Bullets

Recently, the John Wall Foundation hosted an event at The Salvation Army, where John Wall opened up about how difficult the last few years have been for him. The five-time All-Star described the last few years as &ldquo;the darkest place I&rsquo;ve ever been in.&rdquo;&nbsp;
&ldquo;At one point in time, I thought about committing suicide,&rdquo; Wall admitted. &ldquo;I mean, just tearing my Achilles, my mom being sick, my mom passing, my grandma passing a year later &mdash; all of this in the midst of COVID at the same time&hellip; me going to the chemotherapy and sitting there, seeing my mom take her last breath, wearing the same clothes for three days straight and laying on the couch beside her. My team, the mother of my kids has been great, my two boys, it's my motivation for me. Looking at all that, I'm like, 'If I can get through this, I can get through anything in life.'
"Everybody goes through something, we all went through tough times, nobody's got it easy. But I don't think a lot of people could get through what I went through. To me, to be back on top where I want to be and see that the fans still want me to play, having support from my hometown, their support means a lot in a time where I had to go find a therapist.
"A lot of people think, 'I don't need help, I can get through it,' but you gotta be true to yourself, find out what's best for you, and I did that. I'm just happy to have this opportunity to play basketball again. I think everything I have been through has all been a part of God's plan&hellip; Even though I was in a dark place the last couple of years, I'm super excited... to play the game that I love."
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This admission sent shock waves throughout the entire sports world.&nbsp;
I reached out to former Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat, who played with Wall for five seasons, to have a discussion about his former teammate.
Etan Thomas: What were your thoughts when you heard John Wall&rsquo;s interview detailing everything he has been through?&nbsp;
Marcin Gortat: &ldquo;First of all, I was shocked. I didn&rsquo;t know that he was going through so many different issues. I was a witness a couple years ago while we were teammates and there was this little 6-year-old girl, Miyah Telemaque-Nelson, who <a href="https://twitter.com/johnwall/status/537085825767735296?s=21&amp;t=isslghfV3tQMWGH-SXWKbg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had really connected with</a> who passed away from cancer. He had been raising money for her and doing charity work for her, and I remember the big impact her death had on him. He literally broke down during a postgame interview where he dedicated the game to her.&rdquo;
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Thomas: Yeah, I remember seeing that video. He really took that hard.
Gortat: &ldquo;Even harder than most people know. He was really down for a couple of weeks after that. So when I heard that he lost his mom and then his grandmother, I thought back to how hard he took [it] when little Miyah passed away. After hearing this past interview, I felt bad. Like as a former teammate, I should&rsquo;ve been supporting [him] more. Yeah, I texted with him a couple of times while he was in Houston. I knew he was struggling with the situation as far as the team and them pushing him to the side, so I knew that alone was catastrophic for him because I know how much he loves basketball. But couple that with losing people as close to you as your mother and grandmother [and that] had to have been just devastating.&rdquo;
Thomas: He mentioned that he has a positive outlook now and feels optimistic with his new situation with the Los Angeles Clippers, so that was good to hear.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m hoping that basketball will be something that can help him since he seems to be in a much better situation with the Clippers so that will occupy his mind and his emotions somewhat, but I really hope he heals and gets all of the support toward his healing.&rdquo;
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Thomas: I definitely agree. One of the things that bothers me is when I hear different fans or people on social media or in the sports media reporting on rumors that are just inaccurate. They cast a negative light on an athlete based on these rumors. Stephen A. Smith <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/clippers/news/stephen-a-smith-apologizes-to-john-wall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly apologized</a> to John for his role in demonizing him last season in Houston. I was glad to see him do that because the media really went after John Wall and swayed public opinion on him in a very cruel and uninformed way.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah and that&rsquo;s very unfortunate that that happens a lot in the media nowadays, but this is how it is in this league. A lot of people owe John Wall an apology. I understand the media has to write something or say something on their shows that&rsquo;s controversial and that gets all of the people&rsquo;s attention because that&rsquo;s what they are paid to do. But people who know John know that they were unfairly demonizing him. Not that he&rsquo;s perfect, nobody is perfect. Did he make mistakes? Yes, but everybody makes mistakes. But he is not the person they were making him out to be, and it&rsquo;s terrible how much that happens.&rdquo;
Thomas: I had a debate with David Aldridge and Marc Spears about the power of the media. Marc came out publicly and said that he regretted doing the interview, but I was trying to explain to them the power that the media has to sway public opinion, and how the media should be held accountable when they talk recklessly. And they just weren&rsquo;t willing to accept that the media has that kind of power. But this is a prime example. It&rsquo;s good that Stephen A. publicly apologized, but hopefully that changes the way he and many others in the media target players and demonize them because it happens too often. Just here with the Wizards, I saw it happen with Kwame Brown and with Chris Webber after he got traded (back when they were the Bullets). It really happens way too much.&nbsp;
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Gortat: &ldquo;I definitely agree. So let me say, as someone who played with John Wall for many years: When he is healthy, he is one of the best point guards in the league &mdash; hands down. The guy is a beast. I don&rsquo;t know what Houston was doing with him. That was completely absurd. Here you have a guy of his caliber and you have him sitting at home? Not even on the bench, but at home? I can&rsquo;t imagine how he felt going through that for [an entire] season? And to have these prominent people in the media vilifying him while he is going through all of this, as he&rsquo;s dealing with injury after injury and losing his loved ones?&rdquo;&nbsp;
Thomas: Yeah, I don&rsquo;t care if anyone says there wasn&rsquo;t any cruel or malicious intent behind their reporting &mdash; that doesn&rsquo;t mean that it wasn&rsquo;t still cruel and malicious.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;Exactly! Many people think athletes are like robots &mdash; like video game characters who just perform, and that&rsquo;s not true. We are human beings with emotions and we go through tragedies and hardships in life, but are still expected to push all that to the side and perform at the highest level every night. I remember seven or eight years ago when DeMar DeRozan was in Toronto and he was going through depression and he said that he was going to the games, but he wasn&rsquo;t really thinking about the games because he was dealing with so much personally.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The NBA is getting better at helping players now when they are going through tragedies, but we still have a long way to go. I remember my fourth year and definitely my fifth year playing in Washington &mdash; specifically when things with me and John were not the best &mdash; there was a lot that I was dealing with and I didn&rsquo;t have too much help. But honestly, it wasn&rsquo;t a concern. Many people just wanted me to perform and push my personal life to the side, and sometimes that&rsquo;s hard to do.&rdquo;
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Thomas: &ldquo;I can definitely attest to that. I lost my grandmother, who I was really close with, while I was playing with the Wizards. And I remember our trainer, Eric Waters, trying to rush me back and I was like, &ldquo;Can you give me a minute please?&rdquo; When I came back, that&rsquo;s when I had the first issue with Brendan Haywood. Normally, I would&rsquo;ve ignored him throwing tantrums over not getting enough playing time, but that day just wasn&rsquo;t the day, so I flipped on him. The team actually formed a human barricade and escorted him out of the locker room. Then, everyone &mdash; Ernie Grunfeld, Eric Waters, Coach Eddie Jordan &mdash; was like, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s wrong? Why did you get so upset?&rdquo;&nbsp; And I was like, &ldquo;I told y&rsquo;all I needed a minute!&rdquo;
Gortat: &ldquo;Yeah, and my issues with John kind of formed in a similar way, to be honest &mdash; because I was holding so much in and suppressing what I was going through and reacting to different things on the court like not getting the ball as much as I wanted to or us losing games I felt we should&rsquo;ve won. Interesting, I didn&rsquo;t know that&rsquo;s what started y&rsquo;all&rsquo;s issues.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Let me tell you this quick story. I went to Cleveland and I was on this stupid streak of 250 or 280 or something games [in a row] without missing a game, so I was playing like three seasons straight. And all of a sudden in December, my mom had a stroke. I got the message while I was in Cleveland and I was shocked. I broke down crying. They had found my mom after like a day-and-a-half, laying at home unconscious; my friend found her. So when I came back to the locker room that morning, I was there physically but I wasn&rsquo;t really there. But John and Brad [Beal] were the first people who said, &lsquo;Give him some space, let him go deal with what&rsquo;s going on with his family because that&rsquo;s bigger than basketball and he has our support.&rsquo; So, Coach [Randy] Wittman came down and told me, &lsquo;Go to Poland, don&rsquo;t worry about the team for now.&rsquo;
&ldquo;That meant a lot to me. They knew what I was going through. And when you&rsquo;re so close to a teammate, you feel their pain. And in turn, I know how close John was with his mom. He talked about her all the time. When we finally sat down and squashed our issues, we had a real &lsquo;kumbaya moment.&rsquo; We talked about all of our personal struggles, all that we were dealing with and had been dealing with. We cleared the air and connected on a whole &lsquo;nother level as teammates, and it was exactly what we needed. So, hearing last week that my teammate contemplated suicide was devastating. Yeah, we had our issues in the past, but none of that matters now. I am cheering for John and want him to be successful both on and off the court.&rdquo;
Thomas: I&rsquo;m glad we did this interview, to have us &mdash; two former Wizards &mdash; encourage our brotha. You know, once a Wizard, always a Wizard. I really want to see him do well too. I was already rooting for him to really have a new beginning with the Clippers and shine like the old John Wall, but now I&rsquo;m rooting for him times 1,000.&nbsp;
Gortat: &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t agree with you more! I wanna see John demolish every other point guard in the league. Just go on a tear. I remember seeing him battle every game &mdash; Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul &mdash; and people forget how good he was, how fast he was end to end, how explosive he was. John was special, and I want to see him get back to that. But more importantly, I want him to heal because he has literally gone through hell over these last years.&rdquo;

John Wall recently opened up about his struggles. Former Wizards centers Etan Thomas and Marcin Gortat discuss his comments.

Marcin Gortat: 'A lot of people owe John Wall an apology'

