Category: Basketball

Hall of Fame basketball coach Rick Adelman died on Monday, June 1. He was 79.

One of Adelman's former teams, the Sacramento Kings, and the NBA Coaches Association (NBCA) announced the news that day. A cause of death has not been revealed.

Adelman spent 29 seasons as a coach in the NBA and reached the playoffs 16 times, including two Finals appearances with the Portland Trail Blazers. The coach, known for his stoic nature, had stints with the Kings, Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. He is 10th in NBA history with 1,042 wins and 12th in total games coached at 1,791.

The Kings said the organization was "deeply saddened" by Adelman's death.

“During his eight seasons in Sacramento, he led the team to unprecedented success and helped create some of the most memorable moments in franchise history," the team said in a statement. "For an entire generation of Kings fans, Coach Adelman represented the very best of Sacramento basketball, and he will be remembered for the way he inspired those around him – with humility, integrity, kindness, and an unwavering belief in the power of teamwork."

Adelman created a basketball family. His younger son, David, shadowed him growing up and is now the head coach of the Denver Nuggets. His older son, RJ, was an assistant coach for him with the Rockets and then the director of player personnel for the Timberwolves before he was killed when he was hit by a car in 2018. His oldest daughter, Kathy, won a basketball state championship in high school and was a girls high school basketball coach in the Portland area for more than 20 years.

Tributes poured in from across the internet mourning the passing of the 2021 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee.

Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors pay tribute to Rick Adelman

Many of the teams Rick Adelman coached for mourned his passing on social media. Besides the Kings tribute, the Warriors and Rockets also shared fond memories of the coach.

"The Houston Rockets and the Fertitta Family mourn the passing of Rick Adelman, one of the most respected and influential figures in NBA history," the Rockets said in an X post. "During his four seasons in Houston, Coach Adelman guided the Rockets with professionalism, integrity, and a deep commitment to the game. His role in leading the team during the 22-game winning streak in 2008 remains one of the most remarkable achievements in franchise history and will always be remembered by Rockets fans."

"Rick Adelman left an indelible mark on the NBA during his nearly four decades in the league, both as a player for seven seasons and as a coach for 29 seasons, including two seasons with the Warriors (1995-97)," the Warriors said in a statement. "His creativity and ingenuity led his teams to 1,042 wins during his illustrious coaching career, the 10th-most in NBA history, and earned him entry into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. We extend our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and the hundreds of lives he impacted, both on and off the court, throughout a legendary career."

The Sacramento Kings organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Rick Adelman, a beloved coach whose leadership, character, and vision helped define an era of Kings basketball that inspired our city and captivated fans around the world.   
  
During his eight seasons in… pic.twitter.com/nX0848kCW9

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) June 1, 2026

Rick Adelman left an indelible mark on the NBA during his nearly four decades in the league, both as a player for seven seasons and as a coach for 29 seasons, including two seasons with the Warriors (1995-97).

His creativity and ingenuity led his teams to 1,042 wins during his… pic.twitter.com/AFHYvJIT4z

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) June 1, 2026

The Houston Rockets and the Fertitta Family mourn the passing of Rick Adelman, one of the most respected and influential figures in NBA history.

During his four seasons in Houston, Coach Adelman guided the Rockets with professionalism, integrity, and a deep commitment to the… pic.twitter.com/p3Zdr60y8s

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) June 2, 2026

Journalists celebrate life of Rick Adelman

Several journalists paid respects to Rick Adelman and gave insight into his life as an NBA coach and father. Two of his children, David and Kathy, are still carrying on his legacy as coaches.

Aside from being one of the winningest coaches of all time, Rick Adelman’s influence on David is obvious to anyone who watches the Nuggets. Erik Spoelstra told me that 10-year-old David would pull film edits in Rick’s home office and eagerly show Spo what Rick was working on. RIP https://t.co/ewsTA2mCkx

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) June 1, 2026

Rest in peace to a true legend of the game. 🕊️🏀

We're saddened by the passing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman at age 79.

A brilliant basketball mind who Spurs fans will never forget for the absolute playoff wars we had against his Kings and Rockets teams.

He was a fierce… pic.twitter.com/MM9NYhXiAD

— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) June 1, 2026

Adelman's fingerprints are all over the hoops scene here in Portland, both because of his time with the Blazers and his children who also had huge impacts.

