Bronny James breaks his silence on LeBron James’ departure from Lakers
Bronny James has finally broken his silence on his father, LeBron James’ departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny James was spotted giving autographs, taking photos, and talking with young basketball fans, and was asked about LeBron’s move to the Philadelphia 76ers, to which Bronny had a hilarious response.
“It’s whatever, it’s my Dad.” Bronny James told the young kids.
Bronny’s broken silence about his father’s departure has spread all across the internet as multiple accounts have reposted the video.
In the comments section for the video, basketball fans have been poking fun at Bronny James over his comments, as the X account @Invaderbader1 posted a photo of what appeared to be Bronny staring off to the ocean, where LeBron is seen giving him a thumbs-up as the sun sets.
The account @NvictusManeo posted a photo of former United States President George W. Bush saluting a crowd while the sign behind him reads “Child left behind.”
Another fan joked about LeBron’s departure and asked if Bronny called another player from another team his “Daddy?”
With LeBron no longer in Los Angeles, Bronny is set to embark on his first season in the NBA not playing beside his father.
Through his two seasons in the NBA, Bronny has appeared in 69 games and has averaged 2.7 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists.
As Bronny is embracing this new chapter in his career, it’s already off to a bang, as he is currently with the rest of his Lakers teammates in Luka Dončić’s home country of Slovenia, where he reportedly spent half a million dollars to fly his teammates in a luxurious Bombardier Global 8000 jet.
So far, it’s appeared that the trip to Slovenia has been as great as Dončić advertised to his teammates, as videos have emerged of the Lakers players enjoying their time by going out for dinner, hanging out on boats, and taking in the scenery of the country.
Former USC star, Compton native signs with Denver Nuggets
Former Compton native and USC Trojans basketball star DeMar DeRozan is set to start his next journey. A member of the Denver Nuggets.
According to reports from NBA insider Chris Haynes, DeRozan plans on signing a deal with the Nuggets.
ESPN NBA Insider Sham Charania added that the deal will be for one year and is valued at $3.9 million.
Haynes noted that DeRozan “has been in conversations with Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and is anxious for the opportunity to play for a contending team.”
Before being waived by the Sacramento Kings last month, he spent the last two seasons with the team, where he averaged 20.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.
Growing up, DeRozan attended Compton High School from 2004-2008 and was heavily recruited by USC.
After graduating high school, he enrolled at USC and played basketball for them for one season before he was selected with the No.9 overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.
DeRozan had an iconic season with the Trojans that is still talked about to this day, as he led them to a Pac-10 tournament finale and the second round of the March Madness tournament.
During the PAC-10 tournament, he put on a clinic, as he was crowned the tournament’s MVP, notable because he scored 25 points on 10 of 16 shots against Arizona State in the finale.
He spent the first nine years of his career with Toronto until he was traded by the team so that they could acquire Kawhi Leonard for the 2019 season.
DeRozan’s No.10 was retired by USC in February, 2020, while his No.23 was retired by Compton High School in 2015.
DeRozan remains active to this day with his former schools, as he is still making contributions to improving the conditions for the Compton basketball team, which recently went through an entire makeover, as the school was completely reconstructed in 2025.
Pundits (sorta) like Nets future, but wonder how long ‘trajectory’
A lot has been made — particularly by Knicks fans — about how Joe Tsai told NetsDaily about the “embarrassment” he faces watching the Knicks revel in their championship while his Nets are deep in their rebuild. But little attention was given to what else the Nets principal owner said. Here, ICYMI, is the full quote:
”Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai told us. “So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irritates our fan base and it is embarrassing but in business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform…. [We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.” (Emphasis added.)
At the moment, two months before the Nets meet the Hornets on Opening Night, how are things going with said “trajectory?” We’ll know more starting that night. However, in two analysis of where Tsai’s team stands going forward, both published Friday, pundits Sam Quinn of CBS Sports and Stephen Noh of Sporting News —generally — like where the organization is headed but wonder what’s next as the Nets hurdle through the NBA firmament.
Quinn even suggests, in his ranking of the NBA’s front offices that the Nets may be the victim of a faulty narrative. He puts Sean Marks & co. at No. 16 on his list of NBA front offices, one below his last rankings at the February trade deadline.
