Category: NBA

Why Mike Dunleavy might be hinting Warriors make big 2027 NBA deadline trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Health is the NBA’s biggest bet every year when the league releases regular-season schedules for all 30 teams. 

Everybody is hoping for a healthy Steph Curry on Christmas against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Curry is the sole reason the Warriors are slated to appear on Christmas for a 14th consecutive year. He’s why the Warriors even have 28 national games in the 2026-27 NBA season, down from 34 last season. 

The bigger gamble is a healthy and close to full-strength Curry in the Warriors’ one game at Madison Square Garden this season. The game against the New York Knicks falls on a Saturday night, 5:30 p.m. PT on Feb. 13 at The Mecca. Those few details alone are an appointment for must-see TV and a list of top celebrities sitting along the sidelines. 

It’s also the sixth and final game of a Warriors road trip that begins in LA and ends across the country in New York. The Warriors play the LA Clippers, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and the Knicks, in that order. Fortunately for them, the trip only features one back-to-back when the Warriors play in Chicago on a Tuesday night and Boston on a Wednesday night. 

Their game in New York against the Knicks isn’t until that Saturday night, giving Curry and the Warriors two full days off in between. The date and the game hold a much different significance for Golden State than Steph’s yearly showcase under the MSG spotlight. 

Why? Because it’s the Warriors’ first game after the Feb. 11 trade deadline. 

“We have multiple ways to get better during the season, which is something we’ve done the last few years,” Dunleavy said Tuesday during a video press conference with local media. “Whether it’s adding [Jimmy] Butler, adding [Kristaps] Porzingis, you can go as far back as adding Andrew Wiggins. I’d say we’re pretty good about improving our team in the middle of the year. 

“The most important thing right now is we got to get off to a good start. We can’t get in a hole because of the guys that we have out. So we’re gonna have to do some lifting early on to hold down the fort, and then after that, I feel pretty good about our ability. If we need to get better by adding talent, we can and we will.”

Dunleavy is in his third season as Warriors GM. He had a quiet trade deadline his first year when the Warriors were a .500 team at the time and shipped Cory Joseph to the Indiana Pacers for a second-round draft pick. Dunleavy then went star hunting his second year and wound up with Butler in a trade with the Miami Heat. With Curry and Butler both hurt, Dunleavy last season sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks for Porzingis. 

After playing in 15 games for the Warriors last season, plus the two play-in tournament games, Porzingis returned this offseason on a two-year, $40 million extension. The Warriors brought back Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton, Al Horford and Gary Payton II. They’re the only team that hasn’t added any talent outside of the draft, with two current open spots on their 15-man roster. 

But that isn’t how the Warriors see it. 

“If people see us as running back a 37-win team, I would say we’ve added to that team from the way it started last year with a player like Porzingis,” Dunleavy said. “And then most importantly, we get into the season and we see how our guys come back from injuries like Moses [Moody] and Jimmy.”

The Warriors see Porzingis as identical to an offseason addition, and with the highest upside talent at center on the free agent market outside of Detroit Pistons restricted free agent Jalen Duren. They see Horford as someone who can have a much more normal offseason, working with the training staff and being more available at the start of the season. They see Melton as someone who finally gets to enjoy a healthy summer and is a better fit next to Curry than, say, Anfernee Simons. 

They see rookie Yaxel Lenedeborg as a Day 1 starter who can help fill the shoes of Butler and Moody as well as anybody else, especially when it comes to the Warriors’ financial strains. 

And yes, the Warriors are going to consider Butler and Moody as in-season additions, even as they face uphill battles coming back from injury. 

Between Butler and Green, the Warriors have more than $84.5 million in expiring contracts alone right there. Porzingis has a $20 million player option for the 2027-28 season, but only $3 million is guaranteed until July 7, 2027. The Warriors’ books are being cleared for next summer, yet Dunleavy already is hinting at being players during this upcoming season’s trade deadline. 

“If you just look at our books, our assets, all that stuff, we’ve got a lot of ways to entice teams and make things available and worthwhile for them to do a trade with us,” Dunleavy said. “So for those reasons, I feel pretty confident that if we have to improve the roster in the middle of the season we can.” 

Looking at the Warriors’ assets, they own their first-round pick in each of the next three years. It belongs to them in 2030 if the pick falls between Nos. 1 and 20, but goes to the Memphis Grizzlies if it’s between Nos. 21 and 30. They then again own their first-round pick in 2031, 2032 and 2033. 

Dunleavy says the Warriors have been “super aggressive” in years past, whether it be the offseason or going into the trade deadline. But the Warriors have been holding onto first-round draft picks as if they’re a delicate baby. You’d have to go all the way back to the summer of 2013 to find a time when the Warriors sent two or more first-round picks out in a trade. That brought them Andre Iguodala. 

Butler didn’t involve multiple first-round picks. Neither did Wiggins. Most recently, the Warriors have balked at using two or more first-round picks on players like Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard, two aging stars who have their own injury concerns.

The Warriors were 25-24 when they traded for Butler in 2025. Last season, they were 27-24 when they traded for Porzingis. What kind of team will they be when the trade deadline comes around this season? 

