The Portland Trail Blazers — specifically new owner Tom Dundon, according to league sources — were unsure about bringing back acting coach Tiago Splitter and giving him the job full-time. They took their time deciding between him and several other finalists, while Dundon was focused on his NHL team, the Carolina Hurricanes, winning the Stanley Cup.
So the Chicago Bulls have swooped in and will hire Splitter as their new head coach, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN and confirmed by multiple other reports.
Splitter came to Portland last season, hired away after leading Paris Basketball to the French Cup. He became a top assistant coach on Chauncey Billups' Portland staff, then, when Billups was arrested as part of a federal gambling investigation, Splitter was tapped to become the acting head coach. In that role, he led them to a better-than-projected 42-40 season and a playoff berth in the West, and helped develop Deni Avdija into an All-Star.
The Portland players respected Splitter. He was a seven-season NBA veteran as a player who won a ring with the 2014 San Antonio Spurs. As a coach, he has shown a strength in player development — something seen in Portland last season with Avdija, Scoot Henderson and others — and something that has to be a priority in Chicago with a roster in flux.
While it seemed logical to keep Splitter in the big chair in Portland, Dundon reportedly wasn't a fan. While Splitter was a finalist for the Trail Blazers' job, he was part of a wide-ranging search by Dundon and the Portland front office to find their cost-effective coach. While that search dragged on, Splitter started talking to the Bulls, and that team's new head of basketball operations, Bryson Graham, liked what he saw. Splitter reportedly beat out Minnesota assistant Micah Nori, Atlanta assistant Ryan Schmidt and Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr. for the job.
Splitter takes over a Bulls team with a roster in transition, but led by quality players in Josh Giddey and promising young forward Matas Buzelis. There's a lot of roster changeover coming, but that will give Splitter the chance to build his own culture and playing style.
A representative for the Houston Police Department told The California Post on Monday that the NBA superstar was pulled over for some kind of traffic violation at 3 a.m. on a downtown Houston roadway.
“The driver of the vehicle identified himself as James Harden” during the stop, the HPD rep said, “and he was taken into custody for unlawful carrying of a weapon.”
Cleveland Cavaliers’ James Harden during the first half of Game 2 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the New York Knicks, May 21, 2026, in New York. AP Photo/Frank Franklin IIJames Harden was arrested at 3:41 a.m. on Saturday in Houston.
According to court documents, Harden had a handgun in his vehicle that “was not carried in a holster” while “in plain view.” He was formally taken into custody at 3:41 a.m. and booked on one misdemeanor charge of unlawful carrying weapons.
In Harden’s mugshot, which was provided to The Post by the HPD on Monday, he could be seen wearing a black T-shirt and a stern look on his face.
Harris County records show Harden was released from jail on bond later Saturday morning and given an arraignment date of June 22.
However, the records also show that hearing date was rescheduled on Monday to Aug. 3.
Harden, according to the records, has hired high-powered Texas attorney Rusty Hardin to represent him in the case. Hardin has previously repped several famous professional athletes, including Deshaun Watson when the NFL quarterback was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple massage therapists.
Messages to Hardin and his office for comment on Harden’s case were not immediately returned.
Harden, a former Los Angeles Clipper who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has deep ties to Houston — he played nine seasons with the Rockets earlier in his NBA career.
Sources told The Post he had been out at a local hookah lounge with a large group of his friends before his arrest occurred.
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Is there any chance the Sixers will find a core piece with the 22nd pick in Round 1 of the NBA draft on June 23?
The team sure seems to have snagged one of the top 21st selections ever in All-NBA guard Tyrese Maxey. As for No. 22, below is a chronological (and unscientific) rundown of the best players drafted at that slot:
George McGinnis (1973)
After a series of contract disputes, McGinnis debuted with the Sixers in 1975. Fresh off an ABA MVP season, the do-it-all Hall of Fame forward earned All-Star nods in his first two years as a Sixer and won the Eastern Conference title in 1977. Other notable Sixers picks from the 1973 draft class include Doug Collins (No. 1) and Caldwell Jones (No. 32). McGinnis died in 2023 at 73 years old.
Davis helped the Trail Blazers win it all his rookie season. The speedy guard out of Dayton had his most productive NBA years with the Pacers, averaging 16.4 points and 5.4 assists from the 1978-79 through ’81-82 seasons. Davis went on to coach in the NBA and served as the Sixers’ head coach for Allen Iverson’s rookie year in 1996-97.
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 30: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket during the game against the Washington Wizards on March 30, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
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 continue our series with a look at Austin Reaves.
Certain players are always connected to Los Angeles. There are the obvious ones, like Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson. But you don’t have to be a legend for your entire Lakers tenure to be remembered for your time inpurple and gold.
Anytime one of the young Lakers from the post-Bryant era finds success, they get love from fans. Josh Hart remains loved by Lakers fans. And even people like Nick Young are remembered, even if they spent more time elsewhere and won a title elsewhere.
So much of Austin Reaves’ story is still left to be written, but one thing is clear: he will always be a Laker. The question is whether his journey will continue in LA.
Reaves is expected to turn down his player option and become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Throughout his career, he has far exceeded even the rosiest of projections people have had of him. He has improved every year, and with him reportedly wanting upwards of $40 million, it seems either the Lakers or another team will oblige.
In an ideal world, the Lakers can pay Reaves whatever number he wants, and that’d be that.
However, nothing is ever ideal, and the NBA operates under a restrictive new salary cap. Paying Reaves will not dramatically impact what they do this year, but in the years ahead, it could prevent LA from adding impactful new pieces.
Although letting such an uber talent like Reaves walk away could also be dire and set the franchise back for years to come.
LA has a lot of decisions to make this summer to turn this team from a fun 50-win roster to a title contender. And the first, and perhaps biggest, decision they have is what to do with Reaves.
How did he play?
It was a tale of two seasons for Reaves.
He was an offensive juggernaut this year, averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. His scoring and rebounding numbers were career highs and his point total has increased every single season.
Not only were his numbers fantastic, but his play in key moments during the regular season also stood out. He posted his career high 51 points in a win over the Kings and he helped atone for his playoff struggles against the Wolves by hitting a game-winner against Minnesota.
