Author: NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

LeBron James is searching for his next NBA team and the highly-anticipated decision could have implications for his son, Bronny James.

James has reportedly already narrowed down his search to two finalists, but he won’t rush into anything. The four-time NBA champion informed the Los Angeles Lakers he would not return for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday.

James seemingly calculated the timing of his announcement to the organization as Bronny’s $2.3 million contract with the Lakers became fully guaranteed the day before, making the third-year guard eligible to be traded.

Now, it appears James’ new destination could also signal the end of Bronny’s tenure with the Lakers. NBA insider Dave McMenamin reported a subsequent move could be made with Bronny once James joins a team.

“LeBron has spoken at length about how meaningful it has been to be teammates with his son, and those feelings only grew late last season when they shared the court in competitive games.

“It’s easy to think the James family would want that connection to continue,” McMenamin writes.

If Bronny doesn’t leave LA, he would continue to develop under head coach JJ Redick and glean from the Lakers’ star-studded trio in Luka Doncic, Walker Kessler and Austin Reaves.

James and Bronny became the first-father son duo to play together in an NBA game, first sharing the court as Lakers teammates in October 2024. The pair also became the first father-son pair to take the court in an NBA playoff game.

Bronny has always been evaluated under the microscope of being James’ son, which may be a factor into whether he stays under the bright lights of Hollywood or joins his father via trade.

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Bill Simmons wasn’t coherent. He’d just woken up from anesthesia. 

But when his wife picked him up from his colonoscopy Wednesday, she revealed news to her husband that he couldn’t believe: Jaylen Brown was traded to the 76ers for a package including Paul George. 

“I think I’m dead. I think I died. The anesthesia killed me,” Simmons said on his self-named podcast Thursday of what he said in the moment. 

“I was just trying to process it. … it’s like I had the head injured.” 

Bill Simmons describes hearing about the Jaylen Brown trade from his wife picking him up from a colonoscopy:

“I think I’m dead. The anesthesia killed me. Are there more first round picks?

When this trade happened I had a camera in my ass, and I had Paul George rammed up my ass” pic.twitter.com/sSZLVujEga

— The r/BillSimmons Podcast (@rBillSimmonsPod) July 2, 2026

Simmons’ wife told him their daughter, a major Brown fan, was extremely upset due to the trade. 

The Ringer founder was stumbling out of the hospital when the trade happened Wednesday afternoon.

“When this trade happened, I had a camera up my ass, and I had a Paul George rammed up my ass. That’s how I’m going to remember July 1, 2026,” Simmons said of his reaction to the trade. 

After spending 10 years with the Celtics, Brown was traded to the 76ers on Wednesday for George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. 

The first-rounders are for 2028 and 2031, while the second-rounders are for 2028 and 2030.

The Celtics’ decision to move on from Brown comes shortly after he was rumored to be the centerpiece in a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. 

Antetokounmpo ultimately went to the Heat, but Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens still remained non-committal on Brown’s future with the team. 

ESPN insider Shams Charania also revealed that the Celtics were asking for at least four first-round picks in a Brown trade, but that never materialized. 

During a decade with the Celtics, Brown left no stone untouched, winning Finals MVP in 2024 and averaging more than 20 points per game every year since the 2019-20 season. 

George will have major shoes to fill this upcoming season after averaging 17.3 points per game with the 76ers last year.

The NBA is looking to speed up the flow of the game, and is tentatively planning to take a page out of the NBA G-League’s book to make it happen. The NBA made an announcement on Thursday that it would test out the “one free throw rule” during the 2026 Summer League, gauging whether or not it should become a staple of the NBA.

This might sound extremely confusing at first glance, so let’s break down how this would work. During the passage of a normal game (i.e. not in the final two minutes or overtime) all free-throw opportunities would be condensed into one shot, awarding points equal to the number of shots previously attempted in the past. So, a basic foul on a missed shot attempt would reward one free throw worth two points. If a player was driving, getting the bucket and the foul (the And-1), then it would result in one shot worth one point. If a player was fouled in the act of attempting a three, then they would receive one shot worth three points.

It’s that final element which is most fascinating, because it creates a significant advantage for elite shooters from beyond the arc who are also fantastic free-throw shooters. For example, the rule effectively does nothing to someone like Steph Curry, who shot 39.3% from three and 92.3% from the free-throw line last season, but it could have a big effect on someone like Anthony Edwards, who shot 39.9% from three and 79.6% on free throws.

While it’s certainly unlikely that we’re going to see some mammoth shift in fouling because of this, having an all-or-nothing approach to free throws is fascinating, because it will add significant pressure on players who already aren’t the best shooters from the charity stripe.

This isn’t the only change being proposed to NBA rules, because the other comes from innovations to the basketball itself.

The connected basketball will be tested at the upcoming NBA summer leagues.

The basketball contains an embedded sensor that detects contact with the ball. The sensor does not materially affect the ball’s weight, feel or playability.

Data collected from the ball will support… pic.twitter.com/VqGMpIuC6j

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 2, 2026

Adding more technology here isn’t a bad thing and should eliminate some bad calls in the process. It seems like a win-win, so long as the technology works.

It didn’t take long for the Phoenix Suns to find a replacement for sharpshooter Grayson Allen, whom they dealt to the Charlotte Hornets to acquire power forward Miles Bridges. In the first hours of NBA Free Agency, the team agreed to a two-year $13 million deal with sharpshooter Luke Kennard, who is set to fill the bench role that Allen gave the Suns the past few seasons.

When they were at Duke together, here’s how the two teams’ games compare to each other.

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Attributes/Intangibles

Grayson Allen

Height: 6’3”

Age: 30

Weight: 198 pounds

Contract: Going into the third year of a 4-year $70 million contract he signed back in 2024

Years in the NBA: 8

Games played: 454

Luke Kennard

Height: 6’5”

Age: 30

Weight: 205 pounds

Contract: Just signed a two-year, $13 million deal

Years in the NBA: 9

Games played: 538

Some extra tidbits

Despite Allen being the older player, Kennard is the one who’s been in the league longer. Allen played four years at Duke, while Kennard spent just two seasons there. Kennard has played roughly a full season more of games and 10 more playoff games, but Allen has one more playoff appearance after making them in five out of his last six seasons.

Career Averages

Grayson Allen

Points per game: 11.2

Rebounds per game: 3

Assists per game: 2.2

Shooting Splits (FG/3PT/FT): 44.3/40.3/85.7 shooting splits

Last season’s averages: 16.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game on 40.3/34.9/85.7 shooting splits in 51 games played with the Phoenix Suns.

Luke Kennard

Points per game: 9.6

Rebounds per game: 2.8

Assists per game: 2.8

Shooting Splits (FG/3PT/FT): 46.6/44.2/88.5 shooting splits

Last season’s averages: 8.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on 53.3/47.8/91.3 shooting splits in 78 total games with the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Some extra tidbits

Allen had his best season last year, but lower-body injuries required him to miss 31 games. Allen has typically played more minutes with his teams than Kennard has, and scores slightly less efficiently. Both take more threes than twos. Kennard has never started more than 25 games in a season, while Allen has played the role of reserve and starter almost evenly throughout his career. He started in 74 games his first season in Phoenix, only seven the next, and in 53% of his games during the 2025-2026 campaign.

Playstyles

Grayson Allen

A shooter mostly to start his career, Allen has developed his playmaking and passing abilities in recent seasons. He had his two highest assist seasons with Phoenix, and when Bradley Beal and Devin Booker endured injuries in the 2023-2024 campaign, he was thrust into numerous ball-handling and point guard duties. In February of 2024, when Booker and Beal missed time, Allen averaged 4.1 assists per game and had a career-best 14-assist game against the Utah Jazz, playing point guard.

This past season, taking the most shots of his career (he took 13.1 per game, his second-most is 9.1), Allen’s efficiency dipped as he became more of a volume scorer and someone Phoenix relied on to create offense. He got to the line more than he ever has per game, which coincided with more shot attempts and turnovers. Additionally, he’s become more of a defensive playmaker, diving for loose balls, and was second on the team in steals per game last year.

Luke Kennard

For the entirety of his career, Kennard has been a marksman. He holds the highest three-point percentage out of any active player, including the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made, Steph Curry.

Playing alongside dynamic playmakers such as Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Ja Morant, he’s at his best when he’s being set up for shots, which is why one of the best games of his career came in Games 1 and 2 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs this year against the Houston Rockets when he scored 27 points and 23 points respectively as James was looking for him to find open shooters.

Unlike Allen, Kennard hasn’t been thrust into a main scoring role recently. He hasn’t taken more than 10 shots per game or averaged more than 26 minutes a game since his third season, and his role in Phoenix projects to be no different.

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While the Phoenix Suns are getting a cheaper, arguably better shooter, Luke Kennard is not the offensive nor defensive playmaker that Grayson Allen has become, but they filled a hole that they created when they acquired Miles Bridges.

The Los Angeles Lakers have completely revamped the roster ahead of the 2026-27 season, headlining the offseason by signing center Walker Kessler to a four-year, $130 million deal.

Kessler, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Utah Jazz, turned down a five-year, $140 million contract extension from the organization. Instead, the 24-year-old chose to join the Lakers on a more lucrative contract.

But is that really the case?

As a state, Utah has a flat individual state income tax rate of 4.45%, meaning there are no income brackets or top marginal rates. Because it’s a flat tax, all taxable income is taxed at the same rate regardless of the total amount and the state does not have any additional local income taxes.

By comparison, California’s notorious top state income tax rate reaches 13.3%; the highest in the nation. The actual rate is 12.3%, but the state also imposes a 1% surcharge for mental health services as well. Add in the 1.2% State Disability Insurance tax California requires everyone to pay, and Kessler is expected to lose 14.5% of his paycheck to California taxes.

Kessler accepted Los Angeles’ four-year, $130 million contract over the five-year, $140 million offered by the Jazz. While many within the league believe the Lakers massively overpaid a player who has yet to make an All-Star or All-NBA team — his only accolade is being named first-team all-rookie — it turns our Kessler’s actual take home will be less than what he would’ve received in Utah.

Kessler’s AAV (average annual value) in Los Angeles will be $32.5 million, which means he’ll lose $4.7 million in taxes in California, making his take home amount $27.8 million per season. Over the course of his four-year contract, Kessler is expected to lose $18.8 million and bring home $111.2 million.

If Kessler had stayed in Utah on that deal, his AAV would’ve been $28 million per season. He would’ve lost $1.3 million in taxes every season, making his take home amount $26.7 million. Over the course of his five-year contract, Kessler was expected to lose $6.5 million and bring home $133.5 million.

That means the price of playing alongside Luka Dončić is going to cost Kessler $22.3 million over the course of his contract.

This would directly conflict with reports that Kessler rejected the Jazz’s offer because he wanted more money. There were, however, other reports that the center was frustrated with Utah and the handling of his contract.

The strained relationship likely opened the door for the Lakers to trade for Kessler and ultimately sign him to the four-year deal. This summer marks a new era for the purple and gold.

Earlier this week, LeBron James informed the Lakers he would not return for the 2026–27 season, officially ending his tenure with the team after eight seasons.

Now, the Lakers are embarking on the next stage of the organization with Dončić, Austin Reaves and Kessler at the forefront.

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Summer League has become a particularly special time of year for Nets fans over the past two seasons. Last summer, Brooklyn’s 2025 No. 8 pick, Egor Dёmin, headlined a roster packed with rookies. This year, No. 6 overall pick Mikel Brown Jr. leads a squad with even more young pieces to get excited about.

The action kicks off against Sacramento and Darius Acuff Jr., whom the Nets passed on in the lottery. It’s a matchup that’s already fueling heavy debate across sports talk shows. It’s all in fun and they’re all exhibition games. Enjoy!

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Full Schedule & TV Info

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	Broadcast / Streaming Platform
Sat, July 4	Sacramento vs. Brooklyn	5:00 PM	Gotham Sports App
Sun, July 5	Milwaukee vs. Brooklyn	3:00 PM	Gotham Sports App
Mon, July 6	Golden State vs. Brooklyn	8:00 PM	Gotham Sports App
Fri, July 10	New York vs. Brooklyn	6:00 PM	Gotham Sports App
Sat, July 11	Atlanta vs. Brooklyn	8:00 PM	Gotham Sports App
Tue, July 14	Sacramento vs. Brooklyn	6:00 PM	YES Network & Gotham Sports App
Thu, July 16	Houston vs. Brooklyn	4:30 PM	YES Network & Gotham Sports App

Full Roster

#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	DOB	COLLEGE/PRIOR	EXP
34	Tyler Bilodeau	F	6’7”	227	04/17/04	UCLA	R
42	Duke Brennan	C	6’9”	259	04/06/03	Villanova	R
0	Mikel Brown Jr.	G	6’4”	190	04/03/06	Louisville	R
33	Dion Brown	G	6’3”	180	05/26/03	Saint Louis	R
44	Dain Dainja	F	6’9”	255	07/16/02	Sioux Falls Skyforce	R
8	Egor Dёmin	G	6’9”	212	03/03/06	Brooklyn Nets	1
12	Ben Humrichous	F	6’7”	227	07/28/02	Illinois	R
31	Chaney Johnson	F/C	6’7”	240	06/20/02	Brooklyn Nets	1
26	Dwight Murray Jr.	G	6’0”	181	01/31/00	College Park Skyhawks	R
16	Grant Nelson	F/C	6’11”	230	03/18/02	Brooklyn Nets	1
4	Drake Powell	G	6’6”	211	09/08/05	Brooklyn Nets	1
55	Hunter Sallis	G	6’4”	187	03/26/03	San Diego Clippers	1
77	Ben Saraf	G	6’6”	210	04/14/06	Brooklyn Nets	1
10	Aaron Scott	F	6’7”	200	07/11/03	Maine Celtics	R
7	John Ukomadu	F	6’5”	208	10/30/01	Motor City Cruise	R
2	Danny Wolf	F	6’11”	260	05/05/04	Brooklyn Nets	1

Drake Powell missed last year’s Summer League so he’ll be making his debut in this area. On the flip, Nolan Traore is out after the Nets announced the Frenchman had a scope on his knee.

Since I’ve had the pleasure of covering games and being around the team for this illustrious blog, I’ve felt proud in my ability to divorce myself from the fandom of the team I grew up with. It’s been easier than I thought it would be to leave those feelings at the door, and that’s only gotten easier over the course of five seasons.

The Sixers trading for Jaylen Brown somehow invoked an extremely negative response that can only be attributed to an irrational fan. The more time that’s passed since Shams Charania broke the news, I’ve come back to Earth a bit, but the vibes of this trade reeks to me in a way I haven’t been able to get over.

Let’s start with why this thought process feels irrational. Brown is a much better basketball player than Paul George at this stage of their careers. That’s before even factoring in George having one of the least appetizing contracts in the league.

Brown solves the most immediate issue for the Sixers’ roster. He isn’t just a star that can carry the team through the slog of an 82-game season, but he’s proved to be one of the most durable stars in doing so. It’s been flat out difficult to parse through the draft compensation the Sixers are sending to Boston in this deal, but the protections are a lot better than just giving the 2028 LA Clippers unprotected pick to the Celtics.

So, why don’t I like this trade?

The biggest reason might be straight up cowardice. The Sixers have had transactions where it’s looked like they’ve pulled one over on the Celtics, only for it to turn into an abject disaster. Stealing Al Horford away killed a season of Joel Embiid’s prime, and nearly cost the Sixers their shot at VJ Edgecombe in the process of unloading his contract.

Markelle Fultz was a slam dunk No. 1 overall pick in a loaded draft class, and the Sixers only had to cough up one extra middle-of-the-first-round pick to get him. Nine years later, Fultz’s NBA career looks over while Jayson Tatum racks up All-NBA team appearance after appearance.

Now, the Sixers have acquired Brown when his trade value was reportedly reaching a low point. It’s honestly great process for Mike Gansey and company to jump on this opportunity, but the fact that it’s a deal with the Celtics has me waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can’t help but feel the Celtics are cooking up something diabolical for next summer using George’s expiring contract, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

A big reason for this feeling is the fact that it was the Sixers that caused this Celtics tailspin in the first place. Their comeback from a 3-1 series deficit had Brad Stevens saying the team needs major changes while Brown was rushing to Twitch to defend his performance in that series. Now it feels harder to laugh at the situation with Brown a big part of this Sixers roster.

If it was any other team that made this trade with the Celtics, my gut reaction would probably be that they got fleeced, but I can’t get this boogeyman feeling out of my head. It’s exacerbated my concerns about Brown as a star-level player, also to an irrational degree.

For as bad as George’s contract is, he looked really good in that Boston series. The caveat that he had much less of a burden to carry is necessary, but George outplaying Brown for prolonged stretches is a big reason why the Sixers pulled off that comeback.

Speaking of contracts, another thing that gave me pause was the idea of giving Brown an extension. George may be one of the most overpaid players in the league, but that deal comes off the books in two years. Even being a younger, better player, Brown’s current contract is looked at as a team-building constraint by many under this current CBA. It sucks for Brown and many other players of his caliber, but the maximum contracts are harder and harder to justify giving out to a non-top-five player in the league.

That’s harsh to a guy like Brown, who is a perennial All-NBA candidate himself. To slow things down a little, Brown is under contract through the 2028-29 season. The Sixers don’t need to be in any rush to hand him a new deal. Whether they do so will have a big impact on if I still feel this negatively about this trade.

Your appetite for this trade probably varies a lot on what you think the Sixers timeline is or should be. I’m personally of the mind that their best path forward is waiting for VJ Edgecombe to age into his prime and wait for bad money to come off the books.

Because I prefer the longer-term approach, this trade reminds me a lot of the Sixers trade for Jimmy Butler in 2018 — in good ways and bad. That trade drastically accelerated the windows of Embiid and Ben Simmons, throwing them into the fires of immediate title contention in just their second trip to the playoffs. At the same time, Butler fit so well with Embiid they nearly beat the team that would eventually win the Finals that year.

With Tyrese Maxey currently in his prime, this Sixers team might be better equipped to absorb a star like Brown and go for it again. If Embiid is correct in the confidence he had in his left knee after this past season ended, they’ll really be cooking with gas.

Embiid’s health will always be a huge if though, too uncertain for me to make any big short-term risks at the moment. I’m probably overthinking this. Even as each hour since the trade has been broken, I feel I’ve come back to Earth on this more and more. Besides, the only people who seem to dislike this trade more than me are Celtics fans.

While the Lakers have addressed their strongest need by reportedly trading for Walker Kessler, they still have gaps to fill in their roster.

Specifically, at the wing position. As currently constructed, the team lacks wings and needs more perimeter defense. Many players are already off the board, but there are still some quality wings on the market.

In a Wednesday night report, Dan Woike of The Athletic mentioned Jonathan Kuminga as a player the Lakers could acquire this offseason.

The team, according to league sources who were granted anonymity to freely discuss the Lakers’ offseason moves, is still seeking a young wing to help its perimeter defense. A high-upside swing receiving significant consideration, per league sources, is former Golden State Warrior and Atlanta Hawk Jonathan Kuminga, whose $24.3 million team option was recently declined by Atlanta.

The Lakers reportedly called the Warriors about Kuminga last offseason, so it’s no surprise they are still interested in his talent. Kuminga is an example of how quickly free agency can change.

The Hawks declining his team option was a surprise, and it doesn’t appear that Atlanta wants to agree to a smaller deal. So, he’s now one of the most intriguing unrestricted free agents.

Kuminga is a player with a ton of potential. So far, it hasn’t materialized into him becoming the best version of himself. His saga with the Warriors was exhausting, and when he got his fresh start in Atlanta, they clearly didn’t see enough to want to retain him.

Still, he’s a young wing and in need of some redemption. If he comes to the Lakers and has a breakout season, it could alter the trajectory of his career.

Besides his respectable defense, Kuminga is an all-around solid player. Last year, he averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. That level of production is hard to find in unrestricted free agency.

As usual, this will come down to money.

The Lakers have reportedly spent a ton by trading for Kessler and adding Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili. However, if they can agree on terms, Kuminga would be a great pickup.

The Lakers need exactly what he can provide, and playing well here could lead to a bigger payday in the future. Malik Monk and Dorian Finney-Smith followed this path to success, and Kuminga could do the same if he so chooses.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

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The Boston Celtics trading former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers dramatically impacted NBA Finals odds at sportsbooks and NBA prediction market prices.

Key Takeaways

• The 76ers are fifth in odds to win the NBA Finals at BetMGM.
  
  
• Kalshi and Polymarket bumped the 76ers from 1% chance of winning the title to as high as 6%.
  
  
• Reports suggest Brown wore out his welcome in Boston.

Brown, who spent his first 10 years in Boston was traded for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-rounders Wednesday.

BetMGM shared with Covers that the 76ers were only +6,600 (1.5% implied chance) to win the Finals before the trade. They vaulted to +2,000 (4.8% chance), which is fifth on the board.

BetMGM also noted 35% of bets and 40% of money wagered in the NBA Finals futures market -  both highest amounts - were on the 76ers. That represented roughly a 13-hour period from approximately 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday through 7 a.m. on Thursday.

.@sixers odds to win NBA Championship at @BetMGM

Before Jaylen Brown trade: +6600

After: +2000 ⬆️

40% of money (most) is on 76ers to win the NBA title since the trade pic.twitter.com/IKcen9N6MP

— BetMGM News (@BetMGMNews) July 2, 2026

A similar trend emerged in the Eastern Conference futures market. The Sixers moved from +2,000 (4.8% chance) to win the conference pre-trade to +700 (12.5% chance), drawing 54% of bets and 68% of the handle during the period after the trade was reported.

The Celtics did not enjoy the same surge in NBA championship odds. They fell from +700 (12.5% chance), the third-shortest amount and shortest in the East to +1,400 (6.7% chance). They also lengthened from +260 (27.8% chance) to +450 (18.2% chance) to win the conference.

The Sixers now have the second-largest share of tickets to win the title (8.8%), only behind the Golden State Warriors (15.7%). They’re also third in handle (9.4%), trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder (32%) and Warriors (12.5%).

Prediction markets adjust to trade

Just like sportsbooks, NBA prediction markets underwent significant changes after the Brown trade was reported.

Market data from Polymarket shows the Sixers jumped from 1.1% to 5.7% by Thursday morning, peaking as high as 6%. The Celtics dropped from 8% to 6%. 

The Thunder (21%) and San Antonio Spurs (17%) are the obvious market leaders, followed by the defending champion New York Knicks (11%). The Celtics are still fourth, although the Sixers and Miami Heat (5.8%) are just behind.

Kalshi’s markets went through a similar adjustment. The Sixers went from 1% to 6% by 8 a.m. on Thursday, although they dropped back down to 4% during the two ensuing hours.

Kalshi also dropped the Celtics from 10% to 7%, which, like Polymarket, is fourth on the board.

The 2027 Finals are still about a year away, but Kalshi and Polymarket already reported approximately $10.5 million in total combined trades in their next champion markets.

Rivalry renewed

The Brown trade will add another chapter to the Celtics-76ers rivalry. The two teams will meet the customary four times during the regular season.

The 76ers recovered from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs last year. Brown went on a livestream the following day and said Sixers star center Joel Embiid was a flopper.

"Flopping has ruined our game."

Now Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid are teammates 👀

(via fchwpo/Twitch) pic.twitter.com/ctIl1dmzwJ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 1, 2026

Sources told The Herd's Colin Cowherd that Brown has a “disease” which made him think he was always the smartest in the room, leading to strained relationships in Boston.

NBA sources believe Jaylen Brown thinks he’s the smartest person in the room, per @colincowherd

“I had two NBA sources … two people in the league, one an executive, one a scout, say that Jaylen Brown has — it’s a disease. He suddenly thinks he’s the smartest guy in every room… pic.twitter.com/aBhgNSfXiF

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 2, 2026

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Knicks might be doing anything to bring in external players through free agency, but that’s reasonable considering how busy they are in filling out their Summer League roster.

New York announced its roster on Thursday morning, but I had already written this post and it’s going nowhere. So instead of revealing two signings, let’s consider this a meetup.

Today’s Casa Knicks entries are North Dakota forward Treysen Eaglestaff, who is joining after going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Westchester product Toby Okani is also expected to play with the SL squad in Las Vegas, giving the organization another long wing with pro experience.

Eaglestaff is a 6-foot-6 wing from Bismarck. He made his name in his hometown of North Dakota, where he spent three seasons and averaged 18.9 points as a junior, earned second-team All-Summit League honors, scored 40 points against Alabama, and dropped a Division I season-high 51 points.

He transferred to West Virginia for his final college season, starting 35 games and averaging 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 39.7% from the field and 34.3% from three. That dip in production helps explain why he went undrafted, but his size remains there, while he has good enough shooting mechanics and scoring touch as to earn a July look from the Knicks and perhaps land a minors deal from New York or another organization.

Okani (not to be confused with Ohtani) is a more familiar name. A 6-foot-8 wing from West Orange, New Jersey, he spent time with the Westchester Knicks last season (34 games, 12 as a starter) before earning a late call-up with the Memphis Grizzlies. In the G League, he averaged 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 19.7 minutes, shooting 35.9% from the floor and 27.9% from beyond the arc. The free-throw shooting was even worse, with Okani bagging freebies at a 47.6% clip.

In the NBA, Memphis gave Okani six games, including four starts, and he averaged 10.0 points and 3.5 rebounds playing (somehow) 36.2 MPG. Before turning pro, Okani played at Duquesne, UIC, and West Virginia. His best college season came at UIC, where he averaged 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 2.0 blocks, earned MVC All-Defensive Team honors, and led the conference in blocks back in 2024.

The Knicks open Summer League play July 10 against the Brooklyn Nets, then face the Spurs, Pistons, and Warriors.

Welcome to the club, Treysen and Toby!

You can follow Antonio on Twitter at @chapulana.

While paydays are aplenty in free agency, the fluidity of it all can leave some on the outside looking in.

Despite the Lakers being swept out of the playoffs, Rui Hachimura came away a big winner after his postseason performance. Most predicted he would receive one of those paydays once the offseason rolled around as a result.

However, as we discussed on Wednesday, LA’s flurry of moves left him as the odd man out, as some had predicted. At the time, the Spurs were still a contender for him. However, San Antonio soon chose Tobias Harris on a two-year deal over Rui.

Now, Rui is still without a new contract and the teams that can and would have interest in him have dwindled significantly. The result, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported on Thursday, is people around the NBA wondering if he may be returning to Los Angeles after all.

That Hachimura remains unsigned caused several league sources to wonder whether the Lakers are planning some sort of trade or using the stretch provision on perhaps Jarred Vanderbilt or Deandre Ayton to be able to offer Hachimura more.

There are two reasons why this is still unlikely.

First, the Lakers would still need to do some reshuffling of the roster to shed one or both of Jarred Vanderbilt or Deandre Ayton’s salaries. That could come via an unlikely trade or by waiving and stretching one of them, with Vando being the far more likelier option.

Even if they are able to open up cap, there aren’t any realistic scenarios in which Rui signs a deal close to his value or the deal he was just on. Perhaps there’s an avenue where the Lakers sign him to a short-term deal with the premise of paying him more money in the future, but the end result of him being underpaid in year one remains the same.

For Rui to get to that point, the market would have to completely dry up on him, which is already close to happening, and he’d have to value being in LA with teammates and a staff he already has a report with as opposed to starting anew.

I won’t pretend to know Rui’s thinking in that aspect, but it does feel like things are still many steps away from that end point. A surprise trade or a new team being interested could change things quickly and Rui could sign a new deal elsewhere, still.

But after seeming like a done deal that he was gone on Wednesday, it looks like the door may still be cracked open.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Count Bill Simmons among the Boston Celtics fans who were stunned by how the little the team got when they traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. But what Simmons was going through at the moment the transaction went down made for a one-of-a-kind reaction.

Simmons, a longtime Boston sports supporter, gave his first thoughts on the move during a live recording of "The Bill Simmons Podcast" on Thursday, July 2, and revealed that he found out Brown had been traded from his wife after finishing a colonoscopy at a medical facility around 3:20 p.m. PT. She then told Simmons the details, which featured the Celtics receiving Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks from the Sixers.

"I'm not really coherent ... and I'm like, I think I'm dead. I think I died," Simmons said on the broadcast. "The anesthesia killed me and now I'm a dead person."

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Simmons had advocated on social media in recent days for the Celtics and Brown to attempt a reconciliation after Brown's name surfaced in trade talks this offseason. Brown was initially made available when Boston attempted to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Simmons said later in the podcast that he was hopeful the less-than-expected haul from the Brown trade would be a precursor to another potential trade for the Celtics. The move has been met with initial skepticism given Brown's outsized role this past season and George's sketchy health history.

Brown played 10 seasons for the Celtics and won NBA Finals MVP when they won a championship in 2024. He has three seasons remaining on the five-year, $304 million contract he signed in 2023.

Brown had the best regular season of his NBA career in 2025-26, earning second-team All-NBA honors while leading Boston to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill Simmons heard Jaylen Brown trade after anesthesia, 'I think I'm dead'

This is one of those moments in your fandom you might remember forever — where you were when you found out the Philadelphia 76ers traded for Jaylen Brown.

For me, I was on my couch, taking a few bites of the dinner I had just made and settling in. Then, a notification on my phone from X popped up. The Sixers had traded Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks for Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown.

My first reaction? “No f*cking way.” I actually said it out loud, to my phone screen, alone in my living room.

