![]() ![]() ![]() The Brooklyn Nets had a new, wing-heavy identity the moment they traded Kevin Durant for a package that included Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson. His 5.8 assists in those 44 games are encouraging, but he also averaged 3.5 turnovers.īoston needs to get the ball out of his hands (just a bit) and get him more scoring opportunities created by others.Ĭameron Johnson Nathaniel S. Mazzulla needs help, and there's nothing wrong with that.Īs good as Tatum is, the last two postseasons have shown us that he'd still benefit from the presence of a more traditional playmaker. Three of the assistants he just had in 2023-24 are reportedly set to join Ime Udoka with the Houston Rockets. Prior to his first season as an NBA head coach, Mazzulla had only been an assistant for the Celtics for two years. The ball is already rolling on this one, as Boston is reportedly hiring Sam Cassell as an assistant coach, but 34-year-old Joe Mazzulla needs all the help he can get.Īnd that's not necessarily a knock on him. And while the Boston Celtics can maybe talk themselves into that, the prospect of turning Brown into more than one role player or some future assets should be on the table. You darn-near have to be sure you can win a title with those two guys. Jayson Tatum is almost certainly going to be one year behind with a similarly jaw-dropping deal.Īnd under the new collective bargaining agreement, which essentially introduces a hard cap in the form of its new " second apron," having two such contracts on the books is going to be incredibly onerous. They could use more shooting.īecause he just made All-NBA, Jaylen Brown is eligible for a gargantuan five-year, $285.6 million extension. Both guards can get to the rim, and being able to spray the ball out to good shooters from there can be the foundation of a dangerous offense.īut the Hawks were 24th in the league in threes per game and 21st in three-point percentage in 2023-24. On a team with Young and Murray, having reliable kickout targets should be a priority. Over the last two seasons, Okongwu has averaged 2.1 blocks per 75 possessions, and the Hawks' point differential is considerably better when he's on the floor. Twenty-two-year-old big man Onyeka Okongwu is entering the last year of his rookie contract, and he's shown more than enough to warrant consideration as a long-term piece. Murray isn't the only Hawk who'll be extension eligible this summer. Twenty-plus points and six-plus assists on that salary and under a rising salary cap would have plenty of value. If the Atlanta Hawks could talk him into a four-year, $111.1 million extension, they'd likely be ecstatic. And a max extension for Murray, based on his previous contract, would come in well below the max salary an unrestricted free agent of his experience could command. The fit between Trae Young and Dejounte Murray was far from perfect in Year 1, but talent is talent. ![]()
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