ESPN’s Michael C wrote: “The West goes through either Oklahoma City or San Antonio, but don’t count out Houston. The Rockets expect to take another step in Year 2 with Kevin Durant, bolstered by the return of guard Fred VanVleet and continued improvements from Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard,“
In the previous two regular seasons, the Rockets had a 52-30 record. Despite suffering major long-term injury losses in the form of Steven Adams and VanVleet, Houston finished 52-30 last season, spearheaded by the All-Star tandem of Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun. VanVleet and Adams are both anticipated to be healthy from the beginning of training camp this season. The addition of experienced guard Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanović could strengthen the team’s depth as well.
Therefore, it may seem unrealistic to expect fewer victories than the previous season. However, the league’s recent draft lottery reform may result in much greater parity in 2026–2027, which should lessen the incentives for non-playoff teams to lose games.
In light of this, it’s conceivable that the Rockets could be a “better team” even though their win-loss record does not reflect it, at least in comparison to prior campaigns.
In all honesty, I feel that the West will definitely be a bloodbath next season, with San Antonio and OKC likely coming out on top. However, I personally expect the Rockets’ win total to improve rather than regress, and I have them slated for 55 wins in my personal standings. With that being said, what do you think about ESPN’s power rankings? Are the Rockets too high? Too low? Let us know!
Luka Dončić averaged more than 33 points a game last season. Photograph: Lynne Sladky/AP
Luka Dončić must feel as though, these past few months, he’s been twirling in a washing machine. He announced a separation from his fiancee in March; reports followed of a prolonged custody battle over their two daughters. As Dončić plays in the NBA and his children live in Slovenia, he doesn’t see them much as is. But after the reports of the rift with his ex emerged, he started playing some of the best basketball of his life: he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 15-2 record in March, a stretch that included a torrential 60-point display against the Miami Heat. Behind Dončić’s brightening star, the Lakers seemed to be sharpening into a real contender. Then Dončić tweaked his hamstring in April and the illusion shattered. He watched from the sidelines as the Lakers limped out of the playoffs with an inevitable second-round defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Actually, Dončić must feel as if he’s been in turmoil for the past few years. He made his first – and so far only – NBA finals in 2024, leading the Dallas Mavericks there with a barrage of awesome shotmaking. As the best offensive player on the court while playing through multiple injuries, Dončić and his Mavs lost to the far deeper Boston Celtics in five games. As thanks, the Mavericks traded Dončić to the Lakers, citing defensive concerns, when what had really doomed them against the Celtics was that no one aside from Luka – who led his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals in that series – could play at the requisite level to win.
And what to make of Dončić’s Lakers tenure? He and Austin Reaves seem to be platonic soulmates. He’s played with LeBron James, his idol. And yet the team remained built in the afterimage of the LeBron-Anthony Davis Lakers, a far worse fit for Dončić than the Mavs were during his stint in Dallas. With a hard ceiling imposed upon them – not enough shooting, less defense – they’ve yet to make an impactful playoff run during his time in LA.
Now Dončić may get his chance. James is gone, off to the clunky but alarmingly stacked Philadelphia 76ers. In his place the Lakers have, at long last, employed a center not named Deandre Ayton. Walker Kessler may transform the Lakers for the better; he may also need time to develop into what Dončić needs; he most definitely cost a lot of money. This is the first season in Los Angeles that Dončić will get to run the Lakers as truly his own team, which is a mixed blessing. Will the (hopefully) improved synergy be enough to take down, or even meaningfully threaten, the monstrous basketball ecosystems that are Thunder and Spurs? Probably not, in which case many will blame Dončić.
So, is Dončić cursed? Born to be an MVP, but thrust into the same era as Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Perfect on the Mavs, but helpless in the clumsy, unfeeling hands of owner Miriam Adelson and Nico “Defense wins championships” Harrison. Totally in control of any offense, but constantly furious at and distracted by those pesky outside factors, the referees. A shade too uninterested on defense for anybody to ignore the deficiency. Traded to the Lakers, who took too long to mold themselves around him. Brilliant in the regular season, capable of being a supernova in the playoffs, but too often injured. Early in his Lakers tenure, ready to return to the court after healing from a hamstring injury, the franchise gets new owners.
The clock’s ticking for the 27-year-old, and it’s not even his fault. How is it fair that one of the great pressure performers of his generation is primed for a James Harden-esque legacy? We should know by now to resist the immense gravitational pull of rings; they’re too elusive – and too reliant on the contributions of others – to be the main criteria by which to judge a player in a team sport. But if Dončić retires without an NBA title, it will be held against him. Likewise with his lack of an MVP award, despite the fact that Dončić’s lone crime is being a unicorn slightly smaller than Jokić, and being born too soon before Victor Wembanyama. By the time voter fatigue comes for Wemby, Dončić will be on the wrong side of 30.
