Community Shootaround

Community Shootaround: Bucks’ Offseason Moves

July 25th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Entering the 2024 offseason, the Bucks were limited to signing veterans on minimum-salary contracts because they project to be over the second tax apron. Despite that very obvious constraint, they had still had an attractive situation for role players, with clear rotation minutes available at starting shooting guard, backup guard and backup forward for a team that won the title three years ago and has won the most regular season games in the NBA since 2019.

Milwaukee managed to sign Gary Trent Jr. (25 years old), Delon Wright (32) and Taurean Prince (30) on minimum deals, essentially replacing Malik Beasley (27), Patrick Beverley (36) and Jae Crowder (34) — clear upgrades at every position, both in terms of age and production.

While Trent will get most of the attention, and it is genuinely surprising he couldn’t find a better contract, I really like the addition of Wright. Anyone who watched him shut down Darius Garland — a very difficult player to stay in front of — a couple years ago in Atlanta’s play-in victory over Cleveland can attest to Wright’s ability to defend. He is consistently among the very best guards in the league defensively.

Wright earned between $7.8MM-$9.5MM annually from 2019-2024, so he also took a major pay cut by joining the Bucks — that was less surprising than Trent’s pay cut, however, given that Wright agreed to a buyout with Washington last season in order to sign with Miami for a prorated version of the minimum.

Wright has never been a particularly eager scorer, but the Bucks don’t need him to be — he just needs to hit enough shots to keep defenses honest. He is a solid rebounder, passer and play-maker who takes exceptionally good care of the ball — he had 119 assists and 14 turnovers in 2023/24, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 8.4-to-1. That was an outlier in part due to his low usage, but he was at 4.4-to-1 and 4.2-to-1 the previous two seasons, among the best marks in the league. Wright’s teams have consistently been better when he’s on the court, largely due to his defense.

Milwaukee desperately needed backcourt defense this summer to complement Damian Lillard, a poor defender who excels on the other end. They also needed younger legs and players who can shoot, which they acquired in Trent and Prince.

Trent is a little erratic on both ends of the court. His offensive value is tied to his ability to make shots, and he’s streaky; defensively, he’s not the best at moving his feet, but he’s not a turnstile like Beasley and he can create turnovers with steals, even if he can be prone to gambling. He isn’t a perfect player, but getting Trent on a minimum after he played pretty well earning $52MM over the past three seasons is incredible value.

One of the interesting things about the Bucks’ offseason was that they kept both of their 2024 draft picks — Nos. 23 and 33 — and used them to select players who were viewed to be more long-term prospects in AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith. An athletic but thin guard, the 19-year-old Johnson spent last season playing a limited role in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks, while Smith, a 6’11” forward who can space the floor, spent the ’23/24 campaign with the now-defunct G League Ignite.

The Bucks have been aggressive in trading draft picks for immediate upgrades for years. And given they’re trying to win right now, taking prospects who might need more time to develop is a little counterintuitive. However, Milwaukee also knows it needs to develop players internally to have a shot at remaining competitive with an aging core roster. A.J. Green, MarJon Beauchamp, Andre Jackson and Chris Livingston are among the other young players who will be looking to turn the corner in ’24/25.

Obviously, the Bucks’ postseason ceiling will depend on the health of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton. After they won that title in 2021, one of Antetokounmpo or Middleton has been injured in each of the past three playoffs; Lillard was also battling ailments in his first postseason with Milwaukee. Still, it’s hard to imagine Jon Horst and the rest of the front office having a more productive offseason than it did, given what its financial constraints.

It’s worth noting that veteran forwards Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Danilo Gallinari and Crowder remain unrestricted free agents. However, the Bucks have a full 18-man roster, making a return for any of them seemingly unlikely; Giannis’ older brother Thanasis has spent the past five seasons with Milwaukee but could miss the entire ’24/25 season due to a torn Achilles tendon.

We want to know what you think. What did you think of Milwaukee’s offseason moves? Will Trent, Wright and Prince prove to be difference-makers? Will the rookies or other young players emerge as regular contributors in 2024/25? Head to the comments to share your thoughts on the Bucks’ outlook for ’24/25.

Community Shootaround: Where Will Tyus Jones Sign?

