Category: Sports News

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a risk when they traded for Donovan Mitchell in 2022. They made a gamble that the assets they unloaded, which included multiple first-round picks that spanned seven years, would ultimately never be missed.

It looks like they’re winning that bet.

“I don’t ever want to wear another uniform,” Mitchell said in a Cleveland.com exclusive with Chris Fedor. “I dream of myself being here forever and hopefully having 45 in the rafters one day.”

Mitchell has not only led the franchise to some of their most successful seasons, but he’s signed an extension that keeps him in Cleveland through the 2029-30 NBA season — past the date of the final draft pick that is owed to the Utah Jazz.

There was a time when it was unclear if the Cavs would retain Mitchell for more than a single season. Or if they’d reach an agreement on even one contract extension. But now we are two extensions deep with a franchise star who has fully committed to the city he’s in.

Mitchell has averaged 26.7 points and 5.3 assists in four seasons with the Cavaliers. He’s been an All-Star in each season and was named to an All-NBA team in three of the four.

Entering his fifth year in Cleveland, Mitchell has made it clear that this is where he wants to be. The franchise has doubled and tripled down on their own commitment to him. Trading for James Harden last season and shuffling the starting lineup to add a 3-and-D wing in Peyton Watson. It’s all built around competing now while Mitchell’s window is open.

The Cavs haven’t had many players of Mitchell’s caliber represent the city, let alone retire in Cleveland. There’s something to be said for a star embracing his new home — even if this is all easier said than done. A lot can change between now and the end of Mitchell’s career, but a verbal commitment like this shouldn’t be taken for granted.

The start of the regular season brought with it lots to be happy about in Tuesday’s rout of the Warriors. The new Big 3 had huge nights and gave the Lakers a great opening to the season.

Prior to all that, we asked for questions and you guys delivered, as always. Obviously, some of this will come with a caveat of it coming before that opening game, but all of it still applies.

So, let’s dive into what you want to talk about.

JJ claims he has a roster that fits together now and is deep….does that mean he will refrain from playing Luka and Austin 45 minutes a game? — Reality Check 1617

I continue to say this sentiment is overblown, but I also acknowledge, and I think JJ would, too, that he couldn’t rely on his bench as much this year. By all accounts, that should change.

Again, he even said as much in his media availability at the start of the season. We’ll have to see if the action meet the words, but, on paper, this is a deeper team that should mean everyone plays fewer minutes, particularly the stars.

The fact they went nine deep on Tuesday with Collin Sexton and Adou Thiero injured further drives home that belief, though. When at full health — which will likely happen rarely this season — this team could go 10 or 11 deep. That should allow them lots of rest for lots of guys, stars included.

How much should we be worried about our scouting, player development, and drafting departments? I know we’ve been hiring and changing since the ownership changes, but how much can we count on this fresh start and new personnel being a new direction? — Johnny Tuttle

I don’t think worried is the word I would use, but excited. It’s no secret the Lakers have been well behind the curve when it comes to scouting. That fact is laid bare in the team whiffing on Jalen Hood-Schifino and Dalton Knecht back-to-back years.

Beefing up those areas should address a clear weakness in the franchise. Think about how many positions the Lakers have filled this year that just didn’t exist prior. There are not just more knowledgeable voices in the mix, but ones with decades of experience, too.

For so long, the Lakers kept such a small inner circle in the front office. Seeing that expand to include more smart voices is a very, very welcome change.

What is the back story on the trade of Ayton? On the surface, it made and makes little sense to have traded a guy who, yeah, was ‘meh’ as a starter but would have been well above average as a back-up. Lakers got back relatively little and since then have been searching for a backup center…when they had just traded a good one.

So:

-is it that they had another trade lined up for a back up center but it fell through?

-is it that Ayton was a locker room cancer who they just wanted to be rid of whatever his skills?

-is it that they think Looney is a better fit?

