Category: NBA

The Buss family’s conflict over ownership of the Lakers has become a legal battle. 

Jeanie Buss, the franchise’s governor, filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court this week, looking to block her siblings’ attempted sale of their minority ownership stake of the franchise. 

Five of the Buss siblings who are part of the Buss family trust — Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse Buss — voted to sell the rest of the family’s 17.8% ownership stake of the Lakers to soon-to-be majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.

Kushner and Iger agreed to purchase the majority shares of the Lakers from Mark Walter for a valuation of $12.5 billion, less than a year after Walter bought the Lakers from the Buss family at a valuation of $10 billion. 

Jeanie Buss called her siblings’ behavior “devious” in the petition, obtained by the California Post on Wednesday, which stated Jeanie was “blinded” by the attempted sale and that the family’s statement provided to ESPN last week was “knowingly false: Jeanie never agreed to any sale, was never consulted, and was never even informed.”

A court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5, according to the 97-page petition.

“Jeanie thought she had put all of her siblings’ scheming and manipulations behind her in 2017,” the petition stated. “Sadly, that was not the case — and Jeanie must respectfully request relief from this Court a second time.”

The petition includes five orders:

1. Instructing trustees to comply with 2017 court order; 
2. Declaring purported trustee resolution void;
3. Surcharging and removing co-trustees Joey H. Buss and Janie M. Buss for breach of fiduciary duty;
4. Holding Joey H. Buss and Janie M. Buss in contempt of court; 
5. Holding James, Johnny and Jesse Buss in contempt and liable for aiding and abetting.

Jeanie Buss, the third-oldest child of the late Dr. Jerry Buss, first made it clear she opposed her siblings’ vote to sell the family’s share of the Lakers, according to a letter from her lawyer, Adam Streisand, which was obtained by The Post, arguing her siblings can’t legally execute a sale without her approval and that any vote of the Buss family selling would be “void.”

To remain the Lakers governor, Jeanie or the Buss family would need to maintain control of at least 15% of the franchise, per NBA rules.

She has been team’s governor since 2013 after Jerry’s death.

When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s governor for at least five years (through 2030).

Iger told The Post last week he and Kushner intended to honor the agreement made between Walter and Buss. 

Streisand’s original letter to lawyers for the other siblings demanded that they retract the announcement of the proposed sale, insisting that rules of the family trust and a 2017 court ruling make clear that Jeanie Buss will remain a controlling owner of the team for life.

Jeanie Buss argued her attempting to stop her siblings’ sale of the Lakers, which would prevent her from continuing as the franchise’s governor, is not only a way to “enforce her parents’ intent” but also “protect the strategic decision by the trustees less than a year ago to sell a portion of the team and retain an interest sufficient to maintain control and to benefit from the continuously skyrocketing value.”

The petition also states that other minority owners support Jeanie Buss staying as governor.

“[Patrick] Soon-Shiong and [Ed] Roski [Jr.] have made the determination, as has Jeanie, that the value of Lakers stock will continue to increase over the value of the stock in the current proposed offer for the purchase by a group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner of Lakers stock owned by Mark Walter,” the petition states. “And, for that reason, they have no intent to sell their Lakers stock at this time.

“They also believe that Jeanie is the right person to continue as the Controlling Owner and NBA Governor of the Lakers to help preserve and continue to grow the value of their Lakers stock investments.”

The sale from Walter to Kushner and Iger isn’t expected to be impacted by the Buss family’s litigation.

One of the final pieces of the NBA offseason has fallen into place.

Free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves worth $12.4 million, his agent told ESPN. The second season is a player option.

In late June, the Hawks declined Kuminga’s $24.3 million team option, making him a free agent. The Lakers had been linked to Kuminga this offseason, but their cap situation made acquiring him complicated − though they did offer Kuminga a three-year deal worth more than $12 million per season, according to ESPN.