July 19th, 2024 at 10:17pm CST by Luke Adams

When we ranked the NBA’s top 50 free agents entering the 2024 offseason, point guard Tyus Jones came in at No. 15. As I wrote at the time, Jones had long been considered one of the league’s best backup guards but showed in 2023/24 that he was able to maintain his strong per-minute production in a starting role.

As the Wizards’ starting point guard, Jones established new career highs in field goal percentage (48.9%), three-point percentage (41.4%), points per game (12.0), and assists per game (7.3) while continuing to protect the ball better than just about anyone in the league. His 1.0 turnover per game in ’23/24 represented the worst mark of his career.

But nearly three weeks into free agency, Jones remains unsigned, with no clear path to matching or exceeding the $14MM salary he earned last season.

When John Hollinger of The Athletic examined Jones’ situation 10 days ago, he wrote, “(Jones) wants to be a starter and wants to do it for a team better than the Wizards, but he might have to settle for 50 percent of those goals.”

That dilemma could be one reason why the 28-year-old remains unsigned, but I’m not sure it tells the whole story. Even if Jones does settle for 50 percent of those goals, he may have to accept a pay cut too. There are few teams around the NBA with the ability to commit $14MM to a free agent, even via sign-and-trade. That includes the Wizards, who could technically re-sign Jones for $14MM (or more) using his Bird rights but are less than $10MM away from the luxury tax line and aren’t about to become a taxpayer for their current roster.

Many of the teams in need of a point guard when the offseason began have addressed the position with other moves. The Spurs signed Chris Paul. The Pelicans traded for Dejounte Murray. The Suns and Bucks, who needed reliable backups and could only offer minimum-salary deals, added Monte Morris and Delon Wright, respectively.

The Magic looked to me like a potential fit for Jones. Even once they’d used up all their cap space, they had the full room exception ($7.98MM) available. Jones could’ve provided a steady, veteran presence in a young backcourt that features promising young guards like Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, and Cole Anthony but lacks a reliable distributor. However, the Magic – apparently not wanting to bring aboard a player who will take significant playing time away from their younger players – opted to sign veteran point guard Cory Joseph as their 15th man.

There are some other fits that could work for Jones, but many of those teams can only offer the veteran’s minimum, if that. The Heat, for example, could use a play-making guard like Jones to give them an alternative to score-first options like Terry Rozier and Tyler Herro, but Miami doesn’t want to surpass the second tax apron and currently doesn’t have enough flexibility below the second apron to sign a 15th man — even for the minimum.

The Kings are one interesting option. Sacramento has Jordan McLaughlin, Devin Carter, and Keon Ellis behind star point guard De’Aaron Fox, but McLaughlin may be better suited as a third option, Carter is a rookie who is recovering from shoulder surgery, and Ellis isn’t really a true point guard. Jones could make sense as Fox’s backup, but it would probably take a sign-and-trade to get him a reasonable salary and squeeze him in under the first tax apron. I expect the Kings will simply lean on McLaughlin and Malik Monk as ball-handlers when Fox is off the floor.

There are two teams with the cap room necessary to make Jones a strong offer, and both the Pistons and Jazz could theoretically benefit from having a veteran like him around to mentor their young guards (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Marcus Sasser in Detroit; Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier in Utah).

But it’s unclear if Jones would start on either roster, and he’d be moving from one lottery team to another, which might not appeal much to him. If they want to be involved in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, the Pistons and Jazz also may not be eager to upgrade their current rosters any further by signing a solid rotation player like Jones.

It’s hard to find an obvious fit for Jones. There’s certainly no team out there that’s in position to contend, needs a starting point guard, and has the cap flexibility necessary to make him a strong offer. It’s unclear if there’s any club that meets even two of those three criteria.

We want to know what you think. Do you see a good match for Jones out there? Where do you think he ends up, and on what sort of contract?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: 2024 First Round Draft Results

June 26th, 2024 at 11:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The first round of the 2024 draft is now in the books. The full results of the day can be viewed right here.

Three French players were selected with the first six picks of the draft. The Hawks selected forward Zaccharie Risacher with the top pick, the Wizards drafted power forward/center Alexandre Sarr with the No. 2 selection, and the Hornets added forward Tidjane Salaun at No. 6.

All told, four French players were selected in the first round. Swingman Pacome Dadiet was drafted with the No. 25 pick by the Knicks.

Two players apiece were selected from Kentucky, UConn and Colorado in the first round.

