The Case for Each Bench Player to Earn that Fifth Starting Spot for the Suns

• Josh Okogie: SG, 6’4, 213, 25 years old, 6th year in the league

Okogie started every game last year after the Suns signed Kevin Durant. While he’s listed at shooting guard, he played with a pure point guard in Chris Paul, and a two guard in Booker. They have no problem playing him with a two guard. The issue this season is do they play him with two shooting guards? He’s a career average 40/29/75 shooter, but with Beal, Booker, and KD they won’t need him for his offense. Top-heavy teams need glue guys who pick up tough assignments and do the dirty work. As the incumbent starter who has the trust of Booker and KD, I’m placing Okogie as the favorite.

• Grayson Allen: SG, 6’4, 198, 28 years old, 6th year in the league

Allen offers a completely different skillset from Okogie. A career 43/40/85 shooter, Allen has been a double-digit scorer on decent volume starting for the past two years in Milwaukee. He’s a hustle guy, but he’s known more for pissing people off and getting people hurt than for stalwart defensive play. Come playoff time, he's downright hunted. The Suns shouldn’t need extra offense with their starting unit, but in the modern NBA, who can turn down more shooters?

• Eric Gordon: SG, 6’3, 213, 34 years old, 16th year in the league

Gordon in the starting lineup is the balls to the wall option. All gas, no brakes, let’s beat this team 140 to 135. Despite it being his 15th year in the league, last season he played 69 games, started 58 of them, and averaged 28 mpg. A career 37% three-point shooter, he hasn’t taken fewer than five threes per game since 2013. Defense would be porous to say the least with Beal and Gordon as your backcourt, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them trot out this lineup just to see how it feels to break a scoring record.

• Keita Bates-Diop: SF/PF, 6’8, 229, 27 years old, 6th year in the league

Bates-Diop spent his last three years in piss poor pitiful San Antonio playing a lot of games that meant diddly squat. He’s the hipster pick for Suns starter, and he’s got the body type for it. On a bench laden with “wings” that are just shooting guards (see above), Bates-Diop’s frame fits this lineup perfectly. Last year for the Spurs he played 67 games, started 42 of them, and shot 51/39/79 on 7 shots per game. He’s going to have to get more than the three and a half rebounds he pulled down last year, but if he can mesh with a team of All-Stars, stick with his defensive assignments, and hit the occasional corner three, he makes the most sense as a starter.

• Yuta Watanabe: SF, 6’9, 215, 29 years old, 6th year in the league

Yuta tha Shootah flew onto the scene last year as the PR savior of the burning Brooklyn Nets. Harden was gone, Kyrie was being anti-Semitic, KD was hurt, and the Nets social media team was posting pictures of Yuta Watanabe. Hitting 44% of your threes will do that. He only took two a game, but that’s what great role players do: they knock down open shots. Yuta is my pie in the sky starter. He’s only started 9 games in his career, and even in his Christ-like year last season he averaged 16 minutes in 58 games. It’s not gonna happen. But he has KD’s trust, and that can’t be overlooked.

• Chimezie Metu: PF/C, 6’9, 225, 6th year in the league

Listen, it’s possible, so I’m gonna write about it. Metu played 21 mpg two years ago for the Kings, and then when they got good last year he dropped to 10. His FG% skyrocketed to 59%, though, as he took half as many shots. He only managed to grab three rebounds per game, but the Kings didn’t miss all that many shots last year. He’s likely to slide into a similar low-minute role with the Suns, but if they need some size and athleticism next to Nurkic who can take some defensive reps off of KD’s shoulders, Metu’s their guy

• Bol Bol: 1-5, 7’2, 220, 23 years old, 5th year in the league

Bol was must-see TV at the beginning of last year. All this hype about Chet and Wemby, and everyone was sleeping on Bol. He had by far the most playing time in his career, starting 33 of 70 total games, and getting 21.5 mpg. He put up 9 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and a block per game. It’s difficult to tell what position he’s best in, and his simple lack of an obvious role might hurt his minutes in Phoenix. They’re a top-heavy team that needs role players. Hard-nosed defenders who can hit open shots. Bol is less of a reliable machine and more of a positive variable. He’s a mismatch for 99% of the league, he can take a rebound coast to coast, and he can always get his shot off. Will Frank Vogel give major minutes to a wildcard over a surefire veteran? I’ve got my doubts, but we can dream, can’t we?

2023 Draft Board 1.0

Tier 1: 6MOY Contenders

1. CP3 – Assuming he comes off the bench, which makes the most sense, he brings a sense of purpose to an exciting but directionless group of Golden State backups

2. Immanuel Quickley – He nearly won it last year, I see no reason he shouldn’t contend for it again. 15ppg with three assists, four rebounds, and a steal to boot

3. Malcolm Brogdan – The reigning sixth man certainly deserves a shout, especially after Boston shipped their guard depth down the river. He has a lingering injury and the Celtics full-blown traded him before the deal fell through, so it’s very unclear if he’ll play to start the year

4. Bobby Portis – A double double machine who plays for an old team and gets spot starts. Rock solid pick

5. Christian Wood – The highest upside of anyone in our league. Only thing holding him back is himself, which has consistently turned out to be quite the obstacle. With plenty of power forwards to go around in LA, I don’t expect him to haul in the 26 mpg he got last year, but his talent is too great to ignore

6. Norman Powell – Easy buckets off the bench for the most game-managed team to ever exist. We’ll see how the new rules go, but regardless, Powell’s a star. 26 mpg and 17 ppg last year in 60 games

7. Bogdan Bogdanovic – Bogey’s coming off a killer World Cup and gearing up for a serious run at sixth man. Played 28 mpg last year, shooting 45/40/83

8. Malik Monk – Microwave scorer who’s as likely to have 40 as he is 12. Threw in 4 apg, too

9. Eric Gordon – He’s old but he’s won it before and he’ll play huge minutes for a very high-profile team

10. Terry Rozier – This one isn’t locked down by any means, but if the Hornets decide to start Brandon Miller and bench this easy 20ppg scorer, that would be exceptional for us

Tier 2: Elite Producers

1. Onyeka Okongwu – Only in the second tier because there’s no way he wins 6MOY. 10 pts, 7 boards, 1 block per game last year

2. Collin Sexton – In 48 games last year he shot 50/39/81 for 14 points and 3 assists

3. Terance Mann – Coming off of back-to-back 81-game seasons for the Clippers, Mann is electric and will see plenty of loophole starts. Just make sure he doesn’t do so well that he loses eligibility

4. John Konchar – Looking at Memphis’ roster without Ja, Konchar’s gonna eat for the first 25 games of the year. 20 mpg in 72 games last year, those numbers are going to spike

5. Cole Anthony – Consistent double-digit scorer with a well-defined role on a talented young team. Looking to play more than 65 games in a season for the first time in his NBA career.

