Steers

The Los Angeles Lakers franchise never seems to have a dull moment, and you can bet the roller coaster will continue in 2023.
With another year gone by and 2022 officially in the rearview mirror, it&rsquo;s time for the purple and gold to look ahead. Similar to the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-rumors-7-possible-deals-for-the-los-angeles-lakers-charlotte-hornets-washington-wizards-indiana-pacers-san-antonio-spurs-pistons-magic-knicks-lebron-james-anthony-davis-rob-pelinka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven trade scenarios we looked at in last week's article</a>, I've decided to predict five things that could happen with the Lakers in the new year.
Let's take a look.
LeBron James will break the NBA's all-time scoring record sooner than expected
The Lakers season has been underwhelming so far, but LeBron has not been as he continues to play at an ultra-high level even in his 20th season. And now, he&rsquo;s on the verge of making history by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer.
The question wasn&rsquo;t if he would break the record this season, but when. LeBron has stayed healthy for the most part this year (only missing a handful of games so far) and finds himself just 484 points away from Kareem's mark of 38,387.
If James' scoring binge continues &mdash; he&rsquo;s averaging 36.6 points per game since Christmas, and Darvin Ham has said he will continue to ride him until Anthony Davis returns from injury &mdash; LeBron is going to top Kareem BEFORE the All-Star break.
Here are two dates to target, with both games at home:
<ul>
<li>Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 7</li>
<li>Milwaukee Bucks on Feb 9.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
The Lakers finally make a trade... just not the big one
Going back to before the season started, Lakers' fans have been clamoring for Rob Pelinka and the front office to make a deal. And while LA has talked to a lot of teams, the franchise has yet to pull the trigger.
That will change before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, but it won&rsquo;t be that big, potential-game changer that some are hoping for.
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The Lakers have been clinging onto their oh-so-precious, tradeable 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, and the team doesn&rsquo;t seem anxious to include either in a deal at this point. Instead, they&rsquo;d rather count on good returns for minimum-contract players like Dennis Schroder and Thomas Bryant, and the return of Anthony Davis before the end of January.
LA will do something, but it will be around the edges that will involve the expiring contract(s) of Kendrick Nunn ($5.2M) or Patrick Beverley ($13.0M) and some second-rounders. Think of Josh Richardson, Cam Reddish, or Mason Plumlee &mdash; players who can help now, but also are on expiring deals so the team can preserve its cap space and reset the repeater luxury tax (something owner Jeanie Buss loathes to continue paying).
The Lakers will get into the Play-in Tournament
Somehow, someway, this team will get into the postseason. Right now, LA sits at 17-21, but is just one game back of the sliding Utah Jazz &mdash; losers of five straight &mdash; for the 10th spot in the Western Conference.&nbsp;
The schedule is tough, and they'll need LeBron and Davis to stay/get healthy, but this group won&rsquo;t melt down the stretch like last season; they&rsquo;ll find an avenue into the Play-In. Maybe the Lakers could get as high as the No. 9 spot if things break their way, but that&rsquo;s probably their ceiling at this point. From there, they&rsquo;ll cross their fingers and toes that the LBJ-AD combo can do some damage. Good luck.
LeBron will remain with Lakers next season and beyond
Sure, LeBron is a bit frustrated with this season, and he already sounded off on his &ldquo;playing basketball at this level just to be playing basketball is not in my DNA&rdquo; salvo. And it&rsquo;s not wrong to think that he could get fed up with the situation in La La Land and demand a trade after the season.
(Remember, he cannot be traded during the season because he signed an extension in September and cannot be moved for six months, which is after the trade deadline.)
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lebron james is shooting 72.7% on drives&mdash;and 84.9% at the rim&mdash;since the anthony davis injury <a href="https://t.co/ji0u4Wt2kY">pic.twitter.com/ji0u4Wt2kY</a>
&mdash; Dan Favale (@danfavale) <a href="https://twitter.com/danfavale/status/1611105868736614426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote>

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LeBron has every right to be upset. Anyone would be, especially a 38-year-old, still-near-his-prime superstar who is chasing one more ring to tie him with Laker greats Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson.
With that being said, he&rsquo;s not going anywhere. His sons Bronny (18) and Bryce (15) are entrenched at Sierra Canyon High School, his off-the-court businesses have thrived since moving to California and his family really enjoys the west-coast lifestyle.
LeBron doesn&rsquo;t seem interested in moving his family or being away from them during an NBA season. While he&rsquo;ll continue to put pressure on the front office when it comes to the roster, the bet here is that he&rsquo;s not going anywhere. Well, at least not for the next few seasons.
LA goes big-name hunting and lands one
Nothing says &ldquo;Lakers exceptionalism&rdquo; like the team always looking to add another superstar. And unless the organization makes a trade taking on salary for future years (don&rsquo;t hold your breath), LA is set to have around $30 million in cap space this upcoming offseason. That&rsquo;s not enough to get a star on a max deal, but it could be enough to get a distressed one.
I give you Kyrie Irving.
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While Irving has been a big part of the Brooklyn Nets turning their season around &mdash; now in the No. 3 position in the Eastern Conference at 25-13 &mdash; he&rsquo;s a free agent at the end of the season, and the Nets would still have to make a commitment to him. That could come down to how far they go in the playoffs. Even then, Nets governor Joe Tsai and general Sean Marks could decide they&rsquo;ve had enough of the Kyrie experience.
Of course, the Lakers wouldn&rsquo;t shy away from Irving despite the off-court attention that comes with him. LA is desperate for another big name player. He&rsquo;s probably a much better fit that Russell Westbrook. He definitely is a better long-range shooter. But will his actions off the court get him in trouble? That&rsquo;s a big gamble for most teams.
The Lakers aren&rsquo;t one of them. They embrace chaos. LeBron has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYeEyAqkw_c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly already indicated he would welcome playing with Irving again</a>, and the <a href="https://www.nj.com/nets/2023/01/how-has-kyrie-irvings-recent-stellar-play-with-the-streaking-nets-impacted-his-free-agency-situation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feeling seems mutual</a>. Despite his sometimes jaw-dropping offensive talent, most teams will steer clear of him. That would allow the Lakers to offer him a good, but less-than-max deal of around two-years, $62M.
Is that enough for Irving? It might be the best deal he gets offered.

Brian Fritz predicts five scenarios that could happen regarding the Lakers in the new year.

Making 5 predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023

When Indiana Pacers trade rumors have popped up throughout recent seasons, Myles Turner's name has been a mainstay in those reports. Since 2018, when the awkward front court pairing between Turner and Domantas Sabonis began, the former lottery pick had been cast aside as the apparent odd man out. However, after years of surfacing in trade rumors, Turner is still on the Pacers' roster.
This past offseason, though, the feeling was completely different for Indiana&rsquo;s starting center.
Not only was Turner the subject of more rumors &mdash; including legitimate negotiations with the Los Angeles Lakers for a potential salary-dump deal for Russell Westbrook &mdash; he saw the organization openly flirt with the best free agent available at his position. Turner watched as the Pacers aggressively pursued restricted-free-agent Deandre Ayton, which ultimately led to a signed max offer sheet. Although the Phoenix Suns quickly matched Indiana&rsquo;s offer sheet (the largest contract negotiated in franchise history), Turner knew at that point they were actively trying to find an upgrade.
During Media Day on Monday, Turner addressed the consistent rumors and failed Ayton pursuit by Indiana.
&ldquo;This is the only time I will be addressing it this year; I want to make sure everyone knows that,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;Yeah, elephant in the room. For me, this is my eighth season. I&rsquo;ve been in trade rumors the past four or five years. It&rsquo;s something that I know I&rsquo;m numb to. It&rsquo;s something that... it&rsquo;s just whatever comes with this business. There are no hard feelings in his business. You have to take the emotions out of everything, and I&rsquo;ve learned that at a young age, and I still hold true to that. My job is to come in here and help these young guys now, man.&rdquo;
Turner took the high road there &mdash; no surprise for someone tactful and professional like the former Texas Longhorn. When asked about a potential contract extension still being on the table, Turner didn&rsquo;t want to elaborate. Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard echoed a similar tune regarding Turner&rsquo;s murky future with the organization last Thursday.
&ldquo;I sat down and talked with Myles for an hour, hour-and-a-half the other day. It was a heart-to-heart,&rdquo; Pritchard told Basketball News last week. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to tell you exactly what was said, but I&rsquo;ll give you the crux, and that is I think he&rsquo;s super excited about playing with Tyrese [Haliburton]. I think he wants to play the 5 exclusively. I think he wants to be a defensive monster. And I think that he&rsquo;s okay planting deep roots here. But, you know, he&rsquo;s going to be a free agent next year. There&rsquo;s a lot of things that can happen. What we think today isn&rsquo;t something that we know is going to happen tomorrow. This is the most dynamic business in the world.&rdquo;
Turner enters the 2022-23 season in Indiana not only as a veteran voice for a young locker room, but with plenty of motivation to silence the critics. Playing with another high-usage big for years, Turner feels he&rsquo;s never really had the opportunity to showcase his entire two-way skillset. Even after the seismic Sabonis trade in February, which helped steer the Indiana's direction altogether by acquiring Tyrese Haliburton, Turner never logged a minute with the rising star due to a stress reaction in his left foot suffered a few weeks prior.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;ve scratched the surface of my potential,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I gotta let my play do the talking. I could sit here and promise y&rsquo;all things&hellip; but I&rsquo;m going to go out there and hoop, man. That&rsquo;s what it&rsquo;s all about.&rdquo;
Already known as one of the Association&rsquo;s best rim protectors, averaging an eye-opening 2.8 blocks per game over the past four seasons, Turner is enthused about the idea of finally having the system cater to what he hopes is a full-fledged breakout campaign. The 6-foot-11 big set a career-high in scoring in 2018-19, with 13.3 points in 28.6 minutes per game. With no Sabonis and a roster in dire need of his abilities on both ends of the court, however long it may last, Turner could see his numbers spike.
Entering a contract year doesn&rsquo;t bother him.&nbsp;As he put it on Monday, Turner thrives within those types of environments. Also, Turner openly acknowledged a thought that had crossed his mind ahead of another Media Day: Would he still be in Indiana or elsewhere?
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a good question,&rdquo; Turner said. &ldquo;I think that the way the past offseason had played out, you can only go off your past experiences. And I&rsquo;ve been in a Pacers uniform, so I can clearly say yeah, I was.&rdquo;
When Turner went down for the remainder of the regular season, Indiana&rsquo;s defense fell off a cliff. Over the final 39 games without Turner, Indiana ranked last in defensive rating, allowing a ghastly 120.9 points per 100 possessions. Before Turner was sidelined, the Pacers checked in 10.5 points better at 110.4 points per 100 possessions (which ranked No. 21 in the NBA).
Turner will be an integral piece to the Pacers' overall identity early on this season. Haliburton is now the proverbial face of the franchise, taking on a leadership role alongside expectations of flirting with an All-Star berth. However, Turner&rsquo;s fit alongside Haliburton as pick-and-roll/pop option, to go with his anchoring ability on the defensive end, could help set the tone for the organization.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle returned to Indiana expecting to coach a team that would consistently be within the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s top eight teams. The strong pivot in the other direction hasn&rsquo;t fazed Carlisle, potentially even reinvigorating him with players seeking out his knowledge of the game. As it relates to Turner, Carlisle has put an emphasis on making the veteran feel welcomed after the failed pursuit of Ayton.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been talking to Myles ever since July, ever since the stuff where we put the offer sheet on [Deandre] Ayton,&rdquo; Carlisle said. &ldquo;Got to spend time, a couple of days, with him at his basketball camp in Dallas in late July. Spent some time with him in August in the gym. Lloyd [Pierce] came down for a few days the following week. We spent a couple more days in the gym, had dinner at my house in Dallas.
"Myles is a pro. Myles has made it clear to me that he&rsquo;s excited about being here. He&rsquo;s excited about playing with a pass-first starting point guard like Tyrese [Haliburton]. That&rsquo;s where we are right now. That&rsquo;s where we are. I know he&rsquo;s in the last year of his contract. That&rsquo;s something that&rsquo;s on everybody&rsquo;s mind, but, hey, this is day one of Media Day. We&rsquo;re here. We&rsquo;re excited about basketball, and he&rsquo;ll be here in the gym tomorrow going hard.&rdquo;
Turner will be a member of the Pacers at least through the start of the regular season, but there are no assurances beyond that. Indiana will be put in a tough position with Turner during the final year of his contract. Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson, two key young frontcourt pieces who have long-term potential in Indiana, need to play as much as possible. And with Turner&rsquo;s nagging injury history, how much will the organization be willing to put on his motivated shoulders from now until February&rsquo;s trade deadline?
With the way Turner&rsquo;s tenure in Indiana has gone, one thing is for certain: Rumors will pick up steam once more as the calender inches closer to a final resolution.

For years, Myles Turner has remained the subject of trade rumors. Entering into a contract year, Turner is motivated to prove himself.

Despite uncertain future, Myles Turner motivated entering contract year

From a mid-season blockbuster swap involving two disgruntled stars, to rumors that a former No. 1 overall pick wants a change of scenery in only his third season, the topic of player empowerment is front and center in the NBA. &nbsp;
Superstars wanting off their team isn't a new concept. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar forced a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975. In recent years, superstars demanding to be dealt is so common that the term &ldquo;player empowerment&rdquo; established itself in our NBA lexicon.&nbsp;
But this season feels different, in that it is rife with unique trade demands. Like Ben Simmons' refusal to play a single minute for the Philadelphia 76ers while requesting a trade, with a whopping four years left on his contract. Or James Harden asking off of his second team in as many years. Even the Zion Williamson situation &mdash; rumored to be disgruntled in New Orleans after playing a total of 85 games &mdash; is unprecedented. With every new trade demand, it feels like stars are pushing the limits and boundaries of player empowerment.
Either the NBA's Mercury is in retrograde or we&rsquo;re witnessing the dawn of a new era.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Player empowerment&rdquo; was popularized in 2010 after LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh conspired to play with each other in Miami. Suddenly, players realized they could control their own destiny and team up to form super-teams.
Since then, player empowerment has largely come to mean trade demands from superstars. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Many executives have decried it as ruining the league's parity and even the sanctity of the game. &nbsp;
"Player empowerment is a catchall for the fact that the league has done a terrible job of empowering teams, the players have all of the leverage in every situation. I think it's the worst thing that ever happened to professional sports on all levels," an anonymous NBA general manager <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/06/07/lebron-james-agent-is-transforming-the-business-of-basketball" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker</a>.&nbsp;
Many fans view it as a win for laborers.&nbsp;
The NBA is, after all, the most progressive sports league. However, without even touching the racial undertones that weave throughout the narrative about the league, it is easy to see why the masses support the players. Fans have watched players lose the battle over the means of production &mdash; from owning 57% of league revenue in 2005 down to only 50% today &mdash; so witnessing players gain autonomy over their playing career by stripping control from owners is celebrated as a nice consolation prize.&nbsp;
As we become inundated with debate over the merits of player empowerment, we&rsquo;ve seemed to skip over what the term actually means and how it actualizes itself in the league.&nbsp;
There is no denying that some players have power and some of those players have controlled the make-up of the league for over a decade. The issue is that player empowerment is a term that poses as the league's players uniting, but instead, it is merely a select few exercising their power over everyone else.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s break this down.&nbsp;
Were the Los Angeles Lakers' young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart empowered when Anthony Davis forced his way to Los Angeles? Not likely.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s also impossible to imagine all six of Jarrett Allen (Brooklyn to Cleveland), Taurean Prince (Brooklyn to Cleveland), Caris LeVert (Brooklyn to Indiana), Rodions Kurucs (Brooklyn to Houston), Dante Exum (Cleveland to Houston) and Victor Oladipo (Indiana to Houston) felt empowered after being forced to uproot themselves midseason during a pandemic because Harden wanted to join the Nets.&nbsp;
Framing the whims of a small few that can disrupt the lives of many as player empowerment feels disingenuous. A better term would be &ldquo;superstar entitlement.&rdquo;&nbsp;
With the knowledge that player empowerment really means superstar entitlement, it&rsquo;s easy to understand how empowerment stories are often framed as prima donnas throwing tantrums until they get their way.
But maybe it should be framed as superstars earning power through loss of salary.&nbsp;
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With the advent of max salaries, stars are never fairly compensated. The bigger and brighter the star shines, the more they lose out &mdash; with their play forever eclipsing the money they make. Ergo, player empowerment is less about empowering all or even most players and more about compensating superstars in a salary-cap league.&nbsp;
Heliocentric is another popular term in our NBA vernacular; we&rsquo;ve heard the term &ldquo;heliocentric offense,&rdquo; and we&rsquo;ve heard stars described as heliocentric. But it&rsquo;s also a term that can refer to the league itself.&nbsp;
To briefly go back to the 1500s and Copernicus &mdash; heliocentrism is a cosmological theory that the Earth and planets revolve around the sun. And in the NBA, everything revolves around certain stars. The bigger and brighter the star, the stronger their gravitational pull &mdash; the LeBronicus Theory, if you will.&nbsp;
Superstars wield more power than ever. They influence nearly every aspect of an organization &mdash; from coaching hirings and firings, to player personnel and roster construction.
The Harden-for-Simmons swap is an interesting case to dissect, because it centers around two stars whom everything doesn&rsquo;t revolve around.&nbsp;
On one side, there&rsquo;s Harden, whose status as a heliocentric star diminished as soon as he left Houston for Brooklyn. And on the other side is Simmons, a player who could never cement himself into anything more than a secondary star in Philadelphia.
Though both players had leverage, Harden had more because of the status of his contract. Neither were in a place to force their teams to bend to their will &mdash; at least not in the same way Harden was able to back when he told Houston they had a problem.&nbsp;
In Brooklyn, Harden <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33259122/james-harden-wants-trade-philadelphia-76ers-formally-request-deal-due-concern-public-backlash-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly never voiced his desire to leave</a>, and 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey threatened to hold out on trading Simmons for the duration of his contract.
&nbsp;"You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not. This could [go on for] four years... We're in the prime of Joel's career... Either Ben Simmons is playing for us, or we have to get back a difference-maker," Morey said.
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Morey on his timeline: "You're going to think I'm kidding, I'm not. This could (go on for) 4 years. ... We're in the prime of Joel's career...Either Ben Simmons is playing for us, or we have to get back a difference maker."
&mdash; Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DerekBodnerNBA/status/1451288448875343872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It wasn't Simmons' refusal to play games or Harden&rsquo;s pouting that forced their teams&rsquo; hands.&nbsp; It was that Embiid&rsquo;s play pressured Morey to make a deal, and Kevin Durant <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly wanted one too</a>.&nbsp;
Ultimately, the deal came down to what was best for the biggest stars. While James and Ben were the players who used their leverage to request out, Durant and Embiid &mdash; being the heliocentric star of their respective teams &mdash; made the final call.&nbsp;
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What Harden lost in star power in moving to Brooklyn, KD gained by doing the same. Though Durant&rsquo;s play has always been stellar, it&rsquo;s clear he has more power within the Nets' organization than he did with the Warriors. It was Durant, after all, who <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953512-inside-kevin-durants-role-in-brooklyn-nets-james-harden-trade" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly requested Kyrie Irving be allowed to play road games</a> despite <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nets-say-kyrie-irving-cant-play-or-practice-with-team-while-unvaccinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the stance Sean Marks and the Nets took</a> earlier in the season.&nbsp;
Who has power and how much they have is determined by a number of variables, like their standing in the league, their standing on their team, their health, the length of their contract and market size, etc. And this list of powerful players is still arguably fewer than 10 names long in any given season (with some variance).
The variables at play that make Durant&rsquo;s star shine brighter with the Nets than with the Warriors are as simple as the fact that there's another superstar in Golden State &mdash; and he was there first and couldn&rsquo;t be eclipsed.
Of course there are titans like LeBron James, who can completely shift the paradigm of the league with a flippant comment &mdash; like over All-Star Weekend when he hinted at a possible return to Cleveland.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The door&rsquo;s not closed on that&hellip; &nbsp;I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;m coming back and playing, I don&rsquo;t know. I don&rsquo;t know what my future holds. I don&rsquo;t even know when I&rsquo;m free.&rdquo; James <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lebron-james-on-cleveland-return-the-doors-not-closed-on-that" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Athletic</a>.
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LeBron is back in Cleveland this weekend. His picture is on the building again. At first he said he hasn&rsquo;t thought about returning to play for the Cavs, but then we kept talking. &ldquo;The door&rsquo;s not closed on that,&rdquo; he said. LeBron had a lot to say today. <a href="https://t.co/cdg8RIoxZb">https://t.co/cdg8RIoxZb</a>
&mdash; Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByJasonLloyd/status/1495148179410591745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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LeBron&rsquo;s comments dominated the news cycle over the league&rsquo;s busiest weekend, and that's in large part because he will be a free agent in 2023. James signs short-term deals to maximize his leverage even though it means leaving long-term NBA money on the table.
Player empowerment isn&rsquo;t limited to team decisions &mdash; the NBPA also caters to the stars. With recent negotiations featuring superstars at the helm, contract negotiations often prioritize their needs.&nbsp;
Take for example the 2017 CBA. Superstar and NBPA president Chris Paul managed to help push forward the NBA supermax deal, given to players who have either won an MVP award, a Defensive Player of the Year award or earned an All-NBA selection in the previous season &mdash; or two of the previous three. The NBA supermax allows these stars to earn massive five-year deals with a starting salary of up to 35% of the cap.
Paul also helped change the "over-36" rule that prevented players from signing multi-year deals if they are to turn 36 or older over the course of the contract to "over-38." Not lost on anyone, Paul was set to be a free agent the summer of 2017, and pushing the rule back two years would have positively affected how much and how long he could have signed for.&nbsp;
In any collective bargaining, there&rsquo;s a give and a take &mdash; so both parties can walk away feeling like winners. So as collective bargaining agreements continue to reward those at the top, that leaves little for the rest.&nbsp;
Now, let's take a look at punishments. More often than not, disciplinary action comes in the form of fines. Technical fouls, for example, come with a fine of $2,000 for a player&rsquo;s first five offenses.&nbsp;
On Jan. 25 this season, the Sixers faced the New Orleans Pelicans. Embiid and rookie Jose Alvarado got into it and were each assessed technical fouls. That means Alvarado, who earns $462,629 this season, and Embiid, who's making $31.58 million, are meant to pay the same amount. Though Embiid generously offered to cover the fine for Alvarado, the benevolence of stars shouldn&rsquo;t make up for this obvious imbalance.&nbsp;
Fines are meant to disincentivize players from committing offenses, but when by setting these as a specific dollar amount as opposed to a percentage of their salary, they disproportionately&nbsp;hurt the lowest earners. And consequently, they allow the elite to do as they please.&nbsp;
Calling out NBA officials comes with a hefty $25,000 fine &mdash; this would be astronomical to rookies like Alvarado, but not to a superstar like Embiid who has been fined for doing just that. In Feb. 2019, Embiid told reporters the "referees f**king sucked" after a missed call in a close loss to the Boston Celtics. Though the fine undoubtedly hurt his pocketbook, it was a calculated risk he and other high earners like him have the freedom of taking.&nbsp;
From afar, superstar entitlement looks like stars picking their teams; a closer look unveils real inequities like financial penalties and disproportionate representation at the top of the players' union. A more granular look reveals that every scenario and every superstar is unique.&nbsp;
There is, however, one constant amidst the chaos in understanding power dynamics in the league, and that&rsquo;s team control. The NBA draft, rookie contracts, restricted free agency and good old-fashioned trades are just some of the ways in which teams have maintained ultimate control. The difference is when teams wield their power, it&rsquo;s not much of a news story.
We clutch our pearls at Kawhi Leonard demanding a trade but not at the Raptors for sending out DeMar DeRozan. We expect teams to make moves to better their situation, yet players who have become brands in their own right aren&rsquo;t given the freedom to do the same.&nbsp;
Any team would be over the moon to have a superstar play for them &mdash; we recognize this and they recognize this. So, they aren&rsquo;t going to sit back and wish upon a star for a trade. They ask, and if they're good enough, teams will acquiesce. It is a star-driven league, after all. So, we can&rsquo;t be surprised at who's steering the ship. And I&rsquo;d argue it&rsquo;s high time for the rest of the league to just grab on to their seats and hold on, because the era of player empowerment has only started taking off.&nbsp;
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Imman Adan details what "player empowerment" in the NBA truly entails and how it's been framed incorrectly.

The truth about 'player empowerment' in the NBA

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/iman-shumpert-explains-how-lebron-ruined-basketball/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.&rdquo;
The infamous sentence by LeBron James that completely changed the NBA landscape back in 2010 had a greater effect on the league than you might think. Sure, it shifted the landscape of the league at that time, but the long-term impact was felt in the fact that players started to team up other more, forming super-teams and disbanding loyalty in the pursuit of a championship. LeBron&rsquo;s former teammate, Iman Shumpert, blames James for this shift in thinking. In fact, he believes James ruined the NBA.
&ldquo;'Bron ruined basketball. He thought he was making it better; I get him," Shumpert said. "Me personally, I loved the NBA for the loyalty that I thought was there. He basically knocked the fourth wall down like, 'The organization, they bullsh*tting, we doing what we want.' Great business move for sure, but when you think about it, outside looking in, like, I got people tweeting me right now [and] they're literally talking about owners and trades. It&rsquo;s like, bro, y&rsquo;all aren&rsquo;t supposed to be talking about none of this actually!"
It&rsquo;s ridiculous to say LeBron started super-teams with the 2010 Miami Heat because we have seen many teams with multiple All-Stars going all the way through history. But the Heat's Big Three was formed differently. Players didn&rsquo;t have the kind of power or leverage to go wherever they wanted and team up with their friends. Ownership groups and front offices had all the power, but LeBron broke the wall and showed that the players actually had the control.&nbsp;
Ever since then, players have been getting more and more power in the NBA, getting larger contracts, requesting trades, signing wherever they want, recruiting each other and simply sitting out if they don&rsquo;t want to play. All of this was unheard of in the NBA 15 years ago. But LeBron&rsquo;s push for player empowerment changed the complete hierarchy of the league and gave the steering wheel to the players. Some would argue that this was good for the league, while others would say it&rsquo;s destroying it. One thing&rsquo;s for sure: it has its perks and flaws.
While it&rsquo;s entertaining to see super-teams due to the abundance of transcendent talent playing together, some feel it kills the nature of the NBA. The league gets too centralized with only a few select elite teams, while the rest get the short end of the stick and no attention. That mainly happens to the small-market teams that don&rsquo;t have the appeal of the big cities to lure stars.&nbsp;
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It also killed loyalty and the romanticism that once graced the NBA, with every team having its star or two that were heroes of the city for their whole careers. Instead, nowadays, it&rsquo;s normal to see star players switch teams numerous times and look for their best situation, rather than sticking it out with their original team. Of course, there are exceptions; Damian Lillard is the obvious one.
Shumpert believes that fans look at the game differently and focus on the wrong things ever since James joined the Heat. Fans have always been interested in rumors and transactions, but there's no question that it reached a new level during the player-empowerment era. These days, some fans are more interested in what happens off the court than the actual games.
James' free-agency choice in 2010 will undoubtedly continue to be viewed as one of the most polarizing moves in NBA history.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Iman Shumpert discussed the effects of LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat.

Iman Shumpert lets loose on how LeBron 'ruined basketball'

The reboot has officially begun in Orlando. After trading away Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon at last season&rsquo;s trade deadline, the Magic are finally embracing the long-term build compared to wallowing in no-man&rsquo;s land.
Although the Magic put together an intriguing core led by Vucevic and Gordon, it just wasn&rsquo;t good enough within an Eastern Conference that was ripe for the taking over the years. The best Orlando could muster was a bottom-tier playoff seed, which inevitably reached an easy answer. The definition of insanity is continuously running back the same team with no real room for improvement, and Orlando finally realized this midway through last season when Gordon and Vucevic were shipped off for multiple draft assets and young prospects.
Lottery luck once again wasn&rsquo;t on the Magic&rsquo;s side, but they still were one of the biggest winners from the 2021 NBA Draft in hindsight. Snagging Jalen Suggs at No. 5 overall was a home-run scenario, an immediate franchise-changing prospect with an immensely high ceiling. Then, thanks to the Vucevic trade, Orlando used the Chicago Bulls&rsquo; top-10 pick at No. 8 overall to acquire another high-floor prospect in versatile forward Franz Wagner from Michigan. Adding Suggs and Wagner into the mix of an already bountiful core of under-25 talent in Orlando is an exciting development.
All of the following players projected in Orlando&rsquo;s rotation for the 2021-22 season are age-24 or under: Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Markelle Fultz, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Suggs and Wagner. That&rsquo;s right &mdash; eight of the Magic&rsquo;s rotational contributors are still at this stage of their careers.
Orlando is just now beginning what the team should have done a few years ago with its roster, but it's the right route when you realize how much young talent can be stockpiled when picks hit.
Isaac is coming off a torn ACL with an extensive recovery; however he&rsquo;s already flashed real two-way potential featuring All-Defense upside in the near future. If the offense clicks for Isaac, he will quickly climb the ranks of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-10-players-under-age25-for-the-202122-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under-25 talent in the Association</a>.
Carter, whom Orlando landed in the Vucevic trade, has flashed on a few different occasion that he&rsquo;s a legitimate rotational big with some untapped upside of his own. Anthony, Fultz and Hampton are darts throws at the guard position, a situation that will sort itself out this season in regards to who will be featured alongside Suggs throughout the upcoming years.
Okeke and Bamba bring more depth to the Magic&rsquo;s frontcourt, although the former Auburn Tiger figures to be a mainstay in Orlando longer than the 2018 No. 5 overall pick.
When trying to picture all of this young core figuring it out, the primary building blocks still crystalize: Isaac, Suggs, Wagner. Although the latter two haven&rsquo;t played in the NBA, the Magic using their most draft capital in recent memory on <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/magic-kickstart-rebuild-drafting-jalen-suggs-and-franz-wagner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two of the "safest" prospects</a> says a lot about where they view their long-term future. They want to improve, but it&rsquo;s not going to be rushed. Suggs and Wagner should be connective-tissue pieces that help accentuate what is already in place for Orlando. If everything forms together as planned, Orlando is a team who could make some noise two or three years from now.
So, with that type of timeline, it&rsquo;s fair to assume veteran wings Terrence Ross and Gary Harris are not long to stay on the roster. Rumors bubbled up around the draft mentioning Ross&rsquo; availability around the league. Harris helped match salaries for Denver in the Gordon trade, but he hasn&rsquo;t shown much to the Magic or even Denver over the last few seasons, seemingly stagnating due to injury and inconsistent scoring capabilities.
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In the East, Orlando is well behind the pack for a potential surprise run. (The team is tied for the NBA&rsquo;s worst over-under win total projection with the Oklahoma City Thunder at 23.5.) Orlando potentially landing the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft could be another crucial moment to helping the Magic finally stabilize a future winner. Long gone are the years of Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and Penny Hardaway, plus the Dwight Howard era.
There&rsquo;s not much buzz around the Magic right now, and for good reason. It&rsquo;s a lot of unproven talent that isn't even close to hitting their prime years. However, new head coach Jamahl Mosley is the right man to help steer the ship in the right direction for an organization in desperate need of it. Mosley was instrumental in helping Luka Doncic develop into the MVP favorite that he is entering his fourth NBA season. If Mosley can repeat his rapid development curves as he did in Dallas with Orlando&rsquo;s roster, it will become a perfect marriage. Imagining Suggs being coached by Mosley is an exciting proposition, potentially one where we see the No. 4 overall pick make a run for 2021-22 Rookie of the Year.
Let&rsquo;s take a look at the Magic&rsquo;s rotation for the upcoming season:
Starters: Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Terrence Ross, Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr.
Second Unit: Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Franz Wagner, Chuma Okeke, Mo Bamba
Suggs will quickly push his way into the starting lineup. The question is, does Orlando pull the trigger quickly enough to put Suggs in the ROY race? When the Magic are likely trying to boost the trade values for Harris and Ross early in the regular season, it will be something to continuously monitor.
Orlando is years away from being where it just was as a scrappy, competitive, lower-tier seed in the East playoffs. However, this method of team-building is the way it should have been done all along.
With so much young talent stockpiling on top of one another, the dust will eventually settle itself and help Orlando put together a young core ready to grow together for years to come.

