Category: NBA

LAS VEGAS — Brook Lopez has never played for the Clippers.

Yet his free agent signing with them this summer is a sort of homecoming, with multiple ties between the Southern California native and the Clippers. That starts with team president Lawrence Frank.

"He was my coach way back when in 2008 with the New Jersey Nets," Lopez said. "So it's definitely a full circle moment."

Lopez was a hot name early in free agency, linked to the Lakers (a team he did play for in the past), the Rockets, and others, but he signed a two-year, $17.9 million contract to back up Ivica Zubac with the Clippers.

"Everything happened pretty fast, but looking at my options, I was just thrilled the Clippers reached out and were one of them," Lopez said. "You know, they've been a great team for quite a while now. They have a ton of great players, obviously Hall of Famers, all sorts of great young players. I got Zuby [Ivica Zubac]. And there's just a great chance to win a championship here."

Among Lopez's connections with the Clippers is Zubac — they were teammates on the Lakers a decade ago. Look for Tyronn Lue, who likes big lineups, to experiment with playing Lopez and Zuback together.

"I think we complement each other extremely well," Lopez said. "Obviously, we'll be very big. I think we'd be great defensively, just dominating the paint, sealing the paint off. Then offensively, we complement each other there as well, spread the floor for him, give him all the room in the paint for them to go wild."

Lopez's primary role with the Clippers will be as a backup big behind Zubac, but because of his floor spacing shooting — 37.3% from beyond the arc on 4.7 attempts a game last season — he's going to find himself in a lot of different lineups and roles.

"We'll see. I'm capable of a lot of stuff," Lopez said. "Obviously, I'm comfortable spreading the floor. I'm comfortable being in the post. I love defending, I love being anchor on defense. Bottom line, I just want to help the team win. Whatever they need me to do, whatever they see fit for my role, I'm going to be working as hard as possible to be great at that."

One teammate Lopez thinks there will be fast chemistry with is James Harden — Lopez knows where his points will come from.

"I'm going to get as many pick-and-rolls with him as possible," Lopez said with a laugh. "Just get in that pocket. I know he's going to make something good out there."
The other role Lopez will play with the Clippers is that of a mentor.

The Clippers have a few young players, most notably No. 30 pick Yanic Konan Niederhauser, a center from Switzerland via Penn State, a 6'10 "center who has moved well and shown flashes at Summer League.

Lopez is excited about being a veteran mentor.

"I was fortunate to play with a lot of great players throughout my career: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Vince Carter. I can keep going down the line, but particularly KG was someone I was fortunate to play with when I was a younger player in this league and he helped mold me to the player I am today.

"So I think it's only right to pass on the things he taught me. Help the younger guys the same way he helped me. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."

Ultimately, Lopez is back home in Southern California — closer to Disneyland than he has been at any stop in his professional career — and about to play for a franchise that was not on his radar growing up.

"I'm a Cali boy. I grew up in the valley, North Hollywood. Obviously, things were very different back then," Lopez said. "To see where the Clippers have come now, it's just astonishing. It's beautiful."

The Clippers think it's beautiful to have him in their lineup, too. It's a sort of homecoming.

The 2025 WNBA season has officially hit its halfway point. And besides the upcoming All-Star break, general managers made some decisions at the end of last week in preparation for the August 7 trade deadline. GMs had until Sunday, July 13 at 5 p.m. ET to waive any players on unguaranteed contracts before those unguaranteed salaries became guaranteed.

Players like the Mercury’s Kiana Williams, the Lynx’s Alissa Pili, the Sparks’ Mercedes Russell, the Liberty’s Marquesha Davis and the Sun’s Haley Peters and Jaelyn Brown were all waived prior to this midpoint deadline.

Why do GMs do this? It usually is a mechanism that allows for teams to maintain salary cap and roster flexibility. Once the midpoint date passes and players clear waivers—it takes 24 hours to do so— teams can sign players to 7-day contracts. In most cases, the teams who waived players can re-sign those same players to these 7-day contracts. A player can only be on a 7-day contract three times until a team then has to sign them to a rest of the season contract. The midpoint also marks a change for hardship contracts as those will also be just 7-day deals until that player reaches the limit of three 7-day contracts.

