Category: Basketball

Is it time for another Suns trade verdict? I think so, as the rumblings of who the Suns should pursue keep on growing. Isn’t that the fun of the offseason? Anyway, this series has been fun to construct, and today’s article will dive into another popular name. One that has taken the Suns’ social media discussion by storm. Zion.

Now this is cool to see, as even though I am one of the last to bring it up, this has been an article stashed in the bin waiting to get done (you can even ask John). After exploring the scenario with Dejounte Murray and reviewing the Pelicans roster, this name stood out as one to monitor. Little did I know that the Suns’ world would act on it faster than I, and personally, it is a fascinating discussion.

An acquisition that would definitely shake up this roster is bringing in Zion Williamson. The power forward could fit right in and be a nice running mate for Devin Booker. As we know, though, there are always questions surrounding Zion, and do those rise too big for Phoenix to make a move? Well, only time will tell, even if he does become available, but it is definitely something to dive into.

How could the Suns get it done?

For the Suns to get this done, it isn’t that hard; there are just a lot of possibilities. If you have been reading these articles, you know the main targets that could be traded in these deals. The easiest option is a one-for-one swap, trading Jalen Green for Zion Williamson.

Another route involving Green, along with Royce O’Neale, includes Royce O’Neale. The key difference here is that the Suns would also shed some money.

The last one includes two players who haven’t been mentioned yet but have come up in this series. Those are Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen. In most renditions, there is a deal of both Allen and O’Neale’s salaries combined, but in this situation, it is not enough. If Allen is added to Green, it is also too much going to New Orleans. Therefore, this is the only combo for these two.

Which would most likely get done?

Well, I think it is safe to rule out the third option in my eyes. Brooks’ value to the Valley is unmatched, so much so that they are already reporting they want to extend the wing this offseason. With him trolling at Lakers games or supporting the Phoenix Mercury, it is clear that both parties want to keep this relationship going. Therefore, this one does not make sense to me.

The other two, though, have a framework that can work. With Green’s shakiness to be a true number one option, New Orleans can allow him to grow. At the same time, it has been clear that Willimason has outgrown the rebuild that was founded around him. Could a change of scenery give him that boost?

That is where I think both teams would be intrigued by either deal. If the Suns could get another player in return, with O’Neale included (Saddiq Bey, anyone), then I’d say pursue that, but I think the Pelicans could be reluctant to do so. Swapping both of them makes the most sense.

Why does it not get done?

This one is a bit of a weird one, as I can truly see it going either way. The Suns have the leverage here, even if the Pelicans have not stated they want to trade Zion. He is past his tenure there, so a change would benefit both parties. Is the question, are the Suns ready for another risk?

Personally, I do not think so. Even though we expect some changes, taking this big swing in a year may not be the right move. Yes, it’s a buy-low option with Zion and could be the best offer they get for Green on this deal. Yet I still think the uncertainty of his career should shut that door.

For starters, Williamson, who has had injuries throughout his career, has been limited by them. He did suit up in 62 of the Pelicans’ games this year, his second-most in his career. This could be a sign that the big is finally getting over those obstacles, or it could be a one-of-a-kind season.

In a team that saw Green out for a majority of the season, this would be nothing new, and plugging a healthy Zion in this year could have helped in a lot of ways. Even with that, the concern that he might do that next year worries me.

You could also bring up his contract; he is owed $87 million over the next two seasons. There are, of course, stipulations to it, weight-wise and injury-wise too. If any of those were to trigger, the Suns could either pay less or get out of the contract more easily if it became non-guaranteed. Compared to Green, who could want an extension, the uncertainty with getting off him at max value could make this a solution. Those concerns outweigh the positive. He has these asterisks because he had past issues that could resurface.

Now the fit at power forward would be nice, and his much-needed size would help out the Suns on the court, but is this to get off Green’s deal? If we proceed, there are better options that don’t involve a larger risk.

For the Pelicans, this deal would make sense, as I illustrated in the Dejounte Murray trade. Their front office is clueless, not only tossing Atlanta the 8th pick in this year’s draft to move up 10 spots and select Derick Queen last year, but also lost the 5th overall pick. Yes, that pick that wound up going to the Clippers was originally the Pelicans before they traded back to Indiana during their finals run.

With that knowledge, they would do anything to change this roster. Does that mean trading their best players who have value, or is it buying young talent? At this rate, no one knows, but I am sure it will be a combination of both, winding into a weird year once again.

Selling off Zion would make sense for the franchise, but do they even do that? It has been stated that for him and Queen to grow as a dynamic duo, they need time. Yet they both play the same position and offer a lot on the court. To me, it seems that a guy like Green would entice them, but at this point, who knows?

Ultimately, I think they take the flyer on Geren, hoping he can translate next to Jeremiah Fears as a new guard duo. This risk would free them from Zion, and if they are desperate enough to do so, could add other pieces. Even if they want to do it, Phoenix sees this risk as too big. With Green not having a healthy season here so far, he can still grow into the piece they want, or, if not, provide them with a better security blanket as an investment.

Let me know your thoughts down below, though. What do you think of this possible deal, and should the Suns be intrigued by it?

One of the most interesting storylines of the 2026 NBA Draft is not the players in the class but those who decided to return to college.

This year, only 71 players declared as early entry candidates to turn pro. Among that list, 42 received invitations to participate in the NBA draft combine in Chicago. All of these prospects who were early entry candidates are currently receiving feedback from evaluators on whether or not they should turn pro or return to the NCAA.

Obvious early entry candidates projected within the top 20, including NBA draft combine breakout star Cameron Carr, were not included in this list.

Other early entry candidates not currently projected inside the top 20 but who said before the combine that they plan to turn pro, including Chris Cenac Jr. and Tounde Yessoufou, were also not included.

German-born guard Jack Kayil, who committed to Gonzaga, was not at the 2026 NBA Combine because he is playing overseas in Serbia. However, per Jonathan Givony, he will stay in the draft rather than play in the NCAA.

Thomas Haugh (Florida), Braylon Mullins (UConn) and Patrick Ngongba II (Duke) are among those who were widely considered potential first-round picks but opted to not enter the pre-draft process. Others, including Pryce Sandfort (Nebraska), Alex Condon (Florida), Joseph Tugler (Houston) and David Mirković (Illinois), made the same decision.

Players can remain as early entry draft candidates through 11:59 p.m. ET on May 27 if they want to maintain their collegiate eligibility or they can decide to join the players above who opted to return to college.

CHICAGO – Illini fans have been patiently waiting and wondering if Illinois’ second-highest scorer last season will be back for one more. 

After David Mirkovic, the Ivisic twins and Jake Davis all announced their plans to return to State Farm Center for the 2026-27 season, veteran guard Andrej Stojakovic followed in their footsteps and stated that he’d be coming back to Illinois for one more year as well. 

But Stojakovic entered his name in the 2026 NBA Draft, and after a few impressive workout sessions, the reality is that neither Illinois fans nor Stojakovic himself will know the definitive answer until May 27.

“The more we get closer to that deadline, I’ll know more,” Stojakovic said. “I think the group around me has done a really good job of kind of evaluating and staying level-headed no matter what kind of feedback we hear.”

During the Combine’s media availability Wednesday, Stojakovic mentioned that making it to the NBA has been a dream of his since he was young. 

“I’m in the draft with both feet in right now,” Stojakovic said. 

And the Illini staff is right there beside him, supporting him every step of the way.

“They’ve all shown tremendous belief in what I can do, especially throughout this process,” Stojakovic said. “Something that, you know, the staff has been by my side with. And I’m sure they’ll be by my side no matter the decision.”

Andrej looks at the decision as a win-win.

“I think I’m in a special situation where my option to go back to school is one of a kind,” Stojakovic said. “Not many people in this combine have the option to go back to a Final Four team with most of the guys returning.”

But even with a big chunk of the roster returning, Stojakovic knows that Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell won’t play another minute at State Farm Center. 

“We see each other at the hotel. Um, it still hasn’t hit me that, you know, if I do decide to go back to school, they won’t be in the same locker room as me.”

Although Andrej is bought into the NBA Draft, his main factor in his decision is to go wherever he’ll be able to grow the best. If he decides to stay in Champaign, it’ll be a season of proving what he can do and coming back even more ready for the draft next year. 

A major point of growth for Andrej, whether it be at the college level or in the NBA, is his shooting percentage. It’s also one of the only concerns that the NBA has about Stojakovic. 

“I’ve been very, you know, upfront and realistic with that,” Stojakovic said. “Going back to school is another chance where I can go prove that, you know, shooting the ball is one of my strengths.”

But Stojakovic’s early career revolved more around his shot than driving to the rim. Illinois changed that. 

“Growing up in high school, I was always viewed as a shooter in my class. You know, especially going to Illinois, they kind of unleashed a certain mindset for me to go to the rim. They saw something in me,” Stojakovic said.

“The size we had as a team this year kind of allowed me to, you know, space the floor and drive because we had bigs that could shoot the ball. That was something that we were comfortable with going to in a lot of the games.”

So, why did Andrej announce his return to Illinois if he was uncertain?

“Announcing coming back to Illinois was more so, having a plan either way. I love Illinois, I loved it this year, and if I do go back I’m looking forward to hopefully making more history with the team,” Stojakovic said.

“But yeah it’s just for my peace of mind, knowing that obviously it’s a dream of mine but there is a chance I’m gonna go back and I’m looking forward to participating in another Final Four hopefully.”

Regardless, he won’t forget about the historic year with a special group. 

“I think we’d all love to take a moment and embrace it at some point. If I go back, I’m looking forward to seeing everybody playing at State Farm once again,” Stojakovic said. “And I know moving forward for the rest of our lives when we go back there, it’s going to be all love.”

Assistant coaches Terry Stotts, Jerry Stackhouse reportedly leaving Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steve Kerr is returning as Warriors coach for two more NBA seasons, but it appears he won’t have his top assistants beside him.

Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse are leaving the franchise, ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported Thursday evening, citing sources. Both men are interested in pursuing head-coaching opportunities, per Slater.

Both Stotts and Stackhouse joined Kerr’s staff before the 2024-25 NBA season, after the Warriors coach’s former top assistant, Kenny Atkinson, accepted the Cleveland Cavaliers’ head-coaching job.

Stotts brought over a decade of head-coaching experience with him to Golden State and helped provide structure to an offense led by superstar Steph Curry.

This past season, Stotts humorously took the postgame podium for Kerr after the coach was ejected from a Jan. 5 game, telling reporters he was “saving Steve some money.”

Per Slater, Stotts told ESPN he is leaving the Warriors on good terms after informing Kerr late in the regular season that he didn’t intend to return.

“I enjoyed my time with Steve, the staff and players,” Stotts told Slater. “My two years there were fulfilling. Nothing but well-wishes.”

Stackhouse, Kerr’s defensive-minded assistant, former NBA player and ex-Vanderbilt coach, was known for holding Warriors players accountable — especially Draymond Green — during his time with Golden State.

The Warriors also lost another assistant, Chris DeMarco, midseason after he became head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

Golden State currently is in the early stages of searching for replacements for Stotts and Stackhouse, Slater reported.

The Warriors finished the 2025-26 season with a 37-45 record as the Western Conference’s No. 10 seed, before their campaign came to an end in the NBA play-in tournament.

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In a series of moves the last few days, the Brooklyn Nets gained a new assistant general manager and lost their head scout. The moves are typical of this time of year and don’t seem to be related.

The Nets promoted Makar Gevorkian, their capologist the last several years, to assistant GM joining long-time front office veterans B.J. Johnson and Andy Birdsong. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls hired Acie Law IV, the Nets player personnel director, for a similar position in the Windy City. The job is essentially the organization’s top scout.

The changes may not end there. Steve Hetzel, Jordi Fernandez’s No. 2 assistant coach, is seen as a leading candidate for the New Orleans Pelicans open head coaching job Hetzel also got recent mention as a possibility for the Trail Blazers top spot.

Gevorkian, who’s close to Sean Marks, has held a number of jobs related to the salary cap and has been part of trade discussions over the past several years. Having recently completed his sixth season with the Nets, Gevorkian joined the franchise in 2020 as a basketball operations assistant. He went on to serve one season as a salary cap and strategy associate and two seasons as the director of salary cap before being promoted to his most recent position, vice president of basketball operations alignment & strategic planning, in 2024.

Gevorkian, 32, is a lawyer. He graduated from the prestigious University of Chicago Law School where was a researcher for Appellate Court Judge Richard Posner, seen as one of the top legal thinkers on the federal bench. Prior to joining Brooklyn, he had worked at one of Silicon Valley’s top law firms, Wilson Sonsini. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount in economics and a minor in applied mathematics

Two years ago, he was named to The Athletic’s NBA 40 under 40.

Gevorkian only joined the Nets organization in 2020; he began his professional career with a law degree from the University of Chicago and was an associate at two white-shoe law firms, only to join the Nets as a basketball operations assistant. He has since climbed the ranks in Brooklyn and was promoted this summer by general manager Sean Marks to a higher-ranking position in the front office running the Nets’ cap strategy planning, as the franchise navigates a new forward-looking path.

Said Sean Marks of the hire: “Makar’s strategic, forward-thinking mind, along with his comprehensive knowledge of the league’s salary cap structure, have made him a valued voice within our front office and we are excited to elevate him to this well-earned role.”

The Nets press release didn’t detail what parts of the front office would be Gevorkian’s responsibility. Johnson and Birdsong have essentially served as Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside, with Johnson responsible for the team’s outward facing aspects and Birdsong managing team operations.

Meanwhile, Law is leaving after a year in the job as director of player personnel, aka top scout. He arrived last season from Oklahoma City where he had been director of amateur scouting. Although neither Nets nor the Bulls have made any announcements yet, beat reporters in Chicago suggested that Law’s hire shouldn’t be surprising. Bulls newly minted GM Bryson Graham is filling out his front office and Law and he have been good friends going back to their days playing together at Texas A&M.

The timing however is surprising. It’s expected that Law will be in the Chicago Draft Room on June 23-24 rather than the Nets but no official word.

Law’s replacement as top scout will be the team’s fourth in four years, following J.R. Holden, Drew Nicholas and Law. One name suggested by league sources is Matt McDonald, currently the general manager of the Long Island Nets who also has some scouting responsibilities and was previously the Nets scouting operations coordinator.

Earlier this week, another veteran Brooklyn international scout Richard Midgley was named assistant GM of the California Berkeley men’s basketball team. Midgley credited the Nets and Marks with providing valuable experience. He and Marks traveled together to Australia on a scouting tour last year.

“My time with the Brooklyn Nets, learning from Sean Marks and the front office group there, was incredibly valuable,” Midgley added. “The perspective I gained — especially in roster construction and organizational alignment — will stay with me as I step into this role at Cal.”

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The second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs has been … interesting. On one hand, there’s been two yawner series, with the Thunder comfortably (albeit not dominantly) sweeping the short-handed Lakers, while the Knicks swept a tired, limping 76ers team in the East. On the other, you have two thrilling (but not “beautiful”) series heading into Game 6’s on Friday, with the Spurs up 3-2 on the Timberwolves, while the Cavaliers upset the Pistons in Detroit in Game 5 to take the series lead (in part thanks to a controversial no-call at the end of regulation).

Spurs-Timberwolves has been by far the more interesting series (of course, I could be biased) in large part thanks to its unpredictability, differing factors in each game, and strange outliers. It all started with no one knowing that status of Anthony Edwards coming in, and everything has stayed weird since. For example in Game 1, Victor Wembanyama set an NBA playoffs record with 12 blocks, which you would think would doom an offensively-challenged team like Minnesota, but instead, the overexertion he caused himself chasing blocks robbed him of any energy on the offensive side, and a historic defensive performance still resulted in a Spurs loss.

Then, Wemby getting himself ejected early in the second quarter of Game 4 was arguably the biggest factor leading to that loss, but otherwise the Spurs have won the other three games in which he has stayed within himself by a combined 74 points, playing like the superstar he is without doing too much or too little.

However, Wemby isn’t the only factor that has helped determine how the games have gone. It certainly helps when at least two of the guard trio of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper have above average games, and Keldon Johnson finally having his postseason breakout was huge in putting Game 5 away after Minnesota had rallied back, but perhaps the most interesting stat line to follow for both teams has been three-point shooting.

Both are shooting a poorly from the arc in this series, with the Wolves hitting 53-156 (34%) and the Spurs an even worse 55-166 (33%). It isn’t too surprising to see Minnesota struggling outside the arc with Donte DiVincenzo out and Edwards hobbled, but that is a surprising stat for the Spurs. Even so, you might be thinking, “But if the Spurs have only hit two more threes than the Wolves in the entire series and at close to the same rate, how is this a big factor?

Good question, and the answer is probably what you expect: because of the way it influences the rest of the Spurs offense. When you break it down game-by-game, it generally follows a pattern. In the three games they won, the Spurs hit 39-104 (including tying a franchise record for makes in a playoff game with 16 in Game 2) for 37.5%, which is better than the 36% they averaged in the regular season. Overall, they have hit a total of 7 more threes than the Wolves in those games, with the outlier being Game 3 when the Wolves hit two more thanks to strong shooting off the bench from Naz Reid and Ayo Dosunmo. Interestingly, the Spurs still won this game because they were more accurate in seven fewer attempts.

So while the Spurs aren’t necessarily winning by the three, they have shown they are capable of losing by it. In their two losses in Games 1 and 4, they shot a combined 16-66 from the three (24%), including a combined 0-12 showing from Wemby and Fox in Game 1 and Fox, Castle and Julian Champagnie combining to hit just 3-18 in Game 4, which still accounted for half of the team’s makes. In other words, while they can win this series by merely being average from three, they can certainly shoot their way out of it. Often, their worst stretches on offense come when they get rushed or anxious, which results in them jacking up threes early in the shot clock, usually missing, instead of running some offense.

As the Spurs have shown throughout the season, they don’t always need Wemby to be a generational offensive player to win games. Instead, their best offense often comes not directly from him, but rather by the gravitational pull he has on opposing defenses, which generates more open looks and driving lanes for his teammates. Once defenses have to respect his teammates (which also requires them to make their shots), then it becomes easier for him to get clean looks.

Overall, you can’t point to three-point shooting as the deciding factor of this series because it has been relatively even, and the Wolves have actually been more consistent from game-to-game. However, the Spurs are slightly more dependent on the three and therefore have been better in the games when they shoot well. While that may seem like a “well, duh” point, the point is it has still mattered more than the overall series stats suggest.

Jalen Brunson’s 2025 postseason run was, once again, special.

Just like pretty much every other playoff appearance he’s made as a Knick, he made history, joining lists filled with names like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, and Steph Curry. Statistically, it was his second-best one, inferior only to the year prior’s, as he averaged 29.4 PPG, 7 APG, and 3.4 RPG while shooting 46.1% from the field. Pretty insane stuff. But somehow, Brunson, as he’s made a habit of doing, has one-upped himself.

While his scoring average is down nearly two whole points at “just” 27.4PPG, Brunson’s game has taken a turn for the better. In years prior, whether by choice or by necessity, Brunson had not just been the focal point of the offense, but at times, the only offense. When Julius Randle and RJ Barrett turned into shells of themselves in the postseason, nobody could blame them. When Randle was hurt, he didn’t really have a choice. But last year, a combination of Brunson’s playstyle and Tom Thibodeau’s heliocentric offense led to a stagnant offense that resembled more of a slog than the well-oiled machine that the Knicks’ offense resembles today.

The good news for Brunson, the Knicks, and their fans is that not only is this a more fun product to watch, but it’s also a better brand of basketball, and a much more sustainable version of it. And that may be why this current postseason run has been more impressive. Brunson has reached the pinnacle of scoring, where he has maximized his on-ball isolation ability, while also mixing in his deadly off-ball game. It is a beautiful combination that requires immense skill and a high level of basketball IQ, balanced with sacrifice and commitment to his head coach.

Heading into the Eastern Conference Finals, Brunson is actually averaging more points per 36 minutes (28.4 points) due to the fact that he’s playing over three full minutes less per game these playoffs. Not only that, his willingness to allow the Knicks to play through Karl-Anthony Towns and utilize his gravity for the betterment of the team has led to a very significant rise in the percentage of Brunson’s field goals that have come assisted. Last postseason, only 19.3% of Brunson’s makes came off of assists. While incredibly impressive, that often meant a lot of tough, if not downright bad shots, made by the captain. This season, though, that number has risen all the way 35.7%. That’s nearly double what it was last year, and over a third of his shots made.

Brunson is also displaying such an extremely high level of shot-making right now that only 18.6% of his points have come at the free-throw line, which is lower than the 22.6% he was at last postseason. Not that the foul-baiting narrative ever made much sense, but he’s proved that nonsense as a farce. For reference, Kevin Durant (34.8%), Shai-Gilgeous Alexander (30.4%), James Harden (29.4%), Joel Embiid (29.3%), Jamal Murray (27.5%), Paolo Banchero (27.2%), Cade Cunningham (26.1%), Nikola Jokic (25.9%), and Jalen Johnson (23.9%) are all noticeably higher. In fact, Brunson ranks 81st out of the 230 qualified players this postseason.

That doesn’t mean Brunson’s ability with the ball has declined at all, though. He’s become even better in isolation situations. Last playoffs, Brunson scored 1.11 points per possession on 4.8 isolation plays per game. This year, though, he’s scored 1.16 points per possession on 3.8 isolations per game. As we’ve seen these playoffs, when the Knicks need a basket, they, rightfully so, feel very confident in giving Brunson the ball and asking him to get them a bucket. It may not be the smartest or easiest shot, but there’s a luxury in having a player you can trust to almost always get off a shot, and one that often has a chance of going in. But unlike in the years prior, the “clear everyone, and let Brunson make something out of nothing” offense is no longer the go-to default; it’s now just the “only break in case of emergency” button.

Brunson’s selflessness, growth, and skills have allowed the team overall to flourish, while still giving them the safety blanket that Mike Brown mentioned last week. That’s led to Brunson being fresher and more efficient than ever, while also squeezing out as much from the rest of the team as possible. And for maybe the first time during Brunson’s tenure in New York, the offense looks to be significantly better than the sum of its parts. Obviously, Brown, as well as the collective buy-in and the play of Brunson’s teammates, deserve significant praise as well.

The Knicks head coach has done a great job of blending his patented motion offense with the strengths of his players. And the collective group of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, and the aforementioned Towns have risen to the occasion and have played incredible basketball over the last seven games. But there’s no denying that Brunson remains the engine of this team, especially when the going gets tough, and the game comes down to the final moments.

Brunson is on another magical run, which has been a welcome sight after so many around the league, including an odd number of Knicks fans, claimed that he was on the decline due to an up-and-down end to the regular season. He’s once again saved his best for the playoffs, and if the Knicks want to lift their first Larry O’Brien trophy in over 50 years, chances are, he’ll have a little bit more saved up his sleeve.

Although the NBA Playoffs are far from over, the Suns’ season is a wrap, and Phoenix fans are already more concerned with offseason things than who ultimately gets to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy. The internet is full of Suns trade proposals and free agency talk, with a little draft speculation thrown in here and there.

In this article, I’m not going to speak on what the Suns should do, but rather what they can do, how they can get things done, and the tools they have to work with.

First, let’s look at some key league thresholds for the 2026-27 season:

• Cap: $165 million
• Luxury Tax Threshold: $201 million
• First Apron: $208 million
• Second Arpon: $222 million

Salary Cap SITREP

Second, let’s summarize where the Suns stand right now.

The Suns are currently looking at a cap sheet of $185,670,477 for 11 players (and $23.2 million in dead money) under standard NBA contracts for the 2026-27 season. That puts them over the cap and just $15,329,523 under the luxury tax threshold. They have three players — Highsmith ($1 million guaranteed), Bouyea (non-guaranteed), and Ighodaro (non-guaranteed) — on contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed or are club options ($6,898,968 total value). If they were not to bring back any of those three, it would get them a total of $178,771,509 in guaranteed salary and put them $22,228,491 below the luxury tax threshold.

One thing to keep in mind is that the luxury tax threshold is NOT the same as the first tax apron line. The first apron is $8 million above the luxury tax threshold.

Phoenix starts out the offseason $23,329,523 below the first tax apron, but could get that up to $30,228,491 by waiving the three players on non-guaranteed contracts. While that extra $6.9 million of space added to the cap sheet cushion by waiving three non-guaranteed contracts might look good at first glance, it doesn’t actually cover the cost of replacing them with three other players on vet minimum contracts. Yes, it would actually cost more to do that unless the replacements were all players with one year of experience or less. As doing it really wouldn’t help free up a significant amount of salary to use elsewhere, I won’t mention it again. Another thing that isn’t a concern regarding the cap sheet is two-way contracts, because they don’t count against the cap.

In short, here’s where the Suns stand at this moment:

• Usable Cap Space: None
• Space Under the Tax Threshold: $15,329,523
• Space Under the 1st Tax Apron: $23,329,523
• Space Under the 2nd Tax Apron: $36,329,523

That’s going to make it very difficult to re-sign their own free agents without going over the first tax apron and virtually impossible to re-sign them without paying luxury taxes this season. The only possible way to do that would be to make some drastic cost-cutting trades to shed a lot of salary…and doing that could be much harder than you expect.

According to Spotrac’s Keith Smith, he’s projecting only 4 teams will have enough open cap space to just take on salary without sending much or any back in return.

While deals with any of these teams could be made, it’s a good bet the Suns wouldn’t be the only team calling them to work out deals to shed some of their own salary. That doesn’t mean it would be impossible, though.

Shedding salary works in the Suns’ favor in two ways. First, it gives them more space to operate in and potentially avoid the tax aprons. Second, it could give them a bit more flexibility in pursuing free agents other than their own. Having Bird rights (Mark Williams) and Early Bird Rights (Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin) allows them to go over the aprons to re-sign them. No worries there.

For signing other free agents, they have to rely on “exceptions” rather than cap space to do so.

Exceptions Available to the Suns

Author’s Note: All salary figures denote maximum amounts allowed for the first salary year of the contract.

Full (non-taxpayer) Mid-Level Exception: $15,049,000 (up to 4 years)

While the Suns will have enough space under the tax threshold and the first tax apron to use the full MLE to sign a free agent, using it hard caps a team at the first tax apron. If the Suns were to use it, that would leave them with only $8 million to sign other players, including re-signing all of their own free agents. Use the Full MLE, without shedding a LOT of salary first, and we can only wave goodbye to the possibility of bringing back Collin, Goodie, and Mark W. There is no way around a hard cap. None.

Yes, it’s possible to shed enough salary to make using this exception practical, but I’ve already gone over the likely difficulty in doing that, so it’s best to just shelve the idea of using the full MLE. Although going over either of the tax aprons is undesirable, not having the option of going over the first apron greatly hamstrings the front office if they are serious about putting a better team on the floor in 2026-27.

Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception: $6,066,000 (up to 3 years)

The TPMLE is actually a portion of the full MLE that can be used by tax-paying teams as well as any team over the cap. It’s worth only 40% of the full MLE, but using it doesn’t hard cap the team at the first tax apron. It does, however, hard cap the team using it at the second apron. Since the Suns definitely want to avoid going over that, consider this as their main option to sign a free agent (other than their own) this offseason. It’s not a lot to work with, so don’t count on landing a big fish with it, although it could be enough to bring back a solid rotation player.

Although both forms of the MLE can be split in order to sign more than one player, teams are only allowed to use one form of the mid-level exception in a given season.

Bi-Annual Exception (BAE): $5,478,000 (up to 2 years)

While this is available to the Suns, it also hard caps teams that use it at the first tax apron. See my comments in the Mid-Level Exception portion of the article on why this is a “bad thing”.

Second-Round Pick Exception: $2,450,000 (up to 4 years)

This can be used to sign a player to either a three-year contract that includes a third-year team option or a four-year contract with a fourth-year team option. Players who are signed using the second-round pick exception won’t count against a team’s cap between July 1 and July 30 of their first season. That allows teams to preserve all the cap room they need until July 31 without having to worry about their second-rounders cutting into it and allows those players to sign their first NBA contracts before taking part in Summer League games.

Veteran Minimum Exception: $2,450,000 (up to 2 years)

Teams have unlimited use of this exception to fill out their rosters unless doing so would violate an existing hard cap.

Traded Player Exceptions (TPE)

• $5 million (Nick Richards), expires 2/5/27
• $2 million (Nigel Hayes-Davis), expires 2/5/27

Here are the rules for using TPEs:

1. TPEs cannot be combined with each other or with players to acquire a higher-salaried player.
2. They can only be used to acquire players via trade, not to sign free agents.
3. Teams can use them to take in up to $250,000 more than the TPE value (if under the first apron).

On the surface, these TPEs don’t seem to be very valuable, but they could be very handy in certain situations. For example, if the Suns have a trade set up to send out Royce O’Neale’s $10.9 mil salary in exchange for two players, one making $10 million and the other making $5 million, they don’t need a TPE to make it work but by taking back more than 100% of the salary they send out hard caps them at the 1st tax apron…unless they use the $5 million TPE to absorb the seocnd player’s salary which helps them avoid the hard cap. They basically get to apply a salary imbalance from a previous trade to a new one, which counts on the books as the Suns sending out more salary than they received.

More on Avoiding a 1st Tax Apron Hard Cap

Last season, 27 of the NBA’s 30 teams ended the season hard capped at either the first (19) or second tax apron (8). There are multiple ways to get hard capped at either of the two, but here I’m going to concentrate only on the first tax apron. There’s no way the Suns should even consider going over the second tax apron again, so getting hard-capped there isn’t something we need to be concerned about.

With over $23 million in dead money on their cap sheet, the Suns’ odds of fielding a team better than the one they had this past season aren’t good…unless they’re willing to not only pay luxury taxes again AND take a step or two over that first tax apron line. Yes, they could take measures to cut salary from their cap sheet to stay under it, but those won’t be easy to do and would most likely result in a roster less talented than last season’s.

That’s why it’s important to avoid a first tax apron hard cap. To do that, they have to avoid doing any of the following:

1. Use the bi-annual exception (BAE) to sign a player to a contract or to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim.
2. Use more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception to sign a player to a contract.
3. Use any portion of the mid-level exception to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim.
4. Acquire a player via sign-and-trade.
5. Sign a player who was waived during the regular season and whose pre-waiver salary was higher than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
6. Use an outgoing player (or multiple players) in a trade for matching purposes to take back more than 100% of the outgoing salary.

A Final Note on Trades

While I’m not proposing that the Suns should use any of their very limited supply of future draft picks as trade sweeteners this offseason, they can, and here is a list of their tradable picks:

2026: 2nd round pick (47th)
2027: 1st round pick (least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota, and Utah)
2029: 2nd round pick (own)
2033: 1st round pick (own), 2nd round pick (own)

The Dallas Mavericks will be on the clock with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

For a team that already has Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg leading the way, the Mavericks aren’t exactly looking for the next superstar for the franchise. Instead, they are looking for players that can complement the core and become long-term options for the future.

“You’ve got Cooper Flagg who can hoop, period,” NBA Draft Lottery representative Rolando Blackman said via team reporter Dwain Price. “The important factor is (the players around Flagg) have to be overall strong players and have the overall opportunity to pass the basketball and to be able to now shoot the basketball.

“Any time you have a player that can go downhill and take it to the basket – just like Kyrie can, just like Flagg can – the important factor is to remember when you pass that basketball, you’ve got to be able to have somebody that can put that ball in the hole and take advantage of all the advantages that they’ve just given you with their talents.”

This doesn’t necessarily mean the Mavericks will target a guard, especially since passing is such an important part of how frontcourt players go from good to great. Most centers coming into the league have to pass like guards in order to make it in the NBA, and the Mavs hope to have that with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

For a team that won just 26 games last season, the Mavs can’t be too picky about the position of their next rookie. Instead, they need to focus on who is the best player available.

In a draft that is very deep, the Mavericks should be able to add to their core with someone like Arizona’s Brayden Burries or Labaron Philon Jr. from Alabama.

Mavs Moneyball community, should the team go with the best player available or is there a specific player they should target with the No. 9 pick? Keep the conversation flowing in the comments below.

A lot of terrible things have happened to the Philadelphia 76ers in the last decade.

But how many of them actually happened under Daryl Morey’s watch?

Daryl Morey was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers on November 2, 2020. By my calculations, most of the bad luck, incompetence, witchcraft, inexplicable disasters and tragicomedy that has resulted in the royally screwed 2026 76ers happened before November 2, 2020. Trading the Jayson Tatum pick for the Markelle Fultz pick? Before Morey. Jimmy Butler trade? Before Morey. Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons contracts? Before Morey. Trading Mikal Bridges for Zhaire Smith? Before Morey. 

Morey was recently fired by the 76ers, ending his long and high-profile tenure as one of the league’s most philosophically convinced executives: 3-pointers and layups, no long twos. In service of that philosophy, he made mistakes, as does every GM. But most of the damage had already been done, and I honestly believe he positioned the 76ers as well as he possibly could have in his six-year tenure. His firing signalled that it was time for a new philosophy, but Morey gave the team a pretty good shot given the hand he was dealt.

Upon his hiring in November 2020, Morey was immediately presented with two non-negotiables. First, Doc Rivers was his head coach, having been hired just a month earlier. Second, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were his franchise players. Every move the 76ers had made for three full years was in service of that plan. Morey was handed the keys, sure, but they were for a company car with engine issues. So he quickly drafted Tyrese Maxey 16 days into his job, and got to work with what he was given.

There’s a scene in Rush (2013) when F1 driver Niki Lauda is test-driving a Ferrari and says “it’s terrible. Drives like a pig,” to which his mechanic replies “Oh, you can’t say that… it’s a Ferrari!”

That, in essence, is what Morey was presented with.

He never got to test drive anything, never really got to buy his own car. And he had to stick with Embiid, the man who a tortured city’s hopes were all pinned on after years of intentional failure. Once Embiid finished second, second and first in MVP voting between 2020 and 2023, that was it. Morey would be paying Embiid whatever he wanted for the rest of his career, no matter what. 

Then there’s Ben Simmons, a basketball/personal/financial/metaphysical disaster that will go down in mysterious legend. Morey famously executed a year-long standoff with Simmons before trading him for James Harden, but I may need to write a book titled “The Four Years that Made and Broke Ben Simmons” to explain to future generations that, prior to his on-court collapse in Game 7 of the 2021 Hawks series, Simmons was an All-NBA-level player. He was incredible, and then he was gone. We may never know exactly what happened, but the fact that Morey managed to acquire Harden — a great player, for all that comes with him — for a deflated asset like Simmons was remarkable. 

Harden was perhaps Morey’s kryptonite, a player with the tantalizing offensive tools that served his philosophy far better than Embiid or Simmons, with the former enjoying the mid-range jumper (Morey’s arch nemesis) and the latter incapable of shooting 3-pointers. He was convinced Harden was one of the most impactful players of his generation, and had built team after team around him in Houston. Had he instead committed to Maxey sooner, a player he drafted, perhaps Morey could have avoided the eventual blow up that ended he and Harden’s relationship. 

The 76ers’ current problems are mostly due to two contracts for Embiid and Paul George that are slated to pay out nearly $300 million in the next three years. In the era of the apron luxury tax, that is not a feasible way to build a basketball team. And while I won’t say Morey had no choice in handing them out (you always have a choice), Embiid was a non-negotiable. I also think clearing cap space for George and then actually signing him into it was an impressive maneuver at the time. Nobody ever sings a real, big free agent anymore, and 76ers didn’t have to give up anything to get him. That fourth year player option really hurts, I get it, but any GM in his position would have done it to get it done.

Those contracts were peak “if they don’t work, I’m going to get fired anyway so what do I care?” deals. They were big swings, and Morey hung his job on two expensive deals for injury prone players who just didn’t play enough to justify them. But what else was he supposed to do? Use the cap space to fund a lemonade stand? Would 76ers fans have preferred Morey not pay Embiid after he dropped 50 in a playoff game and have him demand a trade instead? 

It is interesting that the 76ers, the team most synonymous with rebuilding because of “The Process” has almost gone a full decade without tearing anything down — a period that spans Morey’s entire tenure. He was hired not to save the 76ers but to push a clearly talented roster out of the second round. Instead, he basically just became a crisis manager, always seemingly one step behind the next avalanche ready to bury the 76ers between every rock and every hard place.

But imagine if Morey had not drafted Tyrese Maxey at No. 21, and instead taken Zeke Nnaji or Leandro Bolmaro or R.J. Hampton, the three players pick after him? Imagine if Morey had salary-dumped Ben Simmons instead of acquiring Harden, or had filled the Paul George cap space with Buddy Hield, Royce O’Neale and DeMar DeRozan? What if he had filled it with another Tobias Harris extension? 

Would Philadelphia actually be better off?

Or are the 76ers’ present issues arguably the best possible situation for a team built around one of the least available superstars in the history of the league? Perhaps his philosophy has expired, and a new voice in the room should be welcomed or elevated. But I don’t think Morey should be blamed for the check engine light, the brakes seizing up and for the eventual crash — it wasn’t his car.

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The San Antonio Spurs can land the knockout punch on the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 6. 

San Antonio has a potent one-two combo, pairing Victor Wembanyama with feisty guard De’Aaron Fox. And while Fox may stand in Wemby’s lanky shadow, he’s the haymaker that puts Minnesota on the mat Friday night.

Our Spurs vs. Timberwolves predictions like the plucky point guard to push San Antonio to the conference finals, with my NBA picks taking Fox to top his scoring prop on May 15.

Spurs vs Timberwolves Game 6 prediction

Spurs vs Timberwolves best bet: De’Aaron Fox Over 16.5 points (-115)

Despite playing with sore ankles in Game 5, De’Aaron Fox topped his points prop for the third straight outing. 

Fox scored 18 points with the bulk of those buckets in and around the key. 

Fox is second on the team in points in the paint (9.0) and sees a clearer path to the rim if the Minnesota Timberwolves continue to tinker with their rotation.

Minnesota played rim protector Rudy Gobert a playoff-low 23 minutes in Game 5, opting to go small. With Victor Wembanyama in high screen action, Fox finds easier looks inside with Gobert gone and an extra day to rest his wheels.

Projections sit at 17+ with a ceiling of 20 points.

COVERS INTEL: Fox has done well vs. Minnesota guards Ayo Dosunmu (injured) and Mike Conley (old) in this series. Jaden McDanielsis a rare T-Wolves player having success against Fox (34.5 FG%), and he’s expected to match up on Wembanyama more in Game 6.

Spurs vs Timberwolves Game 6 same-game parlay

The San Antonio Spurs had six players score at least 12 points in the Game 5 win, and that depth is wearing down Minnesota while exhausting all defensive counters.

The T-Wolves just don’t have the horses to keep up with that offense, especially with Anthony Edwards not at 100%, and the T-Wolves’ poor outside shooting unable to close the gap.

Wembanyama keeps topping his rebounding props, snatching at least 15 boards in four of the first five games. The only game he didn’t top that prop is when he was tossed 12 minutes into Game 4.

San Antonio’s paint protection is forcing Minnesota into low-percentage looks, and that’s creating ample rebounding opportunities for the 7-footer.

Spurs vs Timberwolves SGP

• Spurs moneyline
• De’Aaron Fox Over 16.5 points
• Victor Wembanyama Over 13.5 rebounds

Spurs vs Timberwolves odds for Game 6

• Spread: Spurs -4.5 | Timberwolves +4.5
• Moneyline: Spurs -190 | Timberwolves +160
• Over/Under: Over 218.5 | Under 218.5

Spurs vs Timberwolves betting trend to know

The San Antonio Spurs have hit the Moneyline in 30 of their last 40 away games (+26.65 Units/20% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Spurs vs. Timberwolves.

How to watch Spurs vs Timberwolves Game 6

Spurs vs Timberwolves latest injuries

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How Steve Kerr conducted secret Taylor Swift stunt during recent Warriors season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors coach Steve Kerr is in his Taylor Swift era.

Or, he was a few years ago, at least.

In a lengthy ESPN feature about the 60-year-old published Thursday, writer Wright Thompson shared how Kerr subtly referenced the pop singer throughout the course of the 2022-23 NBA season. The result? An end-of-year compilation of clips featuring the coach narrating her song, “All Too Well.”

“Three years ago, to entertain himself in his press conferences, Steve worked phrases from Swift’s song ‘All Too Well’ into his interview answers, smoothly enough that nobody noticed,” Thompson wrote. “For instance, to get the first line of the song, he took the podium after beating the Rockets in March of 2023 and said, ‘I walked through the door of the locker room at halftime.’

“Over a long season he got most of the lyrics done, crossing them off as he went. His son Matthew later edited them into a video for their family group chat, so that Kerr appeared to have recited the whole song.”

While the video never has been made public, Thompson shared that Swift eventually saw it through a mutual friend and found it “creative and funny.”

“Can I put it on social media?” she asked, according to Thompson.

But Kerr asked that it remain private, but it only should be a matter of time before Warriors and Taylor Swift fans alike comb through the postgame footage to make a video of their own.

We’re just wondering how the Warriors coach was able to weave, “But you keep my old scarf, from that very first week” into a press conference.

Your move, Swifties.

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