Respect is the ultimate currency. (via @nba) pic.twitter.com/kbqHv9Fexu

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 13, 2023

The loss came after Luka Doncic (35 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists) knocked down a step-back triple over the 6’2 Dennis Schröder. Luka Legend forced overtime after he inbounded the ball to Spender Dinwiddie, who then handed him the ball while simultaneously setting the screen, forcing the Lakers to switch from Russell Westbrook being Doncic’s primary defender to Schröder defending Doncic.

“We weren’t looking to foul,” Ham explained postgame. “Felt confident in the five guys we had defending, and he did what Luka does, he made a shot. I’m kicking myself in the butt. I needed to coach a little better in that instance; we should have blitzed him — or at least forced him inside the three-point line.”

“You know, it’s those situations [that are] kinda chaotic — bunch of chatter, everything’s going on, you’re trying to figure out matchups. We — read [the Mavericks’ offense], switched anyways. So I’ll take the bullet for that. That’s on me. We have to be better defensively in those moments and force someone else [other than Doncic] to beat us.

2 clutch @luka7doncic stepbacks.
2 powerful @SDinwiddie_25 dunks.
2 big @Chriswood_5 blocks.

2 overtimes… 1 @dallasmavs win! pic.twitter.com/lCHqHodGcf

— NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2023

Leaving Schröder on an island was a vastly different strategic decision for a Lakers team blitzing Doncic with double-teams all game. Although Doncic finished the game with a triple-double, forcing the ball out of his hand or making him shoot over a taller lengthier defender would’ve been the preferred result.

The lakers had a chance to win after rallying back from a 19-point regulation deficit, but they couldn’t make enough plays over the extra 10 minutes they played. Dinwiddie delivered the win after scoring twice during Dallas’ decisive 6-0 run, making sure the Mavs won for the second time in five games.

The Lakers will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

The post Darvin Ham Regrets Not Double-Teaming Luka Doncic Before His Clutch Shot appeared first on SLAM.

The home win came despite LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Lonnie Walker being absent from the lineup. Instead, the Lakers relied on Dennis Schroder, Russell Westbrook, Thomas Bryant, and Austin Reaves to deliver the four-point win.

Reaves was particularly important for the win after contributing 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists, including a inbounding dime to Westbrook for a clutch and-one layup to give the Lakers a 110-106 lead with 14.2 seconds remaining. Reaves’ dish earned some significant praise from head coach Darvin Ham during postgame interviews.

In fact, the clutch play led Ham to call the second-year guard an “all-time inbounder,” per Michael Corvo of Clutch Points. When Reaves heard what his first-year head coach said, he said “it means a lot for him to have trust in me in that position to make the right play.”

“It’s great, I mean, if we [score] off of that every game it’s a win, so it means a lot for him to have the trust in me to put me in that position to make the right play,” Reaves said per Spectrum SportsNet.

“I [saw] Russ was open, semi-open, so I threw it to him,” Reaves joked about his decision-making process in threading what was essentially the pass that led to the game-winning score.

The Lakers will look to extend their winning streak when they play the Hawks (18-20) on the road.

The post Darvin Ham Calls Austin Reaves An ‘All-Time Inbounder’ appeared first on SLAM.

When the Lakers were set to play their preseason finale, multiple reports said Ham intended to bring Westbrook off the bench against the Sacramento Kings. Westbrook has started every NBA game he has played since his rookie year. 

In what later became a 47-point loss, Brodie only played 5 minutes off the bench. He strained his hamstring early on and never returned. After the Lakers suffered an opening day 123-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors a few days later, Westbrook told reporters that he “absolutely” attributed this injury to his temporary bench role. 

“I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do pregame. Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose — That’s something I just wasn’t accustomed to,” Westbrook said after their regular season debut 123-109 loss against the Golden State Warriors. 

Westbrook has played in 1,022 career games and has started 1,005 of them. A bench role later this season is not off the table with improved depth at the point guard after the additions of Patrick Beverly, Dennis Schröder, and the return Kendrick Nunn.

However, in last night’s game, Westbrook showed flashes of why the Lakers traded for him in the first place. In 31 minutes, Westbrook had 19 points and 11 rebounds on 58 percent shooting. He kicked in three assists and a steal as well. 

Both his coach and his teammate, Anthony Davis, maintain the game against Sacramento was just an experiment and an exploration of their options. When asked about his decision to start Westbrook on opening night, Ham was complimentary of Russell Westbrook. 

“You want to start the game off the right way in terms of your energy and being in attack mode, and no one better than him,” Ham said, who spoke to reporters before Westbrook did after the game. “I mean, it’s what we have, and we got some key guys hurt. It’s Game 1; give them a chance to go out and compete at the highest level. I thought he was solid. I thought he was solid. A couple possessions I wish I can get back, but overall, I thought he was solid.”

AD stated he didn’t think Westbrook’s realignment to the bench was ever intended to be a real option. Despite the loss, the Lakers Big 3 looked more fluid in their offensive execution, and they thought so too. 

“I think we played well,” Davis said. “We wanted to come out, and everybody be aggressive.”

LeBron James added, “I thought we all just kind of played free. And it resulted in all three of us pretty much being efficient from the floor.”

If the Lakers are to right the ship, Westbrook must be healthy and play well. He’s sending the message that he does that best from the starting five.

The post Russell Westbrook Believes Coming Off the Bench ‘Absolutely’ Caused Hamstring Injury appeared first on SLAM.

Dennis Schroder underwent a procedure to repair a ligament in his thumb today, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham. He is expected to be sidelined 3-4 weeks, per Ham.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 17, 2022

Schröder didn’t travel with the Lakers for their preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings due to the injury. The Lakers were reportedly concerned that the thumb injury could be a long-term issue for Schroder.

Schröder is back in Los Angeles after signing a one-year deal. He left the Lake Show in free agency to sign with the Boston Celtics. Schröder averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.6 rebounds during the 64 games he played between Boston and Houston. He missed the last seven games of the season due to a shoulder injury.

The Lakers open the 2022-23 season against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Dennis Schröder Out 3-4 Weeks After Undergoing Thumb Surgery appeared first on SLAM.

Schroder unceremoniously left the franchise shortly after the season but is returning to Los Angeles because he reportedly feels like there is some unfinished business with the Lakers.

“LeBron [James] said he was glad he got me back,” Schroder said via Basketnews. “It’s unfinished business. That year when I was there, there were no fans. There was Covid; everybody was hurt. This year hopefully, everything stays good, everybody stays healthy, and then we’ll try to go for something.”

Schroder also revealed that he and his team had been negotiating his return to the purple and gold for the last three months.

“I’ve been talking to the Lakers for the last three months. I knew I was going back, but I wanted to take my time,” Schroder explained.

Schroder played with the German national team during the FIBA Eurobasket tournament, where he led Germany to a bronze medal finish, its first EuroBasket medal since 2005.

Dennis Schroder was on a mission in #EuroBasket

22.1 PTS
7.1 AST
2.3 REB
1.1 STL

Germany’s MVP en route to the bronze medal pic.twitter.com/shRbx2g7jJ

— FIBA (@FIBA) September 19, 2022

Schroder will likely come off the bench behind Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverly as a pass-first point guard off the pine.

Last season, Schroder averaged 13.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game on 39.3 percent shooting from the field and 32.8 percent from deep while playing for the Celtics and Rockets.

The post Dennis Schroder ‘Took His Time’ Negotiating Return to the Lakers appeared first on SLAM.

Rafael Stone says he believes giving minutes to Eric Gordon and Dennis Schröder the rest of the season will help the development of the Rockets young guards: “I think Eric’s been extraordinarily helpful to the development of our young guards…” pic.twitter.com/dcgUuB7EEv

— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) February 11, 2022

Stone further explained what Schroder can bring to this team going forward via USA Today Sports.

“Dennis is not by any means like an over-the-hill veteran,” Stone said. “He’s just a really good basketball player and has been for years. Depending upon how you measure it, we’re either the fastest or one of the top three or four fastest teams in the NBA, and he’s obviously electric in the open court, and he’s an above-average defender. So I think it’s going to be a good fit, or I hope it’s going to be a good fit, both ways.”

Schroder was placed in the starting lineup due to a Kevin Porter Jr. scratch and played precisely how the Rockets envisioned he would, leading the Rockets in scoring in a 124-121 loss.

Schroder averaged 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists as a Celtic. In his second game as a Rocket, the 28-year-old point guard put up a stat-line of 23 points, nine assists, and six rebounds, almost leading Houston to a big upset of the NBA’s best team.

Jalen Green flies in for the alley-oop

Watch Now on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/ifkEpBcGlX

— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2022

Rafael Stone and the Rockets will need more of Schroder’s production like this going forward.

“We play a five-out system, so you need multiple perimeter players on the court and multiple ballhandlers,” Stone said. “One of the things that is hard about playing four or five young guys at the same time is that making reads as a young player in the NBA is difficult.”

Schroder is in his ninth season.

The post Dennis Schroder Shines In Starting Role For Houston Rockets Against Suns appeared first on SLAM.

TRADES:

The Lakers and Knicks didn’t make any moves according to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers will reportedly be focusing on the buyout market.

No deal for the Lakers, source tells ESPN. THey’ll focus on the buyout market.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

Houston is trading Daniel Theis to the Celtics for Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando, and Enis Freedom. Freedom has been waived by the Rockets.

Boston is sending guard Dennis Schroder to the Rockets in the deal, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/4RFdjoULq3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Wizards are trading Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie to the Mavericks for Kristaps Porzingis.

The Wizards will send Davis Bertans in deal too, source tells ESPN. Mavericks send a second-round pick to Wizards. https://t.co/RJdybUd0Lw

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Wizards are flipping Montrezl Harrell for Charlotte’s Vernon Carey and Ish Smith.

Charlotte is acquiring Washington center Montrezl Harrell for Vernon Carey and Ish Smith, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Pacers are reportedly working on a deal to send Torrey Craig to the Suns for Jalen Smith.

The Celtics will acquire Derrick White from the Spurs.

Romeo Langford and Josh Richardson are included in the deal to the Spurs.

The Celtics are trading PJ Dozier and Bol Bol to the Magic for a future second-round pick.

The Celtics are trading PJ Dozier and Bol Bol, a future second and cash to the Magic for a future second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Dozier and Bol are both out for the season. Cost-savings for Boston.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Spurs are working on a trade for Goran Dragic and are expected to buy out his contract. The Mavericks, Bucks, Bulls, and Clippers are reportedly interested in the Dragons services. Thad Young, Drew Eubanks, and a 2022 second-round pick are headed to the Raptors.

The Raptors are trading Dragic and protected 2022 first-round picks to the Spurs for Thad Young, Drew Eubanks and a 2022 second-round pick via Pistons, sources tell ESPN. Pick is protected 1-14 in 2022; 1-13 in 2023 and would turn into two seconds beyond that. https://t.co/SN0sFyVurm

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

The Bucks have traded Rodney Hood and Semi Ojele to the Clippers, Serge Ibaka to the Bucks, Donte DiVencenco to the Kings and Marvin Bagley is headed to the Pistons on Thursday according to Woj.

ESPN Sources:
Full trade participants:
Kings: Donte DiVincenzo, Trey Lyles and Josh Jackson.
Bucks: Serge Ibaka, two future second-round picks, cash.
Clippers: Rodney Hood, Semi Ojele.
Pistons: Marvin Bagley Jr.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 10, 2022

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Utah Jazz is receiving Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Juancho Hernangomez of the Spurs in a three-way deal. Spurs receive Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, and the Blazers get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and a second-round selection.

The Utah Jazz are acquiring guard Portland’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the Spurs’ Juancho Hernangomez in a three-way deal, sources tell ESPN. The Spurs gets guard Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, and the Blazers get Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2022

The Pacers are sending Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, and Justin Holiday to the Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson. 

Jeremy Lamb AND Justin Holiday. https://t.co/0GbRwKcRBP

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022

The Pelicans receive CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, and Tony Snell in a trade with the Blazers. Portland gets Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, and a protected first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

Full trade, per sources:
Blazers: Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, Didi Louzada, 2022 protected first-round pick, two second-round picks.
Pelicans: CJ McCollum, Larry Nance, Tony Snell.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2022

The Pacers trade Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick from Miami to Cleveland for Ricky Rubio, a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick from Houston, and a 2027 second-round pick from Utah.

Full trade: Indiana sends Caris LeVert and a 2022 second-round pick via Miami to Cleveland for Ricky Rubio, lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, 2022 second-round pick via Houston and a 2027 second-round pick via Utah, per sources.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2022

The Clippers and the Blazers agreed to a trade last week. The Clippers move Eric Bledsoe, Justice Winslow, Keon Johnson, and a future second-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington. 

The Clippers are trading Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and future second-round pick to the Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 4, 2022

RUMORS:

REPORT: James Harden is pushing for a trade to Philadelphia by ‘screaming in every way he possibly can,’ to get out of Brooklyn.

James Harden is pushing for a trade and is ‘screaming in every way he possibly can’ to get out of Brooklyn, per @WindhorstESPN. https://t.co/D7l2VI9IZq pic.twitter.com/GcFCoivKjF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 9, 2022

REPORT: Philadelphia refuses to include Maxey in any deal, causing Brooklyn to counter with an asking price of Simmons, Curry, Thybulle, and Drummond. Philadelphia is hesitant to have Curry, though Mills would reportedly end up in Philadelphia.

Update: Sixers have refused to include Tyrese Maxey in any deal with Brooklyn. Nets have countered with an asking price of Simmons, Curry, Thybulle, and Drummond. Sixers are hesitant to include Curry. Any deal would likely send Patty Mills to Philly aside from Harden.

— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) February 9, 2022

Brooklyn needs to see Curry in the deal alongside Simmons for them to be willing to move Harden.

This is from Sunday night’s BS Podcast and nothing has changed — Brooklyn wants Seth in any Harden deal. (And Embiid loves playing with Curry.) pic.twitter.com/sTD2vyY1co

— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 9, 2022

Teams around the League think a deal between Philadelphia and Brooklyn is close to being done and that it would open the ‘floodgates’ if the agreement were to be done before tomorrow’s deadline.

It sounds like rival teams think a deal between Brooklyn and Philadelphia may be getting close. One team told me “They’ve kind of put other talks on hold. If that deal finally happens, then the floodgates will open around the league for a lot more to happen.”

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 9, 2022

Philadelphia has talked to Oklahoma City about Tobias Harris, though it may be a ploy to put more pressure on Brooklyn to trade Harden before tomorrow’s deadline.

Now arrives another stretch of uncertainty, with the trade deadline approaching Thursday afternoon and sources telling The Inquirer that the Sixers have explored trading Tobias Harris. https://t.co/Kv6MEFjDDh

— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) February 9, 2022

Buddy Hield may not end up in Indiana after claims of Pacers opening to flipping him to another team before the Thursday deadline.

Small trade note: As of now — and everything can change in the next 26 hours — the Indiana Pacers do not plan to trade Buddy Hield despite some interest from other teams, sources tell ESPN.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 9, 2022

Detroit is listening to offers for Jerami Grant but may wait until the offseason to move him. Detroit wants two first-rounders in exchange for Grant, and the Portland Trail Blazers have shown the most interest. 

Pistons Listening To Offers On Jerami Grant, Could Wait Until Offseason For Trade https://t.co/nImk0qLAHF

— RealGM (@RealGM) February 9, 2022

The post LIVE: NBA Trade Deadline Tracker appeared first on SLAM.

Matt Moore of The Action Network recently reported that one player they could look to trade is guard Dennis Schroder. 

Moore reports that Boston’s priority is to clear salary to save on the luxury tax, with Schroder being a feasible way to do just that. He says there are two offers on the table for the veteran guard, one from the Milwaukee Bucks and another from the Chicago Bulls. 

Both the Bucks and Bulls are among the best Eastern Conference teams and could use another scoring punch to further strengthen their respective bench units. 

On the season, Schroder is averaging 14.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest. A microwave scorer, it would be interesting to see what Boston could get in return for the veteran point guard. 

The post REPORT: Celtics Have Offers on Table for Dennis Schroder from Bucks and Bulls appeared first on SLAM.

At the time Brown suffered his injury November 4, Brown was averaging a career-high 25.6 points and 6.1 on 49.3 shooting from the field. As Boston’s starting center, Williams was putting up near-double-double (10.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game).

The Celtics went 5-3 without Brown and won seven of their last 10 games behind the improved play of Jayson Tatum (25.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game) and consistent production from Schroder, who is averaging 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.2 dimes per game.

The timing couldn’t be better for the Celtics (9-8) to be getting healthy, who could have their entire roster and original starting lineup when they play the Nets (12-5), Wednesday.

The post Jaylen Brown Set to Return Against the Rockets appeared first on SLAM.

The Celtics were defeated by Washington, 116-107, earlier this week at home.

#NEBHInjuryReport Marcus Smart is not feeling well and will not travel with the team to D.C. Aaron Nesmith missed today’s practice due to an illness as well, but he will likely travel, according to Coach Udoka. Both illnesses are non-COVID related.

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 29, 2021

This illness is the most recent of a string of health issues Smart has dealt with as of late. After an overtime game against the Charlotte Hornets, it was reported that he was suffering with body aches and a migraine headache.

Smart has started the season slowly with averages of 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. With him out, the team will likely have to rely on Dennis Schroder to play more minutes with second-year point guard Payton Pritchard moving up in the rotation to play the backup minutes. 

The post Marcus Smart Will Miss the Celtics’ Matchup Against Wizards With Illness appeared first on SLAM.

The veteran spoke for the first time since his free agency signing and made an interesting statements about his transition from the Lakers to the Celtics.

“That’s one thing, but they wanted to talk, and at the end of the day, me and my agent decided not to sign that contract. At the end of the day, I feel like, for me personally, I gotta be comfortable in the environment I’m in.

Money is not everything. I want to be comfortable in a situation where I know people appreciate me. How all this stuff happened, you just gotta look forward and just to try to keep improving and try to show people what you’re capable of, and everything’s going to come back.”

As reported by The Athletic’s Jay King, Schroder’s former teammate Al Horford made contact over the summer to start a recruiting dialogue about the Celtics. Horford tried to sell Schroder that his playing style would work well in the Celtics organization with the ability to “showcase his talents this season.”

Schroder averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists last season.

The post Dennis Schroder Opens Up About His Transition From LA to Boston appeared first on SLAM.

According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, Davis was frustrated with former Lakers point guard Dennis Schroder throughout last season. Schroder signed with the Boston Celtics during the offseason.

Per an NBA source familiar with some of the Lakers’ struggles through the 2020-21 campaign, Davis felt some frustration that he wasn’t getting the kind of looks in the post with Dennis Schroder running the point compared to those he received with Rondo a year earlier.

While Davis may have been frustrated with Schroder, he did have a decent season with the Lakers last year. In 61 games, Schroder averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game. Notably, Schroder’s 5.8 assists per game were the second-highest average on the team behind only LeBron James.

However, the Lakers did have a down season with Schroder on the roster, finishing only seventh in the Western Conference and getting bounced from the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Phoenix Suns.

The post REPORT: Anthony Davis ‘Felt Frustration’ With Dennis Schroder Last Season appeared first on SLAM.