Meanwhile, the Valkyries waived wing Stephanie Talbot, who was on a protected deal so that they could make room for the expected July 15 arrival of French center Iliana Rupert. To be clear, this wasn’t a move done with the midpoint deadline in mind since Golden State has boat loads of cap space. The Valkyries needed to create another roster spot for when Rupert officially arrives.

Clark, Fever get best of Bueckers, Wings in first pro matchup of WNBA stars

The highly anticipated matchup between Clark and Bueckers was originally supposed to take place on June 27 in Dallas.

• Associated Press,

The Week Ahead

This upcoming week is a shortened one because of the All-Star break that begins on Thursday July 17 and runs through Monday July 21 with games picking back up on July 22.

While there are only three days of regular season games this week, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great matchups to watch right before the break. The Phoenix Mercury have a really difficult schedule leading into the break and as do the Golden State Valkyries. All of their matchups are must-see. Also, the Indiana Fever’s first trip to the loud and rowdy Brooklyn crowd at Barclays Center to take on the Liberty on Wednesday night will for sure be a game to circle.

The WNBA All-Star Game itself probably won’t be super competitive on Saturday night, but expect the three-point contest and skills contests on Friday night July 18 to be super-competitive. Insurance company Aflac is giving $60,000 to the winner of the three-point contest and $55,000 to the winner of the skills contest in addition to the much smaller purse that the WNBA provides to the winners of those contests.

Sabrina Ionescu and rookie Sonia Citronare currently the only confirmed participants in the three-point contest, although it wouldn’t be shocking if Caitlin Clark joins the fun with All-Star weekend taking place at her team’s home in Indianapolis.

Phoenix Mercury @ Golden State Valkyries

(Monday July 14 at 10 p.m. ET on League Pass)

The Valkyries will be going into this game coming off a tough 104-102 loss on Saturday on the road to the Aces. The Mercury, however, will play for the first time in five days. Phoenix will be without Kahleah Copper (right hamstring) and Satou Sabally (right ankle) but will continue to integrate recent signee DeWanna Bonner into their schemes. Can Mercury point forward Alyssa Thomas continue her hot streak which included a 29/8/5 statline in their last game, defeating the Lynx, the league’s top team, 79-71? Thomas will likely have to contend against the physical defense of first time All-Star Kayla Thornton in addition to the raucous Golden State crowd also known as “Ballhalla” to extend their edge in the WNBA standings over the Liberty.

Phoenix Mercury @ Minnesota Lynx

(Wednesday, July 16 at 1 p.m. ET on League Pass)

The Mercury's schedule only gets harder before the All-Star break as they then jet off to Minneapolis for a rematch against the Lynx, a team they beat just a week prior in Phoenix. As of now, the Lynx remain undefeated at home, but their recent struggles against the Chicago Sky at home and on the road prove that the Lynx might have hit a mid-season lull after rolling through the majority of the first half of the regular season. Since losing wing Karlie Samuelson to a Lisfranc injury for the rest of the season on June 29, the Lynx have had to play six games since, the most games in that stretch of time across the league.

Golden State Valkyries @ Seattle Storm

(Wednesday, July 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET on League Pass )

Both the Storm and the Valkyries have been incredibly inconsistent in the past couple of weeks of play. In that span, the Storm have lost to the Mystics, the youngest team in the league with the second-worst overall offensive rating. The Valkyries defeated the Fever handily 80-61 last week but then also fell in close games to both the Dream and the Aces. The last time these two teams battled, the Valkyries clobbered the Storm 84-57 and then previously in mid-June Golden State defeated Seattle 76-70. Golden State has struggled to win on the road, only winning three games on the road, including two against the Sparks in Los Angeles. Their first road win outside of the state of California came on July 9 against the Fever.

Indiana Fever @ New York Liberty

(Wednesday July 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBSSN)

The Fever will play at Barclays Center for the first time this season after splitting their two home games against the defending champs in the Liberty previously. In the first game between these two teams, Jonquel Jones powered the Liberty with a 26/12 double-double. But then once Jones had gone down with a sprained right ankle, the Liberty struggled without her, and Caitlin Clark exploded scoring 32 points in a 102-88 win over New York that kept the Liberty out of the Commissioner’s Cup Final. While Jones most likely won’t play on Wednesday as she continues to recover and ramp up her conditioning, the Liberty have found ways to win without her since the Fever last played them.

