Category: Basketball

The Golden State Warriors still have two roster spots remaining thanks to their offseason strategy of “LeBron
James Or We’re Staying The Same.” One player who seems to fit what the Warriors look for an in end-of-the-bench signing is a veteran forward known as “The Minivan,” Georges Niang.

From @TheSteinLine

“Free agents who I'm told are drawing legitimate interest from Golden State for the Warriors' open roster spots: Georges Niang and Brandon Williams.” https://t.co/1hjVamMixF

— Chef (@CurryForGame) August 12, 2026

The 33-year-old forward missed all of last season with an injury to his left foot, though neither the tanking Utah Jazz nor the tanking Memphis Grizzlies were interested in rushing Niang back to the court. He’s a 39.9% three-point shooter for his career, hitting over 40% of his shots behind the arc in six of his last seven seasons.

Niang was quite good in his last NBA season. In 2024-25, he averaged a career-high 9.9 points and 2.1 threes on 40.6% shooting in a season split between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks — he went over in the De’Andre Hunter trade, one the Cavaliers almost immediately regretted. Officially, he stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 230 pounds. He’s a below-average defender but not terrible but his role is to make catch-and-shoot threes, often from the corner.

That’s an archetype the Warriors have looked for in previous seasons. Omri Casspi, Jonas Jerebko, and Otto Porter, Jr. have all been that sort of player. Here’s what the Warriors presumably like about Niang:

• Shooting
• Veteran experience
• Basketball IQ
• Injury history
• Short for his position
• Has a podcast, “
• Was alive when “Seinfeld” was making new episodes

The Dubs are also reportedly interested in Brandon Williams, the 26-year-old guard who averaged 13 points and 3.9 assists in 66 games with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Obviously Williams is a little young for the 2026-27 Warriors, and only shot 23.2% from three-point range last season. But advanced statistics do like his defense, and he averaged 0.9 steals last year.

Williams worked his way up through the G League to reach the NBA, after a knee injury cost him his sophomore year at Arizona and then the pandemic derailed the draft process in 2020 after he recovered. He’s 6-foot-1, so the Warriors can continue their dream of being the NBA’s shortest team even if they add Williams. The Mavericks seem uninterested in bringing Williams back, because they’ve acquired almost nothing but power forwards since Masai Ujiri took over the team, and apparently Cooper Flagg is Kyrie Irving’s backup now.

If previous reports are true, Niang and Williams may be competing for the same roster spot, as the Dubs are reportedly interested in adding a center as well. However, they already have Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Charles Bassey available at the five, along with Draymond Green’s usual small-ball five work, so they might prioritize shooting and having another guy who could dribble. There’s also a vacant two-way contract slot at present, which could go to a player like Graham Ike.

Why is Niang called “The Minivan”? It’s because of an unimpressive dunk Niang delivered while a member of the Utah Jazz in 2018. After Warriors Summer League legend Joe Ingles razzed Niang about barely clearing the rim, Niang explained to reporters that while some players had “Ferrari engines,” he had a “minivan engine” which required several laps around the block just to warm up.

That was eight years ago, so you can imagine the level of athleticism Niang is working with now, especially after missing a season with an injury. Still, the Warriors aren’t adding him for his dunking ability!

There’s simply not a lot of options out there. They weren’t adding Russell Westbrook anyway, but he retired. Ben Simmons is preparing to do showcases in Australia. Bradley Beal is coming back from a broken hip. Gabe Vincent averaged 4.4 points and 1.4 assists last season. Signing Cam Thomas would make Steve Kerr retire. Ochai Agbaji is sort of bad at basketball.

All we know is that the Warriors are adding two players and those players are getting the minimum. Are those players going to be exciting? That depends on how exciting you consider a minivan to be.

It was already known that the Lakers would play the Warriors three times during October entering Wednesday.

Now, a fourth matchup in the month has been revealed. 

The Lakers will travel to San Francisco to play the Warriors on Oct. 30 to kick off their NBA Cup Group Play slate.

It’s the second matchup of the Amazon Prime’s NBA Cup Group Play doubleheader, with the 76ers and LeBron James hosting the defending NBA Cup and NBA champion Knicks beforehand on Oct. 30. 

The NBA announced the Lakers’ four NBA Cup Group Play games on Wednesday:

• Oct. 30: at Warriors;
• Nov. 6: vs. Trail Blazers;
• Nov. 20: vs. Kings;
• Nov. 27: at Spurs.

The Lakers will also play the Warriors in preseason exhibitions on Oct. 6 at Chase Center and Oct. 13 in Las Vegas before hosting the Warriors for both teams regular season opener on Oct. 21. 

The group play of the NBA’s fourth annual in-season tournament will run from Oct. 30 through Nov. 27, with the single-elimination knockout round being played from Dec. 4-9.

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The NBA Cup final will be played at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11 – the first time it will be held outside of Las Vegas, which hosted the tournament’s first three finals.

The semifinals will be played in the team’s markets after the semifinals and the final were played in Las Vegas the previous three years. 

The full NBA schedule will be released at noon on Thursday. 

The Lakers’ six known regular season games are:

• Oct. 21: vs. Warriors;
• Oct. 30: at Warriors;
• Nov. 6: vs. Trail Blazers;
• Nov. 20: vs. Kings;
• Nov. 27: at Spurs;
• Dec. 25: vs. 76ers.

The Bucks’ 2026-27 schedule is finally beginning to form. Over the past week, the Bucks have finalized their five-game preseason schedule and revealed their four-game NBA Cup slate.

Milwaukee will trot out a ragtag group of rookies and bubble players over eleven days of preseason action. The Bucks will play at Fiserv Forum on Oct. 5 against a heavily hyped, new-look Timberwolves squad and on Oct. 14 against the Bulls, while traveling to Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Indianapolis for away action.

These preseason games will serve as a warm-up for Milwaukee before they pivot into a rebuilding phase led by rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament and new coach Taylor Jenkins. Younger, developmental players like Bogoljub Marković and Kasparas Jakučionis could also receive a lot of game time as they make their case for real, meaningful NBA minutes. We could even see glimpses of core players like Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., and newcomer Tyler Herro.

Monday, Oct. 5 | vs. Minnesota Timberwolves | Fiserv Forum | 7 p.m. CDT

Wednesday, Oct. 7 | @ Oklahoma City Thunder | Paycom Center | 7 p.m. CDT

Sunday, Oct. 11 | @ Charlotte Hornets | Spectrum Center | 6 p.m. CDT

Wednesday, Oct. 14 | vs. Chicago Bulls | Fiserv Forum | 7 p.m. CDT

Friday, Oct. 16 | vs. Indiana Pacers | Gainbridge Fieldhouse | 6 p.m. CDT

The Bucks have also confirmed four games on their regular schedule as they take on the Raptors, Magic, Nets, and Pistons in the NBA Cup. Milwaukee will aim to become NBA Cup champions for the second time in team history and earn a $530,933-per-player bonus with a championship win. However, their odds look slim; they’ll have to face three playoff teams and a younger, budding Nets squad and likely go undefeated to reach the knockout stage of the competition, but it won’t bar them from trying nonetheless. Milwaukee will play in the NBA Cup group stage throughout November.

Friday, Nov. 6 | vs. Toronto Raptors | Fiserv Forum | 7 p.m. CST

Friday, Nov. 13 | @ Orlando Magic | Kia Center | 6 p.m. CST

Wednesday, Nov. 25 | vs. Brooklyn Nets | Fiserv Forum | 7 p.m. CST

Friday, Nov. 27 | @ Detroit Pistons | Little Caesars Arena | 6:30 p.m. CST

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What do you think Milwaukee’s NBA Cup record will look like? Who do you think will shine in the Bucks’ preseason games? Let us know your predictions and stay tuned for the Bucks’ official schedule release Thursday afternoon.

As the NBA continues to slowly roll out the schedule for the 2026-27 regular season, some marquee games and events have already been announced. One of those is the Emirates NBA Cup, the NBA’s in season tournament. We’ve known for a while what four teams would accompany the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference’s Group A, but now we know the when and the where of the games.

🏀👀 pic.twitter.com/SbZHmEukW3

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) August 12, 2026

The Mavericks will see the Houston Rockets before the month of November ends, as Kevin Durant will bring his squad to Dallas on October 30^th. Kyrie Irving will face off against old friend Kevin Durant for the first time in a couple years, as Irving missed all of last season recovering from the ACL injury he suffered in February 2025.

The second, and final, home game of Dallas’ NBA Cup group stage will be on November 6^th, as they will welcome an improved Utah Jazz group to the American Airlines Center. This game will feature two of the best players in the NBA under the age of 20, as Cooper Flagg will face off with Darryn Peterson for what will likely be the first of many encounters.

Notably, both of these games are slated for a 7:00 p.m. local time tipoff in Dallas. Neither game is on national TV. This is different from the usual 7:30 p.m. slot that Dallas has occupied for as long as my 27-year-old brain can remember.

The two road games Dallas has in the group stage will come on Thanksgiving week. Dallas will hit the road to Denver on Tuesday, November 24^th. This game will be nationally televised on NBC and Peacock, with a 9:00 p.m. CT tipoff time. Lastly, the Mavs will head to Phoenix for a Black Friday clash with the Suns. That game is slated for an 8:00 p.m. CT tip.

Dallas has only made the group stage once in the rich history of the NBA Cup, coming in 2024-25 before, well, all hell broke loose. Dallas will likely not contend for the big trophy this year, but a fun run for the in-season crown would be a nice consolation. We shall see what the future holds!

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The full 2026-27 NBA regular season schedule will be released on Thursday, August 13^th. Mavs Moneyball will keep you covered through all 82!

Los Angeles Lakers fans are still trying to unpack what Bob Iger and Josh Kushner’s $12.5 billion purchase of the team might mean, in terms of the Lakers’ future success.

More specifically, fans want to know whether these two new majority owners can return to the team to its former glory, given that six seasons since a NBA championship feels like a long time for the Lakers’ faithful.

Vanessa Bryant will remain a Lakers fan for life, given everything the franchise meant to her husband, the late legend Kobe Bryant, along with what Kobe meant (and still means) to the franchise and the entire city of Los Angeles.

And it appears that Vanessa was subconsciously in sync with the Lakers’ new owners. She made several posts to her Instagram story on Tuesday, one day before the Lakers’ news broke, showing off a Disney-centric outfit.

“Disney Mom,” the post was captioned, showing Bryant rocking red and white Mickey Mouse ears.

This connects to the Lakers’ because Bob Iger was The Walt Disney Company’s CEO up until March of 2026.

Of course, Vanessa surely had no way of knowing that Iger was about to become the Lakers’ new owner, and she was probably just enjoying a day of Disneyland before her daughters started school. But the coincidence is still interesting nonetheless.

Bryant and the rest of Los Angeles fans will be eager to see how the team fares during the Iger and Kushner era.

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Things move quickly in the basketball world, but you’d struggle to find something happening as fast as the selling of the Lakers.

Mark Walter officially became the majority owner of the Lakers in October of last year and has sold it to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a record $12.5 billion.

There wasn’t even a whiff of a rumor about the franchise being up for sale, making this one of the most shocking deals in NBA history. But was Walter quietly shopping the Lakers to billionaires for months, negotiating this high sale number?

Well, no.

Apparently this all got done in a span of a couple of days. In an interview with Khobi Price of the California Post, Iger described how it all went down.

“We were involved in pursuing the new franchise in Vegas,” Iger said during an exclusive phone call with the California Post. “And while that happened, it was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers. And we immediately decided that given the value of the franchise and the iconic nature of the team, that we would be really smart to pursue it. The deal came together in three days. It’s that simple.”

Iger and Kushner wanted to own an NBA team. And after dealing with the apparent bidding wars happening with the Las Vegas expansion, they opted to just buy a ready-made franchise in the Lakers. From their perspective, this sale makes sense.

Still, 72 hours is such an insane turnaround for a deal this huge. But Dan Woike, Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reported the same timeline of events.

According to one source with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the agreement, Kushner reached out to Walter on Friday and the deal quickly came together over the weekend.

All of this happening in such a short period of time is mind-boggling. I mean, didn’t Walter have to think about it for a while? Sure, a $2.5 billion profit in less than a year’s time is great, but were the Lakers just a vessel for him to store his money?

It just seems like a historic franchise like the Lakers should’ve been treated with more care and consideration, not flipped like they are an investment property.

And yet, here we are with new owners for the second time in barely more than a year.

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

So instead of the Dodgerfication of the Lakers, we’re getting the Disneyfication of the Lakers.

Hakuna Matata?

Yes, it’s weird and distressing, watching billionaires play catch with our ballclubs.

But this high-stakes game of hot potato that resulted in Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner acquiring the Lakers for $12.5 billion from Mark Walter less than a year after the Dodgers owner bought the NBA team?

For the Lakers, it really could end happily ever after.

Because we’re realizing you probably shouldn’t put all your proverbial eggs — or both of a city’s most beloved sports teams — in one guy’s basket. Especially if that one guy happens to be at the center of a federal loan investigation.

Read more:Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner to buy Lakers from Mark Walter's ownership group for $12.5 billion

And if all it took, really, to get Walter to relinquish his ownership of the Lakers was $2.5 billion more than the reported figure he paid for them, then he wasn’t the right owner for the franchise anyway.

He wasn’t actually going to spin blue into purple and gold.

And Disney did give us some pretty great stories under Iger, didn’t it?

A native New Yorker, Iger, 75, grew up a Knicks fan. But he has also long been an L.A. basketball fan — though he has identified as a Clippers supporter. (Sorry, Clips, I think you’re down a fan.)

Lakers great Magic Johnson said he’s known Iger since the Showtime era, and gushed in an interview Wednesday with The Times’ Broderick Turner: “The great thing for Laker fans is Bob Iger loves basketball, loves the Lakers and I think that we couldn’t have a better person.

“Somebody that don’t know the Lakers, the tradition, that don’t know the city, that don’t know the passion that the fans have for the Lakers here in L.A.? Then I would have been like, ‘Oh man. They gotta learn all that.’

