-39).
Miami moved within 1 1/2 games of No. 6 Brooklyn (42-35). Even if the Heat win out and finish with 45 wins, the Nets &mdash; who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker &mdash; would only need to go 3-2 in their final five games to ensure they would finish ahead of Miami.
Meanwhile, it&rsquo;s a big blow to Dallas (37-41).
The Mavs fell a full game back of No. 10 Oklahoma City (38-40) in the race for the last Western Conference play-in spot, and worse, the Thunder own the head-to-head tiebreaker. Dallas is now two games back of No. 9 Minnesota (39-39) and just a half-game ahead of No. 12 Utah (36-41).
&ldquo;Just got to play hard, play with desperation and anything can happen,&rdquo; Hardaway said. &ldquo;Anything can happen.&rdquo;
Miami changed its starting lineup, partly out of necessity. Center Bam Adebayo didn&rsquo;t play because of a right hip contusion, so Zeller &mdash; starting a game for the first time since May 15, 2021, for Charlotte &mdash; took his spot and Strus took the forward starting spot that had been held by Love since he joined the Heat in February.
The moves paid immediate dividends. Strus was 3 for 3, all 3-pointers, in his first shift. Love was 3 for 3 from the field and 6 for 6 from the line for 13 points in his first 8 minutes off the bench, and Zeller had 12 points by halftime.
&ldquo;K-Love is always, always has been about winning,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;As long as we win, he&rsquo;s not going to complain.&rdquo;
It all helped add up to the third highest-scoring first half in Heat history: Miami led 76-64 at the break, stretched the lead to 18 in the second half &mdash; then had to hang on in the final moments anyway.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas&rsquo; string of three consecutive winning regular seasons will end. The best the Mavs can finish is 41-41. ... The Mavs fell to 5-16 in games where they allow more than 100 points. ... Dallas had one offensive rebound.
Heat: Butler&rsquo;s 16 first-quarter points were his second-most in any quarter this season. He had 17 in the third quarter against Milwaukee on Feb. 4. &hellip; Miami will finish with a record of at least .500 for the fourth consecutive year and the 24th time in its 35 seasons.
WHAT&rsquo;S LEFT
Dallas plays its final road game of the regular season at Atlanta on Sunday, then finishes with home games against Sacramento, Chicago and San Antonio.
Miami starts a trip to Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington on Tuesday, before finishing at home April 9 against Orlando.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Visit Atlanta on Sunday.
Heat: Visit Detroit on Tuesday.

Jimmy Butler had 35 points and 12 assists, and the Heat held off the Mavs 129-122 on Saturday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Jimmy Butler has 35, Miami gets needed win over Dallas, 129-122

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and the Miami Heat held Trae Young to a season-low eight points in a 117-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.
Tyler Herro added 20 points, while Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin finished with 15 apiece for the Heat, who extended their lead over the Hawks to 1 &frac12; games for seventh in the Eastern Conference.
Young was 2 for 13 from the field. It was Young&rsquo;s 17th game under double figures in his career.
The Hawks are 1-2 under new coach Quin Snyder, who took over Tuesday.
Down 21 midway through the third quarter, Atlanta rallied and got to 108-103 on De&rsquo;Andre Hunter&rsquo;s jumper with 4:39 remaining. But Miami responded with seven unanswered, capped by Martin&rsquo;s dunk with 2:44 left.
Adebayo shot 10 for 12 from the field and the free throw lineof-12 from the field and free throw line and had 10 rebounds.
Saddiq Bey scored 22 points, Hunter had 17 and Clint Capella finished with 16 for the Hawks.
After allowing 71 first half points in consecutive home losses against Philadelphia and New York, the Heat maintained a double-digit lead the final 7 1/2 minutes of the second period and led 66-49 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Hawks: A night following his career-high 41 points against Portland, Dejounte Murray finished with 10 on 3-of-14 shooting. ... Atlanta has scored 100 or more points in 39 straight games.
Heat: Adebayo has scored in double figures in the 60 games he&rsquo;s played this season, extending a streak that began in the final 16 games last season. ... Cody Zeller scored all of his 13 points in the first half. ... PG Kyle Lowry (left knee soreness) missed his 12th consecutive game.
OLD ACQUAINTANCES
The encounters between Snyder and the Heat&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra were renewed Saturday. But long before Snyder and Spoelstra became successful NBA coaches they competed as teenagers in AAU tournaments in the Pacific Northwest. Snyder grew up in Washington and Spoelstra&rsquo;s formative years were spent in Oregon.
UP NEXT
The Hawks and Heat will complete their two-game set Monday in Miami.

Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and the Heat held Trae Young to a season-low 8 points in a 117-109 win over the Hawks on Saturday.

Bam Adebayo scores 30, Trae Young has season-low 8 as Heat beat Hawks

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; The Milwaukee Bucks sure didn&rsquo;t let Giannis Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s early exit bother them Friday night as they rolled to their most-lopsided victory of the season.
Now they wait to learn whether they might have to continue playing without the two-time MVP
Antetokounmpo left late in the first quarter with a right knee issue to spoil his rapid recovery from a sprained wrist, but the Bucks still trounced the Miami Heat 128-99 for their 13th consecutive triumph.
&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t gotten the full breakdown, but I&rsquo;m pretty sure either on a a drive or on a screen or something like that, he knocked knees with somebody and just wasn&rsquo;t able to return,&rdquo; said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer, who had no update beyond that.
Antetokounmpo was in the starting lineup just four days after&nbsp;heading to New York to have his right wrist examined.
&ldquo;Sometimes you have to stop him from himself, being able to calm down and maybe even not play a couple of games, knowing that we&rsquo;re No. 2 (in the East), knowing that we&rsquo;re all right,&rdquo; said Jrue Holiday, who had 24 points. &ldquo;I know he doesn&rsquo;t like it. He tries to play every single game, which I completely understand. I feel like I&rsquo;m the same way.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo was on the floor late in the first quarter when the two-time MVP&nbsp;passed the ball and immediately motioned to the bench as the Bucks called a timeout to enable him to head to the locker room.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Giannis has headed to the locker room. 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FearTheDeer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FearTheDeer</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA</a> <a href="https://t.co/IxLyOh1swN">pic.twitter.com/IxLyOh1swN</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportWI/status/1629288207303974913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

