Kevin Pelton, Nick Friedell, Kendra Andrews, Ohm Youngmisuk and Jamal Collier of ESPN all expect Kevin Durant to be on the Nets’ roster to start next season, but four of the five think Donovan Mitchell will begin the 2022/23 season with the Knicks.
The ESPN colleagues, who discussed a handful of lingering offseason questions, unanimously agreed that Carmelo Anthony will be on an NBA roster at some point next season, though it might not be by training camp.
Pelton believes that the Warriors signing free agent Donte DiVincenzo to a two-year, $9.3MM deal with a player option might be the “steal of the summer” if the 25-year-old is healthy and regains his prior form. DiVincenzo struggled a bit last season after a major ankle injury required surgery during the 2021 playoffs, but he could be a bounce-back candidate for the defending champions.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Thon Maker has signed with China’s Fujian Sturgeons, according to Sportando. Maker appeared in 263 NBA games from 2016-21 with the Bucks, Pistons and Cavaliers, holding career averages of 4.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 13.8 MPG. He spent last season with Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem, but only appeared in six games.
- The Athletic’s staff handed out grades to all 30 NBA teams for their offseason work so far. The Nets, Hornets, Lakers, Knicks and Jazz all received an “incomplete” for various reasons, mostly roster uncertainty. Only one team, the Heat, received a grade below a B-minus, with John Hollinger giving them a “C” for losing P.J. Tucker and not finding a suitable replacement at power forward. The two teams with the highest grades? The Nuggets and Thunder, who both received an “A” for their offseason work. The Nuggets gave back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic a super-max extension, traded for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and signed Bruce Brown in free agency, a couple of two-way wings who should complement Jokic’s game nicely, per Dave DuFour. As for the Thunder, Andrew Schlecht says the primary reason they deserve an “A” is for drafting Chet Holmgren with the No. 2 overall pick last month.