By John Hollinger | The Athletic, 2026-01-20 17:24:52
圣安东尼奥马刺队和波士顿凯尔特人队合计赢得了23次 NBA 总冠军和29次 NBA 总决赛经历。尽管如此，他们还从未在总决赛中相遇。
今年会是改变历史的一年吗？
在赛季开始前，这样的设想似乎荒谬可笑。凯尔特人队仍在为杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum) 季后赛跟腱撕裂的伤痛舔舐伤口，并用一个休赛期来削减薪资；而马刺队在上一个34胜的赛季后，似乎距离有所作为至少还有一年的时间。拉斯维加斯的季前赛胜场数预测给马刺队设定的是44.5胜，凯尔特人队则是41.5胜。
然而，赛季过半，他们却赫然屹立于争冠行列。截至周二，圣安东尼奥马刺队战绩为30胜13负，高居西部第二，净胜分联盟第三，并且三次击败强大的俄克拉荷马城雷霆队。与此同时，波士顿凯尔特人队拥有东部第二好的战绩和最佳的净胜分。
上周的旅途中，我现场观看了这两支球队的比赛，亲眼见证了圣安东尼奥对密尔沃基的屠杀——马刺在三节后领先了39分；以及波士顿以132-106横扫亚特兰大的比赛——凯尔特人队在第三节一度领先40分。
这两场比赛凸显了每支球队向精英地位的迈进。为维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 用背身单打的姿势命中三分的搞笑场面而来：
……再为萨姆·豪瑟 (Sam Hauser) 在亚特兰大那场21次三分出手、0次两分出手的惊人表现而驻足，他总是先投了再说。
那么……我们是怎么走到这一步的？这对于这些球队在 NBA 交易截止日又意味着什么？
一个简单的解释马刺队成功的方式就是“文班效应”，而文班亚马的才华无疑是其中很大一部分。但圣安东尼奥最引人注目的是，他们在没有文班亚马的情况下也能取得成功。
在他缺阵的14场比赛中，球队取得了10胜4负的战绩；而在他从小腿拉伤中恢复后的16场比赛里，他们取得了11胜5负，尽管出场时间限制让他在大多数晚上只能打20多分钟。整个赛季，当文班亚马不在场时，马刺的净效率为-0.4，基本上在没有最佳球员的情况下与对手打成平手。（而当文班亚马在场时，他们每百回合净胜对手高达13.5分。）
虽然波士顿的杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown) 打出了超级巨星的一年，以及文班亚马每晚的神奇表现推动了这些球队前进，但两队背后的故事是，他们都完成了构建一个从A到Z的坚实阵容所需的大部分必要的次要操作。令人惊讶的是，波士顿在打造这支无敌之师的同时，几乎重塑了半个阵容；而马刺队则更多地受益于高顺位选秀权，同时也敲定了几笔关键交易。
周四现场观看马刺队和密尔沃基雄鹿队的比赛时，两队之间的差异是相当惊人的。尽管扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo) 在上半场的大部分时间里都压制了文班亚马，但这最终无关紧要，因为他们两队的角色球员阵容之间存在着巨大的鸿沟。
实际上，文班亚马在开场两分多钟后就因领到第二次犯规并与阿德托昆博膝盖相撞而离场，但即便文班亚马不在场，马刺队也能排出充满活力的阵容。他们在自由市场上签下卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 的决定——讽刺的是，因为凯尔特人在削减成本模式下无法支付他——看起来非常明智；他一直是联盟中最好的替补中锋之一。
科内特也证明了自己完全有能力在文班亚马身边打球。这对前场组合在72分钟的上场时间里，净效率为+9.6，随着文班亚马的出场时间限制放宽，我们可能会更多地看到这一组合。这是一个值得为季后赛系列赛留存的有趣想法。