He had four points, four rebounds and four assists in just six minutes.
The Bucks still had no trouble extending the longest winning streak in the NBA this season. The Bucks pulled ahead for good four minutes into the game and rolled to their most lopsided victory of the season.
&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t slow them down one bit when Giannis went out,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;They just put it in overdrive.&rdquo;
Holiday shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range, had seven assists and five rebounds. He drew perhaps his biggest ovation of the night when the scoreboard video caught him joining the crowd singalong to the Backstreet Boys&rsquo; &ldquo;I Want It That Way&rdquo; during a timeout late in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a classic song,&rdquo; Holiday said. &ldquo;And we were winning. So good vibes.&rdquo;
Bobby Portis had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his return from a sprained right medial collateral ligament that caused him to miss 11 games. Brook Lopez had 17 points, Grayson Allen 16 and Khris Middleton 12.
&ldquo;It was fun just to be out there, fun just to play the game I love to play,&rdquo; Portis said.
Jimmy Butler scored 23, Bam Adebayo 18, Tyler Herro 14 and Caleb Martin 13 for the Heat, who shot just 9 of 40 on 3-point attempts.
TIP-INS
Heat: Kevin Love and Cody Zeller made their Heat debuts&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-nba-sports-kevin-love-cody-zeller-5c28d3226b1e2ffaa5d13004d2cf5fe3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after signing with Miami during the All-Star break.</a> Love, who had reached a buyout&nbsp;with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was in the starting lineup but went scoreless in his first game appearance in a month. He did have eight rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes. Zeller was playing his first game of the season and had 10 points in 16 minutes.
Bucks:&nbsp;Jae Crowder,&nbsp;acquired at the trade deadline, made his 2022-23 debut and had nine points in 16 minutes. Crowder hadn&rsquo;t played at all for Phoenix this season as the Suns attempted to deal him. ...&nbsp;Meyers Leonard,&nbsp;who signed a 10-day contract this week, had five points and six rebounds in 15 minutes while playing his first NBA game since January 2021. ... Pat Connaughton (left calf soreness) and Wesley Matthews (right calf strain) didn&rsquo;t play.
UP NEXT
Heat: At Charlotte on Saturday. The Heat are 2-1 against the Hornets this season with the home team winning each of the three games.
Bucks: Host Phoenix on Sunday in the first matchup of the season between the teams. The Bucks and Suns will face off again March 14 in Phoenix.

The Bucks didn’t let Giannis Antetokounmpo’s early exit bother them Friday night as they rolled to their most-lopsided win of the season.