With the Timberwolves, Kuminga gets the chance to start alongside Anthony Edwards and newly-acquired guard LaMelo Ball, providing another scoring and slashing threat. An increased role had been a priority for Kuminga, who had started just 24 games across the last two seasons.

The deal represents a chance for Kuminga to bet on himself, with a potential opportunity to hit the open market next offseason, when teams are expected to have an influx of salary cap space to spend. For that to happen, Kuminga would need to decline his player option for 2027-28 and become an unrestricted free agent. Should Kuminga play well this season in Minnesota, it could set him up for a more lucrative, long-term deal.

Kuminga, 23, is set to enter his sixth year in the league, but is nonetheless very young despite his experience in the NBA.

In fact, Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg — the No. 11 overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft playing for Kuminga’s old team — is actually six days older than Kuminga.

The weakness in Kuminga’s game is his perimeter shooting — he converted just 33.3% of his 3-point attempts last season — and defense. The Timberwolves will need to mask some of those defensive deficiencies, but they are well equipped to do so with stoppers like forward Jaden McDaniels and center Rudy Gobert.

The Timberwolves had been missing a forward after they traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in late June. Kuminga, who is 6-foot-7, appears poised to inherit that spot.

Across 36 games last season, Kuminga averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Kuminga signing with Timberwolves: What deal means

Jeanie Buss is taking her siblings to court. Again.

Attorneys representing the Lakers’ controlling governor filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to block her five siblings from trying to sell the family’s remaining 17.82% of the NBA franchise the Buss family has owned since 1979.

Jeanie contends that her siblings should abide by a 2017 court order that mandated the family’s co-trustees to “take all actions reasonably available to ensure that Jeanie is appointed and remains as the NBA controlling owner of the Lakers.” The 2017 legal battle installed Jeanie’s younger siblings, Janie and Joey, as her fellow co-trustees, two roles that were previously held by her older brothers Jim and Johnny, who were ousted after a failed attempt to wrestle control away from Jeanie.

The 97-page petition accuses Janie, Joey and the other siblings Jim, Johnny and Jesse of “devious behavior” for not including Jeanie in discussions to sell the family’s last stakes in the team earlier this month. While the other siblings elected to sell soon after Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner agreed to a record-breaking transaction with Mark Walter and released a statement attributed to the Buss family, Jeanie “never agreed to any sale, was never consulted and was never even informed,” the petition states.

Read more:Inside the Buss family's long, painful history of sibling rivalries running the Lakers

“Jeanie thought she had put all of her siblings’ scheming and manipulations behind her in 2017,” the petition reads. “Sadly, that was not the case — and Jeanie must respectfully request relief from this Court a second time.”

Among five points on the petition, Jeanie hopes to declare her siblings’ votes to sell the team void, remove Janie and Joey as co-trustees for “breach of fiduciary duty” and hold both in contempt of court and hold Jim, Johnny and Jesse in contempt and liable for “aiding and abetting.”

Jeanie, the third-oldest child of former Lakers owner Jerry Buss, was hand-picked by the family patriarch to oversee his prized investment that grew from a $67.5-million purchase into a $12.5-billion world-renowned brand. Iger, the former Disney chief executive, and Kushner, founder of a venture capital firm, bought a majority stake of the Lakers from Walter earlier this month at a record valuation, and reports of five of the Buss siblings’ plans to sell their ownership stake in the team came days later.

To remain on the NBA board of governors, Jeanie would need to own at least 15% of the team. She was to stay in the leadership role for at least the next four seasons after the Buss family relinquished control of the team to Walter in 2025.

That unique aspect of the 2025 sale “demonstrated the co-trustees could fulfill their duties under the trust — and honor Dr. Buss’s intent — while also delivering extraordinary financial returns to the beneficiaries,” the petition states.

Jeanie contends that not only is her latest fight to maintain her governor role a way to “enforce of her parents’ intent,” but the petition says Jeanie also believes remaining the governor can “protect the strategic decision by the trustees less than a year ago to sell a portion of the team and retain an interest sufficient to maintain control and to benefit from the continuously skyrocketing value.”

