Community Shootaround

Community Shootaround: Kyrie Irving’s Future

May 25th, 2022 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

Since joining the Nets as a free agent in 2019, Kyrie Irving has played in a total of 103 games for the team. He missed 52 of 72 games in his first year in Brooklyn as a result of a shoulder injury, missed 18 of 72 in his second year, primarily due to personal issues, and then missed 53 of 82 this past season, largely due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Irving’s inconsistent availability, which has stemmed both from injury issues and personal choices, is a large reason why the Nets face a difficult decision on him this offseason, when he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency if he turns down his $36.9MM option for 2022/23.

Irving has played at his usual All-Star level when he’s been healthy, averaging an impressive 27.1 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 4.7 RPG on .490/.406/.920 shooting in those 103 appearances (35.3 MPG) he has made with the Nets. But he’s on the wrong side of 30 and his unpredictable personality makes him a difficult player to invest in long-term, especially at a maximum-salary rate.

In fact, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News cites a source familiar with the Nets’ thought process who says the team is hesitant – if not altogether unwilling – to give Irving a long-term max deal.

Winfield acknowledges that a one-year contract would likely be unacceptable for Irving, who will be seeking long-term security this offseason, so if he’s going to remain in Brooklyn, the two sides may have to reach some sort of compromise.

When asked about Irving’s future after the end of the Nets’ season, general manager Sean Marks offered no guarantees, talking first about wanting players who are both “selfless” and “available,” then later saying the team needed to talk to Kyrie’s camp to see if it’s “the right fit for both sides.”

Still, it seems likely that Brooklyn would move forward with Irving as long as the team gets some assurances about his commitment to the franchise. For his part, Kyrie has said he doesn’t plan to go anywhere.

If Irving opts out and seeks a new contract, he’d be eligible for a five-year deal worth up to a projected $247.66MM with the Nets. If he were to pick up his option and negotiate an extension from there, his maximum earnings going forward would be a little lower, but he could still get a deal that pays him a total of $232.75MM, plus possible incentives, over the next five years.

Irving could get four years and $183.61MM from another team, but it’s unclear what sort of a market there will be for him outside of Brooklyn, since few contenders have significant cap flexibility and many will be wary of a long-term investment in the seven-time All-Star.

When Irving signed his initial contract with the Nets, the deal technically fell short of the maximum salary, with a series of eight incentives available each season that would increase Kyrie’s salary to the max if he achieved all of them. That structure was designed at the time to allow Brooklyn to maximize its available cap room in 2019, but perhaps a similar format could work for both sides this time around, since incentives tied to total minutes or games played would give the club some protection in seasons when Irving misses time.

Of course, it’s also possible that the Nets could convince Irving to accept a contract further below the max. Brooklyn was his top choice in free agency in 2019 and he hasn’t shown any desire to leave — he also exhibited a willingness to sacrifice some money last season, when his decision not to get vaccinated resulted in hefty per-game fines.

We want to know what you think. Will Irving stick with the Nets? If so, he will he opt out to sign a new deal, opt in and sign an extension, or opt in without an extension? Could he end up playing elsewhere in 2022/23? Wherever he ends up, will his next contract be worth the max?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your two cents on Irving’s future.

Community Shootaround: All-NBA Positional Designations

May 10th, 2022 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Monday’s report stating that Nikola Jokic will win this season’s Most Valuable Player award means that Sixers center Joel Embiid will likely finish as the runner-up in MVP voting for a second straight year. It also means there’s a real chance Embiid could end up on the All-NBA Second Team for a second consecutive year, despite ostensibly being the league’s second-most valuable player.

Unlike the NBA’s All-Star teams, which call for two guards and three frontcourt players, or its All-Rookie teams, which are positionless, the All-NBA squads require voters to select two guards, two forwards, and one center. This means that only one of Jokic or Embiid is in position to make the All-NBA First Team, since both are centers.

This season, the league made Jokic and Embiid eligible at forward as well as center, despite the fact that no reasonable NBA fan could argue that either player spent any real time at power forward this season. The decision is a concession to voters who feel that both players must be on the All-NBA First Team, allowing those voters to essentially disregard positions by listing one of Jokic or Embiid at forward instead of center.