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

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

Following the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; shocking postseason exit, all eyes are now on Deandre Ayton's free agency.
After the Suns declined to sign Ayton to a five-year, rookie-scale max extension before the 2021-22 season, restricted free agency is now on the horizon for the athletic big man. During the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Ayton&rsquo;s agent Bill Duffy discussed Ayton's future on SiriusXM&rsquo;s NBA show.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re disappointed. We wanted a max contract,&rdquo; Duffy <a href="https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1527772160923619328" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;He went out and was a solider the whole year, played well, improved his statistics. So, we&rsquo;re proud of him. A lot of guys handle things differently, but he was very mature about it. Things will work out for Deandre. He&rsquo;s a valuable player. There&rsquo;s other teams in the league as well. He&rsquo;s a restricted free agent, so we&rsquo;ll see how this process unfolds.&rdquo;
Ayton averaged 17.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.7 blocks on a career-high 65.6% True Shooting percentage during the 2021-22 campaign. Ayton was a key asset for the Suns on both ends of the court, especially around the basket as an easy lob threat and defensive anchor. Ayton has been a key piece for the Suns, but is he worth a max contract? Based on Duffy&rsquo;s comments earlier this week, it sounds like Ayton&rsquo;s camp won&rsquo;t settle for anything less than the max entering free agency.
From the Suns&rsquo; perspective, they saw improvement from the 2018 No. 1 overall pick this season before the team's disappointing postseason showing.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s improved each year, helps us on both the defense and the offense,&rdquo; Suns owner Robert Sarver told <a href="http://BasketballNews.com">BasketballNews.com</a> recently about Ayton. &ldquo;I think offensively, you see this year he&rsquo;s taken another good step in terms of his touch and his ability to score around the basket. So, he&rsquo;s been a key part of what we&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;
Taking all of this into consideration, what if Ayton's days in Phoenix are numbered? Here's a look at the most realistic sign-and-trade destinations for Ayton this summer.
Note: It's important to remember that sign-and-trade deals rarely return the same value as a traditional trade. The Suns have let it be known that they won't simply let an asset like Ayton walk for nothing. If Ayton&rsquo;s time in Phoenix is indeed over, the Suns won&rsquo;t be leaving the relationship empty-handed.
San Antonio Spurs
Spurs receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones
San Antonio is one of the few teams this offseason with secured max-level cap space. All that needs to be done in order to chase Ayton is renounce the restricted rights to Lonnie Walker.
Being at the bottom of the NBA standings is new for the Spurs. After being one of the league's model organizations for over two decades, they have officially hit a playoff drought. San Antonio was hoping for some lottery luck, but now they have to try another plan to bring in a star.
San Antonio&rsquo;s dynamic young duo of Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson is so fun to watch, but the they need a third game-changer to take this rebuild back into playoff mode. Ayton would be an ideal solution, mainly because of his excellent two-way fit in the Spurs&rsquo; system. Dropping Ayton into the Spurs&rsquo; player-development program could make some in Phoenix worry about the long-term consequences of this deal.
For Phoenix, cooperating with a long-time rival would hurt. However, if the relationship between team and player becomes fractured, the Suns won&rsquo;t have much of a choice if he finds a max offer on the open market.
The Suns won&rsquo;t let Ayton leave Phoenix unless they receive strong assets in return. The Spurs can actually provide a solid package that helps in the short and long-term.
In this deal, Phoenix could land one of the most underrated big men in the Association as well as two young players who have shown flashes. The Jalen Smith experiment was a disaster for the Suns after taking him No. 10 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, and Vassell went one pick later. Phoenix can right that wrong while also obtaining an intriguing point guard to develop in Jones.
This feels like a win-win for both sides. San Antonio would have a new Big 3 in Ayton, Murray and Johnson, while the Suns could acquire their new starting center and two pieces to bolster the bench unit.
Charlotte Hornets
Hornets receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Terry Rozier, PJ Washington and draft compensation
There might not be a team with a more dire offseason need than the Hornets and their hole at center. Charlotte was one of my NBA League Pass teams this season due to their fun offensive pace, but the defense often bordered on disastrous. Montrezl Harrell and Mason Plumlee aren&rsquo;t going to cut it, so it&rsquo;s time for Charlotte to get aggressive.
Given Charlotte&rsquo;s roster, they would have to move some salaries around to make an Ayton chase realistic. Offloading Gordon Hayward&rsquo;s contract is going to be a tough task and they may even have to relinquish one of their top-15 picks to do so, but it would have to happen in order for them to pursue Ayton. Hayward is due $61.6 million over the next two seasons, and Charlotte simply can&rsquo;t afford to keep biting that bullet with restricted free agent Miles Bridges due for a payday and LaMelo Ball&rsquo;s own rookie-scale extension on the horizon. Trading away Hayward and Mason Plumlee would give the Hornets max space.
Landing Ayton is Charlotte's dream scenario. Not only would Ayton continue to get spoon-fed easy looks from an elite point guard, he would help stabilize the Hornets' defense to respectable levels. Thanks to his freakish athleticism, Ayton would be able to cover up a lot of holes around him defensively.
Phoenix would love to pull off a double sign-and-trade to nab Bridges, but that seems unlikely. Instead, this deal allows them to find their long-term answer at point guard post-Chris Paul. While Terry Rozier is a shot-chucker, he has improved as a playmaker in Charlotte. In the short-term, Rozier could step in as the Suns&rsquo; sixth man and provide the exact boost that they need in offensive guard creation. PJ Washington is an interesting add because he could slide right into the small-ball 5 role played previously by Dario Saric.
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Indiana Pacers
Pacers receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Myles Turner, Chris Duarte, TJ McConnell
What&rsquo;s the next step for Indiana? Long gone are Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert. Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield could be the next Pacers veterans to be shipped out via trade as Indiana fully embraces a rebuild attempt. It&rsquo;s been long overdue for the Pacers to pull the plug on the core that continued to stagnate once the postseason arrived.
A year later, Indiana&rsquo;s future looks much brighter with a talented, new-look core of Tyrese Haliburton, Chris Duarte, Isaiah Jackson and whoever is selected at No. 6 overall.
Ayton couldn't ask for a better pick-and-roll partner than Haliburton. Already making magic happen with CP3, Ayton&rsquo;s rolling ability would help accentuate Haliburton&rsquo;s biggest strengths. Also, Ayton&rsquo;s defensive versatility would be a welcome arrival for a team that nosedived in that category last season.
For Indiana, the price would be hefty. Not only would this trade require a four-year max contract for Ayton, but the Pacers would likely need to ship out a key piece of their young core via sign-and-trade (such as Duarte).
This trade would be a huge win for Phoenix, but it also looks great for the Pacers. The Suns would have a starting center who adds floor-spacing equity and elite rim protection, a capable veteran backup point guard who can spell Paul at times, plus one of the most impactful rookie wings in the Association. Having to include Duarte could leave the Pacers apprehensive, but they are reportedly enamored with adding another explosive piece via the draft, as Jaden Ivey (Purdue), Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky) and Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona) have all been linked to Indiana early in the pre-draft process.&nbsp;
Detroit Pistons
Pistons receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Jerami Grant, Isaiah Stewart, Cory Joseph and draft compensation
Another team that has considered making a run at Ayton this offseason is the Pistons, and they can create max space very easily: trading away Kelly Olynyk&rsquo;s contract.
The Pistons struck gold with Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey and they are helping usher in a new era in Detroit. Ayton&rsquo;s arrival would be the final piece to the puzzle for a team seemingly pushing their chips in on postseason play as early as 2023.
It would be best for Ayton to land with a capable lead guard who can feed him regularly. Already capable of tallying 20 and 10 most nights, Ayton would be set up for long-term success alongside Cunningham and Bey.
The question is, what would the Pistons need to send Phoenix&rsquo;s way in order for this sign-and-trade to go through? It&rsquo;s going to be a lot, and it would be a blockbuster-type transaction.
Blockbuster indeed, because Grant is now heading back to the Valley in this scenario. If the Suns and Pistons want to cooperate on a Ayton deal, I have to imagine one of Grant or Bey would have to be involved. Stewart is another enticing trade chip because he&rsquo;s shown the versatility to space the floor from three-point range. While he doesn't have the same touch as Ayton, Stewart brings nastiness and a tenacity on both ends of the court that Phoenix would absolutely love.
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Atlanta Hawks
Hawks receive: Deandre Ayton
Suns receive: Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic
No ifs, ands or buts about it, Trae Young would make Ayton an All-Star next season. What a fun inside-out duo this is to envision. While Atlanta is nowhere close to reaching the necessary cap space to absorb a massive Ayton deal on their own, a sign-and-trade becomes feasible with all of the talent that could fit into the Phoenix roster.
For the Hawks, Ayton represents another foundational building block to place alongside Young for the long-term. John Collins could be the guy, but he&rsquo;s been in trade rumors for the past year with no signs of those slowing down. Onyeka Okongwu could also grow into that role, but the Hawks signing Clint Capela to a long-term extension perhaps signals that they see him more as a piece to the puzzle rather than a true building block.
Ayton would arrive in Atlanta and instantly average around 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. On box-score fit alone, this would be the best landing spot for Ayton thanks to the greatness of Young.
If Phoenix had drafted Luka Doncic rather than Ayton at No. 1 overall in 2018, Phoenix may have considered adding Clint Capela to their frontcourt. Four years later, Capela being re-routed to Phoenix in an Ayton sign-and-trade is a plausible scenario to imagine. Capela would provide similar numbers to Ayton while requiring less of an offensive workload. Meanwhile, Bogdan Bogdanovic might vault to the top the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year leaderboards in the near future. Bogdanovic and Cameron Johnson leading the Suns&rsquo; second unit? That&rsquo;s a filthy thought.
***
None of these trades are perfect, but they do illustrate how challenging it will be for Phoenix to find a home for Ayton while also returning the value they'd love to get back for him. Ultimately, it may be in the Suns' best interest to re-sign Ayton this offseason and trade him at some point down the road when his value isn't so depressed.
Whatever happens, Ayton&rsquo;s name will continue to pop up in rumors throughout the spring and summer until the Suns and Ayton's camp find common ground at the negotiation table. This situation could become awkward and dragged out, which would surely kick the trade rumors into high gear. This isn't the last we'll hear about Ayton and the possibility of him changing teams.
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With Deandre Ayton's future in Phoenix becoming murky, it's time to examine potential destinations for the former No. 1 overall pick.