A total of 53 games will have been played by then. The Warriors will have gone on the road for 27 games and stayed back at home for 26, without including games from the results of the NBA Cup. Those first 53 games going into the trade deadline also include 10 back-to-backs, with two to go in the final 27 games.

The team the Warriors have put together for the season opener has never been how they look coming out of the trade deadline under Dunleavy. Internally, the Warriors don’t view themselves as running it back. Externally, they’re already touting their ability to look different a few months from now. 

“If this was the in-season cup that we were solely focused on, yeah, we probably have a different roster right now,” Dunleavy said. “We’d be getting ready for a sprint, but it’s a marathon, and we have a season to get through, and we have the ability to improve our team not only in the offseason but throughout the season. And so that’s something I keep in mind and don’t feel like hey, we have to have our team set come October 21. 

“The best version of our team is the most important version. It has to be in April, May and hopefully June.”

That is, as long as the Warriors can first make it through October, November, December and so on, a problem they’re again trying to reverse.

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After a steady drip of marquee games earlier this week, the NBA released the full regular season schedule for the Golden State Warriors and the rest of the league Thursday.

The Warriors will play their first home game Oct. 23 against the Memphis Grizzlies, and it will be the only time they play inside their own arena for the first five games on their schedule.

They also close the season with seven of their final nine games on the road, a stretch that includes two dates with LeBron James and the 76ers as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The veteran roster will have to travel approximately 46,000 miles and navigate 15 back-to-backs. As long as Curry’s around, so will be the spotlight: Golden State will be featured on national television 28 times, including games on Christmas and Presidents Day.

These are the biggest dates on the Warriors’ 2026-27 schedule:

Oct 21: Opening Night

It’s practically becoming a tradition.

For the second year in a row and the third time since 2021, the Warriors will open their season against the Lakers in Los Angeles. They also hosted their Western Conference rivals to begin the 2022 season. But this year, the matchup comes with a twist.

It won’t involve LeBron James.

These are Luka Doncic’s Lakers now.

Curry went 7-9 in regular-season matchups against the Lakers during James’ run starting in 2018. Now he’ll have a different kind of test in a team built around Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Golden State started strong last season, beating the Lakers on Opening Night and winning four of their first five. It will be more difficult this year for the same reason things fell apart last year.

While all indications are Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are doing well in their recoveries from knee surgeries, the Warriors won’t have either wing for at least the first portion of their schedule.

Oct. 23: The home opener

Not only Yaxel Lendeborg’s regular season home debut, the No. 11 overall draft pick’s first showdown with a fellow lottery selection in the Grizzlies’ Cam Boozer, taken fourth overall.

With the Warriors’ injury situation and general age of the roster, they need the 23-year-old rookie — one of the oldest players in the draft class — to be rotation-ready from the jump.

Lendeborg has looked like an instant contributor so far, taking home Summer League MVP, but he’ll have a chance to really prove himself in one of the only one-on-one matchups he’ll get against a big man taken ahead of him this past June.

Nov. 6: Moving up the leaderboards

Entering his 17th season, the Curry money machine keeps whirring and the Warriors keep announcing sellouts. In their fifth home game of the year, they’ll make some history.

It should go down as the 611th consecutive home game they’ve played in front of a sold-out crowd, surpassing the Chicago Bulls for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history.

Fittingly, their opponent will be the Miami Heat, the only team with an active streak that dates back further (683 games, since April 2010).

The Warriors’ streak began on Dec. 18, 2012, at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Bulls’ spanned the duration of the Michael Jordan-era dynasty, running from Nov. 20, 1987, to Nov. 3, 2000.

Next up: The Boston Celtics’ 662-game streak from 1980 to 1995. The Mavericks hold the all-time record at 1,005 games, which came to an end last season.

Dec. 4-11: NBA Cup

The Warriors’ competition in the group stage round was announced earlier this week. They’ll host the Lakers in their first NBA Cup qualifier Oct. 30, visit the Spurs on Nov. 13, host Kings on Nov. 25 and meet the Blazers on the road Nov. 27 as part of Group C.

If they advance, they’ll play in the knockout rounds from Dec. 4-9. If they do not, they will play regular season games from Dec. 6-10.

Dec. 25: Christmas Day, Pt. XVI

If there is one upside to the Curry era coming to a close, at least for Warriors staffers, it is that they will finally get to spend Christmas with their families. It’s not that time yet.

For the 14th year in a row and the 16th time in the past 17 seasons, Curry and the Warriors will be featured as one of the five games on the NBA’s biggest day of the regular season.

They will tip off at 7:30 at home against the Nuggets in a redux of their 2023 matchup, which they lost 120-114 in Denver. Golden State is 16-19 all-time on the holiday.

Jan. 30-Feb. 13: A big test 

General manager Mike Dunleavy heavily implied that the Warriors will seek to make in-season upgrades to their roster, and they’ll have no better time to evaluate their needs than the stretch immediately leading up to the Feb. 11 trade deadline.

First, they’ll host the defending Western Conference champion Spurs for their only two meetings outside of the NBA Cup on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1. Then, they set out on their longest road trip of the season — six games in three time zones from Feb. 3 to 13 — that ends in a meeting with the defending champion Knicks at Madison Square Garden two days after the deadline.

