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Bookmark this page and we'll keep you up-to-date on every NBA rumor. We'll continue updating this tracker over the next 24 hours.

NBA Rumor Tracker: Compiling the latest news and intel

The 2022 NBA Draft is one day away, and rumors are surfacing left and right.
Which teams have been the most aggressive in trade talks? Will any notable players be on the move? Which draft picks could be dealt? BasketballNews has compiled all of the biggest rumors:
Malcolm Brogdon &ldquo;significantly likely&rdquo; to be traded
All signs point to the Indiana Pacers trading Malcolm Brogdon this week. Not only has Brogdon surfaced in trade rumors more than any other player, ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported that teams like the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks are expected to pivot to Brogdon trade negotiations if they can&rsquo;t move up to No. 4 for Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey.
The Ringer&rsquo;s Kevin O&rsquo;Connor reported that the Pacers were throwing the veteran guard into every trade discussion they were having.
On <a href="https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/34125407" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lowe Post,</a> ESPN&rsquo;s Jonathan Givony mentioned that the Los Angeles Lakers offered the following package for Brogdon: Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker and a future first-round pick in 2027. Givony said that the Pacers immediately declined the Lakers&rsquo; offer. Lowe also threw in that he&rsquo;s heard Brogdon and Myles Turner are &ldquo;coveted&rdquo; around the league.
During ESPN&rsquo;s NBA Mock Draft Special on Tuesday night, Wojnarowski reiterated that it&rsquo;s &ldquo;significantly likely&rdquo; that Brogdon is moved before the 2022 NBA Draft begins.
Hornets shopping Gordon Hayward
The Charlotte Hornets are prioritizing salary-cap flexibility in order to re-sign Miles Bridges, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. The Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons are also worth monitoring as potential suitors for Bridges, per <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10039350-latest-nba-intel-the-divide-between-kyrie-irving-and-brooklyn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer</a>.
With the Hornets prioritizing Bridges, Gordon Hayward&rsquo;s future in Charlotte is certainly in flux. Windhorst said that the Hornets are looking to find a team that's willing to take on the final two years of Hayward&rsquo;s contract. As an incentive, Charlotte is reportedly willing to throw in one of their first-round picks (No. 13 or No. 15). We'll see if any teams pounce at the opportunity to land Hayward and a lottery pick.
Fischer notes that Charlotte is also gauging the trade market on Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr., PJ Washington and Mason Plumlee.
With the hope of shedding salary to keep Bridges alongside LaMelo Ball, the Hornets seem poised to make a big move this week.
Hawks have been aggressive
There have been a ton of Hawks-related rumors of late. On Monday night, Wojnarowski appeared on SportsCenter and said that Atlanta has been aggressive in trying to find a star to pair with Trae Young.&nbsp;
John Collins has surfaced in a number of trade rumors as well. The Hawks have had talks with the Sacramento Kings about a potential Collins deal, according to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kings-hawks-engaged-in-john-collins-trade-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic's Shams Charania</a>.
Versatile wing Bogdan Bogdanovic is also drawing interest from teams, per&nbsp;Windhorst. Atlanta has offers on the table for Collins and Bogdanovic.
Bleacher Report&rsquo;s Jake Fischer also shared an interesting Hawks nugget during his <a href="https://www.callin.com/episode/2022-nba-draft-preview-with-jeremy-woo-AojmeoFMXL" target="_blank" rel="noopener">live podcast</a> on Tuesday: Atlanta is trying to move up from No. 16 overall into the lottery, with their primary target being G League Ignite playmaker Dyson Daniels. Fischer said that the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7 could be a potential team to monitor as Atlanta continues to pursue Daniels.
It's possible we could see an explosive draft night from the Hawks. They are weighing multiple moves, and the front office views Young and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter as the only untouchable assets, per Woj.
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Tucker, Gordon reuniting with Harden on 76ers?&nbsp;
The Philadelphia 76ers could be a team to watch this offseason. Not only do they have <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/signing-james-harden-to-a-max-contract-could-cripple-the-sixers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an important long-term decision to make</a> on James Harden, they also have a number of players who could be viewed as available. Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-pj-tucker-nba-draft-free-agency-20220621.html?utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_campaign=edit_social_share_twitter_traffic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=&amp;int_promo=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped multiple tidbits on the Sixers&rsquo; plans</a>.
After PJ Tucker declined his player option with the Miami Heat, Philadelphia and the veteran forward have mutual interest. In order to create cap space, the Sixers are looking to deal Matisse Thybulle and the No. 23 pick in a three-team deal.&nbsp;
Pompey <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-pj-tucker-nba-draft-free-agency-20220621.html?utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_campaign=edit_social_share_twitter_traffic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=&amp;int_promo=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> that Philadelphia is trying their best to offload Tobias Harris&rsquo; large contract, but it's been tough to find any potential suitors.
Finally, there's another Houston Rocket who could potentially reunite with Harden in Philadelphia. The Sixers and Phoenix Suns have expressed interest in Eric Gordon, per Windhorst on NBA Today.
It sounds like Daryl Morey is trying to get the band back together, with Gordon and Tucker running it back with Harden in the Eastern Conference.
Knicks have been very active
As previously mentioned, the New York Knicks are showing interest in Brogdon. In addition to Wojnarowski's report, we've seen similar intel from The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania and SNY&rsquo;s Ian Begley. Outside of Brogdon, are there any other targets on the board?
Begley <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MxXPLPlNRM&amp;feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported on KnicksFanTV</a> that New York recently offered the Sacramento Kings multiple future first-round picks to move up to No. 4 for Jaden Ivey. The Knicks view Ivey in a high regard, and are willing to pay a steep price to move up seven spots in the draft.
The Knicks have also had talks with the Detroit Pistons about acquiring the No. 5 overall pick, and Cam Reddish was included in those discussions, per <a href="https://www.sny.tv/articles/knicks-pistons-touched-base-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Begley</a>.&nbsp;
It certainly seems like New York is trying to make a splash.
Hawks, Pistons are top suitors for Deandre Ayton
According to <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/33LDGb6QNc9VQor8CJVWoL?si=55021b96146147f5&amp;nd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">O&rsquo;Connor on The Mismatch</a>, the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are the main teams to monitor as it relates to Deandre Ayton&rsquo;s upcoming restricted free agency. Ayton could still stay with Phoenix, but Detroit and Atlanta will be among the teams pursuing the 23-year-old center.
Do the Suns actually view Ayton as a max-level player? If not, perhaps the Suns will try to get creative and explore sign-and-trade packages revolving around Ayton. Detroit and Atlanta have some intriguing assets that could make a deal worth it from the Suns&rsquo; perspective (although the Pistons could also try to sign Ayton using <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-nba-teams-have-the-most-cap-space-entering-free-agency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their cap space</a>).
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Timberwolves inquired about Rudy Gobert, Clint Capela
During <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/33LDGb6QNc9VQor8CJVWoL?si=55021b96146147f5&amp;nd=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tuesday&rsquo;s episode of The Mismatch</a>, O'Connor also mentioned that the Minnesota Timberwolves have registered interest in Rudy Gobert and Clint Capela. This lines up with a previous report from Charania that Minnesota had inquired about Capela.
Where there&rsquo;s smoke, there&rsquo;s usually fire. So, are the Timberwolves really about to make Karl-Anthony Towns a full-time power forward? If the plan is to make a big move for a veteran center, moving one of the best shooting bigs of all-time further to the perimeter is an interesting thought.
According to <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/townska01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Basketball Reference</a>, Towns played 100% of his minutes at center last season. In fact, the only time he has played power forward throughout his NBA career was during his rookie season in 2015-16, when 2% of his minutes came at the 4.
The more you think about it, the more a Towns-Gobert frontcourt is certainly intriguing though.
John Wall expected to get bought out?
The Houston Rockets and John Wall will work toward finalizing a buyout before free agency begins, according to Fischer on his <a href="https://www.callin.com/episode/2022-nba-draft-preview-with-jeremy-woo-AojmeoFMXL" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest podcast</a>.
After Wall opted in to his $47.3 million player option, there were questions about what's next for the point guard. This is the final year of Wall's contract, which could make it easier for the two sides to reach a buyout agreement.
If Wall hits the open market, could regain his form on a contender (potentially signing for the mid-level exception or less)? Wall averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists for Houston during the 2020-21 season, but he hasn't set foot on an NBA court since April of 2021.
Cavaliers open to trading No. 14 pick
According to <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-bradley-beal-bobby-portis-nicolas-batum-lakers-nets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype&rsquo;s Michael Scotto</a>, the Cleveland Cavaliers are open to trading back from the final slot in the lottery at No. 14 overall. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams who have already called the Cavs about the pick, per Scotto.
It's interesting that the Grizzlies and Bucks &mdash; two legitimate contenders &mdash; trying to move up 10-plus spots on Thursday night. It's unclear who these teams are targeting, but our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock currently has Ousmane Dieng projected at No. 14 overall. Rumors have been flying that Dieng has a guarantee, per Babcock, and he did receive an invite to the green room.
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Heat expressing interest in Jerami Grant
According to SNY&rsquo;s Ian Begley, the Miami Heat have checked in on the availability of Jerami Grant. The Detroit Pistons have been openly shopping Grant for a while, so perhaps a deal will finally go down this week.
Does Miami make sense as a potential trade partner for the Pistons? It's unclear what the Heat would be giving up in return for Grant, who averaged 19.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.9 threes, 1.0 block and 0.9 steals this season, while shooting 42.6% from the field, 35.8% from three-point range and 83.8% from the free-throw line.
Grizzlies attempting to move up
Reaffirming the Grizzlies&rsquo; desires of trading up on Thursday, Zach Lowe mentioned on <a href="https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/34125407" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lowe Post</a> that Memphis' executives are &ldquo;calling in every direction.&rdquo;
If that&rsquo;s not a sign that the Grizzlies are expected to be very active on Thursday, I don&rsquo;t know what to tell you. Memphis has a history of being active on draft night, and it seems this year won&rsquo;t be any different.
Are the Suns willing to pay the luxury tax?
Recently, many national pundits have suggested that the Phoenix Suns are hesitant to go deep into the luxury tax. However, Suns owner Robert Sarver recently told BasketballNews that Phoenix has no qualms about paying up in order to keep this team together long-term.
&ldquo;My position for a market like us with the tax is, if you get yourself where you can compete at the highest level, then you pay it and you go for it,&rdquo; Sarver said.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying we&rsquo;re in a market that can be in it 10 years in a row," Sarver added. "But when you get to a certain level where you have a chance to compete and you&rsquo;re a top-four, top-six, top-eight team, if you&rsquo;re at the level where you have a legitimate chance to compete &mdash; get to your Conference Finals and maybe win a championship &mdash; then I think you go in the tax, you pay and you do what you gotta do."
Sarver knows that the Suns&rsquo; championship window is in the here and now. Barring a change of heart, it seems that he's willing to spend to keep this core together.
&ldquo;You just can&rsquo;t take success for grant,&rdquo; Sarver said. &ldquo;It can come and go.&rdquo;
Also, keep an eye on the Suns trying to add a pick in Thursday's draft. While they have no picks at the moment, Phoenix is making calls and trying to buy a second-round selection, according to 98.7 FM&rsquo;s John Gambadoro. Gambadoro said that the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors are teams who are open to trading their second-rounders.
Dyson Daniels rising up draft boards?
Dyson Daniels has one of the biggest risers during the NBA pre-draft process. On BasketballNews' latest mock draft, Babcock has Daniels being selected No. 8 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans.
&ldquo;After being at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia, Dyson Daniels had a terrific season for the G League Ignite," Babcock said of Daniels. "The 6-foot-7 positionless Swiss army knife, Daniels excels at getting downhill and attacking the basket, relying on his athleticism and body control for finishing while occasionally employing a floater. Daniels&rsquo; outside shooting is still a work in progress, but he is a disruptive defender with quick feet and instincts. Daniels&rsquo; progression as a playmaker was also notable during the G League season. He seems to have a bright future ahead of him.&rdquo;
According to <a href="https://theathletic.com/3372868/2022/06/20/indiana-pacers-nba-draft/?source=emp_shared_article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic&rsquo;s Bob Kravitz</a>, Daniels blew away the Indiana Pacers&rsquo; front office in his recent workout in Indianapolis.
&ldquo;I was told Dyson Daniels had one of the greatest workouts a lot of people in the Indiana organization have ever seen,&rdquo; Kravitz said on ESPN 107.5 FM on Tuesday.
With the Pacers selecting at No. 6 overall, their hope is that somehow one of Jaden Ivey or Keegan Murray slips. If not, Kravitz said the Pacers will be deciding between Daniels and Arizona wing Bennedict Mathurin.
Stay tuned to BasketballNews.com for all the latest NBA news and rumors during what could be a crazy offseason. Also, check out our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft page</a> for all of our in-depth draft coverage.
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On the eve of the 2022 NBA Draft, rumors are surfacing left and right. Evan Sidery compiles the latest rumblings around the NBA.

NBA Rumors Notebook: Malcolm Brogdon, John Collins, Gordon Hayward, more

May 5, 2006. That was the last time the Sacramento Kings <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200605050SAC.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played in a playoff game</a>. That contest took place 5,863 days ago.&nbsp; To put that into context: During that 2005-06 season, Chris Paul was a rookie and Bruce Bowen, who was born in 1971, was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team. Steve Nash won his second consecutive MVP award and Boris Diaw was named the league's Most Improved Player.
The Kings made history last month, the type of history that no organization wants to be known for. Sacramento, who finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 30-52 record, failed to qualify for the postseason for the 16th straight season, breaking the NBA record for the longest playoff drought. (The Kings had been tied with the Buffalo Braves and Los Angeles Clippers prior.)
So, while <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-draft-lottery-teams-who-should-trade-to-win-now-or-at-least-sooner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many teams in this year's draft lottery</a> are rumored to be interested in potentially trading their pick, arguably no team is more motivated to add an established player (as opposed to an unproven rookie) in hopes of avoiding a return trip to the all-too-familiar lottery dais next May than the Kings.
As proof of their urgency to win now, the Kings shocked pundits back in February by trading away Tyrese Haliburton, one of the league's most promising young point guards, to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a package that included Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.&nbsp;
Thus, it isn't shocking to learn that Sacramento, who jumped up to land the No. 4 overall pick in last week's lottery, is reportedly willing to wheel and deal if presented with the right offer.&nbsp;
<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>, "there's a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."
The other issue likely factoring into the Kings' thought process is that the top tier of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a> consists of three players (Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero), with a bit of a dropoff after those elite prospects. Nonetheless, "the uncertainty of the fourth selection could prompt eager teams to leap up to secure their prized prospect" which puts the Kings' front office in a "<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10036369-nba-draft-buzz-insiders-explain-why-chet-holmgren-makes-sense-at-no-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strong trade position</a>," per Fischer.&nbsp;
Additionally, Mike Scotto of HoopsHype recently <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/aggregate-nba-mock-draft-lottery-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-paolo-banchero-trade-rumors/">reported</a> that NBA executives "are monitoring the Sacramento Kings" as a team that could trade their pick "in search of player(s) that can help immediately." Scotto added that after acquiring Sabonis, the Kings have "made it clear the goal is to end the franchise's playoff drought" and that "rival teams are keeping an eye on Sacramento to trade this pick."
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So, let's examine some deals that might make sense for both the Kings and a potential trading partner.
Detroit Pistons send Jerami Grant, Saben Lee, Isaiah Livers and a second-round pick (No. 46 overall) to the Kings in exchange for the No. 4 overall pick, Richaun Holmes, Maurice Harkless and Alex Len
Earlier this offseason, Sacramento general manager Monte McNair <a href="https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=260358905&amp;intcid=ab_archive">conceded</a> that the team needs to add players who can knock down shots and fit in alongside the franchise's cornerstones, Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox.
"I think shooting, we can clearly acknowledge, will be a huge priority," McNair declared. "Length, athleticism, versatility &mdash; we've talked about all that as well. Obviously, you want the whole package, but shooting will be a big priority for us."
Grant most certainly checks those boxes. During his two years in Detroit, he has averaged 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 made treys and 1.1 blocks per game. He has shot over 37% from downtown on 4.5 attempts over the past four seasons and is a versatile, plus defender. As a stretch-4, Grant &mdash; who just turned 28 and is in the heart of his prime &mdash; could conceivably fit in well in the frontcourt alongside Sabonis, who likes to operate on the low block and is a good passer from the post. Moreover, Fox-Grant pick-and-rolls would be difficult to defend.&nbsp;
The issue in this potential trade is that Grant has just one season left on the three-year, $60 million deal he signed in 2020. However, as long as Grant is traded before Aug. 9, he is eligible to sign an extension with his new team for up to $112 million over four years. After previously spurning the Nuggets to sign with the Pistons, we know that Grant is not afraid to join a team that hasn't enjoyed recent success. Would he be willing to commit to Sacramento long-term? If so, a Big Three of Fox, Grant and Sabonis might be talented enough to finally push the Kings into the postseason.&nbsp;
For the Pistons, they would add Holmes (a quality center on a team-friendly contract) and enter next month's draft with 2 of the top 5 picks, which would allow them to add a pair of promising prospects to a core centered around Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes. 
Washington Wizards send Kyle Kuzma and the No. 10 overall pick to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, Justin Holiday and Terence Davis
After a disappointing end to his tenure as a Los Angeles Laker, Kuzma bounced back with a very productive season for the Wizards in 2021-22. He averaged 17.1 points and 1.9 made three-pointers while setting career-highs in rebounds (8.5), assists (3.5) and blocks (0.9) per game. He led the Wiz in double-doubles with 24 (which ranked tied for the sixth-most among all forwards in the NBA). Adding Kuzma's offensive versatility would provide Sacramento with some much-needed depth at forward. In addition, the Kings would still have a lottery pick, dropping back just six spots, which would allow them to add another young asset to the roster.&nbsp;
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The Wizards would likely entertain such a deal if they fell in love with a prospect &mdash; such as Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe &mdash; whom they feel relatively sure won't still be on the board at 10.
Kuz has two years left on his current contract but can opt out in the summer of 2023. However, he will be eligible to sign a four-year extension for up to $70 million this October if his $13 million player option for 2023-24 is declined.&nbsp;
A similar package featuring one of the Wizards' other young forwards (Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert) instead of Kuzma might also be feasible, depending on the value the Kings/Wizards place on the respective players.&nbsp;
Houston Rockets send the No. 3 overall pick and Eric Gordon to the Kings for the No. 4 pick, a (protected) future first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, Richaun Holmes and Justin Holiday
Is it possible that Sacramento views Smith, Holmgren or Banchero as talented enough to make a substantial impact as a rookie? If so, would the team be willing to pony up sufficient capital to move up one spot?
The Kings would snag one of this draft's three most prized prospects in this hypothetical scenario. The 7-foot Holmgren is one of the most versatile prospects to enter the draft in recent history. Banchero possesses a freakish combination of size, strength and athleticism. Smith projects as a lethal stretch-4 who could fit in nicely alongside Sabonis.&nbsp;
Gordon is a respected, established veteran with just one year of guaranteed money left on his contract. He shot a scorching 41.2% from three-point territory this past season, the second-best mark of his career.&nbsp;
Such a deal would make sense for the Rockets if they feel whichever of the top-tier prospects that falls to them isn't significantly better than the next highest-ranked player on their board. During a post-lottery press conference last week, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Houston is <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open to trading the No. 3 pick</a>.
"I'm definitely not gonna block them out," Stone <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1526739178557517824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1526739178557517824%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F10036145-rockets-open-to-trading-3rd-pick-in-2022-nba-draft-if-a-deal-makes-sense-gm-says">told reporters</a>. "If they wanna talk, I'm always available to talk... If it's the case that they're interested in doing something, we're always available to listen. If there's something that makes sense for both teams, something will get done."
Adding a quality young center in Holmes would give the Rockets leverage in negotiations with Christian Wood, or potentially enable them to trade him out of Houston.&nbsp;
New York Knicks trade Julius Randle and the No. 11 overall pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes, the No. 4 pick and a second-round pick (No. 37 overall)&nbsp;
Randle playing alongside Sabonis could be viewed as a clunky fit, but Sabonis did play 80% of his minutes at center for Sacramento after arriving via the midseason trade. The pairing would undoubtedly be problematic defensively, but the duo would be dynamic on the offensive end. Over the past two seasons, Randle and Sabonis were 2 of only 4 NBA players to average double-digit boards and more than 5 assists per contest. (The other two players in this club were Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo.)
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After being named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2020-21, Randle's offensive inefficiency regressed dramatically this past season. In addition, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the relationship between Randle and Knicks fans turned toxic</a> at various points during the year. Yet, even in a "down year," he averaged 20.1 points, 9.9 boards and 5.1 dimes per game. A fresh start in California might help Randle regain his All-Star form. Also, he is under team control for at least three more years (he has a player option for 2025-26), which means the Kings wouldn't have to worry about their key players entering free agency anytime soon.&nbsp;
From the Knicks' perspective, this move would allow them to jump up and snag a highly-touted prospect, possibly combo guard Jaden Ivey, who New York was rumored to be interested in. And, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/julius-randle-and-the-knicks-should-part-ways-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as I wrote last month</a>, moving Randle would enable the Knicks to insert Obi Toppin (who averaged 27.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 made three-pointers per game in April) into the starting lineup while also clearing Randle's contract off their books. Barnes will celebrate his 30th birthday next week, but is still playing at a high level and has just one year left on his current deal.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins and the No. 16 pick to the Kings for Harrison Barnes and the No. 4 pick
After signing a massive five-year contract worth $125 million last summer, Collins struggled with injuries and inconsistency in 2021-22. His disappointing production was one of the reasons Atlanta failed to meet lofty expectations this season. One year after advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks spent much of this past season below .500 and were easily eliminated by the Miami Heat in the first round.
Would they be willing to part way with Collins (and his contract) to jump 12 spots in the draft?&nbsp;
Much like the aforementioned Randle/Knicks deal, the Kings would have to decide if Collins could mesh with Sabonis and Fox.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets trade Gordon Hayward, the No. 13 pick and the No. 15 pick (via NOLA) to the Kings in exchange for Harrison Barnes, Maurice Harkless, Alex Len and the No. 4 pick
Attempting to determine Hayward's value league-wide is difficult. When healthy, he's been remarkably productive throughout his career. However, he's been plagued by injury issues and has missed 58 games since signing a four-year, $120 million pact with the Hornets in 2020. He has two years and $61.5 million left on his current contract, which also contains a 15% trade kicker.&nbsp;
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Tommy Beer highlights a number of possible trades that the Kings could execute to improve their roster this summer.

