Category: Basketball

The Cleveland Cavaliers bench underwent a shake-up in the offseason. Anchors of the second unit such as Dean Wade, Max Strus, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis are no longer on the roster. For a period of time, it felt like Sam Merrill might have to be one of the names moved to shuffle the deck. However, now that NBA media day has come and gone, Merrill is still here, and every year he becomes increasingly integral to the Cavaliers.

Merrill has steadily increased his minutes since joining the Cavaliers, averaging 11 minutes in 2022-23 and nearly 27 minutes last season. Based on the skill sets of the other bench players around him, Merrill could see another increase in minutes this season.

It is well documented that Merrill is a high-volume marksman. Despite the scouting report banging the drum on this, opponents find it hard to slow down his volume and efficiency.

Even in a year mostly without Strus, Merrill still took 7.2 three-point attempts per game while knocking them down at a 42% clip. These numbers have the potential to climb even higher if other role players don’t fill the lights-out shooter role.

Merrill always seems to be Kenny Atkinson’s favorite player to set up opportunities for. Whether it’s pin-downs or running around a double screen, Merrill only needs a sliver of daylight to pull up.

It will be interesting to see how Merrill looks in his second year with James Harden running the offense. As we saw last season, this partnership led to some of Cleveland’s best offensive numbers. You’d hope in year two that they can continue the chemistry they showed last season and exceed their previous output.

Merrill’s activity on the floor and lack of hesitation make him very effective in most five-man lineups. His presence bends defenses and puts pressure on opposing players to keep track of both him and the ball. That type of command and efficiency makes Merrill one of the easier players to fit into any lineup configuration.

Elite skill sets can be a necessity for role players. The Cavaliers spent last season coming to terms with the fact that they didn’t have many players of that archetype. This season, the team appears to be taking gambles on role players who are slightly more well-rounded. At this point, Merrill appears to be the only reserve with a definitive five-star trait: his shooting.

If Merrill can take even a mini leap in attempts and efficiency from last season, the Cavaliers will continue to find ways to increase his minutes and usage.

I couldn’t resist. Eschew the temptation to revisit more role-playing favourites of yesteryear—how could I? And if you haven’t picked up my “type” yet, you will now. The lie, part deux.

Doubling Down

While the Milwaukee Bucks will always be the centre of my basketball world, my affinity for the role player isn’t limited to those who’ve donned the green and cream—or the purple, or the red. In fact, as kids, my mates and I often turned to these guys to “base” our games on (reality be damned). So, dim the lights, dust off the DVD player and (re)sink into yesteryear.

Centre: Chuck Hayes

His peak was narrow, but as an undersized big Chuck Hayes will forever have my affection. A reserve for most of his career, Hayes started at centre for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 Houston Rockets where he excelled on the defensive end. An immovable object in the post, Hayes played tremendous positional defence and used his quick hands to wreak havoc (2.0% steal percentage in that span). But his game was far more than just defence. A strong rebounder, Hayes was also a gifted passer, particularly out of the high post where he’d often find Kevin Martin or Aaron Brooks for backdoor cuts (just like this). He even posted a 17-point, 14-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in a 2011 win against the Golden State Warriors. Yes, I bought the DVD.

Power Forward: Reggie Evans

If Hayes was a strong rebounder, Reggie Evans was elite. He twice led the league in total rebound percentage—23.9% in 2004-05 and 26.7% in 2012-13—leading the league in defensive rebounding percentage in both of those seasons, while also doing so in offensive rebounding percentage in the latter. And I lived for it; Evans saw ball, Evans got ball (there’s a reason they called him “The Collector”). It wasn’t just a regular season thing, either; Evans thrice led the playoffs in total rebounding percentage too. Like Hayes, Evans was also a strong disruptor, both of the ball (1.9% steal percentage for his career) and of other players, getting under their skin like a splinter. His career night came in a 2013 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, where he exploded for a career-high 22 points, career-high 26 rebounds (including 12 offensive caroms), three assists, and one steal. But I’ll never forget watching him eat rebounds for four straight games in Barclays Centre in 2013, including 15 and 20-rebound nights.

Small Forward: Bonzi Wells

Most known for his time with the infamous Portland “Jail” Blazers squad, Bonzi Wells was an immensely talented wing—you just have to watch his 45-point explosion in the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks to remember that. A power guard, Wells used his strength and athleticism to slash to and score at the rim, but it was his post work that did it for me. He could and would bully opponents down low—something he never did better than in his time with the Sacramento Kings. And despite playing just one season in Sactown, it’s this that sticks with me. Bonzi and Ron Artest—or was he Metta World Peace by then?—on the wing? Talk about a nightmare double punch. Opponents were battered and bruised. I was moved.

Shooting Guard: Marquis Daniels

Yes, he finished his career as a Buck, but Marquis Daniels had my affection long before then. His explosion as a rookie in the playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks first caught my attention—jumping from 8.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.1 APG in the regular season to 15.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG in a first round loss to MVP-candidate Peja Stojakovic and the Sacramento Kings—but that’s surface level. Deeper, it was Daniels’ versatility I found inspiring, especially as a “big” ball handler. He could pass, he could slash, he could defend. That, and the braids and headband and calf sleeves. Quisy was just so damn cool.

Point Guard: Pablo Prigioni

I so wanted to choose Andre Miller and his old-school game here. The throw-ahead passes. The take-em-to-the-block post-ups. The aggressive gum chewing. Alas, he won an assist title—10.9 APG in his third year in the league while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers—so he’s out.

Less remembered, but definitively a role player, is Pablo Prigioni. His NBA career started late—at 35 years old, no less—and, on reflection, the novelty of that might have contributed to my fondness. More concretely, he just brought so much of what I love in a backup point: ball movement, unselfish play, accurate spot up shooting, grit, and ball protection. This was a guy who just knew how to play. Mike Woodson thought the same, making him a starter for the New York Knicks in their 2012-13 postseason run, leading to their first series win in 13 years. Somewhere, I still have his jersey too. More on that to come.

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And with that, my list of non-Bucks role-playing favourites is complete. Did these guys similarly draw your fandom? Or could you not stand them? More importantly, who were your guys? Share your list and your reasons in the comments.

During Nick Nurse’s first three years in Philadelphia, the Sixers’ defense has mostly been… fine? They were 11th leaguewide in defensive rating in 2023-24, fell to 26th during their injury-ravaged 2024-25 campaign and bounced back up to 17th last year.

That’s a far cry from what the Toronto Raptors pulled off in Nurse’s first two years at the helm. They were fifth leaguewide in defensive rating during their championship season in 2018-19 and second the following year.

Granted, Nurse had an incredible array of defensive personnel during those seasons up north. Kyle Lowry was the point-of-attack defender, Kawhi Leonard and OG Anunoby locked down opposing wings, and Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol manned the frontcourt. There wasn’t a defensive weak link to be found among them.

The 2026-27 Sixers might not have the same type of defensive ceiling as those late-2010s Raptors. After all, LeBron James is turning 42 in December, while knee injuries have sapped Joel Embiid of the athleticism and mobility that he had when he was younger.

