Liverpool pulled off one of the great Champions League heists with an 87th minute goal from substitute Harvey Elliott handing the Reds a 1-0 advantage after the first leg of their Round of 16 clash with PSG in Paris.
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The hosts were dominant, taking a whopping 27 shots, ten of which were on target as well as having 72% possession but they could not find a way past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
The Brazilian was comfortably the best player on the pitch, making nine saves as he seemingly built a brick wall in front of goal.
Arne Slot’s side meanwhile, needing only two shots, and just one on target, to secure a lead before next week’s second leg at Anfield.
“That’s one of the biggest robberies you will ever see in football,” Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said on CBS Sports post-match.
“I can’t believe what I’ve just seen. PSG were absolutely outstanding. Brilliant, battered Liverpool and the last time Liverpool won this competition, Alisson Becker, the goalkeeper, made a save against Napoli in the last group game. Liverpool could have gone out if Napoli had have scored, and that’s always looked back on as a defining moment.
“That wasn’t a save tonight. That was arguably the greatest performance of his career or certainly in a Liverpool shirt.
“If Liverpool go on to win this competition, which they have a great chance of, that performance will be remembered for years to come.”
Elliott ended up being a hero with the 21-year-old driving a low shot off the hand of PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the far corner of the goal, only one minute after coming off the bench to replace superstar Mohamed Salah.
Alisson blasted a long ball forward, Darwin Nunez knocked it down and regathered before playing it out to Elliott, who was charging forward and buried the chance with his first touch.
The substitution clearly turned out to be a stroke of genius from Slot as Salah had a very quiet night by his lofty standards, but the Egyptian was not helped by the fact the Premier League leaders struggled to get their counter attack going.
The home fans at the Parc des Princes were simply baffled that their team was unable to find a goal, as despite Alisson’s brilliance, they were made to pay for several wasted opportunities.
Ousmane Dembele was simply electric early as he could have set up PSG’s first with an exquisite piece of dribbling down the right wing before finding Joao Neves in the box but the Portuguese midfielder bounced at a fairly open goal over the crossbar.
The chances kept coming in the opening 20 minutes as PSG dominated.
A deflected Dembele shot went wide much to Liverpool’s relief, but the hosts thought they had the lead when Khvicka Kvaratskhelia curled a stunner into the far corner of the net.
The Parisian celebrations were short-lived however as VAR stepped in, ruling that the Georgian has been offside by barely the length of hit boot in the build up.
It was then unbelievable how PSG did not score on the half-hour mark as Alisson charged off his line to stop another Dembele shot one-on-one but the ball could only spill towards Fabian Ruiz.
But the Reds got back in time to set up a barricade in front of goal, attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai retreated to blocking Ruiz’s shot before Bradley Barcola sprayed another shot over the bar.
After half time the near misses continued with Alisson completing yet another superb save off another Dembele shot in the 84th minute after also stopping a Desire Doue shot after he came off the bench, and even making a miraculous save despite the offside flag being raised among his highlight reel.
– 10-men Barca get the job done –
In Portugal, Barcelona were down to ten men after 22 minutes but still managed to secure a 1-0 victory against Benfica.
Centre back Pau Cubarsi was shown a straight red card for bringing down striker Vangelis Pavlidis just outside the penalty area.
But it was a Benfica defensive blunder to proved most costly.
Antonio Silva coughed up the ball to Raphinha in his own half and the Brazilian pounced, bursting past his opponents and finishing calmly in the bottom right corner once he made it to the edge of the box.
The hosts had the better of much of the game, having 26 shots to ten, eight on target compared to five.
It is the most amount of shots Benfica have recorded in a Champions League match without scoring, but Barcelona managed to stay firm to ensure they take a lead into the second leg at home.
They also extended their unbeaten run in the competition to eight matches, seven wins and a draw.
– Bayern clinical as consistent Kane reaches impressive mark again –
Bayern Munich had no such troubles, claiming a 3-0 win in an all-German clash with Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena.
Harry Kane unleashed a powerful header to open the scoring in the ninth minute for Bayern, finding the back of the net for the 30th time this season in all competitions.
It is the third straight season that Kane has reached that feat, two in Munich and one at Tottenham, and he also boasts ten assists this campaign.
Jamal Musiala scored Bayern’s second in the 54th minute after a cross created a scramble in the box before the midfielder could tap it home.
Hopes of a Leverkusen comeback were later dashed as they were reduced to ten men in the 62nd minute with defender Nordi Mukiele shown a second yellow card for a late challenge and given his marching orders.
Kane then sunk another blow, converting a penalty with 15 minutes remaining to secure a brace.
Bayern did not come out of the clash without any concerns however, as almost on the hour mark, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who made his 150th Champions League appearance, was subbed off with an injury concern.
– Inter’s strike force seize control –
Inter Milan’s powerful strike duo of Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez combined to give the Italians a handy 2-0 advantage over Dutch side Feyenoord after an absorbing Champions League last-16 first leg Wednesday.
Quality finishes either side of half-time from the French and Argentinian strikers proved the difference between the two teams, who meet again in Milan for Tuesday’s second leg, with the winner of the Bayern Munich-Bayer Leverkusen German derby lying in wait.
A lively opening quarter in Rotterdam’s ever-atmospheric De Kuip saw three-time European champions Inter enjoy most possession but Feyenoord carve out the clearest opportunities.
Ibrahim Osman, the pacy 20-year-old Ghana international winger on loan from Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, was the main threat for the hosts, twice forcing Josep Martinez into sharp saves.
For the visitors, Thuram found himself with a clear run at goal but decided to pass square rather than shoot and the danger was snuffed out.
It was a moment of quality from the French striker that broke the deadlock with just eight minutes until the half-time whistle, latching onto a curling cross from Nicolo Barella to hook it in with the outside of his boot at the far post.
The goal, slightly against the run of play, galvanised the Serie A side, who suddenly looked much more dangerous going forward.
Feyenoord legend and recently installed manager Robin van Persie would have been glad to get his side into the dressing room just 1-0 down after an entertaining first half.
But his side’s arrears doubled just five minutes into the second period, as Martinez drilled an unstoppable shot into the top corner, giving the hosts a mountain to climb.
Jakub Moder came close to getting Feyenoord back into the game when his lunging deflection skimmed the bar.
Inter had their own chance to put the game — and probably the tie — beyond reach when Jeyland Mitchell brought down Thuram in the box, the referee awarding a penalty after a long VAR check.
But Timon Wellenreuther in the Feyenoord goal produced an excellent save from Piotr Zielinski’s penalty, moving smartly to his right.
Feyenoord pressed to the end looking for something to take to the San Siro but the Inter defence held firm in a pleasing night for Simone Inzaghi’s men.
Australia’s latest NBA player Johnny Furphy has opened up on his “tough” slide out of the first round and comforting words from his new head coach at the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana traded up a spot to take Furphy 35th overall in the draft after the Victorian, who was expected to be taken in the back-half of the first round, was overlooked by other teams.
ESPN had Furphy as its No.18 ranked prospect while The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer and CBS Sports all had the 19-year-old going in the late 20s in their mock drafts.
“It was just very uncertain,” the former Kansas Jayhawks wing told The Star.
“It’s such a wide range, with so many moving pieces. It was tough, but at the end of the day, it’s wherever the best fit is.”
Furphy added that it was “pretty amazing” to finally hear his name called, with the family deciding to watch the second round in a hotel room after a long wait in the green room on Thursday.
Furphy’s father Rich told ‘RSN Breakfast with Harf’ on Friday morning it was a “huge relief” to see his son drafted after the previous day left him “emotionally and physically spent”.
“There’s been a lot of background conversations going on today to try get to this point,” Rich said.
“Last night was hard work. It wasn’t the plan, frankly, so it’s good to be in this spot.
“To be honest, it was pretty hard because you get invited in there… and that’s based on pretty firm feedback from clubs that that’s what they’re going to do and it’s not a guarantee clearly as it played out.
“There’s the whole fanfare and the build-up and it’s huge and then to be sitting there and sitting right up the front and for it to keep ticking over the way it did, by the time it finished we got home at 1am and he was emotionally and physically spent, as were we, but he carried it all. It was hard work.
“We were in a hotel room. We didn’t go because we’d sort of had enough of it, the whole ceremony, so we were in a room with his agent and his mum and a few other people.”
Johnny Furphy celebrates being drafted with brother Joe. Credit: Instagram.Source: FOX SPORTS
Furphy’s former coach at Kansas, Bill Self, described it as a “very tough and humbling night” for the Australian.
“The anticipation of being in the green room and the assurance that he and his representation had been told that he would be drafted didn’t turn out that way,” Self said.
“It was a tough night and I thought Johnny handled it very maturely and very well, but it was not easy for he or his family.”
Furphy was one of two green room invitees to miss out on selection in the first round, with Kyle Filipowski also passed up by a number of teams before the Duke big man was drafted by the Jazz.
While Utah already had the 32nd pick it used to draft Filipowski, the Pacers traded up from the No.36 spot to guarantee they got Furphy, not expecting him to be available that late.
Rich said that Indiana coach Rick Carlisle told Furphy in a phone call on Friday that the team was “hot on him for a while” and “weren’t expecting” to get the Australian given the fact it didn’t have a pick until the second round.
Carlisle told Furphy the franchise is “really excited” to have drafted him and believe the 19-year-old is a “great fit” given their tendency to push the pace, especially in transition.
Indiana averaged 102.16 possessions per game during the regular season, ranking second in the league, while 13.4 per cent of their points came in the fast break, ranking sixth.
“At the end of the day, it’s about wherever the best fit is, and I think Indiana is the spot,” added Furphy.
Self agreed, describing it as a “good landing place” for Furphy.
“It’s an up and coming franchise. They’ve got really good players,” Self said.
“I spoke with them this morning and they were excited about Johnny… I think they will do a great job in developing him.”
Furphy fell out of the first round. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“The Pacers know what fuels their high-octane offensive attack: shooting, athleticism, size. They’re building on a strength here by trading for Furphy,” Chau wrote.
“The Aussie out of Kansas is the kind of player who keeps an offense churning—a high-fiber wing, if you will. He finds his way to open space. He drifts and sprints into daylight on the perimeter. He cuts hard for open dunks.
“He’s not necessarily an elite shooter, but that’s not as much of an issue given his size (around 6-foot-9 in shoes) and athleticism attacking closeouts. Is he much more than that? Maybe not, but at 19, that’s an awfully nice place to start.”
Boone, meanwhile, described Furphy’s fall out of the first round as “the biggest surprise slip” and wrote it was an “excellent value” pick for the Pacers, giving them a “young, developmental prospect who has size and shot-making versatility”.
Johnny Furphy played for Kansas in college basketball. Chris Gardner/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Elsewhere, Pelton had Furphy as the fifth-best prospect in this year’s class based on his stats-based projections. You can read more about how his projections work here.
