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

Editor’s Note: We’re excited to see our very own Matt Harren, better known as harebear in the comments section, taking the brave dive onto the Canis front page. You’ll be seeing a lot more from Matt this season, so please give him a warm welcome!

During the 2020 NBA Draft, just after the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Anthony Edwards 1st overall, the Wolves traded James Johnson and the 17th pick (Aleksej Pokuševski) to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the 23rd pick (Leandro Bolmaro), the 28th pick (Jaden McDaniels), and Wolves legend Ricky Rubio.

Then-Wolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas returned the fan favorite PG less than a year after declaring, “Why didn’t we sign a point guard on July 1st? Because we wanted that point guard,” hinting at the team’s belief in D’Angelo Russell. During Edwards’ first season, he took his first NBA steps under the tutelage of two very different guards.

Since then, Minnesota’s point guard play has remained in flux. For Edwards, each mentor guard has imparted lessons on what to do and what not to do. As the Wolves embark on a new season with another new guard – this time a peer from Ant’s draft class – I wanted to look back at Ant’s growth and the point guards that helped him get there and question what is next if his partnership with LaMelo Ball is to flourish.

Ricky Rubio

It was Rubio who rekindled my love for Timberwolves basketball again, years after the Garnett trade. I was more excited about the return of flashy passes than the Dion Waiters-comped Edwards.

After helping Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns reach stardom, Ricky was brought in to work his magic with Edwards.

Since his first stint with the Wolves, Rubio was beloved for his ability to raise the level of the players around him. As a pass-first point guard with a limited shot, defenders dared him to let it fly. Despite this coverage, on-time passes still zipped from his fingers like notes from a Flamenco guitar player. Early Ricky cared about basketball and playing with joy.

After season-ending injuries, unexpected trades, and losing loved ones, Ricky became jaded with the business side of the profession. Nevertheless, on the court he played with all of himself. Ant gravitated to that. Per Chris Hine, then of the Star Tribune, Ant spoke about Ricky after Chris Finch’s first win as the Wolves head coach.

“He leads by example and communication. Some leaders, they’re going to lead by example. Some of them lead by talking, but Ricky, he does both,” Edwards said. “He’s the best leader I’ve been around all my life.”

Ricky knew his limitations: an inconsistent shot, subpar athleticism. He could also read the floor better than most and maximize the talents of his teammates. It is not a great leap to think he saw the potential in Ant and laid out the path for him.

Edwards has spent every year since improving. Offseason reporting notes that Ant reached out to Jonathan Kuminga, selling the free agent on his importance to the Wolves. At Jaylen Clark’s training camp, Edwards called Ball and had the campers wish him a happy birthday.

While Edwards is still rising into his prime, he has faced the gauntlet of the playoffs and been dismissed early. His talent is otherwordly, far eclipsing the skills of his first PG mentor, and like Rubio, he knows the summit is only reached when everyone is playing at their best.

Patrick Beverley

During the 2021-22 offseason, the Wolves traded Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez to the Memphis Grizzlies for Patrick Beverley.

After a career that first started in the EuroLeague before earning All-Defensive honors, along with some suspensions for reckless play — he missed the Wolves’ first game of the season for shoving Chris Paul in the back during the Western Conference Finals — many thought Beverley’s best years were in the distant rearview.

With the very young Wolves, Pat Bev found a group brimming with raw talent and little cohesion. Through unrelenting effort and arrogance disguised as brash confidence, Mr. 94 Feet made the Wolves believe in themselves enough to stop being polite after the whistle was blown.

Beverley played with a chip on his shoulder but held a special place for any team or player he felt slighted by. He loathed Chris Paul after he was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade for the All-Star Guard. He went through a euphoric episode after helping the Wolves defeat the Clippers, who had dumped him in Memphis, during the Play-In Tournament.

The Wolves were bounced by those same Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. A few months later, Pat Bev sent to Utah as part of the Rudy Gobert trade.

What he left was a Wolves team no longer just happy to be there. For Ant, each playoff appearance since has put him against the Western Conference team that would eventually reach the Finals. In every one of those series, Ant has played with the full, near-arrogant belief that he was the best player in the series.

Confidence is key. But overconfidence has its downfalls as well, as we can see in the next guard’s tenure.

D’Angelo Russell

I thought it was going to work.

I fell for the upstart 2019 Brooklyn Nets and D’Angelo Russell.

I was heartbroken when D’Lo chose to sign with the Golden State Warriors over the Wolves.

I nearly let out a yelp of excitement in the middle of a work call when the Woj Bomb dropped.

I was wrong. The cerebral player I thought Russell was, was a facade. A master of after-the-fact analysis, the Ohio State product could accurately walkthrough any segment of the game and tell you what went right and wrong.

When the next game came around, though, it was a coin toss on whether his words would turn into action. He was benched during Ant’s first playoff series against the Grizzlies due to his shot selection, pace of play, and defensive limitations. Taking his place was the smaller undrafted guard Jordan McLaughlin, who outperformed the max-contract player and better executed Coach Finch’s vision.

The next season, the Wolves traded for Gobert. They envisioned Rudy covering D’Lo’s defensive weaknesses and Russell creating lobs from a Rudy pick-and-roll.

None of it came to fruition.

Early in the failed attempt, Russell had come to the conclusion that he couldn’t work with Gobert.The fruit of their partnership withered on the vine. By the trade deadline, the Wolves swapped point guards, bringing in the steady and familiar hand of Mike Conley.

Throughout it all, Ant had a front-row seat to Russell’s behavior. He saw the price of arrogance and what happens when teammates give up on each other.

Ant has clearly prioritized never being in that position. In one breath, he can call out Karl-Anthony Towns to stop fouling — as he did during the 2024 series against the Suns — and in the next, tell President Barack Obama to keep Towns’ name out of his mouth.

Hey, not all of these lessons came from good role models.

