Draymond Green

Draymond Green told Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report he doesn't think he'll finish his career with the Warriors:

“Quite frankly, the writing is on the wall. And I understand the business. And we tend to get into this mindset of someone owes us something because of what we’ve accomplished. But those someones on the other side don't feel that way. So, you’d be an idiot to walk around feeling that way. I feel like you’re just setting yourself up for failure. You’re setting yourself up for heartbreak. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment. As opposed to saying, ‘No, let me learn this business. Let me understand the business side of this.'

"If you don't get to know the business, then you can be blindsided and be, like, 'Oh man, everything I've done there, I'd thought I'd be there forever.' I, quite frankly, I don't think I will be. I would love to be. But I also understand the business. I understand the luxury tax. I understand you've got these young guys and contracts up, and they have to get paid. I understand all of those things. And so, just for me, when I say the writing's on the wall, that's what I mean by the writing's on the wall."

The Warriors' luxury-tax bill is massive. Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins just got large extensions. James Wiseman's contract is up in 2024, the same year Green's would end if he exercises his player option as expected. Jonathan Kuminga's and Moses Moody's deals are set to expire the next year.

Green, 32, is declining. Golden State can't count on him continuing to make the star contributions he did throughout their championship runs. For parts of the 2022 NBA Finals, he was a negative on the court.

All that is true.

But understanding the business also shows reasons for the Warriors to re-up Green long-term.

Golden State is still good enough to compete for more titles around Stephen Curry, and Green remains a highly positive player. The Warriors draw massive revenue by charging a lot of money for tickets and advancing deep in the playoffs. That formula works only if the team is good.

Letting Green walk to reduce payroll and promote younger, to date lesser, players would be a tremendous risk.

I suspect Green knows that side of the equation, too. He has never seemed blind about his leverage. Really, he sounds like he's bracing himself for the possibility of departing Golden State. Predicting the unwanted makes it easier to accept if it actually comes. Green talks to Rooks about not always being able to discuss this so rationally, that he was until recently more emotional about the situation.

Green might also be trying to change perception after punching Poole – something many people believe stemmed, at least in part, from Poole getting an extension and Green not. On paper, it's easy for the Warriors to say they'd rather figure this out in 2024, getting two seasons from Green then deciding. But the daily reality of that plan carries consequences. A risk of not extending Green is how he'd react, adding volatility even if keeping the player through his player-option season. If Green understands the cold calculations of the business and can so calmly say he thinks he won't finish his career in Golden State, it's harder to use contract status as an explanation for him punching Poole.

Over the years, Green has talked about wanting to stay with the Warriors, the grass not always being greener on the other side and maximizing money not being everything. At the time, it seemed he took a discount on his current deal by signing an extension rather than testing free agency. I slightly lean toward predicting he'll again take a discount to stay in Golden State.

But it's worth noting Green's on-the-record prediction is he won't finish his career with the Warriors.

LeBron James-Michael Jordan

Doc Rivers, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

“I think he’s going to have the greatest career of all time. I think he’s already had it. And that’s not … I think Michael [Jordan] is the greatest of all time, but that doesn’t take anything away from LeBron. LeBron’s had the greatest career"

This is a helpful distinction. Sometimes, when people argue, they're really just answering different questions while agreeing on their assessments.

I think Kevin Pelton of ESPN best articulated what I try to evaluate when ranking all-time greats: How much did they help their teams win championships? (A player can help his team win a championships without that team actually winning a championship. It's about pushing a team further toward that goal.) Obviously, peak matters. But so does longevity.

This method lands somewhere between "best player" and "best career," though closer to "best career." And I still think Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all-time.

As far as best career specifically, that's a closer call. LeBron has a case – along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell and, my choice, Jordan.

Brandon Ingram

Pelicans players and staffers are frustrated with Brandon Ingram's lengthy injury absences, currently more than seven weeks with a left toe contusion, writes Christian Clark of nola.com. Clark doesn't outright accuse Ingram of malingering. The frustration could be directed at the circumstances, not Ingram. But I infer a tone of pointing the finger at Ingram.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving on the difference between Kevin Durant's absence this year and last year, via Alec Sturm of NetsDaily:

"Well I'm consistently in the lineup, that helps. We also don't have anyone who is halfway in in the locker room." 

Does Irving have the self-awareness to be describing himself? He was extremely halfway in last season while refusing to comply with New York City's vaccine mandate.

(Even if you agree with Irving's decision or found his predicament unfair, objectively, he chose not to be fully committed to the team. I'm not calling that a bad thing. Committing to a basketball team isn't everything. But it is what Irving chose.)

I doubt Irving is being introspective. He's probably talking about James Harden, who was also halfway in until forcing a trade to the 76ers. Irving and Harden butted heads last season.

This is also a tacit endorsement of Ben Simmons. Not long ago, other Nets were questioning Simmons' commitment to the team.

Mike Brown

Jason Lloyd of The Athletic opens his absolutely fantastic profile of Kings coach Mike Brown with a reminiscence: When he began working as the Nuggets' video coordinator at age 22, Brown listened to his preferred rap music while driving to the arena. Then, just before parking, he switched to jazz – just in case in case he gave a ride to a higherup in the organization later that day. Brown wanted to present himself as mature, sophisticated.

Lloyd uses that story to show how much Brown has changed, no longer caring so much what others think. And that's definitely a theme of the excellent article.

But I also see something else: a mind constantly at work. Brown is always thinking. He cares about getting every detail right.

That's a big reason he has climbed through basketball. He has also sometimes gone overboard, like his highly regimented practices in Cleveland, as Lloyd details.

Brown now appears to be striking a good balance in Sacramento, which is why he's getting profiled. But Lloyd goes above and beyond in telling Brown's story. This is one of the best things I've read this season. I highly recommend reading it.

Luka Doncic

Tim Cato of The Athletic expertly explores the impossible tradeoffs teams must make in defending Luka Doncic. Though I'm doing this twice in a row, regular readers know I don't say this often: This is also one of the best things I've read this season. Cato really impressively simplifies something as complex as scheming to slow Luka Doncic.

Philadelphia 76ers

Doc Rivers said the 76ers – who'd always started James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker and Joel Embiid with everyone healthy – would rotate three starting lineups, depending on matchups. That began in last night's win over the Lakers with De'Anthony Melton starting over Maxey.

Derek Bodner of The Daily Six Newsletter analyzes what he sees as the reason for the change – defensive shortcomings of a Harden-Maxey backcourt.

Though Rivers didn't reveal the other lineups, Bodner also speculates Philadelphia will use its traditional starting five plus a unit with Melton over Tucker, calling that latter group the 76ers' best five players.

Nikola Vucevic

NBA executives expect the Bulls to re-sign Nikola Vucevic, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

That might just be speculation based on how much Chicago traded to get Vucevic from the Magic. But even if speculation, it might be accurate for two reasons. One, teams are reluctant to admit mistakes, and letting Vucevic walk would likely mean accepting failure on that trade. Two, the trade shows just how much the Bulls valued Vucevic just two years ago. Even if they recognize the 32-year-old's decline, their starting point was holding him in high regard. It's quite possible no other team will value Vucevic more this summer than Chicago does.

It's also possible there's real intel about Vucevic returning to the Bulls. His agent could be quietly canvassing the market ahead of free agency. Heck, if that's playing out behind the scenes, Vucevic could even sign an extension by June 30.

Though he hasn't lived up to expectations, re-signing Vucevic isn't the worst idea. He contributes positively on the court. Even if letting him walk, Chicago would likely be capped-out regardless. The Bulls might find a reasonable replacement with their mid-level exception. But if they re-sign Vucevic, they could have him and someone else with the MLE.

Landry Fields

An All-Rookie first-teamer with the Knicks in 2011 who got a three-year, $18.75 million contract from the Raptors in 2012, Landry Fields was out of the NBA by 2015. He was so disheartened about an injury ending his career at age 26, he wanted nothing to do with basketball. Yet, in the absence of a plan, Fields wound up with a scouting job. Then, one front-office job then another. Now, he's running the Hawks' basketball operations at just 34 (maybe in conjunction with Nick Ressler).

Howie Kussoy of the New York Post covers Fields' unwanted rise as an executive, including Fields' enduring sadness about his playing career being cut short.

Scoring

NBA teams are scoring 114 points per game – most in 53 years. Many things have been written to explain the scoring surge, but I thought this roundtable at The Athletic was particularly good. There are numerous causes and effects, and these writers get into many of them – large and small.

I found one of those smaller observations, by Josh Robbins, particularly astute: Teams use defensive specialists less often. The effect is exponential. Obviously, removing a defensive specialist from a team's lineup hurts that team's defense. It also helps the team's offense, as the player replacing the defensive specialist is better offensively. Especially if the replacement player shoots better from the perimeter, spacing will be improved. Create enough spacing, and offenses can really thrive.

Commonly, the opponent – if it hasn't already – will remove its defensive specialist to try to keep up.

-Dan Feldman