Bucks rip Heat 128-99 after Giannis exits early with knee issue

TBT Record 71 Players with NBA Experience and 29 Alumni Teams to Compete
Jimmer Fredette, Projected 2023 Draft Top-10 Picks Ausar and Amen Thompson Highlight Field of 64 Competing for $1M Prize on ESPN
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) &ndash; the $1 million, winner-take-all, summer basketball event broadcast live on ESPN networks today released the bracket for this year&rsquo;s tournament. For the fifth year in a row, all games will feature TBT&rsquo;s Elam Ending&reg;.
Now in its ninth year, TBT 2022 will feature 71 players with NBA experience and 29 college alumni teams, both of which are TBT records. The field will once again feature 64 teams squaring off in a single-elimination format and will be supported by longtime partners PUMA, Zelle, and E&amp;J Brandy.&nbsp;
The field will be split into eight regions played over two weeks in July. Seven of those regions will be headlined by alumni teams, while the eighth regional will be played at Rucker Park&rsquo;s legendary Greg Marius Court in New York City.
One team from each region will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be split between Wichita, Kansas (July 27) and Dayton, Ohio (July 28-29). Dayton will also host TBT&rsquo;s semifinals (July 30), as well as TBT&rsquo;s $1 million winner-take-all championship game (Aug. 2).
&ldquo;This year&rsquo;s field is electrifying,&rdquo; said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. &ldquo;Nine years ago, we set out to be the home for high stakes, open-to-all basketball, pitting people against one another from all walks of life. This year&rsquo;s field demonstrates how far we&rsquo;ve come. It is exceptionally diverse and talented. I can&rsquo;t wait to see what team wins six straight games.&rdquo;
The full TBT 2022 schedule includes:
Regional Host Cities
&nbsp; &nbsp; Omaha, Neb. &ndash; headlined by Omaha Blue Crew (Creighton) &ndash; July 16-19
&nbsp; &nbsp; New York City, N.Y. (Rucker Park) &ndash; headlined by Marcus Smart&rsquo;s YGC &ndash; July 16-20
&nbsp; &nbsp; Albuquerque, N.M. &ndash; headlined by The Enchantment (University of New Mexico) &ndash; July 28-21
&nbsp; &nbsp; Wichita, Kan. &ndash; headlined by AfterShocks (Wichita State) &ndash; July 22-25
&nbsp; &nbsp; Syracuse, N.Y. &ndash; headlined by Boehiem&rsquo;s Army (Syracuse) &ndash; July 22-25
&nbsp; &nbsp; Charleston, W. Va. &nbsp;&ndash; headlined by Best Virginia (West Virginia) and Herd That (Marshall) &nbsp;&ndash; July 24-27
&nbsp; &nbsp; Cincinnati, Ohio &ndash; headlined by Zip &lsquo;Em Up (Xavier) &ndash; July 24-27
&nbsp; &nbsp; Dayton, Ohio &ndash; headlined by Red Scare (Dayton) &ndash; July 24-27
Championship Week Schedule&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp; Quarterfinals &ndash; July 27 (Wichita), July 28-29 (Dayton)
&nbsp; &nbsp; Semifinals &ndash; &nbsp;Saturday, July 30 (Dayton)
&nbsp; &nbsp; $1 Million, Winner-Take-All Championship &ndash; Tuesday, Aug. 2 (Dayton)&nbsp;
Highlights of this year&rsquo;s tournament include:&nbsp;
- New Look Boeheim&rsquo;s Army Set to Defend TBT Title &ndash; Boeheim&rsquo;s Army, who after seven years finally won its first TBT championship, is set to defend its title in Syracuse this summer. First-time TBT participants and Syracuse alums Tyler Ennis, Rakeem Christmas, and Marek Dolezaj join a core that includes TBT legend D.J. Kennedy, who is seeking his sixth TBT title, and DeAndre Kane, who is going for his fifth.
- TBT Steps Outdoors at World Famous Rucker Park &ndash; TBT will be playing games outdoors for the first time in the event&rsquo;s history this summer at New York City&rsquo;s famed Rucker Park. The event, in partnership with Chick-Fil-A Tri-State and the NBPA, will be free and open to the public. Headlining the regional are YGC, a team backed by Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, and Skip To My Lou, named after and coached by former NBA player and streetball legend Rafer Alston.
- Jimmer Fredette Joins The Money Team &ndash; 2011 National college player of the year and NBA Draft lottery pick Jimmer Fredette will return to TBT this summer as a member of Floyd Mayweather&rsquo;s The Money Team. A quarterfinalist in 2021, The Money Team&rsquo;s roster also includes three other players with NBA experience: Trevor Booker, Jeremy Evans, Charles Jenkins, and Xavier Munford.
- Overtime Enters TBT&rsquo;s First Draft-Eligible Team &ndash; Media brand Overtime will enter its first TBT team, Team Overtime, which is slated to include four 2023 draft-eligible prospects from their new professional pathway program Overtime Elite. Twins Ausar and Amen Thompson, both projected top-10 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, will be joined by former five-star recruit Jazian Gortman and four-star recruit Jaylen Martin on a roster with several veteran professionals, including former NBA player Malcolm Thomas. Team Overtime will be competing in the Omaha Regional.
- Rivalries Renewed &ndash; Two brand new sets of bitter rivals could be facing off in TBT this summer. Xavier Regional headliner, Zip &lsquo;Em Up (Xavier Alumni), will be joined by crosstown rival Nasty Nati, a Cincinnati alumni team whose roster includes former first-round pick Jacob Evans. The Enchantment, a New Mexico alumni team, and Panamaniacs, a New Mexico State alumni team, will go head-to-head in the first-round of the New Mexico Regional in a battle for in-state supremacy. Best Virginia, the West Virginia alumni team, and Herd That, the Marshall alumni team, could both finally get their long-awaited matchup in the second round of the West Virginia Regional. Stillwater Stars, an Oklahoma State alumni team starring Markel Brown, will go toe-to-toe with Big 12 foes Air Raiders, a first-year Texas Tech alumni team composed mainly of their 2019 NCAA Tournament Runner-Up team that includes former first-round pick Zhaire Smith.
- Sideline Cancer&rsquo;s Big Offseason &ndash; TBT&rsquo;s runner-up in 2020 and a quarterfinalist in 2021, Sideline Cancer is gearing up for a championship run. They&rsquo;ll add Mike Daum, the NCAA&rsquo;s seventh leading scorer all-time, 16-year NBA veteran C.J. Miles, and former Iowa State star Diante Garrett to take some of the scoring load off explosive guard Marcus Keene.
Free Throws&hellip;
<ul>
<li>TBT&rsquo;s &amp; Puma&rsquo;s innovative 33-point contest, which pits two shooters head-to-head where the first to make 11 threes advances, will return. The final eight shooters who advance out of TBT&rsquo;s regional locations will compete live on Thursday, July 28 live on ESPN2 for a $33,333 grand prize. Winner-take-all.</li>
<li>NFT project Gutter Cat Gang has entered a TBT team in the Omaha Regional in collaboration with Kyle Hines, the most decorated American in European basketball history.</li>
<li>Notable boxer and Cincinnati native Adrien Broner&rsquo;s AboutBillions team will compete in the Xavier Regional for the first time.</li>
<li>Prominent content brand Friday Beers will make their first foray into TBT&rsquo;s field in 2022, taking over longtime TBT franchise Armored Athlete.</li>
<li>India Rising, TBT&rsquo;s first team of players entirely of Indian descent, will be competing in the Syracuse Regional. Their roster includes former Stanford big man Josh Sharma, and one time G League Ignite prospect Princepal Singh.</li>
</ul>
Tickets for all TBT game days and events are on sale now at www.thetournament.com. For more information, please contact <a href="mailto:info@thetournament.com">info@thetournament.com</a>.
About The Basketball Tournament
The home of the Elam Ending&reg;, The Basketball Tournament has grown from a unique idea among friends to one of the most exciting and engaging events on the summer sports calendar, with worldwide exposure on ESPN and events across the country - culminating in a winner-take-all $1 million game. Every year it attracts some of the best players in the world. For more information on TBT&rsquo;s ninth season, visit www.thetournament.com

Now in Year 9, TBT will feature 71 players with NBA experience and 29 college alumni teams, both of which are TBT records.

Record 71 players with NBA experience headline 2022 TBT event

Tommy Beer checks in with an installment of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings.

