Lakers expected to pursue Kyrie Irving, Jerami Grant, Myles Turner, Andrew Wiggins next summer

“We’re good,” Nash said, per ESPN. “It’s been like nothing’s changed. I have a long history with Kevin [Durant]. I love the guy. Families have issues. We had a moment and it’s behind us. That’s what happens. It’s a common situation in the league.” Nash’s comments about “family issues” align with Durant’s recent comment on why he initially asked for a trade request from the Nets. As Brooklyn held its media day Monday ahead of the upcoming NBA season, Durant revealed he requested the trade because of the “uncertainty around last year’s team” that included himself, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. -via Sports Illustrated / September 28, 2022

Dave McMenamin: I’ve been told that had the Lakers been able to acquire, Kyrie Irving, or the Lakers been able to acquire Donovan Mitchell, either of those players, the Lakers were willing and able to move both those [first-round] picks to do it. -via Apple Podcasts / September 27, 2022

These guys will be led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The latter — who shares the same high school coach as Simmons — said the Nets will protect the newcomer but added he won’t need it.  “He’s a big boy, he can handle it. He doesn’t shy away from the moment, and I like that,” Irving said. “I’ve seen it since he was in high school. We’ve had a connection playing for the same high school coach with Kevin Boyle. So we know what it’s like to be yelled [at], get mother-effed all the time, the championships, being held accountable to the higher level. And that’s the best environment to be in.” -via New York Post / September 27, 2022

Anthony Slater: Steph Curry on the contract extension eligibility of Draymond, Poole, Wiggins, Klay: “We want the best chance to win every single year. We’ve proven with this squad what the results have been. We want to keep it together as long as we can.” -via Twitter @anthonyVslater / September 25, 2022

Madeline Kenney: Andrew Wiggins on how much contract negotiations are on his mind: “It doesn’t really weigh in a lot.” He said he’s just focusing on the season ahead right now. -via Twitter @madkenney / September 25, 2022

All three can hit free agency after this coming season; if there’s no extension, Wiggins would become an unrestricted free agent in July, Poole would be a restricted free agent and Draymond has a player option for 2023-24 that he could decline, which would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency himself next July. Poole is the only one with a pressing deadline; due to rookie-extension rules, if there’s no extension signed by Oct. 17, he will get to restricted free agency in July. -via The Athletic / September 17, 2022

Zach Lowe on Bucks interest in Jae Crowder: The Bucks will look though I bet. The Bucks were sneakily kind of sniffing around Jerami Grant in Detroit before Portland swooped in. I think they like the idea of the switchable, switchable, switchable guys. -via ESPN / September 27, 2022

I know that’s a big windup, but I wanted to lay the groundwork for the discussion we’re gonna have. With all that said, let me start by asking: Does the NBA have a wins-per-dollar formula, and if so, what does that look like? Seth Partnow: The short answer is “yes.” The longer answer is that it’s not that simple. First of all, projecting “player wins” is much more straightforward in baseball than in basketball because it’s far easier to measure individual contributions toward winning. A more subtle distinction is that individual production is far more role dependent in the NBA than in MLB. It’s not just the difficulty projecting playing time — though, at this point, more accurate minute projections are as large a differentiator in preseason team-win models as are better player-ability estimates — but also the degree to which a substantial shift in role or context can almost turn an individual into a completely different player. For example, Portland’s 2022-23 Jerami Grant could easily look more like Denver’s 2019-20 Jerami Grant than like Detroit’s 2020-21 or 2021-22 Jerami Grant as he moves into more of a supporting role beside Damian Lillard. With me so far? -via The Athletic / August 25, 2022

Sean Highkin: Jerami Grant: “Me and Dame got close at USA. I definitely thought it was a possibility. Happy to be here and be a part of this.” -via Twitter @highkin / July 7, 2022

Still, the uncertainty isn’t going anywhere, no matter how hard Turner tries to concentrate on what he can do on the court. “This is the only time I will be addressing it this year; I want to make sure everyone knows that,” said Turner, who declined to discuss any contract negotiations. “Yeah, elephant in the room. For me, this is my eighth season. I’ve been in trade rumors the past four or five years. It’s something that I know that I’m numb to. It’s something that it’s just whatever comes with this business. There are no hard feelings in this business. You have to take the emotions out of everything, and I’ve learned that at a young age, and I still hold true to that. My job is to come in here and help these young guys now, man.” -via Indianapolis Star / September 28, 2022

Brian Windhorst: Any any explanation to the intrigue on why Rob Pelinka And Darvin Ham delayed their press conference by five days? … Why would they do that? Why would they do that? Dave McMenamin: I just know around the same time that occurred we were hearing from the Pacers GM that Myles Turner will for sure be with the team to start training camp so I don’t know. -via Apple Podcasts / September 27, 2022

Scott Agness: Myles Turner addressed being in trade rumors and says today is the only time he’s talking about it. He understands the business side and is in a good place. He’s 100% healthy, looks forward to being The Center and teach the young guys. -via Twitter @ScottAgness / September 26, 2022