Brooklyn’s front office probably faces the biggest disparity between perception and reality of any in basketball. The prevailing narrative surrounding the Nets is that they’ve been poorly run and their outlook is bleak. True, they haven’t yet found any truly foundational players, but they have a clean cap sheet and a six-pick first-round draft surplus (not including swaps, though in fairness they owe their 2027 swap to the Houston Rockets). The reality is that this is a pretty promising blank slate if you’re willing to take the long view.
No front office has been unluckier than Brooklyn’s. The Nets built a championship favorite that was ruined by a pandemic. They spent two years tanking and wound up with the No. 6 and 8 picks. How differently do we feel about the Nets if they had wound up with, say, Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey out of that tank? Or AJ Dybantsa and Tre Johnson? We’re not in the business of blaming teams for poor lottery results.
When the Nets sell veterans, they almost always do so at the peak of their value. They got four first-round picks and one first-round swap for Kevin Durant. Then they took Mikal Bridges, the primary player value from the Durant trade, and turned him into five picks and a swap. The other main player from that trade, Cam Johnson, was flipped for a better player, Michael Porter Jr., and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick. The Nets are as good at leveraging contenders into overpaying for their players as any team in the NBA.
Now, they’re still in the bottom half of these rankings. The Nets are way better than they get credit for, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. They banked so much of their future on landing a cornerstone in either the 2025 or 2026 drafts. They didn’t get a top-five pick, and it just isn’t clear what their new plan is. That’s a bit of a problem in light of how baffling components on their last two offseasons have been.
The degree of disaster represented by their five first-round picks last season is certainly overstated. Egor Dëmin would go behind Collin Murray-Boyles and Cedric Coward in a redraft, but he looks like a starter. The other first-round picks were between No. 19 and No. 27, all of which come with relatively low hit rates, and it’s too soon to call any of them busts after just a single season. Still, spending that many picks in the same draft on on-ball players was puzzling. The Nets didn’t exactly put them in a position to succeed.
He doesn’t think everything the Nets did this off-season makes sense for the future, particularly the trade of Nic Claxton for Julius Randle plus an exchange of picks.
The Julius Randle addition makes no sense. He’s an expensive floor-raiser in his 30s. The Nets don’t need their floor raised. They don’t control their own pick this year, so the relegation zone isn’t a concern. He overlaps positionally with Porter Jr. (whom they have neither traded nor extended, strangely). He’ll take the ball out of the hands of their many young players who need it.
There was no reason for them to give mutual options to Mo Wagner and Keon Ellis. They had more than enough cap space to just pay them more and get team options. Why didn’t they use their surplus cap space to try to steal a restricted free agent? This offseason made little sense. The strategy here is unclear. The Nets have gotten far more right than they’re credited for, but they’ll have to chart a clearer course moving forward if they want to make it into the top half of these rankings.
Quinn puts the Nets between the Pistons and Clippers in his rankings. He has the OKC Thunder at No. 1 and the NBA champions Knicks at No. 2.
Noh takes a bit of a different tack, looking out at the 2029 season specifically. He notes that three years can make a big difference in the NBA, that back in 2023, the Pistons, Thunder and Spurs were bottom dwellers. Not anymore.
[T]he Pistons were the worst team in basketball, losing an NBA-record 28 straight games. Victor Wembanyama won Rookie of the Year honors, but the Spurs still looked far away from competing with a 22-60 record.
He also points out that the Celtics, Mavericks and Suns looked like dynasties in the making. Not happening either.
Noh starts by giving Brooklyn an A+ for assets, then provides an analysis then suggests that the organization ranks No. 21, depending on how aggressively they want to move in the intervening years.
The Nets have one of the best asset situations in the league. They have five surplus first-round picks to work with, some of which have immense value. That gives them the means to accelerate their rebuild if they want to.
They will probably still be a few years away from pulling that lever. They still won’t be in contention by 2029, but they should be on their way up as a playoff hopeful and have at least one point guard in the future between Brown, Demin and Traore.
Although Noh doesn’t mention it, the Nets draft assets, following their various trades for picks, will peak in 2028 and 2029, barring trades. In 2028, they have two firsts — their own and the 76ers, protected 1-8 — as well as two first round swaps from the Knicks and Suns plus three second rounders from the Grizzlies and Hawks as well as their own. Then, the next year they could wind with a big haul — three firsts: their own, the Knicks unprotected and the least favorable of the Mavericks, Phoenix and Rockets plus four seconds: their own plus the Mavericks, Warriors and the Grizzlies.
