BKN: Cam Thomas positioned for massive role in Nets’ rebuild with chance to silence critics
Brian Lewis, NY Post
BOS: Brad Stevens is fully aware of what it costs the Celtics to be a championship contender
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
DAL: Mavericks free agency preview: The Derrick Jones Jr. domino, Klay Thompson and more
Mike Curtis, Morning News
DEN: Does the magical Joker Effect cause the Nuggets to overvalue players?
Mark Kiszla, Denver Gazette
Joker is a basketball wizard that sees a game that mere muggles like us can’t even imagine. So kindly allow me to underscore words from Nuggets teammate Aaron Gordon that bear repeating.
“Joker’s a basketball genius,” Gordon said in April, while Denver was making LeBron James and the Lakers look like yesterday’s news. “I mean, he’s just a genius that happens to play basketball. He makes the game very easy. When you think the game (like Jokic), the game unlocks. You can start seeing plays ahead … two, three steps ahead.”
Much has been made, by folks inside and outside the walls of Ball Arena, that the Nuggets have the best starting five in basketball.
No offense. But that’s a bunch of hooey.
Jokic and nearly any of 50 (heck, maybe 100) positionally appropriate players could form the best starting lineup in the NBA.
Yes, Jokic is that spectacular. A legend of the game destined to be mentioned in the same breath as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal.
GSW: Inside Warriors’ foiled Paul George attempt, Klay Thompson’s inevitable departure
Tim Kawakami, The Athletic
LAC: Paul George declines option with Clippers, will test free agency
Janis Carr, OC Register
LAL: With LeBron James expected to return, Lakers must provide him meaningful roster upgrades
Jovan Buha, The Athletic
MEM: Grizzlies’ best options for roster additions as free agency begins
Damichael Cole, Commercial Appeal
MEM: Grizzlies 2024 Free Agency Preview
Parker Fleming, SubTsak
MIN: Menacing ‘second apron’ looms over Timberwolves as free agency opens
Chris Hine, Star Tribune
As the team heads into the luxury tax, a wrinkle of the collective bargaining agreement limits Tim Connelly’s ability to maneuver in free agency
POR: Blazers Head Into Free Agency with Targeted Needs
Dave Deckard, Blazer’s Edge
POR: In the wake of drafting Donovan Clingan, Blazers GM Joe Cronin made an important call
Jason Quick, The Athletic
It was Thursday morning, hours after the first round of the NBA Draft had ended, when Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin knew he had to place a call to veteran center Deandre Ayton. The night before, Cronin used the seventh pick to draft Connecticut center Donovan Clingan. Knowing how egos and feelings can be bruised when teams draft heralded players, the Blazers’ top executive wanted to touch base with his starter from the 2023-24 season.
When Cronin reached Ayton, who is training with the Bahamas national team, he said there was no steam coming from the other end of the line. No passive-aggressive silence. No insecurity about his standing.
All the questions Ayton could have asked — Why did you pick a center? … Is he replacing me? … What does this mean for me? — were instead framed in a positive tone.
“He was like, ‘OK, where can we take this?’” Cronin said. “(He asked) How can he help me? How can I help him? What can we do together?’ His attitude was great about the whole situation.”
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