However, it’s a half-measure and one that will likely result in some messy voting results, since a player’s position for All-NBA purposes is the one where he receives the most votes. For instance, let’s say Jokic receives 80 First Team votes (60 as a center and 20 as a forward) and 20 Second Team (as a center) votes, while Embiid receives 60 First Team votes (40 as a center and 20 as a forward) and 40 Second Team votes (as a center).

In that scenario, the result would be the same as last year’s: Jokic would be the All-NBA First Team center, while Embiid would be the Second Team center, even if he has more points than one of the top two forwards, since 80 of his 100 votes came at center, not forward.

In order to have a shot at making the First Team as a forward, Embiid would need over half his voters to list him at forward. And in order for that to happen, at least half of the 100 voters would have to be willing to essentially disregard positions and would have to decide as a group which of the two star centers they’ll list as a forward.

In the grand scheme of things, a spot on the All-NBA Second Team vs. First Team isn’t a big deal, but it’s something we’ll look at down the road when comparing players’ career résumés. The league was willing to make a change to its All-Star voting to reduce the likelihood of an undeserving player making the cut or a deserving player missing out — should it do the same for its All-NBA vote?

We want to know what you think. Are you in favor of keeping the system the way it is, taking the All-Star approach (three frontcourt players instead of two forwards and a center), or removing positions from the equations entirely and asking voters to just select the season’s top 15 players?

If you had a ballot this year, would you have listed one of Jokic or Embiid at forward, or do you like the idea of sticking to the proper positions and putting one of them on the Second Team?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: Best Open Coaching Job

May 2nd, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

So far, the 2022 offseason hasn’t been an especially busy one on the head coaching carousel. In some years, upwards of one-quarter or one-third of the NBA’s teams make coaching changes once the season ends, but just three clubs are currently searching for someone to fill that job: the Lakers, Kings, and Hornets.

There’s still plenty of time for that to change. Perhaps Quin Snyder will decide to leave the Jazz or longtime Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will opt to retire. It’s also possible a playoff team that falls short of its expectations will make a change. For now though, there’s just those three openings.

The three teams seeking a new head coach have one thing in common: They all expected to make the playoffs in 2021/22 and fell short.

No team missed out on the postseason in more dramatic fashion than the Lakers, who were among the NBA’s title favorites entering training camp. The team was never able to properly acclimate Russell Westbrook to his new team, didn’t get enough production from several veteran reserves, and was hurt by injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The Lakers are one of basketball’s marquee franchises and any team with LeBron and AD on the roster is capable of contending, but some candidates may be wary of pursuing the job. The front office, which has been rumored to meddle, has sky-high expectations for the team but lacks the trade assets and cap flexibility to significantly upgrade a roster that finished out of the top 10 in the West. Some veteran coaches might also be turned off by the way the team handled the ouster of Frank Vogel, who won a title for L.A. less than two years ago.

If the Lakers are one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, the Kings are…somewhere on the other end of the spectrum. In 2022, Sacramento set a new league record for futility by missing out on the playoffs for a 16th consecutive season and traded away one of its best recent draftees, second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton, at the trade deadline.

Still, the duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis represents a good start, especially on offense. If the team can surround Fox and Sabonis with players who can shoot and defend, there’s some intriguing potential on this roster. Adding those kinds of players is easier said than done, but rookie guard Davion Mitchell has big-time defensive upside and Harrison Barnes is a solid three-and-D wing.

The Hornets, meanwhile, have made the play-in tournament twice in a row, but were blown out and eliminated in their first play-in game both last year and this year. Charlotte looks like a team on the rise, with LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and P.J. Washington still getting better. But Gordon Hayward‘s health problems and a lack of a strong presence at center have limited the team’s ceiling since Ball and Hayward arrived in 2020.

We want to know what you think. Which of these head coaching openings looks most appealing to you? Which do you expect to attract the strongest group of candidates? Which is the least appealing?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Community Shootaround: Playoff Check-In

April 26th, 2022 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been 10 days since the NBA’s 2022 playoffs tipped off, and 15 of 16 teams that made the first round are still alive. The one playoff team whose season is over? The Nets, viewed by many fans, league observers, and oddsmakers as the championship favorites coming into the 2021/22 campaign.

