Category: Basketball

A high school teammate and childhood friend of LeBron James is now an NBA general manager.

Brandon Weems has been promoted to general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers after rising through the organization's front office over the past decade, according to multiplereports on Friday, Sept. 18. He'd been an assistant general manager for the franchise since 2022.

Weems played basketball with James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. James' agent, Rich Paul, described Weems as "basically like LeBron's brother" during a podcast appearance as James was deciding on a new team this offseason. His presence in Cleveland was seen as a positive recruiting tool for the Cavaliers.

In an odd twist, Weems is replacing one of the men who helped persuade James to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in July over the Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and others. Weems is filling the vacancy left by Mike Gansey, who is now the 76ers' president of basketball operations.

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Good morning! It’s been a busier week around the NBA than I expected. I accidentally started a basketball book club on X (formerly Twitter). Let’s get to it

T-Mac’s Take

McGrady would rather have an MVP than a title

No really!

In a recent episode of his “Cousins” podcast alongside NBA legend Vince Carter, Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady said he would rather have an MVP than a championship. (He does not have either. No shade. I don’t either!) In his explanation, McGrady said the championship is for the collective, the MVP award is for the individual and nobody remembers the 10th or 11th man on a winning team.

In the days since the clip hit social media, former NBA champions like Iman Shumpert have taken issue with T-Mac’s comments.

It’s so easy to say what we would do in someone else’s shoes. But we have no clue what it took for real. I’m of the belief that a person’s view of winning is often impacted by how they view their own legacy, and T-Mac sometimes feels like a legend without a true legacy.These convos never go well for him.

The discussion of whether winning a championship matters versus winning MVP is an interesting one, because I don’t think they’re the same thing. I agree with Shump.

Ring chasing is the point. I refuse to believe there is a player who doesn’t care about their chances of winning, especially not when they’re in the prime of their careers. Shumpert’s reaction to McGrady’s comment brings to mind something Zach (yep, the Zach who usually writes this newsletter) has mentioned to me in the past: Have we reached a point where winning it all is actually underrated?

Though not a one-to-one comparison, as recently as 2025, Hall of Famer Allen Iverson has said he doesn’t regret not winning. Iverson looks at his own impact on the game and the way he changed his life through basketball as more important than a chip.

So while the rest of us might easily say winning changes everything, these guys have the benefit, the delusion maybe, of looking back on their younger selves a bit kinder and reducing the value of winning. (You also need that delusion to even reach the levels they did. The challenge is in the margins of just playing the game.)

In another viral clip, McGrady said that if you replaced Kobe Bryant with him on the three-peat Lakers, he would’ve had a similar impact. T-Mac averaged 29.4 points in the playoffs from 2000 to 2003; the Lakers three-peated in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

McGrady’s postseason scoring average during those years was tied with Shaquille O’Neal for second, behind only Iverson (30.9). Kobe ranked fourth (26.5).

These convos do make me empathize with T-Mac, though. His body betrayed him, he didn’t have talented teams in Orlando and his coach was Doc Rivers, who routinely gets clowned for choking in big moments aside from the 2008 ring many say he lucked into.

(There’s another world where we can acknowledge there are just too many podcasts and too many takes, thus creating a need to ignore facts, stretch opinions and be unnecessarily harsh.)

The last 24

🏀 Numbers game. Which current NBA players deserve to have their jersey numbers retired? Jason Jones has the list.

🏀 Into the vacuum. Ownership turnover in the NBA has only increased the power of the commissioner, Jason Lloyd writes.

🏀 Mental matters. DeMar DeRozan is nearing the end of his playing career, but he has big plans to continue his advocacy for mental health.

🏀 Eastern promises. The Knicks are the defending champs, but the Eastern Conference has a deep bench of contenders this season.

BOG thoughts

Three takeaways from NBA meeting

In case you missed it, the NBA held its Board of Governors meetings earlier this week. An editor asked my opinion about it all, and I didn’t realize I had thoughts until I did.

Here are my takeaways now that the dust has settled a little:

On the Portland Trail Blazers’ arena dispute: I found it interesting that NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he “would see it as a failure” if the Trail Blazers left Portland. Silver also said he hoped both sides could “lower the temperature” in the negotiations. But it feels like the NBA and other professional sports teams across the country are ignoring the general public’s lack of appetite for financing a sports team’s new state-of-the-art arena.

Silver admitted to wanting to be more “NFL-like” with every fan believing their team can win it. I guess that’s fine. People either love or hate parity. But something I think the NBA should also look at is how the NFL is so popular. The NFL knows its audience and leans into its established culture. The NBA can be having a good day, and the NFL will bust in like the Kool-Aid Man. Gotta figure out how to fight back.

Everybody’s ready to move on from the Clippers investigation and subsequent punishments. Silver addressed Clippers owner Steve Ballmer’s statement accepting the punishment doled out by the league and said he’d spoken to Kawhi Leonard, who is officially with Toronto again. They’re all ready to move on. Understandably so. But people are definitely going to be talking about this for a good while longer. This was huge! It will be interesting to see fan reaction in L.A. at the start of the season.

WNBA future

Part 2 of our Q&A with Annie Costabile

After an extended break for the FIBA Women’s World Cup, the final stretch of the WNBA season is underway, with the regular season ending later next week.

I discussed awards races and more with The Athletic’s women’s basketball writer Annie Costabile earlier this week, but our conversation was so good (and so long!) that I didn’t want to leave anything on the cutting room floor.

So here’s Part II (and check out the rest of Annie’s recent work):

With a new CBA in place for a full season, can fans expect teams to fully upgrade their standards/resources by next season?

Annie: Teams have until 2028 to meet the facility standards requirement, and some will push it until then. The Liberty, for example, are in the building phase, but structural framing doesn’t appear to have been started based on a walk-by of the Greenpoint site.