-is it…just a miscalculation? — scooter

I think this is one of those situations where things are better on better than they are in practice.

On paper, the Lakers had an underwhelming starting center who was still talented on an affordable contract. After acquiring their starting center, Ayton made sense as the backup where so much wasn’t riding on his shoulders.

In practice, and with a bit of reading between the lines, Ayton was…a lot. While we laughed at the idea of the training staff giving him Crunk Juice to motivate him, the amount of massaging of his personality, so to speak, only for him not to really show up when needed was probably grating.

He was proclaiming that he wasn’t Clint Capela when that’s exactly what the Lakers needed. The team was wearing shirts with half of his face and half of a lion. All that for him to be unplayable against the Thunder was a lot.

Sure, in a backup role, responsibilities and expectations change. But I just think the Lakers were ready to be out of the Ayton business. And the fact that they could get draft capital back for him was all the more reason to be done.

I think their calculation was that going into the season looking for a backup center with some extra draft capital was better than another season of the Ayton experience.

As I understand, the first that the Lakers can trade Bronny is December 15th. Am I correct on that? As such, shouldn’t they stick him in the G League where he can actually rack up stat lines and possibly increase his trade value? — OCLakerFan1968

The Lakers play the Sixers twice this season. The first game is on December 25th in LA. What are the chances that the Lakers’ marketing department capitalizes on the historic nature of Father versus Son and have Bronny start? — Crap

After a very poor preseason, it’s fair to be low on Bronny. Even if he was dealing with an injury that predated training camp, that feels like the kind of story you put out to save face after the fact.

I’ve had some questions about how the Lakers are developing Bronny, or what they’re developing him into. He’s always felt like more of an Avery Bradley type as a small off-ball guard with a focus on defense and shooting. But a lot of his reps have come as an on-ball point guard type, which doesn’t make as much sense.

Regardless of what his role should be, it’s pretty clear now that the scouting report says to pressure Bronny and he can’t deal with it. And until that changes, he’s probably not going to get any consistent minutes.

Having said that, there’s zero value in putting him back in the G League. He’s already shown he’s a great G League player. No team is going to trade for him because he had a couple of good G League games. It’s sink-or-swim time for Bronny in the big leagues.

At some point, you have to find out what you have and the Lakers are going to do that this season. If it doesn’t work, then they decline his option for next year and cut bait.

As for the latter point, I know it was at least partly written in jest, but I don’t imagine head coach JJ Redick has much interest in sentimental stuff with LeBron James anymore.

What is our biggest positional with this current roster?

Backup PG – We saw how thin we are if any of Luka/AR/Sexton are resting injuries
Backup PF – I guess we are calling Williams and Mamu our PFs?
Backup C – Does ANYONE have faith in both Kessler’s health and Looney actually being productive? — Kilgary

I think the answer is pretty clearly the backup center spot, and I think the Lakers know that. That’s been the most persistent rumor since this summer. Trades tend not to happen until that Dec. 15 date when most of the league becomes trade-eligible, so I don’t imagine this is something the team will be able to fix for some time.

The backup PG position isn’t as bad when Collin Sexton returns. You have four capable ballhandlers. And for the backup power forward, the dearth of wings on the roster are going to man that spot and I don’t think this team will have a “traditional” four.

The NBA announced in the off season that the officials would crack down (point of emphasis) on the off-arm push-offs frequently used by players like Harden, and SGA. Was any data released from the pre-season games on whether the officials were calling this violation more frequently than before (knowing that the calls might be fewer if players were policing themselves)? — Coops Knee Highs

There hasn’t been and I don’t expect there will be. In the past, the league has never really done something like this when it comes to its points of emphasis. Things could change this year, but that would be a new development.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The inaugural possession of the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener against the New York Knicks, a 106-100 Sixers win to spoil some of New York’s banner-raising delight, helped convey just how different life may be for each of Philadelphia’s four All-Stars this year, particularly its point guard, Tyrese Maxey. 

