Charlotte Bobcats

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

Here is the latest news on the Top 25 Free Agents in the NBA for the 2014-15 season, as ranked by Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.

Sheridan’s Top 25 Free Agents: July 9 Edition – LeBron going to Cleveland

The Detroit Pistons have done it: They have won a basketball game.
For the first time since October 28, the Pistons earned a victory after surviving a gritty game against the Toronto Raptors, 129-127.&nbsp;
Detroit avoided monumental infamy by finally snapping a 28-game losing skid, which was tied for the worst losing spell in NBA history.
The Pistons were in a losing streak, yes, but it wasn&rsquo;t like they were getting blown out of the gym from the get go; they were competitive throughout games until they faltered at the end. Their past six games have been decided by just 10 points or less, and it was only a matter of time before they could break through.&nbsp;
Detroit coach Monty Williams said prior to the game that the Pistons have been knocking on that door for victory &mdash; they just needed to find a way to finally blow it open &mdash; and they did last night.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in a ton of locker rooms... That&rsquo;s a first for me&hellip; Guys were screaming. I was almost in tears,&rdquo; Williams said after celebrating in the locker room.&nbsp;
It took a dominant game from Cade Cunningham, who had 30 points, 12 assists and 0 turnovers, to ultimately put the Pistons over the top. He became only the third player this season with the same numbers, joining Nikola Jokic and Tyrese Haliburton. Cunningham also became the first Piston to have a 30-10 game without a turnover since Chauncey Billups in 2008.
&ldquo;Tough times brought us together even more..." Cunningham said. "It's still early. [Monty] just got here. I'm still young in the league, it's only gonna continue to grow."
The 22-year-old is glad that the nightmare is over, but stressed there is still a lot of basketball left to be played.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think moments like that are important to know how to win games," Cunningham said. "I&rsquo;m just happy to be a part of a group of guys that don&rsquo;t quit, stay positive and uplift each other.&rdquo;
Center Jalen Duren backed Cunningham up with 18 points and 17 rebounds as the Pistons had six players in double digits.&nbsp;
In the end, Detroit&rsquo;s 33 bench points (Toronto had 12) and eight-rebound edge (41 against Toronto&rsquo;s 33) was enough to propel them to victory.
What&rsquo;s Next For The Pistons?
With the monkey now off their backs, Detroit hopes to build off this win and head in the right direction.&nbsp;
The next thing they probably want to do is avoid the worst single-season record of all-time (82 games), which is held by the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) and the worst single-season win percentage, which is held by the 2012 Charlotte Bobcats (.106).
Despite all the losing, Detroit has young stars who have played well during these dark days. Cunningham, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, is playing like an All-Star &mdash; averaging 23.5 points and 7.3 assists.&nbsp;
His pick-and-roll partner Duren is also blossoming into one of the top young big men in the league. Duren&rsquo;s chemistry with Cunningham is gradually maturing and will only get better as the seasons go on.&nbsp;
Already imposing physically at just 20 years old, Duren has also shown he lives for tough moments after confidently sinking two pressure-packed free throws late in the fourth &mdash; which is rare for a big man.&nbsp;
And rookie Ausar Thompson, even after recently slowing down following Bojan Bogdanovic&rsquo;s return from injury, has shown that he has All-Star potential after going on a tear to start the year.
Combine that with assets to make moves and a players' coach in Monty Williams, the Pistons hope to be in a position to turn it around.

For the first time since October 28, the Detroit Pistons earned a victory, snapping their 28-game losing streak.

Pistons beat Raptors to snap NBA-record 28-game losing streak

The Orlando Magic have had their fair share of ups and downs in their relatively short history. However, since the franchise was established in 1989, they have provided their fans with some unforgettable seasons. From the early success of Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway to the dominant play of Dwight Howard in the late 2000s, the Magic have had some remarkable teams.
The Magic have had quite a bit of lottery luck, landing the No. 1 pick in 1992 (which allowed them to select O'Neal), 1993 (which allowed them to pick Chris Webber and trade him to the Golden State Warriors for Penny Hardaway and three future first-round picks), 2004 (which allowed them to select Howard) and 2022 (which allowed them to draft Paolo Banchero).&nbsp;
The current Magic squad has fans in Orlando excited about the future, with a core of Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz among others. But today, let's look back at the past and examine the five best seasons in franchise history.
5. 2007-08 SEASON RECORD: 52-30 FINISH: LOST IN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
This season, the Magic won 52 games and finished as the third-best team in the Eastern Conference. The team was led by a 22-year-old Dwight Howard, who earned his second All-Star selection while emerging as a two-way force. During the regular season, Howard averaged 20.7 points, 14.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, while shooting 59.9% from the field. He was even more dominant in the playoffs, averaging 18.9 points, 15.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. Orlando defeated the Toronto Raptors in five games in the first round, but they were ultimately eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. This season laid the groundwork for Orlando's Finals run in 2008-09.
4. 2009-10 SEASON RECORD: 59-23 FINISH: LOST IN CONFERENCE FINALS
Despite coming off of an NBA Finals run, the Magic decided to make some big changes entering this 2009-19 season. Orlando acquired Vince Carter in a blockbuster trade with the New Jersey Nets and added some new role players in Matt Barnes, Jason Williams, Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass. The Magic won 59 games, which was the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Orlando was once again led by Howard, who earned his second-straight Defensive Player of the Year award. The Magic were dominant through the first two rounds of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, sweeping the Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks. But in the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced off against the Boston Celtics and lost in six games. Still, their regular-season success and deep postseason run cannot be overlooked.
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3. 1995-96 SEASON RECORD: 60-22 FINISH: LOST IN CONFERENCE FINALS
The 1995-96 season was another successful year for the Magic. The team finished with a record of 60-22, which was the second-best in the Eastern Conference and is still the franchise record for most wins in a single season. Led by one of the best one-two punches in the league in Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, Orlando went 7-1 through the first two rounds of the 1996 NBA Playoffs, eliminating the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks with ease. But in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic ran into Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who got their revenge from the previous year by sweeping Orlando.
2. 2008-09 SEASON RECORD: 59-23 FINISH: LOST IN NBA FINALS
This team was ahead of its time, as Stan Van Gundy surrounded Dwight Howard with shooters and made teams pick their poison. The Magic had a terrific core of Howard, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson, plus excellent role players such as Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Redick and Marcin Gortat. Orlando's run in the 2009 NBA Playoffs was incredible, as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics (led by the Big Three) and Cleveland Cavaliers (led by LeBron James). Until this year, the Magic were the only team to defeat James in a Conference Finals series. In the NBA Finals, the Magic matched up against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately losing in five games. What if Courtney Lee hits the game-winning layup at the end of Game 2 in the 2009 NBA Finals? That's one of the biggest "what ifs" among Magic fans to this day.
1. 1994-95 SEASON RECORD: 57-25 FINISH: LOST IN NBA FINALS
The 1994-95 season was the most successful season in the Magic's franchise history. Shaquille O'Neal was virtually unstoppable, averaging 29.3 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 blocks, while shooting 58.3% from the field. Penny Hardaway was excellent as well, averaging an efficient 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 51.2/34.9/76.9 shooting splits. The team won 57 games, which was the best record in the East. Prior to the 1995 NBA Finals, the Magic became the only team to eliminate Michael Jordan in the playoffs during the 1990s, beating Chicago in six games in the Conference Semifinals. Jordan came out of retirement midseason and the Magic spoiled his return. After defeating the Indiana Pacers in seven games in the Conference Finals, the Magic faced off against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. Hakeem Olajuwon put up 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game and helped the Rockets sweep the Magic. Still, the Magic's run to the Finals was nothing short of spectacular.
While the Magic have not won an NBA championship, they have had some great seasons and provided their fans with plenty of memorable moments.&nbsp;

From Shaq and Penny to the Dwight Howard era, Basketball News looks back at the five best teams in Orlando Magic history.