Orlando has officially reset its organization. Now, it's time to let the dust settle for an intriguing young Magic core.

Magic finally hit the reset button for a bright future

The first topic raised with Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard the day after the team's season ended was the topic that will hang over the offseason until a decision is announced: Will coach Scott Brooks be back?
&ldquo;We're not doing anything about that today,&rdquo; Sheppard replied during a video conference with reporters on Thursday, before praising Brooks for &ldquo;keeping this team together through some of the most difficult, dark moments probably in franchise history.&rdquo;
Not surprisingly, Brooks said he wants to return; his five-year, $35 million contract is expiring.
&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t want to move on,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I love it here. I love the city.&rdquo;
It was, to be sure, a trying season for the Wizards, who started 0-5 along the way to 17-32 in early April. They dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak that put them on a two-week hiatus without games or practices plus had to find replacements after season-ending injuries to starting center Thomas Bryant and first-round draft pick Deni Avdija.
And then, with Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook leading the way on the court, Washington turned into a winning team. It went 17-6 down the stretch to finish with the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference (34-38) and a play-in berth, then qualified for the playoffs, where they were eliminated in five games by the No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers.
&ldquo;We got to the playoffs. That was a great experience. But now that's no longer acceptable,&rdquo; Sheppard said. &ldquo;We have to be much better next season, and we will.&rdquo;
BROOKS
During his tenure, Washington is 183-207 in the regular season, a .469 winning percentage, and won one playoff series. But he was praised by Sheppard and his players alike for steering the team through this season. &ldquo;He did a job that I&rsquo;m pretty sure people didn&rsquo;t think he was able to do,&rdquo; said Westbrook, who previously was coached by Brooks with the Oklahoma City Thunder. &ldquo;He kept us together. He kept us encouraged. He kept us fighting.&rdquo;
BEAL
Beal is only the sixth player since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 30 points in two consecutive seasons; he was the runner-up in the league scoring race each of the past two years. &ldquo;Eventually,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;I want to be an MVP-caliber player.&rdquo; The All-Star shooting guard has one year left on his deal and frequently is asked whether he believes the Wizards are in position to have real postseason success. &ldquo;We've built this team around Bradley,&rdquo; Sheppard said.
WESTBROOK
There were plenty of questions about how Westbrook &mdash; who arrived in a trade that sent franchise cornerstone John Wall to Houston &mdash; would fit in with Beal and the Wizards. Brooks didn't have any concerns. And Beal enjoyed their partnership. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so crazy to hear all the rumors of how difficult he would be to play with,&rdquo; Beal said. Westbrook not only led the league in assists, averaged a triple-double and broke Oscar Robertson's NBA record for most triple-doubles in a career, he gets credit from Brooks and Sheppard for helping the team's younger players. &ldquo;Having Russ here was unbelievable,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;I've done nothing but cherish his presence from the moment he got here.&rdquo;
YOUTH
Westbrook spoke after the season-ending Game 5 loss at the 76ers on Wednesday night about noticing all of the young faces on the team flight to Philadelphia and asking some of his teammates how old they are. Players such as Rui Hachimura, 23, or Daniel Gafford, 22, or Avdija, 20. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not experienced right now,&rdquo; Brooks said, "but we gained a lot of experience."
SHEPPARD
As for his own future, Sheppard said, &ldquo;That's up to&rdquo; owner Ted Leonsis, but noted he is under contract and &ldquo;it's never been an issue.&rdquo; Heading into the offseason, Sheppard acknowledged the need for more depth and an athletic wing player as he does what he can to improve things. &ldquo;I'm not afraid,&rdquo; Sheppard said, &ldquo;to take big swings.&rdquo;
___
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“We're not doing anything about that today,” Sheppard said before praising Brooks for “keeping this team together through some of the most difficult, dark moments probably in franchise history.”

Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard skirts topic of Scott Brooks' future after playoff exit

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

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

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

As the Los Angeles Lakers gear up for a pivotal transition, the franchise sets its sights on a trio of distinguished coaching candidates&mdash;JJ Redick, Sam Cassell, and James Borrego. Tasked with steering not only the twilight of the LeBron James-Anthony Davis era but also shaping the future trajectory of one of the NBA&rsquo;s most storied franchises, the Lakers&rsquo; search is defined by a focus on strategic innovation, leadership, and a deep commitment to player development.
JJ Redick
JJ Redick, renowned for his articulate analysis and deep understanding of basketball dynamics, brings a fresh, data-driven approach to coaching. Though he lacks formal coaching experience, his extensive work as a broadcaster and podcaster, especially on "Mind The Game" co-hosted with LeBron James, showcases his ability to dissect and communicate complex basketball strategies effectively. Redick's proficiency in analytics could revolutionize the Lakers' approach, emphasizing efficiency metrics like true shooting percentage and player efficiency rating to enhance player and team performance.
Redick's pre-existing relationship with LeBron James could prove pivotal in establishing immediate rapport and buy-in from the team. His ability to connect on a peer level with players would foster a collaborative and respectful environment, facilitating the smooth implementation of new strategies and fostering a culture of mutual respect and accountability.
Sam Cassell
Sam Cassell's illustrious NBA career as both a player and coach is marked by his strategic thinking and ability to perform under pressure. His track record includes significant contributions to player development, particularly with young guards, evidenced by improved performance metrics&nbsp;such as shooting percentages and assist-to-turnover ratios. Cassell's experience would bring a seasoned perspective to managing crucial game moments, enhancing the Lakers' performance in clutch scenarios through detailed situational analysis and tactical adjustments.
Cassell has demonstrated a strong capability in developing players' skills and understanding of the game, aligning with the Lakers' needs for nurturing talent and optimizing game strategies. His mentoring approach would be instrumental in maximizing the potential of players, particularly in high-pressure game situations, through focused training and strategic gameplay enhancements.
James Borrego
James Borrego's coaching tenure, highlighted by his role in significantly improving the offensive output of his teams, demonstrates his strategic acumen. His recent success with the New Orleans Pelicans, elevating them from 20th to 11th in offensive efficiency, showcases his ability to&nbsp;effectively implement offensive systems that maximize player strengths and team capabilities.
During his time with the Charlotte Hornets, Borrego displayed a knack for year-over-year team improvement, culminating in multiple play-in tournament appearances. His focus on developing a fast-paced, efficient offensive system could be particularly beneficial for the Lakers, aiming to revitalize their offensive playbook to align with contemporary NBA strategies.
Getting advice from the legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
The advisory role of Mike Krzyzewski in the Lakers' coaching search suggests an emphasis on leadership, basketball IQ, and player development. The candidates' alignment with Coach K's philosophies indicates the Lakers' commitment to a coaching style that combines strategic game management with strong leadership and developmental skills.
Each candidate brings distinct strengths and a strategic approach that could guide the Lakers through a pivotal transition period in the franchise&rsquo;s history. The final decision will likely hinge on which candidate&rsquo;s vision and methodology best align with the Lakers' long-term objectives, including fostering player development and implementing a robust strategic framework suited to modern NBA challenges.

As the Lakers gear up for a pivotal transition, the franchise sets its sights on a trio of distinguished coaching candidates.

Analyzing the Lakers' Top Head Coaching Candidates

On Wednesday night, Jayson Tatum delivered a signature performance to steer the Boston Celtics past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-120, in a titanic clash between the No. 1 seeds in each conference.
Tatum was magnificent, pouring in 12 of the Celtics&rsquo; 16 points in overtime en route to a season-high 45 points. He shot 13-of-26 from the field, 6-of-11 from three and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line as Boston remained unbeaten at home (18-0)
Jaylen Brown added 35 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, who played without starting center Kristaps Porzingis due to a right knee contusion.
This was the second-straight ovetime game between these two teams, following a 114-109 Wolves win in Minnesota on Nov. 6.
Entering this game, the 28-win Celtics were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference while the 26-win Timberwolves were the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.&nbsp;
Karl-Anthony Towns had a valiant effort for an undermanned Wolves team that was playing on the second night of a road back-to-back following yesterday&rsquo;s win at the Orlando Magic. They were without Rudy Gobert (left hip soreness) and Mike Conley (rest).
Towns registered 25 points and 13 rebounds as he started at the 5 with Gobert&rsquo;s absence, but star teammate Anthony Edwards committed two crucial turnovers in OT.
Edwards had a decent 29-point game, but this was overshadowed by his two costly mistakes that flipped the momentum to Boston&rsquo;s favor.
Boston is now 29-8, which is the best record in the NBA. Minnesota drops to 26-11, with only a half-game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-11) and Denver Nuggets (26-12).&nbsp;

The Boston Celtics defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-120, in a titanic clash between the two No. 1 seeds in each conference.

Jayson Tatum shines as Celtics outlast Wolves in clash of No. 1 seeds

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has agreed to a lucrative multi-year extension that will make him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.
It is an eight-year, $120 million extension, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1744904438119055376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski</a>. It is the most money ever committed to a coach in American professional sports history.
The 53-year-old Spoelstra is regarded by many as the best coach in the NBA, and his new extension surpasses hefty deals signed by San Antonio&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich (five years, $80 million) and Detroit&rsquo;s Monty Williams (six years, $78.5 million).&nbsp;
Spoelstra, who is a two-time NBA champion and in the top-20 all-time in career wins, has led Miami to the NBA Finals six times in 15 years as the Heat&rsquo;s head coach. He has steered Miami into one of the most successful and consistent NBA teams after succeeding Heat legend Pat Riley in 2008.
 Spoelstra led Miami to the NBA Finals last season as a No. 8 seed. The Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last four years.
Despite missing key players throughout this season, the Heat are currently 21-15, which is tied for the fifth-best record in a tight Eastern Conference.
With this new deal, Spoelstra and Miami are committed to each other for years to come and can focus on trying to hang additional banners in Kaseya Center.

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has agreed to a multi-year extension that will make him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.

Erik Spoelstra inks 8-year extension with Heat, becoming top-paid coach

Most NBA teams have a young core of some sort, but some are better than others.
Each year, teams try to add to their young nucleus through the draft. The 2023 NBA Draft just featured the most highly-anticipated prospect since LeBron James in Victor Wembanyama, plus a number of other talented rookies like Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins.
Entering the 2023-24 season, which team has the best young core? Today, we'll rank the five best cores from around the league. The criteria is simple: players must be age-25 or younger to be considered.
5. Orlando Magic&nbsp;
The Magic landed young star Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick last season, pairing him with 2021 lottery pick Franz Wagner to form a nice one-two punch. Cole Anthony had high expectations entering the league, but he hasn't quite become the player that fans wanted him to be. One player who has exceeded expectations is Wendell Carter Jr. After a shaky start to his career with the Chicago Bulls, Carter has found his place on the Magic and is considered one of the better young starting centers in the NBA. He isn't the only player who turned his career around after landing in Orlando, as Markelle Fultz is playing his best basketball and has a nice redemption story of his own. Other young players who have an opportunity to make an impact going forward are Orlando's recent lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, both of whom are 19 years old. Orlando has consistently been one of the worst teams in the league for several years now and while their rebuilding roster is solid, it isn&rsquo;t quite as good or enticing as some of the other teams on our list.
Notable Players: Paolo Banchero (20), Franz Wagner (23), Wendell Carter Jr. (24), Anthony Black (19), Jett Howard (19), Markelle Fultz (25), Cole Anthony (23), Jalen Suggs (21), Jonathan Isaac (25), Caleb Houstan (20)
4. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are the only young core on this list with postseason experience, as they made the playoffs in 2021-22 and made the play-in tournament last season. Their young core is largely carried by four players: Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Ingram has become a terrific scorer, and he's coming off a season in which he averaged career-highs in points (24.7) and assists (5.8). While Williamson has been one of the best players in the NBA when healthy, we haven&rsquo;t seen him on the court very much since he was drafted in 2019. Murphy is a terrific shooter and Jones has had a very solid start to his career as well, making a name for himself as a lockdown perimeter defender. New Orleans has a few other young players with potential including Dyson Daniels, Jordan Hawkins and Kira Lewis Jr., but they have yet to prove themselves. Ingram, Williamson, Murphy and Jones are the main reason why the Pelicans are ranked here.
Notable Players: Brandon Ingram (25), Zion Williamson (23), Trey Murphy III (23), Herb Jones (24), Dyson Daniels (20), Jordan Hawkins (21), Kira Lewis Jr. (22)
3. Houston Rockets
The Rockets have one of the more underrated young cores in the NBA, as their lack of success has prevented them from getting much recognition. Fortunately for the Rockets, their main issue has been lack of experience, and the team addressed it this offseason. They had money to spend and they brought in some veterans to help lead the team, most notably Fred VanVleet. That said, their young core is still extremely talented and got even better through this year&rsquo;s draft. The key for this Rockets team to succeed is to make sure these young players continue to develop at a high rate, which is where new head coach Ime Udoka and his staff come in. They have multiple players on their roster with All-Star potential, and it's possible they'll compete for a play-in spot by the end of the season.
Notable Players: Jalen Green (21), Jabari Smith (20), Alperen Sengun (21), Amen Thompson (20), Tari Eason (22), Kevin Porter Jr. (23), Cam Whitmore (19)
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/vw2.jpg" alt="" width="711" height="400" />
2. San Antonio Spurs&nbsp;
The Spurs undoubtedly have one of the NBA's best young cores. No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama has made San Antonio the team to watch this season. That said, they likely won&rsquo;t be a playoff team for at least another year. While it's possible that they'll shock everyone, it will be difficult for Wembanyama to lead them to the postseason as a rookie. He will likely need at least a year to adjust to the NBA and develop before taking that next leap in his career. Wembanyama isn&rsquo;t the only young star on the Spurs, as they have already started developing fellow cornerstones Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, who have made quite an impression. Throw in Tre Jones, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Romeo Langford and Blake Wesley, and it's clear why the Spurs are this high. Other young players who have shown promise are Charles Bassey and Julian Champagnie, both of whom came over from the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; organization. These two players have displayed a ton of potential, particularly in the G League and Summer League, and they could be solid contributors for years to come.&nbsp;
Notable Players: Victor Wembanyama (19), Keldon Johnson (23), Tre Jones (23), Devin Vassell (22), Jeremy Sochan (20), Malaki Branham (20), Romeo Langford (23), Zach Collins (25), Blake Wesley (20), Julian Champagnie (22), Charles Bassey (22), Dominick Barlow (20), Sandro Mamukelashvili (24)
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs were a hard core to beat but, to nobody&rsquo;s surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the best young core in the NBA. Not only do they have the youngest starting lineup in the league, it is filled with young stars. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has emerged as one of the best guards in the league, while Josh Giddey and Rookie-of-the-Year runner-up Jalen Williams just had a terrific season. Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft, hasn't played yet but he will undoubtedly make an immediate impact and could give OKC a Rookie-of-the-Year finalist for the second year in a row. Despite how young the Thunder are, they could make a serious playoff push this season, with Shai at the steering wheel. Perhaps what's scariest about the Thunder is that they have 35 draft picks over the next seven years, including 15 first-rounders, so their already-impressive young core is still a work in progress.
Notable Players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25), Chet Holmgren (21), Josh Giddey (20), Jalen Williams (22), Cason Wallace (19), Luguentz Dort (24), Aleksej Pokusevski (21), Isaiah Joe (24), Tre Mann (22), Jaylin Williams (21), Ousmane Dieng (20), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (22), Keyontae Johnson (23)

Entering the 2023-24 season, which NBA teams have the best young core? Hunter Simpson ranks the best cores from around the league.

Ranking the NBA's top-5 young cores entering the 2023-24 season

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James&rsquo; oldest son, Bronny, says he will play basketball at the University of Southern California in the fall.
Bronny James abruptly announced his much-anticipated decision on social media Saturday, about two hours before his father&rsquo;s Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series.
The 18-year-old James was a McDonald&rsquo;s All-American just like his father, but he was among the few uncommitted elite high school basketball prospects heading toward the summer. The namesake son of the top scorer in NBA history played at Sierra Canyon School, which is known for educating scions of the sports and entertainment industries in Chatsworth, an outer suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles.
James announced his decision by writing the Trojans&rsquo; school slogan, &ldquo;Fight On,&rdquo; below a photo of himself wearing his high school uniform in the Trojans&rsquo; locker room at the Galen Center.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BRONNY JAMES HAS COMMITTED TO USC 🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/0BronnyJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@0BronnyJames</a> <a href="https://t.co/JVTdFzycn6">pic.twitter.com/JVTdFzycn6</a>
&mdash; Overtime (@overtime) <a href="https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1654971687274774533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

James and his Sierra Canyon team played at the arena last January, beating a team from Georgia&rsquo;s Wheeler High School led by elite recruit Isaiah Collier &mdash; who is now James&rsquo; teammate at USC.
After choosing to stay close to home for college, the 6-foot-3 guard will join an already loaded Trojans roster coming off the school&rsquo;s third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Andy Enfield.
Several key contributors to last season&rsquo;s team are returning, headlined by star guard Boogie Ellis. USC also will have guard Collier, one of the top recruits in the current high school class.
Many recruiting observers wondered whether USC&rsquo;s strong roster at guard would dissuade Bronny James from staying in Los Angeles for college, perhaps steering him toward Oregon or to an alternative to college. Instead, the son of the four-time NBA champion and league MVP didn&rsquo;t back down from the challenge of contributing to USC&rsquo;s current surge to national prominence.
The younger James&rsquo; full name is LeBron James Jr., but he&rsquo;s much better known by his family nickname. His younger brother, 15-year-old Bryce, is also an elite collegiate prospect at Sierra Canyon.
LeBron James has been an active, supportive parent for his sons&rsquo; basketball dreams. He also has frequently mentioned his desire to play in the NBA alongside Bronny, even though the logistics of such a dream would be daunting.
Last month, James spent the Saturday between the Lakers&rsquo; 81st and 82nd games of the regular season flying back and forth to Portland. James made the one-day trip with his mother, his wife and kids Bryce and Zhuri to watch Bronny play in the Nike Hoop Summit for Team USA.
The final game of Bronny&rsquo;s high school career was important enough to drive James through the weariness of an NBA season and onto a plane for the lengthy trek back and forth
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t going to miss it,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I understand how important fatherhood is, just coming from a no-father household. ... We always try to support each other in all our endeavors. I&rsquo;m only as good as my family.&rdquo;

LeBron James’ oldest son, Bronny, says he will play basketball at the University of Southern California in the fall.

LeBron’s son Bronny James commits to play basketball at USC

Late January was probably the first time I looked at the jam-packed Western Conference standings and felt extra excited to watch how it would ultimately shake out. We're now about to reach April, and with 10 days left in the regular season, we're no closer to understanding the playoff picture.
This dogfight in the West has been&nbsp;insane. The fourth-place Phoenix Suns and 12th-place Utah Jazz are separated by just 4.5 games, with most teams only having five or six contests left on the schedule.
No team in this glob has been able to separate themselves. Any momentum generated in the final weeks of the season could be crucial for playoff positioning &mdash; which makes the New Orleans Pelicans' quiet resurgence significant.
New Orleans is eighth in the West at 38-38, but was rolling on a five-game winning streak before fumbling away a great start to Tuesday's game against the Golden State Warriors. The Pelicans have the best defensive rating (107.0) in the league across the last 10 games.
This team was atop the West standings on Dec. 12 and 11 games over .500 on Dec. 30. Then, injuries and simply poor play sent them tumbling; the Pelicans went 10-25 from New Year's Eve up until the current recovery.
Now, at the most critical point of the year, the Pelicans seem to be back on track.
Brandon Ingram missed all of December and most of January with a toe injury and it understandably took the star some time to regain form. But he's been electric since the All-Star break, averaging 26.7 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49.3% from the field and 40% on threes. Zoom into the last six games and it gets even more explosive: 29.2 points, 8.3 assists (!) and 5.8 rebounds on a 51.6% shooting clip (47.4% from three).&nbsp;
Ingram's 40.4% overall efficiency from distance is a career-high even as he continues to glide his way inside. The 25-year-old is one of the premier mid-range maestros in the league, and he's still improving his presence closer to the basket. According to PBP stats, Ingram is driving the ball once every five possessions and making 52% of his shots via drives &mdash; both the highest rates of his career.
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This and-one from Tuesday's loss is simply tough. In the midst of his faceup touch, Ingram spins to drive right, but sees Stephen Curry has left his assignment to help on the right drive. So Ingram then twirls back, drives left, takes the contact from Anthony Lamb and has the touch to finish the floater. It's an impressive display of quick processing and calm determination.
Ingram's continued development as a fulcrum plus New Orleans' injury struggles have given him the largest on-ball role in his seven years as a pro. His usage rate (30.9), touches per possession (0.96), seconds per touch (4.02) and dribbles per touch (3.03) are all career-highs. The lanky forward has matched his 2021-22 playmaking breakout with those opportunities.&nbsp;
So far in March, Ingram has seen 18.7% of his total passes turn into assists. That rate ranks second in the NBA during that span, behind only Trae Young (19.4%). In the last six games, Ingram has led the league with a 22.6% assist-to-pass ratio. How is he doing it? Ingram dished out 4.6 three-point assists per game across those six contests, second in the league behind only Luka Doncic.
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Ingram's gravity as a mid-range scorer creates these types of plays. Trey Murphy III screens to get Ingram open and then clears out to the arc. The Warriors are anticipating an Ingram isolation and react as such, with Curry and Jordan Poole losing Murphy in the process. Ingram then applies pressure but doesn't overcommit himself, and kicks it out for the easy three.
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Here's another example. The Houston Rockets are preparing to contain Ingram off of the high ball screen and it looks like CJ McCollum might help with a second screen, but then McCollum jets out to the perimeter. Houston is still focused on Ingram for just that split-second though, opening up another window. It's an easy pass to make, but it works because Kevin Porter Jr. overcommits to helping stop Ingram's drive.
Of course, it helps that the Pelicans' cast of shooters have caught fire all at the same time. Murphy is knocking down 48.1% of his 8.7 treys across the last six games. McCollum (44.7%), Josh Richardson (50.0%) and Herb Jones (41.7%) are each clearing 40% on at least two attempts per game.&nbsp;
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It's the right time for the supporting cast to heat up, but even if those clips regress slightly, a humming Pelicans offense should keep generating open looks with Ingram in control.
We don't know when Zion Williamson might be healthy, and we certainly don't know what the road in the West will look like. But with Ingram steering the ship, and backed by a top-notch defense, the Pelicans will be a tough out for any opponent come playoff time.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>I am a massive fan of Zach Kram's work at&nbsp;The Ringer, and as highlighted here, this is the Domantas Sabonis effect:</li>
</ul>
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So many great stats in this piece about the Kings' dominance from DHOs, but this might be my favorite <a href="https://t.co/sHXxQ6Qsqa">https://t.co/sHXxQ6Qsqa</a> <a href="https://t.co/19hbydtqOc">pic.twitter.com/19hbydtqOc</a>
&mdash; Div B (@statcenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/statcenter/status/1641113194625220622?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Come for the Synergy Caitlin Clark shooting heat map, stay for the video where she breaks down how she slices the court in transition:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Iowa star Caitlin Clark shows <a href="https://twitter.com/debbieantonelli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@debbieantonelli</a> how she likes to slice the court in transition to get to her step-back jumper moving left. Awesome insight and a little shoutout for <a href="https://twitter.com/SynergySST?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SynergySST</a>, too 😁 <a href="https://t.co/2V7cfDop3A">https://t.co/2V7cfDop3A</a> <a href="https://t.co/awUXkSgC4X">pic.twitter.com/awUXkSgC4X</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1640789230225088513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>Sure, the qualifiers are kind of random but Angel Reese is dominant:</li>
</ul>
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Angel Reese is ONE OF ONE as she is now the only player across Division I basketball, WNBA, and NBA to record: 76 Points, 51 Rebounds, 12 Blocks and 7 Steals in the span of three games. <a href="https://t.co/0ljn9IWWdj">pic.twitter.com/0ljn9IWWdj</a>
&mdash; WSLAM (@wslam) <a href="https://twitter.com/wslam/status/1639429628736548864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller shows how Brandon Ingram has helped steady the Pelicans in a tense Western Conference playoff race.

NBA Stats Notebook: Brandon Ingram's steadying presence on Pelicans

This isn't the Boston Celtics offense that many have come to know and, at various points, loathe.
The Celtics wield the best offensive rating in basketball. They're off to a 10-3 start this season and have scored 110 or more points in 11-of-13 contests. And most impressively, in a year where transition play is on the rise and the leaguewide halfcourt offensive rating is actually down from the past two seasons, Boston has been historically unstoppable.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the C's are averaging 107.6 points per 100 possessions of halfcourt offense. That would be by far the highest number in the history of the site's database, which tracks back to 2003-04. The gap between Boston and second-place Dallas (101.7) is equal to the gap between the Mavericks and the 14th-place Chicago Bulls.&nbsp;
The Celtics are shredding opponents nearly every single night, even as their top-ranked defense from last season is still working out early-season kinks.&nbsp;
It's not like Boston completely overhauled its roster. Malcolm Brogdon was a key offseason signing, as was Sam Hauser (we'll touch on both of them), but the core of the rotation is the same. Payton Pritchard, the best shooter on last year's team, no longer receives regular minutes.&nbsp;
As far as passing &mdash; the Celtics hand out 275.5 passes per game, which ranks tied for 22nd in the NBA, according to Second Spectrum. They average 3.18 seconds per touch (ranked t-15th) and 2.41 dribbles per touch (ranked t-10th). So the ball isn't constantly buzzing around the court &mdash; instead, the Celtics are emphasizing purposeful ball movement with their spacing and driving.
&ldquo;We want to put pressure on the rim, we want to finish at the basket,&rdquo; Al Horford said <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/11/11/sports/celtics-set-tone-early-wire-to-wire-win-over-nuggets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after Friday's win against the Denver Nuggets</a>. &ldquo;At the same time, we have to have good spacing around [Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown] in case that doesn&rsquo;t happen. We play inside-out. We get those threes. It&rsquo;s just the way our lineups are. We have five shooters out there, so we&rsquo;re really spreading it out.&rdquo;
The success obviously starts with Jayson Tatum's career year. The 24-year-old is in the midst of his most efficient season ever, averaging a career-best 132.1 points per 100 shot attempts to power his 31.4 points per game. He's shooting 38.7% from long range and decreasing his turnover rate despite being a notoriously slow-starting player.&nbsp;
Tatum's most eye-popping statistic so far is his absurd 79% finishing rate at the rim. Most of those buckets are self-created, where he has taken yet another step forward as a decisive driver while adding hints of a floater game. However, I'd like to steer over to his assisted attempts at the basket. Tatum is 25-for-29 (86.2%) on shots within 10 feet where he held the basketball for less than two seconds. That's unsurprisingly a career-high, per PBP Stats, and it also comes on his highest frequency of attempts in the last four seasons.&nbsp;
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It is always easier to accelerate without dribbling a basketball. Boston has used that knowledge by giving Tatum off-ball screens to let him loose and having him surprise teams with delayed cuts (Adam Taylor of CelticsBlog <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2022/11/9/23448847/why-the-boston-celtics-utilized-delayed-cuts-against-the-memphis-grizzlies-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown?_gl=1*dkhxh0*" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote a nice article about those</a>). You'll also see him work as a screen-and-slipper in the above reel.
The goal is to either manufacture a driving lane for Tatum or force a switch onto a bad matchup in bad positioning. Jaden Ivey doesn't stand a chance in his effort against a speeding Tatum. Help defenders aren't even prepared to rotate in some of the other clips.
You'll notice one possession where Marcus Smart feeds a cutting Tatum out of a post-up &mdash; leading us to the next hidden offensive development.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Marcus Smart up to 48 assists and just six turnovers in his last five games. Easily the best stretch of his career on that front.
&mdash; Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrianTRobb/status/1591619131719270400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Smart's point guard wizardry has been on full display this season. Quietly, he's also become a post hub for the Celtics. According to Second Spectrum, Smart is posting up 1.6 times per game this season. That might not seem like much, but it it's actually 44th among all NBA players and second among all guards. Also, it's close to double his volume from 2021-22.&nbsp;
What's happening on those plays? In 21 total post touches, Smart has converted 6-of-8 shot attempts, passed the ball 11 times for four assists, and coughed up a single turnover. His 19.0% assist rate out of the post is third among all players with at least 10 total post-ups this season.
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Smart knows when to bully his way to the basket against weaker guards. He can then finish through them or turnaround and hit short jumpers. He's also more of a quarterback out of the post, directing cutters and disguising his true intentions, as shown when he hits Horford and Jaylen Brown for assists.&nbsp;
Speaking of Horford &mdash; his own marksmanship has made some of the spacing he spoke about particularly effective. He's taking over half of his shots from behind the arc and drilling them at a 48% clip. And, after scarcely shooting corner threes for most of his career, the 36-year-old has exploded to start the season:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Corner 3PT Frequency</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">Corner 3PT%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">2018-19 (Celtics)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">3%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">29%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">2019-20 (76ers)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">5%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">27%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">2020-21 (Thunder)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">5%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">22%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">2021-22 (Celtics)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">13%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">40%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">2022-23 (Celtics)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">27%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698433420366%;">48%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
According to PBP Stats, the Celtics lead the NBA with 13.5 three-point assists per game. Horford headlines the beneficiaries. &nbsp;
&ldquo;Mentally, I&rsquo;m getting in that mindset of I&rsquo;m shooting more threes and that&rsquo;s just what it is," Horford told Bobby Manning of <a href="https://www.clnsmedia.com/al-horford-thriving-in-shooting-role-as-celtics-offense-soars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLNS Media</a>. "The game continues to change, and for me, it&rsquo;s just trying to find a way that I can change too.&rdquo;
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Boston's five-out sets turn Horford into a lethal corner weapon. The Celtics use guard and wing screens frequently (exemplified with Smart in the first clip) that give a plus passer the space to make reads in the middle of the floor. Defenses have to collapse to some degree, which means Horford gets more space.&nbsp;
Then, you have dynamic individual drivers like Tatum, Brown and Brogdon who can fold defenses on their own and make corner kick-outs to Horford. Even Tatum's off-ball gravity pays off for Horford; look at how he makes a mid-air exta pass off of his designed play to a Horford three-pointer in the third clip.
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Horford's success is a testament to Boston's ability to create open looks for their center, as well as his own improved consistency from long range. Brogdon's addition has helped generate those chances for Horford and others.
When the Celtics acquired Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers this summer, his swing skill for the franchise was his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/news/authors/ethan-fuller?page=4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unstoppable driving prowess</a>. The trait has blended seamlessly into Boston's new-look offense. Brogdon leads the team in drives per game and is shooting a strong 53.8% on driving shot attempts. His 14.0% assist rate on drives places him eighth among 64 high-volume drives in the NBA (with at least eight drives per game).&nbsp;
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In these two examples, Brogdon draws in&nbsp;three&nbsp;Memphis Grizzlies defenders before making the appropriate kick-out. His physicality and ball control almost guarantees a paint touch. Then, he can get all the way to the basket if he has a lane, or send a pass back to the perimeter. Or option three: the Celtics continue to move well off the ball and he finds a cutter, like so:
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Malcolm Brogdon automatic paint touch ✔️ Jaylen Brown read and react cut into a lane ✔️ This is what the Celtics should love to see <a href="https://t.co/KRebKViDXE">pic.twitter.com/KRebKViDXE</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1589010044456079360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Brogdon and the rest of Boston's attacking players need perimeter threats to make a driving, swinging offense hum. Grant Williams is a surefire sharpshooter at this point, and guys like Tatum, Horford and Derrick White have also started hot. But the latter three have a streaky history and are likely to cool off.
Sam Hauser might just be legit.
The second-year forward was a two-way player for Boston who primarily spent last season with the Maine Celtics (long live the Red Claws!). The franchise expressed confidence throughout the offseason that he could make the leap, though, and he slid right into the rotation spot that would have presumably been occupied by Danilo Gallinari.&nbsp;
Hauser has silenced all doubters so far. He's hitting 45.6% of his three-pointers, good for 15th in the NBA, and has canned some spectacular difficult shots. One of the key weaknesses Boston stumbled upon in last year's playoffs was that, despite Grant Williams shooting the lights out, defenses rarely keyed in on Celtics role-players beyond the arc. No one threatened enough to pull attention from Tatum and Brown.&nbsp;
This year, Hauser can build a resume worthy of defensive attention.&nbsp;
The 24-year-old is averaging 1.54 points per possession on spot-up plays this season, which slots him seventh among 220 qualifying players. Hauser exudes confidence, barely appearing to think before he pulls the trigger (in a good way):
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He's not really a Duncan-Robinson-type who flies around screens or a Payton-Pritchard-type who steps into pull-ups. Hauser just constantly relocates and capitalizes on the space he receives while Boston's other players bend the defense. Notice how several of these attempts are open &mdash; for now, defenses still would rather contain Boston's star drivers instead of Hauser's three-ball.
That's going to change if he keeps lighting up the arc. If Hauser can remain a playable defensive piece and be enough of a threat to attack closeouts, in addition to his volume and efficiency from deep &mdash; look out. Defenses will have no choice to play the numbers game and focus more on Hauser, and that will in turn make driving the ball easier for the Celtics.
Boston ultimately has so many critical offensive developments compounding on top of each other. The Celtics' juggernaut vibe exists because the players recognize each other's strengths and have learned how to reverberate off each other. It's still very, very early; defenses will build up a film database and send counters, and the true test for this team will be how it adapts throughout the year.&nbsp;
But a hot start under a new coach is always welcome, and the stampede of complementary successes makes this Celtics offense appear built for the long haul.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>I barely even mentioned Grant Williams! He deserves a shout-out because he is averaging a ludicrous 155.7 points per shot attempt, according to Cleaning the Glass. That's the best mark among 229 NBA players who have logged at least 200 minutes this season.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Yesterday, we ran a stats-based check-in with our followers on Twitter, offering up neat numbers for players who have not received enough love this year. Here are two highlights:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Romeo Langford is crushing it in the short mid-range 🔥 He&rsquo;s taken 28% of his shots there and made 62% of them. Both rank in the top 10% among wings, per Cleaning the Glass. <a href="https://t.co/Jp2csrcbnB">https://t.co/Jp2csrcbnB</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1591442747948515329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2022</a></blockquote>

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46 NBA players have self-created over 50 shots within 10 feet of the basket, per PBP Stats. De&rsquo;Aaron Fox is the only one making more than 70% of those attempts 😳 <a href="https://t.co/0mrPzObsVl">https://t.co/0mrPzObsVl</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1591443447755726849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Check out <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-the-sun-is-still-rising-on-anfernee-simons-portland-trail-blazers-damian-lillard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last week's NBA Stats Notebook about Anfernee Simons' hot start</a>!&nbsp;

Ethan Fuller breaks down some of the statistics behind the Boston Celtics' league-leading offense.