The teams with the biggest resource issues, like the Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks and Dallas Wings are all set to have facilities open by the 2027 season. The Liberty have some flexibility because, even though their Greenpoint location looks like it may not be ready by the start of next season, they still have been leaders in the league in terms of overall resources/operational standards.

What WNBA teams need a drastic overhaul for next season? And in what ways?

Annie: The Sparks, the Sky, the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut Sun. I think for the Sparks and the Sky, they have to answer the question of whether or not the vision they had is the vision they want to keep. We’ve seen in L.A. they’ve already fired and hired a new general manager before the season even ended. They could look to continue that overhaul and fire coach Lynne Roberts. The Sky have to confront similar questions of whether or not GM Jeff Pagliocca and coach Tyler Marsh are capable of getting them back to playoff contention. I think what’s slightly different there is the degree of injury the Sky dealt with and what they looked like prior to Rickea Jackson’s ACL injury.

The Sun are obviously relocating to Houston, so that comes with natural change. Then we have the Mercury, and their overhaul, I think, really comes down to the roster. Is Alyssa Thomas still the franchise player? They should not have fallen from championship contention to outside of the playoffs because of one player (they lost Satou Sabally in free agency.) I don’t see a coaching change happening there.

With the women’s college hoops season approaching, I’d like to shift our attention to next season’s highly anticipated 2027 draft class that includes players like JuJu Watkins, Madison Booker and MiLaysia Fulwiley. Who’s a sleeper to watch who could boost their draft stock?

Annie: My mind immediately went to South Carolina forward/center Ashlyn Watkins. I still remember watching her win the McDonald’s All-American dunk contest in 2022 and being in awe of her length and athleticism. She rejoined Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks in June after taking a year off from basketball. If she comes back with an improved shot coupled with her defensive prowess, specifically when it comes to defending at the rim, I think she could end up going in the top half of the first round.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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In many ways, I feel like I know exactly what to expect from Nate Ament this season, but in many others, I have no freaking idea. Conventional wisdom tells you that he’ll spend a lot of the season with the Herd—certainly at the start of the year—but also, lottery picks generally do not play much in the G League. Something has to give. Ament is a unique case because he was picked at that spot based much more on potential than the raw production he showed in college. You’re looking a year or two down the road with him and wondering what he can be when his body fills out. That leaves me… confused.

Ament had an interesting Summer League. It started really slow, with the 19-year-old failing to reach double digits until the fourth game, when he broke out against the Hornets for 23 points on 7/13 shooting. This was followed by an almost game against the Sixers, where he tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, but nine of those points came in the opening quarter, only for almost everything to rim out for the rest of the game (or an and-one getting reversed into a charge that seemed… very questionable).

As I’ve written about previously, Ament’s path to minutes at the NBA level will come through finding his niche and keeping his game simple. Right now, his best attribute is probably his catch-and-shoot ability; he shot nearly 40% from deep in Vegas. If he can force defenders to respect him, it will open up his ability to pump fake, drive the closeout, and make the next play. Of course, Ament does struggle to break guys down off the dribble—and I don’t know if that will ever be a strength of his—but he can drive hard left, body the defender, reverse pivot, and shoot a turnaround over his left shoulder. The Virginia native did this move repeatedly in college, and I think it will work at the next level against smaller defenders (of which there will be a good number, given his positional size at 6’10”).

The other part is the defence. It was bad at Summer League—much worse than I expected. That said, it felt like a lot of those struggles came down to over-aggressiveness and poor positioning. With the right training, this is a guy who should be able to iron out those flaws and become a plus on that end. His frame will naturally give him a lot of latitude to recover and contest shots. But yes, it goes without saying that Ament will not touch an NBA floor until he fixes that part of his game. Overall, I can’t wait to see what they do with Ament this year. Will it be mostly G League, or will he get “gifted” minutes because the franchise is prioritising development over wins this season?

With Ament gone, who’s the next man up?

Every day, we’ll take a closer look at another member of the 2026-27 Phoenix Suns, examining what they bring to the roster and what their role could mean for the season ahead as we count down to training camp and the preseason.

Duop Reath

Center, 6’9”, 245 pounds, 30 years old, 4th season

Was writing a player preview about Duop Reath on my bingo card when we originally scheduled our Player Preview series here at Bright Side of the Sun? Nope. But like champions, we adjust. The Phoenix Suns have signed Reath, and therefore we need to give you an introduction to who he is, what he’s done, and what he could potentially become as a member of this team.

He’s ultimately been brought in to compete for a role at the back end of the center rotation following the injury to Mark Williams. How much he actually plays, or whether he ultimately sticks on the roster, remains to be seen.

But what do we know about him? What has he done in the past? What does the scouting report look like? And what could he potentially bring to the Phoenix Suns? We’ll break all of that down in this Player Preview.

I recommend you start with understanding his journey to the NBA.

Last Season

Per Paul Navarre at Blazer’s Edge:

Reath averaged 13.3 minutes per game over 146 games with the Blazers between 2023 and 2026. He scored 6.2 points per game with 2.6 rebounds and .4 blocks. He shot 42% from the three-point arc during the 2025-26 season in Portland.

Reath last played for the Blazers on January 18, 2026. On January 29 it was announced that Reath had a stress fracture in his foot and that he had undergone successful surgery. Reath was traded on February 1st to the Atlanta Hawks along with two future second-round picks for Vit Krejci. Atlanta made the trade knowing that Reath would miss the rest of the season. They waived the big Australian four days later. Reath has not played since.

Contract and Roster Context

Per Duane Rankin, he will be on a training camp invite.

What He Brings

Aside from the competition he brings to the back end of the roster, Reath possesses something that immediately makes him interesting for the Suns. He can stretch the floor. Last season, Reath shot 41.8% from beyond the arc, although the volume wasn’t really there. He went 23-of-55 from deep for the season. For his career, he’s a 35.7% three point shooter, which is ultimately where one of his biggest offensive strengths lies.