“Well there’s no learning curve for Bob.”

And Angelenos know Iger. We don’t know Kushner except for his family ties. But Iger, we do.

Walter isn’t selling the Lakers to some rich guys without any L.A. cred. He’s selling to a basketball fan whom we’ve seen courtside at Lakers games. Someone who joined us in sharing our heartbreak on social media when Kobe Bryant died in 2020, calling him “a friend and a fan of ours, full of life and taken from us too soon.”

We recognize Iger; he’s the Disney guy. We know him for his successful tenures as chief executive of that beloved company, which were highlighted by innovative storytelling, savvy investment and expansion — including into sports. We know he helped turn ESPN into a TV juggernaut.

Before the sale to Walter, the Buss family, which owned and ran the Lakers for 46 years, was having trouble keeping up in a booming NBA. Player salaries are capped, but ownership’s resources matter much in terms of creating a competitive infrastructure of coaches, basketball operations, medical and scouting staffs.

So we were looking forward to seeing sweeping improvements when Walter took control and provided the organization with a much-needed financial infusion. After all, his Dodgers have won three World Series crowns and clinched the National League West in 12 of 13 seasons since 2012, when he and his partners bought the club for a then-MLB record $2.15 billion.

But as of Wednesday morning, we were still looking.

Read more:What Bob Iger's Angel City ownership can illuminate about his impending Lakers acquisition

We thought the new Lakers’ regime would get to work without a second to spare. Yeah, they added a second row of seats courtside. And laid off more than a dozen employees.

We expected they’d beef up their scouting department. But they moved the G League team from the South Bay way out to the Coachella Valley, so even the most ardent fans in L.A. will have a hard time keeping an eye on the team’s prospects.

We expected, under Walter, that the Lakers would give their basketball brain trust an obvious boost.

But they’ve only flirted with filling the job of second assistant general manager. And they failed to poach anyone from the league’s most innovative front offices like the Dodgers did when they hired Andrew Friedman. Their big get was Rohan Ramadas, from the … New Orleans Pelicans, a team that made the playoffs only twice in the last eight seasons.

Iger and Kushner can do better. They better do better.

I think they will.

This isn’t a fly-by-night proposition for Iger, who headed an effort by the Chargers and Raiders to build a stadium in Carson before Stan Kroenke built $5-billion SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

In 2024, Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, who is dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, acquired a controlling stake in the Angel City Football Club of the National Women’s Soccer League for $50 million, pushing its valuation to $250 million, a record for a women’s sports team.

Angel City hasn’t been winning, but they doubled the staff and wasted no time setting up a sizable new performance center at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The WNBA’s Sparks, which Walter has owned since 2014, are still waiting for their own practice facility, which is now finally under construction in El Segundo.

“As lifelong NBA fans,” Kushner and Iger said in a statement, “we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world.”

Iger knows as much as anyone about successfully stewarding an iconic brand.

Now he could be the Imagineer to bring the 17-time champion Lakers back to the happiest place on earth — the NBA’s mountaintop.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

There was a deep exhale. 

Now there’s…a giant shrug?

What’s to become of the Lakers? Who knows.

The darlings of the NBA, who have won 17 championships, have undergone two stunning ownership changes in the last 14 months after being owned by the Buss family for 47 years.

The Buss family sold the Lakers to Mark Walter in Oct. 2025 for a $10 billion valuation. And on Wednesday, news broke that Walter is selling the team to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner, who has a minority stake in the Miami Heat and is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, who’s President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. 

It’s dizzying. It’s stunning. And it raises a lot of questions. 

Under Walter, we knew what was going to happen. The Lakers were going to become a well-oiled machine. After Walter and Guggenheim Baseball Management took over ownership of the Dodgers in 2012, they’ve won three World Series championships. 

The Lakers had already begun making drastic changes. 

They revamped their front office. They wanted to be on the cutting edge of data and analytics for the draft and free agency. They were building a biomechanics lab, new movement labs and a recovery lab. 

Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka called it “a full rebuild and retool” in May after Los Angeles was swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Under Walter, the NBA hired Dodgers chief marketing officer Lon Rosen as president of business operations. Dodgers executives Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi were acting as Lakers advisors. 

They had one of the top braintrusts in sports backing them. They had the deep pockets and the seemingly limitless resources of Walter and Co. behind them. They had the playbook for success.

Uncertainty faces Lakers 

Now what?

Who are Iger and Kushner? 

“We’re fans,” Iger told Khobi Price of the California Post. “We respect the value that’s been created, both on the court and off.”

Okay, so what’s their plan?

“Our intention is to build this great franchise from a position of strength in many respects as an organization,” Iger told The Post. “We’re smart enough to know what we know and what we don’t know. I think it’s just premature to speculate at all about what we plan to do, because frankly, we haven’t made any plans yet. Again, we go into this with an appreciation of who the Lakers are. And we just want to build value from today on. That’s all.”

So, we have more questions than answers.

To be fair, the deal went down in less than 72 hours. 

Iger and Kushner were pursuing a majority ownership stake in a potential Las Vegas expansion franchise before they pivoted on a dime.

“It was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers,” Iger told The Post. “And we immediately decided that given the value of the franchise and the iconic nature of the team that we would be really smart to pursue it.”

It was fast. It was unexpected. And now Lakers fans are kind of left in the lurch. Do Iger and Kushner intend to make sweeping changes? Are they going to keep the status quo? Under Walter and Co., it was clear the Lakers had a distinct plan. They knew it. We knew it. It created a sense of comfort. 
Sure, the Lakers had lost their family-owned charm after being sold by the Buss’s, who had transformed them into one of the greatest organizations in sports. But hey, at least they were owned by a guy who had the blueprint for winning.

That was comforting. 

Especially considering the Lakers’ current state. Since hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2020, the Lakers have won only three playoff series. They’ve had three coaching changes in six years. They’ve only won one title in the last 16 years. 

That’s not good enough in Los Angeles. Not for a ravenous fanbase that has been spoiled by Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, who each won five championships for the Lakers. Not in a city filled with glitz and glam that only pays attention to winners.

Encouragingly, Magic himself is a huge fan of — and believer in — the new regime.  

“Laker fans, you couldn’t have two better owners,” he tweeted. “I’ve known Bob personally for over 40 years – he has always loved the Lakers and basketball and he will bring championships back to LA.”

So, what’s next for the Lakers?

Here’s what we know: Jeanie Buss will apparently remain governor for at least another four years, as was agreed upon when she sold the team to Walter.

But while Iger told the Post he has “every intention to honor the agreement,” there was a caveat.

“If things change, they’ll change,” Iger told The Post. “But we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”

Iger has already reached out to Buss and Lakers coach JJ Redick, whom he has known since Redick’s playing days with the LA Clippers. 

As of this morning he hadn’t yet connected with Luka Doncic, who must be reeling after thinking he was going to spend his entire career in Dallas before being traded to the Lakers in February 2025 — and then experiencing two ownership changes.

Doncic, who signed a three-year, $165 million maximum contract extension with the Lakers in August 2025 that includes a player option for 2027-2028, will undoubtedly pay close attention to what transpires next season. 

He weighed in on the monumental move on X on Wednesday.  

“Being a Laker means everything to me, and I’m excited to get back on the court and bring a championship to LA,” Doncic wrote. “I’ve gotten used to big changes over these last few years, but I know that no matter what, there is no limit to the potential of this iconic franchise. I look forward to meeting Josh and Bob so we can get to work building something special in LA together.”

Doncic isn’t the only person with eyes wide open.

Laker fans have no tolerance for mediocrity, which has infected the Lakers’ organization like a invasive fungus since they won their last title.

LeBron James left last month in free agency. The Lakers are now Doncic’s team. And the front office spent this summer trying to put the proper pieces around him so they could climb the mountaintop once again, including signing center Walker Kessler.

But now another major earthquake has struck. The foundation has been rocked. There’s rubble to sort through. There’s chaos. What’s next for the Lakers? Can they be great again? 

Or are we in for another very long winter. 

So you thought the Phoenix Suns were done for the offseason, did you? Well, surprise surprise. They’re not done making moves.

On Wednesday, the Suns waived Haywood Highsmith, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

The Phoenix Suns have waived Haywood Highsmith, league sources told @hoopshype. He was partially guaranteed $1 million of his $3 million salary for the 2026-27 season. The 3-and-D forward has averaged 5.4 points on 38% 3-point shooting and 3.1 rebounds in six NBA seasons.

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) August 12, 2026

Phoenix acquired Highsmith last February after he signed with the team as a free agent following his release from the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the month. He appeared in seven games for the Suns, averaging 5.4 points in 91 total minutes. Highsmith had previously missed significant time after undergoing surgery for a right knee meniscal tear last August.

Highsmith was set to make $3 million next season, but the contract was not guaranteed. He would have earned the full amount if he had remained on the roster through January 10, 2027.

Waiving Highsmith opens up a roster spot for the Suns. We don’t yet know whether Phoenix already has somebody in mind, which prompted the move, or whether the organization simply values the flexibility that comes with keeping a spot open. It’s something the Suns have done before, leaving a roster spot available while waiting to identify the right player to eventually fill it.

Either way, Haywood Highsmith is no longer a member of the Phoenix Suns. The 29-year-old will now look for his fourth NBA team.

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Warriors fans and fans across the country.