除此之外，圣安东尼奥在后格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 时代的重建真正关键在于上一个休赛期。马刺队耐心地利用他们的薪金空间，并最终在德玛尔·德罗赞 (DeMar DeRozan) 的交易中因为接收哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 而得到回报，因为芝加哥公牛队当时想转而付薪给帕特里克·威廉姆斯 (Patrick Williams)（哎呀）。结果，马刺队拥有了萨克拉门托国王队一个2032年的无保护选秀权互换权。圣安东尼奥还在“废料堆”里淘到了3D侧翼朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie)，并通过他们的双向合同计划签下了他；他已经成为一名场均得分上双的球员，拥有全队最高的三分出手率，篮板能力堪比大前锋，而他的合同年薪仅为300万美元，略高于底薪。如果马刺在赛季后拒绝执行他300万美元的球队选项，转而锁定一份更长的合同，请不要感到惊讶。
等等，还有更多。去年冬天为德阿龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 投入筹码是一次冒险，但到目前为止，他一直是文班亚马的完美搭档，为马刺的进攻注入了速度，当卫冕年度最佳新秀斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)（选秀眼光真准）和/或2025年首轮秀迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 上场时，这种速度变得尤其致命。在替补席上，凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 正悄然打出一个野兽赛季，这可能让他进入年度最佳第六人的讨论。将他和德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 加入轮换，意味着马刺在前九人轮换中没有任何负效率的球员。
在球员发展方面，可能还会有更多收获。双向合同球员大卫·琼斯·加西亚 (David Jones Garcia) 在夏季联赛中表现出色，令人刮目相看，在他有限的出场时间里也颇具影响力。首轮中段秀卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant) 在防守端的录像中表现抢眼，但需要在进攻端找到节奏，尤其是在一支进攻端时常挣扎的球队里。而且很明显，如果他们能让哈珀和卡斯尔的三分命中率达到联盟平均水平，那将彻底改变圣安马刺的半场进攻。
这可能是马刺队未来最大的争议点：他们是否需要再增加一名投射型侧翼，以及他们可以放弃什么来得到一个。圣安东尼奥的防守效率排名第三，防守篮板率第一，对手罚球率第二。仅文班亚马一人就确保了他们的防守会很稳固，但即便在他们的前九人轮换中，你也很难找到防守弱点。
但在进攻端，投射问题始终存在。圣安东尼奥凭借高造犯规率和低失误率，进攻效率总排名第10，但从外线来看，马刺的三分出手频率排在第16位，命中率则排在第21位。福克斯-卡斯尔-哈珀的三后卫阵容能够打出极快的节奏，但代价是空间和投射。另一个难题是，他们最适合用于交易的合同——巴恩斯那1800万美元的到期合同——正属于他们拉开空间的前锋。
至于波士顿，考虑到他们的进攻数据上竟然比上赛季拥有塔图姆时还要略好，这真是令人惊叹，部分原因要归功于布朗火热的投篮手感。我们距离金州勇士队尝试“就放空杰伦”的防守策略还不到两年。现在，他几乎能命中视野内所有的跳投，而对手的防守（比如他在那场50分比赛中面对的洛杉矶快船队）则争相提前对他进行包夹。根据Cleaning the Glass的数据，布朗超过一半的出手是中距离，并且他投出了47%的命中率；这种产量和准度迫使对手采取包夹，从而为波士顿的其他射手打开了空间。
事实上，波士顿本赛季更加倾向于你可能称之为“马祖拉篮球”的打法，尽管失去了塔图姆，并用更传统的大个子取代了他们的两位空间型内线，但他们的三分出手率仍然排在联盟第三。另一个关键是，波士顿现在在进攻端打起了“球权战”；也许布朗的中距离不是你能设计出的最高效的投篮，但由于他能如此轻松地进入投篮节奏，波士顿的失误率是联盟最低的，并且由于前场的变化，凯尔特人队的进攻篮板率排在第五。