Breaking down 6 hypothetical trades for the Kings' No. 4 draft pick

Every season, a few teams undershoot expectations. Whether due to injuries, poor planning or an influx of talent in their division or conference, it&rsquo;s always inevitable.
This season will be no different.
Team building is hard work. After countless hours of scouting, reviewing film, practice and deal-making, health and circumstance play just as much of a role as anything &mdash; and have negatively impacted all three teams of the teams cited below.&nbsp;
In some cases, the 2021-22 season will be a minor hiccup. But for others, it could mark the end of an era, and could derail an otherwise successful rebuilding &ldquo;process&rdquo; (wink, wink). Considering that these situations usually blindside us, let&rsquo;s try to get out ahead of them this season. With that in mind, let&rsquo;s identity three teams who I think will regress from 2020-21.
Los Angeles Clippers (47-25) 
Previous Season: Pacific Division, 2nd; Western Conference, 4th; Eliminated in the Western Conference Finals
Of all three teams mentioned here, the Clippers are the most obvious. Why? Because Kawhi Leonard suffered a partially torn ACL last postseason. He had surgery on July 12, and he&rsquo;ll miss a good portion of the 2021-22 season, if not all of it. Leonard, who is always in contention for MVP (when healthy), averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game last year. That&rsquo;s a lot of production to make up for... and frankly, the Clippers are unlikely to make up for all of it.
The Clippers' offseason didn&rsquo;t really help matters either. Signing Justise Winslow was a low-risk, high-reward move, but he won&rsquo;t come close to replacing Leonard&rsquo;s output. They brought in Eric Bledsoe via trade. The deal cost them Patrick Beverley, Rajon Rondo and Daniel Oturu. In total, that transaction was about cutting costs, not adding talent. And yes, the Clippers cut down their luxury tax payment and secured an $8 million trade exception, but they&rsquo;re still looking down the barrel of the luxury tax this season, and next. So how much did they really accomplish?
More importantly, Beverly and Leonard were instrumental it terms of establishing an identity. But maybe this is more strategic than is seems. The Clippers may have just punted on 2021-22 in hopes of a better season in 2022-23. But regardless as to what their desires are, the Clippers will not be overly successful this season, at least relative to recent outcomes.&nbsp;
2021-22 Prediction: Pacific Division, 4th; Western Conference, 8th; First-round elimination.
Philadelphia 76ers (49-23) 
Previous Season: Atlantic Division, 1st; Eastern Conference, 1st; eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals
The <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/philadelphia-76ers-trade-seems-certain-but-we-havent-heard-last-of-ben-simmons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Simmons saga</a> will hurt Philadelphia. And it will hurt badly. Simmons was easily the 76ers' second-most important player. He was a DPOY candidate last season who averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebound and 6.9 assists per game. He might not be an ideal fit alongside Joel Embiid, but he&rsquo;s an uber-talented player who&rsquo;s been receiving seriously unfair treatment since the 2021 postseason.&nbsp;
But partially as a result of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-deserves-criticism-but-not-to-be-thrown-under-the-bus-by-philadelphia-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comments from head coach Doc Rivers and Embiid</a> following their Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Simmons <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ben-simmons-intends-to-never-play-another-game-for-76ers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refuses to take part in any activities with the 76ers</a> moving forward. And given the drama surrounding Simmons and the team, Philadelphia is unlikely to receive fair value in return; rumors have already begun to circulate about Minnesota&rsquo;s desire to wait out the Sixers on their trade demands, which currently include four future first-round picks and an All-Star.
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So, Philadelphia will have only one of its stars to start the season, and it&rsquo;s a bad season to be down a star. The Milwaukee Bucks are the defending champions, the Brooklyn Nets will be healthier than they were last season, the Miami Heat will be significantly better than they were last season and the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are all still formidable.&nbsp;
To summarize, the Eastern Conference hasn&rsquo;t been this good in some time. Despite all the talented teams around them, this season could have been among the Sixers' best seasons ever. Now, they&rsquo;re far more likely to struggle to separate themselves from the pack and incredibly unlikely to remain among the East's elites.&nbsp;
2021-22 Prediction: Atlantic Division, 3rd; Eastern Conference, 5th; First-round elimination.
New York Knicks (41-31) 
Previous Season: Atlantic Division, 3rd; Eastern Conference, 4th; Eliminated in the first-round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs
The Knicks exceeded expectations in 2020-21. Actually, they crushed expectations. And after a slow start in free agency, the Knicks ended up improving. The thing is, the Eastern Conference is going to be brutal for teams in the middle. As mentioned above, there is considerably more talent out East than there was last year, and the Knicks didn&rsquo;t keep pace.
The Knicks won 57% of their games last season. They&rsquo;ll bring a more talented roster into the 2021-22 season, and they&rsquo;ll win a lesser percentage of games. So is this pure regression? No. But it&rsquo;s going to look a lot like it.
But the thing about 2021-22 is that it was never the end game for New York. The Knicks were always taking on a longer rebuild. They re-signed Julius Randle, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Derrick Rose, in addition to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/for-a-change-a-successful-free-agency-period-propels-knicks-forward-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signing Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker</a>. And that&rsquo;s all supporting a young core of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Mitchell Robinson and Obi Toppin. It&rsquo;s actually shocking that we&rsquo;re having this discussion about the Knicks this soon.
Big picture: New York is still well-positioned to strike if a star becomes disenchanted with his current situation, but the team is also fairly well-equipped to make a go of it with its current roster. This year could be good, but next season could be even better. And while fans might get a little impatient, the front office understands the long-term vision. So, while the Knicks are likely to falter this season, that&rsquo;s okay.
2021-22 Prediction: Atlantic Division, 4th; Eastern Conference, 8th; First-round elimination.&nbsp;
Regardless as to where teams are in their development, no one likes regression. All clubs will put a positive spin on their respective struggles, but only some of the narratives will be accurate.
But if you really want to know what teams think of their futures, look closely at how they respond to their respective challenges instead of the words they say in public.

Drew Maresca evaluates three teams in the league that are bound to take a step back after successful seasons last year.

3 contending teams that will regress in the 2021-22 NBA season

In this series, Matt Babcock shares his experience growing up around the Milwaukee Bucks organization since his dad, Dave Babcock, has been an executive with the team for 23 years. He also provides an inside look at the rise and fall of the Bucks during the late 1990s and early 2000s. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/growing-up-a-buck-millewahque-milwaukee-bucks-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">For Part 1, click here</a>. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/growing-up-a-buck-george-karl-arrives-in-milwaukee" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> For Part 2, click here</a>. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/growing-up-a-milwaukee-bucks-its-reggie-miller-time-indiana-pacers-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">For Part 3, click here</a>.
After finishing the 2000-01 NBA regular season as the top team in the Central Division, the Milwaukee Bucks were headed to the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to my dad&rsquo;s job within the Bucks&rsquo; front office, I was lucky enough to be along for the ride. As a 16-year-old kid, I routinely shot around with the team before games, spent time in the locker room before and after games, and even traveled with the team. Of all my fortunate experiences with the Bucks during that time, nothing compares to the emotional roller coaster of the 2001 playoff run.&nbsp;
Here&rsquo;s how I remember it happening...
The Bucks' first playoff series that year was against the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic led by head coach Doc Rivers. The previous season, the Bucks and Magic played a &ldquo;do-or-die&rdquo; game on the last day of the regular season. The winner would secure a playoff spot, and the Bucks won in a nail biter. George Karl and Doc Rivers seemed to regularly take jabs at each other in the media during that time and the two teams had suddenly established a testy rivalry with one another.&nbsp;
However, the 2001 Orlando Magic team was a little different than the team the Bucks beat the previous season. The previous Magic team was led by a group of underdog journeymen, including Darrell Armstrong, Bo Outlaw, and Ben Wallace &mdash; they were a scrappy bunch of overachievers, which was their clear-cut identity as a team. Following the 1999-00 season, the Magic really opened up their wallets, signing superstar Grant Hill from the Detroit Pistons and young budding star Tracy McGrady from the Toronto Raptors. Their idea was, presumably, to have Hill be the leader and the face of the team as they slowly brought along McGrady. However, after signing that big contract, Hill only played four games that season as he battled ankle injuries &mdash; injuries that derailed the rest of his career, unfortunately. Subsequently, the idea of slowly developing McGrady was scratched and, suddenly, the Magic were dependent on the 21-year-old to carry their team.&nbsp;
However, McGrady did not have any problems stepping into this role, averaging 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game that season. In the first-round playoff series versus the Bucks, McGrady was outstanding, averaging 33.8 points, 8.3 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game &mdash; superstar numbers. He did all of this while also holding All-Star Glenn &ldquo;Big Dog&rdquo; Robinson to only 14.8 points per game and 34.8% shooting from the field, which were well below his normal averages. I also remember McGrady relentlessly trash-talking &ldquo;Big Dog,&rdquo; infamously calling him &ldquo;Puppy Dog.&rdquo; Following that series, McGrady quickly became well known within the basketball world, and I guess you could say &ldquo;a star was born.&rdquo; He was a long, 6-foot-8 scoring machine who could essentially do everything on the offensive end.&nbsp;
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However, in hindsight, based on what I saw from McGrady in that series, I don&rsquo;t think he maximized his full potential over the course of his career (although he was an all-time great player). Although not a bad defender, he had the potential to be elite. He could have had a Scottie-Pippen-type of career on the defensive end and become a two-way star, if he had really applied himself. This was an early lesson for me in evaluating players: just because a player has the tools to be a great defender does not mean he will be. Intent and effort are absolutely necessary for a player to be productive on the defensive end. Regardless, McGrady was great during that series and it is still one of the best individual performances throughout a playoff series that I have ever seen. Nevertheless, despite McGrady&rsquo;s impressive performance during that series, the Bucks far outmatched the Magic talent-wise. The Bucks beat the Magic 3-1, and I suppose &ldquo;Big Dog&rdquo; got the last laugh in that matchup.
And on to the next round the Bucks went&hellip;
In the second round, the Bucks faced the Charlotte Hornets, who were led by star player Jamal Mashburn and second-year point guard Baron Davis. The first two games of that series went as expected; the Bucks protected their home court and won the tough games. The next two games were played on the road in Charlotte and that was an entirely different story.
As I mentioned, the Hornets&rsquo; top player was Mashburn. Having had somewhat of a roller-coaster career up to that point, the 28-year-old had really come into his own as a player. The Hornets traded for him the previous summer and it clearly seemed to be a good fit. At 6-foot-8 and a strong 240 pounds, the small forward from the University of Kentucky was a handful for any opponent. He could shoot from outside, handle the ball, post up, and pretty much score from all over the floor. He was simply a matchup nightmare due to his strength and versatility. He <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-which-former-player-would-fit-perfectly-in-todays-nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">would be perfect as a combo forward in today&rsquo;s modern style of play</a>. In Games 3, 4, and 5 of that series, his value really showed, as he was the top scorer in each contest and led the charge for the Hornets to win three games in a row over the Bucks.
And like a whirlwind, the Bucks went from being up a comfortable 2-0 to down a terrifying 3-2. The tide had turned quickly, and the pressure was on the Bucks.
Despite the Bucks having gone to the playoffs the previous couple of seasons, the 2001 playoffs were my first real taste of how intense playoff basketball can be for everyone involved -- including the families of the players, coaches, and management. The NBA is big business, and when a team goes far in the playoffs, everyone wins on some level or another. Player values in free agency increase, coaches and management get raises or new job opportunities, and, of course, playoff bonuses get bigger with each round. The family room at the Bradley Center following a loss in the playoffs felt like a funeral. Needless to say, stress levels were high now that the team&rsquo;s back was up against the wall, down 3-2.
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Game 6 was played in Charlotte and it did not start off well. The Bucks went into the locker room at halftime down 10 points. However, in the second half, the &ldquo;Big Three&rdquo; of Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn &ldquo;Big Dog&rdquo; Robinson lit it up. The Bucks outscored the Hornets 61-44 in the second half and won the game by seven points. Allen, Cassell and Robinson combined for 85 points. When it comes to perimeter shooting and scoring, they were probably the NBA&rsquo;s best trio at the time (and they&rsquo;re arguably one of the best ever). When Ray, Sam and &ldquo;Big Dog&rdquo; got hot, good luck trying to stop them!
That intense series would come down to one final deciding game. By that point, the Hornets had earned everyone&rsquo;s respect and in Game 7, Baron Davis put on a show. The 6-foot-3, strong, explosive point guard diced up the Bucks&rsquo; defense off the dribble, scoring 29 points. But that game was played in Milwaukee, in our house, the Bradley Center. The Bucks closed out that series, winning by nine points. &ldquo;The Big Three&rdquo; came through in the clutch again, as Ray and &ldquo;Big Dog&rdquo; combined for 57 points, and Sam chipped in 17 points and 13 assists.&nbsp;
The Bucks were moving on again. Now, to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they matched up against the Philadelphia 76ers, who were coached by Larry Brown and led by that season&rsquo;s NBA MVP Allen Iverson.
The 76ers had the best regular-season record in the East that year, so Philadelphia had home-court advantage. After a few bogus calls, non-calls, and just poor overall officiating at the First Union Center, the 76ers unfortunately pulled out a win over the Bucks in Game 1. The matchup between Allen Iverson and Ray Allen quickly proved to be entertaining in and of itself, as Ray scored 31 points and Iverson had 34 in Game 1. It was pretty evident that this would be a showdown we would all remember.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/ray_ai1_lg.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="412" />
The officiating in Game 1 was bad, but the team had to move on and get a win in Game 2 to tie up the series before heading back to Milwaukee &mdash; and that&rsquo;s exactly what they did. The Bucks&rsquo; defense was able to hold Iverson to 5-26 shooting from the field and just 16 points. Just as important, Ray absolutely went off, netting 38 points and hitting seven three-pointers. Heading back to Milwaukee for Game 3, tied up 1-1 with the Sixers, the Bucks&rsquo; confidence was already high, but then the news came out that Iverson was not even traveling with the team because of a sore hip. Going into Game 3 without their star player, Coach Brown clearly instructed his 76ers to &ldquo;muck it up.&rdquo; The team was built around Iverson and his scoring ability; the rest of the roster was made up of tough defenders with relatively little offensive talent and &ldquo;glue guys&rdquo; -- players such as Eric Snow, George Lynch, Tyrone Hill, Aaron McKie, and veteran center Dikembe Mutombo. 
The Sixers&rsquo; plan to make it a physical, sloppy game worked, as both teams struggled to score. Although it was an admirable effort, the Sixers could not overcome the Bucks&rsquo; talent without Iverson. Milwaukee defeated Philly 80-74, taking a 2-1 series lead. At that point, I couldn&rsquo;t help myself from getting excited about the idea of traveling with the team to Los Angeles, where they would most likely face Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers in the sacred NBA Finals.
The Bucks needed to get past the 76ers first though, and with Iverson returning, that wouldn&rsquo;t be an easy task. Iverson returned from his injury in Game 4 as expected, and the Sixers won the next two games. The officiating continued to become more and more of a focal point in that series and the referees came under major scrutiny, especially after Game 4. There started to be a lot of chatter in the media about a conspiracy theory that the NBA and NBC did not want a small-market team like the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals. Needless to say, this series was quite dramatic.
The Bucks were up against the wall, again, and they needed to win two games in a row in order for my dream trip to L.A. for the NBA Finals to become a reality.
Down 3-2, the Bucks were facing elimination in Game 6 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Before that game, rumors circulated that a bellman at the 76ers&rsquo; hotel had found Iverson passed out drunk outside of his room earlier that morning. I&rsquo;m not quite sure if that story is true or not, but I do know that I watched Iverson drop 46 points on the Bucks that night! Still, despite Iverson&rsquo;s incredible game (in which he may or may not have been hungover), the Bucks won. This meant there would be a Game 7 in Philly &mdash; winner goes to the NBA Finals and the loser &ldquo;goes fishing.&rdquo;
Many fans in Milwaukee theorized that the NBA was trying to clear a path for Iverson and the 76ers to make the Finals. Then, the suspension of the Bucks veteran big man Scott Williams only added fuel to that fire. In Game 6, Williams, the &ldquo;heart and soul&rdquo; of that Bucks team, was called for a flagrant foul on Iverson. The day after the game, the NBA notified the Bucks that Williams would be suspended for Game 7, which was a huge blow.
Game 7 went on without Williams and Iverson was great again, scoring 44 points. The 76ers beat the Bucks, and just like that, the Bucks&rsquo; playoff run was over.
It was devastating...
The saddest part? I don&rsquo;t think that Bucks team was ever able to fully recover from that loss. Within a couple of years, Milwaukee traded Ray Allen (to the Seattle SuperSonics), Glenn &ldquo;Big Dog&rdquo; Robinson (to the Atlanta Hawks), and Sam Cassell (to the Minnesota Timberwolves). The team fired head coach George Karl, and general manager Ernie Grunfeld left to join the Washington Wizards. The Bucks went into rebuilding mode.
I really don&rsquo;t have any interest in debating whether that 76ers series was fixed; I sincerely hope it wasn't. However, there is no question that the poor officiating directly affected the results of that series. Years later, I&rsquo;m still left with a lot of &ldquo;what if?&rdquo; questions that send my mind spinning. If the officiating was better in that series, would the Bucks have beaten the Sixers? Could the Bucks have defeated the Lakers? Would my dad have a championship ring? Would that Bucks core have stayed together longer? Would Ray have retired a Buck and have his No. 34 retired in the rafters? What would Michael Redd&rsquo;s career have been like if Ray was never traded? What number would Giannis Antetokounmpo be wearing right now if No. 34 was retired? Would we even have Giannis? And on and on...
Despite the disappointing conclusion of that 2001 season, I can say, without hesitation, that from 1998 to 2001 were the greatest years of my life from a basketball perspective. I was an impressionable teenager going through a critical time in my life from a developmental standpoint, as a basketball person and as a young man. I was lucky enough to be able to experience the ins and outs of the NBA, learn the game from some all-time greats, make many lifelong friends, and create memories that now seem more like a dream than reality, memories that will certainly last a lifetime.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/growing-up-a-buck-from-ray-allen-to-giannis-antetokounmpo-dave-babcock-remains-milwaukee-bucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out Part 5 of this series, which fast forwards and looks at the present-day Bucks.</a>
Also, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Matt Babcock's latest 2021 NBA Mock Draft here.</a>

