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    The Boot Camp for NBA Analysis and Hot Takes

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    Alan Williams was the first person to brave the anchor desk, tucked away on a chilly set at the University of Southern California that was darkened, save for the spotlight on Williams in his black suit and blue-striped tie. Almost involuntarily, he lifted a hand from the desk’s shiny surface and nervously scratched his face.Williams, a former N.B.A. player, read from a teleprompter, his deep voice booming robotically in the nearby control room, where U.S.C. students monitored his volume and made sure the camera was level. He bobbed his head up and down, much like the aliens inhabiting human bodies in the 1990s movie “Men in Black.”“Hi, everyone!” he said as he looked into a camera. “Welcome to ‘Sports Extra.’ I’m Alan Williams. The Miami Heat have evened the series against the Denver Nuggets. The Miami Heat’s tough-mindedness is really led by Coach Erik Spoelstra. And their identity truly proves Heat culture. Goodbye.”The camera stopped rolling, and Williams loosened his shoulders.“Oh god, did I go too fast?” Williams muttered. He looked around the set. Five other current and former professional basketball players quietly lingered in the corners. After a woman off to the side reassured Williams that he was fine, he responded with relief: “Man, I was about to say. Silence?”Norense Odiase, left, said broadcasting allowed him to tap into his skills beyond basketball.Alan Williams, left, and Norense Odiase, top right, are seen in the monitors during an exercise with Rob Parker, an analyst at Fox Sports.This drew laughter from the set and scattered applause from the players, who, like Williams, were wearing crisply pressed, stylish suits. Williams did another, smoother take, prompting one of the suited men to yell, “That boy good!”Williams, 30, and the men were at U.S.C.’s journalism school this month for a two-day N.B.A. players’ union camp called Broadcaster U., now in its 15th year. They learned how to host a studio show or podcast, do color commentary and rapidly dole out hot takes for an on-camera sports debate. Former N.B.A. players like Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Shaquille O’Neal have gone through the program.Willow Bay, who once hosted “Inside Stuff” with Ahmad Rashad, addressed players during the camp. She’s now the dean of the U.S.C. Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.While superstars typically compete for more than a decade, the average N.B.A. player lasts only a handful of years. Dozens of players will get their start at the N.B.A. draft on Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but most of them will eventually have to find a new way to make a living. Crossing over into film and television has proved to be a viable, and often lucrative, alternate path, even for players who weren’t big stars.With a new television deal looming for the N.B.A., and streaming services and social media changing how fans engage with the game, there will likely be more opportunities for players to cash in.Williams played for the Nets and the Phoenix Suns from 2015 to 2019. Last year, while playing in Australia, he occasionally provided color commentary for the National Basketball League there.“I know that my time is coming to an end soon,” Williams said. “I want to be as prepared for the next step as possible.”Brevin Knight, a former N.B.A. point guard who went through the program in its inaugural year in 2008, is now a color commentator for the Memphis Grizzlies.“When you are done playing, you would like to take a little bit of time just to take a deep breath,” Knight said. “But I’ll tell you: The spending habits keep going and you always need something coming in.”Some camp attendees have already undertaken pursuits beyond the court. Norense Odiase, 27, plays in the NB.A.’s developmental league, the G League, and has a self-help podcast called “Mind Bully.” Will Barton, 32, has been in the N.B.A. since 2012 and has released several albums for his singing career under the name Thrill. Craig Smith, 39, spent six seasons in the N.B.A. and has written a children’s book.Will Barton, right, working with Jordan Moore, co-host of the “Trojans Live” radio show.Gerry Matalon, a talent performance coach and former ESPN producer, talking with Craig Smith.Smith was next up at the anchor desk after Williams, and he bounced in his seat. The words on his teleprompter were in all capital letters, though they were not supposed to be read that enthusiastically. Someone must have forgotten to tell him.“Hi, everyone!” Smith nearly shouted. “Welcome to ‘SPORTS EXTRA!’ I’m Craig Smith! Just about 24 HOURS until Game 3 of the N.B.A. finals!”He even stomped his feet a few times.Smith said he has been inspired by the many players who have started podcasts and especially by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who have used their fame to create production companies.“It influences me a lot because I feel like we have a real voice and I feel like we have power that comes with it, being that we’re more than just ‘shut up and dribble’ players,” Smith said. “We have meaning and people want to hear what we have to say.”Hours later, Rob Parker, a Fox Sports host and an adjunct professor at U.S.C., gathered the players for what might be called Hot Take O’Clock to show them how to throw verbal bombs. He shared directives like “Don’t stay in the middle of the road” and “Make stuff that you can pull out — ‘Meme-able.’”“It’s OK to be wrong,” Parker said, adding that if they could be right all the time, they “would be in Las Vegas making money.”Parker frequently debates Chris Broussard, a Fox Sports host, on their radio show “The Odd Couple.” Williams asked Parker if he had ever disagreed with Broussard just for argument’s sake. Parker said no, and that he and Broussard discuss topics before their show. They use the ones they disagree on.“If we all agree that LeBron is the greatest player ever, what conversation are we having?” Parker said. “Do you know what I mean? There’s nothing going on here, and no one’s going to watch it.”Parker led the players in mock debates, as if they were on ESPN’s “First Take” or Fox Sports’s “Undisputed.” Those are among the most-watched programs at their networks and have turned their hosts into household names.Barton, center, taking notes during the broadcasting camp.Odiase and Smith argued about whether the Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler needed to win a championship to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Odiase said no; Smith said yes.“How many guys have taken a team of seven undrafted players, the eighth seed, to the N.B.A. finals?” Odiase said.“Is it Jimmy or is it Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley?” Parker interjected, referring to Miami’s longtime coach, Spoelstra, and its president and former coach, Riley.Odiase paused.“I’m sorry,” he said. “Before Jimmy got there, did they win without LeBron?”“Yeah, with Shaq and D-Wade,” Smith retorted, referring to O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, who won a championship in 2006 with Riley as coach.This rebuttal, undercutting Odiase’s argument, elicited laughter from the control room. Parker ended the segment and complimented Odiase and Smith for having a lively debate.