While a handful of other clubs are on the verge of elimination, Brooklyn is the only one that was swept out of the playoffs. As a No. 7 seed, the Nets weren’t the title favorites entering the playoffs, but their swift elimination is a reminder that the battle for the 2022 crown remains wide open.

The early results in the Western Conference have provided another reminder of the unpredictable nature of this year’s postseason. The Suns and Grizzlies were the NBA’s two most dominant teams during the regular season, but they now found themselves tied up at 2-2 against a pair of play-in teams, the Pelicans and Timberwolves. Devin Booker is injured for Phoenix and Ja Morant isn’t at 100% for Memphis, but the fact that both clubs are fighting for their playoff lives in the first round is still a surprise.

The Warriors have looked like the best team in the West early in the playoffs, though their Game 4 loss to the Nuggets showed they’re not exactly unbeatable either. The Mavericks, meanwhile, hold a 3-2 lead over the Jazz despite not having All-NBA guard Luka Doncic available until Game 4 — with a healthy Doncic, they look like a threat to make some noise beyond the first round, but they’ll have to get past Utah first.

In the East, the Heat and Bucks briefly looked vulnerable after losing Kyle Lowry and Khris Middleton, respectively, but they’ve since reasserted control over the Hawks and Bulls and hold 3-1 series leads. Miami and Milwaukee remain strong threats to make deep postseason runs, especially if they get their injured stars back sooner rather than later.

The Sixers looked like they were putting all together during the first three games of their series vs. the Raptors, but after two straight losses, they’re no longer even a lock to get out of the first round. Up 3-2, Philadelphia remains a strong favorite to get past Toronto, but Joel Embiid‘s thumb injury is clearing bothering him, and James Harden hasn’t been at his best in the series, averaging 18.4 PPG on 37.3% shooting. If their two superstars aren’t in peak form, the 76ers’ upside is limited.

Unlike the Sixers, the Celtics didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal during their four-game sweep of Brooklyn. Boston looked like the best team in the Eastern Conference in the second half and has carried that success into the playoffs. They’ll have to make sure they don’t get rusty during their current layoff as they prepare for what will likely be a matchup with the defending champs.

Ten days into the postseason, we want to know what you think. Which teams do you expect to meet in the NBA Finals? Have your picks changed at all based on what you’ve seen in the last week-and-a-half? Are there any lower seeds you like as sleepers to make the conference finals, or high seeds you think are in real trouble?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on the playoffs!

Community Shootaround: First Round Of Playoffs

April 16th, 2022 at 9:46am CST by Dana Gauruder

With the play-in tournament in the rearview mirror, the NBA playoffs officially begin on Saturday. There are a lot of intriguing first-round matchups and we could see quite of few of them reach the seven-game limit.

Let’s take a quick look at all eight series:

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Heat vs. No. 8 Hawks — Miami’s defense will be tested by the brilliance of Trae Young, whose second-half performance against Cleveland on Friday carried his team into the postseason. Both centers — Bam Adebayo (protocols), Clint Capela (knee) — are question marks heading into the series.
No. 2 Celtics vs. No. 7 Nets — The Celtics were the best team in the East during the second half of the season but the knee injury to Robert Williams makes them more vulnerable. It’s a matchup of high-scoring duos — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown vs. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — making this must-see TV.
No. 3 Bucks vs. No. 6 Bulls — Chicago won’t have Lonzo Ball but it still has a formidable trio in DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. Of course, the defending champs have their own Big 3 in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday.
No. 4 Sixers vs. No. 5 Raptors — Joel Embiid won the scoring title and Philadelphia acquired James Harden to make a deep run. The Raptors were much sharper than the Sixers down the stretch behind Pascal Siakam and rookie Scottie Barnes.

Western Conference

No. 1 Suns vs. No. 8 Pelicans — Phoenix deserves to be the favorite to come out of the West again after cruising to the league’s best record. New Orleans is happy to get here after a woeful start and going without Zion Williamson all season. Can CJ McCollum match Devin Booker in the scoring column?
No. 2 Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Timberwolves — Ja Morant says he’s ready to go after a late-season injury scare. Vastly-improved Memphis has a strong supporting cast around Morant but have to neutralize the high-scoring trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards.
No. 3 Warriors vs. No. 6 Nuggets — Stephen Curry is expected to return from his foot injury just in time for Golden State’s postseason run. The Warriors don’t have a true center to guard superstar Nikola Jokic, so they’ll throw all kinds of looks at him.
No. 4 Mavericks vs. No. 5 Jazz — Luka Doncic‘s calf strain changes the whole dynamic of this series. Can Dallas hang in there with its franchise player either sidelined or less than 100 percent? Utah stumbled down the stretch but it’s healthier than last postseason and Donovan Mitchell will undoubtedly ramp up his production.

That brings us to our question of the day: Who are your picks to win all the first-round playoff series?

Please take to the comments section to make your selections. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: NBA’s Worst Record

March 28th, 2022 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Fans of the Magic, Rockets, and Pistons won’t be especially invested in the playoff and seeding races taking place near the top of the NBA’s standings during the last two weeks of the regular season. However, they’ll be closely monitoring their respective teams’ place in the standings for lottery purposes.

Entering action on Monday, Orlando, Houston, and Detroit have identical 20-55 records, meaning they’re all tied for the top spot in the NBA’s draft lottery, as our Reverse Standings show.

Because the lottery format dictates that the league’s bottom three teams all have identical odds for the No. 1 overall pick (14%) and a top-four pick (52.1%), this year’s race to the bottom isn’t quite as consequential as it would have been a few years ago under the NBA’s old lottery system.

Still, since each bottom-three team has a 47.9% chance of falling outside of the top four, its position entering the lottery is crucial — the league’s worst team can’t fall any further than No. 5 on lottery night, whereas the third-worst team could slip all the way to No. 7.

The Magic have played some of their best games of the season in recent weeks, winning home games vs. Minnesota and Golden State and picking up victories in New Orleans and Toronto earlier this month. They’re 4-5 in their last nine games, but have the NBA’s ninth-hardest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon.

The Rockets looked a week ago like the odds-on favorite to finish the season atop the lottery standings, but with three wins in their last four games, that’s now far from a certainty. Their remaining schedule is the league’s sixth-easiest, per Tankathon, and includes five home games, with just two on the road.

The Pistons, meanwhile, are 8-10 in their last 18 games, but just 2-8 in their last 10. Their remaining schedule is the league’s 11th-hardest, per Tankathon, and they have more games on the road than at home.

Of course, we shouldn’t exclude Oklahoma City from this conversation. At 21-53, the Thunder are just 1.5 games ahead of the three aforementioned clubs after losing 11 of their last 12 games. They’ll host the Pistons on Friday in what should be an important game — the winner of that contest could put itself out of the running for the No. 1 spot in the lottery standings.

The Thunder have the NBA’s ninth-easiest remaining schedule, with an equal split of home and road games. Of course, it’s worth noting that two of OKC’s upcoming games are against a tanking Portland team that is probably the NBA’s actual worst right now (even if the Blazers’ full-season record doesn’t reflect that). It would be a little surprising if the Thunder manage to lose both those meetings.

What do you think? Which team will finish the season with the NBA’s worst record and claim the top spot in the draft lottery standings? Will any of these clubs lose the rest of their games? Will there be a tie for the No. 1 spot, necessitating a coin flip?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with yours thoughts on this season’s race to the bottom.

Community Shootaround: Top Six In East

March 25th, 2022 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

On Wednesday, we discussed the race to earn a top-six seed (and a guaranteed playoff spot) in the Western Conference. Today, we’re shifting our focus to the East, where the top four teams in the conference have created some breathing room, but the fifth, sixth, and seventh seeds are bunched up.

After Thursday’s games, the 42-31 Bulls still control the No. 5 seed, but their lead over the No. 6 Cavaliers (41-32) and the No. 7 Raptors (also 41-32) is down to a single game, with just nine games left in the season for all three teams.

Both Chicago and Cleveland have been trending in the wrong direction as of late. The Bulls sat atop the East as recently as one month ago, when their record was 39-21. Since then, they’ve won just three of 13 games and their grip on a guaranteed playoff berth is slipping.

