Carmelo Anthony predicts Knicks-Bulls on Christmas or opening night

The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the many teams to miss out on signing Kevin Durant, though not for lack of trying.

Rivers went on to say that he asked Durant's camp if the Clippers were among his top two choices, and the response from Durant's side was "no."

He did add that he thought Durant "liked us a lot," though he also acknowledged the financial situation with the Clippers would have required some sacrifices from a lot of players over the next two years:

The Clippers seemed to do well in their pitch meeting with Durant. ESPN's Chris Broussard reported the former NBA MVP was "blown away" by what he heard from them, but he chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors instead.

No matter how good their presentation was, the Clippers were always fighting an uphill battle for Durant. Per Spotrac, they are cash-strapped right now at $19.5 million over the cap, and they haven't had the playoff success in recent years that the Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder could boast. 

There's no shortage of talent in Los Angeles right now with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick. Rivers has a tall task ahead of him to get the Clippers past the Warriors, but there's a reason he's long been considered one of the NBA's best coaches for years.

The fond farewells are out there, as always when someone of any significance retires.

But he is also a classic example of someone who could have done more, someone who forces us to wrestle with what might have been.

That may seem unduly critical considering how much better at his job he was than so many who've tried. Yet it's an irresistible debate to slip into whenever we consider the career of a great athlete who also fits the category of "natural talent."

Stoudemire didn't even play basketball until he was 14.

By 20, he was the NBA Rookie of the Year.

In between was an array of high schools, inconsistent playing time and a revolving door's worth of coaches.

Drafted ninth overall in 2002, an onrushing Stoudemire scared NBA veterans more than the experience and size of top pick Yao Ming when both entered the league in the 2002-03 season.

Stoudemire's original explosiveness was like what DeAndre Jordan currently possesses, elevating immediately and easily—except Stoudemire also could handle the ball and quickly developed a diverse set of offensive moves.

He averaged at least 20 points and eight rebounds in seven of his first nine seasons in the NBA. By his second postseason, he was averaging 30 points over 15 games. At the end of the 2015-16 season he ranked seventh in field-goal shooting among all active players and 29th all-time.

Natural as his basketball athleticism was, Stoudemire was at his best when he made the game look effortless…but that often was too good to be true.

What Stoudemire certainly didn't have was a commitment to defend—or even the willingness to make a token effort in many cases. He blocked his share of shots because of his size and athleticism, but he was woefully inconsistent.

Even big men who weren't enamored of defense (Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol come to mind) put forth real effort when at their most physically robust and when it stood to make a championship difference. Indeed, there has to be a drive to want more of yourself and want the best in your field to push you toward more.

But Stoudemire and the Phoenix Suns of Steve Nash and Shawn Marion never quite got there, foiled by bad luck and bad defense.

Because Stoudemire has always thought so much of himself and the Knicks were in such need, the New York spotlight was a great match for a brief time, although the pairing came with red flags sprouting out of his knees. The hope Stoudemire gave beaten-down Knicks fans in 2010 was real.

Alas, so was the truth upon Carmelo Anthony's arrival that the two of them never really made each other better. Neither one gave much attention to the little things, and the results in New York as Stoudemire's knees weakened made clear what those in Phoenix seemed to know when they declined to guarantee the five years the Knicks did.

When something ends in any walk of life, the best approach is to be grateful for what you got out of it. Natural curiosity, though, is to wonder whether anything was left untapped, whether it could have or even should have been better, whether we should have regrets about it.

Proper perspective is difficult to find when Stoudemire offered such crucial what-ifs:

• He was amazing until his knees started giving out. Well, he wasn't responsible in taking care of his body—and he wasn't able to play well through pain—much of his career.
• He was truly a fun and friendly teammate. Yeah, but he wasn't a real leader.

The back-and-forth is real because it's true on both sides.

If Stoudemire could have been as professional as he was toward the end of his career at some point earlier, it might have made all the difference. But it's a pointless exercise to imagine trading for what maturity brings while trading away what age diminishes.

It's easy to be skeptical of someone such as Stoudemire when the guys who've just retired are Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett might be joining them. Those three tried so unbelievably hard that no one will ever wonder what they might have achieved if they'd dug deeper.

Their knees hurt, too—often a lot.

But this is just the kind of trap we fall into when evaluating sports careers.

We have the best of the best as the obvious barometer, so we compare Stoudemire to Garnett…instead of Kwame Brown.

It takes too much work to put into context all that Stoudemire and Anthony have achieved compared to Lenny Cooke, a phenom ranked in the top three among high school seniors back in 2002, according to ESPN.com, and a talent who never even reached the NBA.

That Stoudemire went on to six different NBA All-Star Games with that foundation qualifies as indisputable victory.

He had gone to six different high schools. Stoudemire lost his father early on. His mother was notorious for her run-ins with the law.

Factor in the harsh reality that Stoudemire's older brother, who also had size and skill but limited opportunity, was in jail when Amar'e was drafted—and died at 35—and there's the proper perspective on Amar'e Stoudemire's career.

We're encouraged as sports fans to compare and contrast and rank and ridicule.

We're allowed to imagine what might have been if someone had just dug a little deeper.

We just have to realize that it's true that the most rewarding mentality is being grateful for what we got, especially when someone is gone from our game.

     

Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.

Michael Jordan's recent statement to The Undefeated on police brutality is a quick read.

He unexpectedly addressed the issue of black people and police brutality, energizing fans who had long given up on Jordan's potential as a social crusader. He mentioned that he "can no longer stay silent” and that he is “saddened and frustrated by the divisive rhetoric and racial tensions that seem to be getting worse as of late.”

The shock of his comments was followed by a barrage of keyboard slow claps, many lauding him for finally acknowledging a serious social issue.

Many consider this a win, a big deal in and of itself. Ronda Racha Penrice, cultural historian and author of the book African American History for Dummies, is among them.

"Jordan is not Ali and never will be, but that's not his way. He is more of a 'show you' type of person than a 'tell you' type," Penrice told Bleacher Report. "For him to say anything, no matter how small, is big.

"I'm from Chicago, and I know of a lot of the stuff that Jordan did on the low for communities. Jordan came from the generation where people adopted the 'it doesn't matter what they say as long as you're getting money' mantra. I guess he feels like he has a greater responsibility now."

But why now? Why, after decades of silence, would Jordan suddenly feel this greater responsibility?

Melissa Dodd, a professor at the University of Central Florida who focuses on corporate activism, ushered me to a theory. Dodd noted that consumers today are looking for companies that aren't scared to speak up. Giving your brand a social cause now may be better business than it was yesterday.

"These conversations weren't happening before, and smart companies are choosing to engage rather than letting it happen without their opinion being a part of it," Dodd says. "Being involved is especially important to millennials, who grew up with the collapse of Enron and distrust of banks, so they hold companies to higher standards. They support organizations that they feel have views aligned with theirs."

Jordan’s perceived ideology has been simplified to an alleged quote going back over a quarter century.

"Republicans buy sneakers too."

This quote exists as a ghost, since there's never been any verifiable proof he ever uttered the statement. It gained traction throughout the years because it seemed true, his quietness defining him as indifferent to social issues.

Context for that quote is often forgotten. It was in regards to Jesse Helms, the former North Carolina senator, whose brand of primitive racism gave inspiration to hate practitioners across the nation.

Helms was one of the loudest voices against recognizing Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday. He staged a 16-day filibuster to keep it from passing into law. Most famously, Helms, while running for re-election in 1990 against former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, ran an ad depicting imaginary white victimhood in response to racial employment quotas.

Gantt asked Jordan for his endorsement, but Helms' voters were valued Jordan customers.

"Republicans buy sneakers too." See how believable that seems now?

Maybe that explains the hollowness I read in between the lines of Jordan's statement. Maybe that's why, when he writes, "I can no longer stay silent," I still can't hear him. It reads like a 36-year-old journeyman finally promising he's going to start hustling after a career of coasting.

Jordan's legacy of greatness has always come with a caveat: his reticence to expound on serious topics. For years, this was the only legitimate asterisk in a "Jordan is the GOAT" argument. LeBron James, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all get bonus points for speaking out. Jordan never did.

On the hardwood, Jordan was a devastator, reliable in his greatness to the point where it was almost boring. He was a strong-willed, no-fear-having, next-level winner. But for all his courage on the court, he seemed altogether impotent in a world where justice matters.

To be fair, many will claim that sentiment is conjecture.

But the idea is out there. Carmelo Anthony's comment in regard to MJ's letter—it's "about time"—is proof and even stings on a business level. Anthony is a Jordan Brand athlete.

If only the letter were boring, I could accept that. If it were filled with milquetoast platitudes, I might only scoff. But parts of this letter are irresponsible.

"We need to find solutions that ensure people of color receive fair and equal treatment AND that police officers—who put their lives on the line every day to protect us all—are respected and supported," he wrote.

In his statements, he continues down this confusing road by listing the $1 million contributions he's making to two organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s newly established Institute for Community-Police Relations and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

I tend to leave my hands out of other people's pockets. It's his right to donate to whatever organization he sees fit. I just hope he or someone in his circle see the damage in making this connection.

Today's most pressing issue isn't whether cops are or aren't respected or supported. The issue is lawlessness among nationwide officer ranks. The issue is the justice system's reinforcement of racially biased behavior.

To imply anything else is a false equivalency. People are merely asking that cops stop killing people when the option not to exists. People are asking that police unions stop slandering the dead (and the living for that matter). People are asking that cops be brave enough to point out their savage colleagues and stop hiding behind their badges. Jordan's letter makes it seem like the cops are being victimized somehow.

The situations in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as horrid as they were, are outliers. They were the actions of crazed faux vigilantes. There's no proof of a vast movement by black people to kill cops.

