The Mavericks are building something slow with small parts and what they've done so far in 2017 flies in the face of tanking rhetoric. Read more »

The Heat started the year off as a disjointed group of castoffs on minimum deals, flawed prospects in the infant stages of development, and talented veterans who're better off on a team that isn't in need of a transformative overhaul. Read more »

The Wizards played beautifully and very nearly beat the Cavs. They learned what they needed to learn about themselves. What they provided in the process was wonderful to watch and about as purely useful as sports get. Read more »

With the trade deadline looming just weeks away, teams at various levels of success have crucial decisions to make. The first full week of February features a series of excellent center matchups on League Pass, including Gobert/Howard, Howard/Cousins and Horford/Gobert. Read more »

For Friday night only, DraftKings is offering RealGM readers free access to a fantasy basketball contest with $20,000 in prizes! Simply make a first time deposit of at least $5 to claim your free entry. Read more »

For a roster that is starting to get expensive, Milwaukee had to free up some cap flexibility. Dealing Miles Plumlee for Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert was the first step and it was a good one. Read more »

LeBron doesn't forget himself around journalists, and one of the first words in his outburst was legacy, but it's confirmation that being LeBron James is as constantly aggravating as it looks from a distance. Read more »

As the calendar turns to February, the playoff picture comes into clearer focus but there are plenty of worthwhile League Pass games both inside and outside that context. Read more »

Willingly or not, foreign-born NBA players like Embiid, Giannis, Jokic and Porzingis now lead a fraught and loaded existence, serving as examples of the distinct, inspiring excellence known when non-Americans become so fitted to national pastimes that they're magnetized to our land. Read more »

Big men Joakim Noah, Omer Asik, Miles Plumlee and Timofey Mozgov figure prominently on this list, as do 2016 signees on the wing Luol Deng, Chandler Parsons and Evan Turner. Read more »

Lillard and McCollum are reasons 1A and 1B why the Blazers shouldn't panic, but their flaws inflame fundamental weaknesses, creating understandable long-term question marks regarding their ability to coexist. Read more »

The Knicks should look to move Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose, which would put Kristaps Porzingis through the developmental experience of being at the top of opponent scouting reports and also allocate more minutes to their young prospects. Read more »

Athletes do what's best for themselves and we deal with the consequences of those decisions. We get Carmelo Anthony wasting his supreme, waning talent on a spiraling Knicks team, alternately engaged and checked out, relishing crunchtime duty and the off-court benefits of his job. Read more »

Jonathan Isaac is perceived as the prototypical big wing for this Era of versatility-driven basketball. But that's mostly potential for now even if he's expected to elevate his stock in the workouts. Read more »

The last full week of January will be a fascinating one for League Pass because the second and third tiers of each conference get a great showcase. Teams like the Rockets, Raptors and Celtics all have significant games against comparable opponents including a nice mix of home and road challenges. Read more »

Khris Middleton, Draymond Green, Kemba Walker, Jae Crowder and Maurice Harkless headline the list of the most tradable players in the NBA. Read more »

Why is one of the greatest physical specimens in the NBA today, someone who seemed to be ascending into superstar status earlier last season, dragging his team's defense down so much this season? Read more »

The Blazers weren't some odds-defying, feel-good story come back down to earth. The ingredients for a contender are mostly there, but unfortunately a bad summer spending spree has spoiled the batch. But with some creative maneuvering going forward, there's no reason the Blazers can get back to the playoffs. Read more »

Josh Jackson started the season as a contender to go first overall, but has fallen out of that conversation since then. Despite concerns about his perimeter shot and older age for a freshman, Jackson will still be a high lottery pick. Read more »

Splendidly and unexpectedly, this season has been characterized by a jubilant disregard for the facts and nearly the entire league giving themselves over to the joy of figuring out just how good they can be, no matter if that's good enough. Read more »