But personnel-wise, the defensive concerns about this year’s squad might be vastly overstated.

“Recently, I don’t feel like I’ve been able to get into my bag of defensive stuff nearly as much as I would like to,” Nurse told reporters after training camp Wednesday after PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck asked him what might be the biggest change from previous years’ Sixers teams. “I think now we’ve got a little bit more depth, size, athleticism. And it may take us a minute, but I think I’m most excited about that.

“I think we just have the capabilities to understand it, execute it, change on the fly, do multiple things, even if it’s once or twice, and get back to normal. All that kind of stuff, that would probably be the biggest (change).”

Most of the concerns about the Sixers defense revolve around James, whose effort has waxed and waned on that end of the floor during the regular season in recent years, and Embiid, who hasn’t been in the Defensive Player of the Year mix since 2022-23. VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown are plus defenders, and Tyrese Maxey has improved on defense since entering the league, but can LeBron and Embiid hold up their end of the bargain?

Edgecombe made it clear Tuesday that he isn’t afraid to correct James despite the experience gap between them.

“No, I’m myself,” he told reporters. “I’m myself. I told him, I was like, I mean, like, if we have a possession, so I’d be like, ‘Yo, Bron, we’ve got to switch that. We got to do it, you know what I’m saying?’ Like, whoever, we are holding each other accountable. I said, ‘We’re teammates now, man.'”

During the season premiere of Mind the Game, LeBron made clear that accountability will be the key to the Sixers having an above-average defense this season.

“I’ve been able to be on some really good defensive teams in my career,” he said. “Defense always comes down to the first thing, pride. It’s a pride thing. I’m not going to allow my guy to continue to exploit me or beat me or whatever the case may be. There has to be some kind of pride in the sense of that.

“And at the end of the day, the best defense never stops the best offense anyways, and that’s OK. But if we can make teams uncomfortable, if we can make teams turn the ball over, if we can make teams not be in a rhythm like they’re accustomed to be in a rhythm versus other teams, then it gives us another opportunity. It gives us more possessions. We want to try to win the possession game.

“And I think with Coach Nurse and the things that I’ve seen with his teams in the past, especially the [2018-19] Raptors team that won a championship, that’s what they did. They got up into you, they got into the passing lane. If you got around one guy, there’s another guy helping you. Obviously with OG and Pascal and Kyle, Marc Gasol being on that team, there was a lot of high-IQ guys as well to be able to do that. And I’m looking forward to seeing if we can kind of translate a little bit of that as well.

“‘Cause we have the speed. We have the athleticism. Now it’s about do we have the discipline to actually be able to take that on the defensive end and hold each other accountable, too. ‘Cause that’s what it’s about. You’ve gotta force guys into contested twos. Try not to give up straight-line drives. Don’t give up corner threes. And then we’ve gotta rebound. As fast and athletic as we can be, we can’t do shit if we don’t get the rebound.”

Rebounding has not been a strong suit of the Sixers under Nurse. They’ve been in the bottom third of the league in rebounding percentage in each of his three seasons. Losing Andre Drummond in free agency this past summer likely won’t help in that regard, either.

But to Nurse’s point, the Sixers now have more size to throw at opponents, even if their depth chart at center behind Embiid still looks iffy for now.

Not only did they add the 6’9″ James and the 6’6″ Brown, whom Maxey called a “freak of nature” at training camp on Wednesday, but they also added 6’9″ forward Dean Wade and 7’0″ center Ariel Hukporti. Wade made a name for himself in Cleveland with his defensive acumen, and he was the early favorite to start at power forward for the Sixers this year until they landed LeBron. Having him and Dominick Barlow coming off the bench will be a major defensive upgrade over what they trotted out last year.

Given how many new pieces they have to integrate this season, it could take time for the Sixers to hit their stride defensively. Nurse alluded as much Wednesday. They might not have a top-10 defensive rating during the regular season, particularly if Embiid misses significant time.

But as LeBron pointed out at media day, the amount of sacrifice that the starters will have to make this year could have positive trickle-down effects for the Sixers’ defense.

“Sometimes in sports, people hear sacrifice, you automatically, people start thinking negatively about it,” LeBron said. “It’s not a negative thing. You sacrifice one or two more shots, that gives you one or two more bursts of energy in the fourth quarter to slide over and take a charge, or give you one or two more bursts of energy to get an offensive rebound for an extra possession to kick out for a teammate or an extra two bursts of energy to run back on defense and get a chase-down block. Some things that don’t show up in the box scores.

“So it’s not a negative when people say, OK, you have to make a sacrifice or your role may change. If we’re trying to do something special, which I believe we are, then that’s a positive.”

It’s time for Nurse to tap back into his mad-scientist mode on defense. If the Sixers can pair an elite offense with an above-average defense, that should cement them as a legitimate championship contender this year, health permitting.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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The ramp-up to the college basketball season is officially underway, with conferences across the country beginning to hold their annual media days. The latest is the Big East Conference, which gets "talking season" underway in New York City on Thursday.

With that came the release of the preseason coaches' poll, which brought little to no surprise about who was predicted at the top: Connecticut, which is fresh off its third trip to the Final Four in the last four seasons and returns the conference's preseason Player of the Year, Silas Demary Jr., and star guard Braylon Mullins.

Back-to-back Big East champion St. John's was tabbed to finish behind the Huskies and received two first-place votes. Rick Pitino's Johnnies are looking to build off a Sweet 16 loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament with their revamped transfer portal roster that features former Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou.

REQUIRED READING: After healthy off-season, Marquette's Damarius Owens eyes breakout

The top five is rounded out by Villanova, Marquette and Providence. The Golden Eagles, led by defending Big East Freshman of the Year Nigel James Jr., received the other first-place vote, while the Friars are ushering in a new era of basketball on Federal Hill with Bryan Hodgson.

Conference play begins on Saturday, Dec. 19 with a quadruple header of games: Seton Hall vs. Georgetown, DePaul vs. St. John's, Xavier vs. Marquette and Villanova vs. Creighton.

Here’s a full look at the 2026-27 Big East basketball preseason poll and preseason awards:

Big East men's basketball preseason poll 2026-27

First place votes in parentheses

1. UConn (8)
2. St. John's (2)
3. Villanova
4. Marquette (1)
5. Providence
6. Xavier
7. Creighton
8. DePaul
9. Seton Hall
10. Georgetown
11. Butler

The 2026-2027 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and awards have been announced! 🏀🔥

📰: https://t.co/K2CHs450WOpic.twitter.com/tJeItHPb3b

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) October 1, 2026

Big East men's basketball preseason player awards

• Preseason Player of the Year: Silas Demary Jr. (UConn)
• Preseason Freshman of the Year: Colben Landrew (UConn)

UConn swept both preseason player-centric awards, with Demary Jr. named the conference's preseason Player of the Year and Landrew the preseason Freshman of the Year. It's the first time the Huskies have swept the conference's preseason honors since 2003, when Emeka Okafor (player) and Charlie Villanueva (freshman) took home the honors.