If the Suns want a backup big who can stretch the floor when called upon, Reath can fulfill that role. And if you put him in the right corner, he can make you pay. Reath is a career 48.2% three point shooter from that area of the floor.

That ability gives Phoenix another option at center and a different offensive skill set to work with, depending on what a matchup requires.

Another thing Reath brings is the potential to provide mentorship, especially for Khaman Maluach. Maluach is stepping into an increased role this season, with a lot more responsibility being placed on his shoulders to produce with the opportunity in front of him.

Reath may only be around for a short period of time if he ultimately doesn’t make the roster, but there is still value in having him around Maluach during training camp. Reath has experienced a tumultuous basketball journey of his own, and he was born in Sudan, not far from where Maluach was born in South Sudan. That shared background and experience could create a natural kinship between the two. And perhaps that opens the door for some mentorship along the way, with Reath helping Maluach prepare for what lies ahead.

What Needs to Improve

While his ability to stretch the floor is a positive, there is plenty of opportunity throughout the rest of Reath’s game.

He isn’t a great rebounder on either end of the floor. He isn’t a great finisher, nor is he particularly effective defending on the perimeter. Where he does shine defensively is with his rim protection and ability to provide help defense. That creates a challenge if Reath ultimately becomes the third member of the Suns’ center rotation. Phoenix already has Oso Ighodaro, who isn’t necessarily a great rebounder himself, especially on the defensive end. Some of that is understandable because Oso is a switchable big who frequently gets pulled away from the paint.

Still, if you’re subbing Oso out and replacing him with Reath, the rebounding deficiency doesn’t disappear. It could become even more glaring.

Final Word

I love that the Suns brought Reath in to create competition for that third-string center role. It’s a smart way to operate, especially when it doesn’t cost you anything. There could be some ancillary benefits along the way, as I mentioned with the potential mentorship of Khaman Maluach. He gives Phoenix another body, another shooting profile, and another player who can push the final roster spots during camp. Maybe that turns into a roster spot, maybe it becomes a G League opportunity, and maybe it ends there. Either way, Reath gives the Suns something they needed: competition without commitment.

Ultimately, though, I don’t think Reath makes the team. Could he end up on a two-way contract? The opportunity exists because this is his fourth season, the final year he would be eligible for that type of deal. I’d much rather keep CJ Huntley on a two-way contract, focus on developing him, and provide Reath with an opportunity to play in the G League if that path presents itself.

I love his journey. I love his story. And I love how the Suns are approaching this. I simply don’t think Reath is going to have much of an impact on the Phoenix Suns this season. He is this year’s Jared Butler.

Yesterday, we posted about the Spurs hiring a new Vice President of Technology. Technology is constantly updating, improving, and outright changing with such pace that sometimes we can barely keep up. By “we” I mean people who did not grow up with this level of tech. For example, my first phone was rotary, my first television required getting up and changing the dial to one of the three channels available (four if PBS was coming in on a clear day). We didn’t get cable until I was in 2nd grade. There used to be ONE computer in our school…you get the picture, yes?

I digress. The point is, there was a time when technology seemed so advanced, but now those images and films are trite and simplistic. Or are they.

I found this footage. It sparked a memory of my first trip to HemisFair to see a Spurs game,

This was the announcement for the 1982 Western Conference Finals when the #2 ranked Spurs got swept by the #1 ranked Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers went on to win the title against the Philadelphia 76ers. 1982 was the Lakers second NBA Finals trip in what turned out to be eight in the 1980s. You read that right, the Lakers made 8 trips to the Finals in the 80s.

The 80s were so dominated by the Lakers and Celtics, it’s hard to remember just how good the Spurs were. With George Gervin as their superstar and Stan Albeck as head coach, they had some solid years.

Anyway, I just saw this footage, got nostalgic, and realized how much the presentation of the game has changed over the decades.

TGIF, Pounders! Have. great weekend.

Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.

Those who make their living evaluating basketball players’ talents and skills presumably have some idea of what they’re talking about. (Most of them, anyway.) That expertise would seem a prerequisite among NBA decision-makers, which is why former players who learned the game at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski (Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Billy King, Danny Ferry) and at North Carolina under Dean Smith (Mitch Kupchak, Michael Jordan, Donnie Walsh) found jobs as NBA general managers. 

That grounding presumably comes into play when selecting players for NBA franchises. The league runs America’s most famous professional sports draft, with only two rounds per year since ‘89. Only first rounders receive a guaranteed place and payment, although second round picks increasingly are rewarded with starting contracts.

Plenty of promising players sift down to the second round, notably Duke all-pro Carlos Boozer (2002). Since 2020 Duke alone supplied the NBA with burgeoning second-round stalwarts Vernon Carey Jr., Tre Jones, and Kyle Filipowski.

This past June 12 ACC players were among the 60 draftees. That’s 20 percent of the total. The previous June it was only eight of 60 (13.3 percent).

Over the past two seasons — or since the ACC did its institutional boa constrictor routine, swallowing three more programs to push its membership to 18 – 16.7 percent of the NBA draftees (20 of 120) came from the conference. 

Across that 2-year span, Duke supplied 8 of 20 ACC draftees, or 40 percent.

Included among the NBA’s recent ACC-certified talents were four top-10 picks from Duke: Cameron Boozer (No. 3 in 2026) and Cooper Flagg (#1), Kon Knueppel (#4), and Khaman Maluach (#10) in 2025. Since Jon Scheyer took over in 2022 the Blue Devils saw 7 players taken in the opening round.

Otherwise the most highly coveted talents from the ACC were widely distributed.

Second-most No.1s from the ACC over the past two years was UNC with two. Caleb Wilson went fourth in 2026 and forgettable Drake Powell was the 22^nd pick in ’25. (One possible factor in Hubert Davis’ firing was his ill-advised judgment in having an injured Wilson participate in a practice, breaking his right thumb as he recovered from fracturing his left hand.)

Rebuilt Louisville supplied the No. 6 pick in 2026 in oft-injured guard Mikel Brown Jr.

