The Miami Heat have reportedly added a dynamic scorer.
Norman Powell is headed to Miami, John Collins is off to the LA Clippers and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a Clippers 2027 second-round pick are going to the Utah Jazz in a three-team trade, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Monday.
The Heat get a skilled scorer in Powell, who averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game (24th in the NBA) with the Clippers last season while shooting 42% on 3-pointers. The 32-year-old guard spent three-plus seasons with the Clippers after being dealt from the Portland Trail Blazers in February 2022.
Miami is shipping out two veterans in Love and Anderson. Love, a five-time All-Star, averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds across 23 games for Miami in 2024-25. Anderson, meanwhile, played just 25 games with the team and averaged 6.7 points per game after being traded from the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers bring back Collins. The forward averaged 19.0 points (tied for the team lead) for the Jazz across 40 games last season. He spent two years in Utah after playing with the Atlanta Hawks for his first six NBA seasons.
Jayson Tatum’s recovery process has reached its next stage.
The Boston Celtics star is just under two months removed from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in a May 13 playoff game against the New York Knicks. And while most Americans were enjoying a relaxing July 4 weekend, Tatum was attacking his rehab — both in the gym and in the pool.
On Saturday, Tatum posted an Instagram photo of himself working out in the gym (with a walking boot on his right foot) with the motivational caption, “Keep showing up JT.”
On Sunday, Tatum briefly ditched the walking boot for a pool workout, sharing a video on his Instagram story of himself doing some slow but steady “high knees” under the close watch of trainer Nick Sang.
Tatum has been very active post-surgery — he shared another video of himself in the gym on June 29, less than 50 days after his operation. The 27-year-old has a relentless work ethic, so it’s no surprise that he’s doing everything he can to speed up his recovery process.
Whether we see Tatum at some point during the 2025-26 season, however, remains to be seen.
The Celtics have been intentional about not putting a clock on Tatum’s recovery, with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens recently noting that Tatum won’t have a projected timeline for “a long, long time.”
“It’s baby steps right now,” Stevens told reporters after Round 1 of the NBA Draft on June 25. “He’s actually progressed great, but I don’t know what that means with regard to projected timelines.”
“And that’ll be in consultation with him and (trainers) Nick (Sang) and Phil Coles and everybody else to make sure when he hits the court, he is fully ready and fully healthy. And that will be the priority.”
While most NBA players miss full seasons due to Achilles injuries, there have been some examples of stars returning in under 12 months’ time — most notably Dominique Wilkins, who was back on the court less than 10 months after his injury. Given Tatum’s youth and work ethic, it’s certainly possible he’s able to speed up his own recovery process.
Then again, Boston will need to consider the risk of rushing Tatum back to action, especially on a team that has lower expectations in 2025-26 after losing Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and possibly Al Horford. The better course of action might be to keep Tatum out the entire season and let him return at 100 percent health in 2026-27, instead of throwing him into the fire in March or April 2026.
Kevon Looney has a lot to be proud of from his time with the Warriors. Perhaps most importantly: Three NBA championship rings.
While the 6-foot-9 center never produced eye-popping numbers throughout his 10-year career with Golden State, he played a pivotal role as a reliable big, both in the starting lineup and off the bench, while also establishing himself as a veteran leader in the Warriors’ locker room.
“In looking back on everything on my way out, I think the thing I’m most proud of when it comes to my time with the Warriors is the fact that I earned everything that came to me as a player,” Looney wrote.
“No one gave me anything. I worked for everything. I earned my stripes.”
Looney earned a lot of praise for how reliable and poised he was in the biggest moments, and after he was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, with Golden State’s dynastic run just beginning, there were plenty of big moments to follow.
“And I’m not gonna lie: It was scary sometimes,” Looney shared. “I didn’t always know how things were gonna turn out. I’d look up, and I’m out there on an island with James Harden, and it was just like … go figure it out. But my coaches and teammates, they all trusted me to come through. Make or break.