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has agreed to a four-year, $77.1 million max contract extension with the franchise, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The fully guaranteed deal through 2025-26 includes a trade kicker.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 16, 2021

The deal does not include a player option, indicating Smart’s level of commitment to Boston. Selected by the Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma State product has spent his entire seven-year career with Boston, cementing himself as a franchise cornerstone with his intensity and playmaking ability on both ends.

After the Celtics shipped All-Star point guard Kemba Walker to the New York Knicks, Smart seemed to be the clear cut starter for October. That may still be the case after Boston signed guard Dennis Schroder to a one-year contract, even though Schroder started all 61 games for the Los Angeles Lakers last season and finished the 2021-22 campaign with averages of 15.4 points, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Since Smart’s extension doesn’t kick in until next summer, he’ll still earn his guaranteed $14.3 million this season while keeping the Celtics tax situation at a stalemate.

The 27-year-old set career-highs in scoring and assists last season, averaging 13.1 points and 5.7 assists in 48 appearances. After committing to Boston for the foreseeable future, the organization now has more flexibility to flesh out its roster centered around himself, Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum.

The post Marcus Smart Signs Four-Year, $77 Million Max Extension with the Boston Celtics appeared first on SLAM.

On Tuesday, Schroder announced via his Instagram that he signed a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics for the upcoming season.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Schroder’s one-year deal is worth $5.9 million and will take up the entirety of Boston’s mid-level exception for the 2021-22 season.

Schroder is coming off a solid season for the Los Angeles Lakers, playing in 61 games and averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game. Over the eight seasons Schroder has played in the NBA, he has career averages of 14.3 points and 4.7 assists per game.

Schroder will now step into a Celtics team needing a point guard after trading away Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Schroder will compete for minutes next season with second-year guard Payton Pritchard, new arrival Kris Dunn and veteran Marcus Smart.

Schroder’s scoring and distribution skills will be a massive positive for the Celtics regardless of if he starts or comes off the bench.

The Celtics finished seventh in the Eastern Conference last season before getting bounced in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Brooklyn nets.

The post Dennis Schroder Signs One-Year Deal with the Boston Celtics appeared first on SLAM.

During the season, Schroder rejected a four-year, $84M contract extension with Los Angeles. With this being the most they could offer at the time as an extension, the German guard would wait until the offseason where he would be eligible for more money from the Lakers or another team. 

With free agency set to begin at the beginning of August, Schroder will likely sign his new contract with a team in the coming weeks. With that in mind, Marc Stein recently reported that Schroder believes he’s a $100 million player, while the Lakers view him as a sixth man and may be ready to move on from him. 

Last season, Schroder averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game while shooting .335 from deep. 

In what might have been his final game in a Lakers uniform, he went 0-for-9 from the floor, scoring zero points, in a Game 5 loss to the Phoenix Suns. 

The post Dennis Schroder Seeking $100 Million In Free Agency appeared first on SLAM.

ESPN front-office insider Bobby Marks explains that the offer for Horton-Tucker stands now at close to $1.9 million which makes him a restricted free agent. The offer now gives the Lakers the option to match any offer to retain the former 2019 second-round pick. Had the Lakers failed to extend an offer to THT, he would’ve become an unrestricted free agent and be eligible to accept an offer from any NBA team.

The Qualifying Offer for Talen Horton-Tucker is $1,897,476.

The Lakers have early bird rights and can sign him up to a contract that projects to start at $10.4M.

The contract must be for a minimum of 2 seasons.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 22, 2021

Talen Horton-Tucker averaged 9.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 65 games last season (four starts).

THT spent the majority of his rookie season in the G-League before earning some playing time in the bubble during the Lakers title run last year. He built on that momentum with a strong preseason that got him time in the rotation as a backup ball-handler.

At 6’4″ with a 7’1″ wingspan, Horton-Tucker’s ability to attack the made him one of the few bench players who could get his own shot without the constant assistance of LeBron James.

However, the qualifying offer could be a setup to a much larger deal to being in a superstar via trade. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated linked Horton-Tucker to a potential trade with Russell Westbrook.

There have also been talks about Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook being a potential candidate to move back home to Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade deal that could include free agent point guard Dennis Schroder, forward Kyle Kuzma and guard Talen Horton-Tucker, sources said.

The Lakers do have the option to rescind the offer (although highly unlikely) if they so choose. A few years back, they did so with Julius Randle after they signed LeBron James to his first contract.

The post Lakers to Reportedly Extend Qualifying Offer to Talen Horton-Tucker appeared first on SLAM.

“Get back to work. I ain’t retiring…”

Chris Paul after losing Game 6. pic.twitter.com/exjHrES5BP

— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) July 21, 2021

Now that the Finals are over, Phoenix’s offseason will be very busy working on rookie extensions for Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges. Suns backup point guard Cameron Payne will be a free agent as well. But Phoenix’s priorities start with the upcoming decisions of their starting point guard, Chris Paul. Paul can opt-out of $44.2 million player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.

CP3’s averages of 16.4 points, 8.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds for the Suns during his All-Star season helped Phoenix end a playoff drought that lasted a decade. He now has until August 1st to decide whether to opt-in and sign an extension once the free agency moratorium is lifted on August 6th or pursue other options like requesting a sign and trade. If he signs with Phoenix, he can only extend his contract for two years due to the NBA’s “Over 38” rule.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson shared his opinions on Chris Paul’s next move on Twitter.

If Chris Paul opts out of his contract with the Suns, his first call should be from his best friend LeBron James and the Lakers.

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) July 21, 2021

According to ESPN’s The Undefeated, the Los Angeles Lakers have been on the hunt for a replacement for Dennis Schroder and Paul is on the short list. Rumors also link Wizards star Russell Westbrook being a potential sign-and-trade deal that may include Dennis Schroder, Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker.

To get Chris Paul in a Lakers uniform, it would likely take a sign-and-trade with the Suns. The most money the Lakers can offer otherwise is a $9.5 million taxpayer midlevel exception. But the opportunity to chase his first championship with LeBron James and Anthony Davis will keep the rumors alive until August.

The post Retirement Not in Plans for Chris Paul, Reports Claim Lakers Are Interested appeared first on SLAM.

In fact, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are two teams to watch for in particular:

With no real true point guard on the roster heading into next season, the Knicks will likely be pursuing point guard options heavily in free agency. The Bulls do have Coby White and Tomas Satoransky on the roster but with playoff ambitions following their acquisition of All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, Schroder is a proven player whose scoring chops could be key to Chicago’s aspirations.

Schroder will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason after declining a four-year $84 million extension from the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this year.

In 2020-21 regular season, Schroder averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game on 43.7 percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent shooting from three. In the playoffs, Schroder’s numbers would drop across the board, as he averaged 14.3 points and 2.8 assists per game while shooting just 40.0 percent from the floor (including 30.8 percent from 3-point range).

Schroder has played eight seasons in the NBA with three different teams: the Lakers, Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder. In those eight seasons, the former first-round pick has averaged 14.3 points and 4.7 assists per game.

The post Knicks, Bulls Expected to Have Interest in Dennis Schroder this Offseason appeared first on SLAM.

According to NBA Analyst Evan Massey, both the New York Knicks and Miami Heat may have a major interest in the point guard this summer.

“I’ve been hearing a ton of (Dennis) Schroder to New York talks, but I’m not sold that will end up happening. Miami is another team to keep a close eye on. They are going to want an upgrade in the back-court and Schroder seems like a perfect fit if the two sides can agree on price.”

Schroder is set to be a free agent, with this past season being the final year of his contract.

It appears he may already be one foot out the door, with Schroder removing all mention of the Lakers from his Instagram bio prior to their Game six matchup on Thursday night. However, in the postgame press conference, Schroder made it clear that he wants to return:

“We’re going to be back,” Schröder said, per SB Nation. “I’m going to work my ass off to come back here, to give everything, because we owe the fans one. I want to win a championship and I’m going to work my ass off this summer, come back and be me.”

Schroder had a good season for the Lakers, averaging 15.4 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

The Lakers just finished seventh in the Western Conference, having been eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns.

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Ian Begley of SNY recently reported that the New York Knicks are looking to add a star to the roster, keeping an eye on players who could get unhappy with their current situation and request a trade. More specifically, New York is monitoring Damian Lillard and any other star who may seek a move if things start to go sour with their current respective franchise.

Outside of Lillard, Begley reported the Knicks are keeping an eye on the situations of Dennis Schroder, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowry, who would be options via free agency, rather than trade.

For the first time in a while, the Knicks might actually be an extremely attractive destination for a star to join. Not only do they have an excellent young core, but they also have some of the most available cap space of any team this offseason.

Amidst their best season in years, the New York Knicks are playoff-bound, sitting at 38-30, good for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. With an exciting roster and cap flexibility, they could be on the verge of landing another star soon.

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With their loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, the Lakers fell to 7th seed in the Western Conference, which would likely place them in the play-in tournament. However, head coach Frank Vogel says that the team ‘can’t worry’ too much about the standings.

“For me, I’m unafraid of the play-in tournament with this team,” Vogel says, per SB Nation. “But we definitely want to finish in the top-six. There’s just too many things that can happen in a one-game series: foul trouble, a rolled ankle, anything like that could pop up. We definitely want to finish in the top-six, it’s high priority for us, but at the same time, I’m confident in our group.”

“We’re just going to compete and win as many games as we can, and wherever we land, we’re confident,” he adds. “Obviously, we want to finish in the top-six. We still have five games to make up some ground if that’s possible and we’ll continue to try and win as many games as we can.”

Forward Anthony Davis is also confident that, when healthy, the Lakers’ can prevail:

“When we’re 100% healthy, we’re one of – no, we are the top team in the league,” Davis says, per The Guardian. “Obviously, we don’t want to go that route,” Davis said of the play-in. “But if it happens, it happens.”

Two former Lakers guards, Isaiah Thomas and Quinn Cook also weighed in and expressed wanting to support their former team:

Man I feel you!! You ain’t the only one big bro!

— Quinn Cook (@QCook323) May 8, 2021

Killa!!! You know what it is, you’ve proven that year after year . Stay ready. We back on real soon

— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) May 8, 2021

The Los Angeles Lakers have five games left in the season including two playoff opponents in the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks. They must finish with a better record than Portland and Dallas to avoid the play-in tournament.

The 2021 NBA Play-In tournament starts on May 18th.

The post Frank Vogel Says He’s Confident in Lakers, ‘Unafraid’ of Play-in Tournament appeared first on SLAM.

According to Ian Begley of SNY, the New York Knicks are expected to pursue Schroder in free agency this offseason. 

The Knicks could certainly use a point guard like Schroder, who would instantly jumpstart their offense next season. Through 50 games this season, he’s averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. While he’s making $15.5 million this season, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Schroder demand more on the open market this summer. 

While the Knicks have been better than usual this season, a few more solid veteran pieces could take them to the next level. With quite a bit of cap space to utilize this offseason, they should have the ability to sign someone like Schroder.

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VanVleet is set to miss the next regular season game while Bembry will miss tonight’s game against Chicago. Emerging Lakers talent Talen-Horton Tucker also faces suspension, while Montrezl Harrell was fined for their involvement in Tuesday night’s debacle.

The Raptors are now operating with a highly limited roster, as Kyle Lowry, Rodney Hood, Jalen Harris, Patrick McCaw and Paul Watson Jr. are all currently out due to COVID-19 protocols or injuries.

The post Fred VanVleet, DeAndre Bembry Face Suspension for Roles in Raptors-Lakers Scuffle appeared first on SLAM.

With an understanding that Schroder was in the final season of a four-year, $70 million contract he signed with the Atlanta Hawks in 2017, the Lakers likely acquired him from the Oklahoma City Thunder with the understanding that they would have to address his contract in the future.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Los Angeles did recently discuss Schroder’s contract situation, with the Lakers offering a four-year, $84 million contract extension (the most that Schroder could be offered under the current CBA).

Due to him he and Los Angeles having difficulty reaching an agreement on a contract extension, Schroder was made available in certain trade talks at the deadline, per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha and Bill Oram. Buha and Oram also add that Schroder discussed his future with the franchise last week, saying “at the end of the day, I want to be a Laker for a long time… I just want it to be fair.”

Schroder is having a solid year, averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game in what’s his eighth NBA season.

With his scoring ability, playmaking, defensive potential and hustle, he’ll end up getting a big payday whether he re-signs with the Lakers or heads elsewhere in free agency.

The post Dennis Schroder Reportedly Declined Four-Year, $84 Million Extension with Lakers appeared first on SLAM.

However, feeling physically healthy and getting a confidence boost from his performance in San Juan, IT appears to have his most legitimate shot in months. In addition, the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams interested in signing Thomas should he return to the NBA (per The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski).

During the week-long continuation of the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 Qualifiers, Thomas led the team in scoring over two games while averaging 14.0 points and 2.5 assists per game and shooting .435 percent from the field (.500 percent from 3-point range).

As he averaged 12.2 points and 3.7 assists in 23.1 minutes per game for the Washington Wizards in 2019-20 (40 games) while shooting .408 percent from the field and .413 percent from 3-point range, his numbers from the AmeriCup Qualifiers do seem translatable.

Thomas may find a strong fit with the Bucks, who are currently 26-14 and third in the Eastern Conference standings. After trading away backup point guard D.J. Augustin this week in their deal for veteran forward P.J. Tucker, could use an additional ball-handler and a savvy veteran like IT could be right up their alley.

Meanwhile, although LeBron James and Dennis Schroder operate much like a dual-guard offense, the Lakers point guard options off the bench are dwindling. In addition, fan favorite Alex Caruso continues to exceed expectations as the backup point guard.

However, prior the playoffs, teams will often try to top off the talent on their roster with fringe rotation players that have had productive career. That’s what allows the Lakers, the reigning champions, to remain a viable option for Thomas.

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Cook has appeared in 16 games this season but hasn’t been a part of the team’s rotation with Los Angeles trading for guard Dennis Schroder during the offseason and fan favorite Alex Caruso continuing to excel.

Going undrafted out of Duke University in 2015, Cook’s journey has been one of the many that are inspirational to high school recruits and draft prospects that may not be receiving the recognition — or simply have the natural talent — of some of their peers.

After winning a championship in his senior season at Duke, Cook went on to be named the NBA G League Rookie of the Year and a two-time G League All-Star before latching onto his first NBA roster.

Now, Cook is just 27-years-old, and has had the opportunity to learn from players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. As a result, teams considering adding Cook will be adding tough and gritty player with experience that extends beyond his years.

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Last season, Lawrence Frank of the LA Clippers won the NBA Executive of the Year Award for his ability to acquire both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in one offseason. While he certainly will be considered to win it for a second straight season after making more impactful moves in the most recent offseason, he’s got plenty of competition. There were many big moves made this offseason and even early into the 2020-21 regular season.

At the quarter mark of the 2020-21 season, we broke down our top five Executive of the Year candidates.

James Jones (Phoenix Suns)

Killing two birds with one stone, James Jones made the Suns a playoff team by acquiring Chris Paul, which in turn kept Devin Booker happy. After Phoenix had a 8-0 record in the bubble, they’ve carried that momentum with their new look team into the 2020-21 season.

Not only did he acquire Paul, but Jones made several other key moves this offseason to add depth and role players to the roster. Signing players like Jae Crowder, Frank Kaminsky and Langston Galloway have rounded out what looks like one of the better roster in the Western Conference.

Sean Marks (Brooklyn Nets)

While acquiring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving occured two offseasons ago, this is the first seaosn they’ve played together meanin that Sean Marks deserves credit. Furthermore, he made a secondary move to acquire James Harden recently, putting together a superstar trio.

This was a string of all-in moves by Marks, who has put together one of the best trios in NBA history. If he is able to build the team back out and add depth around these three, he will only deserve this award even more.

Sam Presti (Oklahoma City Thunder)

Sam Presti had yet another successful offseason making deals with multiple teams around the league to acquire young players and draft capital. When it comes to positing a team for the perfect rebuild, Presti continues to do so.

Just one season after getting paid to take on Chris Paul, he flipped him for additional assets. Presti also got the most possible value he could out of other guys this offseason like Dennis Schroder. The Thunder are still winning games this season and staying competitive with their young roster, showing just how good this team is setting up to be.

Rob Pelinka (Los Angeles Lakers)

After the Lakers won an NBA championship last season, Rob Pelinka found a way to make the team even better. Although they were already top-heavy with talent last season, they now have much improved depth after Pelinka was able to acquire Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol this offseason.

Additionally, he was able to re-sign key players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. This was all accomplished without having to lose many of their key pieces.

Travis Schlenk (Atlanta Hawks)

After several years of rebuilding, Travis Schlenk made big moves this offseason to get Atlanta over the hump and competitive enough to be a playoff contender. He was able to acquire Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Rajon Rondo, and Kris Dunn in a two-month span to support his young core.

These acquisitions were all made while the Hawks were able to retain the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to select Onyeka Okongwu. Trae Young is already a superstar in this league, and Schlenk is taking advantag of that now.

The post NBA Award Watch: 2021 Executive of the Year appeared first on SLAM.

While LeBron James and Anthony Davis may not be as productive as they were last season through their first few games, the Lakers have looked just fine and know those two will do what’s needed when the stage gets bigger.

For more information about the numbers behind our Heat Check series, hop over to our main Heat Check 2020-21 post.

Talen Horton-Tucker	7.3p, 1.5r, 1.3a
Dennis Schroder	17.6p, 5.2r, 5.2a
Kostas Antetokounmpo	0.0p, 4.0r, 0.0a
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	9.8p, 1.4r, 1.4a
Kyle Kuzma	12.0p, 3.2r, 1.8a	–
Jared Dudley	1.0p, 1.7r, 0.0a
Markieff Morris	4.6p, 4.8r, 1.2a
Wesley Matthews	5.2p, 1.0r, 1.0a
Alfonzo McKinnie	3.7p, 1.0r, 0.0a
Quinn Cook	2.0p, 0.3r, 0.5a
Alex Caruso	5.3p, 1.7r, 1.0a
Montrezl Harrell	14.0p, 6.6r, 1.8a
Marc Gasol	4.6p, 5.8r, 2.2a
LeBron James	23.4p, 7.0r, 6.8a
Anthony Davis	19.8p, 8.3r, 3.8a

Team-by-Team Breakdown

The post Heat Check 2020-21: Los Angeles Lakers appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down the Lakers’ depth chart for the 2020-21 season below. We’ve also previously published a summary of the Lakers’ offseason.

Biggest Questions

• Was Kyle Kuzma’s recent extension a move to keep him around long-term, or make him more attractive on the trade market? Although he was great in his first couple of NBA seasons, his production really dipped last season with James and Davis running the team. 
• Can Marc Gasol play big minutes? The Lakers went all in on Gasol as they lost both JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard this offseason. Gasol is excellent but is almost 36 years old and past his prime.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Los Angeles Lakers: Projected 2020-21 Depth Chart appeared first on SLAM.

Although he wasn’t able to finish the season healthy with the Denver Nuggets on their magical run to the Western Conference Finals last season, he was still an important piece of the roster, starting in all 58 games that he played in.

In his first preseason game earlier this week against Portland, Barton came off the bench. While he was extremely effective running the second unit, he made a comment after the game about not wanting to come off of the bench to Mike Singer of The Denver Post and other members of the media.