6. Kelly Oubre Jr – 20 ppg last year as a starter. Hasn’t put up fewer than 10.5 FGA in a season for six years. He’s gonna get some shots up in Philly

7. Buddy Hield – Was going to end up on the bench for the Pacers but now they’re looking to trade him. Not sure where he’s gonna play this year, but he’s a tippy top elite three-point shooter

8. Amen Thompson – With KPJ bowing out, the rookie Thompson is gonna make people question Jaylen Green’s starting status by December

9. Robert Williams III – Timelord is gonna rake in the minutes backing up Porzingis. A menace around the rim, a lob-catcher, an effort guy, hopefully in a slightly reduced role he won’t get hurt as much

10. Kyle Anderson – Slo-Mo is the hand that steadies the drink when it’s about to overflow and spill everywhere in Minnesota. Because of KAT’s injury, he ended up starting half the games last year, which only cements his importance to this team. Shot 50/40 last year

11. Caris LeVert – I think Strus will lock up the starting spot, leaving LeVert for us. I’ve tampered expectations from last season, but he’s still a heater. 12 points and 4 assists will do just fine for us

12. Tari Eason – This is Udoka’s kind of player. Eason’s gonna play dogged defense and light up second units just like last year when he averaged 9 and 6, got a steal and half a block, played 22 minutes, and played every single game as a rookie

13. Mason Plumlee – Dude’s like if the Terminator wasn’t hot. Pure stats, no sex appeal. In 23 games with the Clippers after the deadline he averaged 7 and 7 in 20 minutes

14. Christian Braun – Denver need him to play like he did in the playoffs. With no one else to turn to, I think he will, but it’s a major bet on a guy who wasn’t on any of our teams last year

15. Donte DiVincenzo – The Big Ragu was a perfect fit in Golden State last year, racking up 9, 4, 3, and 1 in 26 mpg. Thibs is gonna love him in New York

16. Jalen Duren – I think Detroit will start Isaiah Stewart, but honestly take whichever of them doesn’t start because they bring similar unstoppable energy

17. Andrew Nembhard – Nembhard started 63 games and averaged 9.5 pts and 4.5 asts. I don’t see a world in which he starts over Bruce Brown with what they’re paying him. Carlisle loves him

Tier 3: Quality Rotation

1. Santi Aldama – Bold prediction: Aldama will play more minutes than JJJ. Aldama had 21 mpg last year, JJJ had 28. Foul trouble and not having Ja around to ease the load on offense could weigh heavily on JJJ, which lights the runway for his backup to have an even bigger year than he had last season

2. Naz Reid – Even with only 18 mpg finding time between Rudy and Kat, Reid averaged 11.5 pts, 5 rbs, and 1 ast. As one of the few fan favorites on the team, they have to keep playing him

3. Quentin Grimes – Assuming Josh Hart takes the starting role, Grimes brings his 38% 3pt to our league. If Thibs starts Grimes, take Hart around here anyway. Helluva rebounder

4. Kelly Olynyk – Collins pushes him firmly to the bench and now he gets to operate with the Jazz’ really fun backups like Agbaji and George. I think he’s gonna eat

5. Dario Saric – Small ball 5 playing big minutes with CP3? Yeah, sign me up

6. Nick Richards – He had 14 double doubles last year

7. Naji Marshall – Fills in gaps left by New Orleans’ incessantly injured forwards. His coach calls him “The Knife” because you know exactly what you’re getting out of him every night. Had 22 mpg last year

8. Ochai Agbaji – I think he’s coming for Clarkson’s starting spot. Not a lights out shooter, but a winning plays guy. Definitely a swing but he played 20 mpg last year and he’s getting better

9. Larry Nance Jr – Another bet on New Orleans’ terrible health record. Do you really think we get more than 50 games out of Zion this year?

10. Paul Reed – He only got 10 mpg last year, but the fans love him and they need to manage Embiid better now that he’s won his MVP. Breakout year for BBall Paul

11. Caleb Martin – The Heat are in Dame Limbo, so who knows if Martin will be startin’, but we all saw him go nuclear in the playoffs, and last year he played almost 30 mpg

12. Kenyon Martin Jr – A bet on youth, athleticism, availability, and fit. Kmart Jr checks all of those boxes. Plus, backups for the Clippers get all sorts of playing time

13. Dennis Schroder – As with every year, I’m wary of what Dennis we’re gonna get. He was an issue in Boston where he was chucking over 12 shots a game, but last year in LA he brought that number under 10, and worked his turnovers down to less than 2 a game for the first time in a decade. I’m assuming he comes off the bench and Toronto play Scottie at PG

14. Drew Eubanks – The Shaq of Troutdale will be backing up an extremely disgruntled DeAndre Ayton. Last year for a floundering Blazers team he averaged 6 pts, 5 rbs, and 1 blk in 78 games. When the Ayton situation blows up, Drewbanks will be ready

15. Georges Niang – Don’t know if I’ve ever seen him miss a corner three. Pretty much gonna have the same role in Cleveland as he did in Philly

16. Malaki Branham – Devonte’ Graham’s suspended the first two games of the season with a DUI, so Branham will have the red carpet rolled out for him. 10 points, 2 assists, and only 1 turnover in his regular season, he’s set to get buckets for this likely bad Spurs team

17. Jock Landale – While I’m a Sengun fan, I just have a feeling Udoka isn’t. Landale brings a bit of that bastard to his game. He’s a great energy sub

18. Zach Collins – Collins might start if the Spurs decide to go with Wemby at the 4, but if he’s available he’ll get serious minutes as they look to ease Wemby into the league

19. Jordan Goodwin – My guy. Goodwin’s been buried behind talent before, but with Payne and Shamet out of the way, he’s set to play big minutes and provide actual point guard play to this uber-talented Suns team

20. Royce O’Neale – Assuming they start Dorian Finney-Smith over him, O’Neale is savvy. If DFS is eligible, go get him around here, too

21. Jose Alvarado – Looks like this injury should be healed up by the start of the regular season, but Alvarado’s gonna miss camp and likely preseason. A good player on a constantly hurt team, don’t expect him to come out of the gate firing

22. Taurean Prince – LeBron loves a vet wing who knows how to cut and can shoot. I think Prince is gonna play big minutes, despite Rui, Vando, and Wood playing his position

23. Torrey Craig – Might start over Patrick Williams, but if he’s available he’s coming off a solid season with Phoenix, shooting 39% from three