Read more:Jeanie Buss contests family sale of Lakers ownership stake to Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner

Since Jerry Buss built the Lakers into the NBA’s most glamorous franchise during four decades of stewardship, the team will now have a third controlling owner in as many years. Walter, who previously owned a minority stake in the team, took majority control in 2025 when the team was valued at $10 billion. His reign was short-lived; he shockingly sold his shares of the team to Iger and Kushner for a 25% profit 14 months after Walter’s purchase offer was accepted by the Buss family trust.

The sale from Walter to Iger and Kushner is not expected to be affected by the Buss family’s legal proceedings, according to a source close to the matter but not authorized to speak publicly.

The petition adds that Lakers minority owners Patrick Soon-Shiong, who owns the Los Angeles Times and said he plans to hold onto his 4% stake in the Lakers, and real estate developer Ed Roski Jr. believe Jeanie is “the right person to continue as controlling owner and NBA governor of the Lakers to help preserve and continue to grow the value of the Lakers stock investments.”

The Lakers functioned as a family-run business for decades under the Buss family. Each child held different roles, but Jeanie is now the only one left at the organization. Jim and Johnny were ousted in 2017. Janie, Joey and Jesse were all fired soon after Walter’s sale was approved in November. Joey was the chief executive of the G League affiliate South Bay Lakers and Jesse was the Lakers’ director of scouting. Janie led the organization’s charity efforts. ESPN reported that Jim and Johnny had returned to roles with the team and were among those fired in November.

After Jeanie and her legal team announced their intention to contest the siblings’ attempt to sell, the five other siblings released a statement saying they were “united” in their decision and intended to “move forward thoughtfully, respectfully and through appropriate process.”

Read more:Why have private equity firms taken an interest in buying professional sports teams?

“The Los Angeles Lakers have never been just a basketball team,” the statement released Aug. 18 continued. “They have been one of the greatest privileges of our lives. Our focus has always been on what we believe is best for the Lakers, the fans who have supported this franchise for generations and the greater Los Angeles community.”

A court hearing to review the request is scheduled for Nov. 5, according to the petition. The Lakers will be two weeks into their season at the time.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with free agent wing Jonathan Kuminga, according to a report by ESPN’s Shams Charania. They will use the taxpayer mid-level exception for the signing, which does mean they will likely trade Donte DiVincenzo or Josh Green or waive-and-stretch Green to create the space they need below the second apron.

Kuminga’s free agency has lingered into the late summer for the second consecutive offseason, and he has ultimately settled for a somewhat underwhelming deal. Per the report, Kuminga will be the Wolves starting power forward alongside LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert.

Selected by the Warriors with the seventh-overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga was a favorite of Golden State’s front office, especially team chairman Joe Lacob. Kuminga’s tenure with the team had plenty of highs and lows. As a rookie, Kuminga was a solid member of the Dubs rotation, including some highlight-filled postseason performances in Golden State’s path to the 2021-22 championship. However, as Dub Nation is well aware, the Warriors were never able to marry Kuminga’s development with the team’s short-term goals to build a contender around Steph Curry. A combination of injuries, an inconsistent three-point shot, and erratic effort on defense and rebounding kept Kuminga from becoming a trusted member of head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation.

Kuminga and the Warriors contemplated sign-and-trades last offseason when he was a restricted free agent, but while the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings made him offers that included more that $60 million in guarantees, neither team offered the Warriors enough to make a trade. Without a team willing to make him an offer sheet, Kuminga was forced to re-sign a one-year, $23.8 million deal with a team option.

The Warriors finally ended Kuminga’s tenure prior to the trade deadline, dealing him to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis. Injuries limited both players with their new teams. Porzingis averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 0.6 steals in 23.7 minutes per game on 43.3%/31.1%/84.4% shooting across 15 games with the Warriors. He ultimately re-signed a two-year, $40 million deal which has just $23 million guaranteed.