Matt Babcock provides an inside look at the rise and fall of the Milwaukee Bucks in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Growing up a Buck: The 2001 Playoff Run

With the NBA Draft Lottery behind us, four teams remaining in the hunt for a championship and the 2021 NBA Draft approaching in a little over a month, rumor season is heating up. We&rsquo;ve seen coaching changes, hires and fires in front offices and even a rare trade in the middle of the playoffs.&nbsp;
The latest rumblings over the last couple of days involve Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton. Multiple reporters, including <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-cavs-could-look-to-move-collin-sexton-this-summer-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SI's Jeremy Woo</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/projecting-the-top5-picks-in-the-2021-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our own Matt Babcock</a>, say that Sexton&rsquo;s name has surfaced in trade talks.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s not all that surprising to hear that the Cavs are open to moving the feisty, improving 22-year-old, as he is eligible for a maximum rookie-scale contract extension this offseason worth five years and $168 million, per <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/collin-sexton-26974/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpotRac</a>. Woo wrote that Cleveland's front office would rather trade Sexton than give him a lucrative deal that would limit their flexibility going forward.
On lottery night, the Cavs had a little bit of luck on their side, as they bumped up from fifth to the No. 3 overall pick by the end of the drawing. At that third slot, most mock drafts have Cleveland selecting Jalen Green, Evan Mobley or Jalen Suggs; Scottie Barnes has been another popular name. (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's latest mock draft has the Cavs selecting Green</a>). Cleveland general manager Koby Altman even said in his post-lottery press conference that the team didn&rsquo;t expect to select as high as third, so it makes sense that a wide net has been cast.&nbsp;
If the Cavs end up going with one of Green or Suggs, it&rsquo;s easy to see the &ldquo;too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen&rdquo; scenario playing out. Green is a guard or wing, and Suggs is definitely a guard, so that would leave an odd man out. That presumably would be Sexton or Isaac Okoro, depending on the rotations J.B. Bickerstaff would construct. (After last season&rsquo;s injury-filled debacle, Bickerstaff showed how well he can adapt with what was available, and he wasn&rsquo;t afraid to get creative, so keep that in mind).
Say that is the case and Cleveland goes with one of the Jalens -- should Sexton, who is one of the best scorers in this league and coming off a career season of over 24 points per game with improved efficiency and playmaking, be rushed out of town just because a rookie might reduce his role a little bit? Do we even know if that will be the case? And if that is how things wind up, does Altman have to act swiftly when handling this?
The answer is, &ldquo;No.&rdquo; The Cavs do not have to make a decision on this right away. The first day that either side can agree to the aforementioned extension (or one similar to it) is Aug. 3., which officially marks day one of the 2021-22 NBA year. They can negotiate up until the day before the regular season begins; if Sexton and Cleveland don&rsquo;t come to an agreement, the fourth-year guard would become a restricted free agent in the 2022 offseason.
(For a reference to that working in real time, see Jarrett Allen&rsquo;s current situation, which Sexton could be in next summer if the sides don&rsquo;t work it out).
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Speaking strictly from opinion, sending out a player that a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-cleveland-cavaliers-team-workouts-jb-bickerstaff-collin-sexton-darius-garland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">team source described as a &ldquo;cultural backbone&rdquo;</a> before he even begins to approach his prime would be foolish. Lest we forget that Sexton -- the human pi&ntilde;ata who's taken hit after hit after hit, whether it&rsquo;s been unnamed teammates questioning his knowledge, the public attempting to drive a wedge in between he and his backcourt partner Darius Garland and any other nonsense that he&rsquo;s been unfairly targeted for -- has kept his head down and has kept pushing on. This is a player who has in three years gone through four different head coaches and had a grand total of 52 different teammates (<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/teammates_and_opponents.fcgi?pid_hint=Collin+Sexton&amp;pid_select=Collin+Sexton&amp;pid=sextoco01&amp;type=t" target="_blank" rel="noopener">12 of whom he has played in at least 50 games with</a>).&nbsp;
And despite that fact, Sexton was selected to the Rising Stars in his sophomore year after being left out his rookie season. He was a legitimate candidate for the All-Star game in Year 3. When you look at the surrounding circumstances and stroke of terrible injury luck the team went through, it&rsquo;s quite remarkable.&nbsp;
Sexton&rsquo;s not a perfect player by any stretch of the imagination. He has his moments of tunnel vision. He could stand to take more threes (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-cleveland-cavaliers-banking-on-organic-growth-supplementing-talent-to-take-next-step" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the team wants him and Garland taking up to eight a night</a>). Defensively, the effort is there, but the execution and awareness away from the ball are lacking; it&rsquo;s not the best formula when you&rsquo;re undersized. He needs to be better with the ball in his hands, and particularly, more patient in pick-and-roll situations to let plays develop.
Once again, though, we&rsquo;re looking at labels being slapped onto him after just three years of his career, as if he hasn&rsquo;t made progress and should be a finished product. There is a middleground here that seemingly nobody wants to find, particularly in our new-age infatuation of extremism.
If there&rsquo;s anything we&rsquo;ve learned from watching the likes of Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, Trae Young and these other young guards bursting onto the scene, it&rsquo;s to see things through. The mid-range game and floaters have been the key to many of their successes, and it&rsquo;s something both Sexton and Garland have implemented in their game. Every franchise is different, and moves must be made to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-cleveland-cavaliers-banking-on-organic-growth-supplementing-talent-to-take-next-step" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surround Cleveland&rsquo;s core with veterans and supplementary talent</a>.&nbsp;
But could you imagine Sexton with the same spotlight and opportunity? This is a player who nearly led Alabama to victory in a 3-on-5 setting as a freshman on national television. Look up how he&rsquo;s historically performed against Young and his hometown Atlanta Hawks, who are now in the driver&rsquo;s seat in the Eastern Conference Finals.&nbsp;
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If you want a more recent example, why not go back to January against the Brooklyn Nets? Young Bull nailed a game-tying three over Kyrie Irving in overtime, and followed it up by scoring 15 of Cleveland&rsquo;s 20 points in double overtime to spoil the debut game of Steve Nash&rsquo;s Big Three. Sexton had 42 points and sent the Cavs to a 7-7 record at the time.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He's not scared of the moment, and he feels like he belongs,&rdquo; a Cavs team source told BasketballNews.com a couple of weeks ago. &ldquo;No question [Sexton is built for that stage].&rdquo;
A trade may not even be an indictment of Sexton and more about the timing, and that&rsquo;s understandable. At some point, the wins have to come along, especially for a team entering its third or third-and-a-half season of a rebuild, realistically; the 2018-19 season was an unmitigated disaster with championship leftovers forced to play with Sexton and guys on 10-day contracts trying to stick in the NBA.&nbsp;
Again, there should be no reason to hurry this hypothetical move. Barring an unforeseen circumstance, it&rsquo;s not like Sexton&rsquo;s trade value would magically evaporate over the course of 100 days. And if you keep him around without an extension, that just gives him the motivation to prove his worth going into a contract year. Being a restricted free agent, the Cavs can match any offer sheet he would receive; the only way he could go elsewhere is if Cleveland allowed it. You don&rsquo;t have to choose one or the other just yet in terms of Sexton or Garland; you may not have to at all.&nbsp;
We&rsquo;re seeing more and more three-guard sets as the NBA trends smaller, and a trio of Garland, Sexton and Green would be the same size essentially as what Cleveland went with last season in Garland, Sexton and Okoro. If Bickerstaff would elect to go the defensive route, the three could look like Garland, Green and Okoro, with Sexton packing one of the most powerful punches off the bench. For years, league officials have believed that is Sexton&rsquo;s ideal role (a la Jordan Clarkson or Lou Williams); that sells his capabilities short, and benching the team&rsquo;s top scoring presence for a rookie could inhibit things, but it could turn out that way if Sexton sticks around. We don&rsquo;t know. Time will tell.&nbsp;
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Remember, a lot of this is banking on what the Houston Rockets decide to do with the No. 2 overall pick as well.&nbsp;
What happens if the Cavs want Green, but the Rockets draft him and you&rsquo;ve already dealt Sexton away? Now you&rsquo;re really in trouble, and have to bank on an unproven rookie to fill that spot.&nbsp;
Here&rsquo;s an instance that hasn&rsquo;t really been brought up, too: What if the Cavs want Mobley and he falls to them? Say that happens, and Cleveland selects the USC big man brimming with potential. While Mobley&rsquo;s playstyle and body type indicate that he&rsquo;ll be a 4 instead of a 5, would that compromise a potential contract extension with Allen, a restricted free agent?
If that were to happen, there would certainly be no reason to move Sexton, and then Allen&rsquo;s future with the team could be in question, as he&rsquo;d be due around $15-20 million annually over four or five years depending on negotiations. Paying Allen that kind of money and drafting another seven-footer, with Kevin Love still around, probably wouldn&rsquo;t be the best choice. Particularly because the team is still lacking a primary initiator and ball-handler with size.
There are many decisions that have to be made this summer for the Cavs, including Allen, the draft and free agency, on an immediate basis.&nbsp;
With Sexton, they can, and should, take their time.

The Cavs have a lot of decisions to make, but choosing to hurry with Collin Sexton wouldn't be smart, writes Spencer Davies.

Amid trade and extension talks, Cavs shouldn't rush things with Collin Sexton

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

Grading every move from the 2021 NBA trade deadline

While the NBA&rsquo;s trade deadline is one of the busiest days of the year, there are plenty of names that are talked about, but ultimately don&rsquo;t end up being traded. That doesn&rsquo;t mean that the player movement is done for the year. In fact, this year may see bigger names bought out and signed than you see them traded.
The buyout market often brings more hope than it does productivity. The last player to receive a buyout and then play over 100 minutes in the playoffs for a team that won a championship was Peja Stojakovic for the Dallas Mavericks all the way back in 2011. More often than not, this type of move isn&rsquo;t made for a difference-maker. But this is as abnormal of a season as we&rsquo;ve seen in the NBA, so this very well may be the year that things change.
Below are some of the players that could end up in the buyout market after the dust settles.
Andre Drummond, Center - Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers have been shopping Drummond ever since the team jumped in and acquired Jarett Allen from Brooklyn as part of the James Harden deal. The issue with shopping Drummond on the trade market was that few teams had the ability to <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">absorb his cap hit of nearly $30 million</a>. He hasn&rsquo;t played for Cleveland since the beginning of February and will be recieving a buyout. Signs seem to indicate him heading to the Los Angeles Lakers, although the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks also may have interest.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Power Forward - San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs very rarely make trades during the season, and despite publicly announcing earlier this month that the organization had agreed to part ways with Aldridge, no team traded for him and he will be bought out by the Spurs. While Aldridge isn&rsquo;t the player he once was, he still is a player that can help a winning team make a push in the playoffs. His numbers this year are the lowest since his rookie year in the NBA, but never underestimate what a change of scenery can do for a player with a desire to win. The Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns are two teams to watch here, and it&rsquo;s worth noting he did take meetings with both franchises prior to signing with the Spurs in 2015.
Austin Rivers, Guard - New York Knicks
When the New York Knicks traded for Derrick Rose earlier this season, it made Austin Rivers a very expendable player -- and one who likely won&rsquo;t finish the season in New York. If he&rsquo;s bought out, he&rsquo;s capable of providing a scoring punch off the bench for a team that needs it. The Milwaukee Bucks could be a relatively intriguing fit. Rivers was dealt to the Thunder as part of a trade that saw George Hill end up in Philadelphia, but still could be bought out.
Hassan Whiteside, Center - Sacramento Kings
Ever since signing a max deal with the Heat a few years back, Whiteside has been a bit of an afterthought in the NBA. Now, he&rsquo;s in Sacramento and not seeing the floor too often. He&rsquo;s played in 27 games off the bench for the Kings, averaging just 14.7 minutes per game. Maybe he can be an end of the bench &ldquo;break glass in case of emergency&rdquo; big man on a team that has a roster spot available.
Gorgui Dieng, Center - Memphis Grizzlies
Dieng isn&rsquo;t going to change the equation for a team that&rsquo;s vying for a championship, but he can add a bit of frontcourt depth to a team that needs it. Dieng isn&rsquo;t very mobile, but has a reliable jumper and can protect the rim at a passable level. He&rsquo;s also a good fit in almost any locker room.
Ben McLemore, Guard - Houston Rockets
The Rockets parting ways with McLemore could mean that a contender adds a depth piece in their backcourt. While McLemore hasn&rsquo;t had a great year in Houston this is a situation that could change with a new change of scenery, or serve as an insurance policy for a team with higher-end guards.
Jeff Teague, Guard - Orlando Magic
Teague was part of the trade that sent Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, and was told that he will be waived and hit the open market, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaBRobbins/status/1375168932802404354?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>. Teague hasn't been very effective this season in Boston, and didn't have a great year last year between Minnesota and Atlanta. It could, however, make some sense for him to head back to the Hawks after Rajon Rondo was traded away for Lou Williams. He could provide veteran leadership to the franchise that was home to his best days.&nbsp;
Otto Porter Jr., Forward - Orlando Magic
Like Teague, the Magic acquired Porter Jr. on Thursday. Porter Jr. was sent to Orlando with Wendell Carter Jr. and a pair of first-round picks for Nikola Vucevic. It's not a certainty that Porter Jr. is bought out by Orlando, but if he is there will be interest on the open market for him. He could be a wing defender off the bench for a team like Boston, Milwaukee, or Golden State if it does happen, though.&nbsp;
Jabari Parker, Forward - Sacramento Kings
Parker hasn't lived up to the expectations that come along with being the No. 2 overall pick, as he once was. He's been on the Kings this season but has played in just three games and will be released, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/mr_jasonjones/status/1375175829081059328?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>. It's tough to envision Parker making an impact on a contender right now, but he could be the ultimate buy low lottery ticket for a team should he be able to stay healthy and earn playing time.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Danny Cunningham dives into who could hit the buyout market after this year's NBA trade deadline and where those players could land.

Buyout Watch: Players who may hit free agency following trade deadline

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

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

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

With one week before the NBA's trade deadline, Chris Sheridan previews what could be in store for all 30 of the league's teams.