It proved to be a fairly active night from a trade perspective. The Wizards and Trail Blazers kicked off the festivities with a pre-draft trade agreement that sent Washington the No. 14 pick, its second lottery selection. Portland was able to get out of tax territory by moving off the expiring contract of veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon, while acquiring 23-year-old small forward Deni Avdija. The Wizards would go on to select Pittsburgh guard Carlton Carrington.

Washington made a second trade later in the first round, moving up in a deal with the Knicks to select Miami guard Kyshawn George using the No. 24 pick. New York, meanwhile, later shipped the No. 26 selection to the Thunder in exchange for five future second-rounders.

The Spurs flipped the No. 8 pick to the Timberwolves in exchange for Minnesota’s unprotected 2031 first-rounder and a top-one protected 2030 pick swap. The Timberwolves used the pick on Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham. Fresh off a run to the Western Conference Finals, Minnesota is able to add a blue-chip young lottery talent under team control.

The 2023 champion Nuggets offloaded three second-round picks and the No. 28 selection this year to acquire Dayton forward DaRon Holmes.

When it comes to potential draft steals beyond the lottery, the Lakers nabbed a potential keeper in sharpshooter Dalton Knecht out of Tennessee, who had been projected as a lottery selection before slipping on draft night.

The Trail Blazers’ selection of UConn big man Donovan Clingan at No. 7 was one of the night’s most interest selections, since it raises questions about Portland’s plans going forward for centers Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams. The Grizzlies were another team to use a top-10 pick on a center, adding some size to their frontcourt by nabbing Zach Edey at No. 9.

The draft continues on Thursday afternoon, with pick Nos. 31-58.

We want to hear from you. Who was the steal of the first round? Which team made the most questionable move? Who won the day?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in!

Community Shootaround: Steal Of The Draft

June 22nd, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller were easy first-team choices for the All-Rookie team, but other top picks in last year’s draft didn’t fare as well. No. 4 selection Amen Thompson had a strong finish to the season to earn second-team honors, but Scoot Henderson (No. 3) and Ausar Thompson (No. 5) were left off entirely. Also omitted were Anthony Black (No. 6), Bilal Coulibaly (No. 7), Jarace Walker (No. 8) and Taylor Hendricks (No. 9).

Eighteenth pick Jaime Jaquez and 19th selection Brandin Podziemski joined Wembanyama and Miller on the first team, along with Chet Holmgren, the second choice in 2022.

These results provide a reminder that the draft can be unpredictable, even with a highly touted group of prospects at the top. Without a clear hierarchy this year, it’s even harder to figure out who’s going to succeed.

With the draft just four days away, the No. 1 pick is still unsettled, with the Hawks rumored to still be deciding among French big man Alexandre Sarr, French forward Zaccharie Risacher and UConn center Donovan Clingan. The Wizards are believed to be ready to pounce on Sarr if he’s still on the board, but Clingan or Risacher could face a bit of a slide if they don’t go in the top two.

The Rockets, Spurs and Pistons reportedly have interest in Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, UConn guard Stephon Castle and G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis with the next three picks, but that order is far from set in stone. A late trade or surprise selection could upend the whole process and send teams scrambling to their phones on draft night.

It took a long time for Sarr, Risacher and Clingan to emerge as the top prospects, and it’s still easy to find one or more mock drafts that suggest at least one of them is being vastly overrated. USC point guard Isaiah Collier, G League Ignite guard Ron Holland and Colorado forward Cody Williams were among the names floated as potential top picks over the past 12 months, but they’ve all dropped to varying degrees.

As we’ve seen repeatedly, a lot more than talent goes into determining whether NBA rookies are successful. There’s also playing time, fit, belief from the coaching staff and the chance to be part of a successful team. Jaquez and Podziemski were both rewarded because they played rotation minutes for teams that stayed in the playoff race all season long.

Our mission tonight is to try to identify players expected to be taken outside the top five — or even the top 10 — who have the chance to make an impact right away. Scouts love Devin Carter‘s defense and tenacity, Dalton Knecht‘s shooting touch and Rob Dillingham‘s explosiveness, even if other parts of their game might be lacking. Zach Edey, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jared McCain, Kel’el Ware and Carlton Carrington are a few others who may be able to contribute immediately if they land in the right situation.