Mike Conley

Mike Conley is a pro’s pro. The one-time All-Star was a part of the Grit-n-Grind Grizzlies, the Mitchell/Gobert Utah Jazz, and landed on the Timberwolves in the midst of a failing Towns-and-Gobert double-big experiment. He spent a few games post-trade understanding his new team and their preferences, and then set to work doing what he has always done: involving everyone.

Conley has a preternatural ability to know who hasn’t touched the basketball in a while and the empathic selflessness to get that player the ball in a place where they feel effective. What’s more, this sixth sense for the right play doesn’t need to be flashy. Its often simple, effectively communicated, and leads to trust.

Entering his first full season with the Wolves, he organized the offense, making Rudy effective with lob dunks, finding KAT on the perimeter for threes, and empowering McDaniels and especially Ant to attack, all while putting his body on the line on defense.

His efforts helped the Wolves reach their second-ever Western Conference Finals in 2024, going back again the next year. When he was traded this past February, then traded again and waived, the Wolves were desperate to bring the PG back to help maintain the locker room. He came back to the Wolves searching for the championship that eluded him, the crown jewel in a laudable career.

Ant grew into superstardom, into the team’s leader, into an adult under the mentorship of Conley. He learned how to make the simple play and take what the game gave him. Sadly, the last and greatest lesson Conley, now signed with the Boston Celtics, imparted was simple.

Don’t take this for granted…

Himself

Just before tipoff of the 2025-26 season, the Timberwolves made a starting lineup change. Out was Mike Conley, and in was Donte DiVincenzo. As such, primary ball-handling duties went to Edwards.

This season-long experiment put the ball in Ant’s hands. There it stayed for possession after possession. Somehow, despite it all, he averaged nearly one fewer assist per game.

His opponents sent double teams as he crossed half-court. He’d fight for freedom and burn precious energy that left him sagging on defense. Edwards vacillated between spreading the ball around and chucking, finding success and failure in both approaches. His passes to less capable shooters left his shoulders sagging. His early shot-clock bricks brought the same response from his teammates.

In the second round playoff matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, a hobbled Edwards was hounded. His teammates struggled to offer him effective options and the Wolves were sent home looking for answers.

The Point Ant experiment was a failure. It’s not easy to feed yourself and the team all at once.

LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets two spots behind Anthony Edwards. Like the Wolves of that era, the Hornets were also mired in year over year ineptitude. LaMelo beat out Ant for Rookie of the Year, and made his first — and at this writing, only — All-Star appearance a year before Edwards. Since then injuries, erratic and unserious shot selection, a steady rotation of coaching changes, and off-court erratic driving has marred some of the shine on the promising 6’7” point guard. That he was traded for Naz Reid (winced as I typed that), a first round pick and some swaps shows just what the Hornets thought of Ball’s future in the league.

For Tim Connelly and Chris Finch, they believe Melo’s ability to see over defenses offers something Ant has never played with, an athletic pass-first point guard who teams have to guard close. Melo should elevate every teammate with his passing. He’ll make some of them feel like superheroes with alley oops. The cost of this for the Wolves, including Ant, is defensive effort to save Melo when he is attacked. When Melo’s passes are too audacious, he’ll need to hear it from his teammates as well as Finch.

While there is excitement about the pairing of two of the league’s best backcourt players, the immaturity label has been used on both of them. Ant has improved each year. He has learned hard lessons from his point guard mentors.

To peel off the immaturity tag, Ant’s next lesson is to become like the mentors who shaped him.

The playoffs, the draft, free agency. These are the pinnacles of NBA—and by extension Milwaukee Bucks—fandom. Well, Ranking the Roster isn’t too far behind, especially around here! 

An annual tradition, Ranking the Roster has been a staple of Brew Hoop since 2014. Back then, a little-known sophomore won the crown in a vote that showed the community’s collective prescience. In second place came a highly touted second-overall draft pick. You know who on both accounts. Other names of yesteryear include Larry Sanders (fifth), Kendall Marshall (ninth), Jared Dudley (11th), and O.J Mayo (18th). Memories… For a complete nostalgia trip down original rankings lane, click here. 

Of course, back then, the rules were slightly different, with fans asked to rank players—and even picks—as “assets” in this hypothetical scenario:

Imagine the NBA was having an expansion draft, and the Bucks were able to “protect” their entire team from being taken by a new expansion organization, except for one player. Whoever is left unprotected will be selected in this hypothetical and totally unfair expansion draft. After this player is chosen, his salary comes off the Bucks’ books instantly, as though he was never on the team at all. Then (and this is important) the Bucks’ future plays out for some number of years, however long you care to imagine, only they no longer have the chosen player on the roster or on the cap sheet.

Over time, like the game we love so dearly itself, Ranking the Roster has evolved too, with the focus strictly on which player is more important to Milwaukee’s success in comparison to his teammates. More specifically, as Van Fayaz reiterated last year, you should heed Managing Editor Emeritus Adam Paris’ advice when making your selections:

Postseason success should be paramount in your mind when considering your rankings. Regular season competency is a bonus, especially if they can help the team get to a higher seed that yields dividends in the Playoffs, but think about how you envision each individual player factoring in when postseason games arrive.

Considering the context of this year’s team, with the Bucks tying up the laces on a new pair of kicks as they embark on a rebuild, “playoffs” might be a bit of a stretch (it’s also partly because of this that the “Gut Check” poll portion of the series has been shelved). But they will come down the road. And when that happens, which of these Bucks do you trust? 

Before we get to that, let’s revisit the archives (current players only). As noted, Giannis was the first winner in the series and it will come as no surprise that he’s the only Buck to ever hold that title. With his glaring absence from the books, this year we’ll see a first—and there’s no dominant school of thought as to who might fill the relinquished throne, at least as far as I can see it. 

Tyler Herro and Myles Turner have both made the Finals as key players, so you know they at least fit the bill. Then again, Kyle Kuzma has won one. So, I’m not convinced any of those (save maybe Herro) will get my vote. Ryan Rollins made the biggest leap on the team last year—it still baffles me how he didn’t get more Most Improved Player (MIP) consideration—and seems primed to do so again. But Jaime Jaquez Jr. was runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year (6MOY) and has open forward spots beckoning him to take on a bigger role, so that’s no guarantee either. Then there’s Kel’el Ware, who’s got perhaps the highest ceiling on the team and is itching to break out so long as he gets enough minutes (and stops being so curious). Oh, and there’s a tenth overall draft pick who you already know I think has a chance to be, uh, pretty okay. 