What to expect from all 30 NBA teams ahead of the Trade Deadline

Things are kinda weird in Atlanta.
The Hawks currently sit with a 12-17 record, a big improvement from last season (.414 win percentage compared to .299) but one that leaves them just outside of the play-in. The growth should be viewed as a positive, but it feels a little underwhelming based on the offseason they had.
There was a clear emphasis on adding talent for a playoff push: that would help explain the several million dollars spent to bring in Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic and others. Using free-agent dollars and draft capital to juice the roster wasn&rsquo;t a surprise, but where those resources were allocated was a bit odd.&nbsp;
Atlanta&rsquo;s biggest free-agent addition (Gallinari) and prized draft pick (Onyeka Okongwu) profile as 4s right now; that just happens to be where John Collins, arguably Atlanta&rsquo;s second-best player, plays most of his minutes. With Collins up for an extension in the preseason and set to hit restricted free agency this summer, it was fair to question what those moves meant for his future.
Sure enough, Collins and the Hawks failed to agree to an extension. Two reporters from The Athletic have recently tag-teamed on reports about Collins&rsquo; future. Sam Amick reported that the Hawks were <a href="https://theathletic.com/2383620/2021/02/12/nba-trade-news-rumors-nuggets-hawks-kings/?source=emp_shared_article">willing to listen to trade offers</a> for Collins, while Shams Charania <a href="https://theathletic.com/2387459/2021/02/15/nba-trade-news-andre-drummond-to-raptors-coming-lonzo-ball-interest-and-more/">gave insight</a> on the potential asking price: a lottery-level first-round pick.
None of that means a Collins deal is imminent. It does mean the Hawks have seriously thought about -- and may end up accepting -- a long-term future without Collins on the roster.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at potential in-season trade partners, as well as teams that could use Collins&rsquo; services if he hits free agency.
Note: All trades were checked/completed on <a href="https://tradenba.com/">tradenba.com</a>, while salary figures were checked from <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/analysis/261138/2021-NBA-Cap-Space-Projecting-All-30-Teams">realgm.com</a>.
TRADE PARTNERS
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have one of the best young cores in the NBA, headlined by star-in-the-making Ja Morant. They&rsquo;ve mostly overachieved this season within the context of their injuries: Morant has missed a chunk of games, while Jaren Jackson Jr. has yet to play this season. Despite this, the Grizzlies are 13-13 and are firmly in the play-in mix.
They&rsquo;re not at a point in their rebuild where consolidating parts of their core for a superstar makes sense. It&rsquo;s why you didn&rsquo;t hear anything about the Grizzlies being in the mix for James Harden, and why you&rsquo;ve heard nothing on the Bradley Beal front either.
A tier below? Adding to the young core? That&rsquo;s more palatable, and why a swing for Collins could make sense.
Starter Offer: Gorgui Dieng, Jon Konchar, 2021 first-round pick via Utah (protected 1-7, 15-30 this season, 1-6 in 2022, 1-3 in 2023), 2023 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
The first via Utah will likely convey in 2022. It&rsquo;s fair to say, barring injuries, the Jazz won&rsquo;t be in the lottery that year either. That falls below the reported asking price of a lottery-level first, which is why the Grizzlies may be inclined to include a protected first of their own.
Dieng is very quietly -- too quietly, honestly -- a very good backup big. His ability to space the floor makes him an ideal partner alongside Okongwu on the second unit. Konchar can do a little bit of everything: shoot, keep the chain moving as a passer and cut, while being sound rotationally on the defensive end. There&rsquo;s a quality wing -- a fifth starter on a good team -- in there if he gets the reps.
Final Offer: Brandon Clarke, Justise Winslow, 2021 first-round pick via Utah (protected 1-7, 15-30 this season, 1-6 in 2022, 1-3 in 2023)
If the Hawks can&rsquo;t get a lottery-level first, getting a lottery-level talent who&rsquo;s still on his rookie deal seems like a fair consolation prize. Clarke has regressed some as a shooter; I&rsquo;m not quite sure what&rsquo;s going on with his shooting form. He still has fantastic touch on his floater, and he provides value as a roller, screener, off-ball mover, and a smart defender.
The theory of Winslow -- a 6&rsquo;6 playmaking wing who can puncture the rim in PnR, fire darts everywhere, and defend four positions -- is better than the reality right now. His inability to stay healthy is a red flag that he has to shake. But it&rsquo;s hard to talk yourself out of Winslow&rsquo;s talent when he is available. Even in a season debut filled with misses, he gave you flashes of his ability to get downhill and make life tough on the other end.
San Antonio Spurs
Who could&rsquo;ve expected the Spurs to be this fun this season?&nbsp;
They&rsquo;ve gone from a plodding, mid-range hunting slogfest to a turbo-charged unit led by dynamic athletes on the perimeter. The absence of LaMarcus Aldridge has only expedited this shift.
It&rsquo;s tough to imagine Aldridge being back next season; honestly, it&rsquo;s tough to imagine Aldridge being on the team past the trade deadline. There&rsquo;s room for the Spurs to add a piece to their frontcourt. Collins could either slot in at the 5 -- he&rsquo;s certainly an upgrade from Aldridge on both ends -- or at the 4 alongside Jakob Poeltl, one of the more underrated rim protectors in the league.
Starter Offer: Lonnie Walker, Trey Lyles, 2022 first-round pick (top-7 protected)
While the Spurs have a ton of young talent on the wings, that&rsquo;s kinda the thing: they have a ton of young talent on the wings. They can&rsquo;t play everybody. Looking further ahead, they certainly can&rsquo;t pay everybody. Walker could be pry-able, especially with Devin Vassell being drafted over the offseason and already showing flashes of being a defensive terror who can knock down threes at a high clip.&nbsp;
Lyles could be a short-term spot-starter alongside Clint Capela to 1) space the floor and 2) keep Gallinari in a bench role. If not, Lyles could space the floor alongside Okongwu on the second unit.
Final Offer: A whole lot of moving parts around Derrick White
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/trrd_lg.png" alt="" width="785" height="AUTO" />
As someone who generally enjoys thinking about trades, let me tell ya: dealing with a player with a poison-pill provision absolutely stinks. A Collins-for-White package makes some roster-balancing sense, but pulling it off takes some financial gymnastics.
I settled in on this framework. White goes to Atlanta as a fun partner alongside Trae Young. Tony Snell and Darius Miller swap spots, along with a pair of second-rounders going to OKC for helping grease the wheels of a deal -- and taking on a little money in the process.
FREE-AGENT DESTINATIONS
Collins will want a max contract, which is currently projected to be in the neighborhood of a four-year, $125 million deal for non-Hawks teams. He reportedly turned down a four-year deal worth north of $90 million extension before the season. Collins&rsquo; limitations as a primary rim protector or consistent threat off the bounce -- as a driver or passer -- will likely keep him out of max territory.&nbsp;
However, he does bring enough as a pick-and-roll threat, shooter, rebounder, and weakside rim protector to warrant more than $90 million over four years. My take-with-a-grain-of-salt guess -- I emphasize &ldquo;guess&rdquo; here -- is that it would take something like a four-year, $110 million offer sheet to both land Collins and also make the Hawks uneasy about matching.
Put another way: a team looking to land Collins is going to need -- and be willing to spend -- north of $25 million in cap space. Here are the teams I feel could justify making that sort of splash:
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/jjjn_lg.jpg" alt="" width="751" height="AUTO" />
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks, like the teams that&rsquo;ll be mentioned after them, cleared their books so they&rsquo;d have a max slot available for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis is off the market, so the Mavs will need to pivot elswhere.&nbsp;
Luka Doncic is one of the best playmakers in the NBA. The Mavericks have wisely attempted to surround Doncic with shooters, highlighted by Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. What&rsquo;s missing in their attack is some north-south oomph; Collins could help provide that as a high-volume roller or screen slipper.
He&rsquo;s an ideal diver to complement the spacing Porzingis provides. Defensively, Collins could bring a little more size and athleticism to the backline as a weakside helper.
Miami Heat
Finding a long-term frontcourt partner for Bam Adebayo should be pretty high on the priority list for the Heat. They drafted Precious Achiuwa over the offseason, a Bam-lite athlete with flashes of defensive switchability and open floor ball-handling. The lack of a reliable jumper makes the AA frontcourt a questionable fit in the short-term; Collins would alleviate the need for that plan to be fast-tracked.
Collins has proven enough as a shooter to comfortably operate as the 4 on offense. There would still be ample roll opportunities despite Adebayo not being a true spacer yet. The Heat invert the floor by using Adebayo above the break as a handoff or screening hub, making it difficult for opposing bigs to cheat off of him at the risk of Adebayo and a shooter hooking up for some sort of two-man action off the ball.
Toronto Raptors
One of the more underrated storylines of the season has been the Raptors&rsquo; struggles at the center position. After losing Marc Gasol (and Serge Ibaka), they turned to Aron Baynes in free agency to fill the void. He&rsquo;s been mostly bad. They also signed Alex Len in November, but he struggled so much that he was waived one month into the season.
Chris Boucher has been a bright spot, firmly in the &ldquo;he won&rsquo;t win MIP but he&rsquo;s been good enough to get a nod as an honorable mention&rdquo; camp, but he&rsquo;s a bit matchup dependent because of his weight. The recent answer has been downsizing, using Pascal Siakam and even OG Anunoby at the 5 in a switch-heavy scheme.
Collins would fall somewhere in the middle -- he&rsquo;s beefier than Boucher, a better shooter and athlete than Baynes, a more dynamic vertical threat than Siakam or Anunoby, and probably worse defensively than all of them.

Is John Collins' stint with the Hawks coming to an end? Nekias Duncan breaks down five possible destinations for the big man.

Will the Hawks trade John Collins? Analyzing possible destinations

The NBA is ultimately a pass-fail league. The postseason finishes with a champion, and everyone else fails.
OK, that&rsquo;s a little harsh. Failure is relative, and there are some teams that entered this season with their expectations managed. The Oklahoma City Thunder, for example, are passing the rebuilding test as they figure out what players such as Darius Bazley can do when given a chance. The 20-year-old went for 21 points and 16 rebounds last night against the Lakers, playing against a guy, LeBron James, that Bazley used to watch when he was still in diapers.
But you get the point. The regular season is a journey to the postseason for 20 teams this year instead of 16, and a journey to the lottery for the other 10. Today, we will give out team-by-team trimester grades for the 15 Eastern Conference teams, and we&rsquo;ll circle back tomorrow with the West teams. After the next third of the season is complete, we shall do this again.
So, without further ado&hellip;
PHILADELPHIA 76ers (17-7) &ndash; Doc Rivers has them atop the Eastern Conference and has Joel Embiid at the center of the MVP discussion, and Embiid is taking to social media to scold those who cannot quite comprehend how Ben Simmons is contributing to victories on nights when his box-score line leaves something to be desired. When Embiid has played, the Sixers are 14-4, and he clearly spent a bunch of his pandemic isolation time working on his conditioning. Philly has the NBA&rsquo;s best fourth-quarter offense, outscoring opponents by 112.4 points per 100 possessions. Shake Milton is contributing along with imports Danny Green and Seth Curry, and the Sixers have the league&rsquo;s best home record (11-2).
GRADE A-
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (16-8) &ndash; Let&rsquo;s face it, they spoiled us last season. After 24 games a year ago, they were 21-3. What&rsquo;s important to note with this year&rsquo;s team is that there was going to be a learning curve with Jrue Holiday taking over from Eric Bledsoe at the point, because chemistry takes time to build. Khris Middleton continues to do what Khris Middleton always does. Bobby Portis has been a very good free-agent addition (11 points, 7.4 rebounds), as noted in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-bobby-portis-spark-plug-off-bench-milwaukee-bucks-mike-budenholzer-donte-divincenzo-khris-middleton-dj-augustin">this recent profile by colleague Spencer Davies</a>, and Donte DiVincenzo is doing a bit of everything as a full-time starter, shooting above 40 percent from three-point range.
GRADE: B+
BROOKLYN NETS (14-11) &ndash; Well, they have certainly been intriguing. The James Harden trade may have provided us with the most signature moment of the season, and Kyrie Irving has kept things interesting while being polarizing. The Kevin Durant situation last Friday gave everyone a better idea of how hard the NBA is working to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and although the league&rsquo;s methods can sometimes be maddening and isolating, we are not seeing the number of infections that we were seeing a month ago. A backup big man remains a need, and we shall see beginning tonight if Noah Vonleh is the answer. They are all-in on offense, but we all know that defense wins championships, so Sean Marks&rsquo; roster remains a work in progress.
GRADE: B
BOSTON CELTICS (12-10) &ndash; Danny Ainge has been quiet&hellip; too quiet. And the Celtics have been too mediocre. Part of that is caused by Kemba Walker being unavailable for 13 of the 22 games, and Marcus Smart&rsquo;s injury hurts more than some may realize. In a league where elite on-the-ball defenders are hard to come by, Smart is one of the best in the business. He will be back by the end of the month, and his absence is providing everyone with a longer look at rookie Payton Pritchard. Jayson Tatum remains a stud player, but one has to wonder whether big men Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis are championship material. Let&rsquo;s not forget that Andre Drummond is on an expiring contract in Cleveland, and Boston might be a perfect fit. Stay tuned.
GRADE: B-
INDIANA PACERS (12-12) &ndash; The acquisition of Caris LeVert did not exactly go as expected, but the Pacers saved the kid&rsquo;s life. He is expected back on the court in March. Myles Turner&rsquo;s broken hand was a setback, but Domantas Sabonis is having his best season statistically and is a lock to be an All-Star, and the Malcolm Brogdon-T.J. McConnell point guard duo may be the East&rsquo;s best. (Both are among the league&rsquo;s Top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio). There is no official timetable on T.J. Warren&rsquo;s return from surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot. New coach Nate Bjorkgren has had to mix and match lineups, but if all goes well health-wise, he could have his full roster playing together over the final third of the season.
GRADE: C
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CHARLOTTE HORNETS (12-13): LaMelo Ball is starting to run away with the Rookie of the Year award, and Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team has quietly won five of seven, a stretch that began with victories over the Pacers, Bucks and Heat. These guys have spent exactly two days over .500, but they seem like a sort of sneaky good team when at full strength (Devonte&rsquo; Graham is currently out, and Cody Zeller has missed half of their games.) Sixth place in the conference is not a bad place to be, and let&rsquo;s see what a full season of Gordon Hayward acclimating to his teammates leads to. Lest we forget, it&rsquo;s still somewhat early in the season.
GRADE: C+
ATLANTA HAWKS: (11-12): Trae Young is an All-Star and Clint Capela is leading the league in rebounding, and you can&rsquo;t help but wonder what that record might look like if Bogdan Bogdanovic had not fractured his knee. They have seven guys averaging double figures in points, and come playoff time, Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo will provide them with what they&rsquo;ve been missing in seasons past. They are the East&rsquo;s biggest sleeper team.
GRADE: C+
TORONTO RAPTORS (11-13): Nick Nurse&rsquo;s ejection last night gave him the league-lead among coaches in technical fouls, and Kyle Lowry leads the league in flagrant fouls. So, that&rsquo;s really not a bunch of great stuff to write home about from Tampa. Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam have had their moments, as has Chris Boucher, and they are working their way back from a 2-8 start with wins in four of their past five games. They get a lot of sympathy points here for playing an entire season on the road, for all intents and purposes. But sympathy points mean nothing in the standings.
GRADE: C-
NEW YORK KNICKS (11-14): Tonight, we get to see whether Derrick Rose reuniting with Tom Thibodeau is the secret sauce, and the roster is a work in progress as we discussed yesterday in exploring <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-jj-redick-trade-rumors-david-griffin-new-orleans-pelicans-frank-ntilikina-ignas-brazdeikis-new-york-knicks-tom-thibodeau-derrick-rose-ny-playoffs">the possibility of a J.J. Redick acquisition</a>. After 25 games a season ago, they were 5-20 and beginning the Mike Miller era, back when Leon Rose was still an agent and Thibs was wondering where his next paycheck would come from. This particular rebuild should allow for a playoff spot that ends a seven-year drought, and progress at MSG will take years, not months. Their cap flexibility going forward is huge.
GRADE: B-
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (10-15): Getting Jarrett Allen from the Nets gives them a third young player to build around, joining Darius Garland and Collin Sexton (AKA the NBA&rsquo;s speediest backcourt). Can they get anything out of Kevin Love, either on the court or in the trade market? That is a major question. They have (what one would think is) a solid trade asset in Andre Drummond, although we were saying that about the Pistons a year ago when they had Drummond and they got very little back for him. It&rsquo;s too harsh to say they are two years away from being two years away, but you get the picture.
GRADE: C
CHICAGO BULLS (9-14): On the bright side, they have the same record as Miami. If you predicted that particular fact in the preseason, please provide MegaMillions advice. Not having Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter and Wendell Carter has crippled them, but Thaddeus Young has stepped up (trade asset at deadline?). Coby White and Patrick Williams are getting trial by fire, and Billy Donovan is figuring out which of the young fellas are keepers moving forward. One would think Tomas Satoransky has some trade value.
GRADE: D+
MIAMI HEAT (9-14): The NBA&rsquo;s biggest mystery team. What the heck happened to the guys who went to the NBA Finals last season? Duncan Robinson and Precious Achiuwa are the only players who have appeared in all 23 games, so you cannot really say that this has been a collective failure. But the &ldquo;next man up&rdquo; thing has not produced anyone who is manning up in a major way, and no matter how miserable you may feel on any given day, Pat Riley has you beat. 
GRADE: D-
ORLANDO MAGIC (9-15): Losing Markelle Fultz two weeks into the season was a kick in the head after they started 6-2, but Fultz then joined Jonathan Isaac on the out-for-the-season list. Over the past two weeks, they have been getting routinely trounced, and their point differential of -7.2 is the East&rsquo;s worst and the second-worst in the entire NBA thanks to the Timberwolves. Nikola Vucevic may still get an All-Star spot, but that is not as much of a lock as it seemed back in mid-January. This was a playoff team last season.
GRADE: D
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (6-15): Russell Westbrook sat out last night&rsquo;s back-to-back, which is frustrating. Basketball players get paid to play basketball, and once upon a time there was a commissioner, David Stern, who insisted that basketball players play basketball. At least these guys have Bradley Beal to make them watchable.
GRADE: D-
DETROIT PISTONS (5-18). The crazy thing is that they beat the Lakers once and almost beat them twice, losing last weekend in a double-overtime game in which the Pistons climbed back from a 17-point deficit. They also defeated the Sixers for one of their five victories, so go figure. It should not go unnoted that rookie Deividas Sirvydis has a PER of -26.69, which Hollinger himself cannot explain.
GRADE: D-

A third of the way into the 2020-21 NBA season, Chris Sheridan breaks down the state of each East team and grades their start.

Grading each NBA team's first trimester: Eastern Conference

Ethan Fuller breaks down the NBA hierarchy and analyzes some way-to-early Cade Cunningham fits.

NBA Sour Rankings: Introducing the Cade-O-Meter

Ethan Fuller breaks down the general direction of all 30 NBA teams in his weekly Sour Rankings.

NBA Sour Rankings: New Year, New Problems

Nekias Duncan looks ahead to how the five teams in the Southwest Division will fare in the upcoming NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Southwest Division

Remember back in the bubble days when everyone got mad at David Griffin and Alvin Gentry for limiting Zion Williamson&rsquo;s minutes? In the shortened NBA preseason, he reminded us all why.
The sophomore who missed so much of his rookie season due to injuries wowed in the preseason slate, as exhibition play ended last night with two up-and-coming teams, Atlanta and Memphis, playing in a 117-116 game that came down to the wire. 
Yes, the Hawks and Grizzlies are becoming teams to watch. Hey, 2020 cannot be horrible for everyone, OK?
Atlanta has a young nucleus to be one of the best teams in the East for the next half-decade once Lloyd Pierce settles on his shooting guard (he tried Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish during the preseason), and Ja Morant will still find his way onto SportsCenter on a nearly daily basis even if his team doesn&rsquo;t make it onto national television more than once in a blue moon.&nbsp;
But back to Williamson, who came out of Duke as the consensus National Player of the Year and was supposed to become the next big thing -- knee surgery two Octobers ago ate up most of his rookie season, although he did play well enough in his 24 appearances to make the All-Rookie First Team. Now, under new coach Stan Van Gundy, he is going with no restrictions whatsoever...and it has been worth the wait.
&ldquo;I feel great mentally and physically,&rdquo; Williamson said. &ldquo;Year 1 was a lot mentally and physically for me. But I needed that experience. It showed me a lot. Now I&rsquo;m getting ready for Year 2.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Williamson scored 31 points against Milwaukee and 24 against Miami in his two preseason games, and he will be the headliner on the first day of the Christmas quintuple-header as New Orleans plays at Miami after folks unwrap whatever Santa brought.
Williamson ended up leading the NBA in preseason scoring at 28.5 points per game &ndash; a point-and-a-half better than the next guy on Our All-Preseason list &ndash; and making 20 of 35 shots. The Pelicans will end up on TV a bunch this season, the only drawback to which is that we won&rsquo;t get SVG&rsquo;s commentary on TV anymore. He was damn good at it.
Christian Wood left the Pistons for the Rockets in the offseason and is a huge part of the "big ball" the Rockets will be playing, whether or not James Harden is a part of the team.&nbsp;
Wood will often find himself playing power forward in a lineup flanked by center DeMarcus Cousins, as Stephen Silas goes with a more traditional lineup than what we have seen in recent years with the Rockets, as coach Mike D&rsquo;Antoni preached "small ball." Wood finished second in the NBA in preseason scoring at 27 points per game and led the league in the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all-important category of fantasy points</a>.
Check out how the Rockets freed him up for an easy 2-pointer on this play:&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Simple 1-4 flat iso for Christian Wood in 2-2 alignment. Allows Wood space high to probe/attack. Harden is adjacent to Wood, and defender won't help freeing Wood's preferred R hand. Wood contours his body well inside the paint. Watch his pump fake, identical to his actual gather <a href="https://t.co/kdlJX6BxYZ">pic.twitter.com/kdlJX6BxYZ</a>
&mdash; Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rockets_Insider/status/1339985860599623680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2020</a></blockquote>

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Wood played in only one preseason game after recovering from a left elbow injury, but he went off for 27 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes in a game against San Antonio where Cousins and John Wall were rested. If Harden is still with the Rockets on opening night, they will probably have a starting five of Wall, Harden, P.J. Tucker, Wood and Cousins, which ain&rsquo;t all that bad. But with opening night still two days away and Harden trade rumors circulating, it is unclear if Houston will make it to Tuesday with the current roster intact.
Morant led the NBA in assists in the preseason with 9.8 per game, while averaging less than 26 minutes and also shooting nearly 56 percent from the field. The Grizzlies scored more points per game than every team except the Pelicans, Mavericks and Nuggets, finishing 3-1 as one of only 11 teams that played four exhibition games. Predictably, the Lakers finished with the best preseason record, 4-0; they and the 3-0 Jazz were the only teams in the West with better preseason records than the Grizzlies.. Memphis will make its first national TV appearance the day after Christmas in a 5 p.m. start against the Hawks. Nobody is picking them to win the West, but they will most certainly be one of the top 10 teams that qualify for the expanded postseason.
Dwight Howard played only 33 preseason minutes and attempted 11 shots, making 9 of them &ndash; good enough for him to lead the NBA in preseason field goal percentage at 81.8 percent. The Lakers won Game 6 of the Finals against Miami by going small and leaving Howard on the bench, but over the course of the postseason, we saw enough from Howard to know that the 35-year-old (now with his seventh team in 17 seasons) still has plenty of basketball left in him. He is the best backup center that Joel Embiid will ever have had behind him, and expect Doc Rivers to occasionally have a quick hook with Embiid if the All-Star center strays from the game plan, as he has had a tendency of doing before. 
Nikola Vucevic had double-doubles in all four of the Orlando Magic&rsquo;s preseason games and ended up leading the NBA in rebounding in the preseason at 12.5 per game. Another player who does not play for a sexy team that will be all over national TV, Vucevic is nonetheless a proven commodity as he enters his 10th NBA season, six of which have featured him averaging double digits in both points and rebounds. Steve Clifford has a solid if unspectacular team, and if Markelle Fultz continues the major improvement he showed last season -- and Aaron Gordon pops back onto the national radar the way he was doing a few years back -- this is a top-seven team in the East. Top seven (or eight) gets you into the play-in tournament needing only one victory, and the play of Vucevic will be crucial to the Magic accomplishing that feat.
All-Preseason First Team: Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Christian Wood, Nikola Vucevic, Dwight Howard

Chris Sheridan looks at players' best exhibition performances to decide his 2020 NBA All-Preseason Team.