Kuminga, on the other hand, averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 47.6%/34.6%/70.2% shooting in 16 regular-season games with the Hawks (22.1 minutes per game). Despite some playoff highlights, Kuminga’s team option was declined by Atlanta who ultimately let him depart in free agency for nothing.

Kuminga will not join arguably the most volatile starting lineup in the league. Edwards is the lone bonafide star on a largely remade roster. Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels return as defensive anchors with McDaniels hoping to build on some explosive playoff performances. However, the Wolves traded two key contributors (Naz Reid and Julius Randle), replacing them with Ball, an All-Star caliber player hampered by injuries and questions about his late-game decisionmaking and defensive effort, and Kuminga an even more unproven piece. Minnesota may be the most high-risk/high-reward team in the Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers lacked a versatile wing defender and Jonathan Kuminga provided a solution. All signs had pointed toward the talented youngster joining the Purple and Gold.

But the free agent forward signed a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. Kuminga became one of the final players off the market with training camp set to start next month.

He will join Anthony Edwards and Lamelo Ball in Minnesota after being linked to the Lakers for a majority of the offseason.

According to Charania, Kuminga bypassed a longer contract from Los Angeles. The Lakers reportedly offered the talented wing a three-year deal, worth at least $12 million per season.

Both the Bulls and Trail Blazers were believed to have made an offer to the 23-year-old.

Instead, Kuminga is heading into the ice on a deal worth just $6 million per year. The only way the Lakers could have signed Kuminga was via a sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks, which would have required a three-year contract.

Kuminga opted for a shorter-term deal with the Timberwolves in order to have more control over his future, per Charania.

Over the last month, the Timberwolves persistently recruited Kuminga with Edwards being heavily involved in the process. Team president Tim Connelly traveled to Miami for a four-hour in-person meeting with Kuminga earlier this month.

In the end, Kuminga’s free agency was less about the money and more about the length of the deal.

The long, long wait is over as Jonathan Kuminga has finally made a decision this offseason.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, he will not be coming to Los Angeles. Despite it seemingly being one of the best options available, Kuminga opted not to join the purple and gold, instead signing with Wolves, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

Kuminga chose the Timberwolves over offers from the Lakers, Bulls and Trail Blazers — bypassing a similar starting role and $12M-plus annually over three years in L.A. to land in Minnesota for a shorter-term deal and an ability to have more control of his future, sources said. https://t.co/Nq9byvxkII

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2026

The Timberwolves will use the $6.1 million taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Jonathan Kuminga to these terms.

However, they’ll need to shed payroll first as they don’t have enough second apron space to fit this. https://t.co/7kIRxRq4yY

— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) August 26, 2026

After a flurry of signings early in free agency, things downshifted quickly and drastically as everyone waited on Kuminga. Initially, the blame was put on LeBron James and the wait for his own decision. But weeks passed after LeBron went to Philly, and Kuminga still didn’t make a move.

The Cavaliers, often mentioned as interested in Kuminga, trading for Peyton Watson closed that door, leaving few remaining. As reported by Charania, along with the Lakers and Wolves, the Bulls and Blazers also were suitors.

Last season, Kuminga averaged 12.2 points per game while playing for both Golden State and Atlanta. His production was roughly equivalent between the two sides, though he was a bit more efficient with the Hawks.

For his career, he averages 12.5 points per game while shooting 33.2% from deep and 50.2% from the field. He also grabs 4.2 rebounds and hands out 1.8 assists per contest.

This leaves the Lakers with work to be done. Kuminga was the best wing option available on the free agent market and filled the need for an athletic forward. At the very least, LA will have to make a trade to shed at least one salary as they have 16 guaranteed contracts.

Most likely, they will look to consolidate multiple players with draft picks to try to fill the hole on the perimeter. They’ve also been searching the trade market for centers as well, so there’s still work to be done.