After shuffling up the floor, Maxey delivered the ball to his backcourt mate, VJ Edgecombe, and veered into a bludgeoning back-screen as LeBron James took the baton and initiated the action himself. With the entirety of Philadelphia’s star-laden starting five in transit, New York could not properly traverse the commotion. Worried about James motoring downhill, OG Anunoby was tardy switching onto Maxey, who rainbowed home the catch-and-shoot triple for three of his game-high 28 points.

Tuesday night, Maxey hoisted five catch-and-shoot threes to compose 26.3% of his total field goals. Last season, he averaged just 3.4 per game to compose 15.9% of his total field goals, per NBA.com. Although Maxey netted only one of these attempts — he made 41.8% of them a year ago — his quality of looks throughout the contest was significantly better than the past three seasons and signaled a splendid scoring campaign ahead.

With James and Jaylen Brown now flanking Maxey, Edgecombe and Joel Embiid, the Sixers are swimming in the deep end of star power, scoring outlets and championship expectations. They are all eyeing a deep playoff run that culminates in a title. Step one of their journey began Tuesday with an impressive victory inside the reigning champs’ palace.

There’s plenty to glean from that performance, most of it positive, as should be the case after defeating a team as daunting and as healthy as the Knicks. So, what did game one teach us about the Sixers? Where do they currently stand? Where can they go? And what hurdles might they need to overcome along the way?

The stage is set for Tyrese Maxey to be his best self 

Maxey’s uptick in spoonfed threes underscored how much easier and reshaped his scoring load should be this season. While he’s a tremendous player and offensive cog, on-ball creation, especially from a standstill, is not his ideal deployment. Yet the past three seasons — with scant surrounding perimeter creation and Embiid toggling in and out of the lineup — consistently stretched him too thin as he garnered usage for which he’s unqualified. 

Philadelphia’s revamped roster will alleviate that burden and let him boogie as one of the league’s foremost off-ball scorers. Maxey is now free to zip around screens, catch the ball on the move, knife through tilted defenses and leverage his speed and shooting without his size and limited vision disrupting those efforts as often. 

Since 2023-24, Maxey’s rate of assisted makes has been 43%, 37% and 45%, according to Cleaning the Glass. Tuesday, 67% of his field goals were assisted, including 71% of his 2-pointers. The latter number there is the starkest shift; last year, only 37.8% of his 2s were assisted, per NBA.com. Maxey seems likely to enjoy far more opportunities this season being coaxed downhill with help from others rather than being burdened with the task himself. That’s a major windfall for his game. 

He is still the focal point of the offense (his 26.6% usage rate narrowly trailed Embiid’s 27.4%) but the means to reach those ends are more favorable. He went 7-of-10 inside the arc and drew nine free throws. Even if he won’t shoot 70% on 2s moving forward, he will shoot better than 22% (2-of-9) from deep. Those extremes offset one another. With reps like these, Maxey is primed for a titanic scoring season: 

The Sixers are lethal when they run. How often will they?

Beyond his vast off-ball scoring exploits in the half-court, Maxey’s sterling offensive signature stems in part from his transition prowess. Year after year, Philadelphia is a considerably more efficient open-floor team when he’s on the court. With James and Brown joining him and Edgecombe, a quartet of transition tycoons now don Sixers red, white and blue. 

Ideally, they’ll tap into that and produce as many easy buckets as possible. When they did hit the runway Tuesday, they thrived. According to Cleaning the Glass, they averaged 1.8 points per transition possession. But their fast-break frequency was only 10% (league average was 15.4% last season). 

Now, the Knicks were well-organized setting up their defense to discourage early offense chances, which is a hallmark of this group’s resistance. They’ve ranked seventh or better in opponent transition rate every season since 2023-24. But I’m fascinated to monitor how often the Sixers mash the accelerator — they’ve sat outside the top 10 in transition frequency every year since 2021-22 — because the chemistry among Maxey, Brown and James was evident. When those dudes had opportunities, they were prompt and cohesive seizing them.

