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Last regular season was a step backwards for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They struggled through injuries and lacked much of the cohesion that made them a 64-win juggernauts the year before.

It’d be easy to blame Kenny Atkinson for last regular season being a disappointment. Many of the things that worked the previous year simply didn’t this time. The Cavs never established an identity, the offense struggled to find flow, and key players like Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter couldn’t find their place within the offense early on. All of those things reflect poorly on the coaching staff.

Despite that, I would argue that Atkinson did a better job last season than he did when he won Coach of the Year.

Atkinson made the best of a bad situation. The Cavs had plenty of chances to throw in the towel but didn’t, thanks in part to Atkinson. They kept their heads above water until a trade came through to save their season.

Acquiring James Harden at the deadline for Darius Garland changed everything. Bringing in a talented and healthy point guard in Harden raised the Cavs’ floor and ceiling, making a deep postseason run possible. It also meant that they had to completely overhaul how they played just two months before the start of the playoffs.

Atkinson’s willingness to cede control of the offense to Harden’s heliocentric style allowed them to hit the ground running. Atkinson’s preferred motion-based offense that worked the year before was thrown out in favor of more traditional high pick-and-rolls.

This change allowed the Cavs to go from having the ninth-best offense in the league before the Harden trade (117.4 offensive rating) to registering the fourth-best (121.5 offensive rating) afterward.

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Schematics and in-game adjustments aren’t the most important skills for NBA coaches; establishing trust with your players and getting them to buy into your vision is. Atkinson did that by putting his personal preferences aside to do what was best for the players actually on his team.

“He’s the ultimate player’s coach, he gets it, he understands his team,” Harden said at the close of last postseason. “I think he did an unbelievable job of getting me acclimated as fast as possible.”

Donovan Mitchell echoed that sentiment. “I love Kenny. We love Kenny. We ride with Kenny, and ultimately that’s all that matters.”

This all added to the Cavs’ most successful postseason run with this group as they advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2018. Yet, their inability to go further could be due to the fact that there wasn’t an identity to this team besides just Harden-centric basketball.

When things got difficult late in postseason games, the Cavs repeatedly just went to high pick-and-rolls without any alternatives. That worked late in Game 3 against the Detroit Pistons. It didn’t in the Game 1 collapse to the New York Knicks.

You could justify the team sticking to the basics given how chaotic last season was. You can’t anymore.

Atkinson has had a full summer with this backcourt. That’s more than enough time to figure out how he wants this offense to function — and more importantly — get both guards on board with executing that vision.

On top of that, Atkinson needs to figure out how to get Jarrett Allen and Mobley more involved on a consistent basis. We saw repeatedly in the playoffs that the Cavs were at their best when they were focal pieces of the attack and not just bystanders. Yet, getting them and the guards to realize this and make this a priority every game has been an overall losing battle. Changing that and getting the bigs into the flow of the game more consistently would do wonders for the Cavs on both ends of the floor.

The Cavs have been successful with Atkinson over the last two seasons; however, that might not be enough to shield him from being the fall guy if things go sideways this year. This team is all in on a two- to three-year window after trading away another first-round pick this summer and giving a 37-year-old $97 million guaranteed. If things go wrong, it’ll be much easier to change the coach than it would be to drastically overhaul the roster again.

This could be a make-or-break year for the Cavs. It almost certainly will be for Atkinson. He’s answered the call the last two seasons, putting this team in the best position to win. We’ll see if he can do so again in what will inevitably be a very different test than either of the previous two campaigns.

Much of the conversation around the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason has revolved around the star-studded projected starting five, with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joining the incumbent trio of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe.

However, depth is vital over the course of a long NBA campaign. Mike Gansey addressed that issue in part with the free agent signings of Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Ariel Hukporti. With Wade and Simons in particular, those veterans bring known elements to the table that should prove valuable for the Sixers. Something that is more of an exciting unknown, though, is what role Labaron Philon will fill for this group with championship aspirations.

Taken with the 22nd overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Philon’s selection was well-graded by draft pundits. Some saw him as a projected lottery pick after an All-America Third Team sophomore season at Alabama that saw him average 22.0 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals. While evaluations formed in Vegas should largely stay in Vegas, Philon looked the part of an NBA player in averaging 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists across four appearances in Summer League.