He wrote on Friday that if Furphy develops as a shooter with size, he would fit well alongside Pascal Siakam in Indiana’s frontcourt. Defensive improvement would obviously be needed too.
But given the improvements Furphy has made in the past 12 months to facilitate his rapid rise up draft boards, there is every chance he could prove to be the “steal” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony described him as on Friday.
“His ability to operate under pressure and perform when it matters has been the key to it and we’re constantly amazed at how he does it,” Furphy’s dad Rich said.
“This has been a tough process but he’s handled tough situations in the last couple of years at each step.”
When Ash Arnott first laid eyes on Johnny Furphy, the then-14-year-old looked more likely to have a future as the frontman for Australian indie rock band Ocean Alley than as a player in the NBA.
“A little surfer boy,” as Arnott described it to foxsports.com.au, with the blonde hair to match.
Although Arnott, now assistant coach of the men’s program at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), saw more than just those long locks.
He saw a light frame but one with plenty of room to grow, knowing Johnny’s brother Joe had started out at a similar height before growing five or six inches one summer.
He also noticed the way Furphy moved. It was and still is “different”, as Robbie McKinlay, the head coach at the CoE, put it.
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Johnny Furphy playing junior basketball for Collingwood. Picture: SuppliedSource: Supplied
“The way I sort of describe it is he kind of glides,” McKinlay told foxsports.com.au.
All of this is to say that Arnott saw something in Furphy. He wasn’t entirely sure where it would take him or what he would become, but he always knew this kid “had a chance”.
A chance to play college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks and then go declare for the NBA Draft after his freshman year?
“I’d be lying. I can’t predict that,” Arnott said.
“But my job back then was to try and identify players to see who could maybe take the next step and be a pro. That’s the idea through Basketball Victoria and Basketball Australia, to identify kids that you think can go on and be professional basketballers, and knowing that he was going to be tall and a long athlete, I always had that belief that this kid could be good.
“He’s gone way past what my beliefs were when I saw him.”
Which says a lot given how much Arnott believed in Furphy, not just in that first time he saw him back in 2018 but throughout his time at the CoE, where he and other staff would tell Furphy “you are where you’re supposed to be”.
Furphy wasn’t supposed to be here, preparing to attend Thursday’s first round of the draft in the green room, where the top prospects in each year’s class wait to hear their name called.
Furphy could be drafted in the first round. Chris Gardner/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Last year, 24 of the 25 players invited to the green room were selected in the opening round, with ESPN reporting Furphy is drawing “strong interest” from as high as Memphis at ninth overall.
Just over a year ago the prospect of Furphy declaring for the draft, let alone going in the first round, was the furthest thing from his mind.
In fact, the prospect of even playing college basketball wasn’t really on his radar. He had just one college scholarship offer and was already planning on spending another year at the CoE.
So, how did Furphy go from a relative unknown to a potential lottery pick in this week’s draft?
It all starts in the unlikeliest of places.
Well, if you asked Arnott he would probably push back on describing it as unlikely. Because, as he pointed out, “this is the small world” of Australian basketball after all.
‘WHO’S THAT KID?’: HOW FURPHY WENT FROM UNKNOWN TO ON THE RISE
The story of Furphy’s rise starts, not on a basketball court, but at the AUSVEG Convention in Adelaide.
Arnott’s parents were vegetable farmers and Richard Furphy, Johnny’s father, was at the Convention as part of his work. They also happened to be seated at the same table.
So, they got to talking and naturally, as is the case with all parents, the topic of their kids eventually came up.
It turned out Joe, the Furphy’s eldest son, was also a talented basketball player and the family were trying to get him to college. It also turned out Ash Arnott wasn’t a new name for them.
Arnott was an assistant coach with the Basketball Victoria State Development Program at the time and, being the “small world of basketball” as he would say, they already knew of him.
So, Arnott agreed to catch up with Joe and Richard one day at a cafe near Waverley Park, where the Hawthorn Hawks train, and also began the process of reaching out to some colleges.
Then he learned about Johnny.
Johnny and brother Joe while playing Big V basketball. Picture: SuppliedSource: Supplied
“So I made an effort to go out and watch him,” Arnott said.
“Straight away I was saying to Richard, ‘Mate I love his frame’, you can see he’s the baby of the family and the way he moves you can see he’s skilled but he was just so lightly built.”
Still, again, Arnott saw something in Furphy. So, he talked to Michael Czepil, Basketball Victoria’s Metropolitan High Performance Coach, convinced there was a “hooper there”.
Furphy made Southern Cross Challenge teams, would regularly be picked for the State Development Program and was part of the Under 18 state team as an emergency player.
But it wasn’t until 2022 that he made his first state team and even still, it was as part of the second team at the Under 20 National Championships up in Mackay.
That happened to be the first time McKinlay, head coach at the CoE, saw Furphy and he also liked what he was seeing.
“Hey mate, do you know Johnny Furphy?,” he asked Arnott around halfway into his first game.
“Yes I do. I know him very, very well,” Arnott replied, adding: “You like him, don’t you?”
Intriguing was the word McKinlay used, according to Arnott.
Marty Clarke, technical director at the NBA’s Global Academy, also got his first look at Furphy in Mackay.
“I just said, ‘Who’s that kid? I hadn’t seen or heard of him’, and I know most of the guys around that level because generally you’ve seen them at 16s and you’ve seen them at 18,” Clarke told foxsports.com.au.
“He just looked different. He ran up and down the floor effortlessly, and that was the first thing I would have said, ‘Oh, that guy runs really well’. And then he shot it and the shot looked nice.
“He played really hard, attacked the rim off the dribble, attacked the rim on rebounding. He tried to play defence, and I was like, ‘Oh this kid is pretty good, who is he?’.”
Furphy impressed enough to score a scholarship at the Centre of Excellence. Picture: SuppliedSource: Supplied
There were some things Furphy had to work on. His handle “wasn’t great” while he “didn’t go side to side all that well” either.
“But they were all things you can work on,” Clarke added, and the way Furphy handled himself on the court suggested he was a kid that was ready to learn too.
His high “wasn’t too high” and his low “wasn’t too low”, as Clarke put it, while McKinlay said Furphy was “steady the whole time”.
“And that’s when the whole entire staff started to get this interest in Johnny,” Arnott added.
From there, Furphy was invited to play in the NBL1 Wildcard series in Perth as part of a CoE squad which included Alex Toohey, Ben Henshall, Alex Condon and Tyrese Proctor.
“If you saw him in his first couple of games there to where he is now you just would laugh,” Arnott said, thinking back to the moment Furphy first joined the team for breakfast in Western Australia and was asking him if he could get a coffee.
“Because none of our kids would ever do that,” Arnott laughed.
“They were still drinking hot chocolates and just getting their bacon and eggs and I was like, ‘coffee Robbie’ and just jokingly said, ‘coffee Johnny’ and he goes, ‘Yeah mate can I get a latte please’.
“And I look back at Robbie like, ‘Oh my God’, because that was just the type of kid he was. He beat his own drum, he was comfortable in his own skin and not in a bad way.”
Because as Arnott got to know this “skinny little kid from Clifton Hill” more and got to “peel the layers back”, he found out a morning coffee wasn’t just a morning coffee for Furphy.
It was “something special for him”, something he and his dad Richard would always share at the Victorian markets. Just one, small glimpse into the person behind the player.
The player that scored 12 points in his first game at the Wildcard series to go with just as many rebounds and five steals in a 46-point win against the Rockingham Flames.
Halfway through that game, McKinlay was already convinced.
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“This is a kid we need to bring into the CoE,” he said, and it was a process made easier by the fact Proctor was leaving the program for Duke, opening up a scholarship for Furphy.
Although Furphy’s move to Canberra was far from straight-forward, starting with the fact he was halfway through Year 12 and as a result had to finish his final year of high school online.
Then there were the shin splints which, while not serious, did “sort of restrict what he could do straight away” according to McKinlay.
And you can add in a broken wrist too, which Furphy suffered in a March 2023 game while playing in the CoE’s 110-37 win over the Penrith Panthers in the NBL1 East.
But in between those setbacks, Furphy was starting to show signs and playing high-level basketball along the way, first during a joint trip with the NBA Global Academy to Spain in October 2022 and then in January the following year at the North East Prep School Invitational in Providence, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Still, at that point he only had one college scholarship offer from Sacramento State. By the end of July that had all changed after Furphy turned heads at the NBA Academy Games.
Suddenly he was one of the most sought-after recruits in college basketball, with around 30 high major offers from programs including Kansas, Gonzaga, Providence and North Carolina according to McKinlay.
“That first game Robbie and I kind of looked at each other,” Arnott said, “and we were like, ‘This is the coming out party. This is the Johnny that we were waiting for’.”
THE WAKE-UP CALL AND ‘F-U’ DUNK IN FURPHY’S ‘COMING OUT PARTY’
Although at one point during a game against NBA Academy Select Red, the Johnny they had been waiting for had gone missing again.
“We were sort of just running up and down,” McKinlay said.
Going through the motions. So, he called a timeout and pulled Furphy to the side.
“And I said, ‘Hey Johnny, you’re wasting my time, you’re wasting all the college coaches’ time, you’re wasting your time. What’s going on?”.
McKinlay knew how important a tournament like this could be for Furphy’s career. How important it had already been for Alex Toohey, who committed to Gonzaga but ended up playing in the NBL as part of its Next Stars program after breaking out at the Academy Games the year prior.
It is why he got on a call with Furphy and his parents before the trip to Atlanta, telling them: “Listen. These Academy Games, this thing’s going to blow up in a good way”.
“Now, to the level it did, I didn’t forecast that,” McKinlay added.
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But he knew there was at least the opportunity for Furphy to make a name for himself, especially with multiple high-major coaches and NBA scouts watching on.
Furphy assured McKinlay that he was fine, telling his coach: “Nah, I’m good”.
“OK. Well, do something,” replied McKinlay.
He did something alright. A play or two later, Furphy got the ball on the left baseline and ripped it to the middle for a monster dunk that brought the entire CoE bench to its feet.
The opposing coach called a timeout and McKinlay grabbed Furphy once more.
“That was an F-U dunk, wasn’t it?” he said, to which Furphy innocently replied: “What do you mean by that?”.
“Well,” McKinlay responded, “I got on you and you were sort of just saying, ‘Hey go sit down and shut the you know what up’.”
“No it wasn’t that,” Furphy told his coach, with a “little cheeky smile” as he went to the bench.
It was one of many highlight plays Furphy had in the tournament, including another big dunk against one of the African NBA Academy teams, as he went on to average 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 steals a game to start what Clarke described as a “meteoric rise”.
“He exploded at that tournament,” added Shawn King, who coached Furphy in the Under 18s at Hawthorn and then in 2022 when he played for Melbourne University in the Big V.