Ranking the 5 best seasons in Orlando Magic history

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 22 points and the Toronto Raptors rallied from four 9-point first quarter deficits to roll past the Charlotte Hornets 120-100 on Tuesday night.
Toronto has won five of its last six games, improving to 40-39 and solidifying their position for the NBA play-in tournament.
The Raptors scored 19 straight points during a stretch late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter after Charlotte had gotten within 80-75 with 3:49 left in the third quarter.
Siakam also had 14 rebounds and was joined in double digits by Chris Boucher (21 points), Will Barton (20), O.G. Anunoby (17), Fred VanVleet (16), Precious Achiuwa (12) and Jakob Poeltl (10).
The Hornets were led by Bryce McGowens&rsquo; career-high 20 points. Nick Richards added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Svi Mykhailiuk had 17 points, JT Thor 13 and Theo Maledon 13.
The Hornets (26-54) are without eight players due to injury: LaMelo Ball (right ankle surgery), Gordon Hayward (left thumb sprain), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left shoulder sprain), Terry Rozier (right foot injury), Dennis Smith Jr. (right toe sprain), P.J. Washington (right foot sprain) and Mark Williams (left ankle sprain).
Toronto&rsquo;s 36-20 second quarter was sparked by reserves Boucher and Barton, who combined for nine 3-pointers.
&ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t that sluggish,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of the early Charlotte leads. &ldquo;They were just really fast and we weren&rsquo;t as fast as they were. I just kept saying, &lsquo;They&rsquo;re really moving&rsquo; so we had to pick it up a half-notch. We switched to zone and got a bunch of stops in a row and obviously got the ... 3-ball going. Fifteen out of 33 is a really good night on 3-pointers.&rdquo;
Boucher said Barton, who converted six of his nine 3-pointers, really helped the Raptors spread the floor in its victory.
&ldquo;We need that off the bench,&rdquo; Boucher said of Barton&rsquo;s production. &ldquo;The more guys we have that can do things will help. They got Will here for a reason. They know what he can do and today was just a peek at what he can do.&rdquo;
Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said Toronto&rsquo;s defense that created 22 points off 18 turnovers was a huge difference-maker.
&ldquo;Ball pressure and passing lane pressure led to live-ball turnovers,&rdquo; Clifford said. &ldquo;It was 22-10 in points off turnovers.&rdquo;
BOUCHER&rsquo;S BIG WEEK
Boucher&rsquo;s big effort came one day after he announced a scholarship program to help his community and young people growing up like he did.
According to Monday&rsquo;s Toronto Star, Boucher grew up in abject poverty, was once homeless, dropped out of school and washed dishes at restaurants.
Now a key to the Raptors&rsquo; second unit who has a three-year, $35 million contract, the Star says he is using &ldquo;an undisclosed amount of money disbursed through his SlimmDuck Foundation&rdquo; to launch a scholarship program that will offer financial support to five students of Caribbean descent. For each of the next five years, a scholarship will be offered to a student with financial struggles who wants to pursue a university degree.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I wanted to do for a long time,&rdquo; Boucher said after Tuesday&rsquo;s game. &ldquo;It was just finding the opportunity. I want to help the people that struggle when they move to Canada.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Raptors: Barton is one of the more veteran players on the Raptors&rsquo; roster with 11 years of NBA experience, which includes 29 postseason games with nine starts. But he&rsquo;s played in 12 games with Toronto since being signed as free agent on Feb. 28 and he had missed the previous three games with a left ankle sprain. &ldquo;I guess we&rsquo;re going to have to figure that out in the next four games that we have left,&rdquo; Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of Barton&rsquo;s role.
Hornets: Clifford started his 26th different starting lineup Tuesday. It&rsquo;s the third-most lineups in franchise, behind the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Charlotte Bobcats, which used 28 different starters.
UP NEXT
Raptors: At Boston on Wednesday.
Hornets: Host Houston on Friday.

Toronto has won five of its last six games, improving to 40-39 and solidifying its position for the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Pascal Siakam scores 22, leads Raptors over Hornets 120-100

Paul Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams as a player and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has died, his family announced Sunday. He was 79.
The family revealed the death through the Houston Rockets, for whom Silas' son, Stephen, is a second-generation head coach. The Boston Globe first reported Silas' death, and no official cause was immediately announced.
&ldquo;Our heartfelt thoughts are with Stephen and his family during this difficult time,&rdquo; the Rockets said in a statement.
Paul Silas began his career as a head coach with a three-year stint leading the then-San Diego Clippers starting in 1980. After spending more than a decade as an assistant, he returned to being a head coach and spent time with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats.
He took four of those teams to the playoffs, winning exactly 400 games &mdash; 387 in the regular season, 13 more in the postseason.
&ldquo;Paul made a huge contribution to the game of basketball and will be sorely missed!&rdquo; Hall of Fame guard and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.
The Rockets were playing host to Milwaukee on Sunday night. It was not immediately clear how long Stephen Silas would be away from the team; the Rockets were planning to have John Lucas lead the team on an interim basis while the Silas family grieves.
Stephen Silas got into the NBA world when his father was coaching in Charlotte, starting as an advance scout and eventually serving as an assistant on his father's staff with the Hornets in 2000. It took Stephen Silas two decades to get a chance to be a head coach, that coming when Houston hired him in 2020.
&ldquo;My dad, obviously, he was my No. 1 mentor, someone who I could lean on, ask questions and he asked questions of me,&rdquo; Stephen Silas said in a 2021 documentary produced by the Rockets about his coaching journey. &ldquo;He really valued my opinion, which was kind of weird to me, me being so young and not having much experience.&rdquo;
Stephen Silas persevered for a long time before getting his big chance. He saw his father wait a long time for the job he wanted as well. Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983 and wouldn't have a head coaching opportunity again until 1999 &mdash; coming when Dave Cowens, for whom Paul Silas was an assistant, stepped down in Charlotte after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season.
&ldquo;I was known as not a hard, hard, hard worker and it really hurt me when I was an assistant coach, for about 10 years, when I couldn&rsquo;t get a head job,&rdquo; Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte while giving a speech there in 2013. &ldquo;I really talked to teams about being a head coach, but I didn&rsquo;t get one. What happened is I stayed positive. I had a positive attitude. Even though I couldn&rsquo;t get the job, I said, &lsquo;No, I&rsquo;m not going to be negative. I&rsquo;m going to be positive.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Eventually, Silas would take over in Cleveland. He got there in 2003, the same year the Cavaliers drafted James.
&ldquo;I coached LeBron for two years, his first two years, and LeBron was unbelievable," Paul Silas said. &ldquo;At 18 years old, he knew about Bill Russell, he knew about a lot of players who came through that most players his age don&rsquo;t even know. And he understood the game. I made LeBron a point/forward because I didn&rsquo;t have one when he first started. He didn&rsquo;t say a word to me. He just took over the game and we did well.&rdquo;
In time, James would become a champion. It took Paul Silas a few years to get to that level as a player as well.
He was a five-time All-Defensive team selection who averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 16 seasons with the St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix, Boston, Denver and Seattle. Silas won two titles with the Celtics &mdash; the first coming in his 10th season as a player &mdash; and claimed a third with the SuperSonics. He averaged 12.8 points and 13.8 rebounds in the 1976 Finals for Boston against the Suns.
&ldquo;Paul Silas was a giant in basketball circles," former NBA player Rex Chapman wrote Sunday on Twitter. &ldquo;A great man. Was fortunate to spend a couple of seasons with Paul when he was an (assistant) coach with the Suns. I don&rsquo;t know anyone with a bad word to say about him &mdash; ever. A sad day."
Paul Silas played his college basketball at Creighton, averaging 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds in three seasons. He was voted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
&ldquo;I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Creighton legend Paul Silas," Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. &ldquo;His illustrious career as a player and coach will be matched by few."

Paul Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams as a player and LeBron James' first coach in the league, has passed away.

Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion and longtime coach, dies at 79