24. Isaiah Hartenstein – He wasn’t what I’d hoped he’d be last year, but the Knicks’ bench got even more talented around him with DiVincenzo, and one more year under Thibs will have gained him favor

25. Maxi Kleber – A healthy Kleber will play a huge role for this shallow Mavs team

26. Alec Burks – Burks carried Old Man Team when he played last year. This Pistons team needs shooting maybe more than any other team in the league

27. Pat Connaughton – His shooting is gonna fluctuate, but he’ll always rebound and he’ll get spot starts as the Bucks rest their ancient roster

28. Kyle Lowry – It’s still throwing darts at a wall predicting the Heat’s starters, but Dame or no Dame I think they established last year that Lowry’s best role is off the bench. He’s gonna miss plenty of games, being 37 and all, but when he’s out there he produces

29. Nassir Little – Portland are in all sorts of roster turmoil, but supposing they move Dame and Sharpe goes into the starting lineup, Little stands to be one of the first guys off their bench

30. Reggie Bullock – Started 55 games for the Mavs last year. Not really by fault of his own, they looked abysmal. The Spurs have Devin Vassel, who I have to assume will start, so look for Bullock to light it up every now and then

31. Josh Green – Played 25 mpg last year for that sad Mavs team, and I really don’t see many reasons he won’t do that again

32. Zeke Nnaji – I know I said last year was the year, but this is the year. Uncle Jeff is gone, Cancar tore his ACL, it’s Zeke Nnaji time

33. Coby White – The Bulls just gave him a new contract, and the money says he’s gonna play. He shot 37% from three last year and he’ll likely get plenty of shots and fewer tough defensive matchups playing next to Jevon Carter

34. Malik Beasley – The Lakers benched him because he couldn’t keep up defensively in the playoffs. But that doesn’t matter to us. In the regular season he shot 36% from three on 8.6 attempts. The Bucks need shooting, they can cover his defense

35. Ricky Rubio – Cavs guard depth isn’t stellar. I expect the steady hand of Rubio will play plenty

36. Isaiah Joe – Will he shoot 41% from three like he did last year or will he fade into obscurity under the 30 talented teenagers OKC keeps drafting?

37. Deni Avdija – After being one of my absolute locks at this time last year, Avdija went out and started 40 games. Which is five fewer games than his competitor Corey Kispert started. It’s a true toss-up who will secure that starting spot. Kispert shot 42% from three, Avdija averaged 9, 6.5, and 3. Whoever falls to us should get plenty of time in a wonky Wizards season

38. Sam Hauser – Boston went out and got a lot of wing depth this summer (Brissett, Svi, Stevens) but Hauser played in 80 games last year. He’s the incumbent, he just has to stay on his game or he might get buried

Tier 4: Good Minutes

1. Dyson Daniels – The Pelicans are always getting hurt, and with Trey Murphy out until mid-November at least, and Jose Alvarado missing training camp, Daniels should see plenty of the floor early on

2. Payton Pritchard – Necessity. With Smart gone and Brogdan mad and possibly still hurt, Pritchard is the primary backup guard for Boston. He only played in 48 games last year and only got 13 mpg. Time to see if Bill Simmons is right about him

3. Xavier Tillman – Steven Adams got hurt in January and never came back. Reports on his health this summer have been tricky to find. Assuming he’s back, Tillman should get plenty of time as they work Adams into shape

4. Thomas Bryant – He started 25 games for a tumultuous Lakers team last year, putting up 12 points and 7 rebounds. Then he got traded to Denver and played 11 mpg. Due simply to the lack of backup bigs on the Heat roster, Bryant should be out there a lot more than 11 minutes. He has big upside, but he simply doesn’t play that many games. In the last five seasons he’s played 46, 10, 27, 59, and 59 games

5. Jevon Carter – My guy played all but one game for the Bucks last season, starting half of them. His production was moderate: 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal. What he brings to the Bulls this year is tenacity. When Caruso heads to the bench, the other team’s point guard isn’t gonna get a moment of rest

6. Reggie Jackson – In a pretty small sample size (18 games) for the Nugs last year, Jackson shot pretty badly but managed 8 points and 3 assists. No one is more aware of Jamaal Murray’s impact on this team than Denver, so look for them to keep his minutes and games reasonable. That means minutes for Jackson, who will have settled into the team more with a full offseason

7. Mo Wagner – Not only did he get 10.5 ppg off the bench last year, he’s also the brother of one of the Magic’s franchise cornerstones. He’s gonna play

8. Kris Murray – Rookies are a crapshoot, but 23-year-old, 6’8 rookies who can shoot the piss out of the ball tend to see the floor

9. Yuta Watanabe – I harped on it all last year, superstar teams need guys like Yuta. He’s big, he hustles, fans love him, and he hits corner threes. The ceiling isn’t that sexy but the floor is nice and high

10. Gary Payton II – He’s 30, he’s had some bad injuries lately, and he doesn’t shoot. But he has Steve Kerr’s trust, and that’s all he needs

11. David Roddy – Tough to tell what Memphis is gonna do with their roster for the first 25 games, but Roddy played 70 games last year at 18 mpg, so he’ll factor in

12. Jeff Green – Uncle Jeff is 37 years old but played 20 mpg last year for the Nuggets. Udoka isn’t going to like the youth of Houston

13. Oshae Brissett – The Celtics have added lots of wing depth to their bench with Brissett, Svi, and Lamar Stevens. Of the three, I like Brissett to play the most on account of his scrapping for 16 mpg last year on a wing-heavy Pacers team

14. Cody Martin – Was hurt all last year and played only seven games. The Bridges situation muddies it up a bit, but Martin should play plenty of minutes behind the always-injured Gordon Hayward

15. Jonathon Kuminga – Last year he played 20 mpg, this year he should do the same

16. Dennis Smith Jr – Revived his career last year in Charlotte. Now, in Brooklyn, will be looking to bring defense and stability behind Spencer Dinwiddie

17. Keyontae George – Did you see him in Summer League? The Jazz have plenty of undersized scoring guard depth, but George might just be too good to bury on the bench

18. Delon Wright – Wright played 24 mpg for Washington last year and was shockingly consistent. Regardless of where the Wizards want to go, he’ll get in

19. AJ Griffin – Looking to avoid the sophomore slump and capitalize on the departure of John Collins. He played 19 mpg and shot 39% from three. His only downside is Jalen Johnson plays his exact position, so he’s going to have to earn those minutes

20. Talen Horton-Tucker – With the drafting of Keyontae George, THT’s minutes might take a hit. He averaged 10 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds last year, though, and drafting him is a bet on experience over a shiny rookie