The question, of course, with both Quinn and Noh’s analysis, is what they can and will do starting with this year’s trade deadline come February. There are hints that things will be interesting starting then.
Like Quinn, Noh projects the Thunder and Spurs as the two of the best organizations going forward. And why not?
Any positives at this point have to be noted and spotlighted, considering that the organization is not just “embarrassed” by the recent turn of events but become the butt of an endless series of jokes, the most recent coming from Knicks superfan and Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet, who appearing on FanDuel Thursday got personal…
Maybe Egor Demin who recently put up shots with Chalamet at his private gym, can talk some sense to him. Aura respects aura, you know.
Vin Baker to join Giannis in Miami
Per Chris Haynes, former Bucks assistant Vin Baker is joining Erik Spoelstra’s staff in Miami, where he will reunite with Giannis. Baker spent eight seasons with the Bucks and had an extremely close relationship with the two-time MVP, so it makes sense that the Heat would want to bring in a familiar face.
This is especially true since—if ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne is to be believed—the Heat will not be handing out contracts to various Antetokounmpo family members like the Bucks did.
“There won’t be any more Antetokounmpo brothers in Miami,” Shelburne said. “That whole ‘we have Kostas and Thanasis on the team,’ I don’t think that’s going to continue, from what I understand.”
In any event, Baker and Antetokounmpo grew extremely close not just on the court, but off it. For example, Baker confided in Giannis about his journey overcoming alcohol addiction, which began with him taking a job at Starbucks after his playing career was over to reclaim a sense of routine and discipline.
“He (Antetokounmpo) was in awe that I had made it back from what I had gone through,” Baker told Basketball Network in April. “I didn’t even realise he knew the extent of it.”
As Deolu wrote about earlier this month, the Bucks’ coaching staff is now finalised.
What Klay Thompson signing with Heat means for Lakers
Klay Thompson, who had been tied to the Lakers this summer, reached a buyout agreement with the Mavericks on Friday and plans to sign a two-year, $13 million deal with the Heat.
What does that mean for the Purple-and-Gold?
Thompson was far from the perfect fit for the Lakers, even though the team very much needs to bolster its perimeter shooting and Thompson ranks fourth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list.
The Lakers need a young and athletic wing, such as Jonathan Kuminga, to pair with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler. The Western Conference is young, fast and deep — with the Thunder and Spurs seemingly having an endless army of fresh legs at their disposal.
The 36-year-old Thompson no longer fits that bill, even though he helped the Warriors win four championships in eight years with his legendary sharpshooting. Last season, Thompson averaged 11.7 points on 39.3% shooting from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc for the Mavericks, who failed to make the playoffs in Thompson’s two seasons with the team amid health issues.
The Lakers pursued Thompson in free agency in 2024 before he ultimately decided to join the Mavericks. Thompson and Luka Doncic played 21 games together in Dallas before the Mavericks stunningly traded the superstar to the Lakers in February 2025, a deal that was a great blow for Thompson’s title-winning hopes.
Thompson has deep ties to Los Angeles. His father, Mychal, won two championships with the Showtime Lakers in 1987 and 1988 and currently serves as the team’s radio color analyst. And Thompson attended Rancho Margarita High and was a huge Kobe Bryant fan as a child.
But Thompson will now compete for his fifth ring in Miami alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
As for the Lakers, they’ll continue their search for an athletic wing who could help them win their first title since 2020.
Lakers legends give unfiltered takes on Buss family drama
The Los Angeles Lakers have always been a family.
For the nearly 50 years that they have been owned or controlled by the Buss family, whether you are a current or former player, you are forever a Laker and will always bleed purple and gold.
But with Mark Walter’s majority stake set to be sold to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a $12.5 billion valuation, the Buss family siblings have used a tag-along provision and voted 5-0 to sell their remaining 17.8% stake. Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is fighting to prevent that sale, setting the stage for a potentially bitter legal battle over the family business that Dr. Jerry Buss purchased in 1979 and transformed into a global brand.
And now the men who helped build the franchise’s mystique over the past five decades are speaking out publicly for the first time about the Buss family drama, and they sound far more mournful than nostalgic.
