The Hornets, with cap space for the first time since 2016, will have around $27 million available. They must be careful not to rush their timeline and rather focus on continual development of their promising young players. With what will likely be …
The Hornets, with cap space for the first time since 2016, will have around $27 million available. They must be careful not to rush their timeline and rather focus on continual development of their promising young players. With what will likely be the first Top 5 pick since 2013, the Hornets must nail this pick as they still do not have a clear No. 1 option.
Key: Not Guaranteed / Team Option / Player Option / Cap Hold / Dead Money
The Hawks are projected to have just north of $50 million in cap space this summer, the most of any team. They should have plenty of room to add talent to bolster the roster and could also continue taking on bad contracts with draft picks attached. …
The Hawks are projected to have just north of $50 million in cap space this summer, the most of any team. They should have plenty of room to add talent to bolster the roster and could also continue taking on bad contracts with draft picks attached. They must decide how much they’re willing to commit to John Collins, who is extension-eligible.
Key: Not Guaranteed / Team Option / Player Option / Cap Hold / Dead Money
It took the NBA 36 seasons to have an international player receiving MVP votes. It happened in 1982 when Bahamian big man Mychal Thompson, aka Klay’s dad, finished at No. 21 in the ranking. Of course, a lot has changed since then. You only have to …
It took the NBA 36 seasons to have an international player receiving MVP votes. It happened in 1982 when Bahamian big man Mychal Thompson, aka Klay‘s dad, finished at No. 21 in the ranking. Of course, a lot has changed since then. You only have to look at last year’s results…
HoopsHype ranks the Top-25 NBA players under 25 years old, using a blend of video evidence along with statistical contributions.
The NBA has never been richer in young talent, and every season, it seems like that becomes more and more true after the latest loaded draft class joins the ranks. That might partially have to do with the explosion of overseas talent, but the domestic game is an extremely healthy place, too. So what we decided to do is, as a team at HoopsHype, vote on the Top 25 NBA players under the age of 25, and aggregate the total scores of each of our votes to find a consensus.
Below, you can find how the rankings turned out. Let’s jump right in.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
25. KENDRICK NUNN, 24, MIAMI
An impressive find for the Miami Heat out of the G League, Kendrick Nunn has gone from undrafted minor league player to a legitimate candidate for Rookie of the Year from one season to the next.
On the campaign, Nunn ranks third among rookies in nightly scoring (15.5) and second in total three-pointers (125) while further contributing 3.4 assists per contest.
Apart from the addition of Jimmy Butler and the explosive improvements from a big man teammate coming up near the top of our list, one of the biggest reasons for Miami being so much better this season than in 2018-19 has been thanks to the Nunn pickup, who gives the team a tough bucket-getter and a high-effort player on both ends of the floor.
24. JONATHAN ISAAC, 22, ORLANDO
One of the league’s top defenders before going down with a knee injury this season, Jonathan Isaac seemed to take the next step in his development in 2019-20 for the Magic.
His offensive production might never be all that efficient (he had improved-but-still-shaky 46.3/33.0/76.7 shooting splits this year), but Isaac’s contributions on the defensive end were otherworldly, and would have certainly garnered him some Defensive Player of the Year consideration had he not gotten hurt.
In 2019-20, Isaac ranked fourth in nightly blocks (2.4) and ninth in steals (1.6) while Orlando boasted the NBA’s fifth-stingiest defense with their point-stopping monster on the floor.
23. LONZO BALL, 22, NEW ORLEANS
After a somewhat disappointing sophomore season, Lonzo Ball has gotten right back on track this campaign, his first as a New Orleans Pelican, averaging 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals nightly to go with a noteworthy +3.1 swing rating.
The most impressive improvement Ball has made from last year to this one has been with his spot-up shooting. Not only is he making a career-best 38.3 percent of his three-pointers, but the UCLA product has also upped his spot-up efficiency from 0.80 points per possession in 2018-19 (PPP; 18th percentile) to 1.04 PPP this season (64th percentile), per Synergy Sports.
That’s a vast difference – and a more confident Ball in 2019-20 looks like a real building block for New Orleans to go with a certain big man coming up later on our list.
22. AARON GORDON, 24, ORLANDO
Best known for his high-flying dunks, Aaron Gordon has developed nicely into a small-ball power forward who can handle some playmaking duties and defend multiple positions on the less glamorous side of the floor.
Since the start of 2020, when Gordon was able to move to the 4-spot full-time following an injury to a player coming up on our list, the 24-year-old has averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals nightly while helping the Orlando Magic stay firmly within the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Gordon still badly needs to work on his shooting, as the athletic forward is converting just 30.4 percent of his threes this season and an even more worrisome 67.2 percent of his free throws, but outside of that, he’s become a pretty well-rounded modern-day wing/big man hybrid.
21. MYLES TURNER, 23, INDIANA
The Indiana Pacers’ front office and its fans alike probably hoped Myles Turner would merit a higher ranking on this list by this point in his career, but for whatever reason, it just hasn’t happened yet for Turner. And by it, we mean Turner hitting the level many thought he had coming out of college, that of a dominant floor-spacer/rim-protector.
This season, Turner’s ranking in the catch-all advanced metrics has taken quite a dip, including his Box Plus/Minus (BPM) falling from +3.3 to +0.2 – a pretty massive fall-off. Even more concerning than that? The Pacers are 2.0 points per 100 possessions worse with Turner on the floor this year.
Not what you want to hear if you’re Indiana, especially not when you consider Turner is currently in Year-1 of a four-year, $80 million deal.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
20. JOHN COLLINS, 22, ATLANTA
There are major questions about John Collins’ defensive aptitude, even in spite of his 1.6-nightly-block average this season, as the Atlanta Hawks boast a bottom-three defense in 2019-20, one that isn’t much better statistically with Collins on the floor.
Even so, as a 22-year-old, Collins is averaging 21.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 three-pointers per contest on the campaign while slashing outrageous 58.8/41.1/80.1 shooting splits, tidy marks that speak to the Wake Forest product’s efficiency as a scorer.
Now paired up with Clint Capela in Atlanta’s frontcourt, who should mask some of Collins’ defensive deficiencies, the floor-spacing, high-flying big man will be able to focus on doing what he does best, and that’s putting up big numbers.
19. JAREN JACKSON JR, 20, MEMPHIS
Filling one of the most important modern-day archetypes, that of a floor-spacing rim-protector, Jaren Jackson Jr. has all the makings of a destructive two-way force for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jackson is more than just a frontcourt floor-spacer, though, as the 20-year-old ranks as a “very good” point producer out of the pick-and-roll roll, as well as a “very good” isolation scorer, per Synergy Sports. On the season, Jackson is averaging 16.9 points, 1.6 blocks and 2.5 three-pointers per game while knocking down an impressive 39.7 percent of his outside looks.
Considering his age and already-nasty production, Jackson’s upside is legitimately scary. The Grizzlies are knocking their current rebuild out of the park, and landing Jackson fourth overall in the 2018 draft is just part of the reason why.
18. DE’AARON FOX, 22, SACRAMENTO
He may have not made the jump many thought he would in his third season, but De’Aaron Fox still remains one of the league’s top young point guards.
In 2019-20, Fox is averaging 20.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game, overall marks that can only be matched by very few other players.
So although his jump shot – particularly from three-point range, where he’s making just 30.7 percent of his looks as opposed to 37.1 percent last year –has somewhat abandoned him, Fox still does a great job of using his explosiveness and touch around the basket to give the Sacramento Kings huge production at the lead-guard spot.
17. JAMAL MURRAY, 23, DENVER
Another young point guard with high expectations heading into 2019-20, Jamal Murray likewise hasn’t taken a huge step forward this season but has done enough for his fourth campaign not to be considered a disappointment.
On the year, Murray is posting an 18.7/3.9/4.8 stat line while hitting a mediocre 34.8 of his threes and 89.1 percent of his free throws. The problem is, Murray is averaging just 3.2 free-throw attempts to 5.4 three-point attempts nightly, so his ridiculous efficiency from the foul stripe isn’t as impactful as it should be.
Even so, the 23-year-old Canadian has been good enough as a starter to help the Denver Nuggets boast a 43-21 record this season and sit No. 3 in the West, so overall, his play has been a huge positive for his team. His +7.0 swing rating only further solidifies that belief.
16. SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER, 21, OKLAHOMA CITY
Question marks around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game forced him to fall to the 11th overall pick in the 2018 draft and the Los Angeles Clippers, the team who selected him, couldn’t have been happier about that. But it’s now the Oklahoma City Thunder who are reaping the rewards of the crafty ball-handler’s draft-day slide, following the Paul George trade.
This season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting over five free-throws nightly and sinking them at an 80.1 percent rate. Playing alongside Chris Paul has done a lot to help the Canadian guard take the next step in his development, though, to be fair, he was pretty impressive as a rookie anyway.
As Gilgeous-Alexander’s jumper continues to develop (he’s making just 35.1 percent of his outside looks this year), he’s only going to continue getting better; his upside is ridiculous.
Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
15. D’ANGELO RUSSELL, 24, MINNESOTA
Somehow already on his fourth team since reaching the NBA, D’Angelo Russell has finally landed on what should be his long-term home in Minnesota.
Considering he was already close with Karl-Anthony Towns before the trade and how badly the Wolves needed help in the backcourt, Russell is set up for a lot of success and stability on his new team.
Russell, a creative scorer and decent enough long-distance shooter, is averaging a career-high 23.0 points this year, to go along with 3.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists nightly.
14. JAYLEN BROWN, 23, BOSTON
One of the NBA’s top two-way wing players, Jaylen Brown’s explosion as a scorer this year has helped tell turn him a borderline All-Star player for the Boston Celtics.
On the campaign, Brown is pouring in 20.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while hitting a healthy 38.1 percent of his three-point opportunities. Also, often tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best wing player, Brown is always up to the task.
Brown’s emergence this year has the Celtics playing awesome basketball, as evidenced by their 42-21 record and No. 3 ranking in the East.
13. DOMANTAS SABONIS, 23, INDIANA
A first-time All-Star in 2019-20, Domantas Sabonis has met his ceiling and then some with the Pacers this year.
The southpaw big man is putting up 18.3 points, 12.5 rebounds (No. 6 league-wide) and 5.0 assists per game this season, helping keep the Pacers among the Eastern Conference’s elite despite being without Victor Oladipo for the entire first half of the season. What’s more, Sabonis ranks 16th in VORP and 27th in BPM in 2019-20, which goes to show just how productive and effective he’s been in comparison to some of his counterparts.
Sabonis’ blend of tidy finishing, tenacity on the glass and underrated playmaking have made him one of the most well-rounded bigs in basketball this year.
12. KRISTAPS PORZINGIS, 24, DALLAS
Kristaps Porzingis’ first season back from a torn ACL injury has had its ups and downs, but overall and especially recently, the Latvian big man has made the Dallas Mavericks’ gamble on him look like an extremely wise decision.
Not only do Porzinigis’ raw numbers – 19.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, albeit on shaky 42.2/35.4/77.6 shooting splits – jump off the page, but it’s his impact beyond the box score that make his acquisition look genius. Even despite a player coming up later on our list missing a lot of time this year with injury, the Mavericks boast a 115.9 offensive rating on the campaign, easily the top mark in the league and one of the best in league history.
Porzingis’ presence, particularly the extreme floor-spacing he provides by credibly spotting up for three from so deep beyond the arc, has a lot to do with that.
11. ZION WILLIAMSON, 19, NEW ORLEANS
Possessing an otherworldly blend of obscene touch to go along with brute strength and absurd athleticism, Zion Williamson has been nothing short of fantastic since debuting for the New Orleans Pelicans in late January.
In that stretch, 2019’s No. 1 overall pick is averaging 23.6 points (the top mark among all rookies), 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 58.9 percent from the floor and a surprising 46.2 percent from beyond the arc, albeit on a small sample size (Williamson is shooting fewer than one three per game).
Williamson has also given his team an enormous boost, as the Pelicans are 13.6 points per 100 possessionsbetter (that’s not a typo) with their top prospect on the floor, an insane mark usually reserved for the likes of a LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If it weren’t for the player coming up next on our list, Williamson would be a shoo-in to win Rookie of the Year in 2019-20 even despite missing so much time, and if it weren’t for him missing the first few months of the season, Zion surely would have ranked far higher on our list.
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
10. JA MORANT, 20, MEMPHIS
The frontrunner for Rookie of the Year in 2019-20 and one of the most exciting first-year point guards dating back to at least Derrick Rose, Ja Morant has helped flipped Memphis’ fortunes in just one offseason, accelerating their rebuild in the process.
On the year, Morant is pouring in 17.6 points per game and leading all rookies in nightly assists (7.0) while slashing healthy 49.2/37.3/77.0 shooting splits. Not only is Morant freakishly explosive…
JA MORANT POSTER ON A 7 FOOTER IN THE CLUTCH🔥🔥🔥🔥. The difficulty on this dunk is absurd pic.twitter.com/VYCYKmMJwF
…he has incredible vision as a playmaker, routinely putting his teammates in positions to succeed, a trait that does not usually come so easy for first-year floor generals.
Between Jackson and Morant (and guys like Dillon Brooks and Justise Winslow, who didn’t make our list), the Grizzlies have the young talent to build a monster squad in Memphis, as evidenced by the fact that they’re already firmly in a playoff race, despite their overall youth.
9. BRANDON INGRAM, 22, NEW ORLEANS
Few players have made the jump between last season to this one that Brandon Ingram has, as the Pelicans wing has absolutely taken off in his first season in New Orleans.
On the year, Ingram is averaging 24.3 points nightly to go with 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Ingram is part of an eight-player list, filled with elite talent, putting up at least a 24/6/4 stat line this year, and at 22, he’s the second-youngest player to be doing so.
By far the biggest improvement Ingram has made this year is with his three-point shooting, where he’s sinking 38.7 percent of his opportunities after coming into the campaign as a career 32.9 percent outside shooter.
Between Ingram and Williamson, the Pelicans have an insane frontcourt duo guiding them into the future.
8. DEVIN BOOKER, 23, PHOENIX
According to every advanced metric, Devin Booker is currently enjoying his best season as a professional. The raw statistics – 26.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game on 48.9/36.2/91.7 shooting splits – would agree with that, too.
That’s why those within the Phoenix Suns organizations and even those outside of it were so surprised – and some even angered – when Booker became this year’s biggest All-Star snub. With Booker on the floor this year, Phoenix is 5.8 points per 100 possessions better than when he’s on the bench, so it’s not like he producing empty statistics.
Of course, Booker wound up earning All-Star honors for the first time this season anyway after Damian Lillard had to pull out due to injury, a more-than-deserved honor for the Kentucky product.
7. BAM ADEBAYO, 22, MIAMI
If Ingram isn’t this year’s Most Improved Player (and he very well might be), then that means the award would go to Bam Adebayo, who is the only other young guy to make such an insane leap from 2018-19 to 2019-20.
After being a backup for the majority of last season, Adebayo is absolutely filling up the stat sheet every night now in his first campaign as a full-time starter, averaging 16.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 56.5 percent from the floor. On the season as a whole, Adebayo ranks 13th in VORP, 21st in BPM and 10th in overall Win Shares, marks that prove he’s not just a great young player, but a borderline All-NBA candidate in just his third season.
So yes, the addition of Butler and emergence of Nunn has been a huge reason for the Miami Heat going from non-playoff team to a Top 4 seed in the East at the All-Star break, but Adebayo’s growth also merits a lot of credit for Miami’s leap.
6. JAYSON TATUM, 22, BOSTON
Although Boston is about as well-rounded a team as any contender this year, making it difficult to decide who their best player is, a strong case can be made for third-year forward Jayson Tatum, who has bounced back wonderfully after a semi-disappointing sophomore season.
Tatum’s shot-making and play-making abilities (which are much-improved this year) have helped elevate Boston to ranking as a Top 5 offense this year, according to offensive rating, after placing 10th in that metric last season. What’s more, per Synergy Sports, Tatum ranks as an excellent scorer when running the pick-and-roll, as a good one on spot-up and post-up opportunities, and a very good one in isolation and transition. Tatum is as efficient a high-volume scorer as they come.
Still just 22 years old, the sky is the limit for Tatum’s upside.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
5. TRAE YOUNG, 21, ATLANTA
One of the most exciting offensive players in basketball, Trae Young ranks fourth league-wide in scoring this season at 29.4 points per game and second in assists at 9.3 nightly. Young is the only player 21 or younger in league history to average at least 29 points and nine assists per contest, an insane accomplishment for the diminutive floor general in just his second season.