NBA Power Rankings: New Year's Resolutions for each team

Kenny Atkinson always saw more in Jarrett Allen.
When Allen, drafted No. 22 overall by the Brooklyn Nets in 2017, hit a rookie wall the following March, the then-head coach of the Nets (and now Golden State Warriors assistant) pivoted to <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2018/3/29/17174070/whatever-the-plan-is-jarrett-allens-at-the-center-of-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying the near 7-footer&rsquo;s struggles will make him a better player</a>. When the towering Texan would show just a hint of touch in games and practices, Atkinson would tell us that he&rsquo;d hope Allen would <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1103428843317182469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expand his range to hit corner threes</a>. And while the Cleveland Cavaliers' center still hasn&rsquo;t quite adopted that, he hasn&rsquo;t needed to. He has a shot at being one of the league&rsquo;s only first-time All-Stars in 2021.
(Maybe now you&rsquo;re seeing why <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2879918-nets-deandre-jordan-denies-bulls-t-reports-after-kenny-atkinson-firing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">people thought it was funky</a> that Allen was sent to the bench for DeAndre Jordan immediately after Atkinson and the Nets parted ways.)&nbsp;
But enough bringing up old sh**, for now.&nbsp;
Prior to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bam-adebayo-suffered-torn-ucl-in-thumb-monday-will-undergo-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffering a torn UCL last week</a>, Bam Adebayo was likely going to add the second All-Star bid of his career while manning the frontline of the Miami Heat, a team many deem as an NBA contender on some level. With Adebayo out for an undetermined amount of time &mdash; it&rsquo;ll be several weeks, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOytII_2m_8&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to 5 Reasons Sports</a> &mdash; he's likely knocked out of All-Star contention. In turn, that opens the door for other frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference, and in the spirit of showing centers the respect they deserve, why not Allen?
Since Collin Sexton &mdash; <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/cavaliers-g-sexton-done-for-season-following-knee-surgery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who's out with a torn meniscus for the rest of the season</a> &mdash; last played, the Cavaliers have gone 7-8, but still sit at 14-12 and would be a play-in team if the season ended today.
This season, Darius Garland&rsquo;s been All-Star worthy, and is now at 19.5 points and 7.2 assists per game on 47/39/89 shooting splits. Since Sexton went down, he&rsquo;s up to 21.9 points, and 7.0 assists on 47/37/90 shooting splits. But he&rsquo;s also a guard in the same conference as Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, Jaylen Brown, LaMelo Ball, Fred VanVleet, James Harden and &mdash; if counted as a guard instead of a forward, albeit unlikely &mdash; Jimmy Butler. (Shouts to Tyler Herro and Malcolm Brogdon as longshot possibilities, perhaps?)
Evan Mobley is the Rookie of the Year frontrunner, but at 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game, and 2.0 blocks per game on 48/33/79 shooting, he&rsquo;s a step or two away from the All-Star game. But Allen is not only cashing in on Atkinson&rsquo;s prior <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/forget-the-old-school-afro-nets-have-found-their-modern-center-in-rookie-jarrett-allen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beliefs in him as a franchise big man</a>; he just flat out has been one of the best centers in the league this season. (It also helps that, regarding All-Star voting, the frontcourt competition isn&rsquo;t as steep. We&rsquo;ll get to that momentarily, and, in part, it's why this case is being presented.)
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Allen is averaging 17.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game &mdash; the first two figures stand as career-high counting stats, as does his 70.4% shooting from the field. The Fro&rsquo;s 18.4 points per 36 minutes are easily the best of his career, and he currently leads the Cavs (by far) in Offensive Rating (129) and Defensive Rating (102) among qualified players. His 4.1 Box Plus-Minus, 1.2 VORP and .240 win shares per 48 minutes also lead the Cavaliers, the latter two by a safe distance. Furthermore, he&rsquo;s only doing this with an 18.4% usage rate, which is in the middle of the pack on the team. For reference, other bigs on the squad like Kevin Love (23.7%), Lauri Markkanen (19.5%), and Evan Mobley (19.0%) have a higher usage.&nbsp;
And lastly, his True Shooting percentage is at a ridiculously-high 71.7%. His commitment to efficient shooting this season has been as persistent as the will to keep his afro perfectly round. (Remember, this is a man who has <a href="https://twitter.com/bryanfonsecany/status/1035231134957928450?lang=bg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taken kids to get haircuts</a> while never even thinking about giving braids a chance.)&nbsp;
By some metrics people care about &mdash; and y&rsquo;all know a lot of them are not created equal &mdash; Allen is excelling beyond what many may have anticipated so far this season from a team standpoint. Here&rsquo;s how some of these numbers stack up around the NBA per Basketball-Reference:
<ul>
<li>70.4% field goal percentage &mdash; 3rd</li>
<li>71.7% True Shooting percentage (qualified players) &mdash; 3rd&nbsp;</li>
<li>11.3 rebounds per game &mdash; Tied for 7th</li>
<li>18.4% rebound percentage &mdash; Tied for 12th</li>
<li>.240 win shares per 48 minutes &mdash; 7th overall /4th among centers</li>
<li>1.2 VORP &mdash; tied for 12th overall /6th among centers</li>
<li>23.8 PER &mdash; 12th overall /6th among centers &nbsp;</li>
<li>4.1 BPM &mdash; tied for 12th overall /7th among centers</li>
<li>102.0 DRTG &mdash; tied for 3rd among centers</li>
<li>18.4% usage rate &mdash; Tied for 121st</li>
</ul>
(He&rsquo;s also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2022_shooting.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">second in dunks</a> with 77 &mdash; so put him in the contest!)
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When you comb through the numbers, Allen is popping up around All-Star-caliber centers such as Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokić, and Anthony Davis, among others, and those three are out west. When you watch Allen, he&rsquo;s constantly adjusting, opposing shots at the rim and seemingly always in the right spots. He is finding useful ways to play to his strengths, coloring within the lines as well as anyone on a fun Cavs roster.
Regarding his competition in the Eastern Conference frontcourt, it will be forward-heavy. Names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler (again, assuming he&rsquo;s a forward, which is likely) and DeMar DeRozan are shoo-ins, health prevailing. Though he hasn&rsquo;t been awesome, Jayson Tatum will likely 24-foot fadeaway himself into All-Star Weekend as well, *just* beating out the shot clock every single time.
The bubble Allen resides in includes guys like Miles Bridges, Julius Randle, Domantas Sabonis, John Collins and Jerami Grant. Along with numbers, this will also clearly be influenced by injuries, unfortunately. (Additionally, it serves as the case for 15-man All-Star teams, but we can discuss that closer to February.)
Allen&rsquo;s come a long way from fighting for minutes amongst a frontcourt including Timofey Mozgov, Tyler Zeller and current-free-agent Jahlil Okafor, that&rsquo;s for sure. (Good call by Atkinson, by the way... let&rsquo;s hope he doesn&rsquo;t settle for the Sacramento Kings.)
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Bryan Fonseca presents the case for Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen as an NBA All-Star among his peers.

Making the NBA All-Star case for Cavs big man Jarrett Allen

Nekias Duncan previews the Southeast Division for the 2021-22 NBA season.