Demary was a home run hit out of the transfer portal last season for the Huskies, as he not only proved to be one of the top point guards in the country but also served as the head of the snake for UConn's defense, as he averaged 10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and league-best 5.9 assists per game.

Landrew, a five-star recruit and the No. 27 overall prospect in this past recruiting class by 247Sports' Composite Rankings, is the fourth straight UConn freshman to be named the conference's preseason freshman of the year.

All-Big East men's basketball preseason teams

Below is a look at all three preseason All-Big East team selections, including honorable mention:

First Team

• Guard, Braylon Mullins (UConn) *
• Guard, Nigel James Jr. (Marquette) *
• Guard, Ian Jackson (St. John's)
• Guard, Tounde Yessoufou (St. John's) *
• Guard, Tyler Perkins (Villanova)

* denotes unanimous selection

Second Team

• Forward, Na’jai Hines (UConn)
• Forward, Royce Parham (Marquette)
• Guard, Miles Byrd (Providence)
• Forward, Kwame Evans Jr. (Villanova)
• Forward, Devin Royal (Villanova)

Third Team

• Center, Oswin Erhunmwunse (Creighton)
• Forward, Jackson McAndrew (Creighton)
• Guard, Layden Blocker (DePaul)
• Forward, Sananda Fru (Marquette)
• Forward, Jovan Milicevic (Xavier)
• Forward, Mike Nwoko (Xavier)

Be sure to check out USA TODAY Sports' new College Football Unfiltered podcast, hosted by USA TODAY Sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer. You can stream on YouTube or download via Apple podcasts and Spotify.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big East men's basketball preseason poll: UConn picked to win conference in 2026-27

You don’t know how much I missed #KnicksSZN. Actually, if you’re reading this… I mean, you probably know as well.

Here’s the latest from Tarrytown and other NBA-related places.

• Karl-Anthony Towns opened up extensively about what finally becoming an NBA champion meant after years of criticism. In an interview with The Athletic, he also detailed how during the Knicks’ miserable 2-9 January stretch and amid Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, he and Jordyn Woods were apparently checking Milwaukee real estate.

“We were on Zillow looking at Milwaukee. Like, ‘Hey, babe, I went around town, and it’s not that bad. This could be a good spot right here.’”

• Towns’ extension remains a significant unresolved issue, and ESPN’s Malika Andrews reported KAT is willing to take a discount similar in spirit to Brunson’s sacrifice… but “the pay cut that the Knicks are asking him to take, he views as unreasonable.” Uh, oh.
• Isiah Thomas is returning to the organization, folks. He’ll be part of the NYK board of directors. The move is part of the recently confirmed MSG split of the Rangers and the Knicks.
• The Knicks still haven’t decided whether they will make the traditional championship visit to the White House despite James Dolan saying in June that the organization had accepted an invitation.
• Bobby Marks’ Knicks training-camp snapshot for ESPN underscores how tight the roster math is, with the pundit watching “the frontcourt and final roster spots” as the key remaining thing to solve before New York kicks off its title-defense season.
• Former Knicks guard J.R. Smith was arrested in Texas on a charge of assault causing bodily injury-family violence after police said a traffic stop revealed an active warrant from the Southlake Police Department.

J.R. Smith was arrested Tuesday in Texas on a family violence charge, per @TMZ

Smith was booked on a charge of assault causing bodily injury involving family violence and remains in the Hunt County Detention Center with no bond currently set. pic.twitter.com/ZWDYyIk0tg

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 29, 2026

• Phoenix Suns villain Dillon Brooks has been charged with driving under the influence, per TMZ. Being arrested is a trend these days.
• About LeBron’s Philadelphia era, James is indeed splitting his time between New York City and Philadelphia and commuting by helicopter.
• Also, the Sixers are already planning how to load-manageboth 41-year-old LeBron and 32-going-on-42 Joel Embiid. LOL
• The NBA is reportedly gaining momentum toward agreements with major European soccer clubs for its planned NBA Europe competition, which is targeted to launch next fall.
• OAKAAK Carmelo Anthony knows very clearly what he’d do with Jalen Duren if he were in charge of the Pistons’ operations.
• Shortly after the Grizzlies released D’Angelo Russell, the mighty point guard and former No. 2 overall pick from the 2015 NBA draft is flying to China to play for the Shanghai Sharks, and joining an illustrious list of NBA alumni to play for the organization.

D-LO IS TAKING HIS TALENTS TO CHINA 🇨🇳🦈

D’Angelo Russell begins a NEW chapter of his career with the Shanghai Sharks 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/OPMLE1yCEr

— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) September 30, 2026

• Sounds like Las Vegas is going to get an NBA team before Seattle welcomes back the SuperSonics.
• Tyler Herro was traded from the Heat to the Bucks, but he’s happy to leave the “Capital of Distraction” for… a place somewhere in Wisconsin?
• Nets’ Terance Mann is an optimistic chap.
• Former Knicks’ first-round pick Kristaps Porzingis won’t be able to participate in the Warriors’ training camp due to an undisclosed “health issue.” Somebody give this man a break.
• Nikola Jokic isn’t close to turning his full attention to horses.
• The New York Liberty just became the first-ever No. 8 seed to send the No. 1 seed (Minnesota Lynx) home in the WNBA playoffs. Now, let’s finish this business.

🗽 THE @NYLIBERTY ARE SEMIFINALS BOUND 🗽

The Liberty advance after defeating the Lynx 2-0 in the First Round.

2026 WNBA Playoffs presented by @madebygooglepic.twitter.com/nWLde1LHAw

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 30, 2026

NBA The Run is the game I have been waiting a long time for.

Basketball video games were the way I cemented my appreciation for the sport. It’s all well and good to watch the on-court product, or pick up the ball yourself, but getting to step into the avatars of the world’s greatest athletes scratches an itch that the other two can’t quite reach.

Reminiscent of not only classic NBA video games, but the grit and attitude of the 2000s, The Run’s new update has added 5 new marquee players from that era, while giving the game a fresh overhaul. That new coat of paint and new additions to the roster made jumping into The Run a whole lot of fun.

To preface my review, all gameplay occurred on a PC, playing on an Xbox One controller.The kind people over at Play by Play Studios sent me a copy of the game, as well as an unlock code for the 5 new players added. With that all considered… let’s get into it.

First steps into the past

The Run first released on June 9th, 2026, but this autumn marks the release of their first major DLC, Wave One — 2000s Legends. The legends in question are Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Wave One – 2000s Legends arrives TOMORROW as a free update for all players.

What are you looking forward to the most?

Wave One update Preview Blog: https://t.co/2oGMxd4pk7pic.twitter.com/o0KQEY0NlW

— NBA THE RUN (@NBATHERUN) September 28, 2026

It’s great to not only see two Raptors legends (albeit, only one in the purple and red threads), but also, players that harken back to the turn of the millenium in a way that stars like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant transcended. Rooting this update in that era is great from a branding perspective, and goes further to draw back connections to older titles like NBA Street. You can unlock the new characters either using in-game currency, or through a purchase.