Examining potential sign-and-trade destinations for Deandre Ayton

The NBA All-Star break couldn&rsquo;t have come at a worse time for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Following a brutal 10-game losing streak, J.B. Bickerstaff&rsquo;s young bunch had just won four out of five contests, finally finding a rhythm and a consistency the team had been searching for. For the first time all season, the starting lineup was the same for five consecutive games.
Returning from the one-week hiatus, that changed quickly. On the bright side, the Cavs got a vocal leader and top defender back in Larry Nance Jr. after he missed 12 games with a fractured wrist. Kevin Love, who hadn&rsquo;t appeared since the team&rsquo;s second game of the season, returned on a limited basis. Losing bodies is difficult, but adding them back into the mix is a battle in and of itself. So for Cleveland, that acted more as a stopper of continuity.
The Cavs dropped three straight out of the break. Two 82-point efforts and a 98-point night in a loss at Miami meant the offense was having issues, similar to the lengthy slumps we&rsquo;ve seen before in stretches. As has been the case throughout the season, Collin Sexton was relied on as the primary scorer. While his numbers weren&rsquo;t pedestrian by any means, there wasn&rsquo;t nearly enough shot-making outside of his for Cleveland to succeed, as evidenced by a ghastly 39.2% field goal rate and 28.9% collective clip from deep. Once again, there was a lack of practice time and no shootaround while the team was on the road -- the very same issue that plagued them on the West Coast.
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On top of that, over two minute-restricted games, it took only 11 minutes and 42 seconds combined for Love to find himself back on the shelf with an injured calf. He has not played since he felt discomfort in Atlanta. The team was as cautious with the 32-year-old&rsquo;s original recovery process as it could be. Due to his progression and a week-long All-Star break, it seemed to be the right time to reimplement him into the fold. However, with just one practice under his belt before hitting the floor, we soon found out he wasn&rsquo;t past it.
According to a Cavs team source, Love&rsquo;s calf still "has to get back to 100%." With the number of games left on the schedule, Cleveland is committed to ensuring he gets to that point before sending him out on the court again. As for when that will be, we don&rsquo;t have an answer yet.
"It's hard to tell,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;There's days when he feels great, there's workouts when he feels phenomenal, then there'll be soreness the next day and it's like, it sucks. We've gotta keep moving forward...He'll get to have some really meaningful minutes in.
&ldquo;Obviously, we'd love to have him back and see what it's gonna look like with him on the floor and spacing. It's gonna be great for Jarrett Allen, it's gonna be great for our guards (Sexton and Darius Garland); he&rsquo;s gonna give some pressure relief. That's another thing -- those two guards have to create everything for us, and Kevin is pressure relief. You throw the ball into him, and he can create a lot of gravity. It's something we want to see happen, but we realize, let's let this injury take its course...then, we'll see what that looks like.&rdquo;
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Of course, when it rains, it pours. The day after Love exited early in the loss against the Hawks, Twitter detectives noticed that Sexton <a href="https://www.complex.com/sports/collin-sexton-liked-tweet-kevin-love-contract-heist-of-the-century?utm_campaign=sportstw&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noopener">liked a tweet</a> that said the veteran big man &ldquo;stole $120 million&rdquo; from the Cavs, a reference to his contract. Setting the platform abuzz, it spread like wildfire. According to the team source, Sexton doesn&rsquo;t use social media and only has his account managers utilize it for sponsorships or promotions. He didn&rsquo;t know it happened in the first place, and once he was informed, Sexton had his social team unlike the tweet and addressed Love about the situation right away.&nbsp;
&ldquo;That's just not Collin. It's an absolute non-story, but it did happen,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;He said, 'Look, this is a lesson. I'm gonna be way more secure with my stuff and my passwords.&rsquo; That's actually a good lesson for who has access to your stuff, who's checking your stuff. A lot of times, it's very innocent -- business associates' friends, who knows? He'll get better in that space, but it certainly wasn't something that he meant to do or be out there.&rdquo;
But a slip of somebody&rsquo;s finger and another lengthy losing streak didn&rsquo;t stop the Cavs from staying at it. In a four-game homestand, they went 2-2 with wins over the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, and suffered defeats at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings. (It should be noted that the Western Conference is the culprit of the majority of the shortcomings this season; Cleveland is 4-15 against those teams). To say that there have been ebbs and flows in this campaign would be selling it short.
Is that not to be expected, though? Take a step back for a moment: the Cavs are starting four players on rookie-scale contracts: Sexton, Garland, Isaac Okoro and Jarrett Allen. Each of those players are 22 years old or younger, and every one of them are considered a crucial piece of Cleveland&rsquo;s established core from this moment on. They&rsquo;ve played 24 games -- 422 minutes of floor time -- together to this point. The core four have spent more moments on the floor in real-time NBA games than they have in practice.&nbsp;
Individually, they have shown their own strides.&nbsp;
Garland is really finding his niche as a primary initiator. Despite Tuesday&rsquo;s outlier, the second-year point guard is averaging 17.4 points and 6.3 assists per game over the last month, and shooting 41.3% from the perimeter in that span. Garland&rsquo;s success has been driven by his ability to change speeds off the dribble and his knack for finding the open man. If a teammate has position in the paint, he&rsquo;ll fire a bullet with an underhand shovel pass. If he draws two with the threat of a floater, he&rsquo;ll toss it up for somebody to throw it down.
Sexton is the most consistent player the Cavs have when it comes to the scoring department. He is <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;CF=GP*GE*35:PTS*GE*24:FG_PCT*GE*47&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of 15 players in the NBA</a> who boasts averages of at least 24 points per game on 47% from the field or better. We know he can put the ball in the bucket; it&rsquo;s the secondary playmaking reads he&rsquo;s making that have stood out particularly this month. Knowing he commands the attention of multiple defenders now, he&rsquo;s been looking to spray out or, like Garland, get the ball to his bigs for easier looks inside. Understandably, it&rsquo;s been taxing on him, and that shows on off nights where Cleveland struggles.
Okoro is easily one of the top perimeter defenders that the team has. He&rsquo;s been tasked with guarding the opposition&rsquo;s best players, often All-Star caliber talents, and they&rsquo;ve introduced him to what life is like in the best basketball league in the world. In spite of the ups and downs offensively, he&rsquo;s shown a more aggressive side as of late, unafraid to put it on the floor and making his presence felt as an outlet in transition. Keep in mind that he hit the ground running from the moment he was drafted -- no summer league, a fast-tracked preseason and games coming quickly in a condensed year.
Allen is the newest cornerstone and injection of talent that the Cavs were able to pry away from the Brooklyn Nets. He is a modern big that surprisingly fell into their lap who is able to see things before they happen on both ends of the floor. He&rsquo;s a lob threat, a relentless rebounder, solid screen-setter and a defensive deterrent at the rim. He knows what he does well and sticks to it, although he has teased his jump shot from time to time. Even being the &ldquo;oldest&rdquo; of the core four, Allen is younger than New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin, and is in his fourth year in the Association.
&ldquo;We're asking a lot of them, but we're also trying to put them in those adverse situations so they can grow because eventually, they have to learn how to win games,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;Certainly that last stretch before the All-Star break, those young guys were winning. They weren't propped up by any vets -- Larry wasn't there, Kevin wasn't there, JaVale McGee helped a little bit -- but it was like, them. Those are the situations we're trying to put them in. You're gonna get a lot of roller-coaster games, and weeks, that way."
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/ewwxddoxiai2lko-1_lg.jpg" alt="" />(Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Cavaliers)
Evaluating these four players, and the team as a whole, is not an easy job when there&rsquo;s been so many moving pieces and parts -- be it through injuries or transactions. You can look at the positives of the moment: those four establishing a relationship, Nance being the glue guy that he is, Dean Wade, Dylan Windler and Lamar Stevens making legitimate cases to be nightly rotational pieces.&nbsp;
The negatives are apparent. Cedi Osman has been struggling mightily and is reportedly available. Taurean Prince hasn't been able to stay on the floor. Damyean Dotson's minutes have been inconsistent. There&rsquo;s only a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-deadline-rumors-houston-rockets-orlando-magic-victor-oladipo-aaron-gordon-evan-fournier-andre-drummond" target="_blank" rel="noopener">day left to find a trade partner (or two) for Andre Drummond</a>. Love&rsquo;s injuries seem to be lingering. The 16-27 record itself isn&rsquo;t pleasing to the naked eye, neither are the offensive ruts, and a lot of that has to do with the defensive adjustments opponents are making.
&ldquo;People are starting to guard us a little different,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;Collin's getting all sorts of different respect, from even back at the Indiana game with the box-and-one. They're jumping the ball and putting two on the ball, so we're trying to figure out how to play that way. I think a lot of the teams are trying to take him out and say, 'Beat me with other guys.' So it's a great challenge, that means they respect him, but we've gotta figure out different ways to score."
We&rsquo;d be remiss to ignore that Cleveland won just 19 games a season ago; they&rsquo;re three away from that mark with plenty of games left to go. According to the team source, the franchise is pleased with how Coach Bickerstaff has developed the young pieces and handled the bad breaks that the Cavs have dealt with.
This team is still in the process of building a team culture and environment. Cleveland&rsquo;s front office is always assessing its players and coaches as the organization, and the organization will continue to assemble parts to add to the foundation in place. Sexton, Garland and Okoro were picked in the last three drafts. They were selected eighth, fifth and fifth, respectively. By now, general manager Koby Altman probably gets the memo that he and the franchise can&rsquo;t bank on lottery luck to turn things around at the drop of a hat.
To this point, with where they&rsquo;ve picked and the players they&rsquo;ve picked, the grade is incomplete. You can easily argue that Sexton has outperformed where he was taken, and Garland is finding his stride. Okoro has 38 professional games under his belt. We won&rsquo;t know what it truly looks like with this small of a sample size, especially considering the fact they&rsquo;re all going to represent the Cavs -- now and in the future.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Cleveland will keep adding, always looking for more size and athleticism. This upcoming 2021 NBA Draft class is stacked with talent, from G League Ignite standouts such as Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, to college phenoms like Cade Cunningham and Jalen Suggs. It&rsquo;s wishful thinking that the Cavs could land one of these prospects or another young talent to bolster their ever-growing roster, but you can&rsquo;t depend on ping pong balls. Just look at the last three years as an example.
So as the games keep coming -- 29 in 53 days -- the goal is the same as it was when the season started: positive momentum and taking a step forward. And no, it&rsquo;s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows.
&ldquo;We're gonna have some unbelievable runs, and then we're also gonna have some low moments where it's like, we're still very young and figuring it out,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;There'll be peaks and valleys where it's like, 'Wait a second guys, you might not wanna win too much more' vs. 'Damn, they look terrible there in those four games.' It's a delicate balance, but we&rsquo;re pretty happy with where we are in terms of our young talent.&rdquo;
When LeBron James left for Los Angeles, the cupboard was empty. Assets were non-existent, contracts were heavy and youth was at a premium. The one prize Cleveland had was the Nets pick, and that turned into Sexton. From that moment on, over the last two-and-a-half years, the Cavs have refilled that cupboard with young players and draft picks, and they&rsquo;ve still got a ways to go. It&rsquo;s been a methodical, prolonged approach, but the team source says the organization is happy with where it is and the direction it is heading in.
&ldquo;All we can keep doing is keep moving forward at our pace,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no shortcuts.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies spoke with a Cavs team source to discuss where the team is at, Kevin Love's injury, Collin Sexton's Twitter mix-up and more.

Cavs riding Core Four into the future, through the good and bad

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic wasn&rsquo;t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter.
Jokic was drafted behind 40 other players in 2014. Butler was drafted behind 29 others in 2011. Jokic grew up in Serbia, not even thinking about the NBA. Butler didn&rsquo;t have the easiest upbringing in Texas, then went the junior college route at the start of his journey toward the pros.
Yet here they are in the NBA Finals.
One of them will become a champion for the first time, with Jokic leading the Denver Nuggets and Butler leading the Miami Heat in a matchup that starts Thursday night in Denver, with the Nuggets heavily favored to win it all.
&ldquo;This is going to be the hardest game of our life, and we know that,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We are prepared for that. We are prepared for that. So, I think there is no favorite. Definitely, I think we are not favorites in this series. I think they&rsquo;re not either. I think it&rsquo;s just the finals.&rdquo;
The Nuggets &mdash; in the finals for the first time &mdash; had by far the easier road to the title round. They climbed atop the Western Conference standings in mid-December and never fell from that perch, then lived up to that No. 1 seed by going 12-3 in the West playoffs.
Miami &mdash; a seven-time finalist now, seeking a fourth title &mdash; had about the rockiest path to the Rocky Mountains that a team could have. The Heat had to rally in a play-in elimination game just to make the playoffs, knocked out No. 1 overall seed Milwaukee in Round 1, rival New York in Round 2 and then just had to go win a Game 7 in Boston, after nearly wasting a 3-0 lead, to vanquish last season&rsquo;s loss to the Celtics in the East finals.
&ldquo;This is a special group,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;This group has been able to overcome a lot of different things, handle a lot of adversity, setbacks, things that have not gone the way we wanted them to go. And instead of having that collapse our spirit, it allowed us to develop some fortitude and grit collectively, and give us something to rally around, which was each other.&rdquo;
At 44-38 this season, Miami would tie the worst regular-season record ever by an NBA champion. The Washington Bullets had that record and won the 1978 title. There were 10 teams that finished this season with better records than Miami &mdash; nine of them are no longer playing &mdash; and 589 teams in NBA history that had better regular seasons than the 2022-23 Heat yet still didn&rsquo;t win a title.
They are improbable finalists. Their leader took an improbable path, too. But after stints with Chicago, Philadelphia and Minnesota didn&rsquo;t always go as planned, Butler is now in the finals with Miami for a second time in four years.
&ldquo;I would like to say that I&rsquo;m never rattled. I&rsquo;m very calm,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very consistent in everything that I do, whether it&rsquo;s before the game, after the game, during the game, and I think when my guys look at me like that, they follow suit in every single way. I love that about them because they&rsquo;re never shook. No matter what.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not about Jokic vs. Butler; both have big-time players around them as well, namely Jamal Murray for Denver and Bam Adebayo for Miami. Jokic and Butler are the two leading scorers left in these playoffs; Jokic is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists, while Butler is averaging 28.5 per game &mdash; including a playoff-high 56 to help oust the Bucks.
Jokic is a two-time MVP, was in the conversation for a third in a row this year, has seen about every defense imaginable and rarely blinks at any of them. Play off him, he&rsquo;ll shoot and score. Play tight, he&rsquo;ll set up someone for an easier shot. He&rsquo;s as close to fundamental perfection as there might be in the league right now. Not bad for a guy who got drafted while the broadcast was airing a Taco Bell commercial &mdash; true story &mdash; and never thought he&rsquo;d make the NBA when he arrived in the U.S.
&ldquo;With Nikola, it&rsquo;s never about looking backward. It&rsquo;s always about looking forward and challenging himself to become the best player that he can be,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Early on, being the best player he could be was not necessarily about a skill set. It was about maturing, growing up, handling adversity, dealing with the referees, getting into the best shape of his life, losing weight. I think once that all happened, that kind of coincided with our rise.&rdquo;
The team that plays at the highest altitude in the NBA &mdash; 5,280 feet above sea level &mdash; has risen to its highest level yet. Jokic is four wins from his first ring. Butler is four wins from the ring he has been talking about getting all year, even when Miami&rsquo;s record didn&rsquo;t exactly suggest the Heat would be here.
But here they are. The West finals MVP in Jokic. The East finals MVP in Butler. The prize they want most is just four wins away.
&ldquo;In a lot of ways, what they have done is unprecedented,&rdquo; Miami forward Kevin Love said. &ldquo;Obviously, they operate in different ways to get the job done. But still, all things considered, I think they&rsquo;re two very underappreciated stars and superstars in this league.&rdquo;

