While our Chicago Bulls are cutting lottery picks and tanking games, 20 NBA teams are locked in on the immediate future: the postseason, which kicks off in two weeks.
Several clubs are putting it all together, with an eye towards deep playoff runs.
How Did the Clippers Steal Darius Garland?
Michael McLoone-Imagn ImagesWhen 36-year-old future Hall of Famer James Harden demanded a trade out of LA (as has been his custom), the Clippers found a willing trade partner in a contending Cleveland club. They shipped Harden to the Cavs in exchange for former two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland, who is 10 years his junior.
Garland has been thriving next to Kawhi Leonard on the surging Los Angeles Clippers, and the move seems to have reopened LA’s long-term contention window, even if popular discourse suggests it may have hurt the Clippers’ short-term ceiling. Harden has generally been the better player this season, after all.
But maybe the California sunshine has changed something in Garland.
LA has gone 10-3 when Garland has been available. He’s been averaging a stellar 21.3 points on sparkling .510/.510/.862 shooting splits (including 4.0 made triples on 7.8 tries a game), 7.0 dimes, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per.
Darius Garland in 13 games with the Clippers:21.3 PPG7.0 APG4.0 3PG51% FG51% 3PTLA is 10-3 with DG in the lineup. pic.twitter.com/NAP30xshNw
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) March 31, 2026The Clippers quietly have already been reaping the rewards of a fairly great trade deadline retool. Although they lost a declining All-Defensive Team center in Ivica Zubac (and have temporarily replaced him with soon-to-be-38-year-old Brook Lopez), they also acquired restricted free agent wing Bennedict Mathurin and oft-hurt young bench center Isaiah Jackson.
Through 19 games (all but one as a reserve), the former No. 6 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft has been averaging 20.3 points on .441/.209/.854 shooting splits, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 swipes a night.
In offloading Zubac’s contract, LA brought back Mathurin, Jackson and — most critically — the Pacers’ unprotected 2029 first-round pick, the Dallas Mavericks’ 2028 second-rounder, and the rights to a tanking Indiana’s 2026 pick, should it land between Nos. 5 and 9. If it lands anywhere else, however, the selection will convey to the Pacers.
How Los Angeles handles the impending postseason is anyone’s guess. At 39-36, LA currently occupies the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed. The Clippers trail the 42-33 Phoenix Suns by three games, with just seven left in LA’s schedule. Can Leonard, in the midst of a potential All-NBA season, even stay healthy for an entire playoff series?
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn ImagesAll 20 Postseason Teams Finalized — Seeding Stil TBD
The official eliminations of the 29-45 Milwaukee Bucks and the 29-46 Bulls locked in all 20 teams who will make the 2026 postseason.
But the question of playoff seeding will dictate a lot.
At 54-21, the Detroit Pistons are four games ahead of the rising Boston Celtics (50-25) for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Cade Cunningham’s collapsed lung will likely hold him out until at least the first round of the playoffs, if not longer, while Boston is largely healthy. Can the Celtics catch up? Regardless, the Cunningham injury — and Jayson Tatum’s incredible play in his return from an Achilles tear — likely makes Boston the favorite to emerge from the conference.
The 48-27 New York Knicks are a single game ahead of the 47-28 Cavaliers, so there could be a lot of movement throughout the East’s top four. The No. 5 seed Toronto Raptors (42-32) are just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers (41-34), essentially making it a three-team race to avoid the play-in tournament. The Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets are separated by a scant 0.5 games — and could all, in theory, catch Philadelphia, too — so it’s anyone’s guess how the East play-in bracket will be sorted out.
All four of this year’s top MVP candidates play for the top four teams in the West.
Reigning MVP and Finals MVP point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 60-16 Oklahoma City Thunder pace the rest as the No. 1 overall seed, but two-time All-Star center Victor Wembanyama’s 57-18 San Antonio Spurs are just 2.5 games behind the champs.
One of these young squads will be the top seed in the West, as the Spurs are eight games ahead of six-time All-Star guard Luka Doncic’s Los Angeles Lakers (49-26), with just seven games left on either team’s schedule.
Three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic’s 48-28 Denver Nuggets are 1.5 games behind LA and 1.5 games ahead of the No. 5-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves (46-29) for the fourth seed and first-round homecourt advantage. The Lakers are only 3.5 games ahead of the No. 6-seeded Houston Rockets, so in theory it’s a four-team sprint for the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds in the conference.
Trail Blazers’ $4.5 Billion Sale Officially Confirmed by NBA
The league has finally voted to ratify the Portland Trail Blazers’ team sale to a group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, according to a team press release.
“Today is the beginning of a new chapter for the Portland Trail Blazers, as we build on the legacy of this storied franchise,” Dundon said. “On behalf of our ownership group, my commitment to this tremendous fan base is that we are going to be relentless towards building a team that can compete at the highest level, every single season.”
Dundon will procure 80.1 percent of the club at a $4 billion valuation. Per The Athletic‘s Jason Quick, the rest of the franchise must be bought at a valuation of $4.5 billion by Sept. 1, 2028.
Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesOdds & Ends
The NBA has announced its 12 final contenders for the 2025-26 Twyman Stokes Teammate of the Year award. Current All-Stars Jalen Brunson and De’Aaron Fox are in the running, as are former All-Stars Jayson Tatum (although he’s going to make a team again, it appears), Jrue Holiday and De’Andre Jordan. Bulls alum Garrett Temple, now with the Toronto Raptors, seems to perennially be in the running. Former champion Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri is returning to pro hoops in Toronto! This time, he’s joining the ownership group that is buying WNBA expansion squad the Toronto Tempo, per a Tempo announcement. Ujiri led the Raptors’ front office from 2013-25. Led by Finals MVP Leonard, Toronto won it all in 2019. The University of Virginia revealed in a press statement Tuesday that alum Malcolm Brogdon — a former Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year during his nine-year NBA career — has been hired to serve as a strategic advisor for his alma mater’s men’s basketball team. All-Defensive Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Jaden McDaniels is week-to-week with a left patella tendinopathy and a bone bruise, according to Minnesota. The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski suggests that McDaniels will not need surgery and could be back in time for the playoffs. Given how important his perimeter coverage is for this team, the Timberwolves certainly hope so. Washington Wizards center/power forward Anthony Davis, who has yet to play a game for his new team, has been cleared for “light contact” in team practices, per a Wizards announcement. The oft-hurt future Hall of Famer has been struggling with supposed left ligament damage. Given that Washington is gunning for maximal lottery odds, and has just seven games remaining on its season, it feels unlikely we’ll see Davis at all this year. So why did Washington even make this halfhearted announcement? Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesHence then, the article about around the nba garland s impact in la playoff picture trail blazers sold more was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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