The new update also brought a soundtrack of vintage cuts, 11 songs from big names such as The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, and Kanye West. Passin’ Me By from the Pharcyde is a personal favourite, and getting to hear it while running the court with Victor Wembanyama was a real pleasure. The Run is designed in large part around sound, with DJ Bobbito Garcia playing emcee, bringing great, over-the-top commentary for everything that happens on the court.

As well, the autumn update brought a number of other quality of life upgrades, such as adding more camera angles, dedicated practice modes, and new maps. All together, The Run is feels like an even bigger game now.

On the court gameplay

Before writing this review, I played the game for around 2 hours, both online and in the training mode. Despite a lack of tutorial, I picked up the controls pretty quickly, and hopped into a game to try out the different characters.

The Run has a really solid roster for such a new game. A solid number of teams are represented, with most of the big-name stars, some star rookies and younger players, and now, the 2000s legends help to round out the roster. I played with every current or former Raptors in the game: Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter. Of the four, Vince Carter was my favourite, from both a design and gameplay standpoint. His dunks looked the coolest and felt the best on the court, and that purple dinosaur pops like nothing else.

The first thing to know about this game is that the dunks feel like dunks. With the magic of controller vibration, throwing down a jam feels like you’re about to tear the rim off. I could (and soon will) spend a lot of time just messing around alone, trying to master the different dunks, the alley-oops, and all the rest. The Run does a good job of making defence feel both exciting an engaging. Grabbing a huge block feels almost as good as hitting a deep three, and leaning into the streetball side of things, you’re able to shove and be physical in a way that wouldn’t work in a basketball simulation. One of my favourite things I discovered was that offensive players are actually able to bounce the ball off of their opponents heads.

The variety of courts upon which you can play are great as well. The Run gets international, including courts placed in China, the Philippines, and features a personal favourite, David Crombie Park in Toronto, Canada. Considering the number of Raptors in this game, I appreciated seeing some representation of their home-country, and I’m certainly that both Americans and non-Americans alike will appreciate the diversity of locales.

The game feels good to play, and at the end of the day, that’s really what matters when it comes to a title like this.

Quality of life

The Run is not afraid to be unapolagetically fun, balancing enough seriousness through its design and smooth handles, with the bombastic and exaggerated action that inflates the exsiting instanity that happens when NBA players step onto the hardwood. However, players should know what they’re getting into before they buy this game.

The Run’s developers have committed to providing an offline campaign mode (with local co-op) by Spring of 2027, but as for now, the game is something that you can only play while online. It’s good that the team understands this is a concern that needs to be addressed, and I hope that changes are implemented to bring a true couch co-op experience to the title. Evoking the 2000s is great, but being able to play this game like you would back in the day would give The Run a lot more replayability and do a lot for building community around the title.

I really want to dunk on my brother and sister in this game, and it’d be great if we could do so all on the same copy of the game, right next to each other, rather than on different machines and in different houses. However, the game’s offering of cross-platform multiplayer is a solid addition that is an addition worthy of note.

As well, while this is something that the developers don’t necessarily have control of, I noticed that I ran into a fair amount of bots while playing the game. Bots are certainly a lot easier to play with, and against, when compared to real players. But, I certainly got to play against the real deal, dunking on, and being dunked on real people in turn.

It should be noted that the game is not priced the same as a Triple-A title, retailing for $35.99 CAD ($29.99 USD). This game is raw at times, without the polish of some of the ongoing series of sports games. But that’s why I think it’s worth trying all the more.

The future of The Run

NBA Live and NBA 2K are storied franchises that took decades to develop into what their ultimate forms were. The Run is genuinely offering up a different product to audiences both mature and juvenile, and I believe that it should be supported as it continues to blossom into a bigger and badder version of itself.

The Run is a game that tries to be fun, and succeeds. It’s the perfect thing to get on with your friends and chatter in the background while you score on your opponents and take screenshots of your buddies doing Allen Iverson crossovers and T-Mac alley-oops. Take it for what it is, and if you like the sound of thunderous dunks and earth shattering blocks, while great music and an iconic announcer blare in the background, The Run might be the game for you.

All together, Play by Play Studios has revived a beloved concept, bringing it into the light of the modern day while keeping things rooted in the zaniness inherent to professional basketball. NBA The Run is a bright spot in a genre that is often thought of as stagnant, and it’s nice to be reminded that things don’t have to be that way for virtual basketball.

Myles Turner enters his second season with the Bucks and lands at number five in our Ranking the Roster series. Ever since Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, Turner has been on something of an Odyssey. After scoring just six points and grabbing four rebounds, he drew the ire of Pacers fans who felt he didn’t do enough to secure the championship after Tyrese Haliburton ruptured his Achilles in the first quarter. It is impossible to know what might have happened without that injury, but Turner had to focus on free agency. The Pacers offered the veteran big man a three-year, $66m deal, which, in his eyes, was far too low. Therefore, he accepted a four-year, $107m deal from the Bucks after Jon Horst’s historic waive-and-stretch of Damian Lillard’s contract. While those offers look massively different at first, the average annual value is $22m and $26.75m, which isn’t that much. For context, Brook Lopez’s final year with the Bucks saw him make $25 million, so the Bucks saw an opportunity to pair Giannis with “young Brook Lopez” and steal a player from a rival. The Pacers, meanwhile, believed Turner wasn’t worth going into the luxury tax for (or committing an extra year to). Were the Pacers right, or did the Bucks welcome in a wayward hero?

The answer, like many about this team, is a little murky. Last season, Turner was brought in for a very specific purpose: to play next to Giannis and space the floor. And despite last season’s injuries, Turner wasn’t asked to deviate from that game plan; he attempted three-pointers more frequently than ever in his career while also taking by far the fewest two-point attempts of his career. This is partly because Turner needed to rely on others for shot creation; last season, 87% of his made field goals were assisted, on par with the rest of his career. Despite Ryan Rollins emerging as an exciting player, the Bucks lacked a steady creator who could feed Turner adequately. As a result, his player efficiency rating (PER) fell to 14.2, the lowest in his career. So then: how is the answer to the original question murky when it appears that Turner’s tenure has been a disaster in Milwaukee?

That is because, quite frankly, it has not been nearly as disastrous as some want to make it seem. Offensively, yes, Turner had a down year, but he still shot 38.3% from deep on a high volume. Defensively, however, Turner is still solid; last season, he ranked sixth overall in blocks per game. His defensive on/off numbers were very good as well: with MT on the court, the Bucks were significantly better in opponent shooting, accuracy, transition, and half-court defence, with the veteran ranking in or near the 90th percentile in impact, according to Cleaning the Glass. Taken together, Turner is best viewed as a high-impact role player who needs a functioning offensive system around him to thrive. Going back to the idea of the down offensive year, the fix seems simple: feed him more in the paint. Last season, Turner averaged 11.9 PPG—technically the lowest since his rookie season—but not terribly different from the first half of his career. The biggest drop came around 2022-2023, when he averaged 7.8, 7.6, and 5.8 two-point attempts per game and 18.0, 17.1, and 15.6 PPG over the next three years. Last season with the Bucks, he averaged just 3.7 two-point attempts per game, the lowest of his career by a long shot. To say he was being misused would be an understatement.