The Oklahoma City Thunder came out of last Tuesday&rsquo;s NBA Draft Lottery as the night&rsquo;s runner-up, taking home the No. 2 overall pick.&nbsp;
The Thunder have never received the first-overall pick in their franchise history, which technically goes back to 1967 when they were still the Seattle Supersonics. They have selected second on two occasions though, and both worked out really well (Kevin Durant in 2007 and Gary Payton in 1990).
The Thunder have a war-chest of draft picks in the coming years, but those picks are meaningless if they don&rsquo;t select a franchise-altering talent. Fortunately, the No. 2 pick should provide an opportunity to do so. The 2022 draft class features a few &ldquo;can&rsquo;t-miss&rdquo; prospects, including Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren and Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero. All three have their pros and cons, but adding any of them to the existing core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey should work out beautifully.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Thunder made six selections, but they traded three of those players. They added Giddey (who was named to the 2021-22 All-Rookie Second Team), Tre Mann and Aaron Wiggins &ndash; none of whom are bigs. The Thunder did trade for a seven-footer in the 2020 draft (Aleksej Pokusevski), but he&rsquo;s still extremely raw and is not the same caliber of player as the top-three prospects.
Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done through the scouting process to effectively evaluate all three of this draft's most-coveted prospects, but a look back at the last 10 NBA drafts reveals a murkier history than one might assume. After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-the-success-of-teams-selecting-first-in-the-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">examining the success of teams selecting No. 1 in the NBA Draft</a> last week, let's look at how recent No. 2 overall picks have fared.&nbsp;
2012 NBA Draft: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets
The Hornets bombed with the second pick in 2012. Kidd-Gilchrist had a fine career, averaging 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game across eight seasons in the NBA. The thing is, Bradley Beal was selected third and Damian Lillard was selected fifth, and both of those guys are All-NBA-caliber players annually. Comparatively, that&rsquo;s a huge miss for Charlotte.
Verdict: Failure.
2013 NBA Draft: Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic
The Cavaliers certainly surprised many of us by picking Anthony Bennett with the first overall pick, but the Magic stuck to the script. Oladipo was universally seen as a top-three player in this draft, and he became the second-best player in the class before knee and quad injuries derailed his career.
As much as injuries have robbed much of what Oladipo was, he is still an intriguing player, and he&rsquo;ll probably command some decent free-agent offers this offseason. Obiously, CJ McCollumn (selected 10th) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (selected 15th) are better players, but neither was being considered by the Magic. Considering that Oladipo is a two-time All-Star, an All-Defensive selection and a one-time All-NBA selection, I&rsquo;d say the Magic did a fine job in picking Oladipo.
Verdict: Success
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2014 NBA Draft: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks
The 2014 draft was a weird one. Neither the first nor the second pick ended up being the best player from this draft class. Andrew Wiggins found a good role, even if he is far less successful than most thought he&rsquo;d be, but Jabari Parker really underwhelmed. Granted, Parker stuck around in the league for eight seasons, including some of the current one, but his career simply never materialized even if it&rsquo;s not his (nor Milwaukee&rsquo;s) fault.
Parker tore his ACL twice. He looked like he was becoming a pretty darn good player (even if he was a defensive liability) before the second ACL injury, averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 2016-17. However good Parker could have been, the fact of the matter is that Joel Embiid was intriguing enough as of draft night to be taken one pick later, and that stings.
Verdict: Failure
2015 NBA Draft: D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Here&rsquo;s an instance where a player actually was worth a top-three pick. The problem is that the Lakers had the second pick, and there&rsquo;s a big difference between Karl-Anthony Towns or Devin Booker and Russell. Making matters worse, the Lakers sent Russell to Brooklyn before he matured. His immaturity was part of the reason he was traded, but that doesn&rsquo;t change the fact that the Lakers picked him and moved on very quickly. Russell may or may not end up being a franchise-altering talent, but he hasn&rsquo;t realized his full potential yet, and he clearly won&rsquo;t do so for the Lakers.
Verdict: Failure
2016 NBA Draft: Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers
Ingram is one of the best No. 2 picks in the last 10 drafts. He&rsquo;s a true number one option on a playoff team, a career 18.5 points-per-game scorer and a one-time All-Star. It&rsquo;s debatable that Jaylen Brown (selected third) and/or Jamal Murray (selected seventh) are as good or better players, but both have played alongside more talented teammates throughout their careers.
Ingram has been the best player on the New Orleans Pelicans for a few years now, and we shouldn&rsquo;t take for granted the fact that Ingram led a playoff team this season. Sure, the Lakers didn&rsquo;t cash in on him specifically, but he was part of the package that led to Anthony Davis landing in Los Angeles. So, it worked out for them too.
Verdict: Success
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2017 NBA Draft: Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers picked second overall again in 2017. They weren&rsquo;t as successful this time around. First, there&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum to consider. Tatum was selected third and is the best player in the 2017 draft class. Being selected by the Lakers wouldn&rsquo;t have changed that, and that should be enough. But there&rsquo;s also Ball&rsquo;s rough shooting mechanics to consider. Sure, he&rsquo;s grown into a good shooter, but the Lakers didn&rsquo;t benefit from that. It&rsquo;s hard to categorize Ball&rsquo;s selection as an outright failure because like Ingram, he helped facilitate Davis to the Lakers. Still, it's tough to classify his selection a success.
Verdict: Push
2018 NBA Draft: Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento Kings
Bagley might be the worst second pick in the last 10 years. The 2018 NBA Draft will forever be remembered as the Luka Doncic class. The Kings could have drafted Doncic, as he was still on the board, but they chose to go with Bagley instead. Bagley isn&rsquo;t even on the Kings any longer, and his time in Sacramento was not memorable.
Bagley is a sub-par defender and three-point shooter. He&rsquo;s scored the ball at a decent pace, averaging 19.5 points per-36 minutes, but he&rsquo;s never earned a big enough role to demonstrate what he can really do, and he&rsquo;s exclusively been on losing teams. Comparatively, Doncic and Trae Young (selected No. 5 in 2018) have turned their franchises around.
Verdict: Failure
2019 NBA Draft: Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
Ingram was the best second pick in the last 10 years, until 2019. Morant stole that made-up accolade almost immediately in his rookie season. The thing is, the 2019 NBA Draft was supposed to be all about Zion Williamson. However, unlike Williamson, Morant has backed up all the hype and then some. So, while Williamson has dealt with injuries for much of his young career, Morant has brazenly become the face of his draft class.
Morant is drawing comparisons to numerous superstars, and he was named to the 2021-22 All-NBA Second Team. No one selected after him comes close to making the Grizzlies think twice about their decision.
Verdict: HUGE success
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2020 NBA Draft: James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors
Unlike his brother Lonzo, LaMelo Ball was deserving of the second pick in 2020. Instead, the Golden State Warriors went with James Wiseman, though the logic behind the pick is clear, even in retrospect. The Warriors already had two All-NBA guards. The thing is, Jordan Poole looks pretty good alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, doesn&rsquo;t he? So, it&rsquo;s feasible to assume that Ball would have fit too.
After two seasons, Ball is a significantly better player, but he&rsquo;s also had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate that fact. Wiseman has had terrible health-related luck. He played in 39 of the Warriors' first 53 games in 2020-21, but he tore his meniscus in Golden State&rsquo;s 53rd&nbsp;game of the season and hasn&rsquo;t been seen since. Wiseman could still be a serious contributor, as his per-36 numbers were impressive for a rookie (19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 assists on .542/.316/.628 shooting). This is one we&rsquo;ll have to continue monitoring.
Verdict: Unclear
2021 NBA Draft: Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
Basing the success of a pick on only a rookie season is tough. Green posted an impressive rookie campaign, but his defensive deficiencies were clear. That&rsquo;s an understandable flaw for a rookie. Green was the assumed second-best player in the class. Having the luxury of hindsight, we now know that Scottie Barnes (selected fourth) and Evan Mobley (selected third) translated to the NBA incredibly well. But wing scorers have a tougher time making the jump, as they must shoot deeper three-pointers and compete against far more athletic competition. Green&rsquo;s floor may be lower than that of Barnes and Mobley, but I'd argue that his ceiling is still higher. Let&rsquo;s give him a little more time.
Verdict: Unclear&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
In the last 10 drafts, the second overall pick has clearly been one of the best players in the draft class just three times (2013, 2016 and 2019).&nbsp;
A deeper examination of No. 2 overall picks reveals a limited number of franchise-altering talents. For every Kevin Durant, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Earl Monroe and Bill Russell, there are a number of players who didn't live up to expectations. Sometimes, there isn't a generational player on the board; other times, the team picking No. 2 overall just overthinks it or goes in the wrong direction. Either way, No. 2 hasn&rsquo;t produced as many all-time greats as you might expect, but there have been quite a few significant contributors.
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Oklahoma City will pick No. 2 in the 2022 draft. A look back at the last 10 drafts reveals that there are no guarantees for No. 2 picks.

