AROUND the NBA:

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shams Charania: Longtime NBA coach Steve Clifford is also joining the Wizards as a coaching advisor, sources tell ESPN. Clifford, who has held similar advisor roles for the Suns and Nets in recent years, coached as an assistant with Ewing in Orlando (2007-12). Ewing then served as an assistant under Clifford in Charlotte from 2013-17. Sources tell ESPN. Clifford, who has held similar advisor roles for the Suns and Nets in recent years, coached as an assistant with Ewing in Orlando (2007-12). Ewing then served as an assistant under Clifford in Charlotte from 2013-17. Shams Charania: Georgetown and New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing has agreed to become an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards and head coach Brian Keefe, sources tell ESPN. Ewing has served as an ambassador for the Knicks and now returns to the coaching sidelines in D.C.



x.com

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Kyle Lowry, who helped lead the Toronto Raptors to their lone championship in 2019, is retiring from the NBA. Generally agreed to be the greatest player in Raptors franchise history, the six-time All-Star guard announced his retirement with a video on Instagram on Tuesday, revealing his intentions to sign a one-day contract with the Raptors. The Raptors are expected to announce plans to retire his No. 7, which he wore for eight of his nine seasons in Toronto, during the 2026-27 season at a news conference later Tuesday morning.

New York Times

[michaeltex]

I know it's early days, but some comments from an OKC writer are interesting...

• Mara has scored 10 points in each game, but that is about where the positivity stops. He is shooting just 47.1 percent, not elite by any means for a player measuring in at 7-foot-3.
  
• He also amassed eight turnovers in the process. What could be even more cause for concern, though, are the box scores of players he has matched up against.
  
• In the first game, third overall pick Cam Boozer scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He had four assists compared to just two turnovers in 24 minutes.
  
• On Monday night, fellow rookie Zuby Ejiofor posted 19 points in 25 minutes. He also dominated the glass, out-rebounding Mara 15 to nine.
  
• In short, Mara looked unprepared for the physicality of the two bigs.
  
• Mara has arguably failed the first two defensive tests thrown his way in a Thunder uniform. Boozer is projected to be a proficient NBA player, but he is in no way on par with the Spurs' Victor Wembanyama.
  
• Mara, drafted as a possible "Wemby stopper," might have an uphill battle to live up to the name, at least in the immediate future.
  
• It's still extremely early, but these first two games can serve as a reminder that Mara is not a slam-dunk pick by any means. He will have to develop into a productive member of the OKC defense, and it may take some time.
  
• Likewise, fellow first-round pick Bennett Stirtz is just 7-of-20 in his first two games. It's a healthy refresher of what truly comes with bringing in rookies with the expectation that they help the team in year one.
  

[FireNicoHarrison]

We saw and we will see a lot of those "Wemba stopper" fall badly.

May knows Michigan guys better than everybody, if he drafted Rez there is a reasons.

[Chicagojk]

I know it's early days, but some comments from an OKC writer are interesting...

• Mara has scored 10 points in each game, but that is about where the positivity stops. He is shooting just 47.1 percent, not elite by any means for a player measuring in at 7-foot-3.
  
• He also amassed eight turnovers in the process. What could be even more cause for concern, though, are the box scores of players he has matched up against.
  
• In the first game, third overall pick Cam Boozer scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He had four assists compared to just two turnovers in 24 minutes.
  
• On Monday night, fellow rookie Zuby Ejiofor posted 19 points in 25 minutes. He also dominated the glass, out-rebounding Mara 15 to nine.
  
• In short, Mara looked unprepared for the physicality of the two bigs.
  
• Mara has arguably failed the first two defensive tests thrown his way in a Thunder uniform. Boozer is projected to be a proficient NBA player, but he is in no way on par with the Spurs' Victor Wembanyama.
  
• Mara, drafted as a possible "Wemby stopper," might have an uphill battle to live up to the name, at least in the immediate future.
  
• It's still extremely early, but these first two games can serve as a reminder that Mara is not a slam-dunk pick by any means. He will have to develop into a productive member of the OKC defense, and it may take some time.
  
• Likewise, fellow first-round pick Bennett Stirtz is just 7-of-20 in his first two games. It's a healthy refresher of what truly comes with bringing in rookies with the expectation that they help the team in year one.
  

We will see how the OKC picks play out.  They are big on culture and guys buying in and sacrificing.   Both of their picks are players who I could never reach a consensus on this year.    I think both could be good, but I also left the draft not exactly sure what OKC left with.   I think both players have unique skills but also don't really fit the blueprint of what made OKC so good the last few years.   Will be interesting to see if they were right with these picks.

[mvossman]

We will see how the OKC picks play out.  They are big on culture and guys buying in and sacrificing.   Both of their picks are players who I could never reach a consensus on this year.    I think both could be good, but I also left the draft not exactly sure what OKC left with.   I think both players have unique skills but also don't really fit the blueprint of what made OKC so good the last few years.   Will be interesting to see if they were right with these picks.

I would not be surprised to find out that Mara was third on OKC list of Michigan players, and that they wanted to trade with Mavs to get Rez.

[DallasMaverick]

We will see how the OKC picks play out.  They are big on culture and guys buying in and sacrificing.   Both of their picks are players who I could never reach a consensus on this year.    I think both could be good, but I also left the draft not exactly sure what OKC left with.   I think both players have unique skills but also don't really fit the blueprint of what made OKC so good the last few years.   Will be interesting to see if they were right with these picks.

What happens if Presti made a mistake?

Do we take him down off the pedestal?

Does the earth cease to revolve??

[KillerLeft]

We will see how the OKC picks play out.  They are big on culture and guys buying in and sacrificing.   Both of their picks are players who I could never reach a consensus on this year.    I think both could be good, but I also left the draft not exactly sure what OKC left with.   I think both players have unique skills but also don't really fit the blueprint of what made OKC so good the last few years.   Will be interesting to see if they were right with these picks.

I think both players are overrated as hell, and wouldn't have wanted either in Dallas. Stirtz, in particular, looks like just a guy out there in summer league, to me. I'm sure he's as smart as people say, but I don't see a player who'll ever be more than 3rd or 4th guard on a team at best. 

However, I think OKC is in the "maintain" stage of roster building, and using even high draft picks on players who can play or grow into specific roles is basically the goal. They need to be able to let older players walk in the coming years, and you could even make a case that drafting players who will slot into specific roles and salaries for their first and second contracts could be helpful. In other words, it's not the end of the world if these guys aren't great, as long as they understand what's expected of them, can do that and are excited about it. 

But, I'd also say that Presti has really never impressed me as a talent evaluator. He has obviously done a great job in OKC, but where I think he's succeeded is in the area of longterm strategy and asset management. He spent a long time amassing draft capital at the expense of winning, giving himself an exhorbatant amount of attempts to find cost controlled talent, but tbh, not many of the picks have really hit. I'm still a believer in Chet Holmgren, but many around here have turned on him after this past post season, and isn't he the biggest "get" of all those picks? What Presti has undeniably done well is this: when he doesn't want to use his assets, he turns them into FUTURE assets, so no matter how successful or unsuccessful any particular move ever turns out, the near future always offers more opportunity - more chances. 

I'd also suggest that he and OKC are uniquely a good match for one another. If he had tried this approach in Philly...NY...LA...probably even Dallas, they would've run him out of town way before that super long rebuild had a chance to take form. That's what I think, anyway. I'm not saying it would've been justified, but the reality is that you have to win in places like that or you get fired - in OKC, they're lucky to have you, to an extent. I LOVE him as a negotiator and longterm planner, and I think those are both super important parts of the job, so I'm in no way trying to disparage the job he has done. He won a championship in OKC! But, he did so not by finding SGA in the draft, when others couldn't see the potential, he did so by having the vision to leverage the "Kawhi Leonard fever" going on in LA by stealing SGA (with much more data than before the draft) and a thousand picks from the Clippers because they had to have Paul George. WONDERFUL piece of GM business, but it's not like he saw something in SGA nobody else could see - he just had the guy Kawhi wanted to play with and maximized the opportunity.

[windjc]

I think both players are overrated as hell, and wouldn't have wanted either in Dallas. Stirtz, in particular, looks like just a guy out there in summer league, to me. I'm sure he's as smart as people say, but I don't see a player who'll ever be more than 3rd or 4th guard on a team at best. 

However, I think OKC is in the "maintain" stage of roster building, and using even high draft picks on players who can play or grow into specific roles is basically the goal. They need to be able to let older players walk in the coming years, and you could even make a case that drafting players who will slot into specific roles and salaries for their first and second contracts could be helpful. In other words, it's not the end of the world if these guys aren't great, as long as they understand what's expected of them, can do that and are excited about it. 

But, I'd also say that Presti has really never impressed me as a talent evaluator. He has obviously done a great job in OKC, but where I think he's succeeded is in the area of longterm strategy and asset management. He spent a long time amassing draft capital at the expense of winning, giving himself an exhorbatant amount of attempts to find cost controlled talent, but tbh, not many of the picks have really hit. I'm still a believer in Chet Holmgren, but many around here have turned on him after this past post season, and isn't he the biggest "get" of all those picks? What Presti has undeniably done well is this: when he doesn't want to use his assets, he turns them into FUTURE assets, so no matter how successful or unsuccessful any particular move ever turns out, the near future always offers more opportunity - more chances. 

I'd also suggest that he and OKC are uniquely a good match for one another. If he had tried this approach in Philly...NY...LA...probably even Dallas, they would've run him out of town way before that super long rebuild had a chance to take form. That's what I think, anyway. I'm not saying it would've been justified, but the reality is that you have to win in places like that or you get fired - in OKC, they're lucky to have you, to an extent. I LOVE him as a negotiator and longterm planner, and I think those are both super important parts of the job, so I'm in no way trying to disparage the job he has done. He won a championship in OKC! But, he did so not by finding SGA in the draft, when others couldn't see the potential, he did so by having the vision to leverage the "Kawhi Leonard fever" going on in LA by stealing SGA (with much more data than before the draft) and a thousand picks from the Clippers because they had to have Paul George. WONDERFUL piece of GM business, but it's not like he saw something in SGA nobody else could see - he just had the guy Kawhi wanted to play with and maximized the opportunity.

Ironically if they Max out Chet, it will be the death of that potential dynasty. 

They had a chance to be a dynasty with Durant and Co. back in the day and gave it all away due to not wanting to pay. Now they may destroy any dynasty possibilities by paying. 

Right players, wrong money strategy. 

If they only win 1 championship over that 20 year period, it'll be even more disappointing than the Mavs only winning 1 championship over the same time due to idiot Cuban.

[windjc]

What happens if Presti made a mistake?

Do we take him down off the pedestal?

Does the earth cease to revolve??

It will cease to revolve for some on this board. The Presti love-fest has always been ridiculous.

[KillerLeft]

Ironically if they Max out Chet, it will be the death of that potential dynasty. 

Well, I'm not convinced they were ever a potential "dynasty," because I don't think they have all that much top-tier talent, actually. SGA is unquestionably a top-5 player in the world, and as long as that remains the case, they'll be great, but...I don't know. Nobody else on that team has ever really scared me. What makes it work is the sheer number of 2nd-4th tier player they have together, and that they've gotten them all to buy into team basketball, imo. 

But...what I'm confident about with Presti and OKC is that if Holmgren isn't worth a max, they'll be able to pivot out of that position with shocking grace, and potentially even turn it to their advantage, somehow. THAT's what Presti is good at, imho.

[cow]

Well, I'm not convinced they were ever a potential "dynasty," because I don't think they have all that much top-tier talent, actually. SGA is unquestionably a top-5 player in the world, and as long as that remains the case, they'll be great, but...I don't know. Nobody else on that team has ever really scared me. What makes it work is the sheer number of 2nd-4th tier player they have together, and that they've gotten them all to buy into team basketball, imo. 

But...what I'm confident about with Presti and OKC is that if Holmgren isn't worth a max, they'll be able to pivot out of that position with shocking grace, and potentially even turn it to their advantage, somehow. THAT's what Presti is good at, imho.

My line of thinking for the past few months is that they'd try to move on from Chet in order to not be so top heavy.  Then the western conference finals happened which reaffirmed that thinking.  Their draft selection makes a lot of sense in that regard.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Chet was exposed last year against Wemba, OKC needs to trade him ASAP.

[KillerLeft]

Best and worst "wide open" 3 point shooters of last season. 

https://x.com/UofBasketball/status/20748...93/photo/1

https://x.com/UofBasketball/status/2074873891470606706

[Smitty]

Best and worst "wide open" 3 point shooters of last season. 

https://x.com/UofBasketball/status/20748...93/photo/1

https://x.com/UofBasketball/status/2074873891470606706

2 Mavs on the “worst” list makes sense. I was high on WCJ. Sigh.

Timmy though…

Is that kind of what we’re hoping Tarik can be here? Or Kyle Korver, Peja, etc.

[Chicagojk]

2 Mavs on the “worst” list makes sense. I was high on WCJ. Sigh.

Timmy though…

Is that kind of what we’re hoping Tarik can be here? Or Kyle Korver, Peja, etc.

Not really surprising on the worst list, besides Clayton.  Only a rookie and traded already, but he was so good in college.

I expect Cooper to improve this year.   He should be in a better offense with more spacing.    It should lead to better looks.  I say 33% or so.   That would be a pretty good jump.

[Smitty]

Not really surprising on the worst list, besides Clayton.  Only a rookie and traded already, but he was so good in college.

I expect Cooper to improve this year.   He should be in a better offense with more spacing.    It should lead to better looks.  I say 33% or so.   That would be a pretty good jump.

I care less about Coop’s percentage and more about his attempts. 33% on 5+ attempts per game would be incredible for Year 2 Flagg.

[KillerLeft]

2 Mavs on the “worst” list makes sense. I was high on WCJ. Sigh.

Timmy though…

Is that kind of what we’re hoping Tarik can be here? Or Kyle Korver, Peja, etc.

Yeah, when you look at attempts, it seems like Hardaway and NAW might've been the two best floor spacers in the league last year.

[KillerLeft]

I expect Cooper to improve this year.   He should be in a better offense with more spacing.    It should lead to better looks.  I say 33% or so.   That would be a pretty good jump.

What's ironic is that the percentage listed for him was on "wide open" looks, so...the best possible looks, basically. 

I think he improved over the course of the season though.

[cow]

Yeah, when you look at attempts, it seems like Hardaway and NAW might've been the two best floor spacers in the league last year.

I'll just give credit to Joker and remember all of Timmy's terrible decision making.  This is great ammo for the "stats can lie" argument.