Wolves Notes: Edwards, Conley, Shannon, McDaniels
The Timberwolves looked different on Saturday night because Anthony Edwards delivered a star performance, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had outscored Edwards by 19 combined points in the first two games of the Western Conference Finals, but that changed dramatically in Game 3. Edwards delivered 30 points in 30 minutes as Minnesota claimed a 42-point victory on its home court that marked a dramatic shift in the series.
“That’s what we need him to do, and when he does it, it takes us to another level,” coach Chris Finch said. “I thought that’s what was really big in the first quarter. He got a couple of those steals. He was all over the place. He knew that we needed that type of start from our defense, and he brought it. It was really, really good.”
Edwards set the tone with 16 points in the first quarter, which was two more than the Thunder managed against the Wolves’ stifling defense. He also finished the game with nine rebounds, six assists and two steals and shot 5-of-8 from beyond the arc after going 4-of-17 in the first two games.
“I feel like the second game I was in a rhythm, it was just my trey ball wasn’t falling,” Edwards said. “Just getting back in the gym, watching shots go in and just keep trusting it. That’s all.”
There’s more from Minnesota:
- Edwards was a second-team All-NBA selection, but he told assistant coach Chris Hines that he didn’t feel like he deserved the honor after playing so poorly in the first two games against the Thunder, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Mike Conley said he saw a different side of Edwards as he prepared for Game 3. “It was a different energy,” Conley said. “Normally, he’ll just come in and he’ll just work extra hard. You’ll see him in there just angry. But this was more like he was disgusted in himself. This was, ‘I’m not playing like I should.’ It was almost an embarrassment kind of feeling, and we could just feel that in his energy. He still worked and he still did his thing. But it was like he just knew that something had to change.”
- Terrence Shannon was a surprise contributor after entering Saturday’s game in the second quarter, observes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. The rookie guard wound up with 15 points in 13 minutes as he frequently challenged OKC’s defense with drives to the basket. “He’s willing to get to the paint, no matter what,” Edwards said. “You have three people in there, he’s still gonna find a way to get down there, and that was just about being able to read the game form. They put three people in the paint, I’m telling them like, ‘You got kick outs.’”
- Edwards credited Jaden McDaniels for the Wolves’ defensive improvement in Game 3, saying he was robbed of All-Defensive honors, McMenamin tweets. “It starts with Jaden McDaniels,” Edwards said. “He didn’t make an All-Defensive Team, which is terrible for [the] people who get a vote. He showed them again tonight why he should be on the defensive team.”
T.J. Shorts To Join Panathinaikos Unless He Gets NBA Offer
Free agent point guard T.J. Shorts, who was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2024/25 as a member of Paris Basketball, is finalizing a multiyear contract with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos, confirms Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
The Greek reporter Sotiris Vetakis was first to break the news (via Twitter) of Shorts landing with Panathinaikos, adding that the deal will contain an NBA out clause.
Aris Barkas of Eurohoops also hears Shorts is expected to sign with Panathinaikos, but states that the agreement is still tentative because the 27-year-old wants to leave open the possibility of signing with an NBA team. The Grizzlies reportedly have legitimate interest in Shorts, who played under head coach Tuomas Iisalo in both Germany and France.
It remains to be seen what type of contract Memphis might be willing to extend to Shorts, but it’s hard to envision it being as lucrative as Panathinaikos’ offer, Barkas observes. Still, a couple of years ago Shorts said it would be a “dream” to play in the NBA one day.
Despite his diminutive stature — he’s listed at 5’9″ and 161 lbs. — Shorts has been highly productive in Europe since he went undrafted out of UC Davis in 2019. In 33 EuroLeague contests this season with Paris (27.1 minutes per game), he averaged 18.7 points, a league-best 7.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals, with a shooting slash line of .499/.415/.732. He was recently named back-to-back MVP of France’s top basketball league.