“I do not believe nothing I’m saying,” Odiase told Parker afterward. Later, in an interview, Odiase said he felt “very uncomfortable” arguing a point he did not support, though he believes it happens “a lot” in sports media.The players receive reels of their best moments to show with networks in hopes of getting hired.For current and former players, taking part in hot take culture means having to critique players in ways they might not like if the comments were directed at them.Barton said that he gets frustrated sometimes when analysts “go too far on a player, especially if you haven’t played or you don’t really know what the guy’s going through.”He continued: “I feel like a lot of guys try to do that so they could go viral or feel like they’re a bigger asset to whatever company they’re working with because it’s entertainment.”The players also pretended to be analysts for an N.B.A. finals game. Jordan Moore, the radio voice for U.S.C. men’s basketball, did play-by-play. But first, he had advice.“Worst broadcast is if I go, ‘Oh, what a shot by Jimmy Butler!’ And you go, ‘Man, what a shot!’” Moore said.He added: “You all played in this league. You played with these guys. You have advance knowledge. That’s what you need to tap into. I could never get your job.”Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, who have worked for ESPN, and Shaquille O’Neal, an analyst for TNT, are among the former players who have gone through the program.The most earnest session was about podcasting. In 15-minute chunks, the players exchanged stories about their lives: playing on the road, dealing with fans, growing up.Shelvin Mack, 33, who played in the N.B.A. from 2011 to 2019, asked Robert Baker, a 24-year-old in the G League, what it was like to play for Harvard. Baker recalled a game against Kentucky.“My nerves was cool,” he said. “Tip off, I was warming up well. I was hitting shots, and then they played the intro type of song, I said, ‘Oh.’”Mack said, “You froze up?”“Yeah, bro,” Baker said, adding, “Tough day.”The players receive reels with their best moments from the camp that they can send to networks in the hopes of getting hired. Williams said the potential financial rewards of broadcasting appeal to him, though he’s “comfortable” financially. Odiase said this alternative career is a way to tap into his other skills and interests beyond basketball.“It’s learning all aspects of yourself to grow after the game,” he said. More

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      Prospects Get a Taste of N.B.A. Life During All-Star Weekend

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      Members of a developmental team, the N.B.A. G League Ignite, some still in their teens, participated in the N.B.A.’s All-Star Weekend.Amauri Hardy sat in the stands during the N.B.A.’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, watching his little brother, Jaden, on the court with the best young players in the league. He thought about the work Jaden had put into his game and the guts he showed in leaving home as a teenager to follow a nontraditional path into professional basketball.“I’m not sure if he actually realizes how big of a moment it is, but I did because I grew up watching this game a lot,” Amauri Hardy said, proudly. “Just to see him out there with the jersey on with our last name on it, just representing for our whole family.”He added, “He’s been making the best of these moments.”Jaden Hardy, 19, does not play in the N.B.A., though he believes he could have been drafted last year, right out of high school, if the rules had allowed it. Instead, he signed with the N.B.A. G League Ignite, a developmental team in Northern California which allows elite prospects to play professionally in the United States before they are eligible for the N.B.A. draft.This season, playing for the Ignite offered another perk. The N.B.A. included players from that experimental team in their festivities surrounding the All-Star Game. It was a chance for the league to showcase the Ignite, a project now in its second year. It also gave the players, many of them teenagers, an incomparable experience.Four players from the Ignite — Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, MarJon Beauchamp and Dyson Daniels — joined 24 first- and second-year N.B.A. players, 12 from each conference. The players were split into four teams, each with six N.B.A. players and one Ignite player, for a mini-tournament on the Friday of All-Star Weekend. The Ignite players Fanbo Zeng and Mike Foster were scheduled to participate in a shooting competition during the tournament, though Zeng couldn’t participate because of an injury.“I was nervous before the game before I even got out there, but when I got out there it was kind of relieving,” Beauchamp said. He watches the All-Star events every year, he said, “so just seeing myself on the screen is pretty amazing.”While league rules prevent players from going straight from high school to the N.B.A., playing for the Ignite can be a lucrative path for prospects when compared with playing in college — Ignite players can make up to $500,000 for the season. It can be a more familiar one than playing overseas, which some have tried.Scoot Henderson, 18, passing during the Rising Stars Challenge. Because of his age, he is not eligible for the N.B.A. draft until next year.Emilee Chinn/NBAE, via Getty ImagesThey first heard that a few of them would get to participate in All-Star Weekend while at a practice in New York.“I just thanked God, honestly,” Henderson said. “I was very excited. The first thing I did was call my parents and share the moment with them. They were just saying they were proud of me and what I’ve done through my year.”The rest of their teammates attended Friday night’s events, as did family members and friends. Amauri Hardy was both a family member and a teammate — he plays on the Ignite along with his brother. Daniels’s father traveled from the family’s home in Australia and saw his son for the first time in months.This is the second season the Ignite has existed. The team was designed to play a schedule that includes games against other G League teams and international exhibitions. Last year’s team produced two top-10 draft picks — Jalen Green, by Houston, and Jonathan Kuminga, by Golden State.It is made up of prospects and veterans who serve as mentors. They practiced in Cleveland on Thursday and Saturday in preparation for a Sunday afternoon game against the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate.Practices include competition and camaraderie for this group. They’re all trying to become lottery picks, most of them in this year’s draft.“It’s a little tense in practice sometimes,” Foster said. “They’ve developed into brothers. We got that brotherly fight.”On Friday morning, they sat for the Rising Stars media day. That’s when Jaden Hardy started to really feel part of the weekend.“It was just fun to be able to be out there on the court with those young stars really and just being able to go out there and just laugh and compete,” he said.One of those young stars was guard Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, a second-year N.B.A. player who met Hardy at a camp a few years ago.