We want to get your opinion on this year’s potential draft steals. Which players do you expect to excel even if they slide down the draft board? Head to the comments section to give us your input.

Community Shootaround: Free Agent Centers

June 9th, 2024 at 12:07pm CST by Rory Maher

When looking through the list of 2024 free agents, it quickly becomes evident that many of the top players tend to skew on the older side. LeBron James will be 40 at the end of December, James Harden and DeMar DeRozan both turn 35 in August, and Paul George is 34.

The top two free agent centers this year — Nic Claxton and Isaiah Hartenstein — are 25 and 26, however, which is interesting. They’re also both unrestricted free agents.

While reports have indicated Claxton is expected to re-sign with the Nets, perhaps for a deal in the range of $20-25MM annually, Hartenstein’s future is a little more cloudy because the Knicks only hold his Early Bird rights. That means they are limited to offering him a maximum of about $72.5MM over four years, and it’s possible he could get more than that from another team.

Unlike Tyrese Maxey, who is a lock to return to Philadelphia on a max deal in restricted free agency, it’s possible Precious Achiuwa (25 in September) could sign an offer sheet with another team and the Knicks might not match, given their financial situation now and going forward. Achiuwa is more of a four/five than a true center, but he’s another intriguing big man on the market.

Jalen Smith, 24, had an outstanding regular season off the bench for Indiana, but was largely a non-factor in the playoffs, having been supplanted in the rotation by Isaiah Jackson. That was an interesting development, because Smith seems pretty likely to exceed the $5.4MM player option he holds for 2024/25 in free agency (Jackson, on the other hand, still has another year left on his rookie scale contract).

Goga Bitadze, who turns 25 next month, is another young center who flew under the radar a bit in ’23/24. He started the early portion of the season while Wendell Carter was recovering from hand surgery and played pretty well, particularly defensively, averaging 7.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 33 games (23.9 minutes). The Magic have Carter, Jonathan Isaac and Moritz Wagner ahead of Bitadze on the depth chart, so he might look for a larger role elsewhere.

Xavier Tillman (25) and James Wiseman (23) are among the other young free agent centers in 2024, with veterans Jonas Valanciunas and Andre Drummond arguably the top big men over 30 available. Former No. 2 overall pick Wiseman could be restricted if Detroit tenders him a $7.7MM qualifying offer, though that seems unlikely to happen.

What do you think of this year’s group of free agent centers? Will Hartenstein stay with the Knicks or leave for more money elsewhere? What about Achiuwa? Did we overlook anyone? Head to the comments to let us know what you think.

Community Shootaround: Pistons’ Offseason

June 3rd, 2024 at 8:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trajan Langdon, the Pistons‘ new president of basketball operations, has an enormous task ahead of him.

The Pistons were supposed to turn the corner this season and show marked improvement. Instead, they smashed into a brick wall, setting a single-season record for most consecutive losses and finishing with the league’s worst record. Adding to their misery, they dropped from the top spot to No. 5 in the draft lottery.

Troy Weaver’s four-year regime as general manager was a disaster. The Pistons won the lottery in 2021 and drafted Cade Cunningham, the only player on the roster with All-Star potential. Otherwise, his personnel moves only made a bad situation worse.

Langdon has been tasked with building a roster around Cunningham to maximize his talents. That means some serious evaluations of other recent first-round picks – Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart and Marcus Sasser – on the roster. All of those players have shown talent to some degree but none are surefire starters on a quality team.

Langdon also has some decisions to make regarding restricted free agent Simone Fontecchio and Quentin Grimes, who is extension-eligible as he enters a contract year. It’s generally assumed the club will retain Fontecchio, who provided much-needed outside shooting after he was acquired from Utah, as long he doesn’t receive an overly generous offer sheet. Grimes, who barely played after being acquired from the Knicks due to injuries, is a bigger question mark.

The good news is the Pistons will have plenty of cap room – projected around $60MM – to spend on free agents and facilitate trades. The fact they still owe the Knicks a first-round pick hampers their ability to include draft assets in deals.

Another obvious issue is coach Monty Williams, who still has five years left on his contract. Langdon apparently has the leeway to hire another coach, but owner Tom Gores might not want to eat that much money unless Langdon has someone specific in mind who can turn things around quickly.

