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      ‘Do I Really Belong Here?’: Korean Americans in the N.B.A. Wonder

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      A small network of Korean Americans working throughout basketball are helping one another grow professionally and feel understood personally, while hoping to add to their ranks.Early this season, Evan Scott was officiating an N.B.A. game in Portland when a member of the Trail Blazers’ coaching staff approached him during a timeout.As a second-year referee in the league, Scott is accustomed to coaches complaining about calls during timeouts.Jon Yim had sought him out for a different reason.For much of Yim’s nine years as the Blazers’ video coordinator and player development coach, he has rarely shared the court with another Korean American. Scott, 28, is believed to be the first Korean American to officiate in the N.B.A.“It was a nice little interaction to feel recognized and recognize him, as well,” said Scott, who was born in South Korea and adopted by an American family. “We talked about how there are a couple of others around the league.”Recently, a small contingent of Korean-Americans have been hired for notable positions in the N.B.A., the W.N.B.A. and the G League. But for decades, Korean Americans in basketball have privately assisted younger colleagues, toiling to create more representation at the highest levels of the sport.Early in Yim’s tenure with the Blazers, he was contacted by John Cho, who worked for 19 years as the Houston Rockets’ director of basketball technology.“If you need anything, let me know,” Yim recalled Cho telling him.Jon Yim is a player development coach and video coordinator for the Portland Trail Blazers, and he says he rarely runs across other Korean Americans in the N.B.A.Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesYim extended a similar offer in 2018, when Yale Kim began working in basketball operations with the Phoenix Suns. Like many of his Korean-American colleagues, Kim finished his playing career around middle school; in Phoenix, he was suddenly asked to scout college players. To ease the learning curve, Yim advised Kim on various video scouting technologies.“You’re always kind of reaching for people to look up to,” said Kim, 28. “I technically knew it’s possible to be a Korean American in basketball operations, but until you’re exposed to those people and find out about them, that’s when it feels attainable.”In Major League Baseball, a group of Black athletes created a similar network based on mentorship and discussing shared experiences in a professional sport where their representation has fallen well below what it is in the general population.There is believed to be only one player of Korean heritage who has suited up for an N.B.A. team. Ha Seung-jin, now a popular YouTube personality in South Korea, played 46 games for the Blazers in the 2004-5 and 2005-6 seasons. From 2018 to 2019, Ji-Su Park played for the W.N.B.A.’s Las Vegas Aces, and she is expected to be in camp for the upcoming season.Recently, there have been efforts to bring more players of Korean descent into the N.B.A.Milton Lee, the Nets’ director of basketball operations from 2010 to ’14, housed the Korean guard Daesung Lee in his New York apartment while Daesung Lee trained to prepare for the 2017 G League draft. They were introduced by Kiwook Kim, a Nets season-ticket holder from South Korea.Although Daesung Lee played one year with the Erie BayHawks of the G League before returning to South Korea, renewed hope surrounds the Davidson sophomore Hyunjung Lee, who was second on the Wildcats in scoring this past season.Eugene Park, the N.B.A.’s senior manager for elite basketball talent identification, scouted Hyunjung Lee at the league’s 2017 Asia Pacific Team Camp, then invited him to the N.B.A. Global Academy program for select young talent. In the off-season, Hyunjung Lee trains in South Korea with Brian Kim, who recently coached the G League’s Grand Rapids Drive and is another Park disciple.Park, who also plays pickup basketball with Milton Lee, wrote in an email that while he holds the same standard for every player he scouts, he keeps “a close eye on grass-roots basketball competitions in Korea with the hope of identifying more Korean prospects” to potentially recruit to the Global Academy.Davidson forward Hyunjung Lee was the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer in the 2020-21 season, raising hopes that he can find a place in the N.B.A.Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports, via ReutersPark added that more basketball employees of Korean heritage would “showcase a more complete picture of our history.”The news media and education systems in the United States have long struggled to properly characterize the depths of the Korean-American experience, the diversity of which is evident in the family histories of Park and his colleagues.Yim’s ancestors were among the first Koreans to come to the United States, arriving in 1905 and working as pineapple farmers in Hawaii. Scott was one of an estimated 200,000 children placed for adoption after wars and their resulting economic turmoil devastated the Korean Peninsula during much of the 20th century.Milton Lee said his father had escaped North Korea during the Korean War, never seeing his mother or sisters again; he immigrated to the United States and became a doctor. Arnold Lee, an assistant trainer with the Chicago Bulls, saw parallels between his family’s journey and the story told in the Oscar-nominated film “Minari.” His father was in his 20s when he visited America in the 1980s and decided to move here, looking to escape the financial uncertainty that gripped South Korea as it struggled to establish a democracy after decades of coups and military rule.