Zion Williamson leads All-Preseason Team with Morant, Vucevic, Howard, Wood

Nekias Duncan previews the Southeast Division (the Hawks, Hornets, Heat, Magic and Wizards) ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Southeast Division

Ethan Fuller breaks down the state of each NBA franchise and ranks the most frustrating teams ahead of the 2020-21 NBA season.

NBA 'Sour' Rankings: Preseason Prelude

This is an excerpt from Jon Finkel's new book "Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics, and How a Stolen Team&rsquo;s Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA&rsquo;s Secret Empire" (which was published by Slow Grind Media, 2020). <a href="https://bit.ly/HHBasketballNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You can pre-order the book here.</a>
&ldquo;I was born in 1980 but the 1979 championship still resonated while I grew up,&rdquo; Jamal Crawford says. &ldquo;The Sonics were everything to me. In elementary school I remember Dana Barros and Xavier McDaniel coming to our school to be involved in the community. I was lucky that I was able to see these guys growing up. They were like superheroes to me. I remember listening to Barros at school and he&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;We have to leave now because we play Charles Barkley later,&rsquo; and it was just amazing. They had an aura about them.&rdquo;
By the time Crawford was in middle school, the torch had been passed from Barros and the X-Man to Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp in the early &rsquo;90s. This was the Sonics squad that made the deepest impression with Crawford. These were his guys. He watched endless highlights of Kemp posterizing fools on the court and Payton talking trash while picking someone&rsquo;s pocket. Like most kids in Seattle he dreamed of being on the floor and tossing lobs to the Reign Man or draining a three off a dime from the Glove. But unlike most kids in Seattle, by the time Crawford was old enough to get his driver&rsquo;s license, his basketball talent was able to turn most kids&rsquo; fantasy into his reality.
&ldquo;I was invited to the pro-am games as a high schooler and I&rsquo;d be playing in the men&rsquo;s pro league,&rdquo; Crawford said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when I think I first jumped on the bigger basketball radar. I played for George Karl&rsquo;s Friends of Hoops team. Then I played in tournaments that Nate McMillan sponsored. I played on Gary Payton&rsquo;s teams. I remember playing against guys like Detlef [Schrempf] when I was only 16 or 17 years old.&rdquo;
In the 1990s, while the Sonics were emerging as an iconic NBA team, the Washington basketball scene was still under-appreciated nationally in terms of recruitment to big-time schools and in representation throughout the NBA. It was through the tournaments that Karl and Payton ran that Seattle basketball began to draw the spotlight and the attention it deserved. Crawford says that most people don&rsquo;t realize how instrumental George Karl was in getting Seattle high school basketball known nationally through his camps and teams. Same with Payton.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/sea_lg.jpg" alt="" width="794" height="AUTO" />
Bobby Jones, who grew up in Compton, California, but played basketball for the University of Washington and calls Seattle his second home, says that at that time among West Coast hoopers, Seattle was largely overlooked.
&ldquo;Being a guy from LA, the biggest basketball scene out west, I had my typical thoughts that our city is better than yours, mainly because Seattle wasn&rsquo;t known as a basketball city,&rdquo; Jones says. &ldquo;I mean, we knew about Grunge music and the space needle, but that was it. Seattle was nowhere near as big as Los Angeles, so I just knew LA was better. As the years added on and I met more guys and played with more guys, I got to see that the city has a good basketball culture. I mean, it looks like it might rain every day, so guys are always in the gym working.
&ldquo;I started college in 2002, and for me, there was no big name that I heard of from Seattle until Jamal Crawford. When he went to Michigan and then the NBA right away, that put Seattle on the map. And when I saw how many camps Gary Payton and George Karl ran in the community, it had such a big impact. They helped jumpstart the basketball scene there.&rdquo;
The camps and teams sponsored by the Sonics and their players were long-term investments in the local basketball community. Each initiative was like planting a new hoops seed for the future, and as more and more kids fell in love with the game throughout the &rsquo;90s and had access to NBA-level coaches and players willing to give instruction (and had sponsors donating high-quality gear) the talent began to improve and be nurtured at the grade school level. By the time these kids reached high school, there was a crescendo of All-Americans and Division I talent ready to roll across the country or stay home and attend the University of Washington.
&ldquo;When I was younger, I remember thinking that more people were getting football scholarships than basketball scholarships,&rdquo; Crawford says. &ldquo;If you played football you had a much better chance at going to a bigger school somewhere else. But George Karl took us to tournaments and helped us get seen. And I&rsquo;d pick his brain. I remember we were at a Vegas tournament once and we were just talking about what made John Stockton great and what made Magic Johnson great, and I just filled up on knowledge from him.&rdquo;
Gaining access to tournaments and knowledge from Sonics icons was one huge part of why the Seattle basketball scene began to grow exponentially. Another major reason was due to the snowball effect of the individual athletes from the area taking their responsibilities as role models and mentors seriously. Case in point: the bond shared between Christie and Crawford.
&ldquo;Doug Christie impacted my life so much. He showed me everything. He taught me how to prepare, how to eat right, how to train right, and even how to fix your shoes and socks so you were ready to go,&rdquo; Crawford says. &ldquo;I remember one time we played one-on-one before practice, and I was so tired from that I could barely get through our workout afterward. I knew then, man, there&rsquo;s another level I need to get to. I knew that since he was taking the time to show me the ropes that I was going to do the same thing for the next generation.&rdquo;
A common theme when talking to Christie or Crawford or Jason Terry or any of the Seattle area ballers is how much they say they owe each other for their success. Yes, they&rsquo;re playing for their families and their community, but they&rsquo;re also playing for each other. It&rsquo;s a special camaraderie that brings to mind the three musketeers&rsquo; slogan: all for one and one for all.
&ldquo;I am so proud of what Jamal has done,&rdquo; Gary Payton says. &ldquo;He has taken his Summer League and turned it into something really big. He gets everybody together and brings all these pros in and it&rsquo;s special for the community. It keeps the basketball tradition alive.&rdquo;
Crawford describes the scene in Chicago with the Bulls as one where guys would work out together but not necessarily hang out together. They were doing their own things in the community or in their own lives. He was determined to make sure his Seattle basketball brotherhood back home was different.
&ldquo;When I am back home, I want everybody to be together,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If Nate Robinson has an event, or Isaiah Thomas has a backpack giveaway, or I have a charity game, or Spencer Hawes is doing something for an organization, we&rsquo;re all going to be there. We&rsquo;re all going to be there for each other. It&rsquo;s a brotherhood.&rdquo;
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/hh_slow-grind_2560x1600_green-01_lg.jpg" alt="" width="190" height="305" />
For much of this brotherhood&rsquo;s history, the athletes were linked by two things: basketball and their love for the Sonics. With the Sonics gone, a gaping hole exists in the city. Crawford says it still doesn&rsquo;t feel real.
&ldquo;When I first heard rumors that Seattle might lose the team, I didn&rsquo;t believe it,&rdquo; Crawford says. &ldquo;Knowing the city and the fans and how great they are for the Seahawks and the Storm and the Sounders and the Mariners&hellip; I just couldn&rsquo;t believe we wouldn&rsquo;t have the Sonics. Maybe I didn&rsquo;t want to believe it. And then when it happened it was so hard. That last year they were kind of like a lame duck team. You knew it was happening. You knew it was inevitable. You knew they were leaving. And it&rsquo;s still such a bitter feeling.&rdquo;
And yet, without any men&rsquo;s professional basketball team in the area, the collection of NBA stars who remain involved in the city have become a de facto professional team in their own right&mdash;they sponsor community events, hand out their numbers to high school players, speak to grade schools and middle schools and high schools, put on camps, and sponsor teams. The Sonics are gone, sure, but the men who grew up on their legacy make sure it lives on.
&ldquo;In a weird way, we kind of fill that void of not having the Sonics anymore,&rdquo; Crawford says. &ldquo;Without the Sonics, the closest kids can get to NBA players is through our group or a ride to Portland or the television. So, when we put on our pro-am, which I think is needed now more than ever, I ask young kids who they want to see. They might say Kevin Durant or Blake Griffin and I understand that&rsquo;s the bigger picture. I never ask people for anything, and to be honest, I&rsquo;m uncomfortable doing it, but this is the only chance the kids in Seattle will get to see these guys. I remember what it meant to me growing up, so I want to do the same for them. So, I&rsquo;ll reach out and ask players to attend on their behalf. And I&rsquo;m grateful when they can help out. It means so much. We&rsquo;re the men&rsquo;s pro basketball players in the community. It&rsquo;s on us now.&rdquo;
Hoops Heist is the first publication from two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas&rsquo;s Slow Grind Media and it's available wherever books are sold. <a href="https://bit.ly/HHBasketballNews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You can buy it on Amazon today</a>.
Jon Finkel is the award-winning author of "The Life of Dad," "Jocks In Chief," "The Athlete," "Heart Over Height," &ldquo;'Mean' Joe Greene," "The 'Greatest Stars of the NBA' Series" and other books about sports, fatherhood, fitness and more. His work has been endorsed by Spike Lee, Kevin Durant, Tony Dungy, Jerry Jones, Mark Cuban and Chef Robert Irvine. Follow Jon on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/Jon_Finkel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@Jon_Finkel</a>
Photographs by Dean Rutz of The Seattle Times. Check out <a href="https://deanrutz.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dean's site</a> and follow Dean on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/deanrutz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@DeanRutz</a>

An excerpt from Jon Finkel's book (Hoops Heist: Seattle, the Sonics, and How a Stolen Team’s Legacy Gave Rise to the NBA’s Secret Empire).

How the Sonics helped Seattle become a hoops hotbed

The NBA has officially unveiled the full rosters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, marking another milestone in this season&rsquo;s midseason showcase.&nbsp;
With the league&rsquo;s annual celebration of its stars set for Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, fans now know exactly who will take part in the new USA vs. World round-robin format &ndash; featuring two U.S. teams and one international squad competing in 12-minute games before a championship finale.
The roster are set as follows:
<h4>Team USA Stripes</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Stephen Curry &ndash; Golden State Warriors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">LeBron James &ndash; Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kevin Durant &ndash; Houston Rockets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kawhi Leonard &ndash; Los Angeles Clippers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jaylen Brown &ndash; Boston Celtics</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Brunson &ndash; New York Knicks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Donovan Mitchell &ndash; Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Norman Powell &ndash; Miami Heat&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h4>Team USA Stars</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Anthony Edwards &ndash; Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Devin Booker &ndash; Phoenix Suns</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cade Cunningham &ndash; Detroit Pistons</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Tyrese Maxey &ndash; Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Scottie Barnes &ndash; Toronto Raptors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Duren &ndash; Detroit Pistons</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chet Holmgren &ndash; Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Johnson &ndash; Atlanta Hawks&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h4>Team World</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Luka Doncic &ndash; Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Giannis Antetokounmpo &ndash; Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander &ndash; Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Nikola Jokic &ndash; Denver Nuggets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Victor Wembanyama &ndash; San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pascal Siakam &ndash; Indiana Pacers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jamal Murray &ndash; Denver Nuggets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Deni Avdija &ndash; Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Karl-Anthony Towns &ndash; New York Knicks&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
The starters were voted in by a combination of fans (50 %), NBA players (25 %), and media (25 %) while the reserves were selected by NBA head coaches.
Commissioner Adam Silver and the league office added Kawhi Leonard to the U.S. roster pool after strong midseason play and fan-driven support.&nbsp;
This year&rsquo;s format diverges significantly from traditional East vs. West competition by introducing three distinct All-Star teams &ndash; highlighting both U.S. talent and the international flavor of today&rsquo;s NBA.
With rosters now set, All-Star Weekend will also feature the Castrol Rising Stars Game, Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, and a slate of skills competitions and performances leading up to the main event. The round-robin USA vs. World tournament is designed to add competitive intrigue and showcase global NBA stars on the league&rsquo;s biggest midseason stage.

The NBA has officially unveiled the full rosters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

2026 NBA All-Star Game rosters revealed ahead of USA vs World showcase

LeBron James has long been revered as the symbol of longevity in the NBA. Playing the most seasons of all time at 23 years, James is still going strong even at 41 years old. After missing the first 14 games of the year, he is now averaging 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.9 assists. 
Now LeBron is slowly rounding to shape, and at the top of this peak gameplay is James&rsquo; ever-talked about investments on his body. It has long been a story for years on how he spends millions of dollars every year to take care of his body, and this year is no different. Or perhaps, this has even more intensified each year as he grows older, adding more intensive routines to keep his body conditioned and in top tier shape to play against the best of the best.
James offered a glimpse into the meticulous routine behind his longevity, walking through his game-day checklist as he prepared to play his first back-to-back of the season on Tuesday.
In a postgame interview with ESPN&rsquo;s Dave McMenamin, that preparation included just about everything modern recovery has to offer, detailing his routine every game:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cold tub</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hyperbaric chamber</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Nap</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Normatec</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Activation</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Stretching</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Rehabbing</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Lifting</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pregame meal</li>
</ul>
The results spoke for themselves. Despite it being his first back-to-back of the season, James delivered a near triple-double performance, finishing with 31 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists to lead his team to a win over the Atlanta Hawks.
At an age where most players have long since stepped away from the game, LeBron&rsquo;s attention to recovery, conditioning, and preparation continues to serve as the foundation for his sustained excellence &ndash; and nights like this remain the clearest proof of why he&rsquo;s still performing at an elite level.
It remains to be seen if LeBron maintains this level of play until the end of the season, but the Lakers would certainly hope so as they fight for positioning in the tough Western Conference. And at the forefront of it all is James alongside Luka Doncic, who will try to contend for a title for the prestigious purple and gold brand.

LeBron James revealed his detailed game-day routine after his first back-to-back game this year - the secret to his incredible longevity.

LeBron reveals his stunning routine, secret for his incredible longevity

Missing Trae Young due to a knee injury, Jalen Johnson has stepped up his game and is showing that he can be a capable star to build a team on.
Jalen Johnson&rsquo;s rise was kind of expected and supposed to happen this season. The talent was always evident, the flashes from last season undeniable, and the physical tools have been impossible to ignore. But what he is doing now feels different. This kind of leap &mdash; the kind that changes a career, reshapes a franchise, and forces the rest of the league to pay attention.
In a season where the Atlanta Hawks have started out with injuries and inconsistency, Johnson has become their stabilizer, their do-everything engine, and their unexpected source of hope early on in the season. While Trae Young sits with a knee injury, Johnson has not only stepped into a larger responsibility, but he has exceeded it.
His back-to-back triple-doubles over his last two games have been kind of an exclamation point on what has become one of the best storylines in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks aren&rsquo;t just surviving because of him, they are afloat and in the middle of it all because of him.
The modern NBA is defined by size, versatility, and decision-making &ndash; and Johnson checks all three boxes in a way few forwards his age can. At 6-foot-9 with a strong frame and smooth athleticism, he has embraced the role of a jumbo playmaker in Atlanta&rsquo;s offense.
He attacks the rim with force, overwhelms smaller defenders, and uses his long strides to blow past slower ones. But what truly elevates his game is the way he manipulates defenses as both a driver and a passer. Whether he&rsquo;s initiating pick-and-rolls, operating in the short roll, or pushing in transition, Johnson processes the floor with the composure of a seasoned guard &ndash; all while playing the forward position and being 6&rsquo;9.
This is the version Atlanta dreamed of when they selected him in 2021 &ndash; the kind of multi-faceted forward who can anchor possessions on his own, create advantages for others, and serve as a connective tissue across every lineup combination.
Johnson&rsquo;s growth as a scorer has been just as impressive. His finishing touch around the rim continues to evolve, showcasing a mix of power and finesse that keeps defenses guessing. His improved jumper may be the most important development, as he&rsquo;s spacing the floor effectively, shooting the ball with confidence, and converting catch-and-shoot opportunities at a level that forces defenses to stay honest. When opponents bring help, he punishes them with skip passes and timely reads and his athleticism is put to good use with force.
He&rsquo;s no longer an &ldquo;upside piece&rdquo; Atlanta hopes will pan out. He&rsquo;s already delivering production and responsibility at a level far beyond what most young forwards in the league are asked to handle.
One of the biggest testaments to Johnson&rsquo;s versatility is how seamless he looks in every part of the pick-and-roll action. He can be the handler, leveraging his size to see over defenses and make advanced reads. He can be the roller, catching in the short pocket and turning it into downhill pressure.
It&rsquo;s rare to find a forward who can fluidly shift roles based on personnel and matchups &ndash; rarer still for that forward to be 22 years old and just scratching the surface.
When Atlanta&rsquo;s spacing tightens, Johnson becomes the playmaking valve. When possessions stall, he becomes the initiator. When the Hawks need someone to create something out of nothing, they turn to him. And lately, he has delivered to mark one of the best, if not the best, stretches of his young NBA career.
Without Trae Young, the Hawks&rsquo; offense could have cratered. But Johnson&rsquo;s play has provided a structure, a rhythm, and an identity they desperately needed. His triple-doubles were reflections of a player filling every gap the team had, while lifting them toward competitive relevance.
His versatility has allowed the Hawks to maintain pace in the East during a stretch where many expected them to slide. He&rsquo;s become the heartbeat of the team: energetic, unselfish, relentless, and increasingly reliable.
This leap by Johnson is one built on improved skill, stronger decision-making, and a growing belief from the organization that he&rsquo;s ready for more.
Atlanta entered the season with questions about its long-term direction. But amid the uncertainty, Johnson has emerged as one of the clearest answers. His development brings stability, his playmaking brings structure, and more importantly, his confidence brings hope.
He&rsquo;s the Hawks&rsquo; future, and right now, he&rsquo;s also their present.
The NBA is often defined by players who make &ldquo;the leap,&rdquo; but those leaps don&rsquo;t always look the same. Johnson&rsquo;s leap isn&rsquo;t defined by scoring explosions or spotlight moments &ndash; it&rsquo;s currently defined by completeness. The ability to do everything, affect everything, and help the Hawks survive one of their toughest stretches of the season.

Jalen Johnson is powering the Atlanta Hawks through Trae Young’s absence with back-to-back triple-doubles and a breakout season.

Jalen Johnson’s star breakout season is keeping Atlanta alive in the East

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been honored with the 2024-25 NBA Most Improved Player award, a testament to his remarkable development and defensive prowess throughout the season.
In his third NBA season &ndash; and first with the Hawks after an offseason trade from the New Orleans Pelicans &ndash; the 22-year-old Australian showcased significant growth. Daniels averaged career highs of 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and an NBA-leading 3.0 steals per game over 76 starts. His 3.0 steals per game marked the highest average in over three decades, earning him the nickname "The Great Barrier Thief" from teammates.&nbsp;
Daniels' impact extended beyond traditional statistics. He led the league in total steals and deflections, recording 229 steals &ndash; the most since Allen Iverson in 2003 &ndash; and setting a new single-season record with 325 deflections.&nbsp; His defensive tenacity was further recognized as he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and was named Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month twice during the season.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Offensively, Daniels made significant strides, increasing his scoring average by 8.3 points per game compared to the previous season. He became just the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a single season.&nbsp;
Daniels' exceptional season solidifies his status as a cornerstone for the Hawks' future, exemplifying the profound impact of dedication and hard work on both ends of the court.

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been honored with the 2024-25 NBA Most Improved Player award.

