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Ausar Thompson on Cade Cunningham: “I think he’s like 6’8”, 6’7”, 6’8”—I don’t know. He is so strong. That’s what people don’t understand. I’ll never forget—we played ones with him before last year. He posted me up from the three-point line all the way under the basket. I fouled him. Then he went and did the same thing. It’s like—if you stop him getting to the basket, and if you stop him with his face forward—he could just get to something else. He has so many things he could do. You really have to study him and learn every way to stop him.”
A lawyer for Malik Beasley said Wednesday the former Detroit Pistons guard has paid $38,000 in delinquent rent and moved back into his apartment after being evicted from the downtown high-rise building. The payment satisfies a judgment in an eviction case and restores Beasley's good standing with The Stott apartments, lawyer Steve Haney told The News.
So give us a bit of a behind the scenes look if you can. What's the rating system like? How do you guys go about putting together ratings? Ronnie 2K: Yeah, there's 30 some-odd mini ratings and mini attributes that get cooked into a formula, and it's based purely on performance on the court. In some cases, it's based on, like the young guys, right? We don't have a ton of sample information of them playing against other NBA people. So their's can kind of dramatically increase or decrease based on performance as you would expect and then the people that have been in the league for 10 or 15 years. It's a little bit more sticky, right? Like they're rating is kind of what you would expect. LeBron and Steph. I think they're both down one point from last year. People like Giannis and Jokic have stayed about the same. You would expect that, but like somebody like Cade Cunningham, whose in year three or four and missed a good chunk of the early parts in his career just jumped up six points. [Victor Wembanyama] hen we jumped up six points, so there's a lot of people that are going to grow.
Michael Porter Jr: Stephen Curry is the only one that's clearly a better shooter than me
Name the players in the league that can for sure shoot better than me? Michael Porter Jr: Stephen Curry—that’s the only one I’m giving like a clear “elite, can shoot better than me.” There’s dudes that are on the same level: I think Klay Thompson. KD, I think like... If I got in the gym, like Duncan Robinson—he probably can shoot with me. You know—Trae Young, Dame... But I think Steph is the only one that’s clearly a better shooter.
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Cavaliers, Pistons, Timberwolves, Knicks interested in Malik Beasley
League sources say that four primary teams have been in contact with the sharpshooter's representation in hopes that Malik Beasley can eventually be signed. They are Cleveland, New York, Minnesota and the incumbent Pistons.
Sources say Beasley will ultimately be seeking a deal north of the veteran minimum and would figure to command that — if the 28-year-old can indeed play on with no off-court obstacles — after he shot a robust 41.6% from deep last season on high volume.
Trajan Langdon on Pistons: It's still early for drastic changes—we want to give our young guys time to develop
It seems like in recent years, when teams exceed expectations, they might feel the urge to make a trade or alter their roster. How do you go about ensuring last season was real and that players continue to develop without making any of those roster-altering moves? Trajan Langdon: For us, the reason we were more successful (than expected last season) was the environment, the locker room that we had. It was created through people with (the front office) staff, with the coaching staff and with the players we brought in. The character as human beings, and the level of players that we had, we just thought it was a good fit with everybody. That’s one thing that we want to make sure we keep here, but also keep continuing to develop our young guys, who we think are talented young players.
Trajan Langdon: We want to see what those guys’ ceilings are. It’s continuing to put players with them that can continue to help them grow, develop and reach their potential. That’s one thing we try to be as cognizant as possible of, which is something at times that can be challenging. Of course, you want to continue to get better, but we’re very aware of what the timing of that is. We want our guys to continue to develop and at least get close to their ceiling or potential. Then maybe at that point is when we realize, OK, what is the proper player fit for these guys when it’s time to really go? I don’t think we truly understand who our players can be at this point. I just think it’s too early for us to truly understand what the best way to press the proverbial gas pedal is right now. So, we’re gonna try to be patient with that and let our young guys continue to develop.
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How do you think the resilience of the players you’re bringing in contributes to helping shape the mentality and culture of the roster? Trajan Langdon: There’s something to be said when you have to have a level of resilience in this league. It’s a very tough league. You could have a tough game, and you’ve got to play the next night against a really good player. You have to be able to bounce back right away. We’re looking for high-character individuals who have toughness and resilience to be a part of winning, because you have to be able to have that mindset on an every-night basis. It’s not going to go your way every night, but what are you gonna contribute on those nights? We feel that was an important piece for the quality of individuals we’re bringing in here.
We know gambling has become more intertwined with the NBA and other professional sports through sponsorships and partnerships. What protocols are in place to make sure players abide by league rules, and how does the organization go about encouraging overall financial literacy with players? Trajan Langdon: Both topics are obviously very important to us, and the NBA is constantly educating players and all employees on gambling and the no-tolerance policies that come with that. In terms of financial literacy, we have to be careful with the information we do give them, because it is their money once we give it to them. If you steer them down one path like investing, you do take risks, so we can’t give them insight into how they invest their money.
Pistons, Timberwolves among teams to express interest in Malik Beasley
Michael Scotto: Update: The Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves have recently touched base on Malik Beasley, along with the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, sources told @hoopshype . It’s worth noting Cavs guard Max Strus expects to miss 3-4 months after Jones fracture foot surgery
Just when it seemed like Malik Beasley was out of the woods from his gambling investigation and able to resume his NBA career, the recent Detroit Pistons sharpshooter is still awaiting final word on this case. Although he is no longer a target in this investigation, Beasley is still a subject, according to Front Office Sports. Although a gray area still exists regarding whether Beasley has any connection to the finer details of the investigation, his status as a “subject” does complicate matters. If the prosecutor or the grand jury had “substantial evidence” linking Beasley to the commission of a crime, he would still be a target in this investigation. However, Beasley is considered a “subject,” meaning his conduct is still within the scope of the grand jury’s investigation.
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