Of course, over the coming seasons, Young will have to answer questions about his actual impact versus his raw production, considering his Hawks team boasts the third-worst record in basketball in 2019-20, but at the same time, it’s hard to fault the uber-talented point guard for that, considering how much he contributes to the score sheet on a nightly basis.
With an improved roster around him, Young will get the chance to prove his value as a winning player over the next few years.
4. BEN SIMMONS, 23, PHILADELPHIA
We all know Ben Simmons’ biggest flaw as a player: He doesn’t shoot three-pointers.
But what gets often ignored in the discourse surrounding the young Australian ball-handler is the fact that even despite that flaw, he’s still an extremely impactful player, one that is consistently a terror defensively and borderline unstoppable in transition, and one that has proven to be an elite playmaker.
Simmons’ numbers – 16.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.1 steals (No. 1 in the league) – might be more impressive if he were asked to do more offensively, as was the case for a nine-game stretch back in January when Joel Embiid missed time with injury. In that time, Simmons put up 21.6 points, 9.3 boards and 7.9 assists nightly, leading the Philadephia 76ers to a 6-3 record.
Simmons isn’t perfect, but he still impacts games like an elite player.
3. DONOVAN MITCHELL, 23, UTAH
A first-time All-Star in 2019-20, Donovan Mitchell’s improved consistency has helped him take the next step in his development and aided the Utah Jazz in maintaining their status as one of the Western Conference’s best teams. On the campaign, Utah ranks ninth league-wide in net rating at +3.3, ahead of the likes of Philadelphia and Miami, and sit fourth in the West with a 41-23 record.
Mitchell playing like one of the best 2-guards in basketball and consistently taking over the scoring load late in gams has certainly been a factor behind that, along with Rudy Gobert’s brilliance as a two-way center.
2. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS, 24, MINNESOTA
In a way, Karl-Anthony Towns resembles Young in that his production is absolutely absurd and can’t be questioned, but at the same time, it hasn’t led to much winning for Minnesota outside of the year that Butler was there. That could change going forward with Russell joining the team at the trade deadline, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless.
Regardless, Towns is putting up truly insane numbers for his career, averaging 22.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in his five seasons while knocking down 53.4 percent of his field-goal attempts and 39.6 percent of his outside looks.
Towns has a fantastic face-up game, a knockdown spot-up jumper and mean post moves, making him one of the most well-rounded scoring bigs in basketball. His defense leaves a lot to be desired, though, and the next step in his development will have to come on that end of the floor.
1. LUKA DONCIC, 21, DALLAS
No. 6 in the league in scoring and No. 4 in assists, Luka Doncic has been nothing short of incredible since arriving to the NBA in 2018-19.
This season, Doncic is averaging 28.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.0 steals nightly and ranks Top 7 in VORP, while placing Top 6 in BPM and PER. And he’s doing all of that as a 21-year-old.
In just one season, Doncic has taken his Mavericks from a non-playoff 14th seed to a strong No. 7 seed this year, which would likely be even higher had the Slovenian star not missed two separate stints with ankle injuries.
As long as Doncic continues on this absurd trajectory, there’s minuscule doubt he’ll one day be at the level of a potential league MVP award recipient.
He might already be there now.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
In 1985, research seemed to indicate that the hot-hand phenomenon doesn’t actually exist and humans just see patterns in randomness. Anyone who’s played or watched basketball had a hard time believing this. However, in recent years, new data proved that the hot hand is a real thing. Ben Cohen, an author and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, wrote a book about this called “The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks.” Ben joined Alex Kennedy on The HoopsHype Podcast to discuss this new research, real-life examples of the hot hand and more. Time-stamps are below!
1:10: Ben talks about how this book came together and what it was like writing his first book.
4:30: The original study that said the hot hand isn’t real was published in 1985 after the researchers studied the Philadelphia 76ers. They studied in-game stats and had players shoot jumpers and predict whether the ball would go in prior to each attempt. Ben provides some more details about this study and discusses the controversial results.
6:55: In recent years, Carolyn Stein and John Ezekowitz did research of their own that was much more in-depth. Using SportVU data, they were able to study over 83,000 shots from the 2012-13 season. This study determined that the hot hand is 100 percent real.
10:20: Two other researchers found that the 1985 study was very flawed and, when interpreted correctly, actually proved that the hot hand does exist. Upon further review, the study showed that players who got hot actually saw a 12 percent increase in their shooting percentage.
11:55: Even though the 1985 study was wrong about the hot hand, it is true that humans look for patterns when they aren’t there (rather than accepting randomness). One example that Ben writes about in the book is Spotify being forced to make their shuffle-music option less random because people were upset when it was truly random and the same artist played back-to-back.
14:50: Not only is there evidence that our ancestors also believed in the hot-hand theory, recent studies show that monkeys believe in it too.
16:20: Is there any way to predict when you’re going to get hot?
18:30: The hot-hand phenomenon applies to more than just basketball, as Ben covers in this book. Musicians, artists, scientists, directors, writers and many other creators experience the hot hand as well.
23:10: The hot hand is a big reason why NBA Jam was one of the most successful arcade games of all-time. NBA Jam also conditioned many people to believe in the hot hand including a kid named Stephen Curry (whose father, Dell Curry, was in the game).
27:45: Ben writes about attending a meeting of The Harvard Sports Analysis Collective and noticing that all of the students are huge fans of Michael Lewis’ book “Moneyball.” Ben talks about how there’s an entire generation of people who grew up with analytics and think about sports differently.
30:00: Will the next generation of NBA players have a “Moneyball” mentality and focus on analytics more?
35:45: After spending so much time researching and writing this book, what were the biggest takeaways for Ben?
Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks is currently enjoying the best season of his professional career, averaging 15.6 points per game thus far.
Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks is currently enjoying the best year of his professional career, averaging 15.6 points per game thus far. Brooks, who was selected in the second round of the 2017 NBA draft, recently signed a three-year, $35 million deal to remain with the Grizzlies.
HoopsHype spoke to him about some of his takeaways on the season.
You were a lead cheerleader on the floor against the Brooklyn Nets. Can you walk me through some of the moves that you were doing out there to support your teammates?
Dillon Brooks: Yeah yeah yeah! After every three-pointer, I put the firework in the ground and then light it and then let it fly up there and it goes like “pew!” every time. I’ll sometimes plant multiple fireworks in the ground so it can fly up. But we have fun on the bench. As a group, we all love each other and we all want the best for each other. We have a super friendship. That’s why you see it all come together on the court, which is amazing. I love these guys and I love playing with them. It is why I signed so early. I want to be a part of this and be a part of the surge of the next-gen. I just love playing with these guys.
How much do you think the chemistry on this team has played on your winning?
DB: It’s great. We’re learning really fast. The only way you learn winning fast is if you do it at 100 percent. Guys are going 100 percent and feeding off each other. Once we put one guy in, they fit right in and they learn the culture that we are building. It’s a tribute to Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. and those guys that bring it every single night. The guys follow suit and while we’re here we lead by example. We’ve got a couple of vets here that talk about their experiences in the league and that’s always good for the young guys. But we have fun out there. We play our game and also know each other’s games to a T.
Before the game, coach Jenkins told me that you were one of the most competitive guys he has met. I know you have a ton of confidence. With that in mind, how much would a playoff run mean to you?
DB: It would mean so much. I feel like teams don’t want to see us. We’re like that wildcard team. We feel like we’re underdogs this year. We’re playing free and we’re playing fast. We’re playing defense and we want to learn this stuff organically. We’ve got guys that work the same way as me. Our young guys work the same way. They want to feed off that. It’s a tribute to coming out every single day in practice and shooting and treatment and weights. We do it one hundred percent, which we always talk about.
How would you personally describe your competitive nature?
DB: It can get over the top. When I came out of college, I never thought I was going to be playing defense the way I’m playing now. But that’s what my first coach told me. You’re only going to get on the floor if you can play defense so I raised my level and tried to make myself competitive on the defensive end. I knew my offense would come. I’m a scorer. So I want to lock you up and then come back and give you a bucket and then talk a little bit and do the same thing and keep the motor every time so my team can see that and raise their levels as well.
Do you think your team plays with a bit of a chip on your shoulder? For example, you and Ja were both very vocal about someone on the roster who decided not to report to the team. Do you channel that energy into your competitiveness?