21. Landry Shamet – He only played 40 games last year, and he’s on a team who’s looking toward the future. He’s only 26, so if he stays healthy he could put up real minutes. But he’s at risk of being traded or falling down the pecking order. Tough to tell

22. Cason Wallace – Picking an OKC player is committing yourself to a season of peril and limitless G League roster updates. But Wallace has the size and upside to be a great long-term piece behind Shai and Giddey. Just keep your eye out

23. Precious Achiuwa – Really thought he was going to thrive in Toronto, and maybe under new coaching he will. Regardless, he’s their backup big, and he averaged 9 and 6 last year

24. Jeremy Sochan – Reporting so far is the Spurs will start Collins, leaving Sochan to us. The good news is they love him there and he stands to play plenty of minutes. The bad news is he’s probably the best example of the kind of player who makes winning plays that do not translate into fantasy success

25. Seth Curry – While he still shot 40% from three last year, he took his fewest threes per game since 2018. Dallas need him, so he’s gonna play, but he’s a bit of a risk

26. Jalen Johnson – I like AJ Griffin more, but does Quin Snyder?

27. Nickeil Alexander-Walker – NAW impressed me coming off the bench in the World Cup this summer. Will that translate? Probably not

28. AJ Green – Bucks need shooting

29. Jaylin Williams – Started 36 games for the Thunder last year. With the arrival of Chet, he looks to slot solidly to the bench. The coaches love him, but it’s always tricky taking an OKC player

30. Brandon Miller – I don’t know. He could start, hell he’s the number two overall pick. One way or another he should be on the court a ton

31. Gabe Vincent – Last year he started for a month and no one in our league even noticed. He’ll play a ton behind DLo, but he was the best available free agent in our league for half the year

32. Patty Mills – Somebody’s gotta pick up Holiday’s bench minutes in Atlanta, and Patty seems fit for the job

33. Richaun Holmes – No clue. He fills a need on the Mavs, but they need everything so that’s not really saying much

34. Doug McDermott – The Spurs are gonna be different this season, but he played 20 mpg last year

35. Keita Bates-Diop – The hipster pick for “guy who’s gonna shock everyone and get some spot starts for the Suns”. Played 67 games for the Spurs last year, shooting 50/39/79 splits on 21 mpg

36. Justin Holiday – The veteran replacement for Jeff Green. He’s functional. He’ll play so Denver don’t have to rely on so many of their younglings

37. Jarace Walker – Was looking at great playing time until the Pacers got Obi Toppin. Even so, the roster is so light on PFs that they started Aaron Nesmith at the four last year

38. Lonnie Walker IV – Started 32 games for the weird Lakers last year. The Nets have entirely too many wings, but logically they’ll trade some of them and either Walker will be one of them or the roster will open up for him

39. Derrick Jones Jr – He doesn’t score, playmake, or rebound. But Dallas need wing defenders so he should see the floor

40. Aaron Holiday – A vet for Udoka to trust when he gets mad at all the kids in Houston

41. Mike Muscala – I just can’t let go

42. Damian Jones – The Cavs are going to give having an actual backup 5 a go. Jones has a low ceiling, but should get minutes. Not the best sell, I know

43. Davion Mitchell – Off Night played 18 mpg last year, but with the influx of shooting guards he only took 5 shots per game. His defense is valuable and the Kings don’t have any of that, so he’ll still play, but don’t expect him to blow the doors off

44. Jordan McLaughlin – Did you know he’s 5’11? He got 16 mpg last year, but with a couple of higher-scoring additions to the T Wolves this offseason (Shake Milton, Daishen Nix) he might see even less of the floor

45. Andre Drummond – He only played 12 mpg last year, but he’s a big enough name to make the list

The Lost Tier: I have no idea what to do with the minutes or production of these guys. Some are possible starters, some might never play at all, it’s tough down here

1. Kevin Love – No clue. Could start, could come off the bench, could hardly play, could end up on another team, could retire. We’ll need preseason to clear things up, and even then I won’t be certain

2. Kris Dunn – Might start for Utah. He’s an elite defender and he was hooping last year. If he comes off the bench, do we think he’s turned over a new leaf or that last season was just a fluke?

3. Patrick Beverly – Depending on entirely too many variables, Pat Bev might start for the Sixers, he might be the first man off the bench, he might make a big fuss about lack of playing time, and he might get in a verbal dispute and be dismissed from the team

4. TJ McConnell – The hero of Old Man Team last season took a blow with the signing of Bruce Brown. Now that Nembhard will be coming off the bench, it’ll be interesting to see how much McConnell plays. When he’s out there, he performs

5. Nic Batum – Might start, might get traded, Clips make no sense

6. Matisse Thybulle – He started all 22 games he played for the Blazers last year, but they were trying to lose. With the Dame situation in flux and the roster being full of shooters who don’t defend, I could see him playing any role

7. Javale McGee – Javale’s 35 and only played 8.5 mpg in 42 games last year. But the Kings lost Richaun Holmes and they dropped Nerlens Noel (who they just signed a month ago) to make room for Javale. So I’d have to think he’ll see the court

8. James Wiseman – Man, this Detroit roster situation is bonkers. All of their bigs were hurt at staggered intervals last season, so we didn’t get a chance to see who was top of the food chain. I suspect they like Wiseman better than Bagley, but I have nothing to base that on

9. Bones Hyland – Bones is weird. With Russ and Mann ahead of him on the roster, he’s a shoot-first-ask-questions-never backup-microwave-heat-check variable. The upside is that he plays for a chronically injured team in the Clippers. He played 14 games for them last year after the deadline and got 19 mpg. Truly a wild card

10. Marvin Bagley – Just go re-read the James Wiseman blurb

11. Isaiah Jackson – Carlisle hates this man and I cannot figure out why. Every time he plays he puts up numbers, he gets 1.5 blocks per game, but he only played 63 games. With the drafting of Jarace Walker, I worry Jackson will be even more of a yo-yo than he was last season

12. Chris Duarte – Made an all-rookie team two years ago then got hurt and hardly played last year. He’s 6’6, and he’s shown he can really let it fly. We’ll see how the Kings use him with Monk already established on the bench

13. Devonte’ Graham – Serving a DUI suspension the first two games of this season and looking at Branham possibly taking his role, we need to see a lot out of Graham this year and I’ve got my doubts. But he is their backup PG

Tier Whatever: Take a Swing

1. Moses Moody – Would like to see him get more than 13 mpg before I have confidence picking him. With GP2 back, he might not reach that. But, the Warriors have a habit of resting every member of the organization about once a month, so keep your ear to the ground

2. Jaden Hardy – The Mavs need someone to take off, and every time Hardy got an opportunity last year he did just that. He took 7 shots in 14 minutes per game. That’s pretty much a shot every other possession

3. Derrick Rose – In three years with the Knicks he’s played in 88 games total. He’s 34. But, Memphis don’t have Ja for the first 25 games this year, and they traded Tyus Jones. So in theory, D Rose should see the floor

4. Marjon Beauchamp – The young athlete the Bucks need. With how old and hurt their roster has been the last few years, he should get a chance to show why they drafted him

5. Cam Whitmore – Looked like a man amongst boys at Summer League. We’ll see if Udoka likes him, and he’s got a ton of talent ahead of him, but I like his chances

6. Bol Bol – The hit of last year joins a top-heavy Suns team who need defenders and hustle guys. Bol can do that stuff, right? Just give him a chance!

7. Troy Brown Jr – Wolves will need somebody to step in for those Taurean Prince minutes. I guess that’s this guy

8. Davis Bertans – A bet on OKC’s rehabilitative culture

9. Shake Milton – Gets a fresh start in Minnesota where he’ll be fighting with NAW for minutes

10. Peyton Watson – Remember that double block he had last year? That was the only time I saw him play, but after losing a good chunk of their depth, the Nuggets could turn to their recent draft picks like him or Gillespie

11. TyTy Washington Jr – After losing Jevon Carter, the Bucks don’t really have a backup PG. It would be asking a lot for TyTy to work into that lineup, but positionally it makes sense

12. JT Thor – Cody Martin is back and after 10 games Miles Bridges will be too, so Thor would need to really shine

13. Jordan Hawkins – With Trey Murphy out until mid-November and Jose Alvarado missing preseason, Hawkins could get a run in

14. Jalen McDaniels – I love him if Toronto trade OG or Siakim. If they don’t, I worry he’s just another okay wing on the roster

15. Bilal Coulibaly – The swing of the draft fell to the swingiest team. Washington could do anything they want this year, and Coulibaly’s about as rough a prospect as you can get

16. Ty Jerome – A functional backup PG for Cleveland

17. Joe Harris – Still an elite shooter and now he’s playing for a Detroit team with pretty much no shooting at all

18. Svi Mhykyliuk – Listen, Svi gets minutes wherever he goes

19. Cam Reddish – It hasn’t worked out in the last two places for Cam, but he’s a shooter, so keep him on the radar

20. Daishen Nix – Nix popped up in Houston last year, but we’ll see if that means anything at all in Minnesota

21. Frank Ntilikina – Frankie Smokes comes to Charlotte hoping to follow the Dennis Smith Jr blueprint

22. Ben Simmons – No comment

Roster Struggles - Detroit Pistons

Guards – 10

Forwards – 6

Centers – 3

Rookies – 3

Sophomores – 4

Former All-Stars – 0

Cade has the PG position absolutely locked down, so we don’t need to talk about that.

Jaden Ivey at SG. This roster’s actually pretty easy. Oh wait.

SF - ??? Our candidates are: Ausar Thompson, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Joe Harris. 

I’m eliminating Joe Harris from contention on account of playing 74 games last season and averaging 7/1/2. A veteran presence in the locker room, perhaps? Otherwise I truly don’t see why he’s clogging up the rotation and getting in the way of the youth who are actually fun to watch.

Ausar is a freak athlete and is far and away the funnest choice. I can already see him taking somebody’s cookies, giving it up to Cade, and yamming home the alley oop on the fast break. The questions with Ausar come with shooting. Sadly, the same question comes with Cade, Ivey, and either of their potential starting centers Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. That’s a bouncy, electric group of players who aren’t going to worry the defense even a little from outside the arc. Are they going to need shooting to win games? I mean probably.

Bojan is a 4, through and through. Especially at 34 years old, having played well over 600 career games. But there are about 8 problems with him taking up PF minutes, so the Pistons could be tempted to run him at the 3, where he played most of his career. He also hasn’t come off the bench since 2016, so if you’re thinking he’ll be available to us you’re taking a pretty big risk. I can’t figure out what they’re doing at SF, so let’s come back to it.

At the 4 we have a much crazier situation: Bojan again, Isaiah Stewart, Isaiah Livers, Marvin Bagley III, and James Wiseman. Okay, several of those are centers. For real they all might be. Deep breath.

Bojan’s natural position is PF, as we’ve mentioned, so it would stand to reason that they’ll be starting him and hoping the athleticism of their other four starters can make up for his lack. The biggest issue with this is the bottleneck it creates at the 4 and 5.

Let’s say they start

PG – Cade

SG – Ivey

SF – Thompson

PF – Bogey

C – Duren

Again, pretty much no shooting, but by and large a fun lineup. That would leave Isaiah Stewart, Isaiah Livers, Marvin Bagley III, and James Wiseman scratching and clawing for backup big minutes. In order, those are $64 million, $4 million, $37.5 million, and $40 million contracts riding the pine, combining for a whopping $145.5 million. 

As an aside: the Pistons only have $314,985 of cap space. They won 17 games last year.

Back to the expensive log jam. Last year the Pistons managed to handle their positional imbalance by having all of their players get hurt at staggered intervals. 

Beef Stew played only 50 games, starting 47 of them, getting 28 mpg. Sounds like starting center kind of numbers to me. 

Livers played only 52 games, starting 22 of them, getting 22 mpg. Livers is the big loser of this group, which is unfortunate because he plays well and the coaches clearly like him. 

Bagley played only 42 games, starting 25 of them, getting 23 mpg. 

Wiseman played only 24 games, starting 22 of them, getting 25 mpg. I mean, what are we supposed to do with those last two?

So we shift again. Let’s try

PG – Cade

SG – Ivey

SF – Bogey

PF – Isaiah Stewart

C –Duren

That’s old school right there. I don’t think they’re gonna do that.

Howabout

PG – Cade

SG – Ivey

SF – Bogey

PF – Bagley

C – Duren

I’m penciling Duren in, but he only started 31 games last year. He looked incredible, but when Beef Stew was healthy, he was the starter. So we might see those two swap. While that would affect out league a good bit, it wouldn’t change a single thing about this nutso big situation the Pistons have.

Maybe

PG – Cade

SG – Ivey

SF – Thompson

PF – Duren

C – Stewart

This is the all-athlete, non-shooter lineup that I could see them trying out just to see how fun it is. But this team might score 80 ppg, I mean this is old-timey basketball.

After all this talk, I really don’t know how they’re gonna handle all those bigs. Maybe they’ll all get hurt again. For now, all I have are hunches.

Hunch 1: Bogdanovic is going to start. I have a quasi-hunch it’ll be at PF

Hunch 2: They’re going to swap their starting center with an unfortunate regularity

Hunch 3: Trade Deadline

My final guess is

PG – Cade

SG – Ivey

SF – Thompson

PF – Bogey

C – Stewart

Good luck, and we’ll see how they play it in preseason.

Roster Struggles - Charlotte Hornets

Guards – 10

Forwards – 10

Centers – 4

Rookies – 5

Sophomores – 3

Former All-Stars – 2: LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward

LaMelo Ball is going to start. We don’t even need to waste time on that. He’s the most exciting player the Hornets have had since Kemba, and he has higher upside. The questions start with shooting guard.

Terry Rozier hasn’t come off the bench a single time in the four years he’s been in Charlotte. He’s played 268 games. He’s started 268 games. None of the guards the Hornets have drafted in those years have challenged him even remotely (James Bouknight) until now. The Brandon Miller question is hovering. Miller is listed at small forward, but that happens to be Gordon Hayward’s position. And yes, I hear you, Hayward is always hurt, he’s 33, and he’s one of the worst free agent signings in Hornets history. Why not start the guy you just drafted #2 overall? Here’s why: Gordon Hayward makes $31,500,000 a year. 

So Hayward has to start. Not only are they paying him entirely too much money to ride the pine, he’s the only player on the Hornets roster over the age of 30. Yes, that’s true. The only one. And when he’s out there, I’ve gotta hand it to him, the offense moves smoothly and the defense makes at least a little sense. The Hornets are better when Hayward is starting, end of discussion.

Which brings us back to Scary Terry. A 6’1 190 lb two guard is less than ideal on defense. It’s not like Miller is going to hop into the league as an elite defender, but he’s 8 inches taller than Rozier. A backcourt of 6’7 LaMelo and 6’9 Miller is pretty tantalizing. Then Summer League happened. I don’t think Miller’s going to be a scrub, but he did not look ready to reveal his potential just yet.

We’ve also got to look at Rozier’s offensive impact on this team. Yes, LaMelo hasn’t been able to string too many games together, and yes, Rozier’s benefitted from the “somebody’s gotta shoot” theory, but Scary Terry has averaged over 16 shots a game, half of which have been threes. Playing auxiliary point guard for a decent bit of those years, he’s also chipped in just under four and a half assists per game. He’s been a perennial 20-point scorer. To take a 29-year-old who’s been balling out for one of the smallest markets in the NBA for four seasons and sit him on the bench would be disastrous for the offense.

Additionally, and this cannot be overlooked, Terry Rozier hasn’t done anything wrong. Google “Terry Rozier accusations” and nothing pops up. While the Charlotte locker room has seen domestic violence, DUIs, felony marijuana possession, baby mama drama, speeding tickets, fights, spats with coaching staff, and now a hazy accessory to murder situation, Rozier has done nothing but ingratiate himself with the fan base and go to work. I can see the merit of bringing a guy with his skillset off the bench, and maybe for a good team that’s his best role. But my god, for the offense, for the publicity, and for the fans, Scary Terry has to start.

Okay, so we’re looking at

PG – LaMelo

SG – Rozier

SF – Hayward

Wait a minute, perfect solution: drop Hayward to the four and bring Miller in with the starters. Great, except the Hornets just re-signed PJ Washington to an annual salary of $15,500,000. And despite a weird 2021 season where they tried him at center and only started him 28 games, PJ has started all but four games in four years. Last year he averaged 15.5 ppg on 13 shots. At 25, 6’7, he’s growing into one of the foundations of this team. So he should keep starting, both because he’s good and helps the team and because he’s one of the only players another team would actually want to trade for.

Could he play center? No. That bombed in 2021, and more importantly, the Hornets have two quality centers in Mark Williams and Nick Richards. Assuming Williams maintains his starting spot, we’re now looking at this

PG – LaMelo

SG – Rozier

SF – Hayward

PF – Washington

C – Williams

It’s far from the least talented team the Hornets have put out in the past. It’s actually kind of fun. But it leaves out Miller. And he’s not the only cloud looming over this roster.

Enter Miles Bridges. Two years ago he started 80 games, shot 49/33/80, and went for 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Even better than that, he was the most electric in-game dunker in the league, and helped turn Charlotte into an elite League Pass team. Then he beat his wife in front of their children. He pleaded no contest to felony domestic violence, received zero jail time, and three years of probation. As a part of the plea deal, he’ll serve 100 hours of community service (genuinely, boy scouts do this), attend parenting classes (bogus), and the victim got a 10-year restraining order put on him. Adam Silver suspended him 30 games (Ja Morant got 25 for flashing a gun repeatedly on IG Live, just an interesting scale we’re using here) and softened up even more by lowering it to 10, saying Bridges served 20 of those game last season. Which means he’s eligible to return November 17 against the Bucks. He’ll also be making $7,900,000 this year.

Bridges hasn’t played in over a year, so I don’t expect him to slide into the starting lineup. In fact, I expect him to play just enough to show other teams that he’s worth taking a swing on (sorry, couldn’t help myself) and he’ll be out of Charlotte next year. Even so, it still clogs up the forward rotation. Between Brandon Miller, Cody Martin, Miles Bridges, JT Thor, and Kai Jones (supposing he gets off the pills) the Hornets have a full house of pretty okay backup forwards. Thor got some decent minutes last year and could really take off. Jones was done for before the whole IG live weird thing. Bridges is a whole situation and might not even be all that good at basketball anymore. Martin is coming off of a year-long injury. 

So we’re looking at this, for second string

PG – Nick Smith Jr? Woof

SG – Bryce McGowans unless they re-sign Kelly Oubre

SF – Brandon Miller

PF – JT Thor or Cody Martin

C – Nick Richards

That’s a really underwhelming group of players, especially if Oubre walks. Actually, looking at the roster this way, Miller off the bench makes all the sense in the world. He’ll have an old-school center, some hustle guys, good size, and, most importantly, no one to take shots away from him.

Let’s take that same roster but assume Miller starts over Rozier.

Now we’re looking at a bench unit of

PG – Rozier

SG – McGowans or Oubre

SF – Cody Martin

PF – JT Thor

C – Nick Richards

Does that group make more sense? On the downside, it gives rookie Nick Smith Jr very limited playing time. But on the upside, it bumps Martin into his correct position, and Rozier in the Jordan Clarkson role would be massive news for our league.

So there you have it. Will the Hornets elect to go with fan-favorite, experienced hooper Scary Terry and let their rookie cook from the bench, or will they throw their confidence fully behind Miller and let Rozier get some 6MOY buzz. There’s only one thing we can count on: the Hornets are gonna mess this up.

Rookies: Categorized and Ranked

You Cannot Draft

These guys are gonna start

1. Wemby – Now if there’s any team in the league who would bench Wemby, it’s San Antonio. Even so, there’s no chance he falls to us

2. Scoot Henderson – With Dame out of the way, the new face of the franchise can begin blossoming

3. Ausar Thompson – We’ll find out real soon, but I suspect Detroit start freak athlete and plus defender Ausar

You Should Not Draft

These guys aren’t going to play enough to warrant a pick

1. Kobe Bufkin – Backing up Trae Young and Patty Mills doesn’t leave much room for Bufkin

2. Jalen Hoods-Schifino – Bron hates rookies

3. Brandin Podziemski – The Warriors are way too all-in to waste time on rookies again

4. Taylor Hendricks – Roster-wise, he should grab a few minutes. Olynyk’s flexibility ahead of him hurts his stock, though. And I can’t tell if the Jazz are trying to win or develop

5. Leonard Miller – I’m putting him here even though he’s a freak athlete and the Wolves have such a big-heavy roster that they might need some in-between guys. They’re just a difficult team to figure out, and they’re trying to win now. So rookies might slide by the wayside

6. Jett Howard – The big shock of the draft. Howard might fit Orlando like a glove, or with the addition of Joe Ingles he might never see the court

7. Nick Smith Jr – Depending heavily on how the Hornets play their starting roster, Smith Jr is either a decent-minutes guy or he’ll James Bouknight and be terrible

8. Noah Clowney – The Nets have Day’Ron Sharpe at backup center already, so I don’t think Clowney will see much of the floor

9. Marcus Sasser – Detroit have too many ball-handlers ahead of him

10. Ben Sheppard – Indiana have plenty of shooting wings. Now if they trade Buddy, things could look up for Sheppard

11. Brice Sensebaugh – There’s just too much ahead of him in Utah. But if they decide to shut it down for some reason, he’s a prime candidate. Shades of Bennedict Mathurin

12. Amari Bailey – The Hornets are a tire fire, but they shouldn’t be so bad as to play a second round rookie big minutes

13. Emoni Bates – Listen, I want this guy to play so he can break Allen Iverson’s record for shots per game, but there’s just not much of a chance he breaks into the Cavs’ rotation

You Can Draft

These guys should play

1. Jarace Walker – Rick Carlisle hated every four on the Pacer’s roster so much last year that he started Aaron Nesmith. With Toppin securing the starting role (I assume) Walker has a chance to try and change Carlisle’s mind. Don’t expect a repeat of Andrew Nembhard’s rookie year, though

2. Jordan Hawkins – With Jose Alvarado dealing with a small injury and Trey Murphy out for the first month or so of the season, Hawkins stands a chance of getting a run in

3. Bilal Coulibaly – Wizards are gonna be tough to figure out, and this guy’s as raw as they come. But man does he show some flashes, and what are they playing for if not the future?

4. Derrick Lively – Dallas’ center situation is crowded in a sad way. Powell should start, then we get Richaun Holmes, rookie Lively, Maxi Kleber, and if they wanna go super small Grant Williams. If Lively hits, he fits this team perfectly. So I expect them to give him a shot

5. Anthony Black – Tall guard, not a great shooter, very tough to tell where he fits into this Magic team. But you don’t draft a guy 6th overall and not play him

6. Olivier-Maxence Prosper – Dallas need wings. Win-now doesn’t necessarily mean regular season success to them, though. If they can get Prosper some serious minutes before the playoffs, he could really help them

7. Andre Jackson Jr – The Bucks helped their guard depth with Cam Payne, but Jackson should earn more minutes than TyTy Washington Jr, who’s on a two-way

8. GG Jackson Jr – Another Jackson Jr, this one for Memphis. With Morant out the first 25 games of the season, the Grizzlies will look in a couple different places for guard depth. GG could be that guy. Memphis love throwing curveballs at us

You Should Draft

Get these guys

1. Amen Thompson – With KPJ out of the way, Amen just shot to the clear backup PG spot. He’s gonna have people questioning if Jaylen Green should still be starting. I predict a massive year

2. Brandon Miller – He might start, but in order for that to happen, the Hornets would have to sit Rozier or Hayward. Or sit PJ Washington and play small. Regardless, that would be an awful lot of talent and money for the bench. Miller should get carte blanche off the bench

3. Jaime Jaquez Jr – Fits the Heat in every way: smart, switchable, dogged defender. With their hollow roster, I see big minutes for him

4. Cam Whitmore – Another beneficiary of KPJ’s exit. Whitmore looked like a grown man in Summer League. Houston are balancing winning and getting their young cats experience, but I don’t see any way Whitmore doesn’t pop this year

5. Kris Murray – Big wings who shoot the three tend to play, even on wonky rosters like Portland

6. Keyontae George – An absolute heater who’s going to sub in for Jordan Clarkson and provide exactly the same energy

7. Cason Wallace – A tall, fast, playmaking guard backing up Shai and Giddey? Sign me up

8. Jordan Walsh – Boston traded all its depth, so a feisty rookie who does all the hard work should fit right in

9. Grady Dick – The Raptors love wings

FIBA World Cup Overreactions

Figured I'd fire off a few post World Cup hot takes to warm the fingers back up as the season fast approaches.

1. You should draft Simone Fontecchio. Starting and playing 30 minutes a night for his home country of Italy, the Utah Jazz deep cut has balled out. He averaged 18 ppg, with a high of 30 against Serbia, shooting 15 shots per game. Shooting abysmally from three (24%) brought his FG% down to a reasonable 43%, but he shot 63% from inside the arc. Even in a blowout loss to the USA in the quarterfinals where he fouled out and played his fewest minutes of the tournament he pulled together 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. The Jazz are gonna be weird again this year, but after a confidence-boosting summer, my overreaction Spidey Senses are telling me he’s gonna be a solid rotation player.

2. Dennis Schroder will work his way into the starting lineup. The Raptors brought in Schroder in record time after losing FVV. Realistically, Schroder is a low floor, higher than average but certainly not vaulted ceiling, backup PG. But through a combination of Scottie Barnes still growing into the position and Schroder playing out of his mind this summer, Schroder’s gonna get a run with the starters (remember, these are overreactions). In the world cup, Schroder averaged 18 ppg, with a high of 30 against Australia, 6.3 apg, and shot a remarkable 50/38/86 through the first 5 games. He went ballistic against Slovenia (that’s the one Luka plays for) with 24 points, 10 assists, and a +/- of 29. When was the last time Dennis Schroder shot 8/11 from the field? These kinds of numbers are the reason Schroder stays lodged in my brain as a quality backup PG in our league. He did, however, shoot 6/24 in the quarterfinal against Latvia. And while they won, he went 0/8 from three and had a tournament-high 4 turnovers. It’s numbers like these that keep Schroder lodged in my brain for different reasons. This is a positive overreaction, though, so redemption arc once again for Schroder, lock it down.

3. Santi Aldama is going to play more minutes than JJJ. This one’s a little too hot, but there are two major factors that reel it back in towards being reasonable. The first is the Aldama’s a solid player and has proven that in two NBA seasons. We’re not relying solely on his 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 93% FTM from this World Cup. The second, and arguably more important, is that JJJ still hasn’t figured out how to not foul. The US played 6 games and he fouled out of 2 of them. He only played more than 19 minutes once. With Ja out for the first quarter of the year, JJJ is going to step up the aggression on offense, which will give opponents even more opportunity to bait him into foul trouble. Expect hearty minutes out of Aldama once again this year.

4. Josh Hart is gonna start. This probably isn’t an overreaction at all. If Thibs could build a SG in the lab he would build Josh Hart. The only thing that could keep Grimes in ahead of him is if the Knicks’ offense sputters. But, let’s not overlook the dog inside of Hart. As the tournament wore on, he replaced Brandon Ingraham in the starting lineup and stayed there even though he only averaged 3.7 ppg. Hart’s value comes on defense, in transition, and with his unearthly rebounding. Against Greece he grabbed 11 boards. Against Jordan he got 12. Those are real numbers. He’s 6’4. Lock in Hart as the starter and go out and get Grimes.

5. Bogdan Bogdanovic is ready to make a 6MOY push. At 31, Bogdan’s really hitting his stride. This tournament he averaged 19 ppg, shooting 49/37/85. He scored 20 points in half of Serbia’s games. More than that, he tossed around 5 assists and snagged 2 steals per game. Considering the guards ahead of him on Atlanta’s roster, his spot on the bench is as secured as anyone’s in the league. And if he brings even a little of the momentum he’s built over the summer into the season, he’s gonna fly to the top of the sixth man odds.

6. Yuta Watanabe is gonna make the Nets miss him. Playing an astronomical 35 mpg (the games are only 40 minutes, ya’ll). Yuta tha Shootah scored 20 points in three of Japan’s five games. He played the full 40 against Cape Verde, and in a game where he shot horrendously and went 2/11 from the field, he still ended with a +/- of 9. The guy makes winning plays, and I can’t wait to watch him get real runs in when the Suns are resting their guys.

7. Jordan Clarkson’s gonna work his way back to the bench around November. I like Clarkson, so this one’s kind of a selfish take hoping he’ll become eligible for us. But also, it’s pretty realistic. In the World Cup, Clarkson was given the greenest of all lights for the Philippines. That’s right, he’s Filipino. And let me tell you, he didn’t hold back at all. These are the most Jordan Clarkson numbers I can imagine: 26 ppg on 21 shots! My man took 13 threes a game, including a glorious 18 against the Dominican Republic, a game where he scored 28 points on 24 shots. This let it fly attitude that makes him so lovable is going to wear on his teammates and coach as the year goes on. Don’t be surprised when Agbaji swoops in and takes that starting spot (please god give us a season with Jordan Clarkson and Kevin Porter Jr in our league.)

8. Davis Bertans will be an important rotation player for the Thunder. This would be an incredibly spicy take if I hadn’t heard it on a podcast, but that was back before the world cup. Bertans showcased exactly what got him in the league in the first place by shooting 39% from three this summer. Even better than that, he averaged only one shot inside the arc per game. In wins against France and Brazil, he didn’t attempt even one. He knows where his bread is buttered, and if he can keep shooting like he did in the World Cup they’ll have no choice but to play him in OKC. 

9. Dyson Daniels is gonna have another “he’s gonna break through” year. I hate to do negative takes, but this is the overreaction post, and I can’t ignore Daniels’ 2.6 mpg. He’s got some talent ahead of him on Australia (Giddey, Patty Mills, Thybulle, Dante Exum) but you’d really like to see your 6’8 20 yo PG prodigy earn some real minutes. Look, are the Pelicans going to have six or seven terrible injuries that force Daniels into the starting lineup? Yes. But is he going to beat out Jose Alvarado for that first guard off the bench spot? My overreaction is a hard no.

10. Patty Mills won’t be as bad a pick as I’d originally thought. I know that as far as takes go, this one’s about as mayonnaise as they come. But at 35 years old, and after watching that painful Nets season, I was leaning towards Mills being a non-factor in Atlanta. And with how good I think Bogdanovic is gonna be, I don’t exactly think Mills is gonna rack up huge minutes. But, did I expect him to average 31 minutes this world cup? No I did not. Did I expect him to average 18.6 ppg? Sure didn’t. Was I expecting 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game? Shit no. Seeing him take on this workload and maintain his trademark efficiency has my hopes soaring once again for Patty for next season.

11. Dwight Powell will be playing for a contender after the deadline. Powell started every game for Canada and put forward his standard perfectly functional play. He's not gonna blow you away, but once the Mavs start to tailspin, centered around Kyrie being weird, their roster just not having that much talent, and Luka getting frustrated, that consistency is going to turn Powell into the most desirable trade asset on the team. 

12. Kelly Olynyk is a first-rounder. As my dear friend once said, “I can do everything Kelly Olynyk can do, he’s just 7 feet tall.” A bit harsh, but we can all agree Olynyk has never been a very sexy pick. With the Jazz getting John Collins and leaning fully into their stellar center Walker Kessler, there’s simply no room for Olynyk. Enter the World Cup. Kelly started every game, playing 23 minutes a night, and averaged 11 pts, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. The offense just made sense when he was out there. He shows up, does his job, and goes home. I don’t know what more a coach could ask of his backup big. Kelly’s gonna have a big year for us.

13. NAW will be the first guy off Minnesota’s bench. Sticking with Canadians, the most surprising player of the world cup to me was Nickeal Alexander-Walker. Backing up SGA doesn’t afford you a ton of playing time or leeway, but NAW brought pace, pressure on the basket, and energy in a way that really impressed me. Looking at the players the T Wolves have lost in the past year (Beasley, Vando, Prince, DLo) they need a microwave off the bench. NAW will enter the season backing up Ant, which won’t give him much time on the court. But if he keeps playing like he did this summer, that won’t be an issue at all.