Examining the success of teams selecting No. 2 in the NBA Draft

You are now invited into the NBA rabbit hole you didn&rsquo;t know you needed.
Do you remember Deron Williams before he boxed Frank Gore? The Deron Williams before toiling away with his hometown Dallas Mavericks and ring-chasing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The one before the New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn. The one that got you banned on forums because of how vociferously you may have argued that he was better or worse than Chris Paul.
Ten years ago today, on March 4, that dude dropped a franchise-record 57 points. Yeah, you&rsquo;re getting old too, son. (That's still a Nets record, by the way.)
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That game itself, otherwise, wasn&rsquo;t all that memorable. The Nets had about one month left as representatives of New Jersey before relocating to Brooklyn later that year. They, at 12-26, won 104-101 against a Charlotte Bobcats (!) team that dropped to 4-31 on the lockout-shortened season.
Starters in the game included other glorious names like Kris Humphries, who was second on the Nets with 11 points (and 13 rebounds) and played 40 minutes. DeShawn Stevenson finished with an 0-2-1-0-0 line and had one shot attempt in 29 minutes of play. Eduardo N&aacute;jera, DeSagana Diop (who started for Charlotte!) and Shelden Williams got some run, and Tyrus Thomas played about seven minutes.
Kemba Walker was still coming off the bench for D.J. Augustin. Corey Maggette was the game&rsquo;s second-highest scorer, finishing with 24 points on just 4-of-12 shooting, but converted 15-of-16 free-throw attempts.
Current Charlotte (Hornets) star LaMelo Ball was 10 years old.
But it was also one of Williams&rsquo; last awesome NBA moments while still in his prime, a career cut short due to... well, it depends on who you ask, and/or what you believe. It&rsquo;s either related to injuries, which we began seeing take a toll on Williams after the Nets moved to Brooklyn. Or other stuff, like constant clashes with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett during that infamous 2013-14 season together.
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Say what you want about Stephen A. Smith &mdash; and this was before he essentially became the face of ESPN &mdash; but I vividly recall him here in New York saying things like, &ldquo;Deron Williams has the easiest job a franchise player could ever hope to have!&rdquo; And, &ldquo;All he has to do is ball,&rdquo; as Williams, frankly, didn&rsquo;t.
There was also the story that Pierce once mocked Williams, saying, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2015/7/11/8932649/farewell-to-all-that" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What&rsquo;s the matter now, Deron? Your ____ hurt</a>?&rdquo; (If I&rsquo;m blanking it and not even giving you a letter, just know it was raw.)
The Nets had Williams &mdash; generally hated by their fans to this day &mdash; Pierce, Garnett, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez as a championship-level starting-five (in theory) entering the 2013-14 season. And the head coach was a first-timer in Jason Kidd, who played an integral part on the underappreciated 54-win New York Knicks the season before as a player.
<a href="https://sicovers.com/featured/brooklyns-new-look-nets-who-wants-a-piece-of-them-2013-14-october-28-2013-sports-illustrated-cover.html">Remember that Sports Illustrated cover</a>? Ohhhhhh maaaaaaan.
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You may also recall the famous Jackie MacMullan <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12690080/washington-wizards-paul-pierce-speaks-truth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profile on Pierce</a> when he was a Washington Wizard in the early John Wall and Bradley Beal days. As far as we know, this was before Wall and Marcin Gortat <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wizards-insider/wp/2018/02/07/marcin-gortat-responds-to-john-walls-comments-whos-attacking-who/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted to box each other&rsquo;s heads off</a>.
&ldquo;Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,&rdquo; Pierce <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12690080/washington-wizards-paul-pierce-speaks-truth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said to MacMullan</a>. &ldquo;But I felt once we got there, that's not what he wanted to be. He just didn't want that.
&ldquo;I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.&rdquo;
After noting that Johnson is quiet and doesn&rsquo;t want much attention, Pierce continued.
&ldquo;There's a lot of secondary guys on that team. KG and I went there looking at them as the main guys who would push us, because we were advancing in years. But we ended up doing all the pushing,&rdquo; he said.
(Given what we&rsquo;ve learned, it&rsquo;s mildly surprising that Williams didn&rsquo;t <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1472409021189857287" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just fight him</a> after seeing this, but anyway.)
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Williams remains one of the grand "what ifs" of this century. And let&rsquo;s be responsible &mdash; injuries are one of the driving reasons for his sudden downswing from stardom to shell over a... hmm... two-year span? But we do what-ifs with guys who battled injuries all the time: Penny Hardaway, Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Grant Hill and Derrick Rose, to name a few.
With Williams, just visualize, given how the game was going &mdash; and where he had been trending at one point &mdash; where he would&rsquo;ve evolved to if the talent, health, discipline and mentality all added up. And it doesn&rsquo;t always come together, which is why it&rsquo;s not responsible to purely say &ldquo;talent wins&rdquo; if the implication that talent alone is enough for substantial success.
And he clearly worked hard.
Williams averaged 19.5 points and 10.2 assists from 2007 to 2012 on .460/.346/.827 shooting splits. He attempted four threes a game at a respectable level and nearly six free throws per contest during that span. He consistently was among the league leaders in assists, while simultaneously profiling as one of the NBA&rsquo;s best scoring point guards. His True Shooting percentage was at 56.8% during those five years, hitting 60% in '07-08 and never dropping below 56.6% until the Nets&rsquo; last year in New Jersey. (Understandable when Humphries is your second-best player for most of the season.)
We weren&rsquo;t letting &lsquo;em fly from three the way we are now, and Williams was, like most others, streaky &mdash; but you had to guard him out there. The 35% perimeter clip in his peak reflected the near 36% for his career. The assists came with some high turnover numbers &mdash; Williams averaged 3.5 turnovers per game in those five seasons &mdash; but that still gave him a near 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
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Williams wasn&rsquo;t a usage monster either &mdash; his rating was never higher than 25.8% until a 30.1% usage in 2011-12, but, again, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/2012.html">look at the roster</a>. Even so, he was eighth in the league in usage; otherwise, he never cracked the league&rsquo;s top-20. You know who did during that span? And on multiple occasions? Corey Maggette, Michael Beasley, Stephen Jackson, his then-teammate Brook Lopez and his former teammate Carlos Boozer. (Rashad McCants, Andrea Bargnani, Charlie Villanueva, Josh Smith, Rodney Stuckey and Jordan Crawford were in the top-20 as well during those days.)
Until the trade from Utah to New Jersey, Williams would be in the top-20 in VORP consistently too. Most hadn&rsquo;t yet cared about some of those metrics though.
And his strength was a big part of his game. Williams was built like Eric Gordon, had powerful crossovers like Baron Davis, a passing fluidity that neared Steve Nash, and an offensive creativity that rivaled CP3&rsquo;s &mdash; which is how all those damn fights started.
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Williams, in a lot of ways, was perfect for where the league was going. Surprisingly, he only made three All-Star teams, which were consecutive from 2010 to 2012; though, <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2009/2/12/20301620/all-star-snubs-continue-for-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had snub arguments in 2008 and 2009</a>, and <a href="https://nypost.com/2013/01/26/nets-wont-stir-pot-about-all-star-snub/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">again in 2013</a>.
It never came together, and everyone missed out because of it. Imagine if his prime stretched into a couple of those Brooklyn seasons... but don&rsquo;t imagine too hard because logistically, it would be a pain in the ass to lay out. But if he did ball out the way people on microphones, in forums and in his own locker room called for? Man.
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Williams would've been toe-to-toe in the mid-2010s against then-prime-entering stars such as James Harden, Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard. In his own conference, we might&rsquo;ve seen him in the playoffs go crossover-for-crossover with Kyrie Irving, or bump-for-bump with Kyle Lowry, or tough-finish-for-tough-finish with Wall. All of that while still mirroring a stat line of roughly 20 points and 10 assists per game on efficient shooting, further increasing his three-point and free-throw volume in the process.
That said, he did give us multiple All-NBA seasons and, again, a whole-ass fight with Gore. He says he&rsquo;s one-and-done, but that might be because none of you have offered him the Pierce one yet. And as silly as that sounds, you know you&rsquo;d watch.
But seriously, peak Williams was epic. If he continued along the path he had been, we don&rsquo;t know if it would&rsquo;ve brought the Nets a title &mdash; but they would&rsquo;ve been damn close.
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On the March 4 anniversary of Deron Williams' 57-point game, Bryan Fonseca looks back on his career and wonders: "What if?"

Deron Williams dropped 57 a decade ago... what could've been?

The Houston Rockets have started the season off 1-14. That's a pace of just five wins for the entire season, which would be the worst record of all time.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1461360452672245770">StatMuse</a>
ANALYSIS:
While it's no shock the Rockets are amongst the worst in the team, no one expected a historically bad team from this group.
Houston added top draft choice Jalen Green and expected continued development from Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr.
The current owner of the worst record in NBA history are the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats, who finished 7-57.
That eam was coached by present-day Rockets coach Stephen Silas' father, Paul Silas--it will be disappointing to see history repeat itself.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

The Houston Rockets have started the season off 1-14. That's a pace of just five wins for the entire season, which would be the worst record of all time.

1-14 Rockets on-pace for worst record ever

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/the-worst-draft-day-comparisons-in-nba-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
Nearly every rookie who enters the NBA draws comparisons to a current or former NBA player leading up to draft night. It helps the fans get more familiar with the players who are coming into the league, and gives a perspective of their capabilities and potential career. Many of these comps are correct and representative, but from time to time, we get horrendously wrong and funny comparisons that end up being way off in the long run. Here are some of the worst draft comparisons in NBA history:
Adam Morrison: Larry Bird
Coming into the 2006 NBA Draft, Adam Morrison was one of the most sought-after prospects, and for good reason. The Gonzaga star averaged 26 points and 8 rebounds in his final season, and got drafted third by the Charlotte Bobcats. Expectations were significant, especially after getting the Larry Bird comparison. At the time, it seemed relatively justified, as Morrison was a small forward with similar size to Bird, a sweet stroke and knack for scoring. After a solid rookie season in which he averaged 12 points per game, Morrison would tear his ACL and never be the same again. He was mostly known for warming the bench during the Los Angeles' Lakers championship runs before eventually going overseas and retiring. Had he not suffered the injury, Morrison could have had a better career, but likely nowhere near Bird's.
Eddy Curry: Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal
Shaq was the most dominant force the NBA has ever seen, so how do you even compare any incoming rookie to The Diesel? When Eddy Curry came into the 2001 NBA Draft right out of high school as a 7-foot, 300-pound center, he had a frame that was very similar Shaq's. And since he also had a finesse game and a jumpshot, NBA decision-makers fell in love with his potential. While Curry would have a few good seasons and even averaged 20 points per game one year for the New York Knicks, he was nothing close to what people predicted. The so-called &ldquo;Shaq with a jump shot&rdquo; battled major weight problems throughout his career and eventually retired from the NBA in 2013 at 30 years old.
Markelle Fultz: James Harden
Markelle Fultz's NBA career is one of the more confusing and unexplainable stories in recent history. The first pick of the 2017 NBA Draft came into the league with the reputation of an all-around scorer and NBA-ready player. But after a mysterious shoulder injury, Fultz&rsquo;s jumpshot simply disappeared and became too ugly to look at. It's something we have never seen before, especially with a No. 1 pick. The comparison he was constantly receiving before the draft was James Harden due to his scoring ability and strength. But as fate would have it, Fultz would be the polar opposite of Harden. Nowadays, Fultz managed to turn things around for the better in Orlando last season before tearing his ACL. Still, even if he continues to improve after getting healthy, Fultz could become a valuable NBA player &mdash; but nowhere near Harden or a No. 1 pick.
Darko Miličić: Dirk Nowitzki
Getting drafted ahead of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh already made Darko Miličić one of the biggest busts in NBA history. Getting compared to one of the best power forwards ever also didn&rsquo;t help his case. There was plenty of mystery surrounding Darko leading up to the 2003 NBA Draft and, with his size and skill, he had a ton of potential. However, things would just never click for the Serbian big man. His poor work ethic, mixed with a limited skill set, had Darko riding the pine with the Detroit Pistons. Before the draft, Pistons executives fell in love with his mobility and soft touch for a player his size. Naturally, that led to comparisons with another European big man &mdash; Dirk Nowitzki. However, that comparison would turn out to be way off; it seemed to be based more on Darko's appearance and the fact that he was an international big than anything. Darko managed to stick around in the NBA for 10 seasons and even won a ring (with Detroit in 2004), but he still remains a huge draft miss for the Pistons.
Editor's Note: Let's not forget the infamous <a href="https://www.nbadraft.net/players/deshawn-stevenson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBADraft.net prospect profile of DeShawn Stevenson</a>, which compared the longtime NBA journeyman guard to... arguably the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

From time to time, NBA Draft comparisons can be way off. Basketball Network looked at some of the worst comparisons in NBA history.

