Kobe Bryant said it was playing with all those younger, high-flying players.
The cynic in some — not us here at PBT, we would never be cynical or sarcastic — would say it was because he had a naked ambition to win another MVP award.
Either way, Kobe was dunking Sunday night at the All-Star game like he hasn’t in years. Take, for example, this early throw down.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3yn7a6TaxI]
Steven Adams signed a two-year, $25.2 million contract extension with Memphis, which will keep him tied to the team through the 2024-25 season. ESPN’s Adrian Wojanrowski broke the news on Saturday.
Adams averaged 6.9 points and 10 rebounds for the Western Conference's No. 2 seed a season ago. His toughness, leadership, passing — all of it — makes him indispensable for a franchise trying to take the next step to championship contention.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2022
Adams has been crucial to the Grizzlies’ recent success. He’s coming off his first season with the team, where he averaged career-highs in rebounds (10.0) and assists (3.4). He also helped them lock up the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference and make it to the Conference Semifinals, where they lost to the eventual-champion Warriors 4-2. Despite the improved numbers, a lot of his value is from intangibles that don’t show up in the box score.
Adams spent the first seven years of his career with the Thunder before being traded to New Orleans in the four-team deal that sent Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee. Adams was moved again to Memphis in a package for Jonas Valanciunas.
Adams has found a new home with a young Grizzlies team that is looking to win a championship. The team is built around Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, but Jackson Jr. is expected to miss time after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot. Memphis will rely on Adams more than ever to begin the season.
The NBA went to Japan to promote the brand, play a few games in a huge market — Japan specifically but Asia as a whole — and put on a show.
Is there a better show than Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson draining 3s? Here they are in a 3-point contest during a basketball exhibition (there were some pro dunkers) in Tokyo on Saturday.
Splash Bros splashing their way to a 3-point contest title in Japan ☔️pic.twitter.com/xK6HlZdNL4
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 1, 2022
Stephen Curry, was there any other possible outcome?
“We’re supposed to win, we’re the Splash Brothers” 💦
Steph after winning the 3-point contest with Klay in Japan:pic.twitter.com/mvVUvIblq8
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 1, 2022
It’s preseason and they are the defending champs — they should be having fun, playing with some joy.
Thompson took part in the shooting contest but is not playing in either of the exhibition games in Japan as the Warriors ease him back into play this season. It’s a marathon of a season and the Warriors need the best version of Klay starting in April, not October.
Larry Nance has been a stabilizing influence in New Orleans since coming over mid-season as part of the trade for CJ McCollum. Nance is a versatile player who can play the four or the five, knocks down his threes, is very strong on the glass, can be a disruptive defender in passing lanes, and fits in — and he has the veteran attitude of work this team needs.
So the Pelicans have reached an extension to keep the 29-year-old around for two years past this coming season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
New Orleans Pelicans F Larry Nance Jr., has agreed on a two-year, $21.6 million contract extension, his agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. Nance’s total deal ties him to the franchise for three years and $31.3 million. pic.twitter.com/dZl6bewRxB
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2022
The extension, tying Nance Jr. to the franchise through the 2024-2025 season, allows him to join key franchise players – including Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum — on long-term deals.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2022
This is a signing that should make Pelicans fans happy. Importantly, it makes CJ McCollum happy — they are tight and this is something McCollum wanted to see. The money on this deal seems fair, about the league average for a solid rotation player.
Nance is the kind of veteran this team needs considering its young core of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram (just turned 25), Herb Jones, and guys like Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado, and others. Nance compared it to the young Lakers teams he was on, but noted that team lacked the same level of veteran leadership this Pelicans team has.
We may see more Nance at the five lineups — small ball with Zion at the four — to close games this season in New Orleans, that could be their best lineup because Nance can defend but also spaces the floor for Zion on offense. Coach Willie Green has a lot of different players and matchups to experiment with.
And now he has the stability of Nance for a few more years.
No team had an offseason quite like the Brooklyn Nets. First, they would not give a long-term extension to Kyrie Irving, which sent the star guard looking for a new team (but there were no offers that worked for everyone, so he opted in with Brooklyn). Then Kevin Durant asked for a trade, and to gain a little leverage reportedly threw down an ultimatum of him or the coach and GM. No trade could be found — how much the Nets wanted one is up for debate — so he is back in Brooklyn. And all that is not even getting into the return of Ben Simmons, a trade for Royce O’Neal, or anything else.
The Nets drama and how they move past it has been the talk of training camp. The only talk at training camp, it feels like.
When asked Friday if there were any inaccuracies in the reporting of the Nets summer he would like to clear up, Durant sounded weary of rehashing the summer.
KD on any inaccuracies about what happened in the summer: "Can we move on past that at some point? I know it's an interesting story. I know that it took up most of the offseason and drama sells, I get that, but I didn't miss any games, I didn't miss any practices, I'm still here"
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) September 30, 2022
"There's a lot of sh** that was inaccurate but it's like I don't want to go through it right now. We don't got that much time right now."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) September 30, 2022
The only thing that will start to move the conversation in a new direction is the Nets playing and winning games (they open the preseason Monday against the 76ers). And even those wins will have the shadow of the offseason cast over them. Durant and Irving made this bed.
Part of the fascination is the Nets remain the team hardest to predict in the league. They arguably have the most talented roster in the league and, if everything comes together just right, they can contend for a title. It’s also possible the wheels fall off early and by Christmas the Nets are looking to trade Durant again. Both things feel possible (even if reality most likely lands somewhere in the middle).
That uncertainty about the Nets’ future is the drama that will keep eyeballs on them — which also means more questions about this past offseason. Durant can choose not to answer them, but the questions aren’t going away.
