Yes, even the Hornets

Good morning. Every franchise can rise quickly. Every franchise. But there's a psychic albatross that needs to be cut loose. Let's basketball.

Dame's strange legacy

Good morning. Let's start the week with some quick-hitters on Damian Lillard's return to the Blazers, Bradley Beal and Marcus Smart landing in L.A. and the Hornets winning a championship of some sort. Let's basketball.

Nikola Jokic remains the Consensus Best Player Alive ... barely

Good morning. Here's our annual update on the Consensus BPA metric, which has has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander closing the gap but not yet catching Jokic. Let's basketball.

Revisiting Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns trade

Good morning. Minnesota said it swapped Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle to maximize its flexibility. A year later, does that appear true? Let's basketball.

Dusk of the legends

Good morning. Let's talk about where LeBron, Steph and KD are and where they are headed. Let's basketball.

We should have taken Austin Ainge more literally

Good morning. The new Jazz GM said the team wasn't doing "tanking" any more. Correct! Let's basketball.

Why would you stretch Bradley Beal?

Good morning. We have some quick-hitters on a Monday. Let's basketball.

Jonathan Kuminga needs to simmer

Good morning. On Independence Day, a brief take on where Jonathan Kuminga should land. Let's basketball.

Deandre Ayton has a chance to do the funniest thing

Good morning. DominElAyton time. Plus some notes on Mike Brown to New York. Let's basketball.

The Bucks will never give up

Good morning. Milwaukee signed Myles Turner to a long-term deal ... but had to waive and stretch Damian Lillard to do it. What's this mean for the future of the club? Let's basketball.

Denver goes long

Good morning. The Nuggets make a huge, splashy deal as free agency opens. Will it work? Let's basketball.

Power outage in Toronto

Good morning. Masai Ujiri, the fourth longest tenured front office leader in the league, is out in Toronto. What's it really take to become an institution? Let's basketball.