Dyson Daniels wins 2024-25 NBA Most Improved Player Award

The Atlanta Hawks are soaring to new heights this season, and their resurgence is turning heads on the national NBA scene. Long being a team stuck in the middle of the pack, Atlanta now appears poised to make a run as a potential darkhorse team in the East. This transformation is powered by franchise cornerstone Trae Young, the emergence of key players like Jalen Johnson, and a roster loaded with dynamic contributors who can defend, shoot, and thrive in high-stakes moments.
<h4>The Hawks' recent performance is breaking their cycle of being &lsquo;mid&rsquo;&nbsp;</h4>
Over the past five seasons, the Atlanta Hawks have epitomized being stuck in the middle, compiling a cumulative record of 175-169, which translates to a winning percentage of approximately .509. This period includes a standout 2020-21 season where the team finished 41-31, achieving a .569 winning percentage and making a notable playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, this success was bookended by seasons of underperformance, such as the 2017-18 campaign with a dismal 24-58 record (.293 winning percentage). Atlanta has hovered around 7th-10th seed in the East, and these fluctuations underscore the team's struggle to maintain consistent success, often finding themselves hovering around the .500 mark and failing to secure a strong foothold in the Eastern Conference.
This pattern of inconsistency has kept the Hawks in the league's middle tier, preventing them from breaking through as a formidable contender. The team's inability to string together consecutive winning seasons has been a significant barrier to establishing a lasting presence in the postseason. The 2020-21 season's deep playoff run appeared to signal a turning point, but subsequent seasons did not build upon that momentum, highlighting the challenges of sustaining high-level performance in the NBA.
In the context of the franchise's history, this recent stretch reflects a broader trend of fluctuating success. The Hawks have experienced periods of competitiveness interspersed with seasons of rebuilding, contributing to an all-time record that hovers around .500.&nbsp;
However, this historical backdrop sets the stage for the current season's resurgence, as the team aims to break free from past patterns and establish itself as a consistent force in the league.
<h4>The Hawks&rsquo; turnaround: Trae Young and capable pieces behind him&nbsp;</h4>
At the heart of Atlanta&rsquo;s recent success is Trae Young, a player whose brilliance has often been overshadowed by debates about his defensive limitations or the team&rsquo;s overall performance. Yet, this season, Young&rsquo;s play is demanding the league&rsquo;s attention. Averaging over 12 assists per game, Young is on pace to join John Stockton as the only players in NBA history to average that many assists across an entire season. His ability to orchestrate the offense with precision has not only elevated his teammates but also reintroduced him as one of the league&rsquo;s most watchable entertainers.
Young&rsquo;s court vision and flair for the dramatic have become must-watch television. Whether it&rsquo;s a no-look lob to teammates or a deep three from well beyond the arc, his highlight reel is a nightly reminder of his offensive genius. Yet, it&rsquo;s not just the flashy plays; it&rsquo;s the consistency with which he&rsquo;s delivering them. His recent performances in the NBA Cup have been a showcase of his ability to command the stage on a national level, further solidifying his reputation as a star built for big moments.
The Hawks&rsquo; deep run in the NBA Cup has been a perfect platform for the team to announce itself to a wider audience. In their quarterfinal victory over the New York Knicks, Young&rsquo;s 22-point, 11-assist performance was a masterclass in controlling tempo and exploiting defensive weaknesses. Atlanta&rsquo;s ability to thrive in this high-stakes environment speaks to the growth of its roster and the leadership of its star player.
More importantly, the NBA Cup has offered Young a chance to dispel lingering doubts about him being able to lead a team. Critics have often pointed to his inconsistency or questioned his ability of being a franchise cornerstone to lead a team to sustained success. But this year, Young&rsquo;s play has been a decisive rebuttal, showcasing a level of maturity and poise that suggests he&rsquo;s ready to take the Hawks to the next level.
<h4>The Hawks&rsquo; best roster in the Trae Young era</h4>
While Trae Young remains the centerpiece, the emergence of Jalen Johnson as a secondary star has been equally critical to Atlanta&rsquo;s resurgence. Johnson&rsquo;s unique skill set as a jumbo forward who can score, playmake, and shoot has added a new dimension to the Hawks&rsquo; offense. His ability to initiate plays and create mismatches has relieved pressure on Young and diversified the team&rsquo;s attack.
Players like Johnson, who can impact the game in multiple ways, are increasingly valuable in today&rsquo;s NBA. In many ways, Johnson&rsquo;s breakout is reminiscent of the rise of other versatile forwards who have become cornerstones for championship-caliber teams. For Atlanta, his development represents a critical step toward building a roster that can compete with the league&rsquo;s elite.
Another key to the Hawks&rsquo; success has been their improved defensive identity. Dyson Daniels, acquired in the offseason, has emerged as one of the league&rsquo;s premier point-of-attack defenders. His ability to rack up deflections and disrupt opposing offenses has provided Atlanta with a defensive anchor on the perimeter.
The frontcourt rotation of Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu has also been instrumental. Both players excel as rim protectors and lob threats, perfectly complementing Young&rsquo;s playmaking. Meanwhile, rookie Zaccharie Risacher, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, is beginning to find his footing, contributing as a 6&rsquo;10&rdquo; forward with shooting range and defensive versatility.
Veterans like De&rsquo;Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanović round out the roster, providing stability and experience off the bench. Hunter&rsquo;s ability to guard multiple positions and Bogdanović&rsquo;s scoring touch have been invaluable in close games, giving Atlanta a level of depth that&rsquo;s been lacking in recent years.
<h4>Introducing Atlanta on the national stage</h4>
The Hawks&rsquo; resurgence isn&rsquo;t just about winning games; it&rsquo;s about reestablishing themselves as a team to be reckoned with on the national stage. For years, Atlanta&rsquo;s potential has been a tantalizing but unrealized promise. This season, that promise is finally being fulfilled. With Trae Young leading the way, the Hawks have become one of the league&rsquo;s most exciting teams to watch, blending highlight-reel offense with a gritty, competitive edge.
This season presents a pivotal opportunity for Trae Young to reshape the narrative of his career, shifting from being viewed solely as a high-scoring guard with defensive flaws to a true leader who elevates those around him. For the Hawks, it&rsquo;s a chance to prove that their 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run wasn&rsquo;t a one-time fluke but the beginning of a larger, sustained success. With Young guiding a rejuvenated roster, the Hawks aim to break free from their recent history of inconsistency and establish themselves as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, securing a more prominent position on the national NBA stage.
As the NBA Cup and the regular season progresses, the Hawks' ability to maintain their current level of play will be pivotal in determining whether they can overcome the inconsistencies of the past and solidify their status as a rising power in the league. The journey toward consistent excellence is not without challenges, but the foundation being laid this season offers a promising glimpse into a brighter future for the franchise.

The Atlanta Hawks are soaring to new heights this season, and their resurgence is turning heads on the national NBA scene.

‘Atlanta’s Flight’: Led by Trae Young, the Hawks are soaring in their new era

With just days left until the 2024-25 NBA season tips off, the Eastern Conference teams are settled, prepped, and ready for action. The offseason moves are done, rosters are set, and almost everyone&rsquo;s locked in for what&rsquo;s shaping up to be an intense race. From title contenders to dark horses, the East is packed with teams ready to make noise. So, let&rsquo;s dive into the top 15 teams in the East as we gear up for this brand-new season&mdash;no fluff, just what you need to know.
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">New York Knicks The Knicks made significant moves this offseason, adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges while retaining key pieces like Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby. With depth, defense, and firepower, they look primed for a deep playoff run. After a 50-win season in 2023-24, they now have realistic championship aspirations and could be the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Boston Celtics The defending champions kept their core intact, extending Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. With Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday leading a formidable lineup, the Celtics are aiming to repeat as NBA champions. Despite concerns about Al Horford&rsquo;s age and frontcourt health, Boston remains the favorite heading into the 2024-25 season.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Milwaukee Bucks The Bucks didn&rsquo;t make major changes but added depth with Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Delon Wright. After an injury-plagued season from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Milwaukee looks to bounce back under returning head coach Doc Rivers. With questions surrounding Lillard&rsquo;s form and Middleton&rsquo;s durability, the Bucks remain playoff contenders, but how far they go will depend on health and chemistry.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Philadelphia 76ers The 76ers had a big offseason, adding Paul George, Andre Drummond, and Caleb Martin to support Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Maxey&rsquo;s rise as a star solidifies Philly&rsquo;s title hopes, and Embiid&rsquo;s MVP-level play is crucial for their success. With an improved supporting cast, the Sixers could be serious challengers in the East, but Embiid&rsquo;s health remains the key.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cleveland Cavaliers After a solid 48-win season, the Cavs focused on continuity by keeping their core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. New coach Kenny Atkinson brings fresh leadership, and Cleveland hopes to build on last season&rsquo;s playoff run. With a healthier roster and improved coaching, the Cavs could reach 50 wins and challenge the top teams in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Indiana Pacers The Pacers had a quiet offseason but retained Pascal Siakam and made a key addition in James Wiseman. Tyrese Haliburton&rsquo;s breakout season makes Indiana a team to watch, and they&rsquo;re looking to build on their deep playoff run. With improved chemistry and young talent, Indiana could surprise as a top-five team in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Orlando Magic The Magic are banking on internal growth, led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. After winning 47 games and making the playoffs last season, they added veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for shooting and leadership. With a young core developing, Orlando could win 50 games if they continue their upward trend and improve their perimeter shooting.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Miami Heat The Heat had a quiet offseason, adding Alec Burks while re-signing key players like Bam Adebayo. With Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s future uncertain and health concerns for both Butler and Tyler Herro, Miami could face challenges in a competitive Eastern Conference. However, Adebayo&rsquo;s All-NBA-level play will keep them in the playoff hunt.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Atlanta Hawks The Hawks overhauled their roster after a disappointing 36-46 season, headlined by trading Dejounte Murray and acquiring the No. 1 pick, Zaccharie Risacher. With Trae Young remaining the focal point, the Hawks are banking on Risacher&rsquo;s development and contributions from new additions like Larry Nance Jr. and Dyson Daniels. This team looks poised to contend for a Play-In spot but lacks the co-star power needed for a deep playoff run.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Charlotte Hornets The Hornets enter the season with fresh energy, thanks to the hiring of new coach Charles Lee and the re-signing of Miles Bridges. With LaMelo Ball back healthy and Brandon Miller continuing to impress after an All-Rookie season, Charlotte&rsquo;s young core could surprise many. If Ball stays on the floor and their youth develops quickly, the Hornets might find themselves contending for a Play-In spot and shaking off years of underachievement.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Detroit Pistons The Pistons are looking to turn the page on a tough 2023-24 season and have made moves to fast-track their rebuild. With Cade Cunningham healthy, new leadership under J.B. Bickerstaff, and rookie Ron Holland adding spark, Detroit could outperform expectations. If Cunningham returns to form and the team gels quickly, don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Pistons emerge as a dark horse in the East.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Toronto Raptors The Raptors are in transition, keeping their young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley intact. After a poor finish to last season, Toronto is betting on Barnes&rsquo; continued growth and the addition of Davion Mitchell to improve their fortunes. While their ceiling might be a Play-In appearance, the Raptors are hoping their trio can take a big step forward.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chicago Bulls The Bulls traded DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso, adding Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith to the mix. Zach LaVine&rsquo;s injury history remains a concern, but the Bulls are counting on Coby White&rsquo;s emergence and the potential of lottery pick Matas Buzelis. Chicago is likely to be a competitive team some nights, but they may struggle to rise above the Play-In threshold.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Brooklyn Nets The Nets are entering a rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges and Lonnie Walker. With a young roster led by Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas, Brooklyn&rsquo;s focus is on player development. Ben Simmons remains a question mark, but the team&rsquo;s recent moves set them up for future success with significant draft assets. A playoff berth seems unlikely as they look to position themselves for a high draft pick.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Washington Wizards The Wizards continue their rebuild with the addition of Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick. With Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey joining the squad, Washington hopes to see growth from young talents like Bilal Coulibaly. However, they&rsquo;re still far from playoff contention and will likely be looking at another lottery-bound season.</li>
</ol>

Let's dive into the top 15 teams in the East as we gear up for this brand-new season.

2024-2025 NBA Eastern Conference Power Rankings: A new number one arises at the top

The 2024 NBA All-Star Saturday Night at the Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis saw some electrifying highlights across all four events, including a spectacular shooting display and jaw-dropping dunks. Here&rsquo;s a quick recap of everything that went down.
Team Pacers rule 2024 Kia Skills Challenge
After a tight contest, Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin and Myles Turner of Team Pacers take the crown of the NBA&rsquo;s Skills Challenge. The hometown team bested other competitors in the field including Team Top Picks (Victor Wembanyama, Paolo Banchero and Anthony Edwards) and Team All-Stars (Trae Young, Tyrese Maxey and Scottie Barnes).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
"INDYYYY" Team Pacers lifts the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KiaSkills?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KiaSkills</a> trophy infront of the home crowd 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StateFarmSaturday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StateFarmSaturday</a> on TNT <a href="https://t.co/E7AnW3heYQ">pic.twitter.com/E7AnW3heYQ</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1759037129806475764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

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Team Pacers got off to a hot start, winning the first two events in the Three-man Relay and Passing Round with a total time of 1:07 (relay) and 92 points (passing round), with each amounting to 100 challenge points. Team All-Stars then got hot in the shooting round to claim the event, which was worth 200 challenge points.
With the score tied at 200 challenge points each, the two teams had a tie-breaker round, which was a half-court shot. Team All-Stars went first and nailed the shot with a total time of 58.8 seconds, but Haliburton and Team Pacers responded to hit their's more than 20 seconds quicker to win the challenge.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
HOME TOWN CHAMPS 🏆 Tyrese Haliburton hits the game-winning half-court dagger as the Team Pacers WIN the 2024 NBA Skills Challenge 🙌🏾<a href="https://t.co/jpP6fhvswH">pic.twitter.com/jpP6fhvswH</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1759036015224770883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

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This was the second win of All-Star Weekend for the home team, after Mathurin also won the MVP award of the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night.
Damian Lillard wins back-to-back Three-Point Shootout titles
The Milwaukee Bucks' Damian Lillard earned his second-straight Starry Three-Point Contest title in a thriller on Saturday night.
At the final rack and needing just one shot to seal the title, Lillard missed out on his first four attempts before sinking the last shot to defend his crown in style.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
DAME TIME ⌚️ Damian Lillard hits 26 treys to take home the 2024 NBA 3-Point Contest🎯 BACK-TO-BACK 🏆<a href="https://t.co/0fqcoAPzRI">pic.twitter.com/0fqcoAPzRI</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1759049093404303702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
He became the first back-to-back winner of the event since Jason Kapono, who won in 2007 and 2008.
Lillard was joined by the Atlanta Hawks&rsquo; Trae Young and the Minnesota Timberwolves&rsquo; Karl-Anthony Towns in the final round and both scored 24 points apiece, which set the stage for "Dame Time."
Steph Curry beats Sabrina Ionescu in "Steph vs. Sabrina" Shootout
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry needed every point he could muster to fend off Sabrina Ionescu of the WNBA&rsquo;s New York Liberty to win the first-ever NBA vs WNBA 3-Point Challenge.
Ionescu, who set the record for points scored in a Three-Point Shootout with 37, put immense pressure on Curry by tallying 26 points to start the face-off.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
SABRINA IONESCU. 26 POINTS. COOKING. Stephen Curry is up next on TNT! <a href="https://t.co/fvM9iOA0ZD">https://t.co/fvM9iOA0ZD</a> <a href="https://t.co/nlDCX25eIx">pic.twitter.com/nlDCX25eIx</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1759051195702706262?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

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However, the greatest shooter of all-time was not to be deterred as he displayed cold-blooded shooting and ended up with 29 points to win the event.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NIGHT NIGHT 🌙 Stephen Curry WENT OFF with 29 threes to win the inaugural NBA vs. WNBA 3-POINT CHALLENGE 🏆<a href="https://t.co/kkOp7bGfHK">pic.twitter.com/kkOp7bGfHK</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1759053236214866271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

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The historic first-of-its-kind event was a success, with each made shot triggering a donation from State Farm to the NBA Foundation to support economic empowerment in the Black community.
Mac McClung defends 2024 AT&amp;T Slam Dunk Contest title
Mac McClung saved his best for last as he became the first player since Zach LaVine to win the AT&amp;T Slam Dunk Contest in back-to-back years.
The Osceola Magic guard pulled off a reverse windmill dunk while jumping over NBA legend Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal to garner the only perfect score of the evening.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
HE'S DONE IT AGAIN 🤯 Mac McClung is the back-to-back <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATTSlamDunk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATTSlamDunk</a> champion ‼️ Straight 5⃣0⃣'s<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StateFarmSaturday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StateFarmSaturday</a> on TNT <a href="https://t.co/p2sBx7h2IM">pic.twitter.com/p2sBx7h2IM</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1759064682789269518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2024</a></blockquote>

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McClung defeated the field of competitors that included the Boston Celtics&rsquo; and NBA All-Star Jaylen Brown, Miami Heat&rsquo;s Jaime Jaquez Jr. and New York Knicks&rsquo; Jacob Toppin to defend his title.

Here’s a quick recap of everything that went down during the 2024 NBA All-Star Saturday Night.

2024 NBA All-Star Saturday Night recap: Lillard, Curry, McClung shine

Every now and then, a trade comes along that ends up shifting the landscape of the NBA.
There are quite a few NBA legends who have been traded, forever altering the course of franchises. Today, we're revisiting some of the biggest trades in NBA history.
Bill Russell to the Boston Celtics
One of the most significant trades in NBA history occurred in 1956 when the Celtics acquired Bill Russell from the St. Louis Hawks in a draft-day trade. In a stroke of genius by Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach, Boston acquired No. 2 overall pick Russell in exchange for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley. Russell, a dominant defensive force and rebounder, quickly became the linchpin of the Celtics' dynasty, leading them to an unprecedented 11 NBA championships in his 13 seasons with the team. His shot-blocking prowess and unyielding will to win solidified his legacy as one of the greatest winners in sports history. The trade not only transformed the Celtics into a perennial powerhouse but also established Russell as a symbol of defensive excellence and team-oriented basketball. His impact on the franchise and the league as a whole remains unparalleled, making this trade a cornerstone of NBA history.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers
In 1975, the Milwaukee Bucks sent Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers. At that time, Abdul-Jabbar was already established as one of the league's dominant forces, but his desire for a change of scenery led to this monumental deal. The Lakers gave up Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers for Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley. This trade proved to be a game-changer for the Lakers, as Abdul-Jabbar's presence immediately elevated them to championship contention. Abdul-Jabbar and his unstoppable skyhook led the Lakers to five NBA championships in the 1980s, solidifying Kareem as one of the greatest players in basketball history and cementing this as one of the most impactful NBA trades of all-time.
Wilt Chamberlain to the Los Angeles Lakers
In another major trade that reverberated throughout the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers from the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968. Chamberlain, already an established superstar and prolific scorer, brought his dominant presence and unparalleled scoring ability to the Lakers. The trade was a strategic move by the Lakers to bolster their roster and create a formidable trio of Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. Chamberlain's arrival in Los Angeles marked the beginning of a successful era for the Lakers, culminating in a championship in 1972. The trade reshaped the Lakers' fortunes and added another illustrious chapter to Chamberlain's storied career, solidifying him as an all-time great.
Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers
While Kobe Bryant only ever suited up for the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his 20-year NBA career, he was actually drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. However, immediately after the selection, a pre-arranged trade sent Bryant to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. This trade, orchestrated by general manager Jerry West, proved to be a stroke of genius that forever altered the course of the Lakers' franchise. Bryant went on to become one of the most iconic figures in NBA history and a five-time champion. This trade not only transformed the Lakers' future but also set the stage for Bryant to become one of the greatest players to ever grace the basketball court.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/kg.png" alt="" width="723" height="363" />
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics
In 2007, the Boston Celtics orchestrated a masterstroke by acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join forces with Paul Pierce. While these were two separate trades, Garnett and Allen were in communication throughout the process and Boston pulled off both moves over the course of three days &ndash; transforming the Celtics from a struggling franchise to a powerhouse contender. The Celtics' Big Three revolutionized the concept of superstar collaborations, and their union culminated in an NBA championship in 2008, rejuvenating the storied Celtics franchise and igniting the era of superteams.
LeBron James to the Miami Heat
While many NBA fans know about "The Decision" and LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach, they may not realize that James ultimately landed in Miami via a sign-and-trade. James, the league's reigning MVP, made the highly controversial decision to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat. In exchange for parting with James in the sign-and-trade, the Cavs received two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a pick swap (as well as a large traded-player exception).
The move instantly transformed the Heat into a juggernaut and created a new era of superteams. While "The Decision" ignited a firestorm of criticism, it also showcased the power and influence that superstar players had in shaping the league's landscape. With James leading the way, the Heat reached the NBA Finals in all four years of his tenure, winning two championships in 2012 and 2013. This trade not only marked a pivotal moment in James' career but also had a profound impact on the way teams approached team-building, ushering in the player-movement era in the modern NBA.
What's your favorite league-altering trade? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts here</a>! And for <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/fa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a list of the biggest free-agency signings of all-time, click here!</a>

Basketball News looks back on six blockbuster trades that altered the course of NBA history.

Revisiting 6 blockbuster trades that altered the NBA landscape

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder, who took over the team in February, finalized his staff for next season on Wednesday.
Igor Kokoskov, who spent one season as the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; head coach, takes over as Snyder&rsquo;s lead assistant. The Hawks also hired Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 seasons leading Notre Dame&rsquo;s program.
The remaining assistants are Bryan Bailey, Brittni Donaldson, Steve Klei, Antonio Lang, Sanjay Lumpkin, Ekpe Udoh and Jeff Watkinson. Klei and Watkinson have been with the Hawks since March.
In addition, Reggis Onwukamuche will take over as player development coach, while Bryan George will work in player development, advance scouting and video.
The only holdovers from the staff Snyder inherited after taking over for Nate McMillan are O&rsquo;Neil Holder (player development) and Jacob Porter (video).
&ldquo;We have assembled a coaching staff that brings together a diversity of experiences and expertise to develop, connect with and challenge our players,&rdquo; Snyder said in a statement. &ldquo;Each of our coaches bring something unique to our group and I am excited to work with this staff and find ways to continually improve our team.&rdquo;
After McMillan was fired, Snyder coached the Hawks to a 10-11 mark over the remainder of the regular season. The team knocked off eventual NBA finalist Miami in the play-in game to claim a No. 7 seed, but lost to the Boston Celtics in the opening round of the playoffs.

Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder, who took over the team in February, finalized his staff for next season on Wednesday.

Hawks’ Quin Snyder finalizes coaching staff for 2023-24 season

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Miami&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra and Denver&rsquo;s Michael Malone are two of the four NBA coaches to have spent at least eight years with their current team.
They know how rare that is &mdash; especially as the league&rsquo;s coaching changes mount.
Championship-winning or title-contending coaches aren&rsquo;t safe in the NBA these days. In recent days, 2019 NBA champion Nick Nurse, 2021 champion Mike Budenholzer, 2021 Western Conference champion and 2022 Coach of the Year Monty Williams and most recently 2008 NBA champion Doc Rivers were all fired.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/raptors-nick-nurse-fired-c2b7dc404915ee3ae12fe1a52e589830">Nurse was fired by Toronto</a>,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-budenholzer-fired-e9ab56f83d317afd621adb7d7c244006">Budenholzer by Milwaukee</a>,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/suns-monty-williams-fired-53f33c2c3c8d69af7449cbfbf931bc0a">Williams by Phoenix</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-nba-doc-rivers-fired-09368e77a8f741576222c975c3affe55">Rivers by Philadelphia.</a>
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s disturbing,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;Doc&rsquo;s a Hall of Famer. ... There&rsquo;s only so many teams that can advance. It&rsquo;s just a really hard thing to do. Yeah, it&rsquo;s been a tough couple weeks, hearing the news of just some really surprising firings.&rdquo;
It doesn&rsquo;t make sense to Spoelstra, or likely to many other coaches. Spoelstra has the NBA&rsquo;s second-longest current tenure with one team. San Antonio&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs since 1996, Spoelstra took over the Heat in 2008, Steve Kerr became coach in Golden State in 2014 and Malone became coach in Denver in 2015.
&ldquo;I understand this business,&rdquo; said Malone, who&rsquo;ll lead Denver into the Western Conference finals starting Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. &ldquo;You look around the coaching landscape, if you want a secure profession, coaching is not the one to get into. I should have been a TV reporter.&rdquo;
Of the last nine coaches to take a team to the NBA Finals, only two &mdash; Kerr and Spoelstra &mdash; are still with the franchise that they went to the title round with.
Three of the last four championship-winning coaches &mdash; Budenholzer in 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Frank Vogel in 2020 and Nurse in 2019 &ndash; have since been fired by those clubs. Also no longer with their teams for various reasons after recent runs to the finals: Ime Udoka in Boston, Cleveland&rsquo;s David Blatt and then Tyronn Lue as well, and now Williams by the Suns.
&ldquo;This is the nature of this league and I think sometimes it&rsquo;s the chemistry,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN in a televised interview before the draft lottery on Tuesday night. &rdquo;They don&rsquo;t go from being great coaches to bad coaches from one year to the next. It has to do with the chemistry of the team, the style, maybe somebody believes the players need to hear a new voice. But I&rsquo;m incredibly sympathetic. It&rsquo;s a rough side of this business and I think they understand it. They choose this profession. They&rsquo;re my friends and I hate to see it.&rdquo;
Budenholzer&rsquo;s dismissal left Kerr upset, as he revealed earlier this month &mdash; but noted that all coaches understand how vulnerable they are.
&ldquo;My first response is not necessarily shock, it&rsquo;s more disappointment because Bud is a fantastic coach,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;He just won a championship and has been wildly successful in his coaching career. But this is the business we&rsquo;re in. &hellip; Expectations every year for every team are so high, and only one team can win. It&rsquo;s sad news for the coaching profession.&rdquo;
At least six teams will have new coaches next season &mdash; Phoenix, Milwaukee, Toronto, Detroit and now Philadelphia are looking, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/rockets-udoka-celtics-b65d91fdfa3174b0c9fa36634cd20e42">Houston has hired Udoka</a>&nbsp;as the replacement for Stephen Silas. There were two in-season moves as well: Brooklyn&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-new-york-e72b511a6d8cdb4e4875dbc1b157557e">Jacque Vaughn was hired by the Nets</a>&nbsp;in November, and Atlanta&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-atlanta-hawks-nba-sports-playoffs-bce807f9f9f26951421f9ea2c2e5d52f">Quin Snyder was hired by the Hawks</a>&nbsp;in February. And two coaches in the conference finals are in Year 1 of their careers: the Lakers&rsquo; Darvin Ham, and the Celtics&rsquo; Joe Mazzulla, who had to take over unexpectedly in Boston last fall following&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-sports-basketball-ime-udoka-0f04a614b82c497346a423d9da036521">Udoka&rsquo;s suspension</a>&nbsp;for an inappropriate relationship with a Celtics employee.
Mazzulla will meet Spoelstra and Miami in the Eastern Conference finals starting Wednesday. Spoelstra has faced Boston three times for the East title in four years, going up against three different coaches &mdash; Brad Stevens in the NBA bubble restart in 2020, Udoka last year and now Mazzulla &mdash; and says while the coaches change, organizational stability exists and is crucial.
&ldquo;Joe was in the bubble. ... He&rsquo;s been part of some really good teams,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;That does have an impact. Probably more than anything in this league right now, you&rsquo;re looking for some kind of organizational stability between the front office and coaching staff.&rdquo;
There aren&rsquo;t many examples of that in the league right now. At minimum, 13 of the NBA&rsquo;s 30 teams will open next season with a coach who has been in place for no more than one season.
Rivers said Sunday that he expected to stay with the 76ers. &ldquo;No one&rsquo;s safe in our business. I get that,&rdquo; Rivers said.
Further proof of that came two days later, when he was dismissed.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just the business of basketball,&rdquo; Miami guard Kyle Lowry said. &ldquo;And one thing about our business is sometimes it gets a little cut-throat.&rdquo;
Spoelstra has long said part of Miami&rsquo;s strength is consistency. Managing general partner Micky Arison, CEO Nick Arison, team president Pat Riley, general manager Andy Elisburg and others have been with the Heat for decades &mdash; and from the very beginning, in Elisburg&rsquo;s case, since he&rsquo;s been with the franchise for all 35 of its seasons.
Spoelstra has been with the organization for more than half his life as well; he was 24 when he started in the video room, and now he&rsquo;s 52.
&ldquo;It takes so much time and energy to restart something,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And I think that&rsquo;s part of the reason why we&rsquo;ve been able to reboot so many times, over and over and over. We&rsquo;re not reinventing a new culture and then trying to teach everybody and then all of a sudden, two years later, it&rsquo;s going to be somebody else doing the exact same thing. But particularly to have proven veteran guys (fired), it&rsquo;s just been stunning. It really has been disturbing.&rdquo;

Erik Spoelstra, Mike Malone and Adam Silver discussed the firings of Monty Williams, Doc Rivers, Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse.

As NBA coaching changes mount, some lament the lack of job security

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Doc Rivers&rsquo; penchant for playoff collapses and second-round exits cost him his coaching job with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 76ers fired Rivers on Tuesday following a third straight exit in the second round of the playoffs, and the second time over that span he lost a series lead and a Game 7.
Rivers led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-mvp-joel-embiid-76ers-jokic-giannis-a216b687de694125309fb9eed1ad5031">NBA MVP Joel Embiid</a>&nbsp;but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2001. The Sixers have not won an NBA championship since 1983.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise,&rdquo; team president Daryl Morey said in a statement. &ldquo;After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.&rdquo;
Morey was scheduled to address the decision at a news conference Wednesday.
The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-tatum-celtics-76ers-6d07f92230be04e2dc47fedc517e3254">Game 6 at home</a>&nbsp;and were crushed in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-76ers-tatum-nba-playoffs-record-game-7-767dffb9877cfc54d55c9f58c8fa8866">Game 7 on the road</a>.
Rivers fell to 6-10 in Game 7s. The 10 defeats are five more than any other NBA coach.
Rivers and the 76ers also&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/pa-state-wire-ga-state-wire-philadelphia-76ers-atlanta-hawks-los-angeles-clippers-ee1e636c2c3bfa3257fb1975c5b452ac">lost a decisive Game 7 at home in the second round to Atlanta in 2021</a>&nbsp;as a No. 1 seed. Embiid endorsed Rivers&rsquo; return following Sunday&rsquo;s loss but James Harden was noncommittal about wanting their coach back.
Rivers had two years left on his contract and was 154-82 in three years with the Sixers. He won the 2008 NBA title as coach of the Boston Celtics.
Asked after the 112-88 thumping in Boston if he expected to be back next year, Rivers said: &ldquo;Yeah. I think I got two years left. No one is safe in our business and I get that.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s just the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-coaches-fired-531bf2961904eb9ce1b9f02eff466506">latest big name coach fired already</a>&nbsp;during the postseason and the 76ers are sure to have their pick among the best in the game.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/raptors-nick-nurse-fired-c2b7dc404915ee3ae12fe1a52e589830">Nick Nurse</a>&nbsp;(Toronto) and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-budenholzer-fired-e9ab56f83d317afd621adb7d7c244006">Mike Budenholzer</a>&nbsp;(Milwaukee) have been fired after both won championships since 2019 and former Sixers assistant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/suns-monty-williams-fired-53f33c2c3c8d69af7449cbfbf931bc0a">Monty Williams</a>&nbsp;(who coached Phoenix in the 2021 NBA Finals) also is available.
Rivers took over ahead of the 2020-21 season for Brett Brown, who was fired after the 76ers were swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Rivers himself had just been fired about two weeks after the Los Angeles Clippers wasted a 3-1 series lead and lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.
He expected to coach a team seemingly on the brink of winning a title. Instead, he was on the bench for one of the worst losses in team history, a franchise-shifting loss to Atlanta in Game 7 that came on the heels of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BHRLuyXJu8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ben Simmons failing to dunk an uncontested shot</a>, which spiraled into a loss and the end of the All-Star guard&rsquo;s tenure in Philly. Simmons never played for the 76ers again after Rivers and Embiid failed to publicly back the star guard following the loss, and the relationship soured from there.
Simmons was traded a year later for Harden, who was expected to serve as the missing piece that could get Embiid a championship. Or least into the conference final.
Asked after the Game 7 loss in Boston to describe his relationship with Rivers and if he&rsquo;d like his coach to return for a fourth season, Harden said &ldquo;our relationship is OK&rdquo; and didn&rsquo;t answer the second part of the question.
Now, it doesn&rsquo;t matter.
&ldquo;I thought we had the right group. I really did,&rdquo; Rivers said.
But one other intriguing potential candidate to keep an eye on is former Rockets coach Mike D&rsquo;Antoni. D&rsquo;Antoni coached Harden for four seasons in Houston and they both thrived there working under Morey. Morey has been a staunch Harden defender and worked hard to bring him to the 76ers. With Rivers gone, another reunion could be on the horizon.
Harden, who played the last few months with nagging left Achilles soreness, has a player option of $35.6 million. He was vague on what he might do this summer. But perhaps a reunion with D&rsquo;Antoni &mdash; or, at the very least a coach who knows how to pair Harden-Embiid to their strengths &mdash; can entice The Beard to stay. The 76ers are eligible to sign Harden to a $210 million, four-year deal while other teams can&rsquo;t offer more than $202 million over the same contract length.
Rivers also coached the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Clippers and is 1,097-763 over a career that dates to the 1999-2000 season.

The Philadelphia 76ers fired Doc Rivers following a third straight exit in the second round of the playoffs.

76ers fire coach Doc Rivers after 3 second-round exits in playoffs

The NBA and Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced that the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 will feature the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves. The teams will play two preseason games on Oct. 5 and Oct. 7 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.&nbsp;
The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 will air live in the UAE and across the Middle East and North Africa on beIN SPORTS, The Sports Channel and NBA League Pass. The games and surrounding events will be supported by a roster of marketing partners, including Aldar, Experience Abu Dhabi, Gatorade, Nike and Tissot.
&ldquo;We are excited to be preparing for the new season of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 with the thrilling preseason head-to-head games between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves," said H.E. Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, the director general for tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi. "We look forward to welcoming the players, teams, and fans to experience the destination and strengthening our efforts to bring the very best in sporting entertainment and engagement across Abu Dhabi.&rdquo;
NBA games have aired in the UAE since the 1987-88 season, and the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 are part of a multi-year collaboration between the NBA and DCT Abu Dhabi that last year saw the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks play the league&rsquo;s first games in the Arabian Gulf.
&ldquo;Following the success of last year&rsquo;s games and events that welcomed fans from across the globe to Abu Dhabi, we&rsquo;re excited to return in the 2023 preseason with two great matchups between the Mavericks and Timberwolves and some of the best players in the world," said NBA Europe and Middle East managing director Ralph Rivera. "Our collaboration with DCT Abu Dhabi continues to support the NBA&rsquo;s goal of introducing basketball and its values to young boys and girls in the UAE and globally, and that will be the case once again through these games and the surrounding activities."
In January, the NBA and DCT Abu Dhabi launched an expanded second season of the Jr. NBA Abu Dhabi League, featuring boys&rsquo; and girls&rsquo; leagues each composed of 450 players ages 11-14 from schools across the UAE capital. The collaboration also includes a variety of interactive fan events featuring appearances by current and former NBA players, a series of NBA FIT clinics promoting health and wellness, and an NBA 2K League exhibition event. The collaboration sees DCT Abu Dhabi, under Experience Abu Dhabi, the tourism promotion initiative of the UAE&rsquo;s capital, serve as the Official Tourism Destination Partner of the NBA in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and China.
&ldquo;The Dallas Mavericks certainly recognize the importance of globalizing the game of basketball," said Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall. "For many years, we have enjoyed international players and a growing international fanbase. We are honored to play the game we love for NBA fans in Abu Dhabi and around the world. We appreciate all who have worked so hard to create this exciting opportunity for our team and our fans.&rdquo;
&ldquo;As the NBA continues its global expansion, the Minnesota Timberwolves are honored to be selected for the NBA Abu Dhabi Games," added Timberwolves CEO Ethan Casson. "Thank you to the NBA and the host city of Abu Dhabi for allowing us the opportunity to bring fans together through the game of basketball.&rdquo;

The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 will feature the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves facing off in two preseason games.

Mavericks, Wolves will face off in NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Tobias Harris had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame the absence of Joel Embiid to beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-88 on Saturday, completing a sweep that made them the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs.
James Harden added 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the third-seeded 76ers, who will wait for the winner of the series between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. The defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics have a 2-1 lead.
The 76ers hope Embiid will be recover from his sprained right knee in time for the start of the next series; the MVP finalist and two-time NBA scoring champion was ruled out Friday night and the 76ers struggled to score without him.
So they turned to their defense, and ended up outscoring the Nets 21-4 during a stretch of more than eight minutes in the third quarter.
Tyrese Maxey finished a strong series with 16 points and Paul Reed added 10 points and 15 rebounds after replacing Embiid in the starting lineup.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points and Nic Claxton had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who were swept for the second straight year and have lost 10 straight postseason games. They went 0-8 this season against the 76ers.
Embiid went to the locker room early in Game 3 and was limping a couple times later in the game, but had a blocked shot to preserve a two-point lead with 8.8 seconds left and said afterward he was OK. But coach Doc Rivers said Embiid was complaining of soreness behind his knee and already had swelling shortly after the game. An MRI exam revealed the sprain.
Dorian Finney-Smith&rsquo;s 3-pointer two minutes into the third quarter made it 53-42, matching the Nets&rsquo; largest lead of the game. But Harden and P.J. Tucker hit consecutive 3s to get the Sixers started on what became a 14-0 run that made it 56-53 on Reed&rsquo;s basket.
Maxey&rsquo;s 3-pointer extended it to 63-57 with 1:49 remaining in the period, capping the Nets&rsquo; lengthy drought that would have seemed unimaginable when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were in Brooklyn.
They were both dealt at midseason, and this team went down just as quickly as the one they led last season, when Brooklyn was also the first team eliminated after getting swept by Boston.
Embiid averaged only 20 points in the series, 13 below his NBA-leading average of 33.1, as the Nets heavily double-teamed him.
But those double-teams were leaving open looks for their guards that weren&rsquo;t available Saturday, and the Sixers were just 2 for 11 from 3-point range in the first half as the Nets led 48-40.
But the 76ers limited them to 40 points in the second half and eventually pulled away to a 14-point lead as the cheers of the Sixers fans in the building grew louder.
TIP-INS
76ers: Philadelphia&rsquo;s eight-game winning streak against Brooklyn in the playoffs is its second-longest ever against an opponent. The 76ers beat the New York Knicks 10 straight times in the early 1980s.
Nets: The Nets fell to 0-7 all-time at home against the 76ers in the postseason. ... Patty Mills played for the first time in the series, going scoreless in five minutes. ... Brooklyn&rsquo;s last playoff win remains Game 5 against Milwaukee in the 2021 East semifinals.
DREADED LETTERS
Rivers said he doesn&rsquo;t worry when he sees Embiid appear to be hurting, as he was at times during Game 3. His concerns begin when he is told the medical staff wants to do an MRI exam.
&ldquo;As a coach I hate that word, I hate those three letters. I mean, because it never comes out well,&rdquo; Rivers said. &ldquo;It just feels like that whenever they tell a coach, &lsquo;Hey, we&rsquo;re going to get an MRI,&rsquo; it doesn&rsquo;t turn out well most of the time and this one did not.&rdquo;

The 76ers beat the Nets 96-88 on Saturday, completing a sweep that made them the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs.