Several Lakers legends weighed in on the stunning ownership upheaval surrounding one of sports’ most recognizable franchises, speaking exclusively with the California Post at the Harold & Carole Pump Foundation’s 26th Anniversary Celebrity Dinner on Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton.
“I don’t think he [Dr. Jerry Buss] would be very happy with the state of the Lakers right now,” three-time Lakers champion Byron Scott said when asked about the family dispute.
Scott played during an era when the Lakers were not merely an NBA franchise but a traveling circus, with Buss presiding over it all like basketball’s master showman. To Scott, the organization’s identity and the family behind it became inseparable.
“I never thought in my lifetime that I would see anybody, any other organization, company or corporation owning the Los Angeles Lakers,” Scott said.
But now, not only will there be new owners in Iger and Kushner, but there is a very strong possibility that the Lakers future will not include the Buss family at all. For seven-time NBA champion and current Spectrum SportsNet analyst Robert Horry, the thought of that is tragic.
“That would be sad,” Horry told the California Post. “It would be strange and very, very sad.”
Horry pointed beyond championships and banners to Jerry Buss’ lasting fingerprints on the NBA — the marriage of basketball and Hollywood, the Showtime Era, the Laker Girls and the Forum Club.
“There are so many things like that that he brought to basketball that all these other organizations kind of piggybacked off of,” Horry said. “So for the Buss family not to be involved in some way would be such a sad thing.”
That’s what makes the current fracture so jarring for those who lived through the Showtime Era. Dr. Buss spent decades convincing players there were not simply employees, but they were family.
“That’s what Dr. Buss really talked to us about, was making it a family,” Scott said. “And we all felt a part of that family.”
Now the family itself is divided.
Michael Cooper, another pillar of the Showtime Lakers, declined to referee the Buss siblings’ dispute while the ownership situation remains fluid. But his reverence for the patriarch was unmistakable.
“Dr. Buss was a one-of-a-kind owner,” Cooper said. “The greatest owner in sports that I’ve ever played for. … Greatness starts from the top, and it goes down.”
Asked if he thinks Jeanie Buss will fight to the bitter end to remain in control of the Lakers or if she will concede to her siblings’ wishes, Cooper expressed confidence she will do the right thing.
“I really always believe that Jeanie Buss will do what’s best for the Lakers,” Cooper said. “But the Lakers, no matter who owns them, will always be the Lakers.”
Former Lakers and Clippers forward Matt Barnes was less diplomatic about where his loyalty resides.
“I love Jeanie. Absolutely love Jeanie and what she’s about,” Barnes told the California Post. “It’s unfortunate that family drama — and I’ve had it — has to play out publicly. But I support Jeanie 100 percent.”
Barnes believes Buss has tried to preserve her father’s vision and hopes she remains in charge of the Lakers under the Iger-Kushner ownership.
“I think she’s done a great job of trying to continue to make the Lakers stand for what her dad wanted them to stand for,” Barnes said. “So I hope she continues to stay on the management side and things go her way.”
For nearly half a century, the Lakers have changed arenas, coaches, superstars and eras. Through it all they have survived.
But this feels different.
The Buss family name has been as much a part of the Lakers’ fabric as purple and gold. Now, as billions of dollars change hands and a family dispute threatens to spill into court, the players who helped create the franchise’s golden era all seem to be confronting something they never considered possible:
A Los Angeles Lakers organization without the Buss family.
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Fans feeling uneasy about new Lakers ownership group
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
After just nine months under Mark Walter’s ownership, the Lakers’ sudden sale has left fans uneasy about the future of the purple and gold.
In June of 2025, Mark Walter reached an agreement with the Buss family to take over the reins of the Lakers. Fans were excited for this new era of Lakers basketball, especially since Walter owns the Dodgers and the two teams have always gone hand in hand.
Fast forward to August 2026 and the basketball world was hit with another stunning Lakers ownership development. Just over a year after taking control of the franchise, Walter agreed to sell the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a record-breaking $12.5 billion.
The team is heading into a new season with a mostly new roster, which FanDuel gives the sixth-best odds of winning the conference, and yet another new ownership group, which understandably makes fans uneasy. Also, Iger and Kushner didn’t instantly bring the same excitement that Walter did.