2025 WNBA All-Star Game: Team Collier @ Team Clark

(Saturday July 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC)

Both Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark are All-Star captains for the first time in their careers for the 2025 WNBA All-Star game. Collier’s team on paper looks a lot more balanced with much more size and versatility including Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike and Paige Bueckers. Clark’s is a team that probably will shoot a ton of threes especially with Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally joining Clark from teams that put up a tad under 30 three-balls a game.

When both Clark and Collier chose their teams, they agreed to trade their coaches so that Cheryl Reeve could coach her own player in Collier. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello will coach Clark, Ionescu and her former player and first-time All-Star Kayla Thornton. Expect this game to be less competitive than the one from last year since Team USA won’t be put up against the WNBA All-Stars. When that happens during Olympic years, players who don’t make Team USA usually have a chip on their shoulders and show out. This year’s game will be much more about entertaining the fans who tune-in instead of trying to beat the players on the other side.

Koby Altman is the architect of a Cleveland Cavaliers team that won 64 games a year ago and will enter next season as a favorite to win the East.

That has earned him a contract extension that will keep him with the Cavaliers through the summer of 2030, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. This new extension adds two years to Altman's contract, based on reporting from the last time Altman signed an extension in 2022. Charania added that the team gave "general manager Mike Gansey and assistant general manager Brandon Weems, multiyear extensions."

Altman took over the Cavaliers in 2017, just ahead of LeBron James bolting for Los Angeles in 2018. He rebuilt this team through the draft (Darius Garland, Evan Mobley) as well as trades for players such as Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen. That team won 64 games last season and has won at least 48 each of the previous three seasons.

This season, the Cavaliers enter as favorites to win the East, but with plenty of doubters about their ability to make a deep playoff run after a second-round exit last season (Garland's turf toe turning him into a shell of himself had a lot to do with that). The Cavaliers have added Lonzo Ball as a backup guard and brought Larry Nance Jr. home.

Altman's Cavaliers are entering the luxury tax this season after years of avoiding it — the team is currently about $19 million above the second apron. That's not a place the franchise can stay long term, but for a year to make a title run in a down East, owner Dan Gilbert appears ready to foot the bill.

LAS VEGAS —It's Day 4 of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and it feels like we are on to Act II. The big stars all sat — no Dylan Harper, no Ace Bailey, no Khaman Maluach — and the focus is shifting to guys further down the bench. Here is some of what stood out to us on Sunday.

Collin Murray-Boyle makes his debut

A hamstring injury delayed the debut of No. 9 pick Collin Murray-Boyles, but the Raptors' latest addition at forward made his debut on Sunday.

"Was it worth the wait? Of course it is," Murray-Boyles said of finally getting to play. "Just to have the chance to be on the court, my first, I guess, NBA feel is amazing. Since my hamstring, that was probably my first time going in about... It's been a minute, probably a month and a half.

So, just to get back out there, get the feel out there again, it's amazing."

Boyles showed that the pre-draft scouting report on him was accurate. He showed off his handles with a nice spin move in transition. He had made a few strong defensive plays, including a block, one of which led to a putback dunk.

However, the concern about Murray-Boyles coming into the draft was his shot, and when he airballed his first two 3-point attempts that lived up to the hype, too.

"You're not going to make every 3, but obviously having the confidence to shoot the ball is something I've been working on," he said.

Murray-Boyles finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and eight personal fouls. He looked a bit rusty (as to be expected coming off an injury) but showed real potential. —Kurt Helin

Nets, Wizards many rookies

In a game that featured 10 players drafted in the first round over the last two seasons, none shone brighter than Drew Timme, the former Gonzaga star who went undrafted in 2023. He finished with 30 points and a handful of impressive highlights.

Did that dunk surprise you? Well, you weren't alone.

"I'm not gonna lie, I did not know I made it," Timme said with a laugh. "It's not really what I'm known for, but I get up every now and then."
Timme had 22 points on Thursday and has played well enough to earn consideration for a standard contract next season.

As far as the first-round picks in Brooklyn, all of them were impressive in their own way. Danny Wolf didn't score a ton, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and added three steals and four blocks while also hitting two three-pointers. There aren't many seven-footers who are this dynamic.

Egor Demin shot 4-of-10 on threes, which was a point of emphasis for him during the pre-draft process after he shot 27.3 percent from deep during his lone season at BYU. Denim is a special passer, and if he's able to shoot the ball consistently, he could be in for a big rookie season.

Alexandre Sarr wasn't great in Washington's first Summer League game, but he dominated against the Nets, nearly finishing with a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks. That improvement was something that Wizards coach J.J. Outlaw said they wanted to see from him.

"We wanted to see him be aggressive," Outlaw said. "We wanted to see him engaged. I think that you saw, you know, our guys really, really fed off of him. Anytime he's leading the way for us, we're going to have good nights."

Tre Johnson led the Wizards with 21 points and hit multiple tough shots. He's averaging 19.5 points while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor through two games. —Noah Rubin

Other notes from around Summer League

• Reed Sheppard's relatively rough day. Reed Sheppard once again led the way for the Rockets, finishing with 18 points in the loss to the Pistons. However, it certainly was a rougher performance for him than Friday night. A big reason for that was Daniss Jenkins. Most of Sheppard's points came when Jenkins was on the bench, and Sheppard finished with six turnovers while shooting 6-of-19 from the floor. That certainly isn't what Houston was hoping to see out of the third overall pick from 2024, but it speaks to the level of defense that Jenkins played. It wasn't a one-sided effort from Jenkins either; he led the Pistons with 23 points, and he dished out six dimes. —Rubin

• Orlando's Noah Penda shows promise. From the "guys I like Now that I've seen them file," Noah Penda, the French forward, impressed. The No. 32 pick last month, played more like a four than the wing he was advertised to be, but has a high IQ game and finished with nine points, 14 rebounds and some decent defense.

"He's just got a knack for where to be on the floor, his instincts are phenomenal. I thought his rebounding for us was huge today. His ability to pick up things on the fly," Magic coach Ameer Bahhur said. "We played him at the five today, which he had never done before. And so his ability to just kind of handle that and keep moving and jump right into it, I thought was phenomenal."

His shot is the question, he was 3-of-5 in the paint but 1-of-3 from beyond the arc. Still, you can see the potential as a point four who could stretch the floor someday.

"His versatility allowed us to use him as another ball handler to relieve pressure and bring the ball up the court," Bahhur said. "And he did a great job, whether he was at the four, whether he was at the five, he got us into what we needed to do and he helped us run our offense." —Helin

• Celtics Baylor Scheierman looks ready for his chance. Baylor Scheierman was buried in the Celtics' depth chart as a rookie — that's a team where breaking through as a wing is hard. However, next season the former No. 30 pick may get his chance.

He looked ready to take advantage of that chance Sunday at Summer League.

He finished with 13 points, and seven rebounds and assists. —Helin

• Detroit's Ron Holland, Chaz Lanier look good. Ron Holland came into the league as an athletic defender, but he showcased the development in his game against Houston. He dished out three dimes and had a handful of other passes that led to clean shots for his teammates, and he also knocked down two three-pointers. He shot 23.8 percent from beyond the arc during his rookie season, so if he can improve that mark, he can make a huge impact for the Pistons next season.

Chaz Lanier knocked down four three-pointers in the game. He should help make up for Tim Hardaway Jr. signing with Denver and Malik Beasley under investigation for betting on NBA games. The second-round pick out of Tennessee has six triples in two Summer League games. —Rubin

• Pistons' Daniss Jenkins someone to watch. This is what Summer League is about — undrafted, unheralded players putting on a show and getting noticed by decision makers around the league. The Pistons' Daniss Jenkins is doing just that.

A year ago, Jenkins went undrafted out of Rick Pitino's St. John's, and he spent most of last season as the point guard of the Motor City Cruise of the G-League. He put up impressive numbers there — 18.5 points and 6.4 assists per game — and at Summer League, he has stood out. In the Pistons' first game, he had 18 points and hit 3-of-5 from 3 (shooting was a question mark), and on Sunday, he scored 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3.

The Pistons have an open roster spot and an open two-way contract. Jenkins is a name to watch. —Helin

• Mavericks shut down Cooper Flagg. This shouldn't be a surprise, but after a 31-point outing in his second game, the Dallas Mavericks have shut down Cooper Flagg for the rest of Summer League.

This is the way of Summer League, for teams the risk of injury outweighs what a lot of these players can learn from the experience. Expect more stars to get shut down in the coming days. —Helin

• Knicks Pacome Dadiet is interesting. The Knicks used a late first-round pick (25th) a year ago on French wing Pacome Dadiet, who got in 18 games for them as a rookie who was seen as a project. Watch him play and you can see the draw, he is a fluid athlete. His shot is still a work in progress — he shot 3-of-11 in this one — but you can see the attraction. —Helin

LAS VEGAS — In his second game in Las Vegas, Cooper Flagg showed he was too good for Summer League, dropping 31.

The Mavericks agree and are going to shut Flagg down for the remainder of Summer League, reports Marc Stein.

This isn't a surprise, top picks who perform well (or, sometimes even when they don't) only tend to play a couple of Summer League games. For teams, the risk of injury to their new multi-million-dollar investment outweighs what they might learn in what can be a chaotic, relatively unstructured game. Expect a few more of these announcements.

Flagg struggled with his shot in his opener against the Lakers, shooting 5-of-21. That's the concern heading into the season for him, the consistency of his ability to create space and knock down jumpers against NBA defenders. He looked better against the Nets, despite being hounded by a quality defender in Carter Bryant, and finished the game with 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting and 13 trips to the free throw line.

Flagg got better game-to-game, and that's what the Mavericks wanted to see. And they have seen enough.

LAS VEGAS — LeBron James created quite a buzz when he walked into the Thomas & Mack Center to watch his son Bronny play at Summer League for the Lakers (and Bronny is looking pretty good).

However, despite the vibes fans may get from headlines and social media, LeBron is not generating much buzz in Las Vegas about his potential trade or exit from the Lakers as one might think. It's a topic, but one that often relatively quickly turns to shrugs. That's because the dynamics are understood, and there is no clear endgame. Here's where things stand.

• The Lakers are looking past LeBron now to their Luka Doncic future, but believe they can contend with that duo this season. LeBron understands the Lakers' focus but also understandably may not be happy about it. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst wrote about this recently:

James understood the Lakers taking advantage of an opportunity to pivot to the younger superstar. But from James' perspective, sources said, nuance was sometimes lost during the transition. Doncic had never asked to be a Laker. James, for his part, had chosen L.A., coming in 2018 when the team had missed the playoffs five consecutive seasons, the worst run for the franchise since it moved from Minneapolis. Two years later, James had helped deliver a 17th championship.

[LeBron's agent Rich] Paul also had to formally inform the Lakers that James intended to pick up the final year of his contract after the team did not engage in any substantial discussions about extending him by a year or two, sources said, as they had done twice previously during James' Lakers' tenure.

• LeBron would have to request a trade to make it happen (he has a no-trade clause) and has not done so. What's more, Paul "hasn't even discussed the possibility of wanting a trade in the future" with the Lakers, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said during the broadcast of the Lakers’ Sunday Summer League game. Because he has a no-trade clause, LeBron would have leverage and complete control over any trade process.

• Four teams did reach out to Paul to at least kick the tires on a LeBron trade, McMenamin added.

• The challenge in finding a trade is that LeBron wants to contend and be in a city and with a franchise of his choosing. He could stay in the Western Conference, but then he would still have to beat out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant and Houston, Nikola Jokić and an improved Denver roster, Anthony Edwards and Minnesota, and the list goes on and on. He could try and force a trade to the East, but the deals to New York or Cleveland or wherever would gut those rosters of depth and make those teams considerably older with a very short window (for example, the Cavaliers Darius Garland for LeBron swap makes them 15 years older and it's debatable how much better, if at all).

What sparked all this was Paul's statement to ESPN's Shams Charania when LeBron exercised his player option for this season.

"LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

"We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what's best for him."

Ultimately, what's best for him this season, where he potentially can contend, may very well be staying with the Lakers. This is a 50-win team that comes together for a full training camp and now has a center in Deandre Ayton, the Lakers are going to be good (if they can get enough stops).

That's not going to stop the headlines, however.

LAS VEGAS —Two courts, eight games, there is a lot to see the first weekend of the 2025 NBA Summer League Las Vegas. Here are a few notes and the highlights we saw.

Bronny James showing improvement

The hype around Bronny James has not subsided. As evidence, for the marquee game of opening night of the Las Vegas Summer League, the NBA chose to match the second-year player and No. 55 draft pick against No. 1 pick and rising star Cooper Flagg. The league saw that as its biggest draw (and it was right, the game was the fourth-highest-rated Summer League game ESPN has ever shown).

Ignore the hype. On the court, Summer League serves as a measuring stick for players. Their first year sets a baseline, but when they return, the question becomes: Do we see the improvement?

We do with Bronny James. He looks considerably improved.

Bronny has looked strong in transition, but the most noticeable improvements are in the half court. His handle has improved, and with that has come some confidence. His court vision and decision-making may be what has made the biggest leap.

"His passing out of the pick and rolls and really seeing," Lakers Summer League coach Lindsey Harding said of Bronny's improvement. "And it's not just the pass to the big rolling, it's if the low man comes over, he sees the man in the corner. Right? It's the whole floor. And I think it's easy to see one read, but, like, he's developing everything else. Understanding where everyone else is on the floor and where their defenders are coming from."

There is still work to be done if Bronny wants to become part of the Lakers' rotation, with the biggest being that his shot needs to improve. In Saturday's game against the Pelicans, Bronny got inside and was 4-of-6 shooting in the paint, but was 1-of-5 on 3-pointers. That follows a trend, through all of Summer League Bronny is 4-of-18 from 3.

What the Lakers are trying to do with Summer League is get Bronny more reps, especially in higher-pressure moments.

"We want him to play on the ball. We want him to play off the ball. Especially in tight moments," Harding said. "I like the ball in his hands and I want him to make those decisions. You can go through as many drills as you want, but nothing beats live. So, when you're live, you make your decisions, and then you also learn by film."

Bronny is learning, he is improving, and it shows on the court.

Fan favorite in Vegas? Yuki Kawamura

Cooper who? Bronny, are you kidding?

The fan favorite at Summer League is Yuki Kawamura, the 5'8" Japanese star who is playing for the Bulls in Las Vegas — and making plays that light up the crowd.

Kawamura was the shortest person with an NBA contract last season (a two-way with the Grizzlies) and he got in 22 games for Memphis. Before that, fans might remember him playing for Japan in the Paris Olympics, where he averaged 20.3 points and 7.7 assists per game.

He's playing all out and putting on a show in Vegas, trying to earn another shot in the NBA.

Other notes from around Summer League

• Check out Noah Rubin’s story from the battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 picks, Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper. It was a good day for Flagg — and Carter Bryant.

• Jeremiah Fears is fun to watch. Jeremiah Fears' buckets are entertaining.

His misses are also entertaining — and there were a lot of them. Through two games in Las Vegas, Fears is 9-of-33 shooting (27.3%). He plays without, well, fear and will take he hard shots, but he looks a little sped up at Summer League. The efficiency should come with time.

• Maxime Raynaud will be heard. Maxime Raynaud wins the award for most vocal player at Summer League. The 7-foot French center who played last season at Stanford was a second-round pick of the Kings, is constantly calling out opponent plays on defense, trying to alert his teammates to what is coming — and he is not quiet about it. This is a good thing. Raynaud signed a three-year, $5.9 million contract with Sacramento. He will be there in the fall, and fans will hear him.

• Edgecombe still out. The 76ers VJ Edgecombe has yet to make his Las Vegas Summer League debut due to a thumb injury. Will we see him, or will the 76ers just shut him down for the remainder of Summer League?