Looking back on the worst draft comparisons in NBA history

On the dais, his shoulders looked awfully broad for a point guard who's fairly miniature in stature.
But anyone who knows Kemba Walker &mdash; as a Rice High School standout or as a young prep coming of age in the Soundview section of the Bronx &mdash; has always known the truth.
He makes up for his size with his fight. For a long, long time, that&rsquo;s been obvious.
&ldquo;The last couple years have been tough for me,&rdquo; Walker said as he looked upon the sea of reporters who attended the New York Knicks&rsquo; media day.
What an understatement.&nbsp;
In two years, Walker went from having a career-year and being named to the All-NBA Third Team, to being a player who had to have a first-round pick attached to him in order to be traded.
In some ways, the end is fitting, though. Walker&rsquo;s journey &mdash; from the Sack-Wern housing projects to the University of Connecticut &mdash; ended up being circuitous, after all.
Entering his 11th season, at 31 years old, Walker finally comes home. One of the city&rsquo;s own, he joins a Knicks team that has put itself on the radar in relatively short order. Led by reigning Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau and Most Improved Player Julius Randle, New York will attempt to ride the talents of Randle, RJ Barrett and the rest of the club that few around the Association believe is for real.
A team that's still obviously a work in progress, the hope among those who are rooting for the Knicks is that Walker&rsquo;s tough two-year stint in Boston was a bump in the road, not a sign of what&rsquo;s to come.
Way back on draft night in 2011, when Walker became an NBA player, he hosted a post-draft party at one of Lower Manhattan&rsquo;s hotspots. Everyone from his fellow draft mates to Chris Paul was in attendance. The league and its players' union knew that the most likely outcome was that the 2011 season would be delayed due to a lockout, and the incoming class of rookies knew it too.&nbsp;
But Walker didn&rsquo;t let that dampen his mood. He'd made it. And he was especially appreciative of Michael Jordan for &ldquo;taking a chance on him.&rdquo;
It seems like ancient history, but back then, there were many who wondered whether Walker would be able to supplant D.J. Augustin as the lead guard for then-Charlotte Bobcats. In his run up to the NBA Draft, Walker heard it all &mdash; he was too small, his game wouldn&rsquo;t translate, his weaknesses were too great to overcome.&nbsp;
Those questions resulted in less-proven players being taken ahead of him, and he then realized that neither his unprecedented five wins in five nights in the Big East Tournament, nor the ensuing national championship he won at UConn would cause the questions to cease.
He had to do it in the NBA. And in the end, that&rsquo;s exactly what he did.
All his life, Walker has been proving his doubters wrong, and now, he&rsquo;ll attempt to do it in his hometown.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m home,&rdquo; he said on Monday.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m already focused.&nbsp;Last couple years have been kinda rough for me, obviously with my knee, [but] I&rsquo;m locked in, ready to go, ready to play at a high level.&rdquo;
The Knicks will need every bit of it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"I'm home. I'm from here, born and raised. And it feels like it. I'm getting a lot of love." - Kemba Walker <a href="https://t.co/eYGG9QJ3h1">pic.twitter.com/eYGG9QJ3h1</a>
&mdash; Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1442504749723443206?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Coming off of a disappointing loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of last season&rsquo;s playoffs, general manager Scott Perry saw Atlanta&rsquo;s growth up close and personally. He then saw a great many of the conference&rsquo;s teams improve this past summer.&nbsp;
The Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets are obviously entering the season as the favorites, while the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are expected to be greatly improved.&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers are obviously <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/philadelphia-76ers-trade-seems-certain-but-we-havent-heard-last-of-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dealing with the Ben Simmons saga</a>, but even without getting a king&rsquo;s ransom in return for what appears to be an eventual trade, they should be one of the top teams out East. Even the Washington Wizards are entering the season with some optimism.
The question for the Knicks this season is whether they&rsquo;ve done enough to keep up. And they&rsquo;ll be counting on Walker to provide the answer.
During their run last season, New York was ultimately undone by their lack of depth from the point guard position. Their hope is that Walker&rsquo;s ability to attack the basket and create space against his defenders &mdash; assuming he still can &mdash; will be tools that should allow him to get easy looks for his teammates. That&rsquo;s not something the Knicks got against Atlanta, and both Randle and Barrett stand to benefit from allowing Walker to create off the dribble.
Perhaps it&rsquo;s fate that now, at 31 years old and with the deck stacked against him, is when Walker will be charged with the task.
Since taking over in New York, Perry&rsquo;s modus operandi has been to buy low on players whose perceived potential was greater than the results they were believed to be able to produce as pros. Randle ended up being buried treasure. They struck oil with Rose. But Bobby Portis, Mario Hezonja and Elfrid Payton? Not so much. 
Nonetheless, overall, the strategy has worked. But at this point, we obviously don&rsquo;t know which bucket Walker will end up in.
Fittingly now, only two years removed from being an All-NBA selection, the four-time All-Star will come back to the city where it all began for him in an attempt to recapture past glory.
Peddled by Brad Stevens, the former Boston Celtics coach-turned-team-president admitted defeat. Boston made a mistake by signing Walker to a four-year, $141 million contract in 2019. At least, that was the message. Stevens attached a first-round pick to him in order to get the Oklahoma City Thunder to agree to take Walker&rsquo;s pact in return for Al Horford &mdash; a player that Boston coincidentally let go in 2019. Stevens wanted a mulligan.
Truth be told, Oklahoma City isn&rsquo;t high on any player&rsquo;s list of cities to spend the latter stages of their career. But still, it&rsquo;s hard to imagine any player not feeling a bit slighted to learn that a team would rather pay him $50 million to go away than keep him around.&nbsp;
Walker, though, obviously wasn&rsquo;t complaining. When Oklahoma City bought him out, according to the Bronx native, New York was the only option he&rsquo;d considered.&nbsp;
The upstart club, for a change, had a duo of budding stars that just led an overachieving group to a playoff berth that didn&rsquo;t seem certain a year ago. With other young players showing promise &mdash; Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin among them &mdash; any observer can truly see the Knicks from afar and wonder what they can be.
And when Walker looked around and realized he wasn&rsquo;t wanted, he probably did too.
As the Knicks began their 2021-22 season, he sat in his orange and blue jersey. The threads were unfamiliar, but ironically, he looked quite comfy.
&ldquo;I'm from here, born and raised,&rdquo; he said.
And in the end, needing one another, Walker and the Knicks united at the right time.
Defying the odds from the beginning, Kemba Walker &mdash; New York City&rsquo;s own &mdash; went back to where it all began. 
And there, in New York, a city and a franchise starved for a winner, he hopes that he can do it once again.

Kemba Walker has defied the odds his entire life. The Knicks hope that he can continue to do exactly that, writes Moke Hamilton.

Finally home, Kemba Walker hopes to turn back clock with Knicks

According to <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/confidence-mounting-raptors-can-re-sign-masai-ujiri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Grange of Sportsnet</a>, the NBA could be on the cusp of league expansion, given the revenue hit caused by the pandemic. Seattle and Las Vegas are two notable leading candidates to add an NBA franchise.
"It&rsquo;s widely believed the NBA will expand for the first time since rounding out to 30 teams in 2004 partly to recoup losses from the pandemic," Grange wrote. "Returning to Seattle as part of the process is almost a given (with Las Vegas as the other likely city) now that the arena issues that led to the Supersonics leaving for Oklahoma City in 2008 have been resolved."
Grange added that current Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri has shown signs of wanting to pursue a contract extension, though joining a potential expansion franchise is enticing.&nbsp;
"But there is no timetable for that, and typically there is a minimum two-year lag between franchises being awarded and play beginning," Grange said. "And given the league hasn&rsquo;t formally announced any plan to expand, it makes little sense for Ujiri to remain on the sidelines passing up an opportunity to be the highest-paid executive in the sport while waiting for a day that could be years in the future."
The last time the league expanded, the Charlotte Bobcats joined the Association as the 30th franchise.

The NBA has not expanded since 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats joined the league.