On the other end of the scale, I’m also eager to see who Bucks fans don’t trust. Kasparas Jakucionis was a sticking point in the Giannis trade, but do you value him as highly as Jon Horst seemingly did? What about been-there-before vets Caris LeVert and Gary Trent Jr., who were key rotational playoff pieces just last year and the year before that, respectively? Or have they soured that much? Only time—and you—will tell. That’s what makes this exercise so fun (and evergreen). Speaking of Green, how the hell is AJ the longest tenured Buck—by two years!? Things really done changed.  

One final point. As it stands, the Bucks still have 17 players under contract to go along with two out of a possible three two-way players. So, with teams able to carry a maximum of 15 players during the season, anticipate roster trimming at some point. Until then, treat everyone as if they’re on the team for the year ahead.  

Now get your GM hat on and get to work, starting with the first ranking:

Please note that technical changes across SB Nation mean polls must now be created in The Feed, so you will see them both there and in the articles themselves. They are also capped at six options, so we’ll present these as best we can. It’s not perfect, we know, but it’ll work. Thanks for your understanding.

Multiple times this summer, I’ve heard it claimed by fans, pundits, and current/former coaches, players, and front office types that the Wizards are deep. My instinctual reaction is skepticism. I delved into statistical analysis in part because so much of what I heard from the “experts” on TV when I was a kid didn’t seem accurate.

I’d watch Player X (names redacted to protect the innocent) would grab a rebound, and I’d hear the “analyst” (almost always a former player) make a claim like, “Player X is a strong rebounder.” Then The Sporting News would arrive in a couple weeks, and I’d look it up and see that Player X almost never got rebounds.

I’d see highlight packages that included a volume scorer like Dominique Wilkins dishing out multiple assists — clearly assembled to create an impression that he was a generous playmaker. TSN would let me know he was averaging 2-3 assists per game. (This is in no way meant to smear Wilkins, who was a) one of my favorite players, and b) earned his Human Highlight Film moniker.)

As I’ve written before, I wasn’t alone in this observation. One time, when he maybe 12 year old, I was watching a game with my son. Well, I was tracking the Wizards’ defense, and he was working on a school project and listening to the announcers spew statistical nuggets and other factoids while I sighed and the Wizards got pummeled. Again.

Anyway, at one point then-broadcaster Steve Buckhantz intoned something like the Wizards being third in the league in total offensive rebounds over the past nine days (or something), and my son asked, “If the Wizards are so great at everything, why do they always lose?”

So, I approach this “Wizards are deep” claim with skepticism. Let’s unpack.

“Deep” in sports generally refers to the idea that a team has multiple good players at the same or multiple positions. When the San Francisco 49ers had Joe Montana and Steve Young at quarterback, they had depth. When the Washington Redskins had Joe Theisman and Tom Flick, they did not.

Here’s my current best guess at the team’s depth chart for this season:

• G: Trae Young | Tre Johnson | Bub Carrington | Tre Mann
• W: Bilal Coulibaly | Kyshawn George | Khris Middleton
• F: AJ Dybantsa | Will Riley | Justin Champagnie
• C: Alex Sarr | Anthony Davis | DeAndre Ayton | Tristan Vukcevic

Note: In my thinking, there are four NBA positions nowadays — guard, wings, forward and centers. Coaches can (and do) mix and match when making lineups. This year, I anticipate the Wizards will start games with one guard (Young), two centers (Sarr and Davis), a forward (Dybantsa) and a wing (either Coulibaly or George).

Also, if you think Johnson is more of a “traditional” shooting guard/small forward type than a shooting guard/point guard type, feel free to mentally shift him to the wing bucket.

So far, this is a bunch of names. Part of being deep is that the players have to be good. Entering the season and assuming health, the Wizards can be confident that Davis, Young, and Sarr will be good to very good. Barring a catastrophic case of Idon’tcareitis Ayton probably makes that list too.

That’s four guys we can be sure will be good. Three of them play the same position.

My next tier is the probably at least average to maybe good. In this group: Coulibaly, George, Champagnie, Middleton. The first problem here is the Wizards don’t want to play two of them major minutes (Champagnie and Middleton). Champagnie because he’d be snacking on minutes that could go to his younger and more ballyhooed teammates. Middleton because he’s old (by NBA standards) and has had multiple significant injuries the past few years.

Next up: the probably below average (or worse) group. That includes Dybantsa and Johnson. In Dybantsa’s case it’s primarily an age-based evaluation. Not many teens are even average in the NBA. Turns out, it’s a tough and competitive league, and it takes time for a kid to learn how to excel.

By the way, arguably the only elite teenage rookie will be Dybantsa’s teammate this season. Davis posted a 178 PPA in 1,846 minutes in his age 19 season with the New Orleans Hornets. The only teen to beat that score was Zion Williams for the same franchise, but Williamson managed just 668 total minutes.

Where were we? Oh yeah, the probably below average guys. My thoughts on Johnson are draped on two main hooks: he’s young, and I didn’t see the athletic tools or all-around performance it usually takes to be an above average NBA player. I could be wrong — this is best guess, and Johnson (like any young player) can do the work and become great.

That leaves the probably not too good guys: Carrington, Riley, Vukcevic, and Mann.

By my count, that makes the Wizards six deep with average(ish)-or-better (eight if you count the two guys they don’t want to play much) and two more who probably won’t be good this season but will play anyway in hopes they will become good in the relatively near future.

I could see some upwards push from guys I anticipate being below average, if they work hard and improve. Odds are, some of the team’s youngsters will get better and some won’t. One of the lessons of NBA history is that it’s not safe to assume young players will improve. Sometimes they just don’t.

So, I think the best way to talk about the Wizards and depth is to say they might be deep this season, if several players improve more than anticipated. I don’t think it’s safe to believe they have the kind of depth that will make them competitive in any consistent way. There’s too much uncertainty around the relative quality of half the roster, which is compounded by significant uncertainty about the health and reliability of others the team hopes will form a veteran foundation.

Per a Spurs press release:

“Spurs fans are invited to the free 2026-27 Silver & Black Open Scrimmage, presented by Ticketmaster, at Frost Bank Center on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. The San Antonio Spurs will take the court for four 10-minute quarters, giving fans the chance to preview the team in action ahead of their Oct. 20 home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tickets are free and are required for entry – see details below and online at Spurs.com/OpenScrimmage.“

If you are asking “how do I obtain tickets?” there are a few requirements:

TICKET INFORMATION

The Silver & Black Open Scrimmage will be ticketed due to anticipated high demand. To be eligible to receive free tickets, fans must complete the following steps:

• Head to Spurs.com/OpenScrimmage or text SCRIMMAGE to 210-444-5940 to join the Official Spurs Fan Club and enter to win
• Both new and existing Fan Club members will need to enter to win through the above link
• Deadline to enter is Sunday, Sept. 20 at 11:59 p.m.
• Each fan is eligible to win up to four free tickets while supplies last
• Winners will be notified by Monday, Sept. 21
• Winners must claim their tickets within 24 hours of notification; if not, new winners will be selected
• All tickets are General Admission seating and cannot be transferred or resold

Current season ticket members do not need to enter as they are guaranteed tickets and will receive them in their Account Manager. Spurs Give is hosting a yard sale from thge time gates upon throughout the game. Parking for the event will be free. Fans can pick up selected new Spurs gear at a 15% discount in the Spurs Fan Shop inside the arena.

Hope to see you there…and Go Spurs Go! (Spoiler alert: either way, the Spurs win.)

Welcome to The Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here

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It has been a strange summer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

After waiting, and waiting, and then losing out on the LeBron James sweepstakes, the Cavs had to pivot. They already watched Keon Ellis and Dean Wade depart before James’ decision, and then had to offload Dennis Schroder and Max Strus to get a smidge of wiggle room to improve the top of the rotation. Acquiring Peyton Watson is a good gamble to make given his age, athleticism, and reasonable extension number, but the Cavs are undoubtedly more top-heavy than they already were. That is a problem. 

A short bench is nothing new for the Cavs, but there are even more legitimate concerns now. The wing rotation got an infusion of juice with Watson, yet there are plenty of questions after that. Jaylon Tyson has shown promise, but he fell out of the rotation in the playoffs and often got into head coach Kenny Atkinson’s doghouse. Mario Hezonja has not played in the NBA since before COVID, and there is a reason he is on a non-guaranteed contract. There really is no way of knowing what he will be able to provide, let alone in high-leverage playoff situations. 

Thomas Bryant makes his return to the frontcourt, but the Cavs should have sought out a more athletic, non-traditional backup center. Nae’Qwan Tomlin is listed as the team’s backup power forward, a scary proposition considering he was a two-way player last year. There is nothing necessarily wrong with Tomlin, but a team that wants to compete for a championship should have a better option in tow. Craig Porter is serviceable, but the Cavs are putting a lot of faith in him being the full-time backup point guard. 

Whether you want to believe it or not, Cleveland needed Wade out there. The Cavs were +5.9 with Wade on the floor last season, which is +3 better than they were without him. His true value does not show up in the box score. Wade’s ability to defend the arc, disrupt passing lanes, and stay in front of guards was all vital to the Cavs’ defense. When he hits a few shots and grabs a few rebounds, Wade was nearly invaluable. The Cavs will miss that two-way ability, even if he drew the ire of the fanbase.

Once seen as the prize of the De’Andre Hunter trade, Ellis was a near non-factor in the postseason. That being said, watching him walk is certainly not ideal, given that he’s provided a burst of energy off the bench more than a few times. That woke the Cavs up more than a few times this past season, especially in the doldrums of the winter. Sam Merrill was already a difference-maker, but he will shoulder more responsibility this upcoming season.

It is hard to say the loss of Schroder is detrimental, as his on-court play was already a net negative, but the replacement, Porter, has many pitfalls as well. Tyrese Proctor is intriguing, but not reliable yet. Porter has a lot of supporters in the organization, and plenty of fans outright, but there is a reason the Cavs felt they needed to get Schroder last year in the first place.

Trading another fan-favorite like Strus was tough to see, but the Cavs had only a few levers to pull to improve the roster. Strus is a good movement shooter who would come around pin-downs and get up quick shots, and that will be tough to replace. His ability to get hot from the floor saved the Cavs more than once this past season, and his size makes him a viable defender – if not a little overrated. Then there is the leadership and locker room impact, something not quantifiable. But there is a reason the Cavs were reluctant to trade Strus, and the off-court traits are part of that calculus. Hezonja will be tasked with filling in some of those cracks, and it is entirely possible he does so admirably. But there is also a real possibility that he is unable to reach NBA-level and ends up off the roster.

The Cavs are playing for the playoffs, and bench players who possess one or two specific skills are crucial. Strus’ movement shooting, Ellis’ energy, or Wade’s defense are traits that are hard to measure individually, but add up to something important in a seven-game series. The New York Knicks got key contributions from the likes of Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson, and Josh Hart — each with a unique ability off the bench that, at some point, swung a possession or two and changed a game. The Cavs’ bench does not have that, or at least not right now.

As they have been for the past few years, Cleveland is going into the season with a top-heavy roster. While Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are talented enough to get the Cavs home court advantage in a playoff series, there should be concern for the quality of the bench. This is NBA Finals or bust for the Cavs, as they rapidly approach the edge of the cliff. The bench has been an issue for the last few years, and that may rear its ugly head again.

Today’s post doesn’t merit an introduction. Just scroll down to the bottom, and you’ll find all you need.

• Jalen Brunson publicly pushed back on a rumor that he, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges had reunited with former Villanova teammate Matt Kennedy by becoming clients of his wealth management practice.
• Miles McBride revealed when the Knicks realized they were championship material. He also praised former coach Tom Thibodeau for laying the groundwork, saying, “Thibs did a great job; he built a great foundation.”
• Mikal Bridges credited the Knicks’ postseason experience for fueling their remarkable comebacks throughout the title run.
• Landry Shamet has returned to one of his favorite offseason hobbies.
• Josh Hart says the defending champion Knicks are embracing an underdog mentality (how surprising!) despite winning the NBA title.

“I don’t think we have a big target. Because I don’t think anyone is picking us to win again. We’re using it as fuel. We’re still the hunters. We’re not satisfied with one. So we’re the hunters, and we like playing that game.”

• Former Knicks guard Dink Pate is going in reverse, and I’m here for all of it.
• Derrick Rose says he never stopped believing the Knicks would win the championship. “I kind of had them winning the entire time,” Rose said. He also reflected on his own legacy, acknowledging he believes future generations may eventually forget him.

• Another former Knickerbocker, Danilo Gallinari, reflected on the biggest “what-if” of his career, saying injuries—not talent—kept him from reaching his full potential after being traded from New York in the Carmelo Anthony deal.
• Anthony Edwards again singled out Madison Square Garden as one of the NBA’s toughest road environments. Asked about his favorite arenas, Edwards listed MSG alongside TD Garden.
• Kenny Smith believes the NBA was justified in coming down hard on the Clippers over their salary-cap investigation, saying they were “vehemently cheating” and circumventing the cap.
• EuroLeague owners will hold a potentially historic meeting on Oct. 5 in Lake Como that could determine the future of European basketball, with club owners expected to discuss a possible NBA proposal to acquire EuroLeague following the league’s Board of Governors meeting. Yes, as we all knew from the get-go, the NBA doesn’t just want to expand to Europe—it wants to eat it whole.

One rule I’ve developed in years of writing about financial scandals is that, as bad as a scheme appears at first, it’s more likely than not that the facts will turn out to be nastier than they appeared at first.

Case in point: The scandal swirling around the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Assn. and their billionaire owner, former Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

The story was initially broken one year ago by sports podcaster Pablo Torre, who reported on a suspect endorsement deal between a sustainability company named Aspiration and All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard that smelled like an attempt to circumvent the NBA’s strict salary cap. (Torre won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting.)

I have no idea why we'd do this.

By Sept. 2, when the NBA issued a series of nuclear sanctions against the team and Ballmer, it had become much bigger. The team, according to an investigative report the league released, actually orchestrated endorsement deals for Leonard with four companies that had been angling for business arrangements with the team, not just one, and took steps to hide the deals from public view.

Because of the extent to which these deals violated league rules and perhaps because the Clippers are repeat offenders (they were fined $250,000 in 2015 for a similar endorsement scheme involving then-free agent DeAndre Jordan), the league hit the team with its maximum penalties.

It fined the team $30 million and took away its first-round draft picks for five years, 2029-2033 (the team already had ceded its first-round picks for the next two years in trade deals). It suspended Ballmer from any league or team activities for one year and imposed a one-year suspension on Gillian Zucker, the team’s president of business operations, and a six-month ban on Lawrence Frank, its president of basketball operations.

The Clippers said they “vehemently reject” the accusations and called them the product of a “heavily biased investigation.” They said they would appeal the sanctions, though it’s unclear how they could do that.

Leonard, who appears to be on his way back to the Toronto Raptors, from whence he came to the Clippers in 2019, issued a statement accepting “full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle.” That’s an apparent reference to Dennis Robertson, his business manager and uncle, who the investigators said was a key figure pushing the Clippers to find “off-court income” for Leonard.

Read more:Hiltzik: Baseball labor talks may look like a battle among millionaires, but it's really about billionaires vs. peons

The report released by the NBA’s investigators at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz portrays Ballmer and the team as treating the league’s salary cap rules not as strict mandates, but as obstacles to be evaded, like traffic cones. And it describes efforts at subterfuge that seemed to reach a Gilbert & Sullivan-esque level of absurdity.

Ballmer is called out to an extent that one almost never sees when applied to the millionaires and billionaires who own most professional sports teams. That’s even more remarkable given his status in the NBA: With a reported net worth of more than $150 billion, he is the richest team owner by an enormous margin, outranking the next-place owners, the Adelson family, owners of the Dallas Mavericks, by about $115 billion.

The other NBA owners were reportedly stunned by the sheer arrogance of the Clippers’ behavior. That’s saying something, since one would expect that those in the billionaire class have had plenty of rannygazoo paraded past their eyes in the course of their business careers. Ballmer, who can often be seen bouncing around like a hyper-caffeinated party animal in the Clippers’ home arena, Intuit Dome, is no shrinking violet — he was known as a ferociously hard-charging, hands-on leader at Microsoft. The NBA faults him for being “knowingly” engaged in the team’s dealings with Leonard and creating its anything-goes culture.

The NBA values its salary cap as a key to a competitive balance, enabling even mid-market teams to reach the Finals — over the last 10 seasons, eight teams have reigned as champs. Its rules bar teams from initiating endorsement deals or other such arrangements for players by interpreting them as an underhanded breach of the cap; if teams are approached by a potential endorsement partner for a player, they can refer the partner to a player’s representatives but can’t participate in the dealmaking. They’re also required to report any such overtures to the league. The Clippers violated those rules, the investigators say.

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The investigators say the team tried to circumvent the initiation clause via emails Zucker sent to three companies in 2020, implying that she was responding to their requests for introductions to Leonard.

The investigators found “no documentary evidence” that the companies genuinely initiated the requests. They viewed the emails merely as efforts to “create the appearance” that the Clippers were complying with the rules. The companies were Boingo, a wi-fi company at which Zucker’s husband was then chairman; Daktronics, a maker of scoreboards and video displays; and Lockton, an insurance brokerage.

All three were seeking to launch business relationships with the Clippers. The investigators asserted that the team implied to them that participating in its scheme to make illicit payments to Leonard by signing him to endorsement deals would help them win the contracts. They also found that the Clippers essentially assured the companies that it would cover their payments for the endorsement deals via their other contracts.

The investigators called these multi-year, multimillion-dollar endorsement deals, totaling $18 million, “peculiar.” None of the companies had ever signed an endorsement deal “of remotely the same financial magnitude” as these, nor have they done so since.

None of the deals was publicly announced, even though the whole point of signing a pro player to represent your company is to shout it from the rooftops. In any case, Leonard was nothing like a big, popular star—the investigators charitably referred to his “relatively insubstantial endorsement profile.” That hardly mattered, since the deals didn’t require Leonard to actually do anything for the money.

The key deal was with Aspiration, which was guided by the Clippers into paying Leonard $48 million over four years. When Joseph Sanberg, Aspiration’s co-founder and a board member, presented the deal to top executives, they were dumbfounded. “I have no idea why we’d do this,” one wrote in an email, according to the investigators.

But Sanberg assured them that the Clippers would adjust their contract with Aspire to cover the expense. Seeing that the deal was “cashflow neutral,” as an executive observed, they agreed.

Inside the Clippers’ front office, the contract for Aspiration to provide environmental services was seen as “super shady,” according to a text from one executive to another cited in the report.

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Ballmer maintained in at least one interview that the endorsement deal was initiated by Aspiration: “They were off to the races on their own,” he told a television interviewer. “We weren’t involved.”

In fact, the investigators say, the Clippers initiated the contact with Aspiration, put the firm in touch with a business agent who was already a team contractor, and provided the agent with proposed deal terms. The investigators found that the endorsement deal was such a departure for Aspiration that Sanberg needed to be educated about what it should require from Leonard in return for his fees. Sanberg “doesn’t really know what to ask for,” the agent told his associates.

Ballmer maintains that he was the victim in this arrangement. He points the finger at Sanberg, who he says enticed him into investing $60 million in his failing firm, thereby causing him “reputational harm.” But Sanberg might be viewed as a target of convenience, given that he pleaded guilty last year to federal fraud charges associated with the collapse of Aspiration and has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. (The NBA investigators told the court in a pre-sentence letter that Sanberg “substantially assisted our investigation”—though in the investigative report they said they “remained cautious in relying on Mr. Sanberg’s information” unless it was “corroborated by other evidence.”)

Where does this leave the Clippers? Nowhere good. Ballmer’s acquisition of the team in 2014 was seen as a major step toward ending its years-long record of futility, dating to its origin as the Buffalo Braves in 1970. The team still has never played in the NBA Finals. Leonard hasn’t lived up to expectations — injuries have kept him off the court for nearly half of his games as a Clipper, as my colleague Mirjam Swanson notes.

Basketball mavens see the NBA sanctions as condemning the Clippers to as long as 10 more years in John Bunyan’s Slough of Despond. For a brief moment, Ballmer got Southern California fans excited about the team. Ten years from now, will anyone even remember they exist?

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With preseaon less than a month away, its time to take a look at the Houston Rocket’s roster for training camp. For the purpose of this article I will be utilizing the Sports Illistruated Rockets roster and depth list. The Houston Rockets enter the 2026-27 season with a roster that combines a veteran championship core with several young players still developing. With Kevin Durant, Alperen Şengün, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Tari Eason returning, Houston has plenty of talent and versatility. For ease of reading I will splitting the roster into three groups: starters, rotation players, and end of the bench/G League players.

Starters

Kevin Durant — Forward
Durant remains the biggest name on the roster and the team’s primary offensive weapon. At 37, he brings elite scoring, shooting, and playoff experience. Houston will rely on him to be the closer and a veteran leader of the team.

Alperen Şengün — Center
Şengün is entering his fifth NBA season and remains one of Houston’s most important pieces. His passing and offensive creativity from the center position make him a major part of the Rockets’ half-court offense.

Amen Thompson — Guard/Forward
Thompson is arguably the most important young player on the roster. He averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals last season, and Houston recently committed to him with a five-year, $208 million extension.

Jabari Smith Jr. — Forward/Center
Smith gives Houston size and shooting in the frontcourt. His ability to play alongside both Durant and Şengün makes him particularly valuable.

Fred VanVleet – Point Guard

VanVleet is expected to provide veteran leadership and stability at point guard. His return gives Houston another experienced ball-handler after injuries affected his 2025-26 season.

Rotational Players

Marcus Smart – Point Guard

Smart is one of the most intriguing additions. He reunites with head coach Ime Udoka and gives Houston another physical perimeter defender and experienced playoff player.

Bogdan Bogdanović – Swingman

Newly acquired free agent Bogdan Bogdanović gives the Rockets another veteran shooter and offensive playmaker. He could become especially important when Houston needs spacing around Durant and Şengün.

Reed Sheppard – Combo Guard

Sheppard enters his third NBA season and will be one of the biggest development stories in camp. His shooting and playmaking could give Houston another option in the backcourt. Sheppard’s production and role will be one of the leading stories this season as he is extension-eligible next summer.

Steven Adams – Center

Adams is one half of the double-big lineup, and after exiting the season early he is likely to make an impact.

Reserves and G League Players

Bruce Thornton – Guard

Thornton is an Ohio State freshman guard and summer league standout, will have a chance to contend for playing time and even establish himself as a long-term rotation member.

Julian Phillips – Swingman

Another young wing vying for a part is Julian Phillips. At six feet six, he adds size and agility to Houston’s perimeter.

Quadir Copeland, Isaiah Crawford, Oscar Thswibwe, Rafael Castro, and Sean Pedulla all contribute depth throughout camp, but they will probably have to compete for regular NBA playing time.

Clint Capela adds some extra center depth, but is unlikely to see much playing time.

The Rockets’ greatest strength is versatility. Houston can go big with Şengün, Smith and Durant, or tiny and athletic with Thompson and Eason. The roster also has a lot more veteran experience than the young Rockets teams of a few seasons ago. The biggest issue heading into camp isn’t whether the Rockets have enough skill. It’s how does Udoka fit all that talent together. If Durant remains an exceptional scorer, Şengün keeps growing, and Thompson makes another leap, Houston’s got the personnel to contend near the top of the Western Conference. With all that said, who are you excited to see playing time this upcoming season? Let us know, and make sure to check back at The Dream Shake for more Houston Rockets basketball news.

President Donald Trump entered American Airlines Center in Dallas on Wednesday night prepared to talk about Iran, immigration, oil prices, the economy and the upcoming midterm elections.  

Then, in true Trump fashion, as he stood inside the building that Luka Doncic once dazzled on a nightly basis, he reopened one of the city’s most painful wounds. 

The president interrupted his nearly two-hour speech at the Republican midterm convention to offer his own assessment of the February 2025 blockbuster trade that sent Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis. 

“I must tell you, I don’t understand the trade. That trade is not good,” Trump said.

He doubled-down. 

“It’s not going to go down as the greatest trade in the history of sports. It might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports,” Trump continued, before deciding Babe Ruth being shipped from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees probably still owns that particular piece of infamy.

He’s right that the Doncic-Davis deal is still considered to be one of basketball’s most shocking midseason trades. Dallas surrendered its 25-year-old franchise cornerstone only months after he carried the Mavericks to the 2024 NBA Finals. In return, Dallas received Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. 

The deal was so secretive between then general manager Nico Harrison and the Lakers’ Rob Pelinka, that no other team was even made aware that Doncic was potentially available in a trade.

It’s important to note that the Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery that year and selected Cooper Flagg with the first-overall pick. Nonetheless, a year later Davis was traded by Dallas to Washington in February 2026. 

“Maybe we could redo that trade,” he said. “I redo deals all the time. … I understand deals. But that one, I didn’t quite get.”

Then, almost as quickly as he wandered into NBA trade-machine territory, the president returned to oil and Iran.

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Just when you thought the Lakers’ jerseys couldn’t get worse, Nike unveiled maybe the worst version of them yet.

The team’s jerseys have been trending in the wrong direction for some time now, whether because of the design or the shift toward highlighter yellow instead of gold. But Nike hit a new low on Wednesday.

At an event on Tuesday, new alternate “Specter” jerseys were debuted for the upcoming NBA season, including the Lakers’, which looks awful.

You know what I’ve always thought when looking at an NBA jersey? What if we made the team’s logo the smallest part of the entire thing?

If you were debating if this was real and an actual jersey, the NBA confirmed these atrocities!

These are offensive to the history of the game, not celebrating it.

The only hope is that the Lakers take the approach they did two seasons ago and just boycott these jerseys. Back then, they ditched the jerseys because they kept losing in them. Let’s just get ahead of things now and assume these jerseys are so bad, no one could possibly win in them.

Genuinely, when’s the last time the Lakers have had a jersey released and the reaction was positive? It feels like each season, we go further and further down the path of terrible jerseys.

Unfortunately, we have about another decade of terrible Nike jerseys so unless something drastic changes, this isn’t going to get any better.

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

President Donald Trump's latest attempt to rally support at Wednesday's Republican midterm convention included a dig at the Dallas Mavericks' front office.

The Mavericks forever shaped their franchise when they shocked the sports world by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis in February 2025. Nearly everyone questioned it. Mavericks fans protested the move. General manager Nico Harrison was fired in November 2025.

Trump added his two cents Wednesday while speaking at the Mavericks' home, the American Airlines Center in Dallas, saying that it has a case to be among the worst sports trades of all time.

"I must tell you, I don't understand the trade. That trade is... What do I know about basketball? I would say that it's not going to go down as the greatest trade in the history of sports, it might go down as the worst trade in the history of sports," Trump said.

Josh Hart doesn’t see a “target” on the Knicks’ back as they prepare to defend their NBA championship. 

In fact, the veteran guard sees the exact opposite when asked during an appearance on ESPN’s U.S. Open broadcast on Wednesday night if the rest of the NBA would be gunning for the Knicks.

“I don’t think we have a big target,” Hart told Chris Fowler and John McEnroe during Alexander Zverev’s quarterfinal win over Botic van de Zandschulp.

“Because I don’t think anyone is picking us to win again.”

The Knicks, fresh off ending the franchise’s 53-year title drought, have not been the talk of the NBA offseason.

That belonged to their opening night opponent, the 76ers, who signed LeBron James and traded for Celtics star Jaylen Brown. 

The Heat added Giannis Antetokounmpo, while the Knicks took a run-it-back approach with mostly the same team that beat the Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals.

The only key piece they lost was Mitchell Robinson, who signed with Boston. The Spurs and Thunder are the current betting favorites to win it all.

Hart, who will be in attendance for the Ben Shelton-Frances Tiafoe semifinal on Friday night, and the Knicks don’t seem to mind being in the familiar position of being overlooked. 

“We’re using it as fuel,” Hart said. “We’re still the hunters. We’re not satisfied with one. The next goal is to get another. We’re the hunters, and we like playing that game.”

Hart has become a beloved figure with Knicks fans during his four seasons with the team. Last year, he averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists.

Fowler told Hart said that the Knicks with Hart, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were likable, team-oriented and easy for a non-New Yorker like him to root for. 

“For us, it’s about helping each other,” Hart said. “We’re all high-character guys. We realized if everyone is willing to sacrifice, you don’t have egos, you’re not selfish, you’re gonna get far. You’re gonna get where you want to go at the end of the season.”  

Do you ever stretch out on the Earth, gaze at the pinpricked majesty of the Lite-Brite night sky, and take a moment to consider your place in the universe? Ponder the scope of existence. Observe the celestial bodies that pierce the outer reaches of the void and flicker a message of awareness in our direction.

The Earth is a satellite of observation. A clump of something, floating and whirling through the stretching expanses of the infinite.

From our point of view, our Sun, the source of Earth’s warmth and life, appears much larger than the specks of light that break out across the night sky’s pubescent, acne-riddled firmament. We understand, of course, that the Sun is not larger than the average star for the same reasons we understand that the Moon is not as large as the Sun: it’s all a matter of perspective.