Is this defense here to stay?

Most opponents the Sixers face this year will not be as talented or connected as New York’s. Teams will have lapses in judgment or let tired legs prevail, so Philadelphia can successfully dial up the tempo. But if the Sixers keep defending like they did Tuesday, the stops will pile up, especially against less dangerous offenses than the Knicks’, and they’ll enjoy plenty of running and gunning, if they so choose.

Philadelphia held New York to a 98.0 defensive rating and 24-of-61 shooting (39.3%) inside the arc. That defensive rating would’ve been its seventh-best mark across the entire 2025-26 season and fourth-best against all playoff opponents. 

The Sixers were led by a domineering rim protection performance from Embiid, who looked quite nimble and comfortable in space. Cycling through drop coverage, trapping and hedging, he disrupted ball-handlers and still bothered big men when they received passes. He recorded three blocks, a feat he accomplished only five times combined in 2024-25 and 2025-26, including the playoffs. New York took 25.4% of its shots at the rim when he was on the floor and 41.9% of them when he sat, per databallr. 

Embiid operating like a premier interior anchor drastically elevates Philadelphia’s defensive ceiling. As Brunson probed inside the arc, Embiid allowed the Sixers’ help defenders to continually stay home (no lob threat was a boon, too) and suppress the Knicks’ 3-point volume. Just 33.3% of their field goals came beyond the arc, which would’ve tied for their ninth-lowest rate of 2025-26. 

And tape like that is supported by numbers like these:

Helping punctuate Embiid’s retrograde defensive showing was Brown, who did not serve as Brunson’s primary defender but wielded his size and discipline to frustrate the 2026 Finals MVP during his cameos. 

While Embiid roamed off of Josh Hart much of the second half, James assumed the Karl-Anthony Towns assignment to reel in Towns as a shooter, driver and playmaker. James touts the strength and foot speed to tightly close out on Towns without worries of being steamrolled to the rim and was diligent about interfering with his passing windows. As a result, Towns tallied one assist to four turnovers, repeatedly struggling to find beneficial space against his weathered counterpart.

Embiid, Brown and James may have spearheaded Philadelphia’s suffocating defense but the supporting cast of Maxey (three steals, three blocks), Edgecombe (one steal) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (one block) all contributed to harmonic execution. 

The Sixers seamlessly switched off-ball actions — Brown, James, Maxey, Caldwell-Pope and Edgecombe all have some matchup versatility — communicated punctually to prevent mismatches, rotated to blot out lucrative openings and applied necessary physicality to divert the Knicks from traveling where they pleased. 

The James-Embiid frontline was scrutinized much of the offseason as it pertained to Philadelphia’s defensive possibilities. One game against one opponent — whose style is plainly out there to scout since it hardly altered the roster — does not extinguish all concerns. 

But it would be hard for them to start a season more encouragingly than they did. The perimeter quartet bouncing around, talking, pointing and effectively navigating screens ensured it would result in a shiny outcome. Sustained attention to detail and movement skills like those from the entire rotation will quell many of the worries that surrounded Philadelphia over the summer. 

Jaylen Brown, fitting in

After the gaudiest season of his career as he filled in for the injured Jayson Tatum to lead the Boston Celtics offensively, many (including me) wondered how Brown may assimilate to a star-infused Sixers roster that wouldn’t require such towering, centralized usage. 

In his debut Tuesday night, Brown (19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block) reverted back to his early NBA days when he wasn’t an All-NBA wing and saw many of his chances as a cutter, quick-hitting driver and off-ball attacker/shooter. 

His 50 touches ranked fourth on the Sixers, down from 66.1 per game last year, and six of his seven field goals were assisted (85.7%, up from 36% last year). The lone unassisted bucket was a slaloming transition score. His imprint occurred organically and as a backseat to Maxey, Embiid and James. 