这些变化（引进内米亚斯·克塔 (Neemias Queta) 作为首发，卢卡·加尔扎 (Luka Garza) 作为替补）使得波士顿的换防能力下降，防守效率跌至第14位，但现在他们可以在进攻端碾压对手。加尔扎（16.6%）和克塔（13.3%）都拥有极高的进攻篮板率，这在球权争夺中帮助了波士顿；充满活力的乔丹·沃尔什 (Jordan Walsh)（8.2%）也从侧翼贡献了力量。
总的来说，回想波士顿在2025年休赛期失去了塔图姆、朱·霍勒迪 (Jrue Holiday)、艾尔·霍福德 (Al Horford)、克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯 (Kristaps Porziņģis) 和科内特，并通过引进加尔扎、安芬尼·西蒙斯 (Anfernee Simons) 和新秀雨果·冈萨雷斯 (Hugo Gonzalez)，以及提拔克塔、沃尔什和2024年首轮秀贝勒·沙伊尔曼 (Baylor Scheierman) 来取而代之，仍然令人感到不可思议。
从纸面上看，这似乎是一次巨大的实力下滑。但波士顿显然已经掌握了球员培养的秘诀。豪瑟和克塔刚到波士顿时，都只是鲜有机会的双向合同球员。现在，他们是首发。沃尔什是一个在板凳末端待了两年的二轮秀，而沙伊尔曼在他的新秀赛季看起来像个水货。现在他们也茁壮成长。（实际上，另一个巨大的成功是科内特，他最初是在2021年以一份非保障底薪合同加入的。）
所有这些，在距离交易截止日还有两周多一点的时候，让我们回到了起点，即这些球队接下来应该寻求什么样的运作。波士顿最初看起来可能会成为卖家，送走西蒙斯或豪瑟，以完全低于奢侈税线，并避免一年后触发奢侈税重复处罚中最严厉的部分。
现在看来，保持在第二土豪线以下可能就足够了，否则，他们可以全力争冠。波士顿仍然拥有选秀资本和西蒙斯2760万美元的巨大到期合同，并且距离第二土豪线还有760万美元的空间。未来的薪金表现在也相对清晰，凯尔特人队距离明年预计的第一土豪线还有2900万美元（西蒙斯的续约会削减这一空间）。
但波士顿和圣安东尼奥的情况与联盟中大多数其他争冠球队（甚至是准争冠球队）不同，后者至少在某种程度上，都致力于立即最大化球队的实力。凯尔特人队和马刺队实际上并没有预料到自己会提前一年达到现在的位置，但他们做到了。
对于波士顿来说，当明年的球队——加上塔图姆以及可能的其他球员，并且除了西蒙斯之外没有重要的自由球员可能离开——很可能会更强时，为今年倾其所有是否值得？有没有一种操作既能实现双赢，又能保持一个头重脚轻的薪资结构（布朗和塔图姆在2027-28赛季的合计薪水将达到1.31亿美元），而不至于超过第二土豪线并触发选秀权惩罚？
同样地，马刺队是否也有可行的操作？他们手中握有四个选秀权互换权和来自亚特兰大的一个2027年无保护首轮签，此外还有两个可交易的首轮签和四个自己的互换权。其中一个与亚特兰大在2026年选秀中的互换权，很可能是一个首轮中段的选秀权，放在合适的交易包里会很有诱惑力。虽然交易巴恩斯的到期合同可能会解决一个问题的同时制造另一个问题，但马刺队还有2000万美元的到期合同，来自鲜有上场机会的大个子杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan) 和凯利·奥利尼克 (Kelly Olynyk)。
事实上，圣安东尼奥最大的限制在于，它正朝着几年后波士顿的路径发展。一旦文班亚马、卡斯尔和哈珀有资格从他们的新秀合同中获得续约，他们将变得极其昂贵，并可能使马刺队的薪资保持在或接近土豪线水平。
我没有水晶球可以预言他们会做什么，而且当联盟内部人士讨论交易买家时，这两支球队很少被提及。也许他们觉得用现有阵容打下去，看看能有什么结果会更好。但幸运总是眷顾勇者，这两支球队都已证明，当意想不到的机会出现时，他们愿意果断出击。
波士顿和圣安东尼奥进入争冠球队的上层梯队或许出人意料，但现在这为这两支球队和联盟其他球队创造了许多新的机会。这会是为交易截止日增添一些戏剧性的后期剧情转折吗？敬请期待。
本周潜力新秀： 阿迪·马拉 (Aday Mara)，7尺3寸大三中锋，密歇根大学
周三，我去观看了排名第三的密歇根大学以82-72战胜华盛顿大学的比赛。虽然对于在场的15位NBA球探来说，主要看点是哈士奇队的大个子汉内斯·施泰因巴赫 (Hannes Steinbach) 和狼獾队的全能前锋亚克塞尔·伦德博格 (Yaxel Lendeborg)——他们两人都可能是乐透秀——但“大蓝军”（密歇根大学）拥有一支统治级的前场，其中包括另外两位潜力新秀：阿迪·马拉和6尺9寸的莫雷兹·约翰逊 (Morez Johnson)。
我熟悉马拉，因为在他被UCLA从西班牙招募来之后，我看了他前两个赛季的比赛。他当时带着“一年级即参选”的光环而来，但并未完全兑现。虽然他的体型和手感很吸引人，但他太容易犯规，并且在低位接球后的终结也常常失手。此外，他的名字（Aday听起来像a day，一天）和他转换攻防所需的时间有点太相似了。
然而，在他大学篮球的第三个赛季，他似乎对比赛的速度和身体对抗更加适应，因此，他能更频繁地利用他的身高、手感和球商来影响比赛。
虽然7尺3寸的身高使他成为一个明显的禁区攻击点，但马拉并不是一个野兽派球员。他更擅长转身后用柔和的小勾手得分，或给切入的队友送出助攻，周三他就送出了几次精彩的传球。他也已经成为篮筐附近的稳定终结者，并且比我们在UCLA时看到的更具爆发力的空接威胁。
马拉那场比赛11投10中，贡献了两次助攻和三次盖帽，延续了他本赛季投篮命中率高达70.4%的表现，同样值得注意的是，对于这种体型的球员来说，他每百回合能送出5.8次助攻。他还以12.2%的盖帽率领跑十大联盟。
周三的几个片段很突出。看这里，他明白施泰因巴赫会靠向他，于是他等待身体接触，然后转身摆脱，为自己赢得一次扣篮：
还要注意他多早就跑到了前场并进入了背身单打位置；他的全场奔跑速度肯定提高了一个档次。
之后，他知道对手会对他的背身单打进行包夹，他也知道伦德博格在三分线外是空位……但他仍然等待切入，因为他认为自己能获得一次上篮机会。
最后，这里快速提醒一下，只有在投篮命中后球员才能获得助攻。这是一次漂亮的运球不看人传球，但他的队友却投失了空篮：
在萨姆·韦西尼 (Sam Vecenie) 最新的百大新秀榜上排名第32位的马拉，看起来有可能成为首轮末的选秀人选，他有潜力成为卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet) 那种类型的球员——一个身高臂长、有一定球商和手感的策应型中锋，即便他的射程还没有延伸到罚球线以外。（马拉今年的罚球命中率是44.4%。他能开始在罚球线投小勾手吗？）
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Spurs, Celtics look like title contenders. Should they be active at NBA trade deadline?
Spurs, Celtics look like title contenders. Should they be active at NBA trade deadline?
The San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics have combined for 23 NBA titles and 29 NBA Finals appearances. Despite that, they have never faced each other in the finals.
Is this the year that changes?
Such a proposition would have seemed ridiculous before the season, with the Celtics licking their wounds following Jayson Tatum’s playoff Achilles tear and an offseason spent shedding salary, and the Spurs still seeming at least a year away from doing anything important following a 34-win season. Vegas set preseason over-unders for the Spurs at 44.5 wins and the Celtics at 41.5.
Yet here they are, at the halfway mark of the season, standing as clear-cut contenders. San Antonio entered Tuesday at 30-13, with the second-best record in the Western Conference, the third-best scoring margin and owners of three wins over the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder. Boston, meanwhile, has the East’s second-best record and its best point differential.
I watched both teams in person during my travels this past week, witnessing San Antonio’s demolition of Milwaukee, where the Spurs led by 39 after three quarters, and Boston’s 132-106 rout of Atlanta, where the Celtics led by 40 in the third quarter.
Those two games underscored each team’s move into elite status. Come for the hilarity of Victor Wembanyama posting up AJ Green for a 3-pointer:
… and stay for Sam Hauser launching first and asking questions later in his 21 3-point attempt, zero 2-point attempt performance in Atlanta.
So … how did we get here? And what does it mean for these teams at the NBA trade deadline?
An easy explanation of the Spurs’ success is to just say “Wemby,” and Wembanyama’s brilliance is certainly a big part of it. But what stands out about San Antonio is how the Spurs have been able to succeed without him.
The team is 10-4 in the 14 games he’s missed and 11-5 in the last 16 games he’s played since returning from a calf strain, even though a minutes restriction has capped him in the mid-20s most nights. For the season, the Spurs have a minus-0.4 net rating with Wembanyama off the court, essentially playing opponents to a draw even without their best player. (With Wembayama on, they smash teams by 13.5 per 100 possessions.)
While a superstar year from Boston’s Jaylen Brown and the nightly wonder from Wemby have pushed these teams forward, the underlying story for both is that they’ve nailed most of the necessary secondary moves they needed to build out a solid roster from A to Z. Boston, amazingly, tore down half the roster while also building this juggernaut, and the Spurs have benefited more from high draft picks but also nailed a few key transactions.
It was pretty jarring to see the difference play out in person on Thursday between the Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks, as Giannis Antetokounmpo outplayed Wembanyama for long stretches of the first half, and it ended up not mattering at all because of the gulf between their two supporting casts.
Wembanyama actually left the game after two-plus minutes when he picked up a second foul and banged knees with Antetokounmpo, but the Spurs can play dynamic lineups even when Wembanyama is off the floor. The decision to sign Luke Kornet in free agency — ironically, because the Celtics couldn’t pay him in their cost-cutting mode — looks brilliant; he’s been one of the best backup centers in the league.
Kornet has proven more than capable of functioning in lineups next to Wembanyama as well. That frontcourt pairing has a plus-9.6 net rating in 72 minutes, and we could see more of it as Wembanyama’s minutes restriction loosens. It’s an intriguing thought to file away for a playoff series.
Otherwise, the real key to San Antonio’s post-Gregg Popovich rebuild was the previous offseason. The Spurs were patient with their cap room and ended up getting paid to take Harrison Barnes in the DeMar DeRozan trade because the Chicago Bulls wanted to pay Patrick Williams instead (oopsie). As a result, the Spurs own an unprotected 2032 pick swap from the Sacramento Kings. San Antonio also found 3-and-D wing Julian Champagnie on the scrap heap and signed him through its two-way program; he’s been a double-figure scorer with the team’s highest 3-point attempt rate and rebounds like a power forward, and he’s signed for barely over the minimum at $3 million a year. Don’t be surprised if the Spurs decline his $3 million team option after the season to lock in a longer deal instead.
Wait, there’s more. Pushing chips in for De’Aaron Fox last winter was a risk, but so far, he’s been the right complement for Wemby, adding a dose of speed to the Spurs’ attack that becomes particularly potent when reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (nailed that pick) and/or 2025 first-rounder Dylan Harper take the floor. Off the bench, Keldon Johnson is quietly having a monster season that could put him in the running for Sixth Man of the Year. Adding him and Devin Vassell to the mix means the Spurs have no negative minutes in their top nine.
In terms of development, there could be more fruit. Two-way David Jones Garcia has been impactful in his limited minutes after raising eyebrows with his summer league performance. Mid-first-rounder Carter Bryant pops on the tape defensively but needs to find his groove on offense, especially on a team that already struggles at times offensively. And obviously, if they can get Harper and Castle to shoot at a league average from the 3-point line, it will be a game-changer for San Antonio’s half-court offense.
That’s probably the biggest point of contention for the Spurs moving forward: whether they need to add another shooting wing to the mix and what they could give up to acquire one. San Antonio is third in defensive efficiency, first in defensive rebounding rate and second in opponent free-throw rate. Wembanyama alone assures they’ll be solid, but even across the rest of their top nine, you’ll find few easy marks.
But on offense, the shooting questions won’t go away. San Antonio ranked 10th overall in offense thanks to a high rate of foul drawing and low rate of turnovers, but from the outside, the Spurs are 16th in 3-point frequency and 21st in accuracy. The Fox-Castle-Harper three-guard unit is capable of playing blazing fast but at a cost of spacing and shooting. Another conundrum is that their best contract to put in a trade, Barnes’ $18 million expiring deal, belongs to their floor-spacing forward.
As far as Boston goes, it’s amazing to consider that, statistically, the offense is actually slightly better this year than it was last season with Tatum, partly thanks to the lights-out shooting from Brown. We are less than two years removed from Golden State trying the “just leave Jaylen wide open” defense. Now, he’s knocking down every jumper in sight, and defenses (such as that of the LA Clippers in his 50-point game) are scrambling to double him early. More than half of Brown’s shot attempts are midrangers, according to Cleaning the Glass, and he’s making 47 percent of them; that kind of volume and accuracy compels double-teams and opens the floor for Boston’s other shooters.
In fact, Boston has leaned even harder to what you might call “Mazzulla ball” this season, ranking third in 3-point rate despite losing Tatum and replacing their two stretch bigs with more traditional bangers. The other key is that Boston is now playing the “possession-ball” game on the offensive end; maybe those Brown middies aren’t the most efficient shot you could draw up, but Boston has the league’s lowest turnover rate because he gets into them so easily, and the Celtics are fifth in offensive rebound rate thanks to the changes in the frontcourt.
Those changes (bringing in Neemias Queta as a starter and Luka Garza as a backup) have made Boston less switchable and dropped the Celtics to 14th in defensive efficiency, but now they can mash on offense. Both Garza (16.6 percent) and Queta (13.3 percent) have huge offensive rebound rates that help Boston in the possession game; energizer Jordan Walsh (8.2 percent) has also been a factor from the wing.
Overall, it’s still amazing to ponder that Boston lost Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Kristaps Porziņģis and Kornet in the 2025 offseason and replaced them by adding Garza, Anfernee Simons and rookie Hugo Gonzalez, and promoting Queta, Walsh and 2024 first-rounder Baylor Scheierman.
On paper, it looked like a massive drop-off. But Boston has pretty obviously figured out player development. Hauser and Queta were little-used two-ways when they first arrived in Boston. Now, they start. Walsh was a second-round pick mired at the end of the bench for two years, and Scheierman looked like a bust his rookie season. Now they’re thriving too. (Another huge success, actually, was Kornet, originally added on a non-guaranteed minimum deal in 2021.)
All of this takes us full circle, with a little over two weeks to the trade deadline, to the question of what moves these teams should pursue next. Boston originally looked like it might be a seller, moving off Simons or Hauser to get all the way under the luxury tax and avoid some of the worst depredations of the repeater tax a year from now.
Now it seems that staying below the second apron might be enough, and otherwise, they can go for it. Boston still has draft capital and a huge expiring contract in Simons’ $27.6 million deal and is $7.6 million below the second apron. The cap sheet going forward is now relatively clear as well, with the Celtics $29 million from next year’s projected first apron (an extension for Simons would cut into that).
But Boston’s and San Antonio’s cases are different from most of the league’s other contenders (and even quasi-contenders), who, to at least some extent, are all-in on maximizing their teams right now. The Celtics and Spurs didn’t really expect to be in this same spot until a year from now, but here they are.
For Boston, is it worth going all-in for this year when next year’s team — adding Tatum and perhaps others and with no significant free agents likely to leave aside from Simons — is likely to be even better? Is there a move that can accomplish both and still keep a top-heavy salary structure (Brown and Tatum will combine to make $131 million in 2027-28) from pushing past the second apron and triggering draft pick penalties?
Similarly, is there a move out there for the Spurs, who have four picks swaps and an unprotected 2027 first from Atlanta in their quiver, in addition to two tradeable firsts and four swaps of their own? One of those swaps, with Atlanta in the 2026 draft, likely is a mid-first-round pick that could be tempting in the right package. While moving Barnes’ expiring deal might create one problem to solve another, the Spurs also have $20 million in expiring money with little-used bigs Jeremy Sochan and Kelly Olynyk.
San Antonio’s biggest limitation, in fact, is that it is looking at being Boston a few years down the road. Once Wembanyama, Castle and Harper qualify for extensions off their rookie contracts, they will become dramatically more expensive and likely keep the Spurs at or near the aprons.
I don’t have a crystal ball that says what they’ll do, and these two teams haven’t come up much when people in the league discuss trade suitors. Maybe they feel better playing it out and seeing what they have with their current groups. But fortune favors the bold, and both franchises have shown the willingness to pounce when an unexpected opportunity comes their way.
Boston and San Antonio moving into the upper realm of the contender class might have been unexpected, but now it creates a lot of new opportunities for these two teams and others around the league. Could this be the late plot twist that adds some drama to the trade deadline? Stay tuned.
Prospect of the Week: Aday Mara, 7-3 junior center, Michigan
I went to third-ranked Michigan’s 82-72 win over Washington on Wednesday, and while the main treat for the 15 credentialed NBA scouts was seeing Huskies big man Hannes Steinbach and Wolverines do-it-all forward Yaxel Lendeborg — both of whom are possible lottery picks — Big Blue has a dominant frontcourt that includes two other prospects in Aday Mara and 6-foot-9 Morez Johnson.
I was familiar with Mara from seeing him at UCLA his first two seasons after the Bruins recruited him from Spain, where he came in with one-and-done buzz that didn’t quite deliver. While the size and touch intrigued, he accumulated fouls too easily and failed to finish point touches too often. Also, his first name and how long it takes him to change ends had a bit too much in common.
However, in his third season of college basketball, he seems much more comfortable with the speed and physicality, and as a result, he’s impacting the game more frequently with his height, touch and feel.
While standing 7-3 makes him an obvious paint target, Mara isn’t a brute. He’s much more comfortable rolling into feathery jump hooks or dropping off passes to cutting teammates, and he threw in a couple of spicy dimes on Wednesday. He’s also become an automatic finisher around the rim and a more explosive lob threat than we saw at UCLA.
Mara finished the game 10-of-11 from the floor with two assists and three blocks, continuing a season where he is shooting 70.4 percent from the floor and, just as notable for a player this size, averaging 5.8 assists per 100 possessions. He also leads the Big Ten in block rate at 12.2 percent.
A few clips from Wednesday stand out. Watch here as he understands that Steinbach is going to lean into him and waits on the physicality before spinning away to get himself a dunk:
Also note how early he got down the floor and into this post-up; his end-to-end speed has definitely picked up a notch.
Later, he knows a double-team is going to arrive on his post-up, and he knows he has Lendeborg open at the 3-point line … but he still waits on the cut because he thinks he can get a layup.
Finally, here’s a quick reminder that players only receive assists on made baskets. This was a sweet no-look dime off the dribble, but his teammate blows the bunny:
Ranked 32nd on Sam Vecenie’s most recent Top 100, Mara looked plausible as a late first-rounder, with pathways to a Luke Kornet-type impact as a plus-length center with some feel and touch, even if the touch doesn’t extend past the free-throw line. (Mara is at 44.4 percent from the stripe this year. Can he start shooting jump hooks from there?)
By John Hollinger, via The Athletic