2021-22 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division

DAYTON, August 3, 2021 - Boeheim&rsquo;s Army, the Syracuse alumni team, defeated Team 23 69-67 in The Basketball Tournament&rsquo;s 2021 championship game, a thrilling contest that ended with a Keifer Sykes game-winning three during the Elam Ending&reg;.&nbsp;
(Editor's Note: Learn more about the Elam Ending in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-elam-ending-q-and-a-nba-all-star-game-2021-the-basketball-tournament-tbt-ncaa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spencer Davies' exclusive Q&amp;A with its creator, Nick Elam</a>)
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
KEIFER SYKES FOR $1 MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!<a href="https://twitter.com/BoeheimsArmy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BoeheimsArmy</a> IS YOUR TBT 2021 CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/tgAwO8tMpa">pic.twitter.com/tgAwO8tMpa</a>
&mdash; TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1422755324507787269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Boeheim&rsquo;s Army, a TBT entrant since 2015, won its first seven-figure prize and TBT championship in what was also its first trip to the championship game. This year&rsquo;s roster was composed of six Syracuse alumni, including former NBA first-round picks Chris McCullough, Malachi Richardson, and Tyler Lydon, as well as legendary former Orange guard Eric Devendorf. The team also added D.J. Kennedy and DeAndre Kane, previously members of four-time champion Overseas Elite, as well as former UW-Green Bay star guard Keifer Sykes.
With Boeheim&rsquo;s Army down 67-66 and the Target Score&trade; set at 69 points, Sykes hit a stunning 25-foot three to give Boeheim&rsquo;s Army the championship and $1M prize. Shortly after the game, it was announced that Sykes agreed to a contract with the Indiana Pacers, his first NBA deal since 2015. The 27-year-old, two-time Horizon League Player of the Year led all scorers in TBT&rsquo;s championship game with 21 points.&nbsp;
Fellow Boeheim&rsquo;s Army guard Tyrese Rice earned 2021 TBT MVP honors. Rice was joined by Marcus Keene (Sideline Cancer), Raphiael Putney (Team 23), Dominique Jones (Florida TNT), and Nick Perkins (Blue Collar U) on TBT&rsquo;s All-Tournament Team.
Sykes, as well as each of his nine teammates, earned $80,000 for winning TBT, with the coaching staff and front office splitting the remaining $200,000. The entire $1M prize was distributed via Zelle&reg; at the conclusion of the game.
With the victory, Boeheim&rsquo;s Army became the eighth champion in TBT&rsquo;s eight-year history, and the fourth alumni team to take home TBT&rsquo;s grand prize.

Boeheim’s Army defeated Team 23 69-67 in The Basketball Tournament’s 2021 championship game, a thrilling contest that ended with a Keifer Sykes game-winning three.