Panathinaikos is also believed to be interested in a reunion with former NBA lottery pick Georgios Papagiannis, according to Urbonas. The Greek center, 27, has played seven years with Panathinaikos, last suiting up during the ’22/23 campaign. He has spent the past two seasons with Fenerbahce (Turkey) and AS Monaco, respectively, and is represented by the same agent as Shorts, Barkas notes.
Mario Hezonja Drawing ‘Serious’ NBA Interest
Former No. 5 overall pick Mario Hezonja is drawing “serious interest” from NBA teams as he contemplates a move away from Spanish EuroLeague club Real Madrid, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.
Although Hezonja signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid last summer, his deal contains an NBA out clause in the range of $850K, according to Urbonas’ sources, which is the standard for international players crossing the Atlantic.
According to Urbonas, “several” NBA teams are keeping a close eye on Hezonja’s situation after a solid three-year stint with Real Madrid. The 30-year-old, who played for Panathinaikos (Greece) and UNICS (Russia) from 2020-22, also put up huge numbers during EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers, averaging 30.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game, RealGM notes, though Croatia failed to qualify for the first time in the tournament’s history.
A 6’8″ forward, Hezonja never lived up to his lofty draft status as a young player in the NBA — his stints with Orlando, New York and Portland were plagued by inconsistency in multiple areas. But he did have occasional moments of brilliance, particularly on straight line drives when he could showcase his run-and-jump athleticism, and the outlines of a 3-and-D role player were certainly evident.
More importantly, Hezonja has been one of the better players in Europe over the past five years, and there’s a “real possibility” he could return to the NBA as he weighs his options this offseason, sources tell Urbonas.
While he never played for the Grizzlies, Hezonja was technically paid by Memphis during the 2020/21 season, having been waived before that campaign began.
Knicks Notes: Potential Lineup Change, Robinson, McBride, Road Record, Bridges
Facing a desperate situation after losing the first two games at home, the Knicks may consider lineup changes when the Eastern Conference Finals resume Sunday night, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). Karl-Anthony Towns played just 28 minutes in Game 2 as the Pacers exposed his defensive deficiencies and backup center Mitchell Robinson delivered a strong performance. Bondy notes that Towns is too valuable to stay on the bench, so coach Tom Thibodeau will have to find a better option.
Bondy proposes two potential alterations to the starting lineup, one of which would replace Josh Hart with Robinson. That provides a twin towers approach just like Minnesota used when it made the conference finals last season with Towns alongside Rudy Gobert. New York would have its best rim protector and pick-and-roll defender on the court at the start of the game, and it provides a better opportunity to take Robinson out late in quarters before Indiana can start fouling him on purpose.
Bondy’s other suggestion is to replace Hart with Miles McBride, who has the team’s best net rating in the series at plus-20.6. Although it would create a small backcourt, McBride is an accomplished defender who can provide help when the Pacers attack Jalen Brunson.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- The team is taking solace in its strong road record as the series shifts to Indiana, according to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. New York is 5-1 on the road in the playoffs, with three wins at Detroit and two at Boston, and was 24-17 during the regular season away from Madison Square Garden. “The whole year we played well on the road,” Hart said after Game 2. “We’ve played well on the road in the playoffs. That’s a tough place to play. Their crowd comes and shows love and support. But we’re a good road team. That always gives us confidence.”
- Knicks players understand that the 0-2 deficit gives them a chance to do something historic, adds Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Only five NBA teams have ever advanced after losing the first two games of a series at home, and no one has done it in the conference finals.
- Mikal Bridges believes better communication might solve the problems the starting five has been experiencing, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “I think we just have to talk to each other off the jump,” he said. “I think maybe we just play a little too soft in the beginning.”
Kevin Durant: Argument That Foreign Players Have An Advantage Is ‘Trash’
Suns star Kevin Durant had a strong reaction to claims that superior overseas training is responsible for so many foreign-born players capturing MVP honors, writes Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic.
On Wednesday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was born in Canada, extended a seven-year stretch of the NBA’s top award going to players from outside the United States. The streak began in 2019 when Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece won his first of two consecutive MVP trophies. The award then went to Nikola Jokic of Serbia for two straight years, followed by Joel Embiid of Cameroon before Jokic reclaimed it last season.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic and Antetokounmpo were the top three vote-getters for the award this year, and Scott points out that every finalist since 2022 has been an international player. James Harden in 2018 was the last American to be named MVP.
