Windhorst: Timberwolves Most Aggressive In Pursuit Of Kevin Durant
The Timberwolves have been the team most aggressively pursuing Kevin Durant in trade talks so far, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this morning during an appearance on Get Up (Twitter video link). Windhorst notes that Minnesota made a strong push to acquire Durant from the Suns before the February trade deadline to team him with Anthony Edwards, and that effort has been renewed this offseason.
Windhorst identifies the Raptors and Clippers as teams that are “lurking” in the Durant trade saga, with Toronto offering the ninth pick in this year’s draft along with combinations of players in “multiple different scenarios.”
A list of Durant’s preferred destinations leaked over the weekend, with the Spurs, Rockets and Heat said to be the only teams he would considering signing an extension with. However, Windhorst hears that those three teams “have not made offers that have gotten Phoenix excited.” A report on Sunday indicated that the Suns are more focused on maximizing their return in a Durant trade than sending him someplace he wants to go.
Sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) that the Raptors are willing to give up either RJ Barrett or Immanuel Quickley to upgrade their roster, and several league figures have said they would consider including Jakob Poeltl as well if it means getting Durant in return. Phoenix is reportedly seeking a starting-level center for next season, and the Durant deal might be the best opportunity to acquire one.
Fischer reports that Toronto’s No. 9 selection is being viewed around the league as “perhaps the most likely top-10 pick in the draft to be traded.” He adds that the Raptors would prefer not to move out of the first round completely, so the Suns’ choice at No. 29 could be part of the deal.
Phoenix would love to get Ivica Zubac, Fischer adds, but the Clippers consider him off limits. However, he notes that L.A. has two future first-round picks and some swap rights that it could offer along with Norman Powell, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Derrick Jones.
Fischer doesn’t expect the Grizzlies to get involved in the Durant chase, even though they have a fresh collection of draft assets from Sunday’s Desmond Bane trade. He notes that Memphis was reluctant to pursue Jimmy Butler before the deadline because of fears that he wouldn’t sign an extension, and Durant is probably viewed the same way.
Addressing the Suns’ desire for a center, Fischer states that the team has done background work on Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis in case he’s made available. Fischer also hears that Phoenix would be interested in free agent Myles Turner if he doesn’t re-sign with the Pacers.
Pacers’ Jarace Walker Expected To Miss Rest Of Finals
Pacers reserve forward Jarace Walker likely won’t return to action during the NBA Finals, head coach Rick Carlisle said on Sunday, per Tony East of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). Walker has missed the entire series so far with a sprained right ankle.
“He is doing better,” Carlisle said. “He is off crutches and he is walking with a slight limp now. So it’s very unlikely that he’ll be able to play in this series. But he is doing better. It would be great if he was available because I do think he would help us.”
The 6’8″ forward enjoyed an expanded bench role on Indiana during his second pro regular season out of Houston. In 75 healthy games, Walker averaged 6.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 15.8 MPG. He also notched shooting splits of .472/.405/.667. Carlisle tightened his rotation in the playoffs, reducing Walker’s minutes to 9.8 MPG.
Without Walker available, Obi Toppin has become an even more essential frontcourt bench contributor for Indiana in the series, taking on a larger role.
Indiana and the Thunder are currently knotted up, 2-2, in the ongoing series. A pivotal Game 5 is slated for Monday night in Oklahoma City. The Pacers are appearing in their first NBA Finals since 2000 — more than three years before the 21-year-old Walker was even born.
Pacers Notes: Game 4 Loss, Haliburton, Mathurin, Nesmith, Carlisle
The Pacers were on their way to taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals Friday night when their offense inexplicably hit a wall, writes James Boyd of The Athletic. The crisp passing and constant motion they’ve displayed throughout the series disappeared in the fourth quarter, allowing Oklahoma City to rally for a 111-104 victory and head back home with the series tied.
“We just got too stagnant,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “The ball was not being advanced quickly enough. We weren’t creating problems, and we were up against the clock a lot. So things got very difficult, but you gotta give Oklahoma (City) credit. They made it very difficult.”
