TEAM-SPECIFIC STORIES
ATL: Time with LeBron in Hawks forward Jalen Johnson’s summer of learning
Lauren Williams, AJC
BOS: Signing Mykhailiuk takes care of things at SF, but the Celtics could use more depth at center
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
CHA: Terry Rozier could thrive as the Hornets sixth man
Adam Taylor, Swarm And Sting
GSW: Joe Lacob on Klay Thompson, Steve Kerr, Chris Paul and much more
Tim Kawakami, The Athletic
LAL: The three most intriguing training camp battles for the Lakers
Alex Regla, Silver Screen And Roll
MIN: World Cup Wonderings: Game Four
Jake Paynting, Howls And Growls
MIN: Will KAT's Defensive Improvements In FIBA Translate To the NBA?
Andrew Dukowitz, Zone Coverage
ORL: Banchero's World Cup performance is showing his path towards an All-Star sophomore season
Stephen Noh, Sporting News
SAC: Vezenkov speaks for first time since joining Sacramento Kings. Here’s what he said
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee
SAC: Vezenkov wowed by Kings full court press, ready for new challenge
James Ham, The Kings Beat
LEAGUE-WIDE STORIES
Sunday Notes
Gary Washburn, Boston Globe
NBA Starters Who Should Come Off the Bench
Greg Swartz, Bleacher Report
Misnamed Supermax Contracts Are a ’50-50 Proposition’
Steve Bulpett, Heavy.com
It’s technically known as the “Designated Veteran Player Extension,” but it’s generally referred to as the supermax, which is an interesting word for some.
“The more I thought about it, I started to laugh,” said one NBA executive. “When I think of ‘supermax,’ I used to think of those big prisons — and that’s where your team could wind up if you f*** up one of these contracts. You make the wrong decision, and you could be locked up in (salary) cap hell for a while — especially with the way the new collective bargaining agreement is set out. It’s going to get harder on teams if they make mistakes with big contracts.”
Seven Ways to Break Out
Matt Powers, The Swish Theory
In the doldrums of summer it can be easy to let the narratives run away with themselves. With no new NBA basketball, imaginations run wild, and there is none more fertile ground for idle speculation than the Most Improved Player award.
This is not a preview of MIP candidates per se, but an appreciation for all the ways players improve, whether starting out their career and finding initial footing, figuring out their role mid-career for the first time, or taking a true, traditional star leap. Improvements happen all over every NBA floor, year after year, so it is more instructive to look at the nature of improvement itself, here in seven prevalent examples.
Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year breakout candidates
Elaine Blum, Hoops Habit
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