“I always thought he would be like a D1 player. But he kind of just took it to a whole other level.
“You could see glimpses of the NBA. I thought he could be an NBA kid. But obviously I didn’t think it would happen this quick.”
Arnott, meanwhile, said Furphy’s success at the tournament and the interest that followed gave rise to a “new Johnny”.
“He had this swagger about him,” the CoE assistant coach said.
“He knew that he was at the level and he was ready for this next step in his career and you see the last couple of games he played with the CoE in the [NBL1] East. He was dominant.”
Furphy was just as impressive at the Sportradar Showdown in Las Vegas later that month and with interest quickly skyrocketing, then came another sit-down with his parents and McKinlay. Because as much as he had planned to stay at the CoE for another year, McKinlay was right. It had blown up in a good way.
Fortunately, McKinlay had the expertise of Clarke and others at the NBA Academy, including Greg Colucci and Brian Cardinal, to lean on as they mapped out Furphy’s next steps.
“He was going to stay (at the CoE) an extra 12 months,” McKinlay said.
“We just sort of sat down and said, ‘Why would you want to stay now when you’ve got these schools that want you now’.
“The one luxury he did have was because it was so late in the piece most of the rosters were set and so I said, ‘You’re going in to fill a need… you may commit and stay for an extra 12 months, but that roster with the transfer portal could be a completely new roster’.
“The family decided they wanted to head off straight away and it happened at light speed. And next thing you know, he was at the University of Kansas.”
THE MOMENT FURPHY PROVED HE WAS READY FOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
As fast as it all happened, Furphy still had plenty of catching up to do when he arrived in Kansas, having missed summer workouts and the Jayhawks’ exhibition game against the Bahamas National Team.
It was always going to take time for him to adjust to the physicality and speed of college basketball and the fact he arrived not as prepared as the other freshmen on the roster, through no fault of his own, only should have made it even harder for Furphy to earn playing time.
The emphasis there being on should have, because if there is anything to take away from Furphy’s rapid rise, it is the fact that he continued to exceed expectations.
“What Johnny did is he got himself right physically,” McKinlay said.
“He jumped straight into the playbook. I know they’ve got over 100 plays in that playbook. He made sure he didn’t give the coaching staff a reason to not play him and I thought he did a good job with that.”
Furphy quickly learned the playbook. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Furphy started out the season as a rotation option for Kansas coach Bill Self off the bench but ended up starting 19 of 33 games as a freshman, finishing 14 of them in double figures.
His shooting efficiency dipped down the stretch as he was forced into a more prominent role, which in turn led to more attention for the Australian from the opposition.
But as a whole Furphy was highly productive once given a starting role, going 12-for-22 from downtown during one four-game stretch of the season as he rocketed up draft boards.
For King, Furphy’s former coach at Hawthorn and Melbourne University, his breakout season with the Jayhawks wasn’t a surprise.
“Once he feels comfortable in his situation he gets better and better and I think you saw that at Kansas this year where he didn’t quite have the rhythm and then all of a sudden he found it and he’s like, ‘I can do this’ and then he was playing at a different level,” King said.
McKinlay, meanwhile, actually got to meet up with Furphy in early December and watch him play 14 minutes off the bench in Kansas’ 69-65 win over UConn.
“He hit two big threes in that game in that environment,” McKinlay said.
“And it was like, ‘OK. If this doesn’t rattle you here in this one, then you’re fine’.”
McKinlay also got to watch one practice session where he said Furphy, still only relatively new to the team, was already “telling some of the older guys where they needed to be”.
Furphy had a prominent role in his freshman season. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“I was like, ‘OK. He’s fine. He’s ready to go’. The big environment didn’t bother him,” McKinlay added.
“He’s got a self-confidence that, it’s hard to crack that thing. He’s got a belief in himself and his ability.”
A belief that meant when McKinlay was once talking to his dad Richard, who asked Johnny if he thought he was going to make the NBA, the 19-year-old was quick to reply.
“Yeah absolutely,” McKinlay said, recalling that conversation early in Furphy’s time at Kansas.
“That sort of surprised his dad a little bit, that he had that confidence. He definitely showed that in the second half of the season for Kansas.”
McKinlay had a lot of scouts reach out to him about Furphy and he told them all the same thing: the ball doesn’t stick with Johnny.
“His quick decision-making is going to help him in the NBA,” McKinlay said.
“I think NBA players are going to enjoy playing with him because they know if he doesn’t have his shot then he’s going to move that thing on quick or he’s going to cut to the right space or whatever it is.
“He’s just got to continue to work, get stronger physically, so when he does drive the ball he doesn’t get bumped off his line. I think once he gets that down then, he’s going to be one hell of a player.”
Furphy is rocketing up draft boards. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have Furphy going to the Magic at 18th overall in their latest mock draft, adding he is receiving “strong interest, starting with Memphis at No. 9, extending throughout the teens and ending with Cleveland at No. 20”.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic also has mocked Furphy to Orlando, while The Ringer has him at No.24 to the Knicks, CBS Sports has him at No.20 to Cleveland and it is No.27 to Minnesota for Bleacher Report.
Either way, most experts seem to agree that Furphy, while raw, has the right combination of size, shooting and athleticism that makes him an intriguing upside swing in this year’s draft.
But as the bright lights of the NBA await, Furphy still hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
Which is why when he and his family received an invite to the green room, Furphy had two more familiar faces he wanted to be alongside when his name was called.
REFLECTING ON HOW FAR FURPHY HAS COME… AND HOW FAR HE WILL GO
McKinlay was “speechless” when, “completely out of the blue”, he got a text message from Furphy inviting him to the draft, which will be held at Barclays Center in New York.
He didn’t just invite him though. Furphy also offered to pay to bring McKinlay over too.
“That’s something that I didn’t expect but it just speaks volume to him as an individual, how he was brought up in his family,” McKinlay said.
“He’s just a phenomenal kid… he knows where he’s come from and people that have played a small part in it.”
King received the same offer, as did Arnott. Unfortunately he’s in Turkey as assistant coach of the Crocs squad representing Australia in the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup and can’t make it.
Three of Furphy’s former CoE teammates from the Academy Games — Dash Daniels, Nash Walker and Sa Pilimai — are part of that Crocs squad and even from afar, and at 3am local time when the draft will start in Istanbul, Arnott will be watching.
Watching and then thinking about just how far that “little surfer boy” has come and how far he has to go, still only 19 years old and hopefully with a long NBA career ahead of him.
But as much as Johnny Furphy’s story is about how much things have changed over the past two years, it is also just as much about what has stayed the same.
Because in many ways he is still that little surfer boy who didn’t make a state team until 2022 and yet “never said one negative word” according to Arnott, choosing grace and gratitude — thankful to even have the opportunity to try out.
Furphy was always thankful for opportunities.Source: FOX SPORTS
“A big part of that is just hanging in there,” Clarke, the technical director at the NBA Global Academy, said.
“If you hang in there and do the work and keep believing, there’s a chance you’re going to get where you want to get to. If you get all disappointed early on because you don’t make a team or you don’t get as many shots as you want to get or you’re not playing as much, then you give yourself no chance, absolutely no chance.
“I think the thing for Johnny is he just hung in there, hung in there long enough until he was ready and an opportunity came along and then he made the most of his opportunity.”
There are many lessons to be learned from Furphy’s success but that in particular, the ability to stick it out and keep showing up, is the part Arnott holds onto as he ushers in the next generation of Australian basketball talent in his role as assistant coach at the CoE.
“Not getting too high and not getting too low, but continuing to work and showing up, that was one of his greatest assets,” Arnott said.
“A lot of these new athletes coming through want everything now and I understand, you want every opportunity that comes your way, but the most important skill these days is to be able to turn up every day and be available and work on your game and that’s something that I think sometimes gets missed.
“Everyone wants to talk about Johnny’s athleticism, his skill. The skill part came from his ability to work on his game constantly.”
Connected to that is the fact everyone has their own pathway. Furphy took the college route. Dyson Daniels went through G-League Ignite. Josh Giddey was an NBL Next Star.
They all went on different journeys and yet it led to the same place. It started in the same place too, in the same locker rooms where McKinlay said the next Johnny Furphy may be sitting right now.
“What we tried to let the kids know is [that] Johnny was here 12 months ago,” he said.
“He was in this locker room sitting where you guys are. So while we sometimes think the NBA is so far away, in actual fact, it might be 12 months away, so you better get yourself ready now for what may come.
“Just because you didn’t make that first team you thought you should have made, if you keep working then good things can definitely happen. Johnny is the poster boy for that right now and there’ll be another Johnny Furphy, who knows when?”
But even if there is another player like Johnny Furphy, there won’t be another Johnny Furphy the person. McKinlay said he doesn’t know anyone who doesn’t like him.
In fact, Furphy was his son’s favourite player during his time at the CoE. McKinlay isn’t sure why his son, who was five years old at the time, gravitated towards Furphy in particular.
But every time McKinlay talked to his son on the phone after a game, he always asked the same question: Where’s Johnny?
Furphy is reaching new heights. Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
There were plenty of other great players on the roster at the time, including Toohey, Condon and Henshall, who were part of a 2004 age group that McKinlay described as “special”.
“I think there’s a lot of future Boomers in that crop of 2004 players,” he added.
Furphy was included in the Boomers’ extended squad for the upcoming Paris Olympics before being cut when a revised squad was later announced, although the fact he was in the mix in the first place speaks to just how highly-regarded the 19-year-old already is.
Again, remember this was a kid who didn’t make his first state team until the Under 20s and even still, it was with the B team.
This was also a kid who, after being told by Arnott early at the Academy Games that a high major Division I school had interest in him, couldn’t hide his excitement.
Because if there is one thing Arnott will take away from his time with Furphy, it is joy.
“To see the smile on his face,” Arnott said, “and [him] being like, ‘No way. Oh my God’, and just to remember that he was still an 18-year-old kid.
“To see that pure joy in him and then once he’d really taken off and started playing this great style of basketball, sitting back and just being like, ‘This kid is going to be special’.”
And while Arnott won’t have be there in person on Thursday, instead sitting in a hotel room in Instanbul over 8,000 kilometres away, he had a first-hand look at all the key moments leading up to it.
“I guess just having a front row seat to it, not necessarily being a part of it, but just having a front row seat to how special he was becoming, I think that’s the best memory,” Arnott said.
“And I’m most thankful for just being a part of it, having that front row seat. Nothing better than that.”
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Bill Walton, a college basketball icon, former NBA MVP and Hall of Famer who then became a legendary broadcaster, died from cancer on Tuesday surrounded by family, the league announced. He was 71 years old.