Zach LaVine has battled a knee injury for much of the year and DeMar DeRozan now has a left groin strain. According to Tankathon, Chicago also has the NBA’s fifth-hardest schedule for the rest of the season, beginning with a huge matchup against the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Saturday.

The Cavs should welcome the opportunity to pass the Bulls in the standings by winning that game (a victory would give them the tiebreaker edge for now), but they haven’t played their best basketball in recent weeks either. The No. 3 seed in the East as recently as February 17, Cleveland has six wins in its last 17 contests and dropped a crucial game in Toronto on Thursday.

The absence of starting center Jarrett Allen – on top of all the other injuries affecting the Cavs – has hurt. On the plus side, the team’s schedule the rest of the way, which includes a pair of meetings against Orlando, is manageable — it’s only the NBA’s 18th-hardest, per Tankathon.

The Raptors, meanwhile, don’t have the tiebreaker advantage over Chicago or Cleveland, so they’d need to finish at least one game ahead of one of those teams in order to avoid being relegated to a play-in. They look capable of doing that.

Seven of the Raptors’ last nine games will be at home, and they have the league’s sixth-easiest slate, according to Tankathon. Following a 14-17 start to the season, Toronto has gone 27-15 and is close to finally having a fully healthy starting five. Fred VanVleet is banged up and Gary Trent Jr. missed yesterday’s game with a toe injury, but OG Anunoby is back and Trent was listed as questionable earlier in the day on Thursday, an indication that he shouldn’t be out too long.

While it may be too late for them to make up the necessary ground, the No. 8 Nets (38-35) shouldn’t be excluded from the conversation. Buoyed by the NBA’s fourth-easiest schedule and the full-time return of Kyrie Irving, the Nets are in position to finish the season strong. But they’re still three games behind the Cavs and Raptors with just nine left to play (their tiebreakers vs. both teams remain up for grabs).

We want to know what you think. Will the Bulls and Cavaliers hold onto their top-six spots, or will one of them in a play-in game? If the Raptors move into the top six and secure a guaranteed playoff spot, which team will they pass? Do the Nets still have a chance to avoid the play-in?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts on the East’s race for the top six!

Community Shootaround: Top Six In West

March 23rd, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns, who hold a nine-game lead over the NBA’s next-best team, are close to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The two teams behind them in the standings, the No. 2 Grizzlies and No. 3 Warriors, each have a two-game cushion over their next-closest competitor.

After the top three though, the West’s standings get a little more congested. The No. 4 Jazz, at 45-27, are separated from the No. 7 Timberwolves (42-31) by just 3.5 games, with the Mavericks (44-28) and Nuggets (43-30) sandwiched in between them.

All four clubs have looked like playoff teams, but – barring a massive Warriors collapse – only three will finish in the top six in the West. The other will end the regular season at No. 7 and will need to win a play-in game in order to officially earn a playoff spot.

The Timberwolves have been locked into the No. 7 seed since January and have the seventh-hardest schedule the rest of the way, according to Tankathon. That probably makes them the odds-on favorite to finish outside of the top six. But they’ve been one of the hottest teams in basketball over the last few months, having gone 26-11 since the new year. They’ll also control the tiebreaker vs. Denver and will face the Nuggets once more on April 1 with a chance to gain ground.

The Nuggets have a more favorable schedule, but have been a little shakier as of late — before Tuesday’s win over the Clippers, they’d lost four of their last six. With no guarantee that Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. will be back before the end of the regular season, Denver can’t necessarily count on getting reinforcements down the stretch.

The Jazz and Mavericks look like safer bets for top-six finishes, since time is running out for Denver or Minnesota to catch them. Still, it’s worth noting that Utah has the NBA’s fourth-hardest remaining schedule, per Tankathon, with only two games left against non-playoff or play-in opponents. Dallas, meanwhile, has big games in Minnesota on Friday and vs. Utah on Sunday — losing both of those contests would make the Mavs’ top-six position more tenuous.

