Editor’s Note: It brings me great joy to introduce Will Woodford, one of our newest members to the Canis Hoopus team! You’ll be seeing more from Will this season and can follow him on social media @woodford_will.

As part of a multi-part series, he’ll be previewing platoons of the roster, beginning first with the guards. Hop in the comments section and give him a welcome!

Anthony Edwards

Make no mistake about it, this is the season for the best player on this team to take his assumed leadership role by the horns. In years past, leadership fell on the shoulders of older players such as Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson, and Joe Ingles. Now, the onus is on Anthony Edwards to achieve the harmony that is required to beat the Oklahoma Citys and San Antonios of the world. A cohesive team is a well-performing team, and with perhaps a new role on offense, Edwards should be able to be the connector this team needs while maintaining his offensive output and increasing his defensive effort. This balanced effort could put the Wolves over the top in a loaded Western Conference. 

LaMelo Ball

A shocking offseason trade involving fan favorite Naz Reid brought LaMelo Ball to his first opportunity to contend in his six-year career. Although he’s known as a flashy player, his struggle to stay healthy and a lack of postseason experience is what really brings questions about his ability to facilitate winning at a high level. How can one ignore the LaVar-shaped cloud of craziness that still follows Ball, which certainly doesn’t help smooth over these concerns either.

What Tim Connelly and fans are hoping for is that his high level understanding of what Jalen Rose calls “the geometry of the floor” will make things infinitely easier for his teammates offensively while also being an uber-capable scorer himself. 

Lavar Ball after finding out LeBron James is going to Philadelphia:

“The only way you gon beat that big a** team is you got to go fast! So Minnesota I’m telling yall, GO GET THEM BALL BOYS & GET THIS CHAMPIONSHIP!” pic.twitter.com/Hpqizcn0NO

— Kyle Ingram (@SnapshotKyle) July 24, 2026

Ayo Dosunmu

He began as just a name that fans struggled to pronounce correctly when he first got traded to Minnesota at last season’s trade deadline. Now, he’s made a big impression on fans with his play down the stretch and into last season’s playoff run. The result was a a five-year, $112 million contract signed over the offseason.

A change in the team’s core may actually benefit Ayo Dosunmu, whose blazing speed can definitely take advantage of the pace that this team is expecting to play with. Defense is where some improvement could be warranted. His career-high in defensive win shares was in Chicago during the ‘22-’23 season at 2.2, but it dwindled down to just 0.8 with the Timberwolves in admittedly less games (per Basketball-Reference.com). Anthony Edwards can guard, but Donte DiVincenzo’s injury and LaMelo Ball’s lack of defensive pedigree will force Ayo to be a key contributor to the team’s perimeter defense.

Bones Hyland

After falling out of favor with both the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, Bones Hyland experienced somewhat of a career resurgence last season with the Timberwolves. Skelly Cellys rained throughout the Target Center like it had been a long-standing tradition. Moving forward, Bones expects to be an important bench guard, especially with the absence of Donte DiVincenzo. There’s not really a knockdown three-point shooter off the bench, so Bones will certainly have an opportunity to fill that void. 

Donte DiVincenzo

A torn Achilles tendon in the first round against the Denver Nuggets derailed a promising playoff run for Donte Divincenzo, taking him out for most of, if not all, next season. The real kicker is that he is in a contract year, impacting what could’ve been a big payday. The absolute best case scenario for Donte is the Jayson Tatum track, where he would come back late in the season, hopefully getting back into game shape and into the rotation by the postseason.

Zyon Pullin

Those who didn’t watch Summer League (or the Iowa Wolves last season) may not know this name, but those who did know that this kid can play with poise. Zyon Pullin also impressed in last year’s season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s a guard who can score the ball, but can also be a stabilizer if needed. He may spend some time in Iowa again, but there are definitely worse depth pieces out there.

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What are you expecting from each of these guards? Will the reshaped backcourt be the key to finally pushing the Wolves over the top? Or will that be a cause for crashing and burning (pun not intended) in the postseason?

Let us know what you think!

When the Wizards selected Tristan Vukcevic with the 42nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, I thought it was something of a steal. He was 25th in my YODA rankings — the last player in 2023 to notch a first-round grade in my stat-based prospect evaluation process.

So, I had hopes. Not exactly high but perhaps a bit higher than would be the norm for a second round pick.

Three years in, those hopes are not dashed, but they’re not met either. According to my PPA metric, Vukcevic has improved each of his three seasons — 55 to 66 to 73. That’s creeping into useful territory, but not stomping in and demanding attention. The year-to-year increments are small at an age when they’d typically be expected to be large. And that move from 66 to 73 is so small it might just be some statistical noise.

Note that his year two and year three PER scores were the same. On the other hand, PER says Vukcevic has been a bit above average each of those seasons, which I’d suggest is a view not shared by many.

Vukcevic is on his way back for a fourth season because…well…I was about to write “strengths,” which would not be completely accurate. He seems to have one strength, which is shooting. At least I think he’s good at shooting. His on-court behavior and the treatment he gets from teammates suggests they also think he’s good at shooting.

The problem, he has not actually made shots at a high level during NBA competition. Through three seasons, he’s finished well on at-rim attempts, been down-down-and-WAY-up from floater range, and not so good on longer twos. His three-point shooting (34.8% on 282 career attempts) is basically league average.

That three-point shooting is probably good enough for a center to make defenses at least pay attention, though it’s not likely to change game plans.

Vukcevic seems to enjoy setting up teammates, but the creativity comes at a cost. He’s had more turnovers than assists each of the past two seasons, and has a negative assist-to-turnover ratio for his career.

Vukcevic rebounds a little, though his career low in rebounding was last season.

Defense has been an adventure. The on/off metrics haven’t been atrocious, and he does generate blocks (better than two per 100 team possessions) and steals. The defensive playmaking comes with fouls, though — 5.9 per 100 team possessions for his career.

The positive-seeming on/off metrics are probably illusory. Throughout Vukcevic’s career, Washington’s defense has been historically bad when he’s been off the court. In his minutes — many of which have come during garbage time and blowouts — the team defense has been slightly less historically bad. I don’t think that “improvement” has been caused by Vukcevic.

As the team transitions to what they hope will be a competitive posture, Vukcevic faces increased competition for even the modest minutes he’s received. Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis, and DeAndre Ayton likely will take most of the big forward and center minutes. Vukcevic may be the fourth big, though the team could also choose to play smaller lineups when one of those guys can’t play. In other words, Vukcevic will also be battling Justin Champagnie, Keyshawn George, Will Riley, AJ Dybantsa, and others for playing time.

Okay, that’s a lot of preamble — we’re here for Statistical Doppelgangers. For the uninitiated, this is the latest installment in this year’s annual trip through the Statistical Doppelganger Machine, which is an algorithm I cooked up to tell me which player seasons (since 1977-78) were most like the reference player. In this case, Vukcevic. Keep up!

The Machine uses 14 categories, including various stats (per possession), age and playing time. While it doesn’t use position or size, comparison seasons tend to come from the same position grouping.

By the way, the player most similar to Vukcevic in 2026-26 was Vukcevic in 2024-25. This happens less often than you might expect. At least more often than I expected. To the doppelgangers:

1. Mortiz Wagner | 2021-22 | Orlando Magic | Age: 24 — This was the fourth season and fourth team for Wagner. He’d spent the previous two seasons getting on opponents’ nerves for the Wizards. In subsequent seasons, he worked himself into a chippy, physical, annoying, and decent backup big man before tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
2. Rodney White | 2003-04 | Denver Nuggets | Age: 23 — This season and the next were about as good as it would get for White, who I remembered as a PF type but Basketball-Reference lists as a SF and SG. I think my memory is right — he was 6-9 and 24o pounds. He had enough ball skills and shooting ability to play a stretch-four role in the aughts, but only just.
3. Henry James | 1990-91 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Age: 25 — Nothing much to see here. This was James’ rookie year, and he made appearances in seven different NBA seasons. That could be Vukcevic’s fate — good enough to bounce around for a few years on minimum deals, but not good enough to secure a role. Kinda the next Thomas Bryant.
4. Naz Reid | 2022-23 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Age: 23 — This would be the dream scenario for Washington, though I do think Reid has been more than a little overrated throughout his career. He’s had value as an off-the-bench scorer, though his overall production has been only so-so. His next above average season will be his first in my PPA metric.
5. Jonathan Bender | 2003-04 | Indiana Pacers | Age: 23 — Bender’s mix of physical tools and ball skills were enough to make him the fifth overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft — skipping college and making the leap straight to the NBA. He never lived up to the hype, and by 23 was already declining.

The honorable mentions don’t trend any better — seasons from Wang Zhizhi, Jordan Nwora, Cam Whitmore, and (weirdly) Lawrence Moten. Michael Beasley makes an appearance.

Probably the best hope not too far down the list is Ryan Anderson, who had a few superb three-and-D seasons in 20-teens before his career got waylaid by a back injury and personal tragedy. The game has evolved away from the more specialized role Anderson played, but there’s still room for a center who can shoot, pass, and block a few shots.

From its inception in 1956 until 1980, NBA’s coveted Most Valuable Player award was dominated by centers. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain alone garnered nine of the first thirteen honors. Add it Wes Unseld, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (credited the first time as Lew Alcindor), Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton, and

Moses Malone and it was almost a lock to go to the man in the middle. 

The emergence and recognition of the other positions on the court created a shift in the early 80s that saw Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and many other in who received the hardware.

In fact, from 1984 until the 2020 pandemic, only three times has the award been given to a center – Hakeem Olajuwan (1994), David Robinson (1995), and Shaquille O’Neal (2000). 

Basketball legend Julius Irving stated that he believes Victor Wembanyama will usher in a resurgence of centers in the mix for the MVP award.

« Je pense que Wemby va changer ça »

Julius Erving voit en Victor Wembanyama le joueur capable de remettre les pivots au centre de la course au MVP.

« Aujourd’hui, ce sont les ailiers et les arrières qui dominent le jeu. À mon époque, le basket était dominé par les pivots.

En… pic.twitter.com/C3IhvsxDbR

— Basket-Infos (@Basket_Infos) September 7, 2026

“I think Wemby is going to change that. Today, wings and guards dominate the game. In my era, basketball was dominated by centers. In fact, between 1966 and 1982, every MVP was a center. Oscar Robertson was the one before that period, and I was the exception during it. Then, suddenly, guards and wings became the league’s MVPs, and that trend has continued to this day. But I think Wemby is going to change that.”

Since the pandemic, that shift has begun. Nikola Jokic has won the award three time and Joel Embiid took home the award as it was renamed the Michael Jordan Trophy in honor of the five-time winner.Wembanyama and Jokic were two of the finalists last season, but they lost out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

As we head into the 2026-2027 season, Victor Wembanyama is Vegas the odds-on favorite (+200) to win this season. The question will be just how many times will he win if he stays healthy and plays with the same passion he has exhibited in his first three seasons. 

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Welcome to the first official installment of Moneyball Mailbag! Here we will be answering reader questions pertaining to all things Dallas Mavericks, gathered from far and wide (namely, our Feed, social media and maybe even some that were asked face-to-face).

If you asked a question, we’re grateful and thank you for joining in. If you haven’t, please both spread the word and also let us know what’s on your mind – We’ll have a post in The Feed where you can easily post questions to us.

We are on the cusp of training camp so there are plenty of expectations and things to ponder about the upcoming season. We’re excited to hear from you! Special shoutout to our reader, fabian_84, who goes down in Mavs Moneyball history as the provider of our first Moneyball Mailbag question. Without further ado, let’s hear what’s on your minds!

“Do you think Cooper Flagg is on a trajectory to win MVP at one point in his career? What would he have to show in year two to believe that he is on track?”

-Fabian_84

Winning MVP is no easy task. There are a lot of NBA legends who have never done it – Isiah Thomas,  John Havlicek, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, George Gervin, Chris Paul, Scottie Pippen – just to name a few. To do it takes a special combination. The player has to at least be exceptional, well-regarded (it’s difficult to believe there is no bias in the vote) and playing for a great team.

So far, I think it’s fair to say Flagg has two of those three things. I also expect he will continue to improve. I think he is a truly special talent with a drive that is unique even amongst professional athletes. Think back to the night he was drafted and the expectation his offensive game was going to need polish. Then think through November and into December and January. He almost instantly outperformed offensive expectations and improved significantly just over the first two or three months of the season. He did most of that as an 18-year-old.

So yes, I do think he is on an MVP level trajectory. To get there (in year two and beyond) he’s going to have to do what all the greats do, which is improve some aspect of his game every season. For year two in particular, I think it has to be an improved three-point percentage along with improved points per game. He has every tool imaginable to fill up virtually all statistical categories, so it’s just a matter of staying healthy and improving year-over-year. Hopefully the team will eventually be good enough to leave little doubt for him.

“How many games do you think Kyrie Irving will play this year”

-Various

I don’t expect him to play any more than 66 games this season for one simple reason. No, it’s not based on his recent history of average games played per season (which is brought low in some part due to New York covid-19 rules and Dwight Powell inflicting a fluke teammate-on-teammate injury). The reason I’m at or below 66 games is because the Mavericks have 16 back-to-back sets this season and I’d be surprise if he plays a complete set of any of them. I have to imagine he will rest on either the first or second night of all of them as a precaution.

That said, I do have what some call an irrational expectation he is going to be much better and much more available than people think. He has had a massive recovery window and everything about him screams “craft” to me. I just can’t envision a scenario where a guy like that didn’t go above and beyond the grueling task of rehabbing on another level.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

We are entering a new era in Boston Celtics basketball.

You can argue guys like Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Ron Harper Jr., and Amari Williams all had breakout seasons in a way last season. With Jayson Tatum out for most of the year, these guys got a chance to play more minutes and were solid contributors for different stretches throughout the 56-win season. With the addition of 2026 draft picks Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell, the Celtics have a treasure trove of young talent looking for a chance to contribute this season.

With the dust seemingly settled from the nuclear fallout of the Jaylen Brown for Paul George trade, the NBA draft and Summer League have come and gone, and as the calendar flips to September, Celtics basketball is on the horizon. With that, I wanted to pose a question for this upcoming season: which young guy on the Celtics roster will have the biggest breakout season?

Baylor Scheierman

Out of all of the young guys from last season, Baylor Scheierman was the guy who arguably had the biggest breakout in his sophomore year with the Celtics. In 77 games last year, Scheierman finished with stats of 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 45.3% shooting from the field and 39.9% from three in 18.6 minutes per game.

He was a completely different player in Year 2. In his rookie season, it took a minute to get acclimated to the league, but he finished hot. Last year, we saw Scheierman flourish in a bigger role where he was able to showcase not only his talent, but his personality as well. From the thumbs up celebration after threes to the hype he showed on the court, we saw Scheierman find comfortability in a recurring role in the Celtics rotation.

Scheierman’s best game of the season came in Game 82 on April 12th in a stunning win against the Orlando Magic. He was given the keys to the Celtics offense as the number one option for Boston and finished with a career high 30 points with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals on 8-20 FG and 6-14 from three.

Going into the 2026-27 season, I don’t think it would be far out of the realm of possibility if we see Scheierman getting even more minutes than he did last season and maybe even get some 6th Man of the Year votes at some point. He is going into his age-26 season, so there might not be a lot of room for further development, but we could see an inflation in his numbers this year given more minutes regardless.

Hugo Gonzalez

Going into his rookie year as the 28th overall pick in the 2025 draft, many people didn’t know what to expect from Hugo Gonzalez. However, over the course of the season, we saw Gonzalez become an instant fan favorite due to his motor and defensive abilities at only 19 years old. In 74 games, he averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds on 47.6% from the field and 36% from three in 14.6 minutes per game.

We saw Gonzalez step into his role as a spark plug off the bench right from his NBA debut when he was tasked with guarding Jalen Brunson in Madison Square Garden and he held his own. As the season went on, we saw Hugo continue to be an energy shifter in Boston’s rotation anytime he stepped on the floor. His best game of the season came on March 2nd in Milwaukee when Jaylen Brown was out. Gonzalez finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks on 7-15 shooting. His play time was sporadic by the end of the season and in the playoffs but anytime he was on the court, he would make a positive impact, leading all rookies in plus-minus at a +283.

The sky is the limit for what Gonzalez can develop into as a player this season and his stellar play with Spain in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers should have Celtics fans excited. Even if he doesn’t turn into an elite offensive player, his defense will keep him Boston’s rotation for a long time. I could see Gonzalez tapping into his inner Marcus Smart this season and continuing his elite defensive play while continuing to improve his three-point shot. Either way, Celtics fans will always have love for Gonzalez with his effort on the court every night.

Jordan Walsh

Going into his third season, Jordan Walsh was going to be given a chance to play more minutes than he had at any other point in his career. Through his first two seasons, we saw flashes of the elite defense he provided but the offense was still a little behind. That changed in 2026 when Walsh showed maybe the biggest improvement out of everyone. In 68 games (25 starts), he averaged 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds on 50.9% shooting from the field and 38.4% shooting from three in 17.8 minutes per game.

Walsh got a long run as a starter last season from November 12th to January 1st where we saw him play the best basketball of his career, including his best game of the season where he finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds on 8-8 shooting against the Wizards on December 4th. His defense was elite while also being able to consistently hit the three-ball, shooting 44.7% from beyond the arc. However, Walsh had a little bit of a problem when it came to staying in games, getting into foul trouble often and went back to a bench role for the rest of the season where he continued his solid play.

Walsh is going into the 2026-27 season in a similar position as last year where he has a chance to play another solid role in the Celtics rotation. Boston reinforced their belief in Walsh when they signed him to a three-year, $15 million contract extension on June 23rd that has him under contract through the 2029-30 season. Numbers-wise, I think we will see another season similar to last year but he is only 22 years old, so there is a chance his development is nowhere near its peak.

Ron Harper Jr.

Ron Harper Jr. hands down had the best story out of everyone on the Celtics last season. Harper Jr. went from the Maine Celtics to starting in Game 7 of Boston’s first round playoff matchup. There was a lot that happened in between these two points of Ron Harper Jr.’s season but after being thrown into the fire in his first NBA start guarding Kevin Durant, he turned himself into a very nice depth piece for the Celtics off the bench. In 29 games, he averaged 4.2 points on 41.8% shooting from the field and 35% shooting from three.

Similar to Scheierman, he had his best game of the season on the final game of the season on April 12th against the Magic, dropping a career high 27 points with 7 rebounds, and 3 steals on 10-20 shooting from the field and 5-12 from three. Boston rewarded his efforts last season with a new four-year, $13.7 million deal to return to the team. Harper Jr. proved that he is a legit NBA player last season and is looking to once again be a solid wing option for the Celtics next season.

Amari Williams

The hype around Amari Williams going into his rookie year was small, but it was enough to gain some traction. Williams was the Celtics 46th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Kentucky and was known for his passing ability as a big man. In the regular season with the Maine Celtics, he performed really well, averaging 17.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks on 57.3% shooting from the field. Williams had a few cups of coffee with Boston last season as well where he appeared in 22 games and averaged 1.4 points. His biggest play of the season for Boston was in the Celtics double overtime victory against the Nets on January 23rd where Williams made the game saving block after sitting for almost the entire game.

Williams might have another season similar to his rookie year when it comes to playing time with Boston. With Neemias Queta, Mitchell Robinson, and Luka Garza ahead of him on the depth chart, there isn’t a lot of room for him in the Celtics rotation at this moment. However, this shouldn’t be a discouragement for Williams, because Boston has done an incredible job when it comes to the develop of their big men. Queta is a great example of being the 4th string center on the 2024 championship team now being the starter in 2026. I feel like Williams is another year or two away from being in the rotation, but it will be fun to track his development this season.

Chris Cenac Jr.

With the 27th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Celtics selected Chris Cenac Jr. out of the University of Houston. The 6’11” freshman averaged 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds on 48.5% shooting from the field in his one college season and was considered a lottery pick before falling to Boston. Cenac Jr. was the 6th ranked player in the high school class of 2025 and chose Houston, who is known for their hard work and rebounding, over blue bloods like Kentucky.

Cenac Jr. played with the Celtics Summer League team this season and looked really solid in the three games he played in, averaging 10.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks. The most notable moment from his Summer League performance was when he hit a game-tying three with under one second to go in his debut in a game the Celtics would eventually win in overtime. Cenac Jr. has the profile to be a big contributor to the future of this Celtics team with his strong defensive abilities and upside offensively, but I don’t think he will get a lot of playing time this season. However, by the end of the season, there is a chance he could play a big role for Boston in the final stretch before the playoffs.

Dillon Mitchell

With the 40th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Celtics selected Dillon Mitchell out of St. John’s. In contrast to Cenac Jr. who was a one and done freshman, Mitchell played four years in college, two at Texas, one in Cincinnati and finally with St. John’s. In his senior season, Mitchell averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 55.9% shooting. Mitchell is defined by his freakish athleticism, being a high flying forward for St. John’s and being known for his motor.

Mitchell put up some great performances in the Celtics Summer League, averaging 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals. His best game for Boston came in his second game against the Hornets, finishing with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks on 10-20 shooting from the field and 2-5 shooting from three. There is a good chance that Mitchell will spend most of the season with the Maine Celtics this year but he will be a human highlight reel all season.

My Breakout Pick

If I had to choose out of the seven players highlighted, I will say Hugo Gonzalez has the biggest breakout season. He looked to already be a pro in his rookie season and after an offseason playing for Spain, it wouldn’t surprise me if his offensive game improves to new levels. His defense is already great for a player going into his age 20 season and if he can get his three-point shooting up to maybe 38%, the Celtics will have one of the best elite, young role players in the NBA. Although I chose Gonzalez, it wouldn’t surprise me if any of these guys end up being contributors for Boston next at some point throughout the season.

Ramp to Camp: What will the Celtics miss most about Jaylen Brown? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics launch into training camp in three weeks. Their first preseason game is 30 days away. Opening day in Detroit, when the Celtics and Pistons tip off the NBA’s 2026-27 regular-season campaign, is a mere six weeks out.

Basketball is almost back after a summer that turned out to be a lot longer and a lot more tumultuous than anyone could have expected before Boston coughed up a 3-1 series lead and got unceremoniously bounced by the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 1 of the 2026 playoffs.

Soon after, those same rival Sixers traded for Jaylen Brown in a swap that left much of the NBA slack-jawed.

We’ve all had the past two months to process the trade. Brown even held a going-away party on Boston Common with enough Sixers No. 7 jerseys in the crowd to hammer home that Brown will soon play his first NBA game in a jersey that isn’t green.

The biggest question might be how Boston plots a path back to title contention with a roster now firmly centered around Jayson Tatum. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made a bold decision to split up his All-NBA tandem and must maximize the assets obtained in Brown’s departure. 

A more pressing question is how the Celtics replace what Brown provided on the court, particularly coming off a season in which Brown finished sixth in NBA voting and earned his second All-NBA nod while propelling Boston to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

And that’s where we start this year’s Ramp To Camp series. 

Every September for more than a decade, I’ve assembled an All-Star cast of coworkers to help tackle the biggest questions surrounding the Celtics before training camp arrives. We’ll examine the summer’s biggest storylines, we’ll ponder what newcomers can add to Boston’s roster, and we’ll make bold predictions about the season ahead.

It seems almost unfair to ask anyone to distill Brown’s impact down to one single area. A five-time All-Star, Brown crammed an awful lot into his decade in Boston — both on the court and off. So as we turn the page on Brown’s departure, and as the conversation shifts to how exactly the team can fill those many voids, here are the three areas that immediately popped to our mind as we pondered how Boston moves forward without their former Finals MVP. 

1. Rim pressure and free throws

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

From an on-court perspective, this is our biggest curiosity. Brown averaged 7.5 free throw attempts per game last season. Not only was that the best of his career, but it was easily tops for a Boston team that averaged an NBA-low 18.7 free throw attempts per game.

What’s more, Brown finished second in the NBA at 19.1 drives per game. That was one spot ahead of Oklahoma City’s MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (18.8) and trailed only Portland’s Deni Avdija (19.4).

A healthier Tatum can surely offset some of Brown’s rim impact. Tatum’s drive numbers should increase after he averaged just 10.9 drives in his 16 regular-season appearances after his late-season return. Payton Pritchard could likewise be key to filling that rim-pressure void, after finishing second on the team at 11.9 drives per game last season.

Still, the Celtics produced the lowest free-throw attempt rate of the postseason (.228). That number was even worse (.207) during the regular season, ranking last — and by a notable margin — among all 30 teams. 

For a Celtics team where much has been made about how heavily they rely on shot-making, particularly beyond the 3-point arc, it feels imperative that Boston’s new-look roster finds ways to consistently get to the line and generate the free-throw output that can limit some volatility on Boston’s poor shooting nights.

Brown simply plays with a force that few players in the NBA routinely display. The Celtics need others to kick up their own physicality. 

2. Big-stage performances

Brian Fluharty/Getty Images

You can quibble about Brown’s overall efficiency, and ball security was certainly an issue at key junctures. He’d be the first to admit he didn’t live up to his own standard in Boston’s first-round crumble against Philadelphia last season. 

But what we’ll miss most about Brown was his ability to embrace the big stage.

Brown always seemed to have just a little bit more juice when the lights were brighter. That could be as simple as a midseason showdown with Kawhi Leonard and a surging Clippers squad, when Brown delivered a season-high 50 points during a January meeting in Los Angeles last season. Or it could be Brown taking on the two-way challenge by hounding Luka Doncic throughout the 2024 Finals, and earning Finals MVP honors for his role in Boston’s five-game triumph to deliver Banner 18.

He might not have been perfect on the playoff stage, but Brown was surely not afraid of the moment. 

3. Leadership and availability 

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

In a league perpetually battling load management and the absence of stars in marquee regular-season games, Brown always wanted to be on the floor. 

Brown averaged 67.4 games over the last five seasons. His 11,569 regular-season minutes over that five-year span were the 20th most in the NBA. Only Derrick White, at 12,098 minutes, had a higher total among Celtics players, while Jayson Tatum was 24th at 11,254 despite missing 66 games last season. 

With Tatum sidelined last year, Brown did everything he could to embrace a new-look roster and bought into being the leader. He nurtured younger players and set up preseason field trips aimed at fostering chemistry. Brown was never shy in expressing his emotions and thoughts.

All this and we could spend 1,000 more words on what Brown meant to the community of Boston off the court. The bottom line: There are big shoes to fill. 

Here are the most notable voids that our panel believes the Celtics must fill after Brown’s departure: 

Michael Hurley: Producer, Multi-Platform Content

I would estimate roughly 28.7 points per game, give or take a few.

Tatum can obviously absorb the bulk of that responsibility, and he should be considered a lock to average over 30 points for just the second time in his career.

Nick Goss: Producer, Multi-Platform Content

Brown was a great scorer, a leader, a tremendous perimeter defender and brought a ton of passion and energy to the team. The C’s need someone else to bring that fire. And who will step up offensively? Payton Pritchard could take on a larger scoring role.

Brown also made a ton of clutch plays in several of Boston’s playoff runs and won Finals MVP in 2024. Someone needs to help Jayson Tatum and give him a reliable No. 2 option in high-pressure playoff moments.

Justin Leger: Producer, Multi-Platform Content

Secondary scoring.

Who steps up, offensively, when it isn’t Jayson Tatum’s night? There’s no obvious answer to that question without Brown.

Paul George, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard will have their big games, but none of them can be counted on to take the pressure off Tatum night in and night out.

Josh Canu: Editor

High-percentage scoring.

The Celtics are already perceived as a team that launches too many 3s. Jaylen was the one player on the roster who sought out higher-percentage shots, whether they were his patented midrange jumper or attacking the rim. Without his consistent offensive output, the Celtics will need other players to fill that void.

Adam Hart: Executive Producer, Content Strategy

The desire to spackle the chip on his shoulder by claiming tough defensive assignments in the playoffs. (Luka Doncic, Paul George). 

Jason Levine: Executive Producer, Content Integrations

The mindset.

It’s rare in the NBA to have that old-school mindset of “we’re not friends” once the ball is thrown up. The Gravedigger was looking to bury you. I hope as Jayson Tatum becomes the clear leader, he shows a bit more of a cutthroat attitude out there.

Imagine if Michael Jordan had been a few inches taller.

That’s not the hypothetical you typically hear. More often, it’s Allen Iverson. Or, it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo with Steph Curry’s jump shot. More broadly, the formula usually involves fixing a player’s lone imperfection to make them the perfect basketball player.

Michael Jordan was tall enough. Imagine if he’d been taller. He would have been the perfect basketball player.

As it stands, there has never been a perfect basketball player.

There’s no prototype, but there are prototypes. Jordan was the prototypical scoring guard. LeBron James is the prototypical point forward. The Houston Rockets’ Kevin Durant is the prototypical shot maker.

But one flaw has held him back from perfection.

Rockets’ Kevin Durant is a limited playmaker

Recall the 2016 NBA Western Conference Finals. Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder (boy, does that make you feel old) faced Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors (maybe not that old yet).

Durant averaged 30.0 points per game. He was not, by any measure, bad. Yet, if you recall the series, something was markedly missing from Durant’s game.

He fired midrange shot after midrange shot. Some nights they fell; other nights they did not. Ultimately, Durant finished the series with a somewhat pedestrian 53.9 True Shooting % (TS%). What stands out in the memory is middy, after middy, after middy.

You will not recall a dazzling Durant pass from that series, because that is the hole that he has never plugged in his game.

The Warriors denied Durant’s jumper to the fullest extent of natural law, and it worked as well as it could have. Durant did not have the playmaking juice to counter. Where James would look to get teammates involved when his jumper wasn’t falling, Durant could only look to keep firing his jumper.

Durant isn’t a ball-hog. That would be unfair. The objective in basketball is to get the best shot, and his shot is often the best, so he ought to take it.

His career high in Assists Per Game (APG) isn’t even bad (6.4, in 2021-22 with a loaded Brooklyn Nets team), but it came with 3.5 Turnovers Per Game (TPG). It’s not Durant’s willingness as a passer that’s on trial:

It’s his ability.

Rockets’ Kevin Durant has room to improve

This is something of an aggregation piece. A quote from Durant’s trainer inspired it in this recent Rockets Wire piece about Durant;

“It’s about making sure that he develops as a passer through the double team”

-Jamal Lovell

The Rockets played 2025-26 without Fred VanVleet. He’s never a candidate for the “if he was taller” hypothetical. VanVleet isn’t a superstar; he’s simply solid. Turnover suppression is his single strongest quality as a player.

In his absence, Durant’s limited playmaking and turnover-proneness were on full display. For a man who’s spent his career so close to the zenith of the sport itself, Durant sure isn’t much of a playmaker.

But what if he were?

There’s another player that comes to my mind in the hypothetically perfect basketball player discussion: Blake Griffin. With the Los Angeles Clippers, he was able to assert his will through sheer outlier athleticism. An injury sapped his superpowers, and he reinvented himself with the Detroit Pistons as a far more skilled player. How close to perfect could he have been if those two timelines had intersected?

The point is that veterans can still learn new tricks. It isn’t too late for Durant to channel his inner playmaker. He’s not going to be 7’0” Andre Miller with a lethal jump shot, but any growth in this area could be huge given how generally dangerous Durant is.

Imagine it. Durant spends his summer memorizing passing reads. He averages, say, 6.0 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game in 2026-27, and his signature scoring efficiency does not wane.

He’d be as close to perfect as we’ve ever seen.

It’s one of the most anticipated seasons in Jazz history since they went for a repeat run to the Finals against Michael Jordan. Utah has been preparing for this new chapter for literal years, and they have the personnel to become something really special. Let’s take a look at five of the most interesting storylines of this upcoming season.

5. How good are the Jazz?

Will Hardy is going to be asked to do something he hasn’t been asked to do since he joined the Jazz, win games for an entire season. But how many games will the Jazz win? That’s the biggest question for every Jazz fan. This is also a question about Will Hardy. We know that Will Hardy is a good coach, but how good? Utah has accumulated the talent to be a good team, maybe very good. But can Will Hardy take them to even farther heights? In a way, the Jazz have been a little bit of a mystery these past four years. This season, the mystery is revealed.

4. Keyonte George contract season coming

Keyonte George was very much deserving of Most Improved Player consideration last season. His numbers were fantastic, and he showed that he could be the solution at guard for a long time. Now, Keyonte George is ready for an extension after this season. Utah appears to want to make sure that last season was real. If Keyonte George can take another leap in his development, he could be an All-Star next season, and maybe more. George will have to navigate playing alongside Darryn Peterson in the backcourt and the insane amount of talent between him, Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaren Jackson Jr. It’s hard to not see George not taking a leap in efficiency and earning that contract. He’s proven he can be more of a point guard if needed, and that might be the role he has to take. If he embraces that role, he’ll be a vital piece of the new contending Utah Jazz.

3. Does Ace Bailey take a leap?

Ace Bailey is looking stronger this offseason, literally.

Ace Bailey looks huge. pic.twitter.com/ctLWMFQpoE

— gabe (@gawbaey) September 2, 2026

Bailey had a solid rookie season, showing much more promise than expected. Coming into the league, the narrative on Bailey was that he’d be a selfish, inefficient chucker. Bailey was everything but that. He was an unselfish (sometimes to a fault) passer who took the right shots in the offense. He also proved to be a player with great upside defensively. He also moved on the court in a way that makes you think he has a chance to be a really special player for Utah if he can realize his potential. And that’s the thing with Bailey this season. Can he be more efficient shooting the ball, especially in catch-and-shoot situations? Can he be a consistent, high-level defender, or better? Can he also improve his handle and get to the line more? If he can do those things, Bailey has a chance to be very special for the Jazz for years and years to come.

2. Lauri Markkanen unleashed!

It’s been four seasons with Lauri Markkanen being shut down for tanking reasons. In some of those seasons, he was strategically rested or flat-out shut down for the back end. This season, there’s no leash on Markkanen. There are some questions for Markkanen, though. His shooting from three was below league average the last two seasons. Was that a result of the talent around him? The inconsistent minutes? Or is that who he is as a shooter? It seems likely that his shooting should improve with the defensive focus spread out with all the talent around him. Markkanen could be on the verge of his best season yet.

1. Darryn Peterson is here!

Get ready for an incredible ride, Jazz fans. Darryn Peterson is going to be really good, the question is, just how good? His ceiling is incredible, and we all get to see just how high it actually is. Will he be the caliber of player that can lead a team to championships? Or is he an underwhelming talent with unreached potential? Utah has built a team around him that should allow him to shine. All Peterson has to do is get on the floor and get to work. Something tells me this is about to be one of the most fun seasons we’ve ever had. Everything is frosting this season, we just get to enjoy seeing just how good Peterson, and the Jazz, are. The difference with Peterson is that the entire NBA will be watching as well. Did the Wizards make a mistake? Was Peterson the right pick? It all starts next month, and the new season can’t get here soon enough.

Basketball fans know how important chemistry is when producing a winning on-court product.

Fortunately for Lakers fans, there’s a ton of chemistry between their two biggest stars — even if it manifests in unique ways.

Luka Dončić’s and Austin Reaves’ friendship has blossomed over the past few seasons, as the two are now quite close. And this closeness was shown in a hilarious way when Dončić was asked to describe Reaves with one word in a recent interview.

“Annoying,” Dončić said while staring dead at the camera, per the Lakers’ X account.

Dončić is just joking around, of course. At least, joking in the way that two friends who love to jab and tease each other constantly do.

That fact that Dončić and Reaves have such a solid bond bodes well for the Lakers’ chemistry, as does the trip that Los Angeles’ roster took to Slovenia last month.

Of course, this chemistry doesn’t guarantee that the Lakers will win games when the upcoming season starts. But if the team struggles, it doesn’t look like a fractured locker room will be the root cause.

Shooting is one of those things that, when you have it, you probably don’t appreciate it nearly as much as when you don’t. After all, the entire point of basketball is to put the ball in the hoop. So when shots are falling, your natural inclination is to think, “Yeah, that’s what’s supposed to happen. When the shooting disappears, it becomes a glaring weakness, and suddenly you start reminiscing about when you had it.

That is going to be one of the more interesting storylines for the Suns this season, especially from beyond the arc. Phoenix shipped out two high-level three-point shooters in Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, who combined for 371 made threes last season. That accounted for 31% of the team’s total makes from deep. That is a substantial amount of shooting going out the door and wearing Hornets’ teal.

It also becomes one of the primary concerns when you look at the projected starting lineup. Combine the career three-point numbers of Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams, and you get 4,296-of-12,387 from deep. That’s 34.7%. The NBA average last season was 36.0%. So on paper, the projected starting five enters the season with a very real shooting weakness.

What is the combined career three-point percentage of a potential Suns starting five of Jalen Green, Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams?

4,296-of-12,387. 34.7%. pic.twitter.com/NM6To8xty9

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) September 7, 2026

That is one of the reasons Luke Kennard’s acquisition is not only important, but necessary for this team. It also feels like he may be someone the fan base, and perhaps the league at large, is underestimating when it comes to his potential impact in Phoenix.

As we’ve worked our way through our annual SunsRank exercise, Kennard has consistently been ranked lower by the community. He was pushed into the Wild Card tier and ultimately ranked as the 11th-best Sun, falling behind both Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming. The writing team has him eighth. Perhaps the optimistic ranking by the Bright Side writers leans more heavily on what Kennard has already proven throughout his career, along with what this team will need from him and how prominently he could be used.

We know he is going to be asked to knock down shots, but Kennard has never really been defined as a high-volume three-point shooter. He is a career 44.2% shooter from deep, yet he has averaged only 4.3 attempts per game across nine seasons. For context, Grayson Allen, Collin Gillespie, Jalen Green, Royce O’Neale, Dillon Brooks, Devin Booker, and Jordan Goodwin all attempted more threes per game last season than Kennard has averaged for his career.

There are exceptions, though. His career high came in 2019–20 with Detroit, when he attempted 6.5 threes per game. Then, in 2021–22 with the Clippers, he averaged 6.0 attempts while leading the league at 44.9% from beyond the arc. That is something worth remembering.

Kennard attempted only 3.1 threes per game last season, the second-lowest mark of his career. That doesn’t mean he lacks the ability to handle more volume. His history suggests that when the attempts increase, the efficiency can remain elite. Kennard has led the league in three-point percentage three times in his career, and two seasons ago with Memphis, he averaged 6.1 attempts per game.

Expectations in Phoenix should be even higher. He may need to surpass his career high of 6.5 attempts per game and find himself living in the 7+ attempts per game range. If there’s anything we learned from Jordan Ott’s system last season, it’s that there is a good chance that happens. The Suns averaged 40.8 three-point attempts per game last season, fifth most in the NBA. In total, 45.3% of their shots came from beyond the arc, which ranked seventh.

So while Phoenix acquired Miles Bridges to help attack the rim, the Kennard acquisition represents a continuation of a philosophy that already exists. The key is finding balance. The Suns can’t be a team that ranks seventh in three-point attempt rate while also ranking 29th in field goals made inside 5 feet. If they want to be successful, they have to find a better balance between generating shots at the rim and creating quality looks from deep.

Kennard is going to be an important part of that. He has proven throughout his career that he can knock down threes at an elite rate, and Phoenix will need both him and Collin Gillespie to provide that shooting off the bench. Jordan Ott can weave them in and out of different combinations throughout the game, especially when they’re playing alongside lineups that lack reliable three-point threats.

Luke Kennard may not start, and he may not be one of the first names you think of when evaluating this roster. But shooting has a way of making itself incredibly valuable when you don’t have enough of it. Phoenix lost 371 made threes this offseason, and somebody has to replace that production. Kennard has spent his career proving he can make them. Now the Suns need him to prove he can make a hell of a lot more of them. 

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SB Nation 9 NBA teams that can actually win the 2027 championship, ranked

With the signing of 7-footer Grant Nelson to a two-way deal on Friday, the Brooklyn Nets roster seems set, barring some huge surprise. They now have the full complement of 15 players on standard NBA deals and three on two-way contracts. They will invite players to training camp which starts September 29, ultimately sending four of them to Long Island for G League duty. That should be it.

The roster is very young, no doubt the youngest in the league for the second straight year with eight of the 15 on rookie contracts, and five of them unable to legally drink in New York because they’re under 21. Two of the 20-year-olds — Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. — will be the highest drafted rookies in back-to-back years since 1995 and 1996. Only one player will be over 30 — Julius Randle who will turn 32 . They will also reflect the team’s new mantras of positional height and versatility — no more small ball. Ten of the 18 are 6’9” or taller, topped by Nelson at an official 7’0” in bare feet.

Will they win some games? They think so. Jordi Fernandez eschews gloom and doom, thinking his team will win a lot more than any pundits think (and we’re not going to dwell on what they think. No we are not.) Julius Randle told Mikel Brown Jr. they “will shock the world.” And Ben Saraf in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, published Thursday laid out the players’ goal.

“I think this year we want to win as many games as possible. Last season, there were more opportunities for the younger players, and I think that really helped all of us. But this year it’s about winning. Whoever helps the team win is going to play,” he said. “Making the playoffs is definitely a dream. I think this year our team has been built well, and I really believe we can do it. That’s our goal.”

Not the “play-in,” not the more amorphous “post-season” but the playoffs which would require around 40 wins. Optimism reigns.

Of course, optimism always reigns this time of year. Most teams by now, as Bobby Marks (no relation) has said, in love with their rosters. Not every team thinks it can contend, but they generally will like how their rosters fit their plan. It takes until around mid-December, conveniently when free agents signed over the summer can first be traded, for ownership and management to realize the plan has holes.

As for Nelson, his signing is yet another sign the organization likes him. Despite some physical setbacks, Brooklyn has remained positive about his development. They signed him to an Exhibit 10 after he went undrafted, waited through seven weeks of rehab, then played him in Long Island with minutes restrictions till he got healthy enough and gave him a 10-day with the big club. After his patella tendinitis, aka jumpers’ knee, re-emerged and he wasn’t given a second 10-day, they kept him around on. Following a non-surgical treatment after the season, they gave him a spot on the Summer League roster, even travelled him to Sacramento and Las Vegas knowing he still needed recovery time wouldn’t plan. Finally, he got a two-way which will have an opportunity for minutes. That’s commitment.

Next up will be signing players to those Exhibit 10 contracts, some of which will mean camp invites, some of which will simply be a way to fill out Long Island’s roster. They can bring 20 players into camp.

So knowing all that, should we play the rotation game? Who we might see vs. the Charlotte Hornets on Opening Night, October 21. At the moment, barring those surprises, we are likely to see the Aura Bros — Egor Demin and Michael Brown Jr., both aged 20, starting in the backcourt along with the two high scoring veterans, Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle at the 3 and 4 and Day’Ron Sharpe at the 5.

That’s the easy part. Also likely to see minutes in Fernandez’s typically deep rotation are guards Terance Mann, Nolan Traore and Keon Brown as well as bigs Josh Minott, Noah Clowney and Moe Wagner. Saraf and Danny Wolf may be getting niche minutes. Defense is likely to play a big role in who plays.

Do we expect big improvements from some of the eight players on rookie deals, aged 22 to 20?

One player who needs a big season is Clowney. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of 2026-27 so this is his time. He didn’t have a bad year in year three, averaging 12.4 points on 40/33/80 splits to go along with 4.1 rebounds in 27 minutes per in 66 games. But he started 60 of those games and that’s unlikely this time around, not with the addition of Randle. As every Nets fan knows, he’s had some highly promising games over his short career — a week with games of seven and four blocks in the last week of 2023-24 and four games with four or more 3-pointers just last season. They’d just like to see more of it.

Overall, decisions are likely to be driven first by developmental priorities … but unlike the last two seasons, Fernandez will not have worry about the lottery. Brooklyn may have to (okay, will likely to) swap firsts with the Houston Rockets. They also control the New York Knicks unprotected first. Both will likely to be low in a reportedly mediocre and top heavy draft. No the prior it was the last two drafts, both seen as “generational.”

We shouldn’t be tied to the tyranny of positions 1-through-5, either. Fernandez and others in the organization talk about position-less basketball, positional height and versatility going to be crucial. How many times will we see Demin, Brown Jr. and Traore together? How often late in games with Randle be pounding the ball down at the 5? Will Clowney get time at the 5 in certain situations? Minott at the 4? Will they find time for Joshua Jefferson who they liked a lot in the draft? What about the three two-ways? The Nets have used two-ways more than most teams the last two seasons as part of their development scheme.

It should be interesting.

What about MPJ and Julius Randle?

Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron and Capsheets.com had Erik Slater and Brian Lewis on last week and the headline out of the podcast was speculation about whether Michael Porter Jr. or Julius Randle, two proven NBA scorers aged 28 and soon-to-be 32, will be with the team past the trade deadline in early February…

New podcast on @ThirdApron

Another offseason review with @ErikSlater_ and @NYPost_Lewis joining the show to discuss the Nets transactions while I break them down from a salary cap perspective.https://t.co/HDctsCJ0KR

— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) September 4, 2026

The suggestion is that contending teams looking to improve their chances will offer Brooklyn assets that are more in line with their time line, whether younger players or draft picks … although the Nets already have a clear league lead in first (13) and second (19) round picks. In addition, the Nets and MPJ seems to be at an impasse about an extension beyond his $40.8 million expiring deal. So, if that doesn’t work out, Sean Marks & co. would be in danger of losing MPJ without any compensation (although the Nets can extend him at any time up till July 6 next year.)

However, Randle thinks he an MPJ will work well together, telling a fan in Brazil (where he was on a Skechers promotional tour with O.G. Anunoby of tip-in fame) he thinks the two bigs play different games and can complement each other…

Como vai ser o encaixe entre Julius Randle e Michael Porter Jr. no Brooklyn Nets?

Perguntei para o Randle hoje no evento da Skechers: pic.twitter.com/I5D0VNprfE

— Gabriel Martins (@caradossports) September 5, 2026

“It’s gonna be great. Two completely different type of players as far of style of play. I think we actually complement each other very well,” the three-time NBA All-Star said. “I can do a lot with the ball, with the dribble, you know creating and he’s a great catch-and-shoot guy, can really space the floor. We’ll complement each other very well.”

FYI, Randle has a player option of $35.8 million come July.

Ben Saraf takes stock

Of all Brooklyn’s first rounders last year, Ben Saraf was the subject of the most fan skepticism and that’s being kind. He was seen, at No. 26, as an NBA lemon by a loft of fans, and/or an indication of how the Flatbush 5 was filled with bad choices … despite the fact that a 26th pick doesn’t produce a lot of stars and that he was the eighth youngest player out of the 600 or so who donned NBA uniforms last year. And please don’t mention to those fans that Hugo Gonzales was taken at No. 28!

Saraf remains optimistic about his NBA journey. In that same interview with the J-Post where he spoke about the team’s optimism, he spoke about his belief in himself.

While at a community event in Rishon LeZion in Israel last month, he spoke with Joshua Hallickman he expressed confidence that his second year will give him a push.

“During my workouts over the past few months, the Summer League and our team practices, I already feel like the game has slowed down for me a bit. You have to get used to the pace and understand better what’s expected of you,” he said. “This summer, I’m focusing a lot on improving my shooting, getting stronger physically, learning how to take care of my body and how to prepare for games. Those are all things you learn during your first NBA season, and I’m happy about that.”

As a combo guard, he’ll need to shoot better to get minutes in a backcourt that includes four other 20-year-olds in Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr., Nolan Traore and Drake Powell, a 22-year-old rookie in Joshua Jefferson plus Keon Ellis and Terance Mann.

He admits as well, that there were some tough times.

“It was really important for me to prove to myself that I was capable, even if I had to take a step back. I wanted to stay mentally strong, and I think by the end of the season I was playing much better and had some good games. But the goal now is to start next season already playing a meaningful role with the team.”

Indeed, at Hallickman points out, there were some bright spots particularly late.

After spending part of the year in the G League, the 20-year-old responded with arguably the strongest stretch of basketball of his young NBA career. Over Brooklyn’s final four games, he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while logging more than 32 minutes per contest. The highlight of that run came when he scored 19 points in back-to-back games against Milwaukee and Indiana, showing the poise, confidence and playmaking ability that made him one of Europe’s most highly regarded prospects.

His shooting still wasn’t that respectable — 46/19/88 — in that stretch but in one of the two 19-point outings, he went to the line 10 times in 36 minutes, hitting nine of them. Also, his head coach often praised his defense and he averaged close to a steal a game in 21 minutes last season.

Saraf told Hallickman that the high point of the season was not a high score but the game the Nets played vs. the Portland Trailblazers in Brooklyn on March 6. It was the first time three players with Israeli passports had taken the court together in the NBA. He, Danny Wolf and Deni Advija spent a total of 66 minutes running up and down the court at Barclays in front of a lot of Israeli flags.

“I think the most exciting and emotional moment was the game where there were three Israelis playing together on the same court with all the Jewish fans in attendance. It was so much bigger than basketball. That was definitely the most powerful moment of my season.”

Saraf didn’t mention any of the protests related to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and Iran but instead noted how well he was treated and his connections with Israeli and Jewish communities in the U.S.

“It’s amazing. There are endless Friday night dinners. Even when I travel to other places, I meet many Israelis and Jews doing gap-year programs or volunteering, and I’m always invited over,” he told Hallickman. “That’s also true when it comes to Chabad houses (Jewish community centers) across the country. I try to go whenever I can. I also visited a Jewish school in Cleveland to talk with the kids. It’s great. I really appreciate all that support.”

Although he didn’t play for the Israeli national team in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers this summer, he expressed the hope he’ll be able to in the future.

“It’s a huge dream. Honestly, whenever I play for the national team, that’s when I enjoy basketball the most. Those tournaments are the most fun for me, and it’s always an incredible experience. I’m also really excited to watch the youth national teams. They’re doing an amazing job. I think we have a lot of talented prospects and that we can become a really strong national team in the future. I’m very excited about that.”

Long Island Nets busy, too.

Just as Sean Marks has been filling out the Brooklyn roster, Long Island’s GM, Matt MacDonald, has been doing the same, making small trades to acquire G League rights to players, drafting a French guard in the G League international draft and working with Brooklyn on both Exhibit 10 and two-way signings.

One transaction this week in particular caught our eye, a trade for rights to Isaiah Wong, a 6’3” combo guard who grew up in Piscataway, N.J. and attended the University of Miami. The 25-year-old has experience in the G League, NBA and the Spanish League, generally conceded to be the best pro league outside North America.

Overall, Wong has played 21 NBA games having been taken by the Pacers at No. 55 in the 2023 NBA Draft after he’d been named ACC Player of the Year, a third team All-American and helped Miami reach their first-ever Final Four.

What can he do? Here’s his Miami highlights:

Wong played a single game with the Pacers in 2023-24, then he got 20 games of action the next year in Charlotte…

After Charlotte didn’t renew his deal, he went overseas, playing first in Lithuania with Zalgiris, a Euroleague team, then in Spain with Gran Canaria. Wong averaged 14.6 points a game along with two assists and two rebounds.

Personally, he has an interesting distinction. His paternal great-grandfather was Chinese, meaning he can play for the Chinese national team. Can’t hurt. Will he choose Long Island over the Canary Islands? No word yet, but unless he gets signed to an Exhibit 10 contract and gets the customary bonus of $85,000, he’ll be limited to the standard G League deal, which tops out at $49,000, less than what he can get overseas.

Final Note

Meanwhile in L.A., the city’s two teams are in turmoil. The Lakers former owners, the Buss family, are feuding as Jeannie Buss tries to preserve her role as NBA governor. With her siblings undercutting her to sell their final 17.8% of the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, she wouldn’t control enough stock in the operating company to qualify for a seat on the NBA Board of Governors. She’s going to court it appears.

Meanwhile, across the great expanse of the city, Steve Ballmer is also considering suing the league after Adam Silver put the hammer down on his ownership of the Clippers. ICYMI, the Clippers have to give up their first rounders from 2029 through 2033 and pay a $30 million fine. Ballmer and his CEO, Gillian Zucker, are suspended for a year while Lawrence Frank faces six month unpaid leave. And it an under reported and under appreciated part of the ruling, “the Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for a period of five years.” That appears to mean that the league office will now play a role in Clippers’ basketball operations. How’s that going to work?

All of it, of course, is the penalty for circumventing the NBA’s salary cap rules. In the year after Pablo Torre first uncovered the scandal that involved Kawhi Leonard’s lucrative no-show deal with a team partner, the league’s high-powered law firm, Wachtell Lipton not only confirmed what Pablo found out, but found three more suspect agreements … and announced there may be more to come.

The general belief is that neither law suit will succeed and Josh Kushner, Jared’s brother, will take Jeannie Buss seat and Ballmer will have to find another hobby for a year. However, the lasting effect of all these West Coast machinations, including the circumstances that led Laker owner Mark Walter to sell in the first place, may very well be that Adam Silver’s new theme song is “No more Mr. Nice Guy” across the board.

Silver has long been seen as a conciliator compared to his predecessor, David Stern who was more of a hanging judge. That was fine as long as team valuations soared into the stratosphere and scandals could be brushed aside. Now, though, there’s a sense of crisis because the game’s integrity is at the center of the league’s success. Without it, more fans will be even more cynical and cynics make for lousy fans.

Cheating on the cap, a failure to fully vet new owners’ net worth and the gambling scandal are all part of that integrity problem. Gambling could indeed by the worst blow. The budding investigation has already nabbed four former NBA players including a Hall of Famer and will likely explode in the next few months. Two former players, including MPJ’s brother Jontay, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities in the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office. Gamblers are too. Will other, big names be tarred?

While the Clippers’ scandal has taken up a lot of Pablo Torre’s time of late, he also tackled the gambling scandal back in February and a close reading of what he found out then should have sent tremors through the NBA offices on Fifth Avenue. There were some bad actors out there. No word on when things will get laid out publicly but watch for news about sentencings of those who have pleaded guilty. Often at those sentencing hearings, defendants must “allocute,” that is, reveal what they have told the feds and prosecutors put it in the larger context. That could be painful for the league.

Anything that could harm the Nets going forward? It seem unlikely. MPJ has explained he had nothing to do with his brother’s gambling, mostly on G League games (!), and we have no reason not to believe him. As for cap circumvention, that’s certainly not been a problem. Brooklyn hasn’t crossed the cap since the Mikal Bridges trade and no one is suggesting the Tsais aren’t among the wealthiest people in the world.

As one insider noted to us, “we’re boring.” Let’s keep it that way!

There were a few upsets on the Killers and “Dirty” Players half of the Spurs Villain Tournament, but none of that intrigue carried over to the Former Spurs and Haters side of the bracket.

As you can see below, all the top seeds advanced to Round 2. The only semi-competitive matchup was Stephen Jackson vs Dennis Rodman, the latter of whom was surprisingly ranked 7th. I’m disappointed that Rodman is gone so soon, as I personally think he has an argument as the most disliked player who’s ever played for the Spurs, though Jackson’s up there too. Other than that matchup, everything else was chalk, so let’s now continue previewing Round 2 of our tournament.

Round 2: Former Spurs

1. Kawhi Leonard vs. 4. Richard Jefferson

The Nephew is back in the news, and Spurs fans are rejoicing once more. It’s a shame since he was supposed to be the heir to the dynasty, and Kawhi used to be a fan favorite. Then his true colors were revealed during the 2017-18 season when he abandoned the team and rehabbed a nagging knee injury privately, which he used as an excuse to ask for a trade. It seemed like a death knell for the team at that point, but I think everything eventually worked out in the Spurs’ favor.

Kawhi should win this in a landslide, especially since Jefferson has a surprisingly high seed in the bracket. Sure, he had three disappointing seasons in San Antonio and jokingly called the city a dump, but he’s had more positive things to say about the organization than negative ones. I’ve never had any ill will towards RJ, and all the “insults” he’s levied against the Spurs are in jest, though sometimes it does get old — especially when you hear him calling games 24/7. Plus, if RJ never flamed out in San Antonio, then we wouldn’t have witnessed one of the greatest shoves ever.

2. Stephen Jackson vs. 3. Robert Horry

Stephen Jackson’s one of the most unlikeable players I can think of, and that’s before factoring in my Spurs fandom. He’s called out Pop more times than every other NBA player in history combined, constantly bringing up a story where his ego got in the way of the betterment of the team. He also hates Tony Parker with a passion, calling the latter selfish and claiming that the Spurs would’ve won more titles had TP sacrificed more. I actually agree with the selfish claim to a certain extent, but for it to come from Jackson of all people is just ironic.

Horry, meanwhile, has a true love/hate relationship with the franchise and its fans. He played a crucial role in both the 2005 and 2007 title runs, but has gone on to call the organization “boring” since the locker room lacked drama. Horry also said that Hakeem was “20 times better than Tim Duncan,” which is an absurd statement for two of the 10 greatest players ever. I’d never ridicule anyone for believing Hakeem’s in the same tier of greats as Timmy, but to say he’s 20 times better is one of the most disrespectful things I’ve ever heard.

Round 2: Spurs Haters

1. Phil Jackson vs. 4. Uncle Dennis Robertson

For someone so accomplished, Phil Jackson sure does seem insecure about the success of others. He infamously claimed that the Spurs’ 1999 title deserves an asterisk because it came during the 50-game lockout-shortened season, which led to The Admiral purposefully leaving him hanging at the 2000 All-Star Game.

Jackson’s opponent is none other than our favorite uncle, who was recently handed a five-year ban from conducting any business with the NBA following the Aspiration scandal involving Kawhi. He seemed to be the mastermind behind both the Kawhi trade out of San Antonio and the shady deals that have now come to light with the Clippers. Spurs fans were the first victims of Uncle Dennis’ shenanigans, but the extent of his illegal dealings surprised even me.

2. David Stern vs. 3. Mark Cuban

It seems strange to have a former commissioner on such a list, but Stern fining the Spurs $250,000 for resting players back in 2012 was more a message to the entire league than him singling out San Antonio specifically. To be fair, the Spurs popularized the load management that fans all love today, and that was exactly the type of thing Stern wanted to prevent when he was still in charge. I honestly believe that both Stern and the Spurs did what was in their best interests, so I’m fairly surprised that he was a higher seed than Mr. Shark Tank himself.

Unsurprisingly, Cuban was delighted to see San Antonio punished for sitting its players. By that point, he had developed a fierce hatred for a Spurs team that routinely clashed with his Mavs in the playoffs during the 2000s and early 2010s. Cuban even made it personal by insulting the Riverwalk and felt that the Spurs’ success was largely due to lottery luck, and it certainly didn’t help that the rival teams are from the same state but in two cities with distinct cultural differences.

In May, Jaylen Brown was down bad. The Sixers had just pulled off their first-ever 3-1 series comeback in franchise history to beat Brown’s Celtics in the playoffs for the first time in more than 40 years. That also marked the Celtics’ first blown 3-1 lead in franchise history. (We truly hate to see it.)

While the season ended in clear disappointment, Brown raised eyebrows across the NBA when he said it was “my favorite year of my basketball career” on his Twitch stream afterward. Brown’s co-star, Jayson Tatum, missed most of the season while recovering from a torn Achilles, so that quote naturally set off a firestorm in the national media.

Does Brown care more about his production than he does about winning? Did he want his own team? Was it finally time to break up the Jays? (As it turns out, we got a clear answer to that last question two months later.)

The national media being what it is these days, the reaction was completely devoid of the context surrounding that quote. That context is what should give the Sixers hope about their outlook heading into the 2026-27 season.

What Brown actually meant

That Twitch stream wasn’t the first time that Brown said the 2025-26 campaign was his favorite season.

“I think this has been my favorite season so far, being able to get an opportunity to lead a group,” he told reporters in late December. “A group of guys who … Some of us have some championship experience, but we have five or six new guys who haven’t really played NBA basketball. And now, we look like one of the better teams in the league. And that’s just credit to our coaching staff and credit to our leadership that we’ve been able to get those guys comfortable. And we’re playing some good basketball right now, so it means everything.”

Ever since they drafted Brown in 2016, the Celtics have made six appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, earned two NBA Finals berths and won a championship in 2023-24. They were in the inner circle of title contenders for most of Brown’s NBA career. But after Tatum tore his Achilles in the second round of the playoffs in 2024-25, expectations were far lower for the Celtics heading into last season.

In other words, last year was Brown’s first taste of a no-one-believes-in-us season. And that’s exactly what he referenced on his Twitch stream.

“Being able to be a part of the group that just through the uncertainty that came to compete and came to went to war,” Brown said. “I’ll take a team like that any day of the week.”

Once the National Media Outrage Machine took off, Brown followed up a few days later to clarify his remarks.

“The expectations for this team was to fail,” Brown said on another Twitch stream. “The expectations for this team was to be nothing. Just to give in, and to quit. This team did the exact opposite. We fought every single day. We fought for everything.”

Brown also detailed how he relished watching the growth of young teammates like Hugo González, Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta.

“You got to see all of these guys, all of my teammates, grow,” Brown added. “I got to see them overcome adversity as a group, up close and personal. … Obviously, we’re not satisfied with the result. If it sounds like an excuse, it’s not. But to fight and maneuver through adversity and grow, and galvanize with a bunch of guys and to have that mindset and approach, this was my favorite year.

“I wouldn’t say by far. By far would be a stretch, because obviously winning the championship is great. But I’m telling y’all, this was my favorite season.”

Brown will be coming into a far different situation in Philly than he did in Boston last season. Expectations are through the roof for the Sixers after the offseason they just had. He also won’t be looked at as the clear-cut leader of the team.

Does that mean Brown is guaranteed to become a malcontent? Hardly.

“To be honest, it doesn’t have to be anybody’s team,” Brown said during his introductory press conference with the Sixers. It just needs to be based in respect and work. And that’s kind of my approach. I want to earn everybody’s respect and trust, which takes time. “Obviously, it’s a lot of guys with talent, there’s egos, but to win, you’ve gotta be able to sacrifice, you’ve gotta be able to have trust and communication. I want to come in transparent. I want to come in with my agenda on the table, ‘Look, this is what I’m here to do, this is what I want to do. I want to win.’ And we kinda can figure out how to respectfully move around each other.”

Although the Sixers are expected to be among the title favorites heading into the season, questions abound about them. How will they be able to solve the “one ball” problem? Can they put their egos aside for the greater good? Will Brown be willing to recede into a smaller role fresh off a career year? Can he prove the analytics dorks wrong?

Brown has the opportunity this season to continue defying expectations, albeit in a different way than last year. He’ll also have the chance to watch and help facilitate the growth of young teammates, from VJ Edgecombe and Labaron Philon Jr. to Adem Bona and Dominick Barlow. Just because this Sixers roster is more like his early-2020s Celtics squads than last year’s Celtics doesn’t mean he’s destined to become unhappy in Philly.

If anything, the chance to prove everyone wrong again—particularly those in Boston who’ve suddenly begun to question his impact now that he’s gone—should fuel him all year.

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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