According to the most recent FBI statistics, the number of police officers killed in 2015 was down almost 20 percent compared to 2014, following in line with similar trends going back for more than a decade.

There's no logical reason to make a connection between police officer rights and people protesting widespread, systematic abuse of power and privilege.

The only reason someone would tie these causes together is to buffer themselves from a public relations hit. It's a hedge. As the owner of an NBA franchise and a product endorser, Jordan knows the consequences of going too far out on a ledge.

But going halfway is worse, especially now.

So now what? Was this a one-off for Jordan? Or can we expect him to say more going forward? The issue of police misconduct will continue, and more celebrities and business leaders may come to the realization that they should join the conversation.

That's fine, but here's some advice: Choose your words wisely, and say something that resonates. Don't hedge, especially when you're the GOAT and can do whatever you damn well please.

    

Khalid Salaam is a freelance writer who contributes to Esquire, Slam Magazine and others. Follow him on Twitter @MrKhalidS.

NBC Sports announced Thursday that veteran sports reporter Craig Sager will miss the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to ongoing treatment for leukemia.

Sager, 65, won the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at this year's ESPYs in honor of his courage in the face of leukemia and how he's continued to work whenever possible in spite of the illness.

Initially diagnosed in April 2014, Sager's most recent high-profile job entailed working for ESPN at Game 6 of this year's NBA Finals. He covered the Western Conference Finals as well, and the TNT crew wore "Sager Strong" socks in his honor for Game 4 of that series.

Sager has covered basketball for Turner Sports for more than 20 years. His Olympics coverage for NBC Sports began in 2000 at the Sydney Games. 

Although his cancer subsided multiple times, Sager announced on HBO in March that his leukemia was no longer in remission, which marked the third time he had to undergo treatment for the disease.

A midseason move to the Dallas Mavericks revitalized David Lee's career, as he again resembled the high-efficiency offensive force who was once a building block for the Golden State Warriors.

Lee's agency, Priority Sports, announced the signing on Twitter. ESPN's Marc Stein added the deal is worth $3.2 million over two years, with a player option for the second year. 

Lee, 33, split last season between the Mavericks and Boston Celtics. After Golden State traded him to Boston in the offseason, Lee struggled to find playing time on the Celtics' youth-laden roster. Boston reached a buyout with the disillusioned forward in February, allowing him to sign with Dallas for the stretch run.

Lee responded by turning into one of the best per-minute reserves in basketball, averaging 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game with the Mavericks. A foot injury limited him in Dallas' first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he sat out for three of the five games.

Despite the early exit, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle was complimentary about what Lee brought to the organization, which he discussed with reporters during his exit interview: 

Lee was also pleased with his performance in Dallas, and he seemed to indicate long-term security was what he desired most in his next contract.

"In my opinion, I'm playing as good a ball as I've played in a number of years," Lee said in March, per Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. "After really getting back into shape, I feel great out there. I think I have three, four years left, one more deal, then we'll see from there."

Lee's contention makes some sense. The last two years of his career were washed down the drain because of circumstances and injuries. This is a guy who averaged 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in the 2013-14 campaign and was recognized as one of the NBA's most skilled offensive bigs just a few seasons ago.

Times have changed, though. Lee has made only one three-pointer across his entire 11-year career, and his smooth mid-range game isn't nearly as valuable as threes continue raining at record paces. But Lee proved last season he can be effective, and the Mavericks valued having him around.

The Spurs weren't going to find much better for the minimum at this point. They've already added Pau Gasol and Dewayne Dedmon to help mitigate the loss of the retired Tim Duncan. Lee's another ground-bound, offense-first face to add to the mix. The Spurs are going to struggle without Duncan manning the middle defensively, and their aging frontcourt does not match up well with the Golden State Warriors' fluid creators.

Still, if the Spurs get Mavericks Lee and not Celtics Lee, this is a no-brainer at the minimum. 

                   

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

Two weeks after signing with the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade was officially introduced by his new team and spoke about the process of coming back to his hometown after 13 seasons with the Miami Heat. 

The early stages of Wade joining the Bulls actually started before he was drafted in 2003. He said they were "the only team he had two predraft workouts with," and he didn't think the Heat were interested in him with the fifth pick, per Highkin.  

In 2010, when Wade was a free agent, he had multiple meetings with the Bulls at a time when they were on the rise with a young Derrick Rose one season away from being named NBA MVP.

Wade wound up re-signing with the Heat, who were also able to secure the services of Chris Bosh and LeBron James to form the first superteam of this NBA era. He said Friday he wanted to join the Bulls six years ago, but Miami was the only team with enough cap space to add talent like Bosh and James, per Highkin. 

Before Wade could officially move on to the Bulls, he did address his previous team. Per Highkin, the 12-time All-Star said he has "no rift with Pat Riley" over the way things played out this summer and that it "was a decision solely for me."

Focusing on what will happen in Chicago next season, Wade left no doubt about who the Bulls' leader is, per Highkin: "It's Jimmy Butler's team. Myself and (Rajon) Rondo are here to bring what we bring."

Rondo has been a lightning rod throughout his career. His attitude and immaturity have been called into question many times, but Wade did put a positive spin on what the point guard does well:

— Sean Highkin (@highkin) July 29, 2016

Rondo has led the NBA in assists per game three times in his career, including last season with the Sacramento Kings. He's going to be in a better situation with more talent in Chicago, so another year atop the assist chart would not be a surprise. 

Wade did address his declining performance over the last two years, specifically his shooting percentage. He went from shooting a career-high 54.5 percent from the field in 2013-14 to a career-low 45.6 percent last season. 

Per Highkin, Wade said this about his shooting: "As much as my son loves Stephen Curry, sorry, he's not your dad. I am." 

Curry fever has even spread to NBA players' children. 

Due to injuries suffered throughout his career, Wade's minutes have had to be carefully monitored. He played a career-low 30.5 minutes per game last season, per Basketball-Reference.com. 

Wade noted that he's had talks with Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg about how his minutes will be spread out next season. He said, "Whatever minutes I play, just know that they're going to be productive," per Highkin. 

The press conference wrapped up with Wade holding up his new Bulls jersey alongside Bulls general manager Gar Forman, via Highkin:

— Sean Highkin (@highkin) July 29, 2016

Wade has been so synonymous with Heat basketball that seeing him in a new jersey will take time to get used to. There does come a point, though, when every athlete has to make a big decision for his or her future. 

The Bulls made the right pitch to Wade, and he was happy to head to the city that he knew so well from his childhood. This has been an unusual transition summer for the Bulls, with Rondo and Wade joining Butler as their version of a Big Three. 

It's not a group without flaws, but if they can play up to their full potential, the Bulls will return to the playoffs after last year's disappointing 42-40 finish. 

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was among those who had trouble processing Dwyane Wade's free-agent departure from the Miami Heat to the Chicago Bulls this offseason.

Wade and Anthony are close friends, comprising half of a tightly knit NBA superstar quartet that also features LeBron James and Chris Paul. The four made a powerful statement in speaking out on gun violence to start the ESPYs earlier this month.

Strong as their ties are away from the court, Anthony and Wade are in position to revitalize a rivalry between their respective teams.

The Bulls moved on from former league MVP Derrick Rose by trading him to New York in one of the most notable transactions of late. Joakim Noah fled Chicago and signed with the Knicks in free agency, giving New York even more veteran experience.

But Chicago didn't fare too badly in upgrading its roster either. In addition to improbably landing Wade, the Bulls acquired center Robin Lopez from the Knicks in the Rose trade and signed one of the game's better pass-first point guards in Rajon Rondo.

"I think as players, as competitors, we embrace all of those challenges and rivalries, that's what makes the sport great again, so we embrace that," said Anthony of the Bulls-Knicks rivalry, per Friedell.

Rose recently said New York was labeled by some as a "super team" along with the Golden State Warriors, which seems rather far-fetched. However, there's no denying the Knicks have gotten markedly better on paper ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.

With Anthony still capable of scoring in bunches, Rose and Noah having chips on their shoulders and Wade having intriguing complementary pieces on the perimeter in Rondo and Jimmy Butler, the showdowns between New York and Chicago figure to be captivating.

The X-factor when the Knicks and Bulls play may well be second-year New York big man Kristaps Porzingis. He showed immense promise as a rookie, and if he can elevate his game this coming season, there will be less pressure on Anthony, Rose and Noah to carry so much weight.

Porzingis' potential rise to stardom would allow the Knicks to counter Chicago's up-tempo style of play more easily—and could ultimately result in a New York playoff berth for the first time since 2013.

The United States men's basketball team cruised in its exhibition against China on Sunday night, winning 106-57, as it continued its preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"We're making great progress," Jordan said after the game on the NBA TV broadcast.

Yi Jianlian led the way for China with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Zhao Jiwei added 14 points and two assists.

The United States wasted little time in asserting its dominance, racing out to a 26-13 lead in the first quarter. Durant led the way with nine points in the quarter, including this pull-up three-pointer from well beyond the arc, via USA Basketball:

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 25, 2016

The new Golden State Warriors star's versatile game impressed ESPN's J.A. Adande: "Kevin Durant has three assists in his first four minutes of action. Looks like he's fitting into Golden State's offense before he even gets there."

Team USA continued to dominate in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 55-29 lead. Durant led all scorers with 14 points and four assists. Cousins added 12 points, Thompson notched nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, and Carmelo Anthony posted just two points but added six rebounds.

Kyrie Irving closed out the half in style, as USA Basketball showed:

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 25, 2016

And then there was Jordan, who impressed with this vicious dunk, via USA Basketball:

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 25, 2016

Cousins' strong first half was a reminder of what he could accomplish with a different NBA franchise, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com observed:

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 25, 2016

Meanwhile, Yi led China with 10 first-half points.

The United States continued to extend its lead in the third, holding China to nine points in the quarter to push the margin to 78-38. Thompson was excellent, scoring seven points in the period. 