“And I didn’t break. I’ll always be proud of that.”
While Looney’s role as one of the Warriors’ veteran leaders never wavered, his spot in the starting lineup, and coach Steve Kerr’s rotations, certainly did over the years, which was not an easy pill for Looney to swallow.
“I had to earn that support, of course. And the journey, that winding path I took over the years, it honestly wasn’t easy,” Looney added. “Getting benched. Guys getting drafted and taking your minutes. Lineup changes. Falling out of the rotation sometimes. None of that is fun. But when you’re part of a culture where everything is about winning, and you’ve seen vets sacrifice in previous years, that mindset kind of takes hold.
“So, yeah, sure, if I’m being honest, I got frustrated sometimes, or was feeling bad, but … I’d just keep all that at home, and then come to work each day ready to help us win.”
Looney’s unwavering commitment to the Warriors did not go unnoticed, and for that, he forever will hold a special place in the hearts of those within the organization and Dub Nation.
Kevon Looney has a lot to be proud of from his time with the Warriors. Perhaps most importantly: Three NBA championship rings.
While the 6-foot-9 center never produced eye-popping numbers throughout his 10-year career with Golden State, he played a pivotal role as a reliable big, both in the starting lineup and off the bench, while also establishing himself as a veteran leader in the Warriors’ locker room.
“In looking back on everything on my way out, I think the thing I’m most proud of when it comes to my time with the Warriors is the fact that I earned everything that came to me as a player,” Looney wrote.
“No one gave me anything. I worked for everything. I earned my stripes.”
Looney earned a lot of praise for how reliable and poised he was in the biggest moments, and after he was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft, with Golden State’s dynastic run just beginning, there were plenty of big moments to follow.
“And I’m not gonna lie: It was scary sometimes,” Looney shared. “I didn’t always know how things were gonna turn out. I’d look up, and I’m out there on an island with James Harden, and it was just like … go figure it out. But my coaches and teammates, they all trusted me to come through. Make or break.
“And I didn’t break. I’ll always be proud of that.”
While Looney’s role as one of the Warriors’ veteran leaders never wavered, his spot in the starting lineup, and coach Steve Kerr’s rotations, certainly did over the years, which was not an easy pill for Looney to swallow.
“I had to earn that support, of course. And the journey, that winding path I took over the years, it honestly wasn’t easy,” Looney added. “Getting benched. Guys getting drafted and taking your minutes. Lineup changes. Falling out of the rotation sometimes. None of that is fun. But when you’re part of a culture where everything is about winning, and you’ve seen vets sacrifice in previous years, that mindset kind of takes hold.
“So, yeah, sure, if I’m being honest, I got frustrated sometimes, or was feeling bad, but … I’d just keep all that at home, and then come to work each day ready to help us win.”
Looney’s unwavering commitment to the Warriors did not go unnoticed, and for that, he forever will hold a special place in the hearts of those within the organization and Dub Nation.
The Miami Heat have reportedly added a dynamic scorer.
Norman Powell is headed to Miami, John Collins is off to the LA Clippers and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a Clippers 2027 second-round pick are going to the Utah Jazz in a three-team trade, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Monday.
The Heat get a skilled scorer in Powell, who averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game (24th in the NBA) with the Clippers last season while shooting 42% on 3-pointers. The 32-year-old guard spent three-plus seasons with the Clippers after being dealt from the Portland Trail Blazers in February 2022.
Miami is shipping out two veterans in Love and Anderson. Love, a five-time All-Star, averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds across 23 games for Miami in 2024-25. Anderson, meanwhile, played just 25 games with the team and averaged 6.7 points per game after being traded from the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers bring back Collins. The forward averaged 19.0 points (tied for the team lead) for the Jazz across 40 games last season. He spent two years in Utah after playing with the Atlanta Hawks for his first six NBA seasons.