The other ’26 ACC first-round selection, the league’s eighth in the last two drafts, was Ebuka Okorie. That he attended Stanford may surprise some people. Yet coach Kyle Smith has quietly built talented units in fielding consecutive 20-win teams since joining the ACC. 

In fact, only six league squads won 20 or more games in each of the past two seasons: Clemson, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, and Stanford. 

Big man Maxime Raynaud, the Cardinal’s 2025 star and the runnerup in ACC Player of the Year voting to Flagg (76 to 4), went to Sacramento in the second round, signed a 3-year, $5.95 million contract, and started 56 times as a Kings rookie in 2025-26.

One difficulty in gaining notice as a Cardinal is Stanford’s modest home court excitement, reflected in the worst attendance in the ACC last year at 3,899 fans per game. Good news: that was up from an average of 2,951 attendees at Maples Pavilion in 2025, the school’s inaugural ACC season. Capacity is 7,233. Maybe Stanford fans have yet to be as impressed as we are with their team’s addition to the North Carolina-based league.

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On Wednesday, you were all ready to buy one of those hot-off-the-presses Knicks tickets. You hopped onto Ticketmaster, clicked your usual section, and nearly fainted from the price. You clicked a cheaper section. Same unpleasant surprise. Finally, you selected the very worst seat in the house and it hit you: the only way you are going to see the Knicks play at MSG this season is if you sell the family cow.

If this happened to you, no, you can’t get that bony old Betsy back (and now you’re really out of luck for magic beans). But take heart—you might get a refund.

Madison Square Garden Sports⁠ said Thursday that it had paused individual-game Knicks ticket sales because of “a mistake in our pricing.” The correct plan: prices will revert to last season’s levels plus an average increase of 12%, and sales will restart after the adjustment. Anybody who already purchased individual tickets at the erroneous prices will be refunded the difference. 

The cheapest available seat for the October 20 banner-night opener against Philadelphia had climbed to $1,251, with some upper-deck seats listed above $1,000. If the sticker shock caused a loved one to die of a heart attack, MSG will send you a consolatory pin.

This is the first genuinely ugly collision between the Knicks’ championship and the fans who waited decades for it. We endured terrible basketball for years, finally got the big prize, and then discovered that seeing the banner raised might require a small home-equity loan.

So far, MSG has declined to say how many tickets were sold at the mistaken prices or how much it will refund. MSG corrected the error quickly and is refunding purchasers, which is commendable. But a 12% average increase is also an unpleasant hike in this economy. Mr. Dolan, what is the current price of milk?

Knicks in five.

Welcome to the Preseason – Basketball practice officially starts in 3 days, September 21^st.  

Before last season, BTP posters were saying, “I can’t remember who’s on the team this season.” We’re here to help!

We’re counting down the 10 days to the beginning of practice ’26-‘27 by taking another look at this season’s roster, focusing on the 10 players most likely to make an impact. This article is about Coach Gainey’s biggest win of the offseason; despite being outbid by other schools, Paul McNeil has returned to the NC State Wolfpack.

Basketball News

• Generally the weight gains reflect what we have already been told – EXCEPT WILKINS
• Finally we have Jurkovic’s weight, and he’s a little taller than we thought
• Smartly, McNeil added an inch to boost his NBA resume
• Whitty got busted

Predicted breakdown of minutes per player:

#2 Paul McNeil

This will be Paul’s third season on the Wolfpack team, and his third (and most expensive!) coaching staff. Paul will be forever loved by fans for sticking with the program through the coaching changes, just as much as for setting the program record for most made 3PT shots in a season and having a 47/10 double-double in last season’s Heritage game. It’s becoming less common that players of his ability stick around 3 seasons, so we probably won’t get another.

• Ht / Wt:6’5” / 190
• Position: Guard
• PPG / RPG / APG:13.8 ppg / 3.6 rpg / 0.8 apg
• Shooting: 43.3% / 42.7% (105-246) / 82.4%

’25-’26 season Highs:

• Points: 47 points, double digits 23 games, 20+ 8 games
• Double-Doubles: 1
• Rebounds: 10

Strength

• Usage – Probably exactly what you want for his role as designated marksman
• True Shooting % – Excellent
• Assist %  / A/TO – A designated catch & shoot guy is not expected to pass much, but when he does, he’s very good at getting it to the right guy.

Weakness

• No surprise, overall Paul is not a strong defender
• Block % – He ranks in the 59^th percentile, but if you compare only to other guards he ranks very well, the 83^rd percentile.

Strength

• Three-point percentage – obviously

Weakness

• Doesn’t take a lot of shots inside the arc, and doesn’t pick up shooting fouls

Patrick Stacy

“Only player in history to make that volume of 3’s [last season] with that accuracy”

Coach Gainey

“Paul is coachable, I’m excited about the things he is doing with the ball, excited about the things he is doing on defense, he’s taken his leadership role very seriously. “

Expectations – Wolfpack nation LOVES Paul. He’s come back twice, and we’re told he turned down a big offer to move to Baton Rouge. But even the biggest fans (including me), have always had a few concerns:

Concern: Size – Paul has always been skinny, and we all wondered how that impacted the fact that he doesn’t often successfully drive to the basket. In pictures from the offseason workouts, Paul’s recently added muscle definition is very impressive.

Concern: One-dimensional offense – As noted above, Paul seldom takes it to the rim. Obviously, a big part of that is his role in the offense. But to be a well-rounded NBA player, he probably needs to increase the perception that he can beat you from 3PT and he’s a threat take it to the rim, as well. Last season only 23.9% of his made shots were inside the arc. But he did dunk it 4 times (4/4, 100%) and made 25 of what Torvik calls ‘Close 2PT’ shots. ( at 62.5%) A few steps further away his shooting percentage drops to 24.2%. Coach Gainey’s comments (above) on what he is doing with the ball, are encouraging.