And Jordan continued his dunking exhibition, via the NBA:

— NBA (@NBA) July 25, 2016

— NBA (@NBA) July 25, 2016

Little changed in the fourth quarter, as Durant and Co. continued to dominate. The Warriors star capped off an impressive performance with this transition finish, via the NBA:

— NBA (@NBA) July 25, 2016

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report felt Durant was the team's catalyst throughout the contest:

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) July 25, 2016

Team USA's offensive outburst will attract the highlights and headlines, but basketball writer Dick Weiss was impressed with how the team fared on the other end of the court:

— Dick Weiss (@HoopsWeiss) July 25, 2016

These teams will meet again Tuesday evening. The United States will be the prohibitive favorites to win the gold medal in Rio, and performances like Sunday night's blowout and Friday's 111-74 triumph over Argentina will do little to dispel that notion. 

Still, the competition will be stiffer in Rio, as Weiss noted:

— Dick Weiss (@HoopsWeiss) July 25, 2016

But given Team USA's bounty of NBA superstars, anything less than a gold medal would be a significant surprise and disappointment. The United States has won the gold in five of the last six Olympics, failing to do so only at the 2004 Athens Games, where Team USA infamously fell short with a bronze medal.

               

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

The Portland Trail Blazers and guard C.J. McCollum agreed to a four-year extension Monday, which will pay him the maximum of $106 million. 

Depending on the formalities of the contract, the dollar figure could fluctuate. If McCollum's deal calls for the full max—25 percent of the salary cap in his case, barring a 2016-17 MVP—his starting salary is contingent on the 2017-18 cap figure.

The Blazers already used their designated player extension on Damian Lillard, so a four-year maximum is the most they could go with McCollum. The NBA projects a $102 million cap for 2017-18, per Basketball Insiders.

McCollum, 24, averaged 20.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last season. He and Lillard emerged as one of the NBA's best shooting backcourts—almost a poor man's version of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

"They're so much alike," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said in December, per Shaun Powell of NBA.com. "That's why they're great together. They complement each other well because of the problems they cause for other people and their ability to create for each other."

Lillard commented on his teammate's newfound riches:

— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) July 25, 2016

McCollum later reacted to his new deal in Rip City:

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) July 25, 2016

Widely expected to be a lottery team after the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge, the surprise Blazers wound up reaching the second round of the playoffs.

Their unexpected success has paved the way for a summer of curious—at best—spending. The Blazers have now invested roughly $250 million in McCollum, Allen Crabbe and Evan Turner—three non-All-Stars who functionally play the same position.

The Turner-Crabbe combo is particularly striking as a misallocation of resources, given the two combined to start 20 games last season. When Turner inked a $70 million deal to leave Boston, it stood to reason that Portland would allow Crabbe to walk—especially once the Brooklyn Nets lavished him with a $75 million offer sheet.

Instead, the Blazers matched and now have a cluster of high-paid young players at the wing. Fansided's Noam Schiller commented on the cost of the moves:

— Noam Schiller (@noamschiller) July 25, 2016

While the Blazers landed Festus Ezeli and re-upped with Meyers Leonard on team-friendly deals, their curious decisions with Crabbe and Turner forced their hand with McCollum.

In recent years, teams have become increasingly better at handling high-profile players coming off rookie deals. Because rookie-scale deals are comparatively small, teams have begun allowing guys they want to keep to hit restricted free agency in order to keep their cap holds low—all with an understanding they'll be taken care of later.

This allows them to pull off cap gymnastics designed to retain their young stars and add more pieces. The San Antonio Spurs notably did this last summer with Kawhi Leonard, allowing them to sign LaMarcus Aldridge. Andre Drummond and Bradley Beal also hit the market this year under similar circumstances.

The Blazers torched their cap room for next summer, so they had no incentive to wait. McCollum could have landed a fifth year had he waited until 2017, but he's been a starter for one season and was offered a nine-figure payday. It's tough to turn that down.

     

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

Virtually every NBA team had money to burn in the 2016 offseason, and some spent it wisely in free agency. Jordan Clarkson, Los Angeles Lakers: Four years, $50 million Rajon Rondo, Chicago Bulls: Two years, $28 million Courtney Lee, New York Knicks: Four years, $48 million Evan Turner, Portland Trail Blazers: Four years, $70 million  Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors: Two years, $54.3 million Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks: Four years, $94.5 million Marvin Williams, Charlotte Hornets: Four years, $54.5 million Ryan Anderson, Houston Rockets: Four years, $80 million Al Horford, Boston Celtics: Four years, $113 million Timofey Mozgov, Los Angeles Lakers: Four years, $64 million

There's always a hastiness to audits like this; we haven't seen any of these new additions take the court, so judging them requires a little speculation and a lot of extrapolating future fit and performance from what we've seen in the past.

Still, in a few outlying cases, it feels easy to see impending success and failure—even at this early juncture.

In choosing the best and worst signings at all five positions, we'll consider the value to the team. The financial factor is huge, but fit, chemistry and on-court impact also matter.

And anyway, we're making the exception so we can heap praise on his deal.

Clarkson is just 24, so locking him up for four more years at an average annual rate of $12.5 million gives the Lakers major cost control through the first portion of his prime.

The rule of thumb in this new cap environment is that an average starter is worth roughly $15 million per season. Count on Clarkson—who averaged an encouraging 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in Los Angeles' poorly coached, mostly dysfunctional system last year—to be worth much more than that.

That said, Rajon Rondo's two-year agreement with the Chicago Bulls is a potential disaster.

The notoriously ball-dominant Rondo will cramp Jimmy Butler's style far more than Derrick Rose ever did. If the Bulls are serious about running more, spacing the floor and freeing up the offense, he is not the point guard for them. Add in his lack of defensive commitment, poor shooting and a recent history that includes a dismissal from the Dallas Mavericks during a playoff series and the ugly run-in with referee Bill Kennedy last year, and you have a genuine malcontent who also made his team worse when he was on the floor last year.

When the only upside of a contract is the ability to get out of it quickly—there's a mutual option after the first year—that's a bad sign. Even more ominously, the hapless Sacramento Kings, who find new ways to do the wrong thing year after year, determined Rondo needed to go.

"The occasional breathtaking assist simply comes at too high of a cost," Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver explained. "Even Vlade Divac managed to figure that out."

The over/under on when Chicago reaches that same realization is somewhere around Nov. 15.

Lee is not spectacular. He's not a big-name acquisition, he's never been an All-Star and he's likely unfamiliar to casual fans who haven't kept up with his seven-team, nine-year sojourn through the league. In other words, he's exactly the kind of low-maintenance, quality-on-the-margins, borderline-anonymous talent the New York Knicks so rarely pursue.

He is a dedicated, consistent defender with a track record of hitting three-pointers at a reliable clip. He's a career 38.4 percent shooter from deep, and he has attempted 10 or more shots per game in just two of his nine seasons. He doesn't depend on volume, which will be a plus on this roster.

Unfortunately, Lee's signing doesn't represent a broader philosophical shift in New York. The Knicks still spent lavishly on Joakim Noah and traded for Derrick Rose—big names with bigger question marks.

In a way, the Knicks' continued infatuation with splashy, high-risk moves makes Lee's reliable, understated production even more valuable.

While it's tempting to bury the Toronto Raptors for spending nearly max money on a five-year deal for DeMar DeRozan or pillory the Bulls for adding the ill-fitting Dwyane Wade, Turner's deal warrants the most criticism.

The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best backcourt combos in the league with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum—two guards capable of getting their own shots and setting up teammates. Both handle the ball extremely well, and both are best utilized as primary facilitators. Turner, unfortunately, is only valuable when he has the rock.

Valuable is a relative term here, as Turner has never posted an above-average player efficiency rating.

You could make the case that Lillard and McCollum might benefit from less responsibility and may add new dimensions to Portland's offense by spacing the court away from the ball. But changing the roles of your two best players to accommodate Turner, a guy who nearly washed out of the league before Brad Stevens saved him in Boston, doesn't make any sense.

And it really doesn't make any sense for $70 million, especially when they subsequently brought back Allen Crabbe, whose shooting makes him a much more dangerous weapon on the wing.

Speaking with Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers recounted the call with Kevin Durant that left him stunned:

Just like that, the NBA landscape changed, tilting even more severely in favor of a team that won a record 73 regular-season games last year. In light of that, we can forgive Myers for his temporary amnesia.

For our purposes, the cost of Durant's deal is irrelevant. The optics, the pressure attached to the construction of an unprecedented superteam, the emotional shockwaves—all meaningless. The Warriors signed an in-his-prime MVP in free agency.

Let's not overthink this one.

But holy smokes, is he ever miscast as a max-salary player.

Barnes was an afterthought as the Warriors' fourth or fifth option last year, receiving only cursory defensive attention. In the Finals, when his outside shot deserted him, he got almost none at all.

Athletic but unable to regularly channel it, intelligent but plagued by mental lapses, theoretically a perfect floor-stretching 4 but legitimately outplayed by journeyman Brandon Rush when injured—Barnes was this offseason's biggest nugget of fool's gold.

Anyone arguing Barnes will thrive with more responsibilities in Dallas didn't watch him fail to create shots for himself and his Warriors teammates time and again. Dependent on others for his own scoring, showing little growth in four NBA seasons and now stamped with a wilts-under-pressure label because of last year's Finals, Barnes has everything to prove with the Mavericks.

That's just not the kind of player you pay like a star.

Despite coming with a much higher price tag, Marvin Williams' contract with the Charlotte Hornets is the best.

Williams is 30, but his strength and versatility figure to age well. Much like Dudley, he has evolved in the later stages of his career, morphing into a combo forward who exploits mismatches at either the 3 or the 4 while defending both spots well.