As the season progressed, it became clear the Lakers were a better team with Luka Dončić’s running mate being Reaves rather than LeBron. So, as the season progressed, Reaves’ usage continued to increase. By March, Reaves became a higher-usage player for the Lakers than James.
This meant the ball was in Reaves’ hands more often, and there were a ton of pick-and-roll actions with him and Luka. The result? The Lakers went 15-2 in March, their best month as a franchise since the 1999-00 season.
At that point, the Lakers were the hottest team in the NBA, and Reaves’ stock was at an all-time high. However, that’s not where the story ended.
Thanks to Reaves, working his tail off in his recovery, he was able to return in the first round against the Rockets. While his return was commendable, his play once he touched the floor left a lot to be desired.
He couldn’t handle the physicality of OKC’s defenders. His field goal percentage dropped from 49% during the regular season to 42% against the Thunder. From deep, he was even worse, going from knocking down 36% of his 3-pointers to just 30%.
As an on-ball creator, he was awful. Reaves had 27 turnovers compared to just 35 assists. He also had the second-worst plus-minus on the team at -59.
As a defender, Reaves didn’t silence his critics with his second-round play. He was relentlessly attacked and demonstrated the resistance of a turnstile.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell scored in bunches on Reaves, which is why he was often the defender they were looking for.
In Reaves’ defense, he was fresh coming off his injury, and the playoffs are a tough place to try to get back to 100% health.
Also, he improved as the series against the Thunder progressed. In Game 2, he scored a game-high 31 points on 10-16 shooting, and in Game 4, he had 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
What is his contract situation moving forward?
If Reaves declines his player option like everyone expects him to, he will be an unrestricted free agent. Given how good he’s been, to retain Reaves, the Lakers are likely looking at paying him $40 million or more. Although Reaves has stated he isn’t just looking to make as much money as possible. Winning matters to him as well.
The good news is that his cap hold this year will be approximately $20.9 million, which helps the Lakers this offseason. It means they’ll be able to pay him without feeling the impact of every dollar he makes right away in their books.
Should he be back?
He has his flaws like any other player, but ideally, Reaves will be back next year. He has room to grow, but has proven he’ll do the work to get there time and time again.
However, the Lakers have to be smart with what those numbers look like. Los Angeles, as currently constructed, is not good enough to win a title. Reaves is fantastic, but he’s not Luka. He doesn’t get a blank check, no questions asked. The deal has to make sense because the Lakers need flexibility to acquire players who can elevate the team to the next level even past this offseason.
The Lakers might think their backcourt’s defensive woes are exaggerated, but they aren’t lockdown defenders either. LA needs better defenders around their duo and likely a dominant frontcourt player to add to this roster.
In the end, it’s in LA’s best interest to continue this partnership with Reaves. They just need to do so while making Austin happy and still allowing them to add to their roster so they can be contenders once again.
CAMDEN, NJ - JUNE 8: Mike Gansey speaks as the Philadelphia 76ers introduce him as their new President of Basketball Operations on June 8, 2026 at The Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Mary Kate Ridgway/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
With the New York Knicks taking down the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals, the 2025-26 season has officially come to an end.
Teams are now allowed to speak to their own free agents and start mapping out their offseason. For the Sixers, that means Kelly Oubre, Jr., Quentin Grimes and Andre Drummond. The likelihood of all three coming back feels very low. Drummond has likely played his last game in Philadelphia. Oubre and Grimes are talented but flawed rotation players who could conceivably be back.
Also, the 2026 NBA Draft is a little over a week away now. Mock drafts have the Sixers taking players like Chris Cenac, Dailyn Swain, Allen Graves and Jayden Quaintance. The options at 22 are very uncertain, but this is a good and deep draft class.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 14: New York Knicks fans climb on buses as they celebrate after they win the NBA Finals in Times Square on June 14, 2026 in New York City. The New York Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 3-1 and could win the franchise's first NBA championship since 1973 if they win tonight.(Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The New York Knicks aren’t just NBA champions, they’re a lesson in perseverance. Proof positive why you should never quit on your team, no matter how dark it gets, no matter how bleak the future seems, no matter how much an owner tries to push you away. James Dolan’s name might be on the papers, but Saturday night proved that the Knicks don’t belong to him — they belong to New York.
It’s impossible not to love the scenes from New York following the Knicks’ breaking their 53-year championship drought. Did the celebration go too far? Sure. Did it turn the streets into anarchy? Absolutely. Did it closely resemble the Joker’s clown parade in Batman Returns? It sure did. It was also magical, inspiring, and reminded us how powerful sports can be, even as we become jaded in the face of ticket scalpers, political movements, and greedy owners who put their own motivations ahead of a city. When the dust settles, it’s about simply this: A small group of individuals who came together as a team, to bring joy to millions who have invested their heart and souls into loving a team their entire lives. People who said “this could be our year” more times than they could count, and when it comes to the NBA there is not a single more passionate, longer-suffering fanbase than the New York Knicks.
No doubt there would have been joy in San Antonio too, but it would have hit different. All due respect to Spurs fans, but even y’all have to admit that your franchise has had a horseshoe lodged up your derriere for the better part of 30 years. From drafting Tim Duncan during David Robinson’s ONE injury year to winning the Wemby sweepstakes, it just wouldn’t have been satisfying to see another Spurs win. Moreover, San Antonio is a competent, sensible organization run like a successful business — it’s not the Knicks, where fans have had to endure James Dolan’s whims at every turn, doing his level best to destroy the organization from within while playing a piano solo in his nepo band.
Dolan and the Knicks have given fans HUNDREDS of reasons to pack it in over the years. I don’t know how Spike Lee managed to endure the pain for as long as he did — but not just the pain, the promise. The possibility that Patrick Ewing, and John Starks would win a title, then if Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston could get the job done, then Carmelo, Amare, and J.R. Smith. Fans continually experience the yo-yo whiplash of made that make them believe, before seeing opportunity get yanked away, like a cat toy from a desperate tabby. They’ve seen brilliant teams under the guidance of Jeff Van Gundy, Mike D’Antoni, and Tom Thibodeau all establish specific eras of Knicks disappointment, which makes it all the more magical right now.