The Golden State Warriors limped into the play-in tournament in 2025-26, and were eliminated before the playoffs. But in 2024-25? They made quite a run, and arguably the only thing that kept them from making the Western Conference Finals was an injury sustained by Steph Curry.

The Dubs are basically running it back this year. They came up short in their pursuit of LeBron James, and have yet to add a single player from outside the organization, though that will likely change between now and Opening Night. So, how will the Warriors fare this season? Give us your predictions!

Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys:

The Los Angeles Lakers have new ownership for the second time in 14 months.

Mark Walter sold his majority stake in the iconic NBA franchise to businessmen Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a staggering $12.5 billion.

Now that Iger and Kushner have taken center stage, Lakers fans are keen to know about their respective backgrounds.

They’re not going to like comments Iger made about his NBA fandom during a 2021 interview on “The Old Man and The Three” podcast, which have resurfaced on Reddit on Wednesday.

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Follow the latest on the multibillion-dollar LA Lakers sale:

• Lakers stunningly sold to Josh Kushner, Bob Iger for historic $12.5 billion
• Lakers fans react to blockbuster $12.5B sale: ‘Insane!’
• Lakers’ sudden $12.5 billion sale comes amid Mark Walter federal investigation
• Magic Johnson makes championship promise after historic Lakers sale
• Luka Dončić doesn’t mince words on historic $12.5 billion Lakers sale

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When speaking about his relationship with Chris Paul and his involvement in the notorious NBA bubble in Florida during the COVID 2020 season, Iger said, “I am a Clippers fan. Having moved from New York to Los Angeles back in 2000, and being a big NBA fan, I needed a team to root for. And in my youth, the Lakers were a big rival of the Knicks, the team I grew up rooting for. So I couldn’t root for the Lakers very easily; it just was not in my DNA.

“So I decided to adopt the Clippers, which was actually a good thing, because their seats were a lot cheaper than the Lakers,” Iger added.

Given that Iger has a net worth of of $600 million, he probably could have afforded courtside season tickets at Lakers games back then if he had wanted.

But it doesn’t matter now, since Iger will have any seat in the house he wants for the team he now owns. One would also assume (or at least hope) that his fandom will flip from the Clippers to the Lakers as well, if it hasn’t already.

The general public will have no shortage of opportunities to watch the Philadelphia 76ers play basketball this season (at least on television, in-person viewing may be much harder). We previously detailed how the Sixers would take part in the NBA’s opening night and Christmas Day slates, with their home opener against Cleveland also nationally televised. On Wednesday, two more nationally-televised holiday games were revealed to be on the schedule.

a few marquee matchups are set. 👀@Toyota // @Ticketmasterpic.twitter.com/vAU7IECwPa

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) August 12, 2026

The Sixers will play on MLK Day, January 18, at 2:30 pm ET in Atlanta, and on Presidents’ Day, February 15, at 2:30 pm ET in Dallas. Both games will be on NBC.

The Hawks should be an intriguing team to watch in their first full year removed from the Trae Young era. Jalen Johnson is coming off a Third Team All-NBA campaign and the organization made some interesting acquisitions during the offseason like Lu Dort, Ryan Nembhard, and Aaron Wiggins. Meanwhile down in Texas, I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to tune into Cooper Flagg’s second season and I’m curious about the roster constructed by new President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri led by former Michigan head coach Dusty May.

Of course, we have to get used to this new reality that the Sixers are the Main Attraction. Casuals are tuning in to watch LeBron James in a Sixers uniform and Jaylen Brown metaphorically stomp all over the analytics nerds across the interwebs. There won’t be a week that goes by this season that won’t have some compelling Philadelphia-related storyline to unwrap. Strap in, folks, it should be a fun one.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are right around the corner. Key dates for the 2026-27 NBA season have been unveiled ahead of the full schedule being released tomorrow. For now, we know some major games to mark your calendar for.

Let’s start with their first game of the season.

Cleveland opens their season on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 22nd. They’ll then play LeBron James at home for the first time in a 76ers uniform just a few weeks later on November 6th. The Cavs will waste no time welcoming the King back to the East. They’ll have two chances to make a statement before Thanksgiving.

The Cavs won’t play on Christmas this year, but they will play on Martin Luther King Day once again. They host the Detroit Pistons at noon. Last season, Cleveland faced the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on MLK Day.

A few other dates have been revealed for Cleveland. We now know the full details of their NBA Cup schedule, including when and where each game of their group stage will be played.

The Cavs begin their NBA Cup journey on November 6th against the 76ers. Raising the stakes of their second game against the 76ers.

Next, they head to Miami on November 13th to play Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Heat. A week later, Cleveland will host the Indiana Pacers, a team that will be rejuvenated by the return of Tyrese Haliburton. The star point guard missed all of last season with an Achilles injury.

