Official “The Athletic” thread

[Anerdyblackguy]

@SJUGRAD13

Part 3

Spoiler

From what I heard, they (the Wizards) thought Deni (Avdija, who they ultimately picked) was going to the Knicks (at No. 8), but when they went with Obi (Toppin) that meant it would be Deni because he was higher on their board than you. But it sounds like you might have been next on their board.

Yeah, so I thought for a second I was going to go nine. Then shortly thereafter I thought that they were like, ‘Nah, you’re not going nine.’ Now I’m like, ‘Alright, I’m either going 11 or 12.’ But me and Dev (Devin Vassell, who the Spurs picked at No. 11) have a good relationship, and I knew that San Antonio was really high on Dev. So I didn’t foresee them drafting another guard, so I was like, ‘They’re probably just going to pick Dev,’ and then Sac is going to pick me at 12. I had heard some trade rumors about Sac’s pick at 12, so now I’m like, ‘Well, is Sac going to pick me at 12, or are they going to trade it? What are they going to do?’ But I had one conversation with Sacramento leading up to the draft, and that was a couple days before the draft. And they were like, ‘Man, we absolutely love you.’ So I was like, ‘I’d really be surprised if Sacramento traded out this pick.’ …Then I got scooped up at 12, so it kind of worked itself out there.

I heard a story about something that happened during the process that I think speaks to your confidence and I wondered if you could confirm. The way the story went is that in your (pre-draft) meeting with the Hawks, you said to them that you had your eyes on Chicago and Detroit and felt like you could be a franchise centerpiece there. Is that how it went, and is that the way you’re wired in terms of the idea that you’d be good enough to be that guy?

Um, you know, I guess I just didn’t see a great fit in Atlanta. I didn’t know how it was going to fit there. I knew (Rajon) Rondo (who agreed to sign with the Hawks three days after the draft) was going there, and they obviously have a loaded backcourt right now as it is. It seems like they’ve got a ton of dudes in their backcourt, so I didn’t really see my fit there. But they saw different. They liked me, but yeah I guess we just didn’t see it. So yeah, I don’t think it was necessarily, ‘Oh, I can be a franchise centerpiece elsewhere.’ All I want is an opportunity. That’s all I care about. And if I mess that up, then that’s on me. Nobody else is to blame. My thought process was that I wanted to go somewhere where they’ll give me an opportunity to compete for a spot, and whatever happens from there it happens. I felt like there were some other places that fit that better. So yeah, I guess there’s some truth to that (story). But there’s all these stupid rumors going around that I told everybody not to pick me because I wanted to go to Sac at 12, like come on now? Are you crazy? I would never. These teams just didn’t pick me, you know? It is what it is.

Yeah, that’s the story that I think started on Zach Lowe’s podcast (with ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony, who detailed how, in his view, Halliburton getting to No. 12 was “by design”).

I don’t know who’s making it up, whether it’s teams where they don’t want to look stupid or I don’t know. I don’t know what it is.

A quick sidetone: While Haliburton was known to be very interested in playing alongside Fox in Sacramento because he liked the backcourt fit and the overall opportunity, several general managers of teams in the top 11 told me they were not being dissuaded by his camp from taking him when it mattered most — on draft day. In some cases, in fact, it was quite the opposite. As for the question of why he slid, most executives cited his unorthodox shooting form, his struggles getting to the rim and the free throw line, and concerns about his slight frame. All the intel off the court, as one source put it, was “off the charts.”

Well with that in mind — and I’m not trying to be dramatic, click-baity guy — but does it piss you off that so many teams passed? Are you going to be one of those players where when you play each of these teams there’s a little extra fuel because of the way that went down?

Hell yeah, for sure. I think the great players internally have that, you know what I’m saying? And I think it’s just a part of them forever, right? That’s just who they are. They’re not going to be super vocal about it, by any means, but just internally that extra motivation, I think the great ones always find that. So I think it definitely is in my head all the time, and there has definitely been some dumb shyt said throughout the process where I’m like, ‘Ok, let’s not forget that you said that.’ …There have been people who said crazy things, like they don’t really see it in me or they don’t see the fit. I’m a basketball player, so I feel like if you put me anywhere I’m going to go out there and play to my abilities. Of course I have that confidence in myself. But at the end of the day, I understand. Everybody’s got to make their own decisions, and live with that. And then my goal is just to make people in 20 years be like, ‘Man, I fukked that up,’ you know?

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

@SJUGRAD13

Part 4

Spoiler

What’s your vision for yourself as a player? You have basketball in your blood, with (three-time All-Star) Eddie Jones being a cousin. What’s the vision big-picture for your career, you think?

You know honestly, again — I try to set my expectations low. But when it comes to this, my career and me as a basketball player? I want to be a champion. I want to be a Hall of Famer. Like, I want to be great. I want to be one of the greats, you know what I’m saying? I want the next generation to talk about my ability as a basketball player. That’s definitely the goal. …I don’t ever set limits or anything, but I think first and foremost it’s about being here in Sacramento and helping change this culture. That’s the biggest goal right now, is not letting the past of the Kings culture overtake me and coming in here and making a real difference. Obviously getting us back to the playoffs but that’s just one step. From there, I’m trying to compete for a championship and ultimately win a championship.

Is that heavy though, that Kings history you referenced? It has to be challenging to take on that weight when you always hear about how they haven’t been in the playoffs for so long?

Nah, at the end of the day basketball is a game, so I’m not feeling a ton of pressure or anything. I think the biggest pressure I’ve ever had in my life is from myself. No pressure that any fan or any media member could give me is going to be more than I put on myself, you know what I’m saying? So I’m not really tripping off of that or anything. I know there are people who come in the league and are like, ‘I want to get my feet wet. I want to feel it out.’ But I’m trying to make change right away, you know what I’m saying? I’m drafted here for a reason, to help things out. I don’t look at it like that. At the end of the day, basketball is a game and I feel like I can do it at a pretty high level. I don’t think that’s heavy by any means.

What’s your mindset with the Rookie of the Year situation? Is it tough not to pay attention to that discussion? Do you want it badly? Are you just letting the chips fall? How do you approach that?

Nah, to be honest I don’t really care, you know? I guess it doesn’t really do anything for me. If I were to win it, or if I wasn’t to win it, it doesn’t affect my approach at all. I’m still coming out here trying to win basketball games, so obviously my family brings it up. My brothers mess with me about it and stuff at home. Even my girl, she doesn’t even watch basketball and she’s like, ‘You play the Timberwolves, don’t they got Anthony Edwards?’ (laughs). She doesn’t even watch basketball, and she knows that. I’m just coming out here trying to win basketball games. It’s fun, though, at the end of the day. Me and Ant (Edwards) were talking about it when we played, saying, ‘They told us our draft class wasn’t going to be shyt,’ you know what I’m saying? And there’s multiple of us who are playing at a high level right now and are going to be playing at a high level for a while. I think that’s kind of a fire within us, like ‘Man, they told us we wasn’t gonna be nothing, so let’s just change that and be special.’

It was classy how you handled the LaMelo stuff.