Of course, the question for Turner now is, “Where do we go from here?” Ultimately, MT is a good player on a reasonable (if not good) contract. Contending teams around the league will likely still be interested in adding him. Should the Bucks be hoping to trade away their starting center, though? The common thinking is that Turner does not match the timeline, which is accurate; however, during a rebuilding season, Milwaukee will need veteran leadership, and MT has shown plenty of that. Turner is clearly a leader off the court and likely a strong locker-room presence. Regardless of where he ends his season, the Austin native comes in at number five on this list because he is a known quantity on both ends. How well he pairs with Kel’el Ware and others this season may determine the Bucks’ course of action, but regardless, Turner seems determined to make the most of his Milwaukee tenure, and for that, I am grateful.

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Who’s next at four?

If one thing is for certain, it’s that Moussa Cissé is a trooper. The Guinean big man signed a two-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks in October of 2025, and in doing so, entered into one of the strangest and most chaotic seasons of Dallas basketball in a long time. The Nico Harrison firing, the Anthony Davis trade, Cooper Flagg’s emergence—that’s quite a lot of drama for a rookie season. But Cissé has taken it in stride. He played nearly 40 games for the Mavericks in 2025-2026; while he only averaged around 5 points and 6 rebounds in 14 minutes, his time on the floor was impactful, giving Dallas defensive energy and rim protection in a season where it was desperate for both.

Headed into 2026-2027, Cissé has a real chance to continue that momentum. Contract-wise, he’s on solid ground, having just signed a 2-year, nearly-$5-million-dollar contract with Dallas (matching the New York Knicks’ post-championship offer sheet). Now, the question is what Cissé can do with this opportunity—and what that opportunity will realistically look like.

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The Big Question

With the 2026-2027 season on the horizon, there are real concerns regarding Dallas’ center rotation. From a raw skills perspective, Dereck Lively II has the highest ceiling—but ongoing right foot issues led to a major surgery in December 2025, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. As of the most recent news, there’s no timetable for his return, and there’s no telling how he’ll look once he is back. Next in line is Daniel Gafford. He fared a bit better last season, playing 55 games for the Mavericks in 2025-2026, with averages hovering around 10 points and 7 rebounds. But in the absence of high-level facilitators like Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić, Gafford’s role on the team is shakier than it used to be.

How does Moussa Cissé fit into this puzzle? Well, that’s the big question. If Lively can’t come back and play meaningful minutes this season, it’s very likely that Cissé will have to soak up some of that playing time. Likewise, if a trade market emerges for Gafford and Dallas decides to move on, Cissé should slot into the Mavericks’ rotation quite naturally. However, if both Lively and Gafford are present and healthy, the picture starts to get murkier, especially with a new head coach at the helm.

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Best Case Scenario

The best case for Moussa Cissé’s growth is probably one of the two scenarios above. In a world where Lively or Gafford (or both) aren’t playing, it’s easy to imagine Cissé getting a more consistent 15 minutes per night. He’s unlikely to be starting many of these games—but he certainly could be subbing in for Santi Aldama or Morez Johnson Jr., who may both find themselves sliding over to play the five this season. Viewing the situation optimistically, Cissé might capitalize on this opportunity, bumping his season averages up to 8 points and 8 rebounds while maintaining excellent rim protection.

If all of this comes to pass, some of his impressive stretches last season may begin to feel more regular. His three-game January 15–19 run, for instance: against the Utah Jazz twice and the Knicks once, Cissé averaged 11 points, 11 rebounds, and nearly 3 blocks, all in about 20 minutes of playing time. The last three games of the 2025-2026 season also stand out. Cissé played meaningful time in all of them—and against the Chicago Bulls, he put up 17/20 with 2 steals and 2 blocks in around 41 minutes. There’s no reason to expect that type of single-game performance to become the norm; however, if all goes well, it’s possible we see Cissé post those numbers a few different times next season.

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Worst Case Scenario

Of course, there’s also a less optimistic read here: that perhaps Cissé’s rookie season was a bit of a mirage. In this scenario, Cissé enters 2026-2027, and he hits the sophomore slump hard. His defense holds, but he hasn’t added much to his game in the offseason, and his offensive averages look more and more stagnant. Even when Lively and Gafford aren’t available, Dusty May starts to rely more on unconventional small-ball lineups with Aldama and Johnson Jr. We get toward the end of the season, and Cissé hasn’t scratched his way into the rotation. Mavericks fans are left disappointed, and Moussa Cissé’s future with the Mavericks (and in the NBA) becomes doubtful.

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Season Goal

How does Cissé avoid this outcome? The answer feels pretty obvious: small improvements on the offensive side of the ball. This could take the form of finishing better through contact, which Cissé sometimes struggled with in 2025-2026. Or, more attention to the fundamentals: screening and rolling harder to the rim would go a long way toward creating better opportunities for his teammates. The real moonshot would be developing a decent short-range jumper—the most unlikely outcome, to be sure, but why not dream a little bit? If Cissé ever became a more reliable scoring threat somewhere down the line, Dallas would have no choice but to keep him on the floor.

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Overall

Entering into next season, Moussa Cissé has what feels like a clean slate. His money is secure, he’s got a new coach, and there’s a real chance his number will be called to fill the inevitable gaps at center. This is his biggest opportunity yet to prove his value to the Dallas front office, and if he does, Mavericks fans may be seeing him on the floor next to Cooper Flagg for some time.

It wasn’t long ago that the NBA Finals felt like they were already a formality when teams reported for training camp to start the new season. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers faced off in four straight championship series from 2015-2018, which was part of a longer run of LeBron James’ team making eight straight trips to the NBA Finals. Everything changed in 2019 when Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both suffered devastating injuries, allowing the Toronto Raptors to capture an unlikely championship and unofficially starting the parity era.

The NBA has now seen eight unique champions. No team has even made back-to-back Finals appearances over that time. Durant’s Warriors are the last team to win consecutive championships way back in 2017 and 2018. The league is harder to predict than ever before, and most teams think they’re one or two moves away from being a legitimate championship threat. That belief spurred a dramatic summer of offseason movement that sent multiple superstars to new homes and rearranged the league’s hierarchy behind three proven championship-caliber teams.

There are so many old faces in new places entering the 2026-27 season. Media day felt especially jarring this year as players like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jaylen Brown put on new uniforms. It also felt wild to see role players like Lu Dort, Naz Reid, and Mitchell Robinson put on their new jerseys after spending their entire careers with one franchise. Check out our Eastern Conference regular season rankings, Western Conference predictions, and full NBA championship rankings for the 2026-27 season. Here are the biggest names who changed teams over the summer in their new threads to start the season.

LeBron James, F, Philadelphia 76ers

This looks like Photoshop. I can’t get over it. LeBron really did sign with the Sixers, and he really could fix their biggest offensive problems.

LaMelo Ball, G, Minnesota Timberwolves

I hated that the Hornets decided to punt on the LaMelo Ball era after finishing with the best net-rating in the NBA after Jan. 1 last season. There’s certainly a lot of risk involved for the Wolves, but Ball’s playmaking and pull-up shooting raises their ceiling if he can fend off recurring ankle injuries.

Ja Morant, G, Portland Trail Blazers

Morant needed a fresh start, but this still feels like a weird fit. Are Morant and Damian Lillard really going to last as Portland’s starting backcourt with so many defensive questions?

Kawhi Leonard, F, Toronto Raptors

The Clippers got nuked and Kawhi got away scot-free. The Raptors hope they can party like 2019 again with Leonard back in Toronto.

Jaylen Brown, F, Philadelphia 76ers

I really thought Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum would spend their entire careers with the Celtics. Blame the second-apron, I guess. I actually think Boston is going to kill it without Brown this season, and I totally understand the case for trading him. It will be a very interesting year in Philly to say the least.

Tyler Herro, G, Milwaukee Bucks

Tyler Herro got punched in the face by Bam Adebayo, and got traded from Miami to the rebuilding Bucks over the offseason. I love the city of Milwaukee, but that feels like a tough summer.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Miami Heat

At least the endless will-he-or-won’t-he speculation about Giannis’ future is over. It’s time for him to stay healthy long enough to prove that he’s still the best player in the East.

Walker Kessler, C, Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers traded every available asset to land Kessler, who immediately upgrades their rim protection behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. I thought the Lakers gave up too much in the deal, but Kessler fixes LA’s biggest problem and gives them a chance to dream about making a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals.

Klay Thompson, G, Miami Heat

Klay Thompson’s Warriors jersey will hang forever one day, and he looks weird as hell in any other uniform. I am not bullish on his fit in Miami, but he’s such a cool player that I hope he proves me wrong.

Anthony Davis, C/F, Washington Wizards

This one is kind of cheating, because Davis got dealt to the Wizards at in February at last season’s trade deadline, but I’m counting it because he didn’t play a game with them. Davis is in the market for a contract extension, which is part of the reason I’m not confident he’ll be in D.C. long-term. Enjoy this photo of Davis in a Wizards jersey while you still can.

Norman Powell, G, Chicago Bulls

I would bet Powell is wearing a different uniform by the Feb. trade deadline. His two-year contract with a team option at the end was was essentially signed to be traded. There should be a solid market for his services coming off an All-Star season.

Peyton Watson, F, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Nuggets couldn’t afford to pay Watson without crossing the second-apron, so they traded him to Cleveland for a future first-round pick. Can Watson be the fifth-starter the Donovan Mitchell-era Cavs have always been missing? He has the talent to do it, but I find myself higher on the deal from Denver’s side.

Naz Reid, F, Charlotte Hornets

Naz Reid should have been a Timberwolf for life. This just looks bizarre.

Paul George, F, Boston Celtics

Paul George has played for the Thunder, Clippers, and now the Celtics since leaving the Indiana Pacers. Maybe I’m delusional, but I think he can be a really good fit in Boston this season.

Julius Randle, F, Brooklyn Nets

Randle had a rough 2026 playoffs, but he can still be a really good player in the right system. I thin Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez is going to unlock him the same way he unlocked Michael Porter Jr. last year (and Cam Johnson the year before that).

Bobby Portis, F, Miami Heat

Bobby Portis will always be a Buck in my mind. It’s pretty cool that he’s following Giannis to Miami, but he still looks weird in these threads.

Mitchell Robinson, C, Boston Celtics

Robinson spent his whole career with the Knicks, but they let him go to their biggest Eastern Conference rival because they didn’t want to enter the second-apron to keep him. We’ll see how that one works out for everyone involved.

Isaiah Joe, G, Detroit Pistons

I’m super high on the Isaiah Joe acquisition for the Pistons. Remember when Malik Beasley led the league in three-pointers made in Detroit two years ago? Joe can have a similar impact if he gets enough minutes.

Lu Dort, G, Atlanta Hawks

Hot take, but Lu Dort is anything other than a Thunder jersey is weirder than LeBron in Philly or Giannis in Miami. This just isn’t right. I liked the Dort trade for both OKC and Atlanta.

Rui Hachimura, F, Los Angeles Clippers

Rui Hachimura was a major playoff riser with the Lakers. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’s not going to get the opportunity to keep proving himself as a 16-game player during his time with the Clippers.

Isaiah Stewart, F/C, Memphis Grizzlies

Beef Stew was the Detroit Pistons’ identity. He still feels like a natural in the Grit-n-Grind threads. Memphis will love him.

DeMar DeRozan, G, Denver Nuggets

DeRozan can still get buckets at age-37, but it’s fair to wonder if his deliberate style can mesh with Nikola Jokic. I’d expect him to help lift Denver’s weak bench units if nothing else this year.

Zaccharie Risacher, F, Dallas Mavericks

He’s not quite Anthony Bennett, but there’s no doubt Risacher is one of the most disappointing No. 1 overall picks ever. Maybe he can turn it around in Dallas. The rest of my 2024 NBA Draft board looks pretty bad, but I was right that Risacher wasn’t a top-10 caliber prospect.

Tobias Harris, F, San Antonio Spurs

Harris will be in a smaller role in San Antonio than he was in Detroit, but his halfcourt scoring can still help a Spurs team that expects to be playing deep into the playoffs.

Normally, middle names are saved for when a parent is calling a child (usually loudly and from a distance) to inform said child that he is, in fact, in trouble. If I heard “Jeffrey David Duarte” a tinge of fear shot through my entire body. (In fact, any time I’ve been referred to as “Jeffrey” I was either in trouble with a family member or a government entity. Family was the usual culprit throughout my childhood, traffic court from sixteen to present.)

So when members of the Spurs video team decided to address members of the team by their “government” names on Media day, the players did a double-take.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the members of your 2026-2027 San Antonio Spurs: Stephon Javonte Castle, Tobias John Harris, Julian Kymani Champagnie, Carter Dayne Bryant, Luke Francis Kornet, Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes, and Keldon Wilder Johnson.

Tobias corrected stating that his middle name is “John Lee, bet you didn’t know that.” We didn’t…and his Wikipedia page does not list the “Lee” either.

Not introduced: Devin Anthony Vassell, Dylan Robert Harper, De’Aaron Martez Fox, and Victor Nonga Wembanyama-de Fautereau-Vassel. Bet you can’t say Wemby’s full name five times really fast. I’ll wait.

It’s a good thing the players don’t have their full name on the back of their jerseys. Victor’s would need sleeves.

One week to preseason. It’s all happening.

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With NBA Media Days taking place this week, let’s take a look at some of the notable stories involving former Kentucky Wildcats.

Milwaukee Bucks

We’ve seen in the past that professional organizations tease some of their players by sneaking in a hat or shirt from another team for them to sign, and the reactions are always priceless. 

This edition of that is the Bucks sneaking in the players’ college rivals’ sayings or slogans, and Kentucky was featured in two of them. 

Tyler Herro was prompted to say “Go Cards!” and he responded, “No, sir. I don’t say that.” 

Boy Wonder wasn’t going to be fooled by saying that, and was holding strong to his old Kentucky home and the school he had tattooed on his body. This is coming on the heels of Herro making some noise this offseason after he recreated the iconic TJ Ford pictures. Good offseason so far for the bucket.

Nate Ament, a former Tennessee Volunteer, was given the saying, “Go Big Blue!” and he said it, and it sounded incredible. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Nate!

Snuck in some rival slogans. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/WjoebFi0hW

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) September 30, 2026

Oklahoma City Thunder

Otega Oweh is prepared to start his professional basketball career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and at his first-ever NBA Media Day with the Thunder, he was asked a question that people could see coming from a mile away. 

“We know you spent time at OU and then Kentucky. They’re playing each other in a couple of weeks. Are we going to see you at the game in, like, the split-down-the-middle jersey, or are you going to pick a side?

Oweh’s response may shock some people, he said: “It’s crazy; I was just talking about that, like, I want to say yesterday. I probably don’t have enough time now to get a split jersey, but I’ll be supporting for sure. I’m not going to say who, but I just want to see a good game. 

Well, Big Blue Nation would prefer an answer somewhere in the Ballpark of “What’s a Sooner, I’m a Wildcat”, or “No question, I’m Big Blue all the way”. It’s a 26-minute drive from Paycom Center, where the Thunder play, to Gaylor Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where the Sooners play football, so I would say it’s easier said than done. 

Hopefully, Oweh is there in a T-shirt with one of his buzzer beaters against the Sooners on it, but that may be wishful thinking. Very thankful for his time in Lexington; now we need to see him rep the blue and white.

With Kentucky and Oklahoma facing off in a couple of weeks, I asked former Wildcat/Sooner Otega Oweh whether he might attend the game in a split jersey of the two schools.

“Crazy, I was talking that about that today. Probably don't have enough time to get a split jersey, but… pic.twitter.com/te6NmiISR9

— Michael Martin (@MichaelOnSports) September 29, 2026

Philadelphia 76ers

The offseason NBA news has been all about the move of LeBron James leaving the Lakers to join the 76ers, and rightfully so. With that, Kentucky fans get to celebrate, or not, the fact that James now has a couple of Wildcats as his teammates and could potentially cut down the nets with them. Tyrese Maxey and Justin Edwards are now partnered up with the King and have high hopes for the city of brotherly love. 

My favorite takeaway from 76ers Media Day, though, is the pair of shoes Justin Edwards decided to wear for the special day. He chose to don the Kobe 5 Grey Kentucky PE’s in his pictures. As a lifelong, die-hard Kentucky fan and a big-time sneakerhead, this made me smile. Such a beautiful shoe on a player that all of BBN and I are rooting for this year; love to see it.

Justin Edwards rockin’ the Kentucky Kobe 5s during Media Day with the Philadelphia 76ers! 🔥😸 pic.twitter.com/x6ybrImOcq

— Cameron Waddle (@CameronWaddle) September 30, 2026

Seasoned Knicks fans have doctorate degrees in roster construction, with a primary focus on asset management. For over a decade, we spent countless hours discussing expiring contracts, tracking picks, and praying the day would come when all the “futures thinking” translated into a legitimate championship window.

Well, we made it. Like the driver-side door on my red Nissan Rogue, the window is now open. But now that repeating as champions is the goal, New York’s roster-building approach is shifting again. That shift directly brings our focus to Miles “Deuce” McBride and his future with the Knicks.

Entering the final year of his contract, it is no secret that talks between Deuce and the Knicks have stalled. All signs point to him wanting to stay in New York. The fan base would love him to remain as a key piece of the rotation. However, ownership and the front office are fretting about wearing two aprons while making their prize-winning pizza, especially with Jim Dolan looking over their shoulders.

Because of that fearful culinary attire (too many second-apron jokes?), a growing segment of the fanbase is convinced the Knicks must flip him before the trade deadline. Whether it’s to recoup a draft pick or fill a worrisome hole at center, Deuce cannot simply walk away for nothing. OK, sure he can. And maybe he does. Regardless, trading him away because of that worry would be a majorly short-sighted mistake.

New York finds itself in a bit of a financial gridlock. After sacrificing about $113M to help the team, Brunson will be extension eligible next summer (ka-ching). Anunoby and Bridges are secure for now (on ascending contracts), Hart would like to extend now, and throw in a monster contract for Towns, and there’s not much wiggle room.

In the old NBA, James Dolan could scribble out a luxury-tax check to keep a fan favorite around. Then the 2023 CBA introduced a first apron (roughly $8–9M above the tax line) and a second apron (roughly $17–21M+ above the tax line, depending on the year; e.g., ~$221.7M for 2026-27). Crossing that damned second apron doesn’t just trigger a tax penalty; it hijacks a team’s roster-building. If you cross the line, you lose trade flexibility, the ability to aggregate salaries, and future first-round picks get frozen like Jack Dawson at the end of Titanic.

Unfortunately, Deuce is a potential casualty of math. He’ll undoubtedly earn a significant pay raise in his next contract. However, the Knicks can’t give him one without dismantling a starting five that just brought New York a championship… and appeared on Saturday Night Live. He isn’t a financial priority because the money could be spent more intelligently elsewhere. That’s just the reality of the business.

Irreplaceable Production

So, if the Knicks probably cannot pay the guy, why not trade him now? Well, that answer has two parts. First, what he does on the court can’t be easily replaced. Second, he gets paid very little (relatively speaking) to do it.

Deuce is making a “meager” $3.96 million this season. That kind of contract is a cheat code for a contending team. In the trade market, however, it is a major limitation. An outgoing $4 million salary doesn’t bring back a game-changing asset.

Consider how Deuce’s skill set impacts New York’s production on both ends of the court. Averaging 12 points per game last year and shooting roughly 40% from three, he spaces the floor well with Brunson and punishes defenses that try to double the captain. Defensively, he is relentless at the point of attack. He picks up opposing guards full court, navigates ball screens, and takes on the most tiresome defensive assignment to give the primary producers a break. You cannot find that level of two-way reliability for under $4 million.

The Center Trap

Yeah, Yeah, I hear you…

But John… We desperately need a center!

I mean, you’re not entirely wrong. Big Mitch is gone and glancing at the center depth chart is enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure. Looking at Deuce as the best trade chip is tempting and convincing yourself we can flip him for a big man is quite easy to do.

But trading an elite rotational guard for a stopgap center that potentially might not play a whole lot is terrible roster management. Do the math for a minute. If we trade Deuce’s contract, we have to bring back a $4 million center. That gets the Knicks a deepl flawed, third-string big man destined to get hunted in the pick-and-roll and become nonexistent come playoff time. Anyone willing to trade a guy who plays closing minutes in crucial games for a big who will consistently rock the warmup gear should not be employed by an NBA front office.

New York can survive the early schedule by signing a low-cost option and patch the center rotation by committee, and even have OG play a little five (as Mike Brown even mentioned.) It gives them time to evaluate the landscape and see what shakes out throughout the league. Panicking in October and trading our best bench piece does nothing but hurts the organization’s title odds.

There is also precedent to consider. The Knicks brass were probably well-aware that they would not be able to afford to re-sign Mitchell Robinson this summer—and his departure is the reason why we’re in this pickle at center. Leon Rose must have heard some interest in Mitch before the in-season trade deadline, but he held on to the asset. Unless there’s a too–good-to-pass-up offer, we suspect he’ll do the same with Deuce.

