The Warriors, eventually, could make a pair of impactful NBA free agency moves.
Golden State has yet to add a player since the league’s free agency negotiating window opened on June 30, largely due to restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga’s contract standstill, but whenever the transaction logjam breaks, NBA insider Marc Stein expects the Warriors to come away with two veteran free agents they have been tied to all summer.
“My expectation is that one way or another, the Warriors are going to end up with both [Al] Horford and [De’Anthony] Melton on their roster,” Stein said Tuesday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs.”
Stein also reported that the Warriors have interest in soon-to-be free agent guard Bradley Beal, who currently is working through a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns.
“They still have interest in Bradley Beal. I would say most people around the league don’t expect the Warriors to win that race, but I don’t know I would say they’re all the way out of it,” Stein added. “We don’t know exactly yet what Bradley Beal’s choice will be.”
While a move for Beal might seem unlikely, the Warriors eventually signing Horford and Melton appears to be a foregone conclusion among some NBA insiders, including Stein.
Golden State has made it clear it would like to add size and shooting this offseason, and Horford checks both boxes, while Melton, who signed with the Warriors last offseason and played in six games before suffering an ACL injury and eventually was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, impressed in his brief stint with the team and was a favorite among the coaching staff and the fan base.
It remains to be seen when these moves could materialize, with Kuminga’s situation potentially the first domino to fall, but once there is clarity there, the Warriors soon could add two key veterans to their roster.
The Boston Celtics have played only three NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas. But with the team in the middle of a two-day break, it’s time for an annual tradition: overreacting to a tiny sample of exhibition basketball.
Here are five over-caffeinated takeaways from Boston’s first week in Vegas:
1. Jordan Walsh getting ejected was the best thing that could have happened to him.
Look, getting booted early from your best game of the summer is less than ideal. And nearly taking out Boston’s entire braintrust while yeeting an opponent into the first row was risky, too.
But Monday’s ejection was a reminder for the 21-year-old Walsh of the sort of intensity that can keep him on the floor during real games.
Walsh isn’t dominating Summer League in the way you might hope a Year 3 player would, but we have to remind ourselves he’s still the second-youngest player on Boston’s summer roster. He’s been at his best when getting physical. Walsh has ventured into the post for some bully ball and shown good ability finishing through contact on drives.
After missing his first 22 3-point attempts last year, he’s more consistently knocked down shots from distance this time around, shooting 35.7 percent on 4.7 3-point attempts per game this summer.
If Walsh can harness the sort of intensity that Pelle Larsson summoned from him Monday night, then we think he can carve out a more consistent role. It’s the least surprising thing in the world that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was a fan of Walsh getting tossed. He’d probably be an even bigger fan of Walsh playing with more consistency — and controlled aggression — during the 2025-26 season.
2. Baylor Scheierman’s TD pass from the floor was a road map to consistent time.
Scheierman’s 3-point shooting hasn’t been great in Vegas (21.4 percent on 9.3 attempts per game). But much like Walsh, we think Scheierman’s best basketball has come when he’s simply playing hard and letting his basketball IQ take over.
Not that we didn’t know Scheierman’s potential as a passer already. The 24-year-old had a couple of Rajon Rondo-esque dimes late in his rookie season.
If the shot is going to be streaky, then Scheierman needs to bring value in other areas. We’d like to see him gamble less on defense and just let those natural instincts guide him. His court vision and ability to deliver on-target passes might be his biggest strength.
3. Hugo Gonzalez needs consistent minutes in his rookie season.
Mazzulla is an admitted rookie hater. He told Scheierman (and the since-departed Anton Watson) as much during their first NBA seasons. But in a season where Boston’s depth is depleted and expectations will be tempered, rookie Hugo Gonzalez could really benefit from learning on the job.
Yes, Gonzalez is only 19. But he’s been a pro in Spain for more than a half decade. He spent all of last season surrounded by former NBA veterans. His two appearances at Summer League have shown there will be plenty of ups and downs. Gonzalez getting a tough whistle in his second Summer League game prepped him for some of those impending frustrations.
But we like how hard Gonzalez plays. He crashes the glass relentlessly from the perimeter, and will basically launch himself into an opponent that tries to cut on the other end of the floor.
We’ll balance this suggestion by acknowledging that playing time is earned, not given. But we have a feeling that, perhaps more than anyone else on this Summer League roster, Gonzalez is going to state a case for consistent time with how hard he plays.
4. Josh Minott could be All-Interview First Teamer.
From noting how the Celtics shoot a “s— ton of 3s,” to an emphatic, “Why not Minott?” explanation of how to pronounce his last name, Josh Minott had a brief-but-entertaining first media session with reporters in Vegas.
It gave us a little bit of Robert Williams III vibes. (Fun aside: Time Lord cursed so frequently during his first media sessions in Boston that Celtics brass pulled him aside and politely suggested that he didn’t need to swear as much. And he listened!)
We are very intrigued by Minott. He’s got great size and defensive versatility. He’s nicknamed the Lawn Mower because he just goes and goes once you start him up. He’s still only 22 years old, and we’re eager to see if the Celtics can pull even more out of Minott this season.
Getting some fun soundbites wouldn’t be bad either on a team that lost a lot of personality in Luke Kornet and Kristaps Porzingis.