And that’s what makes the new president’s job even more difficult. The organization and its fans are tired of losing and don’t want to go through another long rebuilding process to see some positive results. Yet he inherits a roster that looked overmatched against its opponents on a regular basis.

That brings us to our topic of the day: What kind of moves should Langdon make this offseason to turn around the team’s fortunes? What type of players should he target in free agency and trades and which young players on his roster should he be willing to deal? Should he retain Williams or look for another coach?

Please take to the comments section to weigh on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Lakers’ Offseason

June 2nd, 2024 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers always make some big headlines in the offseason and this summer will be no different.

They’ve already been in the news since the end of their regular season, firing Darvin Ham after just two seasons as their head coach. J.J. Redick and James Borrego are reportedly viewed as the frontrunners for the job.

What they do with their roster is more important to their legions of fans. A lot hinges on LeBron James‘ decision whether to exercise his player option or become a free agent. While it’s generally believed that James will stay put, either by opting in or by signing a new deal with Los Angeles, there’s no certainty until he commits contractually. If he’s open to going elsewhere, a team like the Sixers — with tons of cap room to work with — would love to add him to their star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

The other major question mark regarding free agency is starting guard D’Angelo Russell, who has an $18.7MM player option. If Russell decides to go on the market, the Lakers will have to decide whether to pursue another contract with him or fill the hole in their lineup in another manner.

The Lakers will have more flexibility than in recent years regarding trading draft picks and making pick swaps. They control their own pick at No. 17 after the Pelicans deferred a trade obligation until next year’s draft. They also have two other future first-round picks to dangle after the free agency period begins in July.

In terms of tradeable salaries, the Lakers have four players besides their two superstars making at least $10MM next season — Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt. Reaves would be the most coveted of that group but the Lakers have been reluctant to part with the young guard. Vincent and Vanderbilt are coming off injury-marred seasons, leaving Hachimura ($17MM) as the most likely player to be dealt. However, the market for Hachimura would probably be lukewarm at best.

That leads us to our topic of the day: Assuming that LeBron remains with the team, what moves should the Lakers make this offseason to upgrade their team? Should they look to re-sign Russell if he opts out? Should they be more open to trading Reaves if they could get an All-Star level talent in return?

Let us know in the comments section. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Timberwolves/Mavericks Series

May 21st, 2024 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves and Mavericks were considered two of the Western Conference’s most disappointing teams at this time last spring. The Wolves, who had mortgaged their future in order to acquire Rudy Gobert during the 2022 offseason, barely finished above .500 (42-40) and were quickly dispatched in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Dallas didn’t even make the play-in tournament after going into a tailspin following the midseason acquisition of Kyrie Irving and posting an unimpressive 38-44 record

What a difference a year makes.

All the pieces came together in Minnesota during the Wolves’ second year with Gobert, as the team got off to a 17-4 start and held a top-three seed in the West for nearly the entire season, led by rising superstar Anthony Edwards, All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, and the NBA’s No. 1 defense.

In Dallas, Luka Doncic and Irving thrived after getting an offseason and training camp together, and the Mavericks really hit their stride during the final two months of the season after acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford in a pair of trade deadline deals.

The two teams, who each had a projected over/under of 44.5 wins entering the fall, comfortably exceeded expectations in the regular season and have dispatched a pair of tough opponents in the playoffs. The Wolves made quick work of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the Suns in round one before knocking off the defending-champion Nuggets in round two. The Mavs, meanwhile, beat the Clippers in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series and then got past the No. 1 Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.

It sets up a fascinating Western Conference finals between two teams whose histories of deep postseason runs are pretty limited. The Mavericks have made the NBA Finals just twice since their inception in 1980, winning one title in 2011. The Timberwolves’ playoff history is even less inspiring — this is just the second time in their 35-year existence they’ve made the Western finals, and they’ve never advanced further than that.

This year’s Timberwolves might be the best team in franchise history though, with Mike Conley organizing an offense led by a pair of talented scorers in Edwards and Towns, while four-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert anchors a defense that features perimeter stoppers such as Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Throw in Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid and jack-of-all-trades veteran wing Kyle Anderson and the Wolves have one of the NBA’s deepest, most versatile postseason rotations.

Minnesota had the NBA’s third-best net rating (+6.3) during the regular season and has improved that mark to +8.5 (No. 2 in the league) during the playoffs, ranking first in the West in both offensive rating (116.1) and defensive rating (107.6) in the postseason. As the higher seed in the Western finals, the Wolves will also have home court advantage in the series.