“I think him being around us, seeing us young guys who are thriving in the N.B.A., I think he’s getting a little bit of a taste of that,” Haliburton said. “And his future is bright, so I’m excited for him to get to the league.”Hardy’s team played against Beauchamp’s in the semifinals, and Hardy’s team won.Beauchamp caught two lobs for dunks from Cole Anthony, a second-year guard for the Orlando Magic.MarJon Beauchamp, left, and Jaden Hardy at the Rising Stars Challenge.Emilee Chinn/NBAE, via Getty Images“I’m sure it had to be a surreal experience,” Anthony said. “Not even playing in the N.B.A., being at N.B.A. All-Star, that has to be one of the dopest experiences a kid can experience. I wish I could’ve been there when I was in college just that year before going into the draft.”Among the players Henderson was most excited to play with Friday night was LaMelo Ball, the N.B.A.’s 2020-21 rookie of the year.When Henderson thought about his path to pro basketball, Ball was one of his role models. Ball left high school after his sophomore year to play professionally in Lithuania.In his rookie year, Ball was very confident, noted Henderson, who joined the Ignite after his junior year of high school.Henderson was part of Ball’s team for the Rising Stars Challenge, and thrilled for an opportunity to play with him. Conversely, Ball appreciated Henderson’s interest in his path.“My whole journey I felt like it was going to help the younger generation, which I feel like it’s doing,” Ball said. “So just having kids do what they want, I feel like it’s great.”“I was nervous before the game before I even got out there, but when I got out there it was kind of relieving,” Beauchamp said.Brian Sevald/NBAE, via Getty ImagesBut restrictions remain on players as they attempt to enter the N.B.A. Henderson, for example, will not be eligible for the draft until 2023.“If I had the opportunity and that chance, I would definitely love to play in the N.B.A. next year,” Henderson said.Henderson added that he had found the environment with the Ignite helpful given the mentorship opportunities and the chance to play against N.B.A. talent.Beauchamp was a little nervous backstage on Friday before he was introduced as a participant in the Rising Stars Challenge to a bigger audience than he had ever played for.But the butterflies dissipated by the time he arrived for introductions.His appearance was an honor normally reserved for players in their first or second N.B.A. seasons, not those, like Beauchamp, preparing for the draft. Between his accomplished teammates and the N.B.A. veterans he saw sitting courtside, he looked around and thought about what he wanted for his future.“I feel like it motivates me to want to be here,” Beauchamp said. “Again and again and again.” More

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      Amir Johnson Is More Than an Answer in N.B.A. Trivia

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      His name was the last on a list that included LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant. But his biggest impact on basketball may be yet to come.Amir Johnson felt warm, either from the temperature in the room or the gravity of the moment. He removed his shirt.Johnson stayed nervous throughout N.B.A. draft night in 2005 as hour after hour, pick by pick, slipped past. Instead of planning for prom or making a final decision on his college destination, Johnson, at 18, was studying the television screen at his aunt’s house as his professional future hung in the balance.The N.B.A. draft cut to a commercial as it neared its end. A ticker of draftees’ names continuously sprinted across the bottom of the TV screen. Then someone screamed.The Detroit Pistons had just selected Johnson, out of Westchester High School in Los Angeles, with the fifth-to-last pick, 56th overall.The room, full of Johnson’s relatives and friends, detonated. “We had horns and everything,” Johnson recalled. He tried to stand up, but found his back glued to the plastic smothering his aunt’s couch.Johnson’s journey had started, his dream formulating in fast forward. So what if the Pistons had just defeated his hometown Lakers in the championship? Larry Brown, Detroit’s coach, was on the phone, welcoming Johnson to Detroit. Only a few months earlier, Johnson had committed to play for the University of Louisville, yearning to experience college life outside Southern California.From left, Rasheed Wallace, Will Blalock, Amir Johnson, Antonio McDyess and Jason Maxiell of the Detroit Pistons before a game against the Washington Wizards in October 2006.D. Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty ImagesThen, Johnson convened with his peers at the McDonald’s All-American Game, an exclusive exhibition for the nation’s best high school players. One by one, the top players confided in the others that they planned to skip college for the N.B.A., following in the trailblazing steps of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard.The N.B.A. closed its doors to high school players after Johnson, who was the final high school player drafted before a new collective bargaining agreement rule went into effect requiring that draft-eligible players be at least 19 years old and at least one year removed from high school.“I hope that’s on ‘Jeopardy!’ one day,” Johnson, now 34, said with a smile.The sun is setting on the careers of the prep-to-pro players who both revolutionized and modernized the N.B.A. James, 37, remains the focal point for the Lakers, where he is joined by Howard, who comes off the bench. Atlanta’s Lou Williams is the only other active N.B.A. player who joined the league from high school before the rule changed.“If you’re ready and you got the opportunity to go pro, why not?” Johnson said.When one door closes, another opens — or a few do.Today’s top high school basketball players are presented with a variety of destinations for a gap year on their way to N.B.A. riches and fame. They can opt for the traditional route of college in hopes of a status-boosting N.C.A.A. tournament run. They can play professionally overseas, as LaMelo Ball did before the Charlotte Hornets drafted him in 2020.Or, in a recent change, they can join domestic professional leagues like the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite or a specialized team like the Ignite, an incubating team for high school phenoms in the N.B.A.’s developmental G League that is paying some top players as much as $1 million over two seasons. The Ignite also have a handful of veteran players like Johnson, a good complement — in basketball and life experience — for the burgeoning stars fresh out of high school.Johnson, right, was surprised to find his G League teammates coming to him for advice — and even more surprised that he had answers.Joe Buglewicz for The New York Times“The N.B.A. is a privilege,” said Jason Hart, the Ignite’s coach, who played four seasons at Syracuse before bouncing around the N.B.A. “It’s not a right. We want them to cherish every day while you’re here on this journey, because this definitely won’t last forever.”The Ignite, in their second season, are rounded out by seasoned players like Johnson, Pooh Jeter and C.J. Miles, who was drafted into the N.B.A. out of high school with Johnson in 2005.The Ignite offer the talented teenagers an introduction to the N.B.A.’s circadian rhythm without everything on the line, as could be the case when Johnson joined the league.“This G League team is actually helping getting these guys ready to go play pro first, which we didn’t have,” Johnson said. “We just got thrown into the fire, and they get to learn and then go, which is dope. They can have that N.B.A. schedule where you got to wake up, and travel, and go to shootaround.”When Johnson joined the N.B.A., players could find themselves at the mercy of a franchise’s commitment to development, or its lack thereof.The Chicago Bulls, for example, acquired the big men Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry out of high school in 2001, hoping they would lead the franchise out of its post-Michael Jordan hangover. The Bulls offered playing time, but little development or direction in acquiring life skills.In Detroit, Johnson found the opposite. He joined a championship-level team of 30-year-olds with families and of established post players like Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess.The Pistons, Johnson said, helped him learn life skills by helping him in apartment hunting, teaching him how to manage a bank account and helping him get his driver’s license.He received few minutes on the court but was willing and ready to listen and work, the individual effort folding into the momentum of an entire team. It was a quality that Johnson had cultivated as a youth when he participated in track and field, his original sports love.Johnson took some online classes at the University of Michigan but mostly regarded his time in Detroit as his college experience. He volunteered to leave the N.B.A. for stints in the G League, then known as the N.B.A. Development League, or D League. With the lower-level teams in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Sioux Falls, S.D., he came to know Texas Roadhouse and biscuits and could rely on constant playing time.Johnson, center, has played for many N.B.A. and developmental teams, including the Fayetteville Patriots in 2006.Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty ImagesA strong work ethic contributed to Johnson’s productive 14-year N.B.A. career in Detroit, Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia as a reliable and steadying influence.Johnson joined the Ignite last season with flickering aspirations of prolonging his playing career.Younger players, Johnson found, sought him out with questions. He surprised himself with how easily he had the answers at his disposal, like how to handle family obligations, how to establish routines and how to dress.“And if you do wrong, you’re going to be like, ‘I didn’t brush my teeth counterclockwise’ or something like that,” Johnson said. “A routine that gets your mind focused on the task is very helpful — knowing what you have to do in the morning to get your momentum going.”Johnson was elated on draft night in August when N.B.A. teams selected Ignite players like Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga.Johnson always figured he could be a player development coach if he wanted to. He now finds himself pulled to the strategy behind the game, envisioning a second career in coaching.“That passion when I was young and hungry to keep learning, it’s kind of leaning toward the coaching part,” he said.Johnson easily spots himself in the eyes of players like Scoot Henderson, who opted for the Ignite over one more year of high school.Whenever Henderson makes a mistake on the court, he rushes over to talk about it with Johnson so that it won’t happen again.Johnson said he had been “thrown into the fire” as a rookie and was hoping to help young players have a better experience.Joe Buglewicz for The New York Times“It just feels like a mirror,” Henderson said. “He knows what we are going through right now. He knows our thought process on everything.”Most players are used to working hard. That part is easy for anyone who is serious about the game. The leap is more of a mental leap than anything else, and Johnson is the positive voice in the ears of the Ignite players, beckoning them to continue.Entry into the N.B.A. is no longer a straight line for its younger players.Johnson has come full circle to make that transition as easy as possible for others.“They’re actually in tune with what I have to say,” Johnson said. “That changed my mind-set on wanting to give back. And when I saw those guys got drafted last year, it felt like I won a championship.” More

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      ‘Every Hooper’s Dream’: N.B.A. Hopefuls Get Their Chance During Crisis

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      The rapid spread of the coronavirus has depleted several N.B.A. rosters, leading teams to call on lower-level pros and former stars to fill in. But that also has its risks.On Tuesday, Dec. 21, Charlie Brown Jr. was walking through the lobby of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas when he saw his friend Zylan Cheatham looking joyous.Brown could tell just by looking at him that he had good news to share.Earlier that day, Cheatham had found out that the Miami Heat wanted to sign him to a 10-day contract. He started screaming, jumping and running around his hotel room, where he had been staying to compete in a showcase of the best teams in the N.B.A.’s developmental league, the G League. Cheatham canceled plans to go home to Phoenix for Christmas, and when he called his mother to tell her, she jumped around, too.Soon after, Brown heard another friend had gotten a call-up from the G League. And then one of Brown’s teammates on the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats did too.“It was slowly happening around me,” Brown said.A few hours later it happened to him. Brown’s agent called him as he was warming up for a game at the G League Showcase. The Dallas Mavericks wanted to sign him.Brown and Cheatham are two of more than 80 players who have signed 10-day contracts with N.B.A. teams this season. Their opportunity has come because N.B.A. players, like everyone else, are facing the latest wave of the coronavirus. The virus, especially the Omicron variant, has depleted several N.B.A. rosters in recent weeks. A recent decision to shorten required isolation time for some infected players could help teams get their usual stars back sooner.The league and players’ union have agreed to grant hardship exceptions to allow teams to temporarily sign players to fill in, even if they wouldn’t otherwise have the roster or salary cap space. Hardship exceptions and short-term deals existed before the pandemic, but until at least Jan. 19, teams can sign players to 10-day contracts to replace anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus as soon as they need them. The league is also requiring its 30 teams to sign replacement players if they have more than one player out with a coronavirus infection.With dozens of players testing positive every week, these reinforcements help the N.B.A. avoid postponing more games — it has already done so 10 times — when teams don’t have enough healthy players.For some basketball pros, that has meant getting a call they’ve been waiting for their whole lives, an opportunity to be seen or a second chance they never saw coming.“A dream come true to say the least,” Cheatham said. “It’s every hooper’s dream. It’s what you work for, especially competing in the G League for multiple years. This is kind of your Super Bowl or N.B.A. finals.”The players signing 10-day contracts this month have included younger players like the 26-year-old Cheatham, who is just a few years out of college; older players who have spent years in the G League hoping for a chance; and N.B.A. veterans who had been out of the league and hoping for a comeback — players like Lance Stephenson, Isaiah Thomas and the 40-year-old Joe Johnson.This time around, Johnson’s teenage son gets to be part of the fun.“He asked me about a month ago, ‘Dad, when you was playing, what was I doing?’” Johnson told reporters. “I said, ‘You was in the back playing in the playroom.’”Quinndary Weatherspoon played 14 minutes in Golden State’s Christmas Day game against the Phoenix Suns after his call-up from the Santa Cruz Warriors.Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesBefore this season, Zylan Cheatham had played in just four N.B.A. games in a brief stay with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019-20.Pool photo by Kim KlementOn Monday, with all their regular starters out, the Minnesota Timberwolves used the hardship exception to sign Greg Monroe, a 31-year-old former lottery draft pick who last played in the N.B.A. in 2019.Monroe woke up at 4 a.m. Monday to fly to Minneapolis from Washington, D.C. His first flight got canceled, and he finally got in around 11 a.m. to be tested for the coronavirus so he could play.Hours later, Monroe played 25 minutes against the Boston Celtics, scoring 11 points to go with 9 rebounds and 6 assists in the Timberwolves’ win.“I’ve been around the world and back, literally,” Monroe, who played in Germany and Russia in the last two years, told reporters. “But it felt great to be out there. Just a joy to be out there.”A 10-day contract has typically been like a tryout for players, with several signees getting longer deals to stay with their teams for the rest of the season and beyond. The former players Kurt Rambis, Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen all turned these short deals into notable careers.One recent example is Gary Payton II, who played on 10-day contracts for several teams before signing one with Golden State last year. This year, Payton has been critical to Golden State’s resurgence. At 29 years old, he seems finally to have found an N.B.A. home.On Christmas, Golden State needed 14 minutes from Quinndary Weatherspoon, whom they signed on Thursday from their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. Weatherspoon, 25, came highly recommended by Klay Thompson, who had been guarded by Weatherspoon during scrimmages as he rehabbed his injuries with Santa Cruz. Weatherspoon came home from the G League Showcase and hours later left again to join Golden State.“It’s been crazy,” Payton said. “Guys been waiting for this moment.”Weatherspoon benefited from playing on the developmental team affiliated with the team that signed him. That makes a lot more familiar — the personnel, the system, the facilities.Cat Barber was already familiar with the Atlanta Hawks from playing with their G League team when he was called to fill in.Joe Buglewicz/Getty ImagesCat Barber, who was called up to the Atlanta Hawks from their College Park Skyhawks G League team, was similarly familiar with his new surroundings. He’s spent five years in the N.B.A.’s developmental league, rapping on the side, and never considered giving up this dream.“Just the love for basketball that I’ve got,” Barber said. “A lot of people were telling me I’m right there, I’m that close, and I just stuck with it.”Barber played 2 minutes in the Hawks’ Christmas loss to the Knicks and 4 minutes in a loss to the Bulls on Monday.“I accomplished something that not a lot of guys do,” Barber said. “I’m proud of myself.”There’s a financial benefit that can mean a lot, too. The typical salary for a G League player is $37,000 a year. Most 10-day contracts are signed for a prorated portion of the league’s minimum salary, which means most players signing 10-day contracts are making double their yearly G League salary in just 10 days in the N.B.A.“Growing up you hear people always say: ‘Oh, you got to play basketball for the love of the game. The money will come. You don’t worry about that,’” Cheatham said. “But at the same time, anybody who has real problems or real situations with family or taking care of people knows having money is definitely beneficial.”Brown got to Dallas on Wednesday and was immediately bombarded with group chats (from his former and current team), the playbook and instructions for the next few days. He guessed that he had stayed up until 3 or 4 a.m., with a wake-up call before 8 a.m. Thursday.On Christmas, the Mavericks had six players unavailable because of the virus. That was the first game Brown was able to play in for Dallas. At one point, four of the five Mavericks on the court were replacements. Brown said Brandon Knight, an N.B.A. veteran signed as a replacement point guard, helped things run smoothly.Joe Johnson, who was drafted in 2001 and played for multiple teams through 2018, received roaring applause when he scored in his first game with the Boston Celtics on a 10-day contract recently.David Butler Ii/USA Today Sports, via ReutersGreg Monroe had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists on Monday in his first game on a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, against the Celtics.Stacy Bengs/Associated Press“The best thing you can do is prepare for any given situation,” Brown said. “It can happen any day, any hour. Being on your toes kind of helps you in a way because you’re overly prepared for the moment.”Brown had never played on Christmas, the day when the N.B.A. highlights its best teams and biggest stars. He used to watch Christmas games with his father, Charles Brown Sr., back home in Philadelphia.“My dad texted me earlier in the day. Nothing meant more to him than seeing me play on Christmas,” Brown said, “because I used to talk about it all the time.”But the specter of the virus remains present for all of them.Cheatham, who had appeared in just four N.B.A. games before his call-up, arrived in Miami on an off day for the Heat last week. They were set to play the Pistons next day, and he found himself introducing himself to his teammates on game day. He didn’t play in that game, but on Tuesday, he said he felt confident he could help if needed.He also acknowledged the precarious nature of his position.“To say you don’t worry about catching Covid would be blasphemy at this point,” Cheatham said. “Every time you open your phone you see a new case. And then you see guys are vaccinated and did all the things you did and still get Covid.”He talked Tuesday about avoiding contact with others where possible, and making smart decisions despite the unpredictability of the virus.On Wednesday morning, the Heat added Cheatham to their list of players out because of the league’s health and safety protocols. More

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      Scoot Henderson Has Options. He’s Choosing G League Ignite.

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      Crystal Henderson remembers her youngest son, Scoot, running down the basketball court at 5 years old with a gigantic, toothless smile and eyes searching for the approval of his watching parents and siblings.Now, Scoot Henderson, who turned 17 in February, has reclassified to graduate high school a year early and will join the professional ranks with the G League Ignite.Listed on 247 Sports Composite as the third-ranked point guard of the 2022 class before his reclassification, he would become the first player to spend two years with the G League Ignite, a team designed to offer elite prospects an alternative to playing in college or overseas before becoming eligible for the N.B.A. draft. He played point guard as a freshman at Georgia’s Kell High School, while his brother C.J. manned shooting guard as a senior.“I’ve been around my brother who is three years older than me, and his friends are my friends,” Scoot told The New York Times, adding, “Being around older people, the vets on my team, it’ll play out perfectly just getting that knowledge from them too.”Few modern American basketball players have made the jump to professionalism at Henderson’s age or even had the ability to consider the possibility. The N.B.A. has mandated that players be at least 19 years old and one year removed from their high school graduation since disallowing high school players following the 2005 draft.The developmental leagues, where players can earn money right away, have made college a less attractive option for some players coming out of high school. Some states have moved to allow college athletes to earn money through endorsements, and the N.C.A.A. has said it wants to ease some restrictions, but at its core men’s college players only have their costs of attendance guaranteed. The Ignite team pays players as much as $500,000.“You know how every kid has their own path?” Henderson said. “My main goal was just to get to the N.B.A. and be there for a very long time. The fact that I have an opportunity to go there and I’m one step away from it, it’s just huge. And I took that opportunity.”Scoot Henderson training with his father, Chris. “I’m extremely happy for him, because I’m tough,” Chris said.Lynsey Weatherspoon for The New York TimesJeremy Tyler signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Super League after his junior year of high school in 2009. Eight years later, LaMelo Ball signed to play in the Lithuanian Basketball League following his sophomore year of high school.The debate over changing eligibility requirements to once again allow recent high school players who are at least 18 years old into the N.B.A. has resurfaced as elite prospects cycle through college for pit-stop solitary seasons or consider playing professionally overseas.In the meantime, the N.B.A. created the Ignite team, which has already drawn the ire of some college coaches. The team is headed by Brian Shaw, a former longtime N.B.A. player and Denver Nuggets head coach. Jonathan Kuminga was 17 when he signed to play with the Ignite during its truncated inaugural season. Because of his October birthday, Kuminga is draft eligible and is expected to be an early lottery selection.Henderson will remain a member of the Ignite longer than if he had gone to college for a season at Georgia or Auburn, his two finalists.“He can take his time a little bit,” said Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the G League’s president. “There’s no expectation that he has to get everything accomplished in a short amount of time. That takes a little bit of the whatever you want to call it — the anxiety, the pressure, the anticipation — of how he enters this. I think he can really enter it with a growth mind-set.”Shaw described Henderson’s attacking style of play as “kind of similar to like a Russell Westbrook,” who is one of Henderson’s favorite players, as is Kobe Bryant, one of Shaw’s former teammates.“I think that just gives him more time to develop and to prepare for his journey and his lifelong dream to play in the N.B.A.” Shaw said. “This is a new situation, and we’re evolving kind of with the teams and this unique situation.”The Ignite team is not a traditional G League member. Based in Walnut Creek, Calif., a city about 15 miles east of Oakland, the team plays against G League opponents and scrimmages against international teams. The players receive a scholarship to Arizona State University to enroll in online courses and are taught life skills like community involvement and how to handle taxes and interviews. Top prospects like Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster and Fanbo Zeng have already committed to this year’s team.Henderson’s father, Chris, and mother, Crystal, are familiar with shepherding young athletes.“So many kids go by and don’t get recognized for their hard work,” Crystal Henderson said. “Parents need to understand it’s a system. You need a great support system. You need to listen to other people. And I find that other sports do that. Tennis does that. Golf does that. Baseball does that. They have a community.”She continued: “I think it’s interesting that those kids get to go pro, but the basketball kids don’t get to go pro. And so I think it’s very important that we continue to educate and have programs like Ignite, and even Overtime Elite, where if that’s your kid’s path, that’s your kid’s path. And I’ll be an advocate for my son for whatever he wanted to do.”The family moved from Hempstead, N.Y., to Marietta, Ga., shortly before Scoot was born. He has six tightknit older siblings. Five played in college, including his sisters Onyx and China (Cal State Fullerton) and Diamond (Tennessee Tech and Syracuse). Their youngest sister, Moochie, is one of the top-ranked point guards in the class of 2023.Scoot Henderson, center, with his family. His mother, Crystal, is on his right, and his father, Chris, is on his left.Lynsey Weatherspoon for The New York Times“Our goal is to stick together,” Crystal said. “I tell them: ‘If you each have a dollar, you’re going to starve and die. But if you put your dollar together, you got $7 and you can eat and be very successful.”Chris has been a coach for years, receiving his basketball education on Long Island courts.“I’m extremely happy for him, because I’m tough,” he said of Scoot, with a smile. “I ain’t going to lie — I’m tough. I ain’t a walk in the park, and just for him to go through that, it’s been a lot.”Along the way, Chris went from waking up Scoot to play basketball to having Scoot asking to head to the court early. In November 2018, the Hendersons opened Next Play 360, a gym near their home with an emphasis on academic and athletic development.Last summer, Scoot began considering playing overseas, and in December, he started planning to reclassify to the Class of 2021 from the Class 2022 and finished high school with a grade-point average of 3.5.Abdur-Rahim said Henderson had been within the G League’s “overall ecosystem” for a while through his participation with U.S.A. Basketball and elite camps. The conversations began after Henderson reclassified.“We want to be an option,” Abdur-Rahim said, adding: “In his case, evaluating him from a maturity standpoint, overall structure and support standpoint and just his talent, we positioned him as good as anyone in the class ahead or a year ahead of him. So, it fit.”The Hendersons are still debating which, if any, of the family members will travel with Scoot to California.“Honestly, it hasn’t hit me just yet, but I feel like once I get my bags packed and we start going on a plane to go over there, it’ll hit me soon,” Scoot Henderson said. More