5. The Celtics have a type … and maybe a new playing style.
It feels like every player the Celtics have added this offseason has a reputation as a cutter. From drafting Gonzalez to signing Minott to adding Jalen Bridges to the summer roster, it appears there will be a greater emphasis on movement in this year’s offense.
Of the 16 playoff teams in 2025, the Celtics ranked dead last with only 4.8 possessions finished off cuts. That was roughly half the number of top teams like the Rockets (10.7), Nuggets (9.8), Warriors (9.1), and Thunder (8.5).
Ironically, the Celtics had the best points per possession off cuts (1.47) and shot 71.4 percent off that playtype.
The offense just never featured quite enough cutting. Even the regular season numbers were less than ideal, with Boston generating 5.9 finishes off cuts per game (tied for 27th in the NBA) but averaging 1.36 points per possession (tied for 4th-best).
With the absence of so much talent going into the 2025-26 season, we suspect the Celtics will play harder on both ends to try to mask the talent drain. We could see more pressing of opposing ball handlers after made baskets, and we suspect there will be an emphasis on movement and crashing the offensive glass with the players added this offseason.
It took three summer league games at the California Classic and another three in Las Vegas, but on Tuesday night the Warriors looked their most complete with a 96-84 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
As the Grizzlies were led by well-known names like Jaylen Wells, GG Jackson and Cam Spencer, the Warriors won with balance. Coach Lainn Wilson used all 12 of his players, and all 12 had scored by halftime. Veteran Jackson Rowe was the Warriors’ leading scorer of 14 points, followed by 12 from Will Richard and Jaden Shackelford, and 11 for Chris Manon.
This was the closest version to Warriors basketball under Wilson. The Warriors dished 21 assists, outrebounded the bigger Grizzlies and shot 51.9 percent from the field with a 37.9-percent 3-point clip.
“Our pace stayed well, our intensity stayed and kind of increased as the game went on and I thought that made the difference for us,” Wilson said to reporters.
After being blown out by 33 points to open their summer league slate in Las Vegas, the Warriors have responded with two straight quality wins against talented teams.
Wilson was told point guard Taran Armstrong wasn’t playing Tuesday night, putting him without a traditional point guard in the starting lineup. Armstrong’s absence allowed Richard to use some of his different guard skills handling the ball more. Richard continued his strong summer, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2 of 4 from three, plus two rebounds, one assist and two steals.
“Just doing a little bit of everything, showing I can do that,” Richard said. “We have a lot of guys can do that as well. I’m just trying to keep that in my role and just take that opportunity when I’m there.”
Golden State’s starting lineup also didn’t have a typical center. Rowe, listed at 6-foot-7, essentially played a small-ball center. He was flanked next to Warriors top draft pick Alex Toohey in the frontcourt.
That duo took the challenge head-on. Rowe grabbed a team-high six rebounds, along with two blocked shots and two steals. Toohey hauled in four rebounds, also blocked two shots and added a steal.
All four of Toohey’s rebounds – two offensive and two defensive – came in the fourth quarter, when the Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies 13-5 in the final 10 minutes.
“I was kind of seeing if he and Jackson could carry the frontline for us against a bigger team,” Wilson explained. “I thought both of them did a fantastic job with it. We gave up a few more rebounds than I would have liked us to, but overall I didn’t feel like we really got pushed over as a team, especially with the size differential.”
The Warriors now are 4-2 overall this summer, going 2-1 at the California Classic and 2-1 in Las Vegas. They have one more scheduled game in Vegas on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT against the Toronto Raptors.
Up and down the roster, Wilson is looking to end on a strong note in every little way.
“Really overall, just seeing can we sustain this,” Wilson said. “We’ve been playing some pretty good basketball as a team when our bench is really engaged supporting the guys on the floor, and vice versa. So I’m hoping to see that we continue that same trend, because depending on how this shakes out, different guys may get into the lineup.
“Guys that may not have played as much so far, and hopefully they get rewarded as well with the same level of support.”
STATELINE, Nev. – As Seth Curry eases his 6-foot-2 frame into a chair 10 feet from the driving range at the Edgewood Tahoe golf course, the sharpshooting guard knows what’s coming his way.
Questions about his golf game. About his value in a league where deep shooting is at a premium and he is a free agent. About his brother, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.
And, of course, there will be questions about possibly joining his brother on the Warriors. The topic isn’t new to Seth, but this time, there is a gathering storm of possibility.
He’s available. The Warriors need shooting. And Seth’s father-in-law, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, is among those who can visualize a fruitful partnership.
“I actually think the perfect place for him would be Golden State,” Rivers said last month on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
Reminded of Rivers’ comment, Seth Curry grins and does not dismiss the prospect.
“They play a good brand of basketball,” he says of the Warriors. “I feel like I’ve been a part of Dub Nation for a while, watching Steph and being around the organization. Obviously, they, like any team, could use shooting.
“But I can’t say anything other than I’m trying to find the best place for me.”
Though Curry remains unsigned (through Wednesday morning), there is a market for the 34-year-old who has no plans to return to the slowly rebuilding Charlotte Hornets. Fan bases from New York (Knicks) to Los Angeles (Lakers) to Golden State are urging front offices to acquire him. And each of those front offices is shopping for shooting.