While Philon was the main attraction for the Sixers in the desert, he’s extremely far down in the pecking order back east. He’s the clear fourth option at guard behind Maxey, Edgecombe and Simons, with James and Brown also assuming a ton of ball-handling responsibilities. On the one hand, it’s a positive that Philon won’t be thrown into the deep end right away to sink or swim. Conversely, there likely won’t be very many opportunities for the rookie to spread his wings and experiment with different parts of his game at the NBA level. (I’m recalling rookie Tyrese Maxey scoring 39 points in his first NBA start when the Sixers only had seven players available due to a COVID-19 outbreak.)

Part of me knows Philon isn’t of legal drinking age until November so there’s no harm in bringing him along slowly. However, I also have some scar tissue from Doc Rivers burying rookie Maxey on the bench far too often, and Nick Nurse not trusting Jared McCain to the extent that Daryl Morey felt compelled to trade him to recoup value (ironically now bringing Philon into the fold as a result). On the flip side, Nurse did give rookie VJ Edgecombe an obscene amount of minutes last season.

When it’s all said and done, the Sixers’ season isn’t going to be judged by the progression of Labaron Philon in his rookie season. If he proves ahead of schedule and can serve as a valuable rotation piece, all the better. Maybe Gansey can then use Simons as a trade chip at the deadline to shore up another area of need. More than likely, though, he’ll see spot minutes here and there, maybe even the occasional DNP-CD if everyone is healthy and available for a big game. Come next summer, we’ll hopefully have a couple key moments to look back upon as signs of bigger things to come and Philon can ascend to a third guard role next season.

Gary Payton II embraces Warriors being counted out during 2026-27 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Expectations for the Warriors entering the 2026-27 NBA season are as low as they’ve been in years. That’s the way Gary Payton II likes it, too. 

“It’s funny,” Payton said Sunday to NBC Sports Bay Area on the ninth floor of Chase Center. “It kind of gives, in a sense, a ‘22 feeling. We’re not expected to do anything, but we still got a pretty good veteran core, and we got some talented young guys. 

“The goal this year, the motto for me, is stay healthy and have fun.” 

Nobody saw a championship parade coming down Market Street going into the 2021-22 NBA season. They saw a Warriors team that didn’t have Kevin Durant anymore, still was without Klay Thompson recovering from an Achilles injury, questionable youth and a group of veteran castoffs. Payton sees the similarities five years later. 

The Warriors’ last championship team was coming off a 39-win season that fell short of the playoffs. This season’s group is coming off a year of 37 wins and no date with the playoffs. 

Steph Curry’s co-star, Jimmy Butler, is rehabbing from injury like Thompson was. But this team also has to deal with another major loss to injury in Moses Moody’s rehab. 

When it comes to youth, the Warriors can hope Brandin Podziemski in Year 4 can take the kind of offensive leap Jordan Poole did in Year 3. Yaxel Lendeborg should be much more ready to contribute as a rookie than Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman or Moody ever were. 

It actually might be Brandon Williams who reminds fans of Poole the most with the way he’s able to beat a defender off the dribble and get to the basket. 

Payton, who will be 34 in December, just played 73 games last season, which was a new career high and his most since playing 71 in the Warriors’ championship season – the year he found the perfect team to keep his career alive as a fan favorite. Other role players surrounding Payton five seasons ago included Damion Lee, Kevon Looney, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. 

Now, it’s more or less a group of veterans like De’Anthony Melton, Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford and Georges Niang. 

Williams will be 27 in November, Charles Bassey will be 26 at the end of October, Lendeborg will be 24 at the end of September, as will Will Richard at the end of December, and Gui Santos is 24 all season. As Podziemski enters his fourth year as a pro, he still remains the youngest Warrior, turning 24 in late February. 

“Down the line, young guys are gonna win some games for us and give our vet guys some time to rest and chill,” Payton said. “And when it’s time, when it matters, I think you know we’re always going to show up. We got 30 [Curry], we got [Draymond Green]. When we get Jimmy and we get Moses back, you never know. 

“We just got to play the right ball until the right time and see what happens.” 

The Warriors’ comeback win against the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in tournament didn’t bring them another title. It didn’t even bring them an appearance in the playoffs after losing to the Phoenix Suns two days later. But it did bring them the taste of glory for one more game. 

Curry scoring 35 points in a do-or-die situation, including 27 in the second half, was a reminder around the league and to themselves. As was Green’s incredible defense down the stretch, locking up Kawhi Leonard to seal the win. So were Porziņģis’ 20 points and monster putback dunk, Horford’s four threes in the fourth quarter, massive contributions from Podziemski (17 points) and Santos (20 points), and Payton’s two steals as a plus-8 to lead the bench. 

Can they maintain that kind of performance for long stretches instead of a single game? Soon enough, we’ll find out. In the meantime, Payton and the rest of the Warriors are embracing the challenge of being completely counted out. 

“It really doesn’t matter. If we get there, we got Wardell, we got Dray, we get a healthy Jimmy back and we got Al and KP,” Payton said. “You got problems if we’re all healthy when the time comes. 

“It doesn’t matter if we’re eighth or we’re first, you got problems.”

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Former Villanova 5-star forward/wing — and Big East Freshman of the Year — Cam Whitmore is getting another shot in the NBA, this time with the Denver Nuggets. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported the news on Friday:

Denver signed Whitmore to a one-year, two-way contract after the 22-year-old was traded from Washington to Cleveland in a five-team deal (which ironically involved the Nuggets) and was subsequently waived by the Cavaliers almost immediately.

Technically, Denver i Whitmore’s fourth NBA team in four years. Realistically, it’s his third stop. He never played for Cleveland, so I’m not counting that one as legitimate.

Either way, the former Villanova five-star has reached an interesting point in his young, once-promising career.

Whitmore’s career hasn’t exactly gone according to plan after being taken 20th overall by the Rockets in the 2023 Draft, but his production hasn’t been terrible either. He averaged 10.5 points in 17.3 minutes across 119 games with Houston and Washington. Per 36 minutes, his counting stats jump to 21.8 points and 6.8 rebounds. Not terrible.

The question in Denver will ultimately become whether he’s the type of player a good team with championship aspirations trusts with regular minutes or not.

Whitmore has a respectable 34.9% from three over his career that dipped to 28.6% during an injury-shortened season in Washington last year. He also only has 97 career assists (0.8 per game), which feeds the “tunnel vision” criticisms the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder hasn’t been able to shake thus far. He needs to show he can contribute elsewhere on the court, either through cutting/driving/slashing and using his brute strength and athleticism or by leaning into being a secondary playmaker.

But playing with superstar center Nikola Jokic could also be exactly what Whitmore needs to finally take off.

Whitmore still has all the good that made him a first-round pick in 2023. He shot 54% from inside the arc last season and remains a dangerous finisher around the basket. In Denver, he won’t need to create everything himself. Cut, run the floor, knock down open threes and don’t stop the offense when the ball finds him.

Then there’s defense. Whitmore doesn’t need to suddenly become the defensive player Peyton Watson was for the Nuggets, but becoming more serviceable on that end would make it considerably easier for Denver to find minutes for him.

His talent has never really been the issue. Whitmore now needs to show he can complement other talented players instead of simply being one himself. If he does, Denver could finally be where his NBA career gets back on track. Nova Nation will be rooting for him.

The Dallas Mavericks are less than a week away from kicking off training camp in advance of Cooper Flagg’s second season in the NBA. Flagg’s personal trainer, Matt MacKenzie, sat down with RG.org to discuss what Flagg has been up to this offseason and what we can expect from his pairing with Kyrie Irving in year two. The discussion was a deep dive worth reading in its entirety, however a few key points stuck out and all of them should make Mavs’ fans excited for what is to come.

The offseason regimen

MacKenzie indicated that Flagg has been going hard all off season. In so doing, Flagg managed to go coast-to-coast throughout the summer, with time spent in California, Texas and Maine, amongst other locales. Of particular note is Flagg’s time spent in Dallas where he developed some familiarity with his new teammates and coaching staff.

“He spent a lot of time in Dallas with getting acclimated to the new coaching staff and some of his future teammates. He’s learning a little bit about what they’re all about. So it’s been a really good offseason.”

A young player having the wherewithal to do this is a great sign. Putting aside the sheer magnitude and duration of work, Flagg was smart to spend some of that time in Dallas. Plenty of players have their own plans for the offseason, both personal and professional, and there is nothing wrong with that. Training camp is a great way to get to know new faces and new systems. Getting a leg up on that as Flagg has done will surely pay dividends, making training camp less of an introduction and more of a continuation.

Refining his game

Virtually every NBA player that has enjoyed sustained success in the league has done so by way of adding to their game every offseason. Mavericks’ fans are intimately familiar with this concept after 21 years of Dirk Nowitzki. It appears that in his first chance, Flagg is proving to be cut from the same cloth. In what MacKenzie describes as a well thought out, collaborative and thorough process, Flagg is adding to his game in a variety of ways. Most intriguing of those is the three-point shot.

“He’s taking not only 3s off the catch, but also 3s off the dribble. He’s using a variety of different screens and actions to get him into different shots.”

Flagg had an outstanding rookie season, good for Rookie of the Year honors. He arguably outperformed even the more ambitious expectations that came with being the #1 pick, but one area of his game clearly needed work. Flagg shot only 29.5% from beyond the arc in his first season. The long ball was an area of some concern for the Mavericks as a whole, with the team only shooting 34.4% against a league average 36%. Flagg was excellent at driving and had a solid mid-range game, so adding a deep threat could be the first steps toward becoming nearly unstoppable, to say nothing for what it will do for the team’s offensive schemes.

The dynamic duo

One of the most exciting things about this upcoming season is the return of Kyrie Irving. To this point, we’ve only been able to imagine how the two players would come together, but now we’re only weeks away from seeing them in game action. There remains some concern here, too. This is clearly Flagg’s team, but Irving is an established veteran player and a star in his own right. He’s proven before that he can share the spotlight and even defer and it’s looking like that will be the case again.

“I know that Kyrie has a ton of respect for the player that Cooper is. Just like Coach May, he wants to continue to help Cooper take that next step in his career… They’ve had a chance to spend some time together on the court and in workouts when they’ve played pickup a little bit. I think they really enjoyed playing with each other.”

Many wanted to see Irving traded in the offseason, but this shows one of the key reasons Masai Ujiri was wise to keep him around. Irving brings plenty to the court and nearly (perhaps more) as much off the court in mentorship. The last thing the team needs is to stymie Flagg’s growth or limit his opportunities on the court in his second year. With Irving as his cohort, that should not be a problem. Irving is a natural leader and a great co-lead that will surely take pressure off Flagg as his game continues to develop. The fact the two are already spending some time together and gelling nicely is an excellent sign of things to come.

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

Sixers pre-camp questions: How many young players will earn minutes?  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ new era is on deck.

With LeBron James and Jaylen Brown on board and training camp set to begin in late September, we’re taking a look at key questions for the 2026-27 Sixers. 

We’ve asked: 

• Just how dramatic of an impact will James make?
• What role will Brown play on his new team?
• Will the Sixers be healthy when it matters most? 
• Who will the Sixers run their late-game offense through?
• Can the Sixers’ retooled second unit get the job done in the playoffs?
• How will the Sixers’ backup center situation shake out?
• What’s the next step for VJ Edgecombe?

Next up: How many young players will earn minutes? 

Let’s start with the numbers.

The Sixers have eight players 25 years old or younger on their standard roster. That goes up to 10 if you include two-way contract players Caleb Love and Rayan Rupert. On the other side, five Sixers will be at least 30 years old by the end of the season. James is easily the oldest of the bunch at 41. 

Here’s the full list of the Sixers’ youngsters, with ages as of mid-September: 

• Labaron Philon Jr. — 20 
• VJ Edgecombe — 21  
• Justin Edwards — 22 
• Rayan Rupert — 22 
• Dominick Barlow — 23 
• Adem Bona — 23 
• Jabari Walker — 24 
• Ariel Hukporti — 24 
• Caleb Love — 24 
• Tyrese Maxey — 25 

Deep discussion isn’t required for Maxey and Edgecombe, the Sixers’ expected starting backcourt. What about Philon, the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft?