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      Jeremy Lin Talks N.B.A. Comeback and Anti-Asian Racism

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      Lin, who exploded to fame with the Knicks in 2012, said he has learned to embrace his basketball journey and his platform to speak out amid a wave of attacks on Asian-Americans.It was Room 3296 at Coronado Springs Resort, inside the gates of Walt Disney World in Florida. Jeremy Lin said he had memorized every aspect of its layout.“I know where the scratch marks on the wall are,” Lin said. “I know where the spider webs were.”Lin spent 43 days and 42 nights in that room as a member of the Santa Cruz Warriors, playing in the N.B.A. G League bubble in a bid to make it back to the best league in the world for the first time since the 2018-19 season. After a season of gaudy statistics and rock-star treatment with the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association, Lin bypassed millions of dollars in China to play for $35,000 in the N.B.A.’s developmental league and give scouts ample opportunity to study him.Lin, 32, finished the G League’s abbreviated season at 19.8 points per game on 50.5 percent shooting and with strong, 42.6 percent shooting from 3-point range, but missed six of the 15 games with a back injury. While he waits to see if he did enough for an N.B.A. team to sign him, Lin once again finds himself in the spotlight as a leading voice in the Asian-American community.After another G League player called him “coronavirus” on the court, Lin, who is Taiwanese-American, has been speaking out against the racism and bigotry that numerous Asian-Americans have faced since former President Donald J. Trump began referring to the coronavirus as the “China virus” last year.Lin spoke about his N.B.A. comeback bid and his activism in a wide-ranging phone conversation on Monday.(The highlights of the interview have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.)On his willingness to play in the G League as a nine-year N.B.A. veteran:The more that we talked to teams, they were telling my agent: “Hey, we want to see if Jeremy’s healthy, and we want to see if Jeremy can still go. No offense to some of the leagues overseas, but we would love to see him here in front of us, in an N.B.A. system, playing under N.B.A. rules.”I know I’m an N.B.A. player. I know I’m a better shooter. I know I’m a better defender. I know I’m more well rounded as a basketball player. I know these things, but I just needed a chance to show it.Lin, with Santa Cruz, going against the Toronto Raptors’ G League team.Juan Ocampo/NBAE, via Getty ImagesOn how he was received by fellow G Leaguers:There were two instances where a player said to me, “I grew up watching you play.” I’ve never had another player tell me that, but then I was like, “OK, well, you’re 18 or 19 years old, so I understand that.”On facing younger players still trying to establish an N.B.A. foothold:Ever since I was out of the league, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to get back in. Now you can put your money where your mouth is and compete against all these hungry players. It’s the ultimate competitors’ den where everyone in there is just going at each other.I’ve been a target my whole life. Since I was a kid, I was either a target because people look at me and they’re like: “Oh, he’s not that good. I’m going to take his head off. He’s lunch meat.” Or they don’t want to be embarrassed by me. Now you add on the whole “Linsanity” thing, and I have an even bigger target, and if you watched the games, I was commanding a lot of attention from opposing teams. But it’s fun.Fans hold up New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin photos during a game against Sacramento in his Linsanity run in New York.Frank Franklin II/Associated PressOn initially not wanting to discuss Linsanity, his run with the Knicks in February 2012 that landed him on Sports Illustrated’s cover two weeks in a row:That’s how I felt about it for a few years after. But at this point I’ve come around now to really appreciating and embracing it. For a while it was kind of this phenomenon, or this shadow, or this expectation, or this ghost that I was chasing — sometimes chasing, and sometimes trying to run away from. Now it’s more like a badge of honor that I’m really proud of and what it meant to so many people.At the same time, there’s a lot more basketball left in my body. I definitely appreciate everything about Linsanity and what it taught me, but I really believe I’m a better player now than I was then. The G League validated a lot of what I felt like I was doing in my training but I hadn’t shown yet.On revealing the on-court incident in which he was called “coronavirus” and speaking out to support the #StopAsianHate campaign:With everything happening recently, I feel like I needed to say something. The hate, the racism and the attacks on the Asian-American community are obviously wrong, so that needs to be stated and that’s part of my role. I also feel like part of my role is to bring solidarity and unity, so I need to educate myself and continue to learn more and also support other groups, other movements and other organizations while also bringing awareness to the Asian-American plight.And then another part is to play basketball and play well, because I think there’s a lot of underlying stuff about Asian-Americans being quiet and passive and just, “Yeah, we’ll tell them what to do and they won’t talk back.” So for me to play basketball at the highest level is going to do more than words themselves can say.On working with the G League to handle the incident internally without naming the player who directed the slur at him — and Lin’s talks with the player:Everything’s good. It was a really cool conversation. I felt like it was handled the best way. At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to. We were able to just discuss everything.I wanted to share that everybody is susceptible to these types of things and to racism, but to me that’s not the main focus. The goal isn’t like: “Woe is me. Look at this situation.” The real issues right now are the people that are dying, the people that are getting spit on, the people that are getting robbed, the people that are getting burned, the people that are getting stabbed. That’s where the attention needs to be.Lin won a championship with the Raptors in the 2018-19 season, though he hardly played during the finals.Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesOn his time in Toronto and winning a championship — but playing only one minute in the 2019 N.B.A. finals:On one hand, I came out of it with a ring. I was the first Asian-American to win an N.B.A. championship, so there’s something super special about that. Even just being in Toronto, to see how the city, how the country, rallied around that team, to go to a parade with two million people — it was incredible, man.At the same time, honestly, it’s what I needed. I had a 10- to 12-game stretch where I could try to break into the rotation. I didn’t play the way I needed to play, but I learned what I needed to learn. I came off two years of injury and I realized after that stretch that I had to get surgery on my shooting arm that nobody knew about. I never said anything to anybody.It was already starting when I first got to Toronto where something didn’t feel right. It got to the point where, in the playoffs, I couldn’t even shoot a 3-pointer because there was a small bone spur in my shooting elbow. During the playoffs, no one knew, but by the end of the finals I could only shoot out to the free-throw line.So I had to do the surgery and I was struggling with that a lot, but also mentally I had a lot of trauma and fears from my prior injuries that I hadn’t appropriately resolved. And that’s what Toronto and part of the season in China last year really showed me: You’ve been approaching the injuries like it’s physical rehab that you need. You are already physically beyond where you were before you got hurt. You have to rehab the mental side.On his confidence that one more N.B.A. call will come:I’ve done what I needed to do. I took on the challenge. I went to the G League when some people thought it was crazy for me to go. I think it’s just a matter of time, and I believe it’s going to happen. We’ll see. I know I belong.The Scoop @TheSteinLineJalen Green of the G League Ignite team averaged 17.9 points per game in the shortened season.Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesThis newsletter is OUR newsletter. So please weigh in with what you’d like to see here. To get your hoops-loving friends and family involved, please forward this email to them so they can jump in the conversation. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.Corner ThreeThe Malice at the Palace on Nov. 19, 2004, left the Indiana Pacers especially shorthanded the next night against Orlando.Getty ImagesYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Responses may be lightly edited and condensed for clarity.)Q: Is there anything the league can do to encourage more stars to participate in the dunk contest? It stinks for fans that the biggest stars refuse to even try. — Andrew Brotherton (Atlanta)Stein: The reflex answer here has always been for the league and its sponsors to arrange a seven-figure, winner-take-all prize for the dunk champion to persuade the biggest names to risk whatever street cred they think they’d lose by competing. I’m so pessimistic in general about the state of the dunk contest that I’m not even sure that would do it at this point.Would the fallout from a dunk contest flop really be so long-lasting in our short attention span world? It’s evident that many more players than not think that participating comes with some sort of grave risk if they perform poorly.I got my hopes up when New Orleans’s Zion Williamson was so cryptic about joining the dunk field. I thought he was just trying to build up the suspense before he entered — especially since this All-Star Game was so dependent on this year’s All-Stars filling up the individual skills competitions to reduce the number of players traveling to Atlanta. Gullible me.I think I’ve mentioned before that in my high school days, no annual event was bigger in my circle than the Saturday night every February commandeered by the dunk contest. What’s so frustrating for dunk devotees is that the 3-point contest field only seems to get stronger every year. The prospect of a poor shooting performance and the potential embarrassment apparently doesn’t trouble vaunted shooters as it does dunkers.Q: The league has been postponing games all season if a team has fewer than eight players available to suit up, but I seem to remember Indiana playing a game after the brawl in Detroit with only six players. This has probably happened on other occasions besides my Pacers example, right? — Jeff Moye (Bogota, N.J.)Stein: Even in the game you’re thinking of, Indiana had eight players in uniform. Two of them (Scot Pollard and Jamaal Tinsley) were injured and couldn’t play, but the Pacers still had to have them dressed to avoid forfeiting the game.It was Indiana’s first game after the brawl that spilled into the stands at Detroit’s Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 19, 2004. The Pacers had a home game against Orlando the next night — without the suspended players Metta World Peace (then known as Ron Artest), Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson. With Reggie Miller sidelined by a broken hand and facing suspension for leaving the bench, Fred Jones and Eddie Gill each played 48 minutes as the Pacers’ lone available guards.There have been other games in which an N.B.A. team used only six players: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Portland was the last to do so in a win over Sacramento on April 10, 2019. But the league’s requirement to have eight players has been in place for decades.Leave it to my tireless historian pal Todd Spehr from Australia to inform me that the New Orleans Jazz may have been the last team to play a game with fewer than eight players in uniform on March 18, 1977. Elgin Baylor, then the coach of the Jazz, was granted special permission to dress seven players rather than the required eight because five of his players had been injured in a taxi accident that afternoon. Led by 51 points from Pete Maravich, the seven-man New Orleans Jazz beat Phoenix.Q: Has there ever been a team that had three of the league’s top 20 scorers, as the Nets do? — Meet Kachly (Mumbai, India)Stein: It’s rare, but it has happened in the modern era. Some examples are provided here even though Kevin Durant has dropped out of the top 20 because he doesn’t qualify for the league leaders now that he has played in just 19 of the Nets’ 40 games.2018-19: Golden State’s Stephen Curry (No. 5 at 27.3 points per game), Durant (No. 8 at 26) and Klay Thompson (No. 18 at 21.5).2013-14: Rudy Gay did not start the season in Sacramento, but his arrival in a December 2013 trade from Toronto gave those Kings a third top-20 scorer alongside No. 9 DeMarcus Cousins (22.7 points per game) and No. 17 Isaiah Thomas (20.3). Gay was 19th at 20 points per game.1990-91: The “Run TMC” Warriors had three players among the league’s top 11 scorers: No. 8 Chris Mullin (25.7 points per game), No. 10 Mitch Richmond (23.9) and No. 11 Tim Hardaway (22.9).1986-87: Seattle had No. 8 Dale Ellis (24.9 points per game), No. 13 Tom Chambers (23.3) and No. 15 Xavier McDaniel (23).1982-83: Denver had the league’s top two scorers — Alex English at 28.4 points per game and Kiki Vandeweghe at 26.7 points per game — with Dan Issel (21.6) at No. 18.Numbers GameCarmelo Anthony is averaging 14.2 points per game this season with Portland as he climbs toward the top 10 in career scoring.Steve Dykes/Associated Press6Only six teams had winning records against teams that were .500 or better entering Tuesday’s games. Philadelphia (13-6) and the Nets (17-3) are the lone East teams that qualify; Utah (17-8), Phoenix (13-5), the Los Angeles Clippers (11-10) and Denver (11-10) represent the West.41The Houston Rockets have not won a game for 41 days, dating to their Feb. 4 victory at Memphis. That was also the last time Christian Wood played for the Rockets before injuring his ankle. He’s averaging 22 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.343Portland’s Carmelo Anthony needed 343 more points to pass Elvin Hayes (27,313 points) for 10th place in N.B.A. regular-season scoring heading into Tuesday’s game. The only players above Anthony on the league’s scoring charts who are not in the Basketball Hall of Fame are not yet eligible: No. 3 LeBron James (35,211) and No. 6 Dirk Nowitzki (31,560).28.8With his recent Most Valuable Player Award-winning performance in Atlanta, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo improved his scoring average in the All-Star Game to a record 28.8 points per game.11Another interesting history reminder from the aforementioned @ToddSpehr35: Active rosters were reduced to 11 players from 12 for the 1977-78 season through 1980-81. The league voted to go back to 12 for the 1981-82 season. Including two slots for two-way players, teams can have rosters of 17 players and, in this pandemic season, list 15 as active for each game.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. More