NBA Stats Notebook: A deep dive into the Celtics' dominant offense

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Amir &ldquo;Primo&rdquo; Spears scored 28 points, Bryson Mozone added seven in overtime and Georgetown knocked off Coppin State 99-89 on Tuesday night to snap a 21-game losing streak.
Coppin State&rsquo;s Nendah Tarke put up a potential game-tying 3 with four seconds left in regulation. But the rebound went long to teammate Mike Hood, who then drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime tied 83-83.
In the extra session, Georgetown struck first before Hood tied the score with a pair of free throws. The Hoyas scored six straight before a Tarke layup cut it to 91-87. Georgetown put the game away with consecutive 3s from Akok Akok and Mozone.
Spears was 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and hit 7 of 9 free throws. Mozone scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Akok had 18 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double and blocked five shots.
Justin Steers led the Eagles (0-2) with a career-high 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Tarke added 17 points, six rebounds and four steals. Sam Sessoms had 16 points, 10 assists and four steals.
NEXT UP
Georgetown hosts Green Bay on Saturday. Coppin State is at home against Mount St. Mary&rsquo;s on Friday.&nbsp;

Primo Spears scored 28, Bryson Mozone added 7 in OT and the Hoyas knocked off Coppin State to snap a 21-game losing streak.

Georgetown snaps 21-game skid, beats Coppin St. 99-89 in OT

At this time last year, Marcus Smart's impending debut as full-time starting point guard for the Boston Celtics was one of the top storylines for a team entering a transitional season.
Now, it's hardly a storyline at all.
Smart emphatically answered the bell last year, helping steer the Celtics to an NBA Finals appearance. He obviously shined on defense, becoming the first guard to win Defensive Player of the Year since Gary Payton way back in 1996. But he also silenced most of the critics on offense with a steady, impactful season as Boston's floor general.
According to Cleaning the Glass, Smart logged 51% of his minutes at point guard, nearly doubling any other previous season in his career. Boston outscored teams by 13.7 points per 100 possessions in those minutes, putting Smart in the 99th percentile at his position. Positional estimates are always murky, but both CTG and Basketball-Reference claim Smart effectively doubled his time at the 1 with a tremendous payoff. He averaged a career-high in touches per game (65.2) and saw it spike in the playoffs (78.0), per Second Spectrum.
As the season progressed and the Celtics started winning, the chatter turned from Smart's trade value to his on-court value within his team's system. Jackson Frank highlighted for Basketball News <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/marcus-smarts-versatile-playmaking-has-proven-vital-to-the-celtics-offensive-resurgence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how Smart fueled Boston's second-half turnaround with his playmaking</a> and his pairing with Jayson Tatum. When Malcolm Brogdon joined the franchise this summer, he quickly said that he would happily come off the bench &mdash; meaning Smart stays entrenched at the point.
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Smart enters his ninth NBA season at 28 years old. He's likely reached his athletic peak, but at the same time, he has just one full season of experience in his role despite being the longest-tenured Celtic. Is there room for him to keep growing at this point, and if so, what does that look like?
I <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/all-signs-pointing-to-marcus-smart-as-the-celtics-swing-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wondered similarly</a> entering the 2021-22 season. Perhaps my biggest question mark for Smart was how he could effectively pressure the basket as a scorer to complement his innate talent as a drive-and-kick passer. Smart had never been a particularly efficient finisher before last season, and he wasn't exactly a slasher.&nbsp;
In 2021-22, that changed &mdash; sort of. Smart took 23% of his shots at the rim, per Cleaning the Glass, which was about league average for his listed position as a "combo guard" and a slight uptick from recent seasons. He made 63% of those shots in the regular season, though, which was a 14% increase from 2020-21 and the second-best rate of his entire career.&nbsp;
Then, the playoffs happened. Smart still got to the rim at a similar rate, but his efficiency plummeted all the way down to 51%. Boston in general got stonewalled at the rim, as the team ran into tougher defenses in each progressive postseason series.
The positive side of Smart's attacks was that, from my eye test, he relied less on brute strength and more on craft last regular season. That's something I noted and hoped he would improve upon. He mixed in some unique finishes and showed off a bit more pace-changing chops than I anticipated:
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But then, as driving lanes started to clog up in the postseason, he started to sink a little more towards the straight-line drives and bully-ball shots. The Warriors, in particular, had some awesome help defense that thwarted some of the advantages Smart created. Fatigue from a long, physical playoff run probably didn't help.
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Overall, though, Smart showed he could make strides as a crafty inside scorer. He also created more of these shots himself in his new role at the 1. And with continued development, he should get even better:
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Marcus Smart dramatically asserted himself as a driver last year. He self-created his highest frequency of at-rim shots ever and you can see there was a clear, concerted effort to get to the rim vs. prior seasons. This plus the next chart are both very positive developments <a href="https://t.co/VxA5F904W1">pic.twitter.com/VxA5F904W1</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1554176213027094529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Smart's increase in self-created shots at the rim aligned with a decrease in self-created threes (shown in the Twitter thread), which is a fantastic redistribution of shots. But there's something else that's quietly interesting: He also took more "short mid-range" looks than ever before. According to Cleaning the Glass, 26% of Smart's field goal attempts came between 4-to-14 feet from the basket &mdash; by far a career-high &mdash; and he made those at a solid 45% clip.
Some of these shots are short mid-range jumpers, but many are floaters. InStat Scouting says Smart hit 45.6% of his floater shots last season. Smart embraces contact, but he also knows how to use a bump to create space, and as shown in the last clip below, he can even mix in some off-hand shots:
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Using the short-mid-range area gives Smart some extra space to add onto however he pressures the rim. It also challenges the defense with another pressure point, which further opens up the outlet pass. The payoff looks like this, from Boston's first preseason game on Sunday:
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Fun little play that you think is just going to be a Smart-Al two-man thing, but Smart creates this window with a ball fake and lasers one to Derrick White, then extra pass, Brogdon for 3 <a href="https://t.co/iuHYtG80hk">pic.twitter.com/iuHYtG80hk</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1577024804095291394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Smart works off a side pick-and-roll with Al Horford, and Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards plays a little bit further up in his drop coverage, making Smart's effort to drive to the rim or shoot a floater more difficult. That means Horford has a lane to roll to the basket, which is what PJ Washington is trying to negate by coming over from the weak side. But that&nbsp;leaves Charlotte vulnerable to a corner kick to Derrick White, which Smart opens up with a nifty ball-fake and pass. One more extra dish and Brogdon gets a three-pointer.
This type of pass comes about because Smart challenges defenses with his driving and scoring. He's already one of the better passers in the entire league. (I won't bog this story down by re-hashing that point, but if you have an issue, I can show why it's true.) Threatening as a driving scorer will only create more windows for Smart to maximize so his teammates can reap the rewards.
The last wrinkle in a potential next step from Smart would be how he is used without the ball.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-23-nba-season-preview-atlantic-division-boston-celtics-brooklyn-nets-new-york-knicks-philadelphia-76ers-sixers-toronto-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to our own Nekias Duncan</a>:
<blockquote>
The Celtics generated 0.992 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Smart-led ball-screen &mdash; a mark that ranked 22nd among 62 high-volume pick-and-roll players (min. 1,000 picks), and one that placed him ahead of names like Darius Garland (0.987), Damian Lillard (0.978) and Ja Morant (0.972). Those ball-screens were more dangerous when Smart set the pick (1.04 PPP), a top-10 mark in the NBA.
</blockquote>
That last sentence piqued my interest.&nbsp;
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Boston tried Smart as a screener a decent amount last season and went to it a few times in the Finals. The Golden State Warriors often switched on the screens, so this play helped get Tatum a perceived mismatch against Stephen Curry (for the record, though, Curry did a great job of defending in this series). If the screen went how Boston wanted, Tatum could go to work. Or, Smart could slip the screen or roll, and Boston could find him open in the middle of the half-court. Then, he could drive or pass, where, as explained, he can truly be a threat.
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New head coach Joe Mazzulla tried this a couple of times in the first preseason game, but didn't get much traction. This is something I'm definitely going to watch for against the Toronto Raptors, who are a tough, switchable defense, as well as in games where Boston could generate a mismatch for Tatum.&nbsp;
Marcus Smart's offensive game is versatile enough to where he can set Boston's stars up for success while also putting together some highlights in his own right. Now, it's about sharpening enough blades that defenses don't know how he'll hurt them on any given possession.

Marcus Smart's first year as Boston's starting point guard provided a solid foundation for growth in 2022-23. Ethan Fuller writes.

What we could see in Marcus Smart's second year as Celtics point guard

In the NBA, getting ahead of the trend when it comes to teams on the rise is a tricky process. However, sometimes it&rsquo;s easy to spot the obvious candidates who have oodles of potential for a massive jump. Recently, we&rsquo;ve seen teams like the Phoenix Suns go from perennial lottery team to instant Finals gratification. The Memphis Grizzlies are another strong example where a talented nucleus formed together, ultimately leading to an expedited rebuild process.
Here at Basketball News, I will unveil a few teams leading into the season who stand out from the rest. First is the upstart New Orleans Pelicans, who appear finally ready to break through the glass ceiling as a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.
When the Pelicans pushed the Suns in the first round of the postseason, it certainly opened a lot of eyes, myself included, for what could be coming down the Bayou. All of this occurred without their most important piece to the puzzle: Zion Williamson. With Williamson now expected to be fully healthy at the start of next season, New Orleans&rsquo; rotation doesn&rsquo;t have many holes on paper.
Starting Lineup: CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, Jonas Valanciunas
Second Unit: Jose Alvarado, Dyson Daniels, Trey Murphy III, Larry Nance Jr., Jaxson Hayes
The ideal blend of win-now veterans and enticing youth weave together for head coach Willie Green, who helped steer the ship when it mattered most in New Orleans&rsquo; improbable run to the playoffs without their young superstar. Now, in his second season at the helm, Green and the Pelicans top the list for organizations ready to truly ascend forward.
One of the biggest pivot points for the Pelicans was their acquisition of McCollum, who looks at ease running the show offensively. Playing more as a combo guard compared to exclusively off-ball in Portland, McCollum thrived. He amassed a career-high 24.3 points and 5.8 assists per game. In 386 regular season minutes, the two-man lineup of McCollum and Ingram averaged a blistering 116.9 points per 100 possessions. Not only should that number take potentially another step forward in 2022-23, but Williamson's presence can also make this entire roster better overnight.
Before Williamson&rsquo;s offseason foot surgery caused a season-long setback &mdash; one that Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin said would originally have him back soon after the 82-game schedule began &mdash; the former Duke Blue Devil was beginning to truly dominate as an offensive engine.
Williamson acted as Pelicans&rsquo; lead playmaker bringing the ball up the court, running sets for himself and others under former head coach Stan Van Gundy while also being a one-man wrecking crew, averaging 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 0.9 steals in 33.2 minutes per contest.
There have been no indications that Williamson&rsquo;s foot remains an issue in New Orleans, so throwing him back into the mix alongside McCollum and Ingram will certainly become a scary sight for opposing teams. Allowing McCollum to fall into the third option for the Pelicans&rsquo; new-look attack should greatly benefit all parties.
Speaking of Ingram &mdash;remember how he seized the moment during his first postseason appearance, almost willing the No. 8 seed Pelicans over Phoenix? Before falling in six games, Ingram put the Association on notice for what should be the next step of his own blossoming career. The lanky wing averaged 27.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists on an impressive 58.2% True Shooting percentage.
We&rsquo;ve already witnessed Ingram&rsquo;s first All-Star berth, but could a potential Pelicans&rsquo; rise finally lead to some All-NBA consideration? Honestly, it wouldn&rsquo;t be a shock once April 2023 rolls around.
The three-headed monster of Williamson, Ingram and McCollum speaks for why New Orleans qualifies as a top candidate for a serious leap forward. The ancillary pieces on this roster fit smoothly into the mix as well.
Herb Jones quickly turned into one of the NBA&rsquo;s most versatile defenders as a rookie. Jose Alvarado, an undrafted rookie, also showcased a never-say-die attitude that quickly won him valuable rotation minutes, which should only increase during his second go-around.
Trey Murphy III is another intriguing long-term piece for New Orleans, because wings who can shoot from distance at an above-average clip are among the most coveted archetypes in the modern NBA. Murphy recently dove into his growth last season <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trey-murphy-iii-wants-to-announce-presence-new-orleans-pelicans-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with our own Ethan Fuller</a> and laid out what should be another important developmental year in 2022-23.
The over/under win total projection in Las Vegas for the Pelicans sits at 44.5, which feels like an easy wager to lay. Williamson&rsquo;s health will obviously be a huge question looming for New Orleans now and in the future, but last season showed this team is on the cusp even without their most important piece. Ingram is a bonafide All-Star-caliber player who will only continue to grow entering (incredibly) his age-25 season. McCollum continues the next phase of his career in arguably his best spot yet, deferring to the young stars and finding his spots at the most efficient parts of the floor.
And how could we not talk about the plethora of assets the Pelicans sit on following the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades? Ingram is a centerpiece to their vision from the Lakers, but they remain in an advantageous position whenever the next disgruntled superstar wants out.
All of the following picks from Los Angeles and Milwaukee are still heading their way, which still provides ample ammunition for the next few years: 2023 first-round swap rights (via Lakers), 2024 unprotected first-round pick with defer rights to 2025 (via Lakers), 2024 swap rights (via Bucks), 2025 unprotected first-round pick (via Bucks), 2026 swap rights (via Bucks), 2027 unprotected first-round pick (via Bucks). Who wouldn&rsquo;t at least consider playing in New Orleans with this core, especially if Williamson bounces back into premier form?
Everything on the table right now in New Orleans is simmering like a tasty shrimp gumbo. Now, all that needs to happen is internal improvement and health cooperating along the way. Similarly to the Suns and Grizzlies from years prior, the Pelicans are an odds-on favorite to surprise everyone in just a few months.

Zion Williamson's return should add a serious boost to a Pelicans team that turned heads last season.

With a deep roster, the New Orleans Pelicans can surprise everyone

Will Hardy knew some of the inner workings of the Utah Jazz before being named the league's youngest current head coach.
Sure, it was in 2009, and he was just an intern.
Ahead of his final year at Williams College, he put in eight weeks in the business operations department, spending his mornings with the Jazz, afternoons helping the Salt Lake Bees &mdash; a Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels &mdash; and evenings at the gym rehabbing from hip surgery.
One of Hardy&rsquo;s initial assignments was to give tours of Vivint Arena, a building he had never entered before his internship. That didn&rsquo;t hold him back &mdash; and his ability to adapt on the fly could now serve the Jazz well.
&ldquo;Those (tours) were adventurous for sure,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;I was kind of learning the building as I went.&rdquo;
Utah introduced Hardy as its coach Tuesday. The 34-year-old, who was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, will steer the ship as the team sails into a rebuilding process with All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell as the cornerstone.
The change began when Quin Snyder stepped down in June after eight seasons, followed by trades that sent away three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Royce O&rsquo;Neale and brought in Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley. The team also collected an assortment of first-round NBA draft picks to use as building blocks.
Hardy is ready to embrace whatever direction Jazz CEO Danny Ainge and GM Justin Zanik decide to take.
&ldquo;I trust Danny and Justin,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;Their track record and their history speaks for itself. But they&rsquo;ve been really open and communicative with me and collaborative throughout the process.&rdquo;
Hardy&rsquo;s coaching philosophy won Ainge and Zanik over during the interview process. Ainge said they put him through exercises to learn his approach to everything from scouting reports to player development plans.
&ldquo;Yeah, he&rsquo;s 34 years old, but he didn&rsquo;t feel 34 to us and we didn&rsquo;t really pay much attention to that,&rdquo; said Ainge, whom Hardy impressed with his basketball acumen. &ldquo;He just seemed very mature, very prepared &hellip; many times in his answers, he spoke my language.&rdquo;
Hardy beat out veteran NBA coaches Frank Vogel and Terry Stotts for the job during an extensive process that included final interviews with team owner Ryan Smith and minority owner Dwyane Wade.
&ldquo;It seemed like after the few stages we went through that Will was our guy and we couldn&rsquo;t be more excited,&rdquo; Ainge said.
Another thing that caught Ainge's eye: Hardy&rsquo;s commitment to frequent practices, because, to him, repetition is a core element. But it doesn't have to be the traditional 90 minutes, Hardy said.
&ldquo;We need to reframe that a little bit. Practice can be 30 minutes. The middle of the season can be hard. The schedule is grueling. ... But I think in order to build habits and to know what doing it right feels like, you need to do it full speed," Hardy said.
Hardy has some, if limited, coaching experience with a few players currently on the Jazz roster. He was an assistant on Gregg Popovich&rsquo;s staff when Rudy Gay played with the Spurs from 2017 to 2021 and helped with Team USA &mdash; for which Mitchell played &mdash; during the 2019 Basketball World Cup.
Hardy knows he needs to get the team back on track after chemistry issues caused Utah to unravel late last season.
&ldquo;Toughness, sacrifice, and passion are the three things that are most important to me,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;I want our group to be deeply competitive and able to deal with adversity. I would like everybody to recognize that this is bigger than them individually. Everybody is going to have to get out of their comfort zone a little bit as we move forward.&rdquo;

The 34-year-old Hardy, who was an assistant coach with the Celtics, will steer the ship as the team sails into a rebuilding process.

Will Hardy ready to rebuild Jazz as NBA's youngest head coach

Listen to your coaches, kids.&nbsp;
Even if you disagree with them, it may get you to the doorstep of your dreams.&nbsp;
Don&rsquo;t believe that? Maybe Colorado State forward David Roddy, who&rsquo;s just two days away from becoming an NBA pro, can persuade you.
&ldquo;Ever since I got to Colorado State, I was kind of annoyed with how much they wanted me in the post just 'cause I knew that one day I'd have to be a guard,&rdquo; Roddy told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;But we pretty much had the best of both worlds. Actually, halfway through my freshman year, we started working on those mid-post work and footwork and everything, and we've been working on that literally every day for three years. Now, it's just muscle memory and I don't even have to think about my reactions or my moves.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So it's something that I initially hesitated with, but now, it's got me to [two] days away from draft day. It's a crazy, crazy story, and it's just been fun to keep getting better at that and using that as a tool. Coaches were right."
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We hear it every year, but Roddy truly is one of the most uniquely built, imposing and talented prospects in this upcoming 2022 NBA Draft. How many players do you see with a 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame in basketball? Even if you have that answer, you can probably count on one hand how many of them bring the blend of talent he does.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think I can use my build to have a lot of versatility. I can stretch the floor and I can guard small forwards, and I can also guard the bigger power forwards in the league. My defensive versatility is something that is there and has the potential to be really good and really impactful for a team, as well as my offensive threat as well,&rdquo; Roddy said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm not really pinpointed into a certain role. I can do many, many roles at a decent pace right now, and I think that's something that's special about my game, and I'm super excited just to explore that within my career. Starting from a small role into just furthering my game and expanding my role, I think that's something that's very exciting."
Taking it to the tape, Roddy reveals that he&rsquo;s studying much of Grant Williams&rsquo; game. He points to the Boston Celtic forward&rsquo;s similar build, his 3-and-D prowess, his ability to knock down big shots and his success guarding 1-through-5 as similarities and things that Roddy can do in order to get on the court during his first couple of years in the NBA.
BasketballNews' Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock has Roddy going to the Denver Nuggets at No. 30 in his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-mock-draft-jabari-smith-chet-holmgren-jaden-ivey-paolo-banchero-magic-rockets-thunder-pistons-jaden-ivey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>:
<blockquote>
Despite not being heavily recruited out of high school, David Roddy far exceeded expectations while at Colorado State. Roddy possesses brute strength, a high basketball IQ and three-level scoring abilities. He also has tremendous vision, creativity, and a terrific feel for the game.
</blockquote>
"You should draft me because I have a great professional mindset,&rdquo; Roddy said in an elevator pitch. &ldquo;You'll never have to worry about me off the court. I'm an unselfish guy and a guy that can do any specific role that you need. Very versatile, fun guy to be around, and always have a positive attitude."
Roddy began his pre-draft process in April, electing to forego his senior season and take his chances at getting to the next level. After a shift of scenery (leaving Fort Collins, Colorado to train in Phoenix with Octagon and Phil Beckner, as well as in Dallas with Tyler Relph), he&rsquo;s gone through 15-plus workouts with teams around the NBA. Roddy feels that each session since declaring has gone better than the next, and he&rsquo;s continued to gain a greater understanding of the mental approach needed in the professional ranks.
Earlier this week, Roddy finished his pre-draft workout schedule with a visit to Boston. When asked which workouts stood out the most, Memphis and Cleveland came to mind.
&ldquo;Just overall, I shot it extremely well and competed well," Roddy said. "There really isn't one (in particular performance-wise), but I think metric-wise and measurements and score-wise, I would say Cleveland would be my best."
Roddy&rsquo;s feedback from the teams he&rsquo;s worked out for has been "pretty positive."
&ldquo;Just keep improving your game, keep trying to get in better shape as well. I think that's the biggest adjustment between the NBA and college, as well as just my defensive versatility. Just continue to get better,&rdquo; Roddy said of what he's been told. &ldquo;Defending off the ball and on the ball. There's a bunch of bigger, faster, stronger athletes. Adjusting to that, as well as just keep on shooting and keep on honing basically your all-around game.&rdquo;
Choosing to go west instead of staying local in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Breck School alum trusted the visions of head coach Niko Medved and Dave Thorson. The Colorado State staff heavily recruited the three-sport athlete Roddy daily, and it also helped that they were coincidentally from his home state.
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Year-by-year growth and improvement were the overlying themes of Roddy&rsquo;s experience with the Rams. From learning the ropes as a freshman and becoming a high-usage player over the following two-and-a-half seasons to helping steer Colorado State to the school&rsquo;s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, he&rsquo;s grateful for what he and the team were able to accomplish.
&ldquo;Man, I think (it was) one of my biggest achievements, one of the team's biggest achievements as well. We just had such a fun year,&rdquo; Roddy said. &ldquo;It's just so many lifelong memories that we made over this last season that, we'll come back 10 years from now and always talk about the Virgin Islands tournament or the big games that we were in, or even the little things. The team meals, the UNO games after our snack at night and how competitive they were.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So many fun experiences we had over this year, and it was a really special year, so I can't take that for granted... I grew and improved in pretty much every aspect of my life (in those three seasons)... My coaches have helped me both on the court and off the court just to be a better person and a better leader. On the court, my teammates, they pushed me so much to be one of the most competitive groups that I've been with, as well as to just enjoy the moment. I think there's just so many things that I've learned that I can take into my professional career that we've been working on every day. And so, I'm just super, super grateful for everybody who's been along with me through this journey.&rdquo;
Roddy finished strong with the Rams, producing 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest on a sizzling 64.5% True Shooting percentage as a junior. The dominant campaign earned him Mountain West Player of the Year and a second consecutive All-MWC First Team honor.
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Though he makes his money as a terrific back-to-the-basket and face-up player closer to the basket, the strides that he made with his three-point shot pop off the stat page. Vaulting from 19.5% to 27.8% to a legitimate 43.8% perimeter marksman in college is nothing to understate.
In fact, Roddy deposited a career-high 7 triples in a career-best 36-point winning effort against Creighton last November, and drilled 4 each in three other games after not making more than 3 in a single contest in the two seasons previously.
&ldquo;I would say a ton of reps, a ton of self-reflection and allowing yourself to fail as well,&rdquo; Roddy said of the drastic improvement. &ldquo;I think that's something that not a lot of people can handle, I would say. It's a really rough adjustment period to say to yourself, 'Okay, hey, I really need to work on this. Let's make a routine or a practice that can help me develop in those ways.' But for me, it was just mental confidence as well.
&ldquo;I trusted the work, and having big games where I made a lot of threes my junior year kinda gave me a sigh of relief. After that, I really just had fun and started just shooting 'cause I knew I could."
Despite being a go-to guy in Fort Collins, Roddy often displayed what he could outside of scoring with great impact, something that he&rsquo;ll need to do in the pros to find floor time early. He believes those intangibles can translate to the NBA on a consistent basis.
&ldquo;I think that's something that's special about my game and something that's starting to be noticed even more is that I can kinda make those glue-guy plays,&rdquo; Roddy said. &ldquo;I love getting my teammates open; it helps the team. I can get rebounds as well as make the right play &mdash; making the one-more pass, making the great screen and certain Xs-and-Os plays or ATOs.&rdquo;
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Part of what makes Roddy&rsquo;s skill set so distinctive is that he&rsquo;s applied what he&rsquo;s learned from the football and track programs he participated in at Breck. He was an All-State quarterback and a discus champion at the Class-A level, and if it weren&rsquo;t for the close-knit recruiting process and seamless relationship-building he found with basketball vs. the numbers game on the gridiron, who knows if he&rsquo;d still be throwing the pigskin?&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s in the past now, but he&rsquo;s thankful for the experiences those other sports gave him.
&ldquo;Football is something that is near and dear to my heart. I still love football kinda the same way I love basketball. I think the physicality is the biggest thing &mdash; not being afraid of contact, not being afraid of bigger guys,&rdquo; Roddy said. &ldquo;I think that's first and foremost what really helps me on the court, as well as being a quarterback. Kinda understanding defensive schemes, and reading a defense is something that's very important in football. And so, I just kinda carry that over with my passing ability in basketball. I love to get guys open and love to make them look good, so I think that's something that's a part of my game that sometimes is underappreciated, but is something that I am definitely willing to do at the beginning of my career as well.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screenshot-2022-06-21-at-18-32-27-9fa41c79-b9a3-4d00-9f42-389010f45919-20180831_columbia_hts_breck-8774-jpg-webp-image-1320-992-pixels-scaled-81__690w.png" alt="" width="736" height="368" />
&ldquo;Track is a unique sport because it's so individual, and so you really have to push yourself, and it's really technical as well. So I bring that to basketball to master my form of shooting, master footwork and how important balance is and everything. So those two work hand-in-hand with track and basketball, and man, I definitely loved and learned a lot from track."
The youngest of five boys in the family, Roddy&rsquo;s brothers and his father, Pierre Sr., will undoubtedly have their eyes glued to the television on Thursday evening. David, though, says his mother Darcy has become his strongest support system throughout this journey.
&ldquo;She's just helped me so much over the past year-and-a-half, becoming just a better man and just a better basketball player as well,&rdquo; Roddy said. &ldquo;She just kept me along with my faith and is super, super helpful in teaching me things about scripture and keeping my confidence up as well.&rdquo;
Outside of the family, it&rsquo;s been Colorado State assistant and former March Madness and Northern Iowa hero Ali Farokhmanesh.
&ldquo;He's pretty much my big brother and mentor," Roddy said of Farokhmanesh. "For him, it's really exciting to have one of his guys go through this process, and I'm just trying to relay all the messages to him as much as possible."
Taking it day by day, it hasn&rsquo;t quite hit Roddy yet that he&rsquo;s going to be an NBA pro in a little over 48 hours. He&rsquo;s admittedly had tunnel vision since declaring.
But the pre-draft process is over now. It&rsquo;s time to look around and appreciate what those long hours in the gym have led to.
&ldquo;It's been a long journey, but time has been flying, so I really have enjoyed it and learned a lot,&rdquo; Roddy said. &ldquo;As soon as I lift my head up, it'll be draft night, and that's gonna be crazy."
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Spencer Davies speaks with Colorado State standout David Roddy about his impressive season, his three-sport background and more.