NBA 'widely believed' to expand with Seattle, Las Vegas as frontrunner cities

One of the perks of covering the NBA is that you get to attend a ton of games, so you're bound to witness some wild moments firsthand. Our writers have been covering the league for many years, so we asked:
What's the craziest NBA moment that you've witnessed in-person?
Alex Kennedy: For me, it has to be Ray Allen's clutch three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. During the fourth quarter, my boss and I were sitting in the media area and figuring out our travel plans. If the Spurs won, the series was over and we'd fly home the next day; if the Heat won, we would need to stay in Miami for Game 7. With 28.2 seconds remaining, the Spurs went up by five and my boss, Steve Kyler, booked our flight home for the following day. He assumed the series was over! Shortly after, Chris Bosh grabs the rebound, Allen hits the shot and everyone was stunned. After the game, talking to Bosh, Allen and their teammates was a lot of fun; everyone immediately realized that they had just been part of something really special and historic. And, fortunately, we were able to reschedule our flight!
Spencer Davies: With the exception of seeing Kevin Durant nail a three over LeBron James to win his first championship (and subsequently repeating the shot over JR Smith in the following Finals), I would be lying if I didn&rsquo;t say LeBron&rsquo;s 2018 playoff run as a whole. There were two times -- Game 5 vs. the Indiana Pacers and Game 3 vs. the Toronto Raptors -- where The King nailed game-winners at the final buzzer. The first occasion, LeBron actually came up with the block on Victor Oladipo&rsquo;s layup and then&nbsp;knocked down the three out of the inbound (Indiana likely wins that series without it). With the second, LeBron ripped Toronto&rsquo;s soul right out of its heart with a full-court drive up the left side of the floor, threw up a 16-foot floater and banked it in as his body was going toward the baseline to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a commanding 3-0 lead. Just absolutely ridiculous moments to witness in person, especially having to withhold your thoughts being at the media table.
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Moke Hamilton: I'm so blessed to have covered seven NBA Finals and seen some truly incredible moments at Madison Square Garden, both as a young fan and a pro covering the league. Like in 2003, when Latrell Sprewell set the single-game record for most threes made without a miss (he shot 9-for-9). Years later, I saw the late, great Kobe Bryant score 61 and saw Carmelo Anthony top that by scoring 62. I covered Linsanity. And I saw some crazy things covering the Atlantic Division some years ago. But truth is, I think the craziest thing I ever saw was Ray Allen making &ldquo;the shot&rdquo; in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals; I had the good fortune of witnessing that piece of history live. I think what&rsquo;s more crazy about the shot itself was the amount of blunders the Spurs made in the final minute of that game. From missed free throws to blown coverages to failing to box out, the team that&rsquo;s always credited for its fundamentals couldn&rsquo;t close out a game they needed and they lost both Game 6 (and the ensuing Game 7) as a result. That outcome was crazy and it was only possible with Allen&rsquo;s shot, so I&rsquo;ve gotta go with that.
Imman Adan: Raptor fans booing Vince Carter&hellip; while he was still on the team. I&rsquo;ve been to many games that saw fans in the Scotia Bank Arena (formerly: Air Canada Centre) boo Vince Carter, but none like this. It was a cold autumn night, November 20, 2004, and the Toronto Raptors were in the midst of getting their derri&egrave;res flamb&eacute;ed by the San Antonio Spurs. A dejected Carter looked like he&rsquo;d rather be anywhere else than on the court when boos began to rain down. Eventually, head coach Sam Mitchell put Carter and fans out of their misery by benching him. This miraculously allowed sophomore Chris Bosh to lead a 19-point comeback, with the Raptors outscoring the Spurs 33-9 in the fourth quarter to win, 96-91. Now, this is far from the craziest NBA story, but it was a pivotal game in Raptors history -- a franchise-changing moment that signified a shift in leadership from Carter to Bosh.
Jonathan Concool: This is a tough one, but I&rsquo;m going to go with the November 20, 2010 game between the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. This was Blake Griffin&rsquo;s rookie year and it was still early in the season, so no one really knew how good this Griffin kid was since he had just missed the previous year due to injury. Well, I&rsquo;d like to think this is the game when the whole world got to know Griffin. Griffin had two literal jaw-dropping dunks during this matchup with the Knicks. One of them, Griffin was on a fast break against Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari and he spun into a monster slam on Gallinari in the open court. The other (more famous) one is, of course, the Timofey Mozgov poster, which will live on for eternity. Being in the arena to witness those dunks was truly an unforgettable experience.
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Kelsea O'Brien: Norman Powell&rsquo;s <a href="https://youtu.be/uao0ZZ8r52s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game 5 dun</a>k against the Indiana Pacers in his rookie season. I was behind the basket when it happened. It was my birthday. It was electric -- a total tectonic, cultural shift for the Raptors (who went on to win the game).
Nekias Duncan: I went to a Heat-Bobcats (yes, Bobcats) game during the 2011-12 season. I was still early in my writer phrase, so this was simply a &ldquo;Hey, I want to watch the Heat&rdquo; experience. Anyway, with around three minutes left in that game, Chris Bosh ISO&rsquo;s at the top of the key. He pumps, drives, then <a href="https://youtu.be/l0yIQUUXJ8o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jams over DJ White</a> for an and-one. It was one of the best dunks I&rsquo;d ever seen in a live setting, and also terrifying because Bosh landed so awkwardly that I was sure he&rsquo;d broken a leg or torn his groin or something.
Chris Sheridan: The craziest moment I have ever seen came when Shaquille O'Neal attempted a foul shot. The ball hit the rim so hard that it actually bounced over the basket stanchion. I challenge anyone to try to replicate that happenstance, and I would love to see a video of it happening. I am unable to find the video, but I saw it with my own two eyes.
Ethan Fuller: Tacko Fall's&nbsp;preseason debut against the Charlotte Hornets was unlike any game atmosphere I have ever witnessed in person. The crowd was thundering when Brad Stevens motioned for Fall to jump in with nine minutes left. It's the loudest I have experienced TD Garden -- and it was a&nbsp;preseason&nbsp;game. Two guys were wearing taco suits! Truly a bizarre, awesome, mythical game to be at.

We asked our BasketballNews.com staff to share the craziest NBA moment they witnessed firsthand.

Roundtable: What's the craziest NBA moment you've witnessed in person?

If your game warrants the spotlight early in your career, chances are the lights will gleam brighter, and with that comes expectations. Some college players lived up to the hype that surrounded them at the next level, but there are quite a few whose success didn't translate to the NBA.
In our latest Roundtable, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers the following question:
Who is the best college player that never became a star in the NBA?
Alex Kennedy: Jimmer Fredette became a household name while at BYU, averaging 28.9 points and 4.3 assists. In 2011, he was the Consensus National College Player of the Year and led the nation in scoring. His games were must-watch TV due to his seemingly unlimited three-point range. He even transcended the sports world and briefly became part of the pop culture lexicon; for example, at the height of Jimmer Mania, Lil Wayne name-dropped him in a song (&ldquo;I got a chopper and a trimmer shootin&rsquo; like Jimmer&rdquo;). He was the 10th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft (ahead of Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, Nikola Vucevic, Jimmy Butler, etc.), but he never averaged more than 7.6 points in the NBA. Fortunately for Jimmer, he&rsquo;s thriving in China, where he&rsquo;s dropped 75 points, averaged 37.6 points and made three All-Star appearances.
Spencer Davies: In my lifetime, I&rsquo;m picking two: Michael Beasley and Emeka Okafor. People have to understand just how dominant Beasley was in his lone season at Kansas State, collecting accolade after accolade as a freshman for the Wildcats, as he averaged over 26 points and 12 rebounds per game on 53% from the field! He showed flashes of greatness in the NBA early in his career, but not the kind of superstardom that followed him in the NCAA. As for my other pick, it&rsquo;s crazy remembering how the big question in 2004 was who would be the No. 1 pick: Okafor or Dwight Howard? While the latter was a high-school phenom, the former outworked every big man on the national stage for Jim Calhoun&rsquo;s UConn Huskies en route to an NCAA championship in his junior year prior to entering the draft. Okafor had imposing size and was a walking double-double who blocked every freaking shot in sight. In the NBA, he had his moments; none like Howard, though, who now has an NBA championship on his laundry list of achievements and just passed Walt Bellamy to move up to No. 11 on the league's all-time rebounding list.
Chris Sheridan: The best college player who never became a star in the league was Hank Gathers, who died while playing for Loyola Marymount. He was the No. 1 draft prospect and one of just three players in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season (the others were Xavier McDaniel and Kurt Thomas). He averaged 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds. He once had 48 points and 13 rebounds against LSU&rsquo;s Shaquille O'Neal and Stanley Roberts. He collapsed after dunking in a game and passed away due to a heart issue.&nbsp;
Jannelle Moore: The best college player who never became a star in the NBA is, tragically, Len Bias. He had the athleticism and skill. He gave Michael Jordan fits in college and would have been his biggest rival in the pros.
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Imman Adan: Compared to Larry Bird entering the league and described as a &ldquo;very good scorer with [a] complete offensive repertoire,&rdquo; Adam Morrison was none of that in the NBA. In college, the 6-foot-8 forward out of Gonzaga was a star, averaging 28 points on 43% from three in his final year, making him a finalist for the Naismith Trophy. The NBA did not come as easily to the slow-footed Morrison, who struggled to adapt to the speed of the league. The effortless shooting stroke he had in college seemed to dissipate as well, as he never averaged more than 11 points or shot better than 34% from deep. After tearing his ACL in his left knee and missing his entire sophomore year, what little burst of athleticism he did have vanished, making his NBA career a short (but eventful) one, winning two rings while riding the Lakers&rsquo; bench before retiring at 28.
Ethan Fuller: I'm going to play with a looser definition of "star" for this one and rule out guys like Christian Laettner and Marcus Camby, who did win NBA league awards. Instead, let's go with Joe Smith, who won Naismith Player of the Year at Maryland in 1995. The 6-foot-10 Smith obliterated teams, averaging 20.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game as a sophomore. He then went first overall to the Golden State Warriors in the 1995 NBA Draft. But Smith never found his footing and ended up playing for 11 NBA teams.
Jonathan Concool: Adam Morrison. Morrison averaged over 28 points per game as a junior at Gonzaga University, and led the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 before suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Bruins in the final seconds. Morrison took home five awards that season with Gonzaga, including WCC Player of the Year, but that&rsquo;s just about where the positives stop for Morrison&rsquo;s basketball career. He went on to get drafted third overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006 and was out of the league by 2010, with career averages of 7.5 points per game on 37.3% shooting from the field.
Nekias Duncan: I&rsquo;d go with Jimmer Fredette. He absolutely lit it up for BYU &mdash; Mormon Steph, if you will &mdash; and almost none of it translated to the NBA across multiple stints.
Kelsea O&rsquo;Brien: People forget just how small the NBA is, and how good the end-of-bench players were in college and high school. These guys were monsters. They still are! Their only downfall is that they are playing against and alongside even bigger monsters. I&rsquo;m going to go in a different direction here, though, and choose Cheryl Miller. One of the greatest women&rsquo;s basketball players of all-time, and because of ACL injuries, she never got the chance to go pro. Her professional career will always be one of the biggest &ldquo;what ifs&rdquo; in sports history.

Who is the best college player that never became a star in the NBA? We asked our BasketballNews.com staff to weigh in.

Roundtable: Who's the best college player that never became a star in the NBA?

Spencer Davies catches up with Will Bynum to discuss his unconventional journey and recent pivot to training NBA draft prospects.

After unconventional journey, Will Bynum is passing his wisdom on to next generation

The Miami Heat have advanced to their first NBA Finals since the 2013-14 season after knocking out the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. 
This year's NBA Finals will feature two teams that did not make the playoffs last year, as the Heat and Los Angeles Lakers have both made dramatic turnarounds. 
Game 1 is set for Wednesday, September 30th. Here are the full highlights from Game 6:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS GAME RECAP:&nbsp;
It was exactly one year ago Sunday when Jimmy Butler walked into the Miami Heat practice gym, took a seat on a makeshift stage and said he wanted to be part of the team&rsquo;s next title run.
He&rsquo;ll have that chance.
The Heat are going to the NBA Finals &mdash; surprising many, perhaps, but not themselves. Bam Adebayo scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Butler scored 22 points and the Heat won the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth time by topping the Boston Celtics 125-113 on Sunday night.
&ldquo;This group, more than anything, they just love to compete," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during the trophy celebration.
The Heat won the series 4-2 &mdash; and now, they&rsquo;ll see LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for the title. Game 1 of that series is Wednesday night.
Tyler Herro scored 19 points, Duncan Robinson and Andre Iguodala each had 15 and Goran Dragic added 13 for the Heat.
Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 24 and a career-high 11 assists, and Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker each scored 20 points for Boston &mdash; which fell in the East finals for the third time in the last four seasons.
Miami was down by six early in the fourth before regaining control. A 6-0 burst &mdash; Herro had the last five of those points, needing only 31 seconds to do so &mdash; tied it at 96. Boston took the lead twice more, with Adebayo answering both times, first with a dunk, then a go-ahead three-point play with 6:16 left.
He smacked the floor in celebration.
It&rsquo;s like they knew what was coming. They never trailed again. Herro had a pair of baskets in a 9-0 burst that put the Heat up by 10, Adebayo found Butler for a layup and a 116-102 lead everyone on the Heat bench was on their feet.
The Heat are the only NBA franchise with six Finals appearances in the last 15 years. They&rsquo;re seeking their fourth title, and this chance didn&rsquo;t come easily.
The Heat had a 5-for-5 stretch from 3-point range in the first quarter, but otherwise struggled again from beyond the arc in the first half. They were 6 for 14 from deep in the first 24 minutes, Boston was 11 for 23 before the break and the Heat took a 62-60 lead into halftime.
And the margin remained two going into the fourth.
Iguodala&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer &mdash; in as many attempts &mdash; with 4:20 left in the third put the Heat up eight, before Brown had five points in a 10-2 Boston spurt to tie it. Dragic had a go-ahead layup on Miami&rsquo;s final shot of the quarter and it was 88-86 Heat with 12 minutes remaining.
The Celtics scored 10 of the first 12 points of the fourth, surviving a scare in there as well when Brown took an ugly fall after scoring in transition. Brown thought Butler took him out at the legs, no foul was called and &mdash; after the Celtics&rsquo; medical staff checked out his left knee &mdash; Brown stayed in.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Tatum took 15 shots in the first half, the first time in his 270-game career that he&rsquo;s done that. He had taken 14 on four other occasions. ... Tatum&rsquo;s top four assist-total games of his career have come in the bubble.
Heat: The Heat are now guaranteed no less than $4,399,686 for their playoff share, and that number would rise to $5,791,041 if they win the title. ... Udonis Haslem is the only player to be on all six Heat teams that have made the finals.
WALKER VS. HEAT
Walker has been to the playoffs three times, and his team has been eliminated by Miami in all three of those appearances &mdash; with three different nicknames. Charlotte was still the Bobcats when the Heat swept them in the 2014 first round, the Heat rallied to beat Charlotte&rsquo;s then-rebranded Hornets in seven games in the 2016 first round, and now this win over the Celtics.
CROSS-SPORT SUPPORT
The Celtics and Heat were getting some support from afar before Game 6. Celtics coach Brad Stevens was pleased to hear video of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick signing off from his postgame news conference Sunday by saying &ldquo;good luck to Brad and the Celtics tonight. We&rsquo;ll be pulling for them.&rdquo; And at the Miami Marlins&rsquo; regular season finale, outfielder Lewis Brinson had a Butler jersey (in the popular Heat &lsquo;Vice&rsquo; theme) underneath his game jersey.

The NBA Finals is set with the Miami Heat taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. Game 1 is Wednesday.