Concern: Defense – (You can’t be a ‘3 & D guy’ if you can’t ‘D’ – Confucius) Last season he ranked 10^th on the Wolfpack in DPBM (Defensive box plus/minus) at -0.1. That means the opponent’s offense does better when he is ON the court than off. He beat out only teammates Jerry Deng, Jordan Snell, and Colt Langdon in that metric. Not good company, Robert.

I believe this will be Paul’s best season, but I don’t see him breaking his 3PT record. With the Wolfpack having 3 or 4 very good (38% +) 3PT shooters on the court at all times, the team might set a 3PT record as a whole, but the made shots should be distributed across more players. The floor spacing this team will cause should allow Paul, Hammond and Adams room to attack the rim. Defensively, I believe in Coach Gainey. He’s talked about Paul’s “coachability”. I believe Paul’s improvement on defense, as well as the entire team’s, will be the single most significant improvement by the Wolfpack this season positively reflecting on this season’s coaching staff versus the previous. However, there’s a caveat. It will not be immediate. Hopefully we’ll see the individual defensive effort there out of the gate, but it’s going to take time to become a really good defensive team.

For the first time since his arrival in Boston, the trade machine came for Derrick White.

After a season of inefficiency, and a shaky playoff exit, the narrative shifted. Boston’s favorite adopted cousin no longer had the same unshakeable trust from all corners of the fanbase. But appreciating White has always required some nuance, and by looking deeper we can understand how important he is and the reason for optimism moving forward.

Judging White solely on raw shooting splits completely misses the mark (pun intended). He can fill up a stat sheet, but his true value has always been about fluidity and intangible impact.

He’s uniquely capable of flowing from the 1st through 5th option on any given night. For many players, that kind of variance isn’t a compliment. But there’s a significant difference between being inconsistent and being scalable, and White has a proven track record of seamlessly expanding or shrinking his role based on matchups or teammate availability.

Last season, that scalability was pushed to its absolute limit. In the absence of Tatum and key pieces from the championship roster, White had less room to lurk in the shadows. His spot in the offensive hierarchy was defined. Forced into the most visible and static role of his career, he shouldered a heavy, unfamiliar creation burden—logging eight games with a usage rate above 30%—and stumbled to a career-low 39.4% from the field and 32.7% from deep. Those efficiency struggles only grew under the postseason lights in the loss to the Sixers.

Yet, if you look beyond the box score, advanced metrics support that he was still deeply impactful. Take Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM), a useful tool for measuring a player’s impact on winning. Even with his lower percentages, White finished the season in the 94th percentile league-wide, a sign that he still influenced winning at an elite level.

There’s a reason why most metrics still love him. White refused to let his offensive workload compromise his defense. He averaged a career-high in steals and blocks, and Boston’s defense was 7.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor. In his minutes they were an elite two-way team. Without him they were a top offense without a defensive identity.

I said before last season that White taking on a larger role was good in the long run, and I still believe that. The experiment wasn’t perfect, but the team greatly overachieved in the regular season with him helping to lead the way. He got valuable reps as a top option, and proved he can easily anchor a bench unit when staggering lineups.

Moving forward, he’s not going to be quite as overextended. Tracking data from last season shows his creation frequency skyrocketed, jumping from 27% to 38% of his total playtypes. This caused a corresponding drop in his time spent spacing the floor, and put a heavy tax on his efficiency. After spending the previous year at an elite +10.5% in Relative True Shooting as an off-ball weapon, his efficiency plummeted to -3.5% below league average under the weight of self-created possessions and added defensive attention.

With Tatum in for a full season, White slides right back into a more natural complementary role. The two have unbelievable chemistry with a two-man game that creates all kinds of issues. One possession you’ll have Tatum screening for White, and then they’ll invert it the next time down the floor.

Playing alongside Tatum simplifies White’s reads as a ball handler. Meanwhile, when White acts as the screener, he can tap into more off-ball shooting and decision-making. Over their last five years together, White sharing the court with Tatum gets a massive +6.3% bump in True Shooting, with his three-point percentage increasing by +4.3%.

We haven’t seen it yet, but I picture Paul George offering a similar type of offensive synergy. Like Tatum, George is comfortable in either role of a ball-screen action. He can pick-and-pop and fire up a three, or he can handle playmaking and creation responsibilities. Last season, George had an equal 41-41% split between creation and spacing playtypes. His scoring versatility should make him another dangerous pick-and-roll partner for White.

The existence of Tatum and George will keep White’s offensive burden tied to the best parts of his game. White is one of the best advantage extenders in the NBA, and thrives when he can attack defenses that are a step behind. Playing off of two creators will allow him to swap a good chunk of self-creation duties for the premium catch-and-shoot and off-screen looks that have made him so lethal.

After a year of being higher in the opponent’s scouting report, when he does need to step up into a larger role, it’s something he’s even more prepared for.

With his optimal ecosystem restored, there’s a strong likelihood White’s jumper not only returns, but that he puts together one of his best offensive seasons as a Celtic.

It’s time to delete the trade machine screenshots and put our #9 jerseys back on.

Sixers pre-camp questions: What's the next step for Edgecombe? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ new era is on deck.

With LeBron James and Jaylen Brown on board and training camp set to begin in late September, we’re taking a look at key questions for the 2026-27 Sixers. 

We’ve asked: 

• Just how dramatic of an impact will James make?
• What role will Brown play on his new team?
• Will the Sixers be healthy when it matters most? 
• Who will the Sixers run their late-game offense through?
• Can the Sixers’ retooled second unit get the job done in the playoffs?
• How will the Sixers’ backup center situation shake out?

Next up: What’s the next step for VJ Edgecombe? 

Edgecombe earned a starting spot off the bat and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting last season.