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March 24-31: LeBron week

The Warriors were spurned in their pursuit of a generational pairing of Steph and LeBron.

Like many love interests gone afoul, space and time just might be the best cure.

In which case, good news: The Warriors won’t have to even think about LeBron until March, and they’ll get their only two matchups out of the way in the span of a week (March 24 at home, March 31 in Philadelphia).

James signed a two-year contract with the Sixers, so hopefully we’ll get to see him and Curry share the court at least two more times next season. But James is 41, Curry is 38 and both players missed a large portion of last season, so you never know when it might be the final time.

Apr. 8-9: A tough close

One of the most daunting stretches of the Warriors’ schedule comes at the very end. That might be good news for a team that will be counting on two key players returning from serious injuries, which could take some time, but it will be a challenge as they attempt to lock down a top-six seed and avoid the play-in tournament in the waning days of the regular season.

The Warriors host the Jazz in Game 82, but they will play seven of their eight games before that on the road, capped off with the final back-to-back of the season — both in Oklahoma City.

They probably won’t be able to unpack their bags for the final two weeks of the season.

The Utah Jazz regular season schedule was released today. The Jazz did a great job with the reveal, with this amazing video featuring Thurl Bailey.

every fan base has challenges, but you don’t have to face them alone 💜

the @NBA schedule has arrived and we brought in Fandom Life Coach @bigTbailey to help fans across the league deal with their biggest fandom concerns 🤝#TakeNote | @SeatGeekpic.twitter.com/86t4Ylgl96

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 13, 2026

Here’s a look at the full schedule from the Jazz.

mark your 🗓️

the 26/27 schedule is here… YOU READY?
⁰#TakeNote | @SeatGeekpic.twitter.com/n2qQQRHmpn

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 13, 2026

Some quick notes of interest. The return of Walker Kessler is just three games into the season (10/25). It’ll be after their first game in Memphis (10/21) and their home opener against the Pelicans (10/23). The Jazz will have 6 national games: Four on NBC, one on ESPN, and one on Prime. The Prime game is probably the most interesting because it’s the first time Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa will face off. It’s also interesting because it’s the last scheduled national game of the regular season for the Jazz. It’s game 61, and by that time both Peterson and Dybantsa should be acclimated to the league. Personally, that’s the one I’m looking forward to most.

It’s an exciting day for Jazz fans as it’s the first step towards a new season. What are the games you are looking forward to most?

Bradley Beal’s first season with the Los Angeles Clippers barely got started. He will get another chance to make it work.

The three-time All-Star has agreed to return to Los Angeles on a two-year, $13.2 million contract with a player option in the second season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The reunion comes after Beal declined his $5.62 million player option earlier this offseason, a somewhat surprising decision considering how little he was able to show during his first year in Los Angeles.

Beal appeared in only six games before a hip injury ended his 2025-26 season. He averaged just 8.2 points and 1.7 assists in 20.2 minutes per game, by far the smallest sample of his 14-year NBA career.

That brief stint looked nothing like the player who once averaged 31.3 points per game for Washington or even the version who produced 17.0 points per game during his final season in Phoenix.

The Clippers are betting there is still something useful left.

Beal returns to a roster undergoing significant change. Los Angeles has added Darius Garland and No. 5 overall pick Keaton Wagler to its backcourt mix, while Kawhi Leonard’s future remains unresolved amid the NBA’s investigation into alleged salary-cap circumvention involving Leonard and the Clippers.

That uncertainty makes Beal’s return a relatively low-cost attempt to stabilize the backcourt.

If healthy, the 33-year-old could compete for starting minutes alongside Garland while providing another ball-handler and scorer. His availability remains the larger question, however, as Beal has not played more than 60 regular-season games since 2018-19.

After getting only six games from their investment last season, the Clippers are willing to try again.

This time, both sides will be hoping Beal’s second season in Los Angeles lasts considerably longer than his first.

Bradley Beal has agreed to a two-year deal to return to the LA Clippers, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Beal’s deal is said to be worth $13.2 million and will have a player option for the second year.

The three-time All-Star played in just six games during his debut season in Los Angeles before suffering a season-ending left hip fracture and undergoing surgery in November 2025. He initially left a game against his former team, the Phoenix Suns, during the first half because of hip soreness.

Beal averaged just 8.2 points, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 rebounds in his six games played last season.

He's averaged 21.4 points, 4.3 assists and 4 rebounds per game through the first 14 years of his career.

Grading Bradley Beal signing

Beal will add a veteran presence to the Clippers’ locker room, which could prove beneficial for a fairly young roster.

The Clippers drafted Keaton Wagler with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and he is likely to see significant time as the starting shooting guard, with Beal serving as the primary backup and mentor to Wagler.

Grade: B

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bradley Beal contract grade: Veteran guard returning to Clippers

Given how pricey these NBA teams are getting, they are typically owned by a group of people with someone serving as the de facto face.

When the Buss family owned the Lakers, Jeanie was front and center after her father’s passing. Mark Walter, during his brief time in charge, mainly took a backseat role and kept Jeanie as the public figure.