You know about David, but his daughter Kathy also was a standout with the Portland Pilots and coached at two high schools… https://t.co/fv1R5WkNNY

— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) June 1, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rockets, Warriors pay tribute to late Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman

Long-time former NBA coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinee Rick Adelman died Monday, June 1, the NBA Coaches Association (NBCA) announced. Adelman was 79.

Adelman coached 29 seasons in the NBA, with head coaching stops at the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Over that span, he compiled a 1,042-749 (.582) record and reached the postseason 16 times.

His 1,791 games coaches ranks 12th all-time, and his total for victories ranks 10th.

“The Sacramento Kings organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Rick Adelman, a beloved coach whose leadership, character, and vision helped define an era of Kings basketball that inspired our city and captivated fans around the world,” the team said Monday in a statement.

“During his eight seasons in Sacramento, he led the team to unprecedented success and helped create some of the most memorable moments in franchise history. For an entire generation of Kings fans, Coach Adelman represented the very best of Sacramento basketball, and he will be remembered for the way he inspired those around him – with humility, integrity, kindness, and an unwavering belief in the power of teamwork."

The membership of the National Basketball Coaches Association joins the NBA family in mourning the passing of legendary Head Coach and Hall of Famer, Rick Adelman.

Rick Adelman coached in the NBA for 29 years, serving as a Head Coach for 23 seasons with the Portland Trail… pic.twitter.com/ksRQzGkF9Z

— NBA Coaches Assoc. (@NBA_Coaches) June 1, 2026

Adelman led the Trail Blazers, who featured star players like Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter, to two NBA Finals appearances, in 1990 and 1992.

The father of current Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman, Rick also played seven seasons in the NBA for the San Diego Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Jazz and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

As a player, Adelman averaged 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, across 462 appearances.

Adelman was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2021, and he received the NBCA Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Known for empowering bigs to be more involved in the passing game, Adelman helped evolve NBA offenses to showcase off-ball movement. He also allowed his players to read defenses in real time and play off of each other based on the looks the opposition was giving.

His “corners” offense was an evolution of the Princeton offense and sought big men to anchor the offense from the top of the key, where wings could cut to the basket. 

Adelman became most known for his success with the Kings, where he used big men Chris Webber and Vlade Divac to help create a free-flowing offense, with guards like Jason Williams, Peja Stojaković and Doug Christie providing highlight plays.

In the five seasons from 1998-2003, the Kings never finished lower than third in points per game and were first in pace in four of those seasons.

It’s a style Adelman’s son is keeping alive today with the Nuggets and three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokić.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rick Adelman dies. Former NBA coach led Kings, Trail Blazers, Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry has a new long-term shoe and apparel deal with Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning.

The Golden State star's Curry Brand announced Monday the partnership to keep building Curry's global reach in basketball, golf and lifestyle. Curry and Li-Ning will team up on brand creation and product development along with sports culture initiatives with what they called “a shared commitment to inspiring the next generation of athletes around the world.”

Curry called it "the partnership of a lifetime.” He wore the Li-Ning shoes of both Dwyane Wade and teammate Jimmy Butler earlier this year during what was considered a sneaker free-agency process.

The 38-year-old Curry parted ways with Under Armour last November after more than a decade, then began wearing different shoes almost nightly the rest of the season — pulling pairs from a large crate parked by his locker at Chase Center.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

The youngest New York Knicks fans in New York City received permission from Mayor Zohran Mamdani to watch their team in the NBA Finals, no matter how late the games go.

Mamdani signed an executive order on June 1 declaring that bedtimes had been "repealed" during the series as they "should not impede the ability of New York's Cutest to cheer for the Knicks and watch every second."

He was joined at the signing ceremony by a group of children clad in Knicks colors who "signed" the order with their handprints.

"As Mayor, you’re forced to make many difficult decisions. This was not one of them," Mamdani said in a post on X, adding "Go Knicks."

Every game in the series between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs is set to start at 8:30 p.m. ET. Games 1, 3 and 4 are on school nights. If needed, Game 6 will also be on a school night as the Knicks try to win the best-of-seven series.

When was the last time the Knicks made the finals?

It is the first time the Knicks have made the finals since 1999, when they were bested by the Tim Duncan and David Robinson-led Spurs in five games.

The end of the 27-year drought has largely united the basketball-mad city with Mike Greenberg, host of ESPN’s "Get Up", previously telling USA TODAY Sports that "the Knicks being in the Finals is bigger in New York than the Super Bowl.”

Contributing: Kristie Ackert, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zohran Mamdani repeals New York City bedtimes for Knicks in NBA Finals

Steph Curry continues to connect from long range. Even when it comes to shoe deals.

The Golden State Warriors star signed a 10-year endorsement contract with Chinese company Li-Ning, according to ESPN’s Sham Charania, citing industry sources on Monday, June 1.

Curry, 38, confirmed his partnership with the Chinese Company with a video posted on social media.

“The next stage is set,’’ Curry said in the video.

The next stage for Curry Brand is set. 👟👀@StephenCurry30 🤝 Li-Ning. pic.twitter.com/l99Ak3Lzmz

— Octagon (@Octagon) June 1, 2026

During Curry’s 17-year NBA career, he has remained loyal to the Warriors but been more flexible with his endorsement deals.

Curry began his NBA career in 2009 with a Nike deal that lasted four years. He left the Swoosh for Under Armour, and that relationship lasted until Curry and the company parted ways in 2025.

 Now Curry is taking his brand overseas by signing what ESPN characterized as “landmark’’ deal at Li-Ning that “expands his Curry Brand venture globally.’’

More: Steph Curry shouldn't still be this good

It’s not strictly shoes.

The deal, according to ESPN, will include basketball products, athleisure lifestyle wear, a full golf line and the ability for Curry to sign male and female athletes under his brand.

Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade are two of Li-Ning’s clients.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steph Curry ends sneaker free agency, signs deal with Chinese company Li-Ning

Isaiah Hartenstein almost had the chance to face off with his former Knicks teammates in the NBA Finals. 

The Thunder took the Spurs down to the wire in their quest for back-to-back titles, but they were ultimately defeated in seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

So now, instead, Hartenstein will be stuck watching the action from home. 

While he’d obviously rather be going head-to-head against his good friends on the biggest stage, he’s going to be rooting for them to get the job done.

“I’m happy for them,” he said in his end of season interview. “I got there when they were kind of getting back on track and redoing everything a little bit, so what Leon Rose and all of those guys did, to now be in the Finals is cool to see.

“Yeah I’d rather be playing against them, but I’m rooting for them right now -- there’s a lot of guys that I know and I’m still pretty close with over there, so I’m happy for them.”

Hartenstein took his game to another level during his two seasons with the Knicks, and he parlayed that into a big money three-year deal upon hitting free agency. 

The big man was able to carry that success into his first two years with the Thunder, securing his first ring and averaging 10.3 points and 10.1 boards as part of their ferocious frontcourt.  

He faces a bit of an uncertain future in OKC, though, with the final year of his pact being a $28.5M team option. 

If declined, Hartenstein could find himself on the open market once again this offseason. 

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks have a preliminary agreement on a site for a new arena that would move the club out of downtown for the first time in 2031, a year after the franchise's 50th anniversary.

The Mavericks said Monday the agreement is for 104 acres on the former site of a mall about 10 miles north of downtown. Demolition of Valley View Mall in north Dallas was completed three years ago.

The team also was considering a downtown site at the current location of City Hall. The Dallas City Council is deep into deliberations over whether to renovate or replace that building.

Mavericks CEO Rick Welts has said the club wanted to have the potential site settled by July in order to be able to complete construction of a new arena by 2031, when the lease with American Airlines Center expires.

Welts and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont have made it clear for nearly two years that they wanted the club to stay in Dallas, and they wanted to build a basketball-only arena.

The Mavericks and their co-tenant, the NHL's Dallas Stars, are in a legal dispute related to arena relocations for both franchises. The Stars are considering whether to remain in American Airlines Center or build their own arena in Dallas or one of the suburbs.

The Mavericks brought Welts out of retirement with the intention of putting him in charge of the arena project. Before he retired, Welts led the Golden State Warriors' move to the Chase Center in San Francisco after that franchise had spent the previous 50 years in Oakland.

“We have the opportunity to create a vibrant mixed-use destination anchored by a state-of-the-art arena, along with restaurants, entertainment options, public green spaces and family-friendly experiences,” the team said in a statement. “Done thoughtfully and with community engagement, a project of this scale will serve as a meaningful economic catalyst for Dallas and its residents.”

The Mavericks spent their first 21 years at Reunion Arena in the southwest corner of downtown before moving to the AAC a little more than a mile to the north.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

There’s beauty in the Pistons being a physical, gritty team in a city like Detroit, and I certainly have bias towards the modern game, but Trajan Langdon and JB Bickerstaff both have to create more opportunities for the long ball this summer.

The Concept of Spacing

To me, spacing is an unselfish act on the basketball court. It’s an attempt to keep distance from the ball or teammates in order to give them the best chance at creating a scoring opportunity. It can pull the help defender far enough away to create a driving lane for your teammate, or it can create an open catch-and-shoot look if the help defender drops into the paint – it’s a win-win situation.

It’s what makes a drive-and-kick offense look so pretty. Last night, Stephon Castle passed Alex Caruso on his way to the rim and drew the help of Chet Holmgren. He kicked it to Keldon Johnson in the corner who found De’Aaron Fox for the open three while the Thunder defense was left scrambling. That’s pretty spacing.

Players who know the value of spacing know the value of three-point shooting. It takes a confident player to prioritize scoring from behind the arc – see 2025 Malik Beasley. Detroit’s young core enjoys scoring at the rim (or has yet to develop a jump shot) and they need complementary players that want to create room for them. Look at the spacing Jared McCain provided on this made three last night:

He might’ve had a cut to the rim for a layup attempt, but McCain instead sticks to what he does best and knocks down an open corner three. He basically has his hands up and ready to shoot from the time he crosses halfcourt. Detroit needs more guys like this – guys that want to take the majority of their shots from deep.

Detroit’s Spacing

With two non-shooters in the starting lineup, Detroit doesn’t have the type of spacing that San Antonio or Oklahoma City does. The Pistons were one of the best teams at scoring inside this season, but they need to find a better balance on the court.

The paint was packed during the postseason. Against Cleveland, one of Cade’s many turnovers came on a possession where he didn’t have a shooter in the corner. With both Ausar and Duren collapsing for an offensive rebound chance, Cunningham didn’t have someone to kick it out to. Compare this to the Spurs clip above where they had a shooter in the corner.

Here’s another Cade TO and one that I wouldn’t put the blame on him. Caris LeVert walks from the corner to block to set an off-ball screen on his own man (?) and it just ends up putting an extra defender right in Cunningham’s way. LeVert had no understanding of spacing as he actively hurt the offense on this possession.

This last one humored me. Ron Holland puts his hands out towards Daniss Jenkins and Tobias Harris to ensured they’re spaced out, but things get cramped quick as Cade misses Ron on the 45 cut.

The Lack of Shooters

You can’t knock a player for playing towards his strengths. You can’t knock a coach for putting a player in a position to play towards his strengths. If you’re confident in scoring inside, you’re going to try to get to the rim – as you should!

However, this summer, Trajan Langdon needs to find guys that are confident in letting it fly.

The shot diet of the Pistons needs to have more balance. Detroit was 29/30 in three-point attempts in the regular season and 14/16 throughout the playoffs. They were 5/16 in percentage, however, and that felt like a surprise to me given their spacing struggles in the postseason. Halfcourt offense can become predictable when a shot from outside isn’t feared.

I looked at the top-10 guys in the rotation to see where they were getting majority of their attempts from. I wanted to know what percentage of their shots were two-pointers vs what percentage were three-pointers. To me, it helps give an idea on where a player prioritizes scoring on the court. Here’s what I found:

Player	Minutes Per Game	%FGA 2PT	%FGA 3PT
Cade Cunningham	34.9	69.2%	30.8%
Jalen Duren	28.2	100.0%	0.0%
Tobias Harris	27.7	66.2%	33.8%
Duncan Robinson	27.4	23.2%	76.8%
Ausar Thompson	26.0	95.8%	4.2%
Isaiah Stewart	22.7	70.1%	29.9%
Daniss Jenkins	20.2	65.7%	34.3%
Ron Holland	19.9	63.6%	36.4%
Caris LeVert	19.2	54.0%	46.0%
Javonte Green	17.6	40.3%	59.7%

Only Duncan Robinson and Javonte Green attempted more threes than twos among guys in their main rotation. With Green being Detroit’s 10th-man, Robinson was the only real floor spacer and he was brought off the bench for the final two games. This can’t be the case next year.

This is also why Tobias Harris needs to move to a bench role as Detroit looks to move forward with their core of Cunningham, Thompson, and Duren. While they don’t need someone who shoots as many threes as Robinson, they do need a forward who’s a scoring threat from deep. Play finishers that can knock down a three after a Cade drive-and-kick need to be a priority this summer.

Compare the roster with potential offseason targets for Detroit:

Player	%FGA 2PT	%FGA 3PT
Ayo Dosunmu	62.1%	37.9%
CJ McCollum	55.9%	44.1%
Coby White	49.0%	51.0%
Jabari Smith Jr	49.9%	50.1%
Jrue Holiday	48.9%	51.1%
Kawhi Leonard	64.6%	35.4%
Myles Turner	40.6%	59.4%
Naz Reid	48.6%	51.4%
Norman Powell	54.2%	45.8%
Rui Hachimura	56.1%	43.9%
Trey Murphy III	46.2%	53.8%

I’m all game for adding two 50/50 scorers around the young core. We’ll get into offseason target previews later, but my personal favorites would be Jrue Holiday and Naz Reid.

Get more shooting, Trajan!

Go Stones.

I still cannot believe that the following sentence is reality.

We are two days away from the New York Knicks playing in the NBA Finals.

Despite how dominant they’ve been in the postseason, the Knicks are considerable underdogs to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, but this isn’t some David vs. Goliath story despite the very clear similarities with the statures of the two stars.

There is a clear path to the Knicks pulling off the upset and ending their 53-year title drought, but there’s also a lot that can go wrong. Here are five keys to the Knicks shocking the NBA world and becoming champions:

Defend the Perimeter

The biggest thing that can swing an NBA game in 2026 is three-point shooting. It’s extremely hard to overcome any big shooting disparity from the perimeter, and no lead is safe when one team gets red hot from outside.

The Knicks learned that the hard way on New Year’s Eve, when Julian Champagnie buried 11 triples to pull the Spurs back from a 17-point deficit in a game where Wembanyama left with an injury. If you leave a shooter open, he will make you pay.

The Spurs aren’t the best shooting team, but they have the ability to get hot and come in clutch. We saw guys like Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Dylan Harper hit some massive shots in Game 7 to quiet a lively OKC crowd, so it wouldn’t be wise to give these guys space.

At their worst, the Knicks have overhelped and been vulnerable to the drive-and-kick. At their best, they’ve done their best to disrupt guys like Sam Merrill and Max Strus by keeping them out of true catch-and-shoot scenarios and running them off the line. With no true alpha guard in this series like Tyrese Maxey and Donovan Mitchell, it should be easier to stay disciplined on shooters.

Josh Hart’s aggressiveness

The most likely defensive scheme that Mitch Johnson will employ to begin the series on Wednesday will have unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama “guarding” Josh Hart.

This move makes sense for multiple reasons. You wouldn’t want Wembanyama forced out of the paint with the way that Karl-Anthony Towns plays, and Hart’s relative passivity when he has the ball on the perimeter allows Wemby to sag off and effectively play zone in the paint, where he can disrupt the entire Knicks’ offense. Couple that with the fact you won’t see much of the “pump fake and hard drive” when there’s a 7’5” alien protecting the rim, and it seems to work perfectly for San Antonio.

There is no other way. Hart has to be willing to shoot early and often. If he’s hesitating or misfiring, the offense will grind to a halt, and the Spurs will have their way with the Knicks. We saw what happens when Hart’s able to beat the ghost coverage in Game 2 against Cleveland. It forces the defense to respect him and opens everything up.

How will the Knicks find creative ways to get Wemby away from the rim when he's guarding Josh Hart?

Perfect example from the last time they played on March 1: pic.twitter.com/OP15Ty8IBh

— Sam Oshtry (@soshtry) May 31, 2026

If he can drag Wemby out of the paint, or force a complete switch in defensive coverage, he will have done his job in the series regardless of what else he does.

Dominate the non-Wemby minutes

The Spurs have a lot of quality players, but they all revolve around Wemby. When he’s on the bench, they suffer. After all, he’s only been a negative plus-minus four times since February 1, and only three in games that he actually finished. One of those games was against the Knicks on March 1, but we can’t rely on doing that four times in a row.

Here’s how the Knicks played in Wemby and non-Wemby minutes in the three meetings this year:

Wemby on the court: +16 in 83 minutes
Wemby off the court: +18 in 61 minutes

The only one of the three meetings where Wemby won his minutes was on New Year’s Eve, and the team still trailed by double digits when he left with an injury in the fourth quarter. The lineups without him are a lot easier to score on, as, despite his best LeBron impression in Game 7, Luke Kornet is a whole tier down defensively.

One of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns will always be on the court. It’s most likely that those KAT+Bench lineups will be playing the non-Wemby minutes, so it’s all on the likes of Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet, and Deuce McBride to go to work.

These minutes will be, by far, the team’s best opportunity to continue dominating in the paint. Over their last 11 games, the Knicks are shooting a blisteringly 62% from 2.

Steal one of the first two in San Antonio

The Knicks have only played two playoff series without home-court advantage in the last 12 years. They’ve won both of them.

What was the key? They got on the offensive and stole Game 1 on the road. They outexecuted the 2023 Cavaliers and 2025 Celtics in the fourth quarter and came out victorious to set the tone. While the Cavs punched back in Game 2 in 2023, they were on the back foot from there after the Knicks dominated at MSG. Boston never recovered after choking two 20-point leads at home.

Beating the Spurs on the road isn’t easy, but it’s also not impossible. They lost games to Portland*, Minnesota, and Oklahoma City inside the Frost Bank Center, and the Knicks are 6-1 on the road in the postseason thus far and 13-3 over the last three postseasons outside of Indiana (where they’re 1-5).

*Portland won Game 2 in San Antonio after Wembanyama left with a concussion in the second quarter.

This team knows how to win on the road, and in a series where you only get to play three games at most at the World’s Most Famous Arena, you need at least one to come out on top.

Embrace adversity

By the time Game 1 starts on Wednesday night, the Knicks will have not lost a basketball game in six weeks.

April 23 against Atlanta in Game 3 of the first round was the last time the Knicks felt true adversity. Since then, they’ve won 11 consecutive games, won multiple games by TKO, and have only played in two close games. The closest thing that they’ve felt to adversity since was the 22-point deficit in Game 1 against Cleveland, but they finished the game on a 44-11 run to prevail.

Does that give the team plenty of confidence going forward? Absolutely, but the odds they can keep this ridiculous winning streak going all the way to lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy on June 10 are extremely small for multiple reasons. At some point, they will lose a game.

They let Game 2’s loss against Atlanta bleed into Game 3, which required a monumental effort to get back into it before falling short. Not all losses are created equal, but they’ll eventually have a game where not everything goes right and their opponents can properly exploit one or two weaknesses that the team will need to seriously adjust on.

Have they encountered enough adversity in this postseason, or has the smooth sailing made them vulnerable to potentially unraveling if they lose a game or two early in the series? How they respond to their first loss, whenever it occurs, will be potentially the biggest key to truly finding out just how formidable this team is.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is maybe, possibly, conceivably getting traded from the Milwaukee Bucks this summer. Bucks ownership has indicated that it will trade the 31-year-old superstar before entering the final year of his contract if he does not sign an extension this summer. There are a number of potential landing spots for Antetokounmpo, but two teams are emerging as the most aggressive suitors according to long-time NBA insider Marc Stein.

Stein reports that the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat are the two teams pushing the hardest for Antetokounmpo behind the scenes. Stein also mentioned the Orlando Magic as a potential fit after the team hired Sean Sweeney as head coach last week. Sweeney comes over from the San Antonio Spurs, but also spent time in Milwaukee, where he grew extremely close with Giannis.

The Heat and Trail Blazers both always made sense as teams that could want to swing a bold trade for Antetokounmpo. Miami has been tied to the Greek Freak for years as a preferred destination. The Heat always chase stars under Pat Riley, and at 81 years old it makes sense that he would want to try for one more big fish. The Heat can offer a package including Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, the No. 13 overall pick in 2026 NBA Draft, a 2030 first-rounder, and a 2032 first-rounder.

The Trail Blazers made their first playoff appearance in five years this season before getting knocked out in the first-round by the Spurs. Portland has a new owner in Tom Dundon, and while his cost-cutting measures have been getting all the attention, he’s also hinted that he might be more inclined to approve big trades than the previous owners.

The Blazers are natural trade partners for Giannis because they own first-round swap rights with the Bucks in 2028 and 2030 from Milwaukee’s failed trade for Damian Lillard. It’s fair to wonder if those picks are more valuable or less valuable under the NBA’s new lottery reform, and it’s worth noting that we could have a completely different system by 2030. Portland’s package could start with returning the pick swaps, adding Jerami Grant for matching salary, then sending a talented young player like Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe in the deal. Since Grant is widely considered a bad contract at this point with two years, $70.6 remaining on his deal, the Blazers also might need to add their unprotected 2032 first-round pick.

Will the Thunder get involved for Giannis after their Western Conference Finals flameout? Probably not. Sam Presti usually takes the longview, and his team wasn’t at full strength this year without injured stars Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell for most of the series. The Thunder need to cut money for next season, not add an older player on a max contract.

I wouldn’t be shocked if this ends with Antetokounmpo accepting a max extension to end the trade speculation once and for all. It just feels more likely that he finally gets traded given how far away the Bucks are from contention.

Stein reports that an Antetokounmpo trade could happen within the next three weeks. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst once termed that “the deal zone.” It sure seems like the deal zone for a Giannis trade has fully arrived. Stay tuned.

In a little over a calendar year, Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrettrequested a trade, signed a contract extension, broke the single-season sack record, adjusted his contract in a way that allowed for a trade, and was traded to the Los Angeles Rams. For the Browns, the future is the focus, including talented NFL draft classes in 2025 and 2026.

Cleveland GM Andrew Berry has 11 draft picks to work with in what is expected to be an uber-talented NFL draft class in 2027. Our Browns mock draft saw QB Arch Manning turning in one orange uniform for another.

Shortly after 4 PM, the team announced the Garrett trade, making it official. The timing is vital as the trade will technically process on June 2nd for salary cap purposes. In a lengthy statement, Berry made it clear the type of back and forth the team had in making the decision to move on from Garrett:

“We have long taken the stance that our goal was for Myles Garrett to be a one-helmet player for his entire career,” Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. “After rewriting the record books and representing our organization with excellence, we were sincere in that desire as we entered this offseason and did not envision a world where Myles was not a Cleveland Brown.

“When the Rams first approached us with the possibility of trading Myles, we remained convicted in our position, but as discussions intensified we were stuck at a legitimate crossroads: do we hold on to a truly generational player who has become the identity of our team, or do we make the difficult decision that we think is best for the organization over the long run?

“In that framework, the decision became clear, although our emotions were muddled. We, and more importantly, our fans, have grown up with Myles, and he’s an enormous source of pride for our team. However, as we embark on a new era of Browns football with a young core and a replenished asset base, we felt this move was important to our transition.

“Chief among the considerations to make the decision was the inclusion of Jared Verse – a player our fan base will love. At 25 years old with two Pro Bowls and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award under his belt, we receive a young, elite player at a premium position who will only continue to improve in his third NFL season. Jared’s passion and relentless style of play will be embraced by our fans. He will fit right in with the established identity of our defense. We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome him to the Dawg Pound!

“We recognize the unexpected nature of this trade, but it opens up great opportunities for our franchise. We are excited to welcome Jared into the organization, along with the cap flexibility and draft pick resources to deploy to the rest of the roster that will allow us to add to our budding core on both sides of the ball.”

Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam also shared their thoughts on the trade:

“Myles Garrett has been the best player on our team and one of the best defensive players in the history of the game, since we drafted him in 2017,” Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. “His legacy is immense and we could never adequately articulate our appreciation for how he played the game and for being the best player he could be for the Cleveland Browns over the last nine years. He has left a deep imprint on our franchise, with our fans and with the Dawg Pound.

“Clearly this was not an easy decision, particularly with Myles because we’ve watched him come into our organization and grow like a member of our family. Trading Myles was never our intent, but we also recognize that certain opportunities demand serious consideration, and we believe this is the right move for our team. Adding a young defensive star like Jared Verse, along with valuable draft assets, are necessary to strengthen a talented young core and align with the youth of our team. Our goal continues to be building a consistently winning franchise that our fans and this region deserve, and we believe this move creates the best path towards that.

“We met with Myles on Saturday and told him we are extremely grateful for all that he contributed to our team and to our community and that he will always be a Cleveland Brown. We look forward to welcoming him back at the appropriate time and wish him and his family only the best.”

What do you think of Berry’s explanation for the tradeand the Haslams’ thoughts?