“Like I said, I’m a starter. I looked comfortable out there because I’m just that good of a basketball player. I’m comfortable with playing with anybody on the planet. It doesn’t really matter… I put a lot of hard work into this game, and I think it shows when I’m healthy. I have no plans on being the sixth man. I have no desire to be that at all.”

While Barton may not have the desire to pay sixth man, it’s an extremely important role. Over the past few seasons, guys like Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, Lou Williams, and Spencer Dinwiddie have proven to be some of the most important players on their respective teams coming off of the bench.

While Denver still sorts through what their lineup will look like when the regular season kicks off next week, it will be interesting to see whether Will Barton starts the season coming off of the bench or as a starter.

The post Will Barton: ‘I Have No Plans on Being the Sixth Man’ appeared first on SLAM.

While they already led the league in future draft capital coming into the offseason, they only added more draft picks to their stash over the past few weeks. Headlined by a deal that shipped Chris Paul to Phoenix, Oklahoma City has pulled the trigger on a string of deals that has resulted almost the entirety of their roster being turned over. In fact, upcoming third-year player Hamidou Diallo is now the longest-tenured member of the Thunder.

Thunder Roster Additions

Biggest Acquisitions

• Al Horford: Although they are looking to rebuild, every team needs a veteran in the locker room to create the right culture and be a leader to the younger players. Horford will be excellent in this role, while also being a potential asset to flip down the road.
• Aleksej Pokusevski: Oklahoma City had been linked to Pokusevski for weeks leading up to the 2020 NBA Draft. They ultimately traded up to acquire him to add to their young core. While he is still 18 years old and extremely raw, Pokusevski has an extremely high ceiling and could end up being an excellent player in a few years when the Thunder are entering another window of contention.

Thunder Roster Subtractions

Biggest Losses

• Chris Paul: When it comes to the impact on winning, Paul’s void will be impossible to fill. Although he played just one season in Oklahoma City, his mentorship will be felt for years as he expedited the development of guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley, and Lu Dort.
• Steven Adams: While he’s never been the best player on any Thunder roster throughout the years, Adams has been the heart and soul of the team. For the fanbase and the Thunder culture, this is no question the biggest loss of the offseason. He was the last remaining player of the previous eras of Thunder basketball as Oklahoma City officially enters their rebuild.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Oklahoma City Thunder: Offseason Summary 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

While they still wait for Anthony Davis to re-sign with the organization, which he is expected to do, the Lakers did extend LeBron James to an additional two seasons under his max contract. With the moves they made, the Lakers should be one of the clear favorites to win the title in the upcoming season.

Lakers Roster Additions

Biggest Acquisitions

• Montrezl Harrell : Harrell won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award last season, after dominating as a reserve the entire season. While it’s unclear what rotations will look like in the upcoming season, he will be an offensive spark for the Lakers that they’ve been desparately needing.
• Dennis Schroder: While he lost the NBA Sixth Man of the Year race to Harrell last season, Schroder was just as brilliant and will actually join him in Los Angeles. Throughout the 2019-20 regular season and playoffs, there were countless times in which Schroder led the Thunder in scoring, creating problems for any defense that tried to slow him down.

Lakers Roster Subtractions

Biggest Losses

• Rajon Rondo: The Lakers likely won’t feel the loss of Rondo during the regular season, they certainly will in the playoffs. There were several times throughout their postseason run in which Rondo was their third-best player, distributing the ball, scoring, and playing pesky defense. He gets even better as the stage gets bigger.
• Dwight Howard: While he isn’t the player he once was, Howard was absolutely crucial on the Lakers’ title run last season. Against several teams who tried playing small ball, he was able to make a huge impact on both ends of the floor with them not being able to match up with his size and strength.

All NBA Team Offseason Summaries

The post Los Angeles Lakers: Offseason Summary 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Lakers forward will sign a two-year, $85 million contract extension.

According to Charania, the 35-year old’s contract will run through 2023, the same year his son, Bronny, will graduate high school. Whether the Sierra Canyon sophomore will make it to the league is yet to be determined, but James has said that he’d “love” play alongside his son in the NBA — even if he’s “washed up” by then:

“I don’t know if I could play washed, but I damn sure would love to stick around if my oldest son can have an opportunity to play against me,” James told GQ. That’d be, that’d be the icing on the cake right there.”

“I’d give him all six fouls. I’d foul the shit out of Bronny, man.”

Until then, James’ most pressing matter is defending the Lakers’ championship title. He averaged 25.3 points, 7.8 boards and led the league in assists (10.2) last season, helping carry the Lakers to the NBA Finals.

In Game 6 against the Miami Heat, James dropped 28 points, 10 assists and 14 rebounds to win his fourth title, unanimously earning Finals MVP. He is the first player in NBA history to ever win the award with three different franchises.

Bron is confident that Lakers could win another ‘chip this season, especially with the roster they’re adding to this offseason. The team will bring back Markieff Morris and have signed both Marc Gasol and Dennis Schroder, who has expressed that he wants to start at PG.

“We did get younger,” James said on the “Road Trippin'” podcast, hosted by Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton. “We have a 27-year-old point guard [in Schroder]. We got the 27-year-old Sixth Man of the Year award [winner] in Trezz. We got younger. We got Marc, who is a Defensive Player of the Year and his IQ, not only playing against him in the NBA, but also playing against him versus Spain with the national team.”

“We can [repeat]. I mean, it’s that simple. We absolutely can.”

The post LeBron James to sign a two-year contract extension with the Lakers appeared first on SLAM.

The 17th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Schroder came off the bench for the Thunder for two seasons, accepting a lesser role than he had in his last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.

However, brimming with confidence and having just finished the 2019-20 season as the runner-up for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, the German wunderkind believes he can help both Anthony Davis and LeBron James best by being one of the first five players on the court.

“I did this off-the-bench stuff already in two years with OKC,” Schroder told reporters during a Zoom call on Monday (h/t ESPN’s Dave McMenamin). “I think I try to move forward, and I think with AD and LeBron, I can be helpful as a starter in the PG position.“

There’s an opportunity for Schroder to start, according to McMenamin’s league sources, although the role isn’t guaranteed.

With Rajon Rondo departing in free agency and their decision to waive Quinn Cook, that leaves only Schroder and Alex Caruso as the remaining nominal point guards.

To that point, while Caruso is a better defender than Schroder, the latter is simply a more lethal scorer and one that can take advantage of the attention that will be given to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Schroder averaged 18.9 points and 4.0 assists per game last season, shooting .469 from the field and .385 from 3-point range.

The post Dennis Schroder Intends to Start For Lakers Next Season appeared first on SLAM.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds that the Adams acquisition could come by expanding upon the still-not-finalized Jrue Holiday swap with Milwaukee earlier this week.

The addition of Adams would fill a gap in the Pelicans’ rotation created by Derrick Favors’ decision to return to Utah.

It’s unclear what New Orleans would be parting with in return for the big man, owed $27.5 million in 2020-21, but Wojnarowski adds that it’ll include future draft picks. Adams averaged 10.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for the Thunder in 2019-20.

The news comes amid a fire sale of Thunder players. Oklahoma City general manager has already offloaded Dennis Schroder and Chris Paul from last year’s playoff team and Danilo Gallinari has left for Atlanta via free agency.

With Adams on board, the Pelicans would be able to slot him in at the five next to Zion Williamson. Favors and Jaxson Hayes manned the position in 2019-20.

More to come.

The post Thunder Could Send Steven Adams to Pelicans in Multi-Team Trade appeared first on SLAM.

Harrell will sign a two-year deal worth the mid-level exception, the latter of which will include an option.

Harrell’s decision to join the Lakers, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports, comes despite having received a larger offer from the Charlotte Hornets.

The move gives Los Angeles an impressively productive forward, one who averaged 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per in less than 28 minutes per night for the Clippers this season.

Harrell will join Anthony Davis and LeBron James in their bid to defend their 2020 NBA championship. He, along with fellow recent addition Dennis Schroder, figure to make this year’s Lakers even scarier than last year.

The post Lakers Nearing Deal with Montrezl Harrell appeared first on SLAM.

Porzingis suffered the injury in Game 1 of the Mavericks’ first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, opting to have surgery in early October. It’s Porzingis’ second major knee surgery, with ‘The Unicorn’ having torn his left ACL in Feb. 2018 and missing the entire 2018-19 season.

Pound-for-pound one of the most gifted players in the league, Porzingis’ absence could be rocky even if budding superstar Luka Doncic continues to play at an MVP level. Porzingis averaged 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in the 2019-20 regular season and 23.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.0 block per game in the playoffs.

Simply put, that type of production is difficult to replicate. Nonetheless, the Mavericks were able to go 11-7 without Porzingis last season and they were 32-25 in the games he did play.

Unfortunately for Dallas, some of the best teams in the West are only going to get better: the Los Angeles Lakers are set to acquire sixth man Dennis Schroder via trade; the Phoenix Suns are finalizing a trade for Chris Paul; and the Portland Trail Blazers are adding Robert Covington to their roster.

Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson says that Jan. 1 is the date that Porzingis will be cleared for on-court activity. Following his surgery, the Mavs were optimistic that he would be ready by the start of training camp.

The post Kristaps Porzingis to Miss Start of 2020-21 Season appeared first on SLAM.

It was recently reported by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Lakers had shown interest in potentially trading for DeRozan, who has one year left under contract with the San Antonio Spurs. This flattered DeRozan, who seemed very open to the opporotunity if it were to happen.

As a guest on the All The Smoke show, with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, DeRozan gave his thoughts on the rumors of the Lakers being interested in him.

“For me it’s just I’ve learned being in the league so long that you always want to be wanted. So when you see things about teams wanting you, you can’t feel a certain type of way. You’d better feel good about it…So to be wanted by a championship team that just came off a championship, to see that, how could you not feel some type of way? Especially me, being from L.A., it’s like ‘damn, my hometown team want me? They just came off a championship and they want me?’ It’s definitely crazy to be able to see that.”

Its worth noting that after agreeing to a deal to acquire Dennis Schroder, it will likely be more difficult for the Lakers to trade for DeRozan. However, it still meant a lot to him that they were even interested in his services.

The post DeMar DeRozan on Lakers’ Interest: ‘How Could You Not Feel Some Type of Way?’ appeared first on SLAM.

This allows teams to officially start making deals.

As first reported yesterday by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, teams were informed of the news, with there being no shortage of early action when it came to trades as a result.

Within an hour of the news around the NBA’s moratorium, the first trade of the offseason was agreed to in principal between the Los Angeles Laker and Oklahoma City Thunder that would send Dennis Schroder to the reigning champs.

While the deal cannot become official until later today when the trade window opens, it’s still a market-setting deal and the first big move ahead of roster building for the 2020-21 NBA season.

Looking ahead, the 2020 NBA Draft is this Wednesday, and free agency will start on Friday. Get ready, it’s about to be a busy week in the NBA.

The post NBA Trade Window Now Open appeared first on SLAM.

In the potential swap, which won’t be executed until after Monday when trades are once again permitted, the the Lakers would add one of the finalists for the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year award.

According to Wojnarowski, the Thunder could received Los Angeles’ No. 28 pick and wing Danny Green.

If a pick is, in fact, involved the teams won’t be able to formalize the trade until after the Lakers make the No. 28 pick on Oklahoma City’s behalf on Wednesday.

That’s because Los Angeles has already traded away their 2021 draft pick and the league’s Ted Stepien rule prevents teams from dealing away consecutive future first-round picks.

Schroder enjoyed a solid 2019-20 campaign with the Thunder. The 27-year-old averaged 18.9 points and 4.0 assists per game.

The post Lakers in Advanced Talks to Acquire Dennis Schroder appeared first on SLAM.

Danilo Gallinari, the Thunder’s third-leading scorer, is an unrestricted free agent. Chris Paul, the team’s biggest star, will likely get traded as Oklahoma City moves towards a rebuild. Sixth man Dennis Schroder and burly big man Steven Adams — constantly mentioned in trade rumors — may find themselves on the move as well.

If the Thunder are headed towards a rebuild, they’ll be hard-pressed to have the same stroke of luck that allowed them to have Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka all on one roster. However, they have already have a head start on the process thanks to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Related: Full Oklahoma City Thunder 2020 Salary Cap Preview

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Thunder Draft Needs

OKC’s draft needs are largely dependent upon what direction the franchise is going to go but with a late first-round and a late second-round selection in what’s widely considered one of the weaker draft classes, the Thunder shouldn’t expect much excitement on draft night.

Adding more offensive firepower to their frontcourt could go hand-in-hand with their plans for the future though, as the Thunder may be better off ditching their traditional scheme.

Looking at their impending free agents, replacing the defense that was brought by Nerlens Noel last season should be on OKC’s list. Noel, who played on minimum contract for the Thunder for the second straight season, may get a better offer from another team after a solid season.

2020 NBA Draft Prospect Watchlist

What The Mocks Are Saying

Projected Roster

Team-by-Team NBA Draft Guides

More: SLAM’s 2020 NBA Draft Preview

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In addition to a summary for each of the 30 teams (accessible in the link grid below), we’ve also tiered the top NBA free agents league-wide and published a general comparison of all teams’ cap space. Follow @SLAMnewswire on Twitter for constant offseason updates as we head into free agency.

Projected Roster Players

Projected Free Agents

Dead Money

2020 NBA Draft Picks

Exceptions Available

• Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception – $9,258,000
• Bi-Annual Exception – $3,623,000
• Paul George Traded Player Exception – $10,389,997
• Jerami Grant Traded Player Exception – $9,346,153

Key Offseason Decisions

• All of Oklahoma City’s decisions this summer will be based around answering if they are rebuilding or not. If they are rebuilding, the Thunder could conceivably trade Chris Paul while taking far less money back. In that situation, it would make sense to move on from the bulk of their free agents and to prioritize having cap space.
• As far as actual decisions go, it is probable that Mike Muscala will opt in for $2.3M. The team options for Deonte Burton, Hamidou Diallo and Abdel Nader are all likely to be exercised as well.

Projected Team Salary

$168,520,949

If the Thunder move Chris Paul in a trade, they’re signalling a rebuild is kicking off. You could argue they’ve already done that by moving from Billy Donovan as head coach. That decision will guide the rest of the offseason. Move Paul, and OKC can open a good deal of cap space. That will allow them to take on some bad many in trades to add to an already overflowing treasure chest of draft picks. (@KeithSmithNBA)

Cap Space Forecast

-$59,380,949 (27^th out of 30). $31,046,127 under the Luxury Tax.

Team Salary Cap Outlooks

The post Oklahoma City Thunder: Salary Cap Space 2020 appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve listed the entire roster with comparisons to last year’s launch rating below. We’ve also identified some general NBA 2K21 ratings trends for the league as a whole.

Thunder NBA 2K21 Ratings

View the NBA 2K21 player ratings for other teams below.

The post Oklahoma City Thunder: NBA 2K21 Ratings appeared first on SLAM.

The league has not formally named the winner yet, so the breakdown of the votes is not yet known.

The 26-year-old has had a career year for the Clips, averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in 27.8 minutes per night. He started just two of the 63 games that he suited up for this season.

Harrell’s growth will put the Clippers in a tough spot this offseason when he hits the market as an unrestricted free agent. Los Angeles will surely look to keep the productive big man on the roster but other teams interested casting Harrell in a larger role could come calling.

More to come.

The post Montrezl Harrell Named 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year appeared first on SLAM.

The decision to forego the award show was an obvious one given the global pandemic underway and it allows the league to go back to the way they used to present award winners; before the tip-off of various NBA postseason games.

The exact release dates for each award have not been made public prior to the actual reveal, leaving some room for interpretation as to when the next announcement might come.

We wrote about the three finalists for each 2019-20 NBA award last month and have been breaking down the actual results as they’ve been named over the past two weeks.

We’ll continue to do that and update this tracker, which will consolidate all of the information, including any published release dates if we get them.

Coach of the Year: Nick Nurse

Aug. 22: Nurse edged out Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks and Billy Donovan of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Full Story.

Top Five: Nurse, Donovan, Budenholzer, Spoelstra (Heat), Vogel (Lakers)

Other 1st Place Votes: McMillan (Pacers)

Defensive Player of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Aug. 25: Antetokounmpo won the award over Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers. Full Story.

Top Five: Antetokounmpo, Davis, Gobert, Simmons (Sixers), Adebayo (Heat)

Other 1st Place Votes: Beverley (Clippers), Drummond (Cavaliers)

Most Improved Player: Brandon Ingram

Aug. 31: Ingram was named the winner over Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic. Full Story.

Top Five: Ingram, Adebayo, Doncic, Tatum (Celtics), Graham (Hornets)

Other 1st Place Votes: Siakam (Raptors), Wood (Pistons), VanVleet (Raptors)

Sixth Man of the Year: Montrezl Harrell

Sep. 4: Harrell has received the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year award, ahead of Dennis Schroder of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers. Full Story.

Top Five: Harrell, Schroder, Williams, Wood (Pistons), Hill (Bucks)

Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant

Sep. 3: Morant has been named the Rookie of the Year for 2019-20. He was a nearly unanimous winner, beating out Kendrick Nunn of the Miami Heat and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans. Full Story.

Top Five: Morant, Nunn, Williamson, Clarke (Grizzlies), White (Bulls)

Most Valuable Player: TBD

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers are the finalists for this award.

All-Defensive Teams

Sep. 8: The NBA’s All-Defensive Teams have been named. Full Story.

First Team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart

Second Team: Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez, Bam Adebadyo, Patrick Beverley, Eric Bledsoe

All-Rookie Teams: TBD

All-NBA Teams: TBD

The post 2019-20 NBA Award Results Tracker appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down each of the day’s games below.

No. 1 Bucks 121 at No. 8 Magic 106

MIL leads series 3-1

The Magic hung around with the Bucks for the first half of their Game 5 battle but in the fourth and final quarter of the contest it was all Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo continued to fill the stat sheet in a modest work load (31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists on .667 shooting) and Khris Middleton chipped in with a series-best 22 points and 10 rebounds. It’s little consolation but Orlando is the only underdog opponent still alive in the first round of the Eastern Conference bracket.

No. 4 Rockets 114 at No. 5 Thunder 117

Series tied 2-2

The Thunder survived a three-point rampage from the Rockets and a particularly impressive offensive showing from James Harden to tie their first-round battle at two games apiece. Houston shot a playoff record 58 threes in the game, netting 23 of them and even began to pull away in the beginning of the second half. Despite the monster 32-point, 15-assist night from Harden, Oklahoma City began to chip away over the course of the second half as veterans Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder used and abused any defenders sent their way – including the aforementioned bearded one. Paul and Schroder combined for 56 points, including a number of critical buckets late in the close game and actively sought out and attacked Harden off the dribble. The knotted series is one of the most intriguing of the first round and should only get better.

No. 4 Pacers 87 at No. 5 Heat 99

MIA wins series 4-0

The Heat snuck out in front of the Pacers and never looked back on Monday, completing their four-game sweep of the technically favored No. 4 seed. Miami took and held the lead thanks to contributions from across the spectrum as the hoops world at large is left scratching their heads wondering just how deep and how good the Vice City squad really is. Veteran Goran Dragic led the Heat with 23 points while Bam Adebayo added 14 points, 19 rebounds and six assists of his own. Jimmy Butler, who entered the game with a sore shoulder was able to log just 23 minutes in the series finale. Myles Turner, Victor Oladipo, T.J. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon combined for 81 of Indy’s 87 points in the loss.

