That said, New York's offense is dreadful without its longtime franchise player on the floor—even if he's no longer quite a franchise player.
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Ryan Zimmerman has been the franchise player here for years.
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Pelosi has been the proverbial franchise player for the Democrats.
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He may be good, or great, or even a franchise player.
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A franchise player who regularly bullies the journalists covering him is another.
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At some point, it's unreasonable to expect much more from your franchise player.
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James's teammates said the recent ire toward their franchise player had been overblown.
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Wall is Washington's franchise player, but his jumper still has room to improve.
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Why claim to be promoting continuity while teaching the franchise player a new offense?
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The Jets intend to designate Wilkerson as their franchise player before the 4 p.m.
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That breakout performance precipitated an eight-figure extension and a rep as Milwaukee's franchise player.
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Based on how their franchise player is rolling, don't expect that to happen anytime soon.
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San Antonio has been competent without its 26-year-old franchise player all season long.
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Part A: Kristaps Porzingis comfortably views himself as the heir to the role of franchise player.
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New Orleans won't make the playoffs unless their franchise player has a vintage PER-leading campaign.
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Meanwhile, the Kings get a brand new franchise player under contract for the next five years.
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Their franchise player, Bradley Beal, is on pace to average career highs in points and assists.
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His game: McDavid is a classic once-in-a-generation franchise player who can do just about everything.
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The Timberwolves feared their franchise player might have suffered a torn ACL, but he was diagnosed with inflammation.
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The franchise player the Red Sox thought they had a half-decade back is here, and still improving.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers just signed Kevin Love—their "new" franchise player—to a four-year, $120 million extension.
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The decision kept the Cavs on their toes, knowing their franchise player could leave again whenever he wanted.
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The team flat out doesn't have a lot of talent and isn't built to compliment its franchise player.
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Regardless, he remains Miami's single biggest reason for optimism, both as a trade chip and possible franchise player.
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The Patriots had Drew Bledsoe, the team's franchise player and starting quarterback since his rookie season in 0903.
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"He's still a great goalie and he's been a franchise player for a very long time," Gorton said.
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Any teams that had designs on signing Colorado's franchise player next year will be forced to look elsewhere.
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But it has also changed the idea of what a franchise player can be, and how he can play.
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Bender may never become a franchise player, but his position-less agility should complement whoever eventually fills that role.
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They reached the playoffs twice in between and locked up their franchise player, outfielder Ryan Braun, in the process.
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The Panthers signed Short, a Pro Bowl defensive tackle and their franchise player, to a five-year contract extension.
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Wind up your franchise player, point him towards a simple two-man action, then let him wreak some havoc.
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Given his attachment to the Garden, Anthony should also consider the last Knicks franchise player who lobbied his way out.
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"I was the franchise player: I felt a responsibility to get back on the court and not respond," he said.
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The gaping hole is under center, where Blake Bortles has not developed into the franchise player the Jags had hoped for.
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If they do, and if Westbrook accepts it, then Presti has a bit more room to build around his franchise player.
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Yet it might behoove New Orleans to wait until closer to the draft to get serious about dealing its franchise player.
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The health of Porzingis, their 7-foot-3 franchise player, was again up in the air, leaving fans anxious for information.
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In a season that has been humbling for everyone involved, Coach Steve Kerr was excited to see his franchise player return.
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Instead, the Hornets find themselves in what looks like a worst-case scenario: the loss of a franchise player for nothing.
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Sonny Draftday panics, sending three first-round picks to Seattle in order to get the franchise player and championship Cleveland desperately wants.
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The moment when Tavares's time as the Islanders' franchise player either comes to a crushing halt, or extends into an uncertain future.
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He was in no way endorsing Phil Jackson as an accomplished Knicks president or Carmelo Anthony as a championship-level franchise player.
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The Super Bowl's most valuable player, Von Miller, has been tagged as a franchise player, though, and will not be going anywhere.
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Devin Booker spent the last 12 months deepening his place as the Western Conference's worst team's closest thing to a franchise player.
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DeRozan, coming off a shaky rookie season and then only 21 years old, did not yet look the part of franchise player.
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Second, Ujiri traded away the beloved and charismatic DeRozan, a franchise player who outwardly spread his arms around Toronto, and vice versa.
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But without Porzingis they would be a team of disparate parts still searching for the commodity that matters most: a franchise player.
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On Wednesday the Angels responded by releasing a statement that made it clear the organization stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their franchise player.
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Just one season after Bryce Harper, their franchise player, left for a division rival, the team is headed to its first World Series.
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Oak scoffed ... saying AD has no reason to L.A. because he's on a winning team with a true franchise player in LeBron James.
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Magic Johnson doesn't seem too concerned that his franchise player is sidelined with a groin injury -- telling TMZ Sports it's all gonna be okay!
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In the moment beforehand Indiana's new franchise player is almost like a teenage superhero who just levitated in his bedroom for the first time.
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And Russell, when healthy, has the potential to be a franchise player, and at age 22 he has time to grow into that role.
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Outlook: With a generational franchise player and some momentum from last year, the Oilers seem destined to win a Cup in the very near future.
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In a perfect world: The Hurricanes already did the big sell-off routine last year, when they moved longtime franchise player Eric Staal for futures.
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That's not a great statement of confidence from your franchise player, who averaged a career-high 26.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists last season.
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His acquisition last July was the cost they had to bear for jettisoning the even more burdensome contract of their former franchise player, Troy Tulowitzki.
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Semi-related: The Pacers are outscoring opponents by 9.5 points per 100 possessions when Sabonis is on the floor without Victor Oladipo, the franchise player.
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He proved the perfect foil — a franchise player who could take it and dish it, a deft understudy to his older brothers, Cooper and Peyton.
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They talked on-court strategy, off-court vision, and the importance of enthusiastic leadership, an overlooked yet vital characteristic every franchise player needs to personify.
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Oklahoma City isn't young, has no obvious savior in its pipeline, and won't be able to clear significant cap space until the franchise player is 31.
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The two smoothest paths to championship contention are anything but: either lose Butler, or trade him with no promise of getting another franchise player anytime soon.
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He has the intelligence, strength, and carriage of a franchise player, and he's starting to accrue his numbers in a way most stars can relate to.
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That was the story of the game: a nascent franchise player in motion, a weirdo pitching in, and a surprising season still very much rolling along.
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That Neymar has elected to break it up is, to those around him, testament to his desire to become a franchise player in his own right.
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Barkley has also regularly roasted Anthony for not being enough of a leader and the kind of franchise player who, as they say, makes everyone better.
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As history has shown, that means they're going to lose, and yet another last-place season will end with some other team drafting a future franchise player.
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With the franchise player on the floor, the Bucks rank in the top 10—his relentless aggression and length more than make up for mucky lateral movement.
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Tatum tends to generate more buzz as a potential franchise player, but some talent evaluators see Brown as the more effective (and well-rounded) two-way player.
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The lone personnel change of note was a massive upgrade: Charone Peak, a capable outside receiver, made way for the returning Mike Williams, a potential NFL franchise player.
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Franchise player Carmelo Anthony wondered whether the Knicks even wanted him, and Jackson, the sage philosopher that he is, decided to make it even murkier for his star.
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There is the real prospect that, after two years lost to injury, Embiid will be a true franchise player; he has recently adopted "The Process" as his nickname.
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Wall has established himself as a franchise player, posting bests in points, steals, three-point shooting percentage, and PER, all while taking more confused broadsides from Colin Cowherd.
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But they made no front-office officials available on Saturday, leaving Manager Mickey Callaway to address the bewildering state of Cespedes, their $333 million-a-year franchise player.
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Democrats should be creating a farm system to build up our bench of superstars, not threatening to cut our franchise player and send her off into the sunset.
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Orlando, a team that's had multiple bites at the apple since they traded away their franchise player, has positioned itself to take off if one lands in their lap.
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But while Porter is improving, he most certainly isn't a franchise player yet, and the Wizards already have clear-cut 1 and 1A scoring options in Wall and Beal.
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The Marlins have even turned failsafe endeavors―like, employing one of the best young pitchers, or locking up their franchise player to a lucrative long-term contract―into sideshows.
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Fox is talented enough to replace Cousins as a legitimate franchise player in time, with the important difference being his personality doesn't make every day feel like it's raining.
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They traded away their franchise player in 23.0, DeMarcus Cousins, and Vlade Divac, the general manager, told the press that he had passed up a better offer days earlier.
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On Pro Basketball The Knicks' sudden trade sending Kristaps Porzingis, their franchise player, to the Dallas Mavericks last week has raised a swirl of questions about the team's motivations.
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Spurs legend Sean Elliott is shutting down the reports on Kawhi Leonard wanting out of San Antonio -- saying Gregg Popovich and his franchise player being at odds is straight nonsense.
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Perry, who was hired last summer as Jackson's replacement, retained Hornacek at the time to maintain a level of continuity in hopes of retooling around Porzingis, the Knicks' franchise player.
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Will Masai Ujiri double-down to show his new franchise player how committed he is to winning with an all-in play that packages a couple young pieces for Love?
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If they can make the playoffs and convince George to be their franchise player, surrounded by guys who complement his game, they might be able to keep him long-term.
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Admiral Zukunft, the Coast Guard's top official since 2014, called Admiral Schultz a "franchise player" and said he would be able to build on the recent successes of the service.
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He has thrown 15 touchdowns and just one interception this season for Kansas City, which for now will play veteran quarterback Matt Moore while awaiting news on its franchise player.
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He added 12 to his home run total from last year fo finish the regular season with 2.16, and became yet another franchise player on a team seemingly full of them.
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For a movie called Thunderstruck that stars the franchise player for the Oklahoma City Thunder, we're inevitably introduced at the very beginning to Jim Belushi, who is coaching high school basketball.
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The Colts could have recouped nearly $25 million in bonuses from Luck due to his decision to retire early, but instead opted to let their former franchise player keep the money.
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N.F.L. Roundup The Jets officially designated the star defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson as their franchise player Tuesday, all but ensuring that he will remain with the team for one more season.
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Since, the Nets have made foundational changes to their roster, adding intriguing young prospects, shedding their franchise player, and picking up a few helpful contributors at useful positions along the way.
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The smarter declaration, after watching Curry's backcourt play alongside Thompson keep Lillard and C.J. McCollum firmly in their shadow, is proclaiming Steph to be the league's ultimate team-first franchise player.
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Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said he dealt only with Hill, and Jeter dismissed the idea that trading his franchise player to his old team might have felt strange for him.
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Derrick Rose, his star point guard, has gone AWOL, and Hornacek has watched a feud between Carmelo Anthony, his franchise player, and Phil Jackson, the team's president, play out in public.
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The Lakers and 76ers are both pressing for the San Antonio Spurs to trade franchise player Kawhi Leonard as they jockey for position in James' eyes, according to The New York Times .
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That, in turn, opens driving lanes for the Mavericks' Luka Doncic, who has taken an immediate leap from his Rookie of the Year Award-worthy debut season to certifiable franchise-player production.
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The New Orleans Pelicans know the Celtics want their franchise player, and they also know few other teams, if any, can help strap more powerful jumper cables to their rebuild than Boston.
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For Leonard especially, these past few days had to be sweet redemption — or as much sweetness and/or redemption that the Raptors' famously reserved franchise player will ever allow himself to savor.
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"Eighty you're a franchise player, 20 you're nothing and 50 you're average," said Detroit Tigers General Manager Al Avila, the son of a scout and the father of a major-league catcher.
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But, with his former team not listing him as its greatest-ever franchise player (the Jags famously put Tony Boselli ahead of him last year) ... some wonder if Fred truly will get in.
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Atlanta welcomed back former franchise player Paul Millsap on Friday and could not stop his new team, the Denver Nuggets, in the fourth quarter en route to a fifth consecutive setback, 105-100.
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As often as those pesky pundits (yours truly included) painted the spotlight-averse Leonard as the perfect next-generation franchise player for the Spurs, let's face it: There's only one Timothy Theodore Duncan.
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It's a dramatic turn from his Philadelphia days, when Iguodala — as covered in the book — endured "most hated athlete in town" status for falling short of true franchise-player branding as Iverson's successor.
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If they can somehow land someone with Murray's upside and turn him into their new franchise player, the Raptors would seamlessly glide from a stagnant also-ran to a promising up-and-comer.
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Porter is a free agent this summer, and thanks to a salary cap that's estimated to increase by another $10 million, he's about to make "franchise player" money (and probably more than Giannis Antetokounmpo).
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Among other targets, the tweets sent by those burner accounts criticized 76ers franchise player Joel Embiid, the team's first round draft pick Markelle Fultz, former player Jahlil Okafor, and fellow GMs around the league.
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But if the Mavs really want to honor their franchise player, they'll do more than watch him decline, or deal him away to win a second ring as a supporting player on another team.
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That's all nice, but this deal would be a humongous win for new Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk, who'd give Atlanta its first under-25 franchise player in a very long time (apologies to Horford).
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The hype generated by Williamson's franchise-player promise recalls the N.B.A.'s seminal draft lottery in 2003, when the Cavaliers won the right to select an Akron, Ohio, native named LeBron James at No. 1.
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For most teams, this would have been the story — that Barrett showed flashes of becoming the kind of franchise player that N.B.A. teams hope they can nab with a third-overall pick in the draft.
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"Matt is the franchise, and our franchise player has decided to keep leading our team," Steve Capus, the former NBC News President, told New York in 2012 after NBC settled a series of negotiations with Lauer.
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Bring up the swing to Nolan Arenado, and Colorado's franchise player discusses how his own motion was scrutinized, too, and that players like Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield were blueprints for how unconventional hitters can thrive.
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In the American League, Aaron Judge is setting a new standard for power hitters and giving Yankees fans hope that they've found another fresh-faced franchise player that will be with them for years to come.
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DSJ has a lot of Russell Westbrook in his DNA; heading into the weekend he and LeBron James had the exact same number of drives despite Dallas's new franchise player having seen 580 fewer minutes of action.
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If Whiteside is unable to progress into being a franchise player, and Chris Bosh is not able to make a full recovery from his blood clotting issues, dark days could be ahead for the three-time champions.
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Bush was out in Hollywood Wednesday night -- and even though he didn't know the details behind why the Carolina Panthers removed the franchise player tag on the superstar cornerback, he's positive the move will pay off for Josh.
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That would give Cleveland the opportunity to acquire a new franchise player, which both might help entice Mr James to re-sign with the team, and give them a new cornerstone to build around if he does not.
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Doncic has had the start-to-finish stronger campaign and continued to look like a franchise player even though the Mavericks steadily increased his Year 1 workload after trading away four-fifths of their starting lineup in February.
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Catchings, the Indiana Fever's longtime franchise player, still is not sure how she will feel during her final season opener Saturday against Dallas, or what her emotions might be when she plays her final home game later this year.
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Makar, 20, who also won a world junior championship with Canada in 2018, has been described as a potential franchise player with fluid, effortless skating and the ability to make the right play whether it be rudimentary or complex.
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Pierre-Paul had already been designated the team's franchise player, which committed him to the team for one season, but the four-year contract means that the Giants' fearsome defense from last year will retain one of its anchors.
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It was a shockingly small haul for a 211-year-old franchise player, and it drew comparisons to the Philadelphia 153ers' trade of Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry in 215.
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When Dallas is healthy those lineups won't see the floor, and there's been mixed results in the limited time we saw them play, but those minutes offered a glimpse towards how the Mavs may want to build around their franchise player.
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Franchise player Paul George can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and even though 12 months is an eternity in professional sports, it seems likely he'll sniff around for a new opportunity if the Pacers don't trade him first.
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Beyond the fact that a perpetual playoff team lost to a directionless team still reeling from the loss of its franchise player, there was also the fact that late in the fourth quarter, the Clippers victory was all but assured.
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But it was to that Wrigley clubhouse that their franchise player retreated on July 27, 226, in a cloud of confusion and dismay, pulled in the ninth inning of a tight game against the Cubs — creating an opening for Trevor Story.
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Now the Celtics are at a crossroads: either continue on that slow and steady path by keeping their pick and selecting their next franchise player, or trade it for an established star to make an immediate full-blown run for the title.
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In Kelly's defense, he didn't speak much about any player on the 49ers, but he hasn't given much indication that the 49ers' franchise player is his QB. As Kawakami notes, Kelly is notorious for wanting players to be all-in on his system.
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The Thunder now face elimination sooner than anyone thought possible, going back to the day they gifted their franchise player with Paul George—one of basketball's premier 1A two-way talents—so that last year's first-round elimination would not repeat itself.
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But the lure of playing in one of the league's most attractive markets along with the way the Knicks have positioned themselves to pursue marquee free agents after trading away their franchise player, Kristaps Porzingis, have resonated with Davis, according to the people.
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A few weeks after he was hired to coach the Orlando Magic last summer, Frank Vogel compared the team's young franchise player, Aaron Gordon, to a certain two-way stud he had helped shepherd to stardom as head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
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Hyman opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs with 6:83 left in the first, but Beauvillier tied the game following a nifty exchange with Mathew Barzal, who is expected to replace Tavares as the Islanders' franchise player, with 3:44 remaining in the period.
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Watch how, a possession after origami-ing himself into position for a fadeaway jumper, Porzingis tiptoes carefully into place to set a screen for Carmelo Anthony, with a sophomore's fear of running afoul of either the official or the preferences of the franchise player.
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Even though Utah has been better on both sides of the floor when their franchise player is off the court, no team in the West (except to nobody's surprise the San Antonio Spurs) can compete without an All-NBA contributor in the lineup for an extended period.
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When he did play, he was not the same quarterback—his deep passes weren't landing where they usually do—but the Colts, who from Day 6.13 have asked too much of their young franchise player, stubbornly refused to change how they operate to fit his current health.
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But—even though he's fine operating off the ball, punching off a pin-down or blowing by a hard closeout that was created by his teammate's slash-and-kick—sometimes it still feels like Rubio is a pair of training wheels stuck to the franchise player.
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Chicago entered the offseason with only two under-30 players of note in its lineup: 28-year-old Geovanny Soto, coming off his second straight 17-home run season at catcher, and what seemed to be a franchise player in 21-year-old shortstop Starlin Castro.
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By the time Toronto announced Arizona native Auston Matthews as the first pick, journalists of all variety (whether it be a Phoenix newspaper, or a French-language radio show) were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in here, trying to secure an interview with the projected franchise player.
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Charlotte is in a much worse position than, say, the Indiana Pacers or the Chicago Bulls, two teams that can either cash out on their franchise player and rebuild from the ground up, or catch a lucky break and add another All-Star to the one they already have.
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They overcame a total lack of flexibility to swing a sign-and-trade for a new franchise player to build around in Jimmy Butler and have four players they really like (Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Derrick Jones Jr. and Justise Winslow) who are 2073-years-old or younger.
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The Astros hired Dusty Baker and the Mets promoted Luis Rojas to manager, but the Red Sox were the last to fill their vacancy for two reasons: They are also being investigated by M.L.B. over charges of sign-stealing in 2018, and they were busy trading their franchise player.
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The spotlight-averse Leonard was never regarded as the sort of star who would embrace the franchise player/general manager blueprint that LeBron James ushered into prominence in the summer of 2010, when James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade to form a so-called superteam in Miami.