David Roddy keys in on NBA glue-guy role after Colorado State breakout

During the first three quarters of Wednesday's Game 5 between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, I had already outlined today's column in my head. The Bucks have boasted some of the worst offensive numbers this postseason, they looked miserable again in Game 5, and, unless something changed, their second-round exit would be a foregone conclusion.&nbsp;
And then, the fourth quarter happened &mdash; or more specifically, the last 10 minutes changed the course of the series and this article.
Milwaukee trailed 93-79 and scored 31 points in 10 minutes &mdash; more than any other full quarter this game &mdash; to stun the TD Garden crowd and break the series tie in a 110-107 thriller. The cumulative 33 points in the fourth quarter is the second-highest total the Bucks have managed in any frame this series.
Jrue Holiday's late-game defensive wizardry became the signature moment of the night, and the Celtics' offensive meltdown drew the ire of its fan base on social media. But the "coming back" part of the comeback, in which Milwaukee altered its offensive narrative, was overshadowed. So let's spolight it.
For some context, the Bucks' offense has been&nbsp;dreadful&nbsp;most of this series. This was the half-court state of affairs entering Game 5:&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Milwaukee Bucks are averaging just 84.1 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt this series, per Cleaning the Glass. That&rsquo;s the lowest of any 2nd round team and is far below any rate posted in the regular season.
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1524044083563487235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The Bucks could only generate momentum in transition, where they sprinted all over the Celtics to the tune of 142.3 points per 100 possessions. Several viewers, including Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-dunker-spot/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-103-second-round-check-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot</a>, lamented the Bucks' tendency to find an offensive advantage and promptly forget to utilize it. And while I don't feel fully confident that they've put such woes behind them, Wednesday night provided a potential blueprint for offensive success.
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The surge begins on this play, where Milwaukee consistently creates advantages with constant movement. You can see that the Celtics have prioritized containing the paint and are shading off of both corners. The Bucks only need one screen to keep the defense in rotation, and no one stops moving after the pass. By the time Holiday attacks Al Horford's closeout, he could pass to any teammate and find an open shooter.
Pat Connaughton has been lights-out in this series, making 48.0% of his 5 three-point attempts per game. He can shoot the ball from a bizarre load point well above his head when he needs to, but he's also explosive enough to attack closeouts and make defenders pay, as he did in the above possession.
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Here's another play where off-ball activity from Wes Matthews results in Connaughton getting a three-pointer from a handoff. Matthews cuts into the paint, and Grant Williams and Horford both prioritize his cut over Connaughton's spacing. They don't communicate on a potential switch, and it leads to a late chase from Williams.&nbsp;
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Exhibit C: Holiday steers toward the painted area and the Celtics collapse off of the corners. This time, it's Matthews reaping the rewards as Holiday hits him for an open three. At this point, you're starting to see the pattern. The Bucks went 6 of 6 from long range in total, but these moments in particular hint at a weakness in the Celtics' defense. When the Bucks found the corners and moved the ball too quickly for Boston to communicate, they found open looks.
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One more clip. This one is a miss, but it's undoubtedly a high-quality shot from Bobby Portis. He gets the open layup because the Bucks have gone completely five-out. Portis ghosts (or slips, depends on your judgement) the screen and cuts right to the basket. It catches Horford off-guard for a split second as he anticipates a switch. Connaughton feeds Portis, and he can then either lay the ball up or make the extra pass to Matthews in the corner.
The Bucks went with two notable lineups to fuel this comeback. First, it was Holiday-Connaughton-Matthews-Allen-Giannis Antetokounmpo. Then, Portis checked in for Allen and that remained the unit for essentially the rest of the game. Brook Lopez did not play in the fourth quarter. George Hill played one minute and 52 seconds. The lineups matched smaller Celtics units and allowed the Bucks to play faster on offense with more driving threats.
Portis particularly proved pivotal. He simply feasted on the glass against the smaller Celtics in that fourth quarter. Milwaukee outnumbered Boston 7 to 1 on the offensive glass in the fourth quarter. Portis grabbed 4 himself &mdash; including the game-swinging missed free throw &mdash; and had more offensive rebounds (7) than the Celtics (5) in all of Game 5.&nbsp;
Collectively, the Bucks seem to have struck some type of gemstone. They'll either continue to have corner opportunities, or they'll force Boston to respect the space, allowing more driving and cutting chances for Antetokounmpo and others. They also capitalized on the toll of communicating in a switch-heavy scheme, and used their size to their advantage. However, Milwaukee isn't running home free.
Holiday remains the ultimate offensive swing player in this series. He came up with some stone-cold shots late in the game that masked another sketchy night where he scored 24 points on 24 attempts. It's been a brutal series on the scoring front.
Holiday has shot just 32.6% from the floor when driving to the basket in the second round, which is extremely poor. He's making 34.5% of his pull-up shot attempts with a 41.4% Effective Field Goal percentage. Holiday is one of 23 players with over 20 total possessions in isolation this postseason, per Synergy; his mark of 0.65 points per possession ranks 20th among those players. He's drawn criticism on some of Milwaukee's gunky plays that end with low-quality pull-up attempts. We'll see what adjustments he makes in Game 6.
The Celtics also missed Robert Williams III for second straight game due to knee soreness, which dramatically changed the equation and allowed the Bucks to play with the small lineup they had. What happens when he returns and adds stability on the glass and as a rim-protector?&nbsp;
Even after last night's victory, Milwaukee still ranks last among second-round teams in passes (232) and potential assists (33) per game. That doesn't have to be a negative, but it does reinforce our eye test that too many possessions have involved rushing into an Antetokounmpo or Holiday drive without utilizing the space on the court.&nbsp;
The battle to force defensive adjustments has been the most captivating aspect of this series to me. Just a week ago, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-theres-a-3point-standoff-between-the-celtics-and-bucks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I wrote</a> about how Boston's shooters are forcing the Bucks into tough decisions. Now, the script has flipped to the other side of the court, and with the series now in elimination mode, the stakes only grow.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Synergy was cooking up some phenomenal information this week. Here's a look at some of the second round's most efficient scorers entering last night's action:</li>
</ul>
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The most efficient offensive players in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a>: <a href="https://t.co/bDTcrD2NSv">pic.twitter.com/bDTcrD2NSv</a>
&mdash; Synergy Basketball (@SynergySST) <a href="https://twitter.com/SynergySST/status/1524041599642124289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Here's another one that joins the widespread exploration of shot quality and quantifying playmaking:</li>
</ul>
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We used Synergy&rsquo;s new Shot Quality metric to find out which NBA players make their teammates&rsquo; shots easier and which make their opponents&rsquo; shots more difficult.<a href="https://t.co/u3JvOM6pJ1">https://t.co/u3JvOM6pJ1</a> <a href="https://t.co/A8bXBZExyX">pic.twitter.com/A8bXBZExyX</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1524774322367201281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>These numbers may have changed slightly after Wednesday night, but let's give Wes Matthews more love, courtesy of our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/wes-matthews-twoway-play-deserves-your-attention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nekias Duncan and his piece on the veteran's two-way versatility.</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Matthews has defended 195 on-ball picks &mdash; the fifth-highest mark of the postseason. He's one of 21 players to defend at least 100 of them. Of those 21 players, only two &mdash; Marcus Smart (119, 0.72 PPP) and Jae Crowder (115, 0.75 PPP) have allowed fewer points per possession on direct plays than Matthews (0.85 PPP).
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The Bucks have struggled on offense in the second round, but Game 5 may hint at a turnaround.

NBA Stats Notebook: What did the Bucks find on offense in Game 5?

Yeah, the Minnesota Timberwolves' repeated shipwreckings in the first round might be tough to swallow for the next month. However, the blown leads and Karl-Anthony Towns trash talk undermine what was, in my estimation, one of the most promising seasons in recent franchise history.
Minnesota has made the playoffs twice since 2004. The only other time was a whimper of a first-round exit in 2018 that foreshadowed the collapse of a Jimmy Butler-led, Tom Thibodeau-coached roster. This season, Minnesota constructed a top-10 defense with the league's seventh-youngest roster, per RealGM, and went 30-17 in the 2022 calendar year.
Make no mistake: This franchise is on a positive trajectory, and is finally turning potential into production. Now, Minnesota has to make one of the most difficult leaps in basketball &mdash; going from a winning team to a true contender &mdash; at a time where the NBA wields some of the widest parity in recent memory.
The 2022 offseason can be a pivotal building block towards that leap. First, the franchise needs to secure its chief decision-maker.
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Sachin Gupta assumed interim duties as president of basketball operations following Gersson Rosas' departure last fall. The Wolves made all of five in-season acquisitions under his tenure (three of which were 10-day signings), and executed zero trades. It was a quiet season on paper for the creator of ESPN's Trade Machine.&nbsp;
According to the <a href="https://www.startribune.com/timberwolves-sachin-gupta-chris-finch/600169496/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minneapolis Star Tribune</a>, Gupta seems prepared to navigate the Timberwolves through the summer, though the franchise has not made any move towards announcing a permanent head of operations yet. Wolves head coach Chris Finch has voiced his support for Gupta.
"They know my feelings about Sach," Finch said. "They know that I think he's outstanding and he's been a huge reason that we have stability in this organization right now. He's very smart. We have complete alignment. The players love him. He's appropriate in his presence around the team. He's not heavy-handed with the coaching staff. He does his job.
"I'm a huge fan, and I've advocated for him to have his opportunity to be the guy to run this team. Nothing would make me happier than that."
So time will tell if the new ownership group, currently including Glen Taylor, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, feel the same.
Minnesota has most of its current roster contractually intact. The team holds $1.9 million team options on 2019 second round pick Jaylen Nowell and undrafted Naz Reid, who have both emerged as quality rotation-caliber players. Perhaps the biggest free agent name is Taurean Prince (UFA), who solidified a solid floor-spacing role off the bench in the regular season, but struggled in the playoffs.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, defensive-minded wing Josh Okogie enters restricted free agency after playing just 10.5 minutes per game this season. The former 2018 first-round pick has seen his playing time decrease in each of the last three years. Nathan Knight and McKinley Wright IV also enter restricted free agency, while Jake Layman and Greg Monroe hit the unrestricted open market.
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The Wolves likely won't have the salary cap room for flashy free agent acquisitions. According to Spotrac, Minnesota is all-but guaranteed to be over the cap before free agency even opens. Their best spending asset will be a $10.2 million non-taxpayer exception. Interestingly, Gupta has already commented on a potential team need.
"Defensive rebounding was obviously a big issue in this series and all year long," Gupta said. "That might be a more personnel thing and more size can certainly help. There's a mix for sure in terms of how we can address some of those areas and weaknesses just with development and internal growth and others that we may have to address with the roster."
Minnesota should have plenty of chances to fill this need with its exception. Purely spitballing, but some rebounding bigs who might fit in the $10.2 million exception include: Derrick Favors, Ivica Zubac, Thomas Bryant and Andre Drummond.&nbsp;
But if the front office feels a greater compulsion to act, they have the players and draft picks to create enticing trades. Minnesota holds the No. 19 pick in the first round of the NBA Draft, and Nos. 40, 48 and 50 in the second round. How many of these selections will stay in the Twin Cities with a roster nearly full already?&nbsp;
Our Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock projects Minnesota to select Kennedy Chandler at No. 19, and then Ismael Kamagate, Jalen Williams and Hugo Besson in the second round of <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his latest 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a>. Chandler could develop into a steady backup point guard behind D'Angelo Russell, while the others profile as high-upside swings that Minnesota doesn't need to step into the game right now.
One more wrinkle to monitor is Leandro Bolmaro, the No. 23 pick from the 2020 NBA Draft. The Argentinian wing spent most of 2021-22 with the Iowa Wolves in the G League, and put up 12.9 points, 5.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. Is Bolmaro ready to make an NBA impact?
The Timberwolves don't need to rush their franchise timeline. Anthony Edwards is only in his second season, and as we saw in the playoffs, still radiates untapped potential despite his ascendancy. Towns is the second-oldest player currently under contract, and even he's still just 26.&nbsp;
But there's no turning back once a young roster makes the NBA playoffs. Minnesota has set postseason play as the minimum standard for next season, and with youth comes expected improvement in each subsequent season.
Now Gupta, or whoever the next president of basketball operations is, must steer the franchise toward a path to greater heights this summer.
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A disappointing first-round series masked what was a breakout season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

2022 NBA offseason preview: What's next for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

The NBA G League today announced that the Rio Grande Valley Vipers have earned three annual performance awards for this season, including&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htEopW0yJ8" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8htEopW0yJ8" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">guard Trevelin Queen being named the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Most Valuable Player</a>. Additionally, head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah is the recipient of the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the 2021-22 NBA G League Coach of the Year, while General Manager Travis Stockbridge has been named the 2021-22 NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year.
NBA G League Head of Basketball Operations Malik Rose will present all three winners with their awards tonight before the Vipers host the Texas Legends in the Western Conference Semifinals at the Bert Ogden Arena (8 p.m. ET, ESPNews).
Rio Grande is the second team in NBA G League history to earn MVP, Coach of the Year and Basketball Executive of the Year accolades in the same season. The MVP and Coach of the Year awards were voted on by the league&rsquo;s 28 head coaches and general managers, while Basketball Executive of the Year was voted on by the general managers only.
Queen, a two-way player with the Houston Rockets, averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals in 19 games.Queen (6-6, 190, New Mexico State) received an NBA GATORADE Call-Up when he signed his two-way contract with the Rockets on Dec. 18, 2021, and has appeared in 10 games for Houston this season. He is the third Rio Grande Valley Vipers player to win the Kia NBA G League MVP award, joining Mike Harris (2009-10) and Andrew Goudelock (2012-13). In his third season as head coach of the Rockets&rsquo; NBA G League affiliate, Abdelfattah steered the Vipers to the top regular-season record in the Western Conference (24-10), earning a bye in the NBA G League Playoffs presented by Google Pixel. Under Abdelfattah, the Vipers led the league in points per game (124.5), free throws made (12.4), offensive rebounds (16.5) and total rebounds (51.4).Since being named head coach prior to the 2019-20 season, Abdelfattah has led the Vipers to a record of 48-43 and two consecutive playoff appearances. He is the second head coach in Rio Grande Valley history to earn Coach of the Year honors, joining current Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch (2009-10).
Stockbridge becomes the first executive in Vipers&rsquo; history to win the Basketball Executive of the Year award. Key player acquisitions by Stockbridge included Marcus Foster (18.7 ppg, 4.3 apg), Mfiondu Kabengele (17.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and 12-year NBA veteran Gerald Green (16.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Since Stockbridge became general manager in 2019, five Rio Grande Valley players have earned GATORADE Call-Ups: Queen, Armoni Brooks, Anthony Lamb, Ray Spalding and Brodric Thomas.
The Sioux Falls Skyforce is the only other NBA G League team to win all three awards in the same season. Sioux Falls accomplished this feat for the 2015-16 season, with Jarnell Stokes winning MVP, Dan Craig earning Coach of the Year and Adam Simon receiving Basketball Executive of the Year honors.
Motor City Cruise guard Saben Lee, who was on assignment from the Detroit Pistons, and South Bay Lakers two-way guard Mason Jones finished in second and third place, respectively, in voting for Kia NBA G League MVP.
Raptors 905 head coach Patrick Mutombo and Agua Caliente Clippers head coach Paul Hewitt finished in second and third place, respectively, for NBA G League Coach of the Year.
Delaware Blue Coats General Manager Prosper Karangwa and Raptors 905 General Manager Chad Sanders finished in second and third place, respectively, for NBA G League Basketball Executive of the Year.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers have earned three of the G League's end-of-season awards, including MVP for guard Trevelin Queen.

Vipers' Trevelin Queen named NBA G League Most Valuable Player

The&nbsp;Cleveland Cavaliers&nbsp;have promoted assistant general manager Mike Gansey to the lead GM role, the team announced Wednesday.&nbsp;
Source: <a href="https://t.co/zLQlc54bGO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Gansey moves up after Koby Altman has become the team's president of basketball operations. The 39-year-old has risen from an basketball operations intern in 2011 to one of the chief roles in steering the franchise. Cleveland is 35-23 this season and fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Gansey moves up after Koby Altman has become the team's president of basketball operations.

Cavs promoting Mike Gansey to general manager

I have a particular affinity for whiteboards. My thoughts are pretty unorganized and the most random thoughts about Jalen Duren's potential as a short-roller or Chimezie Metu's face-up game will come to me at any odd hour of the day. Expo markers and whiteboards all around me are an absolute must and godsend. I have three in my room, one dedicated strictly to future story ideas and league wide trends I'm curious about. One constant on that board since mid-November; Why are the Oklahoma City Thunder good at defense?
The defense has been above league average for the majority of the season, they have length and athleticism, and a few defenders who routinely stand out in watching. Yet, I couldn't really point my finger as to&nbsp;why.
Due to the public plea from Alex Speers (listen to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/down-to-dunk-okc-thunder-podcast/id599740073" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Down to Dunk</a>), I finally made it a mission to really get into the thick of it and get a better view of what makes the Thunder such an effective defensive team.
Per Cleaning the Glass, OKC is 12th in defensive efficiency on the season: Not bad, above average, but nothing crazy. Ultimately, better than I'd expect (They finished in 26th last season, but were above average prior to Al Horford sitting the remainder of the season).
Fine tune it a bit more; they're 10th in defense in 2022. Ok, we've got something here.
Flip through a few more lenses, choose between one and two, and cycle to the halfcourt: The Thunder have allowed 90.7 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt since the turn of the year, the third best mark in the league. That's not just good, that's bordering on elite. For perspective, the Utah Jazz were first in halfcourt defensive efficiency last season and allowed 91.3 pp/100.&nbsp;
Ok man, what is going on here?! Where has this come from?
Oddly enough, the Thunder told us themselves early in the season in a 56 second video (Sidenote: How does this video only have ~300 views? It has great production value, a sick beat and what more could you want frankly?)
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As Darius Bazley tells us "If a guy's going for a layup or a dunk, that's a moment of truth, whether you're gonna take the charge or you're gonna go up to attempt to block it or verticality."
This is the first piece of the puzzle. The Thunder contest everything at the rim. While not necessarily an indicator of defense one way or another, the Thunder lead the NBA in contests per game according to Second Spectrum (partially because of something we'll hit on in a bit).
They don't generate steals or blocks at an above average rate, they lack a true defensive anchor at the five spot, and yet, they make it work. However, that's part of the charm in OKC's defense.&nbsp;
Legendary (and somehow underrated) rap duo, Gang Starr, had an incredible album called Moment of Truth, including a track of the same name. First of all, this is one of the few 20 track double-sided albums that's worth it. Secondly, I'd like to think Mark Daigneault is just a massive fan of Gang Starr and built this mantra with Guru's lyrics in mind, and Premo's beat as the foundation.
"Peep the language. It's universal, you play with fire it may hurt you."
The Oklahoma City Thunder simply do NOT play with fire. Everything about their defense is solid. Their whole identity is crafted around managing firepower. Gum up what the offense wants and force them into really difficult looks without gambling.
They allow the 2nd fewest attempts at the rim in 2022 (4th on the season), while holding opponents to 62.6% shooting at the rim over the same span (5th). They squeeze offenses to only 27.1% of all shots coming within four feet of the basket.&nbsp;
OKC's mission every possession is to shrink the floor, slow drives, take away the open lanes, and chew the clock.
This is the defense before the first action.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/start-of-set_lg.png" alt="" />
This is the defense after the first action hits.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/after-screen_lg.png" alt="" />
All five Thunder defenders shrink the floor; Aaron Wiggins cheats off Nikola Vucevic in help for Lu Dort if LaVine chooses to drive. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander high tags off of Ayo Dosunmu to speed bumpo a Vucevic roll (below average above the break shooter), and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl pre-rotates as the low-man, another added line of defense.
They almost operate like a slinky, capable of consistently compressing and stretching to adapt to the action presented to them.
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Preventing quick rolls and neutralizing pick-and-rolls before they can fully develop puts out those fires before they can spread. The Thunder are willing to just stay solid and concede a contested pull-up two (2nd most allowed in 2022 per Cleaning the Glass), where they get torched in all fairness as opponents shoot an undgodly 53.3%, but part of that is shot luck/variance, and that's still a more difficult shot than anything at the rim.
"Nobody's invincible, no plan is foolproof."
You'd think a team that routinely plays without a true defensive five would switch a great deal, but that's not the Thunder's motive!&nbsp;
They can and do switch fairly often, but they're adept at late-switching with backend rotations in tandem to stem the tide. The communication and team trust is apparent.
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Dort gets stonewalled by an immaculate Bruce Brown screen. Wiggins is normally going to show high and recover to Brown on his slowed roll as JRE high tags with SGA pre-rotating backline.
However, Wiggins switches with Dort out of the picture, Dort recovers to take Day'Ron Sharpe under the rim as SGA closes back out to Kessler Edwards. A fantastic defensive possession all-around.
Opposing teams will mix-in different screening angles to try and force switches, and the Thunder again are adept at switching actively, but also under control.&nbsp;
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They time their switches well, they don't bite too hard, and they know their length, making it hard for opposition to take any sort of advantage out of the ballscreen.
So yes, no plan is foolproof, but the Thunder almost revel in that. Dort is an exceptional man to man defender, but their money is made working as one, holding a sort of defensive battle line in what they are and aren't willing to concede, and utilizing their strengths (length and communication) to ward off drives.&nbsp;
They rarely close-out hard to the perimeter, choosing instead to instill choppin feet out to shooters. There's no right or wrong way to close-out in my opinion, but the Thunder choose this seemingly to further embody their ethos of staying solid without allowing drives to the heart of the court. Some shooting luck has benefitted them from above the break misses (2nd in non-corner 3-point percentage allowed in 2022), but the plan is executed well.
"Actions have reactions, don't be quick to judge."
One of the other aspects I love about the Thunder defense is their willingness to differentiate looks based on personnel.&nbsp;
They'll often play back-up five Mike Muscala in a short drop, but call quick blitzes based on the shot clock and ball-handler.&nbsp;
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They're selective with pressure, but when they do it, they're 100% committed.
If an offense starts to throw in Spain actions (pick and roll with a backscreen and replacement to the arc) or similar differentiations to throw off the regular defense, that's fine! The Thunder call out their screens incredibly well. They normally stick Dort on star players and fight to not give up the match-up, but they won't do it at the expense of jeopardizing a deep drive
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It seems simple, but that's part of the point. OKC makes the small things a point of emphasis. Consistent communication and five players all engaged, they can combat more complex actions that could throw off a less together group.
"Sometimes you gotta dig deep when problems come near. Don't fear, things get severe for everybody everywhere."
The Thunder are long, they're athletic, and man they seem irritating to play against. Again, they don't go out of their way to turn the ball over, but their length and ability to bother anything on the interior is hard to deny.
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SGA has some draw-backs and shortcomings as an on-ball defender, but he has really sharp hands in passing lanes and many unsuspecting ball-handlers have had their pocket picked or shot tipped by him.
The Thunder in general lack true lockdown ball-stoppers outside of Dort and Kenrich Williams.
Navigating screens isn't the strength of the Thunder, but they're tremendous at defending screens. It sounds like a paradoxical equation, but it comes back to communication.
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Dort is caught getting back still and the Hornets flow into some early offense. But, here comes JRE, calling out the play at first for Dort, but also operating as a middle linebacker, filling the gap and blowing it up before damage can be caused. Dort reconnects, and it's all settled down. It seems minute in the moment, but I can't speak highly enough of what JRE has done for Oklahoma City's defense.
His positioning and court-mapping as a defender are impressive. He knows how to get the most out of his length (or lack thereof) and size. He directs the defense with guile. If I'd never watched him or the Thunder, you could easily convince me he was already a 2nd or 3rd contract player.
That is such an easy bucket for the Hornets if the communication isn't there.
The Thunder actively have all players involved playing both sides of the screen. So often, defenders are strictly doing their sole purpose, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but the Thunder FIGHT those screens like a ship fighting an ocean storm. Some defenses will let screens happen and react, OKC attacks them.
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Dort and JRE are absolutely swarming that screen on the first possession, almost like an Oklahoma drill in football with two players actively defending Harden. They actively prevent the chance to roll from Griffin by interchangeably attacking the screen, while also negating Harden a chance to drive.
Consequently, they can be susceptible to screen slips, particularly from bouncy screeners. Playing this aggressively on screening action leaves you open to trickery.
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It is tough to stop a slipping Miles Bridges in open space without a top-notch rim protector.
"You got no hand skills, there's no security to save ya."
No defense is perfect, and OKC is no exception, with two vices that are extremely hard to understate.
Part of the difficulty in routinely not playing a traditional five: their rebounding is atrocious. It's not always for lack of trying, but they're not great at boxing out, often are just outmatched on the interior, and they give up a decent amount of long rebounds because of how willing they are to shrink the floor.
They're 18th in defensive rebounding percentage on the season, but a paltry 28th in 2022, and it is painstakingly obvious when watching. They sometimes make 3 or 4 stops in a row, but more possessions means more opportunities for the offense.&nbsp;
To say that the Thunder have a "bad" offense would be unkind to the other teams that are below average. They're 30th on the season in offensive efficiency, scoring 14.4 points per 100 possessions less than the league leading Utah Jazz. You've likely seen the Lakers play a few times this year and how rough their offense can be. They score 6.8 points per 100 possessions more than OKC, <a href="https://youtu.be/MpUWrl3-mc8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yeah it's that rough!</a>&nbsp;
They turn the ball over a great deal, miss a lot (30th in rim shooting percentage), and thus give up a ton of transition opportunities.
That makes the growing defense all the more impressive.
This team isn't good, but they're growing. There have been real flashes of potential. The roster is bought in and committed to the scheme, and while it doesn't gloss over the offensive shortcomings, it's something to hang their hat on.
There's a defensive backbone that could form the foundation of the next great era of Thunder basketball, not unlike the early Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka squads that sported numerous top 10 defenses.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on track for another top five pick during a clear tanking year, but don't be fooled by the record, a real identity is growing in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are top-10 in defense since the start of 2022. What makes the Thunder defense so effective?

The Oklahoma City Thunder's emerging defensive identity

The New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings both pulled off major blockbuster deals in which they acquired two inarguably franchise-changing pieces. CJ McCollum enters the Bayou as a strong scoring complement to Brandon Ingram, and a hopefully-soon-to-be healthy Zion Williamson. Two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis helps form an intriguing one-two punch with De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. However, Sacramento moved out arguably its best player this season in Tyrese Haliburton to make the tandem happen.
When the NBA implemented the play-in tournament, some were skeptical of how this would make a real impact. Well, based off Tuesday's moves alone, the play-in is proving to be a game changer for playoff-hungry organizations.
Both New Orleans and Sacramento aren&rsquo;t even in the discussion for a top-eight seed in the reloaded Western Conference. Where it gets interesting is that a team only needs to finish with at least the No. 10 seed to technically make the &ldquo;playoffs&rdquo; for a winner-take-all bout. The Pelicans and Kings are right in the thick of the play-in-palooza.
The race for No. 10 in the West is officially on. Three and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans is staking its claim with a measly 22-32 record. Only three games behind the Pelicans, Sacramento checks in at 20-36.
Sandwiched between New Orleans and Sacramento, the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs have another 24 hours to decide if they&rsquo;re in or out as well for this faux playoff sprint. (Portland trading away multiple pieces strongly suggests a team that's leaning toward losing in the short-term, although <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/blazers-pistons-continue-to-discuss-possible-jerami-grant-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they have been linked to Jerami Grant</a> so we'll see.)
During this trade-deadline period, the Pelicans and Kings decided to push the chips in. Is this the new normal within the NBA, where double-digit teams in each conference believe a 10-seed is the new barrier to break?
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Pressure at the top was the main theme for Tuesday&rsquo;s terrific transactional day.
There&rsquo;s no doubt about the pressure being applied on Pelicans EVP David Griffin to steer the ship in a winning direction for New Orleans. Zion Williamson&rsquo;s future is murkier than expected due to injuries &mdash; that's another element to take into consideration.
Sacramento is experiencing a historically-long postseason drought. Any potential drop of water to chase in the desert that is the team's small playoff probability, you better believe Sacramento is going after it. That&rsquo;s exactly why Sabonis is now a foundational building block with Fox in Sacramento. The timeline for the Kings to reach the postseason is now, which might explain why Haliburton was shockingly sent to Indiana. Kings management is hoping, for their own job security, that Fox and Sabonis instantly bring magical chemistry to ignite an above-.500 stretch of winning basketball.
Both trades seem to show opposite sides of the coin for how short-term gain could have long-term ramifications. I&rsquo;m <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-the-pelicans-pushing-chips-in-on-cj-mccollum-was-a-wise-investment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high on McCollum&rsquo;s fit in New Orleans</a>, as he provides a much-needed veteran presence who can provide multiple assets to assist the team's inconsistent offensive attack. Brandon Ingram and Williamson will finally have someone who can bring aboard winning habits. Also, Larry Nance Jr. is an underrated piece in the trade for the Pelicans, providing an athletic big who&rsquo;s versatile enough to make an impact on both ends.
In Sacramento, Sabonis and Fox might bring a fake playoff berth and potentially even a real seed within the next three seasons, as well as bring dynamic offensive firepower. But was it worth it in the end? Again, for a playoff-starved organization like Sacramento, maybe a drastically-judged jaw-dropping deal could be what they see as the key to the team's most realistic immediate jump. Haliburton has All-Star upside, which he&rsquo;s shown throughout his first two seasons. On the other side of the deal, now the Pacers <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pacers-exit-blockbuster-trade-with-kings-as-huge-winners-thanks-to-tyrese-haliburton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have one of the Association&rsquo;s best assets and overall young players</a> aboard.
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This year&rsquo;s playoff picture in the West classifies itself into an interesting tier system:
Strong Title Contenders: Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors
Deep Postseason Potential: Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets
Play-In Tournament: Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings
Undecided: San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers
Tanking: Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets
Expect to see some more shuffling across the NBA&rsquo;s leaderboard over the next 24 hours, just before the trade deadline. Whether it be true Finals threats or teams fighting for the lowest possible playoff probabilities, two seemingly desperate teams bring to light a potentially new normal for league-wide parity.
The Pelicans and Kings could easily be real winners from these deals now &mdash; and for that matter, multiple years down the line. McCollum and Sabonis turn weaknesses into plausible strengths for their respective new teams.
Play-In-Palooza 2022 is going to be electric. New Orleans and Sacramento booked their first-class tickets, but will any other overzealous teams dare join them?
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With the Pelicans and Kings chasing a Play-In tournament spot with aggressive trades, will this become a new normal in the NBA?