Boeheim’s Army defeats Team 23 to win TBT Championship, $1M prize

The NBA trade deadline is now nine days away, and while we can safely assume that all 30 teams want to get better, we must proceed expecting two teams --the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks -- to play big roles in dictating what the market will look like.
There are lots of big men available, and anybody who tells you that Andre Drummond or Hassan Whiteside or JaVale McGee would not make a difference in an Eastern Conference playoff series has not been paying attention. Or as Gregg Popovich would say: &ldquo;Living in a phone booth.&rdquo;
Also, those who assume the Knicks (with $15.7 million in cap space) are not in win-now mode do not understand Tom Thibodeau. The guy is married to a basketball, and he is anxious to do in New York what he was unable to do in Minnesota and, to a lesser degree, in Chicago.
And then we have the Celtics, who are sitting on the largest trade exception ($28.5 million) in NBA history and are worse off that they were a year ago when they made the Eastern Conference Finals. Danny Ainge cannot stand pat and expect to get past the Nets, Sixers, Bucks or Heat.
The rumor mill will be churning between now and March 25, and every contending team in the East will be scheming to make an addition that attacks the weaknesses of Brooklyn and Philadelphia, while every Western team will try to find a way to compete with the three-point shooting of the Utah Jazz and the depth and experience of the Los Angeles Lakers.
So let&rsquo;s go through the league alphabetically and assess each team&rsquo;s needs, expectations and expendables.
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ATLANTA HAWKS: Nate McMillan is 5-0 as head coach, and the most active team in the weeks leading up to training camp remains built (if fully healthy) to advance if all of the pieces can fit together with almost zero practice time. John Collins is entering restricted free agency and is not as productive as he was a year ago, but he makes just $4.1 million. Put him in a deal with Tony Snell, though, and those combined salaries equal $16.3 million, which can get you a nice player.
BOSTON CELTICS: What made them special a year ago was the ability to get offensive production from three All-Star caliber starters: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward. But Hayward is gone, Enes Kanter is doing big things in Portland (remember how he was a game-changer for Boston in the postseason a year ago?) and Kemba Walker is shooting 38% in his 10th season. Standing pat is not an option.
BROOKLYN NETS: At some point they will need a third center to join DeAndre Jordan and Nicolas Claxton, but the buyout market or the China market (the CBA season ends before the NBA playoffs) may be the easiest way for Sean Marks to add an extra big body if they cannot get a big man whose contract fits into their $5.7 million disabled player exception. Spencer Dinwiddie is the only superfluous player on the roster, but he is out for the remainder of the season, and the Nets have no future draft picks to throw into a deal. They used them all in the Harden trade.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS: Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team is 100-1 to win the East despite having the lock for Rookie of the Year, a four-game winning streak and a roster chock full of young and hungry players who, for the most part, lack postseason experience. At a certain point, they have to realize they could have done better than Cody Zeller ($15.4 million) with the fourth pick of the 2013 draft. It might be time to sacrifice a future first-round pick or two to upgrade at center. Malik Monk has been playing well lately, otherwise, we would predict his imminent departure. The Hornets have an open roster spot and $4 million in cap room.
CHICAGO BULLS: It would be delusional of them to think they can advance beyond the first-round of the playoffs, which is why they have to consider getting a good young player from a contender in exchange for Thaddeus Young ($13.5 million), who is the leading candidate to finish a distant second to Jordan Clarkson in Sixth Man of the Year voting. &nbsp;Tomas Satoransky ($10 million this year and next year) is 29 years old and could be combined with Young to bring in a good young player. Here is an idea:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Who says no? <a href="https://t.co/Pc61DX8jQV">pic.twitter.com/Pc61DX8jQV</a>
&mdash; Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/sheridanhoops/status/1371826941804883973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Aside from the inevitable Drummond and McGee moves (best offers arrive at 2:59 p.m. on deadline day), Koby Altman will probably keep quiet after acquiring Jarrett Allen from the Nets and sending Kevin Porter Jr. to the Rockets. Kevin Love is going to be dead money for two more seasons and Cedi Osman is looking like he will be in the same category, though not quite as expensive. It&rsquo;ll be a long road back.
DALLAS MAVERICKS: They should be better than their record (20-18), but the West is tough. Dwight Powell ($11 million this season and the next two) is not worth what he is being paid and could be packaged with more future No. 1 picks (the Mavs can&rsquo;t trade their own first-round draft pick until 2025 because they owe the Knicks their 2021 and 2023 picks), if mortgaging the future is something Mark Cuban is cool with. Powell and James Johnson for Drummond works cap-wise.
DENVER NUGGETS: A rumor is out there that the Nuggets have spoken to the Magic about acquiring Aaron Gordon, and the price would include Bol Bol. They currently do not look like they have enough to come out of the West, and JaMychal Green has not been an adequate replacement for Jerami Grant. To a lesser degree than Boston, standing pat does not seem like the most prudent option. They have a $9.6 million trade exception, so expect them to make some sort of acquisition that improves the roster. They are one player away from being one player away.
DETROIT PISTONS: Troy Weaver might have already made his &ldquo;deadline deal&rdquo; in getting Hamidou Diallo from the Thunder. Wayne Ellington is superfluous, and one would think teams might like a 14-year veteran who shot 42% from three-point range with a manageable $1.6 million salary&hellip; But the Knicks couldn&rsquo;t find a taker for him a year ago.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Limbo sucks, but Klay Thompson will be back next season. In the meantime, the best they can do is hope that the Wolves&rsquo; pick is not top three and they can get another high lottery pick to put next to James Wiseman for the years ahead. Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore, Brad Wanamaker and Marquese Chriss are all on expiring contracts. Their combined salaries total $20.6 million. The Warriors can acquire a player into Thompson&rsquo;s $9.25 million disabled player exception.
HOUSTON ROCKETS: We are seeing a flurry of Victor Oladipo trade rumors, which is strange because he was the biggest piece they got in the Harden trade. If they are disappointed in him (and his expiring $21 million contract) they must not have been watching Pacers playoffs games the past few seasons. Kevin Porter Jr. was a nice pickup, and Rafael Stone is probably on the hunt for another player who has worn out his welcome for non-basketball reasons. P.J. Tucker is headed somewhere. Dante Exum (expiring $9.6 million contract) didn&rsquo;t quite work out for a fifth overall pick, eh?
INDIANA PACERS: Acquiring Caris LaVert for Oladipo as part of the Harden trade will go in Kevin Pritchard&rsquo;s trophy case, so the question now becomes &ldquo;What next?&rdquo; aside from waiting for T.J. Warren&rsquo;s broken foot to heal. They are in 10th place, which wasn&rsquo;t exactly what they had in mind for this season. Still, Indiana has a nice mix of players in their mid-to-late 20s. Doug McDermott (expiring $7.3 million) and T.J. McConnell (expiring $3.5 million) could be a useful shooter and pest duo for a playoff team willing to give up a draft pick and a matching expiring salary. Indiana is probably better off keeping both and rolling the dice in the play-in postseason.
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: They have everything they need except the Lou Williams they had gotten used to over the past three seasons. His scoring average is down almost six points. Serge Ibaka (scoring average down 4.5 points) is showing his age at 31 and has a 15% trade kicker. Both still have plenty of playoff experience, but Jerry West likes to make trades when he can find the right ones. The Clippers are an interesting team to watch at the deadline because they have an open roster spot, but they are also within a $500,000 of the hard cap, which limits their options.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS: They need nothing except for Anthony Davis to be healthy, so the Lakers are the winner of the &ldquo;Most Unlikely To Make A Trade&rdquo; award. They are option No. 1 for pretty much everybody getting a buyout after the deadline.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: More than a year later, we are still trying to figure out the Justise Winslow acquisition. Taylor Jenkins&rsquo; rotation goes 10 deep, not including the team&rsquo;s highest-paid player in Gorgui Dieng -- $17.2 million. They are young and they are not a good team, yet they are still in contention for a play-in spot, so that incentivizes them to get creative.