With a 40.2 percent accuracy rate from deep and 1.16 points per possession on post-ups last year (second-best in the NBA among players with at least 30 such plays), Williams torched slow-footed bigs and punished conventional wings.

Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post, noting Williams' versatility, called him "the kind of player teams are dying to get."

It's fair to wonder whether he can sustain that kind of production as he progresses into his 30s, but a mild decline is priced into his contract. Not to pick on Barnes again, but Williams does everything better than his fellow Tar Heel, and he's collecting $40 million less than Barnes over the next four seasons.

Now, the league and Anderson are both changed.

Today's stretch 4s are really small forwards who can survive defensively against bigger opponents. They're not immobile 6'10" bigs who have shot 34 and 36.6 percent, respectively, on threes in their last two seasons.

Anderson is now a perfect "life comes at you fast" example of how abruptly the league changed its floor-stretching preferences.

Five years ago, Anderson's skills might have justified $20 million per season. Now, he's a massive defensive liability who'll have to stay completely healthy and shoot threes at something close to a 40 percent clip to be a break-even player.

Very little from his four years with the New Orleans Pelicans (during which he missed 98 games) suggests either of those things are likely.

Nonetheless, the Celtics earn top marks at the center spot for snagging the second-best free agent available. For Boston, getting Horford means something extra because it has spent the last few seasons hoarding assets, saving cap space and waiting for an opening to grab a star. In addition to being the best big man available, Horford also represented the culmination of the Celtics' time-biding gambit.

Practically speaking, the 30-year-old forward/center gives Boston an offensive fulcrum from the elbows or the block who can also space the floor and facilitate. He'll immediately become the Celtics' defensive anchor as well.

The fit is perfect, as Jae Crowder told Tom Westerholm of MassLive.com: "We play through our bigs, and a lot of teams don’t play through their bigs," Crowder said. "They post them up and give them the ball. Our bigs, like he did in Atlanta, he makes the play. We were explaining our basketball terminology to him, and how ours will fit right in with (his) game. It’s going to mesh."

Though $113 million is a lot of cash, the price isn't prohibitive because of the talent involved.

Here's one: Mozgov ranked 71st out of 72 qualifying centers in ESPN.com's real plus-minus last season. Adding to the sting, Roy Hibbert, who left the Lakers to sign a one-year, $5 million deal with the Hornets, ranked one spot higher.

L.A. is paying a $59 million premium for marginally worse production.

It's possible that Mozgov, who underwent offseason knee surgery in 2015, never felt like his real self last season. In the past, he's been a potent defensive force at the rim. Remember, too, that he scored 28 points in Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals, and that the Cleveland Cavaliers defended much better with him on the floor two years ago.

Even during his atrocious 2015-16 campaign, Mozgov was still useful as a roll man on offense, ranking in the 88th percentile in that category.

If the Lakers get the 2014-15 version of Mozgov, this deal looks less ridiculous. Banking on improvement from a 30-year-old 7-footer coming off knee surgery and a marked decline in performance doesn't seem like a great idea, though.

Follow Grant on Twitter and Facebook.

Advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise specified.

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Cameron Payne underwent "surgery for a Jones fracture in his right foot" on Monday, per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman.

---

Payne Will Be Ready for Training Camp

Monday, July 25

Fortunately for the Thunder, Slater noted Russell Westbrook's backup should be fine for the 2016-17 season. 

Payne's durability was tested during the past postseason, as he missed Game 1 of Oklahoma City's first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks with a hip injury. 

The 2015-16 campaign was an up-and-down debut for Payne, who played in only 57 games during the regular season and averaged five points per contest. He did end the year on a high note, scoring a career-high 17 points against the San Antonio Spurs on April 12.

The Thunder don't have to panic, though. Westbrook is one of the NBA's best point guards and a triple-double machine, and Victor Oladipo is versatile enough to handle the ball.

Payne hasn't taken off like the Thunder hoped he would when they selected him with the 14th overall pick in last year's draft, but the 21-year-old has time to grow into his potential.

Charlotte Hornets owner and Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has announced two $1 million donations to organizations aimed at improving relations between police officers and citizens.

Jordan, 53, will donate $1 million to the Institute for Community-Police Relations and $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. The International Association of Chiefs of Police announced the launch of its community relations arm in May amid social unrest following the high-profile deaths of multiple black citizens in recent years.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund has been in place for decades to help fight for racial justice and protect civil rights.

"Although I know these contributions alone are not enough to solve the problem, I hope the resources will help both organizations make a positive difference," Jordan wrote.

Jordan's donation comes a little less than two weeks after LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul opened the 2016 ESPYs with a plea to athletes to use their status to speak on such issues.

Per ESPN.com news services, James said:

Anthony later gave his thoughts when asked about Jordan's comments, via Arash Markazi of ESPN:

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 25, 2016

Charlotte was stripped of the 2017 All-Star Game last week as the NBA expressed displeasure with North Carolina's House Bill 2—the so-called bathroom bill that is seen as discriminatory toward members of the LGBT community. The NBA said it hopes to reschedule the 2019 All-Star Game in Charlotte.

"While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2," the league said.

Jordan released a statement saying the team was "disappointed" but ultimately understood the NBA's decision. The announcement of these donations was delayed, according to a spokeswoman for Jordan, because he "did not want his announcement to take away from the focus on the LGBT community," per The Undefeated.

"I applaud Michael Jordan for these donations," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Undefeated. "His championing of important social issues including fundamental civil and human rights carries enormous impact in communities everywhere."

    

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

With Kevin Durant and Team USA preparing for the 2016 Olympics, the squad made a stop in Los Angeles to play a tuneup game against China at the Staples Center on Sunday night.

After posting 19 points in a 106-57 victory over China, Durant had nothing but kind words to say about the Los Angeles crowd.

"The crowd here tonight was great, so hopefully it's just as good at Oracle," the 2013-14 NBA MVP said, per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.

It's nothing new for a player to say the home fans were great. However, it's not often that a player is complimentary of a crowd that booed him. The Golden State Warriors forward was unaware the Staples Center crowd gave him a rude welcome until reporters informed him.

"No, I didn't hear it," Durant said when told he had been booed during pregame introductions. "I did? Huh. I didn't hear it."

The good news for Durant is he should receive the biggest ovation of the night at Team USA's next game, which will be his first at the Warriors' Oracle Arena since he signed with the team.

[Associated Press]

In a recent interview with Marc Berman of the New York Post, new Brooklyn Nets forward Luis Scola explained that he likes the Big Apple.

Here's the 36-year-old big man on the high rates: "I think New York is one of the best cities in the world—a lot of people question New York. They love to visit but not to live. I'm excited. I like to live there, too, but I don't like the renting prices."

Scola, who spent last season with the Toronto Raptors, doesn't have much of a choice on where he and his family live.

"It has to be in Brooklyn," he said. "How far can you go with the challenge of traffic? It's a good opportunity for me and my family to live in the middle of the city, doing city life, walking to places, taking buses, riding a bike. Just forget about the car and suburban life and 40-minute drive. It's going to be fun."

Scola will head into the 2016-17 season as Brooklyn's oldest player as new general manager Sean Marks tries to rebuild from the ground up. Scola's deal is worth $5.5 million over one year, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via ESPN.com's Mike Mazzeo):

— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzESPN) July 14, 2016

[New York Post]

Derrick Rose, one of the New York Knicks' prized offseason acquisitions, is confident the front office has put the pieces in place for the team to enjoy a successful 2016-17 season. The former MVP also understands the important role he must play for the Knicks to reach the growing expectations.

"With these teams right now, they're saying us and Golden State are the superteams, and they're trying not to build that many superteams, and Adam Silver came out with the statement and this and that," Rose said. "And the expectations I think of us, we just want to win."

The Warriors are coming off a record-setting 73-win campaign and added Kevin Durant, the biggest prize on the free-agent market. There's no doubt they deserve the "superteam" label. The jury will remain out on the Knicks until they start proving it on the court.

It's easy to understand why there's budding optimism in the Big Apple, though. Along with Rose, New York has added Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings to a roster that already featured the strong foundation of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

Whether the Knicks can translate an active summer into on-court success will heavily depend on if Rose can stay healthy and return to form. He's missed substantial time with injuries over the past four years, and even when he's been on the court, he hasn't looked like his prior MVP self.

The formerly dynamic playmaking guard told NBA.com he's working to refine his game to become more effective based on his current physical abilities:

He also noted he's trying to get back to basics with work on his fundamentals so he can once again play the game without having to think so much on the floor.

Rose is also hopeful the team's triangle offense is going to work perfectly thanks to the way the roster has been constructed, per NBA.com.

"With us, with all the pieces that we have, it kind of fits us almost to a T," he said. "Because you have Melo, you have [Porzingis] who can post up a lot. If they was to put me in that position that would be my first time having an isolation at the elbow, or just having an isolation period. It can work that way."

All told, the Knicks are one of the league's most intriguing teams heading into the season. They have put together a roster with a lot of potential, especially if Rose can enjoy a bounce-back campaign, and the Eastern Conference has plenty of question marks outside the top two or three teams.

New York doesn't belong anywhere near the same category as Golden State at this stage. That said, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it could emerge as a contender in the East, especially if Rose and his fellow new arrivals live up to the hype.

    

The San Antonio Spurs lost longtime franchise cornerstone Tim Duncan to retirement in the offseason, but Manu Ginobili decided to return to the team for his 15th season.

I still enjoy the game. Last year, I had a blast. We had a great team. I did well. I was healthy, except that incident in February [when Ginobili was forced to miss 11 games after a knee to the groin required testicle surgery]. Once I felt that I enjoy the game still and I can still do it, it wasn't a hard decision.

Considering how long he's been with the Spurs and the fact that he played a role on four championship-winning squads, it would've been bizarre to see Ginobili wearing a different jersey in 2016-17.

Duncan walked away from the game earlier in July after 19 seasons in San Antonio. Ginobili also took some time to speak about The Big Fundamental on Thursday, per Lee:

Last summer's big free-agent acquisition, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, is positioned to take over for Duncan, who is believed by many to be the greatest of all time at that spot.

Like Duncan, Ginobili has been part of a humble, hard-working Spurs culture that has done little else but win en route to 19 consecutive postseason trips.

Even with Duncan playing out his last season in the league and Ginobili nearing the end of his career, San Antonio posted a 67-15 record in 2015-16, so the positive influence must be rubbing off.

"Losing Tim made it absolutely imperative that we keep him," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said about Ginobili, per Lee. "To lose them both at the same time, it would've been like death by a thousand cuts. It would've been awful."

Longtime point guard Tony Parker, who has played his entire career alongside Duncan, will return to the squad for his 16th season. The team also picked up All-Star Pau Gasol on the open market this year. Gasol is a two-time NBA champion who should fit into San Antonio's winning dynamic.

Although he turns 39 years old next Thursday, Ginobili proved last season he can still perform at a high level while playing 19.6 minutes per night, and according to Basketball-Reference.com, he averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per 36 minutes.

Ginobili shot 45.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range last season too, showing he can still be an efficient scorer and a capable cog in San Antonio's new-look offense.

With Kawhi Leonard continuing to be more assertive and Aldridge coming into his own, the Spurs' future is bright, and they still have two savvy veterans to look to for wisdom as they gear up for another playoff run.

The 2017 NBA All-Star Game was supposed to take place at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, but a controversial piece of legislation caused the league to relocate the annual exhibition.  

NBA players past and present have weighed in on the matter.

Golden State Warriors guard and back-to-back league MVP Stephen Curry, who grew up in Charlotte, said, per SportsCenter on Twitter: "It's disappointing that my home team won't be able to host the All-Star Game as planned."

Curry's new teammate, Kevin Durant, voiced his thoughts on the NBA's decision, via Twitter, "I recognize this was a tough decision for the NBA but I respect the choice. Discrimination of any kind cannot be allowed."

Jason Collins, who became the first openly gay player in the four major U.S. sports, detailed his thoughts in a statement:

— Jason Collins (@jasoncollins98) July 21, 2016

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George told ESPN's Brian Windhorst (via ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne): "I'm huge on keeping your word. I'm not necessarily saying it's bad for the NBA to move it. Charlotte is a growing city, and the Hornets have picked that program up. It's a shame it's possible that we'd take that away from them."

Los Angeles Clippers star and North Carolina native Chris Paul also provided his thoughts on the league's decision, per the team's Twitter account:

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) July 22, 2016

Shelburne also spoke to New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and posted his reply:

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 21, 2016

Anthony was recently seen joining other NBA players at the ESPYs, speaking out against violence.

The NBA and its players have a big platform to comment on current affairs and have used it of late to make strong statements in search of justice.

Basketball coaches in the state of North Carolina have denounced the anti-LGBT bill as well.

On Wednesday, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski told USA Today's Scott Gleeson and Jeff Zillgitt, "It's an embarrassing bill. That's all I'm going to say about it."

North Carolina State head coach Mark Gottfried elaborated in the USA Today report.

"I'm against any law that allows discrimination, whether that's based on race, gender, sexual orientation," Gottfried said. "I don't understand how someone can support this. I think the people at N.C. State, we believe in inclusion. Being a resident of the state, for me and my family, it's been frustrating."

Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act into law in March. While multiple prominent residents seem put off by the legislation, it passed through the state House by an 82-26 vote.

The state's General Assembly put a high priority on the bill by holding a special session to push through the discriminatory legislation before it was passed.

As for the future of next year's NBA All-Star Game, The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the league is focusing on New Orleans' Smoothie King Center, but multiple cities are still in the running to host.

The NBA’s decision to remove the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, is unprecedented.

Commissioner Adam Silver seems intent on presiding over a league that doesn’t shy away from pressing social issues. This particular stance was preceded by the NBA’s vocal outcry over gun violence and the public removal of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling after one of his racist diatribes went public.

These actions mark a pronounced departure from the league’s approach to social issues across its history.

The NBA has typically lagged behind its players when it comes to social causes. In the 1950s, Bob Cousy formed the first pro sports union when he founded the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). Subsequent NBPA leaders Tommy Heinsohn and Oscar Robertson, among many others, challenged the league to provide pension plans, expand health coverage and respect the right to free agency. These were principles widely abided elsewhere in the American labor market.

But the NBA didn’t exactly rush to provide labor rights. Players were forced to employ the specter of strikes and legal action for fair treatment. They had to fight.

Off the court, Robertson, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Don Barksdale and others gave voice and clout to the African-American civil rights movement. White NBA players like Cousy, Vern Mikkelsen and others often supported their black teammates by refusing to eat at or stay at segregated facilities.

For too long, the NBA office and its teams’ owners scheduled games in segregated cities, forcing its players to confront and protest the humiliation. Jim Crow laws and the legacy of slavery manifested themselves in brazenly simple ways: the inability for a black player to use a bathroom or eat at a lunch counter. The opportunity for protest presented itself regularly.

Players understood the larger ramifications of their sacrifices. The success of the civil rights movement by the mid-1960s and of player lawsuits against the league from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s seemed to alleviate the stress players faced. Finally, players were treated humanely off the court and respectfully on it. Players had won guaranteed contracts, had seen the beginnings of real free agency, had earned a pension plan. Players were shielded from overt daily racism, in theory.

The 1970s saw the beginnings of the cocaine epidemic, followed by the widespread use of crack in the 1980s. NBA players abused drugs like many Americans of all professions and walks of life. The league and the NBPA formulated a sensible (but not perfect) plan to rehabilitate players rather than ban them for life.

The NBA still ousted players for drug use, yet those cases hardly mirrored the escalating, heavy-handed imprisonment of drug offenders in larger society.

The most impactful symbolic gesture of the 1990s still deserves credit. Magic Johnson’s shocking, abrupt retirement due to HIV in 1991 was soon followed by his participation in the 1992 All-Star Game and a comeback in the 1995-96 season. Johnson, for many Americans, was the first household name to appear lively while having the disease.

Until then, most portrayals of the illness depicted fatal despair and degenerative stereotypes. The NBA could proudly claim a role in the public’s wider acceptance of people infected by and suffering from HIV/AIDS.

The league, however, still maintained a strain of its previous reactionary behavior.

In the early ‘90s, former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges publicly opposed the Gulf War and claims the NBA blackballed him for his political views.

Later that decade, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, citing religious freedom, stirred national controversy by refusing to stand for the national anthem. The NBA suspended him, then struck a compromise where Abdul-Rauf was forced to stand but didn’t have to acknowledge the anthem or flag.

Silver’s commissionership feels unrelated to his predecessors. The NBA has directly challenged a state’s government to change a law that does not directly impact the league’s ability to operate. The league has taken a highly publicized stance against gun violence, and Silver has supported players involving themselves in the Black Lives Matter movement, to an extent (he recently stated his preference that players not alter their jerseys to make political gestures).

"I would greatly prefer that the players use the platform they're given: social media, press conferences, media in locker rooms,” Silver said, “however they want to do it, to make their political points of view be known."

Yet challenges remain. North Carolina Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger quickly noted (in puzzling fashion) the NBA still proceeds with exhibition games in repressive China. While the North Carolinian lawmaker doesn’t appear interested in actually improving Chinese human rights, more sincere critics will examine the league’s corporate and civic responsibility in similar fashion.

For example, does the NBA ensure that all of its shoes, jerseys, camera equipment, balls, etc. are made free of forced or coerced labor? Given the league’s support of the LGBT community after the heinous Orlando massacre, will it refuse to play exhibition games in any country (or state) that represses such persons?

The league has articulated quite well why it can’t host this All-Star Game in North Carolina. Going forward, it needs to construct a coherent policy on how and where it chooses to play games in areas where human rights are ill-respected. Likewise, players like Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James publicly denouncing gun violence should also have a coherent follow-up on how they plan to address the problem as they see it.

Coherency doesn’t mean perfection for either players or the league. But there should be a clear sense that the NBA and its players, when they make stands on social justice or civil rights, have a legitimate policy and aren’t haphazardly riding a wave of public opinion.

   

Curtis Harris is a freelance writer and NBA history expert. Follow him on twitter at @ProHoopsHistory. 

Dion Waiters and the Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be parting ways after spending roughly one-and-a-half years together, and the shooting guard is drawing some interest on the open market.

---

Nets Reportedly Met with Waiters

Wednesday, July 20

Marc Stein of ESPN reported that Waiters and the Brooklyn Nets "spoke face-to-face" earlier this month in Las Vegas. Stein added that "early indications" are that the Nets "haven't changed their stance" on the shooting guard after passing on signing him.

On Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported Waiters was an "intriguing target" for the Nets after the Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer.

---

Waiters to Become Free Agent

Monday, July 18 

The Thunder have rescinded their qualifying offer to Waiters, according to Wojnarowski, who added that he is now an unrestricted free agent.

---

76ers Reportedly Interested in Waiters

Monday, July 18 

Wojnarowski reported that Waiters is an "intriguing target" for the Philadelphia 76ers now that he is no longer a restricted free agent.

Michael Scotto of the Associated Press reported on June 28 that the 76ers were interested in Waiters.

---

Waiters Reportedly Wants to Join Heat

Friday, July 8 

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported that Waiters has expressed interest in joining the Miami Heat.

---

Kings Reportedly Interested in Waiters 

Friday, July 1

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee spoke to a source that described Waiters as "locked in" on the Sacramento Kings. Jones also said to "expect any offer sheet to be big."

Chris Mannix of The Vertical reported Thursday that Waiters was "gaining significant traction" with the Kings.

On June 28, Scotto first reported the Kings were interested in Waiters.

---

Waiters Becomes Restricted Free Agent

Thursday, June 30

Royce Young of ESPN.com reported that the Thunder "tendered a qualifying offer to [Waiters], officially making him a restricted free agent. They can now match any offer sheet."

---

Presti Discusses Waiters' Future in Oklahoma City

Monday, June 6

On Monday, general manager Sam Presti indicated in his state of the franchise press conference Oklahoma City would be open to bringing the shooting guard back, per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman:

---

Waiters Comments on Future

Monday, May 30

Waiters has already indicated he'd be willing to stay following his team's Game 7 exit in the Western Conference Finals, per Slater:

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 31, 2016

---

Waiters Has Shown Potential in Beginning of Career

Waiters, a restricted free agent, presents a difficult case for Presti and the Thunder front office. The 2012 No. 4 overall draft pick is still just 24, and he has undoubtedly shown flashes of potential on the court. However, that potential has failed to materialize much beyond those brief glimpses.

In 78 regular-season games for Oklahoma City in 2015-16, Waiters averaged 9.8 points on 39.9 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent on three-pointers. According to NBA.com, the Thunder were seven points better per 100 possessions when he was off the court.

Strictly based on his numbers, the Thunder might be better off without Waiters. Presti will have to consider factors beyond just Waiters' performance, though, especially with Kevin Durant hitting the open market. Durant may not take too kindly to seeing Oklahoma City jettison Waiters this summer.

The Oklahoman's Erik Horne believes the two may be a package deal:

— Erik Horne (@ErikHorneOK) May 31, 2016

In a September 2014 interview with Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, Mike Miller said the Miami Heat amnestying him after the 2012-13 season rankled LeBron James. It probably wouldn't be a stretch to say Miller's departure played at least some role in James signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.

In order to give themselves their best chance at keeping Durant for the long term, re-signing Waiters might be a necessary step for the Thunder.

At the same time, though, Oklahoma City may have trouble justifying matching an offer sheet for Waiters should another team throw a hefty salary his way.

Russell Westbrook will both be an unrestricted free agent in 2017, while Steven Adams and Andre Roberson will be restricted free agents. If the Thunder do re-sign Waiters, then they'll likely have to let at least one of those four players walk a year from now.

Presti will have a tough task ahead as he weighs the potential consequences of offering Waiters a new deal.

Coach K: “Klay (Thompson) is one of the great, complete players on this planet”

Greg Monroe's fit with the Milwaukee Bucks is being brought into question. Would it make sense for the Bucks to trade him and try to find a better fit, or wait for his contract to end and see if he can fit any better?

Adam Lefkoe and Bleacher Report NBA analyst Howard Beck discuss Monroe's best fits in the video above. 

Retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant wrote a letter to himself as a 17-year-old on Wednesday.

Bryant explained to young Kobe that buying material items for family and friends was self-serving. It was for him, not them.

"While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions," he wrote.

But investing is different:

Bryant described the dependence of those around him on his help as an "addiction" he facilitated, which he wrote leads to anger and jealousy. The Black Mamba also advised his former self to plan a budget for his parents before signing that first contract, because life flies by so quickly.

The 37-year-old concluded the piece by writing that following this advice will help avoid "a ton of tears and heartache, some of which remains to this day."

[Players' Tribune]

The Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly rescinded their qualifying offer for shooting guard Dion Waiters on Monday night, per The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski and the Oklahoman's Anthony Slater.

When the Thunder reportedly signed 2-guard Alex Abrines to a three-year deal Monday, per EuroHoops.net (via ESPN.com's Royce Young), it likely signaled the end of Waiters' time in Oklahoma City. Bleacher Report's Jared Dubin speculated as to how rescinding Waiters' offer could impact the team:

— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) July 19, 2016

Becoming an unrestricted free agent would seemingly make Waiters more attractive for teams still looking to add backcourt depth. Wojnarowski threw out the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers as potential options.

Waiters wasn't all that much better with the Thunder than he was in his first two-and-a-half years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the 24-year-old averaged 18.4 points per 36 minutes on 42 percent shooting in Cleveland compared to 13.7 points per 36 on 39.6 percent shooting in Oklahoma City.

Sporting News' Danny Leroux wondered if Waiters' best route is signing a one-year deal in hopes of building his value this time next summer.

The strategy would undoubtedly be risky. While he has shown flashes of potential in the past, that potential hasn't materialized, and there's little from his earlier performances that would indicate he's on the verge of a breakout.

But the salary cap is expected to climb to $102 million ahead of the 2017-18 season, per ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. Even if Waiters' stock doesn't rise demonstrably following his fifth year in the league, his earning power could still be higher with teams able to spend more money.

Whether he signs a short- or long-term deal, Waiters shouldn't have much trouble finding a new home with the available shooting guards thinning out.

Report: Marc Gasol not playing for Spain in Olympics

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is preparing to help Team USA win its third consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's basketball at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, and he is determined to remain focused on that rather than his impending legal issues. 

When asked about the situation Monday, the 2015-16 NBA All-Star selection pushed basketball to the forefront, per ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss:

Green also made it clear that winning gold is his No. 1 priority, and that he won't allow the off-court incident to overshadow what he and Team USA are trying to accomplish: "Everybody's concerned. But at the end of the day, as a public figure, as a guy that's representing this country, it's bigger than me. It's bigger than anybody on this team. That's just the stuff we have to remember."

The 26-year-old Green is coming off a season that saw him average career highs with 14 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game. He and the Dubs came within one win of taking their second consecutive NBA title.

He will join a pair of Warriors teammates in Rio, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, and they figure to be among the key cogs in the United States' attack.

   

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Despite a disappointing 2015-16 campaign, James Harden hasn't wavered regarding his belief the Houston Rockets are headed in the right direction.   

"You just feel it sometimes. You got that feeling where everything feels comfortable," he said. "You feel love. You feel like people want you to be here, and that feeling right there outweighs everything. The ultimate decision was to stay and make sure we get it done."

Harden also talked about his new contract with NBA TV's Jared Greenberg during a Rockets summer-league game:

Not only is Harden the Rockets' best player, but he's also the kind of star who can recruit other players to come play in Houston. Watkins wrote Harden wasn't a part of the Rockets' contingent that visited Ryan Anderson in California, but he did join the group when it met with Eric Gordon.

Part of Houston's presentation for both players included a video about how Harden could run the offense similar to how Steve Nash led the Phoenix Suns. The architect of the Suns' "Seven Seconds or Less" game plan, Mike D'Antoni, is now head coach of the Rockets.

Harden broke down the comparison between him and Nash, per Watkins: "I got a little bit of Nash in me. He had his own pace to the game; that's what I took out of that. You could never speed him up; you could never make him do anything he didn't want to do—that's what separated him from any other point guard at the time, which led to two MVPs."

Even with all of the on-court issues plaguing the Rockets last year, Harden still managed to average 29 points and 7.5 assists a game. Add Gordon—who has averaged 16.6 points a game over his career—and Anderson—a career 37.7 percent three-point shooter—to the mix, and Houston could have a deadly offense next season.

Basketball writer Sam Vecenie argued, however, defense will be an issue:

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) July 3, 2016

After the Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant this offseason, the Rockets are at best a slim favorite to win the Western Conference next season. Houston should be a playoff contender despite losing Dwight Howard to the Atlanta Hawks.

With Howard gone, the onus is squarely on Harden to lead the team. Houston won't regret signing Harden to a massive extension after just one year, but missing out on the postseason in 2017 may give the front office pause about how it constructed the roster.

While the Oklahoma City Thunder's dynamic duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant is no more, they reportedly have visions of a new one-two punch, featuring Westbrook and current Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin.

Westbrook is set to become a free agent after the 2016-17 campaign, and after Durant signed with the Golden State Warriors, there has been plenty of speculation that Westbrook could opt to leave as well.

If the Thunder can convince Westbrook that another top-notch player is potentially on the way, however, it could be enough to at least delay the five-time All-Star's decision.

The 2015-16 season marked the first of Griffin's NBA career in which he wasn't named to the All-Star team, as he missed all but 35 games due to injury and a suspension levied against him after he punched a Clippers staffer and broke his hand.

Griffin still put up strong numbers with 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, but his name has come up in trade rumors often in recent years.

The Clips have struggled to become championship contenders despite the immense talent on their roster, and that could lead to a shake-up that sees Griffin end up elsewhere next offseason.

Oklahoma City could be a great fit for him, as he would likely start alongside the defensive-minded Steven Adams following the trade of Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic.

If the Thunder can keep Westbrook, they will boast a dynamic backcourt that would also include Victor Oladipo, making them a potentially dangerous, exciting team that few will want to go up against in the Western Conference.

Griffin has yet to prove he can be a true winner at the NBA level despite his statistical output, but the Thunder need to make a high-impact move to get past the disappointment of losing Durant. Bringing in another perennial All-Star could pay dividends in terms of getting Westbrook to stay and returning to contention.

   

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

The Chicago Bulls capped off a perfect 7-0 NBA Summer League showing with Monday's 84-82 overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves to win the championship in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Summer League MVP Tyus Jones' late heroics sparked the exciting sequence. With two defenders on the Minnesota point guard and the shot clock winding down, Jones pulled up from downtown and connected with 3.6 seconds left.

Chicago had one last gasp, though, as Denzel Valentine, who struggled all night, fired back with a three-pointer with two-tenths of a second remaining to force overtime.

The Bulls' official Twitter account reacted appropriately:

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 19, 2016

And in an extraordinary finish, Valentine used a pretty move to create separation and buried a step-back dagger at the overtime horn, as the NBA Summer League's Twitter account showed:

— NBASummerLeague (@NBASummerLeague) July 19, 2016

Valentine was 3-of-10 from the field, but two of those shots loomed rather large. ESPN.com's Adam Reisinger had fun with Valentine's achievement:

— Adam Reisinger (@AdamReisinger) July 19, 2016

Bulls newcomer Dwyane Wade took notice of the rookie first-round pick:

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 19, 2016

While Jones was expected to give Minnesota a big edge in the point guard matchup, Chicago's Jerian Grant held his own. Grant scored the first five points in overtime and wound up with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to win the championship game's MVP award.

After trailing 18-13 through one quarter, the Wolves scored the first 19 points of the second quarter to cap off a 22-0 run, which started late in the first, when Jones converted an old-fashioned three-point play.

Mark Kim of KOMU Sports guessed what former Chicago and current Minnesota head coach Tom Thibodeau may have thought of that stretch:

— Mark Kim (@MarkJKim_) July 19, 2016

Thriller-esque Thibodeau cackle notwithstanding, the Bulls responded with a 14-0 run in the third quarter, capped by Bobby Portis’ three-pointer, to take a 50-47 lead as the Wolves hit a cold spell.

Although Jones broke the Wolves' goose egg with a nice drive to the bucket, Portis hit another three and scored a layup following Jones' miss from point-blank range at the other end, making the score 55-49.

Portis was a beast Monday en route to a team-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, including 11 points in the third.

Mark Schanowski of CSNChicago.com weighed in on how well Portis and the other young guns fared for the victors:

— Mark Schanowski (@MarkSchanowski) July 19, 2016

Minnesota outscored Chicago 29-14 in the second quarter, but the Bulls bounced back in the subsequent frame with a 27-16 advantage to take a one-point lead into the final 10 minutes of action.

But a member of the Wolves frontcourt, Adreian Payne, helped offset Portis' performance with 22 points and 16 boards to pace Minnesota down low. Payne also flashed good range by converting three shots from beyond the arc.

Payne and Jones were a two-man show for the Wolves. It was especially necessary for Payne to play well as Jones struggled with seven turnovers.

The good news for Minnesota was that Jones, who once shined for a national championship Duke squad in the NCAA tournament, saved much of his best for last. He had four dimes and zero turnovers in the final quarter prior to his epic trey.

The Cauldron's CJ Fogler captured Thibodeau's candid reaction to Jones' clutch shot:

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) July 19, 2016

Jones found Xavier Silas for a game-tying, banked-in three late in overtime before Valentine's game-winner in another example of the young guard's composure in crunch time.

Even in defeat, the Wolves can take solace in knowing Jones had a magnificent summer showing, as did Payne. They carry lower expectations among Minnesota's youthful core yet could be X-factors and key depth players on the 2016-17 team.

As for the Bulls, they have an intriguing talent in Portis, and Grant—who arrived in the Derrick Rose trade—has the look of a potential contributor to Chicago's A-squad this coming season.

Postgame Reaction

Jones tweeted the following afterward, maintaining an upbeat attitude despite the defeat: "Thanks everybody for the support and love. Enjoyed the time in Vegas. God is GREAT! Back to the lab we go... Write Your Own Story."

Valentine spoke about how he maintained his composure despite his difficulties shooting the ball.

"I'm here for a reason," said Valentine, per the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson. "The Bulls picked me up to be a confident player and come through when the team needs me and be a winner. That's what I preached during my draft interviews. I just keep winning on my mind."

Valentine added, "People that are saying that it's just summer league didn't win summer league. Whoever is saying that, that's a losing mentality. If you're out here, you're competing."

Bulls summer-league coach Pete Myers said of Valentine, per Johnson, "From the moment we saw him, the moment he came to work out for us, he's a confident kid. He's not afraid of the moment or the situation."

Comparing college and international kids to seasoned NBA veterans before the draft is no easy feat—and it wasn't mine to complete this year. The task of measuring prospects against pros tends to yield more accurate results after summer league, once the youngsters in question have had a chance to strut their stuff against better competition.

Still, for the top 10 picks in the 2016 draft—listed here from top to bottom—these choices for best- and worst-case scenarios seem appropriate now that we’ve had a chance to sample their games on an Association-affiliated stage.

Best Case: LeBron James

Ben Simmons might be the most talked-about prospect to enter the NBA since LeBron James in 2003. According to ESPN’s Ryan Feldman, Simmons’ predraft physical measurements were similar to James’:

"Simmons and James measured with the exact same wingspan (7-foot-1/4) prior to the NBA draft. At 6-foot-10, Simmons is two inches taller than James and has a two-inch advantage in standing reach. James had slightly lower body fat."  

And, as it happens, Simmons and James now share an agent: Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul.

But Simmons' ability to handle and distribute like a point guard while inhabiting the body of a power forward makes him a potential LeBron successor. Simmons might already be one of the 5-10 best passers in basketball, without yet having set foot in a real NBA game. He spent his summer-league stints with the Philadelphia 76ers dishing dimes, both functional and flashy, to his often unsuspecting teammates.

Simmons, like James, forces those around him to keep their heads a-swiveling, lest they miss a golden opportunity to score. If Simmons uplifts the players around him even half as well as James has over the years, the 19-year-old Australian could be the league’s next superstar.

   

Worst Case: Josh Smith

It may be difficult to remember now—after putrid stints with the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers—but once upon a time, Josh Smith was an athletic wing-forward who could defend multiple positions and initiate offense for the Atlanta Hawks.

The Sixers envision Simmons playing point guard full-time down the line, according to head coach Brett Brown, per NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper. If he doesn’t grow into that role, he’ll still have the skills to set up teammates for easy scores, albeit not from up top, just as Smith did during his heyday in the ATL.

Both players are lefties with substandard shots, but if Simmons, who’s thus far been reluctant to let it fly, ever becomes as comfortable launching his own looks as Smith has long been, he’ll far outpace J-Smoove’s career prospects.

Best Case: Kevin Durant

You don’t have to be a basketball visionary to see glimpses of a young Kevin Durant. Brandon Ingram’s long, slender frame alone marks him as a potential successor to the now-Golden State Warriors superstar.

But as Ingram said at summer league: “It’s not about the body type. I think it’s about the skill level and what you can do on the basketball court. If you can score the ball, I think everything comes a lot easier for you.”

Ingram can certainly do that. He averaged 17.3 points during his lone season at Duke and put up 12.2 per game with the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas, including 22 points during the team’s finale against the Utah Jazz.

Ingram has a long way to go compared to where Durant was upon entry into the league. But with another month-and-a-half until he turns 19, the rookie has plenty of time to turn his shooting ability over pretty much any defender into a Durant-esque weapon.

Worst Case: Tayshaun Prince

Ingram’s jump shot is already far more picturesque than Tayshaun Prince’s ever has been or likely will be. But even if the former's stroke isn’t any more effective in practice, he’ll still have the tools to shine on the defensive end.

Like Prince, Ingram has the length and lateral quickness to fend off perimeter players and block shots on the back end. Prince never grew to be much bulkier than Ingram, but still managed to earn four All-Defensive nods during his prime years.

And while Prince was never an All-Star, he did put up strong numbers as the fourth offensive option on Detroit Pistons teams that went to six straight Eastern Conference Finals and back-to-back NBA Finals, with a ring in 2004 to boot.

Best Case: Jimmy Butler

At 6’7”, 220 pounds, Jaylen Brown’s build is almost identical to Jimmy Butler’s. So too are the hallmarks of his game.

With a rock-solid frame, Brown can bully his way to the basket and body-up opponents at multiple positions better than most 19-year-olds. The No. 3 pick out of Cal racked up more than 10 free-throw attempts per game this summer—a hair ahead of the 9.8 per game Butler logged in Las Vegas four years ago.

Neither player came into the pros as anything close to a knockdown shooter, and Butler has vacillated between poor and above-average through his five seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The Boston Celtics can only hope the same for Brown, who shot 32.4 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from three between stints in Utah and Nevada this month.

Brown and Butler may compare most favorably in the confidence that underpins their respective games. Brown isn’t as brash as Butler, but is already self-aware enough to know how he can succeed immediately and what he’ll have to do to really shine later.

“Three years from now, I’ll look back and be in a good place,” Brown said at summer league.

Worst Case: Stanley Johnson

Physically speaking, Stanley Johnson might be even more of a dead ringer than Butler is. Johnson is at least 20 pounds heavier than Brown, but brings similarly broad shoulders—and a comparable coiffure—to the court.

Skill-wise, everything that ties Brown to Butler also applies to Johnson: the bowling-ball basket attacks, the substandard jump shot, the defensive prowess on the perimeter and the confidence to both apply his strengths liberally and improve on his weaknesses. Johnson, for his part, has been working hard this summer to hone his shooting form with the help of the Detroit Pistons’ coaching staff, albeit to little payoff during the Orlando Summer League.

Johnson could one day be as good as Butler currently is, just as that All-Star and All-Defensive status may be in store for Brown.

Best Case: Dirk Nowitzki

The temptation with Dragan Bender is to slot him in as the next Kristaps Porzingis—in part because both were No. 4 picks, but largely because they’re both slender 7-footers from Europe who can run the floor and shoot.

In some respects, Dirk Nowitzki might actually be a better mirror for Bender than for Porzingis. While Porzingis made his mark as a rookie by attacking the glass—particularly on the offensive end—Bender figures to find his footing beyond the arc. The Croatian teen had the green light to fire away from three during summer league and responded with 6.8 attempts per game, though the Phoenix Suns expect he’ll hit more than 26.5 percent of them.

“We want to turn him loose and shoot the open ones when they’re there,” Suns summer-league coach Nate Bjorkman said. “I’m telling you, he hit a couple of them tonight, and it’s just a matter of time when they start falling 40 percent of the time. He’s a very good shooter.”

Nowitzki turned out to be more than "very good", but only after shooting a paltry 20.6 percent from three as a rookie. Once Bender gets comfortable from 24 feet out, he too could use his height and range to change the game.

Worst Case: Meyers Leonard

So long as Bender can shoot and rebound a little bit, he should turn out no worse than Meyers Leonard. And, really, Leonard’s not that bad of a result.

Injuries, more than anything, have limited the former lottery pick’s development with the Portland Trail Blazers. When he has played, though, he's flashed a sturdy stroke (38.5 percent from three for his career) and an ability to bang on the boards (8.9 rebounds per 36 minutes over his career) that somewhat belies his 7'1" size.

If nothing else, Bender can take heart in the knowledge that, so long as he stays healthy and shows he can shoot the ball, he should be able to land a second contract that’s at least as lucrative as the four-year, $41 million pact Leonard recently inked with the Blazers.

Best Case: John Wall

Speed. Power. Defense. Pinpoint passing in transition. Perimeter shooting that isn’t quite so accurate.

These qualities all describe John Wall’s game as much as Kris Dunn’s. Granted, Dunn isn’t quite the speedster Wall is—who is, really?—but he’s fast enough in the open floor to blur the lines between himself and the Washington Wizards All-Star. Dunn’s first step is plenty quick around bigger defenders, and at 6’4” and 205 pounds, he can physically overwhelm smaller guards.

Turnovers could be a concern, just as they were (and still are) for Wall, but that’s to be expected of any young point guard. If Dunn can hold his own defensively and hone his jump shot (35.4 percent from three, 69.3 percent on free throws at Providence), he could give the Minnesota Timberwolves good reason to part ways with Ricky Rubio much sooner than expected.

Worst Case: Elfrid Payton Jr.

Comparing Kris Dunn to Elfrid Payton Jr. might be a bit too close for comfort: Both are 6’4” point guards with suspect shots and strong defensive chops. Both were lottery picks born in the winter of 1994.

The biggest difference? Aside from their tonsorial preferences, Payton left school after three years, while Dunn stuck around for four.

For all his faults as a shooter (.435/.326/.589 shooting splits in year two), Payton is still a NBA starting point guard. And with Victor Oladipo off to Oklahoma City, Payton’s claim to the top ball-handling job for the Orlando Magic is even stronger than before. If he can carve out a place for himself in the NBA, surely Dunn can eventually do the same.

Best Case: Bradley Beal

You wouldn’t know it from looking at his summer-league stats, but Buddy Hield lands on the New Orleans Pelicans’ doorstep with many of the same shooter/playmaker credentials that made Bradley Beal the Washington Wizards' third pick in 2012.

Not that Hield’s Vegas struggles (32.7 percent from the field, 22.9 percent from three) weren't unusual for a star prospect being swarmed by opposing defenses. Back in his day, Beal shot 41.8 percent from the floor and 30 percent from deep in summer league.

“It was crazy, man,” Hield said. “It’s a different pace, something I’ve got to adjust to and learn.”

He should have an easier time getting the hang of the NBA game next to a star like Anthony Davis, much like Beal has done since joining forces with JohnWall. So long as Hield can translate the threat of his jump shot from college to the pros, he could develop into the sort of strong second option Beal has become.

Worst Case: Courtney Lee

Courtney Lee’s career may not feature the flash or cash that’s come to define Beal’s, but it’s featured more than enough splash Over the course of eight NBA seasons, Lee has hit 38.4 percent of his threes while playing for six different teams.

Those two numbers are tied to one another: Lee is no star, but as a serviceable three-and-D wing, his skills will always be in high demand. If Hield can hone his defensive skills, he too could hang around the Association for a decade or more.

And, perhaps, land his own four-year, $50 million deal with the New York Knicks down the line.

Best Case: Stephen Curry

Only one freshman in NCAA Division I basketball history has hit more threes than the 113 Jamal Murray drained at Kentucky last season: Davidson’s own Stephen Curry.

Soon enough, Murray could make that company all the more appropriate.

Beyond the fact both were drafted seventh overall in their respective years, Murray and Curry defy categorization at a single perimeter position. Curry looks and handles the ball like a point, but shoots and scores like a 2. Murray, on the other hand, is more on par with shooting guards size-wise but came up as a floor general.

“I’ve been playing the 2-guard at Kentucky, and I’ve been playing the 1 my whole life, so I’m pretty comfortable,” Murray said at summer league. “It’s just basketball. I don’t get into positions too much.”

And he shouldn't. Murray’s positional fluidity should allow him to thrive with the Denver Nuggets and within the basketball revolution Curry has sparked.

Worst Case: Brandon Knight

How well Murray handles being a shooter more than a ball-handler could dictate the extent of his NBA success.

If he’s cool with spending most of his time off the ball next to true point Emmanuel Mudiay, Murray should fit in just fine with the Nuggets. If he insists on being a primary offensive operator, despite plenty of evidence he shouldn’t be, then a future as the next Brandon Knight awaits him.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, per se. Between his stats (17.1 points, five assists per 36 minutes for his career) and his salary (a five-year, $70 million deal with the Suns last summer), Knight is doing just fine. As far as ceilings are concerned, though, he seemed to hit his as a point guard a while ago.

Knight has never been particularly proficient in the pick-and-roll, for one. According to NBA.com, he scored 0.74 points per play (39th percentile among his peers) and turned it over 20 percent of the time in those sets. If he were more amenable to playing off the ball, Knight might’ve already found his niche as a multi-skilled, if somewhat undersized, 2-guard. Instead, he may continue wandering the league’s landscape for the job he wants.

Best Case: Amar'e Stoudemire

Marquese Chriss is raw—perhaps more so than any other prospect to come out of this year’s draft lottery. The 6’9”, 225-pound Sacramento native didn’t pick up organized basketball until he was 14, when a shoulder injury all but ended his football career.

Chriss hasn’t left his football instincts behind though. He flashed an intriguing outside game in college but, with his elite athleticism, Chriss is a rim-rattler. At summer league, he tried to dunk everything in sight, evoking images of a young Amar’e Stoudemire.

Once upon a time, Stoudemire was one of the game’s premier power forwards—a pick-and-roll finisher who fit perfectly next to Steve Nash in Phoenix. The Suns might now have Stoudemire’s successor, with the same desire to improve all around.

“I love coaching him [Chriss],” Suns coach Nate Bjorkman said. “You tell him something, he’s going to do it. He’s been great. Smart, bright, big-time future.”

If Chriss’ three-point shot and defensive prowess translate to the next level, his future could be just as bright as Stoudemire’s, if not more so.

Worst Case: Marvin Williams

As The Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks noted before the draft, Chriss’ profile, both stylistically and statistically, compares closely to that of Marvin Williams:

That’s a solid floor for Chriss, especially if his shooting holds up. Otherwise, he could end up like another handsomely rewarded free agent with ties to Charlotte, for his dunking and defense alone: newly minted Orlando Magic big man Bismack Biyombo.

Best Case: Jonas Valanciunas

Should the Toronto Raptors lose Jonas Valanciunas for some reason—be it injury, trade or a future foray into free agency—they may have a veritable clone in Jakob Poeltl at the ready.

The Austrian big man morphed into a bona fide low-post scoring threat during his sophomore season at the University of Utah. He averaged 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists while demonstrating nifty footwork and deft touch around the rim—both staples of Valanciunas’ game—albeit without the benefit of a ranged jump shot.

Poeltl also projects as Valanciunas-like on the defensive end. Neither player has the hops or length to be a particularly potent shot-blocker (Poeltl logged 1.7 swats per game in college), but both can disrupt opposing offenses merely by being in the proper position.

Valanciunas is under contract through at least 2019, so there’s no great rush for Poeltl to replace him. But the 20-year-old has all the tools to step in for his Lithuanian counterpart down the line.

Worst Case: Zaza Pachulia

Zaza Pachulia could soon shoot up the ranks of bulky, ground-bound European bigs now that he’s slated as fifth wheel to the Golden State Warriors’ "Fantastic Four."

For now, he’s a fair floor for Poeltl. Pachulia’s never been quite as adept next to the hoop as Valanciunas and, to a lesser extent, Poeltl has proved to be. But the Georgian giant has always taken up sizeable swaths of space and all the rebounds that land within them.

Even if Poeltl’s back-to-the-basket skills are stifled in the NBA, he should still be big and strong enough to gobble up boards and putbacks the way Pachulia has for over a decade.

Best Case: Serge Ibaka

Thon Maker came on the YouTube AAU mixtape scene as a 7-footer with guard-like ball skills, but doesn’t figure to make his mark in the NBA that way. Instead, it will be his touch as a shooter and length as a shot-blocker and rebounder that will carve out an initial niche.

That was the case in Las Vegas, where Maker hit 31.6 percent of his 3.8 threes per game while racking up 14.2 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Nobody combines those three elements in today’s NBA better than Serge Ibaka. The new Orlando Magic big man saw his shot suffer during his last season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but had drained better than 35 percent of his threes during each of the previous three campaigns. Likewise, Ibaka’s rim protection in 2015-16 wasn’t what it had been at its peak, when he was the league’s back-to-back block king.

Still, if Maker can put his fluid frame to use as a stretchy big on one end and a paint patroller on the other, he’ll settle in for a Bucks club that seems to be stockpiling length and athleticism at every position.

Worst Case: John Henson

John Henson, the "King of Limbs" himself, is another athletic Bucks piece. If Maker’s outside shot doesn’t follow to the Association, he could wind up as another Henson.

Both are exceedingly skinny 7-footers whose length allows them to contest shots and nab loose balls, even when outmuscled by thicker competitors.

Henson hasn’t yet established himself as a full-time starter in Milwaukee, and Maker could wind up as competition for his spot, especially if the Bucks find better uses for Henson’s contract. The former Tar Heel has a four-year, $44 million extension that kicks in this coming season.

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.