And I meant it with all sincerity. I double-checked to make sure it was actually ESPN’s Shams Charania, and not Scams Charania or Slams Charania or some other fake troll username. Nope, it was the real Shams. Then I took a moment to wonder if he had been hacked by a troll somehow. Unlikely, and would be especially cruel, but it would be the sort of thing to happen to the Sixers.

I think that’s why this feels so monumental. I didn’t think this franchise could surprise me anymore, in a good or bad way. From The Process through Collargate, to crushing repeated injuries, to player drama around the likes of Ben Simmons and James Harden, to seemingly freakish occurrences like Kelly Oubre Jr. getting hit by a car or Markelle Fultz forgetting how to shoot, to a Paul George drug suspension, to the highs of drafting a player like VJ Edgecombe to the lows of the 2024-25 season… and that’s just naming A FEW of the headlines from the last decade or so.

I didn’t think this franchise could surprise me ever again, honestly.

Until they did. Boy, did they ever. And I love it.

Now, as someone who has covered this team for years now and was a fan of them long before, there is a certain level of fear and apprehension that comes with anything seemingly good happening to the franchise. At times, I’ve almost been convinced the team was cursed by some unknown force in the universe. I’ve often pondered if the Camden practice facility had accidentally been built on a sacred burial ground.

But, today, I’m going to let myself be excited, as a Sixers journalist and as a fan. The reason for that is simple: I love this deal. This was a good deal. A great deal, even. A no-brainer. Hindsight will always be 20/20. Views on the deal could sour in the future if Brown suffers some freak Sixers-esque injury or PG experiences some late-career resurgence in Boston… but it still will not change the fact that this is a deal you do right now 100 times out of 100 if you are Philadelphia.

Let’s look at it practically. The Paul George contract was one widely regarded as one of the worst in the league for its length and cost. Brown makes a similar amount, with one season added, and is 6.5 years younger than PG. Brown is in his prime, much more available — Brown playing 134 games across the last two seasons compared to PG’s 78 — and is simply a better player than PG by a fair margin.

Just look at last season for a small example. Brown played nearly twice the amount of games George was able to (due to injuries and the drug suspension) and averaged a career-high 28.7 points as well as 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 71 contests. George had his moments across his 37 games, but averaged just 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Brown was an All-Star, as he’s been for the past four seasons in a row. George hasn’t been an All-Star since 2023-24.

If you don’t want to listen to me, to the stats, or to your own eyes, maybe you’ll take it from Ringer, who has Jaylen Brown at No. 14 in their Top 100 NBA Players for 2025-26. George was ranked No. 66.

Next up is what they gave up in addition to PG. Boston was reportedly asking for the likes of VJ Edgecombe, George and five first-round picks, per Charania. By the time the deal was made, they got just three of those seven asks, with the Sixers keeping the young standout Edgecombe and giving up just two first-rounders — the 2028 (Clippers) of which feels like the biggest loss, if you can even call it that. It is a smaller haul of assets than an injury-prone, 35-year-old Kawhi Leonard just garnered.

I’m not sure how Mike Gansey did it. Perhaps just taking advantage of what felt like a questionable desperation from the Celtics, but welcome to Philly, Mike!

None of this is to say I’ve never criticized or said a bad word about Brown. He’s not infallible, nor am I. I’ve said his Twitch stream antics complaining about flopping and officiating after Boston’s playoff exit was lame. I thought it then, I still do now. I have absolutely personally complained about his forearm push-off method on offense. Now, you’ll also see “reports” from mysterious “league sources” about his personality or his locker room presence being this negative thing.

Not only is Brown a good enough player on his own to outweigh those things, but what the Sixers franchise gets from doing this deal even moreso outweighs all of it by a fair margin. Now, the Sixers have the opportunity to — especially with maybe a little more support pieces down the bench — make an actual contending push with Joel Embiid and Brown for the next few seasons. Even if nothing ends up coming from it and their contracts both end without a championship, you reset in a few seasons with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe at the helm instead. That’s really not a bad spot for the franchise to be in.

All in all, the reality is time will tell what will ultimately come of this blockbuster between the Sixers and Celtics. Maybe all of my writing and posts about this will join the hall of freezing cold takes in a few years. But again, hindsight will always be 20/20! Right now, at the time the deal is being made, this was an absolute no-brainer for Philadelphia.

And I love that they did it.