We want to know what you think. Will the West’s current playoff teams hang onto their spots and force the Timberwolves into the play-in tournament? Or will Minnesota catch the Nuggets or another team and secure a playoff spot by the end of the regular season?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts and predictions on the West’s playoff race!

Community Shootaround: Top Prospects In NCAA Tournament

March 21st, 2022 at 8:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Many of the top draft prospects got a chance to display their skills in the NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds.

Those performances might help, or damage, their draft stock as they face top competition and defenses designed to hold them down.

Among that group were the three big men considered contenders for the No. 1 overall pick – Gonzaga Chet Holmgren, Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Duke’s Paolo Banchero. The highest-rated guard, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey (No. 4 on ESPN’s Best Available list), was also in action.

Here’s a quick breakdown how they fared:

Holmgren – The seven-foot freshman had a huge game against overmatched Georgia State, racking up 19 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and seven blocks. He had a much quieter outing offensively against Memphis, taking only seven shots, while finishing with nine points, nine rebounds, two assists and four blocks.
Smith – The 6’10’’ freshman had a strong performance against Jacksonville State, supplying 20 points (including four 3-pointers), 14 rebounds and four blocks. He struggled mightily with his shooting in Auburn’s second-round flameout against Miami, scoring 10 points while making just 3-of-18 field-goal attempts. He did fill up the stat sheet with 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Banchero – Also listed at 6’10’’, Banchero had 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks against Cal State-Fullerton. He followed that up with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in Duke’s win over Michigan State. He hit the go-ahead jumper with 2:06 left.
Ivey – The 6’4’’ Ivey opened the tournament with a 22-point performance against Yale. He was only credited with one assist but added two steals. In the Boilermakers’ win over Texas, Ivey made a clutch 3-pointer in the late going and finished with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.

That leads us to our question of the day: Among the four players considered the top prospects in this year’s draft, which one impressed you the most in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament? Were there any other first-round prospects that made a strong impression on you?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

Community Shootaround: Zion Williamson

March 19th, 2022 at 11:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

One of the biggest storylines this offseason will undoubtedly revolve around a player who isn’t even eligible for free agency.

While three of the top five picks in the 2019 draft – Ja Morant, RJ Barrett and Darius Garland – have delivered highly productive seasons for their respective teams, that draft’s No. 1 pick has been in virtual seclusion most of the season.

Pelicans big man Zion Williamson wasn’t supposed to be out of uniform all season but the rehab from his surgically-repaired right foot has dragged on. He suffered a couple of setbacks along the way and only recently returned to New Orleans. He spent a good chunk of the season rehabbing in Portland and hasn’t spoken to the media since September. It seems unlikely we’ll see him suit up before the end of the season.

He’s gone from freakish talent to one of the league’s biggest enigmas. It’s difficult to say whether Zion wants to continue to his career in New Orleans. It’s also hard to know whether the Pelicans want to retain him long-term, considering his injury history and aloof personality.

Williamson is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason. The former Duke star would be eligible to sign for up to five years with a starting salary worth 25% of the 2023/24 salary cap (or 30%, if he makes an All-NBA team next season). We don’t know the exact amount yet, but if the ’23/24 cap comes in at $125MM, a five-year max for Zion would work out to at least $181MM.

If Williamson signs an extension this offseason, he’ll likely push for the max or something very close to it. If an extension agreement isn’t reached, Williamson would be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023 (as long as New Orleans extends a qualifying offer).

New Orleans has two very good players – Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum – and adding a healthy, productive, motivated Williamson would form the core of a solid playoff team. That’s a huge if.

The draft lottery could also play a role in the Pelicans’ decision. They’ll get the Lakers pick if it lands in the top 10. They’ll also keep their own pick if it lands in the top four — otherwise, it will be conveyed to either Portland or Charlotte.

Let’s not forget how dominant Williamson can be when he’s healthy. He averaged 27.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 3.7 APG last season. If New Orleans front office has soured on him or he asks for a trade, plenty of teams would line up and offer a substantial haul for his services despite his nagging foot issues.

That leads us to our question of the day: What should the Pelicans do with Zion Williamson this offseason – pursue a max extension, trade him, or wait to see how next season plays out and allow him to become a restricted free agent in 2023?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.

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