This Knicks team was so decidedly un-Knicks. Jalen Brunson is obviously a superstar, but this team was defined by doubt, not promise. Nobody believed Karl-Anthony Towns was good enough to be a focal point, Mickal Bridges was an overpaid addition; heck, Mike Brown was almost universally reviled when he was hired to lead this iteration of the Knicks, because his career before New York was defined by everything the organization was trying to avoid. Brown routinely led promising teams, only to fall short — and the assumption was that he would do the same with the Knicks. He didn’t. Instead, he prevailed.
The conclusion of the NBA season isn’t just for fans of the Knicks, but for every long-suffering fan in sports. A reminder that success can happen when you least expect it. If you pack it up and ignore a team, finally beaten down by the frustration — sure, nobody will know you took a break, but deep down you will. The pain is what makes moments like this legendary. The inescapably sour that finally gives way to the sweet. A chance to take to the streets, party like it’s the end of the world, and know that all the emotional effort wasn’t in vain.
James Dolan doesn’t own the Knicks, he’s merely a caretaker. This isn’t his championship, it’s New York’s. The 2025-26 season will have a legacy that exists when Dolan is gone and forgotten, which means he never really won. One billionaire can try to kill a team, but the city never let it happen. Let them be a reminder for all of us.
Splitter, 41, led the Trail Blazers to a 42-40 finish in 2025-26, taking Portland to the first round of the NBA Playoffs, where they fell in five games to the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs.
With the Blazers, Splitter embraced speed and pace on offense, asking the team's young core to grab rebounds and sprint out into the open floor. Portland ranked ninth in the NBA in pace (101.63 possessions per 48 minutes) one season after ranking 16th (99.51). Splitter also created a fluid offensive structure that empowered players to read the defense and react with concepts and actions, as opposed to a reliance on set plays.
Under Splitter, forward Deni Avdija became a first-time All-Star after averaging 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. The Trail Blazers also saw young players like Shaedon Sharpe (20.8 points per game), Scoot Henderson (14.2) and Toumani Camara (13.4) improve their games. Portland had eight different players average double-figures in scoring this season.
In Chicago, Splitter will try to revitalize a team that has struggled to make deep runs in the postseason in recent years. The Bulls overhauled their roster during the trading deadline, adding several guards to an already deep position on the roster.
Splitter's fit with point guard Josh Giddey — a versatile, play-making guard who can create his own shot and distribute for others — should be seamless, and his success with the Bulls will depend on elevating Giddey to an All-Star-caliber player.
The Bulls also have a developing star in forward Matas Buzelis, who averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season. The most promising piece for Splitter, however, may not even be on the roster yet.
Chicago won the No. 4 overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft, a class that is both loaded with elite talent at the top of the class and deep. The consensus best players, Darryn Peterson of Kansas and AJ Dybantsa of BYU, are expected to be off the board at that point, but that could leave North Carolina's Caleb Wilson or Duke's Cameron Boozer available for selection.
Wilson is full of promise and has the size (6-foot-10) and athletic ability to be a premier threat in the NBA.
OG Anunoby, born in London, is now a two-time NBA champion [Getty Images]
With 1.2 seconds left of game four of the 2026 NBA Finals, a sold-out Madison Square Garden erupted.
The score was 106-105 in favour of the San Antonio Spurs as they looked to level the best-of-seven series at 2-2, when New York Knicks talisman Jalen Brunson's three-point attempt was denied by the rim.
But before any Spurs defender could make the crucial rebound, a flying OG Anunoby did enough to rise through a crowd of players and palm the ball back into the basket for a one-point lead and put the Knicks on the brink of immortality.
Magic Johnson in 1986. Michael Jordan in 1996. Steve Nash in 1997. This means the company Anunoby can now put himself in with a game-winner that has gone viral and etched itself in history.
"Game four is probably the top of British basketball history," said London-born Anunoby, now a two-time NBA winner.
"Amazing for Britain and the UK and everyone who loves basketball in the UK."
Three nights after Anunoby's game-winner that sent MSG and its celebrity front row into shock, the Knicks wrapped up the series 4-1 in San Antonio for a first finals win since 1973.
Unlike his first NBA title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, Anunoby played a significant role. Seven years ago, he was only a spectator as injury ruled him out of the entire play-offs, with the Raptors beating the Golden State Warriors in the finals.
In another tip of the hat to British basketball and its future, Anunoby's team-mates included Jeremy Sochan. While Sochan plays for Poland, because of his upbringing and allegiance to the UK he is listed as one of four UK-based players in the NBA.
Alongside Anunoby and Sochan, Amari Williams and Tosan Evbuomwan played in an NBA season that featured a record number of players from the United Kingdom this term.
OG Anunoby was mobbed by the media following his winner in game four against the San Antonio Spurs [Getty Images]
If you think of the Knicks and their current squad, point guard Brunson is likely the name that springs to mind.
Not only an NBA champion, but now an NBA Finals MVP winner and an NBA all-star in each of the past three seasons.
While Brunson is the immediate franchise player, Anunoby is very much one of those right behind him.
Anunoby featured in 84 of the Knicks' 101 matches this term, all of which he played from the start. During the play-offs, he ranked second in the Knicks squad for average minutes played as well as points, assists, blocks and steals per game.
Brunson may get the plaudits, but Anunoby is among those in the supporting cast who deserve their flowers, too.
More than three billion social media views were generated from game four, one where the Knicks had earlier trailed by 29 points before the result was ultimately decided by Anunoby's dramatic winning basket.
The series itself was the most-watched on ESPN since Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won their sixth and final title 28 years ago.
The Knicks have won this title, their first in 53 years, at a canter. They won 15 of their final 16 matches of the season, 10 of the first 11 of which were by more than 10 points.
Their only loss in that run was a four-point defeat by the Spurs in game three of the finals.
What next for British basketball?
OG Anunoby rose highest among crowds of New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs players to win game four, and ultimately set the Knicks up for a first title in 53 years [Getty Images]
Anunoby's championship-winning season and his clutch moments throughout the year come at a timely crossroads as far as the future of British basketball is concerned.
The NBA is planning to launch an independent European league within the next 18 months. London and Manchester are in place to be hosts to a franchise each when that league is launched, currently planned for October 2027.
By the time it has launched, both cities will have hosted an NBA regular-season match in the two years leading up to what could be the biggest changes to club basketball across the United Kingdom and Europe.