The numbers tell an ugly story as Indiana was outscored 31-17 during the final 12 minutes. Tyrese Haliburton, who went 3-of-7, was the only Pacers player to make more than one shot during the fourth quarter as they registered just one assist and committed three turnovers. Ten of their 27 fouls came in the fourth quarter, and they shot just 5-of-18 as a team while missing all eight of their three-point attempts.
“I gotta do a better job of keeping pace in the game,” Haliburton said. “I thought I did a much better job of that last game, especially down the stretch. Keeping pace, getting rebounds and really pushing (the ball). I think we gotta do a better job of when we do get stops, getting out and running. A lot of times in that fourth (quarter), we were fouling too much, taking the ball out, having to kind of run (a set play) versus just random basketball.”
There’s more on the Pacers:
- Even with the late struggles, Indiana was positioned for another miracle finish when Bennedict Mathurin went to the foul line trailing by four points with 24 seconds remaining, per Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star. Mathurin missed both shots, but got another opportunity a few seconds later with a five-point deficit. He split those attempts, effectively killing any hope of a Pacers comeback. “It’s very tough,” said Mathurin, who had been connecting at 89% from the line throughout the playoffs. “I’ve made those free throws, and I love making tough free throws. The only thing I can do is to knock them down next time.”
- During Friday’s broadcast, ABC announcer Mike Breen shared a conversation with Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith, who credited Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla for helping him early in his career, relays Brian Robb of MassLive. Nesmith played two seasons in Boston before being traded to Indiana in 2022.
- Carlisle has been preparing his players for a lengthy series, which will last 18 days if it goes the full seven games, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. Carlisle believes his team will be mentally ready when play resumes Monday night. “It’s long. It’s arduous. But it’s the greatest opportunity going,” he said. “It’s really hard, and it’s supposed to be hard. This is where we’re going to have to dig in and circle the wagons and come back stronger on Monday. This is a big disappointment, but there’s three games left. This series is going to come down to the basics. … This kind of a challenge is going to have extreme highs and extreme lows. This is a low right now, and we’re going to have to bounce back from it.”
Finals Notes: Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder Resilience, Takeaways, Pacers
The NBA Finals between the Thunder and the Pacers is heading back to Oklahoma City with the series tied at two games apiece following fourth quarter heroics from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 of his 35 points in the game’s final four-and-a-half minutes to help the Thunder overcome a two-possession deficit.
“I knew what it would have looked like if we lost tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t want to go out not swinging. I didn’t want to go out not doing everything I could do in my power, in my control, to try to win the game.”
Gilgeous-Alexander’s 11 points in the final three minutes are the most during that stretch of a Finals game in 50 years, per MacMahon. The Thunder’s defense also held the Pacers to just one point in the final 3:20.
“I relish those moments, love the moments, good or bad,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “When I was a kid shooting at my driveway, I’d count down the clock for those moments. Now I get to live it. It’s a blessing, it’s fun, and I relish it.”
We have more notes from the NBA Finals:
- Game 4 of the NBA Finals felt “eerily reminiscent” of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals between Oklahoma City and Denver, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. The Thunder trailed on the road in that game by multiple possessions before rallying and ultimately winning that series in seven. For the first time all series, it felt like the Pacers tired in the fourth quarter, missing all eight of their three-point attempts in the period after making 39% in the first three quarters.
- Gilgeous-Alexander’s chill demeanor is shining through in these playoffs, and his legendary Game 4 performance showed no moment is too big for him, Sam Amick of The Athletic writes. “You wouldn’t know if it was a preseason game or it’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals down 2-1 with him,” teammate Alex Caruso said. “That’s why we have such a good mentality as a group. That’s why we are able to find success in adversity. No matter what’s going on, you look at him and he’s the same. Underneath that stoic personality or (his) look on the court is a deep, deep-rooted competitiveness. That is sprinkled throughout the whole team. …He never blinks, never shies away from the moment.“
- The Pacers let little things slip in their Game 4 loss, The Athletic’s Shakeia Taylor writes. Indiana missed eight free throws, including some late attempts from Bennedict Mathurin, while the team committed more fouls, lost the offensive rebound battle, turned the ball over more, and allowed far more second chance points. Still, the Pacers are confident they’re still in a good spot as the series heads back to OKC. “We’ve won some games on the road before, so I think we just gotta go out there with our confidence,” Pascal Siakam said. “We’ll watch [film on] what we did wrong and try to get better at those things. We just gotta go out there and do things that we’ve done in the past.“
Pacers Notes: Carlisle, Toppin, Underdog Status, Trends
The Pacers‘ offensive style of controlled chaos and freedom stems not only from the synergy between Tyrese Haliburton and coach Rick Carlisle, but also from the decades of experience Carlisle has coaching elite point guards, Jamal Collier and Tim MacMahon write for ESPN.com.