No. 1 Lakers 135 at No. 8 Trail Blazers 115

LAL leads series 3-1

The Lakers sprang out to a 15-0 start against the Blazers and didn’t look back. Los Angeles had 80 points at half time and cracked 100 with minutes to spare in the third quarter. LeBron James’ 30 points, six rebounds and 10 assists came in just 28 minutes of action while Anthony Davis add 18, 5 and 5 in just 18 total minutes. Portland got a solid 20 points and 13 rebounds from the violent dunking Jusuf Nurkic but they trailed by nearly 40 before L.A. started to let their foot off the gas. The Blazers will face elimination in Game 5 and may have to do so without star guard Damian Lillard. To add injury to insult, Dame left the blowout in the third quarter with a knee injury.

• Aug. 23: Post Up: Where Luka Happens
• Aug. 22: Post Up: Lakers Hit Next Level
• Aug. 21: Post Up: Kawhi Leonard Carries Clippers
• Aug. 20: Post Up: The Empires Strike Back
• Aug. 19: Post Up: The Cavalry Has Arrived
• Aug. 18: Post Up: Crazy Eights
• Aug. 17: Post Up: Donovan Mitchell Makes History

The post Post Up: Thunder Rally Back appeared first on SLAM.

We broke down each of Saturday’s tilts below.

No. 1 Bucks 121 at No. 8 Magic 107

MIL leads series 2-1

The Bucks showcased exactly why they’re on the shortlist of NBA title contenders this season, overpowering their underdog opponents early on Saturday, eventually blowing the game wide open thanks to the 35 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up in just over 30 minutes. Milwaukee shot .561 from the field as a whole and demonstrated how effortless they can make the game of basketball look following a dust-up between Marvin Williams and James Ennis. Both veterans were booted after a mild altercation but only Milwaukee converted that hype into game momentum.

No. 4 Pacers 115 at No. 5 Heat 124

MIA leads series 3-0

After chasing the Heat from behind for the majority of their Game 3 matchup, the Pacers clawed their way within striking distance in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The thrill was short-lived as Miami put the clamps on Indiana’s attempt to take command and walked away with a pivotal 3-0 series lead. Malcolm Brogdon enjoyed a nice 34-point, 14-assist night but it’s little consolation given the uphill battle the injury depleted Pacers now face against a Heat team with no shortage of depth.

No. 4 Rockets 107 at No. 5 Thunder 119

HOU leads series 2-1

The Thunder rallied back to life in their Game 3 tilt with Houston, enduring James Harden’s offensive barrage long enough to force overtime after a scrappy fourth quarter. It wasn’t long into the extra period that The Beard was sent to the bench with six fouls, giving Oklahoma City that much more of an opportunity to take the spotlight for themselves. Luguentz Dort continued to show why he’s one of the most underrated impact players in the league while veteran Chris Paul shined when the game mattered most. Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and super sub Dennis Schroder combined for 78 points while Harden added 38 on his own.

No. 1 Lakers 116 at No. 8 Trail Blazers 108

LAL leads series 2-1

Damian Lillard came out firing despite having left Game 2 early with a dislocated finger on his non-shooting hand. In fact, Dame’s dominant personal run continued as if the hand injury never happened. Lillard dropped 34 points in the Saturday night battle but not even he could resist the shifting seismic force that was to come. LeBron James and Anthony Davis wreaked havoc on the Blazers in the second half of the ball game, James finishing with 38 points 12 rebounds and eight assists on the night while Davis added 29, 11 and 8, respectively, of his own. Portland’s stars did an admirable job keeping the No. 8 seed competitive in the ball game but some forces in this world cannot be contained, Playoff LeBron among them.

Aug. 21: Post Up: Kawhi Leonard Carries Clippers
Aug. 20: Post Up: The Empires Strike Back
Aug. 19: Post Up: The Cavalry Has Arrived
Aug. 18: Post Up: Crazy Eights
Aug. 17: Post Up: Donovan Mitchell Makes History

The post Post Up: Lakers Hit Next Level appeared first on SLAM.

We’ve listed the three nominations for each award below.

Most Valuable Player

It’s become commonplace for Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and James Harden to find themselves duking it out for the Most Valuable Player trophy this time of year, this time of season, you know what I mean. Don’t take greatness for granted. A win would be LeBron’s fifth (and first since 2013) while Giannis and the Beard won the previous two titles.

Rookie of the Year

Kendrick Nunn has been a steal for the Miami Heat but this two-horse race largely comes down to philosophy. Did Zion Williamson play enough games to be a genuine candidate for the title? Zion played less games (proportionate to a full season) than Joel Embiid did when he was looked over for Malcolm Brogdon back in 2017. Perhaps the games played argument is moot, given how sensational Ja Morant was.

Defensive Player of the Year

Defense is obviously two-time award winner Rudy Gobert’s calling card but Giannis Antetokounmpo’s length and athleticism has fueled a historically dominant Milwaukee Bucks defense. Don’t sleep on Anthony Davis either, as his goal to win DPOY is well documented.

Most Improved Player

While the Most Improved award often falls into the hands of a solid rotation piece that stumbled into a new role or opportunity, that’s not exactly the case in 2020. Bam Adebayo has emerged as a franchise cornerstone for a playoff contender, Brandon Ingram started flexing the Kevin Durant-esque scoring ability fans have been salivating over since he was at Duke and Luka Doncic transitioned from incomprehensibly dominant teenager to incomprehensibly dominant human being over night.

Sixth Man of the Year

A fourth Sixth Man of the Year award would push Lou Williams’ legacy to new heights but he’s not necessarily the most effective reserve on his own squad. Montrezl Harrell didn’t let the arrival of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George disrupt his status as a hyper productive presence any time he set foot on the court. Dennis Schroder, on the other hand, made up a third of Oklahoma City’s peculiarly effective three-headed guard rotation.

Coach of the Year

Mike Budenholzer and Nick Nurse spent their 2019-20 campaign polishing and perfecting two Eastern Conference powerhouses that were already at the top of the mountain last season. Billy Donovan, in contrast, built a winner out of a roster that so many were quick to write off following Paul George’s departure.

The post NBA Reveals 2019-20 Awards Nominees appeared first on SLAM.

The team has been aware of Schroder’s wife’s looming due date and leaving to attend the birth of a child is on the formal list of excused absences from the bubble.

That last part means that Schroder will face a four-day quarantine upon his return provided that he tests negative for COVID-19 every day while gone. Unexcused absences have longer quarantine periods.

The loss of Schroder will be a significant one for the Thunder, as he’s averaged 18.9 points per game for the franchise this season.

Even if Schroder were to return to action immediately after the birth of the child, which isn’t necessarily expected, he’d still miss at least three games for the Thunder. More likely, that absence could stretch to five or more games.

The post Dennis Schroder Leaves Bubble for Birth of Child appeared first on SLAM.

All of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder had seen their numbers climb in March, to the point where they were averaging a combined 62.3 points per game.

Luguentz Dort is another Thunder player that started to step into a larger role just as the hiatus hit. Dort’s calling card is his physical defense and two-way guard started to parlay that into starter’s minute in March.

Steven Adams’ numbers were somewhat reserved in March – he averaged just 7.5 points per game compared to the 11.2 he had put up previously – but there’s no reason to believe he won’t be back to contributing on the offensive end when play resumes in Orlando.

SLAM’s Heat Check series compares each individual player’s personal production in the month of March with their production prior. The goal is to get a sense of the direction in which players were trending when the league stood still. For a more in-depth description, check out our Heat Check (Hiatus Edition) introduction.

Heat Check Oklahoma City Thunder

Abdel Nader
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Dennis Schroder
Chris Paul
Luguentz Dort
Deonte Burton
Hamidou Diallo
Danilo Gallinari
Terrance Ferguson
Nerlens Noel
Steven Adams
Mike Muscala

Team-by-Team Breakdown

The post Heat Check (Hiatus): Oklahoma City Thunder appeared first on SLAM.

The Point God, Chris Paul.

At first glance, everyone knows CP3 is a great point guard, but his legacy has been clouded about the usual claims of being a bad teammate and having only made the Conference Finals once. Now, he’s playing perhaps the best basketball of his career at age 34 in one of the smallest markets in the league.

There is too much focus on what Paul has not accomplished as opposed to what he has. He couldn’t win with the Hornets (now Pelicans), so he forced his way out. He never was able to help channel the tremendous collective talent of the Lob City Clippers into a truly formidable playoff force, and eventually forced himself out again. It’s quite a shame that the Clippers team never made real noise when it mattered, and it’s the main reason why Paul’s legacy is tainted. 

Then there was the trade to the Rockets, a two-year tenure for Paul that serves as its own Rorschach Test. Glass half-full truthers probably view the Rockets pitstop as a massive success. Houston averaged 59 wins per season, and pushed the mighty Golden State Warriors farther than any team had ever done. Paul and Harden were an uber efficient on-court pairing that was ultimately snakebitten by Paul’s untimely hamstring injury during the 2018 playoffs. The pessimist will probably point out that the Rockets still failed to make the Finals, couldn’t stop bickering with officials, and Paul experienced another untimely injury. By the end of his Rockets tenure, his relationship with Harden was deemed “unsalvageable”, according to Yahoo’s Vincent Goodwill.

Once he was traded to Oklahoma City this summer along with two first-round picks for Russell Westbrook, many pundits reasonably wondered if Paul would even accept playing for the Thunder. Another trade to reroute him to a contender was floated around as a legitimate possibility before nothing materialized and ace Thunder general manager Sam Presti agreed with Paul that he would play for the Thunder.

And he has been fantastic.

It’s pretty incredible that Paul is playing prime basketball at an age where most guards have either taken a dramatic step back or washed out of the league entirely. The Thunder are almost 12 points better per 100 possessions when Paul is on the court compared to when he is off, according to NBA.com/Stats. He will slice opponents up in a multitude of ways. It’s been a pick your poison type proposition for teams this season. 

He’s once again a technician dissecting opponents through the pick and roll, as the Thunder score 1.09 points per possession as a result of a Paul pick and roll. That puts CP3 in the 94th percentile league wide. And when teams overload on Paul when he has the ball, he has the luxury of handing it off to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder, two explosive young guards having excellent seasons.

Paul is thriving in any role on the court. He sports an impressive 63% effective field goal percentage as a spot up shooter, good for the 90th percentile in the league. He’ll scrap for rebounds, tackle the most menacing perimeter defensive assignment when the Thunder resort to their trusty three-guard lineup, and has displayed nearly impeccable durability, playing in 62 of the team’s 63 games thus far.

Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment this season has been his performance in the clutch, which is one of the few gripes critics have harped on over his career. This season, he is eviscerating everyone in his path when the game gets down to the wire. He’s shooting 55% from the field in the clutch (defined as the last five minutes of a close game), 93% from the line and sports a league-best +27 net rating. All of those numbers are better than his averages throughout the course of the season. It’s like going from being Batman during most of the game, then acquiring superpowers when things heat up.

He’s also been a model teammate and mentor to Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the youthful Thunder players, a role he has not had as much as you think (the Rockets and Clippers were both veteran-laden teams).

Paul’s impact has been infectious. Just ask Gregg Popovich.

“Chris is an alpha. He’s a natural leader. He takes no prisoners. He suffers no fools. He’s there to win. When you have somebody like that it really influences the entire crowd for sure,” Popovich said, according to The Athletic’s Erik Horne.

OKC is currently in the thick of the playoff seeding race, and it’s going to be special to see Paul hopefully make magic happen this postseason, one graceful fadeaway midrange jumper and scowl at a time.

Isaiah Freedman is a social editor at SLAM. He also works with the NBA Summer League, Syracuse Men’s Basketball team, and as an assistant player trainer for Chris Johnson Hoops.

The post Player Appreciation Series: Chris Paul appeared first on SLAM.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored a team-high 24 points in Brooklyn, including two clutch free throws down the stretch. Joe Harris and Caris LeVert each had 23 apiece.

Pelicans 120 (28-36), Timberwolves (19-44)

Jrue Holiday (37 points) was one rebound and two assists away from a triple-double. Zion Williamson was the Pels’ second-leading scorer with 23 points and had a MEAN windmill dunk the fourth quarter.

Lakers 112 (49-13), Clippers 103 (43-20)

LeBron James (30 points) and Anthony Davis (28 points) combined for 58 points in Sunday’s matinee against the Clippers. Avery Bradley was the other starter who finished in double digits, scoring 24 points.

Suns 140 (26-38), Bucks 131 (53-11)

All five Suns starters finished in double digits – Devin Booker (36 points), Ricky Rubio (25), Aron Baynes (24), Mikal Bridges (24) and Dario Saric (11).

Thunder 105 (40-24), Celtics 104 (42-21)

Dennis Schroder made the game-winning layup after stripping the ball from Jayson Tatum with 8.5 seconds in the 4th quarter. The Thunder overcame a 18-point deficit due to the stellar play of Schroder (27 points) and Chris Paul (28 points).

Heat 100 (41-23), Wizards 89 (23-40)

Bam Adebayo finished with a double-double (27 points and 14 rebounds) in the Nation’s Capitol. Ducan Robinson caught fire from deep, knocking down six 3-pointers, en route to a 23-point performance.

Pacers 112 (39-25), Mavericks 109 (39-26)

Victor Oladpio scored the final six points to give Indiana the W in Dallas. Domantas Sabonis finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds, TJ Warren and Myles Turner had 16 apiece.

Magic 126 (29-35), Rockets 106 (39-24)

Orlando’s bench came up huge in H-Town – D.J. Augustin scored a team-high 24 points, and Michael Carter-Williams and Terrence Ross each had 16. Aaron Gordon finished with 19 points.

Knicks 96 (20-44), Pistons 84 (20-45)

New York pulled away in the fourth to get the win at The Garden. Julius Randle had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Elfird Payton finished 16 points and RJ Barrett added 12.

Queensbridge’s finest. (via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/BTUvAOyhTd

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 9, 2020

Cavaliers 132 (19-45), Spurs 129 (26-36)

After Rudy Gay hit a jumper to force OT, Kevin Love’s late-game 3-pointer gave the Cavs the lead. Love finished with 14 points, Andre Drummond had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Collin Sexton finished with 26.

Raptors 118 (45-18), Kings 113 (28-36)

Both teams went back and forth, but Pascal Siakam made some huge plays to give Toronto the edge on the road. Siakam finished with 23 points. Norman Powell finished with 31 points and Kyle Lowry had 30 points.

The post Post Up: LeBron & AD Combine for 58 Points in Battle for LA appeared first on SLAM.

If this game was any indication, the future of basketball is in very good hands. Luka Doncic (30 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists) came up big for the winners in overtime, but he wasn’t the only young stud to turn in a solid night.

Brandon Ingram had 27 points, Zion Williamson scored 21 and Lonzo Ball hit seven 3’s en route to 25 points for New Orleans.

Kristaps Porzingis led the way on both ends for the Mavs with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Celtics 112 (42-19), Cavaliers 106 (17-45)

Jayson Tatum’s hot streak continued as he chipped in 32 points, 9 rebounds and 6 dimes for the Celtics. The wing shot 5-for-10 from deep, keeping his 3-point percentage at .500 since the All-Star break (38.2% before).

Thunder 114 (38-24), Pistons 107 (20-43)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a team-best plus-12 in his 35 minutes of game time as he scored 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting. Dennis Schroder added 23 on 7-for-14 shooting off the pine.

Magic 113 (27-35), Heat 116 (40-22)

Duncan Robinson shot 9-for-12 from deep en route to a team-high 27 points for the Heat as they picked up a win over their in-state foe.

Wizards 104 (22-39), Trail Blazers 125 (28-35)

Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points in the first half en route to a 25-point night on an efficient 8-for-13 shooting.

Despite the loss, Bradley Beal turned in his 20th straight game with at least 25 points as he finished with 29.

Bulls 108 (21-41), Timberwolves 115 (19-42)

Six Timberwolves scored double-digit points to overcome a 26-point night from Coby White.

Grizzlies 118 (31-31), Nets 79 (27-34)

Twelve Grizzlies got on the scoring sheet as they held the Nets to just 30-for-90 shooting from the field and a staggering 7-for-42 performance from deep. Josh Jackson scored a team-high 19 in 17 minutes off the bench.

Jazz 112 (39-22), Knicks 104 (19-43)

Julius Randle scored 32, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Jazz as Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 23.

Pacers 100 (37-25), Bucks 119 (53-9)

The Bucks started off hot with 36 points in the first quarter and never looked back as Giannis racked up 29 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. Donte DiVincenzo scored 19 in 23 minutes off the bench to aid the effort, too.

The post Post Up: Luka, KP Lead Mavericks Past Pelicans in OT Thriller appeared first on SLAM.

In Tim Duncan’s head coaching debut, the Spurs picked up a win in a tight game on the road in Charlotte. San Antonio was led by Dejounte Murray, who finished with 21 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. For the Hornets, Terry Rozier dropped 20 points to go along with 5 assists and 6 rebounds, and PJ Washington added 19 in the loss.

Nets 129 (27-33), Celtics 120 (41-19)

It was an absolutely wild one in TD Garden.

The Nets trailed by as many as 21-points in the second half, and were down 17 heading into the fourth. Then Caris LeVert put on a show. The Nets outscored Boston 51-34 in the fourth to force OT behind an insane 26-POINT quarter from LeVert. He stayed hot in OT, scoring all 11 points for Brooklyn and lifting them to the win. Despite having just 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter, LeVert finished with a career-high 51 on 17-26 shooting and 5-10 from downtown. The Boston defense just had no answer for the Michigan product, who put on one of, if not the best performance of the 2019-2020 season thus far.

The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown, who dropped 22, and Kemba Walker, in his return from injury, who added 21. Marcus Smart stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in the loss.

Timberwolves 139 (18-42), Pelicans 134 (26-35)

In a high-scoring affair, the Timberwolves outscored the Pelicans 30-23 in the final frame to pick up the win on the road. Malik Beasley led the way, finishing with 28 points on 11-13 shooting and 4-5 from three. DeAngelo Russell added 23 points and 8 assists in the win, and James Johnson dropped 19 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds off the bench.

Zion Williamson extended his streak of 20-point games to 12, finishing with 25 points and 8 rebounds on 10-19 shooting. Zion was one of five Pelicans to finished with 24 or more points. Jrue Holiday was awesome, completing a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Lonzo Ball added 26 points (including 7 threes), 8 assists and 5 rebounds, and Brandon Ingram dropped 24.

Clippers 109 (42-19), Thunder 94 (37-24)

In a battle between two Western Conference playoff teams, the Clippers picked up the impressive win on the road, their 5th straight victory. Kawhi Leonard scored 25 to go along with 8 rebounds, and Paul George added 16 to lead the way. For OKC, Dennis Schroder dropped a team-high 24 in the loss. Chris Paul added 14 points and 7 assists.

Warriors 116 (14-48), Nuggets 100 (41-20)

The Warriors picked up one of their most impressive wins of the season, beating the Nuggets by double digits in Denver. Andrew Wiggins showed out, finishing with 22 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds to lead Golden State. Eric Paschall added 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench. Paul Millsap and Will Barton each dropped 18 in the loss for Denver. Nikola Jokic added 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Raptors 123 (43-18), Suns 114 (24-38)

Trailing by 7 at the break, the Raptors rallied in the second half to beat the Suns in Phoenix. Pascal Siakam was dominant, dropping 33 points on 12-20 shooting and 5-9 from deep. Kyle Lowry added a very solid stat line of 28 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, and Norman Powell dropped 26 in the Raptors win. Devin Booker scored a team-high 22 and added 10 dimes, and Cam Johnson finished with 21 points on 5 made threes in the loss.

Lakers 120 (47-13), 76ers 107 (37-25)

The Lakers blew the game open in the second quarter, outscoring Philly 37-19, and maintained the lead in the second half to secure the home win. Anthony Davis went off, scoring 18 of his game-high 37 in the second quarter. AD also finished with 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. LeBron added a light 22 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds on 9-16 shooting in the win. Without Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, Philadelphia was led by Glen Robinson III, who dropped 25 points on 10-15 shooting off the bench.

Kings 133 (27-34), Wizards 126 (22-38)

The Wizards stormed back after being down by 28, outscoring Sacramento 46-19 in the third quarter to tie the game heading into the fourth. But Washington responded, winning the final frame 38-31 to secure the win on the road. The Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox, who dropped 31 points on 12-19 shooting in the win. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 21, and Buddy Hield scored 17 off the bench. For the Wizards, Bradley Beal finished with a game-high 35 points in the loss.

The post Post Up: LeVert Erupts for 51 in Win Over Celtics appeared first on SLAM.

LaVine told reporters it wasn’t directed at head coach Jim Boylen, knocking down assumptions based on their once-rocky relationship.

The 24-year-old finished with a game-high 41 points for Chicago, who fell 124-122 to the visiting OKC Thunder.

Per ESPN:

“You get into the heat of the battle and between players when you guys are talking, you talk smack sometimes, right? And that’s all it was,” LaVine told ESPN, after finishing with 41 points.

“We were still down. [Oklahoma City’s Dennis Schroder] was talking a little mess to me and I just let him know, ‘Look, I’ve got 40, I don’t know why you’re talking to me,'” he added. “I don’t know why they said they thought I was talking to Jim, but it was just people being competitive in the game talking.”

It was LaVine’s sixth 40-point game of the season. The only Bulls player with more in a season was Michael Jordan, who posted at least seven in 11 seasons.

“I’ve got to do a better job,” LaVine said. “The cameras have been following me lately, so people are going to make their own assumptions on what’s going on between me and Jim or me and the team, but our relationship is fine. I’m a competitive and fiery guy on the court, so that’s pretty much what happened.”

Related Zach LaVine and Bulls Coach Jim Boylen in a Better Place Now’

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It’s that last part that qualifies as one of the biggest surprises of the NBA season. The Oklahoma City Thunder are winning, despite everything having been set up for this to be a rebuilding season.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti is no stranger to seeing star talent leave one of the league’s smallest markets. This time around though, it was Presti pulling the strings and not a star free agent. Kevin Durant may have left of his own accord, but when it was time to trade Russell Westbrook and Paul George, Presti made sure he got a huge haul in return.

For George, Presti acquired a package that included Gallinari and up-and-coming young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. In addition to the two talented players, the Thunder picked up five first-round draft picks and swap rights in two additional years from the Los Angeles Clippers.

After the George trade, Presti decided it was time to move on from franchise icon Westbrook too. He swapped Westbrook to Houston for Chris Paul and two more first-round picks and two more sets of swap rights.

All told, Oklahoma City acquired three players who have been key starters for them this season, seven first-round picks and the rights to swap picks in four other years. It’s likely that’s a package of players and picks that won’t be beaten anytime soon in future trades.

Paul has turned in another All-Star season and Gilgeous-Alexander is knocking on that door. Gallinari has turned in another terrific scoring season. Those three have teamed with holdovers Steven Adams and Dennis Schroder to lead OKC to a surprising 36-22 record. So much for rebuilding.

It’s clear that this season the Thunder aren’t rebuilding and will be a playoff team. As a matter of fact, Oklahoma City is closer to the second seed in the Western Conference (four games back) than they are to out of the playoffs (10.5 game cushion). While it may not be a deep playoff run for OKC in a tough bracket, they’ll unexpectedly be playing games in mid to late-April.

If you could get Presti in an honest moment, he’d likely say this wasn’t at all what he expected. This season was set up for the Thunder to see what they have in Gilgeous-Alexander, while boosting the trade value of Gallinari, Adams and Schroder. If all went well, they might have even been able to find a trade for Paul and the $85.5M he has remaining on his contract after this season through 2021-22.

Now, that plan has hit a bump in the road, but not an unwelcomed one. Paul has proven he’s still productive and even beyond that, as his All-Star selections shows. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the league’s best young talents and has now proven he can play both on and off the ball. Adams’ style of doing all the dirty work fits in perfectly with Paul and Gilgeous-Alexander. Schroder has even rebuilt his value, as he’s a Sixth Man of the Year Candidate. And OKC still has all those picks coming from the Clippers and Rockets.

But Presti does have some decisions to make this summer. Gallinari will be a free agent, as will backup big man Nerlens Noel. Noel’s an easy decision. He’s played on a minimum contract the last two years and seems to have found a home in Oklahoma City. He may see a bump in pay, but nothing the Thunder can’t easily afford.

Gallinari is the tougher call. He’ll be 32 years old at the start of next season and has a lengthy injury history. While his 44/41/90 shooting splits are impressive for a perimeter-based scorer, he’s seen his free throw attempts per game drop from 6.0 to 4.8, and his rebounding drop from 6.1 to 5.6 boards per game. It’s likely Gallinari is progressing more and more towards the spot-up, stretch-4 part of his career, as opposed to the versatile inside-outside scoring forward he’s been.

That makes it a tough call for Presti this summer. Gallinari wants to be in Oklahoma City and he’s a key part of the Thunder’s success. But to commit big money over a long contract could hamper the team’s roster-building efforts down the line. And, despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s emergence as a wing option v.s just a lead ballhandler, OKC still has a major need for wing depth.

How should the Thunder approach this summer? Presti won’t have cap space to work with this summer no matter what. Not with Paul, Adams and Schroder on the books for a combined $84.4M. In the summer of 2021, Oklahoma City’s cap sheet clears up considerably. As of now, it’s just Paul (at a whopping $44.2M) and rookie scale options for Gilgeous-Alexander and 2019 first-round pick Darius Bazley on the books for that summer.

With 2021 shaping up to be the next big free agent bonanza in the NBA, that makes the Gallinari decision this summer a critical one. The prudent path is the “years, not dollars” approach. It almost doesn’t matter how much money the Thunder give Gallinari this summer, as long as they keep it a short-term contract. They aren’t going to be players in free agency anyway.

The pitch should be to sign Gallinari to a huge one-year contract, or a two-year deal with a team option or non-guaranteed money for the second year. Think of it almost like an NFL contract, where the team significantly front-loads the contract to save money down the line as the player’s play deteriorates.

Even if it’s a significant overpay for Gallinari in 2020-21, that allows OKC to keep the core from this year’s surprise group together, while retaining flexibility for the future. And that future, with Gilgeous-Alexander, still-productive veterans and an unprecedented amount of additional draft picks, couldn’t possibly look much brighter.

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It took two overtimes in Boston to determine a winner, with the Celtics finally prevailing in a back-and-forth game. Jayson Tatum exploded for 39 points, while Marcus Smart added 31 points. Lou Williams led the Clippers with 35 points.

The Celtics also announced in the first quarter that they’ll retire Kevin Garnett’s No. 5 jersey next season.

Thunder 123 (33-22), Pelicans 118 (23-32)

An electric game in New Orleans ended with the Thunder coming out on top. Danilo Gallinari (29 points) and Dennis Schroder (22 points) gave OKC the scoring edge. Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson had another impressive game, scoring 32 points.

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The Raptors’ win streak seemed to be in jeopardy after they entered the half trailing 63-48, but a second half charge secured a franchise-record 12th straight win for Toronto. The win put the Raptors one game ahead of where they were through 51 games a season ago.

Pascal Siakam had 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, Kyle Lowry had 32 points and 10 assists and Serge Ibaka scored 30. Ibaka’s clutch 3 sealed the win.

Nuggets 98 (36-16), Jazz 95 (32-18)

The Jazz looked ready to cruise to victory, but they were only able to muster up five points in the final six minutes of the third quarter as the short-handed Nuggets clawed their way back in to the game.

Nikola Jokic put the team on his back, racking up 30 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals. The Nuggets were only able to dress seven players due to injuries and a pending trade.

Heat 111 (34-16), Clippers 128 (36-15)

The Clippers’ stars carried them to victory as Kawhi Leonard recorded a +24 plus-minus in 31 minutes and Paul George notched a +22 in 26 minutes. The Clippers hit 24 threes — a franchise-record.

Landry Shamet and George each scored 23 points to lead the Clippers and Derrick Jones Jr. scored 25 off the bench for Miami.

Suns 108 (20-31), Pistons 116 (19-34)

The Suns’ young core of Devin Booker (22 points, 7 assists), Kelly Oubre Jr. (30 points) and DeAdnre Ayton (26 points, 12 rebounds) showed up, but 21 team turnovers plagued Phoenix.

Despite allowing the Suns to shoot 54.5 percent from the field, the Pistons were able to take care of business thanks to 31 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals from Andre Drummond. The Pistons also had 14 offensive rebounds as a unit.

Magic 100 (22-29), Celtics 116 (35-15)

Jayson Tatum did a little bit of everything as he picked up 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks to accompany his 33 points on the stat sheet.

Warriors 88 (12-40), Nets 129 (23-27)

D’Angelo Russell (17 points) received a warm welcome in his return to Brooklyn, but his new squad suffered the largest loss in Barclays Center history as six Nets players scored at least 10 points. Caris LeVert’s 23 points and 8 assists led the way for Brooklyn.

Hawks 127 (14-38), Timberwolves 120 (15-35)

The Timberwolves dropped their 13th straight game as Vince Carter hit a game-clinching 3 for the Hawks on the 22nd anniversary of his NBA debut.

Trae Young had 38 points and 11 dimes for Atlanta.

Cavaliers 103 (13-39), Thunder 109 (31-20)

The Cavaliers had a well-balanced offensive attack with seven players scoring double-digit points (Kevin Love’s 20 and Collin Sexton’s 23 led the way), but they couldn’t stop Oklahoma City’s bench.

Dennis Schroder was a team-best +13 as he scored 30 points and dished out 6 dimes off the pine. No Thunder bench player had a negative plus-minus.

Grizzlies 121 (26-25), Mavericks 107 (31-20)

Memphis’ offense was nearly flawless, shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 48 percent from deep while turning the ball over just 10 times.

Jaren Jackson Jr. (19 points, 4 threes), Ja Morant (21 points on 10-for-12 shooting), Brandon Clarke (18 points on 7-for-10 shooting) and Tyus Jones (19 points on 8-for-8 shooting) pushed the Grizzlies’ scoring effort.

Kristaps Porzingis had 32 points, 11 rebuonds, 2 steals and a block in just 29 minutes for Dallas.

The post Post Up: Raptors Win Franchise-Record 12th Straight after 19-Point Comeback appeared first on SLAM.

Ja Morant (18 points, 10 assists) provided a spark for the Grizzlies, recording an astounding plus-minus of plus-42 in 28 minutes of work. Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 27 to lead the way offensively.

The two sides got into a scuffle after Jae Crowder was shoved by Elfrid Payton while taking a 3-pointer in the game’s final minute.

Pistons 115 (17-32), Nets 125 (20-26)

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 28 points on just 13 points off the bench to lead the Nets in an emotional home win over the Pistons. It was Dinwiddie’s first game wearing No. 26.

Kyrie Irving added 20 points for Brooklyn.

Bulls 106 (19-31), Pacers 115 (31-17)

Victor Oladipo scored nine points in his first game in over a year, hitting a game-tying 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

TJ Warren scored a team-high 25 on 10-for-15 shooting for the Pacers.

Jazz 120 (32-15), Spurs 127 (21-26)

DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 38 on 11-for-19 shooting to lead the Spurs’ upset bid over Utah.

Rockets 112 (29-18), Trail Blazers 125 (21-27)

Damian Lillard recorded his first-ever triple-double with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 11 dimes. His point guard counterpart shined, too, as Russell Westbrook had 39 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals for Houston.

Thunder 120 (29-20), Kings 100 (17-30)

The Thunder’s starting five clamped the Kings up early, allowing just 16 first quarter points, and Dennis Schroder’s offense off the pine (team-high 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting) kept the momentum rolling the rest of the way.

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Rudy Gobert once again came up huge on the defensive end as the Jazz won their 19th game in their last 21 contests.

Gobert finished with 22 points, 17 boards and 5 blocks. Donovan Mitchell added a game-high 25 points.

Nets 121 (19-25), Pistons 111 (17-30) (OT)

Kyrie Irving and the Nets caught fire in overtime to snap a five-game losing streak.

Irving dropped a game-high 45 points with 7 dimes and 6 boards. Jarrett Allen added 20 points with 15 boards and 4 blocks.

Bulls 118 (18-30), Cavs 106 (12-34)

Chicago went on a furious tear to end the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs by 21 points in the period.

Zach LaVine dropped a game-high 44 points with 10 boards and 8 dimes.

Cleveland has now lost 7 straight games.

Thunder 113 (28-19), Timberwolves 104 (15-31)

Chris Paul sank a clutch floater to give the Thunder a 7-point lead with 47 seconds remaining as OKC won their fifth straight game.

CP3 dropped 25 points with 10 dimes. Dennis Schroder added a team-high 26 points.

Minnesota has lost 9 games in a row.

Lakers 91 (36-10), Sixers 108 (30-17)

The Sixers—without Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson—dominated the Lakers on the night that LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time scoring list.

Ben Simmons led the way for Philly, dropping 28 points with 10 boards, 8 dimes and 4 steals. Tobias Harris added a team-high 29 points.

The post Post Up: Sixers Thwart Lakers as LeBron Moves Up All-Time Scoring List appeared first on SLAM.

Another day, another easy Bucks win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a yawn-inducing 30 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists on 13-19 shooting. Not bad. As the Hornets slowly slip out of the playoff race, it’s time to search for silver linings, and third year guard Malik Monk had a fantastic game, scoring 31 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists.

Celtics 109 (30-14), Magic 98 (21-25)

A very solid win for the Celtics, who were without star forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Kemba Walker popped off for 37 points, 6 assists and 4 steals, while Gordon Hayward followed up with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists.

For the Magic, at least Evan Fournier had 30 points, but scoring has been difficult to come by for the past few years for this defensive minded team.

Grizzlies 125 (21-24), Pistons 112 (17-29)

Jaren Jackson Jr powered the Grizz in the first half with 24 points, and they never looked back. Ja Morant stayed steady, and while we were not treated to any spectacular highlights, he played a very solid all-around game with 16 points and 12 assists.

Derrick Rose had his 11th straight game with 20 or more points, but it wasn’t enough with virtually the entire Pistons starting lineup sidelined.

Raptors 118 (31-14), Knicks 112 (12-34)

Toronto won their sixth straight game thanks to sticking what they usually do: play team ball, go 100% on every play and commit on the defensive end. Pascal Siakam finished the Knicks off with this dagger, ending the night with 23 points and 7 rebounds.

Kings 98 (16-29), Bulls 81 (17-30)

Buddy Hield received a splash of cold water coming off the bench for the first time in a while, and he responded well, scoring 21 points and grabbing 7 boards.

Clippers 122 (32-14), Heat 117 (31-14)

Kawhi Leonard recorded his first career triple double, going to 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Landry Shamet was also cooking from deep, nailing 6 of his 12 attempts.

We were treated to the return of Dion Waiters, after many injuries, suspensions and weight issues. The eight-year veteran was excellent in his debut, scoring 14 points, blocking 2 shots, splashing 4 3-pointers and was a +8 in only 18 minutes of action.

Nuggets 113 (31-14), Pelicans 106 (17-29)

The Nuggets just keep on winning, despite missing star guard Jamal Murray and stalwart power forward Paul Millsap due to injuries. Nikola Jokic was fantastic, scoring 27 points, grabbing 12 boards, dishing 7 assists and swiping 4 steals. Michael Porter Jr continued to impress off the bench, nabbing 15 points and 10 rebounds in only half a game.

Even in defeat, Zion Williamson was good. He’s still on a minutes restriction, and he scored 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds and was a +16 in only 21 minutes.

Thunder 140 (27-19), Hawks 111 (11-35)

Oklahoma City just completely outplayed the Hawks, who sport a less-than-ideal 5-19 road record. Everyone was balling for OKC. Danillo Gallinari had 25 points. Shai Gilgeous Alexander had 24. Chris Paul had 18, and Dennis Schroder came off the bench with 21. It was another win for a team that gets better by the day.

Rockets 131 (28-16), Timberwolves 124 (15-30)

While James Harden had his lowest scoring output in ages, Russell Westbrook went inferno, scoring a whopping 45 points and dishing 10 assists.

Karl Towns’ 30 points and 12 boards led the Wolves, who look poised for another move at the trade deadline.

Suns 103 (19-26), Spurs 99 (20-24)

This was a very solid win for a Suns team that has always had trouble against the Spurs. Devin Booker brought his A game, going off for 35 points and 10 assists. For the Spurs, DeMar DeRozan continued his consistent play as of late, notching 30 points and a monster jam in the loss.

Pacers 129 (30-16), Warriors 118 (10-37)

The Pacers may be the most slept on good team in basketball. They play team ball and have a staunch defense, plus Victor Oladipo is still waiting in the wings. TJ Warren popped off tonight with 33 points and 4 steals in the victory, while Doug McDermott scored 24 off the pine of a sizzling 6-7 from deep.

DLO’s 37 points on 9-13 from 3-point range was a sight to behold, but not enough for the win.

The post Post Up: Kawhi Leonard Gets First career Triple-Double in Win over Heat appeared first on SLAM.

Zion Williamson had the world buzzing as he scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter, nearly taking down San Antonio by himself. The No. 1 pick finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in just 18 minutes of work in his NBA debut.

Pacers 112 (29-16), Suns 87 (18-26)

TJ Warren scored a team-high 25 in his return to Phoenix to lead the way to victory. Domantas Sabonis did his part, too, adding 24 points (8-for-11 shooting) and 13 boards for the Pacers.

Jazz 129 (31-13), Warriors 96 (10-36)

D’Angelo Russell put up 26 points in 28 minutes, but the Jazz’ depth — 13 different players got on the scoreboard — was far too much to overcome for the depleted Warriors. Rudy Gobert had 22 points and a team-high 15 boards and Donovan Mitchell scored 23 in just 22 minutes.

Nuggets 105 (30-14), Rockets 121 (27-16)

The Rockets’ backcourt was completely in sync as Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 55 points, 21 rebounds and 13 dimes to edge the gap between them and the second place Nuggets.

Timberwolves 110 (15-29), Bulls 117 (17-29)

Zach LaVine (team-high 25 points) was able to get the W over his former team despite a 40-point outing from Karl-Anthony Towns. Lauri Markkanen added 21 to aid the Bulls.

Wizards 129 (14-29), Heat 134 (31-13)

The Heat’s bench backcourt duo of Tyler Herro (25 points, 7 threes) and Goran Dragic (22 points, 10 assists) took care of business as Miami scored 16 points in overtime to down the Wizards.

Bradley Beal scored a team-high 38 for Washington.

Grizzlies 95 (20-24), Celtics 119 (29-14)

The Grizzlies had the lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Celtics bounced back to dominate the rest of the night as Jayson Tatum scored 23 in 26 minutes of work.

Lakers 100 (35-9), Knicks 92 (12-33)

LeBron James picked up a win in his favorite arena to travel to, leading the way with 21 points, 6 boards and 5 dimes for Los Angeles.

Thunder 120 (26-19), Magic 114 (21-24)

Dennis Schroder scored 31 points (13-for-18 shooting) and had 9 dimes off the bench to lead the Thunder.

Clippers 95 (31-14), Hawks 104 (11-34)

The Clippers were only able to score 35 points in the second half as John Collins’ 33-point night pushed the Hawks ahead. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley didn’t suit up for Los Angeles and Trae Young missed the night for Atlanta.

Kings 106 (15-29), Pistons 127 (17-28)

Derrick Rose, Christian Wood and Reggie Jackson combined for 67 to lead the Pistons’ charge against the Kings.

De’Aaron Fox had 22 in the effort.

76ers 95 (26-17), Raptors 107 (30-14)

Fred VanVleet’s 22 points and Pascal Siakam’s 18 points and 15 boards led the Raptors past the Sixers in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The post Post Up: Zion Williamson TOOK OVER in his NBA Debut appeared first on SLAM.

Bradley Beal (29 points) and Ian Mahinmi (21 points) helped Washington fend off the Pistons at home. Derrick Rose put up 21 points for Detroit.

Raptors 122 (29-14), Hawks 117 (10-34)

Despite 42 points and 15 assists from Trae Young, the Hawks fell short against the defending champions. Norman Powell led the Raptors with 27 points.

76ers 117 (29-16), Nets 111 (18-24)

Fresh off his Player of the Week win, Ben Simmons dropped a triple-double with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to beat the Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie registered 22 points and 7 assists in the loss.

Magic 106 (21-23), Hornets 83 (15-30)

Orlando’s scoring duo of Evan Fournier (26 points) and Nikola Vucevic (24 points) lifted the Magic over Charlotte. Malik Monk paced the Hornets with 20 points off the bench.

Knicks 106 (12-32), Cavaliers 86 (12-32)

Julius Randle and Marcus Morris each scored 19 points apiece as the Knicks came out with the road win. New York took over in the second, stretching their lead to as large as 21 points.

Kings 113 (15-28), Heat 118 (30-13)

Two crazy buckets sent this game to overtime, but the Heat prevailed in the extra period. Rookie Kendrick Nunn continues to shine, leading Miami with 25 points in 43 minutes.

Thunder 112 (25-19), Rockets 107 (26-16)

Oklahoma City came back from 17 down to steal a win in Houston. Dennis Schroder hit a step-back dagger to put the Thunder ahead for good; he scored 23 points, while Chris Paul led the team with 28 points.

Pelicans 126 (17-27), Grizzlies 116 (20-23)

Jrue Holiday tied his season high with 36 points in the road win. Brandon Ingram added 25 points and 6 assists. Dillon Brooks scored 31 points for the Grizzlies.

Bulls 98 (16-29), Bucks 111 (39-6)

Giannis Antetokounmpo notched his 10,000th point as the Bucks easily handled Chicago. The MVP registered a triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

Lakers 107 (34-9), Celtics 139 (28-14)

Boston enjoyed 20+ points from Jayson Tatum (27 points), Kemba Walker (20 points) and Jaylen Brown (20 points) as they quieted the Lakers. JaVale McGee scored 18 points in 18 minutes for L.A.

Nuggets 107 (30-13), Timberwolves 100 (15-28)

Michael Porter Jr. came off the bench to provide a spark for Denver, contributing 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the road win. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points.

Spurs 120 (19-23), Suns 118 (18-25)

Phoenix took the lead late, but San Antonio rallied to secure the victory. Derrick White (25 points) and Bryn Forbes (24 points) led the scoring charge for the Spurs. Devin Booker scorched San Antonio for 37 points but came up short of the win.

Pacers 88 (28-16), Jazz 118 (30-13)

Utah led from start to finish, growing their lead to as large as 30 in this smooth-sailing contest. Donovan Mitchell put up 25 points, while Rudy Gobert added 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Warriors 124 (10-35), Blazers 129 (19-26)

Damian Lillard had a career night for the second time this season. Lillard scored 61 points in a clutch and dominant performance to beat the Warriors in overtime. Alec Burks paced Golden State with 33 points.

The post Post Up: Ben Simmons, Giannis Put Up Triple-Doubles in Wins appeared first on SLAM.

Carmelo Anthony scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds as he picked up a win in the city that let him go a season ago. CJ McCollum and Dame Lillard combined for 49 points.

James Harden had a season-low in points, scoring 13 in 36 minutes.

Pistons 116 (15-27), Celtics 103 (27-12)

Sekou Doumbouya scored 24 points on just 13 shots and Derrick Rose added 22 as the Pistons picked up an upset win in Boston.

Magic 119 (20-21), Lakers 118 (33-8)

Aaron Gordon (21 points) put on a dunk show at the STAPLES Center and Markelle Fultz (21 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) came up big in crunch time to take down the No.1 team in the west.

LeBron James had 19 points and 19 dimes in the effort.

Nets 106 (18-22), 76ers 117 (26-16)

Tobias Harris scored a game-high 34 on 14-for-20 shooting and grabbed 10 boards to lead the Sixers’ scoring effort. Ultimately, Philadelphia’s defense secured the W, holding Brooklyn to 16 fourth quarter points after trailing at the end of the third quarter.

Wizards 106 (13-27), Bulls 115 (15-27)

Zach LaVine’s hot streak continued, and this time it got the struggling Bulls a win. The Seattle-native finished with 30 points, 7 boards and 7 assists as he went 6-for-11 from deep.

Spurs 100 (17-22), Heat 106 (28-12)

Kendrick Nunn dropped 33 on a blistering 13-for-18 shooting night to put Miami past San Antonio.

Mavericks 127 (26-15), Kings 123 (15-26)

Luka Doncic stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists and Seth Curry provided a spark off the pine with 21 points and five made 3’s.

Sacramento’s trio of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes combined for 77, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Dallas.

Hornets 86 (15-29), Nuggets 100 (28-12)

Michael Porter Jr.’s time to shine was well worth the wait. His energy off the bench (19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals in 28 minutes) led Denver past Charlotte.

Terry Rozier scored a game-high 20 for Charlotte.

Pacers 104 (26-15), Timberwolves 99 (15-25)

Domantas Sabonis scored 29 on 13-for-17 shooting and tacked on 13 rebounds and 6 dimes to lead Indiana. His plus-minus of +21 led all players in his 36 minutes of playing time.

Raptors 130 (26-14), Thunder 121 (23-18)

Oklahoma City cut Toronto’s 30-point lead down to just three in the fourth quarter, but the defending champs were able to right the ship in the game’s final minutes to escape with a win.

Norman Powell scored a team-high 23 for Toronto and OG Anunoby added 21 points, 5 boards, 5 dimes and 3 steals.

Dennis Schroder scored a game-high 25 off the bench for OKC.

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Memphis dominated the first and third quarters and shot 46.2 percent from three. The Grizzlies would lead by as much as 28 points during the fourth quarter.

Jae Crowder dropped a team-high 27 points with 8 boards, 7 dimes, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

Raptors 121 (24-12), Nets 102 (16-18)

Toronto outscored the Nets by 16 points in the fourth behind Kyle Lowry’s inspired late play.

Lowry dropped 26 points with 5 dimes. Fred VanVleet added a game-high 29 points and 11 dimes.

Brooklyn has now lost 5 straight games.

Jazz 109 (23-12), Magic 96 (16-20)

Utah outscored the Magic by 12 points in the fourth quarter en route to their fifth straight win.

Donovan Mitchell dropped a game-high 32 points (14-21 FG) with 6 dimes.

Thunder 121 (20-15), Cavs 106 (10-25)

OKC took the lead late in the first quarter and wouldn’t trail for the rest of the game.

Steven Adams dropped 10 points with 16 boards. Dennis Schroder added a team-high 22 points.

OKC has now won 5 straight games.

Pacers 111 (22-14), Hawks 116 (8-28)

After blowing a 22-point lead in the first half, the Hawks regained the advantage in the fourth quarter to win the game.

After dropping 30 points in the first half, Trae Young finished with a game-high 41 points and 8 dimes.

Celtics 111 (25-8), Bulls 104 (13-23)

The Celtics saw their 16-point lead dwindle all the way to 3 late in the game, but Boston was able to hold on.

Jayson Tatum dropped a team-high 28 points (12-15 FG) with 7 boards and a dagger three.

Nuggets 114 (24-11), Wizards 128 (11-24)

Even without seemingly half of their regular rotation players (including Bradley Beal), the Wizards were able to pull away with the game in the fourth quarter.

Washington got an incredible 92 points from its bench, including a career-high 32 points from Ish Smith.

Pistons 111 (13-23), Warriors 104 (9-28)

Detroit outscored the Warriors by 10 points in the second half en route to the road win.

Andre Drummond dropped 14 points with 18 boards and 3 steals. Derrick Rose added a team-high 22 points.

Spurs 118 (14-20), Bucks 127 (32-5)

After taking the lead mid-way through the second quarter, the Bucks did not trail for the rest of the game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a game-high 32 points (7-12 FG) with 8 boards.

Milwaukee has now won 5 straight games.

Hornets 123 (15-23), Mavs 120 (22-13) (OT)

Charlotte battled back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force OT. They would then drop 20 points in the extra period to get a big road win.

Terry Rozier dropped a team-high 29 points with several clutch buckets. Devonte Graham added 27 points with 13 dimes.

Pelicans 117 (12-24), Kings 115 (13-23)

New Orleans dropped 41 points during the fourth quarter to regain the lead and gut out the road win.

Lonzo Ball dropped a team-high 24 points with 10 dimes and 6 boards. JJ Redick added 18 points, including the game-winner.

The post Post Up: Grizzlies Blow Out Clippers Behind Jae Crowder’s Career Night appeared first on SLAM.

In this post, just one of a series of 30, we’ll break down the reports that have started to trickle out about Thunder players that may or may not be on the move. While there’s no guarantee when it comes to a league as wild as the modern NBA, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on each squad’s roster as the deadline draws near.

Players Unlikely To Be Traded

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Darius Bazley

The retooled Thunder are exceeding expectations this season but that doesn’t mean they’re going to ship away their young assets and try to compete for a higher seed in the Western Conference. General manager Sam Presti has a long-term plan and that includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was the prized acquisition in the Paul George deal. It would be shocking if the team dealt SGA anywhere. It would be less shocking for the Thunder to trade Bazley, though it’s still unlikely that the former million-dollar intern finishes the season anywhere else.

Biggest Name Available On Market

• Chris Paul

The moment Chris Paul arrived in OKC, there was speculation that the team would ship him elsewhere. However, ESPN reported that there is belief around the league that the Thunder will keep him through the season.

The future Hall-of-Fame point guard has, by all accounts, been a positive presence in Oklahoma City, heavily contributing to the team’s success while embracing his status as a veteran mentor to the franchise’s younger prospects. He still has enough left in the tank to help a team make the postseason, though because of his hard-to-match $38.5M salary, that team is likely to be the Thunder.

Logical Trade Pieces

• Steven Adams
• Danilo Gallinari
• Dennis Schroder
• Justin Patton

Oklahoma City has several high-priced veterans on the roster and trimming salary will be a point of emphasis, as this franchise simply doesn’t want to pay the luxury tax (they are currently less than $1M over it). Trading away Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari or Dennis Schroder while bringing back slightly less in salary could be a wise move if it nets them an asset. Dealing away Justin Patton, whose $1.6M salary becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster through January 10, might be an easier task.

Trades Are Possible

• Andre Robinson
• Terrance Ferguson
• Mike Muscala
• Nerlens Noel
• Abdel Nader
• Hamidou Diallo
• Deonte Burton

Andre Roberson, whose contract expires after this season, hasn’t played since January 27, 2018, and he continues to rehab from a ruptured patellar tendon. He’s away from the team with no timetable to return. Terrance Ferguson will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension after the season. He’s seeing a career-high 26.6 minutes per game, though his 4.1 player efficiency rating doesn’t inspire hope. Mike Muscala re-signed with the Thunder when he thought Russell Westbrook and Paul George were going to run it back. He hasn’t played a meaningful role for the Thunder lately. Nerlens Noel has been a pleasant surprise for the Thunder and could see a major uptick in minutes should the Thunder trade Adams. A rival team could just as easily approach OKC and try to pluck the center, as he is making just $1.6M. Abdel Nader, who has seen action in 27 games this year, has a $1.8M team option on his contract for next season. Hamidou Diallo has played in just 14 games during his sophomore campaign. The wing has made just six of his 38 career shots from behind the arc. Deonte Burton saw some run with Gallinari sidelined over the past few weeks, though with the Italian forward back in action, DNPs are again likelier than any sort of meaningful minutes for the 25-year-old wing.

The post 2020 NBA Trade Deadline Primer: Oklahoma City Thunder appeared first on SLAM.

The Celtics lead from start to finish and cruised to an easy win on the road. Boston was lead by Jayson Tatum, who finished with 24 points and 7 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward, who stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Kemba Walker added 22 points and 7 assists.

Pacers 115 (22-12), 76ers 97 (23-13)

Indiana outscored Philly 38-16 in the second quarter and held on to the large lead for the remainder of the game, securing an easy win at home. Domantas Sabonis continued his impressive play, finishing with 23 points (10-16 FG), 10 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead the Pacers. T.J. Warren added 21 points on 9-11 shooting. Josh Richardson led the 76ers with 20 points, and Ben Simmons added 18 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Clippers 105 (24-11), Kings 87 (12-22)

The Clippers secured their 10th road win of the season in convincing fashion. LA was lead by Kawhi, who finished with 24 points and 7 assists, and PG, who dropped 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Richaun Holmes finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Buddy Hield added 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in the loss.

Raptors 117 (23-11), Cavs 97 (10-23)

The defending champions closed out 2019 with an easy win at home. Kyle Lowry finished with 24 points and 8 assists to lead the Raptors, and Serge Ibaka added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Collin Sexton dropped a team-high 22 points in the loss for Cleveland.

Rockets 130 (23-11), Nuggets 104 (23-10)

The Rockets dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Nuggets 38-15 to get the win at home. Russell Westbrook and James Harden showed out in their last game of the decade. The Beard finished with 35 points on 10-17 shooting, and The Brodie added 28 points and 8 assists. Clint Capela returned from injury and dropped 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 21 points in the loss.

Spurs 117 (14-8), Warriors 113 (9-26)

The Spurs outlasted the Dubs in an overtime thriller, outscoring Golden State 17-13 in the extra period. DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with a team high 24 points on 11-18 shooting, and Patty Mills added 18 off the bench. For the Warriors, Alec Burks finished with 28 points, and Glenn Robinson III dropped 25 on 10-17 shooting in the loss.

Thunder 106 (18-15), Mavericks 101 (21-12)

The last game of 2019 was a great one, as the Thunder outscored the Mavs 29-23 in the fourth quarter to pick up the win at home. Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder both dropped a team-high 20 points, and Chris Paul added 17 points (including 13 in the fourth), 8 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Thunder. For the Mavs, Luka Doncic finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in the loss.

The post Post Up: Harden and Westbrook Combine for 63 in Rockets Win appeared first on SLAM.

The Celtics are the real deal. This time last year, there were clearly chemistry issues and something seemed off. But this season has been a complete heel turn.

The two main factors to thank? Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who have both leveled up their games to an All-Star level caliber. Brown had a career-high 34 points with 9 rebounds, while Tatum had 30 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks as the Celtics improved to 13-1 at home.

There’s not much better to watch two young studs realize their potential and turn that into consistent dominant production. Brown is 23-years-old, and Tatum 21. They aren’t going away anytime soon.

Magic 98 (14-17), 76ers 97 (23-11)

The Magic hung on for one of their best wins of the season against a 76ers team that, albeit inconsistent, was coming off a fresh pounding of the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks. Aaron Gordon had himself 19 points and 11 rebounds (and one sweet lob throw down), Nikola Vucevic had a 19-12-7 line, and Terrence Ross contributed 17 off the bench.

Bucks 112 (28-5), Hawks 86 (6-26)

Absent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe, the Bucks still managed to steamroll the slumping Hawks. Trusty veteran Ersan Ilyasova was phenomenal in only 24 minutes, recording 18 points, 17 rebounds and a monster + 37 plus/minus in relief for the resting Greek Freak. Khris Middleton also had a highly efficient game, scoring 23 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing 7 assists.

It was another brutal loss for the lottery-bound Hawks, who unfortunately lost Trae Young to an ankle injury halfway through the game, but X rays were luckily negative. Get well soon Trae, the league is not the same without you.

Thunder 104 (16-15), Hornets 102 (13-21)

This was a thriller.

Dennis Schroder, who has quietly become one of the best sixth men in the league, dropped 24 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 (and had a filthy euro-step), and the reliable Steven Adams had a 14-12 double-double to knock out the Hornets in overtime.

Despite the loss, Devonte’ Graham was excellent. He had a clutch full-court drive to the rack to force OT in the first place, and he stayed splashing tough shots down the stretch. He was one rebound off of a triple double with 15 points, 13 assists and 9 boards. Terry Rozier also had 26.

Heat 113 (23-8), Pacers 112 (21-11)

It all came down to a wild late possession, as Jimmy Butler passed to Duncan Robinson, who zipped the ball to Kendrick Nunn in the left corner. Nunn attacked the rack, and just missed a reverse layup, which was tipped into the air by Butler, and recovered by Bam Adebayo. Adebayo kicked it out to Goran Dragic on the perimeter, who swerved into the lane for a silky game-winning floater.

Follow that? In short, it was exhilirating.

Warriors 105 (9-24), Suns 96 (11-20)

After trailing for a majority of the game, the Dubs came roaring back down the stretch, and finally secured the lead with a thunderous Glenn Robinson III cutback dunk. An underrated aspect of the game that the Warriors crushed the Suns in was turnovers. While Phoenix coughed the ball up a stunning 26 times, Golden State limited themselves to 10 turnovers.

D’Angelo Russell led the way with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, while Devin Booker had his eighth game of the season with 30 points or more for the Suns.

The post Post Up: Thunder Edge Out Hornets in OT appeared first on SLAM.

Toronto rallied back from 30, the biggest comeback in franchise history, behind Kyle Lowry’s game-high 32 points and 10 assists. Chris Boucher had 21 off the bench.

Celtics 119 (20-7), Hornets 93 (13-20)

Jayson Tatum posted a career-high 39 points, scoring 22 of those points in the fourth quarter. Tatum joins Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker as the third youngest Celtics player with a 30-point, 10-rebound game. Kemba Walker scored 23 points against his former team.

Thunder 118 (15-14), Clippers 112 (22-10)

Paul George returned back to OKC, but was unable to give his new team a W at Chesapeake Arena. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career-high 32 points in the victory. Dennis Schroder (28 points) came up huge down the stretch, knocking down a triple late in the game to put OKC up and a layup that pushed the lead to six.

Bucks 117 (27-4), Pacers 89 (20-10)

Four of Milwaukee’s starters finished in double figures with Wesley Matthews scoring a team-high 19 points. George Hill (17 points) and Robin Lopez (13 points) put up 30 bench points.

Nuggets 128 (20-8), Lakers 104 (24-6)

Denver defeated the Lakers to give them their third-straight loss. Paul Millsap scored 21 points in 21 minutes, Garris Harris finished with 19 and Nikola Jokic finished with 18.

The post Post Up: Raptors Defeat Dallas in Biggest Comeback Win in Franchise History appeared first on SLAM.

A standout game from Collin Sexton (23 points on 10-14 shooting) helped Cleveland secure the home win. Terry Rozier’s 35 points for Charlotte came up just short.

Raptors 112 (19-8), Pistons 99 (11-17)

Toronto enjoyed impressive scoring nights from their trio of Pascal Siakam (26 points), Serge Ibaka (25 points) and Kyle Lowry (20 points). Andre Drummond put up 22 points and 18 rebounds in the loss.

Bulls 110 (11-19), Wizards 109 (8-18)

Bradley Beal’s go-ahead jumper with 0.5 seconds left looked like the nail in the coffin. Then Zach LaVine hit two free throws and the Bulls prevailed in overtime. Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 31 points and 9 rebounds.

Heat 108 (20-8), 76ers 104 (20-9)

The Heat are no joke. Rookie Kendrick Nunn led the team with 26 points in 41 minutes, while Bam Adebayo added 23 points to the winning effort. Joel Embiid contributed a double-double of 22 points and 19 rebounds.

Pelicans 107 (7-22), Timberwolves 99 (10-16)

Brandon Ingram continues to impress in a breakout year. The forward finished with 34 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Wolves.

Grizzlies 122 (10-18), Thunder 126 (13-14)

At one point OKC trailed by 24, but the Thunder came roaring back to get the home win. Dennis Schroder led the way with 31 points and 7 assists. Grizzlies rookie Brandon Clarke paced the team with 27 points.

Magic 104 (12-16), Nuggets 113 (18-8)

Denver was led by its dynamic duo of Jamal Murray (33 points) and Nikola Jokic (18 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds). Nikola Vucevic put up 20 points for the Magic.

Celtics 109 (18-7), Mavericks 103 (18-9)

Boston had the offensive firepower with Kemba Walker (32 points), Jaylen Brown (26 points) and Jayson Tatum (24 points) pouring in buckets. Kristaps Porzingis registered a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

Warriors 112 (5-24), Blazers 122 (12-16)

Portland closed out Golden State thanks to big nights from Damian Lillard (30 points, 13 assists) and Hassan Whiteside (16 points, 23 rebounds). D’Angelo Russell scored 26 points for the Warriors.

The post Post Up: Kendrick Nunn and the Heat Hand 76ers First Home Loss appeared first on SLAM.

Paul George was unfazed by boos from the Indiana crowd, dropping a game-high 36 points to lead L.A. to the win. Montrezl Harrell added 26 points and 8 rebounds.

Cavaliers 88 (5-18), Celtics 110 (17-5)

Boston led from start to finish in their home victory. The game marked the return of Gordon Hayward, who contributed 14 points in 26 minutes. Jayson Tatum put up a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Raptors 93 (16-7), Bulls 92 (8-17)

Toronto secured the win as Zach LaVine missed a last-second runner. Pascal Siakam led the team with 22 points. LaVine scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss.

Kings 119 (10-13), Rockets 118 (15-8)

The ending to Kings-Rockets was wild. The teams swapped a pair of threes before Russell Westbrook put Houston up two with just 1 second remaining. Then, Nemanja Bjelica hit a 3-pointer from deep at the buzzer to cap a thrilling finish.

Magic 101 (11-12), Bucks 110 (21-3)

Milwaukee continues to roll, notching its 15th straight win. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the team with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists. Evan Fournier led Orlando with 26 points.

Pistons 105 (10-14), Pelicans 103 (6-18)

Derrick Rose will forever be clutch. The veteran stepped up as time wound down, shaking the defense to hit the midrange game-winner. Rose finished with 21 points and 7 assists.

Timberwolves 109 (10-12), Suns 125 (11-12)

Phoenix boasted three 20-point scorers: Devin Booker (26 points), Kelly Oubre Jr. (24 points) and Dario Saric (20 points). Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 33 points in the loss.

Thunder 104 (11-12), Jazz 90 (13-11)

OKC finished its back-to-back with their second win in as many nights, first taking down Portland and now Utah. Dennis Schroder led the team with 27 points. Rudy Gobert finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds.

Grizzlies 110 (7-16), Warriors 102 (5-20)

Ja Morant (26 points) helped Memphis edge out the Warriors. D’Angelo Russell contributed 18 points and 7 assists.

The post Post Up: Derrick Rose, Nemanja Bjelica Hit Game-Winners appeared first on SLAM.

After a sluggish start to the season, the Magic have found their grove, winning four of their last five contests and getting to a .500 record. Starting point guard Markelle Fultz may have had a substandard stat line, but it’s clear he is becoming more comfortable with his game. On one early play, he spun between two defenders and spoon-fed Aaron Gordon an easy layup.

The Cavs’ season has been the opposite of the Magic. They started off playing inspired ball, but have since tailed off, losing 11 of their last 12 games amid reports of discontent with coach John Beilein’s tendency to treat his team like a college program, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of the Athletic.

Pistons 108 (9-14), Pacers 101 (14-8)

Andre Drummond had a monster double-double with 25 points and 22 rebounds, while Blake Griffin, who has become one of the most well-rounded players in the league, chipped in 25 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.

The Pacers are a tough, disciplined team, and no wins come easy against them. TJ Warren led Indiana in scoring with 26 points, but only contributed 1 assist and 1 rebound. Malcolm Brogdon had a solid outing with 21 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

Nets 111 (12-10), Hornets 104 (9-15)

The Nets have done an excellent job withstanding Kyrie Irving’s lingering shoulder injury. It was another balanced effort, with Joe Harris (22 points, 5 assists, 6 three-pointers) leading the way and Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince and David Nwaba hitting double-digits.

There were some bright spots for the Hornets amid defeat. Devonte’ Graham (who is making a strong case for Most Improved Player) dropped 29 points and eight assists, while backcourt mate Terry Rozier added 24 points of his own, as well as this slick step-back jumper:

Heat 112 (16-6), Wizards 103 (7-14)

Jimmy Butler tripled-doubled (28-11-11) and Bam Adebayo double-doubled (24-13) as the Heat breezed by the Wizards without Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow.

For the Wiz, Bradley Beal put up 23 points and 8 assists, but also 6 turnovers. Second-year big man Mo Wagner was solid, with 19 points and 10 boards.

Warriors 100 (5-19), Bulls 98 (8-15)

The Warriors broke a mini four game skid to take down the struggling Bulls. Well, truth be told, both these squads have been struggling, but there is hope. The Warriors found a late-round gem in Eric Paschall, while the Bulls have a promising young core that simply has not jelled yet. Zach LaVine is prone for a scoring explosion at any second. Also, Coby White is electric.

Celtics 108 (16-5), Nuggets 95 (14-6)

After a bumpy season for both of them last year, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have morphed into complete wings capable of winning games by themselves. Tonight was yet another test the two passed with aplomb. Tatum dropped 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, as well as some advanced step-back three-pointers, while Brown added 21 points and 7 rebounds of his own and a monster jam in transition.

Thunder 139 (8-12), Timberwolves 127 (10-10)

If it seems as if every Thunder-Wolves game is a banger, that’s because they are. From Andrew Wiggins half-court buzzer beaters to what feels like dozens of nail-biters, this latest edition did not disappoint. There was a plethora of gaudy stateliness (30 points for KAT, 32 for Jeff Teague, 30 for CP3, 29 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 22 for Steven Adams), quirky calls (Jordan Bell getting called for a delay of game because Chris Paul told the refs he did not have his jersey tucked in) and an electric finish.

Trailing by 2 points in regulation with one second to go from under their own basket, Steven Adams heaved a beautiful touchdown pass to Dennis Schroder, who floated in a graceful shot. The Thunder proceeded to dominate in OT, and you have to think that completion pass gave them a jolt of momentum.

Bucks 119 (20-3), Clippers 91 (16-7)

Well that was surprising.

In what was supposed to be the marquee matchup of the night and a feasible Finals matchup, the Bucks trounced the visiting Clippers.

On his 25th birthday, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 11 rebounds and one poster dunk in only 26 minutes, while the rest of the Bucks shot efficiently and held the Clips to a measly 35% from the field. Kawhi led the Clippers with 17 points, but he was inefficient (5-14 FG) and sloppy with 5 turnovers. The takeaway here is it’s probably a blip in the road, but it’s nonetheless an impressive win by a Bucks team now on pace for 70 wins.

Spurs 105 (9-14), Kings 104 (8-13)

The Spurs are having a small resurgence after going on a brutal losing streak, as they’ve quietly won three of their last four games. Thanks to a clutch Marco Belinelli three-pointer to force overtime, the Spurs eked out the one-point victory. The Kings had plenty of opportunities to score on the final possession (four of them, to be exact), but just couldn’t cash in.

Lakers 136 (20-3), Blazers 113 (9-14)

Before we get into the results, let’s send some prayers up for Rodney Hood, who suffered a torn achilles and is out for the year. He was in the midst of an awesome campaign, and was shooting a blistering 49% from beyond the arc, the fourth best rate in the entire league. Come back better than ever, Rodney.

LeBron and AD had another amazing day at the office, with AD pouring in 39 points and 9 rebounds to complement LeBron’s 31-7-8 line. Damian Lillard mustered 29 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, but it wasn’t nearly enough to dethrone the Lakers.

The post Post Up: Bucks Blow out Clippers on the Greek Freak’s Birthday appeared first on SLAM.

After succumbing to a pre-Thanksgiving loss to the Celtics, the Nets roared back in their second consecutive game against Boston. Guard Spencer Dinwiddie was fantastic in Kyrie Irving’s absence, scoring 32 points, dishing out 11 assists and swiping 2 steals. Third year center Jarrett Allen continued his solid play of late, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 boards on 7-12 shooting.

The Celtics have played excellent ball recently, despite losing Gordon Hayward to a hand injury. Jayson Tatum has bounced back from his sophomore slump to take over the scoring reigns this year, and he scored 26 points, corralled 9 rebounds and collected 4 steals in the first game of Black Friday.

Raptors 90 (14-4), Magic 80 (7-11)

The Raptors just keep on winning. Amid a slew of free agent departures and injuries to Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, Toronto has kept on chugging. They can even sustain an off-night from Pascal Siakam thanks to Norm Powell exploding for 33 points and Fred VanVleet putting up 22 and 7 steals.

The Magic shot 34% from the field, and that’s really the only stat you need to know to get an idea of how their night went.

Hornets 110 (8-12), Pistons 107 (6-13)

PJ Washington has continued his impressive rookie campaign, scoring 26 points and grabbing 4 steals on an efficient 9-12 shooting performance.

It’s been an uninspiring start to the season for Detroit, but at least Derrick Rose has proven to be a spark plug off the bench. He dropped 23 points on 8-12 shooting, and also provided us this adorable moment with his son, PJ, before the game.

Bucks 119 (16-3), Cavaliers 110 (5-14)

Giannis set the tone instantly with a dunk on the first play of the game, as the Bucks won their 10th straight game to finish off the Cavaliers. The Greek Freak remains a beast, and it’s incredible that he makes 33 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks seem ordinary.

Even in defeat, the Cavs have been competent. Rookie Darius Garland showed out with 21 points, 6 assists and 5 three-pointers. Keep an eye on the rook, because he’s going to be a stud in this league for a long time.

76ers 101 (13-6), Knicks 95 (4-15)

The 76ers had a sluggish start, as they were outscored 18-31 in the first quarter, but they eventually got their act together to take care of business. Joel Embiid was fantastic, scoring 27 points (albeit on a subpar 7-19 shooting), corralling 17 boards and swatting 3 shots, while Ben Simmons brought the 76ers home with a late-game inbounds steal and score.

He also converted this acrobatic layup on the move.

Jazz 103 (12-7), Grizzlies 94 (5-13)

In perhaps the most visually appealing game this season (seriously, each team absolutely nailed their throwback jerseys), the Jazz were too much to handle for the young Grizz. Bojan Bogdanovic put up 33 points, Rudy Gobert chipped in a solid double-double and Donovan Mitchell added 20 points of his own.

Thunder 109 (7-11), Pelicans 104 (6-13)

The Thunder came back by outscoring the Pelicans 30-20 in the 4th quarter. Dennis Schroder led the way off the bench with 25 points and 7 assists, while Steven Adams finished them off with a thunderous (pun intended) slam dunk down the stretch.

The Pelicans are swill biding time before the Zion Williamson’s highly anticipated debut, but in the meantime, Brandon Ingram seems content to keep on cooking. He had the smoothest transition from spin move to dunk:

Heat 122 (13-5), Warriors 105 (4-16)

It’s so weird to see the record 4-16 next to the Warriors, but that’s what happens when Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston are absent.

The Heat have been one of the best stories of the young season, riding a new wave of their young talent (Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Bam Adebayo and Justise Winslow) to supplement their veteran core of Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Kelly Olynyk. the team shot a blistering 52% from deep. Also, they never miss on the gorgeous Miami Vice city edition jerseys.

Spurs 107 (7-13), Clippers 97 (14-6)

The Spurs broke out of their surprising downward spiral by giving the Clippers their first loss when Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both shared the court together.

For the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge had one of his most complete games of the season, going for 17 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks.

Pacers 105 (12-6), Hawks 104 (4-15)

Despite a monstrous Trae Young performance (49 points on 16-28 shooting with 8 three-pointers and 9-9 from the line), the relentless Pacers pulled away in overtime. No other starter on the Hawks scored more than 7 points.

With Malcolm Brogdon back in the fold, Indiana has been rock solid this season. Every starter scored between 16 and 20 points; the epitome of a group effort.

Mavericks 120 (12-6), Suns 113 (8-10)

Luka Doncic went scorched earth all over the poor Suns. The Slovenian sensation dropped 42 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists in a convincing victory against the Suns. Tim Hardaway Jr also chipped in 26 points.

The Suns have slowed down a tad after an impressive start to the season, but a core four of Devin Booker, Aron Baynes, Kelly Oubre and Ricky Rubio has outscored opponents by 8 points per 100 possessions all season, and center DeAndre Ayton is set to return soon. The future is bright in Phoenix.

Blazers 107 (8-12), Bulls 103 (6-14)

Melo is looking like his old self, and every moment is beautiful to watch. He scored 23 points and grabbed 11 boards, while teammate Hassan Whiteside swallowed a Blazers franchise record 10 blocks to go along with 15 rebounds. Maybe he grew dissatisfied with his NBA 2K rating again.

For the Bulls, Zach LaVine led the way with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and so far, zero public disputes with Jim Boylen today.

Lakers 125 (17-2), Wizards 103 (6-11)

Well, that was certainly a blowout. The Lakers have been on fire this season and they showed no signs of letting up Friday at Staples. LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way per usual, with commendable contributions from Rajon Rondo (who threw two beautiful alley-oops), JaVale McGee and Danny Green.

The post Post Up: Trae Young Drops 49 Points, But Hawks Succumb to Pacers in OT appeared first on SLAM.

HE’S BACK.

Carmelo Anthony made his debut for the Blazers, his first appearance in an NBA game in 376 days. Melo shook some of the rust off and finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes. The Pelicans spoiled his return by coming away with the win, but hoop fans everywhere should be nothing but thrilled that Melo is playing NBA basketball again.

Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 22 points and 10 assists, and Brandon Ingram added 21 points, 7 boards, and 5 assists. CJ McCollum dropped 22 in the loss.

Warriors 114 (3-12), Grizzlies 95 (5-9)

Alec Burks dropped a game-high 29 points and Draymond Green stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 10 boards, and 11 assists to lead the Warriors to their 3rd win of the season. The Grizzlies were led by Ja Morant, who finished with 20 points in the loss.

Kings 120 (6-7), Suns 116 (7-6)

The Kings held off a 4th-quarter surge by the Suns to secure the win at home. Bogdan Bogdanovic went off for a career-high 31 points on 11-14 shooting and 7-9 from three. Corey Joseph dropped 14 dimes and Richaun Holmes added 20 points and 15 boards for the Kings. Devin Booker led the Suns with 30 points and 8 assists, and Mikal Bridges at 20 off the bench in the loss.

Lakers 112 (12-2), Thunder 107 (5-9)

The Lakers won their 5th in a row, led by monster nights from their two superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James. AD finished with a game-high 34 points on 13-24 shooting. LBJ’s 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Thunder made him the first player ever to record a triple-double against every team in the NBA, an insane accomplishment for The King.

The Thunder were led by Dennis Schroder, who dropped a team-high 31 points off the bench. Danilo Gallinari added 25 points in the loss.

The post Post Up: Carmelo Anthony Makes Blazers Debut appeared first on SLAM.

Oklahoma City held on to a narrow lead for the entire second half and eventually came away with their second win on the season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a game-high 23 points (8-14 FG) with 8 boards and 4 dimes. Dennis Schroder came off the bench for 17 points, 9 boards and had a +20 plus/minus.

Nets 109 (2-4), Pistons 113 (3-4)

On the second night of a back-to-back set, Detroit rallied from 14 points down in the third to earn an impressive victory.

Andre Drummond drained two clutch free throws with 3 seconds remaining to give the Pistons the win. Drummond finished with a game-high 25 points, 20 boards, 6 dimes, 5 blocks and 3 steals. Sheesh!

Nuggets 91 (4-2), Magic 87 (2-4)

After falling behind by double digits in the first half, Denver turned things around in the second half.

Nikola Jokic dropped 20 points with 7 boards and 4 dimes. Jamal Murray added a team-high 22 points.

Raptors 105 (4-2), Bucks 115 (4-2)

After falling behind by 26 points in the second quarter, the Raptors battled back to within 4 during the fourth, but it wouldn’t be enough.

Giannis Antetokounmpo took over the game late, finishing with a game-high 36 points (14-20 FG), 15 boards, 8 dimes and 4 blocks.

Suns 114 (4-2), Grizzlies 105 (1-4)

Phoenix continued their hot start, outscoring the Grizzlies by 15 points in the third quarter to blow open a double-digit lead.

Devin Booker dropped a team-high 21 points on 8-13 shooting.

Wolves 131 (4-1), Wizards 109 (1-4)

Minnesota had no problem defeating the Wizards without Karl-Anthony Towns. By the end of the third quarter, the Wolves’ lead was 34, and the game was effectively decided.

Jeff Teague dropped 15 points with 13 dimes, 3 steals and had a +32 plus/minus. Andrew Wiggins added a team-high 21 points and had a +19 plus/minus.

Hornets 93 (3-3), Warriors 87 (1-5)

This was not a pretty game to watch, but it came down to the wire in an entertaining finish.

Dwayne Bacon dropped a game-high 25 points with 6 boards and had a +15 plus/minus.

Sixers 129 (5-0), Blazers 128 (3-3)

Portland led the entire game until the final second. Damian Lillard was unconscious during the second half, and the Blazers shot 55.9 percent as a team from three, but Philly came roaring back late in the game.

Furkan Korkmaz (11 points) hit the game-winning three with 0.4 seconds left to keep the Sixers’ perfect record intact.

Al Horford dropped a team-high 25 points with 7 dimes.

—

Ryne Nelson is a Senior Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @slaman10.

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“On the court they know not to talk to me,” Westbrook told reporters after scoring 21 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and falling one assist shy of a triple-double in Houston’s 116-112 win.  

James Harden paced the Rockets with a game-high 40 points, and Chris Paul had 15 points, four assists and five rebounds in his return to H-Town following his trade to OKC this summer (he was honored with a video tribute in the first quarter.)
 

Per The AP:

“When I hoop I have no friends,” he said. “On the court they know not to talk to me.”
Some players seemed taken aback to see Westbrook in their locker room and a confused Dennis Schroder asked him what he was doing in there.

Westbrook smiled and said: “Same thing I’ve been doing, coming to check on my homies.”

Just before tipoff, Westbrook approached the Thunder bench and hugged coach Billy Donovan before slapping hands and greeting virtually every player on the bench.

Related Mike D’Antoni: Rockets to Play at a ‘Six Seconds or Less’ Pace

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Below is a list of the contract types the Oklahoma City Thunder have heading into training camp. This resource will be updated as players are signed and waived. Check back often to see if your team’s roster configuration has changed.

Oklahoma City Thunder

For a complete list of all the NBA teams and links to each team’s roster breakdown, check out our 2019 NBA Training Camp Index. Follow the curators of this database, Chris Crouse and Austin Kent, on Twitter.

More NBA Training Camp Rosters

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We’ve broken down the overall ratings for each player and sorted them by team so that you can see how your squad stacks up against the rest of the league.

Oklahoma City Thunder NBA 2K20 Ratings

This table is updated as of Nov. 22, 2019

Can’t get enough 2K? SLAM’s dedicated gaming channel, @SLAMftw, is blowing up. Hit us with your best uploads and watch our streams!

More NBA 2K20 Ratings

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The 21-year-old deftly handled the inevitable questions about succeeding the Thunder legend following their respective blockbuster trades this summer, and said he is determined to build his own legacy.

Gilgeous-Alexander, along with new teammates Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder, will headline a backcourt that won’t feature Westbrook for the first time in 11 seasons.

Per The Oklahoman:

“He set the bar pretty high,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.

In his first meeting with the media Thursday, you wouldn’t have tabbed Gilgeous-Alexander as a player coming off a Second Team All-Rookie season as a 20-year-old starter for a 48-win playoff team.

“I am not Russell Westbrook,” Gilgeous-Alexander said with no malice. “I do not have the same name, same body type, stuff like that. So, I’m just going to try to be myself and be the best me and everything else will take care of itself.

“I’m just a basketball player. Regardless of the situation, I’m going to continue to work hard and play my game. I know that eventually it will come out. I don’t worry about starting. I’m not worried about accolades or things like that. I just work hard, keep my head down and (stay) true to who I am.”

Related Thunder GM: ‘Russell Westbrook is the Most Important Player’ in Franchise History

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It’s a proverb that rings its truth every day in the NBA.

Players around the League stepped up their game in the tunnel this season, so we added on a third team. It’s important to recognize progress, too, so we also mixed in a most-improved award to show love to the hooper who stepped up his tunnel walk the most in 2018-2019.

Anyways, we can skip to what you’re here for: This year’s LeagueFits All-Drip Teams and Awards.

THIRD TEAM: Dwayne Bacon, Ben Simmons, Dennis Schroder, Jordan Clarkson, Serge Ibaka

Three players made their All-Drip debuts in Dwayne Bacon, Ben Simmons and Dennis Schroder.

SECOND TEAM: Terry Rozier, Tobias Harris, Kevin Love, Kyle Kuzma, Mike Scott

Kyle Kuzma built upon his Rookie of the Year award from a year ago by making the jump to the Second Team. Tobias Harris and Mike Scott also made their All-Drip debuts.

FIRST TEAM: Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kelly Oubre, PJ Tucker, Shai GIlgeous-Alexander

No surprises here. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the first rookie in LeaugeFits history to make an All-Drip Team.

MOST-IMPROVED: Dennis Schroder

One time for the #EuroDrip icon.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

No one rook should have all this power.

MVP: Kelly Oubre

Waves never die.

—

Ian Pierno is an Associate Social Media Editor and Drip Director at SLAM. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Pat Bonoan is a Graphic Designer at SLAM. Follow him on Instagram.

Photos via Getty Images.

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Lillard took exception to Westbrook’s on-court boast that he had been “busting” his ass for years, and relished getting the upper hand on the biggest stage.

Dame scored a playoff career-best 50 points in the Portland Trail Blazers 118-115 Game 5 win Tuesday night, and cruelly eliminated the OKC Thunder with a 37-foot bomb at the buzzer.

Per the team website:

“I mean, the series was over, that was it,” said Lillard after the game. “I was just waving goodbye to them. I think after game three, Dennis Schroder was out there pointing to his wrist, they was out there doing all these celebrations and doing all this stuff and we kept our composure. After one win, that was what they decided to do and we was like, okay what we want to do is win four games. When we win those four games, there’s not going to be nothing to talk about, so that’s what that was.”

In the end, it was Lillard’s performance on the court that was the most devastating blow for a Thunder team that the vast majority of NBA analysts picked to win the series despite being the lower seed. Fifty points on 17-of-33 shooting. Ten three-pointers, the second-most three-pointer made in a playoff game in NBA history. Three steals, giving him 12 for the series. And of course, one dagger.

And a last parting shot. As Lillard walked down the loading dock of the Moda Center to a van containing all of his family in attendance, bound for the Lillard compound in a suburb a few miles down the road, he recounted the barbs delivered by the Thunder during the course of the regular and post seasons. While there were many, the one that stuck with him, the one that fueled him to an MVP-caliber performance so far in the postseason, required a response, especially after holding his tongue in public for so long.

“Said he’s been busting my ass for years,” said Lillard. “That wasn’t true, for one, and this was the moment of truth. This was the perfect platform and opportunity for him to prove it, and you see what happened.”

Related Damian Lillard: ‘That Was Having the Last Word’

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Lillard then made sure he had “the last word” Tuesday night, pouring in a playoff career-high 50 points and a cold-blooded 37-foot game-winning three-pointer over Paul George to send the Thunder home for the summer.

Russell Westbrook finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers moved on to the second round with a thrilling 118-115 Game 5 victory.

Per ESPN:

“The game, the series was over and that was it,” Lillard said. “And I was just waving goodbye to them. I think after Game 3, Dennis Schroder was out there pointing to his wrist, they was out there doing all these celebrations and doing all these stuff. We kept our composure and after one win that’s what they decided to do. And we was just like, ‘OK, what we want to do is win four games.’ And then when we win those four games there’s not going to be nothing to talk about. So that’s what that was.

“There’s been a lot of back and forth, a lot of talk and all this stuff, and that was the last word. That was having the last word.”

For the Blazers, topping the Thunder is an achievement worth celebrating, especially after the disappointment of last postseason. It was the driving force for the franchise all season, getting swept in the first round — their second straight sweep — and dealing with the shock and embarrassment that came with it. Nurkic’s injury seemed as if it would derail a bounce-back season, but with Lillard rising to a new level, the Blazers overcame.

“You gotta go through some stuff,” Lillard told ESPN’s Mark Schwarz after the game. “We had some failures. Some challenges and I think I’ve had success in the postseason, and last year we had the ultimate failure. I think when you experience those things, you’re just built for it. I think that’s the first thing, and the second is just putting the time in. Everybody says they put the time in, but when everything is on the line the truth comes out. And that’s what happened tonight.”

Related NBA Players React to Damian Lillard’s CLUTCH Game 5 Performance

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On the topic of the KT4, Klay Thompson dropped 32 points in a team colorway of his signature model and Kevin Durant led the Warriors in scoring with 33 in the “University Red” version of his Nike KD12 as Golden State dispatched L.A. 113-105. Also sporting the 12 was Andre Iguodala, who came out in the model’s “Black/Pure Platinum” iteration.

For the Clippers, Montrezl Harrell continued the KD vibes with a pair of grail-status “Weatherman” Nike Zoom KD4s and the Nike Zoom Kobe IV “Prelude.”

Closing out, despite their loss, the Thunder’s all-star tandem of Russell Westbrook and Paul George impressed once again with their PEs as Brodie’s latest Jordan Why Not Zer0.2 paid homage to the Seattle Supersonics and PG3’s navy/gold Nike PG 3 was a certified banger. Dennis Schroder also went with the gold theme as he donned custom pair of Nike Zoom KD 6 “All-Stars.”

Get caught up on the rest of Easter Sunday’s best NBA playoff kicks below.

Photos via Getty Images

The post NBA Playoff Kicks of the Night appeared first on SLAM.

Paul George also went the PE route with a clean colorway of his Nike PG 3 which featured a white base with a navy secondary color and orange accents. Like he’s done all season, Jerami Grant stayed true to the classics as the wore the Air Jordan VIII Retro in Black/Gym Red.

Peep the rest of the night’s NBA playoff kicks in our recap below.

Photos via Getty Images

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Along with CP3, two more of the League’s superstar point guards wore notable kicks with Kyrie Irving breaking out a dope, cotton candy-like colorway of his Nike Kyrie 5 and Russell Westbrook coming through with his extra wild “What The” Jordan Why Not Zer0.2.

Make sure to check out the rest of Sunday’s NBA playoff kicks in our gallery below.

Photos via Getty Images

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The footwear choice for their finales were as different as their games with Wade going with a flashy, golden “Last Dance” colorway of his Li-Ning Way of Wade 7 while Nowitzki wore the Hyperdunk X PEs he’s been rocking the entire season.

Another future Hall of Famer continued with his sick array of PEs as Russell Westbrook broke out a chess inspired design of his Jordan Why Not Zer0.2. Brodie certainly put his name in the conversation for having one of the League’s best PE games with the multitude of wild colorways he’s rocked over the course of the season.

In Los Angeles, Montrezl Harrell closed out another epic season of kicks in two pairs Kyries as he brought out the “Flytrap” 1 and the “Red Carpet” 4s. And in Portland, De’Aaron Fox capped off a sensational sophomore season in another pair of Kobes as he donned the Nike Kobe 8 System “All-Star.”

The rest of the best kicks from last night’s NBA regular season finale is just a few scrolls away.

Photos via Getty Images

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Dwyane Wade’s One Last Dance ended with a bang. The guard showed out in Brooklyn, with LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony there to watch, racking up a triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He got the assist on a pass to none other than fellow Heat veteran and friend, Udonis Haslem.

After the game, Wade was embraced by his Banana Boat family.

Mavericks 94 (33-49), Spurs 105 (48-34)

Dirk Nowitzki ended his storied career with one last jumper at the top of the key, the perfect cap on a 21-year legacy in Dallas. He finished his final game in the league with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Pacers 135 (48-34), Hawks 134 (29-53)

Taurean Prince hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to put Atlanta up two — but they didn’t come away with the win. The Hawks fouled on a 3-point shot on the ensuing possession, and Indiana’s Edmond Sumner hit all three shots to give the Pacers win No. 48 on the season.

Magic 122 (42-40), Hornets 114 (39-43)

Charlotte entered the night with playoff hopes but they ultimately fell short. Terrence Ross led Orlando with 35 points in the road win. Kemba Walker put up 43 points as his team’s season ended early.

Pistons 115 (41-41), Knicks 89 (17-65)

Detroit’s night was a joyous one as they clinched their first playoff spot since 2016 with their win over New York. Luke Kennard scored a team-high 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Andre Drummond added 20 points and 18 rebounds.

Bulls 109 (22-60), 76ers 125 (51-31)

The 76ers fielded a team without Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid but they still notched the win at home. Jonathon Simmons led the team with 20 points.

Warriors 117 (57-25), Grizzlies 132 (33-49)

Memphis enjoyed another triple-double from Delon Wright (13 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) as they finished the win season with a win. Jevon Carter contributed 32 points towards the victory as well.

Thunder 127 (49-33), Bucks 116 (60-22)

Russell Westbrook is in playoff form as his triple-double (15 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds) helped OKC over Milwaukee. Dennis Schroder put in a team-high 32 points for the Thunder.

Timberwolves 95 (36-46), Nuggets 99 (54-28)

Denver mounted a furious comeback late to steal the game at home. Nikola Jokic paced the team with 29 points and 14 rebounds.

Denver will be the No. 2 in the West and face San Antonio in the first round.

Jazz 137 (50-32), Clippers 143 (48-34)

Grayson Allen dropped a career-high 40 points in 40 minutes but Utah fell in OT. Ivica Zubac put in an impressive game for the Clippers, racking up 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Kings 131 (39-43), Blazers 136 (53-29)

Portland secured the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference by only playing six players. They were led by rookie Anfernee Simons, who registered 37 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

The post Post Up: Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki Suit Up for One Last Time 😢 appeared first on SLAM.

Toronto took care of business at home as four Raptors finished with 20-plus-point performances: Pascal Siakam (23 points), Norman Powell (23 points), Kawhi Leonard (22 points) and Danny Green (21 points).

Spurs 112 (47-34), Cavaliers 90 (19-62)

LaMarcus Aldridge posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Davis Bertans had 14 apiece.

Hornets 104 (38-42), Pistons 91 (39-41)

Kemba Walker scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half as the Hornets have won three straight and are doing everything to get that eighth seed.

Thunder 132 (47-33), Timberwolves 126 (36-44)

Russell Westbrook (27 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) got his 32nd triple-double of the season in Sunday’s matinee. Paul George also had 27 points, too, and Dennis Schroder had 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Thunder are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference.

Nets 108 (41-40), Pacers 96 (47-34)

D’Angelo Russell posted 30 points to give the Nets a playoff berth since 2015. Joe Harris was the team’s second-leading scorer with 19 points. Jarrett Allen had 12 and Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert had a combined 30 bench points.

Mavericks 129 (32-48), Grizzlies 127 (32-48)

Salah Mejri’s bucket in the fourth quarter kept Dallas’ hopes alive. He then scored the first seven points in overtime, finishing the game with 19 points.

Rockets 149 (53-28), Suns 113 (19-62)

James Harden only needed three quarters to get a 30-piece in the rout. The Rockets also made 27 3-pointers, setting a new NBA record for most made 3’s by a team. Eric Gordon (26 points) led the team with eight triples.

Bucks 115 (60-21), Hawks 107 (29-52)

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 30 points helped the Bucks get to 60 wins for the first time since 1981. Khris Middleton chipped in 21 points.

Magic 116 (41-40), Celtics 108 (48-33)

The Magic will see postseason play after breaking a seven-year playoff drought. Terrence Ross was Orlando’s leading scorer with 26 points; Nikola Vucevic finished with a double-double (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Evan Fournier dropped 24.

Knicks 113 (16-64), Wizards 110 (32-49)

Mario Hezonja put a 30 points (career high) and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with under a minute left. Kevin Knox put up 16 points and Dennis Smith Jr had 15 off the bench.

Blazers 115 (51-29), Nuggets 108 (53-27)

Damian Lillard led all scorers with 30 points. Enes Kanter, filling in the void with Jusuf Nurkic out, had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Seth Curry and Rodney Hood had 11 points apiece off the bench.

Pelicans 133 (33-48), Kings 129 (39-42)

Ian Clark had a career-best seven 3-pointers to finish the game with 31 points. Elfrid Payton was big down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 25 points in crunch time.

Lakers 113 (37-44), Jazz 109 (49-31)

Four of five starters finished in double digits. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 32 points. Despite finishing with five points, Jemerrio Jones, who was a late season acquisition, grabbed 16 rebounds in his first start in front of the Staples Center crowd.

Warriors 131 (56-24), Clippers 104 (47-34)

It was a special night at Oracle Arena. Golden State brought out the “We Believe” jerseys for their final regular season game at home. Stephen Curry had 27 points as the Warriors clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The post Post Up: Warriors Clinch Top Seed in Win Over Clippers appeared first on SLAM.

Terrence Ross’ 31 points off the pine kept the Magic’s season alive as they moved to 35-38, just half a game behind the Miami Heat for the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference. Evan Fournier added 27 points, eight rebounds and six dimes.

Nuggets 111 (49-22), Knicks 93 (14-59)

Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 17 rebounds as the Nuggets ran up a 19-point first quarter lead and never looked back.

Mitchell Robinson had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes for New York.

Thunder 116 (43-30), Raptors 109 (51-22)

The Thunder ended its cold streak as Paul George dropped 28 and Russell Westbrook lit up the box score with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists and four steals. Dennis Schroder added 26 points off the bench.

Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 37 points.

Spurs 105 (42-31), Rockets 111 (46-27)

James Harden matched his career-high with 61 points on 19-for-34 shooting — his eighth game of the year with at least 50 points — as Houston pulled away in the final quarter to down its in-state rival.

Heat 87 (35-37), Bucks 116 (54-19)

The Bucks’ bench chipped in as four different players had a plus-minus of at least +19, with Pat Cannaughton’s +25 in 28 minutes leading the way.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led all players with 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting.

Nets 111 (38-36), Lakers 106 (31-41)

D’Angelo Russell had 21 points, 13 assists and three steals in his return to the STAPLES Center as the Nets officially ended the Lakers’ playoff chase. Joe Harris scored a team-high 26.

Despite the loss, JaVale McGee turned in a career night with 33 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks.

Clippers 110 (43-30), Cavaliers 108 (19-54)

Every game matters for the Clippers, who entered the night tied with three other teams at 42-30. Danilo Gallinari scored 27 on 11-for-15 shooting from the field as the Clippers overcame a 15-point deficit to earn the W.

The post Post Up: James Harden Ties Career-High, Drops 61 Against Spurs appeared first on SLAM.

OKC had several of the night’s best joints as Paul George gave his “NASA” Nike PG3s proper exposure with a big-time performance against the Bucks which included a thunderous dunk over the “Greek Freak” while Russell Westbrook debuted another multicolored iteration of his newest model, the Jordan Why Not Zer0.2. Dennis Schroder went with a vintage KD model as he rocked the “Liger” colorway of the Nike KD 6.

Speaking of KDs, Michael Beasley got another wear out of the same silhouette as he rocked the N7 edition and Trezz went even further back with his two pairs of KDs as he rocked the “Home” 3s and the “Gold Medal” KD 7 PRMs.

Kobes are always part of our daily recaps and Sunday was no different with a solid selection hitting the hardwood. Tobias Harris donned the “Pit Viper” Nike Kobe 8 System, Kelly Oubre Jr. went with the “Galaxy” Zoom 7s, De’Aaron Fox rocked the Nike Kobe 9 KRM EXT, Buddy Hield brought out the “Pain” Xs and P.J. Tucker wore the “Del Sol” Zoom 6 along with the Nike Air Max LeBron 7 “Hardwood Classic.”

Sunday’s NBA kicks were not to be missed so if you did, do yourself a solid and peep the League’s latest sneaker stunts.