Now that Walter has sold the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, who will be the face of the pairing? In a recent article by Khobi Price in the California Post, the indication is that Iger will be more involved than Kushner.

But one thing that became apparent in the immediate aftermath of the pending sale: Iger will be the one most actively involved with the Lakers once the sale becomes official, a source told the California Post.

Even early on, it appears clear that Iger is the new face of Lakers ownership. He’s already demonstrated this by having this exclusive interview. This is in stark contrast to Walter, who never really spoke to the media or made meaningful statements on behalf of the team.

This is all still very fresh, but it’s likely that whenever a statement from ownership comes out, Iger will be the one doing the talking.

It’s important to understand the hierarchy, especially at the very top of an organization. If everyone knows that Iger is the face and voice of ownership, then it’s easier to know who people need to go to for direction.

Considering Iger and Kushner bought the team within 72 hours and don’t have plans for the future worked out yet, they probably haven’t figured out all the details either. Hopefully, as the dust settles on this transaction, the Lakers will come out better for it.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Kevin Durant is a future Hall of Famer himself, but upon hearing the news of Russell Westbrook's retirement, he called his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate "inspiring."

A day after Westbrook announced he's bidding adieu to basketball, Durant took to X on Thursday, Aug. 13 to write a heartfelt post to the point guard, who played 18 seasons in the NBA. The duo spent eight years together early in their NBA careers. They took Oklahoma City, which moved from Seattle the summer Westbrook joined the team, to the playoffs five times. They reached the Finals in the 2011-12 season, where they lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

In his reflection, Durant gave insight into who Westbrook is as a player and person.

"A lot of people looked at the emotions on the court and thought Russ was loud, nah to me, he was quiet and methodical," Durant said. "He lead by example and once the lights were bright, he let everything out and experienced pure freedom. It was inspiring as his teammate and everywhere I went, I seen it inspire people from all walks of life, crazy thing is, he didn’t say much, he just showed up."

Durant is a 16-time All-Star and won two championships after leaving the Thunder in 2016. Westbrook was named an All-Star nine times and became the NBA's triple-double king upon his own departure from Oklahoma City in 2019. They played together during the 2016 NBA All-Star Game when Westbrook was named MVP.

The Slim Reaper recalled how he and the former UCLA standout developed a friendship. He said they encouraged each other through the highs and lows of their careers and the everyday moments, "bus rides, plane rides, card games, jokes and arguments," and concluded, "the whole thing, memorable!!"

Durant shared a story of when he asked Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks if it's harder to work out before or after practice because he saw Westbrook coming in to train before. When he remembered Cheeks saying, "coming in before practice is probably harder," Durant took on the challenge that his point guard set the tone with, saying "since then, it’s been my routine."

Durant reflected on the exclusive nature of being an NBA player and the understanding he and Westbrook have for each other and the game. He expressed hope that his teammate will continue his legacy, calling his career "iconic."

"This basketball life is sacred to us as professionals, what we put into that court means everything," he said. "Some of us wish we could go back and do things with a little more intent and some can just wipe their hands and be satisfied with the time spent. Who u gonna be? We know what zero was on … keep inspiring in the next phase of life champ. ... much love and Congratulations on a iconic career."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Durant congratulates 'inspiring' Russell Westbrook on retirement

The Los Angeles Lakers’ complete 2026-27 schedule was released on Thursday, Aug. 13, and coach JJ Redick's team has a starting point for how it can remain a contender in the Western Conference.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will lead the Lakers during a season that starts with eight of the first 10 games against Western Conference teams, including the two games each against the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat will be the two out-of-conference opponents during the early portion of the schedule.

The Lakers will play 14 back-to-back games this season, including at the start of November against the Raptors and the Heat in Los Angeles.

MORE: NBA national TV, streaming schedule for 2026-27 season: See the full slate

The Raptors have the potential to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, if the trade with the Clippers for Kawhi Leonard is finalized and made official. Miami will pose a challenge for the Lakers with the Heat fielding a lineup that includes Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The former MVP was acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks in a trade back in June.

Doncic and the Lakers will be featured in 34 nationally televised games, which is tied for the most in the NBA. Of the 34 nationally televised games, 18 of those games will be played at home, which is also the most in the league.

The Lakers' longest road trip will take place from Jan. 28 to Feb. 8, with a seven-game road trip that will include visits to Madison Square Garden to take on the defending NBA champion New York Knicks.

The Lakers will also take on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics during the trip.

It will be just one of three times the Lakers will play the Spurs this season. The Oklahoma City Thunder also appear on the Lakers’ schedule just three times.

The Lakers also will serve as a host to several teams, having three five-game homestands during the season.

In total, the Lakers will also have three instances where they are playing five games during seven days on three different occasions, which is the most in the league.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers schedule: What to know for 2026-27 season

On Thursday, after a few days of gradual reveals, the NBA schedule came out in full, aside from the two to-be-determined games in December pending the results of the NBA Cup. The Knicks now know where and when they’ll be playing the other 29 teams that spent the entire offseason trying to figure out how to take down our NBA champion Knickerbockers.

Today I’m going to highlight individual games, stretches, and notable parts that you might miss glossing over the schedule, because let’s face it: a schedule where you play everyone multiple times doesn’t have much luster.