“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
Walton starred at UCLA under John Wooden before being selected No. 1 overall in the 1974 NBA Draft, where he embarked on a career with the Trail Blazers, Clippers and Celtics across 10 seasons — with five seasons entirely lost to foot injuries mixed in.
Bill Walton was a basketball legend. Picture: Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Walton also had a long career as a broadcaster for CBS, NBC and ESPN.
He initially joined ESPN in 2002 after 12 years at NBC to serve as their lead NBA analyst, and in 2012, he began calling games again with the network — this time as a college basketball analyst for Pac-12 broadcasts, where he became a figure symbolic of and connected with a league that held its final basketball games this year and final conference tournament this week with baseball.
Walton, who won one NBA title with Portland and another with Boston, became known for his unique style of broadcasting, with bizarre and hilarious moments scattered throughout the games that often had little to do with the action on the court.
Bill Walton and actor Jack Nicholson at a Lakers game in 2004. Picture: Vince Bucci/Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesWalton attempts to block a layup by Lakers guard Byron Scott.Source: Getty Images
Walton’s easygoing nature — and so many other iconic moments while wearing a headset — that helped him mesh with a variety of play-by-play broadcasters.
It all shaped the latest chapter in his legacy that didn’t even begin until after he retired from the NBA.
“It’s very hard to put into words what he has meant to UCLA’s program, as well as his tremendous impact on college basketball,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said in a statement. Beyond his remarkable accomplishments as a player, it’s his relentless energy, enthusiasm for the game and unwavering candour that have been the hallmarks of his larger than life personality.”
After Walton’s death was announced, memories, messages and iconic clips from Walton’s broadcasts were posted on X — with former players such as Julius Erving and former broadcasters such as Jason Benetti sharing tributes.
Jay Bilas, a former Duke star who now serves as an ESPN college basketball analyst, said during a segment with the network that Walton might’ve been one of the greatest players to ever compete in college basketball.
Bill Walton and Muhammad Ali at a Lakers game in 2002.Source: Getty Images
Walton had four sons — Nate, Adam, Chris and Luke, who has embarked on a coaching career and served as the head coach for the Lakers and Kings — and was also survived by his wife, Lori.
“As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the centre position,” Silver continued in his statement.
“His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. Bill then translated his infectious enthusiasm and love for the game to broadcasting, where he delivered insightful and colourful commentary which entertained generations of basketball fans.
“But what I will remember most about him was his zest for life. He was a regular presence at league events — always upbeat, smiling ear to ear and looking to share his wisdom and warmth. I treasured our close friendship, envied his boundless energy and admired the time he took with every person he encountered.”
This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission
The Indianapolis Star has suspended sports columnist Gregg Doyel after he went viral for an embarrassing interaction with Caitlin Clark at a press conference.
Doyel is suspended for two weeks, longtime Indianapolis sportswriter Bob Kravitz reported.
As additional punishment, Doyel will not go to Clark’s rookie games this season but will instead cover them for opinion stories by watching them on TV.
The report did not specify if the suspension is paid or unpaid, The New York Post reports.
The Indianapolis Star is owned by USA Today’s parent company, Gannett.
The Indiana Fever selected Clark first overall in the WNBA Draft and on April 17 introduced her to the media.
At the press conference, Doyel made the heart gesture with his hands at Clark, a motion she made toward her family during games while she played college basketball at Iowa.
You can watch the incident in the video above
“You like that?” Clark responded.
“I like that you’re here, I like that you’re here,” Doyel said.
Clark explained that she made the gesture at her family, and Doyel responded, “Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
Caitlin Clark shrugged off the questions. Photo: X, Clutch Sports.Source: Twitter
Doyel has not filed a story since a Colts NFL Draft piece on April 29, missing Clark’s preseason debut as well as the Pacers vanquishing the Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoffs and the start of their series against the Knicks.
Shortly after the bizarre interaction with Clark, Doyel wrote an apology column.
“I now realise what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. I mean it was just wrong,” he concluded the column. “Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry.”
Fellow journalists and media members, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, were perturbed by how the columnist conducted himself.
The bizarre scene was lambasted by many on social media, with Portnoy sharing a Barstool blogpost on his X account that called Doyel a “pervert.”
Gregg Doyel was suspended. Photo: Instagram / Gregg Doyel.Source: InstagramCaitlin Clark is a baller. Photo by Gregory Shamus / GETTY IMAGES.Source: AFP
Portnoy wrote out a follow-up post on X to clear up his re-share.
“To clarify I meant to call Gregg Doyle a sexist pervert. Which he is based on his nauseating actions today,” Portnoy wrote on X.
Portnoy wasn’t alone in his assessment of the situation, as CBC Sports senior contributor Shireen Ahmed went as far as to say Doyel should get his credentials taken away.
“Almost every one of my women colleagues & students in sport media and sports journalism are sharing that clip of Gregg Doyel and Caitlin Clark with disgust,” Ahmed wrote on X.
“We are rightly furious and fed up. His creds should be revoked and offered to an unentitled journalist who respects women.”
Katie Mox of CBS Sports, was in the same camp.
“What happened to Caitlin Clark today at her first press conference in Indy was really gross. I hope she gets an apology,” she wrote.
Doyel did not immediately respond to an email from The Post asking if he has any additional comment.
— This story originally appeared on The New York Post and has been republished with permission
Caitlin Clark said she’s had a “whirlwind” week, but she probably didn’t expect an interaction with a reporter to go viral on social media.
Clark, the Iowa superstar taken first overall by the Indiana Fever in this week’s WNBA draft, held a press conference Wednesday that included an awkward question-and-answer riff with a columnist from the Indianapolis Star — and a number of people, journalists and media members, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, were perturbed by how the columnist conducted himself.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 15: Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall pick by the Indiana Fever. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
During the press conference, Gregg Doyel started his interaction with Clark by saying: “Real quick, let me do this,” and according to reporters covering the event, the columnist made a heart with his hands — a signature move Clark has used on the court to signal to her family after her college games.
“You like that?” Clark responded.
“I like that you’re here, I like that you’re here,” Doyel said.
“Yeah, I do that at my family after every game,” Clark said of the hand gesture.
Doyel then responded: “Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine.”
The bizarre scene was lambasted by many on social media, with Portnoy sharing a Barstool blogpost on his X account that called Doyel a “pervert.”
Portnoy wrote out a follow-up post on X to clear up his re-share.
“To clarify I meant to call Gregg Doyle a sexist pervert. Which he is based on his nauseating actions today,” Portnoy wrote on X.
Portnoy wasn’t alone in his assessment of the situation, as CBC Sports senior contributor Shireen Ahmed went as far as to say Doyel should get his credentials taken away.
“Almost every one of my women colleagues & students in sport media and sports journalism are sharing that clip of Gregg Doyel and Caitlin Clark with disgust,” Ahmed wrote on X.
“We are rightly furious and fed up. His creds should be revoked and offered to an unentitled journalist who respects women.”
Katie Mox of CBS Sports, was in the same camp.
“What happened to Caitlin Clark today at her first press conference in Indy was really gross. I hope she gets an apology,” she wrote.
Meg Linehan, a senior writer at The Athletic, called into question more than just the interaction itself.
“That Caitlin Clark video highlights a lot of things in one very small clip, but it’s also worth discussing how that’s just the tip of the iceberg — how much does that approach reflect the decision makers who still shape coverage at every level?” Linehan wrote.
After getting crushed by scores of people, Doyel issued a mea culpa on X, labelling his actions as “oafish.”
“Today in my uniquely oafish way, while welcoming @CaitlinClark22 to Indy, I formed my hands into her signature [heart hands],” he wrote. “My comment afterward was clumsy and awkward. I sincerely apologise. Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better.”
Clark’s week included an appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” getting picked first overall in the draft, having President Biden discuss her WNBA pay and appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” to talk about the aforementioned hectic week.
But the interaction with Doyel was probably not on the superstar’s bingo card.
This article first appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission.
One of the busiest days on the NBA calendar in teams’ final chance to tweak their rosters this season, the fortunes of many sides changed — for good, bad and indifferent.
Read on for all the key NBA trade deadline Talking Points!
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Warriors take down Embiid-less 76ers | 00:47
KNICKS THE BIG WINNERS … AND AN EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE FREE AGENT OPTION
You can feel the basketball buzz in the Big Apple from the other side of the globe. For there was one clear trade deadline winner on Friday morning — the New York Knicks.
They did it all in one foul swoop too, landing Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from Detroit in the same deal at a very modest price, handing back Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks.
Yep, that was all they gave up …
Of the Knicks that were sent out, only Grimes was a minor part of their rotation, while Bogdanovic and Burks, who played two seasons in New York from 2020-2022, are set to have key roles to play to significantly bolster their bench and make them one of, if not the, deepest teams in the NBA.
It addressed multiple needs for Tom Thibodeau’s team, which has emerged as a genuine to come out of the East since landing OG Anunoby and been led brilliantly by MVP smoky Jalen Brunson —going 9-1 over its last 10 games.
The Anunoby trade gave the Knicks new-found defensive tenacity and versatility. But they did lose scoring and playmaking after the departures of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley — voids Bogdanovic and Burks will help fill as particularly useful additions while Julius Randle recovers from a shoulder injury.
Bogdanovic had been traded to the Knicks (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Indeed, it’s important to note New York also traded for Anunoby, which, just like the James Harden trade, was technically part of this trade period — without giving up a single first-round pick for any of its recruits — in an ultra aggressive approach that’s already paid massive dividends.
And now, the Knicks are even stronger, with a core of Brunson, Julius Randle, Anunoby, Bogdanovic, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitch Robinson, Donte DiVincenzo and Burks that you sense could compete with anyone.
Plus, in a deadline where not many other teams made major moves, it puts greater value on the Knicks’ upgrades.
“The second-best team in the Eastern Conference, they made moves all season long … they’re stacked as a roster, they’re led by a hell of a head coach in Tom Thibodeau, they have an identity and they’re legit title contenders,” former NBA player Kendrick Perkins told ESPN’s NBA Today.
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The Knicks were winners in more ways than one.
One of the teams with the most overall assets — with claim of all their first-round picks and owed some from other teams — they’re as well placed as anyone to make a big plays for superstars that might become available down the track, having been constantly linked to Donovan Mitchell.
Despite getting significantly stronger at the deadline, it hasn’t affected their long-term plans. In fact, it’s actually made them better placed.
Not only are the Knicks are more attractive destination for superstars on the move, they’ve added tradeable contracts that could be used to help them retool, if necessary, and land a big name.
Take Bogdanovic for example — he has a partially guaranteed deal for next season at $19 million (or could be waived for just $2 million), though it’s most likely they’ll invest in his contract with the potential to flip him for a bigger star.
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson said the Knicks have done things “absolutely perfect” in recent years, while WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike called them “by far the biggest winners” of the deadline.
“This is not even starting this year, this is the past few years, they’ve added key pieces to build a championship team,” Chiney said.
“Today they bolstered that. B0jan Bogdanovic is one of the best shooters in the NBA. They lost Quickley, now you bring in a backup point guard (Burks) that can play combo roles.
“They just look well-rounded, all the players look like they have their specific utility. They’re all dogs.”
A huge, huge W.
THUNDER MADE A BIG MOVE … BUT WAS IT THE RIGHT ONE?
It wasn’t necessarily a huge swing, but Josh Giddey’s OKC Thunder made a key, win-now move nonetheless and overall upgrade.
They added former All-Star Gordon Hayward, who’s on an expiring $31 million contract and set to become a free agent at the end of the season, in a trade with Charlotte in exchange for Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans and draft compensation.
Hayward, 34, despite no longer being in his prime, was still solid for Charlotte this season, particularly when it was undermanned with injuries early in the season. In 25 games, Hayward has averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
The main concern with Hayward is health. The veteran forward has been sidelined since late December with a calf issue to continue a grim run of injury setbacks in recent years.
As such, it’s hard to rely on Hayward to stay on the court, but when he is, he’s a valuable contributor.
It importantly provides a young Thunder side — that’s unexpectedly shot into title contention — a veteran presence who should fit perfectly into its professional culture, and gives Mark Daigneault another option to stagger with his line-ups — or even play a key role in it.
“I like it, I don’t love it. I feel like this is a move because Josh Giddey has not been that great this season. I think they’re filling in a void to help out SGA and Jalen Williams,” former NBA player Kendrick Perkins told NBA Today.
Given the other teams at the top of the West were quiet at the trade deadline, ESPN journalist Zach Lowe also thinks it’s a win for the Thunder.
Hayward will provide a veteran presence to the Thunder (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)Source: FOX Sports
“(Perkins) mentioned Giddey being up and down, Lu Dort has been up and down. Hayward can play the three and the four, he can shoot, he can work off the dribble and he fills every need the Thunder had,” Lowe told NBA Today.
“Yes, his health is a big question. But I’m told he should be ready to play very soon, if not immediately.
“The Thunder did it — they went out and made a win-now move. Their team has earned this respect from the front office and to really go for it.
“It’s not the sexiest move, but it’s a big move by their standards. The top of the West has a contender that fortified itself.”
Though Hayward clearly helps the Thunder, the bigger question is perhaps whether it was the right one given there’s a view the team needs to add another big to play alongside star rookie Chet Holmgren and help their rebounding.
OKC, of course, has an inordinate amount of draft picks to use on prospective targets, so much so it could essentially dwarf any other offers for superstars in trades.
With that in mind, the Thunder could pretty well land anyone for the right price, while Dallas acquired Wizards centre Daniel Gafford, who could’ve helped OKC, for just a first-round pick.
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson thinks the Thunder “got better but not what they needed” — a big — that he said could’ve “pushed them over the top” in the West, questioning how they’d fare in the playoffs against bigger teams with star centres like Denver and Minnesota.
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The prospect of OKC adding an impact big could’ve made them scary without really compromising their draft hand at all.
It’s however worth noting that OKC general manager Sam Presti has embraced patience and playing the long game with the Thunder. So even despite the team’s unforeseen rise to the top of the West, it’s fair to assume they’d want to see how far this team can go before trying anything too bold.
“This is a short-term move and long-term move,” NBA insider Brian Windhorst said of OKC’s Hayward addition on NBA Today.
“They positioned themselves to also re-sign Gordon Hayward at the end of the season, he’s a free agent, and they can use him as trade asset next year.
“The other thing with this move is, they are about $9 million under the tax still and they have two open roster spots. I think they still have 34 tradeable picks.
“The good, smart organisations make moves to give them flexibility … this is a move that helps the Thunder now and later and doesn’t take on any bad money. It’s just a smart move by a smart front office.”
SIXERS LOOK TO STAY AFLOAT WITH EMBIID INJURED
Philadelphia sort of hedged its bets at the deadline as it navigates a tough stretch without Joel Embiid.
The Sixers added sharpshooter Buddy Hield in a deal with Indiana that only cost them three second-round picks and back-end players to give Nick Nurse’ sides another offensive weapon to help with its playoff push, plus multiple roster spots to go shopping with on the buyout market.
Philly was in an awkward position given uncertainty surrounding Embiid’s health for the second half of the season due to his MCL injury — one the superstar centre has history with.
Should the Sixers have gone all in for a title push despite Embiid’s injury?
Or preserve their assets for the off-season — where the have multiple tradeable first-round picks and are projected to have over $50 million in cap space to sign a superstar free agent (they’re reportedly targeting Paul George), while they’ll also need to re-sign Tyrese Maxey to a mega extension.
Ideally, they’d have a bit each way, which the Hield move essentially does.
It would’ve been negligible to not try something with the success they’ve had with Embiid, prior to his setback, utterly dominant and in the best form of his career.
The Sixers have added sharpshooter Buddy Hield (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Reports have suggested they’re planning to get Embiid back at some stage, and a supporting cast of Maxey, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Nicholas Batum, Kelly Oubre Jr and Hield is a potent one that could challenge Boston in the East.
Critically, Hield is also on an expiring deal, so taking on his contract doesn’t affect the Sixers’ off-season cap space at all.
Philly also swapped backup point guard Patrick Beverley with Milwaukee’s Cameron Payne and got a second-round pick in the process, so technically, the Hield trade only cost it two second-rounders.
“Overall I think the Sixers have done something that allows them to stay in this race … what they picked up with Buddy Hield and getting away from Patrick Beverley, I think keeps them in the mix for Nick Nurse,” ESPN’s Clinton Yates told Around the Horn.
“I’m surprised the Pacers were willing to come off Buddy Hield. Overall, I think the Sixers are still in this hunt as far as personnel.”
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BIG NAME STILL ON THE BOARD
The trade deadline has come and gone, but there’s still one big name still on the board — Spencer Dinwiddie.
After being traded to Toronto for Dennis Schroder, the Raptors are reportedly waiving Dinwiddie’s expiring deal in a move that clears up cap space — and has come as a big surprise.
No one was expecting a player of Dinwiddie’s caliber — he’s averaged 12.6 points from 48 games this season and six assists — to be available on the open market to sign as a free agent.
As such, there’s no shortage of suitors.
Reports say the Lakers, 76ers, Mavericks and Pelicans all have interest in Dinwiddie in one of the most fascinating storylines to follow post the deadline.
One team is set to get a big boost and largely a free hit to help with their playoff campaign.
THE MAVS SACRIFICE TWO FIRST-ROUNDERS TO BUILD AROUND LUKA
The Mavericks were certainly active on the deadline, moving a first-round pick to pick up Daniel Gafford and then using another one, as well as a pick swap, to add P.J. Washington.
Let’s start with Gafford, who the Mavericks landed while sending Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick to Washington.
Gafford gives the Mavs another athletic big who can be a lob threat for Doncic and Kyrie Irving while also offering rim protection on the other side of the floor.
With Dereck Lively II injured Gafford can step in and deliver NBA starter-level production immediately for Dallas while he will also ease the pressure on the rookie come the post-season.
The only question is whether it was worth paying up that much for a player who is either going to be a back-up centre or take minutes away from Lively II, who impressed early in his rookie campaign.
It really depends which way you look at it.
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As for Washington, he brings added athleticism and defensive versatility around Doncic and could benefit from the change of scenery away from Charlotte.
More than anything, both moves are proof to Doncic that Dallas is serious about making improvements to its roster and building around him, even if it doesn’t end up paying off in the end.
“I heard Jason Kidd say something about a week ago about how you have to do everything possible when you have a player like Luka Doncic on your roster as far as finding the most talent the surround him,” ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks said on ‘NBA Today’.
“I know they were two first-round picks that went out but when you get Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington in a trade and that upgrades your roster, I look at Dallas as a big winner.”
THE $51M LEBRON ‘ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM’ TO WATCH
There were few teams under more pressure entering the deadline than the Lakers.
That is what happens when LeBron James first posts an hourglass emoji of all things on social media before later refusing to make any guarantees on his future as he enters the summer with the possibility of becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.
Despite all of that, the Lakers did not make a single trade on Friday morning.
There still could be movement on the buyout market, with the Lakers reportedly among the leading contenders to sign Spencer Dinwiddie alongside the 76ers, Mavericks and Pelicans.
But despite showing interest in Dejounte Murray, the Lakers ultimately decided a trade for the Hawks guard was not going to be the kind of needle-mover that would vault them into Western Conference contention.
Part of that comes back to the fact that the player they were likely going to have to trade to land Murray, D’Angelo Russell, has been on a tear as of late.
Russell has averaged 24 points and 6.5 assists in his last 13 games while shooting 46.6 per cent from deep.
While that sort of production may not be sustainable and Murray would have been an upgrade on defence, it may not have been enough to warrant sending Russell away along with a first-round pick.
The Lakers stood still at the trade deadline. Was it the right call?Source: FOX SPORTS
The other issue is that if it wasn’t Russell it had to be Austin Reaves, who the Lakers had been reluctant to include in trade talks and was such a crucial part of the team’s Western Conference Finals run last season.
“The Lakers essentially saw the market place as marginal upgrades on what they had. The price to pay for that was just too high,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on ‘NBA Today’.
“Especially considering it would probably take them out of the market place in the summer. Where they think they’ll have an opportunity to go out and get a significant player – perhaps another star or more than one good player.
“Right now they have one-first round pick they can offer in trades. That changes July 1, they’ll be able to offer three first-round picks, that really changes the calculus of what you’re able to do.”
For the time being, the Lakers will stand pat and instead target a bigger name in the summer when they have three movable draft picks at their disposal.
That follows reporting from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin before the deadline, claiming the Lakers had internally discussed packaging the three picks, along with players, for a “bona fide star” such as Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell or Atlanta’s Trae Young.
Bill Reiter of CBS Sports also reported on Thursday the Lakers believe they are a chance of landing Mitchell in the off-season.
Of course, the risk the Lakers run is that James – who has a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season – is not even on the team in the summer.
Giddey explodes for season high in 2OT! | 01:09
ESPN’s Malika Andrews described it as the “elephant in the room” for the Lakers, although NBA insider Brian Windhorst said L.A.’s mature approach at the trade deadline was the right one.
“They’re not acting like they’re petrified,” he said on ‘NBA Today’.
“I think that’s because they think the best course of action to keep LeBron and the Lakers competitive is to do what they’re doing right now. And I’ll also say this. I just don’t believe LeBron is opting out of $51 million.”
Could a poor stretch of play at the end of the season, which results in the Lakers missing the playoffs, change his mind? ESPN’s Zach Lowe believes it is worth the question.