After Ball broke his right wrist in a game against the Clippers on March 20, some fans tagged Haliburton on social media and acted as if he’d be excited about the potential impact of the situation on the Rookie of the Year race. Haliburton, in turn, was outspoken in his support for Ball and pushed back strongly against the notion that he would find joy in another player’s injury.

Yeah yeah, for sure. At the end of the day, we came in here at the same time, you know what I mean? No matter what, no matter what either of us do in the game, we’re forever going to be linked as the top guards in the class, you know what I’m saying? It is what is. I obviously want to see him to be successful, as I want to see everybody in this draft class be successful. But I want to be the most successful of course, right? (laughs) That’s just the internal fire within me, but yeah I want to see all these guys succeed.

Last one for you here, and jumping off the court a bit. A lot of us in the media have been impressed with your maturity and perspective when it comes to where we’re at as a country. Being a young Black man, and someone who has spoken often about social justice and who had that (BLM) outfit people loved on draft night, how are you doing? The Jacob Blake shooting was in your backyard (Kenosha, Wisc. is approximately two hours from Oshkosh), and they decided not to press charges on the police officers involved there. If you turn CNN on or any news outlet right now, the Derek Chauvin trial is front and center all day every day. The league and players are trying to push things in a good direction and have as much impact as they can, but do you feel like there’s progress here or is it tough to not get disheartened about it all?

I mean obviously it’s frustrating, but it’s just a reality of the world at this point, you know what I mean? I’m 21 years old now. I’m an adult now. I’ve got to pay my own bills. I know that this is the reality of our world now, you know what I’m saying? Obviously I’m young, and I hope that I, myself, and my generation can have an impact on the way our world progresses. Obviously everything that happened this summer and has happened in the past is frustrating, but we’d like to see George Floyd get justice, his family get justice for what happened to him and keep it going down the line. We want just the world to be a better place, right? At the end of the day, that’s all that we care about, so obviously I’m active on the social justice front because there’s more to me than just being a basketball player, you know? I have other interests and other things matter. I grew up in a predominantly white area (in Oshkosh), and my basketball ability put me on a pedestal in my city. I was never treated wrong because I was a good basketball player, you know? (That) was kind of how it was, and now that I’ve been out in the real world and kind of seen what happens and the power of social media, it’s helped me understand that this is the reality. Obviously it’s frustrating, but that’s just the reality of being an African American man — or, an African-American person — in our country. I obviously want to see times get better, but it starts from the ground up and we’ve just got to keep having conversations about it.

I appreciate it. And on a lighter note, I’m just flattered that we got through the interview without you doing that fake cell phone ring trick to get out of conversations that I saw you talking about on J.J. Redikk’s podcast. Thanks for the time, man.

(Laughs) Yes, of course. No problem.

 

[Joe Sixpack]

Can I get The Philadelphia Eagles article detailing their implosion with Howie Roseman, Lurie and Doug Pederson?

 

[Joe Sixpack]

Up

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Can I get The Philadelphia Eagles article detailing their implosion with Howie Roseman, Lurie and Doug Pederson?

Part 1 (please next time show the article)

Spoiler

Four weeks into the 2019 season, Doug Pederson sat down for his scheduled inquisition.

The Tuesday tribunals with team owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman were a weekly occurrence during Pederson’s five-year tenure as Eagles head coach. In the meetings, Lurie and Roseman questioned Pederson about all aspects of his game management the week prior. Fourth-down decision-making, play calling, personnel choices — everything was on the table.

Days earlier, the team overcame a 10-0 second-quarter deficit to beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers 34-27 and even its record at 2-2. The offensive key to the win was a steady dose of the running game that took advantage of Green Bay’s defensive game plan.

Apparently, that wasn’t good enough. Lurie, who has long advocated the use of analytics, wanted to know why Pederson hadn’t called more passing plays. The interrogation was the same after another win that season — this time in Buffalo on a day with 23 mph winds.

“(Pederson) was ridiculed and criticized for every decision,” one source told The Athletic. “If you won by three, it wasn’t enough. If you lost on a last-second field goal, you’re the worst coach in history.”

Following the season, Lurie wanted Pederson to get rid of offensive coordinator Mike Groh and wide receivers coach Carson Walch. It wasn’t the first time Pederson found himself on the opposite end of a disagreement with his bosses over his assistant coaches.

After Pederson’s first year as head coach in 2016, he fought to keep then-offensive coordinator Frank Reich, pushing back against doubts from above. Pederson put his foot down again with Groh and Walch, saying he wanted both coaches to return.

That’s when Lurie reminded the coach who makes the final calls at the NovaCare Complex.

Pederson was given 24 hours to make the moves, according to multiple sources. If he didn’t, he’d be fired.

A source close to Lurie says the owner never gave Pederson an ultimatum, but the next day the Eagles announced Groh and Walch had been let go. A year later it was Pederson, who declined comment for this story. Lurie and Roseman also declined to participate in this story through a team spokesperson.

Three years after the Eagles captured the first Super Bowl in franchise history, the team finished in last place in the worst division in football. Pederson is currently out of the NFL. Former franchise quarterback Carson Wentz is in Indianapolis. Lurie is more involved in all aspects of football operations than ever before and has kept Roseman by his side to usher in a new era with head coach Nick Sirianni, the fourth head coach in the GM’s tenure.

Over the past two months, The Athleticspoke to current and former Eagles staffers representing a cross-section of departments and viewpoints about the inner workings of the franchise. They were granted anonymity to be allowed to speak freely about sensitive topics, describing an environment characterized by second-guessing, paranoia and a lack of transparency.

According to Lurie, Roseman’s role is to foster a culture of collaboration between different departments, but the philosophical lockstep the Eagles emanated in the wake of their Super Bowl triumph was far from the truth. Tension simmered behind the scenes among different factions of football operations. Over the ensuing few years, the animosity festered to the point that certain departments were separated inside the building.

“The fact that Doug had the success he did with all the shyt going on in the building, sometimes I look at our Super Bowl rings, and I’m like, ‘Holy cow, I don’t know how we did it,'” one source said.

In fact, the championship season began with many in the building wondering whether Pederson would even last the year.

In the days leading up to the 2017 opener, word of a three-hour meeting between Lurie and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spread throughout the organization. The specifics were unknown, but multiple sources said there was a feeling around the team that Lurie was vetting an in-house replacement for Pederson in the event the Eagles got off to a slow start.

After a Week 1 victory in Washington, the team celebrated by dumping Gatorade on Pederson’s head. Philadelphia went on to win 10 of its first 11 games. But Pederson didn’t just have to prove himself on Sundays.

Over time, the Tuesday meetings wore on Pederson. Lurie has long considered the organization at the forefront of innovation, and the impression among Pederson’s supporters in the building was that Lurie’s weekly questions were largely based on postgame reports produced by the team’s analytics staff.

Sources say Pederson was beaten down by the constant second-guessing. “They treated him like a baby,” one said.

Alec Halaby, the Eagles’ vice president of football operations and strategy, has worked under Roseman since joining the team full time in 2010 and now runs the team’s four-person analytics department. The young executive with an Ivy League pedigree carries with him the kind of reputation that causes football lifers to scoff. And according to multiple sources, a rift grew between Halaby and some members of the coaching staff and scouting department.

“Within the building, he’s perceived as Howie’s guy,” said one source. “That’s a problem. … No coach wants somebody around who they think is undermining the perception of how well they’re doing.”

To some, Halaby is something of an interloper. They say he carries influence with Lurie in part because of a close relationship with fellow Harvard grad Julian Lurie, Jeffrey’s son, who stands to one day take over the family business. To others, Halaby is “brilliant” and simply willing to fight for what he believes is right. The more nuanced opinion is that Halaby is in a “no-win situation,” boxed into a specific characterization by the non-traditional football background he shares with Roseman and a personality that makes him a “square peg in a round hole.”

The blurriness of Halaby’s influence on the final decision-makers created rifts throughout the organization and contributed to the iciness between departments. One source described the analytics team as a “clandestine, Black Ops department that doesn’t answer to anybody except the owner,” even though Halaby officially reports to Roseman.

During the 2017 season, Halaby’s and Pederson’s relationship soured to the point where Pederson berated Halaby within earshot of the rest of the office, according to sources. In the opinion of some members of the coaching staff, Halaby was not to be trusted.

Frustration mounted on the scouting side as well. Rather than being presented with reasons for where certain draft-eligible players were rated by Halaby’s department, the scouting staff would simply be given a list of players the analytics department liked. According to one source, a top personnel official was upset to find out Halaby was grading players on his own despite never having been trained in the scouting department’s methodology.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part 2

Spoiler

Lurie’s investment in analytics is substantial. In addition to Halaby’s staff, the owner brought in Warren Sharp of SharpFootballAnalysis.com, who provides a weekly offensive game plan report during the season.

When Andrew Berry was hired by Roseman to be the Eagles’ VP of football operations in 2019, there was an expectation by some in the building he was brought in to help bridge the divide between the football side and the analytics department. But while Berry remains a popular figure in the organization and was described by one source as “the nicest guy in the world,” the damage between departments was already done. The interoffice dynamics were no more harmonious when Berry left to become the Browns general manager in 2020 than when he arrived.

Before the 2018 draft, the Eagles installed a state-of-the-art draft room across the building from what is traditionally considered the “football” side of the building, where the coaching staff and scouting department sit. One year later, Halaby’s department was moved from the football side of the building to an alcove near the new draft room. Though Halaby maintained his influence, the symbolism of Roseman banishing an entire department to “the other side of the building” was not lost on those who watched Roseman undergo the same move three years prior, when Lurie had cast him aside in favor of Chip Kelly.

If Carson Wentz was merely a mediocre quarterback last season, the Eagles might be in a much different place in 2021. (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
Shortly after Lurie bought the team from Norman Braman in 1994, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King wrote, “Hollywood producer Jeffrey Lurie is a member of that most rabid subspecies of NFL fanatic, the draftaholic. In recent years he has prepared for the league’s annual college draft by holing up in the media room above the garage of his Beverly Hills home and watching tapes of the Blue-Gray Game, the Japan Bowl, the Senior Bowl — Lurie would have them all — on his big-screen, surround-sound TV.”

That passion remains strong. According to multiple sources, Lurie devours tape of college prospects and is an “active participant” in the pre-draft process.

Those who have experienced that process acknowledge its murkiness. Often, there’s no explanation given when the team strays from an established draft board. Sometimes, as with J.J. Arcega-Whiteside’s selection in 2019, Lurie puts his thumb on the scale when the team was prepared to make another selection (in that case, Ohio State’s Parris Campbell).

But the virtual nature of the 2020 draft made things even less clear to the majority of the football operations staff. For the most part, last year’s decisions were discussed in a small virtual room consisting of Roseman, Lurie, Pederson and vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl. As a result, each of the Eagles’ first three selections — TCU receiver Jalen Reagor, Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Colorado linebacker Davion Taylor — mystified some scouts and coaches watching along at home, just like everybody else.

Roseman has the final say over the roster. Any draft pick, trade or signing — good or bad — is on his record. Yet behind the scenes, there’s lingering ambiguity about how decisions are made. For an organization that publicly touts collaboration as if it’s offering a TED Talk on intraoffice cohesion, the lack of collaboration became a common refrain among those with knowledge of the decision-making process.

Coaches wanted their evaluations taken into account or felt like certain players were forced upon them, scouts didn’t understand why picks didn’t correspond with an established methodology, and other staffers were unsure how their analysis was being applied in decisions. Departments became siloed — or even pitted against each other — and the lack of collaboration made finger-pointing easier.

“Building that coalition and leading that group to work together in a constructive way is not Howie’s strength,” one source said. “In fact, it’s one of his weaknesses.”

Roseman is known to keep his own draft board, and scouts who spend months on the road evaluating players can feel marginalized when the rankings they’ve helped assemble are not followed. One source described Roseman pushing an assistant coach to give playing time to a recent draft pick while the assistant balanced conflicting recommendations from senior members of the coaching staff. Lurie, who regularly attends practice, inquired about a reserve’s playing time. There’s been confusion about why certain players were active and others were inactive on game days, with speculation centered on Roseman’s outsized influence on the game-day roster.

“Those are the types (of things) that happened where there’s no collaboration,” another source said.

Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins, who worked in the front office from 2016 to 2018, once delivered an impassioned speech in the team’s draft room to a group of employees in football operations. For those who had never seen that side of Dawkins up close, it was a stirring experience. With trademark intensity, the franchise icon spoke about his passion for the organization and addressed an office culture he said needed more teamwork, less in-fighting.

In other words, a house divided against itself cannot stand.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part 3

Spoiler

No one in the organization has drawn more fan ire this offseason than Roseman. After all, if the head coach and quarterback who led the team to a Super Bowl three years ago can both be jettisoned so quickly, why does the man responsible for hiring and acquiring both get to stick around?

“To think, three years later, the head coach, your starting quarterback who was 2017 MVP-caliber, the guy who won you the Super Bowl and damn near every coach who was on staff isn’t there, you have to think, ‘What happened?'” one source said.

According to multiple sources, the answer is that Roseman has made himself “essential” to Lurie. “This is a survivor,” said one source about Roseman. “This is someone who understands how to stay close with the most important person in the building.”

Originally hired as an intern to help with salary-cap issues in 2000, Roseman worked his way up the ladder for a decade until becoming GM as a 35-year-old in 2010. When he and Kelly famously butted heads, Lurie banished Roseman to the non-football side of the NovaCare Complex and handed the reins of roster control over to Kelly. After Lurie fired Kelly the following season, Roseman returned to power, chastened by the experience. He orchestrated a series of moves to draft Wentz and fortified what turned out to be a Super Bowl roster — then oversaw that roster’s demise.

Through it all, Roseman has overcome doubts about his football bona fides to become one of the most powerful executives in the league, a de facto CEO who answers only to Lurie.

Those close to Roseman believe he was sincere in his effort to improve his interpersonal skills in the wake of his expulsion. He talks often about carrying with him the lessons from that time. But over the course of the past few years, as the team’s success waned, sources say some of Roseman’s worst instincts have returned.

“My best analogy of that would be when people lose weight and there’s the boomerang effect,” said one source. “They lose a lot of weight and then they gain it all back and then some. That’s how I would describe that.”

At the heart of Roseman’s weaknesses is an obsession with the way he’s portrayed, and that plays into his management style. Rather than foster collaborative group conversation, he prefers to discuss most decisions in separate one-on-one conversations with stakeholders throughout the building. That’s not necessarily a knock. “He’s an outstanding one-on-one communicator,” said one source.

But those on all levels of football operations find themselves caught off guard by transactions that contradict what the larger group understood to be the plan. The perception is Roseman can’t help himself from making the splashy move when patience is required.

Roseman is also thought by some to be too friendly with his favorite players. He has publicly acknowledged his sentimentality for the Super Bowl roster as a flaw in recent years, but that closeness extends beyond what turned out to be bad football decisions. Wentz and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, for instance, held outsized sway over certain roster and coaching staff decisions, according to multiple sources.

Perhaps the most combustible way in which Roseman’s image consciousness plays itself out in the building is his paranoia about information leaks. There are horror stories across departments of Roseman scolding employees and threatening to search phones in reaction to the publication of inside information. On at least one occasion, according to a source, Roseman tasked an employee with combing through phone records in search of a leak’s origin. But the understanding in the building is that this particular Roseman anxiety is not principally over concern about the information getting out. Rather, he prefers to be the one to disseminate the information when and where he sees fit. In his view, information is currency.

Roseman is not without his defenders. He is described as “loyal to his guys” and willing to let those he trusts handle their jobs without meddling. Roseman has told a story about learning from Andy Reid the importance of putting on a positive front in the face of setbacks, which he has taken to heart. In the midst of a 4-11-1 season, Roseman maintained his rah-rah attitude in the building. Even his survival instincts are described with admiration by some.

And, of course, he designed the city’s first Super Bowl roster.

That championship run was delivered within two seasons of Roseman’s return to power. It was led on the field by Roseman and Lurie’s hand-picked coach and executed by a roster that featured only two players acquired during Kelly’s tenure in charge of personnel. Roseman and Lurie believed they deserved even more input, even if the constant second-guessing wore on Pederson.

Lurie pushes for the implementation of progressive, analytically supported ideas. His urgency to litigate every Pederson decision was also proof of his growing involvement in football operations. The Tuesday meetings, for instance, never took place during Andy Reid’s 14-year tenure in Philadelphia.

In the context of his peers, Lurie is a rare bird. Unlike some owners, the team is his top business and personal interest. He attends most practices during the season and has traveled to private workouts and Senior Bowls in years past. If Roseman, a master at managing up, invites Lurie’s input, what guardrails remain to prevent the owner from being too involved?

Even those who bristle at some of Lurie’s involvement call him a “good man” whose motives are sincere. “He loves football and wants to win,” said one source.

His main weakness, in the eyes of some, is his loyalty to Roseman, whom Lurie views as a friend. Nearly 30 years into his ownership of the team, having already achieved Super Bowl glory, perhaps Lurie has decided to be more involved and push forward with those he trusts.

Jeffrey Lurie’s main weakness, in the eyes of some, is his loyalty to Howie Roseman. (Bill Streicher / USA Today)

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part 4

Spoiler

When Lurie and Roseman decided to trade Wentz this offseason, they acknowledged the move reflected an organizational failure. In January, Roseman described Wentz as being like one of the fingers on his hand. “You can’t even imagine that they are not part of you,” Roseman said.

Nobody in the organization could’ve seen Wentz’s 2020 disaster coming, and nobody has a great explanation for why he performed like one of the NFL’s worst starting quarterbacks. Some pointed to his supporting cast and the injuries on the offensive line. Others said it was a coaching staff that ran out of ideas to help him.

And then there’s the Jalen Hurts theory. The Eagles’ decision to select Hurts in the second round last April caught many in the organization by surprise. When explaining the pick, Roseman said the Eagles wanted to be a “quarterback factory,” a comment he now wishes he could have back. Roseman thought he could snag a competent backup quarterback with upside at a low cost, and Lurie was all for the move. What they both underestimated was how the young players on the roster, particularly those who didn’t have a history with Wentz, would gravitate toward Hurts.

Some in the organization thought it shouldn’t have been an issue. Wentz had received a $128 million contract extension from the team, and in the eyes of some, Lurie and Roseman had coddled him throughout his tenure.

On the other hand, Wentz had experienced a turbulent four seasons in Philadelphia. Nick Foles led the team on its Super Bowl run in 2017 and to the divisional round of the playoffs the following year after Wentz suffered a pair of successive season-ending injuries. In 2019, Wentz suffered a concussion in the first quarter of the only playoff game he’s appeared in. In between it all, there were anonymous leaks suggesting that Wentz needed to do a better job connecting with teammates.

Multiple sources said the loss of Reich after 2017 played a role in Wentz’s regression. It wasn’t just that Reich had a connection with Wentz. One source described him as Pederson’s glue, a supportive right-hand man who served as a valuable intermediary.

The relationship between head coach and quarterback deteriorated as things went south in 2020. One source described Wentz as smarter than most of the coaches on staff, but that meant he wanted to control the game at the line of scrimmage with checks and audibles. His pre-snap orchestrations led to confusion among the other players and resulted in guys not being on the same page. Pederson struggled to find a balance between empowering Wentz and reining him in.

The overall issues in 2020 were exacerbated by a series of personnel misses. Roseman has admitted that he thought the Eagles had a Super Bowl window as justification for giving up draft picks to acquire players like Golden Tate, Genard Avery and Darius Slay. As a result of his overall philosophy, the organization made just 10 total picks in 2018 and 2019.

The Eagles traded up in the first round for tackle Andre Dillard in 2019, and he has started just four games in two seasons. Arcega-Whiteside has just 254 receiving yards in two seasons. It’s too soon to judge Reagor, but it will be impossible to discuss his career without acknowledging the Eagles took him one spot ahead of Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, who already looks like a star.

Meanwhile, Roseman leaned on contract restructures with veterans to free up immediate cap space. The old, expensive team, combined with the draft misses, played a large role in last year’s disaster and the current state of the roster.

In the end, 2020 was bad enough that Lurie would have been justified in moving on from Pederson, Wentz and Roseman. But he opted for just two of the three.

Lurie is fond of Pederson on a personal level but was frustrated by the offensive failures and Pederson’s decisions with his coaching staff. Wentz wanted a fresh start, but if the Eagles believed strongly that he could fix his flaws and get them back to the Super Bowl, they had enough leverage to keep him. Instead, they decided to maximize draft compensation while it was still on the table and get their cap in order for 2022 and beyond.

The sense is that they’ll give Hurts a shot in 2021 — a decision that one source said was largely being pushed by Lurie — and revisit the quarterback position after the season. Even when they mapped out their worst-case scenarios, this is not where they expected to be.

The Eagles effectively tanked the final game of the 2020 regular season, but the expectation immediately after the loss was that Pederson would return for his sixth season. He survived “Black Monday” and fulfilled his end-of-season duties. All that awaited was a meeting with Lurie.

But one discussion was not enough. Much like the end of the 2019 season, there were disagreements about Pederson’s staff that stretched into a follow-up meeting. That’s when the Eagles made the change.

Lurie called it a “difference in vision,” as the owner was focused on “the mid term and long term and not on how to maximize 2021,” while Pederson wanted to retain familiar coaches who could allow for a “smoother 2021” season. Even Lurie acknowledged that Pederson “did not deserve to be let go,” but it became clear that the Eagles would need a different voice for what the owner termed a “transition period” with the roster.

When Lurie held a video news conference in January to explain Pederson’s firing, he fielded multiple questions about his evaluation of Roseman: Why was the coach dismissed, but not the general manager? Lurie seemed almost incredulous that Roseman was a subject of intrigue.

A week later than other teams with coaching vacancies, Lurie kicked off a search that started with 25 candidates and was pared down to 10 for interviews. Sirianni was not considered a front-runner for the job at the outset. He didn’t interview elsewhere in 2021 and was not among the initial wave of interviewees.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part 5

Spoiler

In the phone call offering Sirianni the job, Lurie stated that he was “so incredibly excited for the coach you are and the coach you can become.” An outside perception lingers that Sirianni offered the Eagles a coach of least resistance for management’s involvement. The same was said about Pederson five years ago.

The Eagles enter the 2021 offseason program with fewer familiar faces. For a growing number of employees at the NovaCare Complex, the Lombardi Trophy is more a vestige of a previous era than a shared memory.

“The surprise factor (is) that it happened so quickly,” one source said. “Perhaps it’s not surprising given the culture of the organization.”

But others presented the idea that the drop-off wasn’t dramatic. Perhaps the Super Bowl season was actually the outlier.

There’s also the thought that even passable quarterback play would have obscured some of the problems that appeared glaring in the absence of it. If Wentz was merely a mediocre quarterback last season and the Eagles were merely a mediocre team, there would be less blame required.

Lurie keeps a handwritten checklist in the top drawer next to his bed with the tenets he believes are necessary for a successful organization. Among them are a dynamic head coach, a franchise quarterback and an innovative personnel executive. Roseman is the only one in the triumvirate who remains from the Super Bowl campaign. As he begins his fourth partnership with a head coach, Roseman’s survival instincts are thus far unmatched.

In January 2016, when the Eagles hired Pederson, a question was posed to Pederson and Lurie in the introductory news conference asking for clarity about who possessed final say over the roster.

“I know this,” said Pederson. “It’s a collaborative effort.”

And who breaks the tie?

Lurie, standing a few feet to Pederson’s right, raised his hand. Laughter filled the auditorium.

(Top illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos: Mitchell Leff, Rich Schultz, Steve Dykes / Getty Images)

 

[Max.]

@SJUGRAD13

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

@SJUGRAD13

Part 1

Spoiler

Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said he received a really nice text message Friday night from new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. The whole building should be happy after this draft because for a team that doesn’t believe in taking the best player available, the Raiders definitely filled their roster needs with players the coaching staff signed off on. We don’t know how Alex Leatherwoodand Trevon Moehrig will fare as the starting right tackle and free safety, but we do know the team expects them to line up for the opening snaps in Week 1.

It’s also pretty clear that Bradley hated the Raiders’ depth on defense last year. The Raiders signed 27 defensive tackles (approximately), former Panthers cornerback Rasul Douglas and former first-round pick Karl Joseph, then drafted four defensive players in Rounds 3-5. Free agent Richard Sherman said the Raiders were one of four teams he has talked to, but Mayock had no comment when asked the level of interest in the cornerback. It does seem like Douglas will be a factor.

“When I was doing preseason games in Philadelphia, he played for the Eagles,” Mayock said. “His ball skills were outstanding at West Virginia. Loved the way he competed. We think he’s going to bring a level of professionalism, toughness, competition. And I like the fact that when the ball is in the air, he thinks it’s his.”

The Raiders wound up going an entire draft without picking an offensive skill player (quarterback, running back, receiver, tight end) for the first time in franchise history. You might think that would drive Jon Gruden crazier than normal, but Mayock said that was not the case.

“I love Jon,” Mayock said. “I mean we went into Day 2 and we attacked the defensive side of the ball and he was more excited than I was. … Jon Gruden is an offensive guy, but what did we do all weekend? We tried to help our defense. He was all in. … He knew, just like I knew, we got a long way to go on defense.”

Here’s an early look at where the Raiders’ depth chart stands today (draft picks in italics):

Offense
Quarterback

Starter: Derek Carr

Backups: Marcus Mariota, Nathan Peterman

Analysis: Aaron Rodgers trade rumors aside, this season could decide Carr’s future with the franchise. The final year of his contract is in 2022, and starting-caliber quarterbacks don’t typically play into the last season of their deals without an extension. If he maintains or improves upon his play from 2020 and the Raiders make the playoffs, then it’s easy to see a new deal getting done next offseason. If not, it’s just as easy to see a trade being explored. While that’s up in the air, Carr’s position as the lead man for 2021 isn’t.

Running back

Starter: Josh Jacobs

Backups: Kenyan Drake, Jalen Richard, Theo Riddikk

Fullback: Alec Ingold

Analysis: Jacobs and Drake should combine to create a dynamic duo for about $6.2 million this season, which is pretty good value, but the cost will leap to around $11.7 million in 2022. Richard and Riddikk have non-guaranteed contracts but, while the Raiders really don’t need four running backs, both might make the 53-man roster. Ingold, who returns as one of the few fullbacks left in the league, made strides as a receiver last season and helps fill out the backfield nicely.

Wide receiver

Starters: Henry Ruggs III, Bryan Edwards, Hunter Renfrow

Backups: John Brown, Zay Jones, Willie Snead IV

Other: Keelan Doss, Marcell Ateman, Trey Quinn

Analysis: Four of the Raiders’ top six receivers are 6-foot or shorter, so they really need Edwards to develop into a reliable option as a big-bodied, physical outside wideout. Edwards was a training camp star last season but struggled with injuries and was ultimately replaced in the lineup by Nelson Agholor, who’s now with the Patriots. Brown may be able to replace what Agholor brought to the table, but Ruggs will need to have a far more consistent season than he did in 2020 for the group to really have a good year. In many ways, Ruggs and Edwards have the most pressure here. Snead was an interesting signing given that the Raiders appear set in the slot with Renfrow.

Tight end

Starter: Darren Waller

Backups: Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier

Other: Nick Bowers, Carson Williams

Analysis: Waller is so good now that he is a comp for No. 4 draft pick Kyle Pitts, and Moreau and Carrier have both proved to be useful players, so of course the Raiders signed Williams, a former college basketball player who hasn’t played football since eighth grade. All jokes aside, Williams is just going to be competing with Bowers for a spot on the practice squad. The big change this year will be Moreau getting his snaps back from Jason Witten, who retired for the second time this offseason.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

Part 2

Spoiler

offseason.

Darren Waller has become so good he was used as a comp for the draft’s No. 4 pick, Kyle Pitts, a potential generational tight end. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)
Offensive line

Starters: Kolton Miller, Richie Incognito, Andre James, Denzelle Good, Alex Leatherwood

Backups: Brandon Parker, John Simpson, Nick Martin, Jaryd Jones-Smith

Other: Jimmy Morrissey, Lester Cotton Sr., Erik Magnuson, Kamaal Seymour

Analysis: The revamped offensive line actually won’t look all that different as James and Leatherwood are the only two projected starters who didn’t start games for the team in 2020 — though the Raiders really want Simpson to win one of the guard jobs. Now, whether James lives up to the standard set by Rodney Hudson and whether Leatherwood can be a positive player as a rookie remains to be seen. There’s too much talent on this side of the ball and coach Jon Gruden is too good of a play caller for the offense to be bad, but it’ll almost certainly take a step back if the O-line changes don’t work out. Offensive line coach Tom Cable has solid depth to work with on the interior, but things could get scary at tackle if there are any injuries.

Morrissey may have a shot.

“The kid we got in the seventh round is awesome, Morrissey,” Mayock said. “I mean, he was a walk-on at Pitt and ended up starting for four years, being a two-time captain. The Senior Bowl called him the day before the game, he flew in and played most of the game at center and guard. He’s just one of those overachievers.”

Defense
Defensive line

Starters: Yannick Ngakoue, Quinton Jefferson, Johnathan Hankins, Clelin Ferrell/Maxx Crosby

Backups: David Irving, Kendal Vickers, Solomon Thomas, Carl Nassib, Matt dikkerson, Darius Philon, Malcolm Koonce

Other: Gerri Green, Niles Scott

Analysis: The Raiders finished 29th in sacks last season, so they might carry the most defensive linemen in league history to try to turn that around. They’ll likely whittle this group down substantially through roster cuts based on training camp performance. And, really, the group’s productivity will largely hinge on the continued progression of Ferrell and Crosby and added boosts from Ngakoue and Jefferson. Having more rotational defensive linemen such as Thomas and Koonce and getting better play from Irving and Nassib would be helpful, but the starting unit has to make substantial strides against the run and the pass in order to prevent defensive line coach Rod Marinelli from yelling himself hoarse.

Linebacker

Starters: Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, Nicholas Morrow

Backups: Divine Deablo, Javin White, Tanner Muse

Other: Asmar Bilal, James Onwualu

Analysis: The pressure is on for Littleton. He was immensely disappointing as he collected over $12.1 million in 2020. He’s set to make over $11.6 million in 2021 but could potentially be traded or cut after the season if he doesn’t turn things around. Deablo will be his backup at weak-side linebacker but could ultimately become his replacement depending on how things play out. Kwiatkoski was solid when healthy at middle linebacker last year and Morrow might’ve been the best player on the defense, although that’s not saying a lot. Competence is the goal here after another rough year from the linebacker corps in 2020, but Littleton being the difference-maker he was with the Rams could push the ceiling higher.

Cornerback

Starters: Trayvon Mullen, Damon Arnette, Amik Robertson

Backups: Rasul Douglas, Isaiah Johnson, Keisean Nixon, Nevin Lawson, Nate Hobbs

Other: Kemah Siverand

Analysis: Douglas will have the opportunity to compete with Arnette in training camp, but chances are the Raiders ride with their No. 19 pick from 2020. Lawson has been suspended for the first two games of the season because of a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, which leaves Robertson as the only true nickelback on the roster with at least some playing experience. Given Robertson didn’t play much as a rookie, though, there’s an opening for Nixon and Hobbs to compete for the job as well. If nickel gets settled and Arnette can show more of the promise that got him drafted in the first round in 2020, then this group could be in good shape for the foreseeable future.


future.

Trayvon Mullen (27), Jeff Heath (38) and Johnathan Abram (24) should all have roles in the Raiders’ secondary. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)
Safety

Starters: Trevon Moehrig, Johnathan Abram

Backups: Jeff Heath, Karl Joseph, Tyree Gillespie, Dallin Leavitt

Other: Rashaan Gaulden

Analysis: At long last, the Raiders addressed the free safety position by drafting Moehrig. He’ll need to adjust to Bradley’s scheme but should be ready to start from Day 1. Abram should play more in the box this season, which is where his skill set is best suited. Heath and Joseph provide solid veteran depth. While Deablo will spend most of his time at linebacker, he primarily played safety in college and could be another option to back up Abram. Gillespie played free safety in college, but he’d need to be in a two-high safety scheme to pull that off in the NFL and will fit best as another option at strong safety. The Raiders called an audible and traded up in the fourth round when he was still available.

“We had no intention of trying to get Tyree Gillespie, but at a certain point he stood out like a sore thumb on our board,” Mayock said. “Again, it wasn’t about need, it was about what we felt was a really good football player available much later than we thought he would be available.”

Moehrig can make an instant impact in Year 1 and Abram may turn the corner in Year 3, but there will almost certainly be some more growing pains on the back end along the way.

Specialist
Kicker: Daniel Carlson

Other: Dominik Eberle

Punter: A.J. Cole

Long snapper: Trent Sieg

Other: Liam McCullough

Analysis: Carlson, Cole and Sieg will return as the kicking battery barring any significant training camp injuries and they were excellent in that department last season. When it comes to punting, though, Cole has room to improve. He averaged just 44.1 yards per punt last season, which ranked 28th among players who attempted at least 20 punts.

 

[lib123]

Can you please share this? @SJUGRAD13

John Hollinger's 2021 NBA free-agency center rankings by BORD$: Starters? Yes. Stars? Not so much

 

[Derek Lee]

Spoiler

John Hollinger’s 2021 NBA free-agency center rankings by BORD$: Starters? Yes. Stars? Not so much

John Hollinger Jul 23, 2021

51

The free-agent center market isn’t exactly star-studded this year, but it makes up in quantity what it lacks in quality. At the top, at least five starting-caliber players make up the cream of the crop, while at the bottom, as ever, a surfeit of 7-footers are looking to hang on to back-end roster spots on minimum deals.

This is part of our series that will break down every position in the free-agent market, and of course, any examination of free agency starts with one question: What, exactly, are these players worth on a contract? And which ones should teams target first?

To help answer that question, I have a tool called BORD$ (Big Ol’ Rating Dollars), and it’s designed to answer a simple question: How much value can we expect a given player to deliver for next season? I based this on two variables: the expected quality of the players’ minutes, and how many minutes we’d expect the player to play on an average team.

A complete summary of BORD$ is still available here, although I tweaked some of the input variables since a year ago. I outlined those changes here, where I also go into the top 20 overall players in this free-agent market.

In the case of centers, the top player is a guy who didn’t get much ink — Richaun Holmes of Sacramento — but is a good player at the right age. At least five other potential starters dot the market, but it falls off quickly after that.

Let’s break it down:

Tier 1: Max players
Nobody

Tier 2: More than midlevel, less than max
1. Richaun Holmes, Kings: $18,269,033 (10th overall)
This number is going to be a deeply troubling one for Kings fans because Sacramento only has early Bird rights on Richaun Holmes and thus can only offer him a contract beginning at about $11 million a year. The irony, of course, is that this is only the case because Sacramento signed Holmes to such a great contract in the first place; had the Kings overpaid him originally, the cap rules would make it much easier to keep him. Even when the Kings win, somehow they lose.

Sacramento only has two ways around this. The first would be to trim several million in cap room, possibly by trading Buddy Hield or Harrison Barnes, and then re-sign Holmes with cap space. The second, sneakier way, would be to sign Holmes to a two-year, $20 million deal with a second-year player option and then pay him more when they have full Bird rights on him a year from now. (The Kings and Holmes’ reps would have to have some kind of understanding about what might happen next summer, which is technically illegal and I personally never would have done, but I’ve heard stories of other people doing it.)

The center market will be interesting in general, and only a few teams have glaring openings, but Holmes makes a lot of sense for Charlotte and Toronto in particular, and the fact that teams know they can go over the top of any Kings offer should make him an attractive target in the opening minutes of free agency.

2. Jarrett Allen, Cavs (restricted): $16,013,853 (12th overall)
Again, the decision to pay Jarrett Allen is based more on his future than his present, which is why the 23-year-old is likely to do better than his projection. On a four-year deal that pays him until he’s 26, it doesn’t seem crazy to get in the $20 million a year range, especially if there are competing offer sheets.

Those sheets might not be forthcoming immediately due to the perception that the Cavs will match any reasonable offer. That could change, however, if Cleveland selects USC’s Evan Mobley with the third pick in the draft.

3. Andre Drummond, Lakers: $15,099,657 (13th overall)
I think this valuation is on the high side, but it’s also pretty team-specific. Andre Drummond to me has a lot more value on a middling-to-bad team than on a good one because he can inhale offensive rebounds and take on some offensive responsibility in the former case. It’s easy to forget, but he was pretty good at the start of the season in Cleveland. Then by the playoffs, he was … less good.

As for returning to the Lakers, that seems a dead letter if Drummond wants to get anywhere close to this market value. The best he could do is sign a two-year deal for the full midlevel exception (MLE) with a second-year player option; he’d then have the option to opt out and re-up for more money in 2022-23 with early Bird rights. Alas, even doing that would require the Lakers to let Alex Caruso and Dennis Schröder walk to fit Drummond below the tax apron.

Besides, Drummond doesn’t need the Lakers to get that deal; he can sign it with darn near anybody since so many teams will have access to their full MLE this offseason. That’s exactly what Serge Ibaka and Montrezl Harrell did a year ago, and I think that’s a realistic end game for Drummond this time around.

4. Kelly Olynyk, Rockets: $14,198,223 (15th overall)
Hey, remember him? After the Heat traded him for Victor Oladipo, Kelly Olynyk was low-key quite good for a Rockets team that otherwise was quite bad. While he’s not for everybody given his defensive limitations, Olynyk takes charges, can play some four and has the offensive versatility to function either as a role player with starters or as a fulcrum with the second unit.

The teams that are likely to value him most, however, are also good enough that they aren’t using cap room to sign a player like Olynyk. That could cap his functional market at the midlevel exception unless he goes the route of signing a one-year overpay in Houston and volunteering himself as a midseason trade chip.

5. Daniel Theis, Bulls: $12,462,489 (20th overall)
Daniel Theis is a valuable player and has been nearly his entire career, but as a good-not-great center, he seems like a prime candidate to get squeezed in this free-agent market. That is particularly true if the Bulls decide to use cap space to renegotiate and extend with Zach LaVine because re-upping in Chicago via his Bird rights is Theis’ best (and perhaps only) mechanism to get more than midlevel exception money.

Theis and other bigs of his ilk face another problem getting paid this year because several of the teams with a need at center also are facing deep issues with the luxury tax and won’t even have access to their midlevel exception. As a result, look for several centers to go for the time-honored maneuver of signing a two-year deal with a player option and hoping the market turns more favorable next summer.

Tier 3: Midlevel guys
6. Montrezl Harrell, Lakers (player option) $11,536,230
Montrezl Harrell’s decision on his player option is interesting because of the implication for the Lakers. His opting out of the final year of his deal at $9.7 million would allow the Lakers to potentially use their full midlevel exception on reinforcements while still remaining below the tax apron. However, if Harrell opts in, it all but forces the Lakers to trade him after his playing time shriveled toward the end of last season.

The bizarre part is that Harrell can still play; he’s just an unusual archetype to use in a playoff series because he depends on playing pick-and-roll offense and is a liability on defense. Teams needing more of a regular-season boost could find a lot of value here — I’m looking at you, Charlotte — making him one of the summer’s more interesting potential free agents. After last summer, the price is well-established at the full midlevel exception (MLE), although years remain a question.

7. Enes Kanter, Blazers: $11,485,358
This is an extremely generous valuation for the all-offense, no-defense Enes Kanter, although the numbers would suggest that his defensive vulnerabilities were far from the only reason Portland struggled on that end. Kanter can at least battle physically with bigger centers, making him a decent matchup option against the Joel Embiids and Jonas Valanciunases of the world, and offensively, he mashes smalls on switches and dominates on the glass.

Kanter signed for half this amount two years ago, and that’s likely where his market would end up again this time around — at the room exception or the taxpayer MLE. That team is unlikely to be Portland as the Blazers look to shore up one of the league’s leakiest defenses while simultaneously staring down tax issues.

Enes Kanter and Isaiah Hartenstein are two options on the center market in the coming weeks. (Photo: Ken Blaze / USA Today)
8. Hassan Whiteside, Kings: $9,133,220
Well, BORD$ is keeping the faith. Hassan Whiteside signed a one-year minimum in Sacramento then hardly played for the Kings last season, so his market is going to be a fraction of this amount.

Whiteside led the league in block rate two years ago and annually has among the league’s highest rebound rates, but those stats overly flatter his impact. Too often his drop coverage just turns into a runway for opposing guards to get whatever shot they want. Offensively, he is pretty lethal in the paint area, although his per-minute production dropped a bit last season, but he struggles to play out of short rolls or the elbows.

Overall, Whiteside has the stats of a starter but not the eye test, but he still profiles as a good backup. Sacramento had a crowded frontcourt last year, but there are places Whiteside can help.

 

[Derek Lee]

Spoiler: Part II

9. Serge Ibaka, Clippers (player option): $6,728,242
Serge Ibaka underwent back surgery in the playoffs, leaving an interesting decision ahead of him on a $9.7 million player option for 2021-22. The suspicion is that he picks up the option given that health questions are likely to limit his market. If so, the Clippers may look to package his contract in a trade given their limited alternative options for upgrading the roster.

10. Cody Zeller, Hornets: $6,138,936
Cody Zeller is constantly injured — he hasn’t played more than 62 games in any of the past five seasons — and is an old-school drop-coverage five without crazy athleticism. But when he plays, he’s still a valuable player. Zeller is one of the league’s most physical players, screening the crap out of people, leaning on opposing bigs and winning battles on the glass. He’s pretty skilled in tight spaces, scoring 21.9 points per 100 possessions last year and shooting 59.8 percent on 2s. He’s also a good passer, which combined with his devastating screening makes him a great option around the elbows.

None of that will entice a team to break the bank, but as a plus backup, Zeller offers quite a bit to the right team. He’s played his entire career in Charlotte and the Hornets will have Bird rights on him, but Charlotte has enough cap room to sign a long-term starter (such as Holmes, above) outright, which would likely leave Zeller looking for a new team in the midlevel or taxpayer MLE range.

11. Bobby Portis, Bucks (player option): $6,014,907
Bob-by! Bob-by!

BORD$ doesn’t account for playoff performance, so Portis’ market will likely be considerably stronger this. The Bucks are in a really tough situation to retain him because the most they can offer is the taxpayer MLE. It is theoretically possible Milwaukee could sign him to a one-year deal with a player option at that number, let him opt out and then re-sign him to a bigger deal with early Bird rights at that point, but it would result in a very expensive Bucks roster in 2022-23.

The more likely scenario is that the Bucks have to find their next Portis in free agency, while Bobby goes off to free-agent riches at the full MLE. I’ll note for posterity that Portis also has a player option for $3.8 million, but there is zero chance he’s picking that up.

12. Willie Cauley-Stein, Mavs: $5,575,719
Dallas has a team option on Willie Cauley-Stein for $4.3 million that it would likely make sense for them to pick up … except that Dallas has cap room scenarios open up if it declines the option and renounces its rights to free-agent guard Tim Hardaway Jr. In that event, Dallas can have a $25 million war chest to go after Kyle Lowry or Mike Conley, for instance, or another free-agent guard.

This is all very hypothetical, obviously, but it underscores that Cauley-Stein’s immediate future is likely subject to events beyond his control. He’s demonstrated enough value with his end-to-end speed and switchable defense to justify a room-exception-type salary for next season, whether in Dallas or someplace else, and his eventual landing spot just depends on Dallas’ option decision.

13. Nerlens Noel, Knicks: $5,569,080
Nerlens Noel is limited offensively, but he provided a lot of value as a shot blocker off the bench in New York, and the Knicks are well-positioned to retain him in free agency. There is no real cap advantage to re-signing Noel versus any other free agent since the Knicks have oodles of room and Noel is a non-Bird free agent, but given the quality of the fit and the fact New York has so much cap room, it seems likely he’s back on a slight raise from last season’s $5 million. Note that New York could sign him to another one-year deal (or one plus a player option) and have full Bird rights on him a year from now, when the Knicks might not have as much cap room to play with.

Nerlens Noel defends Andre Drummond during a Knicks-Lakers game in May. (Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
14. Alex Len, Wizards: $3,369,320
Alex Len got off to a brutal start in Toronto and was waived after just seven games, but he stabilized in Washington as part of the Wizards’ bizarre three-headed center rotation. Len’s rebounding worryingly cratered last season, but offensively, he still provides a lot as a huge lob target who can also shoot a little. Averaging 20.8 points per 100 while shooting 64.7 percent on 2s, the 28-year-old offers a clear value proposition as a backup five on a deal for the biannual or room exceptions.

Note that Washington has a tricky pathway toward bringing him back given the Wizards’ proximity to the luxury-tax line and investment in Daniel Gafford, with the Wizards likely needing to choose between Len and Robin Lopez (below) on a low-dollar deal.

15. Willy Hernangomez, Pelicans: $3,287,589
Willy Hernangomez’s defensive shortcomings prevent him from taking on a greater role, but as an offensive weapon off the bench, he’s pretty effective. Hernangomez is a strong physical finisher who also can shoot from short range, and the result is a career rate of 23.1 points per 100 and a 19.7 PER. He’s also an outstanding rebounder who snatched 21.4 percent of missed shots in his games last season, with his work on the offensive glass helping to pad his scoring and shooting numbers.

The Pelicans had Hernangomez on a minimum deal last season, but he’s likely looking at a slight raise to biannual or room exception money this year; he should also be on more solid footing as a backup this time around. How he fits in New Orleans’ plans likely depends on the Pels’ other potential cap room and trade scenarios, but he should find a market regardless.

16. Frank Kaminsky, Suns: $3,044,397
A last-minute pickup in Phoenix after he was cut by the Kings, Frank the Tank ended up playing 11 minutes in Game 6 of the NBA Finals once Dario Saric went out. While Kaminsky’s defensive shortcomings as a rim protector preclude him from a larger role, he’s a skilled offensive player who can make a 3 (34.8 percent) and is bizarrely good at short and midrange bank shots, skills that offset a penchant for flubbing layups.

Kaminsky also is a low-key canny passer who averaged nearly four assists for every turnover last season and offers some positional versatility because he can play four in the right matchup. With the Suns likely looking to run it back, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Kaminsky return on a minimum or biannual exception deal.

Tier 5: Minimum guys
17. Jock Landale, Melbourne United
The Saint Mary’s product has reportedly turned down multiple big-money offers in Europe because he’s awaiting his shot at the NBA after shooting 38.9 percent from 3 and being one of the best interior players in Australia’s NBL last season. Jock Landale will get a further opportunity to audition when he suits up for the Australian team at the Olympics. While questions persist about his ability to defend in space, Landale’s size and touch around the basket at 6-11, 255 have obvious appeal for teams looking for another big body.

18. Taj Gibson, Knicks
The severity of Taj Gibson’s offensive limitations caught up to New York in the postseason, but his defense and toughness are valuable in smaller doses. Coach Thibs loves him some Gibson, even starting him in the playoffs, so there seems to be little doubt he’ll be back in Gotham on another minimum deal.

19. Khem Birch, Raptors
An undersized grinder at 6-9, 233, Khem Birch isn’t going to put up a lot of offensive stats, but he’s a smart passer and screener who can defend reasonably well away from the basket. Those attributes got him extended playing time in Orlando and allowed him to fill in the open sore at center in Toronto after he was bought out by the Magic. Birch’s Canadian passport no doubt gives him a leg up with the locals as far as re-singing, but his fate will likely depend first on what happens with the Raptors’ cap space.

20. Robin Lopez, Wizards
I’m a bit surprised that BORD$ viewed Robin Lopez’s prospects so dimly, as he shot a career-high-smashing 63.3 percent from the floor last season thanks to a right-hand hook shot that seemingly never missed. So effective was that shot that the Wizards even played through him in the post at times, with RoLo pumping in 21.9 points per 100 possessions.

The rest of his game wasn’t as sharp. Lopez is a major minus on the boards (just a 10.6 percent rebound rate) and really struggles to defend post-ups. He also forces Washington to play a drop coverage, as he’s vulnerable on the perimeter in switches.

Nonetheless, he’d be a candidate to return next season or have other interest around the taxpayer MLE or room exception.

21. Dwight Howard, 76ers
The Sixers were so wedded to the idea that Dwight Howard was their backup center that they seemingly never considered the possibility that they didn’t need to play him once the playoffs hit. Howard offered size and a massive 26.7 rebound rate, but he fouled with abandon (8.1 per 100) and was a massive minus on offense, where his range didn’t extend beyond the charge circle and he can’t make a free throw.

Philadelphia faces an interesting decision on whether to bring him back next season; even if Philly could have him back at the minimum, would it be worth it if he’s guaranteed to play the non-Embiid minutes in the playoffs again?