As the best available shooter, Seth would be a logical candidate for any of those teams. He led the NBA last season in 3-point shooting percentage at 45.6 percent. His career 43.3-percent shooting from deep places him second among active players, behind Atlanta Hawks wing Luke Kennard (43.8) and just ahead of his third-place brother (42.3).
“I always have to do what’s best for myself,” Seth Curry says. “Obviously, Steph would love me to come over there and play with him. And the fans showed me a lot of love at all times. (Our) Family would love it. I’ve obviously I’ve always embraced the Warriors and their system and love the way they play. And you never know what can happen.”
Why would Golden State consider adding Seth? The Warriors, even with all-time great Stephen Curry, last season finished 16th in 3-point shooting percentage at 36.4 percent. All four teams in the conference finals were in the top 10. They have only three players who stretch defenses: Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield and Quinten Post.
Seth Curry would be looking at a veteran’s minimum contract worth about $3.6 million, but his presence would give the Warriors two of the best deep shooters in the league. Defensive reasons would prevent the Curry brothers from spending much time playing together, but one would always be on the floor as a threat.
The NBA free-agent market has slowed to a trickle. Restricted free agents like Jonathan Kuminga (Warriors) and Josh Giddey (Bulls) and Cam Thomas (Nets) remain on the table. Healthy unrestricted free agents like Al Horford, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Gary Payton II have yet to sign a contract.
Same applies to Seth Curry.
The Warriors invited Seth Curry, then a few months removed from Duke, to training camp in 2013 and waived him five days before the season opener. The timing wasn’t right; Golden State liked Kent Bazemore’s superior size off the bench.
Now, 12 years later, the timing feels better for both.
“For me, it’s basketball first,” Curry says. “I have to fit the style of play. If they need what I do, if they need my services, what I do best and, just what type of team they have, and things of that nature. So, it’s always basketball fit first.”
The Warriors are a fit for any low-maintenance shooter. But they remain in “wait mode,” not expected to complete their roster until there is resolution with Kuminga.
If Seth Curry still is available at that time, the Warriors absolutely should be – and would be – interested.
LAS VEGAS — Adam Silver spun it as a step forward, the next step toward NBA expansion. It felt like the NBA's existing owners pumping the brakes on that idea.
What the league will be doing now is a more in-depth study, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the completion of the NBA Board of Governors' meeting. There is no timeline for this study to be completed, let alone a timeframe for cities to be chosen — Seattle and Las Vegas remain the clear frontrunners — or for new owners to buy in at whatever the price point becomes, or for teams to start play.
"It's really day one of that analysis, and so in terms of price, potential timing, it's too early to say," Silver said.
That feels like a setback to a fan base in Seattle that has been waiting for the league to return. It also feels like some owners want to slow the process down, although Silver would spin it as them being deliberate.
"Ultimately, the league office was tasked by our board with doing an in-depth analysis of all the issues around expansion, both economic and non-economic," Silver said after the Board of Governors meeting. "Of course, the non-economic issues include dilution of talent, how it could potentially affect competition throughout the league…
"The economic issues, as we knew would be the case in these discussions among the board, they're very complex because of how you would potentially value the opportunity has a lot to do with your projections on the future growth of the league. Because you are selling equity, and for every additional team you add, you're diluting the economics of the current league."
The economic factors are complex, including the challenge most of the league faces in finding good local broadcast solutions to show their games to their local fans. Then there's franchise valuations — the Celtics recently sold for a valuation of $6.1 billion, and the Lakers sold for a valuation of $10 billion. How much is an expansion franchise worth now, and what will it be worth going forward?
Those economic factors can be worked out if the owners want to, but is there an appetite among the existing 30 owners to expand?
"I think the appetite in the room I would define more as curiosity and more as let's do the work," Silver said. "I think if I were an owner, ultimately what you're considering is, is this additive to the league? And additive can be measured in lots of different ways. There's additive economically, but I think you're also thinking from a competitive standpoint, how would particular markets impact our national footprint?"
Silver has suggested in the past that he thinks the league should expand, but at the end of the day he works for the owners and if they want to go slow, if there is not a consensus to move forward, then Silver is the guy tasked with being the face of the decision to study it more.
Seattle (a lock to get a team) and Las Vegas are the frontrunners to be the league's next franchises, but other cities and entities have reached out to the league. That kind of energy is good for the league, which would like to set a high price and have enough demand to meet it.
What is that price? What are those cities? When will that decision be made? The league will study that in depth, but it will take a while, and this whole process will proceed slowly until then.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels argue in a recent court filing that a federal securities class action brought by purchasers of WBD stock is without merit. The plaintiffs say they were misled by WBD’s statements and omissions about negotiations for a new NBA TV deal last year.
Jonathan D. Polkes and other White & Case attorneys representing WBD, Zaslav and Widenfels insist the lawsuit is undercut by “wall-to-wall media coverage of the negotiations” between WBD and the NBA over media rights, talks that spiraled into their own legal controversy.