Except Valanciunas reportedly wanted to play in Europe. He spoke with officials from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos about a return to Europe, and they reportedly were willing to offer three years, $13 million, which would make him one of the highest-paid players on the continent.
The problem is it's not Valanciunas' call. Nor Panathinaikos. It's Denver's. Valanciunas can't abandon his two-year, $20.4 million contract and quit the Nuggets. There are FIBA rules about such things.
The Nuggets informed Valanciunas' representatives that "the franchise fully intends to have him honor his contract," reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. If Denver sticks to its guns on this, the conversation is over.
While this could be a negotiating tactic by the Nuggets, don't bet on it. Denver wants to contend next season, and Valanciunas is too valuable a player for the Nuggets to just let walk away. For years, Denver's biggest Achilles' heel has been the team's non-Jokic minutes — Valanciunas can help turn that tide (especially when paired with Bruce Brown, Peyton Watson and the emerging Julian Strawther). Also, because Valanciunas is very skilled at dribble handoffs and short midrange shots (inside 15 feet), the Nuggets don't have to switch up their offensive scheme when Jokic is out.
The road to Valanciunas playing in Greece next season is long and requires the cooperation of Denver. Under FIBA rules (the governing body of international basketball), a player under contract, such as Valanciunas, needs a FIBA "letter of clearance" to sign with another team. (For the record, this rule applies to European teams trying to sign NBA players, or NBA teams trying to sign European players.) In this case, it would mean Valanciunas and the Nuggets would have to agree to a buyout, freeing him from his contract (the Nuggets would likely expect him to give up all of that money). After that, FIBA would issue the letter and Valanciunas could sign.
The question is, why would Denver do that?
More likely than not, Denver will bring back Valanciunas this season and see how it plays out. A year from now, maybe Denver and Valanciunas work out a buyout, but the Nuggets upgraded this offseason and are serious contenders for another ring. They aren't going to let Valanciunas simply walk away.
Laker Bronny James shoots the ball during a California Class game against the Miami Heat on Sunday at the Chase Center in San Francisco. (Noah Graham / NBAE via Getty Images)
Bronny James made his 2025 summer league debut, scoring 10 points in 10 minutes during the Lakers' win over the Miami Heat in the California Classic at the Chase Center on Sunday.
The Lakers led for most of the game, rolling to a 103-83 victory.
The Heat went on a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, but the Lakers responded with strong perimeter shooting to maintain a double-digit lead.
Cole Swider was the Lakers' leading scorer for the second consecutive game, finishing with 20 points against the Heat. Swider shot seven of 10 from the field, including two of five from three-point range.
“We have to get back to defending how we did in the first half, I thought we did a great job,” Swider said. “They only had 38 points in the first half. They came out high, but we were able to weather the storm and win the third quarter, which was huge for us.”
James, who didn’t suit up for the Lakers’ loss to the Warriors on Saturday, was three-of-seven shooting and two-of-five from three-point range. He sat out the second half because of a minutes restriction for conditioning.
“It felt good, just getting out there for the first time this summer. I’m just trying to make a difference any way I can defensively and offensively,” James said. “... First wind was definitely tough. … Pretty much just trying to go out there have fun and not be so tired while I'm doing it.”
Bronny opened up the game with a steal and fast-break dunk to score the Lakers' first points.
The Lakers shot 57.1% from the field and stepped up their perimeter defense while limiting the Heat to 14 free throws. Miami made just eight of 27 (29.6%) from beyond the three-point line.
Swider said as one of the veterans on the roster, he tries to provide support for younger players.
“This is my fourth year doing this thing, I think I might be the oldest guy on the roster," he said. "Just giving these guys a game, trying to help Dalton [Knecht] as much as possible, trying to help Bronny as much as possible. Me and Bronny had a great stint together with the South Bay Lakers, so just trying to continue that chemistry and continuity.”