Nikola Jokic wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither was Jimmy Butler, for that matter. Now, they are facing off in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Butler, Jokic lead Heat, Nuggets to NBA Finals after unconventional paths

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jalen Brunson and Quentin Grimes each scored 27 points, and the New York Knicks clinched a playoff berth with a 118-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night.
Immanuel Quickley added 22 points and Obi Toppin had 21 for the Knicks, who won their fourth in a row and will be in the postseason for the second time in three years. They had missed the playoffs the previous seven seasons.
Mitchell Robinson contributed eight points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks, who have won both games since losing All-Star forward Julius Randle to a sprained left ankle.
Corey Kispert led Washington with a career-high 29 points. Johnny Davis had 16 and Taj Gibson added 14.
The Knicks trailed by as many as 10 points in the second quarter and 61-53 at halftime. The Wizards extended their lead to 64-55 before the Knicks went on a 14-4 run to reclaim a lead they never gave back. New York extended its advantage to 86-79 at the end of the third quarter.
Toppin opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer, giving the Knicks their first double-digit lead. The Wizards never got closer than eight the rest of the way. New York took its biggest lead at 114-94 on Brunson&rsquo;s floater with 2:38 left in the game.
The Knicks were ahead 36-31 early in the second when the Wizards went on a 17-2 run and took a 48-38 lead on Deni Avdija&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 7:41 left in the second quarter. Jordan Goodwin and Kendrick Nunn each had 11 points for the Wizards.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington was without its top three scorers: Bradley Beal (23.2), Kristaps Porzingis (23.2) and Kyle Kuzma (21.2). Porzingis missed his second straight game with a non-Covid illness, while Beal (sore left knee) and Kuzma (sprained right ankle) have been out for six and seven games, respectively. ... In eight games against his former team, Porzingis has averaged 21.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. &hellip; No one on the Wizards&rsquo; roster has played in all of the team&rsquo;s games this season. Avdija has only missed one.
Knicks: RJ Barrett missed the game with a non-Covid illness. &hellip; Randle had started the first 77 games before his injury. Only Isaiah Hartenstein has played in every game for the Knicks. &hellip; Exactly 53 years ago, April 2, 1970, the late Willis Reed collected a Knicks playoff-record 36 rebounds in a win over the then-Washington Bullets in Game 5 of the Eastern Division semifinals.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Knicks: At Indiana on Wednesday.

Jalen Brunson and Quentin Grimes each scored 27 points, and the Knicks clinched a playoff berth with a 118-109 win over the Wizards.

Knicks clinch playoff berth with 118-109 win over Wizards

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been indicted by a grand jury on capital murder charges for the January shooting death of a 23-year-old woman near campus, defense lawyers confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday.
Miles was charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Jamea Harris, his defense lawyer Mary Turner told the AP. Michael Davis, who police investigators said was the triggerman, was also indicted, his lawyer, John Charles Robbins, said.
Tuscaloosa County District Attorney Hays Webb&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.al.com/alabamabasketball/2023/03/former-ua-basketball-player-darius-miles-friend-michael-davis-indicted-in-the-strip-shooting-death-of-jamea-jonae-harris.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told AL.com that the indictments against Miles and Davis, who&rsquo;ve been held without bond since their arrest, were issued on Wednesday</a>.
Harris was sitting in a car when she was struck by a bullet. A police investigator testified last month that Miles provided the handgun Davis allegedly used in the shooting.
During a court hearing last month, Turner suggested Miles was in a defensive posture when he told Davis where the gun was located.
But prosecutors maintained there was ample evidence to pursue charges in the shooting, which happened early Jan. 15 on &ldquo;The Strip,&rdquo; a district of bars and restaurants near the Tuscaloosa campus. Testimony at the hearing last month indicated there had been some type of verbal altercation before the shooting.
The Turner Law Group, which is representing Miles, issued a statement Friday, saying they were disappointed by the decision to pursue capital murder charges &ldquo;considering the evidence uncovered during our investigation and the obvious weaknesses in the government&rsquo;s case brought to light during the preliminary hearing.&rdquo;
Davis maintains he is innocent, Robbins, his attorney, said. &ldquo;I look forward to the opportunity to vigorously defend Michael at trial and to defend his right to protect himself when somebody points a gun at him and shoots him,&rdquo; Robbins said.
Miles was a reserve on the Crimson Tide, but an ankle injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-sports-crime-alabama-crimson-tide-top-25-college-basketball-today-b7fb03d271a2fb7a99076f34e2565b08" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After he was charged in January, Alabama said he was &ldquo;removed from campus&rdquo; and the team.</a>
During the February court hearing, Tuscaloosa Police investigator Brandon Culpepper testified that Miles texted Tide freshman basketball star Brandon Miller to bring him his gun. Police have said another player, guard Jaden Bradley, also was at the scene.
Neither Miller nor Bradley have been charged with anything.
&ldquo;This whole situation is just really heartbreaking, but respectfully that&rsquo;s all I&rsquo;m going to be able to say on that,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-brandon-miller-8180ff86600e1204bcb80a222d2144ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miller told reporters</a>&nbsp;Wednesday in his first public comments about the case.
Both Miller and Bradley have continued to play as the No. 4-ranked team in the country makes its way through the Southeastern Conference Tournament ahead of the NCAA Tournament. Miller scored 18 points and had nine rebounds in Friday&rsquo;s SEC quarterfinal win over Mississippi State.
In the postgame news conference, Miller was asked his thoughts on the indictment. He said, &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t &mdash; I&rsquo;m not going to be able to say on that.&rdquo;
Coach Nate Oats was asked whether he has a weapons policy for his team, and said that &ldquo;our players are required to follow the university policy on guns, which essentially bans them on campus.&rdquo;
He also was asked who was involved in deciding whether Miller and Bradley could continue to play.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a difficult situation, as you understand. I mean, we&rsquo;re dealing with a criminal matter,&rdquo; Oats said, adding that as the school received &ldquo;facts from law enforcement as they do their investigation,&rdquo; &ldquo;this was a decision made, based on all the facts we had, with, obviously, my boss, (Director of Athletics) Greg Byrne; his boss, (President) Dr. (Stuart) Bell; and the Board of Trustees.
&ldquo;And everybody was comfortable, and based on the information we had, Brandon didn&rsquo;t break any school policy or team policy, so ... I was comfortable with the decision that was made.&rdquo;
Harris&rsquo; mother told reporters last month that she is frustrated by the focus on basketball instead of her daughter&rsquo;s death. She said her daughter was a beautiful person who was trying to have a night out with friends when she was killed.
&ldquo;She has a 5-year-old son that is still waiting for his mother to come home,&rdquo; DeCarla Heard told reporters. &ldquo;I want justice for my grandson.&rdquo;
Oats was asked Friday whether he has spoken to Harris&rsquo; family.
&ldquo;Listen, this whole situation has been, obviously, as you know, hard to deal with, tragic, to have any involvement in a young woman losing her life. What you ask is a private matter. I&rsquo;m not going to discuss publicly with everybody,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A lot of this is just hard to deal with, to be honest with you. But it&rsquo;s a private matter.&rdquo;

Former Alabama player Darius Miles was indicted by a grand jury on capital murder charges after shooting a 23-year-old lady in January.

Ex-Alabama player Darius Miles indicted on capital murder charges

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; University of Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller brought a teammate the gun that was used in a fatal January shooting near campus, an investigator testified Tuesday.
Miller, a freshman standout, brought Darius Miles&rsquo; gun to him on the night of the shooting after Miles texted him and asked him to do so, Tuscaloosa Police investigator Brandon Culpepper testified, according to news outlets.
The allegation of Miller&rsquo;s involvement on the night of the Jan. 15 shooting came during a preliminary hearing for Miles and Michael Davis, who face capital murder charges for the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
Former Tide player Miles is accused of providing his gun to Davis, who fired it and killed Harris, prosecutors say.
Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters Tuesday the team has been aware that Miller allegedly brought Miles the gun, but the team&rsquo;s leading scorer is not in &ldquo;any type of trouble.&rdquo; He has started every game since the shooting.
Miller was just in &ldquo;the wrong spot at the wrong time,&rdquo; Oats said, later clarifying what he termed his &ldquo;unfortunate remarks&rdquo; after receiving criticism on social media.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve known the situation,&rdquo; Oats said in a news conference Tuesday. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time. I mean, the whole situation is just sad. The team closed practice with a prayer for the situation today, knowing that we had this trial today. You think of Jamea and her family,&rdquo; Oats said.
Miller has not been criminally charged. A team representative did not immediately know if Miller had an attorney.
&ldquo;We knew about that,&rdquo; Oats said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out. Brandon hasn&rsquo;t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Like the wrong spot at the wrong time.&rdquo;
Oats acknowledged in his later statement that those remarks &ldquo;came across poorly&rdquo; and sought to clarify,
&ldquo;We were informed by law enforcement of other student-athletes being in the vicinity, and law enforcement has repeatedly told us that no other student-athletes were suspects,&rdquo; Oats said. &ldquo;They were witnesses only. Our understanding is that they have all been fully truthful and cooperative.
&ldquo;In no way did I intend to downplay the seriousness of this situation or the tragedy of that night. My prayers continue to go out to Jamea Harris&rsquo;s family.&rdquo;
The 6-foot-9 Miller is the biggest star of the second-ranked Tide team that had its first AP Poll No. 1 ranking in 20 years last week. He is projected to be an NBA Draft lottery pick.
The shooting occurred on the Strip, a business district of bars and restaurants that cater to students near the Tuscaloosa campus. Harris was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when she was struck by a bullet, police said.
Investigators wrote in a court document that Miles, who had been a junior reserve forward on the team, admitted to providing the gun used in the fatal shooting, but Davis fired the weapon.
Culpepper said Tuesday that Miles told Davis where his gun was in Miller&rsquo;s car.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers presented diverging accounts of the shooting. Chief Deputy District Attorney Paula Whitley told the judge that there was ample evidence to proceed with the case against Miles and Davis.
A defense lawyer suggested during Tuesday&rsquo;s hearing that Miles was reacting defensively when he told Davis where the gun was located.
&ldquo;The reason that the gun was provided to Michael Davis was for protection,&rdquo; Mary Turner argued.
Defense lawyers asked for Davis and Miles to be released on bond. District Judge Joanne Jannik did not immediately issue a decision on the bond request.
Both Davis and Miles wiped away tears as their mothers&rsquo; took to the stand to testify that they would make sure their sons would follow rules if granted bond.
After court, Harris&rsquo; mother told reporters that she is frustrated by the focus on basketball when the shooting claimed the life of her daughter.
&ldquo;She has a 5-year-old son that is still waiting for his mother to come home,&rdquo; DeCarla Heard told reporters. &ldquo;I want justice for my grandson.&rdquo;

Brandon Miller has not been criminally charged, but is accused of providing his gun to Darius Miles prosecutors say.

Alabama's Brandon Miller delivered gun in shooting, police say

On the latest episode of The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins, the guys are joined by 15-year NBA veteran and Rex's former teammate Kendall Gill.
The Illinois native has returned to Chicago, and is now calling games for the Chicago Bulls. How did life in Chicago and Champaign help mold him into the man he is today? Also, Rex and Kendall revisit classic moments the two share from the early 1990's Hornets. Watch the full episode below:
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A5DY7c4hWwo" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

On The Rex Chapman Show, 15-year NBA veteran Kendall Gill joins the guys to talk about Chicago, old Hornets memories and more.

