Category: Basketball

At times this season, the dynamic between Jarred Vanderbilt and Lakers head coach JJ Redick was rocky, in obvious and subtle ways.

It was never more apparent than their very vocal argument in a late regular-season loss against the Thunder. Redick called a timeout in the second quarter to take Vando out of the game, and they got into a heated debate.

It wasn’t a good look for either person. Vando didn’t play again in that contest, even though the Lakers were playing without Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, or Jaxson Hayes.

Afterward, both sides talked about moving past the public spat, and it seemed that they did. Vando would play 26 minutes in the next game against the Warriors.

During Vando’s exit interview, he spoke about his dynamic with Redick.

“We ended up good,” Vanderbilt said. “Like I said, we’re both competitors. We’re competing at the highest level, so sometimes tensions rise and you have disagreements. But, it happens. Player to player, coach to player, staff to player, when you all have a goal like that of winning, sometimes disagreements happen. That’s all it was. We’ve been good ever since.”

Vando says they are good, but clearly, Redick prefers to play many players over him.

In Redick’s first year in charge, Vanderbilt averaged just 16.1 minutes per game. That was his lowest minutes total since the 2020-21 season.

This year, Vando played 17.4 minutes per game. That is well below his averages over the previous four seasons before Redick, when he was a 20-plus minutes-per-game player.

Given that Vando is the fifth-highest played player on the roster, but averaged the 11th most minutes, it’s clear his actual value on the team and what he’s compensated are out of whack.

This has been an adjustment for Vando, and given what we saw during that game against the Thunder in April, disagreements and frustration can boil over.

Still, Vando is a pro and handled it well. Not once did he publicly bash his coach or rant about wanting to play more. When his number was called, he gave his best effort, and that’s all one can ask for. It’s Redick’s team, and he gets to decide when people should play.

It’s good that the two are okay because Vando not only has value as a perimeter defender but also has a guaranteed contract next season and a player option the following year.

So, unless a trade happens, they have to figure out how to work well together. It seems that late into the year, after that disagreement, they found some common ground.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

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After splitting a pair of games at Paycom Center, the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs shift to Frost Bank Center for Game 3 tonight.

Our Thunder vs. Spurs props dive into the best NBA player prop values for Friday, May 22, headlined by Victor Wembanyama.

It's all part of our full Thunder vs. Spurs predictions and NBA picks for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

Best Thunder vs Spurs props for Game 3

Player	Pick
Victor Wembanyama	Over 14.5 rebounds	+102
Ajay Mitchell	Over 21.5 points + rebounds + assists	-112
Chet Holmgren	Under 23.5 points + rebounds + assists	-110

Game 3 Prop #1: Victor Wembanyama Over 14.5 rebounds

Victor Wembanyama has been unstoppable on the glass since the second round. Not counting the game in which he was ejected, Wemby has averaged 15.6 boards across his last seven contests.

The big man has corralled 15+ rebounds in six of those seven games, including two straight against the Thunder.

The Thunder have thrown Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein at him as primary defenders, but the result has been the same.

Oklahoma City has allowed the fourth-most offensive rebounds per game this postseason, and Wemby has gobbled up 14 of them across his last two outings. 

Game 3 Prop #2: Ajay Mitchell Over 21.5 points + rebounds + assists

Jalen Williams re-injured his hamstring in Game 2, and he's questionable tonight. Given his injury history and risk of re-aggravation, it would be surprising if he took the court.

Ajay Mitchell filled in for Jay Dub admirably in the playoffs, starting six straight games. Mitchell’s usage skyrocketed from 15 to 28.3 in six games without Williams, and his PRAs jumped from 16.3 to 30.2 compared to the four games they played together.

Mitchell has the clearest path to picking up Williams’ vacated production, and I expect him to cruise past his PRA total tonight.

Game 3 Prop #3: Chet Holmgren Under 23.5 points + rebounds + assists

Wembanyama has Holmgren’s number, and he’s locked him down all season. Holmgren averaged a career-best 27.7 PRA in the regular season, but that number plummeted to 19.3 in four matchups with Wemby.

Holmgren has been even more limited in the Western Conference Finals, averaging just 17.5 PRA in Games 1 and 2. 

Wembanyama ranks in the Top 3 in opponent FG% (39.4), opponent points per game (64.3) and defensive rating (98.8) this postseason. He’s expected to be on Holmgren again tonight, impeding the OKC big man once again.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

We anticipated an epic clash of titans before the Western Conference Finals even began, and we’re getting it after two intense battles in OKC between the Spurs and Thunder. Mark Daigneault made some impressive moves to change things up in Game 2 after the Spurs stole Game 1, and now the series comes to San Antonio all tied up but with injury questions lingering for both squads. With that, I continue Fraternizing with the Enemy, in this round Cray Allred of the Daily Thunder, as we discuss what those chess moves were and what we can expect in Game 3.

As a reminder, this round is in honor of the late great J.A. Sherman: friend and former manager of Welcome to Loud City, who passed away last year at the age of 49.

J.R. 

It’s never been a stretch to call playoff basketball a chess match. (I’ll bet someone made the comparison as far back as the 60’s.) But if it’s largely true, then it’ll be specifically true for any series. If it’s definitely true, then it’ll be phenomenally true for a series that conventional wisdom said would be epic before it even began. So let’s look at the chess moves made by the coaches and the players Wednesday night. 

In order to fully evaluate a game of chess, you have to understand the context in which it was played. Same with basketball, so the place setting for Game 2 includes a quick cap of Game 1. The Spurs didn’t play particularly well with tons of turnovers and poor shooting but OKC shot well from deep. SA dominated the glass and got 10 more free throws. Chapagnie, Vassell, Harper, and Castle shot 8-33 from 3pt and the Spurs still won. SGA had what could be expected to be his worst game of the series; San Antonio turned the ball over a ton and hemorrhaged transition points, but won anyway, which set up round two in Oklahoma. 

The biggest move from Game 1 to Game 2 was MD’s decision to place one of his knights, Hartenstein, on the opposition’s queen, Wemby, with the instructions that no holds are barred. This was the biggest move of the game and all others pale by comparison. Freed from having to defend the pivot, the other knight, Caruso, was a terror all over the court. Knights move oddly, show up where they’re not expected, and are difficult to nail down. The incisive use of Thunder’s supplemental pieces tilted the game their way.

But the match wasn’t decided. The rooks were in play, and they were making themselves felt when one was taken out from each side. JDub and Harper left the game with injuries and without being able to expect either’s return, the series will likely not be the same. Without a major piece to support his most powerful piece, Daigneault leaned on SGA, his most powerful piece, and was not disappointed. 

What did you see as the second match went to the home team, and what do you expect from match number three?

Cray:

I love the chess analogy, but I’d call Game 2 closer to a round of “Chesskers: We Gave the Checkers a Pieces a Gun” (yes, that’s a real game). Hartenstein didn’t just provide more physicality against Wemby; he applied all his might to block, hold, lane screen, pull, smack, pin, and spend as many hard playoff fouls as the refs afforded him. That he hit some pretty moonball floaters over Wemby’s umbilicals made him look a little more like a chess piece at times. That Daigneault didn’t just use his championship starting center to guard the tallest starting center in the NBA *at all* for Game 1 made the adjustment less brilliant. 

And who better to fill in for both Spurs Rooks than San Antonio’s Castle? Well, Stephon Castle is more of a gunslinger than a finesse piece. The guy is powerful, applying enough brute force and speed to keep Shai from breaking into space, and yamming all over Hartenstein for one of the fiercest dunks of the season (iHart’s hair pull on Castle, if even 1% accidentally-on-purpose, was the furthest thing from a power move). Castle can sling lethal passes to the corners and lob grenades for Wemby to detonate from the highest rung of the ladder, but he can’t keep a live dribble or make clean passes against the Thunder pack of defenders for the duration of the game. Now averaging 10 turnovers in the series, Castle is being tasked with work that De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper have been underappreciated for. 

In the 18 minutes Castle shared the court with Harper, the Spurs were +6. In his other 20 minutes, they were -17. When Caruso and Cason Wallace smell blood, ball handlers are never safe. 

If Williams is out, Daigneault won’t even have the Mighty Mouse in the House option outside of Alex Caruso’s minutes. I expect the Spurs to find ways to get Wemby back on the prowl, and/or for different officiating crews to blow the whistle more. Wembanyama earned about 7 fewer free throws per-36 than normal, and SGA was down about 4 attempts per-36. I also expect San Antonio to get a needed boost of energy from their home crowd after such a demanding open to the series. They have to be tired. Shoot, I’m tired just watching.

Both teams seem poised to maintain sky-high intensity all series, but now it’s OKC’s turn to try and keep their oomph for 48 minutes on the road. They’ll need another night of steady shotmaking to steal the first in San Antonio, and not just from Shai. And as fluid and effective as the Spurs have been flying around on defense, they haven’t generated many of the live ball turnovers that can power huge runs and overwhelm the opponent.

Last night the five-man lineup that’s caught more flack than any in the NBA for two years led the New York Knicks to a 109-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, a 2-0 lead in the conference finals and their ninth straight playoff win. For a little more than half the game, neither team led by double-digits; for the last 20 or so, the Knicks did almost entirely. In the process, they’ve presented their opponents with an all-new kind of nightmare.

Three years ago, the Cavs were eliminated in five games by the Knicks. Two years ago, it was 4-1 Celtics. Last year the gentleman’s sweep came courtesy of the Pacers. Now the only double-apron payroll in all the land — whose all-in move was trading a quicksilver 26-year-old All-Star point guard (albeit once in the past four years) for a molasses-legged 37-year-old All-Star point guard (albeit once in the past four years) — are in danger of being swept in a decidedly un-gentlemanly manner by a Knick team that marries the traits of Cleveland’s past three conquistadors.

You wouldn’t know off of last night, when no Knick starter played fewer than 32 minutes and Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell were the only Cavs to play more, but the Knicks are the deeper team. Their much-maligned starting five are the superior quintet. Jalen Brunson’s better than Mitchell. Karl-Anthony Towns clears Evan Mobley. James Harden is a first-ballot HOFer, but in 2026 OG Anunoby is the better player. I’d grant you Jarrett Allen may have done more over 82 games for his team than Mikal Bridges did for his, but in the playoffs Bridges has played like he’s worth 10 draft picks. And while Dean Wade looks better with a mustache-less beard than most, Josh Hart looks better doing everything else.

Two years ago New York were down to three healthy players and a couple assistant coaches by Game 7 against Indiana. Last year the Knicks ran seven-deep. This series, 10 Knicks have played in both games for a total 14-plus minutes, to just eight Cavs. If that doesn’t seem like much of a difference, multiply it by two or three, depending how long this series goes. Then square it by this: since April Fool’s Day, the Knicks have played 17 games and flown three times, all to Atlanta; the Cavs have played 22 (including two Game 7s) and flown nine times. It adds up.

In 2025 the Cavs ran into a Celtic squad on its way to the title. That Boston team featured a five-out offense, with each starter a two-way player. The only answer to that kind of firepower is to feature a five-out offense with five two-way players yourself, but that ain’t easy; if it were, the Mavs would’ve already tried and failed to re-invent it.

Hart’s growth as a shooter, crystallized by last night’s John Starks-like explosion from deep, plus the presence of shooters like Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson — all two-way players — means the Knicks can play five-out whenever they want. The only time they don’t is when Mitchell Robinson is gobbling 50% of the available offensive rebounds. Pick your poison. Either way, the Cavs look sick.

The 2023 Knicks were just plain tougher than the 2023 “Lights Too Bright” Cavaliers. Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert — those are total sweeties. Meanwhile those Knicks featured the sinister, sinewy musculature of RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, plus granite block Isaiah Hartenstein. If you landed from the planet Xylar at the start of that series and just looked at the Earthlings for each squadron, you’d know who was gonna win.

And that, beyond Brunson’s brilliance and Hart’s heroics and KAT contorting the very question of what is and isn’t possible for an NBA offense, is the subatomica powering the Knicks to their 2-0 lead: their power.

In one of the few moments last night when the fourth-quarter lead was double to single-digits, and the game was a Cav three away from squeaky-bum time, OG Anunoby went baseline and got to the basket and just powered the ball through the hoop. It wasn’t a dunk. Wasn’t a lay-up or a floater. It was just literally like when three little kids are all giggling and hanging on their dad’s arm, trying to hold it down, and he just pulls whatever strength he needs from whatever reservoir he has and raises it. The arm doesn’t flow with the grace of its usual freedom, nor struggle or tremble beneath the added weight. It is simply what is going to be, visibly being.

These Knicks are big and strong and good. All of them. Brunson is a power point. Hart’s a 4 that’s tough enough to play 5 in the body of a 2. KAT is big and brilliant and beautiful. This playoff offense has spawned some interesting new species. Por ejemplo: what is this feeling when the ball moves around and Towns of all people is wiiiiide-open? When Towns-as-shooter is an afterthought, given how good he and his teammates look with him doing more with less?

Could there be any sweeter justice from the basketball gods than Towns becoming a superior version of his envious troll, Draymond Green: a brilliant passing big and face-up fulcrum, plus he can actually shoot? And work out of the post?

Donovan Mitchell moved for much of the game like something isn’t 100%. He refuses to confirm that, as you’d expect from anyone in his position. During the game, Kenny Atkinson confirmed to ESPN — during the game! — that he, the coach of the Cavaliers, the team Mitchell plays for, agreed that Mitchell looked off.

WHAT?!

How is that real??

Quoth DWilTheKnicksfan: “Finish strong.” The Knicks continue to play strong. They put the Hawks to the sword the first chance they got, and Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia were your classic no-rope, no-hope one-two. The Cavs are going to play their best* game of the season tomorrow. Elimination games are almost always the hardest to win, but trying to go up 3-0 is often the same energy.

In my lifetime the Knicks have taken 2-0 leads in the ECF twice. In 1993 they followed that up with four straights Ls. In 1994 they lost the next three, before rallying to win the last two. Normally I’d say this time I’ll settle for a split, but today I wouldn’t.

I don’t think that does these Knicks enough credit. They can finish this in four, both because they are in fact that good, and because these Cavaliers do not exactly have a 2004 Red Sox vibe to them.

The Knicks have learned what works the past few seasons and now represent the best of what the East has been. If they can finish the Cavaliers off sooner than later, they can rest before pitting their best against the West’s.

Welcome to the conference finals and the last step to see who goes to the NBA Finals.

If you’re wondering who to root for in the Conference Finals as we near the end of the playoffs this season, you are in luck.

Let’s have a look at the teams in the conference finals and how they match up.

Knicks vs. Cavaliers

Both teams are led on offense by high usage guards. Both teams have a front court that has a floor spacing four and a defensive five. On the wings, there are 3-and-D players. While the teams are similar in roster make-up, the way they play makes this matchup different from what one would expect.

Both the Knicks and the Cavaliers are in the top five in playoff scoring. The Knicks are second and the Cavs are fifth with 119.9 and 109.9 points per game, respectively.

Jalen Brunson leads the Knicks in scoring at 27.6 points per game. Donovan Mitchell, in contrast, averages 29 points per game for Cleveland.

Karl Anthony Towns and Evan Mobley lead their teams in rebounding with 10.5 and 14 rebounds per game, respectively. The combined rebounding of KAT, Hart and Mitchell Robinson propels them to the fourth spot as a team in the playoffs.

The series will be decided on if the Cavs can slow down the Knicks from continuing their playoff-leading shooting from the field and three. The Cavs are leading the playoffs in 3-pointers made. Which teams can slow down the scoring in those areas will be the main deciding factor for this series.

Eastern Conference Finals schedule

• Game 1: Knicks 115, Cavaliers 104 (OT)
• Game 2: Knicks 109, Cavaliers 93
• Game 3: New York at Cleveland | Saturday May 23 (8 ET, ESPN)
• Game 4: New York at Cleveland | Monday May 25 (8 ET, ESPN)
• Game 5: Cleveland at New York | Wednesday May 27 (8 ET, ESPN)*
• Game 6: New York at Cleveland | Friday May 29 (8 ET, ESPN)*
• Game 7: Cleveland at New York | Sunday May 31 (8 ET, ESPN)

Thunder vs. Spurs

This is a series mainly focused on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama and on how the teams will defend them. The Thunder will have Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and, at times, will have Alex Caruso defending Wemby. On the Spurs side, they have Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell to defend SGA.

Both SGA and Wemby lead their respective teams in most stats, including in scoring. Wemby leads the Spurs in rebounding while SGA leads his team in assists. Castle and Hartenstein are the other two players leading their sides in stats with assists and rebounding, respectively.

Both teams are in the top three in points in the playoffs. The Thunder lead the playoffs with 26.6 in assists and the Spurs lead in rebounding and blocks. with 48.4 and 7.9, respectively. The Thunder and Spurs are very close in field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, made 3-pointers and free throw percentage.

The main factors in this series will be slowing down field goals on drives. The Spurs will have to continue their fast break scoring, where they average 16.5 points per game. Despite the Thunder being second in the playoffs in steals, they are not in the top five in fast break points. San Antonio is leading the playoffs in points in the paint.

Finally, the Spurs need to keep their league-leading defensive rating going of 103.9. The Thunder, despite having the defensive talent, are not in the top five in the playoffs in defensive rating. On the other side of the court, the Thunder lead in offensive rating at 123.4 while the Spurs third at 116.3.

So, if the Spurs can slow down the Thunder’s 3-point shooting and double SGA, they can make the series pretty close.

Western Conference Finals

• Game 1: Spurs 122, Thunder 115 (2OT)
• Game 2: Thunder 122, Spurs 113
• Game 3: Oklahoma City at San Antonio | Friday May 22 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 4: Oklahoma City at San Antonio | Sunday May 24 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 5: San Antonio at Oklahoma City | Tuesday May 26 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
• Game 6: Oklahoma City at San Antonio | Thursday May 28 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)*
• Game 7: San Antonio at Oklahoma City | Saturday May 30 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)*

My Predictions

Knicks in 6 games

Spurs in 6 games

If you want to discuss anything, you can do so below. I will update this thread as the two conference finals series continue. In the meantime, you can share your thoughts of the conference Finals in the comments below.

When I am not posting ridiculous trades on here you can find me talking about Nintendo, LGBT content, music, and the Lakers on my Twitter. You can follow Alexis on Twitter at @BeautifulShy_RS and on BlueSky at @msshyskye.bsky.social.

On Tuesday, Morez Johnson Jr. announced he would keep his name in the NBA Draft past the deadline date, meaning that he is not returning to Michigan for a second season.

We here at Maize n Brew of course support Johnson in all his future endeavors and harbor no ill will towards him. Today, we want to discuss whether or not you think he made the right decision by electing to stay in the NBA Draft.

Johnson spent his freshman season at Illinois, appearing in 30 games and averaging 17.7 minutes per game. He tallied a modest seven points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game before hitting the transfer portal in hopes of finding a larger role, as the Illini front court was a logjam and playing time would be tough to come by.

Under Dusty May at Michigan, Johnson started all 40 games he appeared in. His usage blossomed, as Johnson averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.7 steals per game while being a secondary scoring option. He was an excellent free throw shooter at 78.2 percent and was ruthlessly efficient from the field, as he shot 62.3 percent.

Prior to the NCAA Tournament, most mock drafts had Johnson as either a late first-round or an early second-round pick. There was some optimism Michigan would be able to retain him for another season, but that optimism faded after Michigan’s tournament run for the ages. Johnson capped it off with a double-double in the National Championship (12 points, 10 rebounds) at a time when the Wolverines were playing with a severely limited Yaxel Lendeborg.

Even following the NCAA Tournament, Johnson was still only projected as a mid-to-late first-rounder. The beauty of NIL is that player retention has gotten somewhat easier with regards to players going pro. What players would make on the rookie scale in the NBA pales in comparison to what they could be paid to return to college depending on how high the prospect is projected to be drafted.

While Michigan has had success retaining such players in the past, this one just didn’t go Michigan’s way. Several mid-to-late first-round prospects opted to return to school, which caused Johnson to ascend up draft boards. He is now viewed as a mid-first-round pick, with Oklahoma City being a popular mock destination.

As much as Michigan fans are sad to see him go, Johnson has a legitimate argument for why now is the best time for him to enter the NBA Draft. His stock has risen exponentially, and he also plays a brand and style of basketball that relies heavily on athleticism and energy. The NBA values youth and potential over experience. I don’t expect Johnson to develop a reliable three-point jumper any time soon, and there aren’t many other attributes he could reasonably develop in one more season of college basketball.

Do you think Johnson make the right decision to remain in the draft? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section below.

Tyrese Maxey has done nothing but get better year in and year out. In his rookie season, Maxey was every bit the part of a small guard drafted outside of the lottery. He had a few brilliant flashes, but only started eight games in 2020-21 and averaged just over 15 minutes a night.

While he became a starter in his second season in Philadelphia, the 17.5 points per game that he averaged in 2021-22 were still a far cry from the 28.3 points per game he just averaged this past season. His scoring averages have improved every season as have his totals in lots of statistical departments. There’s a reason Maxey has become such a fan favorite in Philadelphia. He works hard, gets better all the time and isn’t satisfied with just making it to the second round.

But as we head into the offseason, it’s fair to question what kind of ceiling a team built around Maxey and his backcourt mate VJ Edgecombe will have. The Sixers didn’t just get swept by the Knicks due to a lack of depth. Their bench problems might have been the most jarring concern and the single biggest reason Daryl Morey got fired, but their starters were also outplayed by New York’s starting lineup. Therefore, it’s fair to surmise that a deeper Philadelphia roster in seasons ahead could be more competitive in the second round, but still lose in the same round if Maxey can’t ever be the best player in a series of that caliber.

For what it’s worth, during the media session after Game 4 against the Knicks, Maxey did admit that the finger injury flared up again in the Knicks series. He indicated that it had been an issue late in the regular season, then started to feel better by the play-in tournament and in the Boston series, only for it to become a nagging issue against New York. Maxey, the consummate professional he is, did however quickly admit that the finger issue was not an excuse for his inefficient performances against the Knicks.

The big thing the 2020 first-round pick out of Kentucky can take from getting swept out of the playoffs in the second round is the way New York defended him. If Maxey is going to be the straw that stirs the drink for the Sixers in future postseasons, he’ll have to get used to some of the looks he saw from the Knicks and find better ways to combat them.

“I saw multiple bodies every single night, like every single pick-and-roll,” Maxey said of New York’s defense. “It was the trap. Every single Brunson action. It was a trap. Every single time I got downhill. The entire team was in the paint. I was trying to kick out and I gotta really watch because I think this was definitely one of the hardest series I played in for just myself, and I had to be better for my teammates.”

It should be noted that this was probably a first for Maxey when it comes to being the offensive focal point of the Philadelphia attack. Certainly an argument could be made that a lot of respect was paid to him in the 2024 series against the Knicks, but Joel Embiid was playing at a higher level then, having had a 50-point game in that series. In the 2022 and 2023 postseasons in which Maxey was a regular in Philly’s starting lineup, James Harden was also handling the ball a lot.

Heading into 2026-27, there is no doubt that Maxey is going to have to be the primary option for the Sixers offensively, and really the player that makes the entire engine go for the Sixers. Everyone knows at this point that Embiid can’t be counted on to be the team’s best player on a nightly basis. If Paul George is back with the Sixers next season, it’s also abundantly obvious that George is best suited as a 3-and-D wing who isn’t handling the ball a ton. It all went through Maxey for most of 2025-26 and that’s going to have to continue moving forward. The question for Maxey will be if he can continue to improve as the team’s A-lister.

One thing that should be helpful for Maxey is the comfort and peace of mind he can take from knowing that Edgecombe will be a fixture in Philadelphia’s starting lineup for years to come. The two-time All-Star noted that improving his play off the ball will be an area that he’ll look to focus in on during the offseason. Maxey implied that the drafting of Edgecombe started to allow him to handle the ball less in 2025-26 and that continuing to improve as an off-ball guard will allow the Sixers to throw different looks at opposing defenses.

It might feel hard to believe, but Maxey is entering his seventh season in the NBA come the fall. He sure sounded like a leader as well after Philly’s season ended. There’s a lot of focus pointed in Edgecombe’s direction and understandably so. But Maxey made references to the invaluable experience that younger players like Justin Edwards and Adem Bona got having appeared in playoff games for the first time in their careers. There’s no doubt Maxey carries himself like a leader off the court. As we approach the summer, he’ll need to figure out the next step that comes with being at the top of the opponent’s scouting report. 

Through two games, the Western Conference Finals could not be any more evenly matched. The Thunder have outscored the Spurs by a mere two points, with both contests coming down to the wire. OKC made smart adjustments in Game 2, and now the onus is on Mitch Johnson and the Spurs to counter.

Ultimately, this series will be determined in two areas: the number of turnovers the Thunder force, and the matchup between the bigs down low. It’s a battle of strengths between the two teams, and whoever can impose their will should emerge victorious.

Let’s start with the turnovers.

The ball is lava!

So far, OKC has forced 44 turnovers to just 25 for San Antonio, and the Thunder have outscored the Spurs 55-27 off those opportunities.

Stephon Castle has become the whipping boy for San Antonio’s turnover issues, and for good reason: he has thrown the ball away 20 times in the first two games, which accounts for over 45% of their total turnovers and is the most by any player in a two-game span in NBA history. It’s quite evident that his issues have been exacerbated by the Spurs’ depleted backcourt depth, as the sophomore guard has been overburdened by having to be the primary ballhandler with Fox injured and Harper missing at least half of Game 2. If one or both of them are out for Game 3 and beyond, San Antonio will need to put the ball in the hands of Jordan McLaughlin and their wings more often, while being very selective with the types of plays they’ll run in the halfcourt.

One option is to set high screens and attack with speed. This would force the Thunder’s point of attack defender to worry more about getting over screens or switching than going for steals, while also giving the ballhandler an open runway to the paint. Using Wemby as one of the screeners could force OKC’s bigs out of the paint, and even if one of Chet/Hartenstein is still roaming down low, they’ll be forced to rotate and make it easier to throw the Alien a lob.

The following drive from Harper is a perfect example. San Antonio needs to create advantages using simple plays that get the defense scrambling, thus minimizing the potential opportunities for a turnover to occur.

The Spurs also need to get their wings more involved. Even with Julian Champagnie’s shooting prowess, OKC has been comfortable having Chet Holmgren roam off of him because they know he’s the least involved in San Antonio’s offense. They’ve been right so far, and the Spurs need to counter by using him as a screener who can flare out for threes, which could cause confusion for OKC’s defense and create open driving lanes, or force Chet to guard out in space.

San Antonio could put the ball in Devin Vassell’s hands more too, but only in specific spots. He’s not a great playmaker and shouldn’t be relied on to bring the ball up, but he’s one of the Spurs’ best players at attacking advantages. For example, San Antonio needs to hunt Jared McCain and any of OKC’s “bad” defenders whenever the opportunity arises, like what Vassell did below. Involving the Thunder’s bigs should be prioritized since they always play a drop, and any daylight for an open shot is a win for the Spurs offense.

Goliath vs. … goliath?

San Antonio has shot 43-68 at the rim to just 28-47 for OKC — a similar percentage, but the discrepancy in attempts is the bigger story. As usual, Wemby’s presence alone has made the Thunder hesitant to shoot, while his gravity on offense creates easy rim attempts for his teammates. However, his own offensive game has been made harder, especially in Game 2.

Playing Wemby using a traditional big like Hartenstein made it difficult for the Alien to get to his spots in the paint, which wasn’t an issue in Game 1 since he was defended by smaller guards. Even so, San Antonio took advantage by utilizing Wemby on the perimeter to open up the paint. Mitch Johnson used the Alien as a decoy on multiple possessions, with the play below being the best example of some innovative play calling from the Spurs coach.

However, this also resulted in tougher shots for Wemby, as he attempted seven threes and only two free throws as opposed to two threes and 13 free throws in Game 1. There were fewer lob attempts because Isaiah Hartenstein pushed him out of his usual spots, plus being on the perimeter made it easier for The Extender Tony Brothers and company to swallow their whistles. OKC has shown that their game plan to defend pick-and-rolls involving Wemby is to have their bigs show and recover, which gives the Spurs a fraction of a second to throw a bounce pass or lob.

You can see this in the play below, where both Lu Dort and Hartenstein briefly flashed at Castle before the big man recovered back to Wemby.

The Spurs could counter by running double drags, or using off-ball actions that start in the corner. They did just that to open game three in the Wolves series, by utilizing Vassell’s threat as a shooter to get Rudy Gobert to commit, putting Wemby in position for a lob. On the very next possession, San Antonio then used Wemby as the screener and immediately threw the lob, and the defense couldn’t help since they needed to be glued to shooters in both corners.

It’s easier said than done given that this Thunder team is elite at picking off passes, but the Spurs should have enough tape to know exactly when and how they can thread the needle to get Wemby on the roll.

Defensively, OKC used some big-big action to get easier looks at the rim. Chet and Hartenstein connected on multiple lobs, and the Thunder used ball movement and screens to get one going downhill, putting Wemby in no man’s land.

More importantly, playing Hartenstein diminished the Spurs’ dominance on the glass. San Antonio outrebounded the Thunder 61-40 in game 1, and the difference was cut down to just 45-41 in game 2. Hartenstein grabbed eight offensive boards alone, almost singlehandedly raising OKC’s offensive rebounding percentage from 19.7% in game one to 36.7% in game two. Given the Spurs’ injury concerns and their lack of frontcourt size besides Wemby, Harrison Barnes and Carter Bryant should get more minutes to mitigate some of San Antonio’s rebounding issues, and they would likely be matched up with one of the Thunder’s bigs if they decide to go with a twin towers lineup.

Another adjustment the Spurs could make is to have Wemby roam off of Chet in the corners as opposed to Alex Caruso or one of OKC’s guards on the perimeter. This would keep Wemby closer to the rim, and although Chet is shooting 37.8% on almost four attempts a game, he’s a much more hesitant outside shooter than any of the Thunder’s guards and has a slower release too. The other Spurs should sag off Chet and dare him to shoot so they’re not caught flat-footed if OKC makes him a driver like in the play above.

Lastly, the health of San Antonio’s guards and Jalen Williams plays a huge role in the X’s and O’s. Having Dylan Harper would help the Spurs’ point of attack defense and prevent easy drives for the Thunder, which would allow Wemby to stay in the paint more often. JDub would give OKC another body to throw at the Alien, and Fox’s speed on offense would create more room for San Antonio and relieve some playmaking burden from everyone else.

Let’s pray that they all return from injuries soon, as it will only add to the intrigue.

Lakers superstar LeBron James had over a week to reflect on his team’s 2025-26 season ending with a four-game sweep to the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. 

It was just the fourth time in James’ career – and the earliest in the playoffs – a team that had him on the roster was swept in James’ 19 appearances in the postseason. 

How James saw it, the Lakers didn’t lose the series to the defending NBA champions because they didn’t match the Thunder’s physicality. Or weren’t prepared.

They simply didn’t match the Thunder in talent. 

“I have the passion and the [aspiration] to host the Larry O’Brien Trophy up every single year, but also have a realization of what particular team I have been a part of in that particular year,” James said during the latest episode of his “Mind The Game” podcast, which he co-hosts with NBA legend Steve Nash. “And understanding this year, we fought and we played to the maximum ability of our team. But ultimately, if we’re being completely honest, we were out-talented.”

The Thunder were without 2025 All-Star and All-NBA third team honoree Jalen Williams during the second round matchup.

But the Lakers had an even more significant absence: superstar guard Luka Doncic missed the Lakers’ entire postseason run because of a left hamstring strain he suffered April 2 in Oklahoma City. 

Doncic was the NBA’s scoring champion for the second time and three seasons, averaging 33.5 points during the regular season. 

He finished fourth in the voting for league MVP, which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won for the second consecutive season, and will likely be an All-NBA first team honoree for the sixth time in his eight-season NBA career. 

“We were not outworked,” James said. “They didn’t out-physical us. They didn’t outsmart us. I feel like we were just out-talent[ed] by OKC. At the end of the day, we failed in talent. OKC just possessed so much more talent than us. You could tip your cap to them in understanding that.”

With Doncic sidelined and star guard Austin Reaves out for the Lakers’ first four games of the playoffs because of a strained oblique, James led the Lakers to a six-game first round playoff series victory over the Rockets.

The Rockets were without their leading scorer, Kevin Durant, for five of the six games in the series.

James averaged 23.2 points, 8.3 assists, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the first round against the Rockets. 

“For our team to win a playoff series, that was a huge accomplishment,” James said. “Obviously my aspirations [are] much bigger than just one playoff series. I’ve won a lot of playoff series and one is never enough. But under the circumstances of what our team went through and what we were going through at that time: AR did come back and was able to play some good basketball like the last few games, but he was still trying to find his rhythm. Obviously, we never got Luka back.

“But for our ball club, under the circumstances that it was in, to win a playoff series in the Western Conference, I give a lot of respect and a lot of kudos to our guys and to our coaching staff of mentally, physically preparing us for that matchup. It was a pretty good season.”

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Some problems have multiple solutions. Other problems have no solution, and that’s why competing hypothetical solutions seem viable to different people.

It’s hard to say which of those two types of problems the Houston Rockets have right now.

The two 2025-26 NBA Western Conference Finalists are lightyears ahead of Houston. Some fans are waving the white flag. Others are annoyed by the white flag that’s blocking their view. Everybody thinks they know what the team ought to do.

It all comes back to “the window”. It’s the ubiquitous metaphor used to describe a team’s title odds in terms of both probability and duration. As it stands, the Rockets have an extremely narrow title window that stands to be open for a long time. The two prevailing solutions to the problem (the problem being that this team has no chance to beat the Thunder or Spurs short of major injuries) are to either widen the window at the expense of length or lengthen the window’s openness at the expense of width.

Let’s simplify. Forget the window. The Rockets are not in the same league as the Thunder or the Spurs. They can either acquire a superstar that might put them in that league, or acquire assets that might keep them just outside of that league for a long enough time to capitalize on some luck (re: major injuries).

What is the solution?

Rockets’ superstar pursuits could be in vain

Firstly, we need to look at the available options. The Rockets cannot manifest a superstar player. Is the right guy even available?

Donovan Mitchell? Pass. Small guard. It would be more prudent from an asset management perspective to see how Sheppard develops. Mitchell and Fred VanVleet in the same backcourt should be a non-starter. Mitchell doesn’t even get the Rockets in the same zip code as the Thunder or Spurs.

Jaylen Brown? A bit more tempting. There are still reservations. Running Amen Thompson as the nominal two guard (while he functions as a wing) allows the Rockets to lean into size. If you bump him to the three to put Brown at the two, now you’re 6’6″ at the two and 6’7″ at the three. Now, you’re not especially large with 6’10″ish Alperen Sengun in the middle.

Is being big the be-all, end-all? Not in general, but for the Rockets, it might be. Ime Udoka wants them to bash and bruise their way to the top. Whether you think he’s an inmate running an asylum or…a warden?… There’s some logic in that approach. The Rockets are extremely unlikely to build the most talented team in the NBA by virtue of the fact that Victor Wembanyama is one of one, and so are the Thunder. Realistically, that’s the entire premise of this article.

Now, if Thompson can continue to develop as a point guard, there’s some appeal here. A Thompson/Brown backcourt is the biggest in the league. That said, based on what we saw in 2025-26, the safe money isn’t necessarily on Thompson as a long-term point guard.

It should also be noted that Brown doesn’t solve many of Houston’s pressing problems. Ball-handling is his biggest weakness. There’s a world where acquiring Brown improves the Rockets’ championship equity while building on their identity. There are likely more worlds where that move gets Houston into the Conference Finals once, only to get stomped by whichever of the aforementioned powerhouses didn’t suffer a major injury.

Take every word written about Brown, apply it to Kawhi Leonard, and then add that he’s old and will probably get hurt. Pass.

Then, there’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Entire manifestos have been written on the issue. Let’s keep this brief. Antetokounmpo is comfortably the best player the Rockets could acquire this summer. His inability to shoot makes him a tough sell alongside Thompson (or Sengun, but he’d presumably be in the Antetokounmpo deal).

You could acquire him and then also flip Thompson. For argument’s sake, let’s say you turn Thompson into Trey Murphy III. Let’s say you sign Brook Lopez (yes, I know he’s very old) so that Antetokounmpo has his stretch five.

Fred VanVleet / Trey Murphy III / Kevin Durant / Giannis Antetokounmpo / Brook Lopez. That team can compete with anyone. That’s a real title window.

Yet, it’s probably, shockingly, still not enough to beat the Thunder or Spurs. It could be. It’s feasible. But it won’t make the Rockets the 2026-27 presumptive title favorites. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. It’s defensible.

It’s the second-best (possible) solution to this (possibly unsolvable) problem.

The Rockets should prioritize the future

I think the smarter move is to continue to build towards the future while fielding competitive teams. The Rockets have the luxury to do that with so many of their future first-round picks coming from other teams.

That doesn’t mean complacency. The Rockets could give the current iteration one more year to see what they can accomplish with VanVleet and Steven Adams back in the fold, or not. Let’s say they do. It seems like they want to.

If the fit issues between Sengun, Thompson, and Sheppard persist, you don’t need to go all in on a sub-top-ten superstar. You trade one of these guys (hint: It’s Sengun, because he’s the one that presents fit issues with both) for a lesser, better-fitting veteran and assets. You keep drafting.

At a minimum, you can build a team that’s a playoff fixture for a decade. That’s not the fantasy most of us lived in before now. The Rockets are picking in the lottery for time immemorial. It’s a foolproof way to build a dynasty!

No, it’s not. Such a method does not exist. As it turns out, even being a playoff fixture for a long stretch is something. There are NBA teams that have not been in that position for a long time.

Here’s the secret: Sometimes, those teams do actually win NBA championships! The ’04 Pistons. The ’11 Mavericks. The ’19 Raptors (who did make a major trade, but spent much longer than the Rockets have with a sub-championship core).

The calculus is basically this: Instead of buying one lottery ticket with a $10 million payout and a 0.000000342% chance of winning, buy ten tickets with a $1 million payout and a 0.05% chance of winning. No, you’re probably not winning either way, but giving yourself a larger number of chances maximizes the odds.

Of course, we can’t quantify NBA title odds as precisely. If you’re reading this and thinking the hypothetical Giannis and Trey Murphy III lineup has better odds than I’m suggesting, fair enough. Ultimately, there’s no singular, clear-cut solution to the problem:

If there’s even a solution at all.

Could a Robert Williams reunion help Celtics address their biggest need? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made Boston’s offseason priority very clear in his end-of-season press conference earlier this month.

“One of the things that we’ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim, and I think we do need to add to our team to do that,” Stevens said.

Translation: The Celtics will be in the market for big men this summer.

What form that frontcourt pursuit takes is unclear. If Boston wants the most talented big man on the market, it could pursue Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom Milwaukee has made available via trade. But a deal for the two-time NBA MVP almost certainly would require the Celtics to part with superstar Jaylen Brown.

On a new episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix made the case for Boston keeping the Brown-Jayson Tatum duo intact in its pursuit of a big man.

“I don’t think there’s a need to reinvent the wheel here,” Mannix told host Chris Forsberg. “We’re two years removed from winning a championship in Boston, and we’re coming off the most improbable season that I can remember, where your second star (Brown) played like a first-level star.

“So, I think the focus should be on adding to where this team has the most glaring weaknesses, and that is the frontcourt.”

With Nikola Vucevic set to hit unrestricted free agency, the Celtics’ frontcourt currently includes Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and 2025 draft pick Amari Williams. Boston could look to upgrade that group via trade, where it can use a $27.7 million traded player exception created by the Vucevic-Anfernee Simons deal to acquire a big man without having to match salaries. (We explored a few potential TPE options here.)

If the Celtics prefer the free-agent route, they could utilize the taxpayer midlevel exception, which is valued around $15 million. And while this year’s free agent class is relatively thin on big men, there’s one intriguing name in that group: ex-Celtic Robert Williams III.

“You know who’s the one free agent outside of LeBron (James) who was talked about the most when I was in Chicago last week (for the 2026 NBA Scouting Combine and Draft Lottery)? You know who that player is? It was (Robert Williams),” ESPN’s Bobby Marks told Forsberg on Celtics Talk.

“Is he a guy who’s going to play 70 games and give you 30 minutes a night? No. He played 59 games in Portland, 22 minutes (per game). He basically is a specialist as far as what he can do for you, whether that’s protect(ing) the rim, points in the paint.”

The biggest red flag with Williams is his health. He appeared in just 26 games total for the Trail Blazers between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before appearing in 59 games this past season. He’s never played more than 61 games in a season (2021-22 with the Celtics) and will turn 29 years old in October.

Williams can be a difference-maker when he’s on the court, though: He averaged 6.7 points, a career-high 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game for Portland this season and tallied double-digit points in four of the Blazers’ five first-round playoff games against the San Antonio Spurs while holding his own against Victor Wembanyama on the defensive end.

Williams should draw interest from a handful of teams that need big men. But if his next contract is below $15 million per year, the Celtics may want to at least explore reuniting with Time Lord as a frontcourt depth piece while maintaining their ability to make other moves elsewhere.

“He’s in a perfect world for a lot of teams out there: Atlanta, the Lakers, some of those other teams,” Marks added. “But I think that’s a priority for you as somebody from a free agent standpoint — if you can do that, it would be in a perfect world, you get another year of development from some of your younger players.

“You’re going to have two picks (in the 2026 NBA Draft), 27 and 40. Is there an opportunity to move up in the draft? Are you content staying there? So, I do think there’s some optionality as far as some of the trimming around the edges without making a bold type move.”

Williams obviously would come with risk, and his addition alone wouldn’t constitute a successful offseason. But for a team that clearly needs frontcourt help, Time Lord is a known quantity who is worth considering as the Celtics look ahead to the summer.

After an unceremonious end to the 2025-2026 season, it seems as though the Minnesota Timberwolves are heading towards an offseason where every indication is that big changes will be made, with the main focus on the roster.

After getting taken out by the two teams battling in the Western Conference Finals this season in the past two playoff runs, plenty of evaluation will take place this summer on the roster and how to ascend to the level required to take down two teams that look poised to be leaders in the clubhouse for years to come. Nothing is ever set in stone in the NBA, and any number of things could change as time marches on, but it is clear that the Timberwolves need more brains and firepower if they hope to build a true contender around Anthony Edwards.

As the dust settles on another Timberwolves season, our staff picked their most important questions for the team that will be answered before opening night in the fall.

Benny Hughes: What Is Julius Randle’s Value?

I got lucky and was able to have first pick for this, so I opted for the most obvious question that most Timberwolves fans are asking.

After a red-hot start to this year, Julius Randle’s production came crashing down. He had a few rough stretches where his attention to detail waxed and waned, with a promise of consistency once the postseason began. This was not the case as he averaged 16.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 39% from the floor and 24% from three. While it would be disingenuous for Randle to shoulder all of the blame, it is tough to sustain long playoff runs with your second option playing like Randle was this postseason.

You couple this performance with Naz Reid’s playoff emergence and Minnesota most likely looking to retool their front court with Joan Beringer waiting in the wings, and it is not hard to come to the conclusion that it is unlikely for Randle to be on the roster next season.

The bigger question becomes, after much setup on my part, what is his value? The good news is that he is still on a reasonable contract and has shown an ability to produce in the regular season; the bad news is that his value is extremely low after the playoffs. This leads to the larger issue of whether you will have to attach an asset to Randle to get off of this contract, or whether you will be able to get value to re-balance a roster in need of point guard play. I think that as the freshness of the playoffs wears off and the offseason progresses, there will be teams that see the value of a Julius Randle, especially with the new lottery rules punishing the worst three teams in the league with a lower chance of obtaining the number one pick.

I think that a team that is in the 4-10 range (or is in the bottom three and wants to get in the 4-10 range) will see the value of a player like Julius Randle to help them not bottom out. He is still a skilled scorer who can fill it up on any given night. While this isn’t the place you would like to be operating from as a GM, it is still something to consider with any Timberwolves move that is made this offseason.

Leo Sun: What Is “The Core” and Is It Time to Break It Up?

After the Wolves were unceremoniously eliminated in game six, Head Coach Chris Finch took to the podium for his post-game media availability.

“We still have a young core around Anthony, Jaden, and Naz. We’re not planning on going anywhere, but we know we need to keep building this thing out.”

That was his response when asked about some of the younger talent on the team, such as TJ Shannon, Jaylen Clark, and Joan Beringer, in comparison to the San Antonio Spurs youth. Finch made certain to zoom out and mention that though he believes in those young guys, he pivoted to the aforementioned three. That would fall in line with most fans’ beliefs that Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid are “the core.”

But what if you zoomed out even further?

Though Rudy Gobert is roughly eight years older than that group, has he not been an integral part of the recent Wolves “Golden Era”? It’s easy to imagine a world where, without Rudy on the team, the Wolves hardly make it past the first round in the last three years, let alone as a top six seed. So, when I pose the question “What is the core?” how would President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly answer that?

He was the man who acquired Gobert in the first place.

The Wolves are at an important inflection point in their franchise direction. Do they continue to move forward with whatever they deem the core to be, hoping that the trajectory will incline back up in the next couple of years? Perhaps a few peripheral roster adjustments are enough to push them forward towards a championship.

Or was this year a foreshadowing of an incoming decline in the coming seasons? Perhaps the franchise will have to make the painful, but necessary decision to remove one (or more) of the pillars of their core in hopes of building a team that can raise a championship banner.

The Timberwolves aren’t facing a cliff at the moment, but whether or not they will face one sooner than later depends on the conversations the front office is having about “the core.”

Thilo Widder: Is the Front Office Okay Taking a Step Back?

This may be a little too similar to Leo’s and Benny’s, but I think it’s a separate thing entirely.

Do you guys remember the 2018-19 season, when Jimmy Butler blew up the first Wolves team in 20 years to make the playoffs? Do you guys remember the offers that reportedly came in for him?

I do. The Rockets offered four first-round picks and an expiring. The Heat offered the man who would go on to score 83 in Bam Adebayo, alongside some salary filler, and the pick that would become Tyler Herro. Instead, the Wolves took home veteran forward Robert Covington, the 24-year-old Dario Šarić, Jerryd Bayless, and a second-round pick.

It feels like we’re at a similar point today, albeit with somehow more depressed assets in Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert.

Karl-Anthony Towns was 23 when Jimmy Butler was moved, as was Andrew Wiggins. The Wolves could’ve found players to fit the timeline of those two, dip back into the lottery, and then re-emerge like a butterfly from its chrysalis.

Instead, Tom Thibodeau chose job security and took the worst long-term offer that he hoped would guarantee his career as the Wolves’ President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach. It did not.

Tim Connelly and Chris Finch certainly have a far longer leash to work with, but something feels similar. Connelly is in the last year of his deal, and one could argue that while the Towns trade was cap-forced, it was a similar level of prioritizing the now over the future.

Jrue Holiday and Kyrie Irving are popular targets, but both are some of the most overpaid players in basketball. Jrue in particular has an awful deal. Would targeting one of them in a Randle swap make sense? Sure, but it’d be another band-aid to stay afloat in the demonic Western Conference. How do the Wolves get to the tier of the two teams in the conference finals right now? They change. Significantly.

This offseason is, realistically, the last opportunity to reshuffle the deck and still have enough time to convince Anthony Edwards to stick around for the next iteration of Wolves basketball. I hope they take that opportunity, and the lumps that come with it, instead of finding another band-aid.

Either go all in or get off the pot.

*That* is the biggest question I have for this offseason.

Andrew Carlson: What Does Chris Finch’s Style of Basketball Actually Look Like?

For the entirety of coach Chris Finch’s tenure, it has felt like a “first comes the roster, then comes the philosophy” mentality.

While there are through lines, it feels as though there are major themes that arise every season that sometimes come to fruition and sometimes do not.

The Wolves have always been bottom 10 in pick and roll frequency under Finch, and just this past season and in the playoffs, top five in iso frequency. Off-ball movement off of isolations and high screens seems to be bankable.

But “playing with pace” was something that never quite made its way to the full team, namely the star player. “Your turn, my turn” basketball, or the ball getting “sticky,” also continues to be a theme. A lot of that was Anthony Edwards being the scorer that he is, but much of it was due to a weird and off-kilter roster construction.

Anthony Edwards never trusted Rudy Gobert as a roller. Julius Randle had a reckless disregard for the “flow” that Finch talks so much about, paramount to his offense.

Ahead of an offseason that might see those two leaving, with the ability to reshape the roster, I ask:

What philosophy will be laid down heading into the season, with perhaps Finch’s last major chance to really shape personnel around it?

Ryan Eichten: How Many Frontcourt Players Will Get Traded?

The one thing that the Timberwolves’ series loss to the Spurs made clear is that they are just plain not good enough. That is true of the team writ large, but also true for the front-court pairing of Randle and Gobert, who were both ineffective against Victor Wembanyama and the rest of his San Antonio team.

While both are very talented players, especially Gobert, who is on track to make the Hall of Fame, the Wolves have never fully maximized the pairing since trading for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo almost two years ago.

The question for Minnesota heading into this offseason doesn’t seem to be whether or not they will trade one of their starting frontcourt players, but if they will trade both.

While Ranlde’s poor play and attitude against the Spurs stand out, the pairing of Gobert and Edwards has never found the offensive ceiling needed to break through in the Western Conference. Almost regardless of Randle’s status with the team, it may make sense to move on from Gobert, given the Wolves would likely receive a large package in return.

There are merits to trading one or both of Randle and Gobert, and if a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade materializes, McDaniels and Reid may also be on the table. It feels like this offseason will see more change for the Timberwolves than just breaking up the frontcourt and hoping that does the trick.

Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep-down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team. Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — gives their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.

Fantable Questions of the Week

Q1: There’s a lot of fan talk about trading Devin Booker. What’s your opinion on what the Suns could likely expect to get back for Book if traded?

GuarGuar: I am very, very against trading Book. Let me start with that. However, if we did, I’m sure we could get some first round picks and a couple of young players. I don’t think we’d get this unbelievable, enormous haul. He’s gonna be 30 and probably has already reached his peak as a player. Trading him would set us back for a while.

Diamondhacks: This asks for my opinion…about other people’s opinions. My opinion is that Booker’s elite at drawing fouls and converting FT’s. He’s very solid at a couple of other things and therefore a formidable offensive asset.

My opinion about other people’s opinions is that some FOs similarly value Book’s skill set, to return the favor. Along the lines of a D’Aaron Fox or Austin Reaves equivalent…contingent, of course, on the NBA’s byzantine transaction rules, which only 37 people in the world seem to fully understand.

Ashton: Ah, the dreaded Trade Booker question. Way to kick it off, Rod.

Salary cap relief maybe? It will still be bits and pieces in return. And this question rolls so perfectly into Q2 as the real prize is if the Suns can get high-value picks in return.

But let’s be honest here. Book isn’t going anywhere. Booker is Arizona to the core that is last extension should have included a no-trade clause, because that is basically the power he has. His colorways shoes feature green from his off-season home in Flagstaff and his next upcoming Sedona debut featuring turquoise in partnership with McDonalds. It features a “M” and for those that do not know Sedona, they have a city ordinance requiring businesses to put their logos into turquoise. That includes the billion-dollar chain that features overpriced menu items that makes you run for the bathroom. It is quite iconic. I have been to Sedona many times over 30 plus years and seeing a McDonalds with turquoise branding over that time span is just so weird. Enough of Sedona, Brandon Duenas has an article detailing the shoes and I am no “sneakerhead”. I am only pointing out that Book knows Arizona through his colorways, from Flagstaff to U of A.

Which play-off team would absorb his contract? Would the Thunder really have won Game 1 if Booker was on the squad? Pistons may be in the ECF finals if they had him. Both teams could meet the bar with asset ready players and picks. Maybe the Spurs win game 2?

But in the end, the question is moot. Booker is quintessential Arizona. Next topic.

OldAz: I have given this zero thought because it is so impossible to consider for many reasons. If it was something they were looking into, they would need to get back a lot, but who is trading for Booker who also has a collection of assets the Suns would want?

If I were to remove Book’s history and place him in the Suns franchise and make this move, it would be because I was going all in on a core of Green, Brooks, and some of the young talent the Suns have in Fleming, KM, Williams, and even Gillespie. From a pure basketball perspective, this would work, but the Suns would be wise in this scenario to target draft picks and young players, but those are not going to offset Booker’s massive salary. On the other hand, if someone is adding Book, it is probably to pair with their existing star player(s).

The only way I see this working is if a team has an overpriced older star to balance salaries along with more attractive but less expensive assets to send in a deal. I just can’t think of any good examples that would start to move this needle for me and also be attractive to the other team.

Rod: Well, the short answer is that, whatever the return is, it’s not likely going to be enough to make the Suns better in the short term. With the new CBA in place, teams are learning the value of having young players on cheaper contracts on the roster so I doubt that anyone is going to give up many unprotected draft picks or really good younger players still on relatively cheap contracts. Other teams have learned from the Suns’ own mistakes (their trades for Durant and Beal) how badly that can turn out.

Yes, getting rid on his max contract would help the team by adding some financial flexibility. However, with over $20+ mil in dead money on the cap sheet for years to come, and possible hefty extensions due to Brooks and Green coming in the next two years, it might not really have as much of an impact on the cap situation as some think.

Basically, the idea of trading Book just to get off of his current contract isn’t a wise one. That doesn’t mean that trading him shouldn’t be considered though. If a team calls with a really good offer, you have to at least consider it…but only if it’s a really good offer.

Q2: One constant in most trade proposals is getting back draft picks. Without control of their own draft picks over the next few years, how valuable do you believe gaining someone else’s draft picks would actually be?