The Lakers get a day off before they play the San Antonio Spurs in the final game of the California Classic on Tuesday. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. The team will then travel to Las Vegas for the remainder of its summer league schedule.
Kevin Durant is a four-time Olympic champion and two-time NBA champion [Getty Images]
NBA star Kevin Durant has joined the Houston Rockets from the Phoenix Suns in a record-breaking trade deal involving seven teams.
The move was first announced last month but was confirmed on Sunday when the league's new year officially started.
The Atlanta Hawks, the Brooklyn Nets, the Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers are also involved in the deal, which involves 13 players and several future draft picks being exchanged.
The previous record for the largest trade in NBA history was six teams, set last summer when Klay Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks.
Durant, 36, was named the 2014 Most Valuable Player, won two NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors, and is a 15-time All-Star.
He also won four Olympic golds with the US basketball team.
"My time in Phoenix has come to an end," he posted on social media.
"All these stops along the journey have really impacted me in a positive way. Remember it's a world behind the scenes, and those who make things work in that space, work tirelessly to make our lives easier as players.
"I truly believe this NBA is a one big community. Much love to Arizona. Houston, Can't Wait!"
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said: "His skill level, love of basketball, and dedication to his craft have made him one of the most respected players of his generation, and my staff and I are excited to work with him."
Houston finished second in the Western Conference last season but were knocked out of the play-offs in the first round.
"One of the greatest to ever play the game, we are grateful for the impact Kevin made on our organization and in our community," Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory said.
"As a member of the Suns, he climbed the scoring charts to become just the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points, and we wish him the best as he continues his career in Houston."
Who gets what in the seven-team deal?
Under the deal, Houston get Durant and 31-year-old Swiss centre Clint Capela from Atlanta - he started his career at the Rockets.
From the Rockets, the Suns pick up 18-year-old South Sudanese centre Khaman Maluach, who was the 10th overall pick in June's NBA draft, as well as forward Dillon Brooks and guard Jalen Green. The Suns also get Atlanta wing Daeqwon Plowden, Minnesota forward Rasheer Fleming and Golden State guard Koby Brea, as well as two future draft picks.
The Hawks, meanwhile, receive David Roddy, cash, and a 2031 draft pick swap from Houston.
Brooklyn obtained two future second-round picks and sent a draft pick, forward Adou Thiero, to the Lakers.
The Warriors obtained Australian forward Alex Toohey, who was initially drafted by the Suns, and guard Jahmai Mashack, the last pick in the draft for the Rockets.
Minnesota landed two future draft picks from the Suns and 18-year-old Australian centre Rocco Zikarsky, a draft pick from the Lakers.
The Jonathan Kuminga saga remains roughly the same, but a Northern California rival appears intent on acquiring the Warriors’ 22-year-old forward.
The Sacramento Kings have been the strongest pursuer of Kuminga, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported Sunday night, citing sources.
No significant traction on the Jonathan Kuminga front over the weekend, per sources. Restricted free agency around the NBA remains ice cold. Conversations and little action. Kings have been strongest pursuer of Warriors’ wing, but nothing has come close.
That deal would have sent Kuminga to Sacramento, while Detroit would would receive guard Malik Monk, with the Kings sending Golden State second-year guard Devin Carter, big man Dario Šarić and two second-round draft picks.
Kuminga has averaged 12.5 points on 50.7 percent shooting from the field in four NBA seasons since being selected by the Warriors at No. 7 overall in the 2021 draft.
As the ongoing situation awaits a resolution, it’s worth keeping an eye on Northern California’s two NBA teams potentially striking a deal for Kuminga.
In the first possession of Warriors’ last-second 90-88 California Classic summer league loss to the San Antonio Spurs at Chase Center, Richard swiped down and stripped the ball away from David Jones-Garcia like he was Andre Iguodala and took it the other way himself for an easy layup. That’s the kind of two-way impact the Warriors saw out of Richard at Florida, and why they moved up three spots from No. 59 to No. 56 to select the former Gator.