Kendall Gill on ‘90s Hornets, Chicago’s hoops scene, Bulls broadcasting

Houston and Kansas remained firmly atop The Associated Press men&rsquo;s college basketball poll Monday after a record weekend of Top 25 losses, while Florida Atlantic took advantage of the chaos to crack the ranking for the first time in school history.
Eleven teams in the Top 25 went down on Saturday, tying a record that has stood for nearly 12 years, while Connecticut and Marquette also lost on Sunday to give the AP poll one of its biggest shakeups in recent history.
The banged-up Cougars, who had to fight off South Florida to avoid their own upset loss, watched their advantage over the Jayhawks shrink ever so slightly, pulling in 34 of 60 first-place votes from a national media panel. Kansas received 23 votes to remain second while Purdue picked up the remaining three to stay third.
Alabama remained at No. 4 while UCLA, riding a 13-game winning streak, climbed two spots to round out the top five.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve dodged a lot of bullets this year in terms of injuries and stuff. Sometimes you just got to get lucky,&rdquo; Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. &ldquo;I thought we got lucky (against South Florida). We could&rsquo;ve lost that game.&rdquo;
Plenty of other teams weren&rsquo;t so fortunate.
Tennessee fell four spots to No. 9 after losing to unranked Kentucky; UConn dropped from sixth to No. 15 after falling to Marquette and St. John&rsquo;s, giving the Huskies four losses in their last five games; Arizona fell two to No. 11 after losing to Oregon and Kansas State fell two to No. 13 after losing to TCU; Arkansas plummeted 10 spots to No. 25 after losses to Alabama and Vanderbilt; and Missouri and Wisconsin dropped out altogether after each lost twice last week.
Kansas may have had the most impressive week, beating Oklahoma on Tuesday before squeaking by Iowa State 62-60 on Saturday &mdash; though the Cyclones were notable enough in defeat that they actually climbed two spots to No. 12 in the poll.
&ldquo;We can play better, but it was a great week,&rdquo; Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mean to say this in a way that comes off wrong, but people would get fired up to play against Kansas because of time, and then you add a national championship onto it, I mean, it&rsquo;s a big game for folks. Big games for us, too. So sometimes I think we look at it like, &lsquo;Well, we should be doing this better,&rsquo; which is true in some cases, but sometimes we&rsquo;re getting some pretty good efforts from other opponents.
&ldquo;So being able to win those games,&rdquo; Self said, &ldquo;I think, is a mark of a pretty decent team.&rdquo;
Gonzaga climbed to sixth in the poll Monday and was followed by Texas, Xavier, Tennessee and Virginia. Arizona was 11th, with the Cyclones ahead of Big 12 rivals Kansas State and TCU. UConn, Auburn, Miami, Charleston, Clemson and Marquette made the top 20. The final five were Baylor, Providence, Rutgers, FAU and Arkansas.
FAU, which has just one NCAA Tournament appearance in three decades of Division I hoops, continued its rise under Dusty May, a onetime student manager for Bob Knight who also worked for Mike White at Florida.
&ldquo;This group is very poised,&rdquo; May said of his Owls, who have won 15 straight after an early loss to Ole Miss. &ldquo;Even when there&rsquo;s friction, they stay together and love each other and support each other. That&rsquo;s a sign of a really good team.&rdquo;
RISING AND FALLING
Xavier climbed four spots to No. 8 after pushing its winning streak to 11 games, Charleston also moved up four to No. 18 on the heels of its 17-game winning streak, while Marquette moved up five spots despite its close loss to the Musketeers.
Arkansas took the biggest tumble, falling 10 spots to No. 25, while UConn dropped nine to No. 15.
IN AND OUT
Clemson debuted at No. 19 after coach Brad Brownell picked up his 400th victory and the Tigers improved on the best start in ACC play in school history (7-0) with a 72-64 win over Duke on Saturday. Baylor, Rutgers and FAU also entered the poll at the expense of San Diego State, Wisconsin, Missouri and the Blue Devils.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to be good, you need to have a superpower,&rdquo; Brownell said. &ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s defense, shooting, rebounding &mdash; you know, hopefully it&rsquo;s multiple things to be really good. I think our superpower is our camaraderie. The unity, the genuine care and love for one another, is clearly evident. I think that&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re winning.&rdquo;
WAITING IN THE WINGS
North Carolina State and Saint Mary&rsquo;s are the first teams to land outside the Top 25, while North Carolina State went from receiving no votes a week ago to nearly making the poll after wins over Virginia Tech and Miami.

FAU, which has just one NCAA Tournament appearance in three decades of Division I hoops, continued its rise under Dusty May.

Houston, KU stay atop Top 25 while FAU enters for 1st time

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Negativity has dogged the Kentucky basketball program since its disappointing loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.
Heading into Saturday&rsquo;s 63-56 win over No. 5 Tennessee, Wildcats coach John Calipari did his best to insulate his players while absorbing as many bullets as possible himself.
&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t lost faith in any of these guys,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a good team. (Friday night), I collected all the (players&rsquo; cell) phones and iPads and everything else.&rdquo;
Antonio Reeves scored 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (11-6, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) over the Volunteers. The victory ended a 25-game home win streak for Tennessee (14-3, 4-1) that dated back to the end of the 2020-21 season.
Kentucky led 58-50 with 3:28 left in the game. Two free throws by Santiago Vescovi and two buckets by Uros Plavsic closed the gap to two with less than a minute to play.
A Wildcat turnover gave Tennessee a shot to tie or take the lead, but Zakai Zeigler and Plavsic missed down low.
&ldquo;Both coaches made it a slugfest,&rdquo; said Calipari. &ldquo;Nobody backed down.&rdquo;
The Wildcats showed a physical presence and dominated the Volunteers on the boards, 43-23. Tennessee came into the game leading the SEC in rebounding margin (+9.94).
&ldquo;Our frontline&rsquo;s gotta do a better job rebounding,&rdquo; said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. &ldquo;On the defensive end, we have to get everyone involved.&rdquo;
The Tennessee big man Plavsic, who scored 19 points, was the only Vol to match Kentucky&rsquo;s physicality.
Calipari said the strategy was to focus on the Vols&rsquo; perimeter play, while letting Plavsic have his way.
&ldquo;They can beat us with 3s,&rdquo; said Calipari. &ldquo;They won&rsquo;t beat us with 2s.&rdquo;
CJ Fredrick scored eight in a row and had 10 of his 13 points in the first half as Kentucky led at the break, 33-26.
Vescovi, who tweaked his shooting (left) shoulder in a collision early in the game, had seven in the first half for Tennessee. He finished with 13 points.
&ldquo;We had some uncontested looks at the rim,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;Point-blank layups &mdash; you&rsquo;ve gotta make them.&rdquo;
POLL IMPLICATIONS
During his 36 seasons as a head coach in college basketball, Rick Barnes has led his teams into the AP Top 25 a total of 299 weeks. That includes 131 weeks in the Top 10.
BIG PICTURE
Kentucky: Besides the frustration that comes with six losses this early in the season, the Wildcats have had to deal with injury problems. G Cason Wallace (back) and F Jacob Toppin (shoulder) have been sidelined. Both started against the Vols. &hellip; Big man Oscar Tshiebwe leads the SEC with 10 double-doubles this season. &hellip; Sahvir Wheeler leads the SEC with 6.3 assists a game. This is his third straight year on top. &hellip; John Calipari coached his 36th game against Tennessee. No other coach has led his team against the Vols in as many games.
Tennessee: Senior G Santiago Vescovi has been hot lately. He came into the Kentucky game averaging 16.5 points over his last five games while shooting 60% from the field and 57% from 3-point. &hellip; Zakai Ziegler, who has gotten used to his role as a point guard coming off the bench, had 27 assists in his last three games heading into Saturday. &hellip; Chris Lofton (2004-08), the SEC&rsquo;s all-time leader in 3-point baskets made (431), had his No. 5 hoisted into the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena.
UP NEXT
Kentucky: Hosts Georgia on Tuesday.
Tennessee: Visits Mississippi State on Tuesday.

Antonio Reeves scored 18 points and Oscar Tshiebwe had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wildcats over the Volunteers.

Calipari, Kentucky silence doubters, beat No. 5 Tennessee

On the latest episode of The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins, the guys are joined by the legendary Mike Krzyzewski a.k.a. Coach K.
During the show, Coach K revisits his incredible tenure at Duke and watching the team play under Jon Scheyer now, the Redeem Team, his coaching philosophy and much more. Watch the full episode below:
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Time Stamps
5:30 - Should Christian Laettner have been ejected in 1992?
7:00 - After a storied career, what is Coach K up to these days? What's life after coaching like for him? There's still plenty of basketball.
9:15 - Is it difficult watching Duke basketball from a different capacity? Are there any regrets after leaving the bench, and now watching Jon Scheyer take over as head coach?
11:30 - What did Coach K see in Scheyer in his playing days at Duke that made him the perfect archetype to be a great coach?
18:30 - Where did Coach K gain his unparalleled work ethic? He goes back to his childhood and what he learned at West Point, and discusses what he continues to use to this day.
22:30 - At West Point, it wasn't just learning from Coach Bobby Knight on the basketball court, but there were so many facets of leadership and life skills he learned at the academy.
24:00 - Coach K's philosophy to "be worthy of winning"&nbsp;
28:00 - On the recruiting trail, Coach K always made it a point of emphasis to understand what a player's relationship was with their mother, and you could learn even more if they had an older sister.
31:30 - With the success Coach K has had, especially in the NCAA Tournament, he describes how several of his teams may have been worthy of a national championship, but may have fallen short because the one thing you can't fast-track is experience.
42:00 - Where coaching USA Basketball ranks among the accomplishments of Coach K's career. To him, there's no greater honor than representing your country on the world stage.
45:30 - What was so special about The Redeem Team of 2008 under the leadership of Kobe Bryant? It was about winning a gold medal, but more so about winning the respect of their country.
48:00 - Kobe Bryant approached Coach K in 2008 and asked to guard the best player on the opposing team: "Most people don't dream of moments."
52:00 - Coach K says Rex Chapman was one of the players Coach K always wanted to coach because he had a spirit and passion for the game.
54:00 - Coach K recalls "The Shot" and gives the guys his view of those final seconds in that incredible victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. It was at that moment he recognized he had to say something to the team he had just beaten.
59:00 - What Coach K's expectations are for Kentucky this season, and how hard it must be for John Calipari to have to go out and win every game for the fans.

On The Rex Chapman Show, the iconic "Coach K" Mike Krzyzewski discusses the Blue Devils, his philosophies and much more.