“I’m watching the Lakers even more closely than usual for these last two months and the play-in and the playoffs if they get there because we all know the truth. LeBron has a player option for next year. If this team doesn’t play well he has outs if he wants to leave,” Lowe said on ‘NBA Today’.
“I don’t think he wants to leave. I think he wants to remain a Laker the rest of his career but the contract is what it is. This team is what it is and they’d have competition in the summer… this team has to prove itself to LeBron and to itself in the coming two months.”
WHAT ARE THE BULLS DOING?
If there was one team that didn’t make a move but should have before this year’s deadline it was the Chicago Bulls. Although the fact they did nothing hardly comes as a surprise.
After all, the Bulls have now not made a trade involving a player since August 2021, or in more stark terms — 30 months.
They also haven’t been anything more than a play-in tournament contender in recent years, having made the playoffs in the 2021-22 season before being bounced 4-1 in the opening round by Milwaukee.
It seems like the Bulls are OK with settling for being good enough to be a consistent playoff-calibre team without ever making the leap towards actually threatening to do anything of consequence in the post-season.
As NBA insider Brian Windhorst put it earlier in the week on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’, “I think they’re in a rebuild and they don’t know they’re in a rebuild”.
Of course, there have been factors beyond their control, starting with Lonzo Ball’s constant injury setbacks. The same goes for Zach LaVine given the size of the contract he signed.
“That is just terrible misfortune but the Bulls are an organisation that historically has been OK with being in the middle and they seem to be content with being in the middle, making the playoffs and trying to put something together,” Windhorst added.
That remained the case on Friday, with DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond all staying put despite rival interest in all three players.
LaVine will miss the rest of the season (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
The decision to hold onto DeRozan was particularly perplexing given his impending free agency.
Now, the Bulls found themselves in a similar position last season with Nikola Vucevic and he ended up re-signing for three years and $60 million before hitting unrestricted free agency.
So there is a chance that DeRozan stays put. But does that even make sense for the Bulls? If healthy, are they really as constructed good enough to contend in the Eastern Conference anyway?
Coby White has been a revelation for Chicago this season and looks like the new face of the franchise that the Bulls need to start building around. He is only 23 years old though.
The Bulls had a chance to trade DeRozan on an expiring contract and would have not been short of suitors given the veteran would lift the ceiling of any contending team.
Now, Chicago will have a core group of players in DeRozan, Caruso and Vucevic all over 30 years old and is seemingly destined for another season of potentially getting to the play-in tournament and maybe even securing a playoff berth only to make a swift exit after the first round.
“Chicago fans, let me express – mistake, not trading Andrew Drummond. Mistake, not trading DeMar DeRozan. Mistake, not trading Alex Caruso. Everyone is telling you right now, these were all mistakes you made,” Richard Jefferson said on ‘NBA Today’.
The Bulls could look into a sign-and-trade with DeRozan this off-season or alternatively he could walk for nothing.
If anything, while it was misfortune that LaVine’s injury spoiled any hope Chicago had of trading him and being free of his $215 million contract, it should also serve as a reminder that nothing is guaranteed in this league.
GOLDEN STATE’S TRICKY BALANCING ACT
Like the Lakers, the Golden State Warriors found themselves in a tricky situation heading into Friday’s deadline.
Andrew Wiggins seemed like the most likely player to be moved but that in itself was going to be challenging given he was in the first year of a four-year, $109 million deal.
Klay Thompson, meanwhile, isn’t the same dependable option he once was and his recent benching down the stretch in favour of rookie Gui Santos, who had only played 61 minutes before Tuesday’s game against the Nets, spoke volumes to Steph Curry’s declining supporting cast.
It also spoke to Steve Kerr’s willingness to experiment with his rotations and closing line-ups more, giving younger players more minutes which benefits the Warriors not only in the long-term but right now too if they are better options than underperforming veterans.
A hasty Thompson trade was always unlikely given he can still be a valuable player for the Warriors, currently averaging 17.1 points per game while shooting 37.1 per cent from downtown.
It isn’t the kind of production we’ve come to expect from Thompson but it’s still good enough to have an important but secondary role in the team with room for more if he can rediscover his past form.
The Warriors stood still at the deadline despite talk their stars could be on the move (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
That is a consistent theme for this Warriors team and in relation to Thompson and Wiggins specifically.
Golden State is holding out on the chance those two key members of its most recent championship-winning team can get close to that sort of level as opposed to selling them at their lowest value.
Chris Paul was another name to monitor with an expiring $30.8 million salary, although replacing his role as the leader of the Warriors’ second unit was never going to be easy and wouldn’t necessarily make Golden State a better team anyway.
Then you factor in Golden State’s recent 5-3 stretch, where those three losses came in close fashion.
One of them was in overtime to the Hawks while it was only a one-point difference against both the Lakers and Kings.
In other words the Warriors were close to going 8-0 and the return of Draymond Green has a lot to do with that, improving Golden State’s defence to the extent that it boasts a 112.3 defensive rating during that 5-3 period – ranking seventh in the league.
All of this is to say that there weren’t many real difference makers available via trade and those that were would have required the Warriors to give up too many future assets that could either help the team land a star player in the summer or at least gives Golden State long-term roster flexibility.
That is consistent with reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Friday morning, claiming the Warriors had shown interest in two-way Bulls player Alex Caruso but did not strike a deal given Chicago’s asking price.
From Dante Exum’s sudden emergence at Dallas to a new problem for Josh Giddey at Oklahoma City, there is plenty of Australian storylines to keep an eye on in the NBA.
Plus — the two words that sum up Patty Mills after the veteran guard played his second game for the Hawks.
That and more in our latest wrap of all the Australians in the NBA!
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Green ejected for wild swinging arm | 00:54
DANTE EXUM (Dallas Mavericks)
Exum, the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, had everything he needed to be a solid role player in the NBA.
He had the defensive instincts. He had the playmaking skills. He had the length and versatility. All that was missing was a consistent jumper.
He may have just found it and in the process unlocked the enormous ceiling that saw him taken early in the draft by the Utah Jazz all those years ago.
Development in the NBA — and any sport — is not a linear process.
Exum’s recent resurgence is proof of it, having headed overseas after a string of unfortunate injuries derailed the early stages of his career in the NBA.
After two years in Europe, Exum is back in the league and thriving. He is also doing so on a two-year, $6.2 million deal — a contract which is quickly proving a bargain for Dallas.
Only the first year is guaranteed but if Exum even puts up half the production he had on Wednesday against the Lakers he won’t be leaving the Mavericks anytime soon.
Exum made a career-high seven 3-pointers in a 26-point explosion against Los Angeles to improve Dallas’ record to 4-0 with the Australian in the starting line-up.
“He’s playing at a high level right now on both ends,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said post-game.
“With the injuries, it’s given him confidence and you can see that, not just shooting the 3s but attacking the basket there in the first quarter getting that layup, not just settling.”
Exum is currently in the five for the injured Kyrie Irving (right foot), although he could have very well played himself into a permanent starting spot even when the superstar guard returns given the way he is performing.
“He’s on one right now, Dante Exum,” ESPN journalist Zach Lowe said on NBA Today.
“He’s making a case to start when the Mavs are healthy and if he can hit enough 3s, he’s not going to shoot 7-for-9 every game, but if he can hit 40 per cent from the corners he’s big, he’s rangy, he can kind of make those connecting passes.
“They might have something cooking here.”
Either way, Exum will certainly see more minutes when Irving returns given the value he is offering Dallas on both ends.
Aussie Exum POPS OFF for 7 x threes | 01:40
“We’ve talked about how his IQ is extremely high,” added Kidd.
“He knows how to play the right way. Luka (Doncic) or Kai (Kyrie Irving) or whomever he’s out there with, those guys trust him and you saw that with Luka.
“Luka probably has to lead the league in double teams. He’s been double-teamed for a majority of the game. His trust with his teammates, if it’s not Timmy [Hardaway Jr.], it’s Exum.
“… You trust that the guys are going to make the right play or take the shot. Tonight, Exum was the one he was looking for.”
And Exum consistently made his shots, with Doncic describing the Australian’s performance as “amazing”.
“His plays, his defence, and obviously his shooting today. He has been amazing for us,” added the Slovenian.
The shooting has not always been there for Exum, which is why the Lakers and other teams have played their five on him and sagged off daring the 28-year-old to shoot the ball.
So, Exum worked. And worked some more, until he was confident in his shot even if the buckets weren’t always falling.
“The guy goes into the gym two hours before practice with our shooting coaches getting extra reps up every single day,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said post-game.
“That is just credit to his work. He has calmed down, he is knocking down his shot and shooting with confidence. That is what we need.”
Luka Doncic reacts after a basket by Dante Exum. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Josh Giddey has seen similar treatment from opposition defences and the way Exum rebounded on Wednesday is proof that sometimes patience is all that is needed.
“I think it started in L.A and then a lot of teams started to put their five on me,” Exum said.
“So, ever since then I have been in the gym working. Credit to the staff and even our players. Constantly trusting me to shoot the ball and to pass it to me.
“It was trust in myself and confidence to keep shooting it. I think how Luka plays and he can find anyone at any point. Knowing guys are going to help off to double him, and I have to be ready. I try to put myself in the situation where I can be on the floor.
“I don’t want to be the guy that is taken out because I can’t hit that shot.”
JOSH GIDDEY (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Giddey already has plenty going on off the court, with the NBA still investigating the Australian over allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
On the court though there are issues for the 21-year-old too, who has seen his minutes reduced this season and has been particularly absent in crunch time for the Thunder.
A loss of playing time was always on the cards for Giddey, not so much because of his own poor play, but because of the depth of young talent Oklahoma City is starting to put together.
Both Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams have quickly emerged as key parts of the Thunder offence while even rookie Cason Wallace continues to push for a larger role.
Giddey, on the other hand, has regressed from his sophomore season as he struggles to consistently find his rhythm on offence without a consistent jumper.
That, in turn, has seen opposition defences start to not just put their centre on him but give Giddey plenty of space to operate with too, daring him to shoot the ball.
“I was talking to him about it this morning and he’s like, ‘It’s the first time I’ve gotten played like that,’ which I think is an important point,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said last week.
“He’s been here for two years and I look at it as a compliment to our offence that we’re seeing that now.”
Josh Giddey is facing a fresh challenge. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
While there have been some suggestions Giddey could move back to the bench to help run the second unit, coach Daigneault does not sound too concerned just yet.
That doesn’t mean he is naive to the issue though. In fact, as Daigneault later pointed out, OKC has experimented more with Giddey playing alongside the second unit even if he does start the game.
It is all part of the Thunder trying to find out what pieces fit where in a young team that still has its best basketball ahead.
The only issue is that OKC is playing well enough right now that there is some level of urgency. But again, Daigneault is not losing sight of the bigger picture.