Even Brown’s seven misfires were within the construct of the offense and never felt overbearing. He missed a corner three off a sideline-out-of-bounds set, couldn’t convert a rhythmic turnaround inside over the diminutive Jose Alvarado, was bested by a Deuce McBride strip/block in early offense, walked Landry Shamet under the rim before having a layup roll out, caught a grenade late in a disjointed possession, clanked an open pull-up jumper over Shamet and left a spot-up three short. 

Although Brown was traded in a one-for-one deal involving Paul George, James’ acquisition meant he was truly replacing Kelly Oubre Jr. in the starting unit. During Oubre’s three seasons as a Sixer, opposing defenses, including the Knicks, routinely ignored him on the weak-side to muck up happenings elsewhere, confident he didn’t brandish the offensive arsenal to truly punish that gambit. 

With Brown in his stead, New York’s helpers felt more conflicted, unsure of whether to abandon a highly talented scorer like Brown or let other highly talented scorers like Embiid and Maxey run amok. His mere existence granted fellow All-Stars single coverage inside and they capitalized; Philadelphia’s rim frequency was 35.3% with him on the floor and 4.5%(!!) without him, per databallr.

A singular game does not immediately dissolve all questions about Brown’s fit and offensive duties. But it does capture how naturally he can embrace a valuable, amended role to complement his new running mates when facing the caliber of team the Sixers expect to see this spring. 

This whole experiment is still a work in progress

Despite the win and a dogged defensive game, there is considerable room to improve. The Sixers’ 106 points yielded a 103.0 offensive rating. Sure, shooting 27.5% (11-of-40) beyond the arc hurt. But they didn’t compensate with pristine interior scoring, making 26-of-49 (53.1%) of their 2-pointers.

Embiid didn’t seem entirely comfortable with his perimeter-based deployment, attempting seven triples (two were late-clock heaves), and rarely rolled to the free-throw line, his most potent area on the floor. That’s not a new development and I imagine his decade-long series of lower-body injuries has him cautious to play in a crowd as often nowadays. New York often sat on those potential rolls as well, which likely influenced his decision to hover around the arc. 

Yet he and Philadelphia are a much more fluid, lethal attack when he’s confronting defenders at the nail rather than almost exclusively sitting beyond the 3-point line as a “spacer” (defenses don’t worry about him there), handoff hub and screener. 

He’s a notoriously slow starter offensively (four points, 1-of-9 shooting in the 2025-26 season opener; 2-of-11 in his 2024-25 debut) and migrated toward the midrange as last year progressed, so it’s totally plausible that occurs again. The Sixers should hope it does to reach their tantalizing offensive ceiling. 

James set a handful of empty-corner ball-screens for Maxey and hardly rolled with vigor out of them either. It stagnated the offense at times and left potential profits on the table. According to Synergy, he’s ranked in the 24th percentile (2025-26, 1.00 points per possession) and 21st percentile (2024-25, 0.98 PPP) the past two seasons as a roller, so such usage hasn’t entirely suited him lately; space was, however, there to attack and he did not. 

I understand he takes a bit of time to ramp up each year but his explosion, both vertically and horizontally, is greatly diminished from his prime (duh). I thought that subdued his aggression and am curious whether those habits evolve over the season to better elevate the offense. Theoretically, he and Maxey should kill on those empty-corner actions. 

The Sixers’ peak is contingent on their front-court recording more inspiring ball-screen reps than these and being more commanding interior presences than totaling 27 points on 7-of-28 shooting (41.7% true shooting).  

Game one speed bumps for a bunch of players still navigating how to best interact with each other on the court is not reason for panic, let alone against such a high-level defense. Embiid will be a much more imposing force offensively in six weeks than he is today. James will better understand where he’s optimized as a half-court cog by Christmas than he does today. But they are nonetheless areas to address as Philadelphia builds toward title contention and discovers itself offensively. 