But there’s no getting around the fact that the Lakers wanted Kuminga and missed out on him. Whether it was his role on the team, the Lakers being unable to work out a trade or Kuminga wanting another crack at free agency next summer — something he would not have been able to do with a sign-and-trade with the Lakers — this is a miss. With relatively little time remaining before training camp opens, President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka will have to make some moves.

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

The expectation for Klay Thompson is to be an impactful piece for the Miami Heat this year, but it also comes with the question of, “Has father time truly caught up with the former Splash Brother?”

With the possibility of Thompson not performing as well as he did with the Golden State Warriors during the first 11 years of his career, his former teammate, Draymond Green, sounded off on any perceived expectations.

“I don’t like how everybody is trying to act like ‘It’s Klay Thompson,” Green said on his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show.” “… The reason I don’t like it is because I feel like everybody is trying to set Klay up for failure.”

“I’m going to say it here right now. Let’s stop acting like it’s 2017 Klay going to Miami.”

Green went on to say he wishes that Thompson’s move to Miami was viewed like Ray Allen’s, when he joined the Heat in 2012.

“That’s the role I’d expect of Klay,” Green said. “Don’t try to set my brother up. Like you’re about to get the 2017 Klay, so the moment you don’t, y’all can bash him.”

Since 2019, Thompson has been riddled with injuries, as he tore his ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals, then ruptured his Achilles in November 2020 during a workout.

Thompson returned to the basketball court in January 2022, but has never looked like his old self, as he’s struggled to be the dominant scorer he once was.

In 2024, his inability to shoot behind the three-point line resulted in him being benched by the Warriors, which would later result in his departure from the team when the season concluded.

Last year, Thompson appeared in 69 games for the Mavericks, but only started in eight games, and shot a career low of 38.3% from the three-point line.

“He’s going into year 16 of his career; we obviously know the injuries he’s faced,” Green said. “Yes he is going to provide shooting, because he shoots the lights out of the ball, and when he’s 60, he’ll be able to shoot the lights out of the ball.”

But the four-time NBA champion wanted to ensure realistic expectations are being set for his former teammate.

Metta Sandiford-Artest said he tried to buy a 1% minority ownership stake in the Lakers under Mark Walter, but his bid was declined.

Sandiford-Artest said he reached out to Walter after the businessman bought the Buss family’s majority stake in the Lakers for a $10 billion valuation in 2025.

“I sent the email the next day, I tried to get in at $100 [million], and they didn’t let me in,” Sandiford-Artest told the California Post. “But I wish he had let me in. That would’ve been great to have a former Laker as an owner, especially with the Buss family gone. It would’ve been great to have a Laker, a champion like Metta World Peace.”

Less than a year after Walter bought the Lakers for what was then the highest valuation ever for a U.S. professional sports franchise, he agreed to sell his stake to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner for a record $12.5 billion valuation on Aug. 12. The deal is pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors. 

Walter is being investigated by federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding potential loan fraud. 

Sandiford-Artest, who played for the Lakers for six seasons over two separate stints and won a championship alongside Kobe Bryant in 2010, said he had a feeling that the Lakers’ eye-popping valuation was going to skyrocket.

“Once it sold, the next day I tried to buy in for 1%,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I knew it was going to [go up in value]. I knew it. I said the Lakers are going to be valued at $14 [billion]. I thought it was going to be a $14 billion value within like 18 months.”

Sandiford-Artest said he wasn’t sure why Walter declined his offer. 

“They didn’t respond, and then they were like no,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post.  “The reason why I tried to is I knew the value was going to go up, so I missed out. I was kind of bummed about it. You have a former player who wants to put in $100 [million].”

Under the Lakers’ new ownership, Sandiford-Artest believes the valuation of the 17-time championship franchise is going to soar even more. 

“The Lakers are going to be just as big as Disney, honestly,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. 

Sandiford-Artest said he similarly tried to buy a stake in the BIG3, a 3-on-3 half-court professional basketball league founded in 2017 by rapper and actor Ice Cube and businessman Jeff Kwatinetz. 

Sandiford-Artest, who played in the BIG3 in 2018, said his offer was declined. The league is expecting a $290 million valuation when it plans to go public later this year. 

“I would’ve seven-exed my money,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I was a little bit bummed, But it goes to show you the foresight that I had.”

Sandiford-Artest retired from the NBA in 2017. He was an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year in 2004. He was a four-time All Defensive Team selectee over his 17-season career. 

As for the Lakers, Sandiford-Artest has nothing but gratitude for his two stints with the franchise from 2009-2013 and 2015-2017. 

They transformed him into a champion after he feared he would be out of the league following the infamous “Malice at the Palace” brawl in November 2004, which led to him being suspended for 86 games when he was with the Pistons. 

“I was surprised to be a Laker, honestly,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I didn’t think that was going to happen. They helped me out by letting me play on their team and helping me get a ring. That was something I always wanted.”

Sandiford-Artest famously made a game-sealing 3-pointer for the Lakers with 1:01 left in Game 7 of the Finals against the Celtics in 2010.

Sandiford-Artest was especially grateful for his time under the Buss family, which is embroiled in a battle over its remaining 17.8% minority stake in the Lakers. Five of the Buss siblings voted to sell their share in the team on Aug. 17, while Jeanie Buss is contesting the sale and wants to remain the team’s governor. 

“Just the way they involved me in the organization,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “That stands out a lot. It was like a family.”

Sandiford-Artest praised Jeanie Buss and the Lakers’ executives for supporting his advocacy for mental health awareness among athletes. 

“They created a platform as they got involved with UCLA Health, adding a psychologist, all of the stuff like that,” Sandiford-Artest told The Post. “I think that was a great compliment. I was already bringing that stuff to the forefront, and I think Jeanie had an interest in it.”

Jerry Buss initially bought the Lakers as part of a larger financial deal for $67.5 million in 1979 before leaving his stake in the franchise to his children after he died in 2013.

Under the Buss family, Sandiford-Artest said the Lakers felt like a “mom and pop” organization. 

“They just always made it feel like home,” he said. 

Don Nelson is one of the most important figures in Golden State Warriors franchise history. That’s why the team will be honoring him with a jersey patch all next summer — even putting it above their data center patch!

Paying homage to a legend of the game.

The Golden State Warriors will honor Hall of Fame head coach Don Nelson with a ‘Nellie’ band on their uniforms throughout the 2026-27 season. pic.twitter.com/1gpW0Oq0z0

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) August 26, 2026

The Warriors will sport a “NELLIE” patch on the left shoulder of their uniforms, honoring the coach who won 422 games over 11 seasons running the team. Nelson, who passed away earlier this month at age 86, won five titles as an NBA player and led the Warriors to some improbable playoff victories. The Warriors swept the Utah Jazz and Defensive Player of the Year Mark Eaton in 1989 while playing 6-foot-7 Rod Higgins at center and upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007 by frustrating Dirk Nowitzki with a high-paced, small-ball lineup.

Nelson once said, “The more scotch I drink, the better the game plan gets,” and in 2007, the NBA actually had to bar him from bringing cans into postgame news conferences. What a legend.

The patch joins the “IREN” patch on the Warriors jerseys, which is an Australian company that makes data centers. To truly honor Nelson, the Warriors might also want to add an “IRIE” patch, considering he began farming marijuana in Hawaii, to go along with his bed-and-breakfast and his legendary poker room, popularized by the likes of Woody Nelson and Woody Harrelson, though not Woody Allen.

It’s a common way of memorializing franchise legends for the Warriors. In the 2024-25 season, they honored longtime guard, coach, and executive Al Attles with a No. 16 patch. In 2016, they wore a No. 42 patch for Hall of Famer and barbecue legend Nate Thurmond. In the 2010-11 season, the jerseys sported a patch of Franklin Mieuli’s signature deerstalker cap after their former owner passed away.