DB: Yeah, of course. Our teammates ride with us. That’s the beauty of this. We always have each other’s backs. That’s why the Golden State Warriors were so great. That’s why the Cleveland Cavaliers were so great. They all had friendships off the court, too. When you care about somebody like that, you are going to try to do the most for them. I think that is what we have here and I think that is what we had in my college days, too. But it was different when I got here in my first year. This culture is changing and we have chemistry and guys love playing with each other. Meeting with the coaching staff and the front office and talking the game, it’s always a great thing to have that type of love and emotion in the locker room.
Assuming everything goes as expected, do you still plan to participate with Team Canada in the Olympics?
Jamal Murray R.J. Barrett Dillon Brooks Dwight Powell Cory Joseph Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Tristan Thompson Nik Stauskas Kelly Olynyk Justin Jackson Trey Lyles
That's a potentially interesting 2020 Olympic team even without …. Andrew Wiggins.
DB: Yeah, absolutely. We are going to make a run. Hopefully, we can beat that virus so we can get over there and play. But I want to make history. I know we have a lot of guys in the league right now like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray and Tristan Thompson and Kelly Olynyk. We all want to make history. We think we could go the whole way. We’ve got guys in this league right now that are stars.
What do you think are the biggest ways that you have improved since your time in college on the Oregon Ducks?
DB: I’ve improved my dribbling. I’ve improved learning the NBA game and watching the best players in this league, trying to replicate that and practice it the way they do. Each time I get a new coach, I try to figure out how I can fit myself into their system and that is the hardest thing because each coach has a different scheme and other different things they do. You have to think on the fly and keep your confidence up regardless of what is happening. I also try to learn from each player that comes through here. We’ve had a lot come through here. I try to learn from all the great players in this league.
Staying on the topic of Oregon, their men’s basketball team has been playing well once again this year. What do you think of their shots at making a run in March Madness?
DB: I feel like they always have a shot. There is always a point and time in a year for a team coached by Dana Altman where his coaching gets amazing and guys follow suit and they always go on a run. I always support Oregon and Dana, who did so much for me as a basketball player and as a man. He taught me a lot. He taught everyone in that locker room. There is one thing he said: you’re never going to forget these memories, who you played with and what you guys did. These memories are helped by winning and doing those things. So he pushed us to win because that helps bring you to the NBA. He believed in me and that’s why I’m in this position right now.
Speaking of which, you’ve had the chance to play with former Oregon star players Jordan Bell and Tyler Dorsey now in the NCAA. What is it like being able to play with your old college teammates at the next level and see those dreams come true?
DB: It was great being with them. We understood that our time together wasn’t over. Tyler went overseas and Jordan, when he was waived last month, I told him that I’ve always got him. Those guys are my brothers. We always meet up in the summer. We always hang out. Jordan was always coming to my house when he was on the team and so was Tyler. I always look out for those guys, they are my dogs. Same with Chris Boucher. He is playing so well right now on the Raptors. I love watching my guys play and succeed and watching them go through life, go through different adversities. How are they going to respond?
Is that why you still rep those Oregon shoes that you wore during the game today or is that just because of the fashion associated with them?
Photo obtained with permission from Dillon Brooks by USA TODAY Sports Media Group
DB: Both. They send me a lot of shoes. But I’m bringing out my own. I always rep Oregon. These were Hyperdunks from 2017. They were custom for me, not even player edition sneakers. They were made for me because I hurt my foot. I have four or five pairs in different colors.
Before we go, I would love if you could just walk me through this outfit that you are wearing tonight.
DB: The pants are some old AMIRI. I’ve got Dior on my feet. I just bought the top, it’s from Off-White. I like putting stuff together. I like the color contrasting. I like making myself look good and feel confident with the drip. It’s light work. It’s comfortable, too.
What about the glasses? I know you wear those indoors a lot, too, which is definitely a look.
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
DB: Always, man. Ever since my rookie year – actually, even when I was in college – I’ve done that. I always wear glasses indoors. You see things with a different shade. These are made by Louis Vouitton.
You told CloseUp360’s Josh Martin that you’re the best-dressed guy on the team. Would you still say that after the recent moves by the squad?
DB: Yeah. We’ve got some new guys so I have to see what they’re dealing with. But I feel like I am. Honestly, I want to see what Ja Morant wears when he is trying to dress up. Because he mostly pulls up in tracksuits. So one time, it’d be great to see him with jeans on or something.
We went back through the history books to find the 20 NBA players who have earned the most money while playing for losing clubs.
Usually, NBA teams have the goal of paying their top athletes boatloads of money in hopes of having those players lead their franchises to the playoffs and beyond. Of course, things don’t always work out that way. Sometimes, injuries take place and get in the way of even the savviest or safest of plans. And other times, the talent on the rest of the roster behind the max-level players isn’t up to par, bringing the team as a whole down.
Below, we break down the 20 players who have earned the most money from teams with losing records.
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
15. TYSON CHANDLER
Total years played: 19 Years with losing record: 10 Earnings with losing teams: $85,919,258 ($96,697,515 adjusted to inflation)
He’s made the playoffs nine times and has an NBA title on his resume, but Tyson Chandler has actually spent the majority of his career on losing teams and been paid handsomely during his times on those teams. His three-plus year stint with the Phoenix Suns particularly stands out in that regard.
14. BROOK LOPEZ
Total years played: 11 Years with losing record: 8 Earnings with losing teams: $89,030,768 ($95,624,188)
Floor-spacing center Brook Lopez has been doing a whole lot of winning over the past season and a half, but this is a recent development. Prior to 2018-19 with the Milwaukee Bucks, Lopez had only made the playoffs twice in his career and had actually endured eight losing seasons out of his first 10 as a professional. Those New Jersey and then Brooklyn Nets teams were usually pretty bad.
13. BARON DAVIS
Total years played: 15 Years with losing record: 7 Earnings with losing teams: $91,180,000 ($109,914,185)
Baron Davis was as entertaining a point guard as any during his prime, with solid athleticism and eye-popping ball-handling abilities, with impressive vision as a passer, to boot. He made the playoffs each of the first five years of his career but only made it twice more over the final 10 seasons he spent in the NBA, a byproduct of spending time on struggling Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers teams.
12. ZACH RANDOLPH
Total years played: 18 Years with losing record: 8 Earnings with losing teams: $92,170,939 ($108,543,128)
A cult hero for his time with the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies, Zach Randolph won more than he lost in his career, as fewer than half of his 18 career seasons had a losing record attached to them. At his peak, Randolph was earning $17.8 million per season and did so as a member of the successful Grit-and-Grind Grizzlies, who usually performed well in the playoffs.
11. KOBE BRYANT
Total years played: 20 Years with losing record: 4 Earnings with losing teams: $93,128,000 ($104,634,234)
Legendary 2-guard Kobe Bryant only missed the playoffs four times in his illustrious career, once in 2004-05 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ first season without Shaquille O’Neal, and three times at the very end of it when the team was forced to rebuild around Bryant. Regardless, he finds his way fairly high up on this list because in his final three seasons he made a combined $79 million. That’s not to say he wasn’t worth every penny, of course, as Bryant more than earned his fortunes as a player.
Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
10. HARRISON BARNES
Total years played: 8 Years with losing record: 4 Earnings with losing teams: $93,483,739 ($96,324,681)
His first four seasons were quite successful as a member of the Golden State Warriors, but after that, Harrison Barnes’ team success has plummeted during his time with the Dallas Mavericks (pre-Luka Doncic) and Sacramento Kings. Barnes recently signed another four-year contract with Sacramento, one worth $85 million, so if they don’t turn things around soon as a franchise, he’ll find his way up even higher on these rankings in the future.
9. JUWAN HOWARD
Total years played: 22 Years with losing record: 11
Earnings with losing teams: $94,640,843 ($136,114,261)
Despite playing for 22 seasons, Juwan Howard only made the playoffs seven times, two of which came at the very end of his career as a deep reserve for the Big 3 Heat. Howard signed one enormous contract in his career, worth seven years and $105 million courtesy of the Wizards. Unfortunately, he only made the playoffs once while with Washington prior to getting traded in the 2000-01 season.
8. JOE JOHNSON
Total years played: 19 Years with losing record: 7 Earnings with losing teams: $94,663,379 ($109,405,674)
Only seven of his 19 career seasons were losing ones, but Joe Johnson made so much money those years that he finds himself in the Top 10 of these rankings anyway. Johnson reached the playoffs 13 times in his career, getting as far as the conference finals multiple times. He once signed a six-year, $123.7 million contract, an enormous deal for its time.