And hey, doing so while 1-0 with a nifty win like that in your backpocket ain’t too shabby. 

The Dallas Mavericks made one final roster addition ahead of Wednesday’s season-opening 128-110 loss at the Houston Rockets, signing former Iona and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. to a two-way contract.

Clayton Jr. rose to prominence before the 2025 NBA Draft in the NCAA Tournament, almost single-handedly carrying his Florida Gators through the clutch repeatedly. Whether it be in the Round of 32 against UConn, the unreal comeback against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, or the heroics of the National Championship game against Houston, anytime Florida needed something, Clayton Jr. provided it.

You are probably saying to yourself “Self, Walter Clayton Jr. was drafted in 2025, I don’t care what he did in college. How did he play in the NBA last season?” The answer to that is a bit more complicated!

Clayton was selected 18th overall in the 2025 Draft by the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were very much not interested in winning last season, so many of the looks he received were not placing him in the best position to succeed.

When Utah made the trade to acquire Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis, the Grizzlies demanded that he be part of that package. He was, and thus he played the last 24 games of the season in Memphis. Memphis, obviously, also wasn’t very interested in winning, thus the looks for Clayton Jr. were difficult.

However, Clayton did a much better job of assisting and getting others involved while playing for the Grizzlies, as he racked up nearly six dimes per contest. And to top it all off, Clayton was playing his best ball at the end of the regular season, shooting 50% from deep and 47% overall in the month of April.

Of course, Memphis had a roster crunch this offseason, and after being left without a partner on the dance floor, were forced to cut bait. Now, after a very short waiting period after clearing waivers, the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player joins forces with that tournament’s highest drafted player in Cooper Flagg. So, what can you look for with Clayton Jr. here in Dallas? Here’s a few things that tell his story as a player.

Clayton Jr. is fearless

You don’t have the courage to step up and hit these outrageous shots the way Clayton did if you don’t have some intestinal fortitude, and he’s got that in spades. At 6’2”, he has to be intentional about getting shots off on the outside, and also a very physical and crafty finisher. He’s shown that in the past, as per Yahoo! Sports, Clayton Jr. shot over 60% at the rim in his final year at Florida. While he’s struggled in the NBA at times with that, I think part of that is rookie lumps, while the other part is just simply the floor math being tilted against him. I’d love to get another look at that from him in Dallas.

Shooting is a strength… I think

Coming out of Florida, Clayton shot nearly 40% on spot-up 3-pointers and 37% on off-the-dribble attempts. For a college player, those are fantastic numbers. As mentioned above, Clayton also excelled at finishing at the cup. In the NBA, he has done none of those well. Last year, Clayton shot a combined 75-of-244 from deep across his two stops, good for just under 31%. He also was just 47% on two-pointers in the NBA, a number that should be better. Now, small samples across a rookie season in which he was traded and not set up for success should be taken with a hefty grain of salt. But, it would be great to see the bounce back this season.

The playmaking has taken a step forward

One of the issues coming into his rookie year was the lack of real playmaking pop from Clayton. At Florida, he showed some flashes, but there were some head-scratching turnovers and, frankly, I just don’t think he saw the floor well at times. You could kind of crowd him a bit and with his shorter stature, it forced some issues. Well, in Memphis to end the season, Clayton averaged over eight assists per 36 minutes, while keeping his turnovers down to around three. That’s really good work and a great sign for his future.

Best and worst case outcome

The best-case scenario for Clayton seems to be a Payton Pritchard- or Jordan Clarkson-type of star-in-their-role player. If he can continue to showcase the playmaking pop, perhaps he can reach those upper-tier outcomes and become a starter in this league. At worst, Clayton is probably out of the league after the year, but that really only happens if the shot continues to fall off, he doesn’t keep up the playmaking, and is just overwhelmed when on the ball.