As a young coach with a reputation for demanding control of his team, Carlisle found himself leading a Mavericks squad in 2008 helmed by Jason Kidd, an experience that taught him a valuable lesson that he has applied to multiple other star initiators, such as Luka Doncic and now Haliburton. Kidd showed him how to introduce more flow and rhythm to the offense, and after some initial resistance, the pair grew to appreciate and get the best out of each other, eventually winning a championship together.
“It’s pretty clear, when you have a player of that kind of magnitude, that kind of presence, that kind of knowledge, vision and depth, you got to let them do what they do,” Carlisle says.
Haliburton, for his part, doesn’t take that trust for granted. Speaking about Carlisle making sure the team knew the ball was coming to Haliburton for the final play of Game 1, he said: “That was the ultimate trust that I could get from anybody, because he is such a brilliant basketball mind. He’s been around such great guards, great players. For him to give me that confidence, I think has really taken my career to another level.”
Before Haliburton’s arrival in Indiana, Carlisle was back to his roots of operating as a strict play-caller. All that changed when the Pacers traded for Haliburton. He had dinner with his new point guard the night after the trade, and the relationship blossomed from there.
“What I learned my first year in Dallas was to give J-Kidd the ball and get out of the way, let him run the show, let him run the team,” Carlisle said. “Tyrese, very similar situation, but didn’t take half a season to figure it out. The situation in Dallas with Luka was the same.”
We have more on the Pacers:
- Obi Toppin‘s impact for Indiana has gone well beyond box-score numbers, writes James Boyd of The Athletic. While it’s true that Toppin’s pivotal putback dunk and subsequent block on Jalen Williams in the fourth quarter of Game 3’s win will show up in the stat sheet, it’s his non-stop energy that has made him such a successful part of the Pacers’ balanced attack. “He continues to bring that pace to the game and he’s flying up the floor and you’re hitting him ahead (for easy buckets)… He fits so perfect with what we do,” Haliburton said. Indiana’s bench play has been a crucial part of the team’s 2-1 lead over the Thunder, as Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin, and T.J. McConnell have all proven indispensable throughout the series.
- The Pacers have a chance to be the most atypical championship team since the 2004 Pistons if they can win two more games, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Built around great players who are not quite superstars, depth, versatility, shooting, and great coaching, Indiana has managed to defy expectations — but Jones writes that maybe that says more about those expectations than the Pacers, who went 54-22 to end the season and have few weaknesses on either end of the floor. At the end of the day, Jones says, this team deserves to be considered a juggernaut, not one that’s just happy to be here.
- Haliburton rebounding the ball is one of the best indications that the Pacers are about to score, writes The Athletic’s Fred Katz in a piece examining trends of the Finals. During the 2025 playoffs, he writes, the Pacers are scoring 160.8 points per 100 possessions on plays following a Haliburton defensive rebound. Katz also points to the speed at which the Pacers get into their offense as a key to creating even marginal advantages, as their speed forces opponents into cross-matches that can be beneficial to Indiana. Katz also points out that out of 140 players to attempt at least 40 pull-up shots this year, McConnell does so from the closest distance, to great effect. He has hit 20 of his 34 pull-ups this postseason.
Thunder Notes: Identity, Gilgeous-Alexander, Shooting, Turnovers
In Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, the Thunder struggled to maintain the identity that made them such a powerhouse throughout the regular season and much of the playoffs, writes Joel Lorezni of The Oklahoman. If they want to head back to Oklahoma City having tied the series against the Pacers, they need to reclaim their composure.