So Long Forward Thinking

Forward-thinking got the Knicks where they are today. Focussing on the present is how they hang another championship banner up in Madison Square Garden for the second straight year.

Letting a talented, 26-year-old guard hit unrestricted free agency without getting anything in return goes against everything we have been conditioned to believe. It might sting a little but the ultimate goal of asset management isn’t to pretty up the perfect spreadsheet. It is to win a championship. Miles McBride helps this roster win games this season.

If we have to accept the 2026-27 campaign is essentially a one-year, rental of Deuce, so be it. Keep him on the roster! Let him lock down the opposition and hit clutch threes for us as we look for two in a row. If another franchise throws $20 million at him next summer, we simply song that catchy Fall Out Boy song and tell the man, “Thanks for the memories.”

The window for winning is right now. You don’t close it early just to save a few bucks and appease the armchair analysts.

Jordan Walsh is entering an in-between stage of his Celtics career.

He’s 22 years old, which still makes him young enough to be discussed alongside Boston’s latest batch of developmental players. He’s also entering Year 4, wasn’t part of Boston’s Summer League group this July, has already been around a championship team and can casually cite things he learned from Jrue Holiday as part of his basketball education.

He’s not exactly the new kid anymore, but he’s also not Derrick White or Neemias Queta, whose places in the rotation are considerably easier to picture before the games even start.

That leaves Walsh somewhere in between. Listening to him at Media Day, he seems pretty aware of it.

“I’m trying to switch my mentality to having what I call a high role player IQ,” Walsh said, “of just affecting the game in ways without the ball basically.”

That phrase gets at what Year 4 probably needs to be for Walsh.

For most young players, development is easy to imagine in terms of adding things. Improve the jumper. Tighten the handle. Bulk up. Learn another counter.

Walsh certainly still has plenty to improve, but there’s a different challenge waiting for him now. The Celtics aren’t going to hand him the ball for 15 possessions and ask him to show them everything he worked on over the summer. If he earns real minutes, most of them will come while Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard or Paul George are doing considerably more attention-grabbing things with the basketball.

Walsh has to figure out how to matter anyway.

“I think the biggest thing that I’ve been working on is affecting the game without the ball, primarily on offense,” he said. “Trying to sprint the floor, trying to get in transition, trying to run and be an outlet guy, get on cuts.”

There’s nothing particularly glamorous in that list. There also might be a career hiding inside it.

The little things eventually become the job

During Media Day, Walsh brought up Holiday when he was asked where the idea of “role player IQ” came from.

“I felt like Jrue Holiday was a big piece of that, big representative of that,” Walsh said. “I’ve tried to take as much as I can from him, obviously on the defensive side.”

That makes immediate sense. Holiday is one of the best defenders of his generation, and Walsh entered the league with defense as the easiest way to imagine him sticking around.

But Walsh’s answer quickly moved beyond defense.

He talked about watching film and recognizing that the Celtics were better when players understood where the offense actually needed to go. In the previous version of this team, that often meant doing something that made life easier for Tatum or Jaylen Brown.

“Guys like Jayson Tatum and JB have to have the ball in their hands,” Walsh said. “So whether it’s going to find them on a pin-down screen or, like, passing up my shot to get them a shot, stuff like that is kind of just stuff I keep seeing.”

I asked Jordan Walsh how his work towards a new offensive identity is going. He said it’s going really well.

I also asked him about learning from Paul George.

“As soon as I saw him come here and get traded here, I really just wanted to reach out. Just trying to get a workout… pic.twitter.com/00Z1DX6gTt

— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) September 29, 2026

That’s the part of NBA role-playing that can be hard to appreciate from the outside. Plenty of players can tell you what their role is. “Defend, run the floor, hit open shots” has probably appeared in approximately 40,000 Media Day interviews in the past few years.

Actually becoming useful inside that role? That’s much more complicated.

Can you recognize when cutting clears the lane for someone else? Can you make a defense pay for ignoring you without hijacking a possession? Can you screen somebody open and immediately find the next useful place to be? If Tatum gets doubled, are you standing where the next pass needs to go before it gets there?

Walsh has spent three years close enough to winning basketball to see what those decisions look like. Now he needs to make enough of them himself in order for Joe Mazzulla to trust him.

The physical stuff has never been especially mysterious with Walsh. He’s long, athletic and switchable, and when his energy is pointed in the right direction, he can make possessions uncomfortable in ways that are difficult to teach.

His offensive fit has always required a little more imagination.

Walsh sounded pretty confident about one important part of that equation Monday.

“I feel like I’ve come a long way with my three-point shot,” he said. “I feel like if I’m open and I catch the ball, it’s going in. And I feel like my team feels that way and I feel like the coaches and staff feel that way too.”

If defenses eventually feel that way too, Walsh becomes a lot more useful.

And if defenses have to respect him on the perimeter, a hard closeout suddenly gives him somewhere to send all that athleticism. He talked about attacking downhill, kicking the ball out, cutting after the pass, screening and slipping. Basically, making himself part of the possession instead of waiting for the possession to find him.

That may fit this version of the Celtics better than the previous one.

Walsh described Boston’s old offense pretty plainly: “swing the ball, stand still, watch JT ISO, watch JB ISO, set a ball screen, ISO.”

It wasn’t really a criticism. When you have Tatum and Brown on your team, watching Tatum and Brown do things is often a pretty good offensive strategy.

But Walsh believes Mazzulla wants this team playing with more movement and more interchangeable bursts of energy.

“What Joe wants is it to be more of a five in, five out type of rotation where it’s like we’re all going super hard, four or five minutes, boom, switch out, come in, new five, and then fight, fight, fight for four or five minutes.”

For a player trying to build a career out of activity, that sounds like a pretty decent invitation.

The prospect phase is over

Walsh has also lived through enough change in Boston to recognize how different the room feels now. He talked about Al Horford and Luke Kornet being gone and how much the environment around him has changed.

“It feels completely different,” Walsh said. “It feels new. It feels fresh.”

Then he landed on the word that probably matters most to him.

“Opportunity.”

“I feel like a lot of the guys here who haven’t made a name for themselves, like me, have an opportunity here to take a chance at carving out a role, carving out, you know, a career,” Walsh said. “You can feel that in the air.”

Walsh has been in Boston long enough that “potential” can’t carry the whole conversation anymore. He knows what championship teammates look like up close. He’s had enough NBA minutes to understand how much harder it is to stay on the floor than it is to flash something interesting for three possessions.

And yet, at 22, there’s still plenty of runway left if he can put the pieces together.

Maybe that’s what Walsh means by “high role player IQ.” He isn’t trying to reinvent his game so much as make the game he already has easier to fit alongside his teammates.

The Celtics already know he can defend. They know he can run. Walsh believes the jumper is better than it has ever been. Now comes the harder part: knowing what to do during all the basketball happening in between.

Walsh already knows the role. Year 4 is about proving he knows how to be the player who fills it.