“We need to develop the solutions, but I look at the fact that three out of our last four opponents have gone to something that’s totally unconventional for them as a compliment to our offence, our base offence and just a challenge for us now that we have to evolve,” he said.
“I don’t want the emotion of the moment to get in the way of the perspective that this is a process we’re going through right now. It’s the first time that we’ve had a good enough offence probably, collectively, that we’re seeing the kitchen sink. And now that we’re seeing the kitchen sink, we have to calibrate, we have to improve.”
Daigneault also went on to add that given this is all new for Giddey, it is important the Thunder gives him time to first “see” what is being thrown at him and then try “calibrate it”.
As for any immediate adjustments, Daigneault had one request for Giddey.
“The only thing I said to him today which is important is that he plays on the catch,” he said.
“I think the quicker you play against that stuff the harder it is for teams to calibrate. But if you’re fast on the catch, if you either shoot it or move it quickly, teams can’t size it up in the middle of the possession.
“There were a couple last night where he seemed indecisive and the biggest thing [is] we’re fine with him shooting open 3s, those are good shots. If he shoots it, shoot it. If not, move it quickly so we can maintain that advantage.”
BEN SIMMONS (Brooklyn Nets)
There are not any significant updates to report on the injury front as Simmons recovers from a nerve impingement in his back.
Although Simmons, who has not played since early November, has entered the next phase of his rehabilitation and is looking at a return in a “matter of days to weeks, as opposed to weeks to months” according to his agent Bernie Lee.
“He’s been doing well, slowly taking steps. He’s starting to move around a little bit now. He’s starting to be able to run on some underwater treadmill stuff. So he’s starting to get around and move,” Lee added in an interview with The New York Post.
In the meantime though, former Sixers teammate Joel Embiid had some interesting comments about Simmons when speaking about the Australian on Tyrese Maxey’s podcast.
Embiid’s relationship with Simmons was the source of much media speculation during this time at Philadelphia.
Of particular emphasis was Embiid’s comments after a 4-1 playoffs series loss to the Hawks, where he described the moment Simmons passed up an open dunk as a “turning point” in the game.
Joel Embiid in September 2021 denied reports of a rift with teammate Ben Simmons amid reports that the Australian star was seeking to leave the franchise. (Photo by Christian Petersen / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)Source: AFP
Embiid also said in the wake of Simmons’ trade to Brooklyn that it was “unfortunate” that winning was “not the biggest factor” for the three-time All-Star.
“It’s unfortunate that for him having his own team and, I guess, being a star was more his priorities,” Embiid added at the time. Now though, speaking on Maxey’s podcast, Embiid leapt to Simmons’ defence, declaring he “never” thought the Australian actually needed to be much of an outside shooting threat to succeed.
In fact, Embiid went as far as to say Simmons was “the one that got away”.
“I’ve always been one of those people that didn’t believe that he didn’t actually need a jumper,” Embiid said.
“He was so good, he’s just a monster, physically. Like someone who’s freaking [6-foot-11], just running up and down the floor faster than whatever, almost as fast as [Maxey].
“Think about it, 6-11, freaking jumping hard, guarding one-through-five, like a freaking monster.
“So I never believed that he actually needed the jumper, I just believed that if he could find a way to get his free throw [percentage] to 75, 80 percent, that would have changed everything.
“Because if you think about it, if you believe that he could make shots, what would he do? He would keep attacking, attacking, attacking, and never stopping. And then what would the defence have to do? He was already such a great playmaker, making the guy, the game, easy for everybody else.
“I think that’s the perfect match … I think that’s the one that got away. I just hate the fact that the way things happened.”
Shades of the King – Bronny makes debut | 01:15
PATTY MILLS (Atlanta Hawks)
The ultimate professional or, as Hawks coach Quin Snyder put it, “the epitome of stay ready”.
And Mills has had to stay ready, only seeing 22 minutes of action so far for Atlanta.
Five of those minutes came in garbage time as the Hawks breezed past the Wizards.
Against the 76ers last week though Mills saw a more prominent role, playing 17 minutes as he scored three points to go with two assists, one rebound, a block and a steal.
“I think that’s who he’s been as far as the way that he plays,” Snyder said post-game.
“He puts a stamp on the game with his defence, with his activity, his energy, his voice. He’s the epitome of stay ready. He hasn’t been playing and then obviously gets an opportunity tonight.
“I thought that group changed the game when they came in the first quarter at the end there and really gave us a boost… it’s not easy to play against Patrick Beverly pressuring you 90 feet. But that’s what Patty’s done. I just have tremendous respect for him as a player and it is also reflective of who he is as a person and as a teammate.”
As for why Mills isn’t seeing more minutes, it is a simple case of the Hawks having plenty of youth depth at the guard position.
In other words, Mills isn’t needed at the moment. But if injuries strike or his name is called, you can guarantee the 35-year-old will be ready.
JOSH GREEN (Dallas Mavericks)
While Exum is thriving with more playing time at Dallas, Irving’s injury is a missed opportunity for Green, who is dealing with his own injury setback.
Green played some of his best games for the Mavericks last season when either Irving or Doncic was sidelined, scoring 20 or more points in three consecutive weeks for the first time in his career.
Green is currently sidelined with a sprain in his right elbow and is expected to miss multiple weeks according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
DYSON DANIELS (New Orleans Pelicans)
Daniels took full advantage of a string of injuries to Pelicans starters earlier in the season, earning a prominent role and playing some of the best basketball of his young career.
It was always inevitable though that the returns of C.J. McCollum and Trey Murphy III would see Daniels’ minutes take a hit.
Daniels only saw six minutes in a 127-117 win over Sacramento but that proved to be an outlier for the young guard, who has clearly earned some level of trust from the coaching staff.
Daniels went on to get 17 and 28 minutes in games against the Lakers and Timberwolves before being inserted back into the starting line-up after Zion Williamson went down injured.
Williamson (ankle) is considered day-to-day so Daniels could see a few more starting appearances before the end of the month.
Daniels only played 16 minutes against the Wizards, although it ended up being a blowout victory for the Pelicans anyway as they ran out 142-122 winners.
Embiid passes Barkley in stellar fashion | 01:23
JOCK LANDALE (Houston Rockets)
Landale has seen limited playing time for Houston, not figuring in the Rockets’ big-man rotation in five of their past five games, missing two with an illness.
The former Suns centre did eventually get some minutes against the Grizzlies, seeing at least 10 minutes of action for just the second game in his last nine appearances.
As a whole though Landale is unlikely to see any significant playing time without an injury to starting big man Alperen Sengun
Landale is on a four-year, $32 million contract but has no guaranteed money after this season, giving Houston flexibility to move off him should the Australian fail to make an impact.
JOE INGLES (Orlando Magic)
At 36 years old, Ingles continues to prove age is just a number. The same goes for this young Orlando squad, which as a whole is playing with a maturity and poise beyond its years.
Usually a team like the Magic would struggle with consistency, flashing their enormous ceiling and then following up those high games with agonising lows that proved just how far they have to go.
Instead, this Magic team has quickly figured out its identity and sits second in the Eastern Conference with a 16-7 record alongside Ingles’ former team Milwaukee.
Ingles is playing a slightly different role with Orlando but it is the same idea in the sense that he has worked hard to find the balance between initiating and facilitating the offence.
It is one of many points Ingles touched on in a recent interview with CBS Sports, where he spoke about his comeback from a torn ACL and what he has learned playing with the Magic.
Joe Ingles has been a key addition. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“The good thing is we do have a young group, and it’s different to what I’ve been around, but it’s a nice change, too,” Ingles said.
“It’s fun. I’m the oldest by a mile, but it feels like the energy is there every day.”
Ingles signed a two-year, $22 million contract (second year not guaranteed) with Orlando and said his recent deal is a good reminder of the important function role players have in even the best, star-studded NBA teams.
“That first team I was with, with Gordon [Hayward] and Rudy [Gobert] and Derrick Favors, for me it was about perfecting that role of helping those guys,” Ingles said.
“And then you go to another team, and with Milwaukee last year it was like play with Giannis, play with these guys and try to help them. And I think the more players can realise, like, you can make so much money being a good role player.”
Ingles is coming off a standout game against the Cavaliers where he had 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and one block.
Ingles did briefly exit the game with an ankle injury but later returned.
MATISSE THYBULLE (Portland Trail Blazers)
Thybulle already was of plenty of value to this young Portland line-up as the team’s best perimeter defender but now he has really starting to make progress with his jumper.
The 26-year-old has at least two 3-pointers in his last five games and just as importantly has been an efficient outside shooter too, going 3-for-5 from deep in his last three.
Thybulle is now shooting at a career-high 42.4 per cent from 3-point land and still maintaining the same level of impact on defence, with nine steals and four blocks in his last five games.
He is a solid piece with room for plenty more growth with the way he is shooting right now.
DUOP REATH (Portland Trail Blazers)
Like Thybulle, Reath is also really starting to prove himself after a season-ending injury to Robert Williams III left Portland in need of big-man depth.
Reath has offered that and more, shooting well enough from downtown to earn the respect of opposition defences.
When he isn’t shooting himself Reath is also making an impact off the ball as an active screener, opening up shots for his teammates.
Reath is currently averaging 7.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game this season while he has seen a steady increase in minutes during his last three games.
After a delay, the U.S. Women’s National Team icon was substituted from the game in the sixth minute by Bethany Balcer, and Rapinoe shared a hug with Gotham FC’s Ali Krieger, a fellow USWNT star also playing in her final professional soccer game, who added another title to her belt after winning two World Cups.
The championship is Gotham FC’s first-ever title in franchise history.
After the game, Rapinoe told CBS Sports that she believes she tore her Achilles tendon on the play.
“This is a tough one, definitely now how I envisioned this last one going, pretty sure I tore my Achilles,” she said to CBS Sports after the loss.
“I mean so proud of the group. Obviously, they put everything out there. So deserving to Gotham, they’ve had such a great year. Just thank you to everyone who’s been on the journey for all this time, it’s been amazing. … Just super proud of my whole career.”
In July, the 38-year-old Rapinoe announced that this year’s Women’s World Cup and NWSL season would be her last in soccer.
Rapinoe told reporters after the game that she’s had so many good finishes in her career, but those don’t always happen in sports.
“You don’t always get to have the perfect ending,” said Rapinoe, per the Associated Press. “I’ve had so many perfect endings, even just thinking back to 2019, that was the most perfect whole script you could ever write personally and as a team, just what it meant. On balance, I don’t think anything that negative about it.”
Rapinoe won two World Cups in 2015 and 2019, and she was named the Best FIFA Women’s Player in the latter year.
She recorded nine goals and seven assists over four different World Cup appearances.
Esther González scored what proved to be the winning goal in stoppage time in the first half.
Despite Gotham FC goalkeeper Amanda Haught taking a red card in stoppage time of the second half, the team held on for a win and its first title.