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Jabari Parker Parker is a former No. 2 overall pick so in that sense it hurts for the Bucks to lose him for nothing, but he's a bit of an awkward fit alongside their franchise player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he doesn't bring enough role player skills to really thrive in a secondary role.
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Green's incredible contract will make another team very happy—the Philadelphia 21ers would take him in a heartbeat, although they're not alone—and the entire Thunder organization would step back and take a long look in the mirror after watching their franchise player flee to a team they just beat in the playoffs.
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All eyes at the open-to-the-media workouts are bound to laser in on every coach-player interaction should Popovich and his now-former franchise player wind up in the same gym — especially with DeMar DeRozan, San Antonio's prime acquisition in the trade with Toronto, also on the list of invitees.
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The explosive end to his brief tenure with the Dallas Mavericks cost Rondo a chunk of his stature and respect around the league; a disgusting, abusive episode with referee Bill Kennedy crossed a line of human decency; and Rondo publicly feuded with Chicago's franchise player and hometown hero in his one season with the Bulls.
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A point guard on a non-guaranteed contract—embedded within a backcourt-stacked roster that just sacrificed cap space and a first-round pick for a fresh franchise player at the same position—it wasn't realistic to assume Dinwiddie would have the ball in his hands as often as he should, could, or desired.
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Gar has hitched the Bulls fortunes, for reasons that are hard to know, to the talents of 35-year-old Pau Gasol over the past two seasons, treating the aging big man like a franchise player despite his increasingly limited game and refusal to have his role augmented for the better of the team.
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Cast aside by the best team in the league, Barnes took his talents to Dallas, where he signed a max contract to play sidekick to Dirk Nowitzki, and eventually—if all went well—take the mantle from him as the team's franchise player sometime down the road, whenever Dirk decides he's ready to hang it up.
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One good reason not to root for them: You're kind of sick of them, the NHL markets the hell out of them at the expense of everyone else apart from Chicago, they got their franchise player by winning a damn lottery, they just made the Cinderella Senators really sad, and oh yeah, they already won last year.
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Read more:The biggest winners and losers of a wild NBA free agency that re-shaped the leagueIt is part of a massive shake up by Oklahoma City, which traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers and now sends Westbrook — its franchise player — to another West rival while adding to an enormous stockpiling of draft picks.
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Their franchise player, James Harden, is a standalone MVP favorite; their 32-year-old point guard, Chris Paul, is widely accepted as the premier floor general of his generation; their head coach, D'Antoni, is responsible for an offensive philosophy that's arguably the most influential concept in recent NBA history; and the rest of their roster—P.
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Washington may not have a path to actually win it all with Wall as their franchise player, but given that their payroll is already hefty, Beal is finally healthy, Porter is whipping fireballs at the rim, and Gortat is still hanging on to the remnants of his underrated prime, it's looking more and more like now or never.
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Antetokounmpo's evolution was that overwhelming: Now, almost an entire offseason removed from a disappointing first-round loss against the depleted Boston Celtics—a series someone in Antetokounmpo's talent bracket should've dominated—the Milwaukee Bucks have made several moves to stimulate their franchise player in ways that mirror those carried out by one of the league's best teams two summer summers ago.
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It's hard to look at a team dumping its franchise player to save money three years from now; to realize the roster is now entirely comprised of players who arrived this season or can leave when it's over; to see round after round of t-shirts mortared into the stands, and not imagine the revolving door starting to spin again.
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On this scorecard, I have always grouped those Mavericks with the 1993-94 Rockets, rather than the 22011-212 Houston team, because I saw those rosters as similar in their construction, orbiting around one unquestioned franchise player — Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston — and fortified by a slew of tough, seasoned role players who so perfectly complemented the big star.
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The Jets could theoretically fall into the latter category if they resolved not to re-sign Fitzpatrick and succeeded at brokering a trade for Wilkerson, an asset who could raise their draft position from No. 20 but whose status as a franchise player complicates trade negotiations: Any interested team must not only meet Wilkerson's salary demands but also compensate the Jets to their satisfaction.
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