“I have a lot of length on defense and I can do a good job of knowing where the ball is going to be,” Richard said. “Just being aggressive. As soon as I saw him bring it down I knew I could have a chance to steal the ball.”
Melton is 6-foot-2, but his wingspan exceeds 6-foot-8. Richard comes in even taller at 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan he knows how to use to his advantage. He led Florida with 1.7 steals per game as a senior last season, and more than half of his 40 games resulted in multiple steals.
Richard had 22 games of two or more steals, including six games of three steals, one with four and another where he swiped five. He was without a steal in only seven games last season. His first time wearing a Warriors jersey ended with two steals, making a major impact defensively in a handful of ways.
Coach Lainn Wilson was equally impressed with how Richard guarded his man, as well as understanding concepts of team defense.
“Honestly, both,” Wilson said. “His activity on the ball – he was doing what we asked off the ball as well. There wasn’t many times where he was caught out of position. Obviously he’s a pretty aggressive player, so that’d be the only time he gets burned.
“But we can honestly work with guys that are pretty aggressive.”
Jones-Garcia led both teams with 25 points, though Richard hounded him throughout the Warriors’ loss. His second steal was jumping a passing lane and tipping an attempt from Jones-Garcia. Richard’s best defensive sequence also came on Jones-Garcia in a play where he wasn’t given a steal in the box score.
While Jones-Garcia kept trying to dribble past Richard, he had nowhere to go. Stuck in the mud with an unsuccessful last-ditch effort going behind his back. Jackson Rowe pounced on the loose ball, and Richard wound up dropping a highlight of dime in mid-air to tie the game in the fourth quarter.
Sunday was full of firsts for Richard. Complications from the Warriors’ trade to acquire his draft rights delayed his California Classic debut, and withheld him from any practices. The two-point loss was the first time Richard even played 5-on-5 since the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game three months ago.
Still, Richard ended as a plus-13 in 25 minutes. He scored 16 points on 3-of-10 shooting, going 2 of 8 on threes but made all eight of his free throw attempts. Richard also had four rebounds, one assist and two steals.
“Pretty impressive debut,” Wilson said. “… His effort out there was just a really good start for him.”
With just 32 seconds remaining in regulation, Richard drained a three to make it a one-point game. Wilson then drew up a play for Richard with the game on the line in the final seconds, going for the win and putting his ultimate faith in him.
Off his hands, the shot was right on target. As it hit the front of the rim, teammates jumped in anticipation on the sidelines. No summer league storybook ending this time.
The ball hit the back of the rim and trickled out at the buzzer. Wilson thought it was going to fall, as did Richard. The heartbreak won’t deter him from taking the shot again, and it certainly won’t place a dark cloud over what was a positive first impression.
The Kevin Durant trade to Houston was agreed to two weeks ago — hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, just to cast a shadow over that event — and since then has kept growing and growing. As other trades were agreed to, it became fiscally responsible to combine them into one big trade.
On Sunday, the Durant trade became official, approved by the league as a historic seven-team trade, a development that has been anticipated for a while and is was first confirmed by Fred Katz of The Athletic (since his post the trade became official). This is the first seven-team trade in NBA history. Outside of the big names, a lot of what is happening is draft picks getting moved around.
The trade fully shakes out this way:
• Houston receives: Kevin Durant, Clint Capela • Phoenix receives: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, rights to Khaman Maluach (No. 10 draft pick), Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea, Daeqwon Plowden, one second-round pick • Golden State receives: Alex Toohey, Jahmai Mashack • Los Angeles Lakers receive: Adou Thiero • Brooklyn receives: two second-round picks • Atlanta receives: David Roddy, a second-round pick, cash • Minnesota receives: Rocco Zikarsky, two second-round picks, cash
The Durant trade could not be approved until the NBA's new fiscal year (July 1) and the end of the trade and free agency moratorium, which runs until July 6. On Sunday, a flood of already agreed-upon trades and signings will be officially announced.
Including a historically large Kevin Durant trade.
The deal got approved by the NBA on Sunday as part of a seven-team transaction, one in which a slew of other trade agreements got folded into one massive package.
“Kevin impacts the game on both ends of the court and is one of the most efficient scorers in the history of basketball,” Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said. “We liked the growth our team showed last season and believe Kevin’s skill set will integrate seamlessly.”
Involved in the deal: Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Minnesota, Golden State, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers. It includes a total of 13 players — the headline moves include Durant going to Houston from Phoenix, the Rockets sending Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns, and the Rockets acquiring Clint Capela from the Hawks.
The seven-team involvement in the Durant trade tops the previous record, a six-team transaction last summer that most notably sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks. Golden State — Thompson’s former team — obviously was another part of that trade, as were Charlotte, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Denver on varying levels.
“One of the greatest to ever play the game, we are grateful for the impact Kevin made on our organization and in our community,” Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory said of Durant. “As a member of the Suns, he climbed the scoring charts to become just the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points, and we wish him the best as he continues his career in Houston.”
There will be at least five second-round draft picks in the deal before all terms are satisfied, the potential for another second-round pick swap and the Hawks and Timberwolves both had to receive some cash considerations to make all the math work. And some of those draft picks won’t actually be made until 2032, which raises the serious possibility that some players who will go down in history as being part of the trade haven’t reached high school yet.
Durant averaged 26.6 points last season, his 17th in the NBA — not counting one year missed because of injury. For his career, the 6-foot-11 forward is averaging 27.2 points and seven rebounds per game.
The move brings Durant back to the state of Texas, where he played his only year of college basketball for the Longhorns and was the college player of the year before going as the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft by Seattle.
Houston becomes his fifth franchise, joining the SuperSonics (who then became the Oklahoma City Thunder), Golden State, Brooklyn and Phoenix. Durant won his two titles with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, and last summer in Paris he became the highest-scoring player in U.S. Olympic basketball history and the first men’s player to be part of four gold-medal teams.
Durant is a four-time scoring champion, a two-time Finals MVP and one of eight players in NBA history with more than 30,000 career points.
“Having played against Kevin and coached him before, I know he’s the type of competitor who fits with what we’ve been building here in Houston,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “His skill level, love of basketball, and dedication to his craft have made him one of the most respected players of his generation, and my staff and I are excited to work with him.”
Houston sent Green and Brooks to Phoenix, along with the rights to Khaman Maluach from last month’s draft, a second-round pick in 2026 and another second-rounder in 2032. The Hawks got David Roddy, cash and a 2031 second-round pick swap from the Rockets. Brooklyn gets a 2026 second-round pick and another in 2030 from the Rockets, and the Warriors received the rights to Jahmai Mashack from last month’s draft.
And though Looney clearly means this as a happy goodbye, it’s hard not to get emotional reading this conclusion to his open letter:
And so, with that, I’ll leave you with what me, Steph, and Draymond said to each other when I called them last week to break the news, Looney wrote.
Those were my first two calls. Those guys, they’ve been my big brothers for the past 10 years — showing me the ropes, guiding me, helping me to grow up. I relied on those two so much throughout my time as a Warrior. And especially when I first came into the league, I needed that guidance, that wisdom, the friendship. I’m not a big crier, but calling to tell them I’m heading somewhere else was pretty emotional for me, just to be real with you. It was like, I don’t know … I felt those conversations in my heart.
Since being selected No. 30 overall out of UCLA in the 2016 NBA Draft, Looney has been a model of consistency in Golden State, highlighted by his streak of 290 consecutive games played from 2021-24.
I hope they know how grateful I am. How thankful.
I hope you all know. Truly. Everyone in the Bay, and Warriors fans around the world.
Because these past 10 years have been more than I ever could have dreamed of.
So, yeah, before we hung up those phones, it was like….
“What a journey we all went on together!”
“Ten amazing years.”
“It’s been one hell of a ride!”
Not every ending has gotta be a sad ending.
I’m leaving the Bay with a huge smile on my face.
Thank you for the ride.
Of course, Dub Nation is just as thankful for the contributions of the ever-underrated Looney, who, despite not putting up extraordinary numbers throughout his tenure, undoubtedly was a vital piece of the Warriors dynasty.
The Warriors finalized a blockbuster trade involving Kevin Durant.
Yes, it’s true. No, they’re not getting Durant.
Golden State played a small part in a historic seven-team trade centered around the Houston Rockets acquiring the 15-time NBA All-Star from the Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors received the draft rights to Australian forward Alex Toohey, whom they selected with pick No. 52 after a draft-night trade with Phoenix, and Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack, who, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson, will be re-routed to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of their second draft-night trade to acquire the rights to guard Will Richard, whom they selected with the No. 56 pick.
Full clarification after talking with some people: As part of today’s 7-team trade, the Warriors added Alex Toohey and Jahmai Mashack. Toohey stays, but Mashack will be sent to the Grizzlies so the Warriors can acquire the draft rights to Will Richard @NBCSWarriors
The complex trade is the first in NBA history to include seven teams, beating the then-record-setting blockbuster that sent Warriors icon Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal last summer.
Unlike that trade, where the Warriors acquired proven veteran players Kyle Anderson from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Buddy Hield from the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State, eventually, only received two draft prospects in this blockbuster.
In his letter, Looney discussed his role during the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship run and why he is most proud of his accomplishments that season.
“On the court, though, when it’s all said and done, I’m pretty sure that 2022 title run will be the season I’ll remember the most from my NBA career,” Looney wrote. “Playing all 82 games. No nights off. Eighty starts. And now I’m doing it as one of the guys we really depended on.
“Most people … I’m pretty sure what they’re gonna remember about me from that playoff run is all the rebounds. Game 6 in Memphis, 22 boards or whatever. Another 18 to close out the [Mavericks] in the conference finals. Just keeping plays alive whenever I could. Scrapping and grinding to get us an extra shot every possession. That’s probably my legacy from 2022.”
In Golden State’s Western Conference finals series against Dallas that year, Looney averaged 10.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on 70.6-percent shooting from the field in five games, including a monstrous 21-point, 12-rebound performance in the Warriors’ 126-117 Game 2 win over the Mavericks.
Looney’s performance was so electrifying, that he even received “MVP” chants from the Chase Center crowd, which he recalled fondly in his Players’ Tribune article:
But, I’m not gonna lie, you know what I’ll remember most?
Game 2 against Dallas, at home in Chase Center. Third quarter. I’m at the line shooting free throws, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, down from the rafters, here it comes….
As that’s happening, no lie, I’m basically like … I’m confused.
I’d heard MVP chants from crowds a ton over the years. For Steph [Curry], or Klay [Thompson], or [Kevin Durant], for a lot of different players. I’ve always had real MVP-type guys on my team. So I knew what I was hearing immediately. But I didn’t understand why the crowd was yelling it.
In my head I’m like: Is Steph about to check into the game? What’s going on?I definitely didn’t think it was for me. Like, seriously, that’s the kind of thing I dreamed of as a kid. It couldn’t be for me. But….
It was!
And when I realized it? I mean … that was an incredible moment right there. I’d gotten LOOOOOON chants before, which I absolutely loved. But MVP? For me? Come on now.
That’s a moment I’ll never forget as long as I live.
Thank God I sank the free throw, right?
Curry ultimately won Western Conference finals MVP that year. Because, of course. However, there certainly was an argument to be made that Looney was, at least, one of the three most-deserving players in that series.
He would have to settle for just another championship ring. His third with the Warriors.
