1.האם ג'ואל אמביד יהיה המגה-טרייד הבא?

ג'ואל אמביד לא ביקש טרייד. אני מבקש שזה יהיה ברור. אבל הוא כן אמר שהוא רוצה לשחק בקבוצה שיש לה סיכוי לאליפות.

האם הוא כלל את פילדלפיה כאחת בעלת סיכוי, עתה שברור שג'יימס הארדן לא נשאר, ודרל מוריי, המנכ"ל, לא מדבר עם הארדן, וגם עם אמביד היחסים הם משהו.

מה עוד יכול לעשות מוריי? יש לו את הנכסים לתת על לילארד, אבל הסיקסרס לא הוזכרה אפילו כאפשרות.

האפשרות שאמביד ילבש גופייה של קבוצה אחרת – את כל הקריירה שלו הטא בילה בפילי – כבר לא נשמעת כל כך מוזרה. הוא אמר בריאיון האחרון שהוא רוצה אליפות "AT ALL COSTS, AND ANYWHERE"

לי זה אומר דבר אחד: במקום אחר יותר מאשר בפילדלפיה כי פילדלפיה אפילו לא מתקרבת לאליפות, ולא התקרבה אליה שנים על גבי שנים..

2. סיכום ליגת הקיץ בלאס ווגאס (נילקח מ-ESPN ל-INSIDERS), אז הנה העתק המאמר

NBA summer league 2023: The best rookies, free agents and veterans in Las Vegas

• Kevin Pelton, ESPN Senior WriterJul 18, 2023, 07:00 AM ET
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Best rookies:

1. Keyonte George, Utah Jazz

2. Cam Whitmore, Houston Rockets

3. Hunter Tyson, Denver Nuggets

George looked different playing for the Jazz, who also hosted the Salt Lake City summer league before making the short trip to Vegas. He told Utah reporters that he was down to 190 pounds, his high school weight, after playing his lone season at Baylor around 215 pounds.

The results were noticeable in his explosiveness. George was able to get to the hoop to set up teammates, averaging 6.3 assists per game and posting an assist-to-turnover ratio near 3. George also hit 44% of his 3-pointers en route to 21.7 points per game, the most among 2023 draft picks. That accuracy might be hard to sustain for George, who hit 34% from the shorter college line, but he showed why he was projected as a top-10 pick entering college.

The same was true of Whitmore, who was widely expected to go in the top 10 before sliding to 20th on draft night. It's impossible to evaluate long-term concerns about Whitmore's knees in this setting, but his game looked top five as he led the Rockets to the title game and was named NBA 2K24 Summer League MVP. Whitmore averaged 19.3 PPG by relentlessly attacking the basket, while his high steal rate (2.5 per game) also carried over.

As compared to those one-and-dones, Tyson's story is totally different. He averaged just 1.8 PPG as a freshman at Clemson before developing into a nightly double-double threat as a fifth-year senior. Drafted by the Nuggets in the second round, Tyson showed potential as a versatile stretch big, knocking down 3.6 3s per game at a 50% clip en route to 20.8 PPG.

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Most promising rookies:

1. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

2. Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers

3. Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets

Wembanyama impresses with 27-point outburst in second summer league game

Victor Wembanyama drops 27 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks in a loss against the Trail Blazers.

As ESPN's Tim Bontemps has noted, Wembanyama's rough debut (nine points on 2-of-13 shooting) might have been the best possible thing for him in the long term. The hype about Wembanyama's ability to dominate the NBA as a teenager was an enormous amount of pressure. There will be nights like that when his shot doesn't fall during the regular season, although balanced by efforts like his second game in which Wembanyama had 27 points and 12 rebounds to go along with strong rim protection.

Playing just 21 minutes before a shoulder injury ended his summer, Henderson looked very much like the prospect who was second only to Wembanyama going into last season. He controlled the action, putting up 15 points and six assists in that brief span. Ideally, Henderson would get all the way to the rim more frequently than he did, with just three of his 13 shot attempts coming within five feet. Better floor spacing with the Blazers' full roster around him should help in that regard.

Going against Henderson, Thompson had 16 points and five assists in 28 minutes before suffering his own injury (an ankle sprain). By contrast to Henderson, Thompson lived in the paint, taking 11 of his 13 shots there. That's more necessary for Thompson, who did hit a 3-pointer but is not known for his outside shooting. I was also impressed with Thompson's defensive activity, which resulted in four blocks and three steals.

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Slowest-starting rookie

Kobe Bufkin, Atlanta Hawks

Kobe Bufkin's fadeaway wins it for the Hawks

Kobe Bufkin knocks down a tough fadeaway jumper over Greg Brown III to give the Hawks a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

Bufkin's 4-of-29 shooting from 3-point range (13%) isn't particularly concerning given the small sample. We know Bufkin, who hit 35.5% from the shorter college line, is more accurate than that. Given the keys to the summer Hawks' offense, however, Bufkin also led all players with 4.6 turnovers per game against 3.6 APG.

With Dejounte Murray signing a contract extension to stick alongside Trae Young, Atlanta doesn't really need Bufkin to run the offense for extended stretches any time soon, so he can develop as more of a combo guard. On the plus side, Bufkin scored the game winner last Thursday as the Hawks beat Philadelphia.

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Best veterans

1. Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets

2. Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

3. Orlando Robinson, Miami Heat

Chet Holmgren shows off his skills in 25-point performance

Chet Holmgren impresses for the Thunder with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks in a win vs. the Pacers.

As Henderson and Thompson went at it in the first half of the Rockets' Vegas opener, Smith was largely a bystander, putting up four points on 1-of-6 shooting. From there, Smith took control, scoring 67 points in 49 minutes over the next game and a half before being shut down.

More exciting than Smith's production was how it came, particularly against the Detroit Pistons when he had six assists to go with his 38 points — as many as the No. 3 pick in 2022 had in any game as a rookie. Smith was creating offense off the dribble, something we saw at Auburn but almost never as an NBA rookie. It's worth remembering that Smith didn't turn 20 until May, making him four months younger than rookie teammate Thompson.

Holmgren, picked one spot ahead of Smith, is a veteran only in terms of summer league after missing his first NBA campaign because of injury. I already broke down what we saw from Holmgren in his return to the court.

There were no shortage of candidates for the last spot in these rankings. Jaden Springer averaged 22.3 PPG in three appearances for the Philadelphia 76ers, Smith's teammate Tari Eason was active at both ends and Dyson Daniels filled up the box score. I went with Robinson, a candidate to be Miami's next undrafted success story. Promoted from a two-way contract, Robinson averaged 25.8 PPG and 9.3 RPG and will battle Thomas Bryant for backup frontcourt minutes this season.

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Best free agent

Michael Devoe, Portland Trail Blazers

Henderson's injury prevented us from seeing Scoot square off with Wembanyama for a third time, following their two exhibition matchups last season. It also created an opening for Devoe, who was a part-time starter in the G League for the Ontario Clippers last season. Devoe scored a game-high 28 points against San Antonio and shot 65% on 3s for the Blazers, though his ability to run the point (4.5 APG) might be more important for his chances of cracking an NBA roster at 6-foot-4.

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Best game: Houston-Portland

'Oh wow!' Jabari Smith Jr. drains game-winning 3 for Rockets

Jabari Smith Jr. knocks down a tough 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Blazers

What was supposed to be the undercard for Wembanyama's debut against No. 2 pick Brandon Miller proved the most entertaining game of the night by far. Although Henderson and Thompson were both off the court for the finish, Smith delivered a winning 3-pointer from a step in front of the summer league logo on a play that started with 0.6 seconds on the clock.

3. מיילס ברידג'ס מתנצל על המכות שהיכה את אם ילדיו

הפאור-פורוורד של שרלוט הורנטס מיילס ברידג'ס התנצל בפני בני קבוצתו, צוות המאמנים, המנהלים, 'וכל קהילת ההורנטס' על ה-'DOMESTIC VIOLENCE' שבו נאשם כשאיבד שליטה והיכה את בת זוגו לעיני ילדיו.

הוא נענש בשלוש שנות PROBATION ('על תנאי'). השבוע הוא הוחתם על 7.9 מיליון לעונה אחת, והוא הבטיח לבנות מחדש את יחסיו עם חברי הקבוצה.

הוא אמר :

"I want to apologize to everybody for the pain and embarrassment that I have caused everyone, especially my family," Bridges said. "This year away I've used to prioritize going to therapy and becoming the best person I can be — someone that my family and everyone here can be proud of me

4. נרלנס נואל, ה-2.13 מ', פרי אייג'נס, חתם עם הקינגס לשנה אחת, 3.1 מיליון

5. ויקטור וימבי…הופך לאמריקאי של ממש. מהשבוע הוט דוג על שמו בסן אנטוניו

ה-“The Wembynaso”  ("הוט דוג שיש בו הכל")

6. דרל מוריי מוכן להטריד את הארדן "רק אם נקבל אחד משני הדברים":

אחד:

“If we do look at a trade, it will be for one of two things. Either a player who helps us be right there like we were last year — up 3-2 on one of the best teams in the East, the Celtics. Obviously, we didn’t get it done, but James is one of the reasons we were up 3-2,” Morey said.

שניים:

“Or we are going to do it where we get enough draft picks so we can turn those into a player who can be a running mate with Joel (Embiid). If we don’t get either a very good player or something we can turn into a very good player, then we will just not do it.”

7. אני מבין מדבריו של סטף קרי שיש מצב שהוא יסכים להצטרף לנבחרת האולימפית. אם אתם מבינים אחרת – הביעו דעתכם בתגובות

Chef Curry may be about to cook something up on the international stage once again.

In an interview this week on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry hinted that he could return to Team USA Basketball for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Though Curry will not be participating in this year’s FIBA World Cup, he said that Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who is also the head coach of USA Basketball, is already recruiting him for Paris.

“He’s already kind of recruiting [me] for next summer,” said Curry of Kerr. “I’m rooting for the guys now who are going to play in the World Cup. I know they’ll represent USA well and take home the gold.

“I have no idea what the next summer will look like,” Curry added. “It obviously is an extra bonus that Coach Kerr is leading that charge. I love to play for him any day of the week. We’ll see how it goes come summer 2024.”

Curry, a four-time NBA champion, a two-time MVP, and a Finals MVP, has never competed in the Olympics (and thus has never won an Olympic gold medal). He did win two gold medals for Team USA at previous FIBA World Cups (in 2010 and 2014). But it has been nearly a decade now since Curry has suited up for USA Basketball in any capacity.

The Warriors are usually competing for championships deep into the year, which explains in part why Curry has been absent from the international game for so long. But at 35 years old (36 next March), the 2024 Games might be Curry’s last-ever chance to win Olympic gold.

Curry is still at the top of his game, having averaged 29.4 points per contest last season (the third-highest number of his career). Team USA will likely be facing some formidable challengers in Paris, so getting Curry to suit up for them would be absolutely humongous.