"I think London, especially, is an untapped market. There's so much talent and so many people playing basketball, so I think it would be amazing to bring a team to Manchester and London and continue growing in England," said Anunoby on the prospect of a European NBA league.
"As time goes on [basketball in the UK] is going to grow more and more. I think over time more and more [young boys and girls] are going to pull up at the NBA or WNBA.
"I want them to see that someone from where they are from is doing this. There is a lot of untapped potential and hope it's going to grow. It will mean exposure, growth, more leagues, more excitement for the game."
The London Lions recently signed a multi-year deal to remain competing in EuroCup for at least the next three seasons, which could be extended to five.
Anunoby was previously a minority owner of the franchise, who are coming off the back of a domestic quadruple-winning season.
It is an exciting time for a sport that has struggled to consistently produce top-level British stars but is showing growth and enormous potential at grassroots level.
Anunoby's championship-winning run is both timely and an inspiration for the next generation of UK-based basketball hopefuls.
Jun 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) talks with forward Victor Wembanyama (1) against the New York Knicks during game three of the 2026 NBA Finals in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The 2025-26 season may have ended in disappointment as the Spurs stumbled their way through 4 fourth-quarter collapses in the NBA Finals, turning what could have been four victories and a championship into four excruciating losses in five games. However, when you look at the broader view, it helps to remember this is nowhere near what was expected of this team this season, how far ahead of schedule they are, and how much more room they have to grow.
Another thing this year’s trip to the Finals has given us is, after years of watching and waiting for two months once the season ended in April, we immediately get to turn our attention to important summer activities, such as the NBA Draft, Free Agency and Summer League with almost no time gap. Below is a list of important dates to keep in mind as the Spurs build on a highly successful season and prepare for the future.
NBA Draft
June 23, 2026 — First round
Spurs pick 20th (via Atlanta Hawks)
June 24, 2026 — Second round
Spurs pick 35th (via the Utah Jazz)
Spurs pick 42th (via the Portland Trail Blazers)
Spurs pick 44th (via the Miami Heat)
As of today, the Spurs have four total picks, including 20th overall in the first round thanks to owning the right to swap picks with the Atlanta Hawks, who will in turn pick in the Spurs’ slot of 29th (the Dejounte Murray trade keeps on giving). They also have three second round picks via other teams, while their own is going to Minnesota. (After getting a little spoiled by the lottery in recent years, waiting for 20th is going to seem like a long time.)
Free Agency
June 14, 2026 — Teams can begin negotiating with their own free agents.
This was actually yesterday since it aligns with the first day after the end of the Finals, but with that being said, the Spurs have very few free agents of note. The most notable is Harrison Barnes, who began the season as a starter but fell out of the rotation as the season wore on and played sparingly in the playoffs. The Spurs’ other free agents include Kelly Olynyk, Jordan McLaughlin, Lindy Waters III, Bismack Biyombo and Mason Plumlee, as well as their three two-way players: Harrison Ingram, David Jones Garcia and Emmanuel Miller.
June 29, 2026 — Last day for early terminations and qualifying offers for restricted free agents.
The latter part of this day hardly matters to the Spurs since their 2022 draft class is gone, but the former could matter if they choose to decline Julian Champagnie’s team option and sign him to an extension. If that is the case, they would need to do so by this time.
June 30, 2026 — Last day for veteran extensions, negotiation period begins (5:00 PM CT).
Should the Spurs take the previously mentioned route with Champagnie, this would be the last chance for him to sign an extension, otherwise he would become a free agent. Also beginning at 5:00 PM CT, teams can begin negotiating with other team’s free agents.
July 1, 2026 — True beginning of Free Agency (list is courtesy of Hoops Rumors).
Teams can begin exercising the third- or fourth-year team options for 2027-28 on rookie scale contracts.
A few notes here. One is as a reminder, the Moratorium Period is five days in which contracts can be negotiated but not signed. The other notable occurrence for the Spurs will be the bottom one, in which they can — and for all intents and purposes will — exercised the fourth-year option on Stephon Castle’s rookie contract and third-year options for Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant. (They technically have until October 31 to get this done, but it’s hard to imagine it would take that long, especially for Castle and Harper.)
July 6, 2026 — Moratorium period ends; trades, contracts and extensions can be officially signed.
Now pen can officially be put to paper for trades, contracts and extensions. The Spurs will be able to sign any new free agents, but most notably, Victor Wembanyama will become eligible to sign his rookie-scale extension. Assuming he takes the max, it will be largest rookie contract extension in NBA history and make him one of the league’s highest paid players beginning in the 2027-28 season. The base salary for his maximum extension is $251 million (or 25% of the salary cap) across five years, but it can turn into the super-max worth up to $301 million (30% of the salary cap) if he earns All-NBA honors or wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year in the 2026-27 season. Barring him missing the 65-game limit, expect the super-max to be the case by the time it kicks in.
These are the main key dates that will be notable for the Spurs, but others within FA include:
July 13 —Last day to withdraw qualifying offers to restricted free agents.
July 31 — Players signed using the second-round pick exception begin to count against a team’s cap.
August 5 — Last day for teams to issue required tenders to unsigned second-round picks..
August 29 — Last day for teams to waive players and apply the stretch provision to their 2026-27 salaries.
Summer League
July 3-6 — California Classic
Amidst all the chaos of free agency will be Summer League, so you don’t even have to wait a month to watch basketball again! First, the Spurs will participate in the California Classic in San Francisco, along the Warriors, Lakers and Heat. This is usually a good place to at least see the Spurs second round picks for the first time.
July 9-19 — Las Vegas Summer League
This of course is the more notable of the Summer Leagues and where you stand a better chance of seeing the Spurs’ first round pick, as well as possibly some returning faces. While I wouldn’t expect Harper to be in SL this year (he doesn’t need it), it’s quite possible Bryant gets a run as team captain so he can develop more and show the Spurs how far he has come. This could also be a chance for players like Ingram to vie for another two-way spot with the Spurs or possibly even a guaranteed contract. Unfortunately, one face we may not see is Jones Garcia, who underwent ankle surgery in February and is not expected to be ready for SL.
It’s crazy how much quicker the offseason is when you play two extra months of ball (because math), but the lack of a long gap between April and now is certainly nice. It’s hard to believe that training camp is just a bit over three months away, and while the Spurs have some work to do this summer, expect them to return pretty much the same core team.
We will have plenty of content on potential draft and free agency prospects for the Spurs in the coming days and weeks, as well as Summer League coverage, so be sure to stick around at Pounding the Rock all summer. While this season may not have ended ideally, it was certain the best one I have covered since starting here in 2016-17, and the future couldn’t be brighter. Thank you all for your continued support!
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 13: Timothee Chalamet celebrates with the New York Knicks after winning the NBA Finals aagainst the San Antonio Spurs during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
One thing that we see every so often across sports ahead of a championship series is the “Guaranteed Ring”.
When a player plays for both finalists in a sport, they’re essentially secured a ring, as all players who suited up for a specific team in a season usually get one for their efforts, no matter how small or inconsequential.
It’s most common in MLB due to the sheer amount of roster turnover. Buddy Kennedy and Jose Ureña both played for the Blue Jays and Dodgers in 2025, but neither were in either organization by the time the World Series rolled around
Every so often, though, you get it in the NBA. Two recent examples include Torrey Craig in 2021 and Anderson Varejão in 2016. As the prophecy foretold, it happened once again in a five-year increment.
Jeremy Sochan was born in Guymon, Oklahoma, on May 20, 2003, to two former Division II basketball players. His mother, Aneta, was of Polish descent, coming from a long line of professional athletes that even has roots in the resistance of Nazi occupation in World War II with Sochan’s great-grandfather, Zygmunt.
As a child, Sochan moved from Oklahoma to France to England, where he spent much of his childhood before returning to the United States to play high school basketball in La Porte, Indiana. After leading the Polish U16 team to the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship Division B title, he earned a scholarship to play for Scott Drew at Baylor, where he turned himself into a top-flight NBA prospect.
After briefly playing overseas with OrangeAcademy in Germany, he joined the Bears in 2021-22, where he averaged 9.2 points and 6.4 rebounds, being named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year as part of a stacked Baylor team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament a year after winning the national championship in 2021. While they were upset in the second round, Sochan had established himself as a promising prospect, enabling him to forgo his remaining eligibility to declare for the 2022 NBA Draft.
Sochan was the perfect encapsulation of teams preferring traits over college production. While guys like Jalen Brunson fall to the second round, guys like Sochan rise with their youth, size, and skill. He was an advanced passer for someone of his archetype, and despite his offensive game being very limited, teams saw a player who still had a lot of room to grow.
That’s what convinced the San Antonio Spurs to draft him ninth overall over notable players like Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams, Memphis’ Jalen Duren, and, of course, Ousmane Dieng. As the franchise’s first top-10 pick since Tim Duncan 22 years earlier, there might’ve been some unfair expectations put on him right away, but the team believed in him as the future piece of the next Spurs’ dynasty.
Things started out pretty well. In his first season, he averaged 11 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists as a consistent starter for a dreadful Spurs team. He flashed signs of brilliance, putting up 30-8-5 against a Suns team that went to the Finals in January, but things changed that offseason for both him and the franchise.
That dreadful season resulted in Victor Wembanyama falling into their hands. After wandering the desert since Kawhi Leonard’s departure and hoping that someone from the Sochan, Josh Primo, Keldon Johnson, and Devin Vassell quartet could break out, they were gifted the best prospect the league had seen since LeBron James.
That immediately meant everyone else was relegated to second fiddle, and while Sochan was likely never going to be a star with his offensive limitations, the fact that he was overshadowed just a year into his career might not have helped. Statistically, his next two seasons didn’t look bad at all, as he slowly improved as a shooter and seemed to form a great bond with Wemby on and off the court.
He even infuriated all Knicks fans everywhere with his 21-point performance on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, buoyed by going 3-for-3 from downtown.
But the cracks in the foundation showed. They seemed not to really know where to play Sochan, who was yanked around from being a wing to the team’s point guard to even being a small-ball center. His versatility made him able to weather many situations, but this was a guy who was barely able to buy a drink. That, coupled with his spacing concerns given his poor shooting, slowly degraded his play as things got worse.
The Spurs were suddenly blossoming into a powerhouse, benefitting from lottery luck in three consecutive seasons to build a young core. Guys like Johnson and Vassell settled into roles as valuable role players, but Sochan got lost in the shuffle. His minutes slowly dwindled towards the end of November and he was out of the everyday rotation by December.
In the final year of his rookie contract, it was time for a divorce. On February 11, the Spurs waived their former lottery pick just two months before free agency, but it was early enough to allow him to suit up in the NBA playoffs. Two days later, he put pen to paper with the New York Knicks.
Initially, it seemed like the Knicks would embrace him as an opportunity to play both a small-ball five role and a traditional backup power forward role, but he seemed like a square peg in a round hole with how Mike Brown tried to utilize him in the first few games. By the end of February, he was reduced to garbage time.
But even though he wasn’t playing and some believed he was a waste of a roster spot, he added something that doesn’t show up on the box score. Good vibes.
Sochan has always been a popular figure in every locker room he’s been in and has formed a nice bond with Josh Hart over their Premier League rivalry. He didn’t throw a hissy fit on the bench when he wasn’t playing. He didn’t alienate his teammates, unlike some buyout options, but he was ready when he was needed to be called upon.
The first three rounds? He wasn’t needed. Due to the many blowouts, he got some garbage time run, which even included scoring 10 points in less than four minutes in Game 5 against Atlanta, but he didn’t play any meaningful minutes through the end of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Then it just so happened that his former team was on the other side in the NBA Finals. Just two months removed from being in that locker room, Sochan became an asset. When the Knicks went over film, he would be their man on the inside.
“Being that tall he gets tired…Give him different looks and (not beat him up but) be very physical, and make him run. And he’s gonna get tired, he’s gonna have to take some plays off in my opinion”
— Jeremy Sochan on former Spurs teammate Victor Wembanyama
And the neat part about how this story ends up? His first meaningful minutes of the postseason came in this series. He played nine seconds in Game 3, three minutes in Game 4 due to shenanigans with the entire center rotation, and the final nine seconds of Game 5.
In Game 5, he was pestering his former teammate all game long. The exact one that dislodged his place in the Spurs’ organization. The man whose arrival started his path towards this current moment.
In the end, when the Knicks ended their 53-year title drought, guess who the man who contested the final shot was? It was Jeremy Sochan, who probably had maybe the most unnecessary contest of all time, considering the monumental risk of fouling with a four-point cushion, but we’d only remember that beyond this week if something bad had happened.
But it didn’t, and that’s how he became an NBA champion.
(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 11: Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks to the media during a press conference after Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With the Finals officially over, silly season is fully upon the NBA. Every team is now in the offseason and the league’s focus turns to the draft, the offseason and the future.
For the Lakers, that means a look at an upcoming free agency that will be incredibly important. One of the first pieces of business the team will need to take care of is Austin Reaves, who will almost certainly decline his player option.
While the most recent reports suggested that Reaves is looking for the max and is expected to have suitors elsewhere around the league, it seems the general consensus around the league is that he’ll remain in LA.
The Lakers are widely expected to re-sign Reaves, whose fondness for Lakerland as well as his blossoming backcourt partnership alongside Luka Dončić are regarded as strong lures that suggest the sides will ultimately come to terms on a new pact.
However, according to Stein, all the signals Reaves put out about wanting to remain in LA may be scaring teams away from making an offer for him.
Yet it is unclear what sort of external interest Reaves will generate after his strong production over the past two seasons … at least partly due to the inherent skepticism that stems from trying to woo him away from the Lakers. Brooklyn and Detroit have been mentioned as potential Reaves suitors, but neither is seen as a certainty yet.
A similar situation played out the last time Reaves was set for free agency. All signs were pointing to him remaining in LA, but in that instance, he was set for restricted free agency, so teams didn’t want to bother tying up cap space only to have him return to the Lakers.
This time, they may see it as a pointless venture to spend time negotiating a deal with Reaves as opposed to working out deals with free agents who actually might want to sign with the team.
If this is how teams feel, then perhaps it means the Lakers can agree to a more team-friendly deal if — or when — Reaves re-signs.
For now, though, it’ll be a lot of posturing from both sides in the final weeks leading up to the start of free agency.
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Donnie Nelson Draft Pick Jalen Brunson and family along with Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle pose for a photo at the Post NBA Draft press conference on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Jalen Brunson could barely find the words.
You couldn’t blame him. The man had just done the one thing he’d organized his whole life around, and he did it as the player few outside his own family ever forecasted would be the one standing there. No longer the overlooked NCAA champion. More than the second-round pick with potential to overcome his measurables. The guy who surprised Utah in the playoffs that one year. Now? Well, now that kid is the champion. The Finals MVP. He told the sideline he had no words, that he was just in awe, and for a few seconds, the kid who always had an answer didn’t have one.
I was sincerely happy for him. I still am. This is one of the great sports stories, and the fact that he isn’t ours anymore doesn’t take that away. We cheered for this guy. We watched him grow up in Maverick blue. He went and did something enormous, and there is real pride in having been there at the start of the pro leg of this journey. There is also, if I’m honest at one in the morning, the ache of what could have been.
Lisa Salters asked him afterward what he’d been telling himself about closing the game out. His confidence, Brunson said, comes from his work ethic. Every time he got the ball down the stretch, he was thinking about the summers, all of them, as far back as he can remember. About being, in his words, “me alone in the gym.” All those hours with no crowd and nothing at stake, cashing out at last on the loudest stage in basketball.
The way he cashed it is the part that should make every doubter wince. San Antonio built a roster engineered to erase a player exactly like him. Length everywhere. Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell hounding the point of attack, long and rangy and athletic, and Victor Wembanyama waiting at the rim as the most terrifying shot-blocker in the league. Brunson gave up size and reach to all of them and beat them anyway. Herky-jerky, start and stop, a half-beat ahead possession after possession, outthinking a defense designed to think faster than he could. He poured in fifteen in the fourth quarter, one clutch shot after another, and there was nothing all that San Antonio length could do about a man who had already seen every counter in an empty gym years before. Too small, they always said. Doubted his whole life. He just kept finding a way.
Charles Barkley has spent years calling him the greatest free-agent signing in NBA history. After tonight, the room finally stopped arguing.
Here’s the hard part. The Dallas part.
This is not a missive about a franchise that should have spotted a legend. He went 33rd for reasons that made sense at the time, and when Mark Cuban shrugged that he had “no idea” Brunson would become this, I’ll grant him that one. Concede the scouting. The malpractice lives in what came next.
By Tim MacMahon’s reporting in The Wonder Boy, Brunson wanted to stay. He was eligible for a four-year extension worth up to roughly $55.5 million, and his family was so eager to put down roots in Dallas that they’d have taken less than the max. The security meant that much to him. He grew up watching his father, Rick, work through a journeyman’s NBA career on one nonguaranteed contract after another, training three times a day every summer just to earn a training-camp look, never sure when a team would move on from him. For a son raised on that, a guaranteed deal in Dallas carried a weight beyond the dollars: it was the safety his father’s career had never once promised.
The front office wouldn’t commit to it. They wanted to keep him movable, to dangle as bait for a co-star next to Luka, and they kept one eye on the luxury tax they’d ducked ever since 2011. So they waited. Through training camp. Past the January window when his camp said he would sign right then. And by the time they finally slid the same number across the table, he had outgrown it. A structuring flub on his rookie deal meant Dallas didn’t even hold the right to match. He walked for nothing. His father’s verdict was that the Mavs could have made the choice hard, and instead they “made it easy.”
Sit with the cruelty of that. This is the precise kind of player the Mavericks spent that entire era clearing cap space to chase in free agency. A natural leader. A low-ego, locker-room-raising winner who makes everyone around him better. They had him. They grew him. And because they could not stop keeping their options open long enough to back the believer right in front of them, they let him leave for the price of a goodbye.
We just passed fifteen years since 2011. You and I both remember how much had to break right that spring, how rare that alignment is, how a whole franchise’s one shining season can hinge on every piece fitting at once. The Knicks just ended a fifty-three-year wait. That is the math that turns this from a grievance into a warning: self-inflicted wounds in roster building are exactly how a fifteen-year drought hardens into a fifty-three-year one.
I have heard it said that the acquisition of Kyrie Irving effectively balanced the scales for having lost Brunson to the wind less than a year prior. To think so is pure folly and underestimates the causality of burning future assets – the 2029 first sent to Brooklyn in the Irving package – to atone for past mistakes. Think about it long enough, and loving the Mavericks post-2011 can feel like the basketball version of 12 Monkeys or Memento. We now bank on the creativity and gem-finding skills of Ujiri and company to save the Cooper Flagg era (itself an unlikely dollop of grace) from the sins of the past.
So let yourself look ahead. Barring something catastrophic, what we watched tonight is a Hall of Fame résumé manifesting in real time. More years of contention. More years leading that franchise. Some will tell you he was already a lock, and that tonight only burned off the last of the doubt.
Somewhere down the line, a kid in a Brunson jersey is going to ask why his guy ever wore blue and white. We had him first. The people who ran the team then couldn’t bring themselves to keep him.
Ingrained in the minds of fans is the classic model of how to build an NBA Champion: Get a bunch of superstars together.
Miami's Big 3 with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Or Golden State's superstar core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (and eventually Kevin Durant). The Lakers with Kobe and Shaq (or later, Kobe and Pau Gasol). Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in Boston. Compile multiple elite superstars, put the best affordable talent you can around them, and let those all-time greats do their unstoppable thing.
The Knicks shattered that mold.
It's not that Jalen Brunson isn't a star — he was second-team All-NBA this season and has made those teams three straight years — but Leon Rose and the New York front office didn't just go out and try to stack stars on top of each other like this was a fantasy team. Or the Knicks through the 1990s and 2000s.
New York executed what the Indiana front office understood in building a team that came within a torn Achilles of maybe winning the NBA title a year ago, what Denver's front office realized in building a championship team around Nikola Jokic, and what many other front offices are now understanding:
High-level depth wins in the playoffs.
It's not about how great your superstar is at the top of the food chain, it's more about not having a weak link for opponents to target. It's about having a depth of players that a coach can trust. Mike Brown had OG Anunoby and Josh Hart and Miles Bridges and Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado. Everyone contributed. There was no easy player to target, no weak link.
"It speaks volumes about this team, how versatile and the depth of our team," Karl-Anthony Towns said of how the Knicks were built to win.
Playoffs are about matchups
Make no mistake, every team needs talent to win, and ultimately has to have a guy who can go get a bucket when you need it. The Knicks were a 53-win team with the league's third-ranked offense and seventh-ranked defense this season, and they had a clutch guy in Jalen Brunson. The year before, Indiana made the Finals as a 50-win team led by a breakout season from Tyrese Haliburton, but a perfect complement of players around him. The year before that, a 50-win Dallas team was in the NBA Finals because they built a roster perfectly suited to maximize the talent of their superstar, Luka Doncic. That's what Denver rode to the title the season prior to that in Denver, with quality players around Nikola Jokic.
Talent matters, but the playoffs are all about matchups. What matters more in the postseason than having a couple of household names at the top of the marquee is depth and versatility of talent. Teams can't have a guy that other teams look at and say, "That's an easy target."
"[Knicks role players] have been ready from day one and not just our top five, but one through 18 have been ready from day one, you guys saw it," coach Mike Brown said. "We called on different guys at different times, and every time we called on somebody, they stepped up."
Mike Brown was the Knicks coach for this title run because Tom Thibodeau refused to trust and develop that depth enough, and so when he tried to pivot to it, that depth wasn't there for him. Mike Brown got it from Day 1.
The need for elite depth even applies to the teams built more on the old model. San Antonio has Victor Wembanyama and two other top-three picks running the show, but it was facing the Knicks in the Finals because, in a seven-game series, the Spurs had fewer weak links and more shot creation than a banged-up, shorthanded Oklahoma City squad. That Thunder team won a ring the year before, not just because it had two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but because they could roll out depth beyond their stars with guys like Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and on down the line.
Patience
New York's current front office showed something sorely lacking from its predecessors (often under pressure from a much more hands-on version owner in James Dolan at the time): Patience. At least with the roster.
New York gave space to a roster to improve organically over time, and just make tweaks. No midseason "Let's trade Karl-Anthony Towns for Giannis Antetokounmpo" overreactions. (The number of Knicks fans celebrating at the championship parade this Thursday who begged for that last February and would now deny they ever said it would be too high to count.) No, going out and compiling as many big names as possible without consideration for fit.
They gave time for the existing roster to grow comfortable around Brunson and for him to develop as well. For a long time, the knock on the Knicks was that Brunson and Towns would not defend well enough to lift this team to a title. New York was patient and let them grow as defenders until they became good enough.
New York also brought in guys who had won with Brunson in college in Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart — built-in chemistry. While New York traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for Towns, and when that took time to come together, the front office gave it space and time. Eight of the top 10 scorers on the roster from the season before were back.
New York let this roster breathe and become all it could be.
When next season tips off, the Knicks, Spurs and Thunder are all going to be the first names mentioned as title contenders — as they should be. But if you want to see which teams have a chance to knock that big three off, figure out which teams have added quality depth, and will go into the playoffs with a roster that makes sense and doesn't have obvious weak links to target. Check out the ones built with patience and chemistry in mind.
May 11, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dennis Schroder (8) drives to the basket against Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins (24) during the first half of game four in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Dennis Schroder in a deal alongside Keon Ellis with the Sacramento Kings for De’Andre Hunter around the trade deadline. Schroder was more of a salary match for the Cavaliers, but remained a mainstay of the Cavaliers’ rotation during their Eastern Conference Finals run.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Regular Season Stats *with Cavaliers*
8.2 points
2.3 rebounds
4.3 assists
40.1% FG
29% 3PT FG
86.1% FT
Schroder is a tough guy to grade. The stat line speaks for itself; the guy had little to no juice for 70% of the games he suited up for the wine and gold. Schroder, after being traded to Cleveland, was putting on his 11th uniform in 12 years.
With a resume like that, it would be fair to expect that Schroder gets moved around for a reason. The idea of Schroder might be more appealing than the actual on-court result. That is how the acquisition resonates with me at the time of writing this post.
Schroder can have his moments on the floor. The 32-year-old guard can still show bursts off the dribble with an ability to get to the cup with ease at times. However, it was once Schroder actually had to score that I found the most frustrating. He would either put too much muscle behind these layups on a good look or throw an errant pass into traffic.