76ers finish sweep of Nets without Embiid in 96-88 win

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Trae Young returned after missing one game with the flu and scored 25 points and had 16 assists to help the travel-weary Atlanta Hawks overwhelm shorthanded Washington 134-116 on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Hawks achieved a modest milestone as they prepare for the postseason. The Hawks (41-39) ended a streak of 33 games being within 1 game of .500.
The Nets defeated the Pistons and guaranteed that the Hawks cannot finish as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and will be in the conference play-in tournament for the second straight season. Atlanta holds the No. 8 seed and has a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.
The Hawks overcame travel issues that forced the team to fly from Chicago on Wednesday morning after plane difficulties caused the team to stay in Chicago on Tuesday night. Arriving in Atlanta at 2 p.m., the Hawks hit the court five and half hours later.
&ldquo;It was definitely an unusual schedule,&rdquo; AJ Griffin said. &ldquo;Coach (Quin Snyder) handled it well. He set the tone. We knew we just had to play hard and get through the day.&rdquo;
John Collins had 23 points and put the Hawks in control with a stellar sequence in the third quarter. Collins scooped up a loose ball before throwing down a reverse jam, then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession that gave the Hawks an 85-71 lead.
The Hawks did not trail for the game&rsquo;s final 29 minutes and shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range.
Wizards center Daniel Gafford had a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Hawks reserve Jalen Johnson continued his recent string of strong play, matching his career high of 16 points, set the previous night in a win over the Bulls. Johnson also had 8 rebounds.
The Wizards played without out six of their top eight rotation players, including 20-plus point scorers Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma as they play out the string following their elimination from playoff contention.
&ldquo;I thought offensively, we did some good things,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. &ldquo;We moved the ball with pretty good pace. We were sharing the ball as best we can. We had some good looks that didn&rsquo;t go down, but I&rsquo;m more concerned with the defensive stuff.&rdquo;
BENCH BOOST
Snyder talked about his &ldquo;deep&rdquo; bench prior to Wednesday&rsquo;s game, and the group backed up his assessment right away. Led by Johnson, Atlanta had 15 points from its bench in the first quarter after the Hawks got off to a sluggish start in the opening minutes. Johnson and Griffin finished with 16 points apiece.
&ldquo;We have a lot of guys who are prepared,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;There are limited minutes and some tough decisions have to be made. One of the tings about our bench is the acceptance of a role. To put the team first is not something you take for granted.&rdquo;
Snyder inserted guard Aaron Holiday for Young just six minutes into the game. The Hawks responded with a quick burst.
Holiday, who played just two minutes on Tuesday, had eight points and four assists in 21 minutes.
TIP-INS
Wizards: First-round pick Johnny Davis started his third straight game and has averaged 18.7 points in his three starts. Davis scored 20 points each of his past two games. The rookie from Wisconsin averaged 11.6 points in 19 G League games and has played 26 games with the Wizards.
Hawks: De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury. Hunter has started 65 games this season. ... Bogdan Bogdanovic did not play due to right knee injury management. He led the Hawks with 26 points in Tuesday night&rsquo;s win at Chicago. ... The Hawks scored over 100 points for the 55th straight game, extending their team record.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Miami on Friday night.
Hawks: Host Philadelphia on Friday night.

The Hawks ended a streak of 33 games being within a game of .500. They hold the eighth seed with a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.

Young has 25 as Hawks gain momentum, beat Wizards 134-116

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 26 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame the loss of top scorer Trae Young to beat the Chicago Bulls 123-105 on Tuesday night.
Young, who leads the Hawks with a 26.2 scoring average, didn&rsquo;t play due to a non-COVID illness. Forward De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his third consecutive game because of a left knee bruise.
But Bogdanovic led the way on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 on 3-point attempts.
&ldquo;I tried to put him back in a couple times, but he was tired,&rdquo; Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. &ldquo;Which tells me he&rsquo;s good. That means he was playing defense. We know he can shoot the ball.&rdquo;
Atlanta (40-39) opened a two-game lead over the Bulls (38-41), who clinched a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference by virtue of Orlando&rsquo;s loss to Cleveland earlier in the evening.
After Zach LaVine opened the game with a basket, the Hawks ran off 13 consecutive points, with Bogdanovic scoring 11 during that span as the Hawks never trailed after that.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t guard the ball well, didn&rsquo;t rotate well and didn&rsquo;t rebound well,&rdquo; LaVine said.
The Bulls managed only seven fast-break points, and the Hawks had a 66-48 advantage in points in the paint. Saddiq Bey added 18 points while Dejounte Murray had 17 and Jaylen Johnson 16.
LaVine led the Bulls with 26 points, and DeMar DeRozan added 21 and Nikola Vucevic 19.
Without Young or Hunter, Atlanta still managed to expose Chicago&rsquo;s porous defense by shooting 55.8% from the field (47-for-85), including 10-of-28 shooting from 3-point range.
&ldquo;I think the key thing is we responded collectively, and that&rsquo;s what it takes,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;There was no one guy that said, &rsquo;OK, I&rsquo;m going to be the guy who closes the door on a run. They did it as a group, and they did it defensively, getting stops at various times.&rdquo;
The Bulls&rsquo; defensive efforts were challenged after specialist Alex Caruso committed his second foul six minutes into the game. Caruso returned midway through the second quarter but left two minutes later after being charged with his third foul.
The Hawks led by as many as 20 points after Bey turned a loose-ball sequence into a reverse layup with 1:11 remaining in the second quarter.
&ldquo;Every one of these games is a must-win game for us,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;Obviously we didn&rsquo;t do good enough. They wanted it more than us. It&rsquo;s tough to have that type of result at this point in the season.
A restless crowd booed the Bulls, who responded with an 8-0 run capped by a LaVine 3-pointer to end the quarter.
TIP-INS:
Hawks: Young didn&rsquo;t make the trip to Chicago, and Snyder was unsure when he would rejoin the team. ...
UP NEXT
Hawks: Wednesday vs. Washington.
Bulls: Wednesday at Milwaukee.

Bogdanovic led the way on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 on three-point attempts.

Bogdanovic’s 26 lead Young-less Hawks past Bulls 123-105

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Adama Sanogo scored 24 points and Jordan Hawkins delivered from the 3-point line in the second half as UConn pulled away from Saint Mary&rsquo;s for a 70-55 win on Sunday that put the Huskies in the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.
No. 4 seed UConn (27-8) advanced to the West Regional in Las Vegas on Thursday. Next up is eighth-seeded Arkansas, which knocked off No. 1 seed Kansas.
Sanogo followed up his 28-point game in the Huskies&rsquo; NCAA tourney opener against Iona with another powerful and efficient performance in the paint. The 245-pound junior was 11 for 16 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, dominating a big-man matchup with Mitchell Saxen (six points, three rebounds and four fouls).
Saint Mary&rsquo;s (27-8) of the West Coast Conference failed to get out of the first weekend of the tournament for the second straight season as a No. 5 seed.
Aidan Mahaney and Logan Johnson each scored nine for the Gaels, who played the final 25 minutes without third-leading scorer Alex Ducas. The senior left with an apparent back injury.
UConn used a 14-2 spurt, highlighted by a 3 from Hawkins with 11:28 left in the second half, to go up 51-40.
Hawkins had been scoreless to that point, but he added another 3 coming off a screen moments later to make it 56-45, and the &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Go Huskies!&rdquo; chants started to reverberate throughout MVP Arena.
Hawkins wasn&rsquo;t done, making back-to-back 3s to make it 62-47 with 6:38 left. He finished with 12 points.
Meanwhile, the Huskies defense was clamping down on the Gaels, who were held under 60 points for just the fourth time this season.
The Gaels and Huskies played a practically even first half, with both shooting 44.4% from the field, and closing strong. Mahaney made a 3 with 21 second left to put Saint Mary&rsquo;s up 30-28 and Newton responded with a 3-pointer 18 seconds later that put the Huskies up 31-30 at half and brought the pro-UConn crowd to its feet.
BIG PICTURE
Saint Mary&rsquo;s: The Gaels have reached the Sweet 16 just once in program history in 2010.
Coach Randy Bennett, in his 22nd season at SMC, and the Gaels have been Gonzaga&rsquo;s closest rival in the WCC. They snagged No. 5 seeds each of the last two seasons, the best seeding for any team outside the six power conferences not named Gonzaga since 2014.
UConn: The Huskies last played in the second weekend of the tournament in 2014, when they won the last &mdash; and most surprising &mdash; of four national titles in a 15-year span.
The Huskies&rsquo; last title run came out of the American Athletic Conference, the league birthed from the Big East&rsquo;s football-basketball breakup in 2013.
UConn went with the football schools and played seven years in the AAC, where its football program floundered while its vaunted men&rsquo;s basketball slipped into irrelevance.
The Huskies returned to their Big East roots, hiring former Seton Hall point guard Dan Hurley as coach five years ago and rejoining the conference three seasons ago, and they have been on the rise ever since.
BIG LOSS
Ducas was helped off the court with 4:52 left in the first half.
The team&rsquo;s most accurate 3-point shooter and third-leading scorer went down to his knees and started reaching for his lower back after no apparent contact. He was attended to by the team&rsquo;s athletic trainers and then assisted off the court after trying to take a step on his own. He went right to the locker room and did not play the rest of the game.
Ducas scored 17 points in the Gaels&rsquo; first-round victory against VCU and had eight more when he went out.
UP NEXT
UConn: The Huskies are 3-1 all-time against Arkansas.

Adama Sanogo scored 24 points and Jordan Hawkins delivered from the three-point line in the second half as UConn pulled away.

Sanogo, UConn pull away from Saint Mary’s, into Sweet 16

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

It's hard not to be impressed by the growth of Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo.
He's gotten better every year &mdash; somewhat of a rarity, despite the expectation for linear growth among young players. That really shines through on the offensive end of the ball, where Adebayo has transformed from screen-and-dive man, to handoff hub, to an increasingly comfortable bucket-getter.
Adebayo has never been more self-sufficient: 40.3% of his made field goals have been unassisted this year, marking the first time his assisted mark has fallen under 60%. Per Second Spectrum, the Heat are generating 1.08 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring an Adebayo isolation, and roughly the same clip on post-ups (1.075 PPP).
Among high volume scorers &mdash; a minimum of 150 isolations&nbsp;and 150 post-ups &mdash; only Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan match Adebayo's efficiency in both situations. That's pretty good company to be in; honestly, that's company I'm not sure anyone outside of the Heat organization ever expected Adebayo to be in. At least not this early.
"The growth speaks for itself, the work speaks for itself," Adebayo told Basketball News after another 30-point performance of the season, his 11th, in Saturday's win over the Atlanta Hawks.
"Another year expects, you know, more growth from you, after every year. Nobody wants to get complacent in this league &mdash; I sure don't. The goal for me is to keep getting better, and I feel like I've done that."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
As Adebayo has been given &mdash; no, earned &mdash; more hats to wear within the offense, there's one in particular that's been left on the rack with increasing frequency: Pick-and-roll reps.&nbsp;
We know what Adebayo can do as a screener, laying the lumber before jetting down the lane for lobs or short-rolling into mid-range attempts &mdash; something he's doing more often than ever. You would think, with the Heat being more comfortable with the ball in his hands, they'd follow the trend of bigger creators running more ball-screens.
We've seen them sprinkled in at random moments. Adebayo's bringing the ball up the floor more than ever &mdash; roughly 11 possessions per game, per Second Spectrum &mdash; opening the door for some early screens to be set for him.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/fjaqz8" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Then there's the random set piece, like this possession against the Hawks on Saturday.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/a9h1rt" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The play ends with an incredible recovery and block from Clint Capela, but look at how tantalizing the setup is for Adebayo.&nbsp;
He gets a touch in his comfort zone. The defense has to worry about him posting up or facing up. They have to worry about the Heat flowing into split action or, with the left side only being occupied by Adebayo, the possibility of this turning into a handoff with limited help available.&nbsp;
Instead, it's Tyler Herro running his man (Jalen Johnson) into Capela, creating a path for Adebayo to get to the rim. With Adebayo taking a career-low 40% of his shots at the rim this season, finding ways to scheme that up would make sense.
One would think a potential solution would be those kind of ball-screen sets. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra notes that while Adebayo "has been initiating for us for years," he's careful not to put too many eggs into the pick-and-roll basket.
"That's part of bringing a little bit more diversity to our offense, but we also have some specific things that he has to do for us," Spoelstra told Basketball News.
"As a screener, as a big, putting pressure on the rim. That's vital for our offense. He has to do a lot of different things, and that's not easy to balance. If you do one of the things&nbsp;too&nbsp;often, that's not great for us."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
To Spoelstra's point, the Adebayo-led ball screens haven't been efficient &mdash; though that comes with a small sample caveat.&nbsp;
Adebayo has only received 63 on-ball picks this season, or 1.5 per 100 possessions, the lowest rate since becoming the undisputed starter in 2019-20. On those possessions, the Heat have only generated 0.83 PPP. That ranks 214th among 243 players to run at least 60 ball-screens this season.
The Heat may not have the ecosystem to give Adebayo a meaningful bump in frequency either. Going back to the Hawks example, it makes sense to empty a side and allow Herro &mdash; Miami's best (movement) shooter &mdash; to put extra strain on defenses. But even with it making sense on paper, this is how it looked in practice.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-03-06-at-12-43-10-pm.png" alt="" width="650" height="367" />
Bogdan Bogdanovic is peeled in early, with two feet in the paint. Saddiq Bey is sagging off Max Strus, a step away from the paint. Dejounte Murray doesn't affect the play in a meaningful way, but he's also sagging off of Victor Oladipo and can provide help at the nail if he wants.&nbsp;
Spoelstra noted that Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry (currently out) have been screening partners for Adebayo in the past. They make more sense than Herro as partners right now. Lowry's one of the best (and willing) <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/changing-of-the-guard-the-future-of-screening-is-here" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guard screeners in NBA history</a>. Butler is rugged in his own right, and has the dual benefit of mitigating his own issues as a spacer by being directly involved in the action.
Ultimately, if Miami is going to run a ball-screen, Butler, Herro and healthy Lowry will remain higher on the pecking order. They should&nbsp;remain higher on the pecking order.
And until the context in Miami improves, you can expect it to remain that way.&nbsp;

Nekias Duncan examines how Bam Adebayo's growth as an offensive player has changed the way the Heat have used him.

Bam Adebayo's game is expanding for the Heat in all but one way

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Grace Berger finished with a season-high 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Mackenzie Holmes added 24 points as No. 2 Indiana used a late scoring run to pull away from No. 5 Iowa 87-78 on Thursday night.
The Hoosiers (23-1, 12-1 Big Ten) used a 17-7 fourth-quarter run to earn their 11th consecutive win, this time in front of a record crowd of 13,046. Indiana has broken the attendance mark three times since January and now has a 1 1/2-game lead in the chase for its first regular-season conference crown since the Big Ten&rsquo;s inaugural season of 1982-83.
Caitlin Clark had 35 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes (19-5, 11-2), who lost for the first time since Jan. 1.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 83, AUBURN 48
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Zia Cooke had 15 points and four assists in 20 minutes to lead South Carolina to its 30th straight win.
The Gamecocks (24-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) dominated from the start in a game sandwiched between a pair of top-5 matchups. They were coming off an 81-77 win over No. 4 UConn and host No. 3 LSU on Sunday.
Aliyah Boston had 10 points and eight rebounds for South Carolina before exiting with 8:54 left to end a string of eight straight double-doubles.&nbsp;
Sydney Shaw tied her career high with 15 points and made 3 of 4 3-pointers to lead the Tigers (13-10, 3-8). Auburn played without its top scorer and rebounder Aicha Coulibaly, who sat out with a leg injury. Mar&rsquo;shaun Bostic added 10 points.
NO. 6 STANFORD 84, NO. 17 ARIZONA 60
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Cameron Brink and Haley Jones each scored 18 points and Stanford used a strong rebounding performance to beat Arizona.
The Cardinal (23-3, 11-2 Pac-12) won their sixth straight against the Wildcats (18-6, 8-5), a streak that includes the 2021 NCAA title game. Stanford moved into first place in the conference, a half-game ahead of No. 7 Utah.
Jones shot 8 for 11 from the field and added 12 rebounds and six assists. Brink scored all her points and added eight rebounds in 21 minutes.
Paris Clark, Esmery Martinez and Cate Reese led the way for Arizona with 10 points apiece.
NO. 8 MARYLAND 79, NORTHWESTERN 54
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Maryland eased past struggling Northwestern for its seventh win in eight games.
Brir McDaniel added 14 points and the Terrapins (20-5, 12-3 Big Ten) followed up the program&rsquo;s most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent with another dominant performance.
Coming off a 90-54 romp over then-No. 10 Ohio State on Sunday, Maryland outscored Northwestern (8-16, 1-12) 18-2 while holding the Wildcats without a field goal in the second quarter.
Paige Mott led Northwestern with 15 points.
NO. 9 DUKE 68, BOSTON COLLEGE 27
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Reigan Richardson scored 14 points and Celeste Taylor added 11 to lead Duke to the 1,000th win in the program&rsquo;s history.
Richardson scored 10 points in the second quarter, when the Blue Devils (21-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) turned a five-point lead into a 32-14 runaway. Boston College (14-13, 4-10) made just two baskets in the period, going scoreless for the last 7:55 of the half.
Maria Gakdeng had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles, who shot 18.4% from the field.
NO. 10 NOTRE DAME 69, PITT 63
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Sonia Citron scored 20 points, Maddy Westbeld added 17 to lead Notre Dame.
Sophomore guard Olivia Miles had a double-double of 11 points and 13 assists with seven rebounds and two steals as the Fighting Irish (19-4, 10-3 ACC) extended their home winning streak against Pitt to 16 games.
Senior guard Dayshanette Harris led the Panthers (8-16, 1-12) with a season-high 20 points.
SYRACUSE 75, NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA 67
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, Georgia Woolley added 20 points and Syracuse used a big third quarter to beat North Carolina.
Dariauna Lewis had 14 points and 15 rebounds for Syracuse (16-9, 7-7 ACC), which outrebounded North Carolina 43-29 to make up for 21 turnovers.
North Carolina was without two starters for the second straight game in Alyssa Ustby (13.6 points and 8.9 rebounds) and Eva Hodgson (10.2 points) due to injury. Deja Kelly led North Carolina (17-7, 8-5) with a career-high 32 points. Kennedy Todd-Williams added 14 points.
MIAMI 86, NO. 19 FLORIDA STATE 82
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Haley Cavinder made eight straight free throws in the final 30 seconds and finished with a career-high 33 points to help Miami beat a ranked team for the third time this season.
Miami used a five-point possession to tie it at 72 with 4:25 left. The Hurricanes took a 75-73 lead on a 3-pointer by Cavinder with 2:10 remaining. Florida State forward Makayla Timpson made layups with 25.2 seconds and 18.5 seconds left, but Cavinder made free throws after each to seal it.
Jasmyne Roberts added 19 points for Miami (16-8, 9-4 ACC) and Ja&rsquo;Leah Williams had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Timpson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for Florida State (20-6, 9-4). Sara Bejedi scored 13 points and Ta&rsquo;Niya Latson and Jazmine Massengill each had 12.
NO. 22 N.C. STATE 51, WAKE FOREST 42
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash;Saniya Rivers scored eight points in the third quarter and 10 of her team-high 12 points in the second half to help North Carolina State pull away from Wake Forest.
The road win was the Wolfpack&rsquo;s ninth straight over Wake Forest and comes after back-to-back losses at Georgia Tech and at home to No. 11 Virginia Tech.
NC State (17-7, 7-6 ACC) made just 19 of 56 shots from the floor (33.9%) and missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts.
Wake Forest (14-11, 5-9) was 16 of 62 from the field (25.8%), including 3 of 20 from beyond the arc. Jewel Spear was 5 of 24 from the field, including 1 of 10 from distance, and finished with 11 points. Elise Williams grabbed 11 rebounds.

A recap of Thursday's action in women's college hoops includes a star-studded top-5 matchup and South Carolina's 30th straight win.

Susquehanna River Hawks