7. CARMELO ANTHONY
Total years played: 16 Years with losing record: 5 Earnings with losing teams: $95,935,697 ($100,796,083)
Much is usually made about Carmelo Anthony not being a winning player (whatever that means), but the future Hall-of-Famer has only endured five losing seasons so far in his career and reached the postseason in all of the first 10 years that he was in the NBA. Then, the Melo New York Knicks of the mid-2010s completely fell apart, and Anthony didn’t make the playoffs again until 2017-18 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
6. SHAREEF ABDUR-RAHIM
Total years played: 13 Years with losing record: 12
Earnings with losing teams: $96,221,760 ($135,141,973)
Of the 13 seasons one-time All-Star Shareef Abdur-Rahim spent in the NBA, 12 of them were spent on losing teams, including the then-Vancouver Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Kings. Abdur-Rahim was part of the last Kings team to make the playoffs in 2005-06, an impressive accomplishment for the player who spent so much of his career on poor squads. Abdur-Rahim never reached $15 million in annual salary, but when you spend so much time on losing teams, it adds up.
Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
5. KEVIN LOVE
Total years played: 12 Years with losing record: 8 Earnings with losing teams: $96,237,212 ($102,083,758)
Tasked with playing for two pretty dysfunctional organizations in his career, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers, has caused Kevin Love to know losing a lot more than he has known winning as an NBA player. Even so, Love did get to enjoy four years as LeBron James’ teammate, and the duo experienced a whole lot of success over that run, including winning the 2015-16 championship, so it hasn’t been all bad of the floor-spacing big man.
4. RUDY GAY
Total years played: 14 Years with losing record: 10 Earnings with losing teams: $104,417,071 ($113,450,141)
Cursed with spending the start of his career with bad Grizzlies teams and his prime with the tumultuous post-Chris Webber Sacramento Kings, Rudy Gay has only made the playoffs three times in his career, twice with the San Antonio Spurs as a role player. Regardless, Gay had the talent to earn a handsome salary anyway, peaking at nearly $20 million in 2014-15 with the Kings, which is why he ranks so highly on these rankings.
3. ELTON BRAND
Total years played: 19 Years with losing record: 13 Earnings with losing teams: $105,180,654 ($133,520,150)
Elton Brand was an absurd talent before injuries took away his athleticism, earning All-NBA honors in 2005-06 and making two All-Star rosters as well. His talent alone, though, wasn’t enough to help him enjoy much success when he was his teams’ focal point, as he spent the early portion of his career with the post-Michael Jordan Bulls, then enjoying his prime with the Clippers before they got good. Injuries really prevented him from ever finding that peak form with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he spent four seasons after his time in L.A., though he did make the playoffs twice while there.
2. NICOLAS BATUM
Total years played: 12 Years with losing record: 6 Earnings with losing teams: $106,974,931 ($111,383,962)
Well-rounded swingman Nicolas Batum enjoyed a good amount of team success as a member of the Blazers early in his career, but since signing a monstrous five-year, $120 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets, it’s been downhill for him, both individually and as far as winning goes. Batum hasn’t made the playoffs in the last four years and even went so far as to apologize to Hornets fans for failing to deliver on his contract.
1. STEPHON MARBURY
Total years played: 13 Years with losing record: 11
Earnings with losing teams: $136,474,625 ($181,971,511)
Stephon Marbury was a highly popular player in his prime, thanks to his theatrical style and clutch bucket-getting prowess. He made two All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams during that stretch, but that didn’t lead to much team success, as Marbury enjoyed just two winning campaigns in his 13 years as an NBA player. To be fair, he did make the playoffs five times, four of those coming in his prime.
Chris Paul-to-the-Knicks rumors date back to as far as 10 years ago when Paul made a toast at Carmelo Anthony’s wedding talking about a Big Three in New York with Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. Once Anthony got moved to the Knicks, Paul reportedly …
Chris Paul-to-the-Knicks rumors date back to as far as 10 years ago when Paul made a toast at Carmelo Anthony’s wedding talking about a Big Three in New York with Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. Once Anthony got moved to the Knicks, Paul reportedly requested a trade there as well in December 2011 after the lockout ended. He later expanded his choice of cities to Los Angeles, and would eventually be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Ten years later, the Knicks could be preparing to make another run at Paul. The almost 35-year old is having another strong year where the Oklahoma City Thunder have greatly exceeded expectations under Paul’s leadership and sit in sixth place in the West with a 39-24 record, only a game and a half behind fourth place. Aside from winning in what was expected to be a rebuilding season, he has been a tremendous backcourt partner with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who picked up a lot from Paul both on and off the court.
Statistically, his points, rebounds, assists, and steals have gradually dropped since 2015-16 while his minutes aren’t significantly lower. While those numbers don’t jump out at you, it’s his impact metrics that speak volumes to his level of play. He currently ranks No. 8 in player impact plus-minus (PIPM). He also ranks ninth in both Win Shares and Offensive Win Shares.
Perhaps the biggest thing for his team is his availability. Paul has played in 62 of 63 games so far in 2019-20, which would be on track to be his healthiest season since 2015-16, when he only missed eight games.
Can the Knicks expect the same level of developmental leadership, production, and availability if they acquire Paul? It’s quite a lot to hope for, but what Paul can mean for the development of their young players alone may be worth the remaining $85.6 million remaining on his contract. RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Dennis Smith Jr., and Frank Ntilikina can all improve their offensive facilitation and defense with Paul. The Knicks can’t expect their young players to replicate the strides Gilgeous-Alexander made under Paul, but just learning how to play organized basketball under one of the best floor generals of all-time could have enough value to justify a trade for him.
Acquiring Paul shouldn’t be complicated for the Knicks. They have enough salary-filler to get CP3 and adequate young players and future draft picks to interest the Thunder. The Knicks only need to send out $32.987,051 in salary to acquire Paul’s $41,358,814 cap hit for 2020-21. They can guarantee a combination of Taj Gibson ($9.45 million), Wayne Ellington ($8 million), Elfrid Payton ($8 million), and Reggie Bullock ($4.2 million), and package them with one or two of their young players to reach the minimum outgoing salary amount.
Feb 12, 2020; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks small forward Maurice Harkless (3) laughs during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
It would be a lot easier if the Knicks maximized their cap space and absorbed Paul into it, only needing to send draft compensation. The Knicks can get to $46 million in cap space this offseason by waiving all their non-guaranteed players except Mitchell Robinson, declining the $15.75 million team option on Bobby Portis, and renouncing all their free agent cap holds. This would also mean forfeiting the Bird rights and early Bird rights of Maurice Harkless and Allonzo Trier, respectively.
The Thunder, who are currently projected to operate over the cap, would be able to generate a traded player exception (TPE) worth Paul’s 2020-21 salary. This would allow them to trade for just about anyone without giving back salary, while also being able to re-sign, or sign-and-trade, Danilo Gallinari through his Bird rights. Alternatively, they could choose to generate close to $50 million in cap space. Getting off Paul’s salary would open up a ridiculous amount of flexibility and roster-building opportunities for the Thunder.
The cap space route would gut the Knicks, however, leaving them only with about half a roster and only about $5 million in cap space, the $5 million room mid-level (R-MLE), and minimum contracts to fill out the rest of the roster. Ideally, they’d like to be as competitive as possible with Paul by keeping one or two of their non-guaranteed players while also being able to make competitive offers to re-sign their own free agents.
If the Knicks have Paul and he opts into his $44.2 million player option for 2021-22, as expected, it would interfere with their 2021 cap space. It is still very early to project for 2021, but they can generate about $66 million in cap space in 2021 and can reach $80 million if they waive Julius Randle, who will only be guaranteed for $4 million. Having Paul would cut those projections in half, making it likely they can only offer one maximum contract instead of two.
The Knicks only signed 1-2 year deals with the free agents they signed in 2019 in hopes of keeping a clean sheet for 2021 free agency. That is the summer when players like Giannis Antentokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and several other All-Stars can all hit the market. If the Knicks feel they have a better shot at signing one of these players with Paul on the roster, then losing one maximum slot may be worth acquiring him if it means actually signing a star with the other.
Although the Knicks certainly have the means and flexibility to acquire Paul, would he still be interested in joining them 10 years later? The Knicks two-decade-long string of dysfunction may have him feeling grateful that he never actually got traded to them. Their most recent public embarrassment involved Knicks fan and longtime season ticket holder Spike Lee, whom Paul showed support for. This cannot bode well for their chances to get him on board with their program.