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse’s initial read was that Philon has the tools to play as a rookie. The Alabama product tallied 22.0 points and 5.0 assists per game his sophomore season. His ball handling shiftiness shined in summer league, too.

“He’s a really talented scorer,” Nurse said on draft night. “He’s really fast and explosive and can really get it in the bucket. And I think with a lot of guys that can score, there’s the mentality. The swagger or confidence or something that he has is obviously one of his traits that has served him well. He played in a system at Alabama that is very pro-style. … And I think he’s certainly got two-way capability. I think he can guard.” 

Philon’s defense will likely play a large role in whether or not he snags a spot in the Sixers’ rotation. As a rookie who weighed 176 pounds at the draft combine, Philon won’t be anywhere near mistake-free defensively. Nurse will care about focus, effort and attention to detail. And he’ll expect Philon to watch and learn from fellow guards Maxey, Edgecombe, Anfernee Simons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

The blueprint for Edwards securing a rotation place appears simple. If he sinks a fair share of three-pointers, plays sturdy defense on the wing and rebounds at a decent rate, that may very well do the trick.

Edwards averaged 6.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists last season in 15.3 minutes per game. He shot 37.2 percent beyond the arc in the regular season and 22.2 percent in the playoffs, although that postseason number is perhaps a bit harsh because of some garbage-time misses. 

Nurse has admired many of the nuances in Edwards’ game over the Philadelphia native’s first two NBA seasons, including his knack for finding open space.

“I think I’m just always in the right spot. … I always put myself in the right position,” Edwards said in April.

If Edwards is playing valuable basketball without posting eye-catching stats, Nurse will recognize it. 

Hukporti and Bona look like they’ll compete for center minutes behind Joel Embiid. Bona has a left foot sprain and will be re-evaluated at the start of camp. 

Both Barlow and Walker can also play at center, but each served primarily as a power forward last season. As things stand, Barlow has a far higher chance of receiving steady minutes. Only Maxey and Edgecombe started more regular-season games for the Sixers last year than Barlow. He got 59 starts and averaged 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals in 23.8 minutes per game.

His role diminished in the playoffs, however, and new Sixers forward Dean Wade is a proven veteran who’s historically offered much more as a shooter. Barlow should still have plenty of viable routes to substantial playing time. He showed last year that he’s a smart cutter next to Embiid, a useful short-roll passer, and a hustling player who habitually chips in offensive rebounds, steals and blocks.

Barlow’s 2025-26 season is also a reminder that two-way contract players shouldn’t be automatically excluded when considering an NBA team’s rotation picture. He started on opening night and was excellent in the Sixers’ win over the Celtics. By February, it was obvious to everyone that Barlow deserved his conversion to a standard NBA contract.

The Sixers currently have two of their three two-way slots filled with Love and Rupert.

Love is a 6-foot-3 guard who played 49 NBA games last season as a Trail Blazers rookie. He posted 10.4 points and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 38.8 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from three-point range. Rupert is a 6-7 wing with a 7-2 wingspan who’s played 155 times in the NBA over the past three seasons and averaged 4.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.5 steals in 14.0 minutes per contest. 

It would be quite surprising to see either Love or Rupert jump over more established players to seize regular NBA minutes. Of course, injuries always pop up and preseason projections are never perfect. 

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bucks fans and fans across the country.

Now that Giannis is gone, the question of who leads the team in trade value is pretty interesting. As you’ll see in my personal trade value rankings (dropping on Wednesday), I happen to believe there is a clear top three: Ryan Rollins, Brayden Burries, and Kel’el Ware, with the first two in a tier of their own. That said, you could certainly make a credible argument for a few others.

I can almost guarantee that inside the Bucks’ four walls, they would be doing similar exercises as the team transitions out of the state of flux it’s currently in. How much do you weigh raw ability, age, contract size, contract status (where they are in their contract), and a slew of other factors? These are complex, nuanced considerations. I don’t want to spoil all my thoughts on the matter, but tell us yours!