Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Rumors

And-Ones: Core Trios, MVP, Hayward, NBA App

October 15th, 2025 at 11:04am CST by Rory Maher

Tim Bontemps of ESPN ranks the core trios of every NBA team based on their current and future value. Unsurprisingly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren of the defending champion Thunder sit atop Bontemps’ tiered list, followed by the Nuggets trio of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

Bontemps’ final tier (“rebuilding”) is comprised of the Nets (Nic Claxton, Egor Demin, Nolan Traore), Trail Blazers (Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe), Jazz (Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton, Lauri Markkanen), and Wizards (Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson, Alex Sarr).

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Using six categories (narrative score, expected ridiculous stats score, team quality score, clutch score, player impact score, and perceived value score), Zach Harper of The Athletic takes a stab at predicting who will win the NBA’s MVP award in 2025/26. Jokic, who was the runner-up last season, earns the most points (55/60), followed by reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander (50/60) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (50/60), who finished third in voting last season. However, Harper’s “gut” says Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (45/60) will claim his first MVP.
Former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward, who retired last summer after a 14-year career in the league, is returning to his alma mater in a new role. According to a Butler press release written by John Dedman, Hayward will be an executive basketball advisor for the Bulldogs’ men’s basketball program. In addition to advising in multiple areas, Hayward will also serve as a mentor to student-athletes, with a focus on leadership and professional development.
The NBA announced in a press release that it has launched a new multi-platform streaming offering as well as the “reimagined” NBA TV, both of which can be accessed via the NBA App. There’s also a new flagship program on NBA TV and the NBA App called “The Association,” which features MJ Acosta-Ruiz, David Fizdale, Rudy Gay, Chris Haynes and John Wall, among others.

Northwest Notes: SGA, Bailey, Dillingham, Miller, Cooke

October 14th, 2025 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t see himself playing until he’s 40 like current stars LeBron James and Chris Paul, he said within a GQ Sports cover story, per Yang-Yi Goh (subscription required).

“I definitely think I can,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I won’t, though. A hundred percent.”

The reigning MVP just turned 27 in July, so he certainly has time to change his mind between now and the final years of his NBA career. However, he went on to explain that family considerations would be the main reason why he doesn’t think he’d want to extend his playing days that long.

“I won’t want to miss that much of my kid’s life,” he told Goh. “I won’t want to be away and miss his first basketball game every year, his first soccer game, football game, piano lesson, chess lesson, whatever it is. And there’s a certain point in your career where you reach your peak.

“I don’t fault guys for still playing. They love the game. But I just feel like I play this game, ultimately, to see what the best version of me can be. Once I figure that out and I start going down, then it’s like, Okay, well, what am I playing for now? As soon as that happens, I’ll be on the first ship out.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Jazz rookie Ace Bailey is dealing with “some tendonitis” in both of his knees, Will Hardy said after the No. 5 overall pick was removed from Monday’s game vs. Portland. However, Utah’s head coach didn’t sound overly concerned about the issue. “He’s not going to be getting imaged or anything like that,” Hardy told reporters, including Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “It’s just trying to take care of him. He was a little sore during his second stint (on the court).”
After playing a limited role as a rookie, second-year Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham is working on making the adjustments necessary to earn more regular minutes in 2025/26, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune details. “I want to play,” Dillingham said. “So whatever I got to do to play, whatever (head coach Chris Finch) wants me to do — pass the ball, pick up (on defense), I’m just gonna have to do.” Finch offered more details on what he and the staff have told Dillingham to focus on: “Be ready to make shots off the ball, particularly when you’re playing out there alongside guys like Julius and Ant who are going to have the ball in their hands a lot. Keep it simple and use your speed, which is what we need you to do and what you have naturally comes to you.”
Timberwolves forward Leonard Miller, who suffered a finger injury early in training camp, was cleared for full-contact, five-on-five basketball activities on Monday, the team announced in a press release. Miller started on Monday against the Guangzhou Loong Lions and played well in a Minnesota blowout, racking up 15 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
The Oklahoma City Blue and Rip City Remix have completed a trade, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The Thunder‘s G League affiliate acquired the returning rights for Isaac Nogues and Henri Drell, along with a 2026 second-round pick, from the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate, in exchange for Javonte Cooke‘s returning rights. Cooke signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Portland two weeks ago, while Nogues and Drell are currently playing overseas.

