The Knicks are signing guard Malcolm Brogdon to a one-year deal.
SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley reports that Brogdon's deal is non-guaranteed.
Begley notes that Brogdon will get strong consideration for a roster spot, adding that if the Knicks don't trade a rostered player that they'll likely have to choose between Brogdon and the recently-signed Landry Shamet.
Brogdon, 32, had a solid season last year for the Wizards, averaging 12.7 points and 4.1 assists per game. He was limited to 24 contests, though, making 13 starts.
During his nine-year career, which has also included stints with the Bucks, Pacers, Celtics, and Trail Blazers, Brogdon has averaged 15.3 points and 3.6 assists.
The Knicks, under new head coach Mike Brown, appear to be entering the 2025-26 season with a much deeper team (and rotation) than the ones they had under former head coach Tom Thibodeau.
In addition to the signings this offseason of Brogdon and Shamet, the Knicks have added guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Guerschon Yabusele.
They join a core that consists of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride.
Right after the league releases the schedule for the upcoming campaign, season ticket holders often huddle to divide packages split among friends and family. And the proceedings can be electric.
We’ve heard from multiple ticket-holders how much time and energy goes into plotting their draft strategy. Is opening night a first-round pick that year? (It certainly was last year.) How long will the lone Lakers visit stay on the board? Which opposing players are must-see when they come to Boston?
1. You can’t pick a tribute game. As we documented in Day 9 of the series, there likely will be four games this season in which a core member of the 2024 title team returns to the Garden and be honored for their time here. Those games will come off the board early.
2. You can’t pick Cooper Flagg’s first visit to Boston on March 6. Oh, you want to see the New England-bred rookie? Yeah, you and the rest of Maine. Get in line, buddy.
3. There were no restrictions on picking a road game. And, if we’re being honest, we encourage every Celtics fan to make a trek. If nothing else, it will make you appreciate TD Garden that much more.
We’re clearly making our panel work a bit here. Help me find some hidden gems. Give me a game with a storyline that isn’t so obvious. We probably should have told our panel no Lakers games either, especially with Marcus Smart now donning the purple and gold. But we don’t blame those who leaned that way. It’d be near the top of our list, too.
Here are five other home games we would target once the more obvious dates went off the board:
1. November 26 vs. Detroit. Not only are Cade Cunningham and the Pistons one of our favorite young teams to watch, but we get a 5 p.m. ET tip on Thanksgiving Eve. And it’s an NBA Cup game. What a way to kick off an extended holiday weekend.
2. December 28 at Portland. We’re skirting the rules here by using Christmas break to make a cross-country dash to see Celtics-Blazers.
Not only will it be Jrue Holiday’s first game against Boston, but it could be Robert Williams III’s first game against the Celtics, too. Time Lord hasn’t played in any of the four C’s-Blazers matchups since his departure. We’d fly 2,500 miles for that.
3. November 1 vs. Houston. The Rockets made a pretty big acquisition this summer (and we’re not just talking about JD Davison on a two-way deal).
Give us a Saturday primetime matchup with Kevin Durant, Ime Udoka, and a Houston team that has big goals this season.
4. February 8, 2026 vs. New York. The Celtics are back to hosting a Super Bowl matinee, and we get a divine 12:30 p.m. ET tip at the Garden. Even better, this one falls just a few days after the trade deadline, so there’s a good chance you’d see any player acquired in a move.
5. Any game in March or April at the Garden. Look, I have no idea if the Celtics will even entertain the idea of putting Jayson Tatum back on the court this season. Later in this series, we’ll ask our panel to predict his return date. But if we’re looking for a high-reward game, then we’re rolling the dice on a potential return after the All-Star break.
Let’s check what our panel came up with:
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
I wanted to choose a deep cut, but the answer is obvious: Celtics vs. Lakers on December 5.
There are too many good storylines here, from LeBron James potentially playing his last game in Boston, to Luka Doncic’s return to the scene of the 2024 NBA Finals crime, to Marcus Smart playing in just his second game against his old team — as a member of its longtime nemesis.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
I’m cheating and picking two games: November 7 and 9 at the OrlandoMagic.
It’s an odd choice because I actually despise watching games played in that arena. But I’m using last season’s Magic as a measuring stick for this season’s Celtics team.
Last year, Orlando was perfectly .500 at 41-41, good enough for the seventh seed in the East. With Boston’s expectations plummeting in Jayson Tatum’s absence, can the Celtics still be on the level of a mediocre Eastern Conference team that makes the playoffs? I think they should. Those two games will provide a real look.
Sean McGuire, Web Producer
December 26 at the Indiana Pacers.
Why? Joe Mazzulla is so maniacal that he’ll fabricate bulletin-board material even if it’s something silly. The Celtics not earning a spot in the Christmas Day lineup for the first time in a decade is a real slight. That doesn’t need fabrication.
I’m banking on Mazzulla coaching his ass off en route to a one-sided road win against a fellow playoff team.