Given all those factors, it’s no surprise that Minnesota is viewed as the solid favorite entering the Western finals. BetOnline.ag has the Wolves listed at -182 to advance to the NBA Finals, with Dallas at +162.

The Mavericks are a tough opponent to beat when they’re firing on all cylinders though. In Doncic and Irving, they have two elite shot-makers who can wear down even the best of defenses and who don’t mind having the ball in their hands with the game on the line. Dallas’ two star guards are complemented by versatile forwards Washington and Derrick Jones, who have both been reliable threats from beyond the three-point line during the playoffs, as well as Gafford and Dereck Lively, a pair of rim-running centers who are capable of protecting the paint on defense.

Not having Maxi Kleber (shoulder) will hurt, but the Mavs have decent frontcourt depth without him, and there’s a chance he could be back later in the series. If role players like Josh Green and Tim Hardaway Jr. are playing well, it could help make up for Kleber’s absence.

Josh Robbins, Sam Amick, and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic spoke to a scout, a coach, and an executive about the Western Conference showdown and all three picked the Timberwolves. But they all expect the series to last six games, and that was a common theme in ESPN’s expert predictions as well — nine of ESPN’s 15 respondents chose the Wolves, but not one of the 15 expects the series to be over in fewer than six games.

We want to know what you think. After knocking off the champs, is Minnesota headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history? Or will the Mavs pull off the upset? Will the winner of this series win the 2024 championship?

Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts and predictions for the series!

Community Shootaround: Celtics/Pacers Series

May 20th, 2024 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

The two teams that will square off in the Eastern Conference finals this spring have benefited from some injury luck in recent weeks.

After dominating the Eastern Conference during the regular season, the Celtics were rewarded with a first-round matchup against a Heat team missing Jimmy Butler and a second-round series against a Cavaliers squad playing without its starting center (Jarrett Allen) for all five games, as well as its leading scorer (Donovan Mitchell) for the last two.

The Pacers have also defeated a pair of foes missing key players during this postseason. Indiana’s first-round victory came against a Milwaukee team that was playing without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and its second-round win came against the Knicks, who didn’t have Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson available for most or all of the series.

Teams can only beat the opponents in front of them, so I’m not here to run down either of the East’s two clubs left standing. But if the two teams avoid injuries going forward, this series will represent a new challenge for the Celtics and Pacers.

Of course, the challenge is a more daunting one for the Pacers, who weren’t supposed to be here. Indiana’s over/under for 2023/24 last fall was 38.5 wins. And while the Pacers got off to a strong start, added Pascal Siakam via trade, and comfortably surpassed that win total, they weren’t exactly dominant during the regular season. If not for a victory in their 82nd game, they would’ve been a play-in team. They ranked a modest 10th in the NBA in net rating (+2.9) and just 24th in defensive rating (117.6). They’ll enter this series as major underdogs (+600, per BetOnline.ag).

The Celtics, meanwhile, posted the third-best regular season net rating in NBA history (+11.7), finishing with the league’s No. 1 offensive rating (122.2) and No. 2 defensive rating (110.6). They wobbled slightly in both playoff series, losing Game 2 at home to both the Heat and Cavaliers, and perhaps weren’t quite as dominant against opponents ravaged by injuries as Boston fans would’ve liked to see. But it’s not like they were in any real danger in either round — the Celtics’ +12.8 postseason net rating is even better than their regular season mark.

Still, there are reasons to believe this series could be a competitive one. For one, Boston is still missing Kristaps Porzingis, who was out for the second round due to a calf strain. The latest updates on Porzingis suggest he could return at some point in the Eastern Conference finals, but likely not for either of the first two games at home. As long as he remains on the shelf, the Celtics will miss Porzingis’ rim protection against a Pacers offense that was the NBA’s second-best during the regular season and has been the league’s top unit during the playoffs.

As Jay King and Jared Weiss detail for The Athletic, the Pacers’ bench has been a real strength in the team’s first two postseason series. T.J. McConnell has been impressive leading a second unit that also features sharpshooter Ben Sheppard (.474 3PT% in 13 playoff games) and Obi Toppin (11.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG in just 19.0 MPG). The Celtics have good depth too, but their second unit isn’t quite as strong with Al Horford moved into the starting lineup in place of Porzingis.