Of course, Paul cannot veto a trade to the Knicks if he wanted to but he can certainly influence his destination if he voices his displeasure. But if someone on the Knicks could convince Paul to buy in, it would be their new president of basketball operations, Leon Rose, who has represented Paul as his agent in the past.
The upcoming 2020 offseason won’t be nearly as fruitful as 2019. Right now only seven teams are projected with the ability to generate cap space that exceeds the amount of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NT-MLE). Only two of them, Atlanta and …
The upcoming 2020 offseason won’t be nearly as fruitful as 2019. Right now only seven teams are projected with the ability to generate cap space that exceeds the amount of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NT-MLE). Only two of them, Atlanta and Detroit, are projected to generate maximum cap space. All together they combine to generate just over $200 million in cap space. That figure pales in comparison to the more than $600 million that was available in 2019.
After the NBA trade deadline passed, several teams made moves that helped settle the cap landscape. For the most part, the amount is set but there could be some more teams creating or reducing cap space ahead of June 30.
The 2020-21 NBA Salary Cap is currently projected at $115 million. All projections include the 120 percent rookie scale amount for the pick each team is projected to finish with according to Five Thirty Eight’s Elo Forecast.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Atlanta Hawks: $51 million
The Atlanta Hawks are set to have the most cap space this summer with $50.9 million available. This would be assuming they renounce all cap holds and waive Brandon Goodwin. Prior to trading for Clint Capela and Dewayne Dedmon, the Hawks were projected to have more than $70 million in cap space, which was way too much to spend in this free agency.
$50 million can also be considered too much for the Hawks given their current team. Atlanta has point guard and big men needs filled, so they could use their cap space on wing players. They also can’t spend too much on wings because they need to reserve playing time for Kevin Huerter, DeAndre Hunter, and Cam Reddish. They could also look to acquire bad contracts with a future first-round pick attached to get more trade assets. It’s also possible they don’t spend all their cap space and roll it over into the season, like they did this year. With no particular targets for them right now, it will be fascinating to see how they utilize money.
New York Knicks: $46 million
The New York Knicks are the other team that has maximum cap space. If they waive all players on non-guaranteed deals except Mitchell Robinson, and they decline Bobby Portis‘ $15.75 million player option, the Knicks are projected with $45.9 million in cap space.
It is unclear if the Knicks want to maximize their cap space this summer, as waiving Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton, and Reggie Bullock would be required to get them to $46 million. All four of those players become fully guaranteed on June 28th, so the Knicks will need to decide before the start of free agency just how much cap space they want to have. If they do utilize cap space, they will probably only offer one-year deals in order to maximize their 2021 cap space.
Detroit Pistons: $32 million
The Detroit Pistons are projected to generate as much as $35 million if they maximize their cap space. They are likely looking at a little closer to $32 million assuming they keep Bruce Brown and Svi Mykhailiuk (both earning $1.7 million) and they hold onto Christian Wood and Jordan McRae’s early bird rights.
Prior to the trade deadline, the Pistons weren’t guaranteed to be a cap space team because of Andre Drummond‘s impending decision on his player option. After trading him and buying out Markieff Morris, who declined his contract option as part of the buyout agreement, the Pistons now have enough cap space to offer a maximum contract worth 30 percent of the salary cap for players with 7-9 years of service. Very little has been said about their free-agent targets, but according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, they plan on pursuing Fred VanVleet.
Charlotte Hornets $28 million
The Charlotte Hornets are projected to generate $26.7 million in cap space assuming Nicolas Batum opts into his $27.1 million salary and they renounce all cap holds. They remained quiet at the deadline and there is no indication they’ll waive the non-guaranteed deals of Caleb Martin or Jalen McDaniels ($1.5 million each) which would increase their cap space to $28.5 million.
Miami Heat: $26.5 million
The Heat are now projected to have cap space after their big trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. Prior to the deadline, the Grizzlies were projected to have $52.8 million available, but instead transferred a large portion of it to the Heat by taking on Dion Waiters and James Johnson in order to acquire Justise Winslow. The Heat are projected to generate $26.5 million in cap space assuming Kelly Olynyk opts-in and they hold onto Derrick Jones Jr.‘s bird rights.
With their eyes set on 2021 maximum cap space, they are unlikely to offer free-agent targets more than a one-year deal. One player they can target with all their cap space is Danilo Gallinari, whom they pursued in February. $26.5 million is close to the maximum amount Gallinari can receive in a contract extension. If they can’t sign any of their targets, they could operate over the cap to re-sign free agents like Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder and also have the mid-level exception to use.
ON-THE-FENCE CAP SPACE TEAMS
Phoenix Suns: $25 million
The Suns can generate as much as $24.6 million in cap space if they renounce all their free agent cap holds and decline all their player options. This would mean likely parting ways with Dario Saric, Aron Baynes, Frank Kaminsky, Elie Okobo, and Cheick Diallo. They could opt to keep a combination of these players, but with the chance to have close to $25 million in cap space they might not hesitate to let them all go. Other than Baynes, none of the players have made a strong impression for the Suns. They can hold onto his bird rights which would put their cap space in the $15 million range, but it could be a worthwhile bet for them to let him to test the market, spend cap space, then try to re-sign him for the room mid-level exception projected at $5 million.
New Orleans Pelicans: $17 million
The Pelicans could generate $16.8 million in cap space if they waive the non-guaranteed contract of Darius Miller ($7 million), and hold onto Brandon Ingram‘s cap hold ($21.8 million. This means the Pelicans could spend that much cap space and then re-sign Ingram, but it would mean renouncing Bird rights to other free agents such as Derrick Favors, E’Twaun Moore, Frank Jackson, and Kenrich Williams. It’s unlikely the Pelicans go the cap space route unless they can sign a player they covet over their free agents.
The rest of the league is likely looking at operating over the salary cap. These teams’ largest means for signing free agents will mostly come through the nontaxpayer mid-level exception projected at $9.8 million, and for few, the taxpayer mid-level exception projected at $6 million. More teams can jump into the mix if they reduce significant salary or if a player with a large player option unexpectedly opts out.
On The HoopsHype Podcast, Alex Kennedy had a wide-ranging chat with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Cuban discussed life as a billionaire, his success as a businessman, Luka Doncic’s incredible play, how Dirk Nowitzki is helping Doncic reach his full potential, the NBA’s mid-season tournament idea, how he’d fix NBA officiating, the time he faced Nowitzki in one-on-one and more. You can listen to the full interview above or read a transcribed version below:
You bought the Dallas Mavericks for $285 million in 2000. Now, Forbes estimates that the Mavs’ valuation is around $2.4 billion. You’re great at forecasting this stuff, but back then, did you ever think we’d get to this point where your Mavs would be worth over $2 billion?
Mark Cuban: Honestly, I didn’t even care. I didn’t buy it with the idea that it was an appreciating asset. I just bought it because I love basketball and I wanted to have fun with it. It never even crossed my mind what it may or may not be worth.
You’ve talked about struggling to make ends meet in your 20s, eating ketchup-and-mustard sandwiches and sleeping on the floor as one of six roommates in a three-bedroom apartment. How did experiencing those tough times help you achieve success later?
MC: I mean, when your back is against the wall, you realize that you have to dig in and get things done. You can’t just accept it like, “Okay, this is the way it is, everything is kosher. It’s no big deal.” It sucked. (laughs) I had fun and I was loving my life, but nobody likes sleeping on the floor and not having your own closet or drawers. It was nasty. That really motivated me. That kept me working and pushing. And since then, even on Shark Tank, it really helps me relate with entrepreneurs and it helps me recognize good entrepreneurs. The best entrepreneurs are the ones who have had their back against the wall and who have experienced failure and the worst scenarios because that motivates them. It motivated me and, now, it helps me recognize that motivation in other people as well.
In 1990, after you sold MicroSolutions for $6 million, you briefly decided to retire at 32 years old. A lot of people dream of getting rich and retiring young, but you obviously didn’t stay retired long. What was early retirement like and what did you learn from that experience?
MC: It was fun! (laughs) I sold the company, bought a lifetime pass on American Airlines and my goal was just to travel and party like a rock star. And I got really good at it! I just wanted to have beers and drink with as many people as possible, and that’s exactly what I did. I just traveled and hung out. I got a place in Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles, took acting classes and met people. I just had fun, doing whatever I could to enjoy myself. Then, I started dating a girl and came back to Dallas. We broke up, but I connected with one of my college buddies, Todd Wagner, and the internet was just starting to happen. Todd was like, “Mark, you’re a tech geek; you had that networking company that you sold and you’ve written software, so can you figure out how to use this internet thing and find a way for us to listen to Indiana [Hoosiers’] basketball games?” I was like, “I can try.” That basically led to me starting AudioNet with Todd and that effectively was the start of the streaming industry.
