We have that and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.
A few weeks ago, Hawks GM Travis Schlenk spilled some old secrets on the Woj Pod. He told Adrian Wojnarowski and the world that former, reviled Warriors franchisee Chris Cohan had refused to trade Monta Ellis when he (Cohan) owned the team because fans would be mad, despite the front office’s belief that trading Monta was necessary to unlock young Stephen Curry’s greatness.
Of course, Cohan sold the team to Joe Lacob and pals, Lacob greenlit a Monta trade, and the rest is history. It appears that the initial proposed Monta trade -- which was not with the Bucks -- would have happened two years before the actual Monta trade did: Ellis was dealt in March 2012, and Cohan sold the team in July 2010. So we’re looking at winter 2010 for a likely timeline here, Curry’s rookie year.
Warriors fans should thank Cohan for refusing to trade Monta. After all, if Cohan had listened to Schenk and the front office in 2010, Curry would have been unleashed much sooner than he was. Golden State probably would not have been able to get such a good deal on Curry’s second contract (assuming the expanded role didn’t alter his injury history), which means there’s no way the Warriors could have added Kevin Durant in 2016. Cohan’s hilarious posture -- the dude that kept the franchise in purgatory for a decade and a half meddled on behalf of the fans?! -- set the table for future greatness. Respect that.
Where’s Chris Cohan’s championship ring, folks? Where’s his jersey in the rafters?
Scores
Bulls 96, Pacers 105
Magic 106, Sixers 114
Rockets 107, Raptors 95
Blazers 111, Grizzlies 120
Thunder 120, Timberwolves 131
Celtics 128, Warriors 95
Schedule
All times Eastern. Games are on League Pass unless otherwise noted.
Heat at Hornets, 7
Timberwolves at Pistons, 7
Mavericks at Wizards, 7
Spurs at Hawks, 7:30
Cavaliers at Nets, 7:30
Sixers at Bulls, 8, ESPN
Jazz at Pelicans, 8
Knicks at Suns, 9
Celtics at Kings, 10
Nuggets at Lakers, 10:30, ESPN
Links
Paul Flannery’s Tuesday column suggests that perhaps the Celtics were never as good as we believed. In classic Reverse Flanns Curse fashion, the C’s wallopped the Warriors on Monday. Meanwhile, greatest basketball writer ever Jackie MacMullan digs into the core issue here: Gordon Hayward’s progress toward playing like Gordon Hayward again.
Ricky O’Donnell’s latest mock draft, where Zion Williamson is the only sure thing.
Blake Griffin’s competitiveness has become contagious in Detroit.
The Lakers are just about done. What now?
Chris Herring on what happened to the Lakers.
As getting to the rim becomes more important, ballhandling takes on new importance. That’s why God Shammgod, the league’s only full-time team-based ballhanding coach, is important.
Smart origin story on James Harden’s sidestep jumper.
Steph Curry’s “Underrated Tour” is pretty cool.
YES YES YES to 6-foot point guards with hook shots.
Rob Mahoney on how the Pacers survived Victor Oladipo’s injury.
Much was made of Kyle Kuzma seemingly shoving LeBron into contesting a shot against the Clippers because LeBron wasn’t up for it. But that’s a pretty misleading clip. Here are seven other clips showing LeBron not trying extremely hard.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is known as the Greek Freak, but wants everyone to know about his Nigerian roots, too.
NBA Desktop is extremely good.
Jared Dubin on the revival of the zone defense.
Patrick Beverley threw the Lakers a proverbial going-away party on Monday. This dude ...
What are the implications of any of the Bucks’ top four free agents walking this summer?
Caitlin Cooper breakdown of T.J. Leaf’s offensive rebounding. Yes, T.J. Leaf, one of the most anonymous players on the most anonymous good team in the league. But it’s Coop! Read it.
Be excellent to each other.