Josh Canu, Media Editor
December 5 vs. the Lakers.
Boston vs L.A. is big enough, but mix in LeBron James and Luka Doncic coming to town, along with a returning Marcus Smart, and you got a formula for must-see TV. Oh, and it is a Friday night, so I expect a very loud TD Garden.
Jim Aberdale, Supervising Producer, Celtics
Timberwolves vs. Celtics on March 22.
The battle of Georgia natives Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Brown turns into a mano-a-mano scoring showdown.
Max Lederman, Content Producer
Easy answer: October 24 at the Knicks.
I don’t like the Knicks. I don’t like Knicks fans. I don’t like the fact they ended the Celtics’ season last year and I blame them for Jayson Tatum rupturing his Achilles. I NEED REVENGE (in the form of a Celtics win inside MSG)!
Kevin Miller, VP, Content
This is somewhat unfair because I still love any Warriors game, but I guess that gets eliminated as an option if Horford ends up there. I’ll go with a few others: Opening Night against the 76ers.
I’m so curious to see how this team plays, from the energy I expect they’ll play with to the new-look rotation to how Jaylen Brown looks Plus, you can only watch it on NBC Sports Boston (shameless plug).
The other one for me is the back-to-back with the Timberwolves and Thunder on March 22 and 25. I think the Celtics are going to be scrapping their way to a top-four seed in the East, and I always love these measuring-stick games late in the season. Good players on both teams and top competition.
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
December 5 against the Lakers.
There are few things I enjoy more than Jaylen Brown ruining Luka Doncic’s night.
Jason Collins is being treated for a brain tumor, the league said Thursday. The first active NBA player to come out as gay is pictured in 2014. (Jonathan Bachman / Associated Press)
Retired NBA player and former Harvard-Westlake star Jason Collins is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, the NBA said Thursday in a statement released on behalf of Collins and his family.
"Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason's health and well-being," the league said.
A 46-year-old native of Northridge, Jason Collins and twin brother, Jarron, led Harvard-Westlake to state Division III titles in 1996 and 1997, with the former being named the state Division III player of the year both seasons. His 1,500 career rebounds stood as a CIF state record until 2010, when Hemet West Valley's Joe Burton finished his career with 1,721 rebounds.
Collins made first-team All-Pac-10 during his senior year at Stanford. He was selected 18th overall in the 2001 draft by the Houston Rockets and traded on draft night to the New Jersey Nets.
Averaging 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds during his 13-year NBA career, Collins also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
He was unsigned in April 2013 when he came out as gay in an open letter published in Sports Illustrated.
While no longer the target of it, Malik Beasley remains a subject in a wide-ranging gambling investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York (the one that led to a lifetime ban of Raptors guard Jontay Porter). Part of the focus of that investigation is on some games Beasley played while with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024, and prop bets around his play in those games.
The NBA is also investigating the matter, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday.
"I'll only say there that the investigation is ongoing," Silver said following the league's Board of Governors meeting in New York. "As I understand it, there's still a federal investigation that's ongoing of Malik Beasley as well. We will address whatever is presented to us in his case."
Beasley has not been charged in relation to the federal investigation and is no longer its central focus, a fact his agent has repeatedly emphasized. Beasley is fully cooperating with the investigation as well, according to his attorney.
While true, because Beasley remains a subject in that investigation — which could still lead to charges — and could face discipline from the league, no team has gone near him in free agency. Back before the start of free agency (and before news of the investigation broke), Beasley was reportedly in discussions about re-signing in Detroit for around three years, $42 million. Now, even if he were cleared of all charges tomorrow, no team has that kind of cap space left to spend. Detroit moved on and added Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson to fill Beasley's role.
Beasley had a large role in Detroit. He averaged 16.3 points a game while shooting 41.6% on 3-pointers for the Pistons last season, and he finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He'd be the best free agent on the market, but until these investigations are wrapped up, teams may express interest but will stay at arm's length.
The Knicks considered other options, including Ben Simmons. Landry Shamet had other offers from teams looking for bench depth.
In the end, they decided to get back together, with Shamet agreeing to a one-year veteran minimum contract to return to New York, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. Ian Begley of SNY.TV confirmed this, and he added details.
Landry Shamet had other options but prioritized continuity in returning to the Knicks, a source said. He wanted to return to a locker room he liked and to help NYK compete for a title. Shamet and Knicks will agree on a one-year deal. Knicks have enough room for rookie vet…
Shamet averaged 5.7 points across 50 games for the Knicks last season, while shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc.
Shamet joins a fairly deep guard rotation, one that new coach Mike Brown is going to trust and use more than Tom Thibodeau did. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges are expected to start at the guard spots, with Miles "Duece" McBride and newcomer Jordan Clarkson behind them. Shamet will be fighting for minutes behind that foursome, along with Tyler Kolek.
The Knicks are re-signing veteran guard Landry Shamet to fill their final roster spot.
A source tells SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley that Shamet had other options but prioritized continuity in returning to the Knicks, and wanted to help the Knicks compete for a title.
Begley previously reported that New York saw Shamet as a possibility and he was open to returning to the team.
Shamet, 28, averaged 5.7 points per game and shot 39.7 percent from three-point range over 50 games with New York last season.
Even after signing Shamet, the Knicks will still have financial flexibility to sign a different player ahead of the season before reaching the second apron.
According to Begley, while things are always fluid, the uncertainty around Malik Beasley’s legal situation recently made the Knicks hesitant to sign the shooting guard.
Shamet played in 11 playoff games last season, often in mop-up duty, but provided a couple sparks off the bench, including scoring 12 points in the Knicks' Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
He, along with fellow newcomers Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, will join Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, and Miles McBride as the rest of new coach Mike Brown's rotation for the 2025-26 season.
Luka Doncic was the best player at EuroBasket: 34.7 points a game (first in the tournament), 8.6 rebounds (eighth) and 7.1 assists (tied for second). He may not win MVP because Slovenia was eliminated in the round of eight, but that was as far as he could carry this roster. Coming off a summer focused on conditioning — which went viral — Doncic looked dominant.
Doncic's play and the fact that he signed a contract extension with them have the Lakers — who previously had focused on having cap space and flexibility next summer — considering a more aggressive approach, reports Dan Woike at The Athletic. He specifically named Miami's Andrew Wiggins.
According to team and league sources, the Lakers' stance on roster improvements heading into this season has shifted because of the start of this new chapter together...
One area the team is focused on is upgrading the wing, where it needs more two-way talent. A player like Miami's Andrew Wiggins, whom the Lakers weren't interested in earlier this summer, is now a more desirable player, provided the price is right.
Wiggins, who played 60 games last season between Golden State and Miami, averaged 18 points and 4.5 rebounds a game while shooting 37.4% from 3. He's a solid wing player who still can show flashes of why he was drafted No. 1 overall (like his play during the Warriors' 2022 championship run, the season he was named an All-Star). Even with his play last season, Wiggins would be an upgrade over someone like Rui Hachimura for Los Angeles. Wiggins will make $28.2 million this season and has a player option for $30.2 million next season.
The buzz out of Miami has been that the Heat want to see how the team looks to start the season before making any moves. If the Heat struggle out of the gate, they would have a financial incentive to shed salary (they are currently are flirting with the tax line). Both the Heat and Lakers are hard-capped at the first apron, and the Lakers are just $1.1 million below that line, so any trade that sees the Heat shed salary and the Lakers take on Wiggins will have to involve a third team, likely Brooklyn (it has cap space). That's a lot that has to come together.
This illustrates the challenge of the Lakers getting more aggressive during the season — they have very limited financial flexibility. Making in-season deals will be challenging, the Lakers can't even take on a veteran minimum contract until mid-January. The Lakers will also want to assess their current roster with a motivated Doncic plus LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and newcomers such as Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Marcus Smart.
It's more likely the Lakers can make bold moves next summer, when LeBron becomes a free agent and his $52 million comes off the books (even if the plan is to re-sign James, they will have flexibility). Still, it sounds like the Lakers aren't going to treat this coming season as a gap year, especially if they can find the right trade.
Jason Collins, the 13-year NBA veteran player who became a league ambassador after his playing days — famously the first pro athlete to come out as gay while still playing in the NBA or any major American sports league — is battling a brain tumor, his family has announced.
His family released this statement through the league:
"NBA Ambassador and 13-year NBA veteran Jason Collins is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason's health and well-being."
"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."
Collins, 46, and his twin brother Jarron Collins dominated Southern California high-school basketball together at Harvard-Westlake — having twin athletic 7-footers on a high school team wins a lot of games — before choosing to attend Stanford together. There, Collins helped lead the Cardinal to the Elite Eight one season and the Final Four the next. Collins was the No. 18 overall pick of the Houston Rockets in the 2001 NBA Draft, then was traded on draft night with Richard Jefferson to the New Jersey Nets. Collins had a growing role with the Nets and was the starting center on the 2003 team that reached the NBA Finals with Jason Kidd at point guard (Collins was matched up with Hall of Famer David Robinson in those Finals, which the Tim Duncan Spurs won).
Collins earned his reputation as a physical, rock-solid defensive center who went on to play 13 NBA seasons for the Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards (finishing his career with the Nets, who had moved to Brooklyn at that point).
After retiring from playing, Collins became an ambassador for the league, serving in that role at a number of events. Collins has long had a relationship with film producer Brunson Green, and the couple was married earlier this year.
On Wednesday, after a meeting with all the NBA owners, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sounded cautious, patient and a little bit zen about the investigation into the Clippers trying to circumvent the salary cap with team sponsor Aspiration. "I'm a big believer in due process and fairness, and we need to now let the investigation run its course," Silver said. He said he wanted to see "substantial proof" of the Clippers' wrongdoing.
• In 2021, Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a "green bank" company dealing in carbon credits (the company has since gone bankrupt, and its CEO pled guilty to bilking $248 million from investors). The way this endorsement paid out was $7 million a year, or quarterly payments of $1.75 million. At the crux of this controversy is the fact that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration to earn this money — no appearances, no marketing, not even a social media post. This was a "no-show" job. Employees with Aspiration said they were told not to question the Leonard contract, this was to help the Clippers circumvent the salary cap.
• Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million personally in Aspiration back in 2021 (prior to the Leonard endorsement contract), and it had become a $300 million sponsor of the Clippers. Ballmer and the Clippers have said that while they introduced Leonard and Aspiration — as is permitted under league rules — they had no details about his endorsement deal, and that the Clippers ended their relationship in 2023 with Aspiration after it defaulted on their obligations. Ballmer told ESPN, “I was duped” by Aspiration (as were many other investors).
• The latest PTFO reporting focuses on the final months of 2022: In September of that year, Aspiration missed a quarterly $1.75 million payment to Leonard as the failing company was coming apart at the seams. This had Dennis Robertson — "Uncle Dennis," Leonard business manager and uncle who had asked the Raptors for no-show endorsements during free agency in 2019, and asked the Lakers and Clippers for much more like a piece of the organization, a home, and use of a plane — hounding Aspiration for the money Leonard was owed (which flowed into a specially formed LLC for this endorsement money).
• Enter Dennis J. Wong — the vice chairman of the Clippers, a man who owns 1% of the team (Ballmer owns the other 99%). According to Aspiration bank records, on Dec. 6, 2002, Aspiration received a $1.99 million wire from Wong's investment LLP. That came at a time when the company was hemorrhaging money, was in default and was not a good investment, company employees told Torre. All of that was public and disclosed, and Wong should have known about it.
• On Dec. 15, Leonard got his $1.75 million fall quarterly payment from Aspiration. That same day, Aspiration laid off 10% of its remaining workforce.
• A finance executive with Aspiration said this to Torre about Wong's investment: "It is not a rational investment that someone would make. So it is very shocking to me that $2 million was made as an investment by Dennis Wong, who in my texts is identified as the 'Clippers' and Steve 'Ballmer's partner,' a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi."
The NBA has hired an outside law firm to handle its investigation into Aspiration, the Clippers and the endorsement deal with Leonard. While the court of public opinion is in overdrive, Silver wants the league's investigation to be completed before he and the other owners discuss any punishment for the Clippers — and Silver wanted evidence beyond the circumstantial.
"We and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence... I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety," Silver said. "I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety."
Ballmer and the Clippers can again claim plausible deniability here: Wong made a small investment in a company where his daughter worked to help prop them up, neither he nor the team knew anything about late payments to Leonard or anything to do with the endorsement deal. If Silver is holding out for a paper trail — an email where Ballmer or Wong make sure money gets to Lonard and Uncle Dennis — that is not going to exist, Ballmer is too smart to have done so (there was this kind of paper trail in 2000 when the league came down hard on the Timberwolves for circumventing the salary cap with Joe Smith). The Clippers can argue that this is something Aspiration and Uncle Dennis cooked up and they knew nothing.
However, the tsunami of circumstantial evidence and the timing of all of it — including Wong's investment — is hard to ignore and brush aside as nothing. It's going to be difficult for the other owners — who are unhappy with the thought that the richest of them circumvented the cap, giving the league a black eye — to say nothing happened here.
This has become a story that is not going away and will carry into the start of the NBA season, a dark cloud the league will not be happy about.
While this time of year may be purgatory for Knicks fans eagerly awaiting the new season, their team is hard at work preparing for it. The offseason offers talent a chance to build on itself, taking players, and by association their teams, to new heights.
Here’s one improvement we’d like to see from each returning rotation Knick going into the 2025-26 NBA season. There’s hopes of big leaps from Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, Kevin McCullar Jr. and Pacome Dadiet, the group of returning sophomores who saw limited action on the court last season for various reasons.
Jalen Brunson: Leveraging his off-ball game and playmaking
Brunson’s unstoppable isolation and pick-and-roll bucket-getting is the invaluable force behind his ascension and postseason success, but even the brightest stars know the value of the easy score and simple pass. He’s no ball hog, but the offense could get bogged down in Brunson ball for stretches, and seemed to lean on that more as the year progressed and their efficiency declined.
Some of that may be coaching, and we’ll see exactly how much soon enough. Armed with a new playbook and the best weapons of his career, there’s no excuse for Brunson not to bump his respectable 7.3 assists a game to a nine or even ten with the attention he draws.
Some of these players have been plagued by the same issues (pick-and-roll IQ, passing out of drives and post-ups) for years on end and expecting a sudden change now maybe wishful thinking. In that spirit, let’s offer a new and simple twist that could help open things up instead of trying to patch some forever hole in somebody’s game.
Towns often gets caught hard-driving into bigs without a plan beyond getting to the cup, leading to charges or wild misses and pleas for whistles. He won’t become a Tyrese Haliburton-level weak-side passer, but he is mobile enough to add stopping his drives for a jumper or short hook to his repertoire - two shots he likes and can counter defenders over-playing his physicality with.
In that same vein, Anunoby’s been trying to develop his ball-handling, post-up and isolation scoring a la Kawhi Leonard. One shot he should be able to pluck from his game relatively easily is a face-up one-on-one three.
Defenders are already prone to wall up on Anunoby’s drives and he’s a much more natural shooter set than in motion, so he should play to his current skills and deficiencies by adding this look. He’s got the size and touch to hit contested looks and has flirted with this shot in the past, but adding it as a full-time weapon would open up his offense even further.
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and forward OG Anunoby (8) speak in the third quarter during game six of the eastern conference finals against the Indiana Pacers for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Hart is an absolute menace on the ball in transition, and when he decides to go coast-to-coast sometimes looks unstoppable. Unfortunately that control and effectiveness doesn’t carry over 1:1 in the halfcourt, where the Knicks often looked lost trying to dribble the ball if Brunson wasn’t doing it.
They addressed that by signing Jordan Clarkson, but it’ll take more than one extra guard to diversify the handling attack. It should be Hart that steps up, arguably boasting the best handle and passing combination of last year’s three starting wings, but maybe with more chances to show it under a new head coach this time around.
We’ll take the easy answer here. When Bridges fidgeted with his form last offseason, he unlocked some high-level mid-range mastery but cooked his three-point accuracy from everywhere but the corners.
Fixing that will be pivotal as it would turn Bridges from a good shooter to one of the best in the league, and give him another weapon in the pick-and-roll, where the Knicks need some ammunition.
The Deuce post-breakout Sixth Man of the Year campaign was afflicted by multiple injuries, turning what was supposed to be a renaissance into a rocky season for the backup guard. He ended up with a decent shooting year and solid postseason effort, but for some reason his finishing around the rim abandoned him in 2024-25.
Getting that touch back will be pivotal this year, as McBride could be pining for a starting job, or fending off competition taking his minutes in Clarkson and Kolek.
The answer is obviously free throw shooting, but to switch things up, Robinson’s pick-and-rolls can sometimes be a little hollow in opening up action for Brunson. It can get him a switch or clear a runway, but he’s not a big lob-thrower and Robinson doesn’t do much other than catch those or position himself for offensive rebounds.
Robinson should try to set more Gortat screens (a second screen following the first on his own man) to mix in something different. Could open up more looks for Brunson, and Robinson still puts a body on immediately to get in putback position.
Before the action commences, we’re looking at key questions for the 2025-26 Sixers. First up: Are the Sixers about to enter a true youth movement?
By the end of their miserable 2024-25 season, the Sixers were exceedingly light on experienced players.
That was not by design. With a roster full of season-ending injuries, the Sixers were forced to rely on youngsters and fringe NBA players to finish out their schedule.
Still, it’s not a stretch to say that the quality of the Sixers’ youth is a serious positive entering the 2025-26 campaign. Excluding two-way contracts, the team currently has seven players 24 years old or under:
VJ Edgecombe — 20
Jared McCain — 21
Justin Edwards — 21
Adem Bona — 22
Johni Broome — 23
Tyrese Maxey — 24
Trendon Watford — 24
“If everything sets up well, we’ll have a younger, more dynamic roster around a healthy Joel (Embiid), Tyrese and Paul (George),” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said at his end-of-season press conference.
It’s difficult to imagine the Sixers making a dramatic jump from last season without Embiid and George being much healthier. However, it’s not hard to envision multiple young players taking fun leaps that meaningfully change the complexion of the team.
“Everything happens for a reason,” McCain said at his exit interview. “God doesn’t make mistakes and I know the universe has put me in this position to be injured to learn something. I know I’m destined for something great.
“I read the book ‘The Obstacle Is The Way.’ … Just trying to create any advantage through all the adversity that you go through. There’s a saying … ‘Amor fati.’ Just love everything that comes, even the negative. Love everything that comes your way and you’ll find your way back in the positive.
“So I just try to take that every single day and live with gratitude. I’m huge on that. I know I’ll be fine. I know I’ll get back to where I was, even better. Just got to be patient and be present.”
Watching the second apron force the Boston Celtics to break apart their championship core this summer wasn’t easy for anyone in the organization. But the department we felt most for? The video editors in charge of putting together all the tribute videos that will roll whenever a beloved player returns to TD Garden this season.
There should be at least four instances this winter where a hush falls over the Garden crowd and a 60-second montage of highlights from that player’s time in Boston will roll on the Jumbotron. Fans will roar for key moments, particularly when the Larry O’Brien Trophy or a parade shot is included, and some of the standing ovations will last longer than the videos themselves.
The Celtics’ video squad routinely crushes these assignments, and it’s fun to watch players on both teams take a break from the action to cherish the moment. There’s simply going to be a lot of them this season.
The good news for Boston’s video group: None of the returns occur in calendar year 2025, so there’s some time to work with. January could feature three returning heroes. Luke Kornet is slated to return with San Antonio on January 10; Jrue Holiday is expected back with Portland on January 26; and Kristaps Porzingis should travel here with Atlanta on January 28.
For Day 9 of our Ramp to Camp series, we asked our panel to pick which tribute video they are most excited to watch at TD Garden this season.
If we’re being honest, we’re excited that each video ought to be a little different.
Good luck trying to distill all the hilarious moments from Kornet’s Boston tenure down to 60 (or even 90) seconds. A supercut of his best celebrations would eat up all the available time. Trying to shoehorn a witty soundbite or two would really put the video editors in a bind. But we suspect that video will feel like a smile-inducing celebration.
Holiday’s video will likely be a little bit more buttoned up, but ought to highlight just how vital he was to Boston’s 2024 postseason success. The key plays Holiday made in the Indiana series alone could fill the allotted time.
All we ask for with the Porzingis video is some sort of highly dramatic transition, maybe some black and white footage of him hobbling off the court against Miami, then flashing to his WWE-style walkout before Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Mavericks. Goosebumps. We expect Porzingis to be smiling throughout the video and fans to roar at every opportunity. This one will feel like a party.
Then there’s Horford. How do you summarize his impact over seven seasons and two tenures in one TV timeout? Horford made Boston a destination for free agents when he signed here in 2016. He accelerated the development of multiple variations of this roster, routinely delivering this team to the Eastern Conference Finals before finally getting over the hump in 2024.
This will undoubtedly be the most emotional of the bunch. And if Horford’s son, Ean, is perched next to him on the visitor’s bench, it’s going to get dusty in the Garden real quick.
Maybe it’s fitting Horford would go last among returning players. While we’re excited for the smiles that Porzingis and Kornet will elicit, it’s unlikely anything can top the emotion that will flow when Horford returns.
Here’s what our panel had to say:
Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor
If we’re talking entertainment factor, it’s a tight race between Kristaps Porzingis (cue the WWE-style entrance!) and Luke Kornet. (Can we get another attack ad, Luke?)
But few Celtics have meant more to the organization over the last decade than Horford. I’m getting goosebumps now just thinking about the rousing ovation he’ll receive from the TD Garden faithful — even if he’s in a Warriors uniform.
Michael Hurley, Web Producer
Al Horford’s should be the longest. They could do two tributes in two separate timeouts for his two tenures. Seeing Horford progress from the Isaiah Thomas era through the championship season will be the most stirring for everybody in attendance.
Porzingis’ will be the most electric. He might go nuts. Kornet’s will be the funniest. Holiday’s will be straightforward and solid. He’ll give a nice wave.
But Al’s will be the best.
Sean McGuire, Web Producer
It’s between Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford for me, but I’m going to give a slight edge to Porzingis.
I could see his allergies really acting up in late January, and I could see the Celtics-Hawks crowd that night trying to one-up the Celtics-Blazers crowd from two nights prior. Additionally, the cinematic photos of blood pouring from Porzingis’ head will never not be cool.
Josh Canu, Media Editor
Al Horford.
There is no better example of a professional than Horford. He has had an underrated career and has been such a key piece to the Celtics in both his tenures here. He isn’t flashy and the loudest voice in the room, but he may have been the most consistent.
His tribute will definitely tug on the heartstrings the most.
Jim Aberdale, Supervising Producer, Celtics
Kristaps Porzingis without a doubt.
He really took to the Boston experience and, in turn, the fans reciprocated. And it’s a lock he’ll come with some great soundbites — always appreciated by the crew creating the pregame and postgame shows.
Max Lederman, Content Producer
Al Horford was the first major free agent to ever sign with the Celtics. He added instant credibility to the team when he arrived and embraced the city and fans like he was born here.
His tribute video will almost certainly be the most emotional, and sometimes it’s good to cry.
Kevin Miller, VP, Content
From a content standpoint, Luke Kornet for sure. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis will be fun. But I feel Al Horford deserves a truly emotional evening.
History will show that he was one of the most important players in Celtics history. He came here as a free agent and started to shift the tide on how other players viewed the organization. And Brad Stevens’ trade for Horford in 2021 that sent out Kemba Walker might be one of the great trades of all time. It gave you a leader and an overly productive big for a championship team while shedding money to make other key moves.
Horford defined professionalism and deserves the love from Celtics fans.
Adam Hart, EP, Content Strategy
Jrue Holiday, because he’s the one I was most disappointed to see go. A quiet assassin, he deserved a better ending than what the Second Apron forced upon him.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at the Sports Business Journal World Congress of Sport in Nashvillein April. (George Walker IV / Associated Press)
NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Wednesday pulled back the reins as allegations swirled about the Clippers circumventing the salary cap by orchestrating an endorsement deal for star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Silver, speaking to the media after a previously scheduled meeting of all 30 team owners in New York, said an NBA investigation would need to uncover clear evidence that the Clippers violated rules for owner Steve Ballmer to be punished.