So, though the Sun appears grander and more brilliant than the rest of the visible universe’s inhabitants, its proximity to us Earthlings makes it appear as though it’s the most magnificent body in the sky (save for that hunk of a constellation, Orion, winner of the night sky pageant 32,000 years running!).

But truthfully, the Sun isn’t anything special in the grand scope of the universe. Sure, brown and red dwarf stars make up the majority of the star population, but our resident star is microscopic compared to cosmic giants, which are hundreds to thousands of times larger — they’re not in the same weight class.

Last season in Utah, third-year point guard Keyonte George was a star.

He averaged 23.6 points per game, which ranked 22nd in the NBA. He neighbored established superstar scorers like James Harden (23.6 PPG), Cade Cunningham (23.9 PPG), Cooper Flagg (21.0 PPG), and LeBron James (20.9 PPG). And he did it on decadent shooting splits of 45.6% FG, 37.1% 3PT, and 89.2% FT. And he added 6.1 assists per game for good measure. Everything in this paragraph was a career-high for Keyonte, and by a wide margin.

Not bad for a player who entered the league branded as an inefficient volume scorer with a shallow playmaking portfolio.

Keyonte is a great success story for the Jazz’s youth-driven rebuild, and a very needed one, considering Utah’s shortcomings in developing lottery picks Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams. But now that the rebuild is reaching its maturity, the question becomes whether George, whose stock rose exponentially on a subpar roster, can maintain his upward trajectory once the Jazz begin pushing for wins.

In other words, is Keyonte George truly a cosmic giant, or did he only look that way because he shared the floor with dwarfs?

From the perspective of the Utah Jazz, Keyonte was a borderline All-Star snub after his incredible 2025-26 campaign.

But he rarely shared the floor with the veteran players who populate the starting lineup. Markkanen missed 40 games. Jackson Jr. only appeared in four. Darryn Peterson was still attending classes during Keyonte’s ascension.

The Utah Jazz gave Keyonte plenty of floor time during games that they did not want to win.

And he shared the court with plenty of players who greatly assisted in Utah’s tanking efforts. But his improvement in efficiency suggests that he improved in his third season. Despite sharing minutes with few difference-makers for much of the season, he managed to increase his usage in lockstep with his effectiveness.

Contrast that with Taylor Hendricks and Walter Clayton Jr., who both saw their scoring averages increase with more floor time in Memphis, but with zero meaningful improvement in their shooting percentages.

Admittedly, his defensive rating is horrific — the worst on the roster last season despite averaging over 1 steal per game — and this has always been one of the biggest knocks on his game. As a defender, George has a lot of room to grow, but he doesn’t seem the type to allow his weaknesses to stay that way without any corrective effort. Considering Utah finished 29th of 30 teams in defensive rating, there’s (practically) nowhere to go but up on that end.

On the flip side of that coin, it would be unfair not to mention that Keyonte also boasts Utah’s highest offensive rating of any player who played a meaningful chunk of the season, and that’s vital for a team that still ranked in the bottom 10 of the NBA in offensive rating.

His leadership off the court and in the offseason led me to believe that there’s much more to Keyonte George than what you see in the box score. As an involved participant with the Summer League team — the NBA feared what he could accomplish as a coach in ways they did not fear Derrick White — George pushed the prospective NBA talents around him. As a teammate, he’s been a driving force in encouraging chemistry in the locker room. He represented the franchise at the draft lottery, excitedly chatted up his future teammate Darryn Peterson, and stuck around to watch the combine. These are not common traits, but they are incredibly promising indicators.

Head coach Will Hardy has always pressured George, and last season’s output is a reflection of that refining process’s apparent success. It takes effort off the court to find success on the court, and we all watched as Keyonte set the stat sheet ablaze last year.

I’m not going to forecast an All-Star season for Keyonte George next season. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see his averages take a bit of a dip as he shares the backcourt with a prospect who is believed by many to grow into the NBA equivalent of a red giant.

But if the question is whether or not Keyonte George is the point guard of the future in Utah, I’d argue he measures very favorably with some of the better point guards in the basketball universe.

Calvin Barrett is the Associate Editor for SLC Dunk. Originally from Springville, Utah, he currently lives in Japan and has covered the NBA and college athletics since 2024.

The Los Angeles Lakers will have a bold new look next season.

During an event hosted by Nike, the Lakers revealed their new Specter jersey that they will wear a handful of times as an alternate jersey for the 2026-2027 NBA season.

The model walked out on the runway during the event and was seen wearing a No.77 Luka Dončić jersey that had a mixed colorway of purple and black going across it, while the color yellow was on the Lakers wordmark across the chest, and the outline on the numbers, and trim of the jersey.

There was also another unusual change to the jersey, as the Nike logo was seen placed across the middle of the chest, instead of its usual placement on the right shoulder.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that they were issuing new Standard Issue Collection jerseys for every team in the NBA, as well as NBA Specter Edition uniforms as a way for teams to “trace their roots back to the earliest chapters of the league.”

On top of having a mix of purple, yellow, and black, the jersey also features a blue and white stripe near the front shoulders, likely paying homage to the Lakers’ old blue and yellow colors.

The Specter jersey is a bold choice by the NBA, which hasn’t been shy to test the waters of creativity when it comes to creating different uniforms in the league.

“Basketball is more than a game — it’s a culture and a form of self-expression,” NBA VP Creative Director, Nike Basketball Ross Klein said. “This collection celebrates the attitude, creativity and individuality of today’s hoopers, combining bold team identity and modern style so fans can show their connection to the game in their own way.”

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Michael Brady, who is the Global Head of Merchandise Partnerships & Business Affairs in the NBA, said, “This collection represents the next evolution of our partnership with Nike, redefining how team identity and basketball culture are expressed across the league”

Brady went on to say this collection will bring a new energy and a modern look to NBA fandom.

According to the announcement by the NBA, other teams that are expected to wear specter jersey’s next season include the Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics.