Category: NBA

Singer Este Haim said she, sister Alana Haim and Taylor Swift were surprised by the mass attention their matching blue and orange shirts received at Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 10.

During a Tuesday interview with Variety, Este shared the behind the scenes of their “magical” night on Celebrity Row at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history over the Spurs in Game 4.

“I mean I think it surprised all of us,” Haim told Variety while at the Los Angeles premiere of “Voicemails for Isabelle” on Netflix on Tuesday. “I just went into being like were going to go to a basketball game and have fun, thats literally it.

Este Haim on her viral "Stevie Knicks" t-shirt and getting invited to MSG by Taylor Swift. pic.twitter.com/QbjIrUbjR4

— Variety (@Variety) June 17, 2026

“Taylor invited me and Alana. I’ve never sat courtside ever, so it was a magical experience.

“I’ve never heard the Garden be that loud in my life. It was amazing. I had the best time.”

The Haim sisters and Swift sported blue shirts with Knicks-coded puns on the front in orange.

Swift’s shirt said “Stevie Knicks,” which was a nod to the legendary singer, who she’s been friends with for some time.

Este’s shirt, “Knickole Kidman,” was a reference to actress Nicole Kidman.

Alana donned a shirt with “Knickelback,” a twist on Canadian rock back, Nickelback.

They were courtside with actress “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay — a close friend of Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson — who also donned a “Stevie Knicks” shirt.

Swift, Este and Alana were seen jumping up and down in the back hallways of MSG with the Knicks’ Seventh Ave Squad — the team’s entertainment team — after the Knicks rallied from a 29-point hole in the third quarter to beat the Spurs 107-106.

Swift, who owns multiple properties in New York City, and her fiancé, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will tie the knot at MSG on July 3.

The couple reportedly paid nearly $3 million to rent out the world’s most famous arena for three days.

The voice of the Knicks will be the voice of their championship commemoration.

Mike Breen, the Hall of Fame broadcaster, will emcee Thursday’s ceremony at City Hall, The Post has learned.

Breen, 65, will also be part of the parade down the Canyon of Heroes after calling play-by-play for Knicks either on the radio or TV since 1991.

For his national gig on ESPN, Breen called the title-sealing Game 5 in San Antonio.

“It’s over! It’s over! Knick fans, this is not a dream!” Breen said as the clock ticked down on the Knicks’ 94-90 win, a victory that gave them their first title since 1973. “Your long, long wait is ended. Go ahead and cry: after 53 years, the Knicks are finally NBA Champions once again!”

Breen, who grew up a Knicks fan as a Yonkers product and Fordham alumn, understood the moment before it happened.

“I do know what it would mean to the city and to the fans of the city,” he said during a pre-Finals conference call. “It might be one of the great moments in the history of New York sports if they win because of what the fan base has gone through and how loyal they’ve been to the team.”

The parade is set to kick off at 10 a.m. at Battery Park. It travels down Broadway and ends at City Hall, where Breen will take the microphone.

Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing will finally get their parade.

The Knicks’ biggest legends, among other team alumni, will travel down the Canyon of Heroes during Thursday morning’s championship parade in lower Manhattan, The Post has learned.

Frazier led the Knicks to two titles more than 50 years ago, but he and his teammates never partook in a parade. In 1970, the Knicks were honored with a ceremony at Gracie Mansion.

In 1973, roughly 2,000 fans joined them at a celebration at City Hall.

During this run that broke the franchise’s 53-year championship drought, the Knicks welcomed back several former players to games at Madison Square Garden, including Bill Bradley, Bernard King, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Jeremy Lin, among many others, including Ewing, John Starks and Allan Houston, who are each currently employed by the team.

Ewing, who brought the Knicks within one win of a championship in 1994, will now be showered with confetti on Broadway, a quarter-century after that long-awaited moment seemed lost to history.

“It means everything to the city,” Ewing said after the Knicks clinched the championship in San Antonio. “It was a magical run, all the things they were able to accomplish.”

Mike Dunleavy outlines Warriors' philosophy for second round of 2026 NBA Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the 2026 NBA Draft approaching, there are many questions surrounding who the Warriors will take at No. 11 overall.

But what does Mike Dunleavy have in store for Golden State’s second-round pick, locked in at No. 54?

“I think the approach on the second round for us has been not to overthink it, you’re looking for a guy that can just make it,” Dunleavy told reporters during his Wednesday press conference at Chase Center regarding the upcoming draft. “You don’t worry about position, you don’t worry about size, you don’t worry about age, you’re picking, for example, late 50s, it’s hard to make it to the NBA that far back in the draft.”

The Warriors have found recent success in the second round, drafting players such as Gui Santos, Quinten Post and Will Richard.

“If there’s a guard that we think could make it and it’s just going to mean we have more guards, you just got to do it because the rest of the guys if you try and pick for position at that point you could go wrong,” Dunleavy told reporters. “So I think the focus is just, which guy has the best chance to make it, let’s get him in our program, develop him, get him to Santa Cruz a little bit and see where it goes.”

That development path is exactly what turned Santos, a No. 55 overall pick in 2022, into a real contributor. He spent his entire rookie season in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 13.7 points per game over two seasons there before earning a consistent role in Golden State.

With Stephen Curry entering what could be one of his final seasons, every value pick matters more than usual for a Warriors roster trying to maximize what’s left of his prime — even one as far down as No. 54.

While the second round might not hold all the answers to the team’s recent struggles, Dunleavy’s philosophy suggests there could be a diamond in the rough waiting to join the Warriors in 2026.

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For the foreseeable future, the Knicks are New York's team. It's not surprising, then, that the Yankees want to get a piece of that action.

The ballclub announced Wednesday, June 17 that NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and teammate Josh Hart will throw out the first pitches at that night's game against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium.

The ceremonial tosses will come a little more than 12 hours before the Knicks will be feted with a parade through Lower Manhattan's so-called "Canyon of Heroes," proceeding north on Broadway to City Hall.

Brunson averaged 32.8 points during the Finals as the Knicks won 15 of their last 16 playoff games, losing only Game 3 against San Antonio at Madison Square Garden. Brunson has pulled off first pitch duty in the Bronx as recently as 2024.

Brunson, Hart and Mikal Bridges, famously, were teammates at Villanova during the late 2010s.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks champs Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart to throw out Yankees first pitch

The Los Angeles Lakers have been searching for a long-term answer at center for years. Now, one of their favorite targets may suddenly be available.

According to sources and confirmed by the California Post, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler is increasingly frustrated with the organization over the handling of his contract situation, creating an intriguing offseason storyline for a Lakers team desperate for size, rim protection and a frontcourt partner for Luka Dončić.

According to sources, the Jazz offered Kessler a 5-year contract worth around $140 million, which would come out to $28 million AAV. That would make Kessler the 10th-highest paid center in the league, just below Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein ($28.5M) and ahead of Milwaukee’s Myles Turner ($26.6M).

However, sources say Kessler’s camp is not thrilled with that offer and is wanting signifcantly more, this putting the two sides at odds.

The development is notable because the Lakers have pursued Kessler before.

Utah has repeatedly rebuffed trade inquiries for the 24-year-old center, who has emerged as one of the NBA’s premier young defensive big men. But with tensions now reportedly simmering between player and team, a path that once seemed completely closed could become more realistic.

Kessler checks nearly every box on the Lakers’ wishlist.

At 7-foot-1, he provides elite rim protection, strong rebounding and efficient finishing around the basket. He is also viewed as an ideal fit alongside Dončić, whose ability to create lob opportunities helped turn centers like Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford into highly productive offensive weapons in Dallas.

Even after a shoulder injury limited him to just five games last season, Kessler averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals while shooting 70.3 percent from the field.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently highlighted Kessler as one of the most intriguing names to watch during free agency.

“The Lakers do badly need a high-level starting center,” Windhorst wrote. “The two best ones on the free agent market this summer, Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler, are restricted free agents, and their teams have indicated they want to keep them.”

Windhorst noted that Los Angeles could attempt to pressure Utah by presenting Kessler with an aggressive offer sheet.

“The Lakers could try to work with Kessler — a defensive specialist with excellent size who has been far apart from the Jazz in contract talks since last summer — to try to stress the Jazz with an offer sheet,” Windhorst wrote.

He quickly added a warning.

“But that’s a dangerous game.”

Because Kessler is a restricted free agent, Utah retains the right to match any contract offer. League insiders still largely expect the Jazz to do exactly that.

Still, for a Lakers team that has spent years searching for a dominant young center, the fact that Kessler’s relationship with the Jazz appears strained is enough to make this one of the offseason’s most compelling situations to monitor.

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The Knicks enter the 2026 NBA Draft with picks No. 24, No. 31, and No. 55. Depending on how the board falls, Tarris Reed, Jr. could be available when New York is on the clock. Should the Knicks consider him?

The Basics

• School: UConn
• Position: Center
• Height: 6’10” (Measured 6’9.75” barefoot at the 2026 Combine)
• Weight: 263 lbs
• Age: 22 (Turns 23 in August)
• 2025-26 Stats: 14.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 61.0% FG, 0.0% 3P, 62%
• Projected Draft Range: Late first to early second round (Picks 24–40)

The Numbers

On the surface, Reed profiles as a traditional, retro low-post center. But deeper investigation of his senior season under Dan Hurley at UConn shows a highly modern interior engine. Reed posted an efficient 61% field goal percentage, largely because he understands his limits and dominates the restricted area.

The advanced metrics that stand out are his defensive and playmaking indicators. Reed grabbed nine boards per game with a strong defensive rebound percentage, but his defensive utility is what pops: he averaged two blocks per game, anchoring the paint using his massive 7’4.25” wingspan and a 9’2” standing reach.

Perhaps the most surprising evolution in Reed’s game is his passing. Jumping up to 2.3 dimes per game as a center isn’t an accident. He logged an impressive eight-assist game against Georgetown in the Big East tournament, showing he can act as a high-post hub or find cutters out of short-roll scenarios. The red flag remains at the charity stripe, where a 62% free-throw mark (and a total lack of three-point shots) confirms he is strictly an interior finisher.

What Does He Do Well?

• Interior Physicality & Screen Setting: Reed is absolute bruising. At 263 pounds, he sets bone-crushing screens that create massive separation for ball-handlers. He creates extreme roll gravity because defenders must respect his strength as he barrels toward the rim.
• Elite Rebounding Motor: He doesn’t rely solely on height; he understands boxing out and using his lower body to carve out space. He is relentless on the offensive glass, generating second-chance opportunities through pure effort and physical dominance.
• Short-Roll Passing & Processing: Unlike many traditional college enforcers, Reed doesn’t suffer from tunnel vision. When teams blitzed UConn’s guards, Reed caught the ball at the free-throw line and quickly mapped the floor, hitting weakside shooters or dumping it off to baseline cutters.
• On-Ball Interior Defense: While he won’t explode out of the gym with raw vertical leap, his 9’2″ standing reach makes him a wall at the rim. He handles post-up threats with ease, holding his ground without fouling, and rotates with exceptional timing.

Concerns?

• Limited Vertical Explosiveness: Reed is a below-the-rim athlete in terms of explosiveness. His 29.5” standing vertical at the combine shows that he wins with positioning and length rather than jumping over people. This raises minor questions about how his finishing will translate against elite NBA shot-blockers.
• Zero Floor-Spacing Capability: The shooting is entirely non-existent from the perimeter. He didn’t make a single three-pointer this past season, and his sub-optimal free throw shooting indicates that a reliable mid-range or pick-and-pop jumper could be years away.
• Perimeter Switchability: While Reed has nimble feet for a guy his size, he will struggle if isolated on an island against the NBA’s quickest elite guards. He would flourish in a drop scheme, and matching up against modern, highly skilled stretch-bigs who pull him out to the arc will be a challenge.
• Age: Turning 23 shortly after draft night means Reed is older than your typical prospect. Teams might view his ceiling as relatively capped compared to an 19-year-old developmental big. But how old was Tyler Kolek when Leon Rose drafted him? We’re obliged to mention it, but age probably won’t be a big deterrent.

The Knicks Fit

Reed is a physical, blue-collar enforcer who thrives on doing the dirty work that impacts winning. The Knicks have a need for dependable, low-mistake interior depth off the bench, and Reed fits like a glove. Unlike a raw developmental project who needs two years in Westchester, Reed spent two seasons under Dan Hurley playing a highly disciplined, demanding style of basketball. He understands defensive rotations, values every possession, and sets the exact type of physical screens that Jalen Brunson loves to exploit. He would be a safety net at the five spot, giving the Knicks a rugged interior presence who can be a physical rebounder and pass out of the short roll.

NBA Comparison

• Best-Case Comparison: Isaiah Stewart / Day’Ron Sharpe
• Median Outcome: Michael Cage with a passing gene
• Low-End Outcome: Reggie Evans / Modern Enforcer off the bench

The Verdict

Pass at 24, Draft at 31.

If the Knicks keep both picks, taking Reed at No. 24 might feel like a slight reach given his lack of vertical explosiveness and spacing. However, if he is sitting there on the board at No. 31, run don’t walk Leon.

For our other Draft Profiles, go here.

Go Knicks!

When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Sam Merrill to a contract extension and let Ty Jerome walk, it raised a lot of eyebrows. It created unnecessary discourse around who they should have let walk in free agency when they could have retained both at the expense of going further over the second apron. Merrill’s 2025-26 season showed why the Cavaliers invested in one of the league’s purest three-point shooters.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Regular Season Stats

• 12.8 points
• 2.6 rebounds
• 2.4 assists
• 46.1% FG
• 42.1% 3PT FG
• 85.5% FT

Merrill is arguably one of, if not the most straightforward, grades on this Cavaliers roster. The question boils down to “how well did Merrill shoot the ball in 2025—2026?” The answer to that question is very well.

It was not only that Merrill had his highest three-point percentage since his rookie season, but also that he accomplished this feat while shooting the highest number of attempts from the perimeter in his career.

If one word could describe Merrill’s past season, it is confidence. It takes a certain mindset to blindly fire from the perimeter as Merrill did. There is a sureness with his approach, combined with the ability makes him a one-man wrecking crew to opposing defenses. I’m not saying Merrill was the Cavaliers’ version of Steph Curry, however, the way that his presence can bend a defense is a difference maker alone.

Merrill is an active shooter; he does not sit idle in the corner and wait for the primary ball-handler to generate his looks for him. When Merrill is on the floor, he is arguably the most active player, constantly forcing opposing defenses to keep their eyes on him as much as any star the Cavs have in lineups with him.

What separated Merrill’s 2025-26 season from others is that it felt like the Cavs optimized Merrill as a player. They featured him in a way that previous versions of the team didn’t. This was best shown once the Cavaliers acquired James Harden at the trade deadline.

Harden passed the ball most to Merrill of anyone on the Cavs, averaging nearly 10 passes a game. James Harden and Merrill are an intriguing example of how Merrill’s game is far from just a floor spacer. Their partnership evolved into these convoluted pick-and-roll or pop actions where their basketball IQ would stand out almost instantly.

When players like Harden immediately take note of how dynamic a player Merrill can be, it validates the investment made into Merrill at the beginning of the season. The Cavaliers made the correct choice of extending Merrill and keeping his elite skills in house. As the Cavaliers look forward, it’s safe to say that Merrill will continue to play an integral part of the offense and motion of it.

Grade: A

To get a sense of how universally beloved Victor Wembanyama was before playing a single second of NBA basketball, look at the way the best players in the world described him ahead of his first professional minutes. 

“An alien,” said LeBron James.

“I think he’s going to be one of the best to play this game,” added Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Wembanyama had a higher approval rating than pizza and puppies when the San Antonio Spurs selected him first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft out of Le Chesnay, France. The 7-foot-4 center with an 8-foot wingspan walked into the league looking like a wacky waving inflatable tube man and became the first unanimous Rookie of the Year since 2016, averaging 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds. Despite being a 20-year-old rookie, he led the league in blocks with 3.6 per game, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind fellow French big man Rudy Gobert. “Let [him] win it now,” Wembanyama said. “Because after that, it’s no longer his turn.”

Confident quips like that one — along with various philosophical ruminations — only worked to further endear Wembanyama to the basketball world and beyond. Legions of new fans from all over fell in love with his rare combination of brash competitiveness, raw vulnerability, confidence, calculation, and, of course, his one-of-a-kind style of play. One couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the way he dominated the game on the defensive end, where the biggest, fastest athletes in the world veered away from him at all costs. 

Off the court, Wembanyama was unafraid to stand out in historically unmasculine ways. “Personally, I refuse to carry the burden of having to hide my emotion,” he said after crying on the court following a big Spurs win. In a league full of guarded superstars who would rather act tough than stand out, Wembanyama’s vulnerability was a breath of fresh air. “He has a spine, guts, and heart,” NBA journalist Michael Pina wrote. “To soberly possess such authenticity at that age, in front of the world, is special. It makes him such an easy player to bet on. He cares deeply.” The recognition only continued to build as Wembanyama won the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year award and finished third in MVP voting after leading the upstart Spurs to 62 wins and a spot in the NBA Finals this June. 

However, over the past few weeks, people have started to turn on Wembanyama. Though it started with Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks fans, it wasn’t just egg-gate — basketball fans everywhere are suddenly turning on the NBA’s golden child. “I cannot stand this guy,” basketball podcaster David Jacoby said on “The Zach Lowe Show.” “I hate his outfits. I hate his face. I hate his hair. I hate everything about him.” 

The question is, why? 

Is it because Wembanyama is a frontrunner — a rare exception in being considered the world’s best basketball player before winning a title? Is it because he’s a bully, throwing elbows and jabs at opposing players without facing repercussions from the NBA? Or because he’s too full of himself? Too corny? Too calculated? Or is it simply because he has the conviction to parade around with his dogs out in the Garden? 

Wembanyama the frontrunner

On May 18, despite coming into Game 1 of the Western Conference finals as significant underdogs to the reigning NBA Champion Thunder, Wembanyama became just the fifth player in NBA history to drop 41-points and 24-rebounds in a playoff game. The Spurs won the double-overtime classic, 122-115, with Wembanyama looking like the best player on the floor over two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Typically, an athlete isn’t crowned as the best player alive until they win the big one, especially in basketball, where one player can affect the game in so many different ways. But Wembanyama is different. “The best player in the (expletive) world,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle announced for all the world to hear in a postgame interview on NBC. And it wasn’t just him: basketball analysts and former players were equally loud about Wembanyama now having the claim to basketball’s throne.

It was clear to anyone watching that he was on his way there. But now? At age 22? For some, he was being punctually recognized. For others, it was too much praise too fast, resulting in him becoming overrated. “Wemby ain’t the one, yo. Y’all crowning Wemby too fast,” radio host and culture critic Charlamagne tha God said on “Breakfast Club Power 105.1.” “I don’t see the dominance yet.”

Wembanyama the bully 

Wembanyama’s frustration had been mounting throughout the postseason, where he was subjected to more contact than anyone since prime Shaquille O’Neal. And it boiled over during the opening minutes of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, when Wembanyama shoved Knicks star Jalen Brunson to the floor despite the ball not being anywhere in their vicinity. 

“I hate him. He’s a bully,” Knicks fan and head of content at The Ringer, Sean Fennessey, said on the “Bill Simmons Podcast.” “He’s dirty, like it’s very obvious; you can watch clips from the game, he plays like a bully, and he’s not being officiated like a bully, and it’s annoying. So, it’s hard to watch the series.”

Knicks fans like Fennessey had a legitimate gripe: Wembanyama already accumulated two flagrant fouls earlier in the postseason, most notably for losing his temper and elbowing Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid in the head during their second-round series, which resulted in an ejection but not a suspension. A third flagrant would have put him one short of a one-game suspension in the NBA Finals — a death knell as far as the NBA’s surging ratings were concerned. And while the league had an opportunity to retroactively upgrade the clear violation to a flagrant foul, they chose not to. “It’s just better for the league if there’s six games or seven games instead of four games, and so it’s hard not to think that when you’re watching the game,” Fennessey added.

The tinfoil hats came out, and anyone rooting against the Spurs was quick to point out that the NBA was protecting their golden child, who brought so many new, global eyeballs to the game that he could do no wrong. The animosity only grew from there. 

Wembanyama the tryhard  

After missing a buzzer-beating jump shot that would have won Game 2 of the NBA Finals for the Spurs, Wembanyama needed to decompress. “The Playoffs, it’s like… a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water,” he said. “I need some time off, let my brain cool down, recover. Recover as much for the body as for the mind.”

Last Sunday, in between Games 2 and 3, he went to Gramercy Park in lower Manhattan with his sister, Éve, to sketch. All of a sudden, his park rendezvous became the main storyline, with hilariously inaccurate hypotheses flying about regarding the calculated, pretentious superstar. “He’s corny as fuck,” one Knicks fan said to the Channel 5 YouTube channel. “And he’s just trying way too hard to make a storyline for himself.”  

Finally, after the Knicks won Game 5 of the NBA Finals and put an end to their 53-year championship drought on Saturday, Wembanyama returned to the Spurs locker room without shaking hands with his opponents. It drew the ire of fans and players alike, with four-time NBA Champion Draymond Green saying, “Look your killer in the face. You got to look them in they face… and so to see them walk off the court, it was disheartening.” 

But isn’t Wembanyama supposed to be different? Isn’t that what people liked about him in the first place? 

Wembanyama the product of the internet age

It’s clear that people are turning on Wembanyama for the same reasons they originally fell in love with him, from his awe-inspiring feats of athleticism to his brash competitiveness to his quirky hobbies. These characteristics endeared him to people until they didn’t. It begs the question: Is it possible that Wembanyama changed during the postseason, behaving in a more distasteful way? Or is there something about the postseason spotlight that changed the way we think about him?

One could argue that he brought the villain narrative onto himself, going out of his way to provoke Knicks players and fans. There’s no doubt that Wembanyama enjoys being an agitator at the center of the basketball universe, growing increasingly disdainful of the media as the postseason went along before saying “see y’all… never” at his final press conference of the season. But it’s not so simple as to say Wembanyama chose villainy for himself. 

Wembanyama isn’t the modern NBA’s first villain, and he won’t be the last. Just a few weeks ago, Gilgeous-Alexander had a similar fall from grace. After ethically working his way up the basketball ranks from an undersized underdog in Hamilton, Ontario to the best player on earth, he was framed as an unskilled flop-artist who was ruining basketball (and the future of the sport). What do Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander have in common, other than the fact that they are both foreigners? 

They are both products of the internet. 

An unfortunate truth of the modern world is that people increasingly encounter reality through “algorithmic feeds built to warp reality, on platforms with every commercial incentive to keep users scrolling,” culture and technology writer Lane Brown writes in a Vulture story titled “The Feed is Fake.” Now that everything an athlete says or does can be recorded, cut up, aggregated, and misrepresented online through bad-faith actors who understand that extreme content gets rewarded, celebrity athletes like Gilgeous-Alexander and Wemby are subjected to the internet and its hot-take machinery finding something they don’t like about them and drumming it up until it becomes a story.

“On social media, popular opinion is being formed, measured, and manipulated all at once,” Brown continues. “And every signal the platforms produce — a trending song, a backlash, a talking point, the feeling that ‘everybody’ is suddenly talking about the same thing — can now be fabricated by unseen actors with hidden agendas.” As hateful content gets drummed up by the algorithm, trust in journalism declines and good reporting disappears behind paywalls, the average fan and media member are forced to look towards the comment sections for a sense of what’s being said. Talking heads pick up on that and bam! You got a snowball of negativity becoming too big to stop because on the internet, hate rises to the top. 

It happened to Gilgeous-Alexander. And now it is happening to Wembanyama — and it will only get worse. Next season, the French Freak will be back in San Antonio with more tricks in his bag and more haters magnifying and criticizing his every move.  Because in the modern NBA, the true sign of superstardom isn’t rings or MVP trophies: it’s hate and villainy. Get used to it.

Depending on how the board falls, North Carolina big man Henri Veesaar could be available when New York is on the clock on draft night next week. Should the Knicks consider him with their 24th or 31st selection?

The Basics

• School: North Carolina (transferred from Arizona)
• Position: Center
• Height: 7’0″
• Weight: 227 lbs
• Age: 22
• 2025-26 Stats: 17.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 60.8% FG, 42.6% 3PT, 61.5% FT
• Projected Draft Range: Late first to early second round

The Numbers

Veesaar turned himself into a legitimate NBA Draft prospect after transferring from Arizona to North Carolina. He started all 31 games for the Tar Heels, averaged 17 points and 8.7 rebounds, and earned second-team All-ACC honors.

The most interesting numbers in Veesaar’s sheet are linked to his shooting. Veesaar made 42.6% of his 94 three-point attempts, showing real catch-and-shoot touch for a 7-footer. He hit spot-up threes, trailer threes, and pick-and-pop looks, giving scouts the stuff of their dreams heading into the NBA in what looks like a smooth transition to the pro game.

Veesaar was also extremely efficient near the rim, converting more than 75% of his half-court attempts at the basket. He added 2.1 assists per game against 1.7 turnovers, showing enough passing feel to operate as more than a standstill stretch big.

That mix of shooting, touch, passing, and size explains why ESPN’s mock draft has Veesaar going to New York with the No. 24 overall pick as a late first-round selection.

What Does He Do Well?

• Floor Spacing: Veesaar’s jumper is his cleanest NBA skill. He shot 42.6% from three at North Carolina and looked comfortable on catch-and-shoot attempts, especially above the break and in pick-and-pop situations. For a 7-footer, that kind of shooting would do wonders for spacing his team’s offense.
• Pick-And-Roll Versatility: He can roll, pop, slip screens, and make quick reads after catching the ball. Veesaar already understands timing and angles, which helps him find soft spots in the defense instead of relying only on power.
• Touch Around the Rim: Veesaar is not an explosive athlete, but he has soft hands and comes with reliable finishing. He can do it all in the paint from hooks, layups, floaters, and quick catches around the basket, but not so much flashy dunking.
• Passing Feel: Veesaar showed strong high-low chemistry with phenom Caleb Wilson at UNC and made smart reads from the short roll, post, and perimeter. He is not a hub-style creator, but he can move the ball quickly and punish rotations.
• Rebounding: At 227 pounds, he is not built like a traditional bruiser, but he averaged 8.7 rebounds and showed solid fundamentals on the defensive glass. He reads the ball well and uses his reach effectively.

What Are the Concerns?

• Strength and Physicality: This is the biggest negative factor to considering using a pick, let alone if the Knicks move one of their selections, on Veesaar. He needs to add 15 to 20 pounds without losing mobility, which is never guaranteed to happen smoothly. Right now, stronger NBA centers could move him off spots, seal him deep, or knock him off balance on rolls and post touches.
• Defensive Translation: Veesaar is not an elite rim protector. He blocked 1.2 shots per game, but his impact comes more from length and positioning than verticality in the paint. NBA teams may question whether he can anchor a defense.
• Ball-Screen Defense: He struggled at times when switching onto guards and was not always active enough in drop coverage. He can play too upright, which creates problems against quicker ball-handlers.
• Free Throw Shooting: His three-point shooting was excellent, but the 61.5% free-throw mark is a small concern. It does not erase the jumper, but it does make the shooting projection slightly less automatic. And it’s not that the Knicks haven’t already had their fair share of Mitch’s issues there…

The Knicks Fit

The Knicks enter the 2026 NBA Draft with picks No. 24, No. 31, and No. 55. Veesaar makes sense if New York wants a frontcourt piece who can give the second unit a different offensive look than the one built around Mitchell Robinson.

In fact, Veesaar is the total opposite to Mitch: not a vertical lob threat or solid defensive anchor. Veesaar is closer to the other side of the Robinson archetype: a skilled stretch big who can space the floor, pass from the middle, finish with touch, and keep offensive possessions moving.

That matters for a team built around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, however, as Veesaar could function as a backup center who keeps the floor open, gives guards room to attack, and allows the Knicks to run more five-out or pick-and-pop actions with the bench.

The concern is whether New York can live with the defensive questions. Would Mike Brown trust a young big who cannot hold up physically, communicate in coverage, or survive playoff matchups? Veesaar would need strength development and probably would not be a finished product as a rookie.

Still, if the Knicks believe their strength staff can add functional weight to his frame, the offensive upside is obvious. Skilled 7-footers who shoot, pass, and finish efficiently are not easy to find late in the first round.

NBA Comparison

• Best-Case Comparison: Kelly Olynyk (Skilled stretch big who shoots, passes, plays from the elbows, and survives despite his subpar defense)
• Median Outcome: Mike Musical (Foor-spacing backup big whose shooting and offensive feel keep him useful, but whose defense limits his role)
• Low-End Outcome: Frank Kaminsky (A skilled college big whose shooting, touch, and passing flashes at times, but whose defense and strength cap his NBA career and end up cutting it short)

The Verdict

Think about it at 24. If a higher-upside wing or guard is still available, the Knicks may be better off prioritizing athleticism, defense, or shot creation. Veesaar’s defensive questions are real, and the Knicks should not ignore them if they want a plug-and-play prospect to bolster next year’s rotation.

Draft him at 31. Veesaar is worth serious consideration if he reaches the Knicks’ second selection, especially if New York wants a cost-controlled stretch big with real offensive skill. The value here is obvious, and the Knicks should pounce, as Veesaar is the next-bext 7-footer in the whole draft after lottery-bound Aday Mara. Veesaar has the size, shooting, passing and touch to appeal a pro franchise, and is coming off a productive high-major season. He may never become a defensive anchor, but he could develop into a useful rotation center who gives New York a different kind of frontcourt option.

For our other Draft Profiles, go here.

Go Knicks!

Timing is a big part of free agency. Teams that are trying to preserve cap space so they have maximum flexibility often make what may look at first like surprising and perhaps head-scratching moves, then when all the smoke clears things get rectified…

That is basically what Keith Smith wrote for Spotrac Tuesday He reported that the Nets are unlikely to exercise team options on four free agents. Smith predicted that Sean Marks & co. will decline team options on Day’Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams, Josh Minott, and Malachi Smith, saving the franchise a little more than $15 million in cap space … then likely re-sign them when the smoke clears.

Here’s what Smith reported this on Sharpe, Williams Minott and Smith.

• Day’Ron Sharpe – $6.5 million team option: Just like a year ago, the Nets would like to keep Sharpe. However, in order to maximize cap space first, they’ll decline Sharpe’s option. But don’t rule out a plan to re-sign him after Brooklyn’s other offseason work is completed.
• Ziaire Williams – $6.5 million team option: Everything we wrote about Day’Ron Sharpe applies to Williams as well.
• Josh Minott – $2.6 million team option, contract then becomes non-guaranteed: Minott still has rotation potential. For the Nets, who are likely to have a lot of cap space, it doesn’t make sense to keep Minott on this deal. This option will be declined, but Brooklyn could re-sign Minott later.
• Malachi Smith – $2.1 million team option, contract then becomes non-guaranteed: Smith showed some stuff after a late-season callup. But, once again, the Nets want to maximize their cap space. Smith will have his option declined, but he could be back on a new deal later in the summer.

How much cap space could Brooklyn have in making those moves? Last week, Yossi Gozlan reported the number could approach $50 million. He also suggested how the Nets could move once they finish dealing with whatever bigger free agency or trade opportunities come along.

 [T]he Nets could get up to a maximum of $47.9 million in cap space by declining team options and waiving non-guaranteed players. That would include the $6.25 million team options for Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams. They could decline both players and re-sign them to new deals. They could also decline both to maximize cap space, then re-sign one of them with the $9.4 million room mid-level exception afterward.

Gozlan also wrote about how the Nets could use the Room MLE, particularly on Sharpe.

Third Apron projects Sharpe’s true annual value to be at least double his current salary, but the Nets may still aim to minimize a potential early raise. As mentioned earlier, they could decline his team option and renounce his cap hold to maximize cap space. They could then bring him back with the $9.4 million room mid-level exception after exhausting cap space, re-signing him for up to three years and $29.5 million. That would still feel like a favorable deal for Brooklyn, so perhaps Sharpe would prefer another two-year deal for a quicker chance to earn more money.

As for his take on Minott and Smith, Gozlan wrote this:

The Nets could also decline the team options of Josh Minott and Malachi Smith if they need extra room. It would make sense to decline Smith since he would be restricted, and they could re-sign him to a new multi-year deal or bring him back on a two-way contract. Minott, on the other hand, would be unrestricted, but they should still be able to bring him back at a minimum salary if they’d like.

Beyond the team options, based on history, he said he doesn’t expect Brooklyn to extend Noah Clowney this off-season, preferring instead to have him enter next summer as a restricted free agent.

If there is an extension to be done, it would probably land slightly above the mid-level exception range, with a starting salary no larger than his $16.2 million restricted cap hold in 2027. That is so they could maximize their 2027 cap space in case they don’t add any significant long-term salaries this season.

History suggests there won’t be an extension between Clowney and the Nets. They haven’t signed a player to a rookie-scale extension since Taurean Prince in 2019.

No matter what, the 22-year-old Clowney will be paid $5.4 million this season, the last on his four-year rookie deal. Unless things change, he will be one of seven Nets players on rookie deals in 2026-27. Clowney, the Flatbush 5 and whoever they take at No. 6 will make a total of $35.1 million. That’s 21.3% of the $165.0 salary cap next season for basically half the 15-man roster, yet another indication of how much flexibility Brooklyn has going into free agency.

Welcome to our annual Lakers season in review series, where we’ll look back at each player on the team’s roster this season and evaluate if they should be part of the future of the franchise. Today, we wrap our series with a shift away from the players and towards the head coach, JJ Redick.

Maybe it’s a product of the internet-fueled brain rot that distorts the passage of time these days, but it feels like five years have passed since the debates about JJ Redick’s qualifications to be an NBA head coach, spurred on by his post-playing days podcast career and never having coached at any level beyond his grade-school-aged sons’ teams.

Or maybe it’s the fact that after two full NBA campaigns under his belt, Redick has so quickly and thoroughly dismissed those concerns as irrelevant, it seems like ancient history that ever mattered in the first place.

Either way, it’s no small feat that Redick has put all of that talk behind him to the point that it is hard to imagine him doing anything else besides coaching now. Consecutive 50-win seasons and playoff appearances with home court advantage in the first round do have a way of shifting the perception of a coach under the type of scrutiny Redick was just two years ago.

The degree to which this matters at this point may not be very much at all.

After all, I think JJ would be the first to tell you that, beyond even the wins and losses, he simply wants to be judged on whether he has maximized the group of players he coaches in a specific season. But the fact that we’ve gotten to that point with Redick at all this early into his career is worth mentioning as meaningful — and the fact that this seems to be the only standard he’s being held to at all now even more so.

Yes, there have been growing pains and things have been far from perfect, but I think it’s abundantly clear now that Redick is viewed only as a coach. And, after two seasons, it’s fairly clear he’s a pretty good one.

How did he coach?

Coming off a rookie season that saw his roster upended by a franchise-altering trade, Redick’s second year was also a challenging one due to injuries and player availability impacting a roster that, even with multiple holdovers, did introduce three new rotation players, including two starters.

Whether it was LeBron missing all of training camp and the team’s first 14 games with sciatica, Austin Reaves missing substantial time with two calf strains and an oblique injury, and Luka Dončić missing the team’s final five games and the entire playoffs with a hamstring strain, Redick had to navigate a season where his best three players rarely played together and, when they did, were adjusting to the ever-shifting roles borne from that lack of shared court time.

Redick, though, handled this deftly, creating an environment where roles were backed by communication, understanding, and belief in the players’ abilities to take on whatever was put in front of them. This was exemplified both by the team’s incredible month of March and then in the team’s playoff upset of the Rockets.

In the former, a string of good health was backed by a redefined pecking order that saw Redick cater to Dončić and Reaves as his primary ball handlers and shot creators while LeBron took on a more supportive role as an off-ball worker who focused on doing more with less. Credit the players — particularly LeBron — for being able to adapt on the fly, but Redick also deserves his flowers for formulating this sort of plan and for having the wherewithal to organize the team in a way that, in one stroke, optimized the group while also diminishing the role of a player whose reputation and cachet is as substantive as LeBron’s.

And then, in the latter playoff stretch, with both Dončić and Reaves injured, Redick not only turned back to LeBron as an on-ball creator and primary leader, but crafted offensive game plans that prominently featured Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard as primary scorers and ball-handlers and defensive schemes meant to play into Houston’s lack of experience and guard play by pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers.

In essence, Redick took two totally different groups with different strengths on both sides of the ball and created environments where both experienced great success. Because this is a player’s league and the Lakers were obviously led by historically great individual players, Redick really did not get the credit he deserved in real time. But hindsight really does reveal how much of a strong coaching job the dichotomy of these two stretches required.

Overall, then, it’s more than fair to say that Redick had an excellent year coaching.

He wasn’t perfect by any means and you could certainly nitpick some of the decisions he made over the course of the year, but there were very few, if any, times where I could honestly say I didn’t understand a choice he made, even if I disagreed with it. Which, honestly, is all you can ask for from a coach as an outsider. Can this be explained rationally? If the answer is yes, you don’t have to agree.

Further, I’d argue there was a general adaptability and willingness to change course when something wasn’t working, which really mattered towards the team’s success this year.

Whether it was the aforementioned reorienting of the team’s hierarchy around Luka and Austin or the ultimate shift he made to bring Rui off the bench in favor of Smart, Redick often got to where he needed to be with this roster rather than stubbornly sticking to ideas that would have been easier to stomach politically. And while it’s fair to wonder if he could have done some of these things sooner, I think it’s more important you get there eventually — because some coaches never do.

So, credit to Redick. He still has learning and refining to do, but the trajectory he’s on is positive and I believe in where this team can go with him as the head coach.

What is his contract situation moving forward?

By all accounts, Redick is under contract for several more seasons after receiving a contract extension following his first season that reportedly tacked on two more years to what was originally a four-year deal. That would leave Redick with four years still on this deal now, which positions him well to be the Lakers’ coach for the foreseeable future.

Even beyond that contractual security, though, it is also clear that Redick has a strong relationship not only with Dončić, but with LeBron and Austin. This sort of alignment with your team’s best players can often mean more than the number of years left on your deal or even the sort of support you might have from your general manager.

Should he be back?

Unequivocally, yes. While this is clearly Luka’s team from the player side of things, Redick feels nearly as indentured as the team’s head coach. And just as the team will clearly try to acquire the sorts of players who best complement Dončić and his skill set, I also believe the team will target players who fit into how Redick wants to play while possessing the character and skill set that Redick has established as pillars for the team.

You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegoldand find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.

Depending on how the board falls, Spanish guard Sergio de Larrea could be available when New York is on the clock on draft night next week. Should the Knicks consider him with their 24th or 31st selection?

The Basics

• Team: Valencia Basket (Spain’s Liga ACB)
• Position: Guard
• Height: 6’6″
• Weight: 204 lbs
• Age: 20
• 2025-26 Stats: 8.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 40.9% FG, 36.7% 3PT, 81.3% FT (in ACB play)
• Projected Draft Range: Late first to early second round (Picks 25–35)

The Numbers

De Larrea has built one of the cleaner international profiles heading into the 2026 NBA Draft. He played meaningful professional minutes for Valencia Basket in Spain’s ACB and a bit smaller role at the EuroLeague. In any case, he gave scouts more than a large sample against professional, older, stronger, and truly more experienced competition for the past few months.

His ACB production stands out because it came in a rotational role, with De Larrea averaging around 18 minutes per game while shooting 36.7% from three and 81.3% from the free-throw line. At the end of the day, however, this is a guard whose value is found in his passing and decision-making.

De Larrea averaged 3.6 assists per game in ACB action, showing good court vision and building him into one of the more intriguing bigger guards in the class, and the best guard outright coming from overseas. That said, De Larrea is not a high-volume scorer or explosive downhill athlete. But he has size, polish, shooting indicators, and something the Knicks might like in his professional experience, giving him a strong baseline.

Making things more intriguing is the fact that the Knicks have already been linked to him, as Jake Fischer reported New York’s interest in the Spanish guard, writing, “I’m told that the Knicks, like the Timberwolves, have interest in Spain’s Larrea.”

What Does He Do Well?

• Advanced Playmaking: De Larrea’s biggest appeal is his feel. He sees passing windows early, plays with pace, and can operate in ball-screen actions without rushing. At nearly 6’7”, he can see over smaller guards and make live-dribble reads that many late-first prospects cannot consistently make yet.
• Reliable Shooting: The shooting profile looks a bit of a work-in-progress, but his three-point shooting in ACB play, combined with his free-throw touch, gives him a strong foundation as an NBA spacer in time. He can punish defenders who go under screens, hit spot-up looks, and operate away from the ball.
• Positional Size: De Larrea has legitimate guard size. He is big enough to play next to a smaller lead guard and skilled enough to handle secondary creation duties.
• Professional Polish: He has already played in a structured European system against veteran competition, both at the domestic and continental levels. That does not guarantee immediate NBA success, as we very well know around these places, but it lowers the developmental risk compared to prospects who still need to learn some basics of the pro game.

What Are the Concerns?

• Limited Burst: De Larrea is not an explosive athlete. He does not consistently win with a lightning first step, and NBA defenders may test whether he can create separation without a screen.
• Physical Strength: He still needs to add a good deal of strength, which matters as a finisher, ball-handler under pressure, and defender against bigger NBA guards and wings.
• Defensive Ceiling: His size will help on D, but he is not a high-level defensive disruptor for now. De Larrea projects as a smart positional defender more than someone who blows up actions with elite athleticism.
• Scoring Creation: De Larrea is more of a connector than a takeover scorer. He can shoot, pass, and make smart reads, but he is unlikely to become an offensive engine.

The Knicks Fit

The Knicks enter the 2026 NBA Draft with picks No. 24, No. 31, and No. 55, and there has already been reporting that New York could look to move one of its first-rounders if only to save themselves some dough.

If the Knicks keep one of their late first-round picks, de Larrea fits the type of cost-controlled, high-IQ contributor who makes sense for a team smacked right in the middle of their contending window and coming off winning a championship. De Larrea would not need to dominate the ball at all, could play next to Brunson, splitting minutes with Deuce McBride and Tyler Kolek, and function with the second unit while honing his skillset in Tarrytown and watching from the pine most of the time.

The most obvious angle to consider regarding the little Spaniard has to do with the Knicks’ long-term roster building. If New York wants to maintain some flexibility while managing an expensive championship core, a late-first/early-second rookie who can provide guard depth on a controlled contract has real value.

NBA Comparison

• Best-Case Comparison: International Malcolm Brogdon (Steady guard who wins with strength and decision-making but lacks burst)
• Median Outcome: Tomas Satoransky (Tall European guard who can pass, organize, play on or off the ball, and survive as a rotation player without scoring that much)
• Low-End Outcome: Frank Ntilikina (Welp)

The Verdict

Pass at 24. New York may have access to higher-upside prospects, especially if someone like Meleek Thomas, Isaiah Evans, Chris Cenac Jr., or Morez Johnson Jr. slips. But at No. 31, de Larrea’s combination of size, shooting, passing, and professional polish is hard to ignore.

Think twice at 31. If Sergio de Larrea is still on the board when the Knicks pick early in the second round, he makes some sense. The Spaniard may not have star upside nor a legit role during his first days in Manhattan, but that is not necessarily what the Knicks need right now. De Larrea profiles as a smart, skilled, low-maintenance guard who can help a good team stay organized, space the floor, and develop into a reliable rotation piece. We don’t know what will happen to Deuce McBride once his deal expires, and the only long-term option at the point is Tyler Kolek. Considering de Larrea will likely be gone at No. 55, the Knicks would need to make a tough decision here.

For our other Draft Profiles, go here.

Go Knicks!

The Celtics may not be sitting still at No. 27.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, Boston is looking to trade up in the first round of next Tuesday’s NBA Draft. The Celtics currently hold the No. 27 pick and the No. 40 pick, but Fischer reported that they have been exploring a move higher on the board.

While Boston continues to loom as a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo landing spot, sources say the Celtics are looking to trade up in the first round of next Tuesday’s NBA Draft from their No. 27 pick.

More draft-related trade chatter here: https://t.co/Eo7hQWa9Iyhttps://t.co/9mZJaNBA1V

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 17, 2026

There are two obvious ways to read that.

The first is pretty straightforward: Brad Stevens and the Celtics may have found a player they like and do not believe he’ll be there at 27. That is the normal draft-week explanation.

The louder version is the one you’re probably already sick of hearing about. We’ll get to…him…later.

Maybe the Celtics are trying to jump a few spots for a frontcourt prospect they think fits the next version of the roster. Or perhaps they’re trying to improve their draft capital before the rest of the offseason starts moving. Maybe they are doing both, because Brad Stevens has never seemed like someone who enjoys having only one door available to him.

Either way, Boston exploring a move up feels like the first move in what figures to be a busy offseason.

Who could Boston be targeting?

Henri Veesaar feels like the cleanest name to watch.

ESPN’s latest mock draft has the North Carolina big going No. 24 to the Knicks, which puts him close enough to Boston’s range for a trade-up conversation to make some sense. At 7 feet, with shooting touch and pick-and-pop potential, Veesaar checks a lot of the obvious boxes for a Celtics team still trying to solve its frontcourt issues.

ESPN’s latest Mock Draft has the Lakers selecting Henri Veesaar with the 25th overall draft pick, a center out of North Carolina

He is the #3 ranked center on ESPN’s Top 100 Prospect List for the 2026 class and shot 42.6% from three last season 👀 pic.twitter.com/xyoNwaFpCx

— LakersMuse (@LALMuse) May 16, 2026

A big who can keep the floor spaced, rebound enough and do more than simply occupy space would give Boston a better answer than hoping the current rotation solves itself.

Jayden Quaintance is another interesting name if the Celtics are comfortable with the medical risk tied to his knee. If Boston wants to jump higher, names like Chris Cenac Jr., Hannes Steinbach and Morez Johnson Jr. could come into play, but that would require a more aggressive move. Aday Mara is probably the dream version of the idea, though ESPN has him at No. 11, which feels like a different conversation entirely unless something much larger is about to happen.

If the Celtics stay put, Tarris Reed Jr. could still make sense as a more physical, ready-now big. But if Fischer’s report is tied to a specific frontcourt target, Veesaar is the easiest name to connect.

My big fat Greek trade rumors

You didn’t think we were getting through a Celtics offseason report without Giannis Antetokounmpo showing up, did you?

Fischer’s note also mentioned Boston as a team very much still looming in the Giannis conversation, which gives the trade-up report a second layer to consider. Moving up could be about drafting a player. It could also be about improving the quality of an asset before a larger deal takes place.

A better first-round pick is more attractive than No. 27 in almost any trade conversation with the Bucks. That does not magically make a Giannis deal realistic, simple or even likely. Nothing about acquiring a player of that caliber is ever straightforward. But if Boston is trying to keep every door open, turning No. 27 into something slightly more appealing would at least fit the larger logic of the offseason.

That is probably the cleanest way to look at this for now. The Celtics are trying to give themselves more options.

Maybe they want to move up for a big who can help answer the frontcourt question. Maybe they want a better asset before taking a bigger swing. Maybe nothing happens, because draft-week rumors have a long history of being just that: rumors.

Still, for a team with limited easy ways to improve, exploring a move up makes sense.

The Celtics can stay at No. 27 and hope the board cooperates. Or they can try to make sure it does.