While he encountered a bump in the road here and there, Edgecombe carried over his college strengths in rather smooth fashion. He displayed special athleticism in the open floor, worked diligently on defense, rebounded very well for his position (5.6 boards per game), and averaged 16.0 points and 4.2 assists. Edgecombe improved as a long-range shooter, grew as a passer, and almost never appeared to be in over his head as a 20-year-old starter on a playoff team.

He turned 21 this summer. Edgecombe will plan to hone his game across the board in Year 2, do tons of valuable dirty work, and learn from the Sixers’ established stars. He’s far too talented and competitive to fade into relative obscurity because the Sixers’ other projected starters have historically been high-scoring players.

What specific areas can Edgecombe develop? We think outside shooting is at the top of the list.

He made impressive offseason progress on his jumper last year, shooting with better balance, rhythm and confidence than he had at Baylor. After hitting 34 percent of his college three-pointers, Edgecombe shot 5 for 13 beyond the arc in his incredible 34-point performance against the Celtics on opening night. He finished the season at 35.4 percent from three-point territory.

Edgecombe didn’t end the year on a high note, though. Counting the playoffs, he went 29 percent from three-point range over his final 18 games. That included an 0-for-6 three-point night in the Sixers’ Round 2, Game 4 loss to the eventual champion Knicks. Rookie fatigue was surely a factor, but Edgecombe offered no excuses immediately after the Sixers were swept out of the postseason by New York.

“There’s been a lot of ups and downs through this whole playoffs. … Coming into next year, a team won’t ever leave me open,” Edgecombe said at his exit interview in May. “During the regular season, I was shooting the ball pretty well. Then the playoffs come and it’s a different vibe. The intensity is higher, the closeouts are a lot quicker. 

“But I’m going to work and work and work. Whatever I’ve got to do to make life easier for (Tyrese Maxey) and the rest of my teammates. Take some of the pressure and some of the load offensively off of them. And defensively, I’m going to keep getting better and keep learning. For the rest of my career, I want to go out and guard whoever I have to go guard. I’m just excited to see how this offseason is going to look for me. Next year I’m going to come back better, stronger, faster, more athletic. Whatever I’ve got to do, I’m going to do.”

The bulk of Edgecombe’s three-point chances next season should be open catch-and-shoot looks created by the Sixers’ stars. He took 3.5 catch-and-shoot threes per game last season and made 38.3 percent. (On pull-up threes, Edgecombe was at 31.4 percent on 2.0 attempts per game.)

As Edgecombe alluded to, an important aspect of his catch-and-shoot game will be understanding the defense. 

Some opponents may still opt to leave him wide open. Others may respect Edgecombe’s jumper, close out hard, and force him to be precise with his footwork and shot preparation. Whatever the case, there’s no question Maxey will provide pointers along the way and nudge his backcourt mate to keep shooting. 

Of course, there are many nuances of the NBA that Edgecombe hasn’t come close to mastering yet. As he accumulates more reps, we imagine he’ll naturally improve at playing physical defense without fouling, cutting, screening, and scoring craftily at the rim and in the mid-range. 

Regardless, both Edgecombe’s career and the Sixers’ championship ambitions would look even brighter if his next major step is as a three-point shooter in the 2026-27 season.

Ramp to Camp: What will be Mitchell Robinson's biggest contribution? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Boston Celtics newcomer Mitchell Robinson was absent from this week’s introductory press conference while tending to a personal matter, but the man nicknamed “Big Country” left a sizable impression on his new team during his offseason visits.

“When Mitch came into the building for the first time — first of all, it’s kind of jarring how big he is, obviously,” said Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens. “It’s a good thing that we don’t have to block him out.”

Later, when we asked new teammate Paul George about pairing up with Robinson, he offered a similar sentiment.

“Obviously, Mitch is one heck of a specimen,” George told NBC Sports Boston. “He’s a phenom in terms of the ability to rebound and be a vertical threat from a pick-and-roll guy. I love that opportunity to play with bigs that play above the rim.”

Robinson’s “Big Country” nickname might be a nod to his Louisiana roots and his love of country music but it’s also a pretty accurate description of the real estate taken up on the court by the 7-foot, 240-pound center. Amid all of Boston’s offseason changes, the addition of Robinson and his ability to solidify the Celtics’ frontcourt might have flown further under the radar than typically possible for a man of his size.

For Day 9 of our Ramp to Camp series, we asked our panel to predict Robinson’s biggest contribution to this year’s team.

Any conversation involving Robinson invariably starts with his offensive rebounding. Robinson cleaned up a staggering 21.1 percent of his team’s misses last year for the world champion Knicks, far and away the best mark in the league (the next closest qualifier: Zach Edey in Memphis grabbing 17.7 percent of his team’s misses). Robinson finished second in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (4.2) despite playing only 19.6 minutes per contest.

For a Celtics team that clearly values second-chance opportunities under Joe Mazzulla, Robinson’s presence has a chance to make the Celtics maybe the best rebounding team in basketball.

The advanced metrics also love Robinson’s defensive impact. Opponents shot 6.3 percent below expected output when Robinson was the primary defender, and 10.6 percent below expected inside of 6 feet.

The knocks on Robinson are his ability to stay on the floor and his free-throw shooting. The Celtics famously went Hack-a-Mitch trying to exploit that in previous seasons. Boston’s skills staff has to help him get his free-throw percentage up from last year (40.8 percent) and above the 50.8 percent he’s shot for his career.

In our mind, the biggest benefit beyond the obvious with his rebounding talents, is simply bolstering a Boston frontcourt that has been rebuilding itself since the departures of Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis.

Now, Neemias Queta has a running mate. Queta and Robinson can each play hard in their on-court stints and, if there are additional minutes needed, Luka Garza showed he can infuse energy (and even more offensive rebounding) off the bench.

Once perceived as the team’s biggest area of concern, we’d go so far as to suggest that center depth is now a strength of Boston based on Queta’s development and the addition of Robinson.

In signing Robinson, the Celtics also weakened a primary rival in the Knicks. As Stevens and Co. can confirm, it’s a sizable void.