Ring Night – 10/20 vs. PHI

One of the several games we were already aware of, the single most anticipated regular season game maybe in franchise history, will also be used by the NBA to introduce the new-look Sixers and their 41-year-old shiny new toy, LeBron James.

He’s likely the reason they got the nod over the last team to beat the Knicks in the postseason with a returning All-NBA guard, but I’ve also just recently thought of the other reason: there are no guarantees that their vaunted starting five will be healthy for extended stretches of time with you know who in the middle. Opening Night is maybe the only time they can guarantee that.

Of course, the main course of the night for us will be the pregame festivities. Ariel Hukporti will be in town to get his ring, as will at least 12 of the 18 men who enjoyed the festivities in June (will Dillon Jones or Kevin McCullar Jr. return on two-ways?). Over/under 2.5 new banners in the rafters; call it now.

Holidays – 11/27 vs MIA, 12/25 vs SA, 12/31 @ PHX, 1/18 vs MIN, 3/17 vs SAC, 3/28 @ ORL

You’ll get to enjoy Knicks basketball on plenty of special occasions this year, starting with their first look at Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Miami Heat on Black Friday and the already-revealed Christmas clash with the Spurs.

For the second straight year, the Knicks go out west on New Year’s Eve for a game that will likely end close to midnight over here in Phoenix at 9:00. You can probably guess why, but the Knicks haven’t hosted a game on NYE since 1968 against the Baltimore Bullets.

A 5 pm matchup with Anthony Edwards and the T-Wolves on MLK Day, a St. Patty’s Day game against the Kings, and an Easter matinee in Orlando round out the holiday slate.

Longest Homestand – 5 games (Nov 21-29)

There’s only one homestand longer than four games for the Knicks, and it comes early, as the Knicks will play five consecutive games at the World’s Most Famous Arena to end November. It’ll start with a back-to-back against Portland and Indiana before two days off leading into a pair of NBA Cup games that’ll surround Thanksgiving. A Sunday night game against Atlanta will round it out

Longest Road Trip – 7 games* (Dec 1-21)

This is a really weird schedule. The Knicks go from a five-game homestand directly into a seven-game road trip. Then, after spending a week at home in late December surrounding the blockbuster Christmas matchup against the Spurs, they go out west for a six-game road trip.

That 7-game stretch is certainly something, but it also needs an asterisk due to the NBA Cup. As scheduled, the Knicks will play a back-to-back in Chicago and Milwaukee to start, before a 10-day gap. In that gap, the NBA Cup knockout round will commence. After it does, the Knicks will head to Miami on December 12 before ping-ponging around Houston, New Orleans, Washington, and Cleveland.

This could wind up being a five-game road trip, or could be a ridiculous 10-game stretch without any games in MSG depending on the context:

12/1: @ Chicago
12/2: @ Milwaukee
12/4 or 12/5: NBA Cup QF
12/8 or 12/9: NBA Cup SF
12/11: NBA Cup Final (Indy)
12/12: @ Miami
12/14: @ Houston
12/16: @ New Orleans
12/18: @ Washington
12/21: @ Cleveland

There is a guaranteed six-game road trip that begins nine days later for good measure. The Knicks head to Utah on December 30, spend New Year’s in Phoenix, look to repeat recent dominance in Denver to start 2027, and then play three consecutive 10 pm games in Portland, Golden State, and Sacramento. What a six-week stretch.

NBA Cup – 10/30 @ PHI, 11/13 @ IND, 11/25 vs CLE, 11/27 vs MIA

It’s only right that the reigning NBA Cup champions get drawn into maybe the hardest group possible. This is taking Group of Death to another level. If you’re wondering how this is possible, the NBA tries to “balance” groups by using last year’s standings, and because of how bad Indiana was in their gap year along with the mediocrity of both Philly and Miami, this is what you get.

We start off by facing the Sixers for the second time before October is over in MSG Philly Xfinity Mobile Arena, face Tyrese Haliburton and company for the first time since Tom Thibodeau was on the sideline two weeks later in Indy, and then head home for back-to-back Cup games around Thanksgiving against the Cavs and Giannis-led Miami Heat. It’s funny how the only one of these games on regular TV is an ECF rematch, just to tell you how much the league respects those Cavaliers now.

Vaunted Back-to-Backs

The Knicks are tied for the fewest road back-to-back games with five, according to NBA Today, so that’s nice. Still, there are 12 back-to-backs on the schedule, but the Knicks are fortunate to have a number of them stay within the confines of Madison Square Garden.

Here are some of the tougher ones on the schedule:

Oct 27-28th: vs. DET, @ CHI
Dec 30-31th: @ UTAH, @ PHX
Jan 13-14th: @ BOS, vs. MIA
Feb 3-4th: @ DET, vs. TOR

(There is also a possibility of a December 11-12th back-to-back from the NBA Cup Final and a trip to South Beach, not great).

Coffee Games

Good news: the NBA has once again spared us of the 11:00 games that they’re doing on weekdays for some ungodly reason.

Bad news: there’s still a bunch of late games.