"The burden is on the league if we are going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league," Silver said. "I think, as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges. ...
"I think as a matter of fundamental fairness, I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety."
The Clippers and Ballmer are under league investigation after it was alleged last week on the podcast of Pablo Torre that Leonard was paid $28 million for a do-nothing endorsement role by Aspiration, a sustainability firm that had agreed to a $330-million sponsorship deal with the Clippers and had offered $1 billion for naming rights to the arena that instead became the Intuit Dome.
Aspiration turned out to be a fraudulent company, and co-founder Joseph Sanberg has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding multiple investors and lenders.
Silver said he would hesitate to take action against the Clippers if even a shred of doubt about the situation remains following the investigation, which will be conducted by a law firm experienced in probing wrongdoing by sports franchises, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz.
"Bringing in a firm that specializes in internal investigations adds a level of expertise and creates separation between the league and the investigation of a team," said Michael McCann, a sports law expert and a visiting professor at Harvard. "The investigators have a background in prosecutorial work, insight into what documents to request and questions to ask."
McCann and other legal experts said the investigation would center on whether Ballmer's $50-million investment into Aspiration was a quid pro quo for the firm to turn around and give Leonard $28 million in cash and $20 million in Aspiration stock to essentially do nothing.
Ballmer is embarrassed by the allegations and about his apparent infatuation with Aspiration — which entered into a $330-million sponsorship arrangement with the Clippers and was nearly awarded naming rights to what became the Intuit Dome, only to be revealed as a fraudulent company run by scam artists.
McCann said the investigation would need to uncover concrete evidence that Ballmer or someone else representing the Clippers directed Aspiration to make the deal with Leonard. The only evidence presented on Torre's podcast was hearsay — an audio clip of an anonymous former Aspiration employee saying that someone else in the company told them the endorsement deal "was to circumvent the salary cap, LOL. There was lots of LOL when things were shared.”
LOL typically is used in written communication, so if the allegation was made in an email or text, the next step for investigators would be to interview the person who wrote it and determine whether Ballmer was involved.
The investigation presumably will examine all of this. Silver tends to be methodical when conducting a probe and is expected to act on what can be proved, not on the perception of wrongdoing. But he also is charged with protecting and growing franchise values. Anything that could damage the integrity of the league would be a huge concern to him and team owners.
"Silver has quite a few very interesting relationships to protect and to nurture: other owners, his corporate sponsors, the media networks that are distributing the content," said David Carter, a USC professor of sports business and principal of the Sports Business Group. "Everybody attached to the league is interested in getting to the bottom of this. So he has to balance different stakeholder interests and he is very good at doing that.
"So I have a feeling he will — working with the law firm — get to the bottom of it and then decide to what extent if any punishment is warranted. He’ll do that with the intent of making sure he’s protecting the interests of the other owners."
Leonard joined the Clippers in July 2019 on a three-year, $103-million contract after leading the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title. The 6-foot-7 forward from Moreno Valley signed a four-year, $176.3-million extension in 2021, when Aspiration made its sponsorship deal with the Clippers and Ballmer invested and became a minority owner in the company.
After signing a three-year, $153-million extension a year ago, Leonard will have been paid or is under contract for $375 million in career salary over 14 years with three teams.
The NBA looked into allegations that the Clippers paid Leonard or his representative and uncle, Dennis Robertson, a side deal when he first joined the team in 2019. No wrongdoing was found, although this week the Toronto Star reported that Robertson made demands of the Raptors in 2019 "that line up almost perfectly with what Leonard reportedly got from Aspiration."
The Star reported that Robertson demanded $10 million a year in sponsorship income but that Leonard didn't want to do anything for the money. The Raptors rejected the demand, and Leonard signed with the Clippers.
Should the Clippers be found guilty of circumventing the salary cap, they could be forced to forfeit draft picks and be fined heavily. Ballmer and other team executives could be suspended, and perhaps Leonard’s contract could be voided.
Silver will proceed carefully.
"The goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety," he said. "In a public-facing sport, the public at times reaches conclusions that later turn out to be completely false. I'd want anyone else in the situation Mr. Ballmer is in now, or Kawhi Leonard for that matter, to be treated the same way I would want to be treated if people were making allegations against me."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he has broad powers that could be wielded to punish the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer if it is proven that they circumvented the salary cap to get Kawhi Leonard more money through an endorsement deal with a team sponsor. However, he also said he would be reluctant to use that power for the "mere appearance of impropriety."
Mostly, Silver sounded like a cautious, patient lawyer when speaking after the NBA's Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday.
"I'm a big believer in due process and fairness, and we need to now let the investigation run its course," Silver said.
When asked about possible punishments the Clippers could face if it is proven the franchise knowingly circumvented the salary cap, Silver sounded like a man who understands he has a hammer to bring down.
"My powers are very broad," Silver said. "Full range of financial penalties — draft picks, suspensions, et cetera. I have very broad powers in these situations."
However, sounded cautious about using that hammer. While the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) says a case for cap circumvention can be based on circumstantial evidence — which is all that is public right now, although there is a flood of it — Silver sounded like a lawyer who wants something more concrete.
"We and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence... I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety," Silver said. "I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety."
The Clippers and Ballmer have vehemently denied any impropriety, Ballmer saying he was "dupped" by the company Aspiration and its CEO Joe Sanberg (who has pled guilty to bilking investors of $248 million).
The appearance of impropriety in this case is still pretty damning. In early August of 2021, Ballmer made a personal investment of $50 million in Aspiration, a "green bank" company planting trees to gain carbon credits they could sell to clients. A couple of weeks later, Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million max contract extension with the Clippers. By the opening of Clippers training camp that year, Aspiration was a $300 million key sponsor of the Clippers, as Ballmer was building the Intuit Dome and had made a priority of making it a green building. A couple of months later, Leonard formed an LLC and, through that, signed a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. This deal eventually grew to $48 million after a later $20 million stock deal (stock that is now worthless as the company went bankrupt).
The core of the problem for the Clippers and Leonard is this: He did nothing, absolutely nothing, for this endorsement money. No appearances, marketing or advertising, not even a social media post. He got the money for nothing.
That all smells fishy, but proving that Ballmer and the Clippers knew about this or orchestrated it is a much higher bar. The original report from Pablo Torre and the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast reported that there were seven people in the office who said they were told Leonard's endorsement deal was lined up to help the Clippers circumvent the salary cap. Okay, but investigators will want to know "told by whom?" and where did that person learn of it? What is the source of this knowledge, and is it verifiable?
There are too many coincidences here for this all to be random, but is it more likely that the Clippers orchestrated this, or that "Uncle Dennis" — Leonard's uncle and business manager, who had asked for “no show” endorsements before in Toronto — just worked this out with Aspiration, and the Clippers really did know nothing? Every option is on the table. All the existing evidence we know matters, but how much weight will Silver and the other owners give it?
"The answer is we're not a court of law at the end of the day, either," Silver said. "We have broad authority to look at all information and to weigh it accordingly."
Silver said that his cautious approach has been echoed by the other owners he has spoken to on the matter.
"At least what's being said to me is a reservation of judgment," Silver said. "I think people recognize that that's what you have a league office for. That's what you have a commissioner for, someone who is independent of the teams... At least what those governors have said directly to me, to the extent we have had discussions, they've been limited."
Some around the league feel, considering all that is already known, that there is a burden on the Clippers to prove they didn't put this together, or at least know about it. The NBA CBA suggests there is some burden on the Clippers. However, Silver said the burden of proof remains with the NBA and investigators.
"The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league," Silver said. "I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges."
It's possible that when all this ends, the NBA will realize its current system of oversight on player endorsements needs updating (something the NBA players' union would have strong opinions about). NBA owners may be hesitant to want to punish Ballmer if it sets a precedent where they could be in trouble if one of their sponsors goes rogue with a player. When asked about that oversight, Silver's patient, cautious side came to the front.
"Let's get through this investigation. We'll reassess," Silver said. "We'll see what happened here. Then we'll sit down both among our owners and then potentially with the Players Association because some of that is a function of collective bargaining, and see if there's additional things we need to do."
Luka Doncic's run of dominant play at EuroBasket continued Wednesday, but this time it was not enough.
Doncic scored 39, with 10 rebounds and seven assists, and pushed Slovenia to a seven-point lead late in the third quarter. But then Germany's Tristan da Silva hit a half-court shot at the buzzer, and in the fourth the momentum swung to Germany, which pulled away for the 99-91 win.
Doncic's incredible #EuroBasket run comes to an end but he had another scoring spree against Germany.
Germany got 23 points and seven rebounds from Orlando's Franz Wagner, as well as 20 points and seven assists from Sacramento's Dennis Schroder. Center Daniel Theis added 15 points and nine rebounds for a deep German side that proved to be too much for Slovenia.
GERMANY'S DUO GETS IT DONE
Franz Wagner: 23p/7r/4a Dennis Schröder: 20p/7a
They'll take on Finland in the @EuroBasket semifinals this Friday!
Germany, still undefeated at EuroBasket, will face a surprise Finnish team in the semifinals after Finland knocked off another upstart in Georgia, 93-79, in the other quarterfinal. This was another impressive game from Lauri Markkanen, who had 17 points and maybe, more importantly, four blocks in the win.
Mikael Jantunen, who played his college ball at Utah, led Finland with 19 points in the game.
Germany and Finland will face off in one EuroBasket semifinal on Saturday, while the other sees a showdown between undefeated Alperen Sengun and Turkey, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece.