In reality, I do think Clayton is an NBA player. He needs a steady home and a system that can maximize what he does. At Florida, Todd Golden implored that group to run, drive-and-kick and press the defense. I think Clayton Jr. can find some of that in Dallas, and I hope he is able to make it stick.

This is the fourth of a series of roundtable questions I’m asking the staff here at Peachtree Hoops about the Hawks this upcoming season. The fourth question: what is your boldest take for the Hawks in 2026-27?

Wes: Despite the NBA being an incredible difficult adjustment for rookie guards, I predict Kingston Flemings both makes the All-Rookie First Team and finds his way into the starting lineup by the end of the season. Throughout preseason, he already looks the part of a chiseled veteran guard, getting after it on defense and protecting the ball with a pristine assist-to-turnover ratio.

It’s rare for Kelvin Sampson to trust a freshman guard to run the show at Houston, but Flemings stepped in immediately and did just that. Why can’t he do the same for Quin Snyder and the Hawks this season?

Malik: My boldest take for the season is that the Hawks finish as a top-2 seed in the Eastern Conference. This team feels like they can do something similar to what the Detroit Pistons did the last two years, where they made the playoffs (and ironically played the Knicks) and then the following year was the No. 1 seed in the East. The Hawks brought back their core and made some key additions that will make them a better team. 

If Jalen Johnson and others like Dyson Daniels can take another step in their game, the Hawks could (boldly) be a team to be reckoned with this season.

Garrett: The Hawks will finish as a top five defensive team, and Jalen Johnson will finish in the top five in MVP voting. I’m buying into the combination of Daniels, Alexander-Walker and Dort on the perimeter. Atlanta has the personnel to make opponents work for everything, and I expect that to become this team’s identity. The challenge is bringing that effort consistently, but I think this group can do it.

As for Johnson, I think that defensive support helps him take another leap. Having Dort available to handle tough assignments should allow Johnson to put more energy into leading the offense. He’ll still have responsibilities on both ends, but he doesn’t have to carry every burden himself. If he builds on his scoring and playmaking while leading Atlanta to a strong playoff seed, I believe he’ll give voters a reason to put his name in that top five conversation.

Graham: The Hawks will be the NBA’s best defensive team this season. The Hawks have so many defensive options now up and down the roster, so much versatility to play with. They have the option to put out the defensive lineup of Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Lu Dort, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu on the court.

However, this NBA leading defense is only possible if Jalen Johnson buys back into defense (which has never looked the same since his increased offensive role two seasons ago), the Hawks will lead the league in defensive rating. When he’s engaged on that end, Johnson is a very good defender, and if the Hawks are to contend he has to buy back in defensively. 

The Milwaukee Bucks are some seasons removed from their best lineup. In fact, this season’s lineup is among the worst in the league—at least in the eyes of NBA 2K. But just how will their season pan out? To answer that question, I ran two separate NBA 2K27 season simulations: the first an AI-controlled affair, with 2K having full control over trades, signings, and player minutes, and the second a more user-controlled one to get a more realistic idea of what Bucks fans can expect in terms of lineups, minutes, and potential trades. So, hit your cross buttons and let’s get started!

Start of the Season

To kick off this simulation, the Bucks waive Pete Nance to clear up roster space (this is the only user-made choice). Their starting lineup is as follows: 

PG: Kevin Porter Jr. (Editor’s note: Well, this is awkward.)

SG: Tyler Herro 

SF: Kyle Kuzma 

PF: Jaime Jaquez Jr. 

C: Kel’el Ware

Not exactly what Bucks fans would be hoping to see on opening night, right? Other notes are that Nate Ament isn’t even able to crack the initial rotation, while Jericho Sims and Brayden Burries find themselves at the end of it, earning a measly seven minutes per game apiece. Across the league power rankings, the Bucks are twice ranked as the 28th-best team and once placed as the 16th-best team.