Schroder could not reliably space the floor either. In the postseason, the Cavaliers were reliant on converting on looks from the perimeter. Therefore, the opportunities and clean looks were there for him. Schroder, a career 34% three-point shooter, endured the worst shooting splits of his career with Cleveland. Not only did he have lower volume, 2.1 looks from three, but he also converted just 29% of those opportunities for the Cavs.
How much of this is because he was constantly the playing release valve for Donovan Mitchell and James Harden? Not much. I think that Schroder’s remaining juice is just running out.
Where Schroder stood out on the floor was the energy he displayed. It felt like at various times Schroder would provide the spark needed to wake the Cavaliers from the lull they were in. Every team needs a guy like Schroder, someone who will call them out for sleepwalking through stretches of the game. It was clear that this Cavaliers team and coaching staff respected Schroder’s voice.
While it is unlikely that Schroder will be on the team in 2026-27, as his salary is ludicrous at $14.8 million. The team needed more of what Schroder provided with his voice. His on-court production left much to be desired; therefore, he seems destined to be on his 12th team in 13 years next season.
Boston, MA - January 7 - Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) spins the ball before the start of the NBA game against the Denver Nuggets at the Garden. (Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images). | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
The Boston Celtics know they can’t run it back next season as-is.
This past season’s run was admirable. The team managed to salvage Jayson Tatum’s 62-game delay and clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with 56 wins before the postseason. But their 33.7 percent 3-point shooting clip against the Philadelphia 76ers, coupled with a frontcourt that was railroaded by Joel Embiid, forced Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens to carefully assess the shocking first-round exit.
Less than a week after the Celtics blew their first 3-1 series lead in franchise history, Stevens, during his end-of-season press conference, emphasized his desire to “generate looks at the rim.”
Stevens, on behalf of the team’s brass, referred to dunks as the preferred shot over the three. That statement was both a confession of where the Celtics went wrong against Philadelphia and an indictment of where Stevens wants to go moving forward as Boston enters a crucial offseason.
Boston ranked dead last in the playoffs in 2-point field-goal attempts and 25th in the regular season, finishing behind six non-playoff-contending teams. Rolling out Neemias Queta as the starting center, along with Luka Garza on the bench and Nikola Vučević added at the trade deadline, the Celtics struggled throughout their campaign to pressure the rim, and it caught up to them.
Nov 22, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) fight for the ball during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
The disappointment and frustration in Stevens’ voice during his final meeting with reporters signaled a lesson learned. The problem now is finding a solution, and the early offseason rumblings across the league suggest Stevens has his eye on a 6-foot-11 answer: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In April, Antetokounmpo praised Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla — midway through his award-winning job as the NBA’s Coach of the Year. The Greek Freak has had it with the Milwaukee Bucks, and the expectation is that Giannis officially departs this offseason. Boston is said to be in the running, although the price of negotiating for a two-time league MVP could put Stevens and the front office in a compromising position with homegrown Celtics star Jaylen Brown.
Brown has been the name linked to trade rumors once again. Four years ago, Boston discussed a potential trade for Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets involving Brown. That triggered feelings of frustration as Brown began to side-eye the Celtics. Now, as the centerpiece in another blockbuster trade rumor implying Boston’s appetite for an upgrade, the relationship between Brown and the Celtics could reopen that very rift.
With at least some idea of what’s happening in Boston’s front office, Brown has already been cryptic about his messaging.
During his latest livestream, Brown vaguely touched on his future by re-asserting his confidence in what’s ahead following his career-best run with the Celtics — he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, shooting over 47 percent across 71 games.
“A lot of people think they’ve seen the best version of me, and you stand corrected,” Brown told his FCHWPO Twitch livestream on Sunday night.
“No matter what the situation is, no matter what the case is, I feel confident in a sense where I’m coming into my physicality, my mental game, my weaknesses are turning into my strengths, and you have not seen the best of Jaylen Brown. I look forward to next season. We’ll see where the chips fall, but I’m excited about that.”
The risk for Stevens and the Celtics could be a rupture beyond repair, regardless of whether or not the team acquires the Greek Freak. Since the Miami Heat are also rumored to be in the mix, there’s no guarantee Antetokounmpo successfully forces Milwaukee to agree to a deal with Boston, leaving Brown’s standing with the franchise in a possibly murky spot.
If Stevens does strike a deal with the Bucks to bring Antetokounmpo to Boston, then it’s water under the bridge. If not, Brown could easily barge to the front office and demand a trade to a place where he’ll be the No. 1 once and for all. It’s already been confirmed that to some degree, Brown enjoyed being in the driver’s seat this past season and views himself as a player capable of doing that full-time.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Eric Nehm reported that the Celtics “pose a serious threat” in the Giannis sweepstakes if the 10-time All-Star expresses a willingness to sign a four-year, $275 million extension with Boston. It’s also likely that a third team would be necessary to facilitate any trade for Antetokounmpo, which would also likely become Brown’s next home if that scenario plays out.
So far, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Atlanta Hawks are possible third wheels floated around — both of which offer an unoccupied driver’s seat to Brown.
Some interpreted Brown’s post-Game 7 loss stream as confirmation that he wants to be the lead dog for a team. Others consider that perspective to be overblown and miscontextualized. What isn’t known is how Stevens and the Celtics view Brown’s comments.
In the final three minutes of the team’s season, Brown denied a wide-open Queta of an assist and instead deferred to Payton Pritchard for a corner three. Pritchard’s miss, with a chance to give Boston a lead over Philadelphia in Game 7, proved Brown’s decision to be costly. Stevens’ comments proved that even though Brown doubled down less than 24 hours later on his livestream, his decision doesn’t reflect what the Celtics want.
It’s certainly difficult to imagine Stevens trading away Brown, the team’s third overall draft selection in 2017, whom Stevens coached for the first five seasons of his career. In 2023, Stevens signed Brown to a five-year, $304 million extension with the Celtics, making him the then-highest-paid player in NBA history.
However, it’s even harder to imagine Stevens staying pat after the Celtics squandered another opportunity at the NBA Finals, in a historically brutal fashion, no less.
Major changes are required this offseason. Not minor tweaks. Three years ago, Stevens blueprinted an overhaul that featured a handful of difficult departures and rewarded the Celtics with their 18th championship banner.
Heading into a season that’ll be significantly more difficult, especially in the East, Stevens understands another big swing — maybe his greatest yet — could supply restoration for the C’s.