And-Ones: ESPN Survey, S. Cash, Bargain FAs, More

September 23rd, 2025 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 20 coaches, executives, and scouts around the NBA polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps overwhelmingly picked Nuggets center Nikola Jokic as the current best player in the NBA, with Jokic receiving 19 votes while Lakers guard Luka Doncic earned the last one.

However, the predictions for 2025/26 MVP were more divided — Jokic leads the way with seven votes, but Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (five), Doncic (four), and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (two) each received multiple votes, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards each got one too.

The panel polled by Bontemps also predicted who will be the NBA’s best player in 2030 (Wembanyama received 16 votes), who will win Rookie of the Year in 2025/26 (Cooper Flagg earned 19 votes), and where LeBron James will be when the 2026/27 season begins — seven respondents expect him to still be a Laker, while five said he’ll be retired and eight believe he’ll be with a new team.

Those coaches, executives, and scouts also believe the Hawks (seven votes) had the best offseason of the NBA’s 30 teams, while the Pelicans (nine votes) had the worst summer. And they nearly unanimously picked the Thunder to repeat as champions. Just two respondents chose the Nuggets to win the 2026 title, while the other 18 stuck with Oklahoma City.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

After being let go by the Pelicans in April, former WNBA star and veteran NBA executive Swin Cash is joining Amazon Prime Video for the 2025/26 season, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Cash will have the role of “front office insider” on Prime Video’s NBA studio show, then will become a studio analyst for Amazon’s WNBA coverage.
Thomas Bryant, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Delon Wright are among the unsigned players identified by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report as bargain free agents who are capable of helping any NBA team.
John Hollinger of The Athletic views the Thunder (62.5 wins), Clippers (48.5), Warriors (45.5), Bulls (32.5), and Jazz (18.5) as the five teams who are the best bets to exceed the over/under win projections set by oddsmakers for the 2025/26 season.

And-Ones: Award Predictions, Top Forwards, Free Agency, Cui

August 26th, 2025 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Will Nikola Jokic win a fourth Most Valuable Player award in 2025/26? He’s the top choice among a panel of ESPN Insiders to capture the league’s top individual honor next season. Luka Doncic ranks as the second pick, with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting the third-most votes.

The panel also offers their predictions on five other major awards, including Rookie of the Year (no surprise, they picked No. 1 draft choice Cooper Flagg) and Sixth Man of the Year (Alex Caruso and Naz Reid received the most votes}.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

Who’s the top forward in the NBA? Giannis Antetokounmpo is in a class of his own, according to The Athletic’s Zach Harper. The Bucks superstar holds the tier-one level all by himself in “The Bounce’s Top 40 Forwards.” Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero and Zion Williamson are in the tier-two “Still Elite, Just Not Giannis” level. Heading up the group of six players who round out the top 10 and start the tier-three level is Draymond Green.
Free agency isn’t what it used to be in the NBA, with most star players signing extensions before they ever reach that point. HoopsHype’s Alberto De Roa examines the decline in free agency’s importance, noting that only one player this summer who changed teams — new Bucks center Myles Turner — secured a contract with at least $100MM in guaranteed money.
Cui Yongxi – also known as Jacky Cui – is working toward an NBA comeback after tearing his ACL in December with the G League’s Long Island Nets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. He has been working out in Brooklyn and is now participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old free agent guard had been on a two-way contract and appeared in five games with the Nets but was waived by Brooklyn in December following the injury.

Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Complete Four-Year Super-Max Extension

July 1st, 2025 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

July 8: Gilgeous-Alexander’s lucrative new four-year mega-deal is now official, the Thunder confirmed in a press release.

July 1: The Thunder and reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have agreed to a four-year, super-max contract extension, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The contract will begin in 2027/28, adding four years to the two left on Gilgeous-Alexander’s current deal and locking him up through at least the ’29/30 season, with a player option for ’30/31, per Charania (Twitter video link).

While Charania refers to it as a $285MM payday for the Thunder star, the exact value of the contract will depend on where the 2027/28 salary cap ends up — Gilgeous-Alexander’s super-max extension will start at 35% of that season’s cap, with 8% annual increases from there. Charania’s projection assumes a 7% cap increase for next year, as projected by the NBA on Monday, followed by a 10% increase in 2027.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who will turn 27 later this month, is coming off one of the most successful seasons in NBA history. He racked up 32.7 points per game on a shooting line of .519/.375/.898 while also contributing 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 block per contest.

He followed up that regular season performance this spring by averaging 29.9 PPG during the postseason and leading the Thunder to their first title in Oklahoma City.

Those performances earned Gilgeous-Alexander MVP honors in both the regular season and the NBA Finals, making him the 16th player in league history to win both awards in the same year. It hadn’t happened since LeBron James pulled off the feat during the 2012/13 season.

Gilgeous-Alexander actually met the performance criteria for a super-max contract (also known as a “designated veteran” deal) in 2024 by making an All-NBA team for a second straight season, but wasn’t permitted to sign his extension until this summer because he hadn’t yet met the service-time criteria.

A player with between seven and nine years of experience typically has a maximum salary of 30% of the cap, but can qualify for 35% by being named MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or All-NBA in the most recent season or in two of the previous three seasons.

Gilgeous-Alexander had the option of waiting another year to sign his super-max extension — at that time, he could’ve added a fifth year, increasing the total projected value to nearly $370MM. However, it doesn’t come as a surprise that he opted not to leave this sort of payday on the table for another year.

The Thunder will now shift their focus to two other key extension candidates, as both Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren are eligible this offseason for rookie scale extensions as they prepare to enter their fourth year in the NBA.

Northwest Notes: Boozer, Bradley, OKC, Timberwolves

June 25th, 2025 at 10:40am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Jazz‘s reconfigured front office is leaning on former Utah forward Carlos Boozer and former longtime NBA guard Avery Bradley to help prep for Wednesday and Thursday’s NBA draft, observes Tony Jones of The Athletic.

“This place has really transformed,” Boozer told Jones. “But, I want to do my part to build this team back up to being a contender, because that’s where this franchise belongs. I love this fan base and this town. It reminds me of my hometown in Alaska. So, this has been a huge honor, and it’s brought back so many memories.”

As Jones notes, both Boozer and Bradley know something about being under-the-radar draft gems.

“I think having the perspective of being a player is helpful,” Bradley said. “Seeing players that could model and resemble some of the players that we’ve played with and have been in locker rooms with helps. What Carlos and I have wanted to do is help Austin (Ainge) and Justin (Zanik) and Danny (Ainge) in the process.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

After claiming their first title together on Sunday, the Thunder’s new big three of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA wing Jalen Williams, and big man Chet Holmgren could form the core of a new dynasty, posits Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “These guys represent all that’s good at a young age,” longtime Oklahoma City president Sam Presti said. “They prioritize winning, they prioritize sacrifice, and it just kind of unfolded very quickly…. Age is a number. Sacrifice and maturity is a characteristic, and these guys have it in spades.”
With the Timberwolves’ sale officially approved by the league, now-former majority owners Glen and Becky Taylor have penned a thank-you message to Minnesota fans, via a Timberwolves press release. Taylor leaves the Timberwolves in a good place, with the club anchored by All-NBA superstar guard Anthony Edwards and fresh off two straight Western Conference Finals appearances. “Though we are stepping away as owners, our love for this organization and this community remains as strong as ever,” the Taylors write. “We will always be fans, cheering from our seats, celebrating your triumphs, and believing in what comes next.”
Incoming new Timberwolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez spoke to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic about their vision for the franchise moving forward. “Let’s make it very clear,” Rodriguez said. “Marc and I are not making basketball decisions… What we’ve learned is some of the best governors throughout sports, they spend most of their time in the front end hiring the right people. … We give them guidelines, we give them budgets, and then Tim (Connelly) can cook. And then we stay out of his way. That’s also really important.”

Thunder Notes: Dynasty Talk, Caruso, Holmgren, Dort

June 23rd, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

As Oklahoma City celebrated its first-ever NBA title Sunday night, speculation began about how many more this version of the Thunder might be able to get, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The Game 7 win over Indiana made OKC the second-youngest champion in NBA history, and Reynolds points out that the organization is set up very well for the future.

The Thunder are built around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who completed the rare feat of winning MVP, Finals MVP and a scoring title in the same season. SGA and just about other every important player on the roster are under contract for next season, and rookie scale extensions are looming for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City has a treasure trove of draft assets, including the No. 15 and 24 picks this year, along with Nikola Topic, a 2024 lottery pick who sat out the entire season due to injury.

“We definitely still have room to grow,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s the fun part of this. So many of us can still get better. There’s not very many of us on the team that are in our prime or even close to it. We have a lot to grow, individually and as a group. I’m excited for the future of this team. This is a great start, for sure.”

In addition, the Thunder have a calm, steady leader in Mark Daigneault, who now has an NBA title and a Coach of the Year award five years into his head coaching career. Reynolds notes that general manager Sam Presti and owner Clay Bennett rarely speak to the media, so Daigneault serves as the voice of the franchise.

“There’s no guarantee you end it the way that we did,” Daigneault said. “I just wanted it so bad for them. I was just so thrilled that we were able to get that done and they get to experience this because they deserve it. The way they approach it, the professionalism, competitiveness, team-first nature, like I said, I wanted it so bad for them.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

An offseason trade for Alex Caruso added to the Thunder’s collection of elite defenders, notes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Caruso’s versatility and his willingness to do things that aren’t glamorous made him an indispensable part of the championship run. “I think just through my career, I figured out that I can do stuff that’s not necessarily sexy or not necessarily the mainstream offensive or even defensive skill set that people recognize,” Caruso said. “I just leaned into it. I practiced being great at the stuff that nobody else does, carving a role for myself in the league. I think through the years, I’ve just kind of perfected that stuff.”
Holmgren set a record Sunday night by blocking five shots, the most ever in an NBA Finals Game 7 since blocks began being recorded in 1973/74, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. It was a satisfying conclusion for Holmgren, who missed more than half of the regular season due to a hip injury. “Honestly, I never really play for records,” he said. “I never play for stats. All that will be forgotten. But us winning is forever. It’s immortal. I’m just so happy we were able to do that together as a team.”
Luguentz Dort would normally be a strong extension candidate, but it won’t be an easy decision for the Thunder, who already have extension decisions to make on Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Williams, Bobby Marks of ESPN writes in his offseason guide. Marks also expects OKC to aggressively look for trades involving its two first-round picks and one second-rounder in Wednesday’s draft.

Thunder Win First Championship Since Move; SGA Named Finals MVP

June 22nd, 2025 at 10:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder claimed their first NBA championship since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City, as they defeated the depleted Pacers, 103-91, in Game 7 on Sunday.

Seattle, which won the championship in 1979, relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Pacers, who have never won an NBA title, played the last three quarters without Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, this season’s Most Valuable Player, also earned Finals MVP honors, the league announced (via Twitter). It’s the 16th time a player has won both in the same year, though it hasn’t happened since LeBron James pulled it off during the 2012/13 season.

The Thunder should be major contenders for years to come with their young core, featuring Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. The top priorities for the Thunder this offseason center around extensions.

Gilgeous-Alexander has met the performance criteria for a super-max contract and will become eligible to sign that extension next month. The 2024 MVP runner-up still has two years left on his current deal and can’t exceed six years in total, so the maximum value of his extension would be a projected $293.4MM over four years, beginning in 2027/28.

Williams and Holmgren are eligible for rookie scale extensions until the beginning of next seasons and both could receive the max – five years and a projected $246MM. The maximum value of those extensions could increase to a projected $296MM if All-NBA, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year honors are negotiated into the contracts.

The Pacers’ offseason outlook could change dramatically due to Haliburton’s injury. Myles Turner, their starting center, is headed to unrestricted free agency and while the Pacers reportedly want to re-sign him, they could have plenty of competition. Bennedict Mathurin is eligible for a rookie scale extension.

Several other key players, including Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, are signed through at least the 2027/28 season. Could they look to shed salary in light of Haliburton’s injury?

With the NBA Finals decided, the 2025 NBA offseason is officially underway. For the second straight year, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents one day after the Finals. Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to begin negotiations with their current teams on Monday.

Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if some agreements are reported this week. Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6.

The draft will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, with free agency beginning on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

Thunder Notes: SGA, Daigneault, Game 7, Pacers

June 20th, 2025 at 11:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Thunder collapsed in Game 6 of their ongoing NBA Finals series against Indiana on Friday, with the final score of 108-91 not nearly reflective of how grisly things got. The Pacers led by as many as 31 points, while the Thunder went 8-for-30 from distance and turned the ball over a whopping 21 times.

Now, the series is knotted up as it returns to Oklahoma City for a conclusive Game 7 on Sunday.

According to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, MVP Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is doing his darnedest to shake off a disappointing night.

“One game,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Winner takes all. Give it your best shot. Bring your ‘A’ game. I don’t try to complicate it.”

Gilgeous-Alexander submitted his worst performance of the Finals in Game 6, though he put up 21 points, which was still the highest scoring output for a Thunder player.

“The way I see it is, we sucked tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after accounting for eight of his team’s turnovers. “We can learn our lessons. We have one game for everything, for everything we’ve worked for, and so do they. The better team Sunday will win.”

There’s more out of Oklahoma City:

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault contends that his team’s face-plant, in what could have been a closeout game, was not reflective of who they have been in the playoffs so far, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “From our standpoint, it was uncharacteristic,” Daigneault said. “It was disappointing. It was collective. It wasn’t one guy. Just we were not where we needed to be on either end of the floor for much of the game. We have to be a lot better before Game 7.”
The stakes for the Thunder to wrap up an historic 68-game regular season with a franchise-first championship (at least, in Oklahoma City) are monumental. Per Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Gilgeous-Alexander thinks that a Game 7 loss in the Finals would be just as disappointing as, say, as a second-round defeat. Without a championship, he would view the season as a failure. “I see it as the same thing,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In round two, if we had lost, I would have been just as disappointed. We would have went home and our season would have been over. If we lose (on Sunday), the season is over in the wrong way. Either way, I would have been extremely disappointed, so I don’t think it’s any different.”
By botching Game 6 against the Pacers, the Thunder have stumbled into a do-or-die contest Sunday, where anything can happen, notes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link). There’s no room for error anymore. Oklahoma City struggled to even contain Indiana’s top reserves in the game, Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell. Toppin scored a Pacers-best 20 points, while McConnell notched 12 points, nine boards, six assists and four steals.

Thunder Notes: SGA, Title Path, Market Size, Jalen Williams, K. Williams

June 19th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now leading Indiana 3-2 in the NBA Finals, the Thunder and their All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are on the cusp of securing their first title in Oklahoma City. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link) unpacks what that would mean for the team, Gilgeous-Alexander, All-NBA forward Jalen Williams, big man Chet Holmgren, team owner Clay Bennett, longtime general manager Sam Presti, head coach Mark Daigneault, and more.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s already one of the most NBA’s most efficient scoring guards, can still be maximized as a distributor by Oklahoma City, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Grange observes that, over the last 40 years, only Gilgeous-Alexander and Kevin Durant have scored 2,400 or more points with a true shooting mark of .630 or better, both during their respective MVP seasons for the Thunder.

The 6’6″ guard continues to try to thread the needle when it comes to looking to score and looking to involve other players in the offense. Grange notes that Gilgeous-Alexander notched eight assists in Game 2 and 10 more in Game 5, but has had just seven total dimes in the other three games of the series.

There’s more out of Oklahoma City:

The Thunder’s consistent organizational infrastructure has helped the club return to the NBA Finals and reach the brink of a championship, observes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Presti has held his gig for 18 seasons and counting, while Bennett has proven to be a stabilizing force on the business front. Slater notes that the Thunder, who won just 24 games three years ago, have managed a remarkable turnaround back to contention.
The Thunder have hardly let being the league’s third-smallest market franchise limit their aspirations, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Rival executives are convinced that Oklahoma City spends extensively on its front office— its 88 basketball operations staffers lap the big-market Lakers’ 56. Vorkunov also notes that the team’s front office stability has been appealing to help the team retain talent.
Hall of Fame former Chicago forward Scottie Pippen has noticed the parallels between himself and All-NBA Thunder wing Jalen Williams, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Both were two-way standouts who blossomed next to more established scoring guards en route to Finals appearances. “He is pretty special,” Pippen told MacMahon. “I’m enjoying watching him. I see a lot of me in him for sure. I see a guy rising to be one of the top players in this league. He’s definitely a player that is capable of being able to lead that franchise to multiple championships — him and Shai, of course.”
In another piece for The Oklahoman (subscriber link), Mussatto examines Kenrich Williams‘ natural fit in Oklahoma City. Williams has now been with the Thunder longer than every player on the roster aside from Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort. “He’s an old head,” Dort said of Williams. “He has an old soul. You feel it every time you’re around him. His leadership has been big for us on and off the court.” Williams is in the second year of a four-season, $27.2MM deal with the club. Thanks to a deep backcourt, Daigneault has been deploying Williams in spot minutes throughout the playoffs. He’s been averaging 8.1 MPG in the 14 games he’s seen action.