All-Star Break

The Bucks roll into the All-Star break 18-41 on the season, sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference. They have a great turnaround to get there too; after starting the season 3-21 they steady the ship on the back of a 15-20 run. At this point, Milwaukee holds the 20th best offence in the NBA, averaging 115.8 PPG, and the 23rd worst defence, conceding 123.3 PPG. As a result of their upward trajectory, they rank 26th, 25th and 23rd across the three league power rankings. All in all, I would be happy to be in this position come All-Star Break this season. But this isn’t the only news. Prior to the trade deadline, the Bucks move on from Myles Turner, trading him to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Draymond Green and his expiring deal. 

Statistically, there isn’t too much that jumps out. Kasparas Jakucionis is the only Bucks player to feature in All-Star weekend, being selected for the World Team in the Rising Stars challenge. Otherwise, Kevin Porter Jr. is a bright spot for the team, averaging 14.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 1.5 SPG, with good efficiency off the bench. 

The Bucks’ key stat leaders are as follows: 

• Points: Tyler Herro (18.4 PPG)
• Rebounds: Kel’el Ware (10.4 RPG) 
• Assists: Ryan Rollins (4.4 APG) 
• Steals: Ryan Rollins (1.6 SPG) 
• Blocks: Kel’el Ware (1.8 BPG)

End of Regular Season

The Bucks continue their 180 compared to their start of the season, going 13-10 to end the season and finishing 31-51, one win short of their 2025-2026 season record. They finish 11th in the East and make a late push for the 10th spot to make the play-in tournament. Statistically, they end with the 28th-ranked offence in the league, averaging 111.7 PPG, but grind their way to the 16th-ranked defence in the league, conceding just 105.7 PPG—the gritty, defensive-minded team many Bucks fans want. By the end of the season, the team leaders are:

• Points: Tyler Herro (16.0 PPG) 
• Rebounds: Kel’el Ware (10.5 RPG)
• Assists: Tyler Herro (3.1 APG) 
• Steals: Kevin Porter Jr. (1.2 SPG)
• Blocks: Kel’el Ware (2.1 BPG)

Unsurprisingly, there are no awards to mention and no one makes any All-NBA, All-Defensive, or All-Rookie teams either. As disappointing as it is, Brayden Burries and Nate Ament see very limited action (damned 2K undervaluing youth!).

And that wraps up the regular season. 

Offseason

The Bucks kick off the offseason by quickly moving on from Taylor Jenkins and promoting Darvin Ham to head coach, an interesting move after such a successful end to their first season under Jenkins. They then use their second-round pick to draft a 2K-generated player.

In free agency, the Bucks are very active. First, they let Caris LeVert walk. He signs with the Los Angeles Lakers. Others follow suit: Kam Jones signs with the Chicago Bulls and Draymond Green signs with the Houston Rockets. Interestingly, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. both sign with the Miami Heat. But the moves don’t end there.

Ryan Rollins—yes, you read that correctly—signs with the Atlanta Hawks, and after just one homecoming season Tyler Herro joins Jones with the Bulls. In total, seven players depart, many who were thought of as key parts of the team’s future core. But why did Jon Horst let all of these players walk for nothing?

Giannis Antetokounmpo is why!

That’s right, Milwaukee’s greatest player of all time signs a 4-year, $265m deal to return to Wisconsin. Many Bucks fans felt like they were wearing tin foil hats when they hypothesised that Giannis would return after bolstering the team with the acquisitions in his trade package, but here he is back in Milwaukee! The Bucks also welcome an OG (no, not Anunoby)—Donte DiVincenzo, along with a few other league-minimum signings. 

Heading into the 2027-2028 season, the starting lineup thus looks like this:

PG: Kasparas Jakucionis 

SG: Brayden Burries 

SF: Ousmane Dieng 

PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo 

C: Kel’el Ware 

Now that is a very interesting lineup that has the potential to be scary. How many games do you think this new starting five would win?

What do you make of 2K’s simulation of the Bucks’ season? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon!