The Los Angeles Lakers are not lacking for offensive firepower throughout their perimeter rotation. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are among the NBA’s foremost backcourts overall, especially offensively. Collin Sexton is a dynamite scorer off the bench. Quentin Grimes is a valuable floor-spacer who capably attacks closeouts.

To compete for home-court advantage and a top-four seed out West, though, they must prove they can competently defend on the perimeter. That is not a strength for Dončić, Reaves or Sexton. Grimes’ on-ball defense has ebbed and flowed throughout his career. Reinforcements in that department must arise elsewhere for Los Angeles to properly complement what should be a potent offensive unit led by Dončić and Reaves.

Enter Ziaire Williams, whom the Lakers inked to a one-year, $2.8 million deal earlier this summer. During a recent interview with Benjamin Royer of The Orange County Register, Williams laid out the role Lakers head coach JJ Redick and President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka envision for him. Their priority, according to initial conversations he’s had with them, centers on “first and foremost, being a main defender, point-of-attack defender.”

Thus far in his career, Williams has shown some standout lateral agility and ability to navigate screens effectively. But he’ll need to find consistency on offense to amplify his defensive flashes.

Throughout his first five NBA seasons, he’s largely struggled as a shot-maker. He’s knocked down 42.2% of his field goals, including 32.2% beyond the arc, which compose more than half (55.4%) of his total attempts. He has, however, flashed keen off-ball movement, converted a career-high 34.3% of his triples last season and is a career 54.6% shooter inside the arc. He’s hoping all of those skills fit seamlessly alongside the Lakers’ primary creators.

“Obviously Luka (Doncic) and AR (Austin Reaves) are going to be the main primary ball handlers,” Williams told Royer. “So just playing off them, being able to shoot, cut, make plays in transition, stuff like that. They thought it was a great fit for me to be here, and the feeling was mutual.”

Williams will have the chance to compete for heavy minutes in the Lakers’ crowded, yet mostly unproven wing rotation this upcoming season. While the likes of Grimes, Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt Matisse Thybulle, Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht and rookie Cameron Carr will all similarly look to earn significant playing time, any definitive claim to minutes — save for maybe Grimes — seems dubious currently. If Williams expands upon his career-best year in 2025-26, the chance to carve out a prominent role is absolutely available.

“I just thought it was a great opportunity,” Williams said of why he chose to sign with the Lakers after averaging a career-high 10.2 points per game for the Brooklyn Nets last season. “Being that big wing, versatile player that they needed, I just thought it was a great opportunity for me to be a Laker. Even if the same team was in New Orleans or Milwaukee, wherever – just the opportunity that was here and the team that they had, I just thought it was the best fit. And then just being back home in L.A. is the cherry on top. Being able to play in front of my family and my friends, and I’m super excited.”

You can follow Jackson on Twitter at @jackfrank_jjf.

Megan Thee Stallion is making one thing clear: Her breakup with Klay Thompson has not been a fun ride.

The “Savage” rapper admitted in a recent interview with InStyle that her split from the former Golden State Warriors superstar has caused her to “feel like I’ve been put through the washing machine and the dryer with tins, shovels, and a cactus.”

Megan began dating Thompson last year, and for months, they looked to be on the path of marriage. The two were constantly together, and she even showed up to a number of his NBA games to cheer him on from a courtside chair.

However, in April, Megan announced the pair had separated, writing in an Instagram post that Thompson had cheated on her.

During her chat with InStyle, Megan called the whole situation “very rough.”

“How do I want to say this gently?” she said. “What’s meant for you is always going to work out. And if something is constantly making you feel uncomfortable, just on edge all the time, you probably are not supposed to be there.

“God will always make you uncomfortable when something is not meant for you. I think I just kept trying to make pieces fit that didn’t belong, trying to fit myself into someone else’s life. I was losing myself a little bit. I am now in the space of finding me again.”

Megan added that she’s now seeking a relationship in which she and her boyfriend are on the same pedestal.

“I cannot be minimized,” she said. “I will not be behind any man. I will have a partner. I will be equals with my partner. I’m never gonna take the backseat to anything. So just going forward, I think I’ve just learned this is the type of person that I want to be with, this is what I will tolerate, this is what I won’t tolerate. And if you can’t take that, we just gotta respectfully go our separate ways.”

As for how the single life is treating her, Megan said she’s learning that “being by yourself is OK.”

“Like, I ain’t smiled so much in so long,” she said. “Like, I’m outside twirling in the grass like, ‘Wow, it’s a beautiful day outside!’

“I don’t know the last time I did that.”

All-time great players achieve that status by continually defying norms, yet Father Time remains undefeated.

James Harden will be remembered as one of the ten best guards in league history when all is said and done. His peak as a one-man offense in the 2010s with the Houston Rockets hasn’t been topped by many; neither has his incredible longevity. He’s 189 assists away from becoming the only player besides LeBron James to rank in the top ten all-time in both points and assists. But even all-time greats have an expiration date.

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a gamble earlier this summer that Harden would continue to play at or near an All-Star level by signing him to a new deal that will pay him an average of $32 million annually over the next three seasons.

Harden’s game has aged gracefully over the last handful of years. He isn’t the one-man offense he was in his prime, yet he has continually found ways to fit into and elevate groups as a supporting piece.

That carried over this past season to Cleveland. The Cavaliers played their best in the playoffs when Harden was on the floor. His ability to orchestrate the offense and take over late in games when needed is one of the reasons why the Cavs were able to advance to the Conference Finals for the first time in eight seasons.