It’s a sentiment that head coach Mark Daigneault shares, though he’s not overreacting to the 2-1 deficit.
“I think that happens in a playoff series,” he said on Thursday. “Four games, five games, six games, seven games is a long time. You’re going to get a range of games and experiences in that.”
Lorenzi points to the passing numbers for the Thunder as proof of them getting away from their game. In the team’s two losses to Indiana, Oklahoma City has posted its two lowest assist totals of the season. That, coupled with uncharacteristically sloppy turnovers, points to a team out of sorts and needing to settle into its game.
“At the end of the day,” Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says, “we have to be who we are and who we’ve been all season. I think we got back to that in that series. If we want to give ourselves a chance in this series, it has to be the same thing.”
We have more from the Thunder:
- The Pacers have made life difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander, hounding him throughout the game and wearing him down late, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. That’s no excuse in the MVP’s eyes. “To me, the way I see it, you got to suck it up, get it done and try to get a win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. MacMahon writes that the Pacers began defending Gilgeous-Alexander an average of 65.5 feet from the basket, a level of defensive intensity the young star has never faced before, and that resulted in him bringing the ball up far less often than he typically would. Indiana employed a similar tactic against the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson in the Eastern Conference Finals and was successful in getting the ball out of his hands for stretches. In the Game 3 loss, Gilgeous-Alexander only scored three points on three shots and had no assists in the pivotal fourth quarter. How he bounces back in Game 4 will go a long way in determining the Thunder’s fate.
- Beyond the pressure on their star, the Thunder’s struggles to convert mid-range shots is another issue facing the team, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger writes that while the Thunder have shot well on three-pointers and drawn fouls, their two-point shooting, which is usually a strength, has deserted them. They’re making 47.2% of two-pointers this series, compared to their average of 55.9%, after shooting 54% against the Nuggets and 55.7% against the Timberwolves. Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander have particularly struggled from that range, which is a problem since that’s the bread and butter for the Thunder’s two best players.
- Turnovers have been another major factor in Oklahoma City’s struggles, says Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Most glaringly, the team committed three inbounds turnovers off of made baskets, which led to three T.J. McConnell steals. These kinds of unforced errors can have huge consequences, says Alex Caruso, who was responsible for one of them. “I call them pick-sixes,” Caruso said. “It’s a live-ball turnover in your third of the court and they score. It can add up to eight, 10, 12 points, which might be the difference in the game.” The Thunder finished the game with 19 turnovers, their highest total of the playoffs, with Gilgeous-Alexander responsible for six of them. “It just goes back to being tighter, being more focused, being more forceful all night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Pacers Notes: Mathurin, Turner, McConnell, Haliburton
After tearing his labrum and missing the end of last season, Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin got a calendar to count the days until he could return to the floor, The Athletic’s Shakeia Taylor writes.
Fast-forward a year, and Mathurin delivered a historic performance for the Pacers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, notching 27 points in 22 minutes. His scoring output was the most for a reserve in the Finals since Jason Terry in 2011, Taylor notes.
“Every day he would come in and take one off, take one off,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “He was counting the days down to being cleared sometime in August. Then be able to begin training camp, begin five-on-five with our guys in September and then be in training camp, really, with his eyes firmly set on an opportunity in the playoffs. He’s put in a lot of work to be ready for these moments, and tonight he was an absolute major factor.”
Mathurin attributed his eager and stay-ready mentality to watching and learning from his teammates and coaches during the playoffs last spring.
“I think as much as I was out last year, not being able to play, I learned a lot,” Mathurin said. “Just being on the bench and being next to the coaches who were able to run me through the game and stuff like that. It was an unfortunate situation, but I was fortunate enough to learn a lot and be ready for this year.”
We have more from the Pacers:
- Myles Turner played through an illness in Game 3, Joel A. Erickson of IndyStar writes. He battled cold-like symptoms during the game, but still wound up making the defensive play of the game when he blocked Chet Holmgren to maintain the team’s late lead. “Well, Myles is under the weather,” Carlisle said. “He may not even be with us tomorrow. He just hasn’t been feeling well the last couple of days. It was affecting his wind. He won’t bring it up, but I think it’s just appropriate to mention that he’s working through something.” According to IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak, Turner is not on the injury report for Game 4, but Jarace Walker (right ankle sprain) has been ruled out for the fourth straight game.
- Alongside Mathurin, the Pacers got significant contributions off the bench from T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin in their Game 3 win, per The Athletic’s David Aldridge. McConnell recorded 10 points, five assists and five steals. “I think his energy is unbelievable,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “You guys know he’s definitely a crowd favorite. I joke with him, I call him the Great White Hope. He does a great job of bringing energy in this building. And I think people feed off that. And he had a couple of unbelievable steals.”
- Haliburton shut down outside noise and delivered a tremendous performance in Game 3, Dopirak writes. He recorded 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in the win. “I think the commentary is always going to be what it is, you know?” Haliburton said. “Most of the time, the talking heads on the major platforms, I couldn’t care less. Honestly, like what do they really know about basketball?“
Hawks Rumors: Draft, TPE, Turner, LeVert, Front Office
Although the Hawks hold a pair of first-round picks at Nos. 13 and 22, there hasn’t been much chatter among league sources about Atlanta exploring the idea of packaging those selections to move up in the draft, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
By contrast, Fischer writes, a few other teams with multiple first-rounders, including Brooklyn (Nos. 8, 19, 26, and 27), Oklahoma City (Nos. 15 and 24), and Orlando (Nos. 16 and 25), are viewed as trade-up candidates.
Still, there’s significant “league-wide curiosity” about the Hawks’ offseason plans for their roster, given that they’re operating well below the luxury tax line and possess multiple sizable traded player exceptions, Fischer writes. According to Fischer, Atlanta is “known to be conducting due diligence” about possible targets that would fit into the $25.3MM exception created in last summer’s Dejounte Murray deal.
That TPE, which would expire if it remains unused through July 7, could be used in a traditional trade or by acquiring a player via sign-and-trade. If it’s used, it would hard-cap Atlanta at the first tax apron for the 2025/26 league year.
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- Fischer confirms that Atlanta has had interest in Pacers center Myles Turner, as reported earlier this week. The Hawks had viewed Turner as a player who might make sense as a sign-and-trade target using that $25.3MM trade exception, Fischer explains, though his price might increase beyond that based on his performance during Indiana’s run to the NBA Finals. There has also been no indication that the Pacers, who want to re-sign Turner, would be eager to accommodate a sign-and-trade.
- Sources tell Fischer that the Hawks have exhibited a “keen” interest in re-signing Caris LeVert, whom the team acquired from Cleveland in February’s De’Andre Hunter trade. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported that retaining LeVert is expected to be a priority for the team. The 30-year-old guard finished the season strong in Atlanta, averaging 14.9 points per game on 48.2% shooting in 26 appearances off the bench.
- While the Hawks say their search for a president of basketball operations hasn’t ended, it’s very possible that their front office additions of Bryson Graham as senior VP of basketball operations and Peter Dinwiddie as senior VP of strategy and analytics will end up being their more significant hires, says Fischer. Even before those additions, the club had a large group of front office executives involved in personnel decisions, according to Fischer, who reiterates that bringing in a senior advisor to complement general manager Onsi Saleh remains a possibility.
- In case you missed it on Wednesday, Atlanta reportedly declined the Knicks’ request to speak to Hawks head coach Quin Snyder.
Pacers Notes: Siakam, Game 3 Strategy, Haliburton, Bird
Pascal Siakam was the Raptors’ second-leading scorer during the playoffs when they captured the 2019 title, but he’s in an even more important position with the Pacers in this year’s NBA Finals, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Siakam played a complementary role to Kawhi Leonard that season in Toronto, but he’s a key cog in the success of Indiana’s offense. The Pacers rely on him to draw attention from opposing defenses and create shot opportunities for teammates.
Grange notes that Siakam struggled to make that happen against Oklahoma City’s swarming defense in Game 2, shooting 3-of-11 from the field and handing out four assists.
“They do a good job of just packing everything, making everything disruptive. We’ve got to be stronger with the ball obviously, but also be decisive,” Siakam told reporters on Tuesday. “Whatever we decide to do, just do it.”
Along with Siakam’s championship experience, which has been a source of inspiration to his younger teammates, he’s been delivering on the court throughout the Pacers’ playoff run. He’s leading the team in scoring at 20.6 PPG in the playoffs and was named Most Valuable Player in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Siakam is somewhat surprised to already be viewed as a veteran leader at age 31, and he’s amazed to be within reach of a second NBA championship after entering the league without much fanfare in 2016.
“Obviously, I’m super grateful,” he said. “That little kid that was in Basketball Without Borders, I had dreams, but nothing near what’s happening to me in my life and what I’ve been able to accomplish. I’m grateful. For me, it’s amazing and I’ll forever be grateful to everyone that helped me throughout my journey. But it’s hard for me to reflect on because I’m still in it and I’m still chasing every single day.”
There’s more from Indiana:
- The Pacers plan to be more aggressive about attacking the basket in Game 3, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. He notes that Indiana didn’t score a single point in the paint in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss as OKC concentrated on staying in front of Tyrese Haliburton, who shot just 1-of-5 in the first half. “We have to do a better job of getting to the paint,” Haliburton said after the Game 2 loss. “It’s a lot easier said than done.”
- Former Pacers coach and executive Larry Bird is still taking a hands-on role as a consultant with the organization, coach Rick Carlisle told reporters prior to tonight’s game (Twitter link from Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files). Bird plans to help evaluate prospects during a pre-draft workout on Thursday.
- Between the success of the Pacers and the popularity of WNBA star Caitlin Clark, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press takes a look at the booming status of basketball in Indiana.
Thunder Notes: Caruso, Wiggins, Ownership, Depth, Defensive Strategy
Alex Caruso played 19.3 minutes per game during the regular season but is averaging 23 minutes during the postseason. Caruso, who averaged 28.7 minutes last season with Chicago, said the reduced playing time over the course of the year was by design. The Thunder wanted to keep the hard-nosed guard fresh for a deep playoff run.
“I just only have one gear. I don’t know how to play at 75 percent. Some of that was keeping me out of my own way, out of harm’s way. I don’t do a good job of that on my own,” Caruso said, per Ryan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. “Yeah, some of that, it was difficult just because I am such a competitive guy. If I’m only playing 15 to 20 minutes, if it’s one of those nights where it’s 15, we’re not playing great, like my instinct is to, all right, coach, leave me in there, let me fix it, let me be the one to help us get out of it.”
We have more on the Thunder with Game 3 of the NBA Finals approaching on Wednesday:
- Aaron Wiggins erupted for 18 points in 21 minutes in Game 2 after playing just nine minutes in Game 1. That made a strong impression on one of his All Star teammates. “It’s the hardest job in the league, I feel like. I think he’s underrated … It’s really hard to stay engaged and stay ready. For him to be able to do that on the biggest stage he’s ever played on and have a really good game, very special player. I always keep that in mind. Yeah, it’s a really tough job. He does it very well,” Jalen Williams said, per Stiles.
- Some investors may be regretting their decision to not grab a stake in the franchise. According to Kurt Badenhausen and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, shares of the team held by the estate of fracking baron Aubrey McClendon, who died in 2016, were put up for sale in 2019. McClendon was part of Clay Bennett‘s group that paid $350MM for Seattle SuperSonics in 2006. Those shares, approximately 20 percent of the franchise, remained on the market for a while before ultimately purchased by the current majority stakeholders.
- The Thunder were a plus-11 in Game 2 during the 12 minutes that MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench, a showcase of their depth, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater notes. The five-man unit of Caruso (who had 20 points), Williams, Wiggins, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein was particularly potent. “We’ve played that lineup a lot through the playoffs,” Caruso said. “(Head coach) Mark (Daigneault) went back to it because we’ve had a lot of success. Me and Cason do a good job of mixing it up with whoever is the lead guard. Dub has great hands. We have a versatility in the lineup. It lets Wigs get a little bit loose, too.”
- In Game 2, Oklahoma City found success via a combination of ball screen location, aggression and overall defensive alignment, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. He breaks down OKC’s defensive strategy that slowed the Pacers’ high-octane attack.