Alex Caruso

Oklahoma City signed Alex Caruso to the largest-allowable extension – four years, $81,096,960 – basically as soon as allowed, six months after his trade from Chicago.

This projects to put the Thunder right near the luxury-tax line next season with their top 14 players all under contract. (The only player not locked in: Oklahoma City's 15th man du jour, Branden Carlson.) The Thunder even have their top 14 players all signed or under matching rights for the following season!

Next year's projection includes three first-round picks – Philadelphia's top-six protected, Miami's lottery-protected and a swap with either the Rockets (top-10-protected) or Clippers. Obviously, there's not room for all those players on the roster.

But Caruso – who has been awesome defensively, though disappointing offensively (27% on 3-pointers) – looks like a mainstay. The Thunder always seemed bound to extend his contract. There was even thought they'd save cap space to renegotiate his current $9.89 million salary for an even-larger deal.

So, this looks like a very reasonable price for the 30-year-old.

One fun* comparison will be: How much will Josh Giddey get this summer?

*Outside Chicago

De'Aaron Fox

The Kings have entered a "danger zone" with De'Aaron Fox and his agent, Rich Paul, evaluating the guard's future in Sacramento, according to Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Fox has not requested a trade, but the Spurs in particular are preparing to try to acquire him, per Amick and Slater.

Fox has been vocal: He wants to compete at a high level. Sacramento has backslid from getting the No. 3 seed to missing the playoffs to being 12th in the West this season.

Agents should understand all their clients' teams' directions and how their players fit. Paul meeting with the Kings is presented as an inflection point or at least a potential prelude to an inflection point, and maybe it is. But it could also just be business as usual.

From afar, De'Aaron Fox Trade Watch is on.

As for San Antonio, sure, Fox and Victor Wembanyama could be a cool pairing.

Victor Wembanyama

Games with more than 25 points and at least 10 blocks in the last 28 years – a span seven years longer than Victor Wembanyama has even been alive:

• Wembanyama 2
• Everyone else in the NBA 1*

*Dwight Howard in 2008

Still just 20 for another week-and-a-half, Wembanyama has the youngest two such games in NBA history, including against the Trail Blazers on Saturday. He has nearly two years to build on his total before matching the age of the next-youngest player to do it.*

*Howard in that 2008 game.

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler and Miami appear headed toward a split by next summer, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. There's growing consensus the Heat will keep Butler past the trade deadline unless they get an overwhelming offer or he becomes a distraction, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN. Miami doesn't fear Butler getting a large offer in free agency, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Everyone is trying to assert their leverage.

The Heat want to get maximum value from Butler – as a player while he's on the roster, in a trade and/or in a sign-and-trade. Butler wants a large contract from a team he likes. Other teams want to acquire Butler for as little as possible.

Hence, reports from multiple angles.

Miami will ultimately decide whether it trades Butler. But if he wants to, Butler can press the issue. He knows how to force a trade.

Jonathan Kuminga

Jonathan Kuminga posted a few photos of himself playing with the Warriors captioned with three peace-sign emojis.

As always, read into your vague social-media postings at your own peril. But I wouldn't blame anyone for at least wondering whether Kuminga was saying goodbye to Golden State.

Kuminga's camp leaked last season the forward lost faith in Steve Kerr. A couple games ago, Kuminga again fell from the starting lineup. Kerr criticized unnamed Warriors for settling for contested jumpers with time on the shot clock rather than passing, and everyone believes he was talking about Kuminga.

And now this cryptic post.

Golden State Warriors

Whatever else you say about them, the Warriors know how to bounce back.

Teams in the last 30 years that have lost by 50+ then won their next game by double digits over a team with a winning record (after the game) – Golden State this season, Golden State last season.

After losing by 51 to the Grizzlies on Thursday, the Warriors beat the Timberwolves by 10 Saturday.

Last March, Golden State lost by 52 to the Celtics then won its next game by 35 over the Bucks.

Obviously, there's a degree of scheduling luck. Not everyone plays a winning team after losing by 50. Some teams just don't lose by 50 in the first place.

But the Warriors have made the most of these self-inflicted opportunities.

Magic-Heat

Teams up 20+ entering the fourth quarter had won 1,217 straight games until the Heat blew a 22-point lead to the Magic on Saturday.

Teams up 22+ entering the fourth had won 99.9% of the time. The Mavericks blowing a 23-point lead to the Raptors in 2019 was the last time a team blew a 20-point lead entering the final period.

And Miami even lost by seven – the largest defeat ever for a team up 20+ entering the fourth quarter!

Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen blocked two (!) shots in the Jazz's win over the Nets on Saturday.

That moves Markkanen (block every 141 minutes) behind Hank Finkel (block every 173 minutes for the 1974-75 Celtics) and Bill Cartwright (block every 152 minutes for the 1990-91 Bulls) on the list of lowest block frequencies all-time by 7-footers.

Lowest block frequencies by 7-footers (minimum: 500 minutes):

Markkanen's shot-blocking has still been pitiful this season. But as long as he remains outside record-breaking territory, this will end our regular updates on his rim protection.

Towel guy

The Pelicans' towel guy got a technical foul Saturday.

Sure, it was officially a delay of game on New Orleans. And it wasn't his fault.

But the technical foul will always be attributed to the towel guy.

The ball went out of bounds, both teams claiming it was off the other. Officials awarded the Knicks possession. Before the inbound, the towel guy came out to wipe the floor.

While a technical foul on the towel guy seems absurd, to those on the court, it was clear the Pelicans were stalling while considering a challenge. Jalen Brunson, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Post:

“The bench was yelling, ‘Sweep, sweep,’ ” Brunson told The Post. “And not one person had fallen on the floor.” 

Hence, the technical foul on the towel guy.

Brunson hit the technical free throw, and New York went on to win by 11

Dunc'd On Live

Watch Nate and Danny react visually to Karl-Anthony Towns returning to Minnesota, Moe Wagner being out for the year and the possibility they'd go reverse-alphabetical order and start the last podcast with Wizards-Hornets:

-Dan Feldman