For our SB Nation Reacts survey, we asked fans how optimistic they are about the team’s new ownership. The results were very clear.
Clearly, fans are apprehensive about the new ownership, and that’s okay.
The drama surrounding Walter’s investigation, which eventually led to this sudden sale to Iger and Kushner, was a rollercoaster for Lakers fans to digest. Also, there’s the ongoing back-and-forth between the Buss siblings over selling their remaining share of the team.
Iger’s history with Disney has plenty of highs and lows. He did great things as CEO, of course, but his tenure also drew controversy. That includes the Scarlett Johansson lawsuit, in which she sued Disney, as well as his public feud with his former successor, Bob Chapek.
Kushner, the younger brother of Jared Kushner, comes with his own baggage, and not just his family’s notable political ties. Kushner’s venture capital firm, Thrive Capital, has invested billions in OpenAI. AI is a sensitive subject for most, mainly because it’s steadily replacing jobs that humans can do.
So, should Lakers fans feel uneasy? Yes. These new owners come with baggage. Most billionaires and millionaires do.
Honestly, though, the Lakers and drama go hand in hand, so embrace your fears, Lakers fans, but also embrace this new era of Lakers basketball. We can’t really do anything about it, whether we like it or not.
Let’s hold hands, breathe, and hope for the best.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards ordered to pay $14K in child support — to kid he’s never met
Anthony Edwards’ offseason just got costlier.
The Timberwolves star was ordered to pay a monthly sum of $14,000 in child support to his ex, Alexandria Desroches, according to TMZ.
The payout — based on his monthly income of $4.8 million — will go toward Amir, a son born in 2023, the 25-year-old reportedly testified he’s never met, and has no intentions of parenting.
Edwards was also ordered to take out a life insurance policy worth $2.6 million and name Desroches the primary beneficiary.
The $14,000 bill comes on top of the $3,222 Edwards was ordered to pay in child support to Ayesha Howard for their one-year-old daughter last month.
Edwards, in the midst of a five-year, $244 million deal with the Timberwolves, paid over $100,000 in support to Howard beginning in 2025 before the Georgia judge’s ruling.
Last month, Minnesota marriage records indicated Edwards married Shannon Jackson after he was spotted at Fanatics Fest in New York wearing a wedding ring.
The four-time All-Star guard and first overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft will be entering his seventh NBA season in 2026-27, coming off a year in which he averaged a career-best 28.8 points per game to go with 5 rebounds and 3.7 assists over 61 games played with a personal high 39.9 three-point shooting percentage.
Pundits have posited that Edwards may be the next big-money player to request a trade, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reporting his displeasure with the Minnesota franchise after it traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle before last season.
“I don’t think Ant was the biggest Julius Randle fan,” Windhorst said on the “Hoop Collective” podcast in June. “And I don’t think [the issue is] Randle being traded. It’s Randle being traded as part of a salary dump. I don’t think that Ant was like, ‘No, no, don’t trade Julius, never.’ Because there was some significant disconnect between those players by the end of the season.”
On Friday, businessman Marc Stad bought a controlling share in the Timberwolves in a pending deal valued at $4.5 billion in what would be the fourth-highest in NBA history.
DeMar DeRozan lands with Nuggets after being waived by Kings
DeMar DeRozan is headed to Denver.
The six-time NBA All-Star intends to sign a deal with the Nuggets, according to insider Chris Haynes.
Haynes added that DeRozan “has been in conversations with Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray and is anxious for the opportunity to play for a contending team.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the deal is for one year at $3.9 million.
DeRozan, 37, was waived by the Kings last month after spending the past two seasons in Sacramento.
Last season, the veteran wing averaged 18.4 points per game on 49.7 percent shooting across 74 contests.
The DeRozan deal comes days after the Nuggets sent restricted free agent Peyton Watson to the Cavaliers in a multi-team deal that involved the Clippers.
He now joins a Denver team looking to make another run at the Western Conference after reshaping its supporting cast around Jokic, who hopes DeRozan’s scoring and experience can help push the team back toward the top of a crowded Western Conference.
The Nuggets, who went 54-28 last season, haven’t made it past the conference semifinals since winning the NBA title in 2023.
Denver fell to the Timberwolves in six games during the first round last season.