The Warriors will also honor Nelson this season by playing small lineups, because they don’t have tall players on their roster, and having seven-foot centers launch three-pointers. As another tribute, they’ll likely be driving their fans to reach for scotch or a bag of Nellie Kush. Just as Nellie would have wanted.

When you look at the Phoenix Suns, their current roster construction, and how it impacts both the short term and the long term, one thing is clear. This upcoming season is going to be a make-or-break year for 24-year-old Jalen Green.

Green came to Phoenix as part of the Kevin Durant trade, bringing the youth and athleticism the Suns desperately needed. Unfortunately, he played only 32 games last season. That’s right, his superpower of health instantly evaporated once he experienced the Phoenix sun. Last season was supposed to be the dating period, the time when we learned about his fit and skill set within the confines of who the Suns are and what they are. Alas, injuries pushed that timeline back. Now, 2026–27 becomes the dating period. That being said, the Phoenix Suns are facing an interesting dilemma when it comes to Green.

He’s owed $36.3 million this upcoming season, the second-highest salary on the team, and holds a $36 million player option for the following year. With extensions beginning to kick in for players like Dillon Brooks and potentially Miles Bridges, committing additional long-term money to Green could become financially irresponsible. So he enters this season with something to prove. If Green doesn’t show that he’s worth being part of the long-term plan, then the clock starts ticking on when and how Phoenix moves off his contract. 

That leads to the real question. How long do you give Jalen Green? Do you let the entire season play out and make a decision next summer, knowing there’s a strong possibility he opts into that $36 million player option? Or, if he struggles, do you start shopping him early and potentially move him before or at the trade deadline?

That’s the dilemma Phoenix will have to navigate. The front office has to weigh all these factors while also trying to understand exactly how Green fits within this team’s ecosystem. Is he someone you use as a primary playmaker, allowing Devin Booker to thrive more in an off-ball role? Or is Green the off-ball guard, the player who benefits from the gravity Booker naturally creates?

The early indications suggest the Suns may want Green to handle more point guard responsibilities, much like they experimented with Bradley Beal two summers ago.

Maybe in the future they switch it but as of right now they view Jalen as the PG.

— Benjamin Garcia (@BenGarciaShow) August 26, 2026

Is that the right strategy? I’m not sure the guy with a 1.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio is the ideal choice to be your primary ball handler. Booker, by comparison, has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8:1. Yikes, right? My guess is that we’re going to see an infusion of both philosophies. That would make sense considering the Suns are clearly leaning into a more modern, positionless approach with the way they’ve constructed this roster.

In a perfect world, Green progresses as both a player and a playmaker. He uses his athleticism to become elite at getting to the rim while also improving his overall decision-making. If that happens, the Suns will then have to figure out how to make everything work financially in the years ahead. But if Green reaches that level, that’s a good problem to have.

You’d much rather have a talented player and be trying to figure out how to make everything fit within the system, the organization, and the cap sheet than be stuck with someone who is overpriced, overpaid, and underperforming. So ultimately, this is a prove-it year for Jalen Green.

And proving it means more than scoring points. Green has to show that his athleticism can translate into winning basketball, that his decision-making can improve, and that he complements Booker rather than complicates the offense around him. Phoenix never received the evaluation period it expected last season. Now it gets another chance. By next summer, the Suns need to know whether Jalen Green is part of what they’re building or simply another contract they have to navigate around.

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Joey and Jesse Buss didn’t take long to find their way back into sports franchise ownership. On Wednesday, the Buss brothers announced they had joined the San Diego Padres ownership group.

Shortly before finalizing the sale of their majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter last year, the brothers created Buss Sports Capital to return to ownership. Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported the details of the deal with the Padres.

Joey and Jesse announced they will be on the new ownership group’s advisory board and apply their experience with player development, payroll management and roster construction to support this new era in Padres franchise history. Their stake in the Padres is in the neighborhood of 5%, sources told ESPN.

