Category: NBA

It is not breaking news to say that the LeBron James watch, as it is about to enter week three, has all the eyes and ears of the league. A subplot of LeBron’s latest destination decision is that teams around the league are placing a pause on their decisions until this is all sorted out. One of those players who appears to be impacted is fellow wing Jonathan Kuminga.

In an article written by The Athletic’s Dan Woike, Kuminga has garnered interest from the Los Angeles Lakers since late June. However, “it appears that momentum has stalled with the sides”, with Woike noting that the Lakers aren’t “overly motivated to push the significant draft capital into sign-and-trade scenarios.”

It appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking hard into the services of Kuminga if the Lakers interest dissipates. “According to league sources, (Cleveland) is the team most-often connected to Kuminga other than the Lakers,” Woike noted.

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This makes sense as the Cavaliers appear to be looking to upgrade their wing rotation. Obviously, they have been a prominent name in the LeBron James sweepstakes; Kuminga appears to be their second pathway to ensuring there is an influx of talent.

Kuminga could be a necessary gamble for the Cavaliers. His talent has not necessarily translated to someone who projects as a difference-making wing. What Kuminga does offer is an upside play on potentially a cheaper deal than most younger wings his age. It is also good to note that Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has a prior relationship with Kuminga from their shared time on the Golden State Warriors together.

It appears that there could be more movement on the free agent front once teams and players have an idea of where the King will preside this upcoming season. The NBA’s silly season never ends, and neither does the league’s intrigue about LeBron James.

Today better be the day.

We’ve waited long enough.

LeBron James has kept the NBA and its fans twisting in the wind. Dragging out an announcement of where he’ll continue his illustrious basketball career.

In some ways, it's too late to reverse the reputational damage.

James, at 41, still has the ability to play like a man half his age. Now he’s acting like a man half his age as if desperate for attention.

If he chooses any team but the Cleveland Cavaliers, he risks alienating the fans in a city where he’s considered the prodigal son. Regardless, the process already has dredged up memories of “The Decision.’’

That decision took place in 2010. A one-hour special hosted by Jim Gray that aired on ESPN. During "The Decision,'' James announced, "I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.’’

Now it's James' failure to say where he's taking his talents that's created irritation, frustration and, ultimately, resentment?

On June 30, James informed the Lakers he was moving out and playing elsewhere next season. His agent, Rich Paul, confirmed as much and since then has announced drips and drabs of so-called news.

Finally, James spoke for himself.

The NBA preseason schedule is officially out, and with it comes the first opportunity for Jaylen Brown to return to TD Garden since the blockbuster offseason trade that sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics will host Philadelphia on Oct. 10 before making the trip to face the Sixers on Oct. 16, giving Brown two chances to face his former team before the regular season begins.

Whether Celtics fans actually see Brown on the floor in Boston, however, remains an open question.

Veteran stars often play limited preseason minutes, if they suit up at all, and Philadelphia could choose to ease Brown into training camp rather than having him play in both exhibition games. Even if that’s the case, Oct. 10 now stands as the first date Boston fans can circle as Brown’s return to TD Garden draws closer.

If Brown does play, it’ll mark his first appearance in Boston since the trade that ended one of the most successful individual tenures in recent Celtics history.

Selected third overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown spent nine seasons with the Celtics, developing from a raw, athletic wing into a four-time All-Star, NBA champion and one of the franchise’s cornerstone players. Alongside Jayson Tatum, he helped lead Boston to multiple Eastern Conference Finals appearances and delivered Banner 19 before the organization made one of the boldest roster moves of Brad Stevens’ tenure this summer.

The preseason matchup also offers the first opportunity for Brown and Paul George to face their former teams following a trade that reshaped the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. Assuming both veterans are available, the Oct. 10 game would provide an early glimpse of two Eastern Conference contenders, even if the result won’t count in the standings.

Preseason games are notoriously unpredictable when it comes to star availability. Teams frequently prioritize conditioning, experimentation and evaluating younger players over giving established veterans extended run, particularly in the first week of exhibition play. Brown, George and several other key contributors could ultimately see only a handful of minutes, or none at all.

Still, the schedule release gives Celtics fans something they didn’t have yesterday: a date for Brown’s first possible return to the Garden.

Boston’s full preseason schedule is as follows:

• Oct. 8: at Cleveland Cavaliers (7 p.m. ET)
• Oct. 10: vs. Philadelphia 76ers (8 p.m. ET)
• Oct. 14: vs. Charlotte Hornets (7:30 p.m. ET)
• Oct. 16: at Philadelphia 76ers (7 p.m. ET)

The NBA has not yet announced the 2026-27 regular season schedule, meaning these preseason meetings will be the first chance for Brown to reunite with his former team.

Whether that reunion lasts 30 minutes or simply consists of Brown waving to a familiar crowd from the bench will depend on Philadelphia’s plans once training camp gets underway.

LAS VEGAS — It’s 6pm on July 19th, and I’m sitting along the baseline of the Thomas and Mack Arena to watch the 2026 NBA Summer League Championship.

Cameron Boozer and Yaxel Lendeborg, two of the most intriguing picks from the 2026 draft class, both warm up by their respective baskets as the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies prepare to square off.

The arena is sparsely attended — just days ago, the very same gym was inundated with fans, players, coaches, media, and front office executives — but the fans who are here are thrilled to be here. Dozens of kids wear Warriors jerseys and repeatedly belt out “Yaxel!” during warm-ups. The 23-year-old, No. 11 overall pick has quickly blossomed into a Summer League fan favorite, in part due to his elite on-court play, but mostly because he’s taken the time to wave to, sign autographs for, and chat with more kids than I have ever seen a professional athlete do. (Regardless of city affiliation, I am now a lifelong Yaxel enthusiast. I keep joking he’s the physical embodiment of LeBron’s ‘I can’t believe this is my life’ meme).