GuarGuar: It’s hard to get a lottery pick unless it’s your own so trading for somebody else’s first would most likely mean it’s a late first round pick which isn’t nearly as valuable. We’re kinda screwed when it comes to gaining a top pick in the draft for the next 5 years, but having someone else’s pick is better than nothing. I don’t know what we have to offer other than Booker that could net us a first round pick though.

Diamondhacks: The average developed player in today’s NBA is very good and only ten or a dozen picks in each draft seem to rise much above that, to add incremental value. And it’s never the top ten picks either. It’s always more distributed out, to 2nd rounders like Kalkbrenner, Ajay Mitchell, and, we hope, Fleming. So I wouldn’t think the immediate impact to the Suns (of no high picks) is likely to be large.

But in the long term, having no first-rounders is a problem. You’re not only missing out on multiple pools of rising talent, hence more likely to land a franchise piece, but it also hurts negotiating leverage in trades, because you’ve publicly shut off an alternative means to improve your team.

Ashton: Almost a continuation of Q1.

Every NBA team and fans are looking at the OKC and Spurs model that hoarded draft picks and developed young players organically over time or lucked into Wemby. Those first round picks over the next few years are going to be extremely valuable because there is no realistic path for trading Booker for picks and scrubs. The days of receiving five first round picks or over.

And yes, the all-wise national pundits are already declaring 2027 draft weak. I will go on the record to say that it is not. NIL is bringing back quality-level NBA-ready players to college, players whose ultimate goal is to play in the NBA. They will be back in 2027 and beat me for the 2028 draft cycles.

Also, it is likely that anti-tanking rules will come into effect that basically punish the bottom three teams with decreased percentage odds for the first pick while increasing percentages for the remaining 16 teams. It is way too much to go into here.

In the end, sure, first round picks are valuable if they fall into the lottery range. A salary cap hindrance if they do not. Sure, two-ways could be used for the second round and non-guaranteed contracts, but this question is loaded because the value is in 1-16 unprotected picks.

OldAz: This one is tough because the new regime seems committed to player development, which is always more important to me than where they draft, so having more picks is a good thing. However, trading picks has become so convoluted with swap rights that you almost have no idea where a future pick might end up. It seems everyone values picks more for their trade value than for actually picking and developing new players. In either case, having more picks for either use (future trades or young players) is something the Suns lack and could benefit from.

Rod: Depending on protections, they could turn out to be very valuable. Their most likely value would be as additional trade chips, though. I occasionally see fans saying that the Suns should try to get their own picks back, but that’s extremely unlikely as long as those teams believe that the Suns are going to be a bad team when the time to use those picks comes around. With anyone else’s picks, it’s a real gamble as to just how valuable they’ll actually be when draft time rolls around. Unless you’ve got control of your own picks, going into a full-blown rebuild is a recipe for failure.

I certainly want the Suns to add a few more picks to their asset war chest but, in all honesty, that should only be their number one concern if they’re making trades to shed salary.

Q3: Which Suns player (or players) do you believe is most likely to show significant/meaningful improvement next season?

GuarGuar: I think Rasheer is most likely to show the biggest improvement. You could see the difference in his game from the beginning of the season to now. I think the organization knows that if we have a chance to become a top team, we will need him to develop into a very good player. He has a lot of raw talent, and he’s got the best defensive prowess on the team. I’m expecting big things from him next year and for him to be a starter by at least midway through the season.

Diamondhacks: Maluach. He and Fleming improved their skillsets, but Maluach is our youngest player (by more than two years) and therefore earlier on in his projected development arc. In his first NBA nibble, Maluach shot 71% FTs and, after Jan 1, 31% from three. He’s already our best shot blocker. I think that’s all quite encouraging for a 7-foot teenager.

Ashton: This is almost a softball question. Khaman Maluach. He is not being traded anytime soon and will see the NBA game come to him.

Sure, some would say Fleming to step up into the power forward role, but I see it differently.

We (fans) have no idea if Mark Williams will leave, be extended, or be injured and that puts the onus on Oso. The trickle-down effect is to KM (I still dislike the moniker Man Man – he has to prove it).

And my prediction market states KM for Suns MIP.

OldAz: I think Fleming is the most likely because his path to getting that opportunity seems the most clear at the moment. However, if Williams is not resigned or moves elsewhere, then KM also has a clear path and oodles of talent to grow into. At the moment, I say Fleming because I am just so enamored about having his physical abilities on the floor as a Suns fan, but Maluach having an early breakout year would not shock me at all.

Are there really any other candidates here? Dunn could magically figure it out, but his ceiling seems to be a really good rotational piece and Oso is already exceeding expectations and until he can develop a jumpshot (not holding my breath).

Rod: As much as I hope it’s either Fleming or Maluach, I’m going with Collin Gillespie here. As frustrating as it was for fans to watch Collin fade toward the end of last season, I doubt that anyone was more frustrated by that than Collin himself…and I think that’s going to drive him even harder this offseason to improve himself and be better prepared for the NBA’s 82-game grind.

I don’t know just how much better he can get, but I see him as someone determined to keep improving himself, keep adding to his game as long as he’s in uniform. I don’t see him making a huge leap in any single aspect of his game, but I do feel as though he could make enough small improvements in different areas that would add up to a significant improvement overall.

As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!

Suns Trivia/History

On May 23, 1976, the Suns played in their first-ever NBA Finals game against the Celtics in Boston. The Suns put up 22 more field goal attempts than the Celtics (99-77), but an uncharacteristically poor shooting night for the Suns (.384 vs .472 season average), plus being outscored 20-11 at the free throw line, led to a 98-87 loss to the Celtics. It was also the only game of the series in which Paul Westphal (8 points on 4 of 17 shooting) failed to score in double digits.

On May 23, 1984, the Suns defeated the LA Lakers 126-121 in LA in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, cutting the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2. All five of the Suns’ starters — Kyle Macy, Walter Davis, Maurice Lucas, Larry Nance, and James Edwards — scored 20+ points in this game, with Macy, Davis, and Lucas all playing 40+ minutes (and Nance was close with 39 mins). Sadly, their series comeback attempt would be cut short when they lost the following game in Phoenix 99-97 on May 25.

On May 23, 2021, the Suns returned to the playoffs after an 11-year absence and defeated the LA Lakers 99-90 in their first playoff game in over a decade. Devin Booker led the Suns with 34 points while Deandre Ayton added a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds to take a 1-0 series lead in their first round matchup.

On May 25, 1993, newly acquired Sun Charles Barkley won the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 1993 NBA Most Valuable Player. Barkley helped lead the Phoenix Suns to a then-franchise and NBA-best 62-20 record during the 1992-93 season and averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 76 games. Barkley was the first of only two Suns to win the award, the second being Steve Nash, who later collected back-to-back MVP trophies in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

On May 28, 1974, the Phoenix Suns drafted future 9-time NBA All-Star and eventual Basketball Hall of Fame member George Gervin with the 40th pick in the 3rd round of the NBA Draft. Gervin was, however, already playing in the old ABA and elected to stay there with the San Antonio Spurs instead of jumping to the NBA to play for the Suns. Gervin was originally signed to play in the ABA for the Virginia Squires in 1973 by Johnny “Red” Kerr, formerly the first head coach of the Phoenix Suns in 1968-69 and 1969-70.

Important Future Dates

Mid-June (date TBD) – Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents (following the Finals)
June 23 – NBA Draft First Round, 8 ET (ABC/ESPN)
June 24 – NBA Draft Second Round, 8 ET (ESPN)
June 30 – Teams can begin negotiations with all free agents
July 1 – Official start of the 2026-27 league year and moratorium period
July 6 – Moratorium ends, official free agent contract signings can begin
July 9-19 – NBA 2K Summer League 2026 in Las Vegas
Late September (dates TBD) – NBA Training Camps open