Category: NBA

Chicago Bulls legend Stacey King’s cause of death has been determined.

A spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told the California Post on Monday that the three-time NBA champion died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease — an issue caused by long-term high blood pressure.

Obesity was a contributing factor and the manner was natural, the rep added.

King, who turned into a beloved Bulls broadcaster following his NBA career, died on June 7 at his home in River Forest, Ill., and in announcing his passing, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf called him “a cherished member of the Bulls family and one of the truly unique personalities in our organization’s history.”

“We will miss him deeply,” Reinsdorf said, “and remember the joy, energy, humor, candor, and passion he brought to our organization, our broadcasts, and our fans every day.”

King joined the Bulls in 1989 after he was selected with the sixth overall pick in the draft.

Playing alongside Michael Jordan, the 6-foot-11, 230-pound power forward won rings in three of his first four seasons as a Bull.

King’s time as a player in Chicago ended in 1994 when he was traded to the Timberwolves in a deal that included Luc Longley. He went on to play in the league until 1997, logging minutes for the Heat, Mavericks and Celtics.

In retirement, he stepped into the Bulls’ broadcast booth, and quickly became a fan favorite, coining phrases like “gimme the hot sauce!” and “sriracha!”

“Stacey loved being a Bull,” Jerry Reinsdorf’s son, Michael, said in a statement at the time of his passing. “You could feel it in everything he did — the way he played, the way he called games and the way he connected with our fans.

“He had a unique gift for bringing people together and making every game feel personal. He brought an energy and love for the game that came through in every broadcast, helping fans feel connected to our team. Whether it was through a broadcast, a conversation or a photo with a fan, Stacey made people feel seen and valued.”

King was 59 years old.

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Kevin Durant is still in his feelings about his legacy on the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors already won the 2015 championship, and had just blown a 3-1 lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals following a record-breaking 73-win regular season when Durant hit free agency. Durant signed with the Warriors, which was only possible through a one-time salary cap spike in addition to Stephen Curry being signed to a cheap rookie extension. Golden State would win the championship the next two seasons with Durant being named NBA Finals MVP both years, but his rings never got the respect they deserved as fans accused him of taking the easy way out.

Now 10 years later, Durant turned a question about the Philadelphia 76ers’ offseason additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown into a defense of his decision to join the Warriors. Durant said “The last time three 20+ point scorers were together on a team, they said it was unfair.” Durant also said next season’s Sixers are better than the 2017 Warriors on paper.

As fans continued the debate in the comments section on social media, Durant chimed in again to rip his former Golden State teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Green immediately responded by saying Durant forgot he wasn’t on his burner account, which he has a long history of using to defend himself and criticize his teammates.

Thompson posted a screenshot of Durant’s Instagram comment, and asked why he used his full name to take a shot at him.

Green came over the top on Threads, and said Durant must have thought he was on his burner.

I fully believe that Draymond is right here. Durant probably thought he was on his burner when he left this comment. Would he really bash Klay and Draymond like that in public? It’s such a bad look.

Why is Durant equating prime Steph Curry with broken down Joel Embiid? Why is he compared his prime self to 42-year-old LeBron James? Why does he only care about offense? Honestly, no one is buying KD’s argument.

Durant joined a team that won a championship and had just broken the league’s all-time wins record. The Sixers haven’t reached the conference finals since 2001. I put Philly at No. 5 in my preseason power rankings, and even that felt like a little bit of an optimistic placement. When KD went to the Warriors, it felt like no other team had a chance to even compete.

Draymond then used his podcast to keep the conversation going, saying Durant thinks basketball is only about buckets.

Say what you will about KD, but the man loves getting into hoop debates online. I think that’s cool even if it often feels like he crosses the line. You can talk ball without ripping your teammates, and this has now been a problem for Durant at multiple stops. He essentially threw his Rockets teammates under the bus in a Twitter group chat last season with no real consequences. Now he’s trying to diminish the greatness of two players who helped him win the only rings of his career.

Durant is in a tough position. The Warriors won championships both before he signed with the team, and then after he left to join the Brooklyn Nets. He still hasn’t won a ring outside of Golden State, and now he’s about to enter his age-38 season. KD is still an excellent scorer, but at this point it feels more likely than not that he retires with only two championships, both with the Warriors.

Durant needs to throw his phone in the ocean, and just enjoy being a super rich, super awesome basketball player who is still performing at a high level in his late 30s. The burner accounts are ugly, and in this case, it’s even worse when you forget which account you’re using. At a certain point, the relationships become the best part of championship runs. It sure seems like KD might not have a great relationship with Draymond and Klay.

As per Chris Haynes, the Toronto-New York pipeline continues with the Raptors’ acquisition of third year centre Trey Jemison, bolstering both the Raptors’ and Raptors 905’s frontcourt. Jemison himself has seemingly confirmed this with a post on his Instagram, showcasing a Raptors’ practice jersey emblazoned with the number 50.

Jemison has played for five teams throughout his NBA career, with his most notable tenure coming as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, where he started fourteen games in the 2023-24 season. Jemison averaged about ten minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans, though his usage slipped after joining the Knicks for their championship campaign.

Jemison is a non-shooting big man capable of some rim deterrence while delivering monstrous dunks at his opponent’s basket. At 6’10, the big man has a 7’2” wingspan, and makes use of that length when getting to the rim. The lob threat potential certainly seems here, as Jemison is athletic enough to get every bit out of his giant body, and could make for a great tandem working with Scottie Barnes. The lack of a jumper is, of course, unfortunate for a team that already struggles with spacing, which is something that fans see as the central need the Raptors have to address.

In many respects, Jemison looks on paper to be the antithesis of all of the struggles the Raptors have faced with Jakob Poeltl as their starting centre. Jemison is young, athletic, and looks ready to go. Of course, he will not be slotting into that starting job, and will have to earn his chops developmentally while deep on the depth chart. The Raptors seem to believe in their abilities to develop project centres, however, and I’m excited to see what the training staff does with him throughout the upcoming season.

Why Malevy Leons can earn meaningful Warriors minutes during 2026-27 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LAS VEGAS – Just like how waiting on LeBron James’ latest and presumably last decision in free agency affected the upcoming NBA schedule, so does the draft for the summer’s biggest showcase. 

Summer league schedules for Las Vegas aren’t made until after the NBA draft to ensure the biggest matchups can face off for our first peek into the future. Look at the first day of summer league this year as an example. 

AJ Dybantsa vs. Darryn Peterson. Darius Acuff Jr. vs. Keaton Wagler. Labaron Philon Jr. vs. Ebuka Okorie. Yaxel Lendeborg vs. Morez Johnson Jr. It was all there on Day 1. 

On Day 2, Cameron Boozer vs. Caleb Wilson was the main attraction. 

The rest of summer league tries to follow suit the best it can. After two straight games against former Michigan teammates, Lendeborg’s third game in Las Vegas was all about his matchup with Boozer. 

It also was the first game Warriors coach Steve Kerr attended this summer. Kerr, sitting next to Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and new associate head coach Frank Vogel, was engaged all game watching new and familiar faces. His eyes were all over Lendeborg cranking the volume on competitiveness and taking his battle against Boozer personally. 

But the most animated Kerr got was for someone on a two-way contract, not the No. 11 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Malevy Leons earned a fist pump, some happy claps and verbal praise for two very similar plays during the second quarter of an eventual blowout loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Leons took one shot in the first quarter, missing a three. He took three shots in the second quarter, again missing a three. His two makes, however, both came off non-stop motion that finished with a cut to the basket and converting a tough layup, with the second coming on Boozer. Those are the types of plays that translate to Golden State for Leons, and bring happiness to his NBA coach. 

“I love Malevy’s cutting and his crashing,” Warriors summer league coach Khalid Robinson said after the loss. “Last game, I think he had like five or six offensive rebounds. That is who he has to be in this league: An elite crasher and cutter, and then if he has an open shot, take it and make it.”

The number of offensive rebounds that Leons engulfed the previous game was six, to be precise. 

That game was supposed to be all about Lendeborg facing another former Michigan teammate in Oklahoma City Thunder center Aday Mara, who was taken one pick after him in the draft. And it mostly was in ugly game where the Warriors won by 25 points. Lendeborg scored a game-high 14 points, and Mara had 10. 

They combined for the same amount of rebounds as Leons (11). He didn’t stop moving, and his nose for the ball sniffed out rebounds every which way. Leons grabbed five rebounds on the defensive glass and six on offense, which was one fewer than the Thunder had as a team. 

“It’s very contagious,” LJ Cryer of Leons’ rebounding after the win. “Offensive rebounds in the game are backbreakers, especially in a game where we didn’t really have it going for a little while. When the game is slow and ugly like that, it can kind of break the other team’s spirit. He’s big for us.”

Leons’ six offensive rebounds led to an extra six points for the Warriors against the Thunder, and a much bigger number of extra chances. 

Tenacity is a word Leons has to live by on the court. The possession battle is top of the pyramid in basketball, making Leons’ play style important for a variety of reasons. 

“It’s really important, because crashing is a big role in the NBA right now, and if you can do that consistently with a lot of energy it helps you when you’re trying to get a spot in the league,” Robinson said. 

The Warriors signed Leons from the Thunder’s G League system in December. He had played six NBA games previously and played 25 for the Warriors while spending 19 in Santa Cruz. The Warriors would love for Leons to at least be a threat to make wide-open 3-pointers after going 4 of 16 last season (25 percent) and 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) over the summer, but that would be getting greedy for what Golden State is going to ask of him. 

Leons can be a Minutes Eater. For the Warriors, that can be called a Star Saver. Or maybe even a Volunteer for Vets. Call it what you want, the description is the same: Provide energy and activity whenever you’re on the floor, be reliable when the vets need a rest and be trusted upon over an 82-game season to have those games saved equal meaningful basketball at the end of the season. 

At 27 years old before the regular season begins, and at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and a never-ending battery, Leons fits the bill of what the Warriors need from the end of the bench on certain nights. His role doesn’t have to expand past its purpose, he just has to execute it.

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PLAYA VISTA, CA — Los Angeles will remain the place to be for NBA players during the summer moving forward.

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) unveiled a 24/7 Performance Center for the league’s players that will be made available during the season and offseason.

The NBPA stated that nearly 200 players spend part of their offseason in the area and the hub will help some of them come together during the practice and prepare for the upcoming season.

PLYRS UNTD, the commercial and fan-facing brand of the NBPA, will also attempt to coordinate runs twice a week during the offseason.

The player’s association has similar facilities like the one located at its New York headquarters and The Sanctuary, which serves as an offseason performance retreat for NBA players in Spain.

Once the Sixers officially sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they’ll have 14 players under standard contracts. Since they’re hard-capped at the first apron, they don’t have adequate money to sign a player to the veteran minimum. They could look to sign players on prorated contracts starting in December and using 10-days in January.

All this to say, this is likely the Sixers’ roster for opening night (though they do still have one more two-way spot they can fill).

Also, to get ahead of all of this — no, Jrue Holiday is not getting bought out from the $70M~ he’s owed over the next two seasons. And I strongly doubt the Sixers would waive Jabari Walker, a Klutch client, to bring back Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played basketball in a year.

Mike Gansey will certainly keep his eyes and ears open for any trade possibilities, but chances are, these are your 2026-27 Sixers (to start the season, at least). So, hit me with your questions below about where players fit, rotation thoughts or anything else on your mind!

Former Knicks two-way center Trey Jemison III is signing with the Toronto Raptors, per Chris Haynes. He will be getting the same two-way contract he had in New York.

Jemison’s career has taken him on a bunch of different roads since going undrafted in 2023 after spending time at Clemson and UAB in a long college career. He debuted with the Wizards in January 2024, but found a role on the fledgling Grizzlies down the stretch, where he averaged 7.4 points and 5,8 rebounds in 23 games.

It wasn’t enough for him to keep a roster spot the following season, splitting 38 games in 2024-25 with the Pelicans and Lakers as a depth big and bouncing around on two-way and 10-day contracts. He once again was unable to secure a standard deal when the Knicks came calling last September, but made the most of it as the fourth center on the depth chart.

He only got into 13 games and played a grand total of 82 minutes as a Knick, but found his way into the rotation on Opening Night due to injuries and stepped up at certain points in the season while holding it down in Westchester, waiting for a prolonged opportunity that never came. As a Knick, he scored a total of 13 points and 18 rebounds.

While he wasn’t allowed to play in the postseason due to his contract status, he stayed in the public sphere through his wife’s Instagram posts of the playoff run and was a big part of the ensuing parade, bringing around the NBA Cup trophy to all the fans behind the barricades. He was also, funny enough, the only non-rotation player to show up at the ESPYs.

Now he’s off to Toronto, where I’d honestly not be surprised if he played important minutes there. A center rotation of Jakob Poeltl, Colin Murray-Boyles, and Trayce Jackson-Davis might be the worst of any team who’s trying to contend.

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Social media speculation turned into unfounded internet rumor last weekend when Sports Illustrated’s John Karalis — a longtime veteran beat reporter — suggested that Brad Stevens lob a call into the Golden State Warriors to inquire about the availability of one Steph Curry.

Karalis wrote last week:

Could the Celtics get in on that?

The first thing to consider is that we don’t know what Curry’s market will be. We saw Jaylen Brown go for less than expected, and at Curry’s age, who knows how the bidding would go. He’s still incredibly effective, but the injuries tend to pile up for guys his age, especially ones who run as much as he does. 

I’ll come up with a package. It might be great. It might suck. But it’s what Boston can do right now, and where it lands on that spectrum depends on what others are offering. 

My trade package is going to be George, the picks acquired from Philadelphia, and Sam Hauser for Curry. 

It was a harmless hypothetical in the doldrums of the NBA news desert and Karalis clarified his comments after the idea caught fire, but it does raise an interesting question for Brad Stevens: how does the front office fill out the roster around Jayson Tatum as he enters his prime?

Paul George is in the max slot for now with next season guaranteed and a player option for 2027-2028. The 36-year-old probably isn’t the ideal running mate next to Tatum — the younger Jaylen Brown would make more sense in terms of basketball fit. However, if the short-term plan is to partner JT with an older veteran, who should the Celtics target?

In the twisted nature of how all the teams’ timelines are connected, Tatum’s best team-up could be all the players that have been already linked to Curry. It was rumored that to land LeBron James, the Warriors needed to deal for Anthony Davis first. That didn’t happen and James ended up with Brown in Philadelphia. Kevin Durant, of course, spent three seasons in Golden State and raised two Larry O’Briens.

And we threw in Kyrie Irving into the poll just to watch the world burn. Funny, not funny?

Vsevolod Ishchenko was the #56 pick in the NBA Draft this past June, selected by the Chicago Bulls. In rapid succession, his rights moved to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations, then on to the Dallas Mavericks, also for cash considerations.

With Dallas, Ishchenko came stateside to play in the Summer League where he logged time across five games, averaging 9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. With that, he also averaged 3.4 turnovers per game. His numbers – especially when considering he is a 21-year-old who joined a team of strangers in a foreign country for two weeks – were generally solid. However, the high turnover rate spoke to his adjustment to the NBA game, both in terms of size and speed. He certainly showed flashes and it’s reasonable to think he could develop into a rotation player in the future, but it is difficult to argue that he could use some more seasoning.

In respect of that seasoning, he was highly unlikely to get enough of it in Dallas this coming season. To that end, rumors now suggest he will be heading back overseas to play for Lokomotiv Kuban of the VTB United League in Russia. “Loko” is the same team he played for up until draft night, so this is a return home for him (literally and figuratively). As a result of the move, Dallas gets to stash him overseas to get more reps and playing time than he would at the NBA level, allowing him to develop further before potentially bringing him back at some point in the future.

The Mavericks tighten up their roster a bit with the move as well, getting down to a more manageable number required for the start of the upcoming season. Of course, more moves could be on the way, but for now Dallas managed their roster without pulling the trigger on a trade.  

As you can imagine, there is not yet an overabundance of news on a transaction like this, so we will continue to keep you posted with updates as they come. For now, feel free to comment below or join the ongoing conversation in the Feed.

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

It was announced that in 2028, a new WNBA franchise will reside in Cleveland, Ohio. In a live-stream unveiling on August 4th, a presentation group include Cleveland Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman, it was revealed what the newest chapter of Cleveland’s part in the WNBA.

The name decided upon is the Cleveland Sirens. The name was chosen “for Lake Erie’s power and pull”.

The last time there was a WNBA franchise in Cleveland, it was under the Cleveland Rockers, who eventually were dissolved as Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund no longer wanted to house the franchise.

For those hoping the Rockers would return in the unveiling, they were at least mentioned in the press release.

“Cleveland gave the world rock and roll, then brought that sound to the WNBA stage. Now, we’re back. With a different song. A louder one.”

Grant Gilbert spoke on that when there was polling and research poured into the design and naming of the franchise that the city was proud of Lake Erie and wanted to bring that pride into something new.

Siren’s president of basketball operations, Allison Howard, went on to describe the rationale and passion the creative team and fans of women’s sports have shared in this process.

“The Siren is very powerful, unapologetic, relentless. We see it as the epitome of power and the best team name. Even from the logo you can feel the energy and thunderous passion.”

“She is ready. This (unveiling) is really a testament to the fans in this building. She has been here, just like the fans of women’s sports. She is here and she is ready to usher in a new era of women’s sports.”

It was also unveiled that the team’s motto will be “Hear the Call”. Further details, including uniforms, will be announced at a later date to be determined.

The Celtics and several other teams await the appeals process following a shocking federal court ruling this past week that could allow Class of 2022 players like Dillon Mitchell to return to college for a fifth season. St. John’s would reportedly have a roster spot and interest in Mitchell’s return, according to Adam Zagoria.

Mitchell remains unsigned, another significant factor after a recent challenge by a former NBA player who signed a contract with a team fell flat. The Celtics, who typically leave their 15th roster spot open into the season, probably intended to sign Mitchell, their second-round pick, to a two-way contract worth $678,882 this year. Conversely, name, image and likeness (NIL) deals available to a college star in New York City could reach $1-million in value. For Mitchell, that’s part of the appeal of returning to college.

The Celtics have until Sept. 5 to make a contract offer that would maintain their rights to Mitchell over the ensuing season, but that only lasts until the subsequent NBA Draft. For what it’s worth, a longer look at the NBA CBA revealed a complicated outlook for Boston maintaining Mitchell’s draft rights should he return to college. It allows for a player to enter as many as two NBA drafts, an initial and subsequent draft. The Celtics’ exclusive rights to sign Mitchell would expire with the arrival of the 2027 draft, which Mitchell could then enter.

Mitchell’s return to college differs from a traditional draft-and-stash setup, because the CBA outlines a professional contract outside of the league as the pretense for a team indefinitely maintaining a player’s rights. That’s why the Hornets and the Knicks (following a trade) maintained James Nnaji’s rights after the former second-round pick joined Barcelona before successfully returning from draft declaration to college basketball himself last summer. Mitchell’s move would more closely mirror a player who decided to sit out one season rather than sign with the team that drafted him.

Of course, Boston and Mitchell, could agree to a contract ahead of that date, and still have the ability to sign a standard contract for this season worth roughly $1.4 million, which would keep the Celtics below the luxury tax threshold. The NCAA also expressed its intention to appeal the court ruling, which could factor in Mitchell’s decision. Returning to college would not only carry that uncertainty, but also push back a year of development within an NBA organization.

Mitchell would begin his professional career in a crowded mix of wings on the Celtics’ roster including Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, recently extended Jordan Walsh, Hugo González, Ron Harper Jr. and fellow rookie Chris Cenac Jr., who could play some minutes at the four. The team also signed undrafted rookie Tucker DeVries to a training camp contract. John Tonje, the team’s standout scoring wing during Summer League, left Boston for a two-year, two-way deal with the Trail Blazers.

DeVries has already played five college seasons. Milos Uzan, another Celtics training camp signing from Vegas, could also explore his eligibility for a fifth season.

Rick Pitino and St. John’s, who have a rare open roster spot, will undoubtedly hold out hope for Mitchell’s return after a Sweet 16 run powered, in part, by his emergence as a playmaker. The Celtics can trust that he’ll remain committed to Boston in one year. They expressed some surprise and excitement that Mitchell fell to them at No. 40, Mike Zarren even revealing that Boston considered moving up to acquire him, but the constantly evolving college basketball landscape could make that acquisition too good to be true.

The NCAA filed its notice of appeal on Sunday and the court gave both parties one week to brief the issue of pausing the ruling that would allow Mitchell to return for a fifth season. The court ruling came as a result of the NCAA’s five-for-five rule, which would start a five-year clock across five seasons from the date of beginning of a player’s eligibility. A federal judge ruled that should apply retroactively to players from the Class of 2022, like Mitchell, New York’s Tyler Nickel and the Grizzlies’ Richie Saunders who did not have a fifth year of eligibility.

The Celtics have signed 14 standard roster players and have second-year center Amari Williams, Mitchell, Uzan and DeVries in play for two-way deals into training camp late next month.

Once again, you guys delivered with a whole slew of questions for our mailbag covering a wide variety of subjects. So much so, in fact, that we’ve split it up into two parts once again.

There were a lot of questions about JJ Redick, the scheme the Lakers will run and things more or less related to coaching, which we’ll save for a piece tomorrow. Today, let’s tackle the other questions about Luka Dončić, Walker Kessler, the team’s offseason and potential breakout candidates.

It has certainly been interesting that the Lakers have continually not been linked to any power forwards despite having a glaring hole in that position on paper. In fact, they’ve gone out of their way to push back against a potential option in PJ Washington.

Could we be looking at it wrong, then? Maybe the team is focusing on Luka as a forward rather than a guard on defense, which could make things fall in place. It would resemble the 2019-20 Lakers, where LeBron was the point guard offensively and the four defensively.

Luka is obviously not a great point of attack defender, so moving him far away from that situation makes sense. He’s a good rebounder and putting him near the basket to grab and go would also have benefits.

But, as noted, the fact the team is targeting a wing and not a power forward seems to be one of the biggest indications of the team’s mindset.

For the first question, I think that’s something that hasn’t been discussed enough. Particularly when it comes to Walker Kessler, I think playing alongside an elite pick-and-roll ballhandler will be a huge boost. Even Austin Reaves is a great pick-and-roll guard, too. But we’ll talk about Kessler more shortly.

As you noted, though, Luka makes guys around him better. The Lakers seem to be banking on that as none of their signings were high-profile players. It’s a fair bet to make because Luka does make players better.

LA targeted some underutilized players like Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes with hopes of them increasing production. Luka certainly played a role in that calculation. Projecting how good they’ll be, though? That’s tough. I’m really intrigued by someone like Grimes in a bigger role.

As for the second question, I won’t give a player-by-player breakdown, but the Lakers definitely skewed more toward offense in free agency. They moved away Marcus Smart, their best perimeter defender last year, but did bring in Kessler, who should be an above average rim protector.

Outside of that, none of the players who departed or were signed are known for their defense. The Lakers seem more focused on building an elite offense.

Well, I can tell you that if the end goal is getting pundits to admit they were wrong, it’s a fruitless task.

Him not being an All-Star is something that was mentioned quite a bit after the trade, but being named an All-Star is a bit obvious as a way to prove doubters wrong.

I think being a defensive anchor for a contending team would go a long way in that. If the team is a top-10 defense and Kessler is available for at least 65 games, that would go some way in proving LA right.

I don’t look too much toward the offense because I think Luka can turn just about any serviceable big man into a viable threat in the pick and roll and Kessler is much more than that.

I was pretty surprised at how little the Lakers valued a lot of the role players from last year’s team. For example, given how highly they talked about him in the exit interview, I thought it was a certainty Luke Kennard would be back.

I would say I’m surprised they let Marcus Smart leave based purely on the contract he signed. But perhaps the team wasn’t ready to commit multiple years to him considering how banged up he is. They also had a pretty clear mission of getting younger.

That’s also why it was surprising they didn’t bring back Rui. I was a fan of him personally and would have liked for them to bring him back, but I also acknowledge he’s a player with very clear strengths and very clear weaknesses. But it would have definitely been interesting to see him in the starting lineup not alongside LeBron as the pair always felt a little redundant.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Send in your questions now for this week’s episode of The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast to discuss everything Pistons. Submit your question in the comments section here or on Twitter to @TheRealWesD3 and/or @BobbyBuckets313. If you’re on BlueSky, you can also send to @bobbybuckets313.bksy.social.

Join us live on Thursday with guest Sean Murphy as we play an “If, Then” game about cause and effect as we get closer to next season. What predictions/situations would you like us to discuss? What other questions do you have for the podcast?

Plus, The Pindown has a phone line where you can leave a message and hear your voice on the show. Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message around 45 seconds or less so we can fit everyone into the show.

The podcast will be uploaded to all audio platforms the following morning.

The Pindown: a Detroit Pistons Podcast Vitals:

When: Thursday, August 6th at 4:30 p.m. ET

Where: Detroit Bad Boys YouTube Channel

How to submit questions:

• Detroit Bad Boys Website: Comment section of the weekly Pindown episode articles.
• Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message to 45 seconds or less.
• Twitter: @detroitbadboys, @BobbyBuckets313, or @therealwesd3
• YouTube: Chat section of The Pindown live recording — Subscribe here

As always, leave any questions or topics you want to be discussed in the comment section below.

Go Stones.

Boston College has dismissed men's basketball radio broadcasters Kevin Collins and Josh Maurer ahead of the 2026-27 season.

In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 3, Collins said he and Maurer were dismissed from their roles on July 30, ending a multi-year partnership for the broadcasting duo. Collins had called Eagles games the past 13 seasons.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Watch college football US LBM Coaches Poll reveal. See who made preseason Top 25

"To say I am gutted would be an understatement. My (13-plus) year BC career spans 378 games, 3 coaches, and 4 athletic directors. Broadcasting BC Basketball was my dream job," Collins said in a statement. "... I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to Mike Winn, who supported me tirelessly as I grew in this industry. My partner, Josh Maurer, I love like a brother.

"Josh empowered me as an on-air broadcaster and for his faith in me, I am forever in his debt. Thanks to BC Nation and all the sicko's that stuck with us every game!"

Easily the hardest tweet of my career. Love you @JoshMaurerPxP and sorry it had to end this way 💔

Huge thanks to Mike Winn, Josh Maurer, and Danya Abrams for supporting and empowering me over the last 13+ years.

I will always be an Eagle 🦅 #WeAreBCpic.twitter.com/NoLKNhUN43

— Kevin Collins (@Kevin_R_Collins) August 3, 2026

Maurer, who additionally serves as a play-by-play radio broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers, has not made any public comments.

Awful Announcing reported the decision to fire Collins and Maurer came from Boston College first-year men's basketball coach Luke Murray, who reportedly wanted to remove anyone in the program with ties to the previous coaching staff.

Boston College athletic director Blake James said in a statement to the Field of 68 that administrators made the decision in consultation with their multimedia relations partner, Van Wagner.

"The decision to not renew the contracts of our men’s basketball radio announcers was made by Boston College Athletics administrators in consultation with our MMR partner. We wish both Kevin and Josh the best going forward," James said in a statement.

Boston College has not responded to a request for comment by USA TODAY Sports at the time this story published.

Murray, who had been one of the top assistants at Connecticut under Dan Hurley and helped the Huskies to back-to-back national championships in his tenure, was hired in March to rebuild the Boston College program that has gone 184-290 overall and 73-200 in ACC play over the last 15 seasons.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boston College dismisses longtime men's basketball radio broadcast crew: 'Gutted'