Basketball Intelligence for 7/10/24
LEAGUE STORIES and OLYMPICS
The Most Consequential Role Player Signings of 2024 NBA Free Agency
Aaron Runk,
A 40% shooter the past two years, KCP’s shooting will help the Magic offense, but maybe not as much as we all anticipate — he didn’t shoot more than 4.2 threes per game in either season with the Nuggets, a relatively modest volume.
More Lauri Markkanen latest and a look ahead to Olympic men's basketball
Marc Stein,
What’s next for Lauri Markkanen, Brandon Ingram and the NBA’s transaction landscape?
John Hollinger, The Athletic
The first, most important domino is Lauri Markkanen in Utah. Even if much of the league thinks the Jazz are on a fishing expedition right now and won’t really trade him unless they get a Gobertian return, it has the benefit of a clear expiration date: Aug. 6.
That is both the first date the Jazz can sign him to an extension, with a salary bump built in using their cap space, and the last date they can sign him and still have him trade-eligible on the date of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. The Jazz need to know exactly what they’re doing with Markkanen when they wake up that morning.
For the Olympics, USA men’s basketball has a sizable fix to fight a bully problem
Joe Vardon, The Athletic
LeBron James voted best Team USA player in Olympic training camp
Joe Vardon/Sam Amick, The Athletic
Team USA basketball: Paris Olympics will be a first for LeBron, Curry and Durant
Tim Bontemps, ESPN
Can Steve Kerr Make a Star-Studded Team USA Work Like a Dream?
Logan Murdock, The Ringer
TEAM STORIES
BOS: Celtics Playbook: Zipper cuts
Adam Taylor,