If we judge his new contract on how he just played, this would be a good deal for Cleveland.

Every dollar matters in a salary cap league. That’s especially true for a team like the Cavs that has been doing everything in its power to cut costs after spending last season in the second apron. However, you aren’t going to get a guard playing at or near an All-Star level that isn’t on a rookie deal for cheaper.

To evaluate the contract, let’s first try to pinpoint where exactly Harden is from a skill perspective going into this season.

Player ranking guides shouldn’t be taken as gospel truth, but they do provide a general consensus for where someone stands in the league hierarchy. Currently, The Ringer and NBA 2K27 have him as the 31st-best player. HoopsHype lists him as the ninth-best guard.

This is in line with where some of the catch-all stats have him as well. Dunks and Threes’ actual estimated-plus minus has him at 38th (93rd percentile) last season. Basketball-Reference’s catch-all stats view him a little more favorably, as he was 21st in player efficiency rating (20.7), 19th in box-plus-minus (3.9), and 14th in value of replacement player (3.6).

How much stock you want to put into any of that is up to you. What we can comfortably say is that ranking him as the 31st-best player in the league is completely reasonable.

Now, let’s look at where he stacks up in annual value on his contract. Harden’s contract is expected to start just below $30 million for this upcoming season and should escalate to $34.9 million on the third and final year of his deal.

The $29.7 million he is expected to earn next season would give him the 64th-highest annual salary in the league. That placement is good value for what you’re expecting to get from him, especially considering the quality of many of the players making more than him. Jimmy Butler ($56.8 million), Trae Young ($49.5 million), Zach LaVine ($50 million), Domantas Sabonis ($45.5 million), and Brandon Ingram ($40 million) are all set to make $10 million more than Harden next season. This list puts into perspective how bad some contracts are, and how this isn’t one of them, based on how Harden has been playing.

However, that evaluation is contingent on Harden still being at or near his recent level. NBA history suggests that he won’t continue to do so over the next three years.

Finding a recent comparison for Harden is difficult. Few guards have sustained the consistent level of play for as long as he has. One that comes to mind is Chris Paul.

Catch-all stats are flawed, but they can be used as guideposts for where a career is going. Harden finished 32nd in ESPN’s Player Efficiency this past season at age 36. At the same point in his career, Paul ranked 38th.

Paul made his final All-Star appearance at age 36. He was coming off another impressive season, helping lead the Phoenix Suns to 64 wins. There wasn’t much in his game at that time that would suggest he would begin to decline. That inevitably started during his age-37 season.

Paul was still good at 37. His overall points, assists, and efficiency were down from the year before, but he was still a high-quality player. However, a closer look at some of the advanced stats would suggest a noticeable drop-off that would continue

Paul went from 38th to 76th in ESPN’s Player Efficiency Rating between his age-36 and age-37 seasons. That slide continued as he finished 148th in Player Efficiency Rating during his age-38 season and then 170th in his last full season at age 39.

Harden has more size than Paul, which should help him age better. However, there’s no denying the simple fact that we don’t typically see good guard play from guys at this point in their careers.

There aren’t many examples of someone playing at or near an All-Star level at age 37. Only 12 players in league history have been on an All-Star team at age 37. The list keeps getting smaller the older you get. Only five players have been All-Stars at age 38 (LeBron, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and just three at age 39 (LeBron, Jordan, and Abdul-Jabbar).

More to that point, it’s rare for 39-year-olds to even be in the league. There are only three currently rostered players who will be 39 or older at the start of the season: Mike Conley, Al Horford, and LeBron.

Just because there isn’t a historical precedent for guys playing at a high level in their late 30s doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Last season, Kevin Durant made the All-NBA Second Team, and Steph Curry was still playing at an elite level at age 37. Both are expected to be All-Star-quality players again this upcoming season. Harden certainly has the talent to follow in their footsteps.

Overall, history isn’t on Harden’s or the Cavs side. A significant drop-off in play comes for everyone at some point. That’s true even for all-time great guards like Harden. Odds are this happens for Harden sometime over the lifetime of this new contract.

Still, this is a deal the Cavs felt they had to make. They mortgaged future money in 2028 for more flexibility now to get out from under the second apron and execute a sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson. Neither of those things would’ve been possible if Harden had simply opted in to his $42.3 million player option.

Now, we’ll wait and see whether or not this short-term gamble ages like Harden’s gas station wine or a French Sauvignon Blanc.

I’m back this week and ready to answer your Sixers-related questions.

It’s been relatively quiet, but the Sixers did make a series of Exhibit 10 signings. For those unfamiliar, an Exhibit 10 deal is essentially a training camp contract with an added financial incentive for the player to join the signing team’s G League affiliate. So, these guys will likely end up in Delaware suiting up for the Blue Coats, but it’s worth noting the Sixers have an open two-way spot and an open standard spot (though they can’t fill the latter until December).

The four players include the 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, Jameer Nelson, Jr., the son of Sixers executive Jameer Nelson, Saint Thomas, who spent last season with the Blue Coats, and Dillon Jones, the former first-round pick and two-time NBA champion with the Thunder and Knicks. Since none of the aforementioned players have more than four years of NBA experience, they’re all technically two-way eligible. While this could be a competition for that final slot, the Sixers could still look at outside candidates as well.

Hit me in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer as many questions as possible.