“I hope others find strength in these Korean-American journeys and use that to propel out of their comfort zone,” said Marshall Cho, the boys’ basketball coach at Lake Oswego High School in Oregon. Cho, who previously worked in the N.B.A.’s Basketball Without Borders program, co-founded the Kimchi Family speaker series on YouTube to highlight the stories of Korean Americans in basketball.Rachael Joo, a professor at Middlebury College whose research focuses on how the sports media connects South Korean and Korean-American communities, called Korean N.B.A. employees “mavericks” for not having played professionally yet still breaking into a field dominated by former athletes.Because of their lack of playing experience, many Korean Americans in the N.B.A. say they have experienced impostor syndrome at various stages in their career.“Every day I feel like, do I really belong here?” said Arnold Lee, who has worked for the Bulls since 2016.Many of the Korean-American staff members interviewed said they had experienced racism within the game.Isaac Barnett, who is of Korean descent, officiated a W.N.B.A. game last season that involved Candace Parker and the Los Angeles Sparks. Barnett’s brother, Jacob, also officiates in the league.Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated PressScott said that fans in high school gyms and pro arenas had hurled slurs at him and that he had discussed the incidents with Isaac and Jacob Barnett, brothers of Korean descent who referee in the W.N.B.A. and the G League. The three of them grew up together in Northern Virginia, and the Barnetts encouraged Scott to become a referee.Microaggressions are also common. Yim recalled being introduced to an N.B.A. general manager during the summer league and that a colleague had reported back that the executive perceived Yim as passive and soft and as someone who should be “happy you have a job.”Yim, 36, is now well-regarded around the league. At 28, he gave up a teaching career to take an internship with the Los Angeles Clippers, getting to work at 6:30 a.m. to do everything from “wiping up sweat during pickup games” to training with players.Blazers Coach Terry Stotts has called Yim an “instrumental” part of his staff, and Yim has built a strong rapport with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Portland’s star guards.Yim is also willing to be confrontational with referees. When he approached Scott this season, he started their conversation by arguing about what he thought was a missed foul on McCollum, before offering congratulations.“I was proud of him as a Korean for being the first Korean referee in the league,” Yim said. “Seeing him do it gave me some inspiration that I could be the first Korean head coach in the N.B.A. Evan thanked me and then said, ‘When you are a head coach, I will be the first to give you a technical.’“I said, ‘That’s a deal.’” More

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      ‘Overlooked My Whole Life’: H.B.C.U. Set Stage for an N.B.A. Career

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonVirus Hotspots in the N.B.A.LeBron and Anthony DavisThe N.B.A. Wanted HerMissing Klay ThompsonKobe the #GirlDadAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Overlooked My Whole Life’: H.B.C.U. Set Stage for an N.B.A. CareerThe only active N.B.A. player from a historically Black college or university, Robert Covington is making a name for himself.Robert Covington, a forward on the Portland Trail Blazers, will participate in the skills challenge during the All-Star festivities this weekend in Atlanta.Credit…Rich Pedroncelli/Associated PressMarch 4, 2021, 3:34 p.m. ETRobert Covington remembers his college basketball practices. He remembers the two-on-one full-court drills where he was the “one” and had to try to defend two teammates. He remembers the endless games of one on one that more closely approximated cage matches. He remembers breaking curfew to sneak into the gym to work on his shot — and the late-night phone calls to his coaches when campus security caught him.But most of all, Covington remembers feeling driven when he was at Tennessee State.“I felt like I was overlooked my whole life,” he said.Now in his eighth N.B.A. season, Covington starts at forward for the Portland Trail Blazers, who traded for him in November, banking on his ability to defend, plug holes, make jumpers and help bind the team. It has been a process — Covington has struggled with his shooting — but he continues to provide big minutes for a team that hopes to contend. Because of injuries, he has even moonlighted at center.“We ask him to do a lot,” his teammate Carmelo Anthony said. “But he’s built for that.”On Sunday, true to form, Covington will play an understated role in the preamble to the N.B.A. All-Star Game when he takes part in the league’s annual skills challenge.Considering that teams have spent the past three months crisscrossing the country with the coronavirus still spreading, many players were not particularly enamored of the N.B.A.’s decision to stage an All-Star Game this season. Covington, though, wanted to go because the league and the players’ union are using Sunday’s festivities to help highlight and financially support historically Black colleges and universities. Covington, 30, is the only active player in the league who attended an H.B.C.U. — a distinction that he said was not lost on him.“Of course, I would love to have a break just to get away and reset,” he said, “but I feel like it’s a life-changing experience, and it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up.”In many ways, Covington said, his time at Tennessee State formed the foundation for a career he never envisioned, and he hopes his presence at All-Star weekend — however modest — is an example to young players who are unsung or overshadowed.Covington said he knew Tennessee State felt right almost as soon as he got to the campus for his first visit.Credit…Wade Payne/Associated PressCovington was not a top-shelf recruit coming out of Proviso West High School in Hillside, Ill., outside Chicago. At 6 feet 7 inches and about 170 pounds, he had a thin frame and a hard-to-define game. His jump shot was alluring, but college coaches wondered whether he had the strength to bang around in the post. After all, that was where someone that tall ought to be playing: down low. But one coach expressed a great deal of interest, and that may have made all the difference.At the time, Dana Ford was an assistant at Chipola College, a two-year school in Marianna, Fla. But he was also a candidate to join the staff at Tennessee State, a Division I university in Nashville, when he first saw Covington and was captivated by his potential.“He was like, ‘I’m applying for this job, but until I get it I’m allowed to call you every day,’” Covington recalled Ford telling him. “So he called every day. I thought he was crazy at first.”Ford soon landed the job as an assistant coach at Tennessee State — and curbed his phone calls — but not before he persuaded John Cooper, the team’s new head coach, to join him on a trip to Chicago to see Covington in a showcase for unsigned seniors. It did not go as planned: Fewer than 10 prospects participated, and Cooper could understand why coaches had concerns about Covington. (What position would he play?) But Cooper had scholarships available.“The one thing you could tell is that he could shoot the ball,” Cooper, now an assistant at Southern Methodist University, said in a telephone interview. “So I told Dana, ‘Well, you know, the one thing for sure is that at his height, he’s a guy who if teams zone us, he can possibly make some shots.’”For his part, Covington said he was sold on Tennessee State as soon as he arrived for his official visit.“I called my parents before the first day was even over and said, ‘I found my school,’” he said. “It just felt right.”When he enrolled, the N.B.A. was a distant fantasy. The more realistic goal, he said, was to eventually get paid to play basketball — somewhere, anywhere. Cooper said he was struck by Covington’s toughness. He was unafraid of contact, and even seemed to seek it. “He just needed some strength and size,” Cooper said.Ahead of Covington’s freshman season, the coaching staff bulked him up by putting him on a weight lifting program — and by having him consume a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts every day. (“I ate them in increments,” Covington said.) He added about 15 pounds in two weeks. Even now, he said, he has the sort of high metabolism that incinerates calories. He weighs about 228 pounds, he said, with 5.1 percent body fat.Over four seasons at Tennessee State, Covington, right, averaged 14.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.Credit…Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesAs a four-year starter at Tennessee State, he did a bit of everything: scoring, rebounding, defending. He shot 42.2 percent from 3-point range, and opposing forwards struggled to contain him on the perimeter.“I think one of the best things that ended up happening for Rob at T.S.U. is that he was never pigeonholed,” Cooper said. “Because of his ability, length and size, he did so many different things and his overall game was allowed to grow.”After Covington went undrafted in 2013, the Houston Rockets offered him a partially guaranteed deal and assigned him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their affiliate in the N.B.A. development league (now called the G League).Covington’s presence happened to coincide with a grand experiment for the Vipers. The Rockets’ front office wanted the team to shoot a ton of 3-pointers and layups, treat midrange jumpers as if they were poisonous and switch on defense on every screen. The Vipers were also instructed to keep the paint open on offense by stationing five players around the perimeter. That might sound familiar to anyone who watched the Rockets during the Mike D’Antoni coaching era.Back then, though, those concepts were fairly space age. No team in the N.B.A. had averaged more than 28.9 3-point attempts the previous season. The Vipers launched 45.4 3-pointers a game, and Nevada Smith, then the team’s coach, urged Covington to take his share of them. Covington thrived, averaging 23.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. He had room for improvement, Smith said. He was not a terrific passer, and his ball-handling needed work.“But the defense, the shooting, the anticipation and his ability to finish over the rim — you could see all that stuff from early on,” Smith said.Covington’s place in the N.B.A. ecosystem was still far from secure, and after he played poorly for the Rockets in summer league ahead of the 2014-15 season, they waived him.“They just didn’t see me as a part of their future at that point,” said Covington, who turned down what he described as a major offer from a team in China. “I didn’t want to get lost in the shuffle, so I took a gamble on myself.”Covington’s versatility on offense and defense helped him latch on with the Sixers after the Rockets waived him before the 2014-15 season.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesThe Philadelphia 76ers soon signed him, and he flourished over four-plus seasons, along the way agreeing to a four-year contract extension worth about $62 million. He was named to the league’s all-defensive team in 2018. More than ever, the N.B.A. was valuing versatile players who could stretch the floor, players for whom the idea of being “positionless” was now considered an asset rather than a disadvantage.After stints with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Rockets (who traded for the player they had once cut), Covington joined the Blazers before the start of the season.“It’s just about getting more and more comfortable in the offense,” said Covington, who scored a season-high 21 points on Monday in a win over the Charlotte Hornets. “Got to keep doing what I’m doing.”He often thinks about the effect that Tennessee State had on him, his late nights in the gym, the coaches who pushed him and the program that believed in him. He recently donated $1 million for the university to build a new practice facility, which will be called Covington Pavilion. He has the blueprints.“Surreal,” he said. “Something I never could have imagined.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Stephen Curry Scores 62 Points in Win Over Trail Blazers

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyStephen Curry Answers His Critics With a 62-Point GameA career-best performance against Portland reminded the league what the Golden State Warriors guard can do.Stephen Curry’s incredible night led to a win for the Golden State Warriors and a postgame interview that was interrupted when his teammate Damion Lee doused him with water.Credit…Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesJan. 4, 2021Updated 10:08 a.m. ETStephen Curry has heard the criticism. He is aware his legacy is being questioned, and he knows that any bad game will start again the reconsideration of his accomplishments. But after scoring a career-high 62 points for the Golden State Warriors in a 137-122 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, Curry sent a clear message to his critics: Keep talking.“I like being talked about because there’s expectations,” he said.Curry’s career-best performance came in a matchup with one of his biggest on-court rivals — Damian Lillard of Portland — and on the heels of a storm of social media criticism in which his legacy as a team-lifting superstar was called into question.“Cue the Jordan meme: ‘I take all that personally,’” Curry said with a laugh, referencing a line by Michael Jordan in the documentary “The Last Dance.”Curry then explained that the performance — he had 31 points at halftime — came from a much simpler place than people might be assuming: “I had an opportunity to assert my will on the game early and create some energy.”Asserting his will included shooting 18 of 31 from the field, 8 of 16 from 3-point range and 18 of 19 from the free-throw line. Curry became the first player since Kobe Bryant on Dec. 20, 2005, to score at least 30 points in each half of a game, and he bettered his previous career high of 54 points, which was set in a road loss to the Knicks in 2013.His 62 points also were the most by any player this season and made him only the fifth player in franchise history to score 60 or more points, a feat last accomplished by Klay Thompson, who had 60 in 29 minutes during a blowout win over the Indiana Pacers in 2016. Rick Barry, Joe Fulks, Thompson and Curry have one 60-point game apiece for the Warriors, while Wilt Chamberlain had 27.“He came out looking like a man on a mission,” Draymond Green said of Curry, who scored 21 points in the first quarter.Thompson welcomed Curry to the 60-point club with a tweet, and Curry’s younger brother, Seth, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, took the opportunity to poke fun at Stephen’s critics, who seem to turn nearly every game into a referendum on his legacy.Curry said his brother’s tweet was the best one he’d seen so far and that criticism was just part of being a superstar.“I don’t get frazzled too easily and I’m very confident in who I am as a person and as a basketball player,” he said. “There’s not going to be anything you can say about me or to me that’s going to affect that. At the end of the day that’s how I got here.”While Curry has played well early this season, averaging 32.3 points and 6.2 assists through six games, there is no question that the Warriors are a far cry from the juggernaut once led by Curry, Thompson, Green and Kevin Durant. Golden State opened the season with blowout losses to Durant’s Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks, and looked inept in a loss to Portland on Friday. While their poor play has come mostly from newcomers like Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre, a heavy share of the blame has landed squarely on the shoulders of Curry, the Warriors’ best player. His most persistent critics have questioned why a two-time winner of the N.B.A.’s Most Valuable Player Award can’t lift a lesser team to relevance in the way LeBron James has done.Green, who recently returned from an injury, rejected that premise.“Everybody is always going to try to find a reason to nitpick something Steph does, whether it’s that you haven’t won a Finals M.V.P. or you haven’t carried a team,” Green said. “If I’m not mistaken, he carried the 2015 team.”“To be honest, he’s carried every team, because he’s been the leader of the group since I’ve been here.”Many of Curry’s younger teammates were not with Golden State during the championship years. They were left struggling to describe such a dominant performance.In addition to his typical outside shooting, Curry was aggressive at getting to the rim, leading to a career-high in free-throw attempts. Credit…Tony Avelar/Associated PressJames Wiseman, the team’s rookie center, compared it to a video game. “It reminds me of 2K,” he said, “because I used to play with Steph all the time, and I used to drop like 60. So, just like actually watching in person, that was phenomenal.”Oubre, a veteran wing acquired during the off-season to help fill in for the injured Thompson, brought the perspective of having been one of Curry’s opponents, saying “I was just happy to be on the same side as him tonight, because I know it stunk for the other team.”Curry declined to predict if big-scoring games would become a regular occurrence. But he objected to a reporter’s saying he couldn’t score 62 points every game, playfully responding “Hey, why not?”And Coach Steve Kerr, who said he had lifted Curry in the game’s final minute “so the 42 people in the stands could give him a standing ovation,” said he was perplexed why anyone would criticize Curry in the first place.“I’m not playing dumb: Does he really take criticism?” Kerr asked. “I’ll check out Twitter later. I hope they are saying something good about him tonight.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      N.B.A. Western Conference Preview: The Lakers Reloaded

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyN.B.A. Western Conference Preview: The Lakers ReloadedTheir championship glow still strong, the Lakers are poised to make another run, even as the Warriors bounce back and the Suns ascend.The Los Angeles Lakers could be having a double-championship parade at the end of this season behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James.Credit…Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDec. 21, 2020Updated 10:00 a.m. ETLeBron James was surprised, and a little annoyed, when the N.B.A. unveiled its schedule for the 2020-21 season. He had been hoping for a mid-January start for his title defense with the Los Angeles Lakers. It was wishful thinking.“I was like, ‘Wow!’” James said at a recent news conference.The Lakers, just 72 days removed from winning the franchise’s 17th championship, will return to the grind on Tuesday when they face the Clippers, another team with big goals, at Staples Center, the Los Angeles arena that both teams share.Here is a look at how the Western Conference shapes up after the shortest off-season in league history:The ContendersSomehow, the Lakers look even better this season than they did for last season’s championship run.Credit…Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesLos Angeles Lakers2019-20 record: 52-19 (No. 1 seed, N.B.A. champions)Key additions: Dennis Schröder, Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell, Wesley MatthewsKey subtractions: Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Dwight HowardOutlook: The mere presence of James and Anthony Davis, both of whom recommitted to the freshly minted champions with new deals in recent weeks, would be enough for any team to contend for a title. But give the Lakers credit: They were anything but complacent over the league’s abridged off-season. In fact, the front office made upgrades by acquiring Schröder and Harrell, the league’s two top reserves last season. And Gasol and Matthews are crafty veterans who add depth. Add it all up, and the Lakers are even better positioned for a championship run than they were in the bubble.The Clippers have a new coach but the same two stars and threshold for success: winning a championship.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressLos Angeles Clippers2019-20 record: 49-23 (No. 2 seed)Key additions: Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, Luke KennardKey subtractions: Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet, JaMychal GreenOutlook: The Clippers would probably love to have a little more distance from their debacle in the bubble, a premature exit in the Western Conference semifinals that raised questions about the team’s chemistry and led to Coach Doc Rivers’s departure. (He landed on his feet with the Philadelphia 76ers.) But the bubble memories have surely lingered for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, two stars who watched from home as the Lakers claimed the ultimate prize that both teams had been chasing. Now, under the direction of Tyronn Lue, the team’s new coach, the pressure will only mount on the Clippers to deliver.Michael Porter Jr. showed a lot of potential during the bubble over the summer, raising expectations for his play this season.