For the Grizzlies, Saturday’s title game is much bigger than basketball. Seven years ago, Brandon Clarke won Summer League Championship MVP, and the NBA holds a moment of silence before tip-off in his honor. In May, Clarke tragically passed away at just age 29, and every single Grizzlies coach and staff member dons a ‘BC’ pin in his honor, including Summer League head coach Erik Schmidt, who has worked with Clarke since 2019.

I wish more Grizzlies fans were here to see this, to see how the organization has made sure that every detail in this Summer League title run honors the former beloved Grizzly. But, based on how every single Grizzlies staff member spoke with me about Clarke, I imagine it’s the first of many such odes.

There are so few reporters left in attendance that the NBA asks me to cast a vote for Summer League Championship MVP, an honor I mull over for hours before ultimately selecting Lendeborg after he powered the Warriors to a 94-90 title win. I spent all game thinking about how every player impacted each and every possession, going back and forth in my decision so many times that I had to chase down NBA PR to secure my final vote in the waning seconds. (I’ll never judge a Finals MVP voter again).

As I walk out of the arena, I chuckle. There’s quite literally no reason for a Celtics beat writer to still be here.

Yet, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Why I love NBA Summer League

My absolute favorite part of covering the Celtics is going to NBA Summer League. That might seem counterintuitive to some, because there are certainly moments during the year that are far more high-profile, and certainly stretches in the season where there are way more eyes on my work. I’ve covered an NBA championship, blockbuster trades, and an unexpected 56-win season, all things that were uniquely challenging and rewarding.

But there’s a beauty to Summer League, a specific joy that it cultivates, that I haven’t experienced anywhere else in my career. I don’t actually like Las Vegas all that much — the casinos are a little too smoky, the food a little too pricey, the air far too hot — but Summer League? That’s my favorite place in the world.

For two weeks, I find myself submerged in basketball nirvana. Hundreds of players who have dedicated their entire lives to the nearly-impossible dream of one day making the NBA get the chance to put it all on the line. Coaches who never thought they’d ever take the lead role get to run the show for two blissful weeks.

Take Caleb Grill, for example. The 26-old-year Celtics Summer League guard has an uphill battle to climb to achieve his ultimate goal of making the NBA, but Saturday afternoon was a good start. After sitting on the sidelines for most of his Vegas stint, Grill erupted for 18 points, suppressing a grin as he hit three-pointer after three-pointer. Grill has laced up for four different colleges and two different G-League teams.

Now, donning a Celtics jersey, with Celtics front office executives like Mike Zarren and Alison Feaster sitting courtside, Grill reached a flow state.

“I was just super blessed to get the opportunity to come out here and play,” he tells us reporters afterwards with a smile.

This July was my third time covering NBA Summer League. Each time, I’ve arrived on the first day and left on the last, just in case this year was the year the Celtics made the playoffs (spoiler alert: it’s yet to happen during my tenure). The Celtics assistant coaches joke to let them know in advance when I decide to not stay through the title game, because that’ll be the year they make it.

Summer League has gotten increasingly more fun as I’ve become more experienced in this career, in part because I’ve gotten better at my job (I hope!) and in part because the circle of people in the NBA space that I know (and love!) has progressively grown.

This year, my Summer League experience began with the rare opportunity to sit down with Joe Mazzulla for a lengthy 1-on-1 conversation that centered around his summer spent traveling the world, the Jaylen Brown trade, and an offseason of dramatic change.

A few weeks ago, when I saw Mazzulla visit Neemias Queta in Portugal and Hugo Gonzalez in Spain, I was quite literally itching to tell the story of why he’s decided to go all-in on deepening his relationships. Sometimes, I feel so compelled to write a story I see unfolding from afar that I experience a genuine endorphin rush when I get the chance to do so. This was the epitome of that.

Another cool moment?

Chatting with Neemias Queta about what it was like to sign a $56 million extension earlier this month. Queta is the ultimate Summer League success story — he’s previously competed in four Summer Leagues as a player, which is honestly hard to fathom. Very few players lace up that many times and ultimately make it as decisively as he has.

So, seeing him arrive in Vegas with an extra pep in his step, sitting courtside with teammates Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jordan Walsh, was pretty cool.

We caught up with White, who joined Amile Jefferson’s coaching staff as an assistant coach for the very first time. That was fun to watch — he argued calls, grabbed the clipboard, and looked like he belonged, as Jordan Walsh confirmed.

Amile Jefferson loved having White, a close friend, assist him on the sidelines.

“He’s a natural,” Jefferson said. “If he wanted to be, he’d be a head coach. I truly believe that. If he ever wants to do it, he’d be amazing. He just has a great feel for people. Obviously, we all know how cerebral he is and his basketball mind, and so he’s a natural. He’d be amazing at it.”

And, there are players like John Tonje, who knew going into Vegas that Summer League would be a make-or-break moment. Tonje balled out, and his odds of making an NBA roster are a lot higher than they were a few weeks ago.

The joy of chit-chatting at Summer League

But the true joy of Summer League is the moments in between, the conversations. It’s talking to Brandon, the 20-year-old sports journalism student who thoughtfully asks me for 20 minutes of my time because one day, he’d like to cover the Celtics too. It’s meeting Bella, the NBA communications girl who I only knew for one hour, but who instantly felt like a lifelong friend. It’s catching up with Katie, who I only know from my summers in Vegas, but with whom I’ve never had a conversation that was not profound. It’s seeing Vanessa, the Houston Rockets sideline reporter who has made it a point to welcome me into the industry each and every time we’ve crossed paths.

That paragraph could have gone on forever.

Coaches are willing to chat longer. I learned at Summer League the many different paths coaches can take to get to where they are, from Amile Jefferson getting his start as a former Duke University star to Matt Reynolds learning how to cut film as an intern who never played basketball at a high level. Almost every Celtics assistant coach that I now know well, I first had a meaningful conversation with at Summer League.

Front office executives are willing to — off-the-record, of course — share the inner workings of trades, disclose deals that didn’t happen, and give their perspective on the Celtics’ young prospects. I could sit at a restaurant for 12 hours if the topic of the day was the NBA, and I’m reminded of that each July.

Above that, I can’t help but continuously think one thing.

The people of Summer League are each so different. We have entirely different upbringings, strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations. But we are bonded by one thing: an almost irrational love for basketball.

And, boy am I glad my own obsession once again led me to Las Vegas.

The final stop on the NBA Summer Leagie schedule was the 2026 Summer League in Vegas. Seven former Orange were on rosters in Sin City: William Kyle (Lakers), Nate Kingz (Heat), Buddy Boeheim (Thunder), Jesse Edwards (Bucks), Chris Bell (Pelicans), Quadir Copeland (Rockets) and Maliq Brown (Spurs).

Here’s how they fared in Sin City:

Kyle- 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal vs Thunder

4 points on 2-2 shooting vs Mavericks

2 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks vs Clippers

4 points and 3 rebounds vs Bulls

2 points and 1 block vs Warriors

Kingz – DNP vs Bucks and Magic

10 points and 3 rebounds vs Cavaliers

2 rebounds and 3 assists vs Raptors

3 points and 1 rebound vs Pistons

Boeheim- 8 points on 2/8 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal vs Lakers

6 points on 2/7 shooting vs Celtics

10 points on 4/5 shooting vs Nuggets

13 points and 3 steals vs Mavericks

3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists vs Nets

Bell- 0/2 shooting, 1 assist and 1 steal vs Timberwolves

DNP vs Hornets

3 points against the Suns

12 points and 2 rebounds vs Cavaliers

2 points vs Pacers

Brown- 0/2 shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 steals vs Hawks

8 points, 8 rebounds vs Knicks

4 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals vs Bucks

7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals vs Jazz

DNP vs Suns

Edwards- 1/1 shooting, 1 assist and 1 block vs Heat

6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist vs Spurs

DNP vs Suns

4 points and 3 rebounds vs Hornets

DNP vs Sixers

Copeland- 14 points on 4/6 shooting, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 9 fouls vs Nuggets

9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 8 fouls vs Raptors

6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals (and only 3 fouls) vs Sixers

13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

24 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals vs Grizzlies

Will these performances be enough to make an Opening Night roster? Outside of Brown, it would seem like unlikely at this point, but we’ll be watching in the early Fall to see what happens.

With Summer League wrapped up, I wanted to discuss Nate Ament and how he moves forward from here. Ament is certainly one of the more difficult prospect evaluations I’ve ever done (not that I’m some expert in this space) because he is a truly unique archetype insofar as he has me thinking “OK, this is certainly a unique skillset, but it doesn’t translate to winning basketball as of yet; how does he get there?” To start, I think the most prudent thing to do is to lay out what I believe are his strengths and weaknesses right now.

Player breakdown

Strengths

• Spot-up shooting/attacking hard closeouts
• Bodying smaller defenders and shooting over them
• Handling the ball in the full-court (context dependant)
• Catching lobs

Weaknesses

• Consistently beating guys off the dribble in the half court
• Finishing around the rim
• Being a plus defender (on or off-ball)
• Reading the floor well in traffic/limiting turnovers

Which of these weaknesses can be improved upon?

Beating guys off the dribble

I’d bet against Ament ever being able to consistently beat guys off the dribble; he’s just too stiff, and he doesn’t have “shake.” Because of his size and skillset, Ament has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, but what makes Durant so lethal is his ability to shake defenders out of their shoes with violent crossovers—Ament has never really had that at any level.

Now, what I will say is that Ament does have surprisingly solid dribbling ability and overall coordination at his size—that, at least, is somewhat Durant-like. He really does have the ability to handle the ball and not look out of place. Against legit NBA full-court pressure? No. But he flashed some advanced coordination, and that is one of the main attributes I hope is utilised in practice along with when he inevitably goes down to the G League next season. This is a player who, while he can play off-ball, also needs reps with the ball in hand to maximise his development. Maybe it never becomes a plus NBA skill of his, but the Bucks should absolutely experiment in this space.

Rim finishing

This is an area where I think Ament can certainly improve; it might just take some time. I mean, he just looked so skinny at Summer League that this one might be a slow burn, but I don’t see why he couldn’t become a much better rim finisher as his body develops. Ament’s poor rim numbers at college are also contextualised by him having two teammates crowding the paint at all times; that Tennessee team’s spacing was truly horrid. The one thing that does give me pause is the number of layups that seemed to just roll off the rim in Vegas with pretty minimal pressure; it made no sense how he could have missed some of those shots at point-blank range while being so tall (and thus close to the hoop). One to monitor.

Being a plus defender

Yes, Ament can certainly become a plus defender; he just has to learn technique. He’s got excellent dimensions for it, but has no clue how to use any of his attributes at the moment. His off-ball defence was really poor in Vegas—losing sight of his man, failing to switch onto ball-handlers—and his shot-blocking/altering ability was strangely underwhelming for a player that size as well.

His on-ball defence was somewhat better, but still not where it needs to be to step onto an NBA court. There were lots of what I like to call “fake hustle” possessions, where he got too close to the ball-handler because he was trying to show effort and intent—which I love, don’t get me wrong—but then the defender sped right past him because he reached for the ball and/or allowed his momentum to go too far forward. Giannis, ironically, was a serial offender in this category (and it actually got worse as he got older, funnily enough).

The best defenders can apply pressure to the ball-handler without letting them get past either; there are a bunch of tricks regarding how to do that, but the biggest one is keeping your hands out of the cookie jar and focusing on moving your feet. It’s a skill that needs to be developed over a few years, but Ament has a body type that should allow him to become good at it, whereas there are other body types where it’s near impossible.

Reading the floor in traffic/limiting turnovers

I think there is certainly some room to cut the fat here regarding some of the outright horrendous turnovers, such as when he just threw it to nobody; improved strength will help him avoid being stripped. With all that said, part of the reason I doubt Ament will ever be a primary initiator is that I don’t see him developing advanced passing skills. For example, I don’t see him ever being able to read the low man in a pick-and-roll and distinguish between passing to the roller and the opposite corner shooter; I’m optimistic he can make basic short roll reads, but that’s probably the extent of it. Does that limit his ceiling? Yeah, it does.

The path to NBA minutes as a rookie

To reuse a term, I think the first order of business for Ament in his rookie year will be cutting the fat out of his game. If (and it’s a big “if”) he can demonstrate that he can be passable on defence, there might be a role for him for 8-12 minutes per night just playing as a complementary piece because of his ability to stretch the floor. If I were him, I’d be on the coaches non-stop about the defensive part.

From there, he needs to build his ability to attack closeouts and make simple plays. Also, perfect ancillary skills, like learning to screen and read the on-ball defender. Are they switching? If so, can I slip to the rim and catch them off guard? Are they going over the screen? If so, what’s the best screening angle to get the guard going downhill? Put simply, Ament’s ticket to early NBA minutes will be nailing the basics and playing off others. Once he’s done that, he can build.

Player projections

Given everything I just laid out, the player I think Ament should be modeling his game after is Jabari Smith Jr. Despite having limited on-ball shake, Smith can play 40 minutes in a playoff game because he takes nothing away from his team. He provides spacing on offence, making the stars’ lives easier, but can also body his opponents and get to his (admittedly limited) bag of pull-up jumpers as a Plan B. Crucially, he’s also an excellent defender with elite toughness, size, and instincts. To me, this sounds like a player-type Ament could realistically become one day, though I’m unsure about him ever becoming as strong as Smith.

If you’re looking for someone more in Ament’s weight division—and this is a high-end outcome, to be clear—I see similarities between him and Jaden McDaniels, a secondary creator who works a lot in the mid-range. That said, McDaniels is an elite point-of-attack defender, which Ament most definitely is not right now, but it’s not inconceivable that he gets there. McDaniels was definitely not seen that way coming out of Washington.

Of course—and I hate to mention it—there are also outcomes where Ament becomes Perry Jones. Yes, he is something of a lottery ticket, but one I would take again given 1) the upside of this pick “if it hits,” and 2) me not loving many of the other names on the board for various reasons (small guards, non-shooting wings, undersized and/or injury-prone centres, etc.)

Brew Hoop fam, let me know what you think of my Nate Ament breakdown.

Sixers set to face Celtics twice in 2026 preseason  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

With their summer league complete, the Sixers now have two dates on their 2026 preseason schedule.

The Sixers appear twice on the preseason slate the Celtics announced Monday. They’re set to visit Boston on Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET and host the Celtics on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. ET. 

The games against the Celtics should be more intriguing than average preseason matchups. The Sixers came back to beat the Celtics in a seven-game first-round playoff series, then dealt Paul George and draft picks to Boston this summer in exchange for Jaylen Brown.

The rest of the Sixers’ preseason schedule has not yet been released. The team played two of its four exhibition games last year in Abu Dhabi and the most notable preseason development was rookie VJ Edgecombe securing an opening-night starter spot.

The full NBA regular-season schedule is typically released in mid-August. The Sixers already know they’ll be in East Group B for the 2026 NBA Cup with the Knicks, Cavaliers, Heat and Pacers.

It is not smart to overreact to what you see in NBA summer league; there are just too many examples of great players getting off to a bad start to their pro careers in Las Vegas.

Cooper Flagg and Victor Wembanyama didn’t have amazing summer league debuts. Jalen Brunson struggled mightily, Draymond Green was really bad, and Coby White couldn’t buy a bucket. Summer league is not that important. With that being said, it’s the end of July, and there isn’t much else to write about until LeBron James finally signs, so here are some summer league takeaways that verge into being overreactions based on what we saw in the sample in Las Vegas.

Also, read my summer league rookie rankings. Then read my list of the eight young veterans who were too good for summer league this year, and also my list of six rookies who looked underwhelming in Las Vegas. Feel free to drop your own favorite summer league overreactions in the comments, and I’ll respond.

Darryn Peterson is not a point guard

Peterson was something of a mystery box coming out of Kansas because he looked like a completely different player from high school to college. As a senior at Prolific Prep, Peterson had the look of a heliocentric guard who could pressure the rim and overwhelm opponents physically. The college version had to adjust after soft tissue strains and cramping zapped some of his explosiveness, and he promptly turned into an off-ball gunner who did most of his scoring from the perimeter.

Peterson said he’s healthy now, and after watching him at summer league, it feels like he’s better suited to run around screens and maximize his three-point rate than trying to be a do-everything guard right away. The Jazz already have a solid point guard in Keyonte George, and what they really need next to him is a high-level defensive playmaker who stresses the defense with his shooting gravity. I think that could be the best version of Peterson early in his career, partially because he can be really good in those areas, and partially because his rim attacks don’t look particularly overpowering at the moment.

I wish I sent this tweet.

Peterson’s three-point rate (percentage of field goal attempts from three) dropped from 46% at Kansas to 33% throughout summer league. Meanwhile, he had nearly as many turnovers (24) as assists (26). Get those threes up, DP, and the Jazz will be better off for it.

Free Noa Essengue from the Bulls

The Bulls’ new braintrust of lead executive Bryson Graham and head coach Tiago Splitter did not draft Noa Essengue with the No. 12 overall pick a year ago. Essengue basically had the worst rookie season ever, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury before he scored his first point. He’s still just 19 years old, and figures to be just starting to scratch the surface of his long-term upside. Essengue needs live reps more than anything else after being sidelined since Nov., but he immediately found himself in the doghouse in summer league with Splitter coaching the Bulls for the first two games in Las Vegas.

It sure seems like Graham and Splitter don’t care much about Essengue, because he’s not their guy. Fair enough I suppose, but Essengue has intriguing physical tools, a history of performing well against older competition, and a real path toward one day becoming a useful player — unlike the vast majority of the SummerBulls roster outside of Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain. Essengue’s numbers weren’t even that bad, 62.4% true shooting, a 20 percent defensive rebounding rate, an 8.1% block rate, and a 3.3% steal rate.

Okay, there were some ugly moments, from bad turnovers to missed free throws to falling over every 30 seconds because he can’t handle physicality. But Essengue is only 19 — he’s six months younger than Caleb Wilson — and he has some real potential pathways to value in switchability on defense, offensive rebounding, transition spacing, and maybe eventually floor spacing. I had Essengue at No. 10 on my draft board last year, and I think it’s completely ridiculous that a team with as little talent as the Bulls is already apparently writing him off. Essengue needs a franchise that will invest in his development, not yank around his minutes in completely meaningless summer league games. If the Bulls don’t care about Essengue, another franchise will.

Two Lakers summer league players are the key to their regular season

The Lakers have arguably the best offensive backcourt in the NBA with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and now they have a very good rim protector in Walker Kessler behind them. There’s only one problem: Los Angeles still needs athletic defenders on the wings, and they don’t really have any way to acquire them after spending every possible future asset on Kessler. Would you believe me if I said the answer might be hiding on their summer league team?

Chris Mañon and Adou Thiero could be everything the Lakers need. Both young wings played great during summer league, and have the exact skill sets that could push the big league club over the top. Mañon was a monster defensive playmaker out of Vanderbilt who slipped in the 2025 draft because of his offensive limitations. He showed a little growth as a shooter in the G League last year, and if anyone can make his offense playable, it’s Luka. Mañon thrives as a disruptive defender who can blow up screens, pick shaky ball handlers, and dart in for blocks and steals in a free safety role. The Lakers badly need a bulldog at the point of attack, and Mañon will be excellent there if they give him a chance. Thiero is just an athletic freak with a rare blend of speed and power. He crushes in transition, and has the tools to defend wing scorers.

If the Lakers are smart, they will have a developmental plan for both players in place to hopefully shape them into real contributors come playoff time.

7 second-rounders who will be solid rotation players

The second round of the NBA Draft was supposedly destroyed by NIL. While I agree with that narrative to some extent, there are still going to be players picked in the second round this year who go on to good careers, and I think summer league helped prove it. Here are seven second rounders from the 2026 draft who can carve out careers in the NBA:

• Bruce Thornton
• Meleek Thomas
• Henri Veesaar
• Trevon Brazile
• Jack Kayil
• Baba Miller
• Nick Martinelli

Thornton and Thomas are my favorite of the group, and both looked tremendous in Vegas. Brazile landed in a great situation in Denver where he’s a perfect complement to Nikola Jokic, while Kayil surpassed expectations for me, and Martinelli continued to look like the Julius Randle of the North Shore. There’s always talent in the draft, and don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Khaman Maluach will look like a future All-Star by the end of the year

I was super high on Maluach entering the 2025 draft, and I still believe even after essentially getting redshirted by the Suns as a rookie. The big man was absolutely dominant in summer league by putting up 19.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, and two blocks per game with 40% shooting from three (on five attempts per game) and 70.4% true shooting.

I went over everything I love about Maluach on the Swish Theory podcast:

Yaxel Lendeborg will have a great career even if he’s an old rookie

The Warriors won the summer league championship behind the play of Yaxel Lendeborg. The rookie is just a couple months away from his 24th birthday, but his winding journey to the NBA is proof that players can develop on their own timelines and still reach the pinnacle of the sport.

I usually push back on the idea that older players are more “NBA ready” when they enter the draft. It’s true in Yaxel’s case. He’s going to be a valuable contributor to Golden State from day one.

I began watching the NBA in 1988, nearly 40 years ago now. Granted, I experienced it through the eyes of a child who was captivated by the game, but I was fortunate enough to grow up watching not only an entertaining brand of basketball but one built on consistency.

Free agency truly arrived the season after I became a fan, and trades have always been part of the league. Even so, continuity was still the norm. Players moved when relationships fractured, organizations believed they had reached their ceiling, or age dictated a different direction. It wasn’t common to see players traded simply because a team was trying to be fiscally responsible.

Today’s NBA is different. The modern collective bargaining agreement has made maintaining continuity increasingly difficult. Add the player empowerment era to that, and loyalty has become increasingly rare.

In Phoenix, we’ve experienced every version of that over the past few years. I now have a deep hatred of aprons, and I now possess many shirts with stains upon them as a result. At the same time, we’re one of the few organizations that still has a player entering his 12th season with the franchise. We know what loyalty looks like because we’ve watched Devin Booker embody it. He’s one of only four players who have remained with the same organization since 2015, joining Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Nikola Jokic.

But in an era defined by escalating salaries, annual cap growth, and restrictive tax aprons, loyalty has become a dying breed for both players and organizations. It’s simply become too difficult to afford it.

We see this in the conversations surrounding Devin Booker, whose salary will account for 35.1% of the cap this upcoming season. Unless he’s producing at an All-NBA level, people begin viewing that contract as a negative. That’s simply the reality of today’s NBA.

We’ve watched that same reality play out in Boston. The primary reason general manager Brad Stevens ultimately moved on from Jaylen Brown was his contract. Boston was scheduled to pay him $57.1 million this season and another $185 million over the following three years. That salary created an inflection point, forcing the organization to ask whether keeping one of its most beloved and respected players was still financially responsible.

Sure, the Celtics didn’t have to offer Brown the supermax extension. But he earned it. You can’t fault an organization for trying to stay loyal to a player who helped deliver a championship. At the same time, that loyalty eventually forced a decision, one that ultimately resulted in Brown being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

“The reality in this era and in this day of age of the NBA,” Steven stated in his presser explaining why the decsions was made, “and you can see it obviously with the last couple of champions and some of teams that were at the very top of the league, when it was all said and done at the end of this year, you have to do a great job, and you have to have the optionality to do a great job of building out depth, that hopefully replace the irreplaceable individual. And that’s not an easy thing to do.”

One thing I appreciated about what Brad Stevens said in his press conference was that he openly acknowledged the issue. He pointed directly to the way the current collective bargaining agreement is structured and how it discourages organizations from keeping together the players they drafted and developed. That’s something that has to be addressed when the next CBA is negotiated. I’m glad Stevens said those words publicly because it gives the players’ association something tangible to build from as both sides begin preparing for the next round of negotiations in 2029.

The league has to find a better balance. It shouldn’t penalize organizations or players for loyalty. The longer a player stays with one franchise and the better he performs, the larger his contract naturally becomes, and it should. Players deserve to be rewarded for their success. At the same time, the organization that drafted, developed, and retained that player should receive some benefit as well.

At the end of the day, this is sports entertainment, and part of what makes it entertaining is loyalty. And it is for the fans. It’s identifying a player you enjoy rooting for, watching him grow, and knowing there’s a good chance he’ll still be wearing your team’s jersey for years to come.

So how do you fix this? Let’s call it the “loyalty tax.”

I’ll use the Phoenix Suns as a practical example. Devin Booker is slated to make $57.1 million this season, which accounts for 35.1% of the salary cap. Now imagine a world where a loyalty tax is built into escalating contracts.

Booker is on his third contract with the Suns and has already signed his fourth. Imagine if cap relief became available beginning with a player’s third contract with the organization that drafted him. The player would still earn a salary based on the percentage of the cap he negotiated. In Booker’s case, that’s $57.1 million, or 35.1% of the cap. The difference is that the organization would receive a 5% loyalty tax break.

So while Booker still earns 35.1% of the cap, only 30.1% would count against the Suns’ cap sheet. That immediately creates $8.25 million in additional cap room, because 5% of this season’s $165 million salary cap equals $8.25 million.

What does that 5% accomplish? It gives the organization greater flexibility to remain competitive while rewarding it for drafting, developing, and retaining a homegrown player. It creates enough room to add an $8.25 million player to the roster. More importantly, it helps preserve continuity and competitiveness without forcing organizations into a financial inflection point that eventually leads to tearing everything down and starting over.

It sounds like a win win, but there are certainly byproducts to a system like this that could ultimately prevent it from ever becoming reality. If there’s a 5% loyalty tax break, that means the owners, if they choose to use it, are effectively paying for another $8.25 million player. Some owners wouldn’t have an issue with that. Others certainly would.

Then there’s the business side of the NBA. Maybe the league likes constant player movement. Every blockbuster trade creates another wave of merchandise sales. As I write this, there are probably brand-new Jaylen Brown jerseys being pressed in Philadelphia, waiting to hit the team store shelves. That doesn’t happen if players stay with one franchise their entire careers.

Perhaps the best strategy is to let them remain loyal for 11 years, then have them change their jersey number before Year 12. That seems to work pretty well for Devin Booker.

Overall, though, I believe the current system is broken. It’s forcing organizations to abandon long-term continuity in an effort to balance the cap sheet and avoid restrictive aprons. In turn, it hurts the customer base. It hurts the fans. Teams aren’t moving on from players because the chemistry disappeared, the locker room fractured, or age finally caught up to them. More often than not, they’re moving on because those players have become numbers on a cap sheet, pixels in an Excel spreadsheet that can no longer fit within the league’s financial restrictions. That feels like a problem worth solving.

Maybe a loyalty tax isn’t the answer. Maybe there are unintended consequences I haven’t considered. But the problem is real. The current system increasingly encourages organizations to move on from the very players they drafted, developed, and celebrated simply because the math stops working. That’s not a basketball problem. That’s an accounting problem. Fans invest in players, not cap sheets. They invest in relationships that take years to build.

If the next collective bargaining agreement can’t find a way to better reward loyalty, both sides risk losing one of the things that has always made the NBA worth following in the first place.

The Dallas Mavericks were part of a three-team trade Sunday that landed them Zaccharie Risacher from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Ryan Nembhard and a second round pick. With the move, Dallas swaps a part-time starter for the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.

This is a very low-risk, potentially high-reward move for Dallas. The undrafted Nembhard was a part-time starter who brought stability to the team last season when guard play was in high demand. He showed flashes of brilliance when it came to ball handling, often producing absurd assist-to-turnover ratios for a solid stretch. Yet, Nembhard is a relatively undersized player who was all but certainly going to lose minutes to the returning Kyrie Irving and newly acquired Marcus Sasser.

Risacher on the other hand, is former first overall pick who has not quite lived up to the status that comes with such a selection, yet nonetheless finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024-25 and who fits well with the Cooper Flagg timeline; he is two years younger than Nembhard and will play most of next season as a 21-year old. His contract is more robust than Nembhard’s, but the Mavericks hold virtually all the cards.

The nuances of the contract

Risacher comes to Dallas with two years remaining on his contract. The Hawks exercised a club option on him to lock him in for the 2026-27 season, which he will now play in Dallas, getting paid $13.8 million. 2027-28 is the final year of his current contract, but that too remains a team option, leaving the Mavericks with great control of the situation. However, that control comes with a caveat.

On the surface, it appears Dallas could simply walk after this coming season if they don’t like what they see, but there is more to the story. If the Mavericks plan on locking down Risacher and his $17.4 million for the 2027-28 season, they will need to do so just a few games into his Mavericks’ tenure. The Mavericks have until October 31, 2026 to exercise the team option for 2027-28 season. If they choose to exercise the option and Risacher does not work out, Dallas is stuck with him and a $17.4 million bill. If they choose not to exercise the option and Risacher has a breakout season, Dallas will have market competition to retain him. Risacher will no longer be an unrestricted free agent in this scenario, but Dallas will retain his Bird Rights.

What to expect

While we don’t know the philosophical approach the Mavs’ front office will follow, for my hypothetical money, Dallas is going to exercise their option on Risacher and commit to him for the remaining two years on his contract. To me, this is a no-brainer.

Risacher was drafted two years ago, but is of an age that he could easily have been in the Draft this past June. He is just shy of two years older than Flagg, so he is well aligned with the timeline of the face of the franchise. Ultimately, it’s difficult to determine any reason not to take the chance here. Risacher may benefit from a scenery change, and the tutelage of Dusty May, Joe Boylan and the player-friendly coaching staff forming in Dallas could yet bring the best out of him. For what relatively little they gave up to get him, it makes sense for Dallas to commit in the short term to see what Risacher can yet become. This is especially true if the forward-heavy team is trimmed down a bit if and when a veteran or two is moved. In a worst-case scenario, they will have a $17 million expiring contract to dangle as trade bait in 2027-28.

Whatever the case, we have just over three months (or less) until we find out. For now, Dallas continues to put together a young, long and rangy team of athletes around Cooper Flagg, with most of the summer yet to play out.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

At its heart, NBA Summer League basketball is a chance for teams to see their draftees and other young players in action, and how they respond, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and so on.

Players being competitive though, they want to do two things: make an impression as a potential NBA player, and, not incidentally, to win.

And while Cameron Boozer has a habit of winning, it didn’t work out this time, as Golden State got the championship Sunday night, in a 94-90 victory.

Boozer took a three-pointer with Memphis down 92-90 with about 0:08 to play, but missed.

Still, he made his point in Las Vegas. Boozer still has some doubters, but his new teammate, Cedric Coward, is very happy with what he’s seen from Boozer, saying this:
“He’s special, man. I mean there’s no other words I can describe it. Like I told people before, I can’t believe he’s 18, but he’s a special, special player.”

The questions about Boozer always suggest that he’s not that athletic, but he actually outperformed former UNC star Caleb Wilson in the pre-draft agility drills. His vertical is not that great, but otherwise?

He’s better than people think.

Where he just kills people is with his overall grasp of the game, and his fundamentals. As Coward suggested, Boozer is way ahead of the curve for a teenager (he just turned 19 on Saturday, incidentally). And if you have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, and you’re fairly rugged, you’re going to be able to make an impact.

We’d love to be a fly on the wall with the Grizzlies to get a better idea of what they learned about Boozer and how they plan to use him this upcoming season.

• Cameron Boozer has been one of the stars of Summer league
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• Cameron Boozer with the hoop & harm
• Cameron Boozer’s new teammate raves about his ‘special’ skills
• Grizzlies can soon maximize Cam Boozer’s biggest strength with Zach Edey
• Cameron Boozer Ranked As ESPN’s No. 2 Rookie Post-Summer League
• Why the NBA Rookie of the Year race ‘is gonna get nasty’
• Why Cameron Boozer is the toughest prospect to evaluate in NBA Summer League

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If you’ve ever watched an NBA playoff game, there’s a solid chance you’ve seen James Goldstein sitting court side. A California real estate mogul, Goldstein has season tickets to both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers games, but he purchases court side seats throughout the season, especially in the playoffs.

The eighty-six-year-old has attended over 2,000 games over the years, often dressed to the nines in his flamboyant leather, cowboy-style outfits.

Goldstein has shared that he started watching basketball as a 10-year-old. By the age of 15, he was hired by the Milwaukee Hawks. “Once I did that and sat courtside for the games, I was totally hooked. My entire life has been devoted to professional basketball since then. I have such a passion for the game. I think there’s more athleticism displayed in basketball than in any other sport.”

Recently, Goldtsein was on vacation at Verde Beach in Saint-Tropez in sporting a Spurs Western Conference Finals t-shirt.

Goldstein was a fixture during the Spurs Race for Seis. It stands to reason he will be spending more time in San Antonio in late spring for years to come.

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If you spent any amount of time on Mavericks Twitter, Reddit, or Discord after the Zaccharie Risacher trade was announced, the reaction was almost universal.

“Another forward?”

“Do the Mavericks know guards exist?”

“What exactly is this roster supposed to be?”

Honestly, I understood every bit of it.

Mine wasn’t much different.

When Shams Charania first reported Dallas had acquired the former No. 1 overall pick in a three-team deal with Atlanta and Oklahoma City, my first thought wasn’t excitement. It was confusing. The Mavericks already entered the offseason overloaded with wings and forwards, yet desperately needed another ball-handler. Trading for another player who occupies a similar position felt like doubling down on a roster imbalance that already existed.

Then the details started trickling in.

Ryan Nembhard was heading to Atlanta. Dallas was giving up a future second-round pick that originally belonged to Chicago. The Mavericks were using the Anthony Davis trade exception to absorb Risacher’s contract.

The more I looked at the trade, the more my opinion shifted.

Not because I suddenly think Zaccharie Risacher is going to become a star.

I don’t.

But I think this is one of those deals where the process deserves more credit than the initial reaction gave it.

Let’s not pretend Risacher has been good

There’s a reason Atlanta moved on after only two seasons.

Risacher hasn’t been a very good NBA player.

That’s not an overreaction.

That’s reality.

After entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick, he never developed into the player the Hawks envisioned. His sophomore season was especially disappointing. His production stagnated; his efficiency never took the leap Atlanta hoped for; he eventually lost his starting spot; and by the end of the season, he had fallen out of the Hawks’ playoff rotation. Reports throughout the offseason suggested both sides had reached the point where a fresh start made sense.

Even more concerning is how he has struggled.

Risacher wasn’t drafted because scouts believed he’d become an elite shot creator. He was drafted because he projected as one of the safest prospects in the class—a long, athletic wing who could defend multiple positions, shoot open threes, and fit seamlessly around stars.

Instead, he hasn’t consistently done any of those things at an NBA level.

The jumper hasn’t been reliable.

The defense hasn’t become the strength many expected.

He doesn’t create much offense for himself or others.

For a former No. 1 pick, that’s understandably disappointing.

So if your immediate reaction was, “Why are the Mavericks trading for a player who hasn’t even been good?” you’re not wrong.

That’s exactly why I understand the gamble

This is where I think two things can be true at the same time.

I don’t think this was some home-run acquisition.

I’m not sitting here trying to convince anyone that Risacher is secretly destined to become an All-Star.

Honestly, I have no idea if he’ll ever become a consistently good NBA player.

But I also think flipping Ryan Nembhard, an undrafted rookie, and a future second-round pick that originally belonged to Chicago for a former No. 1 overall pick is a perfectly reasonable swing.

That’s the important distinction.

I’m not buying Risacher.

I’m buying the price.

Those are two completely different conversations.

If Dallas had traded one of its remaining first-round picks for him, I’d probably hate the move.

If they had given up one of their core young players, I’d understand the outrage.

Instead, they took a chance on a player whose value had completely cratered while giving up relatively little.

That’s the type of bet rebuilding teams should be willing to make.

Sometimes players need a different environment.

One thing I keep coming back to is that Risacher feels like a player who needed a fresh start.

That doesn’t guarantee anything.

Sometimes former top picks never figure it out.

Sometimes a change of scenery changes absolutely nothing.

But development isn’t linear, and environment matters.

Atlanta clearly reached the point where it was ready to move on.

Dallas has a new front office led by Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz, a coaching staff led by Dusty May that already has a reputation for player development, and far less pressure to force Risacher into becoming a franchise cornerstone.

Will Dusty May fix him?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But if you’re going to take a swing on a struggling former No. 1 overall pick, this feels like one of the better situations for that player to land.

The roster questions are still real.

None of this means I suddenly understand everything Dallas has done this offseason.

I still think they need another legitimate creator.

I still think they have too many forwards.

I still think Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving would benefit tremendously from another guard capable of organizing the offense.

This trade doesn’t solve any of those problems.

And that’s why so many fans reacted the way they did.

People weren’t just reacting to Zaccharie Risacher.

They were reacting to an entire offseason that still feels incomplete.

That’s a fair criticism.

This trade makes much more sense if it isn’t the last move

Maybe that’s the biggest takeaway.

If this is the roster Dallas brings into training camp, I’ll probably have a very different opinion of the offseason as a whole.

But I don’t think that’s the plan.

Masai Ujiri inherited one of the strangest roster situations in basketball. Nico Harrison left behind a team with limited draft assets, an aging core, and a roster that didn’t fit particularly well together. Fixing that wasn’t going to happen in one draft or one week of free agency.

The Risacher trade feels more like another dart throw than a finishing touch.

Dallas essentially used a trade exception, an undrafted rookie, and a second-round pick to acquire a 21-year-old former No. 1 overall pick whose value has never been lower.

If it works, the Mavericks suddenly have another intriguing young piece alongside Cooper Flagg.

If it doesn’t, they move on.

That’s a risk I’m comfortable taking.

Final thoughts

I still don’t know what this Mavericks roster is supposed to look like this season.

I’m still waiting for the move that brings another true ball-handler into the fold.

I’m still skeptical that the roster construction, as it currently stands, makes much sense.

But I also think it’s important to separate the value of the trade itself from the bigger picture.

Those are two different conversations.

From a roster construction standpoint, I still have questions.

From an asset management standpoint, I think Dallas did well.

The Mavericks didn’t give up a premium draft pick.

They didn’t sacrifice one of their best young players.

They bought low on a former No. 1 overall pick whose value had reached rock bottom.

Maybe Zaccharie Risacher never becomes anything more than a rotational wing.

Maybe Atlanta ends up looking smart for moving on when it did.

But when the cost is an undrafted free agent, a second-round pick, and a trade exception, I think that’s a gamble worth taking.

It doesn’t fix the Mavericks.

It doesn’t suddenly make the offseason a success.

But it also isn’t nearly as bad a trade as many of us thought it was in those first few minutes after the news broke.

Draymond Green jokes he would change playstyle if LeBron James joins Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green has seen this movie before — he’s just casting himself in a different role this time.

A fan on Threads asked Green on Sunday who would run the Warriors’ offense if LeBron James signs with Golden State: Green, Steph Curry, or James himself. Green’s answer left little room for interpretation about where he sees himself fitting in.

“Bron,” Green wrote. “I’d become PJ Tucker. Greatest corner 3pt shooter ever.”

It is not the first time Green has made that exact claim about Tucker. Back in Sept. 2020, following a Houston Rockets playoff loss, Green tweeted that Tucker “may be the best Corner 3-point shooter in NBA history” — a claim NBC Sports Bay Area’s Ali Thanawalla examined in detail at the time and found did not hold up.

Curry and Klay Thompson both posted significantly better corner-three shooting percentages than Tucker over that stretch, even with a fraction of his attempts, and six other players in the league that season alone out-shot him from the corner as well.

The real number behind Tucker’s reputation is volume, not efficiency. He has made 704 corner 3-pointers over the past 12 seasons, the most in the NBA during that span, according to Second Spectrum — built largely during his prime years in Houston, where he led the league in corner threes three straight seasons. His career 3-point percentage sits at 36.6 percent, with a corner-specific mark of 38.4 percent.

As for Green actually pulling off the transformation himself, the numbers offer a mixed verdict. He has shot better than 32.6 percent from three just once in the past decade — but he shot 38 percent specifically from the corners last season, and has topped one made three per game in each of the past two years after going seven years without hitting that mark even once.

Whether Green can realistically become the next Tucker is beside the point. The joke fits neatly into a summer-long recruiting pitch that has already included declining his own $27.7 million player option and jokingly offering to give up his No. 23 jersey number for James.

Six years after his first attempt at this exact comparison, Green still is selling the same pitch — he is just hoping this time it comes with a very different teammate attached.

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