Basketball Intelligence For 1/13/25

Celts barely avoid falling to the Pels, Gordon golden in Nuggets return, Cleveland can't keep pace with Indiana, and more...

Jan 13, 2025

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*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
How an indefinite suspension revitalized Draymond Green's career
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN

WNBA

2025 Valkyries free agency 3: Jewell Loyd and Gabby Williams
Eric Apricot, Valkyrie Nation

Five Out: The Gamecock Death Machine, WNBA Free Agency Begins and the bright lights ahead for women's basketball...
Andrew Haubner, No Cap Space WBB

LEAGUE NEWS

NBA All-Contract Team: Knicks' Brunson leads our 15-man roster
Tim Bontemps, ESPN

With today's harsh financial restrictions set forth by the new collective bargaining agreement, signing players to smart contracts is more important than ever, as several contenders have struggled with adding depth.
But what would a team of nothing but smart contracts look like? How many wins could it get if it was dropped into the league this season? We're assembling a full, 15-man roster made up of the very best deals in the league (from a team-building perspective) and putting it to the test.

Tom's Title Tiers: #14
Tom Haberstroh, The Finder With Tom Haberstroh

NBA Trade Rumor Loitering: Beal, Butler, and... Boucher?
Matt Moore, Hardwood Paroxysm

The TrueHoop trade debate
Henry Abbott/Coach Thorpe, TrueHoop

The Cavaliers finally lost! Plus, five deals I want by the NBA trade deadline
Zach Harper, The Athletic

NBA's Lakers, Clippers home games to resume on Monday after weekend games postponed amid wildfires
Landon Mixon, Fox News

1 Trade Every NBA Team Should Propose Right Now
Greg Swartz, Bleacher Report

NBA DRAFT

Jacksen Moni Scouting Report
Ersin Demir, Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter

Five Interesting Prospects on the Margins
Maxwell Baumbach, No Ceilings

West Virginia’s injury situation has forced Javon Small into a massive role, and he’s done a tremendous job with it. For starters, the team is 11-3. He finds ways to win. But the way he’s doing it has me excited about his professional future. In the modern NBA, role players need to be able to shoot. While Small’s 35.1% from deep on the year isn’t eye-popping, his volume and variety are worth noting. He’s launching 11.6 triples per 100 possessions. Small routinely punishes defenders who go under ball screens or big men who play in too deep of a drop, drilling 48.4% of his threes as a pick-and-roll operator, per Synergy. He’s not a guy who dribbles the air out of the ball, though. When he can’t find his shot, he’s content to move on from the ball and find other ways to get open. He’s good at relocating and can hit threes off movement.

Top NBA Draft Prospects, According to Advanced Stats: Which Players Excel — and Which Underperform
Jeremias Engelmann, 5x5

The Top Performances That Stole the Show This Weekend in College Basketball
Rafael Barlowe, NBA Big Board

NBA Lottery Watch: Cooper Flagg, Duke Blue Devils stock continues to skyrocket
Zulfi Sheikh, Sportnet