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NBA 2024 Offseason Check-In: Minnesota Timberwolves

August 27th, 2024 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is checking in on the 2024 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, recapping the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll take a look at each team’s offseason moves and consider what might still be coming before the regular season begins. Today, we’re focusing on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Free agent signings

Luka Garza: Two years, minimum salary ($4,512,184). Second-year team option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
Joe Ingles: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
PJ Dozier: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($1MM). Signed using minimum salary exception.

Trades

Acquired the draft rights to Rob Dillingham (No. 8 pick) from the Spurs in exchange for the Timberwolves’ 2031 first-round pick and the right to swap their 2030 first-round pick for the Timberwolves’ 2030 first-round pick (top-one protected).
Acquired the Grizzlies’ 2030 second-round pick (top-50 protected; from Grizzlies) and cash ($1MM; from Raptors) in a four-team trade in exchange for Wendell Moore (to Pistons) and the draft rights to Bobi Klintman (No. 37 pick; to Pistons).
Acquired either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Hornets/Nuggets), the right to swap their own 2031 second-round pick for the Warriors’ 2031 second-round pick, and cash (from Warriors) in a six-team trade in exchange for Kyle Anderson (sign-and-trade; to Warriors).

Draft picks

1-8: Rob Dillingham
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $28,491,575).
1-27: Terrence Shannon
- Signed to rookie scale contract (four years, $13,076,519).

Two-way signings

Jesse Edwards
Daishen Nix

Departed/unsigned free agents

Kyle Anderson (Warriors)
Jordan McLaughlin (Kings)
Monte Morris (Suns)
T.J. Warren (unsigned)

Salary cap situation

Operating over the cap ($140.6MM), over the luxury tax line ($170.8MM), and above the second tax apron ($188.9MM).
Carrying approximately $205.6MM in salary.
No hard cap.
No form of mid-level or bi-annual exception available.
One traded player exception available (worth $2,537,040).
Two traded player exceptions frozen/unavailable (largest worth $8,780,488).

The offseason so far

The Timberwolves’ proximity to the second tax apron hampered their ability to make roster moves this offseason, limiting them to minimum-salary offers for free agents and preventing them from aggregating contracts or taking back more salary than they sent out in trades.

Moving out of second-apron territory likely would’ve required the Wolves to part with one of their highest-paid impact players, an unappealing option after a run to to the Western Conference Finals. Instead, the front office decided to live with those second-apron restrictions and figure out how to replace three departing ball-handlers – point guards Monte Morris and Jordan McLaughlin, along with versatile wing Kyle Anderson – using limited resources.

Minnesota made its biggest offseason move on draft night, using its unprotected 2030 first-round pick and a lightly protected 2031 first-round swap to move into the lottery and then selecting Rob Dillingham with the No. 8 overall pick. It was a creative deal that cleverly circumvented the second apron restrictions — because the Wolves were acquiring Dillingham’s draft rights before he signed his rookie contract, he counted for $0 in incoming salary.

The Wolves also used their own pick – 27th overall – to select Terrence Shannon, another guard. Once viewed as a potential lottery pick, Shannon saw his stock affected by sexual assault allegations during his final college season, but he was found not guilty of all charges ahead of the draft.

Dillingham and Shannon won’t provide the sort of veteran savvy that Morris and McLaughlin brought to the table and may not be ready to play regular roles right away, but their youth, athleticism, and scoring ability will give the Wolves some real upside off the bench going forward.

While there’s hope that they’ll get something out of their rookies in 2024/25, the Wolves needed another insurance policy behind starting point guard Mike Conley, who will turn 37 before the regular season begins. The club turned to the free agent market and landed veteran forward Joe Ingles, who will be reuniting with former Jazz teammates Conley and Rudy Gobert in Minnesota.

Ingles’ skill set bears some similarities to Anderson’s — both players have the size to guard wings and forwards and can serve as secondary play-makers on offense. Even if the rookies don’t contribute immediately, the Wolves should have enough alternatives to Conley at the point, with Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Ingles all capable of operating with the ball in their hands.

Up next

The Timberwolves currently have 13 players on guaranteed salaries, with PJ Dozier penciled in as their 14th man on a partially guaranteed deal. With Dozier’s salary not fully locked in yet and one additional roster spot still available, Minnesota certainly has the flexibility to bring in one more player to fill out its regular season roster.

Still, the Wolves are way over the luxury tax line, so adding a 15th man or eating Dozier’s $1MM partial guarantee would cost them exponentially more in tax penalties than it would in base salary. With that in mind, I’d expect Minnesota to enter the season with Dozier as the 14th man and be prepared to make a change or add a 15th man only if it’s needed.