Heat advance to Finals, will face Lakers

Over six months removed from their final game of the 2019-20 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are raring to go. This week, they&rsquo;ll finally return to the court, as the franchise prepares to conduct its first organized team activity since the pandemic.
Currently, the Cavaliers&rsquo; players and staff are quarantining in their own hotel rooms downtown before their first scheduled group workout on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Abiding by the same protocols as the NBA teams in Orlando, everybody must test negative for COVID-19 twice in order to attend. There will be six, two-and-a-half-hour late-morning programs and optional nightly shooting and workout sessions from Sept. 23 through Sept. 30.
According to a Cavaliers team source, the organization fought hard for this opportunity. It was anything but the perfect solution; Cleveland and the seven other teams left out of the NBA bubble in Orlando would&rsquo;ve loved to participate in the restart. These eight franchises lost a lot of footing compared to the teams that were able to continue their season in Orlando.
Despite missing the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns went 8-0 in the seeding games and built toward next season. The Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans had the chance to fight for a playoff spot. Perhaps the closest team to Cleveland process-wise is the Washington Wizards and, with Bradley Beal on the sidelines, they saw their future cornerstone pieces such as Rui Hachimura and Troy Brown Jr. improve and get reps versus other teams. The Cavaliers source described being left out of the Orlando bubble as an "extreme disadvantage." Each team in Orlando played a total of eight games and had three scrimmages.&nbsp;
While it seems minor, that type of progression is important and Cleveland had no way to replicate that. Instead, the Cavaliers will have to settle for this in-region, internal bubble of their own -- scrimmaging five-on-five and practicing within a team setting. Again, it isn&rsquo;t perfect, but it&rsquo;s better than nothing, even without the likes of Andre Drummond (personal matter), Cedi Osman (overseas), Tristan Thompson (unrestricted free agent) and Matthew Dellavedova (unrestricted free agent).
&ldquo;First of all, it's going to be some semblance of normalcy, which is great,&rdquo; the Cavs team source said. &ldquo;I think, more than anything, the team bonding and being together and enjoying each other and our presence is going to be awesome. I think that's going to be a big, big positive for us. It's going to be like a really cool retreat, if you will, with basketball. I think it&rsquo;s going to be a major plus and then Coach (J.B. Bickerstaff) getting to reaffirm some of the stuff he wants to put in from a defensive standpoint will be great. And just getting to play [is important]. We'll just continue to move forward, onward and upward, hopefully make some real strides during these next few days in our bubble, and then continue on to what's next.&rdquo;
Bickerstaff will return as head coach after his 11-game showing last season; it&rsquo;s the first time the Cavs have had the same coach in consecutive years since Tyronn Lue in 2018. That continuity is essential for a franchise that&rsquo;s focused on turning into a consistent winner. According to the team source, Bickerstaff was always going to be the coach to lead Cleveland into the future; it just so happened that former head coach John Beilein didn&rsquo;t make it through the year, so Bickerstaff got to grab the reins a bit earlier than anticipated.&nbsp;
The Cavaliers are thrilled to see how Bickerstaff can push their team forward. He&rsquo;s been in the NBA for 17 years, starting under his father, Bernie, as an assistant with the Charlotte Bobcats. He also had stints coaching the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. His head coaching experience with the Rockets and Grizzlies is a huge reason why Cleveland believed in him as its long-term solution, per the team source.&nbsp;
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Bickerstaff has a unique ability to develop relationships with his players, on and off the floor. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest, he grinds and he&rsquo;s &ldquo;magnetic&rdquo; as a teacher.
&ldquo;He's the right guy for what we're doing right now,&rdquo; the team source said. "We have our head coach of the future. And we have some continuity moving forward.&rdquo;
Consistency is the next step for these Cavaliers. For that to happen, there has to be widespread improvement from top to bottom. That includes the front office providing the right pieces to the puzzle, players committing to get better in-house and coaches continuing to adapt their schemes to the roster. Bickerstaff&rsquo;s short takeover stint was a taste of what that looks like.
&ldquo;It has to be a multi-prong approach. There's not one solution to becoming better at that,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;Post All-Star break, we were competing, we were playing hard. And the results show that; it&rsquo;s a small sample size, but [it was] 11 games against some real teams. We know we can do it.&rdquo;
Cleveland went 5-6 after the All-Star break, but there were plenty of positive takeaways from that stretch. There was a double-digit comeback win against the Miami Heat, a grind-it-out victory over the San Antonio Spurs, a 14-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers and a tough victory over the Denver Nuggets. Even in losses, there was a competitive spirit that had been missing.&nbsp;
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and his front-office staff have the chance to bolster the roster in multiple ways. First, there&rsquo;s the upcoming NBA Draft on Nov. 18. The Cavaliers currently hold the No. 5 overall pick. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the team will be active in trade conversations and <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/09/will-kevin-porter-jr-start-for-cleveland-cavaliers-this-coming-season-hey-chris.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could use the selection as bait</a> -- if the right short- or long-term piece is available. That is contingent on how the draft shakes out, though.
The 2020 NBA Draft is wide open in terms of where players are projected to land. Altman and his front office are still mulling things over. With plenty of time to do their due diligence, there have been debates over certain prospects; Cleveland.com reported Deni Avdija, Isaac Okoro and Devin Vassell as the <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/08/who-will-cleveland-cavaliers-pick-at-no-5-in-nba-draft-hey-chris.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three top wings in consideration</a>.&nbsp;
Per the Cavs source, this pre-draft process has been more difficult than usual considering teams can&rsquo;t meet any of the prospects in person to get a feel for their personality and establish a rapport. Also, there&rsquo;s less data available than in a typical year, so the team is just trying to watch as much game film as possible and hold virtual meetings with prospects. If Cleveland chooses to hang on to the fifth pick, the organization has an opportunity to add a good player who fits into the culture that&rsquo;s being established. Ideally, they&rsquo;ll find someone with the right attitude, a strong work ethic, toughness and a desire to be there.
Another way Altman and Co. can help Bickerstaff is through free agency. Much of their plan is hinges on Andre Drummond and whether he&rsquo;ll opt out. According to the team source, all signs suggest that Drummond &ldquo;probably will&rdquo; exercise his $28,751,774 player option. Drummond said as much during an appearance on ESPN&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/26437808" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Le Batard &amp; Friends Network podcast</a>.
&ldquo;Yeah, that&rsquo;s going to be pretty hard to give up, so you can count on me being in Cleveland still,&rdquo; Drummond said in June. Later in the interview, he added: &ldquo;I definitely will be in Cleveland.&rdquo;
Since they&rsquo;re no longer a luxury tax-payer, the Cavaliers will have the $9,258,000 mid-level exception on their hands; this can be used entirely on one free agent or split between multiple players. The Cavs source said that the team will be looking for &ldquo;defensive-minded players&rdquo; while also looking to add &ldquo;length and athleticism.&rdquo;&nbsp;
It is important to note that the franchise does hold Tristan Thompson&rsquo;s Bird rights, meaning if the Cavaliers decide to bring him back into the fold, they can go over the salary cap to sign him and still have their MLE. With that said, they&rsquo;re likely not going to spend a ton of money to the point of dipping back into the luxury tax, especially since they did all that work to clear up their cap sheet in the previous two years. At this stage, it&rsquo;s about hitting singles and adding those positives up -- Alfonzo McKinnie and his team-friendly contract is a perfect example of that.
The team source said that there&rsquo;s &ldquo;a lot of mutual interest&rdquo; between Cleveland and Thompson. In a sense, who the team drafts could play a significant role in that free-agency decision. Would it make sense for Thompson to return if Onyeka Okongwu is the selection at five? Though unlikely, if <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/james-wiseman-memphis-2020-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Wiseman were to surprisingly slide</a> to the Cavaliers and they nabbed him, re-signing Thompson may no longer be a priority.
The Cavs could also try to improve the roster via trades, although league sources say that most trade talks around the NBA are on hold at the moment. Not many conversations were taking place while teams were in the bubble and everyone is waiting to see what the 2020-21 salary cap will be set at before making moves.
As for the cornerstone pieces already on the roster, Cleveland feels great.&nbsp;
Collin Sexton found his niche and, specifically under Bickerstaff, thrived. Over his five games in March, the second-year guard averaged 30 points, 4.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 40 minutes per contest. His true shooting percentage during that stretch was a career-best 66.4 percent. If you want a slightly larger sample size, look at his post All-Star break numbers when Bickerstaff slid into his head coaching role: 25.5 points and 4.2 assists with a 43.1 three-point percentage. Playing both as a ball-handler and off the ball, Sexton was as efficient as he&rsquo;s ever been, had the highest usage rate on the team and made teams pay.
The team source described Sexton as &ldquo;looking monstrous&rdquo; and &ldquo;huge&rdquo; after working on his body. The Cavaliers are excited to see where Sexton goes next in his development.
&ldquo;He's our cultural backbone and what we want to be about,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;He just puts his head down and goes. He got left off the initial team for Rising Stars, which is insane. He's an incredible kid in that way [that he keeps working].&rdquo;
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Last year&rsquo;s draft saw the franchise bring in three different talents: Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler.&nbsp;
Garland had a case of the ups and downs, but the ups gave us a glimpse of his ceiling. Among rookie point guards, he ranked second in total assists (229) behind only Ja Morant. Despite his streaky shooting nights, he still knocked down 35.5 percent of his five triples per game. Coming off just four games of collegiate experience, reps at the professional level were paramount for Garland from the standpoint of running the marathon, so to speak.
According to the source, Garland&rsquo;s been throwing down alley-oops in 1-on-0 workouts, asserting the fact that he&rsquo;s healthy and has his legs under him without any limitations. He&rsquo;s also come back to Cleveland with a better physical frame.
&ldquo;We know there's so much more left, we know there's so much more there,&rdquo; the team source said of Garland&rsquo;s development. &ldquo;He's also been super locked in because he feels like he has so much more potential, so much more to offer. He also feels snubbed and disrespected by that All-Rookie team, which was absurd in a lot of regards. He's a wonderful kid, too. Great worker. We're excited about him and his potential. I think his best basketball is yet to come.&rdquo;
Can Sexton and Garland work in the same backcourt, particularly on the defensive end? That&rsquo;s a question the Cavaliers are hoping to get answered too. The source concedes that the two would benefit from a bigger and longer froncourt; however, they&rsquo;ll also have to get tougher, slide their feet better, power through screens and genuinely take charge of that side of the court as a duo.
They could always just talk to Larry Nance Jr. An unsung hero for the team, last season was the best of his career. He&rsquo;s a Swiss Army knife who offers the versatility that coaches dream of, both as an offensive weapon and defensive stalwart. Most notably for Bickerstaff, he was even used as a three in some lineups when the Cavaliers went bigger. Remember the double-digit comeback against the Miami Heat at home? That all started with Nance&rsquo;s tenacity on defense.
Of course, Porter might&rsquo;ve shown the most flashes as an individual defender among the young guards, and he showed much more than just that. Bouncing between the second unit and the starting lineup, the rookie swingman provided highlight-reel playmaking, impressive shooting and infectious energy. Though there&rsquo;s been curiosity about when he&rsquo;ll start at the three or supplant one of Sexton or Garland as a starting guard, the Cavs source has an inkling that Porter will continue to pack his powerful punch off the bench. Maybe that&rsquo;s because the organization would like to see what Year 2 looks like for its young pairing, and it&rsquo;s been reported that Cleveland views Porter more as a shooting guard rather than a forward.
Regardless of positional opinions and who&rsquo;s in the starting five, you&rsquo;re going to see all three of them playing together at the same time under Bickerstaff. You might see different combinations of those players alongside Windler, too.
The 24-year-old missed the entirety of his rookie season with a stress reaction in his lower left leg. The Cavaliers tried to bring him back slowly via a couple of stints with the team&rsquo;s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, but it was to no avail. Since the January surgery, however, he has recovered fully. According to the team source, Windler is going to be 100 percent, full-go in the upcoming team workouts.&nbsp;
&ldquo;These next couple weeks are going to be just awesome for him, to get back to playing basketball again,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;We're excited to see what that looks like. But talk about a great fit along with the guards -- size, shooting, basketball IQ, cutting, really good rebounder for his position. We're pretty pumped about the possibilities, but we have to see it first.&rdquo;
A healthy, fresh Kevin Love will go a long way too. His gravity on the perimeter, effectiveness on the block and aggressiveness on the glass are game-changers. Cedi Osman has steadily improved as one of the team&rsquo;s all-around forwards. The length of the second unit with Dante Exum and McKinnie was one of the more intriguing parts of the latter half of the season.
The Cavaliers also converted Dean Wade&rsquo;s two-way contract into a standard deal and took a flyer on versatile big man Jordan Bell, so we&rsquo;ll see how they look in the next week.
The Cavs source said that the mood around the team is an eager one. Being on pause for this long has Cleveland wanting to get going. It hasn&rsquo;t been easy to sit at home and watch as much of the league continues without you.
Come 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning, they won&rsquo;t have to anymore.

Spencer Davies details what's next for the Cavs as they hold their first team workouts since March and enter a unique offseason.