King and Weiss also point out that the Pacers would benefit from being able to control the pace in the series. Only the Wizards played at a faster pace than Indiana during the regular season, while Boston ranked in the bottom half of the league in that category — and ranks dead last during the playoffs.

We want to know what you think. Do you see the Pacers pulling off another upset, or is this where their Cinderella run ends? Will Porzingis’ availability – or lack thereof – be a deciding factor, or can the Celtics win this series without him? Do you expect the winner of this series to be the NBA’s 2024 champion?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions on the Eastern Conference finals!

Community Shootaround: Cavaliers’ Offseason

May 17th, 2024 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

This year’s Cavaliers became the first Cavs team in over three decades to make the second round of the playoffs without LeBron James on its roster. But as successful as the season was in Cleveland, there’s a sense that major changes could be around the corner.

The Cavs will have to make a decision on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose future with the club is said to be in “serious jeopardy.”

They’ll have to figure out whether or not Donovan Mitchell will sign a long-term extension as he enters a contract year.

If Mitchell is unwilling to extend, he could very well end up in the trade block, whereas if he does re-up with the Cavs, it may be Darius Garland who becomes the offseason trade candidate.

Cleveland will also have to decide on whether Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley can coexist in the frontcourt going forward as Mobley becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension.

There has been speculation for months – or even years – that Mitchell won’t want to commit to a long-term future in Cleveland and will ultimately have to be traded, but that’s far from a sure thing. In fact, one report following the Cavs’ elimination from the postseason this week suggested there’s a “growing sentiment” Mitchell will sign an extension.

Still, in the latest episode ESPN’s Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Brian Windhorst advised listeners not to assume Mitchell has finalized a decision one way or the other yet.

“I hope to be very careful to not make too much into what the secondary chatter is about what Donovan’s going to do,” Windhorst said. “Because I have heard stuff – from what I would consider reliable sources – all over the board, which leads me to believe that the accurate answer or real answer may not be out there, and that Donovan is doing a great job of keeping everybody in a happy place.

“I will say this, the Cavs organization feels very optimistic he’s going to sign, and maybe that’s the way it’s going to go — I’m not here saying that it won’t. But there’s other people out there saying the opposite.”

Regardless of what happens with Mitchell, Windhorst and his ESPN colleagues Tim MacMahon and Tim Bontemps agreed during their discussion of the Cavs’ offseason that it probably doesn’t make sense to move forward with the team’s four core players, given the overlap between Mitchell’s and Garland’s skill sets, as well as Allen’s and Mobley’s.

While Mitchell will be the focus of the summer in Cleveland for many fans, the frontcourt issue looms large. Mobley had a solid series vs. Boston in the second round of the playoffs with Allen sidelined, and Allen was at his best earlier in the season when Mobley was on the shelf recovering from knee surgery. If the Cavs have to choose one of the two, it seems likely to be Mobley, who is younger, probably has a higher ceiling, and will be under team control for longer if he signs an extension this offseason.

“I would just say that while there’s extreme interest and excitement probably from certain fanbases to go to the trade machine and work out Donovan Mitchell trades, and maybe those will be needed in a month, we’ll see,” Windhorst said. “I would think the Cavs are going to be spending more time in this next month looking at possible Jarrett Allen trades, and what that could bring.”

As Bontemps observed in the Hoop Collective podcast, the Cavs seem unlikely to completely tear things down this offseason. Even if Mitchell doesn’t agree to an extension and ends up being traded, there’s still too much talent on the roster to bottom out, so in any trade discussions, the team would likely seek players who could step in and make an impact right away — or draft assets that could be flipped to acquire those sorts of players.

If the Cavs end up looking to move Allen and/or Garland, one obvious potential trade partner would be the Pelicans, who have been linked to Allen several times in the past and also have a need at point guard. A deal involving rumored trade candidate Brandon Ingram could be the sort of move that would better balance both rosters.

We want to know what you think. Does Bickerstaff need to go or has he earned another year at the helm in Cleveland? Will Mitchell sign an extension? If he doesn’t, what kind of trade should Cleveland be seeking? If he does, will Garland have to go? And what about the frontcourt? Should Allen be on the trade block this summer?

Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions!

Load More Posts