You’ve said that you were rich before you were super rich, but walk me through that first moment as a billionaire and that first week where you can basically buy whatever you want.
MC: It was surreal, just like it is now. You realize that you have more money than you could ever possibly dream of and it’s something that doesn’t seem real. Even today – every day – when it hits me, I’m just like, “Oh my God. How the hell did this happen? How is this possible?!” I’m self-aware enough – or at least I think I am – that I know part of this was from hard work, but a big chunk of it was luck. I just try to appreciate it and not take it for granted and not let it spoil me or my kids.
What are the biggest misconceptions about being a billionaire?
MC: I don’t know, I guess it’s not something that I’ve thought about. I guess if I had to pick something, it’s that everybody thinks that money changes you. And it can, in a lot of respects, but it doesn’t have to. Even when I was dead-ass broke and sleeping on the floor, I was hanging out with my friends and just doing whatever. Well, those guys are still my same friends now. We’re older now, but we still do some of the same stupid sh** that we used to do back then – just like anyone when they get together with their friends. I think the biggest misconception is that having that much money has to change you and in a big way. Like with anybody else, having more money than you did when you were broke changes you some, but it doesn’t have to change you a lot and I think that’s the biggest misconception.
The hardest part, really, is just dealing with friends when it first happens. They’re the ones who aren’t quite sure if you’re going to be the same person or how you’re going to act. They’re wondering, “Are you always going to pick up the check or only sometimes going to pick up the check?” It’s a little bit of an adjustment period, but your true friends stay your true friends and I’ve been blessed in that way.
I’d imagine that going out in public has to be crazy too. I’m sure many people want to pitch you their ideas, especially with the success of Shark Tank. What’s it like being bombarded with so many pitches?
MC: I mean, it’s a good problem to have. Let me just say: Shark Tank is now on Friday nights on ABC – I have to get that plug in there. Tune in, it’s great! (laughs) But yeah, it’s a good problem to have. I get pitched everywhere – from the urinals to restaurants to Mavs games to walking down the street, you name it. It’s easy for me to just say, “Email me.” Or I’ll tell them, “You have 30 seconds, give me the elevator pitch.” If it’s somebody that I think is sincere, then I’ll give them a legit response. If I think somebody is just trying to take advantage or not being sincere in some way, then I’ll just say, “I can’t do it.” But, again, I can think of far worse problems to have!
Reading your interviews, it’s clear how much your family means to you. You’ve said, “If I was single, I’d run for president.” You’ve also said that you were interested in purchasing the Pittsburgh Pirates when you were single, but now you want to spend more time with your children. How did starting a family change you as a person and as a businessman?
MC: It’s changed me so much; it’s night and day. Your priorities change. When my kids were little, they weren’t quite people yet. (laughs) They were kind of mommy’s kids and it wasn’t as impactful yet. But as they’ve gotten older and got to be 7, 8, 9 years old – and now they are 10, 13 and 16 – you see that they’re real people and they have real personalities and they’re unique. They’re my babies, so spending time with them has become a priority. I’m lucky because I don’t have to stress about bills, I don’t have to worry if they’re going to turn my lights off again and stuff like that, which I had to worry about in the past. I don’t have to worry about money and I can set my own schedule, so I try to spend as much time with them as I can. The hard part isn’t me trying to find time to spend with them, the hard part is convincing them to spend time with me – as every parent knows. (laughs) It’s been fun. And in terms of how it changed me from a business perspective, I look at ideas and things from the perspective of, “How is this going to impact my kids, and is there an opportunity there for them in the future?”
Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
If you woke up tomorrow and had an average 9-to-5 job that didn’t pay much, but you still had all of your knowledge, what are some things you would do in order to put yourself in a better position financially?
MC: I’d probably get a job working as a bartender at night, just to make sure I had enough money to make ends meet. During the day, I’d probably start a company that did Alexa, Cortana and Google Home installation, configurations and customization for people. More and more people have an Alexa or Google Home in their house, but nobody knows how to really configure them to make them work well. I could go out there and charge $25-to-$50 an hour to do that. It’s not hard to learn; it’s really easy to stay up-to-date with that, but most people just don’t do it. I could also do that for businesses and, now, Alexa is being put in cars so there are ways to set up scripts for that. I think that would be one thing that I did. And I spend a lot of time trying to learn and understand as much as I can about artificial intelligence. I’d probably start a complementary business or, as part of my first business, I’d help small businesses apply artificial intelligence because it’s really hard for them to do. Most of them don’t understand it and they can’t afford to do it by themselves.
You’ve said that ignoring artificial intelligence right now is like being in 1999 and not being able to use the internet. Do you see similarities there?
MC: Oh yeah, absolutely. Well, not even so much the internet because by the time the internet came along, people knew what would happen, they just didn’t know when. But [it reminds me of] the early days of computing when people didn’t understand the value of connecting PCs into local area networks. People used to just laugh at that. Or with remote communications, people just dismissed it and then their businesses suffered. Now, it’s A.I. and A.I. is hard. It’s harder to understand than the internet with web pages and JavaScript. It’s harder to understand than LANs and PCs and software. It’s a lot more complicated and doing it requires a lot more cost since you’re using Amazon Web Services or the different cloud services and it’s hard to know if you’re using the right data and if you’re getting it right when calculating things. It’s a lot more complicated and takes a lot more time, which makes it difficult for small businesses. Big businesses have it and understand it – the Googles, Facebooks, etc. We’re kind of in a world where companies are haves and have nots when it comes to A.I. It’s interesting because how it applies to sports, teams are starting to invest more than a lot of regular companies and they’re trying to understand the impact A.I. can have. It’s not just a hot area, it’s an important area and the impact is going to be enormous.
There’s no question that after you bought the Mavericks, you pumped resources into the franchise and really improved the team’s culture…
MC: We had this big German guy who helped out a lot too. (laughs)
Yeah, he was decent. But you bought a new team plane, hired a bunch of assistant coaches and upgraded things like the locker room and Jumbotron. How much of an advantage is it for a team to have a great owner with deep pockets?
MC: I mean, it makes a difference. It’s not so much about having a great owner, you just don’t want to have a bad one, you know? (laughs) I’d say that 90 percent of the owners in the NBA are really good. But the reality is that it’s not even about having deep pockets, it’s more about being open to new ideas and having a willingness to really dig in and learn. This game isn’t easy. It’s hard to win a championship. If there was a template, everyone would just do it. So few teams actually win a championship and it takes so much luck. I just don’t think people realize how lucky you have to be. The Mavs have been in the lottery I-don’t-know-how-many times since the start of the franchise in 1980, but we’ve never moved up. Not one time! Before I got here, the Mavs had the worst record in the NBA multiple times, but they’ve never in the history of the franchise gotten the No. 1 pick. And even if you get the No. 1 pick, you need to have it at the right time. Michael Olowokandi. Unless you’re an old-school basketball fan, you aren’t even going to remember him! There are so many forgotten No. 1 picks, so it takes a lot of luck. Being a good owner is important and you should be open-minded and take the time to learn the game and the business, but even then, luck is more important. But the other side of that is you can’t screw it up. Once you get lucky, can you make it work and not screw it up?
The Mavs’ continuity stands out to me – whether it’s Rick Carlisle being your head coach for 12 seasons or Dirk Nowitzki playing all 21 years of his NBA career in Dallas. You don’t see that kind of longevity very often in today’s NBA. How important is continuity to you as an owner?
MC: Corporate knowledge is important and the longer that a team is able to play together, the better they understand each other. Look at the Spurs; they’re a perfect example of continuity leading to success. We try to do the same thing, in a lot of respects. But you still need to have talent. The last three years, pre-Luka, we had some talent but not enough and we were playing for lottery balls more than we were playing for championships. As brutally painful as that is, that’s us trying to increase our odds to get lucky. In terms of continuity, [you want] guys who have played together for an extended period of time. When Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki walked out onto the court together, they knew how to play together and what the others were doing and how they each liked to play. That added a lot of value and that helped us win a championship. That continuity made a huge difference and hopefully we’ll be able to continue it with these guys we have now. I think we have a great nucleus with Luka and KP and Timmy Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry and Maxi Kleber and Dodo (Dorian Finney-Smith). These are guys who all have longer contracts and hopefully will be together for a long, long time.