Legendary 'Coach K' Mike Krzyzewski talks Duke, USA Basketball, more

The season isn&rsquo;t even two weeks old. Only 5% of the games have been played. Drawing any conclusions at this point would be ridiculous.
Except, perhaps, this one: The Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble.
The Lakers are taking <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-denver-nuggets-nba-sports-7b0f85af40a87094c2d47289bf06bd75">an 0-4 record into Friday&rsquo;s game at Minnesota</a>. They&rsquo;re at the bottom of the Western Conference, and if Orlando wasn&rsquo;t 0-5 the Lakers would have the worst record in the NBA. They&rsquo;re 78-87 since winning the 2020 NBA title. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-basketball-629ff8ed250c8bd969461db178c91e85">LeBron James &mdash; on pace to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA career scoring leader in a few months</a> &mdash; is winless after four games for the second time in his career, the other being his rookie season.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s plenty of time for us to right the ship,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;It starts now. It starts yesterday.&rdquo;
It should have started in July.
The Lakers surely know this: James is at his best when surrounded by shooters. They maximize the value of his passing game and they open lanes for him to attack the rim, which even in Year 20 he does probably as well as anyone.
And this team, evidently, doesn&rsquo;t have shooters. The Lakers better go find some.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-business-9607b103973941f78e2a2425f3fdf028">Frank Vogel got blamed</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-basketball-russell-westbrook-f04900c25b080a4d97a37a8fbf355f0b">Russell Westbrook gets shamed</a>, and it&rsquo;s entirely possible that neither of those guys is the primary reason why the Lakers are struggling. They were 8 for 30 &mdash; 26.7% &mdash; from 3-point range against Denver on Wednesday night. They&rsquo;re shooting 22.3% from beyond the arc so far this season, by far the worst in the NBA. Small sample size, but awful nonetheless.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to make some shots,&rdquo; James said after the 110-99 loss to the Nuggets.
It sounds simple. It isn&rsquo;t.
The last time a team shot worse than 22.3% from 3-point range in a season was 1990-91. Washington &mdash; then the Bullets &mdash; shot 19.4% that season. They made only 55 shots from deep that whole season. It wasn&rsquo;t really a part of the offense.
Now, 3&rsquo;s are essential. Vital. An absolute must. The Lakers are averaging 25 points per game from 3-point range. The league average, entering Thursday, is 36. That&rsquo;s an 11-point difference. The Lakers aren&rsquo;t good enough right now to make up an 11-point difference.
&ldquo;Obviously, it&rsquo;s four games. Obviously, the four games that we&rsquo;ve been playing have been on national TV. Obviously, everyone&rsquo;s been able to watch,&rdquo; Lakers guard Patrick Beverley said. &ldquo;The critique is there for everyone to do. But it&rsquo;s the game of basketball. Everyone&rsquo;s going to even out.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s not just the shooting. Westbrook isn&rsquo;t healthy; hamstrings are touchy, so who knows when he&rsquo;ll be right again. Anthony Davis &mdash; the guy who was supposed to extend James&rsquo; career by being Robin to his Batman, or even vice versa &mdash; has been dogged by injury after injury, and he was grabbing at his left side repeatedly in Wednesday&rsquo;s loss in Denver. The Lakers didn&rsquo;t have Kendrick Nunn at all last year, they haven&rsquo;t had Dennis Schroder yet this year and won&rsquo;t for probably a few more weeks.
It&rsquo;s always something.
But shooting better is the quickest fix.
Miami figured out the formula that turned James into a champion: surround him with shooters and let him work. In the Miami days, it was Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers and &mdash; of course &mdash; Ray Allen. The Cleveland title year, he had J.R. Smith and Kevin Love, with Kyrie Irving knocking down perhaps the biggest 3 of that season in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. The title year with the Lakers, there was Danny Green.
On this Lakers team, there&rsquo;s ... well, not really anybody yet.
Key word: Yet. A trade has to be coming.
Blaming Westbrook isn&rsquo;t fair. He&rsquo;s not an elite shooter. Never has been. This isn&rsquo;t news. But he averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists last season. He was one of five players who finished last season with those averages. Five. Luka Doncic, James Harden, Dejounte Murray and two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic were the others. Saying 33-49 was Westbrook&rsquo;s fault is comical.
But his massive-and-expiring contract that will bring back the most in return, and that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;ll be the player that is moved if the Lakers find a dance partner.
The Lakers aren&rsquo;t the only team off to perhaps a surprising &mdash; not the good kind of surprising &mdash; start. Brooklyn is taking a 1-3 record into Dallas on Thursday night. Philadelphia is 1-4 going into its game Friday at Toronto. Miami avoided a 1-4 start by winning in Portland on Wednesday.
But 1-3, 2-3 and 1-4 all are better than 0-4. The West is loaded. The Lakers have given all the contenders a head start. And if the Lakers don&rsquo;t make a move soon, this season looks destined to end like last season did: badly, and early.
___
Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

“There’s plenty of time for us to right the ship,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It starts now. It starts yesterday.”

The Lakers are going to have to look for some help

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; The <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/detroit-pistons">Detroit Pistons</a> seem to be on their way up from rock bottom, assembling a dynamic backcourt, acquiring a veteran scorer and keeping a nucleus of promising young players.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the most talent we&rsquo;ve had since I&rsquo;ve been here,&rdquo; said coach Dwane Casey, entering his fifth season in Detroit. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s also the youngest talent that we&rsquo;ve had.&rdquo;
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-detroit-pistons-dwane-casey-magic-johnson-608255d40d7a0f542679757b93841507">Cade Cunningham</a>, who validated Detroit's decision to draft him No. 1 overall in 2021, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-detroit-pistons-jerami-grant-cade-cunningham-c88eb385b3d4c4c9a6d6ab94c1603bab">speedy guard Jaden Ivey</a>, the fifth pick in June, may provide a needed dose of hope for the franchise's future.
And when Detroit general manager Troy Weaver traded last year's leading scorer Jerami Grant because he didn't want to give him a long-term contract, it led to the draft-night acquisition of center Jalen Duren, the 13th pick in the draft.
Then Weaver made a savvy trade last month to acquire <a href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-ce920207bbadf33ba3b3e1904c82ed48">Bojan Bogdanovic</a> from Utah in exchange for spare parts, and kicked the team's plans into another gear.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in another stage of our restore and rebuild by adding Bojan," Weaver said of Bogdanovic, who averaged 18.1 points last season with the Jazz.
The Pistons were 23-59 last season, finishing ahead of just Houston and Orlando at the bottom of the league standings.
They have been struggling to gain traction for more than a decade, slipping so much during a series of rebuilding efforts that they had one of the NBA&rsquo;s worst teams the previous three years.
Detroit has failed to win a playoff series since 2008, when it advanced to the conference finals for the sixth straight year during a remarkably successful stretch that included its third NBA championship.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you can just wake up one day and become a contender,&rdquo; said Weaver, who is in his third season of retooling the roster. &ldquo;I think there&rsquo;s different phases you have to go through.&rdquo;
BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS HIM
Veteran NBA players are used to the speed of the game, but even they have been impressed with how fast Ivey has been on the court.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a bullet out there,&rdquo; guard Cory Joseph said. &ldquo;He brings another dynamic as far as pushing the pace, getting into the open court, which we need to do more. I can see flashes of (Russell) Westbrook.&rdquo;
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Ivey, who can play point or shooting guard, averaged 17.3 points last season at Purdue.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;ll make it a lot easier for everybody because he has a great feel for the game," Cunningham said. &ldquo;He brings a different dynamic with his skill set."
Ivey&rsquo;s mother, Niele, played for three WNBA teams (including the Detroit Shock) and coaches Notre Dame's women's basketball team. His father, Javin Hunter, was a standout receiver at Notre Dame. And his late grandfather, James Hunter, started 77 games at defensive back for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1982.
DIAMOND IN ROUGH
Duren, the youngest player in the draft, will be an NBA player for about a month before he turns 19.
&ldquo;He's going to be a jewel for this city for a long time," Casey said.
The athletic 6-11, 250-pound center averaged 12 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 25.3 minutes per game last season as a freshman at Memphis.
SUPPORTING CAST
Saddiq Bey, the No. 19 pick in 2020, broke the team&rsquo;s single-season franchise record for 3-pointers last season and averaged 16 points. Center Isaiah Stewart, the No. 16 pick two years ago, averaged eight-plus points and rebounds. Marvin Bagley, the No. 2 pick overall in 2018, averaged 14 points after he was acquired last year and re-signed as a restricted free agent for $37 million over three years.
&ldquo;I think the sky&rsquo;s the limit for us,&rdquo; Bey said.
PIVOTAL PLAYER
Killian Hayes has averaged fewer than seven points a game in each of his two seasons, falling short of projections for a player drafted by Detroit at No. 7 overall in 2020.
NEWCOMERS
The Pistons made two offseason deals with the New York Knicks, including a move that added veterans Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel to the front court. Burks averaged 11.7 points last season, starting a career-high 44 games. The 6-11 Noel averaged a career-best 2.2 blocks two seasons ago.

“It’s the most talent we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Pistons coach Dwane Casey. "It’s also the youngest talent that we’ve had.”

Pistons loaded with talent from Ivey to Bogdanovic to Duren

Jae Crowder seems ready to begin a new chapter away from the Phoenix Suns, which shouldn&rsquo;t come as a surprise if you&rsquo;ve followed his social-media activity throughout the offseason. From openly mentioning that he wants a fresh start elsewhere to liking tweets about him joining the Miami Heat or Dallas Mavericks, Crowder&rsquo;s intentions have been out in the open for a while now.
This awkward tension potentially reached a boiling point on Friday night, less than a week from when Phoenix opens up training camp following their jaw-dropping postseason exit in the Western Conference Semifinals.
After the Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin tweeted about how the position battle between Crowder and Cam Johnson would be a key storyline to watch during training camp, Crowder tweeted (then quickly deleted): &ldquo;99 WONT BE THERE!.&rdquo;
Phoenix has reportedly been shopping Crowder in recent weeks, including in trade discussions with the Utah Jazz as the Suns targeted Bojan Bogdanovic, who was ultimately dealt to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee. Arizona Sports 98.7's John Gambadoro reported that talks between the Suns and Jazz broke down over the potential inclusion of Jarred Vanderbilt alongside Bogdanovic, but the deal would&rsquo;ve involved Crowder heading out of the Valley.
With Crowder seemingly wanting to leave Phoenix, will a deal be struck before training camp opens on Tuesday? For a team looking to bounce back from postseason failure, it might not be the best idea to keep a disgruntled Crowder in the equation.
Although the veteran wing can be extremely volatile as an outside shooter, his winning tendencies and overall two-way presence would be a major boon for any contender around the Association.
Which teams make the most sense to pursue Crowder? Let&rsquo;s go ahead and dive into some potential destinations.
CHICAGO BULLS
Before injuries ravaged their roster last season, Chicago was nestled into the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed thanks to their well-balanced attack on both ends. Now, Lonzo Ball's future up in the air due to a nagging meniscus issue, the Bulls need to find some more help defenders who can hold their own. Right now, Crowder could be the ideal remedy when forecasting all of the elite score-first wings in the East.
Bulls receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Coby White, Javonte Green
Immediately, Crowder slides into an important slot for Chicago where he could benefit from a low-usage role similar to his current environment in Phoenix.
For the Suns, this type of haul should be the expectation in any potential Crowder-related transaction. If Bogdanovic was unable to net a first-round pick for Utah, it&rsquo;s hard to envision Crowder topping that barometer either.
With the inconsistencies of Cameron Payne plaguing the Suns&rsquo; guard play last season, especially in the playoffs, taking a flier on White for the price of Crowder makes sense. Meanwhile, Green is a smaller version of Crowder but someone who could play a role off the bench and produce when called upon.
It's possible that Chicago would want a pick back in this trade since they are parting with the No. 7 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (who is still just 22 years old), which could become a sticking point in negotiations.
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TORONTO RAPTORS
If you&rsquo;re a capable wing, there&rsquo;s no doubt that Toronto will show some level of interest. The Raptors are building their entire identity around wings, and the results are really beginning to bear some fruit. Inserting Crowder within Toronto&rsquo;s rotation would be a huge win, especially as a veteran mentor for younger players at his position like OG Anunoby and reigning Rookie-of-the-Year Scottie Barnes.
Raptors receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Thaddeus Young, Malachi Flynn
Phoenix has been interested in Young since last year, when a trade or buyout from the San Antonio Spurs seemed inevitable. Instead, Toronto acquired the veteran in exchange for Goran Dragic and a protected 2022 first-round pick. Young is a strong candidate to replace Crowder, because what he doesn&rsquo;t provide in shooting he offers in spades everywhere else. Within head coach Monty Williams&rsquo; &ldquo;0.5&rdquo; system, he would thrive as a pass-happy connecting 4 who could play alongside Deandre Ayton or Dario Saric.
Flynn has been unable to find his footing in Toronto, but could get a long-term look in Phoenix off the bench. After Payne&rsquo;s postseason woes, the Suns would be wise to find some competition heading into training camp.&nbsp;
It's possible that Toronto is content keeping Young, whom they just signed to a two-year extension. It all depends on how they value the 32-year-old Crowder and whether they think he's a big enough upgrade over Young to justify giving up Flynn.
MIAMI HEAT
Crowder&rsquo;s top choice seems to be a reunion with the Heat, but the Suns have no real value to extract there. It&rsquo;s doubtful that Miami would want to include Caleb Martin, who isn&rsquo;t eligible to be traded for another few weeks anyway. Instead, the Heat will have to get creative if they want to bring Crowder back into the fold and rope in a third team to facilitate.
Well, guess what? One organization has openly expressed a desire to do just that, as long as they get back an enticing young prospect or a draft pick. Say hello to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-indiana-pacers-enter-uncharted-waters-searching-for-longterm-sustainability-kevin-pritchard-chad-buchanan-tyrese-haliburton-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Indiana Pacers&rsquo; new vision</a>. They are expected to be one of the Association&rsquo;s most active teams from now through February&rsquo;s trade deadline.
Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-indiana-pacers-enter-uncharted-waters-searching-for-longterm-sustainability-kevin-pritchard-chad-buchanan-tyrese-haliburton-bennedict-mathurin-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently told Basketball News</a> that they want to keep stockpiling ammunition while taking advantage of their newfound salary-cap flexibility. Not many teams would be willing to take on Duncan Robinson&rsquo;s contract, but Indiana is in the position to bite the bullet for another pick.
Quickly cobbling together a three-team deal with the Suns, Heat and Pacers, here&rsquo;s a potential framework where all sides could potentially walk out happy:
Heat receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Oshae Brissett, future second-round pick (via Miami)
Pacers receive: Duncan Robinson, future first-round pick (via Miami)
For Phoenix, landing Brissett from Indiana is the right kind of flier to take. Consistently showing an improved offensive game, Brissett could shine in the Suns&rsquo; system, spelling Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson off the bench. And with the Pacers wanting to have a large rotation to play as many young pieces as possible, Brissett&rsquo;s role could be slightly reduced heading into 2022-23.
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ATLANTA HAWKS
The Hawks have pushed their chips to the middle of the table this offseason when they swung for the fences by acquiring Dejounte Murray. With their star backcourt of Trae Young and Murray, Atlanta is in win-now mode so acquiring Crowder certainly makes a lot of sense. Not only would Crowder help take some pressure off defensively, he would be set up well by Young and Murray on the perimeter.
As evidenced by the Suns insisting that Vanderbilt be included alongside Bogdanovic in a potential trade with Utah earlier this week, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a shock to see them try a similar method here with Atlanta.
Hawks receive: Jae Crowder, Landry Shamet, two future second-round picks
Suns receive: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Justin Holiday
Instantly, the Suns upgrade their third guard spot with Bogdanovic, plus they add a hard-nosed, versatile wing as well. Who knows if the price would be a first-round pick, but maybe Phoenix could pull this one off with multiple second-round selections because of Bogdanovic&rsquo;s injury concerns over the past few years?
As ESPN&rsquo;s Brian Windhorst relayed earlier this week, the Suns are willing to take on salary past this upcoming season. Bogdanovic has an $18 million player option for 2023-24, but his fit within the Suns&rsquo; offense would be well worth the price.
Based on the other packages, this feels like the best bet for Phoenix leading into training camp, and Atlanta would welcome a win-now addition into the fold as well.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
All of the sudden, Cleveland looks like a real threat to make a deep postseason run. Thanks to the jaw-dropping addition of Donovan Mitchell earlier this month, the Cavaliers&rsquo; rotation is stocked to the brim going nine or 10 players deep. What about adding another piece like Crowder to bolster this strength even more?
Cavaliers receive: Jae Crowder
Suns receive: Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens
Crowder could slide into a starting role for Cleveland ahead of Isaac Okoro because of his shooting ability or headline the second unit alongside fellow veteran Kevin Love. Assuming Crowder jumps into a starting spot, which seems to be his desire, here&rsquo;s how the Cavaliers&rsquo; rotation would look:
Starters: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jae Crowder, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Second Unit: Ricky Rubio, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Kevin Love
With a rotation like that, it allows Cleveland to offload Osman and save some money on the backend for 2023-24. In Phoenix, Osman and Stevens would find roles within the second unit and benefit greatly from the spacing provided. The Suns covet shooters, so it wouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise to see them utilize Osman off the bench, while Stevens plays a smaller role as wing depth.
Over the next 72 hours heading into media day and training camp, Crowder&rsquo;s seemingly uncertain future in the Valley will be a story worth monitoring. We shall see whether Crowder stays with the Suns or heads elsewhere when the dust ultimately settles.

Jae Crowder's days with the Phoenix Suns appear to be numbered. Evan Sidery breaks down five possible landing spots for Crowder.

Examining 5 potential trade destinations for Jae Crowder

NBA champion Matt Barnes joined "The Rex Chapman Show" and discussed that infamous ball-fake against Kobe Bryant and how they became brothers later on.&nbsp;
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMjGQpNhxN4&amp;t=0s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the full episode with Matt Barnes here.</a>

NBA champion Matt Barnes joined "The Rex Chapman Show" and discussed that infamous ball-fake against Kobe Bryant.

Matt Barnes tells the infamous Kobe Bryant ball-fake story

Aron Baynes officially announced his return to professional basketball as he shared a picture of him with his new team, the Brisbane Bullets, via <a href="https://twitter.com/aronbaynes/status/1554649660144472065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his personal Twitter account</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The road has brought me back to home soil 💪🏻 <a href="https://t.co/r76s7kyPal">pic.twitter.com/r76s7kyPal</a>
&mdash; Aron Baynes (@aronbaynes) <a href="https://twitter.com/aronbaynes/status/1554649660144472065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Baynes has been on the road to recovery ever since he tragically bruised his spinal cord that left him temporarily paralyzed. He held a workout for NBA teams during the Las Vegas Summer League, but found no takers. However, Baynes' contract with the Bullets has an opt out in case an NBA team wants to add him, which is Baynes' ultimate goal, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/1552369419845861382" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Windhorst of ESPN</a>.
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Aron Baynes will resume his basketball career in a new deal with the Brisbane Bullets of the NBL, <a href="https://twitter.com/AgentMoldovan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AgentMoldovan</a> tells ESPN. Contract has an NBA out so he can return to league, which has been his goal after grueling recovery from the freak fall at Olympics a year ago this week.
&mdash; Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/1552369419845861382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Aron Baynes publicly announced his return to professional basketball on his personal Twitter account.

Aron Baynes announces his return to pro basketball

The Brisbane Bullets <a href="https://nbl.com.au/news/bullets-add-exciting-import" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have announced</a> the signing of NBA veteran guard Tyler Johnson.
The signing comes just a few days after the team added Australia-native Aron Baynes.
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> have added another BIG name with plenty of NBA experience to their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> roster with the addition of explosive guard Tyler Johnson 💥 Full details at <a href="https://t.co/RhJH1wVM2v">https://t.co/RhJH1wVM2v</a> <a href="https://t.co/2vHZm1lfuj">pic.twitter.com/2vHZm1lfuj</a>
&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1553146758577893376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The 30-year-old Johnson has played nine seasons in the NBA, most of which with the Miami Heat but includes stints with the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the San Antonio Spurs. In his NBA career, he has averaged 9.8 points 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.

The Brisbane Bullets have announced they have signed NBA veteran guard Tyler Johnson.

Tyler Johnson to play for Brisbane Bullets

It was a year ago this week when Aron Baynes suffered a freak accident at the Summer Olympics that left him with a career-threatening spinal injury.
Now, the big man is returning to the court <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34303087/aron-baynes-play-nbl-brisbane-bullets-goal-returning-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with Brian Windhorst reporting</a> that Baynes has signed a two-year deal with the Brisbane Bullets of the NBL. The contract will allow him to leave and play in the NBA.
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Aron Baynes will resume his basketball career in a new deal with the Brisbane Bullets of the NBL, <a href="https://twitter.com/AgentMoldovan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AgentMoldovan</a> tells ESPN. Contract has an NBA out so he can return to league, which has been his goal after grueling recovery from the freak fall at Olympics a year ago this week.
&mdash; Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/1552369419845861382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Baynes, who has played nine seasons in the NBA, was playing with the Australian National Team last July when he fell while running to the locker room. He suffered a spinal injury that kept him hospitalized for two months in Australia and Japan as he had to go through extensive rehabiliation which included him having to re-learn how to walk.
The 35-year-old did have other offers from teams in China and Europe but none of them would have allowed him to leave if he received an NBA offer.
Baynes, 35, had offers from teams in both Europe and China, but those deals wouldn't have allowed an out to return to the NBA, which is his goal after showing his recovery in Australia.

A year after suffering a career-threatening injury, Aron Baynes will resume his career in Australia with the goal of returning to the NBA.

Aron Baynes to play in Australia, hopeful of NBA return

To those who were paying attention, Brad Stevens shut down the Boston Celtics' pursuit of a Kevin Durant-type superstar long before Durant set the NBA world on fire with his reported trade request.&nbsp;
After the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, Stevens turned his focus quickly to the offseason, and laid out a vague, yet detailed outline of how things would look in his second offseason as the team's president of basketball operations.
&ldquo;I think we have to walk a fine line a little bit. I think teams are fragile,&rdquo; Stevens said <a href="https://theathletic.com/3376940/2022/06/21/celtics-brad-stevens-offense-playmaking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">via The Athletic's Jared Weiss</a>. &ldquo;I think the way teams work together and operate together are fragile. And I think your identity as a team, when you find one that&rsquo;s successful &mdash; which we did this year on the defensive end of the floor and when we were at our best sharing the ball offensively &mdash; those things are fragile. So just to add doesn&rsquo;t mean that you&rsquo;re not taking something away from the group. And to change significant pieces in the group doesn&rsquo;t mean that that might not totally take your identity and shift it in a direction that&rsquo;s not as successful.&rdquo;
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Steve later added further perspective:
&ldquo;With our group in particular, it&rsquo;s not as much about blindly acquiring talent as it is fitting a team together. We&rsquo;ve got some very, very talented guys, and they are young. So it&rsquo;s about how do we fit together, bring our strengths together to accentuate each other.&rdquo;
It's the approach that landed Derrick White (and Daniel Theis, in some respects) this past trade deadline, and the same theme is underlining Boston's two splashes this NBA offseason.
Last Friday, the Celtics reportedly acquired Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts, Nik Stauskas and a 2023 first-round pick &mdash; essentially one rotation player, several reserves and a draft asset. According to several reports, they also intend to ink Danilo Gallinari to a two-year contract following a buyout with the San Antonio Spurs.
Observers have lauded both moves in consensus, and I'd join the chorus. Boston barely subtracted from its 2021-22 rotation while adding two veterans who have averaged at least 24 minutes per game in each of their respective seasons since Gallinari's 2008-09 rookie year. Brogdon and Gallinari add 821 combined NBA games started to the shuffle, and to have both off the bench is a testament to the depth of a title frontrunner.
But even if the on-paper trade-off was minimal, this is still a serious bet that Stevens and Ime Udoka know how to straddle that aformentioned fine line &mdash; how to avoid complacency without upsetting the fragility of a team's identity. Brogdon and Gallinari bring strengths that the Celtics sorely lacked in their Finals loss &mdash; and concerns that could undermine their fit with the rest of the roster.
Here's how I painted Boston's offseason needs:
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Three most notable needs for the Celtics to address this offseason: - Movement shooting/shooters who force defensive attention - Third big who can switch in postseason - Bench scorer who can get to second level of defense
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1541795815160700934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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And here's another nugget from Stevens:
&ldquo;I think we need a little bit more playmaking. I think that&rsquo;s real,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I think we need more playmaking, but I don&rsquo;t think we can be stagnant. We have to make sure that we continue to play with pace. When we are at our best we play with pace, and when we create one advantage the ball whips around the court and I just thought we played pretty slow in that last series.&rdquo;
An idealized Malcolm Brogdon hits my third bullet point and Stevens' quote.&nbsp;
In his smaller, 36-game sample size from an injury-plagued 2021-22 season, Brogdon finished fourth in the NBA with 18.3 drives per game. He's steadily increased that volume throughout his NBA career, and has kept up some impressive numbers on those attacks. Here's how he ranked in several metrics when driving the ball last season, among 83 players who drove at least seven times per game across at least 30 games:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 132px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 28.6186%; height: 22px;">Category</td>
<td style="width: 34.3628%; height: 22px;">Number (NBA Rank) </td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 28.6186%; height: 22px;">Drives/Game</td>
<td style="width: 34.3628%; height: 22px;">18.3 (4th)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 28.6186%; height: 22px;">FG%</td>
<td style="width: 34.3628%; height: 22px;">54.1% (12th)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 28.6186%; height: 22px;">FTA/Game</td>
<td style="width: 34.3628%; height: 22px;">2.2 (t-17th)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 28.6186%; height: 22px;">AST%</td>
<td style="width: 34.3628%; height: 22px;">12.9% (t-15th)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 28.6186%; height: 22px;">TOV%</td>
<td style="width: 34.3628%; height: 22px;">4.2% (1st)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
What does playmaking mean? It's an amoebic term that people use... creatively, throughout basketball. To me, a good "playmaker" can create an advantage and make the high-efficiency play, whether it be a bucket or a pass, out of that advantage. Brogdon successfully play-makes when he hits these driving lanes.
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It's impressive how he can generate quality looks without an eye-popping first step or vertical leap. Brogdon can use a quick dribble move to get his legs running, and he's great at creating extra space with his opposite arm and shoulder without fouling. Then, he can get the ball to his extended finishing hand so quickly that even longer defenders can't recover in time (look at that drive on Jaylen Brown). Brogdon doesn't have the best natural touch at the rim, but all of these smaller tricks of the trade help him clear the obstacles.
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Brogdon isn't passing players open, but he has the requisite court vision to read help defense and sense where his shooters are. Brogdon notched upper-echelon assist rates in each season as a Pacer without sacrificing too many turnovers, and should continue to do so in a smaller role.
I read and listened to some Brogdon season-ending reviews from Caitlin Cooper and Mark Schindler. One notable critique they alluded to was his tendency to lean into the drive, particularly on a mismatch.
<a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/2022/7/1/23179429/pacers-trade-malcolm-brogdon-to-celtics-continue-rebuild" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cooper noted</a> one play against the Detroit Pistons where Brogdon charged at a switching Isaiah Stewart without any threat of a pass or pull-up. It's noteworthy because one of the biggest criticisms of the Celtics all season long was their late-game tendency to fall into isolation mismatch-hunting, gunking up the ball movement. That overlap does give me pause.
Schindler elaborated on an <a href="https://www.indycornrows.com/2022/4/12/23021238/player-reviews-malcolm-brogdon-buddy-hield-myles-turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">April episode of the Indy Cornrows</a> podcast that Brogdon demonstrated a concerning hesitancy to shoot in search of drives. He shot just 31.2% from beyond the arc last season, the worst percentage of his career and far off from his 38.8% clip in 2020-21. It further strained the synergy between Brogdon and Tyrese Haliburton, who, as Caitlin and Mark both emphasized, did not mesh particularly well in a tiny eight-game sample.
Fitting Brogdon into Boston's guard rotations should be smoother.&nbsp;
Firstly, it's reasonable to expect shooting improvement. Brogdon was in and out of a jumbled Pacers lineup last season, and again, played only 36 games. He made just 33% of his catch-and-shoot threes last season after hitting on 44% of those shots the prior year. Brogdon isn't the 50-40-90 player he was in 2017-18, but he's also just a better knockdown shooter than his 2021-22 numbers indicate.
He won't be playing the same minutes with the same responsibility, and a change of scenery can always act as a confidence reset. Tatum, Brown, Smart and White can all orchestrate offense with a base level of comfort, meaning Brogdon receives more time as a spot-up perimeter threat.&nbsp;
Boston desperately needed another player who could collapse defenses in the Finals, particularly as Brown and Tatum grew fatigued from high usage. Boston drove to the basket 52 times per game in the Finals. Tatum, Brown, Smart and White combined for 91% of those drives. Tatum and White struggled immensely against Golden State's defense, shooting 31.0% and 27.8% from the field, respectively.
Brogdon should feast on reps as an initiator off the bench or as an off-ball threat to shoot or drive next to Boston's other primary creators. His presence should particularly help White &mdash; who is used to playing as a "1B" attacker from his days in San Antonio &mdash; speed to the basket with more freedom as Brogdon draws some defensive eyeballs away.
Payton Pritchard is another beneficiary, though I wonder what the trades mean for his playing time. He's the best shooter on the Celtics, but one of the least threatening drivers in the entire league. Now, he won't have to worry about pressuring a defense, and in theory, he can turn into a floor-spacer while Brogdon and White do the heavy lifting with the ball.
On defense, Boston simply needs its cast to hit a threshold of individual switchability and team communication. Brogdon won't make an All-Defensive Team next season, but at 6-foot-5 and nearly 230 pounds, he's an above-average defender who should hold his own on most guards and leaner wings. Brogdon will rarely have to exhaust energy as a point-of-attack defender as long as Smart and White are healthy, and he seems capable of acclimating to the high-pressure world of Celtics scrams and switches.&nbsp;
All of these visualizations hinge on two additional question marks. First, Brogdon has to settle into his role. Multiple reports from Boston-area outlets have repeated that, barring some stunning change, he will be used off the bench. This shouldn't be a serious concern; Brogdon might stay healthier with a lesser workload, and he's indicated he knows what he has to sacrifice.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking to win a championship, that&rsquo;s actually it,&rdquo; Brogdon said to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3395726/2022/07/01/celtics-trade-malcolm-brogdon-pacers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jared Weiss of The Athletic</a>. &ldquo;In the past, I&rsquo;ve worried about stats and numbers and all that. I&rsquo;m going to Boston and not worrying about that.&rdquo;
Health is an entirely different topic.
Brogdon has not played more than 65 regular-season games in a single season since his rookie year. He's never had one serious long-term injury like an ACL or Achilles tear, but has fought through numerous ailments all over his body throughout his career (<a href="https://www.foxsports.com/nba/malcolm-brogdon-player-injuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here's a list</a>). I won't speculate on what we can expect for availability, and the Celtics doctors know far more than we do. It's still worth monitoring for a guard who turns 30 this winter.
But as long as Brogdon is healthy, he's one more supporting beam for Boston's offense as it tries to create the consistency worthy of an NBA championship.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
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Ethan Fuller breaks down how Malcolm Brogdon fits the Celtics' rotation.

How does Malcolm Brogdon fit with the Boston Celtics?

According to <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/kyrie-irving-latest-more-trade-talk?sd=pf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc Stein</a>, the Lakers, Knicks, Clippers, and Heat will all pursue Kyrie Irving if things fall through between him and the Nets.
"The overwhelming expectation among rival teams is that establishing the Lakers, Clippers and Knicks as potential Irving suitors earlier this week was aimed at trying to goad the Nets into offering Irving a more lucrative long-term deal. Yet we should also file this away for potential down-the-road relevance: Miami is believed to have some level of interest in joining the chase for Irving &mdash; should the Nets reach the point of actively trying to trade him &mdash; and would figure to be a more legitimate landing spot than the teams initially mentioned given the Heat's various trade assets."
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;It's hard not to feel sorry for the Nets in this situation. After the antics he pulled this season, it would be hard for Brooklyn to agree to any long-term investment in him because it may come off as enabling his behavior. At the same time, because Irving is the talent that he is, the moment things fall through, he'll immediately get scooped up from someone who wants their next face of the franchise aboard.
Odds are this is all a leverage play. If Brooklyn says no to Kyrie, they lose Kevin Durant, and then they potentially fork over some nice assets to Houston. If they say yes, they could have a nice bounceback this season, but Irving would be completely bulletproof no matter what shenanigans he does.

Marc Stein reports that the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, and Heat will all pursue Kyrie Irving if things go south in Brooklyn.

Stein: Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat interested in Kyrie Irving

The Bay Area Dragons have announced a roster of 10 players from mainland China and Hong Kong SAR for the inaugural season of the East Asia Super League.
The team's coach will be Brian Goorjian, the six-time NBL champion who led the Australian national team to their first-ever Olympic medal (Tokyo Olympics, bronze medal).
The roster boasts some of the best talent from Hong Kong SAR, such as five-time champion Duncan Reid. He is widely regarded as the best player in Hong Kong SAR. The club has also signed Chinese national team star big man Liu Chuanxing. He&rsquo;ll play alongside former CBA captain and CUBA champion Song Jianhua among others.
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Name
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
Position
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
Birth Year
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Former Team
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Accolades
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Liu Chuanxing
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
C
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1997
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
NBL (Australia) Brisbane Bullets
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Chinese national team player
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Scotty Ewing
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
G
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1991
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Wolf Warriors (ABL &ndash; Macau)&nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former Hong Kong scoring champion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Kobey Lam
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
G
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
2000
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
University of Charleston (NCAA)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
NCAA D-1 player
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Qiao Wenhan
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1991
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Shandong (CBA &ndash; China)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former NBL (China) MVP and Scoring King
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Duncan Reid
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F/C
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1989
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
South China (Hong Kong)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
5-time Hong Kong A1 Division Champion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Si Kun
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1995
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Shandong (CBA &ndash; China)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former NBL (China) champion, All-Star, dunk contest winner
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Song Jianhua
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1991
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Shanxi Xinda (NBL - China)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
Former captain for Nanjing Tongxi (CBA)&nbsp;
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Glen Yang
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
G
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1996
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
South China (Hong Kong)
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
3-time Hong Kong A1 Division Champion
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Zhang Zhiyuan
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
C
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1999
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Wuhan Sports University
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
China National 3x3 Selected Team and China National Youth Team Member
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 13.1125%; text-align: center;">
Zheng Qilong
</td>
<td style="width: 8.42623%; text-align: center;">
F
</td>
<td style="width: 7.51669%; text-align: center;">
1996
</td>
<td style="width: 20.4732%; text-align: center;">
Jiangsu (CBA &ndash; China)&nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 41.1523%; text-align: center;">
CUBA (China) Champion
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Scroll to the right for the full chart
Created to represent Greater China in the East Asia Super League as well as travel to play top teams across the region and world, the newly formed Bay Area Dragons franchise is dedicated to be the top professional basketball team in the Greater China region with a combination of top free agents from Greater China, plus one Asian import and two foreign import players. The Dragons will make Manila its temporary home for the EASL home-and-away games across the region.&nbsp;
The East Asia Super League used to be a tournament featuring the top teams from China&rsquo;s CBA, Japan's B.League, South Korea's KBL and the Philippines' PBA. Now, for the first time, these eight premier teams will face off in an inaugural home-and-away season that begins in October 2022.
The champions and runners-up from Japan's B.LEAGUE, South Korea's KBL and the Philippines' PBA seasons will compete in EASL. The Bay Area Dragons and the championship team from Chinese Taipei&rsquo;s P. LEAGUE+ will be the Greater China representatives.
The eight teams will compete over the course of six months, culminating in a Final Four tournament with a $1 million prize for the winning team. It&rsquo;s essentially the Asian-basketball version of soccer&rsquo;s UEFA Champions League. The league is also planning an upcoming reality show.
&ldquo;We want to be the premier basketball league in Asia,&rdquo; EASL Commissioner Matt Beyer <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-inside-a-basketball-startup-with-a-unique-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told BasketballNews</a>. &ldquo;But we also want to be a top-three league in the world in terms of fan-base size and commercial revenue by 2025... I think the league is really going to be the first Asia-originated sports property that&rsquo;s going to be capturing the hearts and minds of fans globally."
For more info about the East Asia Super League, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-inside-a-basketball-startup-with-a-unique-vision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out this behind-the-scenes look at the startup</a>, which has added Jalen Green, Baron Davis, Shane Battier and Metta Sandiford-Artest as investors.

The Bay Area Dragons have announced their 10-player roster for the inaugural season of the East Asia Super League.

Gettysburg Bullets