Finally, the Cavs will be on the road against the New York Knicks on November 25th for their final game of the NBA Cup Group Stage. The Knicks have gotten the best of Cleveland at every turn. This will be an opportunity for the Cavs to flip the tables.

All things considered, that’s a brutal group to be a part of for the Cup.

To recap, here are the dates that we have confirmed:

• October 22 at PHI (Season Opener)
• November 6th vs PHI (NBA Cup)
• November 13th at MIA (NBA Cup)
• November 20th vs IND (NBA Cup)
• November 25th at NYK (NBA Cup)
• January 19th vs DET (MLK Day)

There will be no Christmas Day game for the Cavs this season.

The NBA plans to release the full schedule tomorrow. That will give us all time to plan ahead and get ready for another season of Cavs basketball.

Russell Westbrook announced he was stepping away from the NBA after 18 seasons in a video released on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

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Westbrook played for seven different teams in the league but had his longest stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2008 to 2019.

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The point guard was voted the 2016-17 MVP and was a nine-time All-Star during his career.

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Westbrook averaged 20.9 points, 8 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game but is referred to as Mr. Triple-Double for producing 209 career triple-doubles.

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He finishes his career as the all-time leader; his former teammate, Nikola Jokic, is threatening to take over the record as he's sitting at 198 career triple-doubles.

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Here’s how basketball fans honored Westbrook following his announcement:

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Russell Westbrook praised after announcement

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Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end.

You had to be there. And now it’s over. pic.twitter.com/6YoOW8WyIV

— Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) August 12, 2026

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Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti:

"Russell Westbrook is the ultimate competitor.

His internal belief and unbridled fearlessness helped establish the foundation of our organization from day one in 2008 and he elevated the confidence and inspired…

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 12, 2026

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The former UCLA basketball player also played for the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, L.A. Clippers and Denver Nuggets before playing his final season with the Sacramento Kings.

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Little did we know, that would be Russell Westbrook’s final season 🥲

(via @MattGeorgeSAC) pic.twitter.com/GsYQdHQkNj

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 12, 2026

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Final bucket of Russell Westbrook's career 🥲

March 19th, 2026 pic.twitter.com/eeDcZtRTyN

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 12, 2026

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Congrats on retirement, Russ! We’re honored to be part of your legendary career ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/3sdJv6GdSV

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) August 12, 2026

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Grateful Sacramento was part of an unforgettable career. Congratulations on 18 incredible seasons. Enjoy retirement, Brodie 💜 @russwest44pic.twitter.com/l66Qo1k7Nx

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) August 12, 2026

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Russell Westbrook's career in 18 seasons

▫️9x All-Star
▫️9x All-NBA
▫️3x Assists Champion
▫️2x Scoring Champion
▫️2x All-Star Game MVP
▫️2016-17 NBA MVP
▫️Member of the 75th Anniversary Team
▫️All Time Triple Double Leader

Thank you for everythingpic.twitter.com/fdUqBzXAnI

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) August 12, 2026

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Russell Westbrook has retired from the NBA.

Brodie was special in his time with @UCLAMBB 👏 pic.twitter.com/P9x9ALQevD

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) August 12, 2026

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2x gold medalist Russell Westbook has announced his retirement.

Thank you @russwest44 for all of your contributions to the game & USA Basketball! 🇺🇸 #USABfamilypic.twitter.com/y62soDYTz2

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 12, 2026

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Russell Westbrook had a career for the books 📚

🏀 209 career triple-doubles, most in NBA history
🏀 1 of 2 players in NBA history with 25,000 points & 10,000 assists
🏀 14th on the NBA all-time scoring list (27,176)
🏀 1 of 14 players to record 2,000 career steals (2,038) pic.twitter.com/w3FQ1WRfpJ

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) August 12, 2026

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I still can’t believe he pulled this off https://t.co/5v7GUvyQfY

— Kazeem Famuyide 🇳🇬 🍎 (@Kazeem) August 12, 2026

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Congrats on your retirement, Russ!

Thank you for the memories 🤞 pic.twitter.com/BkjVwvtsup

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) August 12, 2026

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Several current and former NBA players, including Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell, shared their thoughts on the future Hall of Famer.

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Damn Brodie… an absolute Legend! What a hell of a career!
🫡 @russwest44

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) August 12, 2026

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Thank You @russwest44 🫡

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) August 12, 2026

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Some careers need no words. Congratulations, Russell 🤝 https://t.co/JdE5ZAXDr0pic.twitter.com/OvcPjmqr0T

— Pau Gasol (@paugasol) August 12, 2026

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GREATEST POINT GUARD EVER!!!! 🖤 https://t.co/qZcUnpwz0m

— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) August 12, 2026

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Russell Westbrook. Man, what do you even say.

Every time you figured you had him read, thought he'd go right, he'd go left on you. He played his whole career that way and...he gave us one more surprise today.