The move also provides DeRozan another chance to chase the championship that has eluded him throughout his 17-year NBA career.
He has reached the conference finals just once, with the Raptors in 2016, and has played postseason basketball just twice since leaving Toronto after the 2017-18 season.
With 26,711 career points, DeRozan ranks No. 16 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and with another healthy season could make a push toward the top 10 in 2026-27.
DeMar DeRozan plans to sign with Nuggets after Peyton Watson trade
DeMar DeRozan appears to be the Denver Nuggets' solution to trading Peyton Watson earlier this week.
The 17-year veteran plans to sign with the Nuggets after receiving a contract buyout from the Sacramento Kings this offseason, NBA reporter Chris Haynes and ESPN reported on Friday, August 21. DeRozan's intentions to join Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon in Denver became public in the aftermath of the Nuggets' decision to deal Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a multi-team trade on Thursday.
The Nuggets also received a 2031 first-round pick, a second-round pick and Washington Wizards forward Julian Reese as part of a trade that came to fruition after Denver and Watson couldn't come to terms on a new contract. Watson was a restricted free agent this offseason coming off a career year on the wing for the Nuggets. He agreed to a new 4-year, $88-million contract with Cleveland in conjunction with the trade.
DeMar DeRozan contract details
DeRozan will sign a 1-year, $3.9-million contract with the Nuggets, according to ESPN. The Kings waived DeRozan earlier this offseason. He had one year and $25 million remaining on that deal, but only $10 million was guaranteed at the time Sacramento cut ties with him.
DeMar DeRozan stats
DeRozan averaged 18.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds on 49.7% shooting over 77 games with the Sacramento Kings during the 2025-26 season.
Denver Nuggets roster after DeRozan signing
- G Jamal Murray
- G DeMar DeRozan
- G Spencer Jones
- G Christian Braun
- G Tyus Jones
- G Julian Strawther
- G Bryce Hopkins
- G Curtis Jones**
- G KJ Simpson**
- F Aaron Gordon
- F Cameron Johnson
- F Marvin Bagley
- F Alpha Diallo
- F Trevon Brazile*
- F DaRon Holmes II
- F Julian Reese
- F David Roddy**
- F/C Zeke Nnaji
- C Nikola Jokic
*2026 NBA Draft pick**two-way player
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeMar DeRozan plans to sign with Nuggets after Peyton Watson trade
DeMar DeRozan reportedly to sign with Denver Nuggets, giving team needed wing depth
News of Klay Thompson heading to Miami made DeMar DeRozan's choice much clearer, so he's made the call.
DeRozan will sign as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes. While the terms of the deal are not mentioned, because Denver is over the second apron all it can offer is the veteran minimum of $3.9 million.
DeRozan had been in talks with Miami, Denver and reportedly Washington, although the Wizards were always a long shot. DeRozan had been in touch with Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray and talked with the Nuggets' big three about coming on board, Haynes reported.
DeRozan, 37, will provide a needed scoring punch off the bench in Denver, a team that was even thinner after a sign-and-trade sent Peyton Watson to Cleveland. They also lost Sixth Man candidate Tim Hardaway Jr. this offseason. DeRozan has been incredibly durable over his career, the 17-year NBA veteran has never played fewer than 60 games in a season, something important to Denver.
DeRozan, a six-time All-Star, averaged 18.4 points and 4.1 assists per game in Sacramento last season. However, this offseason the Kings waived his partially guaranteed contract to save money.
This signing will give the Nuggets 14 guaranteed contracts, which is likely where they will leave it heading into training camp. While they may ultimately want to shed about $4 million in salary to get below the second apron, they have until next June to do so.
Klay Thompson to Miami makes sense
It’s time to turn up the Will Smith track as former Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson is going to Miami.
Three weeks ago I wrote in these pages that Miami was the landing spot outside the Bay that would make the most sense. Now it’s official. Shams Charania reported that Thompson is clearing waivers after a buyout from the Mavericks and signing with the Heat.
Klay is a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer with five All-Star selections, four championship banners, a shooting stroke that turned the Splash Bros into something far beyond Steph Curry’s brilliance. As a member of Dub Nation, I can honestly say that none of that ever looked right on a Dallas jersey. In his second and final year in Dallas, Thompson posted career lows across the board and shot 38.7% percent from three on a team that finished 26-56. Watching a Splash Brother play out a lost season for a tanking roster was absolutely brutal.
