Dark Horse Candidates for Every NBA Award

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Massive Extension: R.J. Barrett gets the bag from the Knicks, but what does it mean for a potential Donovan Mitchell trade?

Like Father Like Son: LeBron wants to stick around to play with his youngest son Bryce, but how feasible is that goal?

An Outside Shot: Looking at an intriguing dark horse candidate for each NBA Award next season

R.J. Barrett gets massive contract extension with Knicks

What happened

The Knicks made a splash on Monday by signing third-year forward R.J. Barrett to a four-year rookie extension that could potentially be worth up to $120 million. The third overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Barrett has averaged over 17 points a night during his first three seasons in New York and started 197 of the 198 games he’s played in.

Why it matters

1. It ends a rather embarrassing 23-year streak for the New York Knicks, who have not signed a draft pick to a multiyear contract extension after their rookie deal since Charlie Ward in 1999. Despite drafting multiple all-star caliber players during this stretch like Danilo Gallinari, David Lee and Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks have struggled to get young players to stick around long-term for one reason or another. They have to hope this extension represents a change in fortune for the franchise when it comes to keeping young talent in the Big Apple.

2. While keeping Barrett in New York for the next four seasons is undoubtedly a good thing, it also throws a wrench in the Knicks' ongoing quest to trade for Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. This is because of the ‘poison pill’ provision now present in Barrett's contract, which is meant to deter teams from trading players who sign a rookie contract extension before said extension takes effect. What it means is that, for cap purposes, Barrett counts as $10.9 million in outgoing salary for the Knicks but $26.2 million in incoming salary for any team that wants to acquire him. For Barrett to be included in a trade for Donovan Mitchell, the Knicks would now also have to either a) hope the Jazz would be willing to take on Evan Fournier's two-year $37 million contract as well or b) find a third team who will to satisfy salary cap requirements.

LeBron expresses interest in playing with youngest son Bryce

What happened

LeBron James already shocked the basketball world by saying he plans to team up with his 17-year-old son Bronny in the NBA. But, in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard, Bron also expressed interest in sticking around long enough to play with 15-year-old Bryce as well.

“I’d definitely be looking at who got first-round picks in 2024, 2025, things of that nature; 2026, ’27. I pay attention to that type of stuff,” James said on the prospect of playing with both his sons. “I feel like I could play for quite a while. So it’s all up to my body, but more importantly, my mind. If my mind can stay sharp and fresh and motivated, then the sky’s not even a limit for me. I can go beyond that. But we shall see.”

Why it matters

LeBron recently signed a two-year extension in LA worth nearly $100 million that will allow him to become a free agent presumably when Bronny will be joining the NBA. Bronny is only a four-star recruit and the No. 61 ranked prospect in the class of 2023 but he could be drafted much higher than his ranking would indicate thanks to teams hoping to land his father in free agency as a package deal.

But after this is where things get interesting. With Bryce being draft-eligible two years after Bronny, will LeBron leave the side of his oldest son to get a chance to play with his youngest, or will the three work their magic to combine forces on one #JamesGang superteam? Only time will tell.

Father time will also tell what version of LeBron we’ll be getting in 2026-27. If he holds out, LeBron will be just the 12th player in NBA history to play in the league at age 41 or older. And, judging by his track record of smashing expectations for what a 19-year NBA veteran can do, it’s impossible to bet against him. He may be closer to his 60s than the beginning of his professional career at that point, but it’s hard to see a world where LeBron isn’t still a highly impactful basketball player four years from now.

MVP: Damian Lillard

Preseason Odds: +4000

Damian Lillard is feeling the best he’s felt in years, and it might just throw him into the center of the 2022-23 MVP race if everything breaks right. After finally getting surgery to resolve a nagging abdominal issue that has been bothering him for the better part of half a decade, Lillard is coming back fully healthy to a revamped, more defensive-minded Blazers squad.

If Dame is telling the truth about his health, and there’s no reason to believe he isn’t, it could bode very very well for his play this season. It’s not a coincidence that he played the best basketball of his career in the 2020 Orlando Bubble after getting a months-long break to rest his strained and weary abdominal muscles. I mean, just look at these mind-blowing bubble highlights and tell me you aren’t a Dame believer.

The biggest thing that might be holding him back, are the Blazers good enough to get him into MVP consideration? They made some solid moves this offseason by trading for talented stretch forward Jerami Grant, signing versatile defensive multitool Gary Payton II in free agency, and drafting for upside with 7th overall pick Shaedon Sharpe, but in a Western Conference that’s more stacked than it’s been in years, questions remain about their talent surrounding Lillard.

It would take a truly herculean effort from Lillard to put Portland near the top of the conference. But, when Dame Time is activated, anything is possible.

DPOY: Ben Simmons

Preseason Odds: +2500

It’s easy to forget about Ben Simmons when discussing the best defenders in the NBA, considering he missed the entirety of last season due to a combination of a public dispute with the Sixers and a lingering back issue in Brooklyn. But with a fresh start on an exciting Nets squad who have the potential to go far, Simmons might just be the defensive anchor they need to dominate the Eastern Conference.

A lot of the time in Philadelphia, Simmons was asked to do too much on offense, which ended up hurting his overall play. Now in Brooklyn, he has Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to take on the brunt of the scoring load and is surrounded by lethal shooters like Seth Curry and Joe Harris to enhance his playmaking abilities. The Nets have the perfect group of players to make life easy for Simmons on the offensive end, leaving him free to focus on what he does best, locking up the opposing team's best player night in and night out.

Simmons has always been an absolute specimen on D who seems practically lab-built to guard every position on the court. He has the quickness to stick with smaller guards, the size to contest shots near the rim, and the defensive IQ of a player ten years his elder. With back-to-back All-Defensive first teams during his last two healthy seasons, and Marcus Smart's DPOY win last season proving that it isn’t an award exclusive to big men and forwards, Simmons is a great outsider pick to be named the league's best defender.

ROTY: Bennedict Mathurin

Preseason Odds: +1100

Bennedict Mathurin has all the tools to be an elite volume scorer in the NBA, and his summer league performances might be an indicator that he’s ready to show off those skills sooner rather than later. In his three appearances in Vegas, Mathurin was an eye-popping spark plug, averaging nearly 19 points in just 22 minutes per game on 60% true shooting.

Not only does Mathurin have the tools to be successful as an NBA scorer, but he is also in an ideal situation to let him thrive from day one. The Indiana Pacers are in full rebuild mode and appear fully focused on getting their young guys as many minutes as possible. They are also a team crying out for a high-level shot creator. If Mathurin asserts himself, there’s a chance he could be one of the Pacer's top scorers right out of the gate. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s playing next to one of the game's brightest young playmakers in Tyrese Haliburton.

In many ways, Mathurin's situation is reminiscent of Donovan Mitchell's rookie campaign during 2017-18 that nearly saw him take home the ROTY award. And like Mitchell, Mathurin could certainly average north of 20 points per game under the right circumstances.

6MOTY: Malik Monk

Preseason Odds: +6000

Malik Monk has the longest odds of anyone we’re discussing today by far, but he also has the most intriguing (and slept-on) case.

As one of the lone bright spots on a disappointing Lakers squad last season, Monk was a hyper-efficient scorer both at the rim and beyond the arc. It was the culmination of multiple years of steady improvement for the former Charlotte Hornet, who has improved his true shooting% during each of his first four seasons in the league.

Monk has solidified himself as one of the better three-point shooters in the NBA over the past two seasons and he’s joining a Sacramento team that needs an elite shooter following the departure of Buddy Hield. Alongside projected starting shooting guard Kevin Huerter, Monk will play a big part in spacing the floor for former Kentucky teammate De’Aaron Fox and Lithuanian-American big man Domantas Sabonis.

If he can continue his steady improvement as a scorer and help Sacramento break their 16-season playoff drought, Monk might have the numbers and the narrative to make him a surprise sixth man of the year contender.

B/R NBA Future Rankings: Projecting Every Team's Next 3 Years - Andy Bailey (Bleacher Report)

Jeanie Buss unplugged: On Lakers power structure, LeBron’s future, Russell Westbrook and more - Sam Amick (The Athletic)

Film Study: What Ben Simmons brings to Brooklyn - John Schuhmann (NBA.com)

Thanks for reading today's edition of the Enjoy Basketball Newsletter! Let us know if you liked the changes to the format and keep sending in suggestions of what you’d like to see moving forward. We’re always looking to improve!

Now, let's end things off with an absolutely filthy Jusuf Nurkic posterizer from EuroBasket qualifiers.

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The answer to Friday's trivia question is Dwight Howard! He blocked an NBA Finals record nine shots during game four of the 2009 Finals.

Trivia Question: If LeBron does team up with Bronny or Bryce, he will become the fourth athlete in a major American sports league to play alongside his son. Who are the other three? (Hint: None of them are basketball players)