After WBD and the NBA, who had been in a 40-year partnership, failed to reach a deal during an exclusive negotiation period, the NBA weighed outside bids and accepted ones from NBCUniversal and Amazon. WBD then invoked a matching provision, but the league rejected it. The NBA argued it was not a “match” in a technical sense since it came with revisions to Amazon’s offer, and there was disagreement about whether WBD could distribute NBA games through streaming in the same manner as Amazon. WBD sued the NBA last July for alleged breach of its matching right. The parties settled last November and agreed to a new partnership.
That same month, Richard Collura and other investors filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint portrays WBD officials as misleading investors as to its ability to employ the matching clause and “omitting the significant financial impact WBD would face if it lost NBA rights.”
To that end, the complaint references comments from Zaslav, including from 2022 when he told journalists, “we don’t have to have the NBA.” The complaint also cites comments by Zaslav in 2024 when he referenced “constructive and productive” negotiations with the league and when he stated, “we have matching rights that allow us to match third-party offers before the NBA enters into an agreement with them.”
In addition, the complaint details stock price fluctuations that appeared to be connected to public perceptions about the WBD-NBA negotiations and subsequent fallout. Along those lines, the complaint points out that a “main driver” for WBD and similar broadcast companies is live sports.
“The NBA generated hundreds of millions of dollars annually in advertising revenue, supported WBD’s other sports-related shows, and allowed WBD to charge high carriage rates to cable and satellite providers,” the complaint asserts. It also contends that “the NBA provided WBD with a ‘halo effect’ that boosted all of WBD’s other properties, as well as contributed towards WBD’s non-tangible assets like goodwill.”
WBD’s memorandum of law in support of the motion to dismiss contends the case is flawed for several reasons.
For starters, the WBD-NBA negotiations were extremely public in ways that investors and prospective investors of publicly traded companies are normally denied.
“It was impossible to read the sports pages or watch ESPN,” the memorandum notes, “without knowing about the ongoing NBA negotiations, that the negotiations were being monitored obsessively by the media, the industry, and the public, that the outcome was uncertain, and that the outcome would have a financial impact on both WBD and the NBA.”
Numerous news and analysis stories about the negotiations are cited to show investors were exposed to high levels of information about the negotiations.
The memorandum also points out investors and prospective investors could have availed themselves of “the steady drumbeat of disclosures in WBD’s public filings and statements specifically discussing these facts.” Those disclosures, including SEC filings, “expressly warned of the risks” for WBD in losing the NBA deal, including with respect to revenue and goodwill and the importance of maintaining sports content licenses.
Further, the memorandum draws attention to numerous comments by Zaslav saying negotiations with the NBA were important. The fact that he declined to share all the specifics about the negotiations was to be expected, the memorandum suggests, since business leaders in private negotiations with other companies’ leaders could betray confidences and undermine their bargaining position by revealing too much detail.
From this lens, it wasn’t problematic that Zaslav said during an earnings call in May 2024—a couple of months before a matching period would begin—it was “not the time to discuss” details in the NBA negotiations. During that call he also addressed related topics that were not as sensitive, including “costs, churn and [WBD’s] initiatives on bundles.”
WBD also points out that statements made by Zaslav and Wiedenfels were accurate and true. The two men noted that matching rights existed, which was undisputed, without assuring they would be able to exercise those rights without objection by the NBA.
“In fact, the speculation about whether WBD could effectively exercise those rights was also widely discussed in the media,” the memorandum observes. To that point, Sportico and other media detailed dueling arguments as to whether matching rights could apply to the structure of Amazon’s deal, a topic that became the source of a lawsuit before it was resolved via settlement.
Still another alleged flaw with the complaint, WBD argues, is that the company knew it would fail to keep the NBA but nonetheless acted as if the negotiations were legitimate.
The complaint argues that the “quick resolution of WBD’s lawsuit against the NBA” is evidence to that effect. The complaint notes that the parties settled “less than four months after WBD filed its lawsuit” and “before any discovery had been completed.”
As the plaintiffs see it, the lawsuit-settlement sequence “demonstrated that, far from believing in their ability to enforce the Matching Clause, Defendants knew that they could not and did not use the Matching Clause to retain the NBA Rights, and instead filed their lawsuit as a face-saving measure and negotiation tactic that WBD quickly abandoned.”
WBD suggests that a theory positing, as WBD puts it, “Defendants knew all along that they would lose the NBA contract and that the months of negotiations were a sham” is illogical and belied by facts.
“Glaringly absent,” WBD writes, “are any particularized allegations to support this argument of fraud-by-clairvoyance.” The company instead cites a more “straightforward inference” that “WBD was engaged in tough negotiations with the NBA and hoped it would secure the NBA rights, but, ultimately, the NBA chose competing offers.”
The plaintiffs will have the chance to argue against the motion to dismiss. The case is before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
The Knicks won their first game of the Las Vegas Summer League Tuesday night with a 97-93 victory over their crosstown rival, the Brooklyn Nets.
Here are some takeaways...
- Tyler Kolek shook off two stinkers to put up 25 points, four assists and four steals on 5-for-12 shooting from three, most of which came in an electric first half. MarJon Beauchamp added 25 points on 7-for-17 shooting via a plethora of aggressive takes.
The rest of the squad played supporting roles as Kevin McCullar Jr. and Pacome Dadiet were sidelined.
- Drew Timme led the way for Brooklyn with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Caleb Daniels chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds and Quincy Olivari scored 16 as well.