And now Klay becomes yet another Warrior legend who finds himself out there on South Beach. Tim Hardaway ran Run TMC’s fast break in Oakland before he made an All-Star team wearing a Heat jersey. Andre Iguodala left Golden State and helped Miami reach the Bubble Finals against every projection. Andrew Wiggins, a guy this fanbase watched grow up in real time, has currently planted his flag down there too.
And this is honestly the best fit I could think of for Klay besides coming back home to the Bay Area. Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo both live in the paint, and putting them out there together means Miami needs spacing around them. I believe that Klay is a still a shooter defenses respect from thirty feet without needing the ball in his hands. That’s the job Thompson spent a decade perfecting in Golden State’s motion offense back when cutting and relocating was the whole assignment.
And somewhere in the Bay, a fanbase gets to keep tabs on the younger Splash Brother chasing Ray Allen for third on the career threes list in a jersey that isn’t GSW but somehow doesn’t sting the way the others would have.
Four names deep now: Hardaway, Iguodala, Wiggins, Thompson. Miami keeps borrowing Golden State legends, and every time, they let them cook. How crazy would it be if Klay actually gets a fifth ring this season, passing up his old running mates Steph, Dray, and Iguodala?
Klay Thompson spurns Luka Doncic, Lakers to join Giannis Antetokounmpo in South Beach
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to miss out on the Klay Thompson sweepstakes.
Thompson is “expected to sign with the Miami Heat after he clears waivers upon a contract buyout with the Dallas Mavericks,” according to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania.
The financial terms of Thompson’s buyout with Dallas have not been disclosed.
The Lakers previously were linked to acquiring Thompson as a way to add another shooter to play alongside Luka Doncic.
As a team, the Lakers shot 35.9% from 3-point range, and only had three players eclipse 100 made 3-pointers: Doncic, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
The Lakers are now without Hachimura, who signed with the Clippers over the offseason.
Last year, Thompson made 202 3-pointers with a three-point percentage of 41.4.
Thompson is very familiar with the Lakers organization after he grew up around it. His father, Mychal, was a member of the team in the 1980s and won back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988.
Thompson is also a Los Angeles resident.
Two weeks ago, Klay Thompson shared a reel on his Instagram story of him suited up in a Lakers uniform from the video game “NBA 2K” where he was joined by the “Showtime Lakers.”
On his story, he wrote, “This is what my dreams look like on a consistent basis.”
Thompson’s stint with the Mavericks ends before the final year of a three-year, $50 million contract he signed with the team in 2024.
Notably, he signed with them to join Doncic when they were just removed from an NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics.
Their time as teammates was short-lived. Doncic infamously was traded to the Lakers during the middle of that first season.
New owner deal values Timberwolves and Lynx at $4.5bn
The Minnesota Timberwolves have changed ownership in a deal that values the NBA franchise and their WNBA counterpart the Minnesota Lynx at a reported combined total of $4.5bn (£3.3bn).
American businessman Marc Stad has gone from being a minority investor to controlling owner, buying the majority of the stake held by co-chairman Marc Lore.
He will join Lore's business partner and former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez as co-chairman.
Rodriguez confirmed the news on Friday, and said he would be increasing his investment.
ESPN, which reported the news before Rodriguez's statement, said the deal valued the franchise at $4.5bn, the fourth-largest franchise sale in NBA history.
"One of the great joys I've had in my career is spending the last few years helping build the Timberwolves and Lynx with my friend and partner Marc Lore," Rodriguez posted on social media.
"I'm very excited to announce that this incredible journey reaches a new level today.
"Marc and Elisa Stad, who have been our partners and friends since we bought the teams, will be increasing their investment and joining me as co-chairman.
"I will also be increasing my investment and spending even more time with the teams as co-chairman, Governor of the Lynx, and alternate Governor of the Timberwolves, pending league approval."
Lore and Rodriguez initially bought in to the Minnesota teams in 2021 at a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) valuation with an agreement to eventually purchase the team in full. They assumed full control of the basketball teams last year.
It becomes the second major ownership change in the NBA this month after the LA Lakers were sold in a record-breaking deal last week.
The Timberwolves reached the Western Conference last season but lost to the San Antonio Spurs.