Kevin Miller: Vice President, Content Creation & Strategy

Energy at all times, creating at least five extra possessions per game.

Jason Levine: Executive Producer, Content Integrations

He’s going to rebound, so I want him to be able to stay on the floor (fouls, poor free-throw shooting not a factor in minutes)

Justin Leger: Producer, Multi-Platform Content

Durability will be critical.

Robinson has struggled with injuries throughout his career. His 60 games played last season marked his highest total since 2021-22 (72). He has played more than 60 games in a season only three times in his eight-year career: 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2021-22.

If Robinson misses a lot of time again this season, the Celtics will be back to square one with the center spot as their most glaring weakness.

Josh Canu: Celtics Editor

Impact on the rim.

They paid Robinson to be the perfect replacement for when Queta is off the floor. He is an elite rebounder and a presence inside on both ends. They need him to be exactly what they got him for and provide the depth they did not have a season ago.

Nick Goss: Producer, Multi-Platform Content

Offensive rebounding.

We all know Robinson is an excellent rebounder. If he can dominate the offensive glass and give the Celtics extra possessions, he’ll have a huge impact on the success of this team. Robinson’s 4.2 offensive rebounds per game ranked second among qualifiers in the NBA last season.

Michael Hurley: Producer, Multi-Platform Content

For those of us who come from a different era of basketball, I think we’re all a little excited to see what a throwback kind of player looks like with this team. Get in the paint, get your nose dirty, get the basketball. He’ll have a notable on-court impact, no doubt. But if he can help Neemias Queta develop in some needed areas, you’re really cooking with gas here.

Adam Hart: Executive Producer, Content Strategy

I want 60 percent free-throw shooting. If he’s rolling to the hoop, stacking assists for Jayson Tatum? Teams will be hacking. MAKE THEM PAY.

Max Lederman: Content Producer

Rebounds. Rebounds. More rebounds.

A player like Robinson can help end opponent possessions by defensive rebounding and give the Celtics extra shots by hitting the offensive glass. Sometimes it’s really that simple.

Birthday smash.

A Florida man irrationally claimed he was celebrating his birthday as justification for destroying an NYC taxi in Manhattan following the Knicks’ historic Game 4 comeback in the NBA Finals.

Saul Vargas took a plea deal Thursday for a disorderly conduct charge after he was caught shirtless on video jumping on the hood and roof of the yellow cab and smashing its front windshield as thousands of Knicks fans flooded the streets near Madison Square Garden on June 11.

“I just want to be 21,” Vargas complained as he exited a Manhattan courtroom, according to the Daily Mail.

“At the end of the day, I’m 21. I was being a kid, I was being stupid,” he added, admitting it was a lame excuse for the destruction he caused. “It was my birthday, I was trying to have fun but that’s not a good excuse.”

Vargas conveyed his regret to cabbie Noueddine Bitat, who fell victim to his antics.

“To the taxi driver, I do apologize. It’s something no driver should have to go through,” he said.

Bitat, 59, was driving down Seventh Avenue at 36th Street around 12:30 a.m. when the mob attacked the vehicle and ripped him from the cab.

“The crowd came and they attacked him. They grabbed him out of the cab. They grabbed him by the neck. Someone punched him in his head,” Bitat said through a translator at the time.

“They shattered the windshield. They opened the front doors and even the trunks. They were yelling, ‘Knicks in five! Knicks in five!’”

Vargas, of St. Cloud, Fla., joined other rowdy fans on the car for the celebration — including a man wearing a keffiyeh and another holding a Palestinian flag, perched atop the destroyed cab.

Bitat suffered a diabetic attack and was left with “a lot of trauma.”

Bitat, who is from Algeria, said he was not planning on returning to the chauffeur gig following the beatdown and was “lucky to be alive.”

“It’s just that from what happened, he couldn’t believe doing a job like this could be so risky.”

Vargas was ordered to pay $500 in restitution as part of his plea deal.

The Knickerbockers, who went on to win the NBA Finals in Game 5 two nights later, had erased a record 29-point deficit in the closing minutes of the game to ignite the mass celebration.

Game hero OG Anunoby sent the city into a frenzy with his tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, rebounding a missed three from Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.

Police sought Vargas on a criminal mischief charge after video of the incident of the incident went viral.

The alleged birthday boy later turned himself over to police just before heading back to Florida after learning he was a wanted man.

Tweaked Warriors roster puts onus on Steve Kerr and his revamped coaching staff originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Autopsies of the Warriors’ 2025-26 season concluded that injuries to Jimmy Butler III and Stephen Curry were such severe wounds so that one could overlook contributing causes.

If those causes are unaddressed, they’ll be fatal next season – even if the aging roster somehow achieves optimal health.

The Warriors too often were guilty of sloppy late-game execution, silly turnovers, curious shot selection and defensive rotations that were too late or entirely missed. They sometimes looked clueless under coach Steve Kerr.

The holes within the roster and lapses in quality coaching were too much to overcome. After presiding over four championships in his first nine seasons with Golden State, Kerr concedes as much.

“We’ve studied everything over the offseason, taken a lot of time to watch film and see certain combinations, what we did well, what we didn’t do well,” Kerr tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “And I think we have a chance to be much better this year than we were last year.

“I really believe we’re going to be better, and I think I’ve got to be better.”

In one of his first steps toward that end, Kerr sifted through several candidates to replace three departing assistants: Chris DeMarco, Jerry Stackhouse and Terry Stotts. DeMarco left during the season to become head coach of the WNBA New York Liberty. Stackhouse and Stotts left after the season to explore other opportunities.

The only outside hire was veteran coach Frank Vogel, who coached the Los Angeles Lakers to victory in the 2020 NBA Finals. As associate head coach, Vogel will focus on defense, formerly the domain of DeMarco and Stackhouse.

“Frank’s a great coach,” Kerr says. “He’s been obviously a head coach for many years in the league. He’s a great defensive mind. I’m excited. I think he will be a good voice for our team. He’s a great defensive mind, especially, but he’s someone who I feel very comfortable with right next to me. I’m going to turn the defense over to him.”

The Warriors last season posted a 114.4 defensive rating that ranked 16th in the NBA. They were punished in transition, allowing 15.7 fast-break points per game to rank 20th (the lowly Milwaukee Bucks were 19th) and ranked 20th in effective field-goal percentage defense at 55.3 percent. Golden State was second in steals but 25th in defensive rebounding and 26th in blocks. And only seven teams allowed more points in the paint.

There are numerous details to address and plenty of ancillary repairs required to fix this sub-mediocre aspect of the team.

“When (DeMarco) left for New York last year, I thought the void was apparent,” Kerr says. “He and Jerry really kind of tag-teamed the defense, and we had a good we had a good thing going. And then Chris’s void was real, and I thought between the injuries and losing Chris, our defense suffered a little bit.”

Vogel will coordinate the defense, with returning staffers Jacob Rubin and Anthony Vereen acting as lieutenants. The trio is, in essence, replacing Stackhouse and DeMarco.

Vogel is a four-time NBA head coach, beginning with Indiana in 2010. He spent six seasons with the Pacers, then two with the Orlando Magic, three with the Lakers and one with the Phoenix Suns before working under Jason Kidd last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

Vogel’s teams typically play strong defense, as his resumé includes three No. 1 finishes in defensive rating and two more seasons within the top five.

Even if Vogel and his crew coax Golden State’s defense back toward the top 10, the offense must find ways to improve. That will again be Kerr’s priority, with the aid of assistants Bruce “Q” Fraser, Seth Cooper and Nicholas Kerr. Cooper and Kerr have spent time as head coach with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors.

“I will collaborate on the offensive side,” Kerr says. “Seth and Nick have done a great job coming from Santa Cruz. We’ve really instituted some changes over the last couple of years from our G League coaches; I think they have a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the league.”

It’s incumbent on Kerr and his sidekicks to generate scoring beyond the gravity created by Curry. Even if uninjured, he’s going to miss a few games. Even when he plays, his minutes will rarely exceed the low 30s.

As Curry ages, the response when he’s off the floor has become more indicative of the team’s fate. When the “non-Steph” minutes are productive, the Warriors can float. When they’re not, the tumble is predictable.
Golden State’s offensive rating (113.8) last season left it in 19th place. But the most salient truth was exposed after injuries to Butler and Curry. The Warriors were 14th (114.8) before Butler and Curry were sidelined in January and 22nd (112.3) after.

After a summer in which the roster was tweaked rather than significantly upgraded, the task falls to Kerr and his revamped staff to find ways to improve. Injuries surely doomed last season, but let’s not forget the other inadequacies that played a significant role.

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The Knicks are done with the championship celebrations.

They don’t need — or want — more pats on the back. They’ve turned the page.

“This year was amazing. But I think all of us, the thing that makes us special is right now we’re looking forward,” Josh Hart, speaking at David Yurman’s “Crafting a Legacy” event in Manhattan on Thursday night, said when asked about the Knicks’ chances to repeat as champions.

“I think all of us are kind of tired of hearing the congratulations, and we’re ready to get to work,” the Knicks veteran said. “We’re ready to put the work in, grow, build and see where we are at the end of the year.”

The NBA has had eight different champions the past eight years, with the league fully engulfed in an era of parity.

The Knicks will have to buck that trend.

But they return nearly their entire core, with Mitchell Robinson being the only notable departure.

Their quest to repeat will face the challenge of a reshaped Eastern Conference, with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown now with the 76ers, Giannis Antetokounmpo now with the Heat, Paul George joining a fully healthy Jayson Tatum on the Celtics and Tyrese Haliburton back in action for the Pacers.

Just under two weeks away from the start of training camp, the Knicks have left their championship in the past and have turned their focus to that challenge.

Hart was joined by teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson, ex-Knick Carmelo Anthony and Spike Lee at Thursday’s event. He also spoke about his personal legacy.

“It’s really just what you pass down to the next generation,” Hart said. “For me, it’s what I pass down to my kids. And it takes a long time to build it. It doesn’t come overnight.”

Kevin Porter Jr. is a married man. 

The Bucks guard recently wed his now wife, Tee Janay, according to a post on Porter’s Instagram page on Thursday. 

Porter, 26, posted a carousel of photos on his social media page that showed the couple’s wedding and captioned the post, “WE/DO Mrs. Porter.” 

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The pictures Porter posted showed the couple both wearing all black, with the hooper in a black suit and his bride donning a black wedding dress and holding purple flowers. 

Other images showed the newlyweds looking off at fireworks that appeared to be featured during the reception and the two dancing while surrounded by guests at the nuptials. 

The Bucks, whom Porter has played for over the past two seasons, congratulated Porter with a post on X. 

It’s unclear when the wedding took place, but a post by celebrity bridal designer Inna Elsie went up five days prior to Thursday, boasting that Tee Janay had worn one of the designer’s bridal robes. 

Porter is entering his third season in Milwaukee after he exercised the $5.39 million player option in his contract. 

His season was cut short by injury in March, but he had averaged 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game in the 38 games he did play for the Bucks during the 2025-26 season.

This will be his first season in Milwaukee without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster after the NBA star was traded to the Heat in July.

Porter would prove valuable during the upcoming campaign if he can replicate the success he had last season as the Bucks go through a massive change following Antetokounmpo’s departure. 

Porter has been in the NBA for six seasons, starting his career with the Cavaliers before spending time with the Rockets, Clippers and Bucks. 

Porter was arrested on Sept. 11, 2023, in New York and charged with assault and strangulation of his then-girlfriend Kysre Gondrezick.

Gondrezick later denied being hit and told The Post at the time that her “injuries don’t support any of those claims” made by authorities.

He eventually agreed to a plea deal, agreeing to charges of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree.