26/30 rankers reporting this week. /NBA's Power Rankings are published every two weeks which is a bit different from most rankings. Other than that we rank the teams the same way as our competition. If write ups are left blank the team rep decided not to submit. We encourage any user to fill in the blanks in the comment section.

#	Team	Δ	Record	Comment
1	Celtics	--	62-16	Listen, Wrestlemania and John Calipari leaving Kentucky for Arkansas are way bigger stories than whatever BS you want written about the Celtics since they're coasting and fucking around with lineups, obviously not caring if they win many of these games. We're throwing lineups out there that in any other scenario would probably get a coach fired because they'd have gone insane. And yet, the Celtics keep on winning. Losing back to back against the Hawks sucked and sent the fanbase into a spiral and NBA social media into hot take city, but the Celtics got back to their ways by beating the Pelicans, Hornets, Thunder, Kings, and Trailblazers. Four games left in the season. Bucks, Knicks, Hornets, Wizards. Win 3 of them, and you're at 65 wins. Or just rest, somehow beat the Bucks and Knicks and then lose to the Wizards and Hornets at home.
2	Nuggets	--	54-24	With only 4 games left on the schedule, unlike last year, the Nuggets are still in a three-way dogfight for first place in the West. The return of Jamal Murray after a 7-game absence should help to right the ship, and despite 3 of the last 4 games being on the road, all 3 road games are against teams with less than 30 wins. Wednesday's game at home vs Minnesota could end up deciding the 1st seed, and the matchup of the West's best home team vs. the West's best road team should be interesting given both teams are also playing the night before.
3	TWolves	+1	54-24	Wolves back on top of the West. Fueled by NazReidMania, Wolves have overtaken the top spot in the West. Naz, Ant, and Rudy have lead the Wolves to key wins down the stretch and leads have been expanded due to the bench play. Wolves look strong to finish out the last week of the season and could attain home court in the conference with a strong finish.
4	Thunder	-1	53-25	Injuries to Jdub and Shai have shown that the world-beater Thunder need their superstar tandem to carry to lead this offense throughout games. Luckily, the injuries don't seem serious and they can hopefully get a couple games in before we head into the playoffs.
5	Mavericks	+6	48-30	The Mavs are cruising right now, setting themselves for playoff success by already having made the necessary changes to be in playoff mode for the final few weeks leading up to the postseason. They are locked in on defense (2nd in DRTG the last 2 weeks), and the chemistry between their stars and role players look as sharp as ever. There is almost no answer in stopping the Mavs' offense in the fourth quarter with Luka and Kyrie learning to play off each other better, as well as extremely efficient scoring. In the last two weeks, the Mavs have the best 4th quarter net rating in the league at +25.4. This team is dangerous for the playoffs.
6	Clippers	+2	50-28	Well I'll be damned, the Clippers have come back to their senses for the time being. Despite some pretty embarrassing losses to potential play-in teams in Indy and Sacramento, they were able to string out a solid 6-2 record during this stretch. Our defense has improved from terrible to below average (from 27th to 20th this period!!!), and Kawhi and PG are back to manning the offense at an all-star level. As the season comes to a close, the Clippers have seemingly escaped the warzone of the 5-10 seeds, and head into the playoffs with a 50 win season for the first time in the 213 era. However, because the Clips can literally never have anything, we must now wait on the fate of Kawhi's knees (again) to see how far we can really go in the playoffs this year.
7	Knicks	--	46-32	All we ask from Randle is that he's healthy for next season. In other news, OG is back, and the team instantly kicks it up a notch on defense.
8	Suns	+1	46-32	In the 10-game gauntlet against only playoff-level opponents to close the season, the Suns have started 4-2. Their three wins against NOLA, Cleveland, and Minnesota this past week were probably the best Phoenix's defense has looked all season. Unfortunately, that loosened up in their most recent game against the Pelicans, where a win would've helped massively for the team's goal of avoiding the Play-In.
9	Magic	+1	46-32	Playoff spot secured, and with two games against the reeling Bucks coming up, a very real shot at jumping up to the 2nd seed in the final days of the season. That three game losing streak really dampens what could've been an even stronger finish but after initial expectations had the Magic as a team competing for a play-in spot, potentially having home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs is a successful season through and through. And we can't forget about the growth seen by Paolo and Suggs across the board, an All-Star nod for one and potential All-Defense for the other.
10	Bucks	-5	47-31	The regular season was too long and unimportant even before the play-in-tournament was added.
11	Pelicans	-5	46-32	Hello darkness my old… hol up. Zion put up 29/10/7 last night with a career-high five blocks returning from one missed game for a finger injury to defeat the Phoenix Suns on the road. The Pelicans are tied with those same Suns at 46-32 and currently sit in the 7th seed. The goal of avoiding the play-in is now slipping through their fingers going 4-6 in their last 10 games. Brandon Ingram is hopefully back this week as Pelicans fans are hoping for at least a full playoff series before they resort to their annual bleach chugging contest.
12	Lakers	+3	45-34
13	Pacers	+1	45-34	We're at the home stretch of the regular season, and the Pacers have....mostly accomplished what they need in order to avoid the play-in. A massive win Sunday over Miami gave Indiana the tiebreaker over both them and Philadelphia, meaning they effectively have 2-game leads over both for the all-important 6th seed. One massive factor in Indiana's performance as of late has been the outstanding play off the bench from TJ McConnell. Whenever the Pacers need a spark, Rick Carlisle brings him off the bench in a hurry, and he is putting up an impressive stat line of 13/3/5 since the start of March. With just three games to go, Indiana needs to stay the course and avoid a serious letdown against the Raptors and Hawks so that their playoff destinies are safe.
14	Cavaliers	-2	46-33	Last power rankings, I wrote that we hit rock bottom. After blowing a 26 point lead against the clippers, dropping us from 3rd to 5th, and being only 1 game ahead of the Pacers, who we play later this week and do not have the tiebreak, all with Donovan Mitchell still rehabbing an ailing knee and not looking anything like himself when he does play, it’s feeling even worse. The tiniest of silver linings is that we went from the 24th pick to the 19th pick in a matter of 24 hours by dropping those spots. JB must be on the hot seat at this point, and however the playoffs go may seal his fate. Anyways, Isaac Okoro is a great basketball player, and we cannot afford to let him leave this offseason. With a $12m QO coming with his restricted free agency, he’ll be needing a strong yearly offer beyond that to re-sign long term.
15	Kings	-2	45-33	Kings holding on for dear life with 2 of their final opponents slightly above them in the standings.. no team has been more of a roller coaster than the Kings.. with the loss of Malik and Kev the team has played even better defense as of late..
16	76ers	+2	44-35	Embiid is back and he's been every bit as advertised. I know it sounds silly, but it truly is impressive just how much he changes the game for the Sixers on both ends of the floor. Even though he still isn't at 100% (and had to sit out a back-to-back), his influence on the offensive and especially defensive end is impossible to ignore. Add that along with Maxey finally having the space of being a second option again, and these Sixers might just be scary enough to make something happen in the playoffs. Let's get silly with it.
17	Warriors	+2	43-35	With the schedule continuously in the Warriors favor they still figure out to drop a game to the Mavs without Luka essentially making it an extra long shot to even get out of the 10th seed at this point. 4 games remaining including a couple play in previews vs the Lakers on Tuesday and another against the Pelicans Friday. Should be a fun final week of basketball.
18	Heat	-2	43-35	The Heat are in the midst of making one final push towards a position in the top 6. However, a close loss to the Pacers might knee cap that dream. With only 3 games left to go the Pacers and Philadelphia are in control of their destiny. On the brightside, everyone is healthy and ready to go for playoffs. Hopefully, they can continue the push to snag the 6th seed but we might just have to accept we're playing the Play-In.
19	Rockets	-2	38-40	Winning led to more winning, and losing is leading to more losing. Two weeks ago, not insignificant number of people thought Jalen Green was headed towards a max extension , but the shouts have turned into whispers. The playoff dreams are now over, but in the grand scheme of things, this season has not been a disappointment.
20	Hawks	+1	36-42	Rip to the 0.500 Hox, as with our most recent loss to Denver we've clinched a sub-500 record. We're locked into a matchup with Chicago in the 9/10 play-in game, with us most likely being the 10 seed due to being a game behind and not having the tiebreaker. Atlanta is looking to go into the offseason with some major questions to ask itself, mainly what to do with the Trae/Dejounte pairing. Things should hopefully look a little different the next time you see the Hawks, so we have that to be grateful for.
21	Bulls	-1	37-41	We are stuck in either the 9 or 10 seed, lokcing us in to the play-in. This season is probably seen as a success by Jerry, but unless we can actually make the playoffs, this season has been a wash.
22	Nets	+2	31-48	Brutal season for the Nets. They underperformed most expectations and will be handling a lottery pick to the Rockets all while getting some confirmation that Mikal Bridges may just not be that guy. This will be an interesting offseason for the team and as a fan, it's been evident that the level of fan interest in this team is very very low.
23	Grizzlies	--	27-51
24	Jazz	-2	29-49	Jazz is a type of music which was invented in the United States. Jazz music combines African American music with European music. Jazz first became popular in the 1910s. It is still a popular music to play and hear because of the different styles. Some common jazz instruments include the sax, trumpet, piano, double bass and drums. It is difficult to give an exact definition for ""jazz"". A singer Nina Simone said, ""Jazz is not just music, it is a way of life, it is a way of being, a way of thinking"". But when we talk about jazz as music, one important part of jazz is improvisation, which means the person playing is making music up as they go along.
25	Spurs	+2	19-59	Getting back on my soapbox for more Wemby DPOY discourse. To preface, I do think Gobert is the correct choice; he's played more games, he's played more minutes, and if you think his impact is anywhere close to Wembanyama's (spoiler: he is, I have eyes), the fact that Gobert's exerted his influence on the floor for a greater amount of time is a very valid tiebreaker. But check out these metrics from before games were played yesterday: DWS: Gobert 1st (5.6), Wemby 7th (4.1); DBPM: Gobert 16th (1.7), Wemby 3rd (3.2); DEPM: Gobert 26th (2.3), Wemby 3rd (3.7); D-DARKO: Gobert 1st (3.8), Wemby 7th (2.6); D-RAPTOR (estimated): Gobert 4th (3.0), Wemby 2nd (3.5); D-LEBRON: Gobert 2nd (2.86), Wemby 1st (2.97). In my opinion, you cannot make a case for Gobert using advanced defensive metrics without cherry picking your stats. While I agree that voting for a player on a bad team defense feels weird (and will almost certainly be the biggest reason why Wemby doesn’t win), it almost feels like holding a pitcher’s W/L record against him in the Cy Young; Wemby can’t control how bad Zach Collins is on defense from the bench any more than Felix Hernandez couldn’t control how bad his offense was from the dugout. Gobert is very deserving of the award, I’m just tired of Gobert truthers acting so defensive and dismissive whenever Wemby is mentioned when the case exists and it isn’t unreasonable.
26	Raptors	--	25-53	The losing streak ended! Honestly, that's obvious but in the weeks the raptors were trotting out g-leaguers after g-leaguer. Malik Williams? WHO? It was so disheartening because they weren't even playing hard. Multiple 40 point losses aren't acceptable. I know everyone says we should give a pass because they had all these injuries and players our. But Jalen and Bruce Brown do not give a single shit. I'm looking forward to the draft lottery.
27	Trail Blazers	-2	21-57	Portland picked the worst possible tiem to start winning a few games, with "clutch" victories against the Wizards and Hornets. They're all but locked in to the 5th worst record now. On the plus side, Scoot has played marvelously recently. Over his past 12 games, he's averaged 17.3p/3.46.5a on 42/38/81 shooting splits.
28	Hornets	--	19-59
29	Wizards	--	15-64	Still not sure what is more unwatchable with the naked eye: the eclipse or Wizards' basketball this season.
30	Pistons	--	13-65	Malachi Flynn scored 50 points which briefly brought distraction away from the fact that this is the worst Pistons team of all time. Hopefully heads roll this off season because this was a miserable ride.

The Ringer Staff released an article today outlining the 15 biggest challenges for Adam Silver, now that he's signed a large contract extension. The entire piece is a good read, with the first challenge being "who will be the next face of the league?". This was Howard Beck's answer:

Maybe it will be Victor Wembanyama, with all that mesmerizing size and skill. Maybe it will be Anthony Edwards, who shows Jordanesque flashes on the court and an impish charm off it. Or Tyrese Haliburton, who’s just now flirting with stardom and seems ready-made for advertisers. Or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Or Tyrese Maxey. Or Scottie Barnes.

Some of it felt a bit tongue-in-cheek (in reference to Darko's rant), but it was wild to me to even see his name in there.
You can read the full article here: https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/1/24057067/adam-silver-nba-commissioner-anniversary

I know the prevailing theory is that the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs are going to be the front-runners in a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes next Summer, but let's shift focus a bit...
Let's say, Giannis Antetokounmpo goes to the Bucks front office and tells them that he either wants to be traded to a team with a top-5/top-10 player or multiple top-20 players. Well... unless Victor Wembanyama is as good as advertised, none of those teams listed above meet those qualifications. [You could argue Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is top-10, but for the sake of this hypothetical let's just say Giannis doesn't think Shai is top-10.]
Which contender that meets those qualifications can put together a convincing package for him?
The Boston Celtics could offer Jaylen Brown along with 3 1st round picks and 2 1st round picks swap. If the Celtics don't win it all next year, you have to imagine having a big three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis with Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon at the guard sports would be their best shot.
The Memphis Grizzlies could offer Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke. Memphis also owns all their 1st round picks from now until 2030 so they'd be able to offer Milwaukee whatever assortment of those picks that they want. Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steven Adams? Sheesh.
The Los Angeles Lakers have an almost impossible path at getting Giannis Antetokounmpo through trade. Because they traded their 2027 1st, they're limited on how many unprotected 1sts they can send out limiting them to mostly swaps (they can only trade their unprotected 1st in 2029). So unless Anthony Davis is on the table, it'll be almost impossible. Unless Milwaukee is in love with the idea of getting Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, one unprotected 1st, and a couple of swaps.
The Los Angeles Clippers have a tough avenue at acquiring Giannis, but not impossible. If they can find someone to offer up 2 1st round picks and a young player for Paul George, they could then use those 2 1st round picks, the young player, and attach 2 of their own 1st picks (2028 and 2030) and 2 1st round picks swaps (2027 and 2029) to make an offer to Milwaukee for Giannis. Still... 4 1sts, 2 swaps and a young player in that Jarrett Allen-tier. Would that be enough?
The Dallas Mavericks fans dream of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić together and I don't blame them. Problem is, they're more likely to bank on acquiring him through free agency than via trade. Even their best package of Lively, Green, 2 1sts and 2 swaps probably would make Milwaukee hang up the phone.
The Golden State Warriors are another dream landing spot for Giannis. Especially after how we saw him play with Curry in the All-Star Game. They would have a package of Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, unprotected 1sts in 2026 and 2028 and swaps in 2025, 2027, and 2029. Not awful, but certainly not the best.
The Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets don't have the assets to get it done unless they're willing to include Devin Booker or Jamal Murray. Both of which are conversation-ending asks, you would assume.
The Miami Heat I excluded from the list cause they're likely gonna use their assets to get Lillard.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Sacramento Kings were both teams I had trouble making trades for. The Cavs are lacking in draft equity so to make up for it they'd either have to ship out Garland or Mobley. The Kings have draft equity for days, but will struggle with contract matching because of Sabonis' and Fox's $30M+ contracts. Any trade for Giannis would leave the Kings with Trey Lyles as their 4th best player under contract.
No idea what's going on with the Philadelphia 76ers so I didn't include them either. Most people expect Giannis Antetokounmpo AND Joel Embiid to ask out in the same Summer so they might be fielding offers for their own superstar.

(I also posted this article on my (free) substack, with some footnotes that I can't copy-paste here.)
A redraft for the past season’s rookie class is always a fun exercise, since one can dig into the film without being subjected to hours of college basketball. And while we have a full year of information on how (most of) these prospects fared in an NBA environment, so much is yet to be determined. Will Chet find sustained health? Was Jabari’s tour de force in Summer League a mirage, or a signal? Will Sochan start shooting one-handed threes?
The philosophy for this redraft is pretty straightforward. It’s a ranking of how I would draft these players today, if I were in charge of an NBA team. As such, it’s all about projected future value over each player’s next 5-10 years. During these projections, I try to balance (a) star upside, (b) scalability/portability (Thinking Basketball’s idea of how much value a player provides on high-level teams; think ceiling-raising), and (c) median outcomes (and the scalable value of such outcomes).
I’ll only be examining the top 14 prospects. Restricting my redraft to the lottery is an attempt to (mostly) excuse myself from G League analysis. Going much beyond the top 14 would require meditations on such questions as, How impactful was Josh Minott’s rim protection for the Iowa Wolves last season?
Let’s start the clock.

1. Paolo Banchero

1st pick of 2022 draft
20 years, 11 months old on 2023-24 season tipoff
-0.6 O-EPM, -0.3 D-EPM -0.3 O-LEBRON, -0.3 D-LEBRON 0 O-DPM, -1.4 D-DPM
High-end outcomes exist for Paolo in which he becomes the superstar-level number one option for a title contender. No one else in this class can claim that level of upside. His effectiveness in handling, passing, and pressuring the paint is almost unheard of in a 6’10 goliath. Even Paolo’s more median outcomes paint the vague outlines of a broke man’s LeBron offensively, which is still an All-Star player.
Of course, much work remains if Paolo is to reach that superstar upside. While his ability to shoulder 28% usage at half-decent efficiency as a 20-year-old rookie on maybe the worst-spaced team in the association was impressive, that scoring efficiency still needs work. Upping his percentage at the rim (only 25th percentile, per dunksandthrees.com) and improving his jumper (30% from 3, 38% from 10-23 feet) are crucial. Yet his mammoth free throw rate is a testament to how readily he creates advantages, and his shooting indicators suggest he’ll become at least decent as a jump shooter. One cannot ignore the allure of a bullyball scorer who can collapse an entire defense only to audible out of a layup mid-air to hit a perimeter shooter.
Defensively, Paolo’s projection isn’t quite as tantalizing. Still, he’s a 6’10 bear with fluid athleticism. This grants him a support level, to borrow a term from day traders (which you should not do), that almost any guard in the league should envy. Paolo’s motor, awareness, and overall technique are all kinda mid right now. His feet can be a little sluggish, especially off the ball and navigating screens, and there’s an overall lack of high-impact plays. Yet I think Paolo’s on-ball defense will be good enough to avoid liability status, which is more than can be said for many offensive stars. He was 95th percentile guarding isos and 82nd percentile guarding post-ups last season, per nba.com (small sample alert however, so take these numbers with a grain of salt). He also displayed some rim protection chops and solid rebounding that hint at the potential to man the 5, at least in spurts – an alignment which could enable devasting offensive performance for the Magic, if they ever get some shooting.

1. Jalen Williams

12th pick of 2022 draft
22 years, 6 months old
-0.6 O-EPM, +0.3 D-EPM -0.9 O-LEBRON, +0.4 D-LEBRON -0.1 O-DPM, 0 D-DPM
I thought I was nuts for putting Jalen at 5 on my board a year ago. And I was – he should have been higher. Jalen is the exact sort of big, versatile wing that every team craves. Even as a rookie, he was already a playing at a solid-starter level, something no one below him on this list can claim other than Walker Kessler.
After digging into the film and stats, I came away even more bullish on Jalen’s offensive potential. Playing off of Shai and Giddey, much of Jalen’s possessions were spent off-ball. He was highly efficient as a finisher in these situations, especially as a cutter, and his quick extra passes and precocious sense for playing within the flow of the offense demonstrate excellent scalability. He needs to show more willingness to let it fly as a spot-up 3-point shooter – his 3-point volume and shooting gravity were far too low for someone with good shooting indicators.
Williams’ on-ball reps were shockingly good. As a PNR ball handler, he scored at above-average points per possession (PPP) with a better than average turnover rate, which is rare for a rookie. His isolation numbers were even better, with scoring efficiency in the 81st percentile and an absurd 57% eFG%. Again, single-season play type data are small sample and prone to noise, but his poise and size/skill combination popped off the screen. Considering also Jalen’s playmaking talent (2.0 AST/TO ratio, with some scintillating flashes of on-ball passing), there’s more star creator potential here than almost anyone could have expected.
Jalen’s defensive impact metrics were very good for a rookie wing, and the film was a mostly solid. His steal rate was great, and there were some games where his penchant for causing turnovers was game-changing (check out the Feb. 7th game vs the Lakers). Aside from the steals, I thought his team defense was competent but unspectacular. His motor sputtered at times, and he needs to rebound better if he’s to play extended minutes at the 4 long-term. His foot speed guarding the ball is only so-so, but he uses his length well and defended isolations at the 78th percentile with an extremely high 16% turnover rate, per nba.com (again, only 55 possessions here — more grains of salt needed).
Williams’ blend of offensive creativity, defensive disruptiveness, and superb feel make it hard to see how he doesn’t make an All-Star team at some point. He feels like the exact sort of player who can be the number two offensive option on a title team while providing versatile wing defense at the other end. Simply put, I love watching the guy play, and I can’t wait to see how he develops in year two.

1. Chet Holmgren

2nd pick of 2022 draft
21 years, 5 months old
No advanced stats (injury)
While this may seem a gamble, Chet is the only player left that I see two-way star potential in without having to squint my eyes. You can’t teach a 9’5 standing reach with swift athleticism, you can’t teach basketball instincts, and you sure as hell can’t teach the intersection of the two. Also, some cursory research suggests the Lisfranc injury likely won’t be a significant concern going forward.
The capacity for defensive dominance resides in Chet. His rim protection will terrorize opponents, and he can tap into this ability either as the primary PNR defender or as a weakside roamer. Chet’s terrific defensive instincts and motor only amplify this impact. I don’t think he’s a true switch big, but he seems to have enough mobility to at least not get roasted when guarding in space. The skinniness is a concern, however. His two-way value is likely maximized at the 5, and beyond the obvious Jokic and Embiid nightmares, there’s a fair number of bruising bigs in the league who may make the Chet-at-center alignment challenging — think Sabonis, Valanciunas, Adams.
Offensively, Chet doesn’t profile as a number one option on a great team, and possibly not even as a number two. He lacks the physical burst/strength to consistently create advantages as a primary option must. But Chet has great potential as an elite play finisher inside and out, with grab-and-go playmaking and an intuitive sense for how to play within the flow of the offense. While often underrated, this skillset is one which can drastically spike a team’s championship equity if paired with one or two high-level creators. Chet embodies scalability.

1. Walker Kessler

21st pick of 2022 draft
22 years, 2 months old
+0.9 O-EPM, +1.3 D-EPM 0.0 O-LEBRON, +3.1 D-LEBRON +0.2 O-DPM, +1.0 D-DPM
Rumors of the drop big’s death have been moderately exaggerated. I mean, Rudy Gobert has a couple tough series against red-hot 5-out offenses while flanked by some of the most porous point of attack and rotational defense you’ll ever find on a playoff team (mandatory viewing), and suddenly everyone thinks you need a Bam or Draymond at the 5 in order to have a good playoff defense. But just as star offensive creators need spacing, star defensive bigs need point of attack defense. And even in today’s game, not many teams can unleash dominant 5-out offenses (looking back at last season’s playoffs, it’s the Celtics and… no one else?). Even in the playoffs, there’s almost always going to be a non-shooter for the rim-protecting big to match up with, and, given decent surrounding point-of-attack defense and rotations behind the play, this big can provide huge defensive impact inside the arc with relatively few tradeoffs.
With that out of the way, Kessler throttled opposing offenses so thoroughly as a 21-year-old rookie that he cannot be ignored. His block radius is enormous, he covers ground quicker than drivers expect, and his relatively low foul rate is indicative of advanced technique and discipline for his age. He suppressed opponents’ rim FG% by 12 percentage points when defending at the rim (per nba.com), a mark that competes with Gobert’s best seasons. Opponents also shot 8 percentage points worse at the rim when Kessler was on vs off (via pbpstats.com). These are outrageous numbers for a rookie, and hint at a prime in which Kessler should be a yearly DPOY candidate. He also moves fairly well in space. While he’s vulnerable to quickness and change of direction, as almost any player his size is, I think his perimeter defense is at the very least average among starting centers.
The offense also checks all the boxes for a dive & dunk big. He’s a top-tier finisher at the rim (75%, good for the 96th percentile per dunksandthrees.com), an elite offensive rebounder, and runs the floor well in transition for easy buckets (his 14% transition frequency, per nba.com, is considerably higher than most bigs of a similar offensive role). He also flashed some nice connective passing at times. Despite some dabbling with the three-ball at Auburn, it’s safe to assume he’s never going to be a Lopez-esque stretch big. That’s fine. If Kessler is even a neutral offensively, his likely outcome of titanic defensive value means he can still reach All-Star-level impact overall.

1. Shaedon Sharpe

7th pick of 2022 draft
20 years, 4 months old
-1.4 O-EPM, -2.6 D-EPM -0.8 O-LEBRON, -1.5 D-LEBRON +0.2 O-DPM, -1.7 D-DPM
This is a bit of a roll of the dice on a hyper-talented youth who had played essentially zero high-level basketball before the NBA. And yet, it’s not that much of a dice roll, as Sharpe survived as a rotation player early in the year and then flashed electric on-ball scoring and playmaking chops later on. To do this with so little serious basketball experience indicates, to me at least, that Shaedon has formidable untapped potential.
The offense was ahead of what I expected, even for someone who had Shaedon relatively high at 7. He was legitimately efficient inside and out — 36% from 3 on 8 attempts per 100 possessions, and 56% from 2, a wildly good mark for a 19-year-old perimeter player. It’s not even like he was spoon-fed all his 2s, either; 44% of them were unassisted.
Yet what really stood out to me were the final 10 games in which the Blazers rolled out the red carpet for Shaedon to gorge himself on self-created looks, a role he hadn’t assumed since AAU ball a year and a half prior. These were somewhat unserious games, but not entirely. They played close games against the Jazz, Wolves, Grizzlies, and Thunder, all of whom played their starters major minutes. Across these 10 games, Shaedon posted 57% TS% on 28% usage, with 21% AST% and only 12.7% TO%. Another small sample alert is needed, but his shooting percentages were actually in line with his full season sample. And the film corroborated the statistical evidence; here was a teenager who could glide into good looks against a set defense featuring elite defenders. He supplemented this with a surprising level of poise while playmaking in the pick-and-roll. This late-season surge reminded me of the last couple months of Anthony Edwards’ rookie season. He’s not Ant, but latent stardom lies in Shaedon.
Sharpe’s defense is certainly a work in progress. His rotations, screen navigation, help instincts, etc. were often sloppy. The defensive metrics mostly hated him. He didn’t offset this with many high-impact plays (1.0% steal rate), although he did flash some anticipation when pouncing for steals and posted a relatively high block rate. He also held up well on-ball, and kept opponents to just 0.75 PPP in a small sample of isolation possessions. Considering both his insane physical tools and poor off-ball feel, one hopes his defensive trajectory is closer to Jaylen Brown than Zach LaVine. The moments when he managed to convert those tools into production were spellbinding, and could be indicative of latent defensive upside. At the very least, he won’t get targeted on-ball as the defense’s weakest link, which is useful in playoff settings.
I’m generally lower on pure bucket-getters than most. But that’s because most bucket-getters don’t move the needle as much as their point totals might indicate.1 But Shaedon is the rare scoring prospect with the tools to be a superstar-level bucket, and one with the playmaking to fully unlock the value of his scoring, and the off-ball shooting and finishing to bring scalable value on high-level teams, and even enough defensive impact to not bleed value at the other end. I’m far from convinced this will all come together, which is why Shaedon’s median outcome is arguably lower than some names below. But the ceiling is the roof.

1. Jabari Smith Jr.

3rd pick of 2022 draft
20 years, 5 months old
-2.0 O-EPM, -1.0 D-EPM -1.8 O-LEBRON, -0.7 D-LEBRON -1.3 O-DPM, -1.0 D-DPM
It’s difficult to disentangle Jabari’s disappointing rookie performance from the dysfunctional Houston environment. The shooting numbers slumped far below expectations, concerns about his ability to create off the dribble proved well-founded, and the defensive impact wasn’t quite what the Jabari-at-one crowd hoped.
Yet the idea of Jabari persists. He was a 19-year-old playing in a hellhole, after all.2 There’s still the potential for a prototypical 6’10 forward with switchable defense and sweet shooting, with some added shot creation and a dash of playmaking. Summer League resuscitated this idea, with Jabari displaying impressive effectiveness as a driver and perimeter shot creator. Two caveats, of course: (a) this came against the assorted Boeheims and Wisemans of the world (i.e. non-NBA players), and (b) small sample red alert. As such, while his performance was encouraging, it should factor only slightly into one’s assessment.
I suspect the real Jabari, the one underneath the sheen of Auburn/Summer League Jabari and the stench of rookie Jabari, is something a bit less extreme: a very good, but not quite great, starter at the 4. His youth, Auburn sample, and pretty form suggest that his shooting will come around to at least above average. Hopefully the Rockets will use him in more dynamic actions this year (pick-and-pops, running off screens, etc.) to develop his movement shooting and drives against shifted defenses. I suspect Jabari will show considerably more dynamism this season as a downhill attacker and playmaker.
On the other end, I think Jabari can be a valuable component of a successful defense, although perhaps not the heart of it. His switchability is about as advertised (quite good), but his movements are still a bit stiff and he’s not going to get through screens. Off-ball, I admired his motor and engagement amidst a terrible situation. Yet his defensive playmaking was a bit lacking, with underwhelming rim protection (3% block rate, 0% suppression of opponents’ rim FG%) and few forced turnovers (9th percentile steal rate, 44th percentile deflection rate). This likely caps his defensive impact at very good more so than great and raises some concern about his viability as a smallball 5. One must also keep in mind that he was a young rookie in an awful defensive infrastructure, and there were flashes of high-leverage plays. And big, switchable forward is a highly valuable archetype, especially in the playoffs.

1. Tari Eason

17th pick of 2022 draft
22 years, 5 months old
-1.6 O-EPM, +1.5 D-EPM -0.3 O-LEBRON, +0.9 D-LEBRON -0.9 O-DPM, +0.5 D-DPM
Tari is a maniac. His event rate3 is higher than anyone in the class. I’m not sure I trust him, but I sure as hell like him.
Tari’s value starts on the defensive end. His defensive impact metrics, especially EPM, are wildly good for a rookie, albeit a slightly older one. The Rockets were also 6.5 points per 100 better defensively with him on vs off. Much of this is due to Eason’s tenacious pursuit of possession-swinging plays. His steal rate of 2.5% is fantastic, and he posted good block and rebounding numbers as well. His overall rim protection was a bit muted, however, and needs a lot of work if he’s ever to play extended minutes as a smallball 5. Tari also has all the tools — size, length, lateral quickness — to be a fearsome multipositional defender. He does need to clean up his technique, as he tends to lunge and/or leave his feet far too often. This contributes to a needlessly high foul rate. Ultimately, Tari already has a strong foundation of defensive value, despite some clear areas with room for improvement. If he patches those up, his defensive ceiling is towering.
The offense with Tari is more complicated. His physical gifts and perpetually redlined motor allowed him to pull in offensive rebounds at the highest rate in the league for any non-center, and by a sizeable margin. These traits also allowed him to generate 10.4 rim FGA (0-5 feet) per 100, in the 94th percentile league-wide. Yet the finer points of offense need considerable work. Despite all his athletic advantages, Tari is an unskilled finisher with poor touch. His rim FG% was only in the 12th percentile (per dunksandthrees.com), and a free throw rate of 22% is low for such an aggressive player. Eason’s decision-making also tended towards wildness, with some errant passes and questionable shots. His AST/TO ratio was below 1, and while he’s not an unwilling passer, his vision is subpar. The jumper is a bit erratic, and he shot a slightly below-average 36% on 159 catch-and-shoot 3s. He at least wasn’t hesitant to shoot when left open, and his shooting indicators (including 75% from the line and 80% in his last college season) suggest he should be at least a decent shooter.
If Tari can reign in some of his recklessness and make incremental improvements to his offensive skill level, an immensely valuable player could emerge. Tari is a year or two older than many of these prospects, so he may be closer to his ceiling than someone like Dyson Daniels. But still, that ceiling includes multiple All-Defense selections. And Eason’s offense is far less limited than your run-of-the-mill defensive specialist. I still have some reservations about his fit in half-court playoff offense, at least until strides are made in his shooting and/or BBIQ. Ultimately, there’s just too impact here to pass up. Tari was already something like a top-150 player last season with a massive +8 on/off differential, and there’s still so, so much he can improve on.

1. Jaden Hardy

37th pick of 2022 draft
21 years, 3 months old
-0.3 O-EPM, -2.2 D-EPM -0.1 O-LEBRON, -1.9 D-LEBRON +0.1 O-DPM, -1.0 D-DPM
Hardy is an uber-talent whose drop to 37th on draft night remains inexplicable. He fits an important role — an efficient creatoshooter who can retain value toggling between on- and off-ball roles. And he was quite efficient for a rookie, at 57% TS% at an impressive 26% usage rate.4 He can also pair on-ball scoring with complementary playmaking, a necessity in today’s game. 15% AST% and 1.4 AST/TO is nice, and I thought his ability to collapse defenses while reading the floor was ahead of schedule. And there are flashes of cleverness that make me more excited about Hardy than many other scoring guards (how often do you see a player execute a give-and-go with less than two seconds left in the quarter?).
Hardy’s jumper is potentially elite, which makes him a clean fit next to other creators. Across all competition over the past 12 months (preseason, regular season, G League, Summer League), Hardy hit 41% of almost 300 total 3FGA, with a monster attempt rate of 11 per 100 in his NBA sample. His blend of pullup and movement shooting ability is special. I’m not sure he’ll stick at 41% from 3, but that volume + efficiency combo can unlock enormous value.
A few limitations are present which cap Hardy’s superstar potential relative to someone like Sharpe. Jaden doesn’t have that top-tier athletic burst, and this dragged down his effectiveness inside the arc. He shot a tepid 47% from 2, including just 52% at the rim (9th percentile, per dunksandthrees.com). Given this lack of at-will advantage creation, I think Hardy may end up being overtaxed as a true number one option for a good team. Yet the Mavs still posted a 113 offensive rating in about 900 possessions with Hardy on and Luka and Kyrie both off. Given that most of these minutes came with Josh Green or THJ as the only other credible offensive player on the floor for the Mavs, this is an encouraging stat for a rookie.
On the other end, I thought Hardy was adequate for a rookie guard. He can hold his own on-ball, and his length (6’9 wingspan) and strong build should allow for some positional versatility. The screen navigation must improve, however. Off-ball, I though Jaden showed a decent level of awareness and overall understanding of rotations, without many egregious errors. His defensive playmaking is middling, and he posted below average stock and deflection rates. On the whole though, I think Hardy can certainly be a reliable component of a successful defense as someone who holds up well enough both on- and off-ball.
While the demise of Jordan Poole and the evident expendability of Tyler Herro may sully the perception of offensively slanted combo guards (you can probably add Anfernee Simons and Colin Sexton to this category), I think Hardy can potentially rise above that. The main issue with this archetype is the significantly negative impact on defense, and their weak on-ball defense can be especially problematic in playoff settings. But I think Hardy’s length and strength should prevent him from getting mismatch hunted. Also, his off-ball offensive value could end up higher than most of these players. His ceiling may be more comparable to Desmond Bane. I’ll gladly take a chance on that.

1. Jaden Ivey

5th pick of 2022 draft
21 years, 8 months old
-1.3 O-EPM, -3.1 D-EPM -1.7 O-LEBRON, -2.0 D-LEBRON -0.6 O-DPM, -1.6 D-DPM
Ivey’s game contains a mix of fire and ice that makes his film an exercise in whiplash. His explosiveness is special, and this affords him opportunities as a creator that few guards can match. And there were sparkling glimpses of an ability to leverage these openings into buckets for himself and teammates. Yet decision-making is defined much more by consistency than occasional brilliance, and Ivey struggled in this respect, posting a ghastly turnover rate. His rim pressure also wasn’t as prolific as might be expected — he attempted 7.2 shots at the rim (0-5 feet) per 100, a good but not great number that ranked behind fellow rookie guards Mathurin and Hardy.5 He also ranked in just the 10th percentile in rim FG% (per dunksandthrees.com). But Ivey’s turbo gear creates many advantages, and his high free throw rate (36%) results from that. Combined with plus court vision, it’s easy to see the allure of Jaden as a prospect.
While I think Ivey made important strides over the course of his rookie year, I think the magnitude has at times been overstated. His playmaking and poise showed progress, and the jumper went in at a higher percentage. However, the defense was still awful until the bitter end, and the statistical footprint of improvement was modest. His AST/TO ratio and TS% were identical pre- and post-All-Star, at 1.6 and 53%, respectively. His DARKO DPM likewise showed little improvement over the course of the year.
Given his physical tools, there’s still the possibility Ivey becomes an elite primary creator. But, that modest chance at a high ceiling is counterbalanced by concerns of his scalability and fit on a high-level team. Ivey’s shaky decision-making and mid shooting may render him a suboptimal off-ball fit next to another star creator, and his terrible defensive instincts compound the problem. I worry Ivey may become the archetypal Second-Tier Creator. Unless he reaches his 95th percentile outcome and morphs into his version of Westbrook, I see Ivey being a worse two-way fit on playoff teams than other prospects like Shaedon, Mathurin, Hardy, and Jabari. Even if Ivey reaches his offensive ceiling as a star creator, his defense is concerning enough that he may well give much of that value back on the other end.
About the defense: Ivey earned his standing among impact metrics as one of the absolute worst defenders in the league.6 Rookie guards are bad defensively with few exceptions, yes, but Ivey was uniquely deleterious. The rotations were erratic, his screen navigation featured all sorts of weird angles and few correct ones, his on-ball defense needs a lot of work, he racked up many missed swipes and few stocks, and he sported the league’s second highest foul rate among guards (per basketball-reference.com). And the tape is littered with these weird moments where he’s just sort of flailing around. Given that he turned 21 mid-season, this is more concerning than it would be for your typical teenage lottery pick. He will need more than one giant leap to even reach neutrality as a defender. His athleticism might still allow him to reach a passable level in a few years, but the thorough lack of intuition and instincts put a much lower ceiling on his defensive impact than his tools would indicate.
And yet, despite ranting at length about Ivey’s defense, decision-making, and fit, I must temper those frustrations with this: his road runner advantage creation is unteachable. Paired with good passing and decent shooting, intrigue about Ivey’s upside is reasonable. Given these violently conflicting pros and cons, I think 9 is a fair landing spot for Ivey.

1. Dyson Daniels

8th pick of 2022 draft
20 years, 7 months old
-4.1 O-EPM, +1.7 D-EPM -2.8 O-LEBRON, +0.9 D-LEBRON -1.9 O-DPM, +0.9 D-DPM
Daniels’ playstyle and impact are decidedly Carusoesque, from the point of attack hounding to the defensive playmaking to the sharp extra passing to the pitifully low usage rate. A side-by-side comparison of rookie Caruso and rookie Daniels also reveals eerily similar statistical footprints. Daniels is also a good 3” taller and four years younger than rookie Caruso, which would seem to swing the comparison in his favor. Yet Caruso is a legit top-3 guard defender of the past 15 years, with GOAT-role-player RAPM numbers. Expecting any smart, feisty defensive guard to hit those heights is unrealistic. But I think Daniels has as good of a shot as any.
Offensively, Dyson’s rookie production was modest, to say the least. 50% TS% on just 12% usage is not going to cut it, and the shooting percentages were bad from all over the court. No one expected Daniels to be an immediate scorer, but the inability to simply space the floor suffocated the offense at times. Dyson has hovered around 30% 3FG% and low 60s FT% the last couple years, but he’s young enough that reaching simply average-ish levels on catch-and-shoot 3s is plausible. I mean, the jumper certainly isn’t broken. Also, Daniels has to be willing to let it fly with less timidity — 4 3FGA per 100 is painfully low for an off-ball perimeter player.
However, even low usage, low-3-point-volume perimeter players can reach an average or even better level of impact offensively if their play is brimming with enough BBIQ and activity. Players like Caruso, Josh Hart, and Kyle Anderson7 have had neutral or even positive offensive LA-RAPM8 numbers over the past three seasons, and their offensive on/off differentials have generally been neutral-ish or better. They achieve this through dedication to the connective tissue elements of offense — hit-ahead passes, screens, cuts, extra passes, quick decisions, opportunistic offensive rebounding, efficient rim finishing, and just overall elite feel. Dyson still needs much refinement in his finishing, but the general blueprint is there. A 16% AST% is impressively high for such a low-usage rookie, and a 2.3 AST/TO ratio is likewise encouraging. The guy clearly possesses great passing vision and exhibits promising feel for playing within the offensive system. Plays like this show how Daniels can use his brain rather than his jumper to punish defenses for ignoring him.
It’s also still TBD whether or not Daniels actually reaches that All-Defense level. At the very least, he’ll be a very good perimeter defender. Given that his lateral quickness matches almost any guard’s and that his frame is that of an absolute unit, I think Dyson has a legitimate shot at developing into the best on-ball defender in the league. His positional versatility could provide additional value for playoff defenses. There are still some technical refinements to make in his point-of-attack defense — I thought his inexperience showed at times in his screen navigation — but the potential is immense. The off-ball defense is likewise encouraging. Dyson’s speed flying around the court in rotation jumps off the screen, and his high stock rate reflects his anticipation in passing lanes and the guile of his quick hands. He also makes some impactful rim protection plays and rebounds well, which are both extra credit for a guard. Daniels’ terrific feel and processing speed are palpable in all these plays.
Generally, I think elite defensive impact is underrated relative to elite offensive impact. Offensive stars are always going to be the most valuable, but long-term plus-minus metrics like RAPM show All-Defense-level defenders as being at or near All-Star-level impact with their defense alone. Dyson clearly has that upside. And his exquisite connective passing and flashes of ball skills lead me to believe his offensive upside may also be underrated.

(I also posted this article on my (free) substack, with some footnotes that I can't copy-paste here.)
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A redraft for the past season’s rookie class is always a fun exercise, since one can dig into the film without being subjected to hours of college basketball. And while we have a full year of information on how (most of) these prospects fared in an NBA environment, so much is yet to be determined. Will Chet find sustained health? Was Jabari’s tour de force in Summer League a mirage, or a signal? Will Sochan start shooting one-handed threes?
The philosophy for this redraft is pretty straightforward. It’s a ranking of how I would draft these players today, if I were in charge of an NBA team. As such, it’s all about projected future value over each player’s next 5-10 years. During these projections, I try to balance (a) star upside, (b) scalability/portability (Thinking Basketball’s idea of how much value a player provides on high-level teams; think ceiling-raising), and (c) median outcomes (and the scalable value of such outcomes).
I’ll only be examining the top 14 prospects. Restricting my redraft to the lottery is an attempt to (mostly) excuse myself from G League analysis. Going much beyond the top 14 would require meditations on such questions as, How impactful was Josh Minott’s rim protection for the Iowa Wolves last season?
Let’s start the clock.

1. Paolo Banchero

1st pick of 2022 draft

20 years, 11 months old on 2023-24 season tipoff

-0.6 O-EPM, -0.3 D-EPM -0.3 O-LEBRON, -0.3 D-LEBRON 0 O-DPM, -1.4 D-DPM

High-end outcomes exist for Paolo in which he becomes the superstar-level number one option for a title contender. No one else in this class can claim that level of upside. His effectiveness in handling, passing, and pressuring the paint is almost unheard of in a 6’10 goliath. Even Paolo’s more median outcomes paint the vague outlines of a broke man’s LeBron offensively, which is still an All-Star player.
Of course, much work remains if Paolo is to reach that superstar upside. While his ability to shoulder 28% usage at half-decent efficiency as a 20-year-old rookie on maybe the worst-spaced team in the association was impressive, that scoring efficiency still needs work. Upping his percentage at the rim (only 25th percentile, per dunksandthrees.com) and improving his jumper (30% from 3, 38% from 10-23 feet) are crucial. Yet his mammoth free throw rate is a testament to how readily he creates advantages, and his shooting indicators suggest he’ll become at least decent as a jump shooter. One cannot ignore the allure of a bullyball scorer who can collapse an entire defense only to audible out of a layup mid-air to hit a perimeter shooter.
Defensively, Paolo’s projection isn’t quite as tantalizing. Still, he’s a 6’10 bear with fluid athleticism. This grants him a support level, to borrow a term from day traders (which you should not do), that almost any guard in the league should envy. Paolo’s motor, awareness, and overall technique are all kinda mid right now. His feet can be a little sluggish, especially off the ball and navigating screens, and there’s an overall lack of high-impact plays. Yet I think Paolo’s on-ball defense will be good enough to avoid liability status, which is more than can be said for many offensive stars. He was 95th percentile guarding isos and 82nd percentile guarding post-ups last season, per nba.com (small sample alert however, so take these numbers with a grain of salt). He also displayed some rim protection chops and solid rebounding that hint at the potential to man the 5, at least in spurts – an alignment which could enable devasting offensive performance for the Magic, if they ever get some shooting.

2. Jalen Williams

12th pick of 2022 draft

22 years, 6 months old

-0.6 O-EPM, +0.3 D-EPM -0.9 O-LEBRON, +0.4 D-LEBRON -0.1 O-DPM, 0 D-DPM

I thought I was nuts for putting Jalen at 5 on my board a year ago. And I was – he should have been higher. Jalen is the exact sort of big, versatile wing that every team craves. Even as a rookie, he was already a playing at a solid-starter level, something no one below him on this list can claim other than Walker Kessler.
After digging into the film and stats, I came away even more bullish on Jalen’s offensive potential. Playing off of Shai and Giddey, much of Jalen’s possessions were spent off-ball. He was highly efficient as a finisher in these situations, especially as a cutter, and his quick extra passes and precocious sense for playing within the flow of the offense demonstrate excellent scalability. He needs to show more willingness to let it fly as a spot-up 3-point shooter – his 3-point volume and shooting gravity were far too low for someone with good shooting indicators.
Williams’ on-ball reps were shockingly good. As a PNR ball handler, he scored at above-average points per possession (PPP) with a better than average turnover rate, which is rare for a rookie. His isolation numbers were even better, with scoring efficiency in the 81st percentile and an absurd 57% eFG%. Again, single-season play type data are small sample and prone to noise, but his poise and size/skill combination popped off the screen. Considering also Jalen’s playmaking talent (2.0 AST/TO ratio, with some scintillating flashes of on-ball passing), there’s more star creator potential here than almost anyone could have expected.
Jalen’s defensive impact metrics were very good for a rookie wing, and the film was a mostly solid. His steal rate was great, and there were some games where his penchant for causing turnovers was game-changing (check out the Feb. 7th game vs the Lakers). Aside from the steals, I thought his team defense was competent but unspectacular. His motor sputtered at times, and he needs to rebound better if he’s to play extended minutes at the 4 long-term. His foot speed guarding the ball is only so-so, but he uses his length well and defended isolations at the 78th percentile with an extremely high 16% turnover rate, per nba.com (again, only 55 possessions here — more grains of salt needed).
Williams’ blend of offensive creativity, defensive disruptiveness, and superb feel make it hard to see how he doesn’t make an All-Star team at some point. He feels like the exact sort of player who can be the number two offensive option on a title team while providing versatile wing defense at the other end. Simply put, I love watching the guy play, and I can’t wait to see how he develops in year two.

3. Chet Holmgren

2nd pick of 2022 draft

21 years, 5 months old

No advanced stats (injury)

While this may seem a gamble, Chet is the only player left that I see two-way star potential in without having to squint my eyes. You can’t teach a 9’5 standing reach with swift athleticism, you can’t teach basketball instincts, and you sure as hell can’t teach the intersection of the two. Also, some cursory research suggests the Lisfranc injury likely won’t be a significant concern going forward.
The capacity for defensive dominance resides in Chet. His rim protection will terrorize opponents, and he can tap into this ability either as the primary PNR defender or as a weakside roamer. Chet’s terrific defensive instincts and motor only amplify this impact. I don’t think he’s a true switch big, but he seems to have enough mobility to at least not get roasted when guarding in space. The skinniness is a concern, however. His two-way value is likely maximized at the 5, and beyond the obvious Jokic and Embiid nightmares, there’s a fair number of bruising bigs in the league who may make the Chet-at-center alignment challenging — think Sabonis, Valanciunas, Adams.
Offensively, Chet doesn’t profile as a number one option on a great team, and possibly not even as a number two. He lacks the physical burst/strength to consistently create advantages as a primary option must. But Chet has great potential as an elite play finisher inside and out, with grab-and-go playmaking and an intuitive sense for how to play within the flow of the offense. While often underrated, this skillset is one which can drastically spike a team’s championship equity if paired with one or two high-level creators. Chet embodies scalability.

4. Walker Kessler

22nd pick of 2022 draft

22 years, 2 months old

+0.9 O-EPM, +1.3 D-EPM 0.0 O-LEBRON, +3.1 D-LEBRON +0.2 O-DPM, +1.0 D-DPM

Rumors of the drop big’s death have been moderately exaggerated. I mean, Rudy Gobert has a couple tough series against red-hot 5-out offenses while flanked by some of the most porous point of attack and rotational defense you’ll ever find on a playoff team (mandatory viewing), and suddenly everyone thinks you need a Bam or Draymond at the 5 in order to have a good playoff defense. But just as star offensive creators need spacing, star defensive bigs need point of attack defense. And even in today’s game, not many teams can unleash dominant 5-out offenses (looking back at last season’s playoffs, it’s the Celtics and… no one else?). Even in the playoffs, there’s almost always going to be a non-shooter for the rim-protecting big to match up with, and, given decent surrounding point-of-attack defense and rotations behind the play, this big can provide huge defensive impact inside the arc with relatively few tradeoffs.
With that out of the way, Kessler throttled opposing offenses so thoroughly as a 21-year-old rookie that he cannot be ignored. His block radius is enormous, he covers ground quicker than drivers expect, and his relatively low foul rate is indicative of advanced technique and discipline for his age. He suppressed opponents’ rim FG% by 12 percentage points when defending at the rim (per nba.com), a mark that competes with Gobert’s best seasons. Opponents also shot 8 percentage points worse at the rim when Kessler was on vs off (via pbpstats.com). These are outrageous numbers for a rookie, and hint at a prime in which Kessler should be a yearly DPOY candidate. He also moves fairly well in space. While he’s vulnerable to quickness and change of direction, as almost any player his size is, I think his perimeter defense is at the very least average among starting centers.
The offense also checks all the boxes for a dive & dunk big. He’s a top-tier finisher at the rim (75%, good for the 96th percentile per dunksandthrees.com), an elite offensive rebounder, and runs the floor well in transition for easy buckets (his 14% transition frequency, per nba.com, is considerably higher than most bigs of a similar offensive role). He also flashed some nice connective passing at times. Despite some dabbling with the three-ball at Auburn, it’s safe to assume he’s never going to be a Lopez-esque stretch big. That’s fine. If Kessler is even a neutral offensively, his likely outcome of titanic defensive value means he can still reach All-Star-level impact overall.

5. Shaedon Sharpe

7th pick of 2022 draft

20 years, 4 months old

-1.4 O-EPM, -2.6 D-EPM -0.8 O-LEBRON, -1.5 D-LEBRON +0.2 O-DPM, -1.7 D-DPM

This is a bit of a roll of the dice on a hyper-talented youth who had played essentially zero high-level basketball before the NBA. And yet, it’s not that much of a dice roll, as Sharpe survived as a rotation player early in the year and then flashed electric on-ball scoring and playmaking chops later on. To do this with so little serious basketball experience indicates, to me at least, that Shaedon has formidable untapped potential.
The offense was ahead of what I expected, even for someone who had Shaedon relatively high at 7. He was legitimately efficient inside and out — 36% from 3 on 8 attempts per 100 possessions, and 56% from 2, a wildly good mark for a 19-year-old perimeter player. It’s not even like he was spoon-fed all his 2s, either; 44% of them were unassisted.
Yet what really stood out to me were the final 10 games in which the Blazers rolled out the red carpet for Shaedon to gorge himself on self-created looks, a role he hadn’t assumed since AAU ball a year and a half prior. These were somewhat unserious games, but not entirely. They played close games against the Jazz, Wolves, Grizzlies, and Thunder, all of whom played their starters major minutes. Across these 10 games, Shaedon posted 57% TS% on 28% usage, with 21% AST% and only 12.7% TO%. Another small sample alert is needed, but his shooting percentages were actually in line with his full season sample. And the film corroborated the statistical evidence; here was a teenager who could glide into good looks) against a set defense featuring elite defenders. He supplemented this with a surprising level of poise while playmaking in the pick-and-roll%20(Sharpe%204%20AST)). This late-season surge reminded me of the last couple months of Anthony Edwards’ rookie season. He’s not Ant, but latent stardom lies in Shaedon.
Sharpe’s defense is certainly a work in progress. His rotations, screen navigation, help instincts, etc. were often sloppy. The defensive metrics mostly hated him. He didn’t offset this with many high-impact plays (1.0% steal rate), although he did flash some anticipation when pouncing for steals and posted a relatively high block rate. He also held up well on-ball, and kept opponents to just 0.75 PPP in a small sample of isolation possessions. Considering both his insane physical tools and poor off-ball feel, one hopes his defensive trajectory is closer to Jaylen Brown than Zach LaVine. The moments when he managed to convert those tools into production were spellbinding, and could be indicative of latent defensive upside. At the very least, he won’t get targeted on-ball as the defense’s weakest link, which is useful in playoff settings.
I’m generally lower on pure bucket-getters than most. But that’s because most bucket-getters don’t move the needle as much as their point totals might indicate.
1 But Shaedon is the rare scoring prospect with the tools to be a superstar-level bucket, and one with the playmaking to fully unlock the value of his scoring, and the off-ball shooting and finishing to bring scalable value on high-level teams, and even enough defensive impact to not bleed value at the other end. I’m far from convinced this will all come together, which is why Shaedon’s median outcome is arguably lower than some names below. But the ceiling is the roof.

6. Jabari Smith Jr.

3rd pick of 2022 draft

20 years, 5 months old

-2.0 O-EPM, -1.0 D-EPM -1.8 O-LEBRON, -0.7 D-LEBRON -1.3 O-DPM, -1.0 D-DPM

It’s difficult to disentangle Jabari’s disappointing rookie performance from the dysfunctional Houston environment. The shooting numbers slumped far below expectations, concerns about his ability to create off the dribble proved well-founded, and the defensive impact wasn’t quite what the Jabari-at-one crowd hoped.
Yet the idea of Jabari persists. He was a 19-year-old playing in a hellhole, after all.
2 There’s still the potential for a prototypical 6’10 forward with switchable defense and sweet shooting, with some added shot creation and a dash of playmaking. Summer League resuscitated this idea, with Jabari displaying impressive effectiveness as a driver and perimeter shot creator. Two caveats, of course: (a) this came against the assorted Boeheims and Wisemans of the world (i.e. non-NBA players), and (b) small sample red alert. As such, while his performance was encouraging, it should factor only slightly into one’s assessment.
I suspect the real Jabari, the one underneath the sheen of Auburn/Summer League Jabari and the stench of rookie Jabari, is something a bit less extreme: a very good, but not quite great, starter at the 4. His youth, Auburn sample, and pretty form suggest that his shooting will come around to at least above average. Hopefully the Rockets will use him in more dynamic actions this year (pick-and-pops, running off screens, etc.) to develop his movement shooting and drives against shifted defenses. I suspect Jabari will show considerably more dynamism this season as a downhill attacker and playmaker.
On the other end, I think Jabari can be a valuable component of a successful defense, although perhaps not the heart of it. His switchability is about as advertised (quite good), but his movements are still a bit stiff and he’s not going to get through screens. Off-ball, I admired his motor and engagement amidst a terrible situation. Yet his defensive playmaking was a bit lacking, with underwhelming rim protection (3% block rate, 0% suppression of opponents’ rim FG%) and few forced turnovers (9th percentile steal rate, 44th percentile deflection rate). This likely caps his defensive impact at very good more so than great and raises some concern about his viability as a smallball 5. One must also keep in mind that he was a young rookie in an awful defensive infrastructure, and there were flashes of high-leverage plays). And big, switchable forward is a highly valuable archetype, especially in the playoffs.

7. Tari Eason

17th pick of 2022 draft

22 years, 5 months old

-1.6 O-EPM, +1.5 D-EPM -0.3 O-LEBRON, +0.9 D-LEBRON -0.9 O-DPM, +0.5 D-DPM

Tari is a maniac. His event rate
3 is higher than anyone in the class. I’m not sure I trust him, but I sure as hell like him.
Tari’s value starts on the defensive end. His defensive impact metrics, especially EPM, are wildly good for a rookie, albeit a slightly older one. The Rockets were also 6.5 points per 100 better defensively with him on vs off. Much of this is due to Eason’s tenacious pursuit of possession-swinging plays. His steal rate of 2.5% is fantastic, and he posted good block and rebounding numbers as well. His overall rim protection was a bit muted, however, and needs a lot of work if he’s ever to play extended minutes as a smallball 5. Tari also has all the tools — size, length, lateral quickness — to be a fearsome multipositional defender. He does need to clean up his technique, as he tends to lunge and/or leave his feet%20(Beverley%204%20AST)) far too often. This contributes to a needlessly high foul rate. Ultimately, Tari already has a strong foundation of defensive value, despite some clear areas with room for improvement. If he patches those up, his defensive ceiling is towering.
The offense with Tari is more complicated. His physical gifts and perpetually redlined motor allowed him to pull in offensive rebounds at the highest rate in the league for any non-center, and by a sizeable margin. These traits also allowed him to generate 10.4 rim FGA (0-5 feet) per 100, in the 94th percentile league-wide. Yet the finer points of offense need considerable work. Despite all his athletic advantages, Tari is an unskilled finisher with poor touch. His rim FG% was only in the 12th percentile (per dunksandthrees.com), and a free throw rate of 22% is low for such an aggressive player. Eason’s decision-making also tended towards wildness, with some errant passes and questionable shots. His AST/TO ratio was below 1, and while he’s not an unwilling passer, his vision is subpar. The jumper is a bit erratic, and he shot a slightly below-average 36% on 159 catch-and-shoot 3s. He at least wasn’t hesitant to shoot when left open, and his shooting indicators (including 75% from the line and 80% in his last college season) suggest he should be at least a decent shooter.
If Tari can reign in some of his recklessness and make incremental improvements to his offensive skill level, an immensely valuable player could emerge. Tari is a year or two older than many of these prospects, so he may be closer to his ceiling than someone like Dyson Daniels. But still, that ceiling includes multiple All-Defense selections. And Eason’s offense is far less limited than your run-of-the-mill defensive specialist. I still have some reservations about his fit in half-court playoff offense, at least until strides are made in his shooting and/or BBIQ. Ultimately, there’s just too impact here to pass up. Tari was already something like a top-150 player last season with a massive +8 on/off differential, and there’s still so, so much he can improve on.

8. Jaden Hardy

37th pick of 2022 draft

21 years, 3 months old

-0.3 O-EPM, -2.2 D-EPM -0.1 O-LEBRON, -1.9 D-LEBRON +0.1 O-DPM, -1.0 D-DPM

Hardy is an uber-talent whose drop to 37th on draft night remains inexplicable. He fits an important role — an efficient creatoshooter who can retain value toggling between on- and off-ball roles. And he was quite efficient for a rookie, at 57% TS% at an impressive 26% usage rate.
4 He can also pair on-ball scoring with complementary playmaking, a necessity in today’s game. 15% AST% and 1.4 AST/TO is nice, and I thought his ability to collapse defenses while reading the floor was ahead of schedule. And there are flashes of cleverness that make me more excited about Hardy than many other scoring guards (how often do you see a player execute a give-and-go%20(Ntilikina%203%20AST)) with less than two seconds left in the quarter?).
Hardy’s jumper is potentially elite, which makes him a clean fit next to other creators. Across all competition over the past 12 months (preseason, regular season, G League, Summer League), Hardy hit 41% of almost 300 total 3FGA, with a monster attempt rate of 11 per 100 in his NBA sample. His blend of pullup and movement shooting ability is special. I’m not sure he’ll stick at 41% from 3, but that volume + efficiency combo can unlock enormous value.
A few limitations are present which cap Hardy’s superstar potential relative to someone like Sharpe. Jaden doesn’t have that top-tier athletic burst, and this dragged down his effectiveness inside the arc. He shot a tepid 47% from 2, including just 52% at the rim (9th percentile, per dunksandthrees.com). Given this lack of at-will advantage creation, I think Hardy may end up being overtaxed as a true number one option for a good team. Yet the Mavs still posted a 113 offensive rating in about 900 possessions with Hardy on and Luka and Kyrie both off. Given that most of these minutes came with Josh Green or THJ as the only other credible offensive player on the floor for the Mavs, this is an encouraging stat for a rookie.
On the other end, I thought Hardy was adequate for a rookie guard. He can hold his own on-ball, and his length (6’9 wingspan) and strong build should allow for some positional versatility. The screen navigation must improve, however. Off-ball, I though Jaden showed a decent level of awareness and overall understanding of rotations, without many egregious errors. His defensive playmaking is middling, and he posted below average stock and deflection rates. On the whole though, I think Hardy can certainly be a reliable component of a successful defense as someone who holds up well enough both on- and off-ball.
While the demise of Jordan Poole and the evident expendability of Tyler Herro may sully the perception of offensively slanted combo guards (you can probably add Anfernee Simons and Colin Sexton to this category), I think Hardy can potentially rise above that. The main issue with this archetype is the significantly negative impact on defense, and their weak on-ball defense can be especially problematic in playoff settings. But I think Hardy’s length and strength should prevent him from getting mismatch hunted. Also, his off-ball offensive value could end up higher than most of these players. His ceiling may be more comparable to Desmond Bane. I’ll gladly take a chance on that.

9. Jaden Ivey

5th pick of 2022 draft

21 years, 8 months old

-1.3 O-EPM, -3.1 D-EPM -1.7 O-LEBRON, -2.0 D-LEBRON -0.6 O-DPM, -1.6 D-DPM

Ivey’s game contains a mix of fire and ice that makes his film an exercise in whiplash. His explosiveness is special, and this affords him opportunities as a creator that few guards can match. And there were sparkling glimpses of an ability to leverage these openings into buckets for himself and teammates. Yet decision-making is defined much more by consistency than occasional brilliance, and Ivey struggled in this respect, posting a ghastly turnover rate. His rim pressure also wasn’t as prolific as might be expected — he attempted 7.2 shots at the rim (0-5 feet) per 100, a good but not great number that ranked behind fellow rookie guards Mathurin and Hardy.
5 He also ranked in just the 10th percentile in rim FG% (per dunksandthrees.com). But Ivey’s turbo gear creates many advantages, and his high free throw rate (36%) results from that. Combined with plus court vision, it’s easy to see the allure of Jaden as a prospect.
While I think Ivey made important strides over the course of his rookie year, I think the magnitude has at times been overstated. His playmaking and poise showed progress, and the jumper went in at a higher percentage. However, the defense was still awful until the bitter end, and the statistical footprint of improvement was modest. His AST/TO ratio and TS% were identical pre- and post-All-Star, at 1.6 and 53%, respectively. His DARKO DPM likewise showed little improvement over the course of the year.
Given his physical tools, there’s still the possibility Ivey becomes an elite primary creator. But, that modest chance at a high ceiling is counterbalanced by concerns of his scalability and fit on a high-level team. Ivey’s shaky decision-making and mid shooting may render him a suboptimal off-ball fit next to another star creator, and his terrible defensive instincts compound the problem. I worry Ivey may become the archetypal Second-Tier Creator. Unless he reaches his 95th percentile outcome and morphs into his version of Westbrook, I see Ivey being a worse two-way fit on playoff teams than other prospects like Shaedon, Mathurin, Hardy, and Jabari. Even if Ivey reaches his offensive ceiling as a star creator, his defense is concerning enough that he may well give much of that value back on the other end.
About the defense: Ivey earned his standing among impact metrics as one of the absolute worst defenders in the league.
6 Rookie guards are bad defensively with few exceptions, yes, but Ivey was uniquely deleterious. The rotations were erratic, his screen navigation featured all sorts of weird angles and few correct ones, his on-ball defense needs a lot of work, he racked up many missed swipes and few stocks, and he sported the league’s second highest foul rate among guards (per basketball-reference.com). And the tape is littered with these weird moments%20(Butler%208%20AST)) where he’s just sort of flailing around%20(Banchero%202%20AST)). Given that he turned 21 mid-season, this is more concerning than it would be for your typical teenage lottery pick. He will need more than one giant leap to even reach neutrality as a defender. His athleticism might still allow him to reach a passable level in a few years, but the thorough lack of intuition and instincts put a much lower ceiling on his defensive impact than his tools would indicate.
And yet, despite ranting at length about Ivey’s defense, decision-making, and fit, I must temper those frustrations with this: his road runner advantage creation is unteachable. Paired with good passing and decent shooting, intrigue about Ivey’s upside is reasonable. Given these violently conflicting pros and cons, I think 9 is a fair landing spot for Ivey.
​

I'm adding this as a question flair ... in the hope that it can become a guide ... through enough knowledgeable people in Shai who can give correct answers, information and advice.
The purpose of this post is for people (like me) who want to buy a used (second hand) e-bike and for other members 'in the know' to help clarify the minefield I find myself in.
There are so many brands with so many models which have such a variety of specifications which often can be specifically only found in Shai (for example) which makes it difficult to track down and understand the differences, with 'used' models being older and their specifications may well have been superceded by the new edition of 'a model' ... leaving a 'black hole' of information unavailable.
As examples, let's use Niu's MQi2 Citi + MQi Sport 2022 + MQi Sport Plus ... and Gova F2. One would think that the MQi's would share the same specs, just addons to body kits, maybe beefier brakes or suspension etc. It seems much more complex than that.
1 - Batteries - Only related to removable Lithium batteries The retailer may state a set ampage when buying new such as some GOVA's will only take an 18amp battery, while the MQi's come in different sizes. As I understand, how many amps the battery holds (18/20/24/28/32/ and so on) can mean the range between charges is increased (say from 30 km's to 80km's). I think (but don't know for sure) you can upgrade batteries but seeing 'used' ones for sale they seem to come in all shapes and dimensions as well as placement of the connection terminal, so not all will fit under your seat.
So what determines which ampage size each bike can upgrade to? (relates to motors or software ... not compartment dimensions) What battery ampage should you try and upgrade to or look for to achieve 80km's range or better? What's the max current limit range from which size battery? Does doubling up on batteries double the range?
Battery upgrades can also mean the speed is also increased (if someone you know, as I understand, can alter the motor restrictions software ???). But is it just the motor or is it more the software?
I don't understand seeing bikes advertised that will do 100km/h but only 30 km range on a huge amapge.
2 - MODES - Modes seem to be about how the power is used such as 'economy' mode where I guess acceleration and top speeds are reduced to conserve power so as to extend the range. Some have 3 modes, some have 2 modes and then I think others have 2 modes PLUS a 3rd which somehow combines Modes 1 & 2 ???
So what's with the variance with the modes different models offer ... are models with 3 modes better or is the 3rd mode more for 'speed freaks' ... is it safe to change modes when riding or should you first stop ... is Mode 1 always going to be the slowest ... are there ways to modify and control them better?
3 - Motors - I recall a while ago seeing a lot of supposedly superior Bosch motors for sale whereas today there's none. What happened? Do these motors no longer fit into today's models? Or have today's models got the equivalent?
4 - Shocks - Are standard ebike shock absorbers so bad? What can you expect in upgrading (besides better bump ride)? Or is it all about your style of riding, as in too fast etc?
5 - Tyres - The paint they use for white lines and pedestrian crossings is lethal in the wet. Does changing the original tyres overcome this? Which tyre upgrades do what?
6 - Brakes - Any brake upgrades I see in pictures look more to show off with bright coloured calipers etc ... or is there more to this than meets the eye? If you're happy to travel between 25km/h and 40km/h is there any point to an upgrade?
7 - Regen - I see some models offer regen. Can any model be upgraded to have? Is it worth it as in you can get a good % of recharge while riding? How do you achieve the highest regen, as in what settings and/or upgrades & riding style?
8 - Additional Upgrades - Are there any upgrades people have made which have made a significan improvement in some way?
9 - TRANSFERRING OWNERSHIP - There doesn't seem to be any clear cut information about this at all. I've read someone tried by spending a day going from police station to police station with the previous owner. I've heard there's an online app but no one can point me in the right direction. I've heard that 'some' retailers will help (because you go back to the original shop it was bought from). As I understand when buying new, you have to go to a predetermined police station where they check the bike hasn't been modified, you present your passport ID, they take a picture of you (the new owner) next to the bike with number plate showing.
So has anyone successfully reregistered a used bike they've bought and how? The reason I ask is that, as I have been told by locals if you happen to live in a part of Shai where there's a lot of riders get stopped by the police and you get stopped wearing a full face helmet so the police don't know you're a laowai, if you cannot prove ownership (including calling the owner for them to verify you have their permission ... which let's face it the previous laowai you bought it off is back in their home country so that's a dead end), the police have every right to consficate your bike and you haven't a leg left to stand on except the 2 you will have to, to walk home on LOL.
I have been told that taking the bike back to where it was bought from, they 'might' help you ... but it is very unclear what they are actually helping you to do ... is it just changing the name the shop records as the owner or they have the ability to change the police records and number plate etc? Or for a (small) charge they will go and register with you? What is the process? What docs are required? It's just so unclear, when there have to be so many locals buying and selling used bikes everyday ... there must be a simple process.
Thanks for any feedback, help, advice etc on the above.
If you give help/advice/info please can you include your bike's manufacturemodel/age etc details* specific to your bike ... because one size definitely doesn't seem to fit all :)
....
/// UPDATE \\
I found and got a very low km's MQi 2022 model (500km's on the clock so like new). I went to the Nui store they bought it from to ask for their help to 'update' the ownership ... they helped (an agent fee of 500rmb - I now know this can vary down to maybe 300rmb).
In doing this it was understood that if you have access to a local's ID then it is much simpler to do this (I have) ... just supply a picture/copy of their ID and within a few days you'll get a screenshot of the registration system with the updated owners info ... be sure to make sure they use the right phone number if you want it to be 'yours'.

I've made small analyze of IceRiver website - for me it looks totally like scam.

1. No references to any "real" company - just info on twitter "Our company is a legal Hong Kong company."
2. No credit card payment - their explanation about "issues with large payments" is nonsense
3. They just appeared weeks ago from nowhere - no real known people connected with them
4. Sends one unit to youtuber which is typical way to advertise and try to proof their legitimacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSkSmww7zk
5. As youtuber shows this asic connects to cloud server hosted on OVH in Canada - it may be optimization, but it makes me think that they dont have their own infrastructure
6. it is possible that hashrate made by this ASIC was prepared by rented hashrate (that costs NH 600$/day) https://twitter.com/DesheShai/status/1646896780255084544. Im not saying that youtuber lied their viewers, but underneath still can work script that rents hashrate from outside world
7. Their video do not proves anything - easy to fake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpOO8oJXqAs
8. Cheap website - made in drag'n'drop technology on wordpress/woocomerce
9. I've seen few typos and wrong links - even of footer
10. No community - their "discord" is reference to invite user

If this device runs a script that rents hashrate from the outside world, then they can run this "fake ponzi action" for 100 days per machine, and still be profitable. Beware people
Looking forward to your insights.

​
.
Hello and thanks to ShaiDayan1 you for re-opening this topic, it's a recurring and popular one.
I fully agree it is annoying and damaging to the users and the app itself - as it discourages us from even trying, and reduces the ads seen, the payments which Slowly receives from Google Ad Services for them.
I have posted about it before (and thanks to MaroonedHighHopes for the links to my Blog posts).
To respond and once again clarify some things, I made sure to start my Android Slowly VDMs, and trying to get videos. They ARE working (location is a favourable one, as I am in Canada).
However, I think there's some measures we can take which DO enhance your chances - these were developed by myself and other interested users as we have faced this in the past.

Some notes regarding the N/A problem, and possible fixes

- Slowly support will likely respond as they did to the OP above and say 'no ads are available at the moment, try again later' or similar. That is a quick 'brushoff' to close the issue and move on to the next support ticket. Understandable.
- Getting any ads to show does depend on what version of Slowly a user is operating. If anyone wants to troubleshoot, it is important to know this, and clarify which platform (Android, or iOS), Slowly version they are using.
- reason for this? It's due to changes in the ad providers which Slowly uses over time. There is code bundled in each version to support their current favourite at the time the version was created.
- sometimes there are changes in the App Store owner's Privacy policies, this happened first with Apple's, and later Google Play followed suit. Apps need to be modified, and maybe the ad service provider they use changes at this time.

Ads are working for me - as long as I take some measures

- This is using the Android client, version 7.1.20 currently installed (this is not the most recent, and it's intentional). This version works WELL for me, and I do NOT update apps for this reason - I can manually update what I consider important. (Not Slowly as I prefer to stay with known stable and good versions.)
- I use this in an Android Virtual Machine in my laptop, and so have a minimal setup, very few apps as it's not a daily used mobile phone.

To get Ads to show reliably, I recommend:

a. resetting Advertising ID after seeing every ad. My blog post explains that for someone with a rooted device this can be done VERY simply - a shortcut to a small shell script, I click on it and it takes a second only. Otherwise, manually it's a bit more work, but important.
b. I also delete the Slowly App Cache after seeing each ad. Again, a simple task for a rooted device, a bit more work for a normal usedevice.
c. And it's worth repeating, the version of Slowly you are using is crucial to get good results. I do use 7.1.20 for this (via Android VDM in laptop as explained). For my real mobile device, I stay with an older version even, which I am VERY happy with in general, but which likely does NOT support ad serving as well.
d. Last Resort measure - if the ones above did not resolve the 'N/A' pesky problem, I do reset the App DATA - which means you are deleting all of the Slowly user info. Right after doing this, if you start up Slowly, it will assume it is a NEW installation, and prompt you to Register a new account, or Login to an existing one.
We want to LOGIN, and this is easier if we have created a password for the account, as you don't need an email check to verify, etc. So, that is what I use, and it is painless, quick. Again, do this very sparingly, only if needed - as the other above methods should work in most cases.
These are my solutions, methods I use, and work for me - but your mileage may vary. My location being in Canada is good for ads, but even here or in the USA or EU, a user might soon get N/A responses after watching an ad, or two, or ten.

You CAN win at this if you are determined enough. Don't despair.

More reading? a couple of focused Blog posts:
- SLOWLY free coins – solving 'N/A' ad problem
- and using an Android Virtual Machine in Windows
Good luck!

Summon your coziest chairdog, it is a longpost.
While keep working on my series of DUNE illustrations I decided to watch TV series as a background. I thought that after Lynch’s variant I’m prepared for anything… But I was pleasantly surprised! The 2000 eurojank series appeared very good. Decent storytelling, solid theatrical expression, natural fight scenes, low-tech visual effects are just adorable!
AWWWWWWW
Honesty i liked it at some points even more that new fancy high budget Villeneuve's variant. Because it works as a standalone thing without trying to ride on your childhood nostalgia for Dune strategy on Sega, also does not force you to read the book to catch up with main narrative line and basic lore elements. The main characters in old Eurojank variant cause more sympathy: e.g. Paul and Chani don't look like they're advertising perfume, and Duncan wasn't Ghola from the beginning. I, first of all, praised the 2021 version for the coherence of the narrative and the cutting out dirty non-sci-fi "game of thrones style" moments that I always wanted to skip while reading the book. But it turned out that it was already done in 2000 variant! First episode has literary the same screenplay structure, but somehow tells what 2021variant did in 3 hours only for one hour not creating impression of tightness.
I was already on hook and started to watch cozy eurojank version of Part Two in two eyes. I noted it has really pleasant soundtrack, gentle, with ethnic vibes, just what i like.
I'm getting now to the point. Suddenly my head was totally blown up because i heard a tune that was very familiar to me, like i heard it before a hundreds of times and dreamed a thousand of dreams on its vibe. "What the F**, it is impossible," I thought, "I'm watching this for the first time, the soundtrack is fully original here... "
screenshot with timecode when this music begins
And then i realized that I always had this track copied on few harddrives over a decade ago, as one of the mysterious "ancient alien artifacts" that could be found in files of the game that was built on ruins of another game that once was mostly about fascinating archeology and sci-fi adventures on beautiful planet with unique realistic alien ecology and ancient artifacts.
Files of BORDERLANDS 2009 have a folder titled "test", containing unused assets and references from the first version of the game. This particular music track is in Test/Sounds/AUD_MUSIC.upk
Directory of UE3 package where the track from TV DUNE 2000 can be found
​
inside upk -- world_b_oneshot.ogg -- that very file
The actual track title appeared to be "Travel with Fremen" by Graeme Revell !!!
HERE IT IS https://youtu.be/7djCBTz-Pb4
Such revelation made me "giving water to the dead", if you know what i mean.
Now, after recalling the details of the lore of DUNE, it became clear that Original Borderlands setting has a lot of DUNE-inspired basics (brought to the next evolutionary step alternative to Warhammer, which is "Starcraft"), such as a planet that seems uninhabited only at the first glance, giant majestic creatures having a certain role in its ecology, vile corporations who ravage it, creepy psionic witches, Holtzman-like shields... which can be shot at with normal metal bullets (not causing two-side nuke blast like it happens with laserguns)!!
​
Rakk Hive as the local Shai-Hulud of Pandora
Borderlands by True Old Gearbox, the creators of Half-Life 1 addons, was very unique and ambitious in its position to the whole sci-fi genre: literally border lands. Perhaps it was too ambitious for its time and, of course, heavy for the consoles. So when the project was attached to the publisher 2K, the old variant developed since ~ 2004 to 2008 was buried, and on its place was made in about a year a simpler version framed as a story from unreliable narrator with cel-shading graphics. And it turned out very fun and charismatic (not without help of my favorite Julio Cedillo as the lead protagonist, yes, that very actor whom i suggest as Otheym in DUNE: Part Two!) like Red Dead Revolver in setting of classic Unreal with elements of DOOM3 and Myst Uru. The ambience is completely captivating. There is also absolutely unnecessary gameplay element, "grinding like in Diablo", that needed to first-person shooter like a fifth leg to a dog... but it could be tolerated because the guns have cool designs.
Despite this world still has so much to tell, Borderlands 2009 does't have a decent sequel, because Gearbox director gone mad and turned into Abomination, allowing effective managers to get rid of all original game creators and make the following title products (released since 2012) of very low quality, focusing only on aggressive advertising, grind, lootboxes, and other diseases of industry, devoting the next (non-canon) stories purely to lame toilet humor, mockery on minorities, animal cruelty, fascism and other moral ugliness not related to sci-fi genre. Telltale Games tried to cure the series but it was already too late.
As the one who wholeheartedly loved the Original Borderlands concept, I've taken it as a personal drama and dedicated the biggest part of my art work to restoration and continuing of it. Instead many words i just show a meme about BL games chronology and my interaction with them, assembled of frames of the film The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/412224588777390080/1050159592182644806/the_three_buruals_of_borderlands.jpg
I've always enjoyed looking at science fiction through the prism of the Magic Realism genre. After getting to DUNE in context of my Way of the Hunter i instantly picked the Fremen protagonist who can reveal lore features to the max, but without repulsive antagonistic religious-style pathos surrounding the figure of Paul "Usul" Muad'dib Atreides and his kind.
This statue from DUNE miniseries perfectly fits for meta-humor!
The only thing that looks to me in DUNE TV series done completely wrong is Otheym. Because in this theatrical play the character with such name is simple-minded religious fanatic, another blind follower of Muaddib. While in the original novels Otheym was the VIP character with archetype of Doom Slayer, a mysterious figure whose main feature was is that he remains the One of the last True Fremen who does NOT obey anyone. Paul Atreides in DUNE MESSIAH defined Otheym as a real friend who didn't become a blind follower of the Muad’dib Myth like some Stilgars. I believe Otheym can have the similar Prescience powers as the "official" Kwisatz Haderach, but use it in more charismatic and ironic manner, like Melquiades from One Hundred Years of Solitude, which protects him from turning into a blind fool. Another moment about original Otheym: in MESSIAH he suffers from aftermath of SPLITting disease with a very atmospheric description, top one of the coolest moments in the book alluding to that Otheym had super awesome adventures (during the big absolutely unwritten gap between two books), that Frank Herbert could not even imagine on that evolutionary stage of sci-fi genre and due to limiting of story focusing on boring regulars of the palaces... But in the Children of Dune (TV series sequel 2003, which succinctly puts the second book in just one episode, which is very good), due to budget constraints, this moment was changed to "SPITting" disease, that seems like it meant to say: "oh, sorry we spit on that part of story, it's already gone wrong in previous episodes anyway." So instead of super thrilling sci-fi horror, we see in this variant a still-young guy suffering from something like an ordinary rotavirus -- Which totally contradicts the main lore, since, according to it, the Spice gives humans protection from all kinds of viruses and bacterias. And Fremen eat spice since they're kids, so they cannot be weakened by alien diseases (i'm sure the Harkonnens tested that firstly): the only option to damage the Fremen organism is literary damage it with physical damage... or shred it in some sort of Warp anomaly that puts under question all the meaning of the word "physical", which apparently could happened with the canonical Otheym. I think Otheym in MESSIAH can serve a good example of what happens to an adult human who did something like piloting heighliner without mutations of the Guild Navigators. Natural aging also takes place, but for the Fremen it takes much longer getting to the stage when cells can no longer divide at proper rate to fully regenerate.
Mordecai from Borderlands 2009 also suffers from splitting disease: the Hunter looks emaciated, especially compared to original prototype. And his original build was literally split on two playable classes: separate character Berserk was kind of made of his rib, if to compare the concept and abilities in release version.
And the moral of this story: if the new fancy high budget variant of Dune: Part Two wants to be not just repeating of eurojank 2000 variant, but the next evolutionary step, there must be proper Otheym. Yes, screw moral. I keep pushing my line, it's still all about Morde... i mean Otheym. In world of DUNE he fits to be Otheym. Julio Cedillo as Otheym!!

Say the Spurs are much better than advertised this year and end with ~45 wins. If the front office pivots to trade our draft capital for a (disgruntled) star willing to play here, what would be your star of choice? Who would fit in our system?
Karl Anthony Towns? Deandre Ayton? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Someone else?

The BC Lions @ The Ottawa Redblacks

^{The BC Lions 3-0 squeek by The Ottawa Redblacks 0-3 34-31
Offense} :
BC struggled a bit offensively for the first time this season, but even then it was a good performance overall. Rourke had two interceptions, both of which were stare downs baited on a great playcall from Mike Benevedes, but overall he had a good game and stepped up when it mattered. Any time you have almost 500 yards of total offense and score 3 touchdowns its a good game, and even though this offensive line struggled a bit they were still dominant in the run and in pass protection against a great defensive performance from the Ottawa front-7. And Keon Hatcher stepped the hell up and performed as good as Bryan Burham would've, if they get that kind of performance out of him going forward than this is going to be a very dangerous offense moving forward. The offense played well, but they also did rely on the checkdown a little too much and it'll be a matter of time before teams start to punish.
For Ottawa it was a frustrating performance offensively all around. Jerimiah Masoli didn't play too badly and most importantly he didn't turn the ball over, but he had just above 50% completion percentage which wasn't at all helped by the secondary receiving targets like Nate Behar and Jaelon Acklin. I'm super psyched though that Darvin Adams has returned to form, he's shown great body control at the point of attack and his long arms bring in a lot of errant throws that should otherwise go incomplete. I'd honestly argue he's been the missing piece in an offense without a lot of tall playmakers to win those jump ball/overthrows. What annoyed me the most about this game other than the performance of the offensive line, was how LaPolice just abandoned the run. It was an issue in Winnipeg and it was an issue against BC, I get that you get into a position where you want to air it out and try moving the ball down the field in big gains, but Powell was averaging 5 yards a carry on 11 carries. They should've ran the ball more and put their offense in a better position to execute with playactions and small ball receiving. Jerimiah has the arm to hurt you deep but he's also effective in the small game, and the conservatism/playcalling on offense was a big reason they lost tonight and a big reason this team is 0-3 right now. LaPolice has to get better calling the game.
^Defense :
BC won this game defensively and I honestly thought it was the teams breakout performance on defense. For weeks we've heard about how good the Lions offense is, but this defense harrassed Jerimiah Masoli from the first snap of the game and the secondary pretty much shut down the receiving corps (with Darvin Adams 1-on-1s being the exception). BC did however sell out against the run and I thought the interior sold out a little bit against the run, but whats frightening about this defense is that its still missing Steve "Stove" Richardson up the middle. I thought Boom Gwachum was great but Mathieu Betts had his CFL breakout moment tonight and Bo Lokombo was everywhere. This defense is playing at a high level right now.
Ottawa's defense did all they could to win the game and I commend their performance against a great offense. First of all, Money Hunter emerged as one of the leagues best corners tonight snagging 2 picks from Nathan Rourke (after reading the play and baiting him) and Avery Williams was as advertised. The defensive interior continues to dominate and even though Martin Praise-Oguike picked up a sack I didn't really think the edge rushers played as good as they needed to and Ranthony Texada at half-back was pretty bad replacing Adbul Kanneh. Overall though it was a good defensive performance and its a shame they keep getting wasted by the offenses sloppy performance.
^{Special Teams}
For BC they needed a better game out of Flintloft, and while they did, the return blockers struggled against Ottawa's cover teams and Shai Ross was smoked all game long. I'm sure some of it is scheme and also Ross's first game with the Lions so I can forgive it. Sean Whyte continues to be worth the money and I thought the cover teams had a decent enough game.
Ottawa on the other hand was dominant on the teams and I continue to be amazed by Richie Leone. Leone is honest to god a game changing punter, and Bob Dyce does a great job unlocking the talents of this special teams group. The cover teams played well, Mr Security Guard was 3/3 and Terry Williams returned pretty good overall. Solid peformance on the teams.

Arph's Players of the Game!	BC Lions	Ottawa
Offense:	WR Keon Hatcher	WR Darvin Adams
Defense:	DE Tim Bonner	DB Monshadarik Hunter
Special Teams:	ST Isaiah Messam-Guzylak	P Richie Leone
Canadian:	LB Bo Lokombo	DB/ST Randall Evans

The Edmonton Elks @ The Hamilton Tiger-Cats

^{The Edmonton Elks 1-2 snatch victory from the jaws of defeat over The Hamilton Tiger-Cats 0-3 29-25
Offense} :
Edmonton escaped the game with a win, thanks in part to Hamilton handing them the game on a silver platter and Tre Fords legs. Ford played as well as I think you could expect, but it became obvious to me that he isn't ready as a passer in this league and he really struggled with the defensive pressure. There was a lot of instances where he was scrambling and threw the ball without planting the back foot and he missed a lot of open receivers because of it. Its a natural reaction to probably the most pressure he's faced in his career at this point, and his speed running the ball ended up being a significant factor in the win. Ford moved the ball when Edmonton needed it most, it was far from a perfect performance and receivers like Derel Walker and Manny Arcenaux could've done a better job helping out their QB. I also definitely think Edmonton was missing James Wilder Jr a lot on offense. I'm undecided on whether or not I think Ford should start from here on out because honestly he did get better as the game went on and if the offensive line is going to play that badly up front you want a guy who can escape fast like that.
Hamilton needs to fire Tommy Condell because this has gone on too long. Condell is obviously far from the offenses only problems, Dane Evans was awful completing less than 65% of his throws nad turning the ball over 3 times with an embarrassing late game fumble on a DESIGNED RUN THAT SHOULD'VE NEVER BEEN CALLED. Seriously, Hamilton had the lead at that point all they needed to do was run the clock out and stop Edmonton on defense. But instead of doing that, Tommy Condell gets cute and pulls a shit play out of his ass that failed miserably. And that wasn't the only one, earlier in the game they ran a WR reverse sweep on a 2nd and 5 in the red zone. Its decisions like that, and terrible offensive line scouting/play that is sinking this team right now and obviously Dane shoulders some of that blame too. Excuses are running thin.
^Defense :
Edmonton's defense is mostly a cast of misfits and no-names, but came in with the plan to get in the backfield and shut down the throwing lanes and they were successful. And the turnovers ended up winning Hamilton the ball game. Chris Jones' defense completely changes when they get actual pressure and the defensive ends played well enough in 3 man and 4 man downs that it allowed Jones to play flexibly with his linebackers and secondary. And Dane had nothing for it, both interceptions were essentially right to the defender on a disguised coverage. I continue to be impressed with the randoms Chris Jones is finding at linebacker, both Sheldon and Matt Thomas played well in lieu of Deon Lacey. I also really like Nafees Lyon's play in the secondary and think he has potential to be great, and Jalen Collins is also starting to feel himself a little bit more. I think this defense just keeps getting better, but pass rush is the key and the interior guys haven't really been there yet.
Hamilton's offense is getting a lot more shit than the defense should be, this defense just collapses in the 4th every game and they're surviving on great individual performances. Simoni Lawrence, Jovon Santos-Knox, Dylan Wynn and Tunde Adeleke continue to show up game in and game off while everyone else is just kind of playing below their standards. Part of the reason this defense is struggling is the complete lack of pass rush from the defensive ends. Dylan Wynn is a great defensive tackle and his presence should be opening things up for these defensive ends but they just aren't playing good enough and the secondary continues to have hiccups every game. I will say though, this defense is being stranded by the offense failing and I think we're seeing exhaustion sitting in a lot of the time. They need help from the offense bad.
^{Special Teams}
Edmonton is getting a lot of mileage out of their punter and kicker, but overall they've been pretty bad on the teams and any time you give up a major its a bad game. I still don't know why they got rid of Grant MacDonald, this team isn't blocking well enough and obviously they aren't covering well either.
Hamilton on the flip side played exceptionally on the teams with the exception of an understandable 53 yard miss. The cover teams flourished and Lawrence Woods finally had the big touchdown I was waiting for.

Arph's Players of the Game!	Edmonton Elks	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Offense:	OT Tony Washington	WR Tim White
Defense:	LB Brady Sheldon	DT Dylan Wynn
Special Teams:	P Matt Mengel	KPR Lawrence Woods
Canadian:	DB Scott Hutter	K Michael Domagala

The Montreal Alouettes @ The Saskatchewan Roughriders

^{The Saskatchewan Roughriders 2-1 obliterate The Montreal Alouettes 1-141-20
Offense} :
This loss can easily be chalked up to bad offensive line play because the big boys up front were dominated all game long and it wasn't isolated to just receiver. I mean the offense was okay in the first half, but after halftime adjustments were made Statue Harris took over and the offense became a perpetual 2-and-out machine. They were manhandled and physically outmatched early on the game and the offense never really got back into the game. It happens, but what I want to know is why Khari Jones didn't pull the trigger on Vernon Adams sooner. By the time Adams was put into the game the team was down 20, but they watched Trevor Harris go 2-and-out on back to back to back drives when in Hamilton VAJ had 4 fucking throws before he was yanked. I'm not saying the outcome would've been different, but Adams could've at LEAST moved around in the pocket more. Really felt like an ego driven game for the offense.
Far from an encouraging start to the game and I'm tired of seeing Cody Fajardo take hits and limp off every game, but Saskatchewan finally did the thing I think Riders fans begged them to do for years and its run the ball. Cody Fajardo has always been at his best with run support, and when Jamal Morrow started taking over the ball game it opened up so many options for this offense to move the ball down the field and hit KSB for big gains. I was thrilled, both running backs averaged more than 5+ yards a carry and the offensive line played bully ball with the Als D in the second half. Logan Bandy had a much better performance as did Ferland and Johnson, but NaTy Rogers desperately needs to get his shit together and I'm worried the ejection he got out of Michael Wakefield reinforced bad behavior. This group commits a lot of penalties, and most if not all of them were legit unfortunately. Duke is also way too in his head and letting his frustration getting the best of him, he's been dropping a lot of balls and right now him and Cody just aren't jelling.
^Defense :
For Montreal's defense it was a tale of two halfs, they were dominant in pass rush in the first half but had nothing for the run in the second, and then started taking really bad penalties like unsportsmanlike, RTP and UR. This defense was frustrated, and they dealt with it the wrong way and any time you get ejected, it hurts the team. Saskatchewan scored enough on their own to win the game, btu the penalties this defense committed certainly helped Saskatchewan pull away instead of keeping this game close like it should've been. Montreal absolutely missed Almondo Sewell in the middle because they were absolutely dominated up front. Thought the secondary guys played well enough as did Tre Watson, just not enough help/discipline.
Saskatchewan's defense continues to be incredible at home, Anthony Lanier had a statement game in the middle and I really think this is the game that seperated Pete Robertson as a premier pass rusher in this league. His speed off the line has been great, he's relentless when he's squared up and he's in on almost every single play aside from that and my favourite part about his game? The few time he helped the runningback up after a big TFL and stop in the backfield. I thought it was a very well called game too by Jason Shivers and Anthony Lanier dominated when they moved him in different blitz packages. The linebackers continue to be great and the secondary, especially Roland Milligan, had a pretty good performance overall.
^{Special Teams}
At this point of the season I am confident enough to call Montreal the best special teams in the league. Even though Saskatchewan began shutting down Chandler Worthy, he was still a monster returning and this team just blocks so well on returns. Montreal is also damn good at covering kicks and when Zema and Cote are on, this is a scary unit.
As I said above Saskatchewan had a better day covering kicks despite the touchdwon, but Vedvik continued to underwhelm and Lauther ultimately had a bad day out there. The blocking is slowly improving but this special teams unit has a lot of work left to do.

Arph's Players of the Game!	Montreal Alouettes	Saskatchewan Roughriders
Offense:	RB Walter Fletcher (hot take)	RB Jamal Morrow
Defense:	LB Tre Watson	DE/DT Anthony Lanier
Special Teams:	KPR Chandler Worthy	KPR Jamal Morrow
Canadian:	LB Brian Harelimana	WR Kian Schaffer-Baker

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-0) @ Toronto Argonauts

^{The Winnipeg Blue Bombers 4-0 defeat The Toronto Argonauts 1-2 23-21
Offense} :
Winnipeg's offense continues to struggle despite scoring 16 points and a lot of it is because of the injury to Logan Couture and the poor play of Geoff Gray. Gray's had his moments, but he's also been a hot head in my personal viewing and he's been consistently getting bullrushed/overrun by blitzing defenders and I thought the Toronto defensive line did a great job against the stallwart offensive tackles. Obviously Winnipeg wants to be getting more mileage out of the run game because Oliveira is continuing to struggle in this starting role and Buck Pierce is calling terrible plays to beat the blitz. I'm not saying the solution is easy, but the offense has straight up been enemic and shades of what Winnipeg's offense looked like as a team before Zach Collaros. Collaros was far from perfect, but he's also been the difference for Winnipeg this season along with Greg Ellingson. Dalton Schoen definitely continues to impress as well. I'm sure this offense is going to find its footing, but I would start to worry about the protection.
I say this every week but I have no idea why Toronto put all their chips on McLeod Bethel-Thompson. He played well in the second half, so did the rest of the offense. The line did okay after the half after a brutal first half and Andrew Harris was dominant running the ball. But you have to realize, the "comeback kid" "4th quarter BLT" is a bit of a fallacy, because he's trying to PULL the offense out of the messes he gets them in. I'll give credit to the Winnipeg secondary but it only goes so far, some of the throws he made this week and throughout the season has been mind numbingly stupid that I can't even fathom whats going through his head and if I remember at one point he was getting into a shouting match with his LT? This is an offense with a lot of talent at the skill position level and obviously the offensive line hasn't been great, but for them to be struggling this badly with turnovers and fighting on the sideline really speaks to how broken this offense seems right now. I don't know if its scheme or just bad play, but things need to change. Totally winnable game.
^Defense :
Winnipeg's defense played at a championship for a majority of the game even if there's still concerns in the secondary, but Nic Taylor had a whale of a game and put the TEAM ON HIS BACK with huge turnovers/pass breakups. Its the kind of defense that wins you games, and its why this is still* a championship quality team because the defense took over that ball game. Toronto could've put up way more points if it wasn't for the Redzone defense.
Toronto's defense also played extremely well even though the score and stats might not indicate that. The defense kept this game from being a blowout and I think Corey Mace is improving with every loss (you learn more from a loss). I have to feel like Chris Edwards returning to the line up is going to elevate this defense, but they need to start getting better in the secondary.
^{Special Teams}
Winnipeg was rock solid once again on the teams with a MONSTER performance from Thiadric Hansen, and honestly I am beginning to really like the games Marc Liegghio's been stringing together lately. We might be looking at the next ladies and gentlemen.
That game was prime Boris Bede. He's perfect on field goals including a 50 footer, misses the easy PAT attempt to lose his team the fucking game. Honestly? Move him back to punter and let him sit in his misery.

Arph's Players of the Game!	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	Toronto Argonauts
Offense:	WR Dalton Schoen	RB Andrew Harris
Defense:	DB Nick Taylor	LB Wynton McManis
Special Teams:	ST Thiadric Hansen	KPR Isiah Wright
Canadian:	K/P Marc Liegghio	LB Henoc Muamba

After the Rockets lost in 5 games in the 2nd round of the 2020 playoffs to the Lakers, it became clear that the Rockets were nearing the end of the Harden era. First, MDA resigned, then Morey stepped down, then Russ and Harden both demanded trades. When Stone came in, he was thrust in a pretty bad situation but within 2 years the Rockets now have one of the brightest futures in the league. Lets look at every (important) move Stone made to see how he's done. I will split this up into 2 parts per season since this will get kind of long and go up to last summer all the way to last night's Christian Wood trade
Robert Covington Trade: Robert Covington was probably our best role player in the 2020 season but it was clearly time to move on. On November 22nd, Stone traded Roco to the Blazers for Ariza, Isiah Stewart, and a 2021 first round pick. This pick became Usman Garuba
Overall I think this was a great trade for us as we got a young prospect for an aging role player and Garuba projected as arguably the best defender in last years draft after Mobley. He has true potential to guard the 1-5 and if his offense and shooting ever develops, he will be a great player
Original Christian Wood Trade: Two days later, we flipped the main contents of the Roco trade (Ariza and Stewart) as well as cash and a 2027 2nd to the Pistons for Christian Wood, a 2021 2nd (Which later became Luka Garza) and a 2021 top 16 protected FRP
This was a finesse at the time as Wood was believed to be that amazing roll man who was an athletic rim runner and could shoot the 3 and this was true at the time cause Wood averaged 23/10 with 1.6 blocks per game on 53% shooting in the 8 games with Harden. He was off from 3 but picked it up as post Harden trade, we were actually quite solid with a core 3 of Wall Wood and Oladipo and shot 59% from the field and a crazy 56% from 3 on 4 attempts until spraining his ankle. He would have easily been an all star if he didn't get hurt and we didn't fall off as a result. Its sad that this wasn't the Wood that carried over this season and Stewart is one of the better players of the 2020 class and will be a good big man for Detroit
And about that FRP, it becomes pretty important later on so don't forget about it
Signing Jae'Sean Tate: Despite your opinions on Stone as a GM, he is undeniably amazing at finding elite talents in low places. Jae'Sean Tate is the main example as he went from undrafted to first team all rookie last year and a rising star this year. He is an elite defender and an efficient finisher who can playmake and create his own shot in the post so a very solid player. He also has a developing shot and if it does became good, he will be the perfect small forward. He really does need to develop this 3 pointer tho as he is just 6'4 and can't realistically play power forward as a result
Kenyon Martin Jr Trade: Picking up where he left off, Stone made another robbery as he traded cash and the 2nd round pick Luka Garza from the Wood trade to Sacramento for the 52nd overall pick where he took KMJ. Kenyon is an uber athletic roll man who became a great 3 point shooter this year so he will be a stud on the offensive end in his prime. He has the tools to be a good defender especially as a help rim protector and could be the ideal wing we are missing
John Wall Trade: When Harden told Russ he wanted out, Russ also obviously requested out but for some reason, Tilman was still trying to convince Harden to stay instead of just trading him so we swapped Russ and John Wall and a 2023 protected FRP
Tbf, it did look like Harden, Wall, and Wood were gonna be a fun offensive trio but clearly, James wasn;t interested and we found out that while Wall was still capable of putting up 20, he was totally washed and was comically inefficient . Honestly, I don't really care about this move. Washington won this trade due to what they got out of Russ last summer but that 2023 FRP would be a nice trade asset
James Harden Trade: Im gonna break this up into multiple parts because it was so complicated so this is just gonna be about the picks and not LeVert or Allen. Brooklyn traded for disgruntled MVP and 3 peat scoring champ James Harden. The Nets sent their 2022,24,26 unprotected FRP as well as 21,23,25,27 FRP swaps
Its impossible to judge this trade rn obviously but the Nets kept their 2021 pick (Cam Thomas) and their 2022 FRP is 17th which is a great spot. Also the fact that James Harden isn't even on their team and that they are relying on a trio of Kyrie, KD, and Ben Simmons makes me feel optimistic on the future of these picks
I wish we had decided to blow it up in the 2019 summer so we could have sent Harden to the Clippers or Lakers and gotten back Shai or Ingram but that doesn't really matter to this post
Jarrett Allen Trade: This was easily Stone's biggest blunder as we got the Bucks 2022 FRP and Dante Exum in exchange for all star center Jarrett Allen. We def should have kept him as he would honestly have been perfect for us and even if he wasn't, if we had flipped him today, we def would have gotten more than a late FRP
Caris LeVert Trade: This was also a mistake as we actually had to give up a second to swap LeVert and Oladipo. I guess Dipo was a former all star but the dude was clearly washed and the most injury prone player in the league. We were kind of in no mans land post Harden trade tbh
Kevin Porter Jr Trade: This is personally one of my favorite moves Stone made as we gave up literally nothing to get KPJ. The Cavs just wanted to get rid of a guy who didn't want to be there but we swooped in and got a dude who averaged nearly 20 a game post all star break with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, under 3 TO, and shot 37% on over 8 3s a game. KPJ is a very controversial player even in this sub but the man has star level talent
PJ Tucker Trade: Since by March, it became clear that the Rockets were hard tanking, PJ wanted to go to a contender and so Stone obliged by flipping him to move up from 31 to 24 in the 2021 draft and taking Josh Christopher
Milwaukee got a core contributor for their championship run, PJ finally got his wish to play meaningful basketball and get a ring, and we got Josh Christopher who is a great 2 way prospect. If there was a most improved rookie award, Josh Christopher would both deserve it as the turnaround he made from summer league was crazy. On April 3rd this year against the Wolves, him and Jalen Green became the first pair of rookies to both drop 30 in the same game and Josh went 11/14 with 2 steals in the process while guarding Edwards and Dlo on the other end
Oladipo Trade: It became pretty clear that Dipo was washed and half assing since he didn't want to be here so we flipped him for a measly return of Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk, and a 2022 FRP.
Not much to say here we got jack shit out of him lol. It was fun to watch Kelly turn into Larry Bird to end the season. We ended up swapping that 2022 FRP with OKC when we got the 2nd overall pick in the lottery and OKC took Tre Mann at 18 who will be a Jordan Clarkson type of microwave scorer
​
So thats basically everything important that happened last year. Overall I think Stone did very well as a GM as he turned a disgrunted Harden on a failing program into a bright future with a core of KPJ, Wood, and the future 2nd overall pick with other gems like Tate and KMJ tossed in (along with the 23rd and 24th picks in the upcoming 2021 draft). Stone's main mark will come in the draft as he hits on all 4 picks and executes the biggest robbery of draft night...
Alperen Sengun Trade: For some crazy reason, 19 year old Turkish League MVP Alperen Sengun who was looked as a surefire lottery and even top 10 guy fell all the way to 16 so Stone jumped at the chance. I told you about the 2 FRPs acquired from the Wood and Russ trades and we used these to get 16 from OKC and take Sengun.
On draft night, the reactions were already a "WTF Presti" and it aged well in time as Sengun was everything as advertised and made not only OKC but everyone who passed on him look stupid. I legitimately think he could have been a ROY candidate on another team where he actually would have played big minutes and his combination of footwork, elite rebounding, and crazy passing IQ as just a 19 year old give him a star level ceiling. He isn't a bad athlete and rim protector either though it certainly isn't a strength

Coach: Monty Williams
Pg: Dame, Shai Gilgeous-alexander, Fox
SG: Edwards, Powell
SF: Kawhi, Wiggins
Pf: Dray, Saddiq Bey
C: Al Horford, Randle, Kleber
I think I should have an elite defence. Dray is the best defender in the nba, Wiggins is one of the best primary defenders in the nba, Bey is a strong versatile defender, Kawhi when locked in is arguably the best perimeter defender in the nba and probably the best helping from the nail. Horford and Kleber are 2 of the most switchable bigs in the nba and are both great at protecting the rim. Shai has the tools to be a strong defender in a smaller offensive role, and Edwards has showcased a lot of potential on that end this season.
Norman Powell is also a good guard defender. Dame and Fox are certainly weakness but the size, versaitly and defensive intelligence this roster has will let me preswitch them out of action in which they will be exploited in.
On offence I have Kawhi and Dame who are 2 of the 5 best offensive players in the nba in my opinion. Every single player on the roster bar dray and Fox shoots makes at least 1 3 per game. Edwards has shown ability as an isolation scorer and movement shooter this season. Whilst bey gets them up at high volume. Norman Powell is also an elite shooter, shooting over 50% on wide open 3s 2 of the last 3 seasons. We have playamaming redundancy with Kawhi, Dray, Randle, Dame, Shai, Fox and Edwards as well. We have elite iso scoring from Kawhi and Dame for clutch situations.
We have the option to go to a super sized lineup with Edwards or Shai Manning the Point, 2 of wiggins, Kawhi and Bey locking down the 2s and 3s, Dray at the 4 and one of Kleber and Horford at the 5. We can run a number of 5 out lineups becuase we have 10 plus shooters. This will let Shai, Dame, Foxand Edwards attack the rim with abandon and give Kawhi and randle space to operate inside.
We anticipate development from Edwards, Shai and Bey as well.
My closing Lineup would be Dame, Edwards/Powell/Shai/Wiggins, Wiggins/Bey/Randle, Kawhi, Dray
Depending on who is hot or not.
Or if I'm playing against a super sized team I can fit in Horford or Kleber if they are hot as well
I also have arguably the best coach in the league right now in Monty Williams. He runs a modern motion offence that utilises a variety of high pick and roll actions. These utilise both Damian Lillard strengths as a high pick and roll wizard, and draymond Greens strengths as a screener and short roller, as well as being massively experienced in a motion offence situation. We will play a 5 out system which results in the highest offensive ratings in league history even the jazz play 5 out with Gobert always staying on the perimeter to screen for Mitchell, Conley, Bogi or formerly ingles.
Furthermore Williams is great at utilising various defensive schemes and getting the most out of mobile bigs and wing defenders such as Horford, Kleber, Kawhi, Wiggins and Bey.
We will likely get out rebounded by the bigger teams but we can go for for large lineups with Bey or Wiggins at the 2 to potentially compensate for that. This will also serve to deny teams advantages on switches with bigs like Jokic and Embiid.
I personally believe this is the strongest team assembled and one that has a lot of room for growth.
Draft Positions:
4: Kawhi Leonard, personally whilst I think steph is the best player in the nba, taking a large versatile wing who can give lock down defence or the highest volume efficient volume scoring in the league is too hard to pass up. If you look at other teams they have weakness on the wings because they missed out on the top players in the early rounds. His load management is certainly a concern but with the amount of talent available here I figure I can minimise his regular season role and unleash him in the playoffs. 40% 3pt shooter.
17: Damian Lillard, when fit is simply a top 5 offensive player in the nba and a top 10 talent. Him being available at 17 due to an injury he recovered from 2 months ago is simply fantastic. 2nd best shooter in the league. Spacing will be key here.
27: Draymond Green, the best defender in the nba. A true 16 game player and with kawhi can lock down any team in the nba during the playoffs. Dame has also expressed a desire to acquire him for the blazers this suggests to me he is willing to buy into an off ball role if Dray would be manning the point.
37: Anthony Edwards, Potentially a reach but with another year under his belt and as a Junior I think he will keep developing. Against Ja in the first game he should some serious ability to lcok in and force difficult looks. And I hope this ability will continue to develop. He was also top 10 in 3pt attempts per game this season which provides excellent spacing next to his backcourt partner Dame.
47: SGA, on talent is clearly a top 40 player in the nba and I actually think he is an all-star level player. His shooting this season has been poor but last year and the year before he shot over 40% on catch and shoot 3s. He is also the best driver in basketball, a good playmaker and 6'6 with a 7ft wingspan so if he lock in on defence he could potentially be a plus defender. He will be my backup 1/2
57: Andrew Wiggins, I needed POA defence for the regular season and through 3 quarters in playoff games. Wiggins is my man for that. He can provide POA defence 1-4, offer resistance against bigs as well. He shoots 40% on 3s and nearly 50% from the left corner. He is also very efficient on cuts and was one of the 10 most efficient players in the league on isos last season.
67: Al Horford, Horford has shown through the nets series he can't be abused by any player. He's a perfect switch big who can protect the rim well. He's also a strong screener and passer as well as a stretch big who is actually guarded. This is important because it lets him play with Dray or another big without requiring the greatness of steph curry to keep the offence afloat.
77: Saddiq Bey, great defender can be the primary defender 2-4 and is a neutral or better defender on 1s and 5s. He takes over 7 3s a game. And is at 38% on c+S attempts. He has also shown potential as a passer and iso guy this season. I also believe his 3pt shooting is better than advertised as he was shooting below 30% on 3s through 26 games. And Rose to 36% by the end of the year.
87: De'aaron fox, he's an all-star calibre player and would be my 3rd string PG. Massive win here. No brainer move to help keep the offence afloat when kawhi is load managing.
97: Norman Powell. Plus defender on 1s and 2s, big enough to hold his own vs 3s. Shoots 50% on wide open 3s 2 of the last 3 seasons. And is one of the most efficiency 19ppg guys ever.
107: Monty Williams. Top 3 coach in the league. Coaches were going. Best to select the guy who has convinced Cp3 to become a great off ball guy and hope he can do the same to the rest of my guys. Also his team kept rolling along through injuries and has played fantastically in the clutch. He also makes great adjustments in the postseason. Perfect for load managing kawhi and getting the most out of a versatile roster.
117: Julius Randle, Big body who counters my weakness on the glass, provides great secondary playmaking and his potential as an outside shooter. He was also a plus defender in all areas of the court and contests some of the most FGAs per game and again is a sub all-star calibre of player available at 117. Massive value.
127: Maxi Kleber, Switch Big who can shoot 3s, nailed 41% of them last season and was high 30s early in the year until a massive slump post all-star break. He's a very strong rim protector and is very strong even switched onto the quickest guards. He is among the biggest part in slowing down the Jazz's number 1 offence this year.

HERZLIYA, Israel, Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Safe-T Group Ltd. (Nasdaq, TASE: SFET) (“Safe-T” or the “Company”), a global provider of cyber-security and privacy solutions to consumers and enterprises, today announced record financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2021.

• Revenues for the three-months ended September 30, 2021 reached a record high of $3,377,000, an increase of 137% compared to $1,426,000 reported in the three-month period ended September 30, 2020. Third quarterrevenues exceeded the Company’s preliminary estimated revenues of $3.2 million.
• Gross profit for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021 amounted to $1,783,000, an increase of 108% compared to $859,000 reported in the same period in 2020.
• The Company’s cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balances at the end of the quarter were $12,947,000, down from $19,304,000 reported at the end of the second quarter primarily due to a one-time cash payment of $3,700,000 related to the acquisition of CyberKick Ltd. (“CyberKick”).

Shachar Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Safe-T, said, “We believe that the impressive financial results achieved in the third quarter of 2021 and through the first nine months of the year, reflect the successful execution of our aggressive growth strategy focused on bringing world-class cybersecurity and privacy technology to consumers and enterprises around the world. We are especially pleased by the performance of our consumer and enterprise privacy businesses which have significantly contributed to our growth as it gains sales traction in large geographic markets including the United States and Western Europe.”
Third Quarter of 2021 and Recent Business Developments:

• Completed the acquisition of CyberKick, a provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) security and privacy tools for consumers designed to reduce their vulnerability while they are online and prevent and defend against a wide spectrum of cyber threats;
• The completion of the development of iShield™, an advanced cybersecurity product designed to help consumers as well as small and mid-sized businesses in detecting and defending against dangerous and malicious threats during online browsing activities;
• The launch of a new enterprise data collection solution, enabling unlimited collection of online, public, web-based data aid in enterprise data analysis and decision making; and
• Safe-T was named by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions as a 2021 emerging leader as part of its SPARK Matrix™ analysis of the global Zero Trust Network Security (ZTNS) market.

“Momentum in our business is accelerating and through our continued commitment to advance our cybersecurity and privacy offerings with improvements such as our data collection service and more recently, our anti-ransomware technology, we intend to further capitalize on the large global growth opportunities created by both the Work-from-Home and Work-from-Anywhere paradigms. As our financial results indicate, we are building a high growth company, with high gross margins. While the company is currently investing in its growth in the short term, over the coming quarters, we believe significant continued growth in revenues will produce higher gross profits needed to support operations. Our outlook for the remainder of 2021 and into early 2022 remains bullish, and we look forward to reporting on our continued progress,” concluded Mr. Daniel.
Financial Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021:

• Revenues in Q3.2021 amounted to $3,377,000 (Q3.2020: $1,426,000). The growth is attributed to the increase in enterprise privacy business revenues and the consolidation of CyberKick’s revenues following the completion of its acquisition on July 4, 2021.
• Cost of revenues in Q3.2021 totaled $1,594,000 (Q3.2020: $567,000). The increase is mainly a result of growth in revenue in the enterprise privacy business which involves higher costs related to internet services providers, as well as the consolidation of CyberKick’s cost of revenues, mainly in traffic acquisition costs for 3rd parties’ products.
• Research and development expenses in Q3.2021 totaled $1,388,000 (Q3.2020: $655,000). The increase is attributed to the consolidation of CyberKick’s research and development expenses, as well as to the Company’s salary costs and share-based compensation.
• Sales and marketing expenses in Q3.2021 totaled $3,109,000 (Q3.2020: $1,114,000). The increase is primarily attributed to the consolidation of CyberKick’s sales and marketing expenses, primarily in its products advertising costs,as well as to the Company’s salary costs and share-based compensation.
• General and administrative expenses in Q3.2021 totaled $1,827,000 (Q3.2020: $1,413,000). The increase is mainly due to higher professional fees, predominantly legal, in connection with intellectual property protection activities.
• IFRS net loss in Q3.2021 totaled $3,723,000, or $0.121basic loss per ordinary share (Q3.2020: net loss of $1,292,000, or $0.081 basic loss per ordinary share). The increase in IFRS net loss is a result of the items discussed above.
• Non-IFRS net loss in Q3.2021 totaled $3,225,000, or $0.101 basic loss per ordinary share (Q3.2020: loss of $1,638,000, or $0.101 basic loss per ordinary share).

1 Adjusted retrospectively to reflect a 40:1 reverse share split of the Company’s ordinary shares, which became effective on October 15, 2021.
The following table presents the reconciled effect of the non-cash expenses/income and certain expenses further described below, on the Company’s net loss for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2021, and 2020, and for the year ended December 31, 2020:
For the Nine-Month For the Three-Month For the yearPeriod EndedPeriod EndedEndedSeptember 30,September 30,December 31,(thousands of U.S. dollars)2021 2020 2021 2020 2020 Net loss for the period 8,605 2,836 3,723 1,292 7,845 Issuance costs - 156 - - 156 Amortization and impairment of intangible assets and goodwill 983 1,636 425 330 3,781 Share-based compensation 1,401 349 835 309 742 Changes in fair value of Finance liabilities (1,053) (3,253) (762) (985) (2,987)Total adjustment 1,331 (1,112) 498 (346) 1,692 Non-IFRS net loss 7,274 3,948 3,225 1,638 6,153
Balance Sheet Highlights:

• As of September 30, 2021, shareholders’ equity totaled $27,752,000, or approximately $0.93 per outstanding ADS as of September 30, 2021, compared to shareholders’ equity of $16,216,000 on December 31, 2020. The increase is mainly due to the February 2021 registered direct offering and warrants exercises, partially offset by the Company’s operating loss during the first nine months of 2021.
• As of September 30, 2021, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents balance and short-term investments balance aggregated $12,947,000, compared to $11,017,000 on December 31, 2020.

Additional details on the Company’s financials, products and strategy will be available soon on the Company’s website here.
Use of Non-IFRS Financial Results
In addition to disclosing financial results calculated in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, this press release contains non-IFRS financial measures of net loss for the periods presented that exclude the effect of share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets, non-cash issuance and acquisition expenses and the revaluation of finance liabilities at fair value. The Company’s management believes the non-IFRS financial information provided in this release is useful to investors’ understanding and assessment of the Company’s ongoing operations. Management also uses both IFRS and non-IFRS information in evaluating and operating its business internally, and as such deemed it important to provide this information to investors. The non-IFRS financial measures disclosed by the Company should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with IFRS, and the financial results calculated in accordance with IFRS and reconciliations to those financial statements should be carefully evaluated. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of these non-IFRS measures to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures provided in the financial statement tables herein.
Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call
Mr. Shachar Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Shai Avnit, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call today, November 30, 2021, at 09:00 a.m. ET, to discuss the third quarter financial results, followed by a Q&A session.
To attend the conference call, please dial one of the following teleconferencing numbers. Please begin by placing your call five minutes before the conference call commences. If you are unable to connect using the toll-free number, please try the international dial-in number:
The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay at https://viavid.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1512893&tp\_key=d8f6453d78 and via the investor relations section of the Company's website at https://www.safetgroup.com.
A replay of the conference call will be available after 11:30 a.m. Eastern time through December 30, 2021.
Toll-free replay number:1-844-512-2921International replay number:1-412-317-6671Replay ID:13725024
About Safe-T® Group Ltd.
Safe-T Group Ltd. (Nasdaq, TASE: SFET) is a global provider of cyber-security and privacy solutions to consumers and enterprises. The Company operates in three distinct segments, tailoring solutions according to specific needs. The segments include, enterprise cyber-security solutions, enterprise privacy solutions, and consumer cyber-security and privacy solutions.
Our cyber-security and privacy solutions for consumers provide a wide security blanket against ransomware, viruses, phishing, and other online threats as well as a powerful, secured and encrypted connection, masking their online activity and keeping them safe from hackers. The solutions are designed for both advanced and basic users, ensuring full protection for all personal and digital information.
ZoneZero® cyber-security solutions for enterprises, designed for cloud, on-premises and hybrid networks, mitigates attacks on enterprises’ business-critical services and sensitive data, while ensuring uninterrupted business continuity. Organizational access use cases, from outside the organization or within, are secured according to the “validate first, access later” philosophy of Safe-T’s zero trust.
Safe-T privacy solutions for enterprises are based on our advanced and secured proxy network, the world’s fastest, enabling our customers to collect data anonymously at any scale from any public sources over the web using a unique hybrid network. Our network is the only one of its kind that is comprised of millions of residential exit points and hundreds of servers located at our ISP partners around the world. The infrastructure is optimally designed to guarantee the privacy, quality, stability, and the speed of the service.
For more information about Safe-T, visit www.safetgroup.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, Safe-T is using forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses its outlook for the future, its expectation to capitalize on the opportunities in the market such as Work-from-Home and Work-from-Anywhere paradigms, the expected demand for Safe-T’s products, the expected benefits of its strategy, expected future growth, commitment to advance cybersecurity and privacy offerings with improvements and the expansion in large geographic markets. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on Safe-T’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements of Safe-T could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Safe-T’s annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 22, 2021, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as otherwise required by law, Safe-T undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. Safe-T is not responsible for the contents of third-party websites.
​
Full PR: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/safe-t-group-reports-137-133000283.html
https://spotlightgrowth.com/safe-t-group-nasdaq-sfet-reports-137-increase-in-third-quarter-2021-revenues-and-108-growth-in-third-quarter-2021-gross-profit/

I just read an article with the same premise (https://dailythunder.com/thunder-journal-2020-2021-thunder-player-rankings/) and was inspired to do the same. Let me know what you guys think!

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander- He is our franchise cornerstone. Even with the worst spacing in the league, Shai was incredibly efficient. During the first half of the season, he elevated a historically bad team on paper to the point of flirting with a .500 record and the play-in tournament. I'm glad that the training staff is acting with considerable precaution toward his injury, as plantar fasciitis is no joke.
2. Al Horford- He was an anchor of this team and impacted the game in many different areas. I'm still not convinced that we would be able to recoup truly positive trade value for him, but considering that the narrative before this year was that we would have to give up draft capital to get him off our books, this is yet another successful Presti revitalization project.
3. Lu Dort- His 20+ point outbursts were SUCH a joy to watch. His shooting is trending in the right direction, and hopefully he can improve around the basket. He also needs to work on his handle and his distributing abilities, as he oftentimes rushes frantically into the paint with tunnel vision. He significantly increased his scoring output without compromising on the defensive end, even though our team defense was generally awful and hurt his advanced metrics.
4. Ty Jerome- He quietly had a tremendously solid sophomore campaign. After being written off after his rookie season, he showed this season that his shooting and passing skills will in fact translate from college. He had great range on threes and some really impressive assists. He will be in this league for a long time. People need to start talking about him as a potential long-term piece.
5. Mike Muscala- People seem to have already forgotten about him being on the team. He had his best season yet, and there were moments in several games where he legitimately willed the Thunder to victory. I'll be rooting for him wherever he goes.
6. Kenrich Williams- Wow. I certainly was not expecting him to have the season that he did. He really impressed me and completely earned the "Kenny Hustle" nickname. He was really solid in so many facets and was the ideal role player and bench energizer. I do worry slightly about his free throw percentage this season, and I wonder how much his shooting numbers will deviate back to the mean. He was an awful shooter in New Orleans, but he made legitimately huge strides this past offseason.
7. Svi Mykhailiuk- He has good size at 6'7" and quietly demonstrated good driving ability. He was advertised as a 3-point specialist coming in, and his efficiency was up-and-down. Looking at his career numbers, I'm not sure he will be ever be a truly elite sniper, as his second season in Detroit now looks to be somewhat of a fluke. However, with better spacing, his efficiency should go up.
8. Gabriel Deck- This guy could be really good! 10 games is too small of a sample to draw many conclusions, but what we saw was quite encouraging. He doesn't seem to be much of a threat from long distance, but he seems to be a well-rounded player.
9. Isaiah Roby- I was so wrong about him. I was clamoring for him to be cut in the preseason, but he has improved so much as a player. I like him better as a power forward than as a center, considering his height can be exploited by physical bigs down low. He was a great success story this season.
10. Tony Bradley- I really like this guy. He executes his role very well, and he realistically would have been above Moses Brown on the depth chart had we been trying to win. My Philly friend is legitimately salty that the Sixers gave him to us.
11. Darius Bazley- He started coming into his own as the season progressed, and I loved seeing him become more aggressive. He has so much potential, and I really wanted to give him a better ranking than this. However, he struggled pretty heavily at times, especially early in the season. His turnovers, three point shooting, and lack of strength on the defensive end negatively affected this team. He seemed uncomfortable with his expanded role, which is totally reasonable considering his age and inexperience. He has all the tools to become an impactful player in this league.
12. Theo Maledon- Theo had so many great moments this season. He really excites me as a player, and he plays the game the right way. He also very much looked like a teenager at times (because he is one). His defensive struggles, shooting inconsistency, and lack of strength were to be expected. I legitimately don't know how we are going to find playing time for all of our young guards moving forward, especially considering that we might draft some next month. It's a great problem to have though.
13. Darius Miller- He was a veteran who barely got any minutes. He demonstrated with the Pelicans that he is a good shooter though, and so he realistically could have gotten more playing time had we prioritized being competitive.
14. Moses Brown- He is a lot of fun to watch. On his best days, he kind of reminds me of DeAndre Jordan. He seems to have improved his free throw shooting, which is encouraging. Like many of the other youngsters on this list, he really needs to improve defensively.
15. Aleksej Pokusevski- He was the worst player in the NBA for the first half of the season, but he came back from the G-League looking way more confident, with his shooting motion slowing down. We need to be really patient with him, as I worry that some fans will begin to criticize him over the next couple of seasons if he doesn't progress quickly enough. He said in an interview somewhat recently that he stopped rushing his shots as much because he realized that players struggle to block seven-footers on the perimeter regardless of the timing of the release.
16. Jaylen Hoard- I enjoyed watching him play. I don't know if there will be a spot available for him next season, but I hope he at least lands another contract somewhere else.
17. Josh Hall- For the most part, he didn't look NBA-ready, which is completely understandable considering that he skipped college. He was a highly rated recruit though, and he has a lot of potential.
18. Justin Robinson- He barely played, but he made some good passes in a few games and had previous success in the G-League.
19. Charlie Brown Jr.- He is a young player with really cool hair. Hopefully he finds a home in the NBA!

Black Desert Mobile - Official Website
Greetings, Adventurers!
The Patch Notes for the update on March 30 (Tuesday) are here! In this update, we’ve added new content, events, bug fixes, and overall improvements to the game. See below for more details about this update.
※ All screenshots were taken from the test environment and may differ from what appears in the live server. If you find something in-game that's different from the Patch Notes, please feel free to contact the support center.
📷
■ Family Dispatch
Developer's Comment
We’re always looking for ways to improve using other characters in the family. With today’s update, we are adding Family Dispatch: Merchantry so you can send family members on Merchantry tasks when you don’t have the time or energy to do it yourself! We are hoping that the addition of this new system will add to your enjoyment and convenience when playing!
📷
- Added Family Dispatch, a feature that allows you to use family members to carry out specific tasks.
📷
- Tap Dispatch on the right side of the main menu and send family members to Tower of Trials and Merchantry.
▷ Dispatch: Merchantry
📷
- To use Family Dispatch: Merchantry, you need to first unlock a camp and have a Tier 5 Town Hall, a Trading Post, a Wagon, and be Lv. 20 or above at Merchantry.
- The active Character needs to be at least Lv. 45 and only Characters Lv. 60 or above can be dispatched.
📷
- If you are short on family members to be dispatched, you can use [Mercenary Contract] to hire a Mercenary who'll do it instead. - Family Dispatch: Merchantry will require a Daily Food Supply, which will be deducted from Food Storage. - New Regions will unlock with higher Merchantry levels. Dispatching to these Regions will yield better rewards, but it will take more time to complete. - Family Dispatch: Merchantry will maintain amity with Trade Vendors of all regions. - Amity reduction remains the same. Should you not do Merchantry or Family Dispatch: Merchantry for 7 days, amity will begin to fall.
※ Important Note - Active characters, or those already dispatched for any task, cannot be selected for Dispatch. - You cannot do Merchantry when Family Dispatch: Merchantry is already in progress. - The level of your Merchantry escorts does not influence the results of Family Dispatch: Merchantry. - Family Dispatch: Merchantry does not earn Merchantry Exp. points. - After Family Dispatch: Merchantry is completed, you can continue with Merchantry or another round of Family Dispatch: Merchantry, provided you have enough food.
▷ Tower of Trials - Moved Tower of Trials to the Family Dispatch page in the main menu. - Tower of Trials: Elion/Hadum progress can be checked together from the dispatch page.
■ Merchantry
Developer's Comment The overall rewards attainable from Merchantry have been improved. We hope the latest changes help diversify your gameplay and that you have more fruitful Merchantry trips ahead of you. We are always listening to your feedback and will continue trying our best to improve the different modes of the game so that you always feel incentivized to try them all.
📷
▷ Event and Sealed Treasure Chest - Increased Balenos, Serendia, Neutral Zone, and North Calpheon events. - Increased the chance of higher-grade events.
📷
- Added Epic and Mystical Sealed Treasure Chests (previously only obtainable through Merchantry rank SS) as possible Merchantry event rewards.
📷
- Possible rewards of Mystical Sealed Treasure Chest: · Black Pearl · Advice of Valks 10% · Refined Black Crystal: Weapon · Refined Black Crystal: Armor · Tower of Trials Entry Pass (Hadum) · Tower of Trials Entry Pass (Elion) · Ancient Tablet Chest · Boss Stamp Chest · Relic Fragments Chest · Lightstone Fragments Chest · [Mystical] Condensed Dark Energy Chest · Alchemy Stone Fragments Chest
- Possible rewards of Epic Sealed Treasure Chest: · Black Crystal: Weapon · Black Crystal: Armor · Patrigio Guaranteed Bargain Pass · Grand Black Stone Sack · Good Black Stone Sack · Golden Loot Chest · Novice to Master Skillbook x10 Chest · Supreme Crystal Chest · [Epic] Condensed Dark Energy Chest
▷ Merchantry Premium Specialty Good - Added Tower of Trials Entry Pass (Hadum). - Reduced the price of some available goods. - Changed the required Rapport for purchasing some available goods. - Changed the stock amount of some available goods.
▷ Wandering Shop - Increased availability for items that can be bought and sold.
■ Gear Resonance
📷
- Added 23rd - 28th Gear Resonance effects. · You can check the details for the new Resonance levels in the Gear Resonance window.
📷
■ Paladin - Improved the transition to running when using [Radiant Charge].
■ Nova - Fixed the issue during Node War where using [Frost Shield] could push Elephants inside barricades.
■ Dark Knight - Fixed an issue that caused abnormalities with the character's hand when turning weapons off in town was selected.
📷
■ Golden Bell - Modified the name of [Golden Bell] available in the Pearl Shop. Golden Bell (previous name) ▶ Bell of Fortune (updated name) Golden Bell: Blessing of Aal (previous name) ▶ Bell of Aal: Great Desert (updated name) Golden Bell: Hadum (previous name) ▶ Bell of Recuperation: Hadum (updated name)
■ Enhance / Enchant - When enhancing or enchanting equipped gear, an animated effect has been added to highlight the selected gear.
■ Boss Rush - Added a retry button to the popup window displayed when exiting Boss Rush. - Added a function that displays the requirement for an unlocked Elion Boss Rush. - After finishing an Elion/Hadum Boss Rush the Boss Rush will restart after 10 seconds if Auto-Repeat or Raise Difficulty are unchecked.
■ Character - Fixed a display issue where the active character appeared abnormally at times.
■ Guild - Fixed an issue in Siege War and Node War where Elephants would cross land types that they are not supposed to be able to.
■ Camp - Added the ability to equip/unequip Weapons in Camp.
■ Arena - Improved Arena to show Magic and Sacred Power stats.
■ Title - Changes how titles related to World Bosses are obtained so that players who help defeat the boss can obtain the title, not just the players who get the last hit.
📷
■ Guild - Fixed an issue where, after the demolition of a bridge or barricade, the recovery time displayed incorrectly. - Fixed an issue in Siege War and Node War where the formation window and Guild Distribute Bonus window, when arranging the members list based on log-in information, would display the list incorrectly.
- Changed the name of 'Violent Banquet Hall Patrol' and 'Violent Banquet Hall Scout' in Hidden Banquet Hall to 'Mighty Banquet Hall Patrol' and 'Mighty Banquet Hall Scout'.
- Fixed an issue where the surrounding Guild Member's guild names did not display when you are new to a guild. - Removed [Declare War] for members of the same guild.
■ Skill Preset - Fixed an issue that, at times, prevented preset changes.
■ Hadum - Fixed an issue where, when entering Hadum or Hadum Boss Rush, sound effects from other than the active character would play.
■ Movement - Fixed an abnormal movement issue when the horse begins to move. - Fixed an issue causing teleportation to work in places where it's not allowed to.
■ Debuff Skills - Fixed an issue where at times Super Armor activated at unwanted times if the opponent used a debuff skill a certain number of times.
■ Tower of Trials - Fixed an issue where, when restarting training, the left-side of the UI would disappear at times.
■ Field of Valor - Fixed an issue where Normal and Advanced Buffs could sometimes not be used from the inventory in Field of Valor.
■ Quest - Fixed an issue where quests related to receiving Silver would sometimes not complete.
■ Awakening & Ascension - Fixed an issue where, after turning weapons off in Town and using a Character Awakening/Ascension Coupon, the weapons would not appear.
📷
■ Fixes Related to iOS Policy Change
- Due to iOS policy changes the request to track your activity across other companies' apps (for customized marketing and advertising) will now pop-up for you to select your preferred options.
Developer's Comment:
Black Desert Mobile uses a function named IDFA (ID For Advertiser) to deliver suitable news, events, etc. to the users.
What is IDFA (ID For Advertiser)? IDFA is an ID assigned to your device by Apple to help analyze your preferences and deliver suitable content to you by marketers and advertisers. As of March 30 (Tuesday) iOS is improving the privacy options and, in accordance with these changes, a popup will appear on devices running on iOS 14.5 and older when opening the app.
※ IDFA is used for delivering information and events based on your interests and is not used to acquire your personal information or for any other purpose. ※ You can still play Black Desert Mobile even if you do not grant access. ※ If your device is running on any iOS version lower than iOS 14.5 you will not receive the popup message.
■ Rune Price Adjustment - Decreased Rune sale price. [Link to 3/23 patchnotes]
📷
■ Starting Events - Challenge Accepted! Complete Shai's Missions! - Event Period: After the maintenance on March 30 (Tuesday) - Until April 12 (Monday), 23:59
■ Ending Events - Shai Special Shop
📷 ※ Products with a sales period marked [TBA] will be announced separately through future Patch Notes listed under the [Sales Ending] section. ※ For products with a set sales period, go to the Pearl Shop in-game and view the products.
■ New Products - Champion's Package
■ New Armor Outfit - [Valkyrie] Fallen Garzar - [Ranger] Sylvia - [Valkyrie] Enslar - [Shai] Florchestra - [Warrior] Grotevant - [Witch] Labreve - [Warrior] Goyen - [Valkyrie] Venslar
■ New Weapon Outfit - [Valkyrie] Fallen Garzar - [Ranger] Sylvia - [Valkyrie] Enslar - [Shai] Florchestra - [Warrior] Grotevant - [Witch] Labreve - [Warrior] Goyen - [Valkyrie] Venslar
■ New Black Pearl Products - Elion's Blessing ※ Added an item that automatically revives the character when they die during auto-hunt. - Mercenary Contract ※ Added an item which can be used for Family Dispatch: Merchantry.
■ New April Fools' Outfit (Black Pearl) (2021, March 30 - April 12)
- [Warrior] Blazing Inferno (Armor)
📷 - [Ranger] Fallen Garzar (Armor)
📷- [Giant] Narusawa (Armor)
📷- [Valkyrie] Banha (Armor)
📷 - [Witch] Sylvia (Armor)
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- [Musa] Luanwulf (Armor)
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- [Tamer] Florchestra (Armor)
📷 - [Sorceress] Garnet Marniera (Armor)
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- [Dark Knight] Enslar (Armor)
📷 - [Striker] Grotevant (Armor)
📷 - [Maehwa] Labreve (Armor)
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- [Shai] Tantu (Armor)
📷 - [Archer] Goyen (Armor)
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- [Hashashin] Bloodfiend (Armor)
📷 - [Nova] Venslar (Armor)
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■ Sales Ending - Shai All-Inclusive Chest

It’s already a bit of a meme that this front office is in love with long bois. But around the league I’ve been noticing a trend. Teams in general seem to underrate skill in a big way on draft night and overrate various physical attributes. With the emergence of guys like Luka, LaMelo, and Shai I think it’s important to take a closer look and try to make sense of it all.

1. Ball handling is vastly underrated: LaMelo vs. Anthony Edwards.

In case you’ve been living under a rock while the Magic stink up the place, LaMelo Ball is running away with Rookie of the Year. He might win every single Rookie of the Month award along the way.
Oh and stop if you’ve heard this one before, two guys were selected ahead of him. How could this happen?
Well his passing and vision are as good as advertised. His shot and finishing are better than advertised pre draft. But what really stands out to me is how good he is at using his dribble to create plays. The ball is on a string when it’s in his hands. It allows him to get anywhere on the floor and ties all of his other skills together: passing, scoring, shot making.
Better yet, he’s got elite handles with size, an ultra premium in today’s league. Speaking of size that brings me to my next point.

1. Elite physical attributes alone don’t make a good player. Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman on the other hand were drafted above LaMelo. If that isn’t painful enough for Golden State and Minnesota, it’s not made much better by the fact that both have been huge negatives so far. Edwards is well below 40% from the floor and doesn’t really do anything well as of this point. Wiseman has one of the worse on/off ratings ... in the entire league. Why on earth did this happen , how could they have been drafted ahead of such a sire fire stud? Well...

Edwards: Great size for a combo guard: tall, long and muscular. Incredible athlete and drops a highlight reel dunk usually once a game. These elite attributes rated him highly despite concerns he was inefficient at Georgia.
Wiseman: Ideal length and outstanding athleticism. He runs like a gazelle and can jump out of the gym. Highly projected potential as a defensive monster, with great shot blocking and rebounding. Unfortunately, teams didn’t get a lot of tape on him in college due to a scandal that cut his career after just 3 games.
It turns out, as exciting as those hyperboles are, they’ve been overrated as far as actual translation goes. And what’s more, players get routinely over drafted when their physical attributes are way ahead of their skillset. Some other examples :
Bagley over Luka Bamba/Knox over Shai Josh Jackson over Fox Dragan BendeKris Dunn over Hield/Murray

1. The prevailing notion that you can’t teach size but players can just improve skill based weaknesses is just wrong and weird. You wouldn’t look at a 6’ 200 pound fast and strong soccer player and go HerrrrDer if he just could improve his dribbling, passing, and striking he could be better than Neymar. So why do we keep doing it with basketball players ? On the flip side, it seems to be underrated when guys show better than their age ball handling, passing, and shot creation.

So how should we approach this draft with all of these things in mind.

1. Cade Cunningham: really has zero holes in his game. Elite ball handlers with size, shooting, and defense at his age coming around once every 10 years maybe.
   
2. Jalen Green. While Mobley is projected at 2, I’m going Green here. Averaged over 18 a game as the lead guy against tougher competition than the NCAA offers. Passing vision is a concern at this stage.
   
3. Jalen Suggs. As time goes on I’m falling more in love with Suggs and could like him over Green. He’s shown to be a better passer at this stage and went to a school with another first round pick and a handful of productive basketball players, so it feels unfair to knock his production vs. Green. Both are electric athletes and developing off the dribble shooters at this stage.
   
4. Johnathan Kuminga. He’s struggled at times, but it’s important to note he picked up basketball late and has improved by leaps and bounds every year. Potential is a funny thing, but I think he has the competitive streak and work ethic to capitalize on it.
   
5. Evan Mobley. Kind of unfair because he’s been as good if not better than any of 2 through 4 but you’ve got to knock him down a peg on positional value.
   

People like to pretend that fantasy basketball is an extension of the real league, and that the best, most fun NBA players are also the best in fantasy. That simply isn't true. The perception that a player's on-court talents directly transfer to fantasy value is entirely false, but who are we to complain? By understanding the nature of name value, we can use it to our advantage.
First of all, why does name value exist? How can we all fall prey to such a silly concept? The mere-exposure effect is the answer. The mere-exposure effect is a studied principle on people's preferences for things they know better, and are therefore more familiar with. It is most notably applied to advertisements and political campaigns, but we can use it for fantasy basketball as well. When we see articles, social media posts, and interviews with superstar players, which seems to be all the time, we grow familiar with these players. Due to the mere-exposure effect, we slightly prefer these players and value them higher.
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Before we discuss how to capitalize on the mere-exposure effect, we should also become conscious of how it affects us. This is a subconscious effect, so even the best and brightest fantasy basketball players can fall to it periodically. Once you are aware of it, it is easy to prevent.
Now, on to the fun stuff. How do you take advantage of name value? There are two primary methods. The first is to trade for a player with high production and little name value. Guys like Vucevic, Shai, and Terry Rozier do not get as much attention, so their owners are going to value them less. Small markets and losing teams often fall under this category. The second way to capitalize on name value is to trade away guys with high name value and lower production. There are a lot of players that fit this description. DBook, Ja Morant, DLo, MPJ, and Kemba Walker could be a couple. Some of these guys are still good at fantasy, but their name value is high so you can get somebody even better. There are many reasons a player can have a high name value, like if they are young and get attention because of their potential or if they are on a winning/big market team. There are guys with larger than life personalities and players whose skill set does not translate to fantasy basketball, like good defenders without the steaks and blocks and scorers who are mildly efficient. If you have a player on your team whose name value exceeds their true production, test the market and see if you are able to get somebody who produces more.
An important thing to keep in mind is that name value alone will not give you a heavenly trade. Your leaguemates are not stupid. The purpose of using name value is to subtly get a better deal and increase your odds of winning the trade. As always, try to use this in two-for-twos or any offer involving multiple guys, as one-for-ones generally cause suspicion and make it harder to find a deal.
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This series is a ton of fun. If there are any trade strategies or concepts that you find fascinating, I'd love to hear about them. Some of my favorite new trade methods are based on the ones I've heard from you guys.
Once again, thanks for coming to my TED talk.

This is my personal opinion on how the team is progressing and would love everyone’s thoughts. It’s also too early to judge players outright but it would be fun to look back at this at the end of the season and see how things have changed. Grades are relative to my expectations going into the season, NOT a ranking of how good a player is.
Dort: A+

• I’m not sure if its Dort or Klay out there. His shot has transformed, and the results are unbelievable. His confidence is sky high, and this translates to him even taking (and making) pull up 3s, which surprise me every single time. I expect his absurd shooting percentages to cool off somewhat but would be really happy with him ending the season at 38% or higher.
• His defense has been complete lockdown. The game vs Chicago was one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen of late, racking up steals and forcing offensive fouls. His combination of size, lateral quickness, agility, ability to navigate screens, and that weird shot contest all in one player is really special.
• My main criticism thus far would be his reckless drives to the basket. It feels like he leads the league in getting blocked per drive (any stats on that?). Some drives end up looking great but he needs to simplify it and not require excess English on each one.
• Overall, I think he’s a great building block for this team, on a borderline criminal contract. Should be part of the Thunder for a long time.

Shai: A

• I’ll start with his leadership which has been by far the most pleasant surprise for me. His body language during games is excellent, he rallies and encourages his teammates visibly, and says the right things off the court. Love to see it from someone who’s just 22.
• Most people have seen his driving statistics, so there’s not much to say there. I’ll just add that they look damn nice too. This guy has some of the smoothest drives in the league already, with a wide layup package. Would like to see him get to the line more though.
• His kick-outs can be a bit weak, and he drives-and-kicks quite often, so would like to see improvement there too. His pocket passes are fantastic though and he rarely misses an opportunity to set up a big with one.
• I think he can be a bit more engaged defensively. Can’t really finesse that end of the court.
• Overall, Shai is demonstrating legit all-star potential and great leadership. I’m still not convinced that he should run point in the future though, I see him as more of a combo guard.

Roby: A

• I had literally no expectations for him coming into the season, so he’s been a pleasant surprise.
• He’s a hustler and this might be overreacting, but I think he’s one of our better defenders already. While not necessarily able to lock down 7-foot centers, he can hold his own, and is a solid help defender. Should be able to do a job against most wings too. He can also take a hell of a beating.
• His shot looks relatively consistent, and he’s comfortable scoring inside the paint.
• He murdered Vucevic’s ankles.
• Overall, I think with some fine tuning, he can be a quality and versatile role player as a small ball big or larger wing.

Hami: B+

• His driving ability unbelievable, he can just blow by guys and constantly demonstrates insane hang time. Has a good touch near the basket too.
• His shot looks slightly improved but is still wonky and not yet close to being good enough. Free throw shooting woes are also troubling, but confidence from midrange is a good sign.
• What frustrates every Thunder fan: he is a black hole when he gets the ball. Everyone knows exactly what he’s going to do. The game still needs to slow down for him so that he can make the right play more often.
• Overall, I think his ceiling is still extremely high, and he’s shown that during the New York games. Subject to improvements in his shot and more importantly his decision making, he can become a key cog in the team’s future.

Theo: B+

• His passing has been excellent for a rookie. He usually picks out the right pass and has an arsenal of different passes. But I think his overall playmaking has been limited by average athleticism and handle.
• His dribble penetration has been okay but settles way too often for contested pull up 3s.
• His shot has been mediocre, but I’d say a lot of that has been due to shot selection.
• There hasn’t been much to note defensively, but from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t seem like he’ll be a great defender and gets flattened out on screens too frequently.
• Overall, I am enjoying his development and can see him being a steady hand and solid point guard. As with any rookie, especially this year, be extra patient in judging them.

Poku: B-

• It’s unfair to judge Poku this early on as he’s obviously a project, so take everything with a grain of salt.
• Shooting form most likely needs to change. There is minimal margin of error on his shots due to low arc. I’m sure the coaching staff is already working with him on this, but should take some time to see it play out in game.
• I’ve been pleasantly surprised with his defense, especially his help defense. Obviously, he’s still uncomfortable in a lot of areas, but he is much better here than was advertised. Shot blocking timing has been amazing.
• He’s demonstrated huge playmaking potential with some creative and high difficulty passes. Not always executing right now but that’s to be expected.
• My biggest concern is his complete inability to get into the paint. He’s shot 0 free throws in 10 games. I know he will never be a paint beast, but he needs to establish some kind of presence on the inside. Hopefully this will come with time as he adds some muscle
• Overall, the sky is the limit for Pokuman, and he’s my favorite player to watch in the NBA right now no joke. He's too much fun.

Baze: D

• Certainly, the biggest disappointment so far this season
• He’s in a shooting slump right now, but his form looks ok so I’m not too worried about his shot. He’s also shooting well from the line which is always a good sign.
• His driving ability has been really poor. He needs to be able to take contact, and for some reason his touch just looks really rigid. It’s as though he’s kind of just chucking it towards the basket when he gets close enough. He’s also too indecisive at times with the ball in his hands.
• His handle has been pretty loose. Hasn’t had ball handling responsibilities last season so there’s some leeway there, but it definitely needs improvement to help him with his shot creation ability.
• With all of that said, the most encouraging thing is that he’s not shying away from shooting or driving. It’s good to see him try and try again.
• He’s also taking tough matchups on the defensive end and does as well as can be expected against guys like AD, Zion, and KD. That block on KD’s jumper was a testament to his length and potential on this end.
• Overall, I like his attitude and drive, and considering he didn't play competitive basketball before his rookie year, I think he has some more leeway relative to the average 2nd year player. But there's no denying he's been a disappointment. I really hope he can improve his inside game, play more relaxed, and then the shot will sort itself out.

Coach Diagonal: A

• Ball movement!?!
• Adjusting lineups!?!
• Looking like an amazing development coach early on. He lets players play through their slumps and allows them to explore their creativity on offense. I’m not sure many other coaches would allow Poku to take the ball coast-to-coast.
• Looking forward to the future with him and hope he proves to be a good X’s and O’s coach too, when that time comes.
• Would personally like to see more staggered lineups though, instead of a clear cut A and B unit. Would make the game easier for guys like Theo and Poku in my opinion.

The deal
Lakers get: Dennis Schroder
Thunder get: Danny Green, 2020 first-round draft pick (No. 28)
Note: This expected trade can be formally agreed to in principle on Monday and finalized after the Lakers make their first-round pick (No. 28) on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Lakers: C

This deal feels unusually difficult to grade from the Lakers' perspective because of what we don't know about their prospects when free agency opens on Friday.
The reigning champs could have as many as seven rotation players hit unrestricted free agency, depending on the status of player options for Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo. Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris will be unrestricted free agents as well.
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The uncertainty is particularly large in the backcourt, which is presumably why the Lakers targeted adding a guard. We saw during the 2020 playoffs when Rondo stepped into a larger role -- averaging 24.7 minutes per game, up from 20.5 during the regular season, and even more MPG (26.0) during the NBA Finals -- how useful it was for LeBron James to have a second playmaker to help carry the load. Schroder fits that bill.
If Schroder is indeed replacing Rondo, it's amusing because the veteran Rondo was a popular comparison for the German prospect when Schroder entered the NBA draft in 2013. They've evolved in different ways since then, with Schroder proving far more of a score-first point guard and a far better scorer in the NBA.
Rondo has never come close to touching the 18.9 points per game Schroder averaged last season (Rondo's career high is 13.7), while Schroder's decision-making and playmaking haven't proved as strong as advertised. He has topped out at 9.7 assists per 100 team plays in his career, a mark Rondo has beat 12 seasons running. Schroder is also a weaker defender than the engaged Rondo we saw at times during the postseason.
Just how well Schroder fits will depend in large part on whether last season's improvement as a shooter was a fluke. Having never previously shot better than league average from 3-point range (his career high was 35% in 2014-15), Schroder knocked down 38.5% of his attempts, pushing him above league average in true shooting percentage (.575) for the first time as well.
Schroder is a quality foul shooter (83% career), and his improvement is also explained in part by attempting more catch-and-shoot 3s than he had before. Per Second Spectrum tracking, Schroder is a career 37% shooter on catch-and-shoot attempts, as compared to 28% on pull-ups. Last season, a career-high 75% of his attempts were off the catch because he was playing more off the ball alongside Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
As compared to signing Rondo to a multiyear contract at age 34, Schroder is surely a better investment. Getting younger by dealing the 33-year-old Green for 27-year-old Schroder is also a positive for the league's oldest team last season, weighted by minutes played.
Still, this deal carries two big risks:
First, the Lakers have lost a wing option by dealing Green, their marquee addition in free agency last summer. Yes, I hear you, Lakers fans: Green was a disappointment in L.A.
By nature, 3-and-D wings tend to see their value fluctuate in the eyes of observers based on how often those 3s tend to go in. (Caldwell-Pope's Lakers career is pretty much a case study in that effect.) And last season, they didn't go in frequently enough for Green, who shot 37% during the regular season and slumped all the way to 34% during the playoffs. As a result, Green dropped behind Caldwell-Pope in the Lakers' wing pecking order and might have been behind Bradley had the latter not opted out of participating in the NBA bubble.

As we project forward to next season, however, Green's track record (he's a career 40% 3-point shooter and has hit 39% in the playoffs despite his recent high-profile struggles) makes him a far better bet as a shooter than Schroder. My SCHOENE projection system forecasts 39% 3-point shooting for Green in 2020-21 and 36% for Schroder.

Losing the 6-foot-6 Green also leaves the Lakers smaller on the wing. Caldwell-Pope is 6-foot-5 and Bradley (who may or may not return) is 6-foot-3 and better suited to defend the point guards with whom Schroder will now perhaps be matching up. So the second important free-agency variable is what wing with size the Lakers might be able to attract with their midlevel exception to replace Green.
The second risk the Lakers are taking is one of alternative cost, or opportunity cost. If they're committed to keeping Kyle Kuzma, this year's first-round pick was the Lakers' best trade chip, and Green their best expiring contract for matching salary. They now have that much less flexibility looking ahead to the trade deadline.
In value terms, the Lakers surely sold low on Green and appear to have bought high on Schroder. We'll find out in the next week or two whether the results of free agency justify that decision.

Oklahoma City Thunder: A

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Back when the Thunder acquired Schroder from the Atlanta Hawks for Carmelo Anthony in the summer of 2018, giving up a conditional first-round pick because Schroder's contract was so much less onerous, the idea was Oklahoma City could eventually deal him to help replace the pick. Lo and behold, that's exactly what has happened.
In fact, the Thunder could end up way ahead in terms of draft picks if they're in the lottery in 2021-22. In that case, the pick Oklahoma City sends to Atlanta becomes second-rounders in 2024 and 2025.
Two seasons with the Thunder rehabilitated Schroder's value, which was limited after spending the previous two years as a starter on lottery teams. Oklahoma City moved Schroder to a bench role, a better fit for his score-first mentality, and cashed in at the peak of Schroder's value after he finished second to Montrezl Harrell in Sixth Man Award voting.
Now, the question is whether the Thunder can do the same thing with Green. With the franchise heading toward some version of a rebuild, it's certainly possible Green never makes it to Oklahoma City. If he is part of the 2020-21 Thunder, they can hope Green shoots well for the first few months of the season, which might make him valuable to a contender before the trade deadline. If not, dealing one expiring contract for another hasn't really cost the Thunder anything down the road.

Hiya everyone. I have been playing BDO for a few years now off and on and I'm looking to find other people to play with or even better, join a guild. I am also open to making a guild if it comes to it. BDO has a very toxic community so I would like to find/make a space for others like me. My experience joining guilds in the past who advertised as LGBT friendly turned out only to be LGB friendly. The space that I'm looking for does not have too be 100% trans oriented, just so that transphobia isn't a casual/common occurrence.
Please feel free to add me on discord: Ana Bean#1238. I've recently re-rolled to shai but I'm 520+ gs and have been actively playing again the past few weeks. I am interested in PVX. Thanks :)