You obviously believed in Luka Doncic enough to trade Trae Young’s draft rights and a 2019 protected first-rounder to Atlanta to land Luka. But at what point did you realize that Luka could potentially be a once-in-a-generation talent?
MC: Probably 10 games into the regular season. We saw some amazing things when he was in Europe, obviously. You don’t just win MVPs and championships at 17 and 18 years old in the world’s second-best league and not be amazing. Then, we saw a lot of great things when he came in and worked out prior to the draft and played pick-up. I mean, he was just dominating. But you still don’t know; there are a lot of guys who come into the NBA with a lot of talent and you get excited about them, but you just don’t know until you really see them in NBA regular-season games. Then, there’s a whole different level in the playoffs that we haven’t seen with Luka yet. But when we saw him in those first 10 games, you could just see that he was special. I just didn’t think that it would come together this quickly for him. Winning Rookie of the Year and then taking another quantum leap forward this year? That’s a testament to not only Luka’s talent, but also his willingness to work hard.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
When you hit on a fantastic player like Luka in the draft, how does that compare to investing in a company that takes off? Is it a similar rush?
MC: Yeah, it’s definitely a turn-on. (laughs) It’s like, “Oh my goodness!” The thing about owning a basketball team, I can’t be the one who makes the jump shots. In a regular business, I can go close the deal or write the software or configure the network. I can do a lot of things that have a direct impact on a business deal or on the company in general. In basketball, I can’t do that. It’s not like I’m going to walk onto the court and be like, “Alright guys, I got this. You guys move over.” There’s so much more stress involved in owning a team because you just don’t know how your draft picks or trades or free-agent signings are going to work out until it’s too late. It’s immediately out of your control. So when you get a player like Luka, there are just moments where you just shake your head and laugh. Michael Finley sits next to me at our home games and you’ll see me just smack him on the chest when Luka makes an incredible play. He’ll make an incredible pass or he’ll get to the basket and make a layup and you’re like, “How did he even get to the rim there?” In moments like that, or when we win a big game, I just shake my head and smile and think, “It’s about time we’re back to where we want to be.” Because as much fun as winning is, losing is even more stressful. It’s almost like you have to force yourself not to do things just to avoid losing. Going back to your question, what’s the rush like when you have a once-in-a-generation talent? It’s great. But it’s not a complete rush because you still haven’t gotten the ring yet.
Are there any takeaways or things that you learned from Dirk’s outstanding career that you can now use to help Luka reach his full potential and maximize his success?
MC: Absolutely. It’s not even me, it’s Dirk himself who communicates and is there with Luka. Dirk came down for Luka’s 21st birthday party in Miami and we had a lot of fun. I think the No. 1 thing is discipline. The discipline with diet, workouts, stretching, taking care of your body, working on your game, getting the reps in, getting shots up and watching film… Those are all things that are required to get to the next level and I saw that with Dirk. Dirk at 20 years old was one way and Dirk at 28 was completely different. I remember when I bought the team, I asked him what he ate before games and he said, “… Snickers bars.” By the time he was 8, 9, 10 years in, he was at the point where he wouldn’t have any sugar or fried foods or alcohol during the season – that level of discipline went to another level. It’s not that Luka is going to have to be the exact same way, but Luka has figured out what all great players figure out: That your success and results are directly related to the amount of time and effort you put into working on your game and the discipline you have to do the things that impact your body.
You’ve been outspoken about the NBA’s mid-season tournament idea. What are some of your concerns about the NBA’s proposal to add a mid-season tournament and change the length of the season to 78 games?
MC: Put aside the 78 games because that’s a different issue and it’s not a big deal one way or the other. You can make up four games in terms of a play-in or whatever. I’m not necessarily opposed to 78 games, I just have to see the specifics. But when you feel like you need to have an in-season tournament because you feel it’s needed to make the start of a season or the early-grind-it-out parts of a season interesting, you’re effectively saying that without this, the games aren’t interesting. To me, that’s never a good thing in business. You never, ever want to say, “Well, my product’s not as good this time of year as it is in that time of year, so we’re going to spice things up.” That’s not the case and that’s never good business in my mind.
You’ve talked about how NBA fans are younger, so they’re often cord-cutters who watch on social media and streaming. Do you feel like the mid-season tournament idea is an overreaction to the NBA’s ratings?
MC: I don’t even think it’s a reaction to the ratings, I just think they’re trying to create interest when there are 1,000 better ways to do that. I think we make the mistake sometimes of looking at football as an analogy. We think because there are only 16 games, each one of those games mean more and when each one of those games mean more, people may more attention. I don’t think that’s why people watch football at all. Because there are just some bad teams and, even then, if you look at some of the attendance issues for some of those bad teams, it’s not like people are showing up to games. It’s just that football is the easiest sport to watch on television and you couple that with fantasy sports, which gives people another reason to watch. In football, there is 12 minutes of action in a two-and-a-half hour game. So when you’re “watching” football, you don’t really have to watch football. You can be doing 20 things at the same time – looking at your fantasy team or checking your emails or talking on the phone. You can do whatever and not even miss a play. It’s just the nature of the game; it’s 12 minutes of attention.
With basketball, it’s 48 minutes when you’re watching a game live. That’s a challenge in a world where two seconds after Luka makes a step-back, it’s a highlight that’s on Instagram and YouTube. Our challenge is that kids are growing up and they’re so used to things being on Instagram and Tik Tok, to a certain extent, and Snapchat and YouTube. They aren’t trained to invest the time to watch an entire game, like the way we trained when growing up. It’s not necessarily as big of a problem in football because you kind of know when the play-clock is about to run out, so you can pay attention right before the play starts, then go back to doing 20 other things. Whereas, again, with basketball, sometimes it’s easier to just check out the highlights. That’s what my 10-year-old son does. I’ll have the game on and he’s barely paying attention and then two minutes later, that same play is a highlight on YouTube and he sees that. How that translates from a business perspective is that we at the NBA need to figure out a better way to monetize that attention. In the last 10 years, let’s say, it’s been all about live broadcasts on TV and, to a lesser extent, live-streaming games. Now, a lot – if not most – of the consumption of our games by people 34-and-under is online and on streaming, so we have to find a better way to monetize that.
I know you have a lot of thoughts about how the NBA hires and trains its refs. If you were put in charge of revamping the process of hiring and training refs, what are some things that you’d change?
MC: This is very, very simple: I’d bring in people who are professionals at hiring and training. That’s it. We have none. Just because you’re great at selling, that doesn’t make you a great sales manager. Just because you’re a great reporter, that doesn’t make you a great publisher or editor. You can pick any industry; if you’re great at doing the primary job in that industry, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be great at managing people within that industry. We never learned that lesson in the NBA and that has cost me a lot of money. But it’s an easy change and one of the first things to change.
Dirk said that when you first bought the Mavs, you challenged him to one-on-one. That seems like the ultimate perk that comes with owning a team. Dirk said you were a pretty good shooter and that you scored against him, but then he got fired up and dunked on you.
MC: I scored two times! I beat him 2-1 because after he dunked on me, I quit! (laughs)
(Laughs) I was going to ask if you remembered that game.
MC: Oh, hell yeah! There’s a video of it too, so I’ll have that forever.
Nice! How many players have you played one-on-one against over the years?
MC: I’ve played a lot. Right when I first started, I could move a lot better , so back then I played a lot of guys in one-on-one, HORSE and everything. Now, I’ll go out there and shoot with the guys a lot. But back then, I could hold my own a little bit. But they’re obviously the pros and I’m just the Joe trying to pretend I could play with them. But one thing I never did, I got asked a bunch to run in games during practice and stuff and I was always like, “No, I don’t ever want to cross the line. You guys are the professionals and I gotta respect your job and that you’re here to do a job, whereas I’m just yucking it up and trying to have fun. But, yeah, I’ve shot with some guys for money; I’ve taken some money and lost some money. It’s still fun.
One of the best parts of owning the Mavs is prior to a home game, I’ll get out on the court and shoot before the guys come out to warm up. I’ll just get shots up for an hour and that feeling… That’s where I get my ultimate peace. When the ball is going through the net (hopefully) and I’m raining down threes, the jumpers are falling, and it’s nothing but net, to me, that’s the most calming time ever. That kind of balances me out, getting shots up. And being able to do it on the court of the American Airlines Center is just the ultimate treat and pleasure.
I think I speak for everyone reading this: You’re living our dream!
