AROUND the NBA:

[WillE]

Mike Vorkunov: New medical study examining Achilles tears in the NBA said there was some correlation to increased workload in the 10 and 15 games before a player tore their Achilles. It found that players who got hurt averaged more minutes in the 10 and 15 game periods before the injuries than their season average. The study said: "No significant associations were identified between (Achilles tear rupture) occurrence and age, player position, role, early sport specialization, or measures of schedule congestion."
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDmhNrGvWpg

It's not just increased worklod/mileage, but also evolved footwork.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

The 2016-17 Warriors might be the greatest team of all time, but Kevin Durant believes the 2026-27 76ers are as good on paper. Durant implied that's what he thought during a USA Basketball event on Sunday, and he doubled down on Monday when replying to a fan on Instagram who said the two teams "ain't close." "Ain’t close lmao," Durant replied. "Joel, mvp recently. Jaylen brown, recent finals mvp, Tyrese Maxey, all star the last 3 years. We all know what bron does. Klay Thompson, never a mvp candidate in nothing, 22ppg. Draymond, 14ppg 7 rebounds 6 assist, Steph a mvp just like Joel was. I don’t get how the Warriors team is better on paper."

Sports Illustrated

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Klay Thompson didn’t appreciate KD’s comment on Instagram. “Aye man, u good?

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lol

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Charlie Walton: I am told that Will Barton, an 11-year NBA veteran wing, will be joining the Timberwolves' coaching staff this season in a player development role. Barton was an assistant coach with the Iowa Wolves last season and with this year's Summer League team. Tim Connelly was the General Manager of the Denver Nuggets when they traded for Barton in 2015. Barton spent roughly eight years in Denver, all of which came under Connelly.

Twitter

[DanSchwartzgan]

I was listening to the Hoop Collective on my walk today.  Marks was on talking about the summer of 2027 and all of the teams with cap room.  GSW is one of those potentially, but they'd need to walk away from or drastically reduce the pay of Curry, Butler and Draymond.  KP has a PO, but he's also only partially guaranteed next summer for $8mm with a decision due by 7/7.  Maximizing cap room also means not extending Podz.  Well, that's pretty much the entire starting lineup when they are at their best.

They won't walk away from everyone simultaneously and cap holds and the actions they take between now and then matter to their strategy.  For instance, On August 29th, Curry is eligible to sign a two-year extension of $130-something million.  Combine that with an extension for Podz this fall and suddenly that cap room evaporates.

The Warriors - or maybe Draymond - were clever this summer in the way they did things leaving some room for Lebron.  It is certainly possible they will do something similar in an effort to lure someone big.  If so, there will be no consolidation trade around the injured Butler.  But, if you see them announce a Curry or Podz extension, then suddenly they are dealing with a 3 year window for Curry and taking in guys like PJ and Gafford starts to make more sense for them.

[cow]

Charlie Walton: I am told that Will Barton, an 11-year NBA veteran wing, will be joining the Timberwolves' coaching staff this season in a player development role. Barton was an assistant coach with the Iowa Wolves last season and with this year's Summer League team. Tim Connelly was the General Manager of the Denver Nuggets when they traded for Barton in 2015. Barton spent roughly eight years in Denver, all of which came under Connelly.

Twitter

Will the Thrill was such a fun player.

[F Gump]

Marks was on talking about the summer of 2027 and all of the teams with cap room.

A NOTE ABOUT THAT SITUATION AND OTHERS. The comments about "all the cap room next summer" seems to be an annual rite about this time each summer, but by the time we get to the next summer, the desirable FAs have mostly extended (as in the GS situation you mention), and almost no team has cap room after all. The name of the game in this CBA seems to be to roster-build by draft/develop and by trade (including by trading for a pick), and not so much by signing FAs.

[Scott41theMavs]

A NOTE ABOUT THAT SITUATION AND OTHERS. The comments about "all the cap room next summer" seems to be an annual rite about this time each summer, but by the time we get to the next summer, the desirable FAs have mostly extended (as in the GS situation you mention), and almost no team has cap room after all. The name of the game in this CBA seems to be to roster-build by draft/develop and by trade (including by trading for a pick), and not so much by signing FAs.

“Free agency is dead.”

[michaeltex]

A NOTE ABOUT THAT SITUATION AND OTHERS. The comments about "all the cap room next summer" seems to be an annual rite about this time each summer, but by the time we get to the next summer, the desirable FAs have mostly extended (as in the GS situation you mention), and almost no team has cap room after all. The name of the game in this CBA seems to be to roster-build by draft/develop and by trade (including by trading for a pick), and not so much by signing FAs.

So you're sayin' that "dry powder" isn't a thing anymore? Good thing MC is not running the team any longer!

[KillerLeft]

So you're sayin' that "dry powder" isn't a thing anymore? Good thing MC is not running the team any longer!

I would argue it’s as big of a thing as ever. More so, maybe. It’s just that the powder you have to keep dry is the space under the luxury tax or the second apron. Every cool thing Dallas was able to accomplish. This summer was because of the added flexibility that came from dumping Davis. If that’s not dry powder, I don’t know what it is.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

A season plot I'd love to see play out...

Considering all that's been said about ball usage and how Lebron and Paul mark their territory, I could see Embiid being moved at the TDL, in spite of his contract being considered unmovable. This, would be, of course, LeGM putting a blowtorch to anyone else getting credit if it goes well. In return, they'll flesh out the roster with depth pieces (Wendell Carter and others, while Suggs goes to a third team).

Meanwhile, Embiid, gets traded to the Magic and, puts on a Dirk-lioe 2011 epic performance a knocks out the Sixers.

Would be much more enjoyable than watching Lebron take another shortcut.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Tom Dundon’s first week on the job as the Trail Blazers owner was a doozy, it turns out. He fired the team’s consulting firm. He canned the lobbyists Jody Allen had hired, too. The franchise attorneys also got the boot; I’m told by sources. That three-headed trio had led the charge in getting the state of Oregon to loosen its grip on the first tranche of what might be $600 million in public dollars in exchange for a long-term lease extension. Dundon fired them all, in a curious move that insiders say signaled a notable sea change at One Center Court. Will the Trail Blazers relocate? It’s become a question to ask. Why has NBA Commissioner Adam Silver been so blasted quiet? Another good one. I have other questions, too. Meanwhile, well-placed sources tell me they’re increasingly skeptical about Dundon’s motivations. He continues to appear disinterested, they say, in negotiating. Hurricanes fans hated him, too, until he started winning. They captured the Stanley Cup in June and have made the playoffs eight straight years since Dundon took over, so who are any of us to tell him he should run anything differently with the basketball team he just bought? Portland's 12-member city council, long thought to be too dysfunctional and ideologically divided to get their act together for this project, has done a lot in the last month to show they're ready to make it happen. The Blazers, meanwhile, stay hung up on things that shouldn't be obstacles if they actually have the same end goal as the city. Any benefit of the doubt Dundon had on that front when he first took over is gone now. Despite all of this, I've never been particularly worried about the Blazers actually leaving Portland, and I'm still not.

John Canzano

[cow]

It will be a sad day for the region if the Blazers relocate.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Marc Stein: The NBA’s 2026-27 schedule is on course to be announced in full next week, @TheSteinLine has learned. More NBA from @JakeLFischer and me: tinyurl.com/468tjecb

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[RoyTarpleysGhost]

It will be a sad day for the region if the Blazers relocate.

Ive never been to Portland.  Worth it?

[cow]

Ive never been to Portland.  Worth it?

I haven't spent a lot of time there, but it's beautiful.  I just think it that area would lose both the Sonics and Blazers.