The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to become the first team this season to go on a 16-game winning streak. The Cavaliers are 2.5-point road favorites on Friday against the Grizzlies, who have won four straight games. Cleveland is on its second 15-game winning streak this season and the Thunder are the only other team to win 15 straight this season. The Cavaliers will be without Donovan Mitchell (groin).

In addition, the Celtics will meet the Heat on Friday in a matchup of franchises who have met in the postseason the last three years, and DraftKings Sportsbook lists Boston as an 8-point favorite with the over/under at 214.5 points. SportsLine’s proven model has simulated every Friday NBA game 10,000 times and revealed an exact score prediction for each matchup.

SportsLine’s model has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons and it is 19-10 (65%) on top-rated NBA spread picks this season.

Celtics (-8) to cover vs. Heat (-110 at DraftKings)
Score prediction: Celtics 117, Heat 105

The Celtics are coming off a 118-112 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday, but Boston is 9-1 following its last 10 losses. Boston has often dominated those following contests as well with seven of nine victories by more than 10 points with an average margin of victory of 24.2 points. The Celtics are 15-4 overall over their last 19 games despite an often-crowded injury report and they are 9-5 ATS over their last 14 contests. Boston won each of its first two matchups against Miami by at least 18 points this season.

Grizzlies (+2.5) to cover vs. Cavaliers (-110 at Caesars)
Score prediction: Cavaliers 119, Grizzlies 118

Although Cleveland is the hottest team in the league with a 15-game winning streak, the Grizzlies are also in the midst of some of their best basketball over a four-game winning streak. The Grizzlies are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference at 42-24 overall and have won four straight without Jaren Jackson Jr. active for any of those games. Jackson (ankle) is questionable to return Friday. Cleveland needed a fourth-quarter comeback in its 109-104 win over the Nets on Tuesday without Mitchell (groin) and could struggle without him again in a significantly tougher matchup. Caesars Sportsbook is currently offering the best odds on Memphis as the odds start to move in the Grizzlies’ favor.

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Timberwolves (-10.5) to cover vs. Magic (-105 at BetMGM)
Score prediction: Timberwolves 113, Magic 98

Minnesota has won six straight games and is coming off a 115-95 victory over the Nuggets on Wednesday. The Timberwolves have won five of those six games by at least 14 points as they look to climb out of the group of NBA Play-In Tournament. Minnesota is currently seventh in the Western Conference and a half-game behind the Warriors for the No. 6 seed. Anthony Edwards is fifth in the league in scoring at 27.2 ppg and Minnesota’s six-game winning streak has coincided with the return of Julius Randle, who is second in scoring at 18.9 ppg this season. Meanwhile, the Magic are 2-6 over their last eight games.

Nuggets (-15) to cover vs. Lakers (-110 at FanDuel)
Score prediction: Nuggets 123, Lakers 108

The Lakers are playing the second half of a back-to-back following a 126-106 loss to the Bucks on Thursday. LeBron James (groin) missed Thursday and remains out for Friday. Luka Doncic had 45 points against the Bucks, but that wasn’t enough to keep Los Angeles close. After entering Thursday questionable with ankle soreness, Doncic was ruled out on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic is having another MVP-caliber season for the Nuggets, averaging 29 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game this season. Jokic (elbow/ankle) and Jamal Murray (knee) are probable.

Kings (+3.5) to cover vs. Suns (-110 at Fanatics)
Score prediction: Kings 118, Suns 117

Neither the Kings nor the Suns enter Friday playing their best, but the Kings have a three-game lead over the Suns to remain in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Despite trading De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento proved motivated by winning with receiving Zach LaVine in exchange and later trading for Jonas Valanciunas. The Kings won five of six games before their current three-game losing skid, but the Suns are 5-14 since February 1. LaVine has scored at least 30 points in two of his last four games with the model projecting the Kings to win straight up, it loves the opportunity at betting them while getting points. Fanatics Sportsbook is currently offering the Kings at +3.

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You’ve seen the top model NBA prop picks for Friday. Now, get NBA picks from SportsLine’s Mike Barner, who is on a 104-68 roll (+2323) on his last 172 NBA player props.

The Indiana Pacers will look to win the season series when they battle the Philadelphia 76ers in a key Eastern Conference matchup on Friday night. Indiana is coming off a 115-114 win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, while Philadelphia dropped a 118-105 decision at Toronto on Wednesday. The Pacers (36-28), who are 21-20 against the East, are 15-18 on the road. The 76ers (22-43), who are 14-27 versus the East, are 12-21 on their home court. The Sixers have been decimated by injuries and have 12 players listed as out or questionable, including Joel Embiid (knee), Paul George (groin) and Tyrese Maxey (back) who are all out. Pascal Siakam (elbow) is questionable for Indiana.

Tipoff from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is set for 7 p.m. ET. Indiana has won two of three meetings this season, including a 115-102 decision in their last meeting on Jan. 18, and the Pacers have also covered in two of the three matchups. The Pacers are 13-point favorites in the latest Pacers vs. 76ers odds from SportsLine consensus, an increase from opening as 9.5-point favorites. The over/under for total points scored is 231.5. Indy is at -813 on the money line (risk $813 to win $100), while Philly is at +551 (risk $100 to win $551). Before making any 76ers vs. Pacers picks, make sure to check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 21 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 148-107 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 19-10 (65%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

Now, the model has simulated Pacers vs. 76ers 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NBA picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and NBA betting lines for Sixers vs. Pacers:

Pacers vs. 76ers spread: Indiana -13
Pacers vs. 76ers over/under: 231.5 points
Pacers vs. 76ers money line: Indiana -813, Philadelphia +551
IND: The Pacers have hit the money line in 26 of their last 39 games (+19.20 units)
PHIL: The 76ers have hit the game total over in 49 of their last 82 games (+14.90 units)
Pacers vs. 76ers picks: See picks at SportsLine
Pacers vs. 76ers streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
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Why the Pacers can cover
Power forward Pascal Siakam (questionable) has been on a roll of late. In the win over the Bucks on Tuesday, he registered a double-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. He scored 35 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists in a 124-118 loss at Atlanta on March 6. In 64 games, all starts, he is averaging 20.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 32.9 minutes.

Point guard Tyrese Haliburton has registered seven double-doubles in a row. In the win over Milwaukee, he finished with 14 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and two steals, including a game-winning four-point play at the end of the game to secure the victory. He scored 28 points, dished out 15 assists and grabbed three rebounds in a 115-102 win over the Houston Rockets on March 4. In 60 games, all starts, he is averaging 18.5 points, 8.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 34 minutes. See which team to back at SportsLine.

Why the 76ers can cover
Shooting guard Quentin Grimes has helped boost the Philadelphia offense since being acquired last month from the Dallas Mavericks. He poured in 29 points, while adding four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in the loss at Toronto. He scored 35 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and recorded three steals in a 132-123 loss at Atlanta on Monday. In 62 games this season, including 24 starts, he is averaging 12.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 25.2 minutes.

Also helping power the 76ers’ attack is veteran shooting guard Kelly Oubre Jr. In 60 games, including 57 starts, he is averaging 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 34.6 minutes. In a 123-105 loss at Boston on March 6, he poured in 27 points, while adding six assists, five rebounds and three steals. He had 24 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 126-112 loss at Minnesota on March 4. See which team to back at SportsLine.

How to make Pacers vs. 76ers picks
SportsLine’s model has simulated 76ers vs. Pacers 10,000 times and is leaning Under the total, projecting 224 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in 60% of simulations. You can head to SportsLine to see the model’s NBA picks.

So who wins Pacers vs. 76ers on Friday, and which side of the spread hits in 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Pacers vs. 76ers spread to back, all from the model that has returned well over $10,000 on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.

The Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday in a matchup of the No. 3 and 4 seeds in the Western Conference, respectively. The Nuggets are 42-24 on the year, holding a slim edge in the standings over the Lakers, who are 40-24. Denver is a 15-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and is -1000 on the money line (bet $1000 to win $100) while the Lakers are +600 (bet $100 to win $660). The over/under is 228, with the Over and Under each priced at -110. LeBron James (groin) and Luka Doncic (calf/ankle) have been ruled out for Los Angeles.

If you’re looking at player prop bets for Friday’s matchup between Denver and Los Angeles, including with Nuggets stars like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, make sure to check out what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. You can see all of the model’s top-rated prop picks for every game under the “Prop Picks” tab. There are ratings of up to five stars assigned for all sorts of different prop bets for players. Those picks can be key for creating winning parlays on DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy or Sleeper Fantasy as well as same-game parlays on any available betting site.

Let’s dive into the SportsLine model’s three highest-rated player prop recommendations for Lakers-Nuggets and see what the payout would be if they were put into a same-game parlay.

Russell Westbrook Over 5.5 total assists (+126): 4 stars
Westbrook has finished Over his assists prop in four of his last five games against teams with top-third defenses. SportsLine’s model projects the veteran guard to finish Friday with 6.6 assists against the Lakers.

Jamal Murray Over 30.5 total points + rebounds + assists (-110): 3.5 stars
Murray is enjoying another nice season, and he has gone Over his PRA line in six of his last 10 games when the Nuggets have faced teams with a winning record. Murray is averaging 33.8 PRA per game over that timeframe, and the model projects him to have 31.8 PRA against Los Angeles.

Nikola Jokic Over 40.5 total points + rebounds (-106): 3 stars
Jokic, a three-time NBA MVP, has gone Over his points + rebounds prop in four of his last five games when the Nuggets are favored and playing a top-third defense. Jokic is averaging 42.6 total points + rebounds per game over that span, and SportsLine’s model projects him to finish Friday’s game against the Lakers with 40.8 total points + rebounds.

Same-Game Parlay odds: +796 at FanDuel Sportsbook

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As the NBA world just watched the Boston Celtics roll to one of the most dominant seasons in history and 16-3 playoff run that culminated in a championship, a particular basketball blueprint came into focus. Boston featured five guys who can do everything: Shoot, pass, create, operate on or off the ball, and defend multiple positions, with elite top-end and overall depth.

It’s not exactly a revelatory concept. Versatility has been the way of the NBA for a while. Still, almost every team has a hole somewhere. Someone who can’t shoot. Someone who can’t defend. At least a sliver of a weakness for opponents to attack.

But look up and down the Oklahoma City roster, and tell me, where do you see the hole? By trading for Alex Caruso on Thursday, the Thunder, like the Celtics with Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, now have two of the nastiest on-ball defenders in the league (Caruso alongside Lu Dort). Ball pressure is back, baby. The Celtics just squeezed the life out of Dallas. Caruso and Dort are going to wreak the same on-ball havoc.

Add to that a center in Chet Holmgren, who checks almost all the same boxes as Kristaps Porzingis as an elite, floor-stretching rim protector. There’s Jaylen Williams in the Jaylen Brown role (Brown defended Luka Doncic as well as possible, and Williams led the way in holding Kyrie Irving to 15 PPG in the conference semifinal), with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the Jayson Tatum superstar who draws the double teams, and suddenly the mirror starts to reflect a pretty similar basketball image.

Everyone can shoot (Caruso was 40% from 3 on almost five attempts per game last season, and Dort was nearly identical to that). Everyone can defend. Everyone can put the ball on the floor. Williams is an elite isolation scorer next to SGA, and yet, OKC doesn’t over-rely on individual creation. The ball moves. So do the players. Did you just watch Holiday feast as a cutter in the Finals? The Thunder can cut you to death.

For most teams, copying the Boston roster is a pipe dream. The Celtics are an all-time unit with homegrown stars who then lucked into Holiday as part of the Damian Lillard fallout. It would be like trying to copy what the Warriors did by drafting Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Travis Schlenk actually tried to do that with the Hawks after he left Golden State, drafting Trae Young as his Curry before adding DeAndre Hunter and Kevin Huerter as he aimed to put five guys on the floor who could all shoot, pass and dribble.

It was a good idea. But Young is a defensive hole, and Hunter and Huerter, while they fit the mold on paper, just didn’t turn out to be good enough. OKC’s guys are good enough. SGA is going to be an upper-crust MVP candidate for the next half decade. Williams will be an All-Star soon. Same for Holmgren. All those guys were drafted by the Thunder. This is largely an internally developed contender, just as the Celtics became the second they called the names of Tatum and Brown.

The similarities continue: Marcus Smart was a good player for the Celtics, but his greatest contribution to the 2024 title ended up being his trade value, as it was Smart who facilitated the trade for Porzingis. Josh Giddey, another drafted and developed OKC player, became good enough for the Thunder to flip him into Caruso.

And they’re likely not done. How Sam Presti didn’t have to give up a draft pick in addition to Giddey to get Caruso is a mystery; OKC still has 13 future first-round picks, including No. 12 overall this year, and over $31 million in cap space to use this summer.

They still need rebounding (Dallas racked up 73 offensive rebounds over six games in their second-round series), and though their 3-point shooting numbers looked great all season, most of these guys — Dort, Caruso, and maybe even to some degree Holmgren — feel a bit oversold as actual shooters who are going to hold up over multiple playoff series.

Klay Thompson is sitting there. Paul George is feasible. If they could rip Isaiah Hartenstein from the Knicks they would have a strong case as the favorite in the West. Point being, there’s an opportunity for the Thunder to go for it right now, and it would not be surprising to see Presti hit the gas in this 1-2 year window before Williams and Holmgren receive potential max extensions.

The Caruso trade feels like the start of a lot more as the Thunder continue to build themselves in the mold of the team we just watched win a championship.

The Boston Celtics closed out the Dallas Mavericks in five games on Monday night to capture the franchise’s 18th NBA championship. Now that the hard work is over, the celebration has begun for the Celtics and the city of Boston itself. The Celtics victory parade is taking place Friday in the city’s famous duck boats. The route is starting at TD Garden around 11 a.m. ET and will pass City Hall Plaza as well as Boston Common park before ending by the Hynes Convention Center.

Boston planned the parade around a heat wave that struck the city earlier this week. After dangerous temperatures in the 90s, the high in Boston on Friday is 82 degrees.

Boston Celtics parade details, live stream
Time: 11 a.m. ET | Date: Friday, June 21
Live stream: CBS Boston
Boston Celtics championship parade route
still-celtics-parade-route.png
CBS Boston
The Celtics closed out the Mavericks in Game 5 with a 106-88 win to clinch the series. Jaylen Brown won Finals MVP after averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 44% from the floor. It is Boston’s first championship since the 2008 season, and after several years of failing to get over the hump of the Eastern Conference finals — and losing in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in 2022 — it was a massive statement for the Brown and Jayson Tatum era.

This is the city of Boston’s first championship celebration since 2019 when the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. For the Celtics faithful, this celebration will mean more as they’ve not only waited for 16 years to pop the champagne, now they can claim one more championship than the long-term rival Los Angeles Lakers.

“Thank you for honoring the Celtics tradition. For this team in particular, we are in love with this team. Because it is a team and they have given us so much,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said on Friday. “Today we’re going to party and celebrate the Boston Celtics.”

The Chicago Bulls traded Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Josh Giddey, the teams announced on Friday. Caruso, an All-Defense guard who spent the past three seasons in Chicago after winning the 2020 championship with the Lakers, has been the subject of trade rumors for several years now. The Bulls have resisted offers built around draft picks throughout his entire time in Chicago.

But in Giddey, the Bulls land a former No. 6 overall pick who was in desperate need of a fresh start. Giddey has been a starter for Oklahoma City since he arrived, but his failure to develop as a 3-point shooter doomed him on a roster that already had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at point guard. His role diminished throughout the postseason and he was benched in the final two games against the Dallas Mavericks.

In Chicago, his fate may be tied to the rest of the roster. If DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are back, his weakness as a shooter will likely continue to hold him back. He is best suited as a full-time point guard, and those on-ball reps won’t be available if DeRozan and LaVine are still there. DeRozan is set to become a free agent and LaVine has been the subject of his own trade rumors, though, so this move indicates that the Bulls are ready for a more significant rebuild around Giddey and Most Improved Player runner-up Coby White.

As for the Thunder? They bring back a role player who actually started his career in their organization. The undrafted Caruso spent his rookie year playing for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G-League. He’s since blossomed with the Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, and now he returns to Oklahoma City as a readymade championship role player.

Caruso is one of the best defensive perimeter players in basketball. He is capable of guarding just about every position except center, and his 3-point percentage improved to 40.8% last season. The Thunder earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season. Now, with their youngsters growing and a year of playoff experience under their belts, Oklahoma City is going for it in 2025.

Just a few days remain until the start of the 2024 NBA Draft, and the top of the board is slowly beginning to take shape as Zaccharie Risacher — once considered likely to slip to No. 2 — has overtaken Frenchman Alex Sarr as the betting favorite to be selected No. 1 overall on draft night.

Risacher’s rise has been fueled by a strong finish to his season in the Pro A and a diligent pre-draft done by the Atlanta Hawks, who won the lottery last month in a surprise after having just a 3% chance of doing so. Atlanta sent several key decision-makers over to France to watch Risacher in person last month, including GM Landry Fields, assistant GM Kyle Korver and head coach Quin Snyder.

Throughout recent years at this point in the pre-draft process, the No. 1 pick has seemingly been locked in only for it to change in the final days. That happened in 2022 when Paolo Banchero emerged late as the No. 1 pick. But, for now, things look to be crystalizing barring late changes. So our latest, and my penultimate, NBA mock draft is below as we count down the days until next Wednesday …

When the Chicago Bulls inked Zach LaVine to a five-year max contract in the 2022 offseason, they thought they were securing their franchise player for the long haul. That’s not exactly how things have played out. Chicago has lost to the Miami Heat in back-to-back Play-In Tournaments. LaVine has dealt with an array of injuries. The Bulls have stalled without him and struggled with him. His footing in Chicago, through all of this, has grown far less stable.

Of course, his standing around the league has as well. Had LaVine meaningfully explored 2022 free agency, he would have found multiple suitors. By the time the Bulls started to seriously consider trades last season, the market had cooled. No team is known to have made a substantial offer. Or, well, any offer. LaVine is now widely considered to be a negative asset, and the Bulls have been reportedly floating more than a dozen LaVine trade ideas to other teams.

The question now isn’t whether or not the Bulls want to trade LaVine. It’s whether or not they will be able to. Chicgao dealt guard Alex Caruso to the Thunder earlier this week, so will LaVine be the next to go?

How did we get here? What has made LaVine such a toxic asset? And are there any teams that might still make sense for him? Let’s tackle these questions and look deeper into LaVine’s future.

Why he’s in trade rumors
LaVine is owed roughly $138 million over the next three seasons. That would be a lot for any team. It’s a ton for the penny-pinching Bulls. Chicago avoids the luxury tax like the plague, and re-signing DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams this offseason would potentially take them within range of it next season. The Bulls won’t risk actually doing so. Getting off of LaVine is their best way of saving money both now and moving forward.

LaVine’s contract would be justifiable for a consistent superstar. He’s never been that player. He’s a two-time All-Star that has never earned All-NBA honors. He’s been a reliable three-level scorer across several seasons, but he’s never defended at better than an average level, is not a great playmaker and has no positional versatility in a league that increasingly demands it. He’s the sort of combo-guard scorer that the NBA loved 10 or 15 years ago but that is growing increasingly scarce now.

And we haven’t even covered the injuries yet. He just had season-ending foot surgery. He has a torn ACL on his resume. He’s had countless minor injuries that have cost him games here and there. He’s already 29. He’d be overpaid by current standards even if he’d never gotten hurt once in his career. With his injuries, he’s a colossal risk with minimal reward.

Why the Bulls would keep him
It wouldn’t be by choice. The same factors that will push the Bulls towards a trade will scare off the rest of the league. Nobody wants that contract. Nobody wants to bet on him to remain healthy. Even if these things weren’t true, his archetype of player isn’t in vogue right now. Teams want multi-positional defenders with size, like the Celtics have. LaVine is not that and will never be that.

There’s also the fact that the Bulls just aren’t particularly ambitious. LaVine’s contract could ruin another team’s championship hopes. The Bulls have never really operated like a team with substantial championship hopes. They’re trying to play moderately competitive basketball without paying the tax. If they can keep LaVine without paying the tax? Sure, what’s the harm? It’s not like his contract impacts some long-term plan they’re trying to execute because there’s just no evidence that there is a plan here. Why would the Bulls give up assets to get off of LaVine if they don’t mind having him anyway?

What destinations make sense?
It’s hard to imagine someone trading for LaVine proactively. There isn’t a group out there that is one healthy LaVine away from winning it all, let alone an injured one. If someone takes him, it’s probably going to be a rebuilder. Perhaps there’s a team out there that could rehabilitate his value in a low-stakes environment either because the Bulls gave them assets to try to do so or because they believe they can turn around and trade him in a year or two if he looks better. The list of teams that makes sense on that front is short. Here are three possibilities.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets would probably need to make peace with the idea that they aren’t luring a star in 2025 free agency for this to make sense, but there’s a pretty straightforward contract swap involving LaVine and the expiring deal of Ben Simmons to be made here. Such a move would at least give the Nets a shred of upside. If LaVine stays healthy, maybe he and Mikal Bridges can get the Nets into the playoffs. That’s not much of a goal, but it would least give the Nets some hope at running out the clock on the picks they owe Houston before engaging in a real rebuild. They could get there earlier by just trading Bridges, but for now, they’ve shown no willingness to do so.

Washington Wizards: The Wizards aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and they don’t have much else to spend money on. Why not offer some sort of LaVine-for-Jordan Poole swap? That would save the Bulls money, give them a chance at fixing a younger player, and send LaVine to a team willing to give him all of the shots he needs to regain his star status. If nothing else, he’d put up stats in Washington. The Wizards would probably need an asset to consider this, but the easiest way to trade a bad contract is to take back another one.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons were one of the few teams reportedly interested in LaVine before his season ended with surgery. They have a new president of basketball operations in Trajan Langdon and are about to have a new head coach after firing Monty Williams. Detroit badly needs shooting and doesn’t have a single player earning more than $15 million next season. The Pistons can afford a major swing even if this probably isn’t one they should take with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey in place.

What is the latest reporting?
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago recently wrote that “both sides are motivated” to make a deal here and that Chicago’s asking price has “dropped significantly.” That would mean trading him in a cap dump. Of course, the time for a cap dump may have passed. Now, it would probably take substantial value in the form of draft equity for someone to take on the LaVine contract. Would the Bulls make such a move? At this point, there’s no telling. But for now, at least, Chicago has seemingly at least accepted that LaVine is not a positive-value asset.

Josh Giddey was, at one time, considered a part of the core for the Oklahoma City Thunder moving forward. The emergence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an MVP candidate, as well as Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams as future All-Stars slowly made him redundant. While Giddey is a valuable ball-handler and playmaker, his weakness as a shooter made it very hard for him to play on a team with so much talent elsewhere.

This came to a head in the second round against the Dallas Mavericks, as coach Mark Daigneault ultimately elected to bench Giddey for the final few games of that series. This ultimately proved to be the beginning of the end for the relationship between Giddey and the Thunder, as Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti laid out in his press release following the team’s decision to trade him for Alex Caruso. According to Presti, Giddey did not like the idea of going to the bench next season and asked the team to explore other destinations.

“When we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder,” Presti wrote.
“Since then, our team has evolved rapidly and dynamically in ways we could never have anticipated. Therefore, as we began our internal discussions this off-season, it was determined that bringing Josh off the bench next season was our best option to maximize his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes.

As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimize our current roster and talent, it was hard to for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere. As always was the case, Josh demonstrated the utmost professionalism throughout the discussions. Josh has All-Star potential, but accessing that in the current construct of the Thunder would not be optimal for the collective. Based on these discussions we decided to move forward and prioritize what was best for the organization.”

Giddey will probably get what he wants next season in Chicago. The Bulls are reportedly trying to trade Zach LaVine, and DeMar DeRozan is a free agent, so the Bulls appear ready to not only start Giddey, but give him every opportunity to serve as a primary ball-handler. Caruso is a much lower-maintenance player. He can make 3’s and serve as a connective passer, but he doesn’t need the ball or to start. His value comes primarily on defense, an area in which Giddey struggled. He’s the perfect role player for a team with the sort of stars that pushed Giddey out of Oklahoma City.