This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission
It ends a standoff dating back to June when Harden first asked to be traded amid friction with Sixers president Daryl Morey including the 34-year old calling Morey a “liar.”
Harden has been traded to the Clippers (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Source: AFP
So what does it all mean for Harden, the two teams involved and NBA at large? Does it influence the championship race?
Right now there’s more questions than anything in one of the more intriguing NBA trade narratives in recent history.
Foxsports.com.au runs through the big questions that need answering in the fallout from the blockbuster move.
COULD PHILLY HAVE GOTTEN MORE?
In short, probably not, especially considering the Sixers essentially came away better from this deal than Portland did for Jrue Holiday.
Talks that have been on and off since July, Philly ultimately received Marcus Morris, Nic Batum, Robert Covington and KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two-second round picks and a pick swap all tied to the Clippers and a 2026 protected first-round pick tied to OKC (worst of the Thunder’s three first-rounders).
The Thunder’s contribution netted them a 2027 first-round pick swap with the Clippers.
Confused yet?
Some might look at this deal on the surface and think the Sixers got unders for Harden, largely due to the fact that they didn’t get any significant player back in the package.
After all, we’re talking about a former MVP winner and multi-time All-Star, All-NBA player and scoring champion who featured in the NBA’s top 75 players of all-time.
Yet seemingly, there’s no obvious name that can come across and help the Sixers win now – and a team that’s priority is to do so.
The Sixers’ had reportedly longed for Terance Mann, who’s frankly far from star status, to be included in the deal, though the Clippers weren’t willing to oblige in a showing of how much Harden’s value has diminished.
The Sixers were keen on Clipper Terrance Mann (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Source: AFP
“From everything that I’ve been told, this was not a package trade that Daryl Morey wanted. This was a trade that was made essentially by the Philadelphia 76ers ownership. They had told Daryl Morey to get a deal done now!,” senior NBA reporter Vince Goodwill said on the Ball Don’t Lie podcast.
The reality was that the Clippers were never going to get anything more than role players and picks for Harden.
For one, Harden has in recent years built a reputation of quitting on his teams, with the Clippers set to be his fourth side in as many seasons. He wanted out of both Brooklyn and Philadelphia after short stints at both stops.
There’s also at times been questions of Harden’s professionalism as a difficult personality for teams to manage. In a similar vein to Kyrie Irving (though to a lesser degree), there’s the added off-court drama and thus baggage that comes with Harden.
On court, he’s a ball dominant player that demands a big role on a team to be effective. At age 34, he really only fits in certain situations, and going through ever team in the league and there’s not many obvious landing spots.
He clearly doesn’t make sense for a rebuilding team, and those in contention either essentially don’t need a player like Harden to mess with their chemistry or are already settled in the backcourt.
Clippers smash the Spurs in L.A. | 00:48
There’s also his shortcomings in the playoffs over the years, where, despite having a 85-75 record in the post-season, Harden has never played in the NBA Finals.
All these factors surrounding a veteran player in his twilight years on a maximum $35 million expiring deal, which essentially makes him a one-season rental, and it’s understandable why it was largely the Clippers in the conversation (who themselves don’t make total sense).
So while only time will tell what happens from here, the Sixers seemingly did the best they could out of an ugly situation.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE SIXERS?
It leads to the next point – can Philadelphia, as constructed, contend for the title? Or could they look to make further moves?
This of course was a Philly team that finished third in the East last season with 54 wins and was considered one of the prime contenders despite falling considerably short in the playoffs.
While it seemingly came out of nowhere, some reports have stated the Sixers felt pressed to finally pull the trigger on a Harden trade after the team’s hot start to the season under the lead of breakout superstar Tyrese Maxey, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week and the franchise has gone all in on.
There’s very much a new big two in Philadelphia in Maxey and Joel Embiid.
It could be argued this bought Philly more time with Harden to ensure it made the right trade, but it also created a greater urgency for the team to avoid anything that could tamper with its promising 2-1 start, with Harden the elephant in the room as he neared a return to the court.
Harden was essentially a black hole in their roster until that happened, and regardless, there needed to be a resolution at some stage for the best of all parties (remind you of a recent similar situation?).
Embiid and Maxey are Philadelphia’s new big two (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP)Source: AFP
And yes, the Sixers didn’t get anything star player in return, but bring in pieces that can help them around periphery and round out Nick Nurse’s rotation.
“This is all about Philly in my mind. Philadelphia got better. Did they getter to the point where they’re looking Boston and Milwaukee in the eye? Probably not, they’re probably on that next tier. But to me, this is the third best team in the Eastern Conference,” former NBA player Tim Legler said on ESPN.
“Because of Joel Embiid and we are finally getting a taste of the ceiling of Tyrese Maxey. If you’re not watching Tyrese Maxey every night and thinking you are watching a star payer in the making, then you don’t really know the game, because that’s what he is.
“There’s another element to this. James Harden was a guy that dramatically affected Joel Embiid’s demeanour, body language and frustration … the black cloud has been lifted from the Sixers organisation and they’re moving forward with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
“You’ve added supplemental parts that fit that roster better, I love this for Philly.”
Giving Maxey a proper runway to continue his ascension and keeping Embiid happy – and committed to the team – are clearly the two biggest priorities for the Sixers. They simply couldn’t to waste a season of reigning MVP Embiid in his prime.
They’ve likely achieved both those things and slightly improved with veteran role players plus picks to potentially use to target another star.
Indeed, Philadelphia will reportedly try and flip the picks to build a contender around Maxey and Embiid – or as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowki put it, go “star hunting” with their collection of assets – holding the type of capital Boston used to land Jrue Holiday.
According to Sports Illustrated, the Sixers could target Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine and Toronto Raptors’ OG Anunoby, though neither – nor is any other big name – currently considered to be on the trade table.
Also now with a host of expiring contracts – including all the players they acquired from the Clippers – the Sixers could have the most cap space of any team in the league next off-season.
Philly could have as much as $55.6 million in cap space in 2024, though it comes with an expiration date given Maxey is due for a max contract that would see his $13 million cap hold push out to around $40 million.
That comes ahead of a free agency class that will feature the likes of Pascal Siakam, Anunoby, Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, while Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Jrue Holday could also join that list.
The timing of Maxey signing his deal could therefore be important if the Sixers do indeed try and land a big free agent.
ARE CLIPPERS LEGIT CONTENDERS … OR IS THIS A LOOMING DISASTER?
You can be glass half full or half empty on where this leaves the Clippers.
On one side of things, you have to appreciate the team’s willingness to improve by putting another star next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George given the team is very much in a win-now window.
The Clippers went all in on this roster and hold little draft capital as a result, so why not swing for the fences?
We’ve frankly rarely even seen this team healthy including in the playoffs, so the possibility of Leonard and George staying fit when it matters and Harden coming into that mix is appealing.
Beyond their two superstars, the Clippers have long lacked other notable contributors in the Leonard-George era, with the approach of building the team out with depth largely not working.
So while Harden mightn’t be the most obvious fit given he’s a third ball dominant star, the Clippers did need more useful and reliable pieces and their current squad likely wasn’t going to contend with the likes of Denver, Phoenix and the Lakers.
For all the negative commentary surrounding Harden, he ranks top 50 in all-time winning percentage at 65.10 per cent (651-349), having averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and seven assists across his career.
He’s also consistently led his teams to deep enough playoff runs, even if they’ve never really challenged.
Can the Clippers contend in the West (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP)Source: AFP
“The Clippers never appeared to waver much in their position either. Los Angeles wanted Harden. It wanted a creator and connective passer who could give Leonard and George their greatest chance to compete for a title since the duo teamed up in July 2019,” Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
“The front office wanted a clear ceiling-raiser and a pure talent play, no matter the cost on the cap sheet, which holds the upside necessary to battle Nikola Jokić or Phoenix’s three-headed monster or anyone else.
“It’s a pure zig from last season’s build, when the Clippers went in on depth and saw their 2022-23 effort pale in comparison to the true titans of the Western Conference.”
Then there’s the viewpoint of: how is this going to work!? It’s almost like something straight out of a movie.
The Clippers already have an ageing core of Leonard (32 years old), George (33) and Russell Westbrook (34) and have added the 34-year old Harden into the mix.
Some thought they’d be best served cutting bait and trading Leonard and George while they could get something in return, but they’ve instead gone in the complete opposite direction.
Again, adding a third superstar who requires the ball is also a peculiar move given the team was already loaded with guards and wings, so the dynamic of this team is a little confusing.
Plus what does this mean for Westbrook who’d taken over as the starting point guard in the second half of last season?
The Clippers are of course opening their new area in 2024, so there would’ve been commercial motivation to selling something sexy to fans.
But there is a scenario where all four of their stars – Leonard, George, Harden and Westbrook – leave for nothing next off-season given they’re all eligible to become free agents.
Leonard, George and Westbrook all have player options for the 2024/25 season they could yet opt into, while Harden will definitely be a free agent – with the quartet combing for $137 million (AUD $216m) in salary.
That’d nothing short of a disaster for a team that already has one of, if not the, worst future draft hand of any in the NBA.
WHY DID OKC GET INVOLVED?
Just like how the Clippers didn’t want to give up Mann, the Sixers were adamant on getting another first-round pick in the deal.
But it wasn’t going to come from the Clippers, so a third party had to get involved … enter OKC.
As part of the trade, the Thunder will give up the worst of their three first-round picks in 2026 – their own, the Clippers’ or Houston’s.
In return, the Thunder have the right to swap first rounders with the Clippers in 2027.
So if you’re a Thunder fan, you’d be cheering loudly for a Clippers self destruction (as if getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from them wasn’t enough).
As Thunder beat writer Brandon Rahbar noted on X, the team’s core (if still intact) of Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams would by then all be entering their primes, while the Clippers’ current stars would be in their late 30s.
Indeed, that pick swap could be anything in another shrewd play from Thunder general manager Sam Presti amid the team’s already unprecedented collection of draft selections.
Of course, there’s a scenario where all the Clippers stars re-sign on mega extensions this off-season and they’re a force in the coming years and thus that pick swap having little pay off.
But it’s the possibly of opening up a big win down the road – for very little cost – that is the clever stroke of genius here. It’s a luxury OKC, armed with a war chest of draft picks, could afford.
“Very few NBA teams are willing to give away the certainty of a first-round pick for the mystery of a swap four years down the line. The Thunder have so many picks that they can afford to take such chances. It might not pay off, but imagine how terrifying it will be for the league if a Thunder team at the absolute peak of its powers in 2027 is able to add another top draft pick,” CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn wrote.
“That is the flexibility Presti has given himself by accumulating all of these picks. Many of them will amount to little, but when weaponised properly, they can be used to do effectively anything. They can get him players. They can get him cap relief. And now, as we‘re seeing, they can even get him better picks down the line as well.”