MIAMI HEAT: The rule of thumb used to be &ldquo;Pat Riley hates making midseason trades,&rdquo; but he went out and got Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder last season and built an NBA Finals team. So you would think they would be predisposed to tinker despite their recent run of 11 victories in 12 games. Kelly Olynyk ($12.6 million) and Moe Harkless ($3.6 million) are on expiring deals, and Avery Bradley is gathering dust. They can take on long-term money if the incoming player is worthy of it, but that would likely involve trading a starter (Olynyk). They also have a $7.5 million trade exception but owe Oklahoma City two first-round picks.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: Veteran Bucks writer <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-sheridan-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-16-gery-woelfel-on-milwaukee-bucks-chances,-possible-trade,-other-east-contender">Gery Woelful said on my most recent podcast</a> that he fully expects the Bucks to try to find an upgrade from Donte DiVincenzo at shooting guard. The salaries of DiVincenzo and D.J. Wilson add up to $7.5 million, and it is hard to see Jon Horst moving anyone else on this roster. They are not last year&rsquo;s Bucks, but they theoretically have enough to get to the NBA Finals. They are very close to the hard cap and cannot trade any more picks after using so many in the Jrue Holiday acquisition.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: The team is for sale, so do not expect Gersson Rosas to take on any long-term money. They have already changed coaches, and they have nothing anybody would want except for Karl Anthony-Towns, who isn&rsquo;t going anywhere. Okay, they have Ed Davis, who may be somebody&rsquo;s consolation prize as contending teams search for bigs. Nominations for the Dumpster Fire Award are now closed.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are not available. You can safely assume that everyone else is, and David Griffin does not need to hold anybody else up because he already did that to Horst. This was not supposed to be a throwaway season, but it is. The Pelicans would like to get J.J. Redick closer to his family, who live in Brooklyn. Exactly how close? Well, when Redick played for the Sixers, he commuted to Philadelphia. So &ldquo;close&rdquo; is a relative term. Boston is drivable from Brooklyn.
NEW YORK KNICKS: As mentioned above, they are the team to watch most closely. They can take on long-term money if the incoming player is someone who can tolerate Thibodeau&rsquo;s coaching style, and they would bring in a player on an expiring contract if they believed that player&rsquo;s Bird rights would be of value over the summer. Leon Rose is one year away from having a top-three team in the East if he plays his cards right a week from Thursday.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: Sam Presti likely has George Hill, Trevor Ariza and Mike Muscala available to the highest bidders. Hill was an important piece of the Bucks last season and could help a playoff team needing a bench shooter and veteran voice in the locker room. At a certain point, Presti is going to have to package together some of the 20 extra first and second-round picks he has accumulated through trades, but that point is probably a couple of years away as the rebuild runs its course. Important: If Houston&rsquo;s pick is in the top four, the Thunder get it. Also, Presti has three trade exceptions; the largest is $27.6 million.
ORLANDO MAGIC:&nbsp; Aaron Gordon trade rumors are everywhere, which makes sense because the time to cash in on their seven-year investment is now. They need to get younger and acquire assets to build around Markelle Fultz, Nikola Vucevic and Jonathan Isaac. Their ceiling should not be the kind of first-round exits they have been producing the past two seasons, and they have not won a single playoff series since 2009-10. So, it would be shocking to see them keep Gordon, who is only 25 years old and can bring a lot in return. Gordon is a good guy who needs a change of scenery and deserves one. Same goes for Evan Fournier.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: They wanted James Harden and did not get him, and Doc Rivers still somehow kept Ben Simmons committed to the team. That is pretty huge, because players who know they have been shopped usually resent it. They are in first place in the East and have a roster with the proper pieces to match up with Brooklyn. Mike Scott&rsquo;s expiring $5 million deal and the Knicks&rsquo; 2021 second-round pick are Elton Brand&rsquo;s most movable trade assets, but Scott has been playing well lately. Terrence Ferguson, Vincent Poirier and Tony Bradley are on expiring contracts but would bring little in return.
PHOENIX SUNS: Acquiring Chris Paul checked the &ldquo;monster trade&rdquo; box, and the NBA&rsquo;s most overachieving team will likely abide by the &ldquo;If It Ain&rsquo;t Broke, Don&rsquo;t Fix It&rdquo; rule. That being said, if an on-the-ball defender capable of defending LeBron James is out there somewhere, you kick the tires on just about anything that does not include Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and Chris Paul. Ariza would seem to be a fit.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: Like Dallas, they should be better than their record&hellip; and would be if C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic had not gotten injured. At full strength, they are going to be a tough out in the postseason. Gary Trent Jr. is on an expiring contract and they may fear losing him, so keep that in mind with these guys. They are sleepers.
SACRAMENTO KINGS: What they can get for Whiteside will be interesting to see, because he was killing it for the Blazers last season. Then, Nurkic returned in the bubble. Whiteside does not exactly have the best reputation around the league, which is why he played in Lebanon and China before resurrecting his career. There are also a lot of Harrison Barnes rumors out there, and like the Magic and Gordon, it may be time for the Kings to cash in on the three-year investment they made in Barnes after acquiring him from Dallas. He makes $22.2 million. Does Nemanja Bjelica have any value? Same question has to be asked of Jabari Parker.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: The LaMarcus Aldridge era is in its final days, and you have to wonder if the Patty Mills era is, too. Derrick White is signed long-term and Dejounte Murray is damn good. The expiring contracts of Aldridge and Mills add up to $37.2 million, and if you include Rudy Gay&rsquo;s expiring deal that number becomes $51.2 million. They are 20-16, yet, as currently constituted, not good enough to do much in the postseason. R.C. Buford wins the award for the league executive most overdue to make a trade.
TORONTO RAPTORS: The name that is out there now is Kyle Lowry, who has spent nine seasons of his 16-year career playing for the team that now calls Tampa its home. Having lost five in a row and sitting in 11th place in the Leastern Conference, Masai Ujiri must determine whether it is time to turn Lowry&rsquo;s expiring $30.5 million contract into something of value. At 35 years old, Lowry can still play and, percentage wise, is hitting threes, twos and free throws better than he has over the past four seasons. But this would not be a giveaway, and a sign-and-trade in the offseason is still possible.
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UTAH JAZZ: Like Phoenix, the &ldquo;If It Ain&rsquo;t Broke , Don&rsquo;t Dix It&rdquo; rule applies. They are in first place in the West, are making threes better than anybody and have Rudy Gobert finding new and incredible ways to never, ever be mentioned in the MVP debate. None of their nine rotation players is going anywhere, and no one else on the roster has either a big contract or much trade value. Still, someone on the team could be a giveaway because the Jazz are $1.9 million over the luxury tax line. They have already traded five of their next seven second-round picks (they don&rsquo;t have one until 2025).
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: You&rsquo;ve got to feel bad for Tommy Sheppard, one of the best guys and better GMs in the league -- he was able to turn John Wall into Russell Westbrook but then lost Thomas Bryant and had his team put on ice because of COVID issues. They are now playing the busiest second-half schedule of any Eastern Conference team, and they theoretically have a puncher&rsquo;s chance against practically anyone in the conference if Westbrook keeps triple-doubling (he leads the league with 11). But they have lost four in a row and rank 12th. Robin Lopez and his expiring $7.3 million contract is their best trade asset. If they combined Lopez with Ish Smith&rsquo;s expiring contract, that totals $13.3 million.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers and Andre Drummond have come to a mutual decision to keep the All-Star center inactive until the team finds a trade for him, league sources confirmed to BasketballNews.com. The news was first reported this morning by <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1361341496461586434" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30905655/sources-cleveland-cavaliers-play-andre-drummond-try-trade-star-center-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a>.
"Nothing is imminent on the trade front, though," the source told BasketballNews.com.
According to the source, a buyout is off the table between the Cavs and Drummond, as Cleveland searches for a landing spot for the 27-year-old big man prior to the NBA trade deadline on March 25.
Per <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2021/02/cleveland-cavaliers-to-sit-andre-drummond-while-looking-for-trade.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor</a>, the situation hasn't been easy on the veteran, who's in the prime of his career. Drummond reportedly didn't want to move on, but the team envisioned a different future after bringing Jarrett Allen into the fold.
The Cavs view Allen as one of their cornerstones moving forward and they are prioritizing his growth and chemistry with his new teammates. Cleveland is set on Allen as the long-term answer at the five, so splitting minutes between he and Drummond wasn't going to benefit either party.
Drummond will still be with the team, and the decision to move forward in this manner was a mutual agreement. Constructing a trade will not be easy, as Drummond makes roughly $28.7 million. The Cavaliers will need to take back at least $23 million in salary in order to execute a deal.
We also have to remember that the Cavaliers acquired Drummond at last season's trade deadline for little-used Brandon Knight and John Henson, plus a future second-round pick. A potential trade involving Drummond likely won't be focused on the haul back, but more about opening more minutes for Allen and getting something in return for the impending free agent.
So as he watches from the sidelines until Cleveland finds him a new home, let's take a look at potential fits and possible deals that could work.
Toronto Raptors
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Cavaliers have engaged in trade talks with the Toronto Raptors about Drummond. It makes sense considering the defensive woes that have plagued the Raptors, who have begun climbing out of the Eastern Conference basement and back into the postseason hunt. Drummond's rim protection and activity on defense this season have been arguably the best of his career to this point, something that's been missing for Nick Nurse and his crew.
To match salaries, Toronto would have to include Norman Powell, Aron Baynes and Patrick McCaw, plus one more player (Matt Thomas, Terence Davis or Paul Watson could work). With the resurgence of Stanley Johnson and the role DeAndre' Bembry has carved out, it's unlikely the Raptors would give them up. Knowing Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster, it's possible that the Raptors will try to get a third team involved, which could help from a salary-matching standpoint.
We also have to keep in mind that Cleveland would have to get creative with its roster. By waiving Dean Wade prior to his Feb. 24 guarantee date, it would allow the Cavs to take back three players for one (Drummond). Fitting a fourth would take some roster tinkering.
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Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs were recently mentioned as a possible suitor on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keepin-it-94/id1545629382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our Keepin' It 94 podcast</a>. Beyond missing shots (although they're finding a rhythm now), Dallas' problem is that there's absolutely zero resistance in the paint for their opponents. Watch how Damian Lillard waltzed right to the cup in this possession. (It's not pretty).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
DAME DUNK <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dame_lillard</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAAllStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAAllStar</a> <a href="https://t.co/3V8glwkmz7">pic.twitter.com/3V8glwkmz7</a>
&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1361117856998567936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Mavs have the contracts to get a trade done, but are they really willing to give up a starter? James Johnson has an expiring $15.7 million salary. Include Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Burke and it almost gets you there, which would probably be very suitable. Substitute Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the hearts of that team, for Burke and <a href="https://tradenba.com/trades/PBVwpjcGz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it does work</a>. Tim Hardaway Jr. has a sizable salary, but would the Mavs be open to either of those things? Another option: Cleveland deals Drummond and JaVale McGee for Johnson and Dwight Powell in a bigs-for-bigs swap? Otherwise, again, there'd probably have to be a four-player deal. Just thinking out loud here.&nbsp;
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Brooklyn Nets
While there's a feasible way for the Nets to trade for Andre Drummond, it would come at a price. Spencer Dinwiddie, the face of the one of the most beloved franchise turnarounds we've seen in the NBA in recent years and an amazing talent, would have to be included in the deal along with DeAndre Jordan. Let's not forget that DJ came to town with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant at the latter's request. If you toss in Tyler Johnson with those two, the framework checks out.
Joe Harris cannot be traded until March 3 because he re-signed with Brooklyn and got a raise using his Bird Rights, but a Dinwiddie-and-Harris-for-Drummond trade would work as well when the time comes -- although, who in the world would give up a 50-percent three-baller on a team that thrives off drive-and-kicks? They're better off waiting to see if the Cavs can't find a trade partner and buy him out post-deadline. If Drummond hits the buyout market, Brooklyn has to be considered the frontrunner to land him.
Sacramento Kings
Here's an idea that hasn't been mentioned yet. The Kings are in the hunt for the playoffs in the Western Conference. Yes, Richaun Holmes has been busting his tail off at the 5 and it shouldn't be necessary to fix something that's not broken. However, who knows what Kings general manager Monte McNair is thinking. Is it possible he wants to strike while the iron's hot?
A potential framework that could get Drummond in a Kings uniform is simple. There are two guys out of the rotation in Nemanja Bjelica (who wants out) and Jabari Parker (who hasn't played a game yet). Throw in Cory Joseph and have Cleveland send back Damyean Dotson, who's had spotty minutes since the team's primary guards returned from injury. I don't think this idea is that far-fetched, but again, Holmes is playing out of his mind this year.
New York Knicks
With $15 million in cap room, the Knicks don't have to match salaries exactly to acquire Drummond. With Mitchell Robinson out for the next month or so due to a broken hand, they could try to strike a deal while still in contention for the postseason.
A package of Nerlens Noel and out-of-rotation reclamation projects Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox would make a ton of sense for Cleveland and it would keep New York in the hunt. Before we talk about Robinson's effectiveness, we know how much Tom Thibodeau loves his veterans. The Knicks just traded for Derrick Rose and seem interested in win-now moves. Also, by acquiring him now, the Knicks would have Drummond's Bird rights, which would make it easier to re-sign him this offseason if they are interested in him as more than a rental.
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Boston Celtics
We'll see if Celtics president Danny Ainge has any interest in Drummond. Boston holds a massive $28.5 million trade exception from this past offseason's Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade, but here's the caveat: Drummond's $28,751,774 salary is still too much for the Celtics to flat-out absorb.
The only chance they'd have at a deal is one that includes Marcus Smart, which is not going to happen. A Drummond-for-Kemba-Walker deal would work too, but that also isn't happening. It has been reported that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-boston-celtics-searching-for-upgrades-to-wing-big-positions-danny-ainge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston is looking for upgrades,</a> but unless a third team gets involved, it'll be very difficult for the Celtics and Cavs to figure out a trade for Drummond. Perhaps Boston is an option if he is bought out.
Charlotte Hornets
There's a way for Cleveland to get a four-player return for Drummond and Wade from Charlotte, but it involves the Hornets dealing Cody Zeller, Malik Monk and Bismack Biyombo. Aside from that, any other deal would require Charlotte to move All-Star candidate Terry Rozier or PJ Washington and that isn't going to happen. Unless the Cavs want even more centers in the locker room, this isn't a great fit (unless they can find a third team).
Oklahoma City Thunder
Sam Presti is a patient man who is trusting his rebuilding process, so this is nothing more than an idea. But if the Thunder sent Trevor Ariza, Darius Miller and Mike Muscala to Cleveland, they could theoretically bring in Drummond.
As you can plainly see, there a number of possibilities when it comes to trade partners for Cleveland. However, it's going to take some creativity to get a deal done with Drummond's massive contract.

Spencer Davies looks into a number of destinations that could work for Andre Drummond as Cleveland searches for his new home.

Where could Andre Drummond land? Here are possible destinations

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