Russell was one of my favorite guys to line up against near the end…

— Michael Redd (@MichaelRedd_) August 12, 2026

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Big shouts to Russell Westbrook on a LEGENDARY career 🫡

Free invite to pull up on the couch whenever brodie! https://t.co/yVQBsSGAOOpic.twitter.com/aJyzpo8I4H

— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) August 12, 2026

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"One of the best point guards to ever pick up a basketball"@adaniels33 reacts to the breaking news of Russell Westbrook announcing his retirement after 18 seasons with @WorldWideWob

Hear Give and Go weekdays from 2-4 PM ET: https://t.co/SvrOaCZqlXpic.twitter.com/hTzwIfh2CD

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) August 12, 2026

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russell Westbrook retires from NBA: Fans' reaction on social media

While we probably still have another month (at least) until we hear that Jalen Duren has signed a new contract with the Detroit Pistons, let’s entertain the idea of what a JD sign-and-trade could look like this late in the summer.

A couple of caveats, first:

1. I’m only trading Jalen Duren if I’m getting a center back in the deal. Any JD trade that doesn’t bring a center back means there needs to be another deal afterwards to find your new starting big man.
2. I’m only taking a center back if that player can shoot. If I wanted a center that can rebound and catch lobs, I’d just pay Jalen Duren. In this fake world we’re living in for the premise of the article, I want to add even more spacing so Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson can thrive.
3. I’m not going to add any picks into these trades. This exercise is more about showing what a trade can look like financially, and y’all can decide in the comments where picks would need to be added.

Let us begin.

Option #1

DET gets: Ryan Rollins and Myles Turner

MIL gets: Jalen Duren

Why Detroit says yes: They land their starting SG of the future and finally pair Ausar with a stretch five since the time Mike Muscala was on the team for a fortnight. Rollins (shoutout Toledo Joe) averaged 17/4/5 while shooting 47%/40%/80% in 32 minutes per game last season and fits Detroit’s core at 24 years old. I do not care that Turner only averaged 12/5/1 last year on an extremely dysfunctional Milwaukee team. His career 37% three-point percentage is the prize, and he can’t be a worse rim protector than Duren.

Why Milwaukee says yes: They kick off their post-Giannis rebuild with a 22-year-old All-NBA center to play with Tyler Herro and the rest of the young guys they got from Miami. That should make them good enough to avoid being a bottom-three team this year.

Why Jalen Duren says yes: He’ll get paid more than what Detroit is reportedly offering him.

Option #2

DET gets: Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Onyeka Okongwu

ATL gets: Jalen Duren

Why Detroit says yes: For the same reasons they’d say yes to the first deal, though, NAW’s contract is probably the prized possession of this trade. While Okongwu doesn’t have a ton of size, he has turned into quite the stretch five. He averaged 15/7/3 on 48%/38%/76% last season while shooting more than five threes per game. Both guys are young enough to stick around with Detroit’s core.

Why Atlanta says yes: Atlanta is primed to make a big splash at some point this season, and it’s not a secret they’re looking for a center. Rudy Gobert was rumored to be on their watch list to reunite him with head coach Quin Snyder, but if Minnesota is still looking to compete with Gobert, Atlanta pivoting to Jalen Duren could be an appealing idea.

Why Jalen Duren says yes: He’ll get paid more than what Detroit is reportedly offering him.

Shoutout to Based Pistons from Bluesky for the idea on this one!

Option #3

Option #3 just had to be a three-team deal, right?

DET gets: Chet Holmgren and Jordan Hawkins

NOP gets: Jalen Duren

OKC gets: Trey Murphy III and Duncan Robinson

Why Detroit says yes: Ever since Chet Holmgren faded in the playoffs against Wemby and OKC drafted Aday Mara while also extending Isaiah Hartenstein, I’ve wondered what it would take to get Chet to Detroit. He averaged 17/9/2 while shooting 56%/36%/79% in 69 games last season. Pairing him with Ausar Thompson would make Detroit the best defensive team in the league, and he’s a career 37% three-point shooter. Sign me up!

Why New Orleans says yes: Troy Weaver.

Why Oklahoma City says yes: With the addition of Aday Mara, he and Hartenstein combined will make $12 million less than Holmgren. If there’s a world where OKC wants to continue cutting costs, turning Chet into TMIII and Duncan is a great cost-saving move. The two J-Wills and TMIII could fill the minutes at PF while Hartenstein and Mara hold down the C position. Shai’s 4yr/$272m extension starts after this season, so future moves may be needed in OKC to prevent them from reaching the second apron.

Why Jalen Duren says yes: He’ll get paid more than what Detroit is reportedly offering him.

What say you, DBB? Any interest in any of the above trade ideas?

Go Stones.