Here’s a list of every game starting 9:30 pm EST or later:

Mon, Jan 4: @ Portland (10:00)
Wed, Jan 6: @ Golden State (10:00, ESPN)
Fri, Jan 8: @ Sacramento (10:00)
Sun, Feb 7: @ Oklahoma City (9:30, NBC)
Thu, Mar 4: @ Dallas (9:30, Prime Video)
Wed, Mar 10: @ Clippers (10:30)
Thu, Mar 11: @ Lakers (10:00, Prime Video)

Old Friends Returning To MSG

Ring Edition:

Ariel Hukporti (PHI): October 20th (NBC)
Jeremy Sochan (POR): November 21st
Trey Jemison III (TOR): January 20th
Mitchell Robinson (BOS): March 14th (ABC)

OAKAAK Edition:

Julius Randle (BKN): Nov 2, Dec 27
RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley (TOR): Jan 20, Feb 4
Mario Hezonja (CLE): Nov 11, Nov 25
Obi Toppin (IND): Nov 22, Apr 11
Jericho Sims (MIL): Nov 10, Feb 28
Trevor Keels, Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr. (MIA): Nov 27, Jan 14
Donte DiVincenzo (MIN): Jan 18 (won’t play due to a torn Achilles)
Isaiah Hartenstein (OKC): Feb 25
Kristaps Porzingis (GS): Feb 13
Quentin Grimes (LAL): Jan 30
Precious Achiuwa (SAC): Mar 17
Taj Gibson (MEM): Mar 2

Notable Individual Games

Fri, Oct 23rd @ BOS (7:00, Prime Video): Mike Brown is required to playfully do the Hack-a-Mitch as soon as he walks on the court. His mentor would be proud.

Tues, Oct 27th vs. DET (8:00, NBC): Man, you really forget that the Pistons were the best team in the East all year last year, huh? I can’t imagine they’re going to win all these games by 30 again, right?

Fri, Oct 30th @ PHI (7:30, Prime Video): This is an NBA Cup game, but the more important thing to me is seeing if LeBron is enough to stop Knicks fans from invading. Who am I kidding? Sixers fans cried poor at $100 playoff tickets; they’re not spending $500 to go to this game.

Sun, Nov 22nd vs. IND (8:00, MSG): Did you know that neither Pacers/Knicks game in New York is nationally televised? That feels like an oversight. This will be Tyrese Haliburton’s first game at MSG since that Eastern Conference Finals matchup immortalized him as a villain. The other game at MSG will be a meaningless Game 82, most likely.

Sat, Jan 2nd @ DEN (5:00, MSG): Here’s your yearly reminder that the Knicks have outscored the Nuggets by a whopping 66 points the last two times they’ve played at “the toughest road atmosphere in basketball”

Thu, Jan 28th vs. ATL (7:00, Prime Video)
Sat, Jan 30th vs. LAL (8:30, ABC): This is being categorized as “Rivalry Week”. There are at least six teams I would name as bigger rivals than the Lakers (who we haven’t played a meaningful game against in 50 years) and the Hawks (who got embarrassed last April by their main antagonist in Washington now).

Wed, Feb 3rd @ DET (7:00, ESPN): This is the 2027 NBA Pioneers Classic, a now-annual event by the NBA to honor the memory of the first black players to integrate the league in 1950. The Bucks and Celtics played the inaugural edition last year with commemorative patches and pregame warmups. There’s also a trophy at stake if we want to keep collecting.

Sun, Mar 7th @ SA (7:30, NBC): Will the Spurs’ PA sound guy dare to play the goofy music after being walked down in their own building three times in a row last June?

Sat, Mar 20th vs. WAS (7:00, MSG): This is the only time the Wizards head to town this year, and there are a few questions here. AJ Dybantsa will be a treat to watch, for sure, but will we actually get to see Trae Young and Anthony Davis play? In a hyper-competitive East, it wouldn’t be shocking if they were shut down by now if the Wizards had some growing pains.

The Dallas Mavericks released their schedule for the 2026-2027 season on Thursday. As usual, there is no shortage of intriguing plot points to consider, and some interesting quirks that will surely gain the ire of Mavs’ fans. Below is a look at some key points to know about what is to come for Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, Morez Johnson and the rest of the new-look Mavericks.

A daunting October

Straight out of the gate, the Mavericks will be tested. They open the season on the road against the Rockets, then travel to face the Pacers two nights later. They come home the next night to take on the Finals runner-up Spurs, then play the Heat in Miami two nights after that. That’s four games in six nights, three of which are on the road, including a back-to-back. The Mavs then round out the month at home against the Thunder and Houston once again.

The scares could certainly come in advance of Halloween this year, especially considering the new players and new head coach that will still be feeling their way. Simply put, this could have gone better for Dallas. That said, you never know how things will play out until you actually play. If Dallas can come in thinking they’re playing with house money, they can certainly steal a couple of these.

The longest road trip

The longest road trip of the season spans March 17 to March 24. If, however, you subscribe to the late Don Nelson’s theory, that trip actually runs to March 29, as the Mavs play five on the road, return home for one, then play two more on the road (Nelson once said a single stop home may as well just be another city on the road trip). During the five-game stretch, Dallas plays the Thunder, the Spurs, the Lakers, the Clippers and the Timberwolves. They stop at home on March 26 to play the Pelicans, then hit the road again for the Wizards and Bucks.

Playing seven of eight games on the road is brutal, but there is some solace to be had. The games against the Thunder and Spurs are reasonably short trips with no time zone shift. That is followed by two games in Los Angeles, which also takes some of the sting out, though those games are on consecutive nights.

A rundown of all road trips

Overall, the Mavericks’ travel plans break down as follows:

• Five-game road trip: 1x
• Four-game road trip: 1x
• Three-game road trip: 5x (one of these is broken up by the All-Star break)
• Two-game road trip: 5x
• The remainder of their road games are one-offs sandwiched between home games.

The worst of the bunch are at least limited to one occurrence each.

The final 15-game stretch

Finishing off the travel analysis, it should also be noted that 10 of the final 15 games will be on the road. This includes the five-game trip, as well as a three-game trip in the final four games of the season.

That’s a rough go anyway you cut it. If the team is sniffing the PlayIn or even the postseason at the beginning of March, they are likely going to have to fight hard to keep pace. This is a relatively young team that is going to be tested to close out the year, Playoff considerations or not.

The longest homestand

The longest homestands of the season are four games; it happens twice, but they remain elusive until early-February, with the first running from February 6 to February 11. The second four-game homestand spans March 9 to March 15, but that leads directly into the aforementioned five-game road trip.

The first of those homestands isn’t exactly a cake walk, as Dallas will face the Jazz (who will presumably be bringing their best this year) and the Spurs. The second appears a bit more favorable with games against the Grizzlies, Wizards, Pelicans and Hawks, so Dallas will have to take advantage before heading out on the road a lot thereafter.

A rundown of all homestands

Overall, the Mavericks’ home cooking breaks down as follows:

• Five-game homestand: 0x
• Four-game homestand: 2x
• Three-game homestand: 6x (one of these is broken up by the Emirates Cup)
• Two-game homestand: 4x
• The remainder of their home games are one-offs sandwiched between road games.

This doesn’t really give off the warm and fuzzy feelings you would hope for. Throughout the season, the Mavs don’t really get a nice solid stretch where they can be home and get a flow going on their own floor with their fans backing them. Hopefully this will prove to be a good forge for the young players in which they can build comradery and chemistry with each other.

Back-to-backs

By my count, the Mavericks will have 16 back-to-backs throughout the season. With everything else going on, it would have been nice to see this number at 13 or even 14, but here we are.

Back-to-backs are always tough, especially those that contribute to three games in four nights. For the Mavericks, it will be interesting to see how they manage player loads. Will some of the younger guys get the second night off as they acclimate to the NBA grind? Are these 16 instances the equivalent of 16 games Kyrie Irving simply won’t play as he makes his way back from injury? That’s a lot of games to miss a key starter and team leader.

Luka Doncic’s birthday present

The Lakers come to Dallas a single time during the season. That game is on February 28, which just so happens to be former Maverick Luka Doncic’s birthday. Conincidence?

7:00pm start times

If you look closely, you’ll notice that Maverick home games will be starting a bit earlier this season. For a long time, 7:30pm was commonplace, as consideration was given to getting fans in their seats for tipoff, despite local traffic at rush hour. This year, the Mavericks have 26 home games starting at 7:00pm. That constitutes every single home game that is not nationally televised, except two. Dallas plays the Nets at home at 6:30pm, and the Grizzlies at home at 7:30pm. Every other non-7:00pm game is nationally televised, on a holiday, or a weekend afternoon game.

Earlier start times may result in a thin crowd to start games. How much of a factor this will play, if any, is anyone’s guess. However, a packed, raucous crowd is better than not for a young home team that won’t string together much at home all year, so this time change may not be for the best.

Sound off in the comments section with your thoughts on all of this, and anything else you may have seen in the schedule.

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

Kendrick Perkins believes the Los Angeles Lakers should enter the 2026-27 season with championship expectations, even if he still has serious doubts about how the roster is built around Luka Dončić.

Discussing the Lakers after the release of their schedule, Perkins pointed to Dončić and an offense he expects to rank among the NBA’s best as reasons Los Angeles should remain dangerous.

“They still have one of the best offensive players in Luka Dončić,” Perkins said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “They got enough offensive firepower to win games in the regular season.”

But Perkins still placed the Lakers behind Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver and Minnesota in the Western Conference hierarchy.

That relatively modest assessment follows much harsher criticism he previously directed at the franchise’s decision to build around Dončić and Austin Reaves.

“Luka and Austin Reaves are your franchise players,” Perkins said earlier this offseason on Perk Unplugged. “Two guys who are both defensive liabilities.”

Perkins went even further, suggesting playoff opponents could actively seek out Los Angeles because of those defensive weaknesses.

“It ain’t a team in the world, it ain’t a player in the world that’s afraid of Luka and Austin Reaves,” Perkins said. “When the playoffs come around, they’re gonna be looking to get to the seeding where they can actually look at them.”

That makes his latest “championship or bust” declaration less of an endorsement than a statement about the standard attached to the Lakers.