Gobert is the most notable extension candidate to monitor ahead of opening night — he holds a player option for the 2025/26 season, so he could reach unrestricted free agency as early as next summer.

Gobert is coming off a Defensive Player of the Year season, but I imagine the Wolves will approach extension talks cautiously rather than jumping headlong into another multiyear deal in the range of his current salary ($43.8MM in 2024/25). Minnesota’s cap situation is already somewhat precarious, with Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns on maximum-salary deals, and Gobert wasn’t exactly dominant in the Western Finals vs. Dallas or at the Paris Olympics, where he played limited minutes in a couple of France’s best wins.

Gobert will remain extension-eligible all season as long as his player option is replaced as part of a new deal, so the Wolves aren’t facing an October deadline to get something done.

Finally, while it’s worth keeping an eye on the Timberwolves’ ownership fight, the next step in that battle between Glen Taylor and the Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez group won’t happen until after the season begins. An arbitration hearing is scheduled for November.

And-Ones: Diamond RSNs, Dragic, Nowtizki, Oppenheimer

August 23rd, 2024 at 8:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Diamond Sports Group – the parent company of the Bally Sports regional networks – announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with the NBA to continue local broadcasts for 13 teams for the 2024/25 season, according to Evan Drellich and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Diamond’s agreements, including a deal with the NHL to continue broadcasting nine teams’ games, will need to be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. That hearing is scheduled for September 3, per Drellich and Vorkunov. While the new deals will only cover the 2024/25 season for now, they could extend beyond that if Diamond gets out of bankruptcy.

Diamond won’t be moving forward on deals with the Pelicans or the Mavericks, according to Friday’s announcement. The Pelicans news was reported earlier this month, with the team making plans to broadcasting its games for free over the air through Gray TV.

The Mavericks’ broadcast plans for the coming season remain unclear. However, The Athletic characterized the split with Dallas as mutual, and an NBA spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News that the Mavs “declined to continue distributing their games” through Diamond/Bally Sports, so it sounds like the club has a new plan in the works.

The 13 teams whose games will continue to air on Diamond’s regional sports networks in 2024/25 are the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic, and Spurs.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Saturday’s farewell game in honor of Goran Dragic‘s retirement – dubbed “The Night of the Dragon,” will stream on the NBA App at 2:00 pm Eastern time, the league announced today (Twitter link). Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic will team up as part of “Team Luka,” while Dragic’s roster features former MVP Steve Nash. Eurohoops published the full rosters on Twitter.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Dragic’s farewell game, Dirk Nowitzki suggested that he would like to continue working in basketball in some capacity, but he doesn’t plan on becoming a full-time coach for any team. “I don’t think I see coaching in my future,” Nowitzki said, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “Things could change very quickly, but I don’t see myself as a team coach. I see more myself as an individual coach.”
Former Bucks assistant Josh Oppenheimer has accepted a job on Porter Moser‘s coaching staff at Oklahoma, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Milwaukee parted ways with Oppenheimer – who had a “close working relationship” with Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Wojnarowski – back in May as Doc Rivers made changes to his staff ahead of his first full season with the Bucks.

Edwards Teases KD About Playoff Series

August 18th, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Edwards had a little fun with his gold-medal winning Olympic teammate, Kevin Durant, during a ‘Fanatics Fest’ on Saturday. The Timberwolves knocked the Suns out of the postseason and Edwards, who played the starring role in that series, joked that he felt “bad” about it. “I am not going to lie. I felt bad a little bit, only because he is my favorite player of all-time,” he said, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net, “I did not want to send him home like that. It happened, man. I felt bad.” Rest assured, Edwards didn’t feel that bad about sending KD home this past spring.
There’s no doubt the league considers the Timberwolves one of the league’s most exciting and watchable teams, Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. In the NBA schedule released on Thursday, the Timberwolves had the biggest increase in national TV appearances. They are set to make 18 appearances on ABC, TNT or ESPN and seven more on NBA TV. Among those appearances, they are playing on opening night, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Western Notes: Kennard, Edwards, Wembanyama, KD, Blazers

August 15th, 2024 at 9:03pm CST by Luke Adams

After the Grizzlies turned down Luke Kennard‘s 2024/25 team option on June 29, the expectation was that he’d sign a new contract with the club. It took over a month, but the two sides eventually agreed to a one-year, $11MM deal, and Kennard said this week that returning to Memphis was always the plan, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

“There are a lot of different conversations that go on throughout that process,” Kennard said. “I told (Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman) I want to be in Memphis. This is where I want to be. I’m excited with what they have built here over the last few years. I just wanted to be a small part of that.”

Family considerations factored into Kennard’s desire to remain with the Grizzlies, according to Cole, who notes that the 28-year-old is an Ohio native whose family isn’t too far from Memphis. Kennard and his wife also had a child in March, so he wasn’t eager to uproot them to move across the country.

“The fact that (family) can come see me anytime is such a big thing,” Kennard said. “Being closer to home plays a big factor. With the new baby and a wife at home, they love where we’re at and the city where we are. It’s been a great time so far. We’ve enjoyed Memphis a lot. We’re just glad we have at least another year.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Anthony Edwards‘ Team USA experience at the 2023 World Cup ended without a medal, but the Timberwolves couldn’t have asked for a better set of circumstances for their young star this summer, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who details how Edwards played an important role for a gold-medal U.S. roster at the Olympics and got the chance to spend several weeks learning from three of the best NBA players of all-time in LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.
Rising Spurs star Victor Wembanyama didn’t get to spend as much time with Durant in Paris as Edwards did, but the reigning Rookie of the Year appreciated getting the opportunity to speak to the Suns forward following France’s loss to Team USA in the gold medal game. “Clearly, this is my personal childhood favorite,” Wembanyama said in an appearance on M6 (YouTube link; hat tip to Eurohoops). “He became my favorite player… I made it clear to him that I wanted to learn from him and perhaps steal one or two of his secret techniques.”
The Trail Blazers are parting ways with ROOT Sports and will be moving their games to an over-the-air network, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report, who says the details of the team’s TV broadcast plans for the 2024/25 season will be announced soon. It has become a bit of a trend for NBA teams to leave local regional sports networks in favor of over-the-air channels, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, with the Blazers joining Phoenix, Utah, and New Orleans as teams who have recently made that move.

And-Ones: K. Smith, Schedule, C. Brown, Burton, Duke & Rutgers

August 14th, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warner Bros. Discovery is suing the NBA after being excluded from the new broadcast rights package, but Kenny Smith isn’t worried about how that might affect what will likely be the final year of “Inside the NBA,” writes Greg Rajan of The Houston Chronicle. Smith, who has been with the network since his playing career ended in 1998, insists that nothing will change inside the studio.

“No, because we do our jobs,” he said. “Our job is to talk (about) the game and give insight and also give you insight about what’s going on behind the scenes with TNT. Like, ‘Hey, we’re not happy.’ That’s part of what makes us different. I don’t think any other network would allow or want their talent to talk about things like that. We’re going to do it, no matter what happens.

“But again, we’ve had a great run. If it continues, it’ll be great. But also, there are massive opportunities for the four of us — again, to create ownership opportunities to make sure our directors, producers, makeup, stats and audio people are still part of one of the greatest shows in sports TV history.”

Smith views the possible end of the network’s affiliation with the NBA as an opportunity for the show to reach out into other areas. He compares it to what Adam Sandler or Peyton and Eli Manning are doing with their companies, providing a chance to create a new brand in sports television.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

More details on the 2024/25 NBA schedule continue to leak out ahead of the official announcement at 3:00 pm ET on Thursday. The Nuggets will host the Thunder on October 24 in the season opener for both teams, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). It will be a matchup of the top two seeds in the West last season. After facing the Clippers October 23 in the first game at the new Inuit Dome, the Suns will stay in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers October 25 before hosting the Mavericks in their home opener a night later, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The Kings will have two six-game road trips during the season, sources tell James Ham of Kings Beat (Twitter link). One in January will have them face the Nuggets, Knicks, Nets, Sixers, Thunder and Timberwolves, and another from March 29 to April 7 will feature games against the Magic, Pacers, Wizards, Hornets, Cavaliers and Pistons.
Former NBA players Charlie Brown Jr. and Deonte Burton will be among the players representing the G League United in a pair of September exhibition games, the league announced (Twitter links).
Duke and Rutgers will be the top destinations for NBA scouts when the college basketball season begins, observes Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. The Blue Devils have the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, Cooper Flagg, along with Khaman Maluach, a probable lottery selection who played for South Sudan in the Olympics. The Scarlet Knights’ Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are also in contention for the top spot in next year’s draft.

Team Gets New Jersey Sponsor

August 13th, 2024 at 5:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Lynx have agreed to a multiyear corporate sponsorship deal with Sezzle Inc., which includes a jersey patch sponsorship, according to Nick Williams of the Star Tribune. Terms of the sponsorship deal were not disclosed but those sponsorship deals around the league are expected to average $10MM for the upcoming season. The Wolves, according to Williams, are expected to earn near the average via their sponsorship.

Knicks/Celtics, Wolves/Lakers To Play On Opening Night

August 12th, 2024 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s opening night schedule will feature home games for the league’s two most accomplished franchises, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the Celtics will host the Knicks in the early game, while the Lakers will host the Timberwolves in the late game.

The Celtics, who won their record 18th NBA title in June, will receive their championship rings on opening night, which will take place on Tuesday, October 22. That game will be the first for the new-look Knicks, featuring Mikal Bridges.

The game between the Lakers and Timberwolves will feature several stars who participated in Saturday’s gold medal game in Paris, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Lakers and Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert of the Wolves.

Both games will air on TNT Sports, which will be distributing NBA games for one final year in 2024/25, assuming their lawsuit against the league doesn’t result in a new broadcast rights deal that begins in ’25/26.

The full regular schedule for the 2024/25 NBA season is expected to be released later this week, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. In the meantime, here are a few more notable matchups, courtesy of Charania:

The new-look Sixers, led by former MVP Joel Embiid, reigning Most Improved Player Tyrese Maxey, and free agent addition Paul George, will host the Bucks on October 23 to open their regular season (Twitter link).
The first regular season game at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood will be played on October 23, when the Clippers host the Suns (Twitter link).
Klay Thompson and the Mavericks will visit the Warriors on November 12 in Thompson’s first trip back to the Bay Area (Twitter link). That will also be the first game of the in-season tournament (NBA Cup) for both Dallas and Golden State (Twitter link).
The NBA Finals rematches between the Celtics and Mavericks will take place on January 25 in Dallas and February 6 in Boston (Twitter link).
In case you missed it, 2024’s Christmas Day matchups were reported last week.

Christmas Day Games Include Sixers-Celtics, Lakers-Warriors

August 8th, 2024 at 9:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA’s leaked slate of Christmas Day games will feature several heavy hitters.

Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that, as usual, five games will be broadcast, highlighted by a marquee matchup between two longtime Eastern Conference foes, the revamped Sixers and the Celtics. Boston, the reigning league champion, will host.

The schedule will be rounded out by several clashes between starry clubs, from veteran-laden squads to young up-and-comers. The Spurs will travel to Madison Square Garden to play the Knicks. A Western Conference Finals rematch is also on the docket, as the Mavericks will host the Timberwolves.

The newly Klay Thompson-less Warriors will host the Lakers, and the Nuggets will travel to Phoenix to face the retooled Suns.

Philadelphia almost completely overhauled its roster around incumbent All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The new additions are headlined by nine-time All-Star combo forward Paul George, who departed the Clippers to sign a four-year, maximum-salary deal with the Sixers. Philadelphia also signed seasoned free agents like forward Caleb Martin, center Andre Drummond, and shooting guard Eric Gordon while bringing back wing Kelly Oubre Jr.

The Celtics retained all of their own key players after going 64-18 in the regular season and 16-3 in the playoffs. A pair of new extensions for All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White highlighted the team’s transactions, though longer-term uncertainty looms as owner Wyc Grousbeck is looking to sell the franchise.

Led by Defensive Player of the Year and impending Olympic medalist Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs figure to improve on their paltry 21-61 record in 2023/24. The team signed 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a one-year deal this summer, and traded for veteran combo forward Harrison Barnes. San Antonio also used its No. 4 pick in the lottery on NCAA championship-winning UConn guard Stephon Castle, the 2023/24 Big East Freshman of the Year.

The Knicks, meanwhile traded for former All-Defensive small forward Mikal Bridges this summer to maximize their ability to switch on the wing. The team also re-signed free agent forward OG Anunoby to a long-term contract and free agent center/power forward Precious Achiuwa to a shorter-term deal, inked All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson to a contract extension, and brought aboard veteran point guard Cameron Payne for extra depth.

Fresh off its first NBA Finals appearance with star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas added future Hall of Famer Thompson away from the Warriors as part of a sign-and-trade, while also acquiring young guard Quentin Grimes from the Pistons. Dallas also signed free agent wing Naji Marshall to a three-year deal.

After winning their first (two) playoff series in 20 years this spring, the Timberwolves traded for the draft rights to No. 8 pick Rob Dillingham and retained several of their own free agents.

While Golden State did lose out on Thompson, the Warriors quickly pivoted on the perimeter, signing free agent guard De’Anthony Melton and signing-and-trading for free agent wings Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield. The team is hoping to rebound from a finish as the West’s No. 10 seed and a quick play-in tournament exit.

Denver let free agent starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk in free agency and brought in reserve guard Russell Westbrook.

The Suns hired title-winning head coach Mike Budenholzer and signed Tyus Jones to a steal of a veteran’s minimum contract. Phoenix also brought back several of its own free agents, including wings Josh Okogie and Royce O’Neale and Damion Lee. The team also inked free agents Mason Plumlee and Monte Morris to minimum-salary contracts.

The most questionable omission from all this Christmas scheduling is clearly the Thunder, who claimed the West’s No. 1 overall seed last season and added ex-Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein via a lucrative three-year, $87MM deal. Oklahoma City also dealt guard Josh Giddey – who fell out of the starting lineup in the playoffs – to Chicago for All-Defensive wing Alex Caruso.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having finished as the MVP runner-up last year and young pieces Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams set to develop, the Thunder look poised to contend for the West’s top seed once again.

Timberwolves Announce Updates To Coaching, Medical Staffs

August 8th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Rory Maher

In a pair of press releases, the Timberwolves announced a series of updates to their coaching and medical staffs, with most employees receiving promotions.

Max Lefevre, Jeff Newton, Chris Hines, Nathan Bubes, Moses Ehambe, and James White are the coaches who received internal promotions. White, known for his elite dunking ability, was the 31st pick of the 2006 draft. He played parts of three NBA seasons and had a lengthy pro career in Europe.

Minnesota also added former NBA big man Joey Dorsey to its staff as a player development assistant. Like White, Dorsey had a long, productive career in Europe. Lastly on the coaching side, Cole Fisher has been promoted to manager of basketball analytics.

Gregg Farnam, who has been with the Wolves for 27 years, including the past 24 as head athletic trainer, has been promoted to vice president of medical services. In his place, the team promoted former assistant athletic trainer Erin Sierer, who has been with Minnesota for five years and is now the first female head athletic trainer in Wolves history. Lisa Pataky (sports physical therapist) is a new addition on the medical side of the organization.

Northwest Notes: Reid, Billups, Moran, Thunder

August 7th, 2024 at 8:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

In addition to being the reigning Sixth Man of the Year and a key part of a Timberwolves team that looks like a perennial title contender, Naz Reid has become somewhat of a folk hero in Minnesota, writes Jared Ebanks of Slam Online.

There’s a fan culture that has sprung up around Reid that includes $20 tattoos of his name, a beach towel giveaway night and a sign outside a pizza parlor in Northeast Minneapolis that encourages drivers to “Honk if you love Naz Reid.” Reid is accepting the adulation as part of the reward for the years he spent developing his game.

“I treat it as second hand and whatever comes with me putting the work that I put in, I’m excited to have,” Reid said. “Obviously, I’m truly humbled to have all that. I think as anyone should at the professional level, take that along with the bumps and bruises. Just keep being you and playing your game.”

Reid wasn’t an instant success in the NBA, as he went undrafted out of LSU in 2019 amid concerns about his height and pre-draft workouts. He landed a two-way contract with the Wolves and worked his way up from there, but Reid tells Ebanks that the slights coming out of college provided motivation.

“It just made me more hungry. It kind of rose, kind of changed to where I was the hunted, now I’m hunting at that point,” he said. “In high school, I was a top recruit, five-star, McDonald’s All-American, things like that, to where now I had to grind to be in a position where I had to compete against others who were at high levels, who were drafted and things of that nature. So [I was] putting myself in that perspective of just hunting.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

There are indications that Chauncey Billups may not be interested in continuing as the Trail Blazers’ head coach when his contract expires at the end of the season, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report states in a mailbag column. According to Highkin, Billups recently appeared on two podcasts hosted by his former teammates, Rasheed Wallace and Carmelo Anthony, and indicated that the state of the organization isn’t what he signed up for. Billups was expecting to coach a contending team built around Damian Lillard, but the Blazers traded Lillard last summer and have entered a rebuilding stage where player development is prioritized over winning. Highkin hears that Billups still has the respect of the locker room and a good working relationship with general manager Joe Cronin, but he will enter the season as a lame-duck coach unless the front office picks up his fifth-year option.
In the same piece, Highkin says Trail Blazers officials were “big fans” of the job Jim Moran was doing as head coach of the team’s G League affiliate before he left to join Mike Brown‘s staff in Sacramento. Highkin suggests that Moran views the job with the Kings as a better path toward eventually becoming an NBA head coach.
The Thunder have upgraded their roster with the additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, so Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated examines whether they’ve improved enough to beat Dallas in a playoff series. Oklahoma City was eliminated from the 2024 postseason in a six-game Western Conference semifinal loss to the Mavs.