Durant, the 2014 MVP, posted on Twitter that the argument that foreign players have an advantage due to intense training is “corny.”
“Most of these successful international guys either are influenced heavily by American basketball culture, played high school ball in America, some even went to college here,” he wrote. “This whole convo is trash, basketball is a universal language, some people have different dialect. Some states teach the game different than other states, who says there’s a perfect way to teach the game?”
Scott notes that Durant was replying to Robert Littal, co-founder of Black Sport Online, who commented on the Netflix show “Court of Gold.” The documentary on the 2024 Summer Olympics compares the rigorous training style employed by European coaches with a more relaxed approach from their American counterparts. Durant appeared to be most upset about Littal’s assertion that “we have become a soft country.”
Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Ivey, Duren, Celtics Trade Targets
Cade Cunningham earned a significant raise by landing a spot on the All-NBA team, but the extra money will limit the Pistons‘ options in building around him, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Cunningham’s salary for next season will now be worth 30% of the cap rather than 25%, pushing the value of his five-year extension to $269MM instead of $224MM.
As Patterson notes, Detroit is left with about $17MM in cap room to work with this offseason. Considering the non-taxpayer mid-level exception is projected at $14.1MM, it’s less likely that any cap space will be used to add or re-sign players, as the Pistons may simply operate as an over-the-cap team.
Patterson states that the Pistons are still in position to bring back free agents Malik Beasley, Dennis Schröder, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Paul Reed without exceeding the second apron. However, with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren both eligible for rookie-scale extensions, the organization will have to consider its long-term financial obligations when deciding how to handle its free agents.
Cunningham finished seventh in the Most Valuable Player voting, Patterson adds, and owner Tom Gores believes he might be able to capture that award as the Pistons continue to improve.
“I am focused on MVP for him,” Gores said. “He has that. Everyone saw it this year that he is a superstar in the making. His ability. His poise. I’ve talked to Cade throughout the season to remind him that so much of the character of this team revolves around his ability to stay strong.”
There’s more from Detroit:
- Ivey’s return from a broken fibula might be the equivalent of a major free agent signing for next season’s team, observes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). The last medical update from the Pistons, issued April 26, said Ivey was engaged in shooting and skill work, along with strength and conditioning, in preparation for a return to five-on-five competition.
- It may be advantageous for Ivey and Duren to wait for restricted free agency in 2026 rather than negotiate extensions this summer, Sankofa states in a mailbag column. Ivey can improve his bargaining position by bouncing back strong from the injury, while Duren excelled during the playoffs and can become more valuable by playing an entire season at that level.
- The Celtics are expected to make several players available in trade as they try to reduce salary, but it’s too much of a risk for the Pistons to take on the contract of Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis, Sankofa adds in the same piece. He views Sam Hauser, who’s about to start a four-year, $45MM extension, as a more reasonable target.
Thunder Notes: Caruso, Jalen Williams, Holmgren, Coward
The Thunder‘s relentless defense has been the biggest factor in making the Western Conference Finals seem like a mismatch through the first two games, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City has the depth to attack opposing offenses no matter who’s in the game and has posted a 52-20 advantage over Minnesota in points off turnovers.
“Our intensity and aggressiveness can wear on you,” Alex Caruso said. “Whether you’re physically aware of it or mentally aware of it. By the time we bring in our second unit, first unit’s already pushing. And then you bring in me, Cason (Wallace), and keep one of the bigs out there. It’s like you have a whole new starting five defensively.”
Lorenzi notes that few teams can stand up to OKC’s constant pressure for 48 minutes. The Timberwolves showed signs of irritation throughout Game 2, culminating with a flagrant foul whistled against Jaden McDaniels for a two-handed shove of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the fourth quarter.
“That’s frustration,” Caruso said. “Like, that’s clear as day. That’s just him being frustrated. So yeah, for sure, being able to use that. I mean, playoffs are emotional ups and downs, and usually the team that can stay the most even keel throughout the series and playoffs has the upper hand.”
There’s more on the Thunder:
- In an interview with Mark Medina of RG, trainer Packie Turner said he recognized Jalen Williams as a lottery pick during the pre-draft process in 2022. Williams originally wasn’t heralded coming out of Santa Clara, but he moved up draft boards as he began working out for teams and was eventually taken by Oklahoma City at No. 12. “There are not many guys where for every single month of their career, they have gotten better,” Turner said. “But if you statistically look at Jalen, it has nearly been that. This year, some numbers took a dip. But the volume is up. So for what it is, it is still really good. That’s what is so impressive. Now defenses are keying in on him more. The position that he’s in now, he’s still delivering at that level. That’s what is so impressive. He really hasn’t wavered. I think he has risen to every occasion.”
- Chet Holmgren was a Timberwolves fan while growing up in Minnesota, but he made it clear that he’s now “rocking with the Thunder” (video link from Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman). Holmgren notes that the Wolves weren’t often successful when he was following them, so he’s happy for the franchise and the state. Alec Lewis of The Athletic takes a look at Holmgren’s roots in Minnesota and examines how the experience prepared him for the NBA.
- Cedric Coward, who has decided to remain in next month’s draft, visited the Thunder for a private workout, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Coward conducted a similar session with Boston and auditioned for seven other teams in Los Angeles. Coward’s chances of being taken in the first round appear to be growing, and he could be on the board for Oklahoma City’s picks at No. 15 and 24.
LeBron James Says MCL Sprain Is ‘Getting Better’
LeBron James is making progress with the knee injury he suffered in the Lakers‘ final playoff game.
In a recent edition of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash, James stated that his left MCL sprain is “getting better” (hat tip to Corey Hansford of Lakers Nation). He adds that the most difficult part of the process is having to remain relatively inactive while the knee heals.
“That’s the most challenging thing,” James said. “Even though I can’t do much as far as like lower body stuff, I’m still like in the weight room, still getting in upper body. The one thing I am able to do a little bit is ride like a stationary bike just to kind of keep the blood flowing and things of that nature, keep the flexibility as much as possible in the knee. But I’m not a guy that likes to sit around. I have a lot of energy and I hate sitting around, so this has definitely been, almost two weeks after the season, they always tell you to take time off and I’m just not that guy. I’m going crazy right now, for sure.”
James remained in the news this week by earning second-team All-NBA honors. He turned in an unprecedented campaign for a 40-year-old — averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games — and received All-NBA recognition for the 21st straight year.
“ALL NBA at 40!! Low key crazy to me right now! Sitting here watching the playoffs just thinking about it,” James tweeted. “Blessed beyond I can even imagine.”
James has a $52.6MM player option for next season, but in the aftermath of the Lakers’ playoff loss, he expressed uncertainty about whether he plans to continue playing, and it appears that stance hasn’t changed. His agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, wasn’t able to offer any insight into James’ plans during a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, per Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Helin states that the expectation around the league is that James will be back for at least another year, as he was energized by the chance to play alongside his son, Bronny James, and to team up with Luka Doncic. Whatever James’ decision turns out to be, Paul indicated that he won’t rush into it.
“I have no idea, zero. Normally our process is, kind of weigh everything and see how he’s feeling and all those type of things,” Paul said. “… Same process it’s been for the last I don’t know how many years. … He’ll come around to what he’s thinking at some point and we’ll kind of go over some things and go from there.”
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Stevens, Porzingis, Holiday
Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is optimistic that Jayson Tatum will reclaim his place as one of the NBA’s best players whenever he fully recovers from Achilles surgery, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Appearing on Patrick Beverley‘s podcast, Cassell said he plans to help Tatum learn how to view the game from a coach’s perspective while he’s rehabbing the injury.
“It’s good, man,” Cassell said. “When he comes back, he can be even better. He can observe the game of basketball and work on everything he needs to work on. I’m looking forward to the journey with him. Top-five first-team All-(NBA) this year. When he comes back, he’ll be first-team All-(NBA) again. He’s that good.”
Tatum was one of four players to be unanimously selected for first-team All-NBA honors this week, earning the designation for the fourth straight season. No timetable has been set for him to resume playing, but Terada states that the Celtics are confident about his prognosis because he had surgery the morning after tearing his Achilles in Game 4 of their second-round series and he was fortunate to be in New York, which offered greater access to world-class surgeons.
Tatum’s injury derailed any hopes that Boston had of rallying to win the series and it may cause the team to take a step back from contending next season. However, Cassell is confident in the long-term future.
“When you got a great group of guys who understood the situation we were in,” he said, “It’s like, ‘Guys, we’re down 3-1, OK. We’re going to get another lead, so let’s just take advantage of the lead.’ Because we had leads every game. Basketball gods are just not happy sometimes. We’ll grow from this. As a staff, we’ll grow from this as a team. We’re the Boston Celtics, baby.”
There’s more from Boston:
- The press conference held Monday by president of basketball operations Brad Stevens showed that he has a plan to remake the roster and trim salary this summer, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Stevens indicated that he’s willing to use the team’s draft picks at No. 28 and 32 to help get rid of at least the roughly $20MM that will be necessary to get the Celtics below the second apron. Washburn doesn’t expect Stevens to part with Jaylen Brown or Derrick White, but he states that Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday will likely be made available, while Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh and JD Davison may also be deemed expendable.
- In a mailbag column, Brian Robb of MassLive questions how easy it will be to find teams willing to take on Porzingis and Holiday. Robb points out that Holiday is already 35 and will making $37.2MM in 2027/28, while Porzingis’ recent health issues will likely limit his market.
- Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe continues his offseason series rating the team’s various units, this time focusing on the starting lineup. He notes that injuries to Tatum and Brown, along with Porzingis’ illness and Holiday’s signs of aging leave the group in much worse shape than it appeared to be when the season began.
2025 NBA Offseason Preview: Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers entered the 2021/22 and '22/23 seasons with postseason aspirations, but sold off veterans at the trade deadline and shut down a handful of injured regulars during the second half of each season, resulting in consecutive lottery finishes. Recognizing the limitations of their roster, the Blazers leaned fully into the rebuild in 2023 by trading away longtime star Damian Lillard and subsequently posted a 2023/24 record of 21-61, tied for the second-worst mark ever for a franchise that has been active for more than a half-century.
Portland looked headed for a similar outcome early in '24/25. Head coach Chauncey Billups was already believed to be on the hot seat entering the season, so when the Blazers lost 18 of their first 26 games and posted a 13-28 first-half record, it seemed to just be a question of whether or not management would wait until the end of the regular season to replace him.
Then something unexpected happened: Portland caught fire.
From January 19 through the end of February, the Trail Blazers went 14-5, reeling off three separate winning streaks of four-plus games and posting the NBA's second-best defensive rating. While they weren't exactly facing a murderer's row of opponents during that stretch, the Blazers registered some impressive victories, with their only losses coming against strong playoff teams (the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Lakers).
The Blazers cooled off in March and fell out of legitimate play-in contention by April, but their 23-18 second-half run represented some of the best basketball they'd played in years. It was also enough to earn Billups and general manager Joe Cronin contract extensions, ensuring that they'll continue to lead the franchise for the foreseeable future.
You could argue that the Blazers are overvaluing the importance of a strong couple months -- after all, it's probably not realistic to expect this team to play at a 46-win pace for an entire season. Still, several of the club's young players, including Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, and newly minted All-Defensive second-teamer Toumani Camara, made legitimate strides and provided reasons for optimism going forward. And Cronin and his front office presumably know there's still work to be done before this roster can be considered playoff-caliber.
The Trail Blazers' Offseason Plan
Most of the players currently under contract with the Trail Blazers for the 2025/26 season fall into one of two groups: veterans who may be offseason trade candidates and young players whom the team is building around. Let's start with the veterans.