“The middle of the pack doesn’t mean nothing to the Laker fan base,” Perkins said. “It’s championship or bust.”

Oddsmakers appear more aligned with Perkins’ concerns than his optimism.

FanDuel lists Los Angeles at +5500 to win the 2027 NBA championship, behind 17 other teams. Oklahoma City leads the market at +230, followed by San Antonio at +280.

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That is a sizable disconnect for a franchise beginning an era centered squarely around Dončić.

The Lakers have continued searching for reinforcements, including being linked to former Warriors star Klay Thompson, but questions remain about whether the current group has enough defense and depth to survive four playoff rounds.

Dončić, however, is setting a much higher bar.

Following the Lakers’ $12.5 billion sale to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, he wrote that he was “excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA.”

Perkins’ position is therefore a complicated one: he has questioned whether the Lakers built the right team around their superstar while insisting the franchise cannot lower its expectations.

For now, Vegas agrees with his skepticism more than his championship standard.

In the second half of their careers, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant had their differences, but have never lost their respect for one another.

On Thursday morning, Durant revealed what it was like playing beside Westbrook for eight seasons (2008-2016), as he was left “inspired.”

Durant shared a story on X detailing his time as teammates with Westbrook, where he asked former Oklahoma City Coach, Maurice “Mo” Cheeks what’s harder: “workout after practice or before??”

Durant asked the question because he would always find Westbrook finishing up his workouts in the morning.

“Mo like, ‘Coming in before practice is probably harder,” Durant wrote. “Since then, it’s been my routine… a lot of people looked at the emotions on the court, and though Russ was loud, nah to me, he was quiet and methodical.”

Durant went on to write that Westbrook would always lead by example, leaving everything out there, while experiencing true freedom.

“I seen it inspire people from all walks of life, crazy thing is, he didn’t say much, just showed up.” Durant wrote. “For 18 years. This basketball life is sacred to us as professionals, what we put into that court means everything. Some of us wish we could go back and do things with a little more intent, and some can just wipe their hands and be satisfied with the time spent.”

When Westbrook and Durant were teammates in Oklahoma City, the two were on the brink of becoming one of the greatest duos in basketball, as they made the Western Conference Finals five times, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2012 with James Harden.

The trio of Westbrook, Durant, and Harden ultimately ended up losing in the 2012 NBA Finals to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. Harden would leave the two behind after he was traded to the Rockets.

Durant became the league’s MVP in 2014, and would go to the Western Conference Finals with Westbrook two more times in 2013 and 2017, when they were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors.

Durant reached free agency that offseason and would end up signing with the Warriors.

This sparked a rivalry on the court that would last between the two, while the Warriors would become the team to become the league’s juggernaut.

Durant and the Warriors would go on to win two NBA titles [2017, 2018], where he was crowned Finals MVP in both series, while Westbrook would win MVP in 2017.

In his post, Durant hinted at wishing he had handled his departure from Oklahoma City by saying, “Some of us wish we could go back and do things with a little more intent, and some can just wipe their hands and be satisfied with the time spent.”

Durant ended the post by reminiscing about their time together as teammates and went on to send his love to Westbrook and his family and congratulate him on an “Iconic career.”

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The Lakers are set to begin their first season without LeBron James since the 2017-2018 season, and are ready to fully embrace the Luka Doncic era. Clearly, the NBA still sees plenty of value with Los Angeles to be shown in the national spotlight quite often.

During the NBA’s schedule release on Thursday afternoon, it was revealed that Los Angeles will have 34 nationally televised games, tying them for the most in the NBA. Three other teams, the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, and the Philadelphia 76ers, each appear 34 times as well.

Ten of the Lakers’ nationally televised games will be broadcasted on NBC, 10 on Prime Video, nine on ESPN, and five on ABC.

The Lakers’ season will begin on October 21, on ESPN, when they host the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena. The team will have two more nationally televised games the following week against the Portland Trail Blazers on Peacock, on October 27, and the Warriors again on October 30, on Prime Video.

James will be making his return to Los Angeles in a family affair on Christmas Day, when the team is set to host the Philadelphia 76ers, during the 2:00 p.m. slate of the day. Not only will it be the first time James is facing the Lakers, but also the first time he competes against his son Bronny.

The two teams will face each other again when Los Angeles travels to Philadelphia on March 4 and will play at 4:00 p.m.

Both of their matchups against the NBA Champion New York Knicks will come after Christmas as the team will travel out to Madison Square Garden on January 30, which will be aired on ABC.

Their second matchup against them will come nearly a month after the NBA trade deadline, on March 11, aired on Prime Video.

Two of their three matchups against the Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs will be on the road when they play them on November 27, aired on Prime Video at 6:30 p.m., and on February 6, at 5:30 p.m. on ABC. Their lone home game against them will be on Sunday, April 4 at 7 p.m., and will be aired on Telemundo, NBC, and Peacock.

Their first matchup against the Boston Celtics will take place on the road on January 7 at 7:00 p.m. and will be aired on Prime Video. Boston will come to town nearly a month later on February 2, at 5:00 p.m., aired on NBC and Peacock.

That rivalry, regardless of team status, is sure to deliver ratings for the NBA.