Joey released a statement to ESPN on the decision to join the Padres, their first move as a company.

“We are honored to join Kwanza and José and have the opportunity to contribute to the future of a team that Jesse and I have loved since we were kids growing up in San Diego,” Joey Buss said in a statement. “Sports have always been a part of our family’s story, and great organizations have a unique ability to bring people together and create a lasting sense of community. Padres fans have built one of the most passionate and loyal communities in all of sports, and we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to deepen that connection in San Diego and around the world.

“The Padres are on the cusp of something special, and through Buss Sports Capital, we look forward to bringing our experience and perspective to the ownership group and doing our part to build on the strong foundation already in place.”

This move should not be contingent on anything with the sale of the minority stake the siblings are trying to complete. That said, I’m sure they’d love to add more money to this venture with another sale, which might be part of their motivation to cash out.

McMenamin also noted an interesting point later in the article about potential future endeavors for the Buss brothers.

The minority ownership position with the Padres is Buss Sports Capital’s first major business move since its launch; however, the Buss brothers continue to pursue an ownership stake in the upcoming NBA Europe league, sources told ESPN.

The NBA Europe league still doesn’t feel like it’ll be a real thing, but that’s not really based on anything of note. Commissioner Adam Silver has pushed hard to expand into Europe, so it’s clearly a priority for him. Smaller developments over the years seem to be laying the groundwork for an NBA Europe league.

One would think that the Buss brothers would be good candidates to get involved with the league. Both wanted to remain with the Lakers before Jeanie fired them and had success with the franchise.

Now, it’ll just be a matter of how much money they may have to invest in the new league.

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

The woman accusing former Los Angeles Lakers star Byron Scott of sexually assaulting her when she was 15 has settled her claims against Campbell Hall, the prestigious Southern California private school where the alleged incident occurred nearly 40 years ago.

Terms of the settlement are under seal until the completion of the civil lawsuit against Scott, according to a ruling issued in the case last week approving the agreement and obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, August 26. The trial is set to begin on Sept. 8 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

According to court documents previously obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the woman accuses the now 65-year-old Scott of sexual battery and false imprisonment. The original lawsuit was filed in 2022 under the California Child Victim's Act, which extended the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse survivors to file civil claims. Scott sought to keep his name out of the documents and requested to use "John Doe."

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The lawsuit says in 1987 the Lakers were visiting the accuser's high school, Campbell Hall in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, where the accuser was taking summer classes, after which she "was sexually assaulted by Byron Scott in a locked janitor’s closet in the high school gymnasium." The team was at the school filming instructional basketball videos in the gym and met with the parents, students and teachers.

Campbell Hall was also named as a defendant, and the lawsuit accused the institution of negligence for not protecting the accuser. The school previously attempted to remove itself from the litigation, but a judge ruled against its motion in January. The lawsuit demanded a jury trial and $25,000 for damages, payment of attorney fees, and loss of wages to be paid by Scott and the high school.

Notable Campbell Hall alumni include director Paul Thomas Anderson, actresses Dakota and Elle Fanning and NBA players Jrue, Justin and Aaron Holiday.

Scott was 26 years old and married to his first wife, Anita, at the time of the alleged sexual assault. He has since divorced and remarried. Scott played for the Lakers from 1983 to 1993, winning three NBA championships during the "Showtime" era, and finished his career with the team in 1996-97. Scott also spent 15 seasons as an NBA head coach, most recently with the Lakers in 2015-16.

"Our client is devastated by this complaint," Scott's attorney Linda Bauermeister said in a statement in May 2025 after the lawsuit was initially filed. "Our client believed the plaintiff to be over 18 and had no idea she would claim otherwise until 35 years later. He respects girls and women, and the claims have blindsided him and his family."

Contributing: Scooby Axson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman accusing Byron Scott of sexual assault settles with school as trial looms

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