McCollum, Sabonis gambles are a result of NBA's new play-in era

The Rockets' fortunes changed when their bearded superstar came into training camp like a wrecking ball (<a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1339012498544943104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1339012498544943104%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbolavip.com%2Fen%2Fnba%2FUnreal-James-Harden-is-now-very-fat-and-social-media-exploded-20201216-0003.html">quite literally</a>) and demanded a trade that, upon its execution, sent the championship hopefuls spiraling into a rebuild of massive proportions.
The subsequent bombshell left new general manager Rafael Stone scrambling to accumulate the pieces necessary to initiate this wholesale reconstruction. The resulting aftermath left the 2021-22 Houston Rockets with a motley crew of talent that indicated to the outside world that one-third of the NBA's Texas trio was operating without a true sense of direction, running aimlessly into the future.&nbsp;
But what if the Stone (and head coach Stephen Silas') vision is more transparent than we think? What if this band of mismatched players was brought here for a reason? And what if this young core has what it takes to someday springboard the Rockets back into contention?
To answer these questions, Mark Schlinder and I &mdash; two young prospects in our own right &mdash; teamed up to look at the state of the union in Southeast Texas and figure out just how good these young Houston Rockets can be.
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Christian Wood
Most people will write Christian Wood off as the next casualty in the Rockets&rsquo; insatiable quest to obtain draft capital. But even with the recent controversy surrounding his relationship with some of the <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/rockets-suspend-kevin-porter-jr-christian-wood-for-behavior-in-loss-to-nuggets-per-report/">coaching staff</a>, there are still plenty of reasons to keep Wood around moving forward.&nbsp;
This season, he's maintained a <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/woodch01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">True Shooting percentage slightly above league</a> average, despite leading a team that&rsquo;s in the <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2022.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bottom five in the league in offense</a> in shot attempts per game. Non-elite scorers on bad teams generally struggle to maintain good efficiency on high volume (see <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/grantje01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerami Grant)</a>, but Wood&rsquo;s productivity has remained effective thanks to his unique offensive repertoire.
Few big men in the league possess the mobility and ball-handling acumen to moonwalk into stepback jumpers, face-up on the perimeter and barrel to the rim, or glide down the hardwood for elegant coast-to-coast finishes:
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Also, the nature of Wood's off-ball scoring &mdash; proficient corner three-point shooting (<a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4077#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">88th percentile for his position</a>) and cutting numbers (<a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/cut/?sort=PPP&amp;dir=1&amp;CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*" target="_blank" rel="noopener">67th percentile overall</a>) &mdash; indicates that he'll scale well next to other high-end offensive talents that the team may add or develop.
His detractors will cite his poor performance on the other end of the floor as the primary reason for his dismissal. But I posit that his poor production is a symptom of being miscast as a defensive center. According to B-Ball Index, Wood spends 33.5% of defensive possessions guarding centers, which is a problem because his slight build often leads to him getting battered and bruised by opposing teams&rsquo; paint enforcers.
Like his offense, Wood&rsquo;s value on defense stems from his ability to maneuver on the perimeter where he can weaponize his length and tap dancing toes to stay in front of guards and forwards:
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Even in a suboptimal defensive role, Wood is able to manage a slight positive score in impact metrics like <a href="https://www.bball-index.com/2021-22-lebron-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D-LEBRON</a> (my personal favorite) and <a href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/10/nba-stats-and-player-projections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D-DRIP</a>. This suggests that pairing him with a classic rim protector who can handle all the dirty work down low would allow Wood to stick to his strengths &mdash; and combine his dynamic offensive profile with consistently positive impact on the defensive end of the floor.
Josh Christopher
Here&rsquo;s some trivia for you: according to Cleaning the Glass, which qualifying Rockets rookie has the highest Effective Field Goal percentage? Common logic might suggest it&rsquo;s the electrifying second overall pick or their crafty Turkish phenom. But alas, neither of those answers are correct &mdash; the top spot is occupied by the final of their four first-round selections, Josh Christopher.
Partially because of his lower volume, but primarily because of a shot diet that is unbalanced in the best way possible, Josh Christopher has been a driving force (no pun intended) in the <a href="https://twitter.com/tvbassine/status/1481389776523649025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">most prolific rim attack</a> in the NBA this season. As it stands, Christopher sits in the 94th percentile in rim frequency, with a whopping 44% of his shots coming from the most coveted area of the court (per Cleaning the Glass). To top things off, he&rsquo;s converting on those looks at an above-average clip for his position (<a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4887#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">64th percentile</a>).
His rim rushes disregard the safety of those in his path. And although he may be slight in stature, his arrival into the painted area warps defenses and creates open looks for shooters on the perimeter. Like right here:&nbsp;
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Christopher&rsquo;s defense is of the typical rookie variety &mdash; highly volatile. There are times where he may press too hard on-ball and end up surrendering an angle to the opposition or where he might get caught stargazing off-ball and lose his man on a cut to the rim.&nbsp;
However, there are also times where his wildly gesticulating hands create some much-needed disruption:
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Eventually, his defense performances will begin to stabilize. When they do, Christopher will be able to leverage his floor-tilting abilities to inject life into the Rockets&rsquo; second unit in a manner eerily similar to that of an Ish Smith.&nbsp;
Garrison Mathews
You know how they say the old maxim &ldquo;practice makes perfect&rdquo; is flawed and that it&rsquo;s actually &ldquo;perfect practice makes perfect?&rdquo; Well, it&rsquo;s the same thing with shooting and contracts. Teams don&rsquo;t pay a premium for shooting. They pay a premium for <a href="https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/2021/08/02/duncan-robinson-signs-biggest-nba-contract-ever-for-an-undrafted-player/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">movement shooting</a>.&nbsp;
Fortunately for Gary Bird, he&rsquo;s got that down pat.&nbsp;
Mathews is in the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/off-screen/?CF=TEAM_ABBREVIATION*E*HOU&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">58th percentile</a> in possessions coming off screens, and he&rsquo;s doing this on possession volume similar to renowned movement shooting aficionado Patty Mills. He&rsquo;s also knocking down 40% of his 1.2 pull-up threes a game, which further reinforces the sentiment that there&rsquo;s far more to his marksmanship than mere sedentary stroking (although he&rsquo;s doing that as well &ndash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/spot-up/?CF=TEAM_ABBREVIATION*E*HOU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">96th percentile in spot-up possessions</a>).
What&rsquo;s even more fascinating is that there&rsquo;s another layer to his off-ball offensive game &ndash; his cutting. Just watching the way he interacts with screens, you can see a sort of technical artistry present in his navigational abilities, especially when he&rsquo;s using them to cut to the basket.
This next play is my favorite from Mathews this season. He starts by booty bumping Green towards the baseline a bit, then notices Embiid overplaying the second screen and has the presence of mind to punish him by freelancing into a backdoor cut:
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If Mathews were only a one-trick, catch-and-shoot specialist, he&rsquo;d become replaceable when his asking price becomes too steep. But since he&rsquo;s got more than one parlor trick in his routine, and since the value of his services (movement shooting and cutting) only increases the more you surround him with on-ball talent, the Rockets would be wise to keep their sniper under contract going forward.
Kevin Porter Jr.
It&rsquo;s only fitting that we saved the most curious case for last.
When you look at the numbers &ndash; True Shooting <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/porteke02.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nine points below league average</a>, <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4601#tab-shooting_accuracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">19th percentile</a> in rim accuracy, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/ball-handler/#!?sort=POSS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25th percentile</a> in pick-and-roll ball-handling, and <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4601#tab-offensive_overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7th percentile</a> turnover rate &ndash; you get a picture of a player seemingly in way over his head.
Then you see it play out in practice &ndash; the hesitation moves, the transition hookups, the manipulative passes, the volcanic eruptions at the rim &ndash; and for a few brief moments, what looks like Tenacious D on the eyes plays more like Nirvana on the soul.
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Porter Jr. probably isn&rsquo;t equipped for life as a full-time point guard in the NBA, but his glimpses have high-level secondary/tertiary shot creation upside written all over them.
The perfect version of a future Green/Porter Jr. centered lineup probably features a bigger and stronger third guard who can provide steady playmaking on offense and size for the perimeter on defense (and no, I&rsquo;m not talking about THAT bigger playmaking/defensive guard).
Speaking of defense, it seems Porter suffers from the same volume mismanagement issues that hurt him offensively. He often finds himself at the helm, defending the point of attack, where he leaves a lot to be desired. His paws are always itching to swipe at the ball and, because of this, Porter can get a bit overzealous and forfeit driving lanes similar to Josh Christopher. He also dies on way too many screens (<a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/ball-handler/#!?sort=POSS&amp;dir=1&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;TypeGrouping=defensive&amp;CF=TEAM_ABBREVIATION*E*HOU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">31st percentile</a> as a pick-and-roll ball-handler), which is probably the most efficient way to guarantee your team is at a 4-on-5 disadvantage on defense.
However, when off-ball, Porter is a lot more comfortable. He's currently forcing 2 turnovers per 75 possessions (per Backpicks). His athleticism and natural playmaking instincts allow him to play cornerback on backdoor cuts like this play:
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Porter Jr.&rsquo;s ideal defensive ecosystem is most likely similar to his offensive one &mdash; an environment that affords him the luxury of weaponizing his playmaking and athleticism while also being mindful of his usage.
And ultimately, that will be the litmus test that decides if the Rockets can unlock Porter Jr.&rsquo;s full potential. Can they find the happy medium between freedom of experimentation and proper load management? Achieving this perfect balance will be difficult. It will require time and patience. But Porter Jr. is already showing flashes, and for a player as talented as him, that makes all the effort worth it.
&nbsp;
Conclusion
Taking final stock of the inventory, the cupboards look pretty fruitful in Houston after all. Wood is probably gone at the deadline, but if they can get him to stay, they'll have a guy that's only twenty-six and has an offensive skill set that meshes perfectly with their up-and-coming ball-dominant studs. Even if he is gone, that&rsquo;s more young talent in his place. Christopher has all the makings of a steady, change-of-pace backup point guard that can occasionally moonlight as the team&rsquo;s spark plug. Mathews' shooting and movement is a fit alongside literally any amalgamation of talent. And Porter Jr., with the proper care and nurture, could be ripping and running with Jalen Green in the starting five for years to come, or even steering the ship for the second unit if need be.
Overall, I can&rsquo;t help but come away from my review of the Rockets with general positivity. The vision hasn&rsquo;t fully manifested itself, and the pieces don&rsquo;t all perfectly fit yet, but they all appear capable of contributing long-term &mdash; that&rsquo;s a pretty great start, especially for a team that had to rebuild on the fly.
Stay tuned for <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rocket-revival-evaluating-houston-rockets-young-core-part-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Part 2</a> of Rocket Revival, where Mark Schindler will break down the rest of Houston&rsquo;s young core.

Mat Issa breaks down four of Houston's brightest talents in Part I of his Rocket Revival series with Mark Schindler.

Rocket Revival: Evaluating Houston's promising young core — Part I

The Indiana Pacers are running around the obvious problem with their team right now. After another embarrassing loss at home on Friday night, this time to the Miami Heat, who were without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, serious questions need to be asked.
Sure, Nate Bjorkgren was a disaster last season as a first-time head coach, which led to splurging on bringing Rick Carlisle over from Dallas. However, even with Carlisle&rsquo;s principles being put into place in Indy, it&rsquo;s now becoming crystal-clear what the real issue is for the Pacers.
It&rsquo;s time to officially blow up this roster, or at least make a significant change to finally steer the ship in the direction of an extensive rebuild attempt.
For years now, Indiana has been content on the wheel of first round playoff exits. This will likely be the eighth consecutive season where the Pacers finish without a postseason series win. Indiana is known for basketball, but the 2021-22 Pacers are on the verge of becoming irrelevant.
Indiana is perfectly average, smack dab in the middle of overall efficiency on both ends of the court. They do not have a true No. 1 option that can take over games, simply multiple players who slide in as secondary pieces on good teams.
Sitting with a 9-16 record through the first quarter of the regular season, No. 13 overall in the Eastern Conference, Indiana is staring down the barrel of a long overdue organizational move. The question is: will owner Herb Simon, notorious for avoiding luxury tax payments and supplementing the organization with playoff revenue, give the go-ahead on a midseason fire sale before it&rsquo;s too late? The same needs to be said for team president Kevin Pritchard, who neeeds to come to the same realization that this team is nothing more than mediocre.
Is T.J. Warren&rsquo;s return from foot surgery next month really going to flip the Pacers&rsquo; immediate fortunes in the reloaded Eastern Conference hierarchy overnight? No, and it&rsquo;s time to reassess this roster for long-term hopes while sacrificing short-term success.
The problem for Indiana is: who exactly will help kickstart an overdue rebuild where stockpiling young talent and bottoming out is the way to go for a small-market franchise? Malcolm Brogdon would have been the obvious choice, but Indiana decided to lock him in on an extension before the regular season opener, eliminating him in trade discussions until at least next offseason. Caris LeVert isn&rsquo;t coming close to the same production Victor Oladipo provided pre-quad injury, but that was to be expected when canvassing through the former Michigan Wolverine&rsquo;s overall offensive profile. Not shedding his injury-prone label at all before becoming an unrestricted free agent, Warren has little chance of returning serious positive value in a trade.
Indiana is coming to the proverbial fork in the road on an experiment that we all knew would need to end sometime soon. Will it be Domantas Sabonis or Myles Turner who is shipped off at their peak value in February? If the Pacers aren&rsquo;t having serious discussions about this scenario, then they may honestly be content on being a roster with its highest ceiling being a 6-8 seed and perennial first-round exits.
Sabonis is a rare big man who a team can run its offense through as a primary or secondary hub. Already a two-time All-Star, Sabonis has flashed 20-point, 10-rebound upside and probably would thrive even further as another team&rsquo;s second or third option, compared to being a No. 1 in Indianapolis. Meanwhile, Turner is an elite rim protector who can also stretch the floor from beyond the arc. As far as modern big archetypes, Turner is a piece who can swing the pendulum of fortunes in a positive direction for a playoff or championship-hungry organization.
If we&rsquo;re speaking about which player would return the highest value in a mid-season trade to a hopeful playoff contender, Sabonis is the answer. A frame of reference from a negotiation standpoint is when the Orlando Magic traded Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls centered around an enticing package of Wendell Carter Jr. and two future first-round picks (Franz Wagner plus a 2023 1st). Vucevic was 30 years old when the Magic finally decided to pull the plug on their mediocre ceiling. At age-25 with three years remaining on his current contract, there&rsquo;s a real argument to be made that Sabonis could return an even heftier package for Indiana to sell high on.
Turner, on the other hand, would still bring back a strong return with his improved motor and intensity. Already known as one of the best shot blockers in the Association, Turner has also cranked it up on offense attacking the boards and being more aggressive overall. In the end, Turner&rsquo;s trade value likely falls within the realm of returning a promising young prospect plus salary filler.
Although the jumbo-sized frontcourt duo is actually doing better than anticipated this season, outscoring opponents by 8.4 points per 100 possessions in two-man lineup data (105.8 OffRtg, 97.5 DefRtg in 396 total minutes), it&rsquo;s simply not a sustainable formula.
For years, Pacers fans have wanted to see the Sabonis-Turner duo be split up and commit to one as their starting center long-term. Finally, that time seems to be right around the corner, if Indiana&rsquo;s front office truly reflects on where the team currently stands.
If Indiana does indeed the pull the plug on the current iteration of their roster, there will be a feeding frenzy at February&rsquo;s trade deadline. I can think of so many teams off the top of my head who would be blowing up Indiana for either one of their bigs. It&rsquo;s simply the right move to make for the long-term outlook.
Outside of No. 13 overall pick Chris Duarte, who&rsquo;s turned some heads early on with his stellar transition to the NBA, who exactly is a young piece Indiana can build around? Small markets need to focus on hitting in the draft, which has been a rarity for the Pacers over the years, alongside internal player development.
Indiana must come to that conclusion and use one or potentially both of Sabonis and Turner to help this longstanding issue fix itself over time. The problem is, after bringing aboard a win-now veteran coach in Carlisle, he may not give the go-ahead for this route.
Anyway you want to slice it, there&rsquo;s a serious predicament unfolding in Indy. If the losses continue to pile on, the Pacers need to accept their new reality and embrace the tank for the betterment of the organization.
With the league&rsquo;s worst attendance by a wide margin, Pacers fans are already tuning the team out. It&rsquo;s time to wave the white flag and find a better solution to bring the Pacers back to relevance.

As losses continue to pile on for the Pacers, it's time to finally embrace the reality with their current roster's ceiling.

Pacers must accept new reality and become sellers at trade deadline

One month into the 2021-22 NBA season, there's been no shortage of surprises. The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets are top-five teams in the Eastern Conference, while the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks currently find themselves outside of the playoff picture.
While it's still very early, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers:
Which NBA team is better than its record currently indicates?
Alex Kennedy: The Milwaukee Bucks are the obvious answer since the defending champs currently sit at 10th in the East with an 8-8 record. Injuries are largely to blame for Milwaukee&rsquo;s early struggles; several Bucks have missed multiple games including Khris Middleton (COVID-19), Jrue Holiday (ankle), Bobby Portis (hamstring), Brook Lopez (back), Donte DiVincenzo (ankle) and Rodney Hood (foot). Now that Milwaukee is healthy, I&rsquo;m confident that they&rsquo;ll climb back up the standings. I think the Toronto Raptors are better than their 8-9 record too. They were without their best player, Pascal Siakam, for the first few weeks of the season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. Now, he&rsquo;s back and beginning to look like himself again. I like Toronto&rsquo;s balanced attack, which features five players who average at least 16.0 points: OG Anunoby (20.1), Fred VanVleet (19.4), Siakam (17.0), Scottie Barnes (16.3) and Gary Trent Jr. (16.1). Don&rsquo;t be surprised if they are able to right this ship and make the playoffs.
Nekias Duncan: The Bucks are the easy one. It feels like their Big Three hasn't played since opening night. As they get healthier, they'll look like the title contenders that they are.
Spencer Davies: After the thrashing they put on the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday and their beatdown in Brooklyn on opening night, the Milwaukee Bucks have to be the answer. We can&rsquo;t just forget about Giannis Antetokounmpo because of this team&rsquo;s difficult, injury-riddled stretch; he&rsquo;s certainly given us every reason not to. Khris Middleton just got back on the court after missing eight games in the NBA&rsquo;s health-and-safety protocols, Jrue Holiday missed the first two weeks of the season essentially with a bum ankle and Brook Lopez hasn&rsquo;t suited up for a whole month in dealing with a bad back. Oh, and Donte DiVincenzo is still on the mend recovering from ankle surgery. These are explanations more than excuses, so don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Bucks go on a huge midseason run when the band gets back together.
Moke Hamilton: There are a few teams here that you could go with, and Milwaukee is probably most obvious. I&rsquo;d probably take Atlanta, though. These guys are a solid ball club, but their 0-4 Western road trip really sank them in the standings. Although they&rsquo;ll be without De&rsquo;Andre Hunter for the foreseeable future, I think they&rsquo;ll end up battling for a top-four seed in the conference.
Jesse Blancarte: The Los Angeles Lakers are currently 8-9 and had been struggling with LeBron James sidelined. The roster was almost completely revamped this offseason and the team is still figuring out its rotations and how to play cohesively. Miscommunication and too much isolation on offense have been a problem, which may be smoothed over as we get deeper into the season and now that LeBron is back on the court.
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Ethan Fuller: The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are 6-8, but a lot of that has to do with availability. Jrue Holiday only recently returned from injury, Brook Lopez and George Hill were both recently out with back injuries, and Khris Middleton was in the health-and-safety protocols. Milwaukee has gotten nice contributions from guys like Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton, but they can only do so much. This team will be fine once they get healthy.
Evan Sidery: Atlanta, because they&rsquo;re too talented not to be a top-five or six seed in the Eastern Conference. They&rsquo;ve gotten off to a slow start, plus De&rsquo;Andre Hunter is injured, but Trae Young should be able to steer the ship in the right direction in short order. Atlanta&rsquo;s depth is abundant, so once it all clicks, they should rise up the rankings significantly.
Blake Hairston: The easy answer is the Milwaukee Bucks. I don't think many expected the reigning champion would start the season 6-8 after 14 games, but missing Khris Middleton for eight games, Jrue Holiday for six games and so on doesn't help. Let them get back to full strength and they'll be back in the mix for the top of the East.
Alexander Cohen: The Los Angeles Clippers sit at a 9-7 record, which isn't horrible, but it's not a representation of how good this Clippers team is, even without Kawhi Leonard. Paul George is having another terrific regular season thus far and he&rsquo;s surrounded by excellent role players including new acquisitions in Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Hartenstein, who have both shined on their new team. The Clippers were finally having their great play reflected in the win column during their recent seven-game win streak, but then they dropped three of four games.
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Drew Maresca: The Hawks and Bucks should both be much better than their respective records, but they&rsquo;re dealing with different situations. The Bucks have dealt with major injury woes. Through 14 games, Khris Middleton had missed eight games, Brook Lopez had missed 13, and Jrue Holiday had missed six &mdash; and that&rsquo;s not even all of their injuries. The Bucks will inevitably get healthy, and that should solve most of their problems. The Hawks, on the other hand, have simply faced a brutal schedule. They&rsquo;ve played the league-leading Warriors once (0-1), the East-leading Wizards twice (1-1) and the championship-favorite Nets once (0-1). They&rsquo;ve also had games against the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz and Bucks &mdash; and only four of their 15 games came against sub-.500 teams. Once their schedule eases up, the Hawks should be just fine too.
Jannelle Moore: To me, the Charlotte Hornets are a better team than their record currently indicates. This is a team that has wins over the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, plus they gave the Los Angeles Lakers a scare in overtime. They won those games thanks to an offense that can attack in different ways. They are a big away from making significant noise.
Check out our other roundtable discussions, where we asked our writers about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-which-player-has-surprised-you-in-the-first-month" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which player has surprised them the most</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-roundtable-which-player-will-shake-off-a-slow-start" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which star will be able to shake off their slow start</a>.

One month into the 2021-21 NBA season, which team is better than its record currently indicates? We our asked our writers.

NBA Roundtable: Which team is better than its record indicates?

We are more than a week into the 2021-22 NBA season; can you believe it? Hot takes are flying, highlights are being made and surprise teams are making their marks out of the gate.&nbsp;
As fans begin their reactive discourses surrounding the early successes (or failures) of their respective squads, the conversations usually shift to front-office moves. People love to talk about roster construction and fitting the puzzle pieces together, so we decided to provide our own two cents on the subject.
In our latest Roundtable, we asked our BasketballNews.com writers the following question:
Which NBA franchise has the best front office? 
Alex Kennedy: The Toronto Raptors stand out to me. Masai Ujiri, Bobby Webster and Co. not only do a terrific job of identifying talent, they are also outstanding when it comes to developing their own players. After all, that&rsquo;s how they became the first team in NBA history to win a championship without a single lottery player on the roster. Ujiri may be the most valuable executive in the entire NBA, which is why the Raptors had to take care of him with his new deal as vice chairman/president (despite <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/10/25/edward-rogers-fought-plans-to-keep-raptors-masai-ujiri-but-was-thwarted-by-mlse-head-sources-say.html?utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=SocialMedia&amp;utm_campaign=Business&amp;utm_content=edwardrogersmasaiujiri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempts from the team's co-owner to oust him</a>). As ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31966285/masai-ujiri-gets-new-deal-vice-chairman-president-toronto-raptors-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> when he signed his new contract: &ldquo;Ujiri has established himself as one of the most prominent, successful and sought-after executives in professional sports. In the final months of his expiring contract, Ujiri turned back overtures from several pro sports organizations beyond the NBA.&rdquo; Ujiri has taken Webster under his wing, and the two of them have created a special culture in Toronto. They have also identified quite a few diamonds in the rough such as Fred VanVleet (undrafted), Pascal Siakam (No. 27 overall), OG Anunoby (No. 23) and Malachi Flynn (No. 29). Scottie Barnes is looking like a tremendous pick too. The Raptors are in excellent hands going forward.
Nekias Duncan: If we're splitting up front-office duties between transaction/financial stuff, scouting and coaching, I'd find myself splitting hairs between the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat as the organizations with the best blend of those three. The Heat have been doing it longer, so I'll give them the slight edge.
Spencer Davies: Determining who has the best front office is a tough task. Are we judging this on the team's longevity as a legitimate competitor, or for the bold, win-now moves that create a championship window that becomes rather narrow? I've long maintained that the San Antonio Spurs have been the standard-bearer of how to run a team, but their questionable free-agency period made me take a step back. I also believe that the Utah Jazz deserve more love for what they've built. However, the mantle, for me, may very well belong to the Atlanta Hawks. Travis Schlenk has constructed a well-balanced team that employs a star in Trae Young, a perfect partner in John Collins, veterans to guide the youth and a soon-to-be Most-Improved-Player candidate in De'Andre Hunter. Draft well, make moves with care and allow the pieces to find their fits &mdash; that's how you build.
Ethan Fuller: The Atlanta Hawks, led by general manager Travis Schlenk, are on an absolute roll. They've drafted extremely well since Schlenk took the front office and nailed a number of key free-agent signings, including swooping in to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic. Many people (including myself) doubted the Lloyd Pierce firing last season, but Nate McMillan came in and steered the team to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Hawks are way ahead of their expected timeline.
Moke Hamilton: I&rsquo;d probably have to go with the Miami Heat. There are obviously plenty to choose from here, but since Pat Riley left New York for Miami 27 years ago, the Heat have missed the playoffs just six times. They&rsquo;ve managed the cap prudently, consistently fielded contenders and &mdash; from Alonzo Mourning to Dwyane Wade to Bam Adebayo &mdash; have always managed to find a way to land impact players. Anyone who&rsquo;s played in Miami will tell you a thing or two about &ldquo;Heat Culture,&rdquo; and the fact that they&rsquo;ve had such incredible continuity from an organizational standpoint says a lot. Let&rsquo;s also recall their six Eastern Conference crowns and three championships.
Evan Sidery: It has to be the Milwaukee Bucks, right? Jon Horst showed that he can be very aggressive when needed during his acquisition of Jrue Holiday. There are many other solid contenders around the Association, but the Bucks&rsquo; front office put their chips into the middle of the table recently, and it paid off.
Blake Hairston: It&rsquo;s tough to pick one, but there are a few that stick out for various reasons. As a draft guy, the Denver Nuggets have done a great job at selecting impact players over the years regardless of draft position. Also, It&rsquo;s hard to argue with what Jon Horst has built in Milwaukee with the exclamation point of a championship last season.
Alexander Cohen: This is a difficult question to answer. Many of the front offices considered to be the best &mdash; such as the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors &mdash; have gone through rough patches recently. Even the Spurs are finally missing the playoffs &mdash; no team is perfect. I'll stay with the Raptors though, despite their failure to do much of anything last year or get value back for Kyle Lowry. I still have faith in their development system, and that Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster will turn them into contenders again soon enough.
Mark Gunnels: The best front office in the NBA has to be the Milwaukee Bucks right now. They were able to lock up Giannis Antetokounmpo long-term while putting great complementary pieces around him with Khris Middleton and last year's additions Jrue Holiday, PJ Tucker and Bobby Portis.

Which franchise has the best front office? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

NBA Roundtable: Which franchise has the best front office?

As far as awards go, the NBA Finals MVP tops the list as most prestigious. LeBron James won it consecutively in 2012 and 2013, and twice more in 2016 and 2020. Michael Jordan has the most under his belt with six. Most recently, Giannis Antetokounmpo secured the honor. His story and meteoric rise has been well-documented.
So when Devin Cannady was informed by Lakeland Magic staff that he would be the one hoisting the trophy after the club won its first championship in the history, it wouldn&rsquo;t have been a stretch of the imagination to expect him to relish the moment. One may have expected him to cradle it like a newborn baby or to hold back tears like Giannis did.
But that&rsquo;s not who Devin Cannady is.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a team award. It just happened to be my night.&rdquo; Cannady said of his 22-point performance in the clincher. &ldquo;My whole concept of working hard is not to win awards, it&rsquo;s to win, and to win at every level.&rdquo;
Winning at every level? It hasn&rsquo;t been an easy path for Cannady.
&ldquo;I think I set the record for the player most signed and waived by one team,&rdquo; he jokes.
But never has he wavered from the goals he set for himself as a child, nor has he faltered from the lead-by-example player he has been since his early days at Marian High School.
A graduate of Princeton University, Cannady is the institution&rsquo;s first player to play in the NBA since Steve Goodrich. He readily admits that he was not as highly recruited as his fellow 2019 draft signees. Never one to rely solely on his on-court abilities &mdash; or to quit when the going gets tough &mdash; Cannady instead used what most would see as a roadblock as an opportunity to achieve two of his goals at the same time; to play, and to learn, at the highest level.
Though removed from the college basketball scene when he signed with the Long Island Nets in 2019, Cannady was still very much a part of Princeton University. He finished his sociology degree by attending classes during his off-days, which was difficult considering the G League&rsquo;s demanding schedule. The prestige of attending an Ivy League university is unique in NBA settings, as they&rsquo;re often thought of as a different world where education is paramount and athletic abilities are secondary.
&ldquo;There are no scholarships in the Ivy League,&rdquo; says Cannady &ldquo;I still had to work on campus and work through the summers,&rdquo; he recalled.
It was the balance of academics, athletics and employment that helped prepare the 6-foot-2 point guard for the ups and downs and the starts and stops of a professional basketball career. Knowing first-hand how difficult it can be to turn pro out of the Ivy League, the passion and energy once poured into final exams and paying bills is what makes his leadership on the court and in the locker room so distinct.
&ldquo;The level of intensity that I come to practice with, that I play with, my dedication, I think I&rsquo;ve earned the respect from my teammates and even my competitors.&rdquo;
It was that same dedication that earned Devin a roster spot with the Orlando Magic ahead of the 2020 NBA season. Waived after two pre-season games, Cannady never vacillated from his NBA dream. His mantra then was the same as it is now: &ldquo;The only way to fail is to stop.&rdquo;
There have been plenty of periods where Cannady could have stopped; after summer league with the Oklahoma City Thunder, after a brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets, or the call-ups and send-downs with the Magic that seemed to never reach a final destination.
A hamstring injury limited his minutes during the 2021 G League season &mdash; an opportunity he instead used to lead from the sidelines rather than become complacent. He also had the misfortune of suffering a fractured ankle three days after his best NBA game, one in which he scored 17 points against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Devin Cannady has goals, but he is an enigma. He&rsquo;s a walking paradox in that his vision is far from tunnelled. He recognizes the importance of being present, of taking everything day-by-day, but never losing sight of the finish line.
&ldquo;Fred VanVleet has &lsquo;Bet On Yourself&rsquo;, and I have &lsquo;Run Your Own Race,&rsquo;&rdquo; he says, drawing parallels to another undrafted point guard who flourished in the G League.
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Witnessing VanVleet win an NBA championship after winning a G League championship has only fueled Cannady&rsquo;s desire to achieve the same, at his own pace and running his own race.
His race began with him watching Michael Jordan highlights on VHS, courtesy of his father.
He may run his own race, but he&rsquo;s far from selfish. A team-first player whose off-court impact rivals his on-court aptitude, Devin Cannady&rsquo;s mission includes uplifting those around him and appreciating that their success is part of his success.
In his highest moment &mdash; winning the 2021 G League championship &mdash; and his lowest &mdash; a devastating ankle injury suffered as he was finding his footing in the NBA &mdash; Cannady is consistent.
The confetti fell for his team, who arrived at the G League bubble with one goal: to win a championship.
But it didn&rsquo;t fall for him alone, and he will be the first to remind you of that. The race, all things considered, is far from over.

After leading the Lakeland Magic to the NBA G League championship, Devin Cannady vows to continue running his own race.

NBA G League Finals MVP Devin Cannady remains focused on bigger goals

Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland can light up a room with ease.&nbsp;
The 20-year-old is confident that he has the best personality of any player in the 2021 NBA Draft, and he has tried to display this during the pre-draft process. When he interviewed with teams at the NBA Combine, he kicked off some of his meetings with a rap performance. Hyland is extremely personable, treating complete strangers like close friends that he&rsquo;s known for years.
On the court, he has drawn comparisons to Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson, among others. As a sophomore at VCU, Hyland averaged 19.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 threes, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals on 53.9/37.1/86.2 shooting splits. BasketballNews.com recently <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/behind-the-scenes-with-2021-nba-draft-prospect-nahshon-bones-hyland-vcu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent time in the gym with Hyland to get a behind-the-scenes look</a> at his pre-draft training.
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In <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's latest 2021 NBA Mock Draft</a>, our Matt Babcock has Hyland going No. 27 overall to the Brooklyn Nets. Babcock&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/big-board/players/nah-shon-hyland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scouting profile of Hyland</a> reads: 
&ldquo;Nah'shon &lsquo;Bones&rsquo; Hyland is a skilled guard who easily has legitimate NBA range as a three-point shooter. In two seasons at VCU, he hit 39.9% of his 331 three-point attempts. He broke out as a sophomore, averaging 19.5 points per game. He lacks the ability to play as a true point guard, but he's a good playmaker who can create looks for both himself and others. If he cleans up his shot selection and defensive discipline, he projects nicely at the next level.&rdquo;
Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Hyland, and he opened up about his game, why he feels he&rsquo;s the top point guard in this draft, his outgoing personality, how he can help an NBA team, his off-court interests, how a childhood tragedy changed his life and much more.
I love your confidence. Early on in this process, you talked about how you were going to shine at the Combine and dominate workouts, and then you did exactly that. Have you always been like that? And where does that confidence come from?
Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland: &ldquo;Yeah, honestly, that confidence really came from, first of all, the man above &ndash; God gave it to me &ndash; but also it came from me trusting in my work. I&rsquo;ve always lived by: 'Nobody works harder than me.' So, it came from that as well. I&rsquo;m always ready for the moment. I&rsquo;m never a step or two behind, I&rsquo;m always three steps forward.&rdquo;
After the Combine, there was a lot of buzz about your performance. What did it mean to you to make the most of that opportunity and shine on that stage?
Hyland: &ldquo;It just shows them how much I&rsquo;ve been working and how much I&rsquo;ve been waiting for this moment my whole life. March Madness was taken away from me, so I came into that Combine like, &lsquo;This is my March Madness; this is my coming-out party. I&rsquo;m about to show the world that I&rsquo;m the top point guard in this draft class.&rsquo; I wanted to show them that, and I feel as though I displayed a lot of my talents. I definitely put them on notice, and I turned a lot of heads toward me, for sure.&rdquo;
Over the years, I&rsquo;ve seen a number of scorers who really helped their stock during the pre-draft process because they were able to get hot and dominate their workouts. I feel like this process is perfect for someone with your skill set. Would you agree with that?
Hyland: &ldquo;Exactly. Yeah! (laughs) -- It almost feels like all of these teams are playing catch-up with me, honestly. I say that because I feel as though they was [high] on a lot of other players and now they&rsquo;re [high] on me, and it feels great. I really showed these teams that I could&rsquo;ve helped them during this playoff run, or that I can help them go from a losing team to a winning team with my attributes. I feel as though I put them on notice, in a lot of ways.&rdquo;
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Another thing I like about you is that you really seem to love the game. I&rsquo;ve heard that a lot of today&rsquo;s younger players don&rsquo;t really play pick-up or 21 or anything &ndash; they just do their drills and then only play the games on their team&rsquo;s schedule.&nbsp;
Hyland: &ldquo;Yup! Exactly.&rdquo;
But with you, I&rsquo;ve seen videos of you playing streetball and pick-up. I feel like you&rsquo;d be playing basketball every day even if you weren&rsquo;t trying to make it to the NBA. Is that rare nowadays? And if so, why do you think that is?
Hyland: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very rare. It just shows you that the love of the game has gone away from a lot of players, honestly. They just want to work out and they don&rsquo;t want to play as much. They don&rsquo;t want to get no bump in; they just want to work out and then leave the gym. And, man, I get mad. I get frustrated because I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;What are you coming to the gym for if you only want to work out? You aren&rsquo;t gonna play?! You don&rsquo;t want to get better by playing?&rsquo; I&rsquo;m the type of kid where I want to play basketball! Basketball is so fun! First, I want to dominate everybody in the gym, but I want to have fun in the gym as well. It don&rsquo;t matter if it&rsquo;s 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 -- I can play [a] mad [amount of] games in one day and then have a game the next day and still kill, because that&rsquo;s just the type of player that I am.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I just have a different love of the game. You can speak to anyone about that, and they&rsquo;ll tell you the same thing: I get mad at people who don&rsquo;t like to play basketball. Even in college, when a lot of the players just wanted to sit out and nobody wanted to come have runs in the gym at night or during the day, I was like, &lsquo;What are we here for?! You all just want to sit in your rooms?&rsquo; It made me frustrated, but I can only control what I can control. Whether we had the runs or not, I still got my work in. And I&rsquo;d always try to get at least a little bump in here and there.&rdquo;&nbsp;
I&rsquo;ve talked to some older players about that and they were confused by it. I remember Jamal Crawford was confused by it, like, &ldquo;Playing pick-up is the fun part! What do you mean you don&rsquo;t want to play?!&rdquo;&nbsp;
Hyland: &ldquo;Exactly! (laughs) Like, I look forward to that type of stuff! I&rsquo;m gon&rsquo; go at them guys! It&rsquo;s sort of like why I should be that No. 1 guy, for sure. [I] just have them vibes on the court, you know? For a lot of people, the love of the game went away.&rdquo;
Speaking of which, when did you first fall in love with basketball?
Hyland: &ldquo;When I was about 2 years old, honestly. My brother installed basketball into my life. We went to the park and he just gave me a basketball, and I just fell in love with how the ball bounces, how it sounds, how the ball goes into the net&hellip; And ever since then, I just ran with it and it&rsquo;s been my passion.&rdquo;&nbsp;
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Who are some players that you&rsquo;ve modeled your game after or studied?
Hyland: &ldquo;None, honestly. I do like to watch players like Jamal Crawford. I like to watch Ja [Morant]. I like to watch Trae [Young]. But nah, I don&rsquo;t try to model my game after anybody. I feel I have a very unique game. But I definitely like those players, though.&rdquo;
You love to get out in transition and pull up for deep threes and things like that. Do you think your game is a perfect fit for today&rsquo;s NBA?
Hyland: &ldquo;Most definitely. Like I said, a lot of teams are starting to inch toward me because they&rsquo;ve seen how much my game translates to the next level &ndash; more than a lot of these players in this draft class, honestly. I&rsquo;m the type of kid who has the kind of scoring ability that a lot of teams need. I&rsquo;m that spark. You see guys like J.C. (Jordan Clarkson) of the Jazz and a lot of guys like that; I have that kind of scoring ability, but I can score in many more ways and I can do many more things than just the things that he does. I feel as though I&rsquo;m that guy that teams should invest in, for sure.&rdquo;
What are some aspects of your game that you&rsquo;re focused on improving?
Hyland: &ldquo;All areas. I feel as though I&rsquo;m a very solid defender, but I&rsquo;m working on my defense. I want to just keep improving on everything, honestly.&rdquo;
You got the nickname &ldquo;Bones&rdquo; because you were so skinny. When did that nickname first come about and who gave it to you?
Hyland: &ldquo;When I was younger. Her name is Chicken. She&rsquo;s a female, and she was my best friend. She gave me that name and it was probably when we were, like, 10. It just stuck with me. Ever since then, I was like, &lsquo;Man, that&rsquo;s a nice name, I&rsquo;m gonna run with that!&rsquo; And ever since then, it&rsquo;s just been legendary.&rdquo;&nbsp;
So since you were best friends, you two were &ldquo;Chicken Bones&rdquo; then?
Hyland: &ldquo;Yes! (laughs) And everyone would always say both names because we would always be with each other. So, it was like, &lsquo;Chicken and Bones,&rsquo; &lsquo;Chicken and Bones,&rsquo; &lsquo;Chicken and Bones,&rsquo; and then it just went from there. (laughs) That just shows those names are legendary, for sure. Like, those are some nice names!&rdquo;
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Are there any misconceptions about you or your game that you&rsquo;re trying to disprove throughout this process?&nbsp;
Hyland: &ldquo;Uh, no, not at all. I&rsquo;m the same man, and I don&rsquo;t want to change nothing about me. I don&rsquo;t have no regrets. I just want the world to know: I&rsquo;m that guy who got the best personality. No matter what, I can light up a room. I can light up a locker room. I just want the world to know that.&rdquo;
You&rsquo;re very personable and easy to talk to, which I&rsquo;m sure helps you when you&rsquo;re interviewing with teams.
Hyland: &ldquo;Yeah, they love me. Every single one! In every interview, they love me. (laughs) Just my confidence, my personality... I rap for some of the teams. I&rsquo;m just so outgoing, and when I step into a room, it [feels] like I&rsquo;ve known them for so long. It&rsquo;s like we knew each other already. That&rsquo;s the level of confidence that I have and that&rsquo;s also the personality that I have. I can light up a room in seconds.&rdquo;
You rapped when you interviewed with some teams? That&rsquo;s incredible!
Hyland: &ldquo;Yeah, I have some songs that I&rsquo;ve made and I did a little snippet of those for them, and they loved it! Just right off the bat, from the rip, I was rapping. I ain&rsquo;t shy, I ain&rsquo;t nothing. They just loved me, honestly.&rdquo;
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I found some of your tracks on YouTube. When did you start rapping?
Hyland: &ldquo;Back in 2018, I started rapping because I faced the house tragedy. I just found a different passion and love, and it was rapping &ndash; releasing my thoughts through the mic, and it would help me. It was very therapeutic for me.&rdquo;&nbsp;
[Editor&rsquo;s Note: In 2018, when Hyland was 17, his house caught on fire, killing his grandmother, Fay, and his 11-month-old brother, Maurice. He escaped through a second-story window, tearing his patella when he landed on the ground.]
I <a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/06/nba-draft-bones-hyland-nahshon-vcu-top-prospects-sleepers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read about the tragedy</a>, and I&rsquo;m so sorry you had to go through that. I didn&rsquo;t realize that you turned to rap as a way to cope with that.
Hyland: &ldquo;It was more so, like... I couldn&rsquo;t hoop, so I had to find something else or I was gonna go crazy.&rdquo;
I&rsquo;m glad you found music. How did that life-changing tragedy change you?&nbsp;
Hyland: &ldquo;It shaped me into a wise young man, honestly. I just showed a lot of people how tough I really am. And no matter how much adversity is coming my way, I won&rsquo;t ever give up. God kept his palm on me, and I&rsquo;m just blessed to be here. I wake up with a smile every day. That changed my life forever.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s a great way of looking at it. You mentioned having the best personality. Do you try to be that glue guy in the locker room who is friendly with everyone? And do you think your personality allows you to make an impact off the court as well?&nbsp;
Hyland: &ldquo;Yeah. You know how on some teams, they&rsquo;re with each other a little bit, but you can tell that there&rsquo;s a little bit of animosity within them? I feel as though I can come in and be that middle man and make everyone get on the same page and get everyone to respect me. Even if I&rsquo;m young, I&rsquo;m wise beyond my years. They will listen to me and hear where I&rsquo;m coming from, and I can help solve their problems. Honestly, that&rsquo;s why I think I can help a losing team become a winning team. I&rsquo;m big on building relationships.&rdquo;
You mentioned being the best point guard in this class. What are some of your long-term goals for your NBA career?
Hyland: &ldquo;Just being the best person that I can be, controlling what I can control day-in and day-out. I don&rsquo;t ever like to look too far ahead; I like to stay in the moment, honestly. But whoever misses out on me, they&rsquo;re gonna regret it in the next few years &ndash; because I&rsquo;m that golden child, I&rsquo;m that gem that you need, honestly.&rdquo;&nbsp;
What will it mean to you to hear your name called on draft night? Has it sunk in yet?
Hyland: &ldquo;Yeah, I like to dream about that a lot and look forward to that a lot. That&rsquo;s the only thing I look ahead to. (laughs) It&rsquo;s going to be a dream come true. It&rsquo;s going to be like, &lsquo;Wow, I really did it. I really overcame so much and accomplished my goal.&rsquo; I can show the kids back home that no matter how much adversity you face, you can do it as well.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Keep God first, keep your faith, keep working and keep your love for the game. Never let nobody steer you wrong. Stay on your path and just show everyone that you can do it. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m doing. That&rsquo;s what I feel I&rsquo;m on this earth for: to display my story and showcase my talents to the world.&rdquo;
Let&rsquo;s say you run into an NBA executive and they ask you, &ldquo;Why should I draft you? Why should I want you on my roster?&rdquo; What would you tell them?
Hyland: &ldquo;I have the best personality. I&rsquo;m a kid that you&rsquo;re gonna fall in love with. I&rsquo;m a kid that&rsquo;s going to change your program around, or I&rsquo;m a kid that can keep your program at a high level. I can help in many ways, with my scoring abilities, my shooting abilities, my playmaking abilities and also on the defensive end. I&rsquo;m a great kid to invest in. I&rsquo;m a kid who has his head on straight. On and off the court, I&rsquo;m a great kid and I&rsquo;m definitely the best investment that you&rsquo;ll make.&rdquo;
What&rsquo;s the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Hyland: &ldquo;Never give up. From my mom. No matter how tough life gets, never give up.&rdquo;

In this Q&A, Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland opens up about his game, his personality, how he can help an NBA team and much more.

Q&A: Draft prospect Nah'Shon 'Bones' Hyland demands your attention

BROOKLYN -- On a couple of occasions during the second half of an epic night, Kevin Durant was asked by Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash if he needed a rest.
His answer: &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t need me to, I&rsquo;m good.&rdquo;
It is highly uncommon in this day and age for any NBA player to play an entire 48-minute game, but Durant played every second and scored more than a point per minute on Tuesday night as the Nets came back from a 17-point deficit and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 to go ahead 3-2 in their second-round series.
&ldquo;I remember having it,&rdquo; Durant said of the two or three times he was asked if he needed a blow. &ldquo;And whatever they needed me to do, I was cool with. I&rsquo;m glad they kept me in.&rdquo;
Somewhere in basketball heaven, Wilt Chamberlain is looking down and asking, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s the big deal?&rdquo; Chamberlain once averaged 48.5 minutes per game over the course of a season, which is <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-what-are-the-most-unbreakable-individual-records-in-nba-history-lebron-james-wilt-chamberlain">an NBA record that will never fall</a> (and that is about the only basketball fact we can be sure of these days).
James Harden was ruled out and then, all of a sudden, he is playing&hellip; And not only did he play, he logged 46 minutes. However, he shot 1-of-10 from the field (and 0-8 from three-point range). Joe Harris is the best catch-and-shoot player in the entire NBA this postseason, but it was Jeff Green who knocked down his first seven three-point attempts.
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The Barclays Center resembled a morgue after the Nets appeared dead in the first quarter and were lucky to only be down 16 at the break.
But they play all four quarters for a reason, and any basketball fan that shut this one off because of what happened in the first 24 minutes is not really a basketball fan. We have waited all season long for epics like the ones we are seeing on a nightly basis, and on Tuesday, the only game being played was Brooklyn vs. Milwaukee.
With the lights shining brightest, Durant reminded us all of what we have been missing since a torn Achilles tendon ended his stay in Golden State and a full season of rehab with the team he chose in free agency dulled our collective memories of just how good this guy is.
It wasn&rsquo;t just the 49 points, it was also the 17 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and two blocks (while shooting 69.6/44.4/81.3). It was the uncommon poise he showed in taking over the bulk of the playmaking chores from Harden, who was clearly on a bum leg and was not at all as effective as we&rsquo;ve become accustomed to seeing since he was dealt to Brooklyn back in January.
&ldquo;Kevin is one of the all-time greats,&rdquo; Nash said. &ldquo;Now is the time to take a few risks.&rdquo;
There is still a long way to go, but if the Nets end up winning their first NBA title, it will be the second half of this particular night that may be their defining moment. Watching this team over the course of the regular season, it was clear they could flip a switch when they needed to&hellip; but that was at full strength against different competition every night.
The playoffs are different. Nobody is going through the motions, and the arenas are alive again. This game night even featured the Nets presenting TNT broadcaster Marv Albert with a retired jersey, with a microphone placed where a number would usually be on a jersey.
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New York remains a Knicks town, but the Brooklyn fans totally came to life as Durant, Green and practically nobody else clawed their way back in the third and fourth quarters. Madison Square Garden has been quiet for quite a while since Trae Young took his bow. This night brought the city back to life from a basketball standpoint, because the Nets looked like they were on life support after blowing a 2-0 lead in a trip to Milwaukee and then starting this one stone cold.
&ldquo;Jeff Green kept us in the game during long stretches when it could have gotten away from us,&rdquo; Nash said of the reserve forward, who began his NBA career with the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007 alongside Durant.
&ldquo;Big-time players show up at big-time moments. That&rsquo;s what he does. I&rsquo;ve known Kevin a long time, and that&rsquo;s the Kevin I know,&rdquo; Green said.
Should we be all that surprised that Durant rose to the occasion like this?
Durant scored 40 or more points three times during the regular season, and all of his 12 previous triple-doubles came with other teams.
The guy is still only 32 years old, but it is an old 32 after the Achilles injury, a hamstring injury and a whole lot of wear and tear in the playoffs with Oklahoma City (six-straight seasons) and Golden State (three-straight seasons.) While it is not unusual to see Durant excel in June, this year is different for a couple of reasons: It is only the middle of the second round, and we are nowhere near the Finals (as we would usually be under normal circumstances).
Everyday tests us in so many ways, and this particular night tested our perception of Durant, which usually begins with &ldquo;great scorer.&rdquo; But he did so much else, and so effortlessly.
&ldquo;The perception of me is that I can score, but every team I&rsquo;ve been on, I&rsquo;ve been asked to do everything -- including screen, rebound, defend, score, shoot threes. So, I practice and when the game comes around, I am able to do anything. And this was one of those nights,&rdquo; Durant said, adding that he will reflect on it when the time is right.
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Durant has been around enough to know you never get too high on a Game 5. This is a long road, and he and Green saved the Nets from steering all the way off it. This is one for the memory banks, but the test will come in seeing whether it carries over to Milwaukee on Thursday night. And whether Kyrie Irving returns.
These two teams have been unpredictable from game to game in this series. So, is it time for someone from Milwaukee to step up and send this thing back to Brooklyn for a Game 7 on Saturday night?
That is why they play the games, and it may take another Herculean, Wilt-esque 48-minute night from Durant to put this Bucks team behind them and move one step closer to what every star on this Brooklyn team came to Kings County to do: Win this franchise its first championship since Dr. J was dribbling a red, white and blue ball.

Chris Sheridan was in attendance as Kevin Durant delivered one of the best games of his career, lifting the Nets over the Bucks in Game 5.

Kevin Durant spectacular in Nets’ comeback Game 5 win over Bucks

The Denver Nuggets' season came to an ignominious end with Jamal Murray looking on from the bench and newly crowned league MVP Nikola Jokic watching from the locker room.
The Phoenix Suns completed their second-round sweep with a 125-118 win Sunday night in Denver, holding off an inspired effort by the Nuggets following Jokic's stunning third-quarter ejection.
Long have the Nuggets chafed at the lack of respect and calls that Jokic gets, particularly this season as the 7-foot Serbian blossomed into the NBA's <a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-nikola-jokic-kobe-bryant-europe-nba-403d6cca735519dfd230e6b61675222e">runaway best player</a>.
Frustration boiled over 48 hours after Jokic humbly accepted the Maurice Podoloff Trophy that he dedicated to his teammates, coaches, trainers, front office and family.
Infuriated at no whistle for the contact on his one-handed runner that bounced off the rim with the Nuggets down seven late in the third quarter, Jokic gestured at the official before racing to Cameron Payne, whom he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-jokic-ejected-from-game-4-for-excessive-contact-with-cam-payne" target="_blank" rel="noopener">swatted across the face as he took a hard swipe at the ball</a>.
That led Suns star Devin Booker to confront the Nuggets' 7-foot big man, leading to a double technical. After the two were separated, the crew reviewed the play at midcourt as Jokic retreated to the bench.
&ldquo;I thought honestly, they&rsquo;re not going to eject me," said Jokic, who hadn't even been assessed a Flagrant 1 foul in 345 games and who isn't known as a dirty player.
Jokic apologized to Payne before he was escorted through the tunnel.
To players across the league, <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTraeYoung/status/1404253358928666627?s=20">the Joker's bewildering ejection was a joke</a>.
&ldquo;A Flagrant 2? Wow.&rdquo; tweeted Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies chimed in, &ldquo;playoffs. elimination game. give him a flagrant 1 and play ball man.&rdquo;
Crew chief David Guthrie explained afterward that &ldquo;the wind-up, the impact, the follow-through, the unnecessary and excessive contact above the shoulders into the face&rdquo; met the criteria for a Flagrant 2.
The Nuggets played valiantly without Jokic but couldn't extend the series.
&ldquo;I wish we could have played them at full strength,&rdquo; said Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
A year after leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals in the Walt Disney World bubble in Florida, Jokic steered his team through a trying season marked by a rash of injuries, most notably to fellow star Murray, who tore his left ACL in April.
They also lost Monte Morris, P.J. Dozier and Will Barton III down the stretch.
Amid all those injuries &mdash; not to mention a jampacked season where virtually everyone got some rest along the way &mdash; Jokic was a rare everyday player, a big man who logged big minutes. He&rsquo;s the only player to start all his team&rsquo;s regular-season games in the last two seasons, being on the floor for tip-off all 145 times.
Despite that ever-changing cast around him, Jokic guided Denver to the No. 3 playoff seed in the West. Behind Jokic, the Nuggets went 13-5 after Murray tore his ACL on April 12 and he led Denver past Portland in the first round of the playoffs.
And his numbers against the Blazers? Historic. He averaged 33 points and 10.5 rebounds on 53% shooting from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 92% from the free throw line &mdash; making him the first player in NBA history to average 30 points and 10 rebounds with the lofty benchmarks of 50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from the foul line in a playoff series.
Michael Porter Jr.'s breakout season took an unfortunate turn when he tweaked his surgically repaired back in the second-round opener at Phoenix, and that proved one injury too many for Denver.
With their second scoring option at less than full strength, even Jokic's best wasn't good enough.
On the night he celebrated his MVP award, Jokic joined Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players with 30 points, 20 boards and 10 assists in an NBA playoff game. Yet, he apologized to his teammates for not doing more in Denver's 116-102 loss.
&ldquo;He was beating himself up because he's striving for perfection and he knows with the injuries that we have and the quality of opponent that we're facing that he needs to be phenomenal for us to have a chance,&rdquo; Malone said before Game 4.
Jokic had 22 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes before his ejection Sunday night.
&ldquo;Tough loss, tough way to go out,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;I was thinking about this today, after we&rsquo;d gotten Aaron Gordon, we went into L.A. and played the Clippers on April 1st and we beat them. At that point in time, I really felt we had a chance to win it all this year, I really did.&rdquo;
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Denver's season came to an end with Jamal Murray looking on from the bench and MVP Nikola Jokic watching from the locker room.

Malone on Nuggets' injury-riddled year: 'I really felt we had a chance to win it all'

The NBA-championship favorites start their playoff run on Saturday when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Boston Celtics at the Barclays Center in Game 1 of the No. 2 vs No. 7 matchup.
Boston comes into this series as huge underdogs, with Brooklyn&rsquo;s odds to win set at -1,430 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Will Boston be able to steal a game on the road?
Let&rsquo;s take a look at who has the edge in Game 1 in the battle of Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s Celtics vs. the star-studded Nets, and find out which way <a href="https://betql.co/nba/odds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetQL&rsquo;s NBA best-bet model</a> is picking in this game.&nbsp;
Game Preview
Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets (-8, 228.5)
All season long, the Celtics have been spearheaded by their two young All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Unfortunately for Boston&rsquo;s title aspirations, Brown was lost to a season-ending wrist injury. That leaves Tatum to carry the load in a first-round matchup against one of the best teams in the NBA.&nbsp;
Tatum has been holding his own since Brown went out and comes into this game firing on all cylinders. The young star has scored 31.2 points per game over his last nine outings and he's coming off of a 50-point performance against the Washington Wizards in the play-in game.
On the flip side, the Nets have three of the best basketball players on the planet in Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. Their biggest issue this season has been the health of their three big guns. Will chemistry be an issue since they've barely played together this season? It's a small-sample size, but the Nets are 6-2 this season with Durant, Harden, and Irving all in the lineup.&nbsp;
Defensively, the Celtics are better than the Nets in several key metrics. Boston is 11th in points allowed and 14th in defensive rating compared to Brooklyn, who ranks 21st and 22nd in those areas. The Celtics also do a great job at rebounding the basketball and limiting assists, ranking sixth and ninth in those categories, respectively.&nbsp;
Boston also gets the nod here when it comes to the coaching matchup, with the more experienced Brad Stevens going up against rookie coach Steve Nash. While the former-MVP has done a great job of steering the ship for Brooklyn, there&rsquo;s something to be said about a coach's playoff experience.
Matchup-wise, Tatum is going to get his points, but can someone else on the team step up to help him? Kemba Walker had a big game in the play-in, scoring 29 points and providing the spark that Boston needed to advance. He&rsquo;s come on as of late, averaging 29.8 points over his last four games.&nbsp;
The team will need both Tatum and Walker to have big nights if they want to keep up with the firepower of the Nets, who rank first in offensive rating and second in points scored. Brooklyn also ranks first in eFG%, per Cleaning the Glass.
The game plan for the Celtics is going to center around their backcourt, but they are going to need to slow this game down and win on the defensive end to have a shot. Boston will also need to be physical on both ends of the court and muddy the game up a little to keep it within reach.
Don&rsquo;t be surprised if Boston hangs around, at least in Game 1. There&rsquo;s no pressure on them to win and everyone is expecting this one to be a blowout, bettors included. Over 77% of the bettors are laying the points with Brooklyn as of Friday evening.&nbsp;
Look for the Nets to treat this round as a warmup for their postseason run and work out some rotational kinks early. It&rsquo;s a common trend among elite teams, with the Lakers losing their first game of the postseason last year as well.&nbsp;
Tatum should be able to keep his scoring spree rolling and he&rsquo;s averaging 29.7 PPG against the Nets this season. There&rsquo;s no reason to think Brooklyn will be able to slow him down on Saturday night. Give me the Celtics plus the points.
Pick: Boston Celtics +8
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BetQL Model Predictions &amp; Picks
BetQL&rsquo;s NBA model ran 10,000 simulations of this game to provide insight on how the contest will pan out, and after all those simulations, the model agrees with my pick and likes the Celtics in this spot. Currently, the point spread of this game sits at +/- 8 with the Nets as the heavy favorite, but BetQL&rsquo;s model would have placed the line at Nets -5, meaning there is some betting value on the Celtics in this game. Keep reading below to get NBA computer picks for tonight&rsquo;s game from the experts. &nbsp;
Against the Spread Pick:
The model is leaning toward the Celtics +8 with a 4-star rating on the game, and it&rsquo;s hard to argue with the model on this pick as I stated above. The Nets are the favorites to win it all, but haven&rsquo;t played many games as a cohesive unit. Because of their big games and the public being all over the Nets, the line is slightly inflated when comparing it to the model.
We are backing the model and betting the Celtics +8, but be sure to <a href="https://betql.co/nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check back with BetQL</a> to see the most updated odds, lines, and spreads for this game before tip.
Over/Under Pick:
The over/under for this game is set to 228 points. The BetQL model recommends taking Over 228 for this game. Although unders are usually a great bet early in the playoffs, we don&rsquo;t foresee either one of these teams playing tough defense the entire game. With Durant, Irving, Harden, and Tatum all on the court, any one of these guys could put up 40+ points. I am backing BetQL&rsquo;s over/under pick and taking the over.&nbsp;
Prop Bet Spotlight 
Unfortunately, the prop bet lines have not been released yet so you will have to check back with BetQL before tip off here, but the prop we will most likely have our eye on is Jayson Tatum over/under points, which will most likely be somewhere around 30.5 points. If you think the Celtics will be able to contend in this game, you would think Tatum has to score 30+ points. Tatum averaged 29.7 points per game in April, and 26.5 points per game in May, which included an outlier game in which he only scored 9 points.
Since this is a playoff game, Tatum is likely going to get more minutes and shots than usual, so we would recommend betting over 30.5 points for Tatum. Don&rsquo;t be scared if the prop seems like it won&rsquo;t hit at halftime, Tatum is a second-half scorer and we believe he will get over that 30.5 number.&nbsp;

Here's a betting guide for Game 1 between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics.

Everything you need to know ahead of Nets-Celtics Game 1

A basketball lifer, New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry was no stranger to long hours and circuitous road trips. But not even he could&rsquo;ve known that he&rsquo;d fall in love in Los Angeles.
Merely months after being hired to his post, in 2018, Perry accompanied the Knicks on a January road trip to L.A.
It ended up being quite consequential &mdash; just like most of the moves made on his watch.
As the Knicks prepare to make their first playoff appearance since 2013, credit has rightfully been in abundance. From Leon Rose and William Wesley to Tom Thibodeau, RJ Barrett and, of course, Julius Randle, the national media has bestowed praise upon the franchise.
But of all the names that have been associated with the team&rsquo;s turnaround, nary a soul mentions Perry, the one who set off the chain of events that brought the team where it is and the one who is in the final year of his contract.
Indeed, Perry fell in love in Los Angeles.
In Tinseltown, the lights shine quite brightly, and Randle knew it.
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***
Hungry for an opportunity to call a franchise his own, when Kristaps Porzingis checked him on the first possession of the afternoon, the lefty knew that it was feeding time.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton called Randle&rsquo;s number, and the big man took residence in his office on the right elbow. With Porzingis on his back, Randle received an entry pass from Tyler Ennis. He felt Porzingis leaning to his right, so Randle gave a subtle jab before spinning to his left. All he needed was a half-step.
He threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk, as he wore Porzingis like a shirt. It was the first of 27 points on what was a long day at the office for the Knicks. Randle led the Lakers to a 20-point victory.
That night at Staples Center &mdash; Jan. 21, 2018 &mdash; Perry was among those in the Knicks&rsquo; contingent that spent some quality time with Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, sources told BasketballNews.com. Long an ally of the front office in New York, Johnson tipped his hand and foretold a scenario in which Los Angeles may not re-sign the big man.
Perry was all ears.
After LeBron James opted to take his talents West a few months later, Randle, frustrated by a lack of opportunity, requested that the Lakers renounce his rights so he could pursue his potential elsewhere. They did, and perhaps ironically, it was Anthony Davis&rsquo; recruitment that helped steer Randle to New Orleans.
Randle enjoyed a career-year during which Davis himself asked out of New Orleans, and the Pelicans improbably won the draft lottery. For Randle, that meant splitting time with Zion Williamson. No thanks.
The big man packed his aspirations back into his bags and opted to take his mighty shoulders back into free agency. Being proactive, Perry had learned that Kevin Durant wouldn&rsquo;t be coming to the Knicks as hoped, and the GM became determined to not let the lefty slip through his fingers again.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15914586-1_lg.jpg" alt="" />
Rather than sulking, prior to free agency officially beginning, Perry began making arrangements so that the Knicks&rsquo; first free-agency meeting was with Randle. As they did in 2018, he grabbed a small contingent that included former president of basketball operations Steve Mills and former head coach David Fizdale, and plopped them on a plane to Los Angeles.
By the time free agency officially began, New York was in L.A., sitting across the table from Randle and his agent, Aaron Mintz. From their first meeting, Randle understood exactly what was being asked of him, and it was music to his ears. According to one source, he agreed to join the Knicks &ldquo;on the spot,&rdquo; although the details of what eventually became a partially-guaranteed three-year deal worth $63 million had to be ironed out.
Perry may not deserve credit for Randle blossoming into an All-Star and a cornerstone &mdash; he wasn&rsquo;t in the gym shooting shots with the lefty &mdash; but he does deserve credit for the decisive pivot that brought the Knicks to Randle&rsquo;s doorstep when free agency began. Just like he deserves credit for doubling down on the decision to stay put at No. 3 in the 2019 NBA Draft.
According to one Knicks source, several members of the team&rsquo;s scouting department advocated for trading down; the belief in Barrett wasn&rsquo;t unanimous. According to the source, the Knicks had &ldquo;multiple opportunities&rdquo; to exercise trades for the third pick that would&rsquo;ve yielded multiple picks within the first 15. The Atlanta Hawks owned the eighth and 10th overall selections, while other teams, including the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, had opportunities to execute deals that would have netted the Knicks additional draft capital.
Among the players Perry was urged to consider targeting in those trade-back scenarios, according to the source, were Darius Garland and Cam Reddish.
&ldquo;Sure, it ended up being a &lsquo;no brainer,&rsquo; but there were multiple opportunities to trade down and get two top-15 picks,&rdquo; the source said. &ldquo;Scouts in the organization wanted to trade down, but [Perry] felt strongly about RJ. Scott gave them opportunities to sell him, but he ultimately decided to stay put.
&ldquo;Scott knew there was no way Barrett would allow himself to fail.&rdquo;
Good call.
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***
A little more than three years after Perry saw Randle that fateful afternoon at Staples Center, Randle is now wearing orange and blue and leading a revival. But <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-knicks-are-finally-winning-but-theyre-positioned-for-longterm-success-too" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it&rsquo;s New York&rsquo;s future that &mdash; for the first time in a long time &mdash; appears bright</a>.
Shortly after Perry took over in New York, he sat down with Carmelo Anthony and attempted to smooth things over with the future Hall-of-Famer. Anthony told Perry that he wanted a fresh start and that Houston was his destination of choice. New York drew a line in the sand with then-Rockets general manager Daryl Morey &mdash; Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza and multiple future draft picks, including at least one first. The Rockets were willing to send Ryan Anderson to New York and some future draft considerations, but no first-rounder.
Perry stood his ground, and eventually got Anthony to buy in on a trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. The Knicks maintained future cap flexibility by not taking on any long-term deals, while also netting the second-round draft pick that eventually became Mitchell Robinson. Although out for the remainder of the season, Robinson is one of the team&rsquo;s more promising prospects, and with a $1.8 million team option for next season, he is signed to one of the most team-friendly deals in the entire league &mdash; a deal that Perry&rsquo;s front office negotiated.
And when the time came to deal Porzingis, Perry made the unpopular move to trade the fan favorite after it became clear that Porzingis no longer wanted to be in New York. The cap space that resulted from that trade &mdash; aside from being used to sign Randle &mdash; also yielded Marcus Morris, who would eventually be traded for the pick that became Immanuel Quickley.
In other words, the Porzingis trade directly led the Knicks to Randle, Quickley and two first-round draft pick credits, the first of which will vest this year, unprotected.
Like any other general manager, some of the moves that were made on Perry&rsquo;s watch haven&rsquo;t exactly panned out &mdash; drafting Kevin Knox among them. But in relatively short order, after taking over in New York, Perry had to trade his team&rsquo;s best player twice. Improving a roster while doing that is incredibly difficult. Yet, here the Knicks are.
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There&rsquo;s never one reason for anything in the NBA. A tough loss, a great win, a Finals appearance, a lottery showing &mdash; there are always multiple reasons why things go right or wrong.
To put it simply: Perry deserves some credit for where the Knicks are today, and truth be told, he hasn&rsquo;t gotten it.
When one takes a look at the roster that the club will bring into the 2021 NBA Playoffs, four of the team's starters &mdash; Randle, Barrett, Elfrid Payton and Reggie Bullock &mdash; were acquired by the GM.
As Coach Thibodeau and his newly-minted All-Star improbably vie for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, without question, Rose and Wesley are in possession of a promising situation in New York &mdash; a young, talented and hard-working team, cap-friendly contracts, cap space and future draft assets.
For the first time in a long time, it&rsquo;s easy to imagine what the Knicks would look like if free agents once again consider them a destination. Could they land one of the top players in this upcoming class such as Lonzo Ball, John Collins or Lauri Markkanen?
In New York, it&rsquo;s okay to believe in the future again.
But it&rsquo;s important to remember that the bright future was once snuffed out by an endless night.
Scott Perry is the spark that lit the lantern. Salvation draws near.
Three years ago, what seemed an inconsequential road trip and rendezvous with Magic Johnson has made all the difference. And whether or not Rose decides to re-sign arguably the Knicks&rsquo; most deserving free agent this summer, one thing has become abundantly clear...
As general manager, Scott Perry has done more than his part.

As he nears the end of his contract as general manager of the New York Knicks, Scott Perry deserves praise for the job he's done.

For the New York Knicks, GM Scott Perry continues to be unsung hero

Superstition has it that &mdash; of all numbers &mdash; seven is the luckiest.
The Brooklyn Nets are fully testing that theory.
When James Harden flew eastbound from the Lonestar state, he landed in Brooklyn and made Barclays Center more than the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s basketball talent armory. He made it a necessary stop for any team that sees the NBA Finals in its future.
At least, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ve all been led to believe (and rightfully so).
The Nets enter play on April 29 as the conference&rsquo;s first team to clinch a playoff spot &mdash; a byproduct of Brooklyn also becoming the top team in the conference. Kyrie Irving has had no issue sharing the spotlight or shots, Steve Nash and his impressive coaching staff have found messages that resonate with their platoon and Kevin Durant has, well, looked just like Kevin Durant.
Lucky number, indeed? That ol&rsquo; No. 7?
To that, Brooklyn can wish upon its lucky star(s)...
And not only because it's embroidered on Durant&rsquo;s jersey&hellip; But because that&rsquo;s likely going to be the number of games Brooklyn&rsquo;s impressive triumvirate will have played together when the postseason begins.
Perhaps it&rsquo;s poetic justice. When Steve Nash and Mike D'Antoni were together in Phoenix, the point guard won two MVP awards and D&rsquo;Antoni took home a Coach of the Year trophy. Together, they revolutionized the game of basketball. The basketball court was their canvas, and Nash the artist. They treated the shot clock as nothing more than a friendly suggestion and defiantly decided that dunks and threes were a better combination than peanut butter and jelly.
So yes, perhaps it&rsquo;s poetic justice that the duo now gets to steer the most incredible offensive engine that we&rsquo;ve seen in modern times.
But alas, the game isn&rsquo;t played on paper.
Whether the Nets can actually play to their full potential in the postseason remains to be seen, and it&rsquo;s worth recognizing just how incredible of a case study they are.
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Of all &ldquo;super-teams&rdquo; that have shouldered the daunting pressure that such a collection of talent brings, only the 2008 Boston Celtics got it done in their first go-round.
We remember and continually cite those Celtics because they did the impossible, and nobody&rsquo;s done it since. As transient as the league has become over the past 10 years, we simply don&rsquo;t see teams come together, deploy completely new rotations and win immediately. Last year&rsquo;s Los Angeles Lakers came close, but LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso ruin the argument.
In Toronto, Kawhi Leonard joined a rotation that had scratched and clawed its way to the top of the conference. He was the final piece. With an asterisk, the same can be said of Durant&rsquo;s joining the Golden State Warriors. LeBron&rsquo;s Cavs, obviously, didn&rsquo;t get it done in his first year with the club, and neither did LeBron&rsquo;s Miami Heat for that matter.
You cycle back through the list of champions going back more than 20 years, and one thing becomes obvious: the teams that walk away with the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy almost universally feature rotational pieces who have endured some growing pains.
The Nets have, just not necessarily together.
If Irving missed his fateful three-point shot over Steph Curry&rsquo;s outstretched arm back in 2016, the world as we have come to know it today may never have been. Perhaps James never wins a championship in Cleveland. Does he still leave for Los Angeles? Would Durant have re-signed in Oklahoma City? Does Irving still ask out of Cleveland?
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To call that shot one of the biggest &mdash; and most consequential &mdash; in NBA history is no stretch. But after it fell and James cried for Cleveland, Irving got zero credit for the part he played in upsetting a 73-win team in the NBA Finals after trailing 3-1. From Game 3 onward, he scored 30.8 points per game on 50.8% shooting from the field, including 46.7% from three-point territory.
How could he not carry the feeling of being slighted with him to Boston? How does that baggage not find its way back home with him to the Nets?
Durability. Availability. Perhaps these are Durant's biggest foes. If the basketball gods were less cruel, it would be Durant, and not LeBron James, who gets to flirt with the idea of running down Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record &mdash; the biggest giant of them all.
Truth be told, there&rsquo;s an objective argument to be made that Durant is the greatest offensive basketball player who's ever played the game. His major downfall &mdash; aside from his body &mdash; is a willingness to defer touches and opportunities to his teammates. At one point, it was Russell Westbrook, then Steph Curry.
Of all the players we&rsquo;ve seen, Durant is the one who truly could have pushed Wilt Chamberlain&rsquo;s 100-point record. He just lacked the imagination, audacity and selfishness to ever consider pursuing it in a serious way. In Oakland, he became a champion, but anyone with two eyes could see that Durant wasn't fulfilled. Not a "true champion," they said. Draymond Green said his piece. So did the team's architect, Bob Myers. Finals MVP or not, Durant simply wasn't one of "them," so he took his napsack and his championship rings to Brooklyn.
And, of course, there's James Harden, the Beard.
At one point buried on Scott Brooks&rsquo; bench, the small-minded Oklahoma City Thunder couldn&rsquo;t dream big enough. Never could the ownership group imagine that three stars were worth paying $100 million. A trio of in-prime players good enough to one day be MVP? Impossible.
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A faulty showing in the 2012 NBA Finals helped the franchise conclude that Harden wasn&rsquo;t worth the max contract he sought. One whose individual scoring abilities are among the best we&rsquo;ve ever seen was traded for one year of Kevin Martin and the draft pick that became Steven Adams (in fairness, among other things).
But since then, Harden has become a special player who led a proud franchise to its genesis. He obviously couldn&rsquo;t push the Houston Rockets across the finish line, but one could fairly argue that he was just the latest in an infinitely-long list of players who&rsquo;ve existed as inliers because they had to compete against the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Steph Curry.
So here we have it. Irving, Durant and Harden have each found their way to Brooklyn. Now joined at the hip, their common thread is a faulted legacy that &mdash; in the case of Irving and Durant &mdash; a championship pedigree hasn't solved.
For years, Brooklyn's trio have tantalized us with their individual greatness, and at different points this season, have shown us that they are all capable of sharing the floor with one another and elevating their teammates.
An interesting case study, these Nets are. They&rsquo;ve come together wanting to build their own vibe in Brooklyn and establish New York City&rsquo;s largest borough as the new Mecca of pro basketball. Each searching for the same thing, each wanting to win, their individuals circumstances have joined them in a common quest.
But alas. Seven games is all these Nets will have played together.
With much less of an opportunity to play together than even the 2008 Celtics, they'll attempt to go where no team has gone before.
Indeed, if No. 7 is truly lucky, together, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden, these superstars... Well, they'll prove it to us all.

The 2008 Celtics are among the few teams to win a championship together in their first year. The Nets will now attempt to join them.

On the Brooklyn Nets, No. 7 and the slow, methodical march to a title

There is no judgement when you enter Haseeb Fasihi&rsquo;s gym, but there are rules.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When you work with me, probably for the first two weeks, I don't want [any] footage,&rdquo; Fasihi explained. &ldquo;I don't want any cameras.&rdquo;
For Fasihi, this rule is rooted in passion and in the desire to see athletes improve their game, not to stroke their egos.&nbsp;
&ldquo;My [philosophy] is like, &lsquo;Hey, when I break you down and you're at your worst, how do you adjust?&rsquo;&rdquo;
The numbers, the success stories, and the accolades that he has accumulated over the last decade are evidence enough that the 30-year-old&rsquo;s approach to coaching and developing professional basketball players works. He&rsquo;s been in their position before, and he knows firsthand what is necessary to ensure a long career.&nbsp;
Not highly recruited out of high school, Haseeb&rsquo;s venture into the world of professional basketball began, like many others&rsquo;, at just 18 years old.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I went to this camp in Atlanta and I was just dropping dimes to everybody. They saw that I was not a scorer, but I had this one game where I had like 16 assists and 12 rebounds, but only scored 8 points. But I didn't feel like I needed to score. So a lot of the scouts were like, &lsquo;Hey you remind us of what Steve Nash does. He doesn't need to shoot.&rsquo; So they used that as a way of recruiting me,&rdquo; he says of the London Leopards (now the Essex Leopards) of the British Basketball League.&nbsp;
And while his own professional career was cut short due to knee and ankle injuries, a promise to his father would prove to be a blessing in disguise, giving him a different opportunity to pursue a career in professional basketball.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wanted to get into school because I didn't have my Bachelor&rsquo;s yet," Fasihi said. "So as a favor to my father, I came back to America and got my Bachelor's from UCF (University of Central Florida) in Exercise Physiology.&rdquo;&nbsp;
His degree helped him understand the intricate workings of a professional athlete&rsquo;s body, and his personal experiences helped him turn it into an art form.&nbsp;
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While injuries and promises led him to pursue a new career, the NBA lockout of 2011 &mdash; in another butterfly-effect moment that has become the norm in his life &mdash; helped him get his foot in the door.&nbsp;
Two years into working independently as a conditioning coach, Fasihi joined the famed IMG Academy. His first client was none other than Tyrus Thomas, the fourth overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft. The young coach was unmistakably talented, but like the NBA, talent and opportunity are often two independent parts of the equation.
&ldquo;What got me into the NBA was one of my mentors, Bill Burgos, who's currently the head strength-and-conditioning coach for the Timberwolves," Fasihi said. "During the lockout, coaches and players were not working. So he decided to become a professor at UCF for one semester in Strength and Conditioning. So, I was so lucky and blessed to take that one Strength and Conditioning class.&rdquo;&nbsp;
As fate would have it, Professor Burgos was also the strength-and-conditioning coach for the Orlando Magic at the time.
&ldquo;I actually got to know him really well and we built a personal relationship," Fasihi said. "And then, he saw that in the offseason, I was training so many players.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Fasihi and Burgos kept in touch. When Haseeb was featured by ESPN for his work with Los Angeles Lakers signee Vander Blue, he sent the article to his longtime mentor. Burgos picked up the phone and called Fasihi with as little hesitation as Steph Curry has from behind the arc.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He told me, &lsquo;Hey, we're starting a new G League program and I want you to be my assistant strength coach in Orlando.&rsquo; And at that time, I was actually with Jae Crowder in Cleveland after he got traded," Fasihi said. "So I got the call when I was at his house. He said &lsquo;Hey, we want you to come to the Orlando Magic,&rsquo; and this was in 2017. I was like, &lsquo;Oh, wow. Alright. I'm ready. Let's do it.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;
Only 27 at the time, Fasihi jumped at the opportunity, and hasn&rsquo;t looked back since.&nbsp;
Haseeb wears many hats &mdash; he is the head of player development for the Lakeland Magic (the current G League champions), a strength-and-conditioning coach for the Orlando Magic, the creator of M.A.D.E Performance, and the personal development coach to basketball players at every level. His client list spans the length of every roster in the NBA, and he can name every one of them.&nbsp;
Since joining the Lakeland Magic in 2017, he has seen many players come and go; some head overseas, and some make it to the NBA. Other players go to his hometown of Miami to train with him individually.
&ldquo;If a player comes [to Miami] temporarily, they just work out with me short-term and then they leave. But guys like Jae Crowder or Bruno Fernando from Atlanta, these guys want me to be with them full-time," Fasihi said. "It usually depends on the demand at the moment. There have been times that Jae Crowder wants me to be with him in Phoenix, and I'll be like, &lsquo;Hey, I can't, I'm still in the season with Lakeland.&rsquo; Or if he's somewhere else, and he needs me there, I can't be there, just because the demand I have down here is pretty high, especially with a lot of college players transitioning to the NBA."&nbsp;
He has perfected the careful balancing act that is being in multiple places at the same time, and thanks the Lakeland Magic for their flexibility that allows him to do so.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Luckily, my two general managers, Anthony Parker &mdash; who is Candace Parker&rsquo;s brother, he's my head GM in the Lakeland &mdash; and my assistant general manager, Adetunji Adedipe, these two are pretty much my mentors in the organization, [along with] our assistant GM Matt Lloyd with Orlando," Fasihi said. "So they kind of understand that I have a lot of clientele in the offseason [and allow me to] go back to the offseason demand of the players contacting me."
Orlando completed several deals at this year&rsquo;s trade deadline, and no one is more excited than Fasihi.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They're going to have a lot of young guys that they&rsquo;re going to start drafting,&rdquo; he says, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. &ldquo;For the past three-to-five years, I've been working the NBA Draft Combine, so I do all the testing. We as strength-and-conditioning coaches, we do the testing like the vertical jump and all that stuff. So they'll assign me a certain spot at the combine to do it. And that's a very honorable thing to do because it&rsquo;s very rare to have the opportunity.&rdquo;
With a keen eye for detail, Fasihi&rsquo;s personal methods for player development have helped many draft prospects go from merely dreaming of playing in the NBA to living that reality.
Improving a player&rsquo;s mobility and confidence are areas that Fasihi is an expert in, with one often interchangeable with the other.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been taught that if you feel like the player is confident shooting at a high percentage, it&rsquo;s hard to change that," he said. "I'll give you an example: when I was growing up, people would say that Reggie Miller had a terrible shooting form, but he was so confident. He was just one of the best three-point shooters in the league, so nobody said anything! But now, we're in an era where guys have to shoot quicker, you know, all those little things are diagnosed. So for me, I would have to see where the percentages are at and how the body moves when they&rsquo;re shooting. If I feel like I can improve a player&rsquo;s shot by 2% or 3%, I'll break that down to a T and then see how the body responds when I do change the form.&rdquo;
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When he speaks of his client list, Fasihi doesn&rsquo;t start with the most famous. He starts with the players he sees the most potential in &mdash; the ones with the desire to improve a little bit every day.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Christian Vital from UConn; he's been with me for, like, the past four or five years," Fasihi said. "So he's like my little brother. He comes to me in the offseason. I know his agent really well, and he was actually picked up by Memphis on their G League roster. He's gonna be a great addition to [any] situation he's in. Jalen Adams, another kid from UConn, he&rsquo;s with the Pelicans and their G League team. I think he will have another great opportunity. 
"Miles Bridges, but we already see where he's at now; he's catching lobs and just dunking it. That's no surprise. There's just so many players. I mean, I could go down the list. Even one of my kids, MaCio Teague from Baylor, who just won [the national championship]. Seeing him win [after] having him come work with me in the offseason was fun.&rdquo;
He speaks highly of Princeton&rsquo;s Devin Cannady, the G League MVP in his second professional season: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great kid and he&rsquo;s got a great career ahead of him.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The day after Fasihi mentioned Cannady, the Magic signed him to a two-way contract.&nbsp;
Although the coach feels a sense of pride with every success story, he will never take the credit.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Growing up in Miami, I was a Heat fan, but now I&rsquo;m a Magic fan because obviously, it&rsquo;s political,&rdquo; Fasihi jokes. &ldquo;But seeing [Jae] make it to the Finals, I felt like I was part of Heat Nation.&rdquo;
He doesn&rsquo;t take credit for Crowder&rsquo;s Finals performance with the Heat, as he recognizes the amount of people involved in ensuring longevity in a player&rsquo;s career.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I did what I could to help him with the short period of time I had with him," he said. "It's what he does with what I&rsquo;ve taught him that makes him go to the next level.&rdquo;
Along with the players he&rsquo;s helped developed over the years, Fasihi is continuing to make his mark and have a positive impact behind the scenes.
And he&rsquo;s far from done.

Haseeb Fasihi's name might not be familiar to NBA fans, but behind the scenes, his teachings are pushing many young pros forward.

From NCAA to the NBA, Haseeb Fasihi continues to make his mark

There were a few games yesterday. There was some news, and there were some stories. But to be honest, there are only two that feel right to talk about.
Maybe it is because this past weekend, a friend of mine and former Lincoln Memorial University G/F, Dorian Pinson drowned in Georgia&rsquo;s Lake Lanier after renting a boat for the afternoon with his friends. His body has yet to be recovered. He was rehabbing a minor injury, but was excited about his next career venture after playing in CEBL and NBL Canada for the past three seasons.
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Rest Easy Dorian 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/gkZdb1VgRc">pic.twitter.com/gkZdb1VgRc</a>
&mdash; Jeremiah Samarrippas (@JSamarrippasLMU) <a href="https://twitter.com/JSamarrippasLMU/status/1384249233188945922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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💔💔 <a href="https://t.co/HbJBuVWGyW">pic.twitter.com/HbJBuVWGyW</a>
&mdash; Jeremiah Samarrippas (@JSamarrippasLMU) <a href="https://twitter.com/JSamarrippasLMU/status/1384249476273950723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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His passing feels like a blip in the news, a quick break between updates of COVID-related deaths and mass shootings. An unfortunate palate cleanser from what has become the norm.
And Thursday night, though I didn&rsquo;t know him personally, the same feeling that I had felt only days earlier came back, when I heard the news of University of Kentucky standout and NBA Draft hopeful Terrence Clarke&rsquo;s devastating passing in a car accident in Los Angeles. Clarke had signed with Klutch Sports only a day before, and was expected to be a high lottery pick.
His mother&rsquo;s life was about to change in ways you can only dream about as a mother.
Instead, it became her worst nightmare.
That&rsquo;s two mothers who have to bury their sons.
Two futures turned to funerals.
Two communities ripped apart in an instant.
Two news stories that deserve more than five minutes of attention.
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RIP LIL BRO💕❤️ 💔 <a href="https://t.co/IU22MqJjZr">pic.twitter.com/IU22MqJjZr</a>
&mdash; Shareef O&rsquo;Neal (@SSJreef) <a href="https://twitter.com/SSJreef/status/1385403741537542151?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Rest In Peace Terrence Clarke Keep the Clarke family in your prayers 🙏🏾 <a href="https://t.co/I0nkTbEDIu">https://t.co/I0nkTbEDIu</a>
&mdash; JJJ (@jarenjacksonjr) <a href="https://twitter.com/jarenjacksonjr/status/1385406504883261440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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We are devastated to learn of our own Terrence Clarke's tragic passing. Our hearts are heavy for Terrence, his family and all of us who loved him.<a href="https://t.co/u81DDOszPa">https://t.co/u81DDOszPa</a>
&mdash; Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/KentuckyMBB/status/1385425158316478466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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My heart is extremely heavy right now! 🥺 HUG YOUR LOVED ONES! Prayers up to my man Terrence Clarke&rsquo;s Family! ❤️ MUCH LOVE BRO! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/riptclarke?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#riptclarke</a>
&mdash; Tyrese Maxey (@TyreseMaxey) <a href="https://twitter.com/TyreseMaxey/status/1385415202942984192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Rest Easy Terrence Clarke😞🙏🏽 <a href="https://t.co/yyAgoEIhcT">pic.twitter.com/yyAgoEIhcT</a>
&mdash; Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTraeYoung/status/1385412196243578882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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😭😭😭 I love you lil bro 💔 <a href="https://t.co/Qc56iX05fp">https://t.co/Qc56iX05fp</a>
&mdash; Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell/status/1385411909856366596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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<a href="https://t.co/5TamXzb7bi">pic.twitter.com/5TamXzb7bi</a>
&mdash; Klutch Sports Group (@KlutchSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/KlutchSports/status/1385429157312548864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Rest In Peace Terrance Clarke. I remember hoopin with him in the city when he was still in high school. He was destined for the league. Prayers up to him and his family 🙏🏽 gone way too soon.
&mdash; CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) <a href="https://twitter.com/CJMcCollum/status/1385422046964768770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"It's hard to talk about a basketball game." Brad Stevens reacts to the news of Terrence Clarke dying in a car crash. Clarke is from Boston and is beloved in the community. (via <a href="https://twitter.com/celtics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@celtics</a>)<a href="https://t.co/9MbZvXqqLZ">pic.twitter.com/9MbZvXqqLZ</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1385424715355856896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Man 🙏🏾💔 <a href="https://t.co/I9fZi7pzVv">https://t.co/I9fZi7pzVv</a>
&mdash; 13am Adebayo💥 (@Bam1of1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bam1of1/status/1385406380446785536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
wayyy to soon 🤕🥺RIP brudda 🤧💕 tell ur loved ones u love em <a href="https://t.co/RU8rBIaTdw">https://t.co/RU8rBIaTdw</a>
&mdash; Melo (@MELOD1P) <a href="https://twitter.com/MELOD1P/status/1385445470034616320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Today is a rough day for our Kentucky Family...RIP Terrence Clarke 🙏🏽
&mdash; Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) <a href="https://twitter.com/KarlTowns/status/1385435050422898688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2021</a></blockquote>

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BasketballNews.com extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the Clarke and Pinson families at this difficult time.

BasketballNews.com extends its deepest sympathies and condolences to the Clarke and Pinson families at this difficult time.

Basketball community mourns the tragic losses of Terrence Clarke, Dorian Pinson

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 22, 2021.
Mantis Toboggan, M.D.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kyle Lowry says he will not respond to anything other than Dr. Lowry once he receives his honorary doctorate.
&mdash; Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeMurphyODC/status/1385052237920186373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Kyle Lowry is set to receive an honorary doctorate from Acadia University, and if you thought it wouldn&rsquo;t go directly to his head, you are very wrong.
Typical Dad
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Yep, sounds like my dad... haha <a href="https://t.co/tTRFhpmawX">https://t.co/tTRFhpmawX</a>
&mdash; Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) <a href="https://twitter.com/sabrina_i20/status/1385082956977426432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This story is incredible, but Sabrina&rsquo;s nonchalant response, as if her dad does this all the time, is what makes it so funny.
A Little Of This, A Little Of That
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Russell Westbrook: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m one of those players that if I need to defend at a high level, I can do that. If I need to score at a high level, I can do that. Pass? I can do that. Rebound? I can do that. Want me to coach? Shit, I can do that, too."
&mdash; Fred Katz (@FredKatz) <a href="https://twitter.com/FredKatz/status/1385055119570575360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Every few years, Russell Westbrook gives the media a quote that transcends the test of time. This might be the latest one.
&ldquo;Is This The Krusty Krab?&rdquo; &ldquo;No, This Is Jaren.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<a href="https://t.co/jteOmCYJ0d">https://t.co/jteOmCYJ0d</a> <a href="https://t.co/4JESxe8Xea">pic.twitter.com/4JESxe8Xea</a>
&mdash; JJJ (@jarenjacksonjr) <a href="https://twitter.com/jarenjacksonjr/status/1385033710358044674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>

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F is for friends that do stuff together, U is for U and me!
Tops Drop
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
This is why PJ Tucker is my absolute favourite. Snowing in Milwaukee and dude still decides to take the hardtop off and drive convertible, while jamming to 'Peaches' in 37 degree weather 😂. <a href="https://t.co/iK4FXd4w00">pic.twitter.com/iK4FXd4w00</a>
&mdash; Sully Akbari (@SullySays__) <a href="https://twitter.com/SullySays__/status/1384941429378670593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Welcome to the land where it just don&rsquo;t stop Trunks pop, tops drop, and the front end hop ...Something tells me Fat Pat was not talking about Milwaukee, but you do you, P.J.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 22, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Only The Coolest Cats

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them). Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 20, 2021.
Of Course We&rsquo;re Gonna Mention It
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
that man set up a catfish account to make his podcast do numbers, gave her CANCER, catfished all these dudes on Lakers Twitter, decided to kill &ldquo;Vivian&rdquo; off when it got too much, then wanted to be the hero who found her after her &ldquo;missing&rdquo; post started doing numbers diabolical
&mdash; Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) <a href="https://twitter.com/jtylerconway/status/1384489660332666884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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What a wild night for #NBATwitter. Shonda Rhimes herself couldn&rsquo;t have written this story. This is also a good starting point for anyone wondering why &ldquo;Vivian&rdquo; is trending in the NBA section of Twitter.
ClutchPoints Strikes Again
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
If the Vivian photoshops were made by us, NBA Twitter would never know she was a catfish. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JustSayin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JustSayin</a> <a href="https://t.co/WMXWxQD0Pc">pic.twitter.com/WMXWxQD0Pc</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1384393536825528322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

They may have made everyone think Lonnie Walker IV had passed away, including Lonnie himself, but they do have a point here.
(Philly) Cheese
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
oh <a href="https://t.co/5kkqRltYGu">pic.twitter.com/5kkqRltYGu</a>
&mdash; Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyKlopferNBA/status/1384312951671164929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Wells Fargo Center is home to the 76ers, Allen Iverson, Joel Embiid, and the biggest pizza of all-time. If they don&rsquo;t have the Most Valuable Player this year, they will definitely have Most Valuable Pizza.
Rebranding
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
one day jokic is gonna put up a 30/15/10 game while wearing air monarchs
&mdash; Robby Kalland (@RKalland) <a href="https://twitter.com/RKalland/status/1384354440052760577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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When, not if, this happens, Nike&rsquo;s Air Monarchs achieve icon status for more than just being the official shoe of dads at barbecues.
A Lot To Take In
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Has this been discussed? <a href="https://t.co/R5kEHpc5Xn">pic.twitter.com/R5kEHpc5Xn</a>
&mdash; emma (@_emmajbrown) <a href="https://twitter.com/_emmajbrown/status/1384353909469192194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

The art is great. The messages are very specific. The baby looks like they have a large manicured hand.
Doin&rsquo; The Most
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"Sir, there's really no reason for you to ta-- annnnnnnd ... you've taken your shirt off, great." <a href="https://t.co/UsvtZ4z6Y3">https://t.co/UsvtZ4z6Y3</a>
&mdash; Andrew Joe Potter (@AndrewJoePotter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewJoePotter/status/1384220808994725894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Enes Kanter is the gift that keeps on giving. Unless you&rsquo;re the nurse trying to vaccinate a nearly 7-foot tall man who insisted on standing with his shirt off for the process.
Your Move, Jimmy
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Today in Gems from Raptors Reddit: A redditor celebrates Yuta&rsquo;s contract the best way they know how. Yuta WantaLatte. <a href="https://t.co/NskEYdajIz">pic.twitter.com/NskEYdajIz</a>
&mdash; Kate (@KateBDoll) <a href="https://twitter.com/KateBDoll/status/1384153370659754001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

This is the real Big Face Coffee&trade;.
The Lannisters Send Their Regards
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Steph Curry really came in and cooked his brother in The City of Brotherly Love 😂 <a href="https://t.co/q5wIO0flHu">pic.twitter.com/q5wIO0flHu</a>
&mdash; Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bballforeverfb/status/1384371306699780097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Seriously. This is what Game of Thrones would be if it were set in the 2000s and got better each season instead of worse.

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day.

NBA Tweets of the Day: The Vivian/Vivien Drama

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 19, 2021.
Wine Not?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Complex like a Spanish Tempranillo <a href="https://t.co/U6957vGlFB">pic.twitter.com/U6957vGlFB</a>
&mdash; Cassidy Gemmet (@CassidyGemmet) <a href="https://twitter.com/CassidyGemmet/status/1383227041391124481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This thread makes me want to start drinking wine. I don&rsquo;t understand all of the &ldquo;hints of wood and a fruity aftertaste&rdquo; stuff, because to me, it all tastes the same. But if Melo were to bottle his own wine...
Go Fish
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I designed a basketball-themed deck of cards. (1/3) <a href="https://t.co/jDFJ1bUOFH">pic.twitter.com/jDFJ1bUOFH</a>
&mdash; Dana (@greatdane92) <a href="https://twitter.com/greatdane92/status/1383856959246409738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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These are so well thought out and detailed and funny and just cool. Unfortunately they have already sold out, but a second drop is inevitable. This is better than Top Shot.
Where Dreams Come True
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I was 6 years old when I told my dad I am going to play in the WNBA one day. 13 years of giving basketball everything I have and I can finally say &lsquo;dad I made it&rsquo; 🥺 <a href="https://t.co/7O0yyqQLHD">pic.twitter.com/7O0yyqQLHD</a>
&mdash; Shyla Heal (@shylaheal1) <a href="https://twitter.com/shylaheal1/status/1383596138926809092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Could you imagine your childhood dream actually coming true? When I was six, I told my parents I wanted to be a polar bear. I guess we had different aspirations.
Insert Alonzo Mourning GIF
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Mom: The Raptors have gas!!! Me: What??? Mom: They have gas cause they didn&rsquo;t tank 🙄🙄🙄
&mdash; Ameer (@AmeerJHamid) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmeerJHamid/status/1383241381548748803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Dad Jokes. Mom jokes.
You Reap What You Sow
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
kid is at home healing from surgery and kerr is saying this uh oh <a href="https://t.co/BkekJ5Ks2V">https://t.co/BkekJ5Ks2V</a>
&mdash; 🐞yasmin (@theneonplaybook) <a href="https://twitter.com/theneonplaybook/status/1383196692976111618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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If James Wiseman is completely turned off from professional basketball at age 20, who could blame him? After his injury, the NCAA fiasco, being drafted to a team whose fall from grace has been well-documented, being ridiculed by the media for simply being a teenager, suffering a season-ending injury, and then hearing his coach say this while he's recovering, he has every right to be upset. Maybe the Warriors shouldn&rsquo;t have drafted a teenager with three college games under his belt second overall and expected him to solve all of their problems.
Day Ones
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Damn <a href="https://twitter.com/swatts15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@swatts15</a> I called this six years ago 🤧🤧 <a href="https://t.co/GbcrRjgRgq">https://t.co/GbcrRjgRgq</a>
&mdash; Matty Ice (@TheRealMM10) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealMM10/status/1383110809241460738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The best part? Not only did it come true, but she did invite him to the draft room.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The most deserving person I know! Blessed to know you not only as a player but as a person! You have earned this!!! TOP 10?!? The work starts now Steph Buckets!! All love always girl!! Congratulations 🖤🤞🏽 <a href="https://twitter.com/swatts15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@swatts15</a> 💜💛🙏🏽 <a href="https://t.co/t3LZQ9qePr">pic.twitter.com/t3LZQ9qePr</a>
&mdash; Matty Ice (@TheRealMM10) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealMM10/status/1382874890701770752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Where Are They Now?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I remember someone being thirsty for Aldridge, but I didn&rsquo;t remember it in this detail Lordy <a href="https://t.co/623YmsZvk3">https://t.co/623YmsZvk3</a>
&mdash; Dom2K☘📈 (@Dom_2k) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dom_2k/status/1382760828479356929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Has anyone checked in on her to see how she&rsquo;s handling the news?
The Best Day
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Paul Watson Jr gets his first NBA start tonight. Here is a picture I took from his first Raptors 905 radio interview. I'm so happy. <a href="https://t.co/GRzpHI1SH2">pic.twitter.com/GRzpHI1SH2</a>
&mdash; kelsea (@kelsea_lately) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately/status/1383187947692888070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

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For the first time ever, I am including my own tweet as one of the tweets of the day. Not because it was hilarious or eye-opening, but because I&rsquo;m just really proud. Having covered him during his season with the Raptors 905 and seeing the work he put in behind the scenes, his willingness to learn and grow -- and just how insanely talented he is -- <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-paul-watson-jr-toronto-raptors-nba-bubble-g-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I never doubted he would get here</a>. Did I expect him to drop 30 points and outscore the entire opposing team by himself in his NBA starting lineup debut? Probably not.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 19, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Dreams and Nightmares

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 15, 2021.
Air Luka
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LukaLogo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LukaLogo</a> <a href="https://t.co/eRY0JlSwNl">pic.twitter.com/eRY0JlSwNl</a>
&mdash; Patrik &copy; (@PatrikEngineer) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatrikEngineer/status/1382558141234225153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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If it works, it works. Unfortunately for the Memphis Grizzlies, it did, in fact, work.
I&rsquo;m Lovin&rsquo; It
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I thought mcdonalds just made a fancy new nuggies box but it actually turns into a basketball hoop for the dip?!?! put me in coach <a href="https://t.co/0e79ilrYM1">pic.twitter.com/0e79ilrYM1</a>
&mdash; The Karaage Kid (@thedavetamayo) <a href="https://twitter.com/thedavetamayo/status/1382489455869751299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Today, I will go to McDonald&rsquo;s and order 20 nuggets to see if this is true. It will be tough, but I&rsquo;m doing it for you guys.
San Antonio Sprouts
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I accidentally called them the sprouts instead of the spurs and wow wouldn&rsquo;t that be cute tho?
&mdash; m (@maljane) <a href="https://twitter.com/maljane/status/1382492468483080194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Being that this is the youngest team Gregg Popovich has ever coached during his time with the Spurs, the Sprouts is actually a very fitting nickname.
Bigger Than Basketball
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
It&rsquo;s not every day you get to meet the basketball pro you play on NBA 2K, but <a href="https://twitter.com/Klow7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KLow7</a> made it happen for our patients yesterday with a virtual visit on a telepresence robot that he controlled from his end. Jakobe &amp; his family were so excited to get to chat with the <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Raptors</a> guard! <a href="https://t.co/M3rN3jC8uF">pic.twitter.com/M3rN3jC8uF</a>
&mdash; Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (@AllChildrens) <a href="https://twitter.com/AllChildrens/status/1382061093867110401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Kyle Lowry may have missed the last two games for rest, but his time off was impactful in a completely different way. We are thinking of you and rooting for you, Jakobe! (Just like you root for Kyle).
Baby On Boards
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
My son is 24 days old and has already grown out of several 3 month outfits. That NBA rookie deal is going to be sweet.
&mdash; Matt Shantz (@m_shantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/m_shantz/status/1382337526547943431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Congratulations to Matt and his wife on the birth of their son, Tobias. May his first step be a euro.
Support System
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Find someone who loves you as much as THJ after Luka game winners <a href="https://t.co/aVbt6o7RDf">pic.twitter.com/aVbt6o7RDf</a>
&mdash; Brian (@pdx_mavs) <a href="https://twitter.com/pdx_mavs/status/1382553028125888524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Getting in on the ground floor of a player destined for superstardom is a surefire way to ensure you never get traded. Genius.
The Laugh&trade;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Kawhi Leonard enjoying himself on the bench 🤣<a href="https://t.co/IJsd51qMQx">pic.twitter.com/IJsd51qMQx</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1382502472124551171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>

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We need to know what made Kawhi Leonard break character and laugh hysterically. Especially when you pay attention to Rondo, PG, and Boogie on the second (or third, fourth, 57th) watch and realize that they are not laughing nearly as hard as Leonard, or even at all. I demand answers.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Laughing Out Loud

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 14, 2021.
It Won&rsquo;t Be For Clout, It Won&rsquo;t Be For Fame
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
look at Tatum man so classy <a href="https://t.co/FEhiBG05wg">pic.twitter.com/FEhiBG05wg</a>
&mdash; Henry 🦦 (@BucketsByTatum) <a href="https://twitter.com/BucketsByTatum/status/1382176713665351681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Jayson Tatum did this, but he didn&rsquo;t brag about it or post it for praise. He did it because he could, and because he is a good person.
Dream Big
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Inspiring. Don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you that you can&rsquo;t get in fights on here and still achieve at the highest level. <a href="https://t.co/HQ1AwxxqTv">https://t.co/HQ1AwxxqTv</a>
&mdash; Mina Kimes (@minakimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/1382140352388231169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Kevin Durant finally said &ldquo;screw it&rdquo; and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/were-all-worse-off-for-the-kevin-durantshannon-sharpe-exchange" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaned into being extremely online</a>, and it is commendable. It has to be exhausting to read and hear things about yourself every minute of every day and feel like you can&rsquo;t respond. All players should have burner accounts, and when they are discovered, they should be left alone.
Honestly, Same
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Anthony Edwards on his feelings about Alex Rodriguez being the Timberwolves new owner: "I don't know who that is. I know he's going to be the owner. But I don't know anything about baseball."
&mdash; Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1382103479452377092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Alex Rodriguez is that guy who is engaged to Jennifer Lopez.
Big Bank
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Barbie better make these quick 💨 <a href="https://t.co/j1mVfDLBxR">pic.twitter.com/j1mVfDLBxR</a>
&mdash; SB&reg; (@drakecereal) <a href="https://twitter.com/drakecereal/status/1381973803467599874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Again, just like WNBA-endorsed makeup products, please take all of my money. There is so much money to be made through sports-related avenues when companies realize that women exist.
They Grow Up So Fast
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Romeo Langford was 3 years old when Carmelo Anthony was drafted into the NBA. And now he's defending Melo in the NBA. <a href="https://t.co/Gx1vTmlYzG">pic.twitter.com/Gx1vTmlYzG</a>
&mdash; Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorcsnow/status/1382162371553193989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Carmelo Anthony redemption tour is over. He has proven that he can hang with the best of them, because he is the best of them, and that he still belongs in the league playing against and alongside people who are young enough to be his child. Stay Me7o.
Sparking Joy
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I hope Anthony Edwards knows how many people&rsquo;s days he brightens just by being himself. His effervescence, humor, ability to not take things too seriously, and genuine joy lift the spirits of so many on a daily basis. I hope that&rsquo;s a big part of his league-wide perception, too.
&mdash; Jack Borman (@jrborman13) <a href="https://twitter.com/jrborman13/status/1382146210308362244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This rookie class, and Edwards in particular, is so refreshing. Not because of their on-court abilities, though those have exceeded expectations as well, but because of the fun we see them having. The canned answers and stifling of individual personalities appears to be a thing of the past, and it&rsquo;s so nice to catch a glimpse of exactly who these guys are.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 14, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Just Be Yourself

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 13, 2021.
Very That
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<a href="https://t.co/3aOaHX3Z6x">pic.twitter.com/3aOaHX3Z6x</a>
&mdash; bobby wasabi (@bIondiewasabi) <a href="https://twitter.com/bIondiewasabi/status/1380998567234527234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Dryers are the Masai Ujiris of the appliance world.
TMI
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A hell of quote day in Timberwolves World. D'Angelo Russell dropped this one postgame: "I eat, sleep and shit basketball."
&mdash; Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1381453955964735488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is also every basketball writer every day of our lives.
Security Deposit
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
the knicks are having issues with their landlord. this a real new york team
&mdash; Desus Nice (@desusnice) <a href="https://twitter.com/desusnice/status/1381425080497008641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The property manager of Madison Square Garden will address your concern in approximately three weeks, and then tell you to fix it on your own.
Not So Natural Athleticism
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
This doesn&rsquo;t happen when I dunk. <a href="https://t.co/WjZP6K8zeX">pic.twitter.com/WjZP6K8zeX</a>
&mdash; Bruce Ely (@bruceely) <a href="https://twitter.com/bruceely/status/1381437097664409601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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I once asked Devin Robinson if his hands hurt after dunking, and he looked at me like I had three heads. It was a legitimate question! What about monkey bars?!
A Thoughtful Gesture
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
the timberwolves reserved a seat for momma towns❤️ <a href="https://t.co/Mnu3XJ9odw">pic.twitter.com/Mnu3XJ9odw</a>
&mdash; bee (@beeayeembeeeye) <a href="https://twitter.com/beeayeembeeeye/status/1381398337866371073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Karl-Anthony Towns will most likely never get used to not seeing his mother in the stands, but this was a kind and thoughtful gesture by the Timberwolves organization to remind him that he is not alone and she is not forgotten.
...And Then There Was X
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&lsquo;Now I know Only I can stop the rain&rsquo; <a href="https://t.co/Y8fVZQeFup">pic.twitter.com/Y8fVZQeFup</a>
&mdash; Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1381426113658941445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Raptors social media accounts shared only DMX lyrics after his recent passing. A subtle, but thoughtful way to remember the icon.
Oui Le Nord
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
They&rsquo;re just celebrating the Birch Boucher frontcourt <a href="https://t.co/zlY26YuWcA">https://t.co/zlY26YuWcA</a>
&mdash; Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlakeMurphyODC/status/1381416586280644610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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I have been calling this duo &ldquo;La Rond,&rdquo; which is Montreal&rsquo;s amusement park where I throw up after every ride, but feel free to come up with your own nickname.
One Of Us
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Birch says his dad used to always complain about the Raptors and yell at the TV. ONE OF US.
&mdash; (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) <a href="https://twitter.com/ekoreen/status/1381382545493749762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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If there&rsquo;s one thing Raptors fans are going to do, it&rsquo;s yell at the TV. We will keep you updated as to whether or not this continues when your son is the newest member of the team.
Art
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
GTJ dropping Neto and hitting the game winner. First rotoscope animation in a while 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟 <a href="https://t.co/2sz8t28K4A">pic.twitter.com/2sz8t28K4A</a>
&mdash; Tristan (@halfgood_) <a href="https://twitter.com/halfgood_/status/1381384637801455618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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People are so incredibly talented. Not me though, but other people.
Political Platform
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Under Medicare for All, Clint Capela would be fully covered at no cost. <a href="https://t.co/o7NX0lPZdg">https://t.co/o7NX0lPZdg</a>
&mdash; Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1381342669851463681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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New York congressman Jamaal Bowman did not miss a beat in using Clint Capela&rsquo;s unfortunate incident to appeal to younger voters. (It&rsquo;s working)
Untapped Market
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Do you know how fast I would buy up whatever lash glue, edge control or setting spray a female athlete endorsed? <a href="https://t.co/YytgUHBtDL">pic.twitter.com/YytgUHBtDL</a>
&mdash; I DONT KNOW NOBODY IN FUCKING YONKERS (@LaCienegaBlvdss) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaCienegaBlvdss/status/1381005702794199049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Honestly. TAKE ALL OF MY MONEY.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 13, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Marketing Opportunities and Remembrance

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 9, 2021.
True North Strong and Faithful
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Only a canadian boy would want to willingly come to this hot mess of a team we&rsquo;ve got right now 😂 God Bless his heart
&mdash; Khudija A (@K_dot_ali) <a href="https://twitter.com/K_dot_ali/status/1380178594543116292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Khem Birch reportedly heading to the Toronto Raptors after parting ways with the Orlando Magic is the ultimate sign of loyalty. Ladies, get you a man who would do the same.
Ooh Na Na, What&rsquo;s My Name?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
LOL Rondo just referred to Chris Paul as, "Number 3 on the other team."
&mdash; Shane Young (@YoungNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungNBA/status/1380395130532851715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This rivalry has been ongoing for YEARS and shows no signs of slowing down. A Clippers-Suns playoff matchup? Don&rsquo;t mind if I do.
Scoops Ahoy
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Welcome to The Upside Down 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/qRxkQhfSjj">https://t.co/qRxkQhfSjj</a>
&mdash; Indiana Fever ⛹️&zwj;♀️🏀 (@IndianaFever) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianaFever/status/1380209167340871686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2021</a></blockquote>

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All of the WNBA jerseys released for the upcoming season are insanely good, but the Indiana Fever&rsquo;s Stranger Things-inspired jerseys might take the cake for best jersey in the history of basketball. Who will wear number eleven?
Daddy&rsquo;s Number One Candy Baby
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The Warriors can now field a starting five of sons of fathers who played in the NBA: Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Payton and Mannion. <a href="https://t.co/IOOaFFCdqw">https://t.co/IOOaFFCdqw</a>
&mdash; Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/wcgoldberg/status/1380185126253002756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Are we really this old? I mean, I&rsquo;m not -- I&rsquo;m practically an infant. But my goodness, this is fun and insane at the same time.
There Is So Much Wrong With Utah
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
On the Jazz broadcast a fan just lost a contest because they couldn't name three kinds of sandwiches.
&mdash; Seth Allen (@sethbawl) <a href="https://twitter.com/sethbawl/status/1380369400834916352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Cheesesteak, peanut butter and jam, club sandwich, hot turkey sandwich, panini, submarine, smoked meat, reuben, bologna. How much do I win, and do I have to go to Utah to claim it?
Cautious King
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I will say I do very much appreciate Fred VanVleet pausing for a moment to put on his mask before jumping onto the court to break up the scrum <a href="https://t.co/nibpy2kq6I">pic.twitter.com/nibpy2kq6I</a>
&mdash; 𝐀𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 (@AaronBenRose) <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronBenRose/status/1380195294990712832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Fred&rsquo;s suspension should be retroactively removed because he ensured the health and safety of those around him were a priority before stepping onto the court to assist with defusing Dennis Schr&ouml;der&rsquo;s temper tantrum.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 9, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Sandwiches

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 8, 2021.
Just Do It
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;Bro, just ask for a buyout man&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/gSyrFuxvwo">pic.twitter.com/gSyrFuxvwo</a>
&mdash; Esfandiar | Darth Es (@JustEsBaraheni) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1379570284336910338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is just the first tweet in a series of tweets feeling bad for Marc Gasol.
Carry On
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Paul Pierce gets fired and all hell breaks loose at ESPN <a href="https://t.co/DzcEBLvDMk">pic.twitter.com/DzcEBLvDMk</a>
&mdash; Duncan Smith (@DuncanSmithNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuncanSmithNBA/status/1379539679108870154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is also the first tweet of multiple tweets featuring Kendrick Perkins.
S.O.S
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
buy the sacramento kings kimberly <a href="https://t.co/7L0qAMgRiw">https://t.co/7L0qAMgRiw</a>
&mdash; haley o'shaughnessy (@HaleyOSomething) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaleyOSomething/status/1379504675779710977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Sacramento Kings franchise is valued at $1.8B, and she could make them all wear Skims instead of compression shorts. I have ideas, Kim.
Come Back Baby
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Marc sitting at the back breaks my heart....😫💔💔😫 <a href="https://t.co/QbS8PdVrwO">https://t.co/QbS8PdVrwO</a>
&mdash; Juli (@julijays) <a href="https://twitter.com/julijays/status/1379623753626320896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Look at him. Dejected, alone, contemplating his future while his teammates laugh in the distance, completely oblivious to his pain. Come back to Toronto, come back to Memphis, come back to anywhere you are appreciated, King.
Umm...Sure?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Steph Curry with a 41 piece wing dinner Teriyaki style with the W tonight...he continues to save Steve Kerr! Carry on...
&mdash; Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins/status/1379655205759893506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote>

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There is so much to unpack here. First, how can anyone eat exactly 41 wings. Second, why would you get them teriyaki style? Third, Steve Kerr is...okay yeah this one is all facts. Carry on!
MVP
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Joel Embiid with more points (35) than minutes (33) tonight. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MVP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MVP</a>
&mdash; Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandonGowton/status/1379616918009741313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2021</a></blockquote>

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He&rsquo;s back like he never left. Or he left and somehow got even better.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 8, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Packing and Unpacking

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 6, 2021.
The Happiest Place On Earth
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Somebody road raging at me at a Chick-fil-A parking lot. How could you be so mad at Chick-fil-A
&mdash; Malcolm Miller (@MalcMili13) <a href="https://twitter.com/MalcMili13/status/1377637502681513996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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To be fair, those drive-thru lines do get pretty long.
Smoke and Mirrors
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
You guys love that fog machine huh? <a href="https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DetroitPistons</a> <a href="https://t.co/mU4hO2sOb7">pic.twitter.com/mU4hO2sOb7</a>
&mdash; Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) <a href="https://twitter.com/carmeloanthony/status/1377649179124727811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is the perfect photo with so much meme potential. The general look of disgust. The hands on the hips. The fog so thick it looks like Melo is a phoenix rising from the ashes.
The Long Con
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
blake griffin going from detroit to brooklyn <a href="https://t.co/HWLU9Z9ZQR">pic.twitter.com/HWLU9Z9ZQR</a>
&mdash; J. Kyle Mann (@jkylemann) <a href="https://twitter.com/jkylemann/status/1377621697810022420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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With a new prank show allegedly in the works, it makes perfect sense that Blake Griffin would spend three seasons pretending he no longer knew how to play basketball.
And I Took That Personally
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jamal Murray whenever he plays the Clippers. <a href="https://t.co/KyFv1UC3T2">pic.twitter.com/KyFv1UC3T2</a>
&mdash; Sam (@YAnunoby) <a href="https://twitter.com/YAnunoby/status/1377844762774888451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2021</a></blockquote>

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23 points and 8 rebounds. He may be a Denver Nugget, but Jamal Murray is always a Canada mans at heart.
As Wholesome As It Gets
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
😱😂 When you meet your idol! <a href="https://t.co/OQ0B3UVhdl">pic.twitter.com/OQ0B3UVhdl</a>
&mdash; DANILO GALLINARI (@gallinari8888) <a href="https://twitter.com/gallinari8888/status/1379068120267100162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Whoops, I lied again. I had previously told you that basketball was about two things: friendship and hugging. I forgot to include meeting your idols and being adorable about it.
New Knicks Trauma
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
RANDLES SON 😭 I feel so bad but this is so funny <a href="https://t.co/l5vCOG2gz7">pic.twitter.com/l5vCOG2gz7</a>
&mdash; Cam🖤 (@Trezzsupremacy) <a href="https://twitter.com/Trezzsupremacy/status/1379284725324374016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Kyden Randle is expressing the sentiments shared by every fan of an Eastern Conference team outside of the Brooklyn Nets.
Who Run The World? Girls
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Breastfeeding 🗣 AT HALF!
&mdash; Kristen Ledlow (@KristenLedlow) <a href="https://twitter.com/KristenLedlow/status/1378856766562242560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Get ya a coach who does it all 🥰 <a href="https://t.co/tpodjkmvcX">pic.twitter.com/tpodjkmvcX</a>
&mdash; Ande Wall (@AndeWall) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndeWall/status/1378191688045371394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Adia Barnes took a single week off of work after welcoming her daughter, Capri, VIA C-SECTION. She spent half-time of the NCAA women&rsquo;s basketball CHAMPIONSHIP pumping in the locker room. Women just casually doing what they have to do is always next level bad-assery.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 6, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Eastern Weekend Roundup

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for April 1, 2021.
Oh Captain, My Captain
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
hops are okay... but why he ain&rsquo;t play defense! 👀
&mdash; Jusuf Nurkić (@bosnianbeast27) <a href="https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1376958196204638209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Nurk has only recently returned to play, but is already letting his teammates know what is what. He really seems like the perfect teammate, and is always DTHAB (Down To Hold A Baby).
Sweet Like Maple Syrup
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
May we all be lucky to find someone who&rsquo;s there for us like Dort is for SGA <a href="https://t.co/OCrwQo8GgR">pic.twitter.com/OCrwQo8GgR</a>
&mdash; Miri (@__Miri__) <a href="https://twitter.com/__Miri__/status/1377022203212918785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Just two perfect Canadian boys, exceeding expectations, being the best of friends, helping each other through vaccinations.
Reunited and It Feels So Good
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The new Boban-Tobias Goldfish commercial. Too good. <a href="https://t.co/3AwfndisaC">pic.twitter.com/3AwfndisaC</a>
&mdash; Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeSGallagher/status/1377045410313773061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Bobi and Tobi together again. I&rsquo;m not 7-foot-4, but this is also how I eat Goldfish crackers.
Most Valuable Teammate
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Damn bro. The kid just woke up on his bday. U gotta relax <a href="https://t.co/y90Fk3yajs">https://t.co/y90Fk3yajs</a>
&mdash; Juan Toscano Anderson (@juanonjuan10) <a href="https://twitter.com/juanonjuan10/status/1377286216538857476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Juan Toscano-Anderson is quickly climbing the ranks of &ldquo;Players You&rsquo;re Lucky to Have On Your Team,&rdquo; and he is absolutely right. Wiseman&rsquo;s rookie season isn&rsquo;t exactly normal, and his birthday isn&rsquo;t the appropriate time to hate on him for&hellip;.not...being...a teenager anymore?
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t Worry, I Got Us&hellip;&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Gary Trent Jr saw Norm&rsquo;s Players Tribune piece and said hold my beer 😂
&mdash; alexis (@piptal) <a href="https://twitter.com/piptal/status/1377439494048116736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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First of all, if you haven&rsquo;t read Norman Powell&rsquo;s farewell piece for The Player&rsquo;s Tribune, then you need to stop everything you&rsquo;re doing immediately and read it. Second of all, Gary Trent Jr. has a new career-high of 31 points in just his fourth game as a Toronto Raptor. It was a good trade for everyone.
Daigneault For You
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Are we sure OKCs coach isnt just Nathan Fielder under that mask
&mdash; a. :( PS5 OWNER (@Swarlayzers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Swarlayzers/status/1377440601130430464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Have you ever seen Mark Daigneault and Nathan Fielder in the same room? Exactly.
PfICEr In My Veins
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Me <a href="https://twitter.com/Dloading?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dloading</a> 🤝 Celebrating big shots 💉 <a href="https://t.co/mYzwaTV6he">pic.twitter.com/mYzwaTV6he</a>
&mdash; Shahbaz Khan (@ShahbazMKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShahbazMKhan/status/1377363429019721728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2021</a></blockquote>

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D.Lo should really lean into this. There are so many ideas swimming in my brain right now. Have your people contact my people, Mr. Russell.
Brutal Truths
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
&ldquo;Baynes unable to finish&rdquo; is starting to sound a lot like &ldquo;When this pandemic is over..&rdquo;
&mdash; Mya (@lowrywatanabe) <a href="https://twitter.com/lowrywatanabe/status/1377432875138605058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Aside from the ones he scored on his own basket, Aron Baynes had 0 points and 2 rebounds last night. Canada has the means to vaccinate all of their residents and just isn&rsquo;t. Who messed up more? I don&rsquo;t know, I&rsquo;m just laughing to keep from crying.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for April 1, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: Shots, Shots, Shots

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them). Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for March 30, 2021.
Did You See Something?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The play The refs <a href="https://t.co/V0jKQ9MmEV">pic.twitter.com/V0jKQ9MmEV</a>
&mdash; Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasmineLWatkins/status/1376704129909858315?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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What a way for Baylor to lose on a potential game-winning shot, but also a lesson to never let the game get to a point where it could be decided by calls or non-calls. DiJonai Carrington will get her revenge on Aaliyah Edwards next year in the WNBA though, so it isn&rsquo;t for nothing.
Just Kidding...Unless?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
at this point the raptors could sign channing tatum from coach carter idc just get someone
&mdash; Sahal Abdi (@sAbdi28) <a href="https://twitter.com/sAbdi28/status/1376711885903564803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Listen: He will run suicides. He will do push-ups. He is a team player. If we can&rsquo;t get "Coach Carter" Channing Tatum for basketball reasons, can we at least get "Magic Mike" Channing Tatum for personal reasons?
Works Every Time
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
oh my god ja <a href="https://t.co/E1lzFYPKg2">pic.twitter.com/E1lzFYPKg2</a>
&mdash; Joe Wolfond (@joey_doubleyou) <a href="https://twitter.com/joey_doubleyou/status/1376712731563282440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It feels like every game, we see Ja Morant twist his body into ways we didn&rsquo;t know were possible to make baskets. In this particular scenario, he does what we call &ldquo;the bend and snap&rdquo; from the critically acclaimed 2001 film "Legally Blonde."
Why Not?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Since Russell Westbrook entered the league in 2008, there have now been 12 performances of at least 21 assists in a game. Russ has five of them
&mdash; Joseph Casciaro (@JosephCasciaro) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosephCasciaro/status/1376713707800117248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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This is a crazy stat, especially when you consider the narrative that Russell Westbrook is a selfish player whose primary concern is padding his stats. Time to turn that bus around, folks.
Stunt 101/Brown Cow Stunning
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
happy bday to clyde da drip gawd <a href="https://t.co/vmhnlCzK61">pic.twitter.com/vmhnlCzK61</a>
&mdash; Desus Nice (@desusnice) <a href="https://twitter.com/desusnice/status/1376699211899617280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Nobody does a pattern like Walt "Clyde" Frazier, okay? NOBODY! There is only one other person who can pull off head-to-toe cow print and that is Monique Heart, and only the people at the intersection of NBA basketball and RuPaul&rsquo;s Drag Race will understand this reference.

BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter and compiles the best tweets from the last 24 hours.

NBA Tweets of the Day: 2000s Movies Nostalgia

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for March 29, 2021.
Forget Y&rsquo;all, I&rsquo;m Out
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
He basically said thank you to the Clippers fans (as he should), and a big fat fuck you to the Clippers organization, you love to see it😂😂😂 <a href="https://t.co/wEqH9i9gIR">pic.twitter.com/wEqH9i9gIR</a>
&mdash; P (@paraaand) <a href="https://twitter.com/paraaand/status/1375549149509210113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Lou Williams did not see himself getting traded from the Clippers to the Hawks for Rajon Rondo at the trade deadline, and in true Lou Will fashion, he did not mince words. Patiently waiting for him to spill all of that Steve Ballmer tea.
Two Hearts, One Family
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Raptors &amp; Portland fans on my timeline after the Powell-GT trade <a href="https://t.co/5gVpFT4P1B">pic.twitter.com/5gVpFT4P1B</a>
&mdash; Ninety (@MvoNinety) <a href="https://twitter.com/MvoNinety/status/1375495409410408449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Both Raptors and Blazers fans took comfort in knowing that their players, Rodney Hood, Gary Trent Jr., and Norman Powell, would be well cared for in their next adventures. This will never happen with the Clippers, though. People don&rsquo;t forget.
Understand the Grind
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
evan turner casually tries selling his portland home to norman powell (and then proceeds to eviscerate a pocket-watching troll) <a href="https://t.co/84qLW6PJ3I">pic.twitter.com/84qLW6PJ3I</a>
&mdash; Sahal Abdi (@sAbdi28) <a href="https://twitter.com/sAbdi28/status/1375528611369869312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Maybe ask him after he chooses whether or not to opt in to his player option this year.
Same Old Song
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
The day after trade deadline should be named: Danny Ainge Day <a href="https://t.co/Eq1avm41sn">https://t.co/Eq1avm41sn</a>
&mdash; Esfandiar | Darth Es (@JustEsBaraheni) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustEsBaraheni/status/1375493854682550275?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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If I had a nickel for every time Danny Ainge almost did something, I would be able to buy the Boston Celtics and actually do something.
We Belong Together
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Happy Birthday <a href="https://twitter.com/MariahCarey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MariahCarey</a> from your biggest fan, KJ! 🎂🎉😂 <a href="https://t.co/kwBqXSc1Wu">pic.twitter.com/kwBqXSc1Wu</a>
&mdash; San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1375832985950429190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Are the Spurs allowing fans in their building for home games? Can they make an exception for Mariah Carey? I guarantee Keldon Johnson will drop 50 on whoever they&rsquo;re playing.
Rest In...Wait A Minute
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Had to read this thing to the end to find out if Lonnie survived or not <a href="https://t.co/VK6vOQau0s">https://t.co/VK6vOQau0s</a>
&mdash; Duncan Smith (@DuncanSmithNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DuncanSmithNBA/status/1375962013629870084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Clutch Points strikes again, giving NBA fans worldwide a heart attack in the process.
Grandma Update
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Danny Green shooting from the corner and into our hearts 💚 ty <a href="https://twitter.com/DGreen_14?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DGreen_14</a>!!! <a href="https://t.co/xp7eUMegoC">pic.twitter.com/xp7eUMegoC</a>
&mdash; Lili Gu (@wiwigoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/wiwigoo/status/1375894545699758082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Remember the grandma who discovered the NBA during lockdown and chose Danny Green as her favorite player on the 76ers? Danny does, and he gifted her a jersey with a special message. Your move, KD.
Old Habits, New Wounds
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Old habits 😪😪😪😪😪 Norman come back <a href="https://t.co/OY53pwlSN2">pic.twitter.com/OY53pwlSN2</a>
&mdash; Kate (@KateBDoll) <a href="https://twitter.com/KateBDoll/status/1376311839571771401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Oh Norman, this is totally understandable considering it had been about 72 hours since being traded, and he was still able to sleep in his own bed in Tampa. This was also the moment it became very real that he wasn&rsquo;t a Raptor anymore.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for March 29, 2021.

NBA Tweets of the Day: New Beginnings

Each day, BasketballNews.com scours #NBATwitter to bring you the best tweets from the previous day. Some are insightful, some are just hilarious (so we had to include them).
Without further ado, here are the tweets of the day for March 26, 2021.
Collective Sigh of Relief
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Live look at raptors twitter seeing this tweet <a href="https://t.co/PmnEX7U4Bc">https://t.co/PmnEX7U4Bc</a> <a href="https://t.co/s9x9IYJxyS">pic.twitter.com/s9x9IYJxyS</a>
&mdash; alexis (@piptal) <a href="https://twitter.com/piptal/status/1375164795356332038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Raptors fans are truly the LeBrons of preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. And yesterday, like every trade deadline before, we panicked for no reason. Nothing like tradition!
Lemon Pepper Forever
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Lou about to have them Magic City wings everyday
&mdash; Josh Hart (@joshhart) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshhart/status/1375153526947598337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Be careful what you wish for. In the case of Lou Williams, his proximity to Magic City basically cost him a chance at a title.
Gary Gang
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
There are three players in the NBA named Gary and they&rsquo;ve all been traded today: Gary Clark (ORL to DEN), Gary Harris (DEN to ORL), and Gary Trent Jr. (POR to TOR).
&mdash; Sagar Trika (@BlazersBySagar) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlazersBySagar/status/1375140286091776003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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What a weird day for Gary&rsquo;s. (Garies? Garys? Spencer, help me out.)
Woj Who?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkić will make his return to the lineup on Friday vs. Orlando. He's back from a right wrist fractured. Sources tell : Jusuf Nurkić
&mdash; Jusuf Nurkić (@bosnianbeast27) <a href="https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1375158963692523525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Seems like everybody has sources these days. On a serious note, it will be so refreshing to see Nurk back with the Blazers on Friday and on his own accord.
Umm...Okay?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
<a href="https://t.co/6TZYI3gBRX">https://t.co/6TZYI3gBRX</a> <a href="https://t.co/5JF57MMntg">pic.twitter.com/5JF57MMntg</a>
&mdash; rxbun (@rxbun) <a href="https://twitter.com/rxbun/status/1375205695759466500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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One of these things is not like the other!
Patiently Waiting
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Players on the Magic hearing their name called to leave Orlando <a href="https://t.co/JP432Qj5u7">pic.twitter.com/JP432Qj5u7</a>
&mdash; Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasmineLWatkins/status/1375125433876897803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2021</a></blockquote>

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And then, there were none. Well not none, but it sure feels like almost the entire Magic squad got traded today, and none of them seemed too upset about it.
You&rsquo;re Gonna Love Him
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
hello portland: you should know about apollo and odin <a href="https://t.co/De1RBn5w9c">https://t.co/De1RBn5w9c</a>
&mdash; James Herbert (@outsidethenba) <a href="https://twitter.com/outsidethenba/status/1375255077015986181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It upsets me to see Norm leave, but I find comfort in the fact that he's going to Portland, who will surely appreciate the Instagram he runs for his dogs that includes captions that sound like they were written by the dogs (and birthday party photos).
Our Very Own
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🙏🏾‼️ <a href="https://t.co/fcfHyNpCzz">https://t.co/fcfHyNpCzz</a>
&mdash; Troy Brown Jr (@Troy_Brown33) <a href="https://twitter.com/Troy_Brown33/status/1375243772531998725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Congratulations and best wishes to BasketballNews.com&rsquo;s very own Troy Brown Jr., who is headed to Chicago as the newest member of the Bulls. The Bulls were arguably the winners of this trade deadline, as they acquired not only Troy, but Nikola Vucevic, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Daniel Theis as they head towards a much-needed and highly anticipated upswing.
10/10
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Roll up your sleeves everybody. For your friends, family &amp; yourself . 👨&zwj;👩&zwj;👦&zwj;👦 <a href="https://t.co/k6z8K6Pvz8">pic.twitter.com/k6z8K6Pvz8</a>
&mdash; jaren vaxon jr (@jarenjacksonjr) <a href="https://twitter.com/jarenjacksonjr/status/1375248575014137856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The temporary name change. The caption. The calm, cool, and collected photo. What a splash of joy on an otherwise nerve-wracking day.
See a tweet that should be featured in our next Tweets of the Day piece? Send it to <a href="https://twitter.com/kelsea_lately" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@kelsea_lately</a>.

Every day, our Kelsea O'Brien scours #NBATwitter to find the best posts. Here are the tweets of the day for March 26, 2021.

Texas College Steers