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressDenver Nuggets2019-20 record: 46-27 (No. 3 seed)Key additions: Facundo Campazzo, JaMychal GreenKey subtractions: Jerami Grant, Torrey Craig, Mason PlumleeOutlook: Coming off an enthralling run in the bubble in which they reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in 11 years, the Nuggets appear primed to build on that momentum. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have established themselves as bona fide stars, and Michael Porter Jr. is an elastic-limbed talent with enormous potential. The off-season was a mixed bag — the losses of Grant and Craig could hurt the team on defense — and Coach Mike Malone has groused about the team’s focus in the preseason. But no team put more into the league’s restart last season, or came out of the experience better for it.The MaybesLuka Doncic could end Giannis Antetokounmpo’s reign as the league’s most valuable player this season.Credit…Jerome Miron/USA Today Sports, via ReutersDallas Mavericks2019-20 record: 43-32 (No. 7 seed)Key additions: Josh Richardson, James Johnson, Wesley IwunduKey subtractions: Seth CurryOutlook: Is this the season when the Mavericks — and Luka Doncic, a fashionable pick to win his first N.B.A. Most Valuable Player Award — break free from the middle of the Western Conference pack and make a deep playoff run? The team tried to address concerns about its porous defense by acquiring the likes of Richardson and Johnson, who add toughness. But there are lingering concerns, too, and Kristaps Porzingis finds himself at the center of them. Porzingis, who has struggled to stay healthy dating to his days with the Knicks, had surgery on his right knee in October.The Jazz signed Donovan Mitchell, left, and Jordan Clarkson, right, to big deals this off-season.Credit…David Zalubowski/Associated PressUtah Jazz2019-20 record: 44-28 (No. 6 seed)Key additions: Derrick FavorsKey subtractions: NoneOutlook: Since 2016, the Jazz have doing good job being relevant. Not extraordinary. Not dominant. Just relevant. Now, after their second straight first-round playoff exit, the Jazz are hoping that they can take another step with largely the same pieces. Over the off-season, they committed millions to Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson while doing little to remedy their issues defending perimeter scorers.Stephen Curry is back, but without Klay Thompson the Warriors are unlikely to contend for a championship.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersGolden State Warriors2019-20 record: 15-50Key additions: James Wiseman, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent BazemoreKey subtractions: Klay Thompson (again)Outlook: After making five straight appearances in the N.B.A. finals and coming away with three championships, the Warriors were essentially on hiatus last season. Their stars were injured. Coach Steve Kerr played a bunch of young guys, and things got glum in a hurry: Golden State finished with the worst record in the league. The good news is that Stephen Curry is back this season, and the Warriors bulked up their frontcourt by selecting Wiseman with the second pick in the draft. Now, the bad news: Thompson, after missing all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, tore his right Achilles’ tendon in an off-season workout and will be sidelined for his second straight season. Without him, the Warriors cannot expect to vie for a title. But they should be back in the playoff hunt.Damian Lillard will have a little bit more help this season with Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr.Credit…Pool photo by Kevin C. CoxPortland Trail Blazers2019-20 record: 35-39 (No. 8 seed)Key additions: Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr., Enes Kanter, Harry GilesKey subtractions: Trevor Ariza, Hassan WhitesideOutlook: Credit the Blazers for addressing one of their weaknesses by acquiring Covington and Jones, versatile forwards who can defend and shoot. But all eyes are again on Damian Lillard, the All-Star point guard who is coming off his finest season for an underperforming team. He has repeatedly pledged his loyalty to Portland, and he has a long-term contract to prove it. He needs his supporting cast to come through.James Harden wants to be traded, but the Rockets don’t need to rush to oblige him.Credit…Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressHouston Rockets2019-20 record: 44-28 (No. 4 seed)Key additions: John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Christian WoodKey subtractions: Russell Westbrook, Robert CovingtonOutlook: In the wake of a tumultuous off-season in which the general manager (Daryl Morey) and the coach (Mike D’Antoni) both decamped for new roles, the team’s best player wants out, too. James Harden finally showed up late to training camp after partying in Atlanta and Las Vegas, and it is clear he wants to be traded. The front office can take its time with that request as the franchise acclimates itself to a new-look roster that includes Wall and Cousins, two big-name reclamation projects who are coming off serious injuries.The NoncontendersThe Suns haven’t made the playoffs in 10 seasons, but this could be the year they return.Credit…Rick Bowmer/Associated PressPhoenix Suns2019-20 record: 34-39Key additions: Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, Abdel NaderKey subtractions: Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky RubioOutlook: The Suns, led by Devin Booker, made an impression by closing out last season with an eight-game winning streak in the bubble. Then they made an even bigger splash in the off-season by engineering a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to acquire Paul, the veteran point guard. Don’t overlook the addition of Crowder, either. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of the Suns, who could find themselves back in the playoffs after a 10-year absence.The Grizzlies may not win a championship, but they should be fun to watch.Credit…Mike Ehrmann/Getty ImagesMemphis Grizzlies2019-20 record: 34-39Key additions: NoneKey subtractions: NoneOutlook: Led by Ja Morant, the N.B.A.’s rookie of the year, the Grizzlies were among the league’s fun surprises last season. They are young and talented, and this figures to be another growing season — especially after they welcome back Jaren Jackson Jr., their starting center, from a knee injury he sustained in August.The Pelicans lost Jrue Holiday, but Zion Williamson should make a major leap in his second season.Credit…Jasen Vinlove/USA Today Sports, via ReutersNew Orleans Pelicans2019-20 record: 30-42Key additions: Eric Bledsoe, Steven AdamsKey subtractions: Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favors, E’Twaun Moore, Frank JacksonOutlook: The Pelicans are going to be preaching patience after trading Holiday to the Bucks for a gleaming collection of future first-round picks. They also re-signed Brandon Ingram to a long-term deal. And Zion Williamson should take another step in his development if he can stay on the court. But this figures to be a building year under Stan Van Gundy, who has returned to coaching after a foray as a broadcaster.Last season was rocky for the Timberwolves, but their core of D’Angelo Russell, left, and Karl-Anthony Towns, right, should be better this season.Credit…Hannah Foslien/Getty ImagesMinnesota Timberwolves2019-20 record: 19-45Key additions: Anthony Edwards, Ricky RubioKey subtractions: James JohnsonOutlook: The Timberwolves are coming off a disappointing, injury-marred season. But they presumably have their core in place, after adding Edwards, a shooting guard and the top overall pick in November’s N.B.A. draft, to a roster headlined by Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. There will be growing pains, of course, and it would be surprising to see the Timberwolves in the thick of the playoffs. But they should show improvement.The Spurs had made the playoffs for 22 straight years before missing them last season. A return is not guaranteed this season, either.Credit…Soobum Im/USA Today Sports, via ReutersSan Antonio Spurs2019-20 record: 32-39Key additions: Devin VassellKey subtractions: Bryn ForbesOutlook: The Spurs had made 22 straight playoff appearances before they fell short last season. It could be another challenging season for Coach Gregg Popovich after a quiet couple of months for the front office. The Spurs still employ DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, which means they will have a fighting chance to make the playoffs. But in a power-packed conference, it will be a steep climb.The Thunder are firmly in rebuilding mode.Credit…Sue Ogrocki/Associated PressOklahoma City Thunder2019-20 record: 44-28 (No. 5 seed)Key additions: Al Horford, George Hill, Trevor ArizaKey subtractions: Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder, Steven Adams, Danilo GallinariOutlook: The Thunder have amassed an incredible collection of future first-round picks by trading players like Paul, a veteran who had been instrumental in leading the team last season. But General Manager Sam Presti has chosen to take the long view as the Thunder seek to build through the draft. In the short term, that means they could be facing a lean few months.De’Aaron Fox is a promising player for the Kings, but overall team success doesn’t appear likely in the short run.Credit…Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports, via ReutersSacramento Kings2019-20 record: 31-41Key additions: Tyrese Haliburton, Hassan WhitesideKey subtractions: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kent Bazemore, Harry GilesOutlook: It seems a safe bet to add another season to the league’s longest playoff drought. The Kings opted not to match the Atlanta Hawks’ contract offer to Bogdanovic, a restricted free agent, as they look toward the future with De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III and Haliburton, a first-year shooting guard.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      The N.B.A. Slam Dunk Champion Cashes In

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      Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat poses for a portrait during the 2020 NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago.Credit…Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE, via Getty ImagesSkip to contentSkip to site indexThe N.B.A. Slam Dunk Champion Cashes InDerrick Jones Jr. took The New York Times behind the scenes of his free agency to reveal all of the nerves, contemplation and, ultimately, joy.Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat poses for a portrait during the 2020 NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago.Credit…Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE, via Getty ImagesSupported byContinue reading the main storyBy More