- The Knicks were much more competitive out of the gate in this one. It helped that Kolek found his touch immediately with a couple threes, an in-between pull-up and flashy euro in transition in the early going, finishing with 14 points, two assists, three steals and no turnovers in the first quarter.
- With first-round pick Egor Demin out, fellow rookie point guard Ben Saraf looked to take advantage with seven points and two steals in the opening frame; however, New York rode maybe their best offensive quarter in Vegas to a 24-21 lead.
- Kolek continued his tear, whipping cross-court passes around and controlling the offense -- he hit three more threes, a pull-up jumper and another catch-and-fire from deep on the wing. Ariel Hukporti commanded the defense on the other end, recording a block and showing off his touch with a little euro in the lane.
The Knicks led 41-39 going into halftime behind Kolek’s 23 points.
- Beauchamp made an impact to kick off the third, hitting an open three, floater and jumping the passing lane for a steal into free throws, finishing with nine points in the period. The Nets remained competitive despite their poor shooting thanks to a big effort on the offensive glass.
- New York desperately wanted its first Summer League win, though, going on a 14-2 run late in the quarter. A Beauchamp to Scuka alley-oop capped a big quarter as the Knicks led 69-60 going into the fourth.
- Even when Kolek cooled off, the Knicks offense persisted. Mohamed Diawara made a hard drive and dumped it off to Nnaji for an and-one, while Beauchamp made more plays inside. Brooklyn managed to get the lead within single digits in the closing minutes, but New York secured the win with strong defense and free-throw shooting.
The Sixers had their third straight slow start in Las Vegas and fell behind 9-0. They began 1 for 16 from the floor as a team.
Edgecombe was displeased by a couple of dubious no-calls in the first quarter. Independent of the officiating, he clearly had some rust. The 19-year-old air balled an open three-pointer late in the first period and missed an uncontested layup in the second.
Though he was scoreless in the first half and came up empty on his first seven field goal attempts, Edgecombe did flash talents outside of shotmaking. He elevated high for a defensive rebound early in the second quarter, pushed the ball forward and dropped off an assist to Keve Aluma. He was generally solid as a passer in the half court, too.
Edgecombe recorded his first points when he tried for a monstrous dunk early in the third quarter, finally received a foul call and made both of his free throws. He eventually got a dunk to go down and later teamed up with Edwards on an alley-oop.
Aluma was a standout in the second quarter. The 26-year-old power forward scored 12 points in the period on 4-for-5 shooting.
Johni Broome also provided substantial frontcourt scoring. He gave the Sixers their first lead with a second-quarter slam and then drilled a top-of-the-key triple.
Broome is now 6 for 11 from long range in Las Vegas. The Sixers’ second-round pick had a nice night overall with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Edgecombe, Edwards help Sixers pull away
Adem Bona remained among the top shot blockers so far in Vegas, adding six rejections to his tally. He’s at 11 blocks through three games.
Bona was on the floor as the Sixers thoroughly outplayed the Wizards in the final minutes. Edgecombe and Edwards featured.
After running a pick-and-roll with Bona, Edgecombe dished to Edwards for a wing three. Edgecombe then swished a catch-and-shoot jumper of his own on the Sixers’ next possession.
While neither Edwards nor Edgecombe had especially efficient games, both were glad to fire away down the stretch and cemented the Sixers’ first Vegas victory.
Kyrie Irving is undergoing rehab for his ACL tear and will miss much, if not all, of the coming season. Anthony Davis is undergoing rehab following retina surgery on his eye, but he is expected to be ready to go for the start of training camp.
Now add Dereck Lively II to the recovery list — he has undergone surgery to remove bone spurs in his right foot, a story broken by Marc Stein. His foot was placed in a walking boot after the procedure, but he is expected to be ready to play when Dallas opens training camp in September, according to subsequent reports.
Lively played in just 36 games last season due to a small fracture in his foot (or ankle, depending on the report. (How to best treat Lively and pushing him to play reportedly was a flash point in a disagreement between members of the Mavericks' medical and training teams, with athletic performance director Keith Belton now gone from the franchise.) Due to the injury, Lively averaged 8.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, playing 23 minutes a night when he was on the court.
Lively is part of a very talented and deep front-court rotation for the Mavericks next season. Lively and Daniel Gafford are the more traditional rim-running centers, with Anthony Davis then playing the four (his preferred spot). However, that pushes No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg to the three, when watching him in Summer League he seems more like a point-forward four — expect Jason Kidd to have Davis at the five and Flagg at the four at key points this season. Also, P.J. Washington is coming off the bench in that mix.
That's a lot of talent up front, and it appears Lively will now be healthy enough to play a larger role this season.
Every NBA rookie has his own path, and it isn’t always a soft landing.
Quinten Post was thrown into the fire by the Warriors last season once he graduated from dominating the G League in Santa Cruz. The former No. 52 overall pick in last year’s NBA draft spent all of 2024 developing his game, but once he earned his promotion, Post was up for good.
Post played so well in his first five games of real minutes at the end of January, averaging 10.4 points on 39.3-percent shooting from three, coach Steve Kerr decided to give Post his first start in a Golden State jersey — against the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The box score wasn’t pretty for Post in the Warriors’ seven-point win, yet he survived and started the next five games, too. Post started 14 regular-season games as a rookie, and another two in the NBA playoffs. He talked trash with Luka Dončić and LeBron James in LA.
None of those experiences can be compared to who Post sat across from Saturday night in Las Vegas, staring at their chess pieces.
“It’s a completely different experience,” Post says, speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area exclusively over the phone. “As in, like, there’s no expectations obviously when I play chess against Magnus. There are expectations when I play on an NBA court against LeBron or whoever we face.”
While the initial plan was for Post to play NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas, freestyle chess is what he dominated instead. Post over the weekend was part of Chesstival at the Wynn Las Vegas, an innovative pro-am tournament hosted by former NBA MVP Derrick Rose and chess grandmaster and current world champion Magnus Carlsen. Post came out a big winner, too.
First, NBA players were paired with chess grandmasters for two-person teams in a head and hand tournament. The grandmaster called out a piece, and the NBA player had to make the move. Post and his partner Tania Sachdev of India made it all the way to the semifinals, losing to Tony Snell and Fabiano Caruana of Italy. Later in the night, Post got his revenge on Snell.
The head and hand tournament was followed by a best of the best battle, NBA players going head-to-head in singles. Post met Snell in the third round and this time was victorious. The floor-stretching Warriors center checkmated Harrison Ingram in the finals, becoming the first ever Chesstival blitz tournament champion.
From buckets to bishops, he does it all♟️
Quinten Post showed off his chess skills at Chesstival during Summer League, taking the W in the Blitz tournament—and donating the prize money to a charity of his choice. pic.twitter.com/MBRqyGv7GN
More than bragging rights were secured. Post won $25,000 to charity, which he’s giving to Reading Partners, a national nonprofit he previously partnered with earlier this year.
“It’s an organization that helps kids who either struggle with reading or who are in a situation at home or at school where it’s hard for them to learn how to read,” Post said. “Just want to help these kids have a good foundation to set them up for the rest of their lives.”
He and his chess grandmaster partner weren’t pitted against Carlsen and Rose in the tournament. Rather than let a lifetime opportunity pass him by, Post took his chance the night before at the event’s welcome dinner.
It wasn’t confidence that oozed out of Post, it was living in the moment. He was in a place those who taught him the game couldn’t imagine. So, Post challenged Carlsen to a 1-on-1 game at dinner.
“My grandpa — both of them, actually — are into chess, so that’s kind of how I picked it up at a younger age,” Post revealed. “I was like, this is an opportunity for me to be able to tell my kids that I played a game against the world champion. He’s the best to ever do it, so I just took my chance to challenge him.
“Yeah, I didn’t end up winning. It was a lot of fun.”
Each player was given five minutes. Post took about four and a half minutes. Carlsen needed maybe 30 seconds to beat him, per Post’s estimation.
Like young basketball sensations, there have been numerous chess prodigies throughout the years. Carlsen is one of them. He’s a genius. He just might be the G.O.A.T.
He also has been called eccentric, cocky and even arrogant for his unusual antics and tactics that don’t always align with chess and its culture. There’s an intimidation factor Carlsen brings to the sport. Post could have felt it, maybe he did. But he also had an easy in.
“Magnus is actually a huge Warriors fan,” Post says. “He watches every single game, he told me. So that was an easy point of the conversation, and he seemed pretty well-versed in basketball. He’s a huge Steph [Curry] fan, too.
“Super cool guy. We talked about chess, the lifestyle, basketball, and I told him if he’s ever in San Francisco he should come to a game.”
The game of chess always has been a part of Post, and it always will be. His father, Arjen, plays but it’s his two grandfathers that he gives credit to.
Post remembers learning chess around 6, 7 or 8 years old. His mother’s father Kess Toorenaar taught chess at a local elementary school and instilled the basics in Post. His grandpa on his father’s side, Harry Post, played chess at the local club.
Now, it’s something he picks up recreationally in phases. Post has played against Warriors teammate Moses Moody and a handful of members on the coaching staff, and he hopes to play Draymond Green this season. Recently, Post really has delved back into it.
Aside from Chesstival, Post this offseason went to the Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco to play. Founded in 1854, the Mechanics’ Institute is the oldest chess club in the United States.
“Really nice people. They hosted me very well,” Post said. “It’s cool to see. It’s actually a very famous club where a lot of people have come. It was cool to do that.”
Shooting easily is Post’s biggest strength on a basketball court right now. It’s easy to describe him in a scouting report. The exercise was impossible to do for Post when it comes to chess.
He couldn’t define himself quite yet, but did admit he’s an offensive type of player who likes to attack. Comparing and describing Carlsen’s game was much easier for Post.
“Probably the greatest to ever do it,” he said. “Modern era, he’s like a Curry or like a LeBron of the chess world.”
And Post is the Carlsen of the NBA world, at least for one weekend in terms of chess.
“I would say so,” Post said when I asked if he’s the best chess player in the NBA. “I think I got a good shot at it. Maybe not everybody was there that plays. We’ll see. It’ll probably grow next year, and we’ll see.”
His road to winning the blitz tournament began by beating former, and possibly future, Warriors teammate De’Anthony Melton. Wins then were secured against Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, Snell, Grant Williams and Ingram.
A precaution to an ankle issue kept Post from playing summer league this year. He’s still the Warriors’ biggest winner of Las Vegas, proudly wearing a new target on his back from the hoopers trying to get the privilege of boasting on a chessboard.
John Collins? Traded. Collin Sexton? Traded. Jordan Clarkson? Bought out.
Lauri Markkanen? It looks like the veteran forward is staying in Utah and will not be traded, Tim MacMahon reports at ESPN.
[Trading Markkanen] is not Utah's intention, sources told ESPN. It would be too much to describe Markkanen as untouchable, but the Jazz still project the All-Star forward as a key player in their future core.
While this is what a front office says when trying to gain leverage and drive up the price tag on a potential trade, in this case, there are reasons to believe Utah means it.
For one thing, even if Markkanen bounces back to the form of his first season in Utah — when he was an All-Star and won the Most Improved Player award — it's not going to disrupt the clear plan for next season, which is to, how should we put this, end up with excellent lottery odds. Secondly, his massive salary — his four-year, $195.9 million contract extension kicks in this season, starting at $46.4 million — makes finding a workable trade difficult. Finally, and tied to that contract, Markkanen struggled through an injury-plagued last season, averaging 19 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, but his shooting efficiency was down across the board, including 34.6% from 3-point range. Teams are going to want to see the 28-year-old regain his form.
Which is to say, the Jazz are going to wait, play Markannen with their young stars like the just-drafted Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski (who has looked fantastic at Summer League) and Walker Kessler, and see how things shake out. At the deadline, maybe the Jazz and another team out there will feel differently, maybe not, but for now expect Markkanen to stay in Utah. Where he has wanted to be.
To be fair, Essengue scored 21 points, while Matas Buzelis showed why he is too good to still be playing in Summer League, scoring 28 points. It wasn't just those buckets; it was that the Bulls were getting theirs with flair in an up-and-down, fast-paced game. —Kurt Helin
The matchup between the Spurs and Jazz ended up being one of the best games of Summer League so far.
Kyle Filipowski dominated early and often, knocking down three triples in the first four minutes of the game and finishing with 35 points, 11 rebounds and five three-pointers. He had a layup to give Utah a late lead before Dylan Harper tied it up to force overtime, and Filipowski also had a dunk with two seconds left in overtime to tie the game before Riley Minix nailed the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Filipowski has been fantastic through Summer League in both Utah and Las Vegas, and it wouldn't be shocking if they opted to shut him down for the remainder of the summer. With John Collins now in Los Angeles, Filipowski should be a key contributor for the Jazz this season.
John Tonje made his Summer League debut for Utah and finished with 16 points and four three-pointers. The 24-year-old rookie shined at Wisconsin last season and could be an NBA-ready scoring option for the Jazz this year, though the amount of depth Utah has will make it difficult for him to earn minutes.
Carter Bryant continued to play high-level defense, and Dylan Harper was solid despite not being quite as good as he was against Dallas, but David Jones-Garcia was the star once again. He dropped 28 points in the win, which was his fifth-straight game scoring at least 20 points this summer. The only time he didn't reach 20, he finished with 18 points. Jones-Garcia has certainly played his way into at least a two-way contract, especially if he keeps this up. —Noah Rubin
• Kel'el Ware responds after Spoelstra's criticism. In his first game at the Las Vegas Summer League, Miami's promising young big man Kel'el Ware was uninspiring, scoring 10 points with six boards and kind of coasting through the game (it's a concerning sign when a guy who got so much run as a rookie does not dominate in Summer League). The next day, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra showed up at Summer League practice and had some pointed words for Ware:
"A big part of this is he has to really embrace and improve his professionalism, his consistency, his approach every single day. He has to get better with that. It's learning how to become a pro. I understand it. He was 20 last year, and he's 21. We have bigger expectations...
"The professionalism and consistency has to improve, and it is. Our standards are not going to change, and our expectations and how fast we want that to improve for him are not going to change. But he has to get better at it, he has to take ownership of it, and the other stuff will come along with that."
Ware got the message. He was much more intense and focused against the Cavaliers on Sunday, scoring 21 points on 8-of-14 shots, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. On Sunday, Ware had another strong game with 21 points and 15 boards against Boston. —Helin
Blocks, dunks, triples, lobs, intensity, you name it… Kel’el was showing it all tonight pic.twitter.com/MjeiaJS0zp
• Kon Knueppel looks better. Kon Knueppel struggled in his Summer League debut on Friday and then sat out on Saturday. However, he was finally able to get things going against the Mavericks. He made an impact in a variety of ways, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three three-pointers. He was solid on defense, created shots for his teammates and had a double-double after not recording one during his lone season at Duke. Oh yeah, and he can shoot too. —Rubin
• Așa Newell's 3-point shot. Asa Newell hit four three-pointers on Sunday, which was an encouraging sign for his development. Deep-range shooting will be a huge swing skill for his future in the NBA.
On Monday, he only hit one, but it was clear the defense respected his shot. Early in the first quarter, he got his defender to jump on a pump fake, which set up a strong drive to the basket and a pair of free throws. Newell doesn't need to be an elite stretch big for the Hawks; they have Kristaps Porzingis for that. However, if he can at least space the floor enough for the defense to respect his shot, Trae Young and Jalen Johnson won't have any issues getting to the rim when Newell is in the game.
Newell's lone shot from deep came late in the game to tie things up at 99, and he followed that up with a Euro step layup in transition to give Atlanta the lead. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds in the overtime victory. —Rubin
• The highs and lows of Kobe Bufkin. Sure, there were plenty of mistakes, especially early, but Kobe Bufkin still had some positive aspects to his performance. He scored a game-high 25 points, including five of Atlanta's seven in overtime. However, he turned it over nine times and committed seven fouls. Yikes. Not what you want to see out of a first-round pick entering his third season. Bufkin would probably benefit from some extra games this summer. —Rubin
• Kennedy Chandler looking good. Kennedy Chandler continued to shine for the Rockets. He finished with 22 points, seven assists, and three steals and is now averaging 19 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game this summer. He had the ball in his hands a little extra with Reed Sheppard shut down for the rest of Summer League. Whether or not it's with Houston, Chandler has made a case to earn a two-way contract next season. —Rubin
Aggressive drive from Kennedy Chandler for the and-1
“I guess,” Looney said when Thompson II asked him if Post was the final straw for him. “I wouldn’t say it like that, but it was anybody but me it seemed like at this point. It wasn’t no one moment. Even this year, probably the playoffs. We going up against Steven Adams. This is what I do. They’re not really giving me the chance to really let me do what I do.
“It’s like, ‘All right, y’all don’t trust me? I thought y’all trusted me.’ They put me at the end in Game 7, it’s like why’d we have to wait for that point?”
Looney played just 9.3 minutes per game in the seven-game series against the Houston Rockets in the opening round of the playoffs. In a Game 6 loss, Looney played just two minutes as Houston forced a do-or-die Game 7.
Meanwhile, Post played 17 minutes per game during that series.
While Looney has been the reliable force the Warriors could depend on whenever, he reached a point where it was too much.
“Nah, you get sick of that at some point,” Looney told Thompson II. “When you prove yourself the first four, five years, all right, cool. But after 10 years of it, it’s like, all right. You either trust me or you don’t.”
“I just know it’s never personal with Steve,” Looney said. “He’s going to do whatever is best to try to win. It ain’t just me. He’s done this to everybody. I might’ve been the one it was happening to the most because I was here the longest. I know it’s not personal. He just wants to win.
“You can’t be mad because the results showed that. It usually worked. You talk about sacrifice and win, he’s going to really test that sacrifice part.”
As a 10-year NBA vet, Looney understands the business side of the league. And in the end, regardless of the jersey he’s wearing, he’ll always be a Warriors legend in Dub Nation’s eyes.
Jordan Walsh’s ejection in Las Vegas on Monday night was ill-advised — unless you ask his conflict-loving head coach.
The Celtics forward was tossed from Boston’s NBA Summer League matchup with the Heat in the first half after he shoved Miami guard Pelle Larsson following a foul call. It was Walsh’s second technical foul of the game, which meant an immediate ejection for the 21-year-old wing.
Considering the stakes for Walsh at Summer League as he aims for a larger role in Boston’s rotation this season, getting thrown out in the first half isn’t ideal. But when he hit the showers Monday night, he encountered some words of encouragement from Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“He told me he loved it,” Walsh said of Mazzulla, via SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell. “As soon as I got ejected, I got to the locker room and checked my phone and he was texting me like, ‘I love this out of you.’
“So, take that for what it is. But Joe was hyped.”
That message is coming from the same person who said he wants to “bring back fighting” in the NBA, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Mazzulla enjoyed Walsh’s chippiness. And that chippiness appears to be a point of emphasis for the 21-year-old as he enters his third NBA season.
“I feel like I’m trying to get under people’s skin,” Walsh added. “… I’m trying to get them confused and throw them off their rhythm. [It] ended up happening to me, but I want to disrupt everybody. I want to take out your rhythm. I want to take you out of your plays, your sets. I want to speed you up.”
While there’s value in being a disruptor, Walsh also needs to avoid crossing the line and hurting his team. He had a team-high 13 points at the time of his ejection, and Boston’s offense struggled in his absence en route to a 100-96 loss.
Walsh has a golden opportunity to expand his role this season with Jayson Tatum sidelined due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, and he’s proven he can make an impact with his defense and hustle. He shot just 36.1 percent from the floor and 27.3 percent from 3-point range last season, however, and if he can’t contribute more offensively, he may find himself behind second-year wing Baylor Scheierman on the depth chart.
Walsh and the Summer Celtics will be back in action Thursday night against Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.
“Elite duo right there,” Poole, who was acquired by the Pelicans from the Washington Wizards earlier in the offseason, said when reacting to the news.
The former Warrior duo played four seasons together before Poole was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2023, and then to the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this month.
During their time together, they were key contributors to the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship. Poole averaged 13.2 points in the finals, while Looney averaged five points along with seven and a half rebounds.
“I’m so happy bro … that’s some of the best news I’ve heard yet,” Poole continued.
Shortly after the signing was announced, Looney Facetimed his former teammate. Poole had a wholesome response when answering the call.
“Welcome bro … it’s been a long time comin’ bro,” Poole said.
These two were beloved in the Bay, and now they’ll be competing against Golden State in a stacked Western Conference.