Sports are made for narratives, all the more attractive when subjectivity enters the conversation. The prevailing attitude is that there are winners and there are losers, and excepting the most mythmakingly tragic bad luck everybody pretty much deserves what they get. Within that framework each player is buttonholed into a tidy little story, while various factors such as “timing”, “teammates”, and “De’Aaron Fox had a high ankle sprain during the most recent playoffs” are ignored or shunned. You wonder how much Dončić’s story will acknowledge that he didn’t always have agency in his fate, at least not to this point.
The more interesting question is how he feels right now. This is a player with something approaching absolute power on the basketball court who a) doesn’t seem very happy when exercising said power, b) is so bothered by any and all refereeing that his complaints are the pet peeve of half the fanbase, c) has repeatedly found himself in impossible situations through no fault of his own, and d) is dealing with a difficult situation in his life off the court. Lost in the inevitable handwringing about the pressure on Dončić and the potential of him underdelivering on what seemed to be a destined legacy is the feeling that one of the best basketball players alive doesn’t seem very happy. Think of his reaction after the famous game-winner over Rudy Gobert. That’s not self-satisfied or showy trash talk, he’s pissed off. Not to mention what his apparent discontentment says about the sport or the person. Perhaps this season Dončić will be able to conduct the team and the action the way he hopes, but I wonder if he’d trade that possibility for a measure of peace. To hijack a cliche, the best offense is a good defense.
The Warriors filled one of their remaining roster spots on Tuesday.
Golden State agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million free-agent contract with guard Brandon Williams, his agents, Derek Lafayette and Curtis Lawrence, told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday.
Free agent guard Brandon Williams has agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million deal to sign with the Golden State Warriors, agents Derek Lafayette and Curtis Lawrence tell ESPN. Williams averaged 13 points, 3.9 assists and 22.2 minutes per night across 66 games for Dallas last season. pic.twitter.com/VcDytjCDKe
The 26-year-old Williams, an undrafted free agent in 2021, signed with the Portland Trail Blazers for his rookie 2021-22 NBA season, where he averaged 12.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game on 37.2-percent shooting from the field and 29.2 percent from 3-point range in 24 games (16 starts).
Williams then spent the entire 2022-23 season in the G League before signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Orlando Magic before failing to make their 2023-24 roster. He then signed with the Dallas Mavericks in Dec. 2023 on a two-way deal before being converted to a standard NBA contract in April 2025.
Last season with the Mavericks, Williams averaged a career-high 13.0 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 47.2-percent shooting from the field and 23.2 percent from 3-point range.
He now joins a Warriors team looking to round out the rest of its roster after a rather quiet NBA offseason and heading into next month’s training camp.
BROOKLYN, NY - JUNE 29 : Fans outside Brooklyn Basketball Training Center during an introductory Press Conference for the 2026 Brooklyn Nets Draftees on June 29, 2026 in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
WARNING: This Off-Season Report contains barely warrantedenthusiasm and optimism. Proceed at your own risk.
There’s always anniversaries to speak of. And this month marks an important one for Nets fans trying to figure out where the organization stands and more importantly, where it’s headed. Twenty-five years ago, in August 2001, annual previews for the upcoming 2001-02 season hit the stands. You know those glossy magazines published by companies like Athlon Sports and Street & Smith’s. All but one of the four big publications that year projected the then-New Jersey Nets wouldn’t even make the playoffs … even with new addition Jason Kidd. The lone holdout had them barely making the post-season as the East’s eighth seed.
The annuals were not alone. Only one prominent pundit thought much of the combination of Kidd, KMart, KVH and Kerry. His name was Charles Barkley. Sir Charles thought Kidd would get them to the playoffs. No real surprise.
After all, New Jersey had won only 26 games the year before behind Stephon Marbury, a 24-year-old wunderkind from just across New York Harbor in Coney Island. Kidd was Kidd, a four-time All-Star, a three-time All-NBA selection, former Rookie of the Year but he had baggage … a lot of it. He had been arrested in January of that year for assaulting his wife in front his children. He was dispatched to East Rutherford for Marbury in July.
Of course, the Nets stunned the NBA that season behind the MVP runner-up, winning a franchise record 52 games, a mark that unfortunately still stands, getting to the NBA Finals the first of two straight times and sending beleaguered Nets fans into the basketball equivalent of Nirvana. They got swept by the Lakers but who cared? Been down so long looked like up to us.
No, we are not saying history will repeat itself in 2026-27. Nor are we comparing anyone on the current roster to JKidd. Few players to ever don an NBA uniform had his charisma, his toughness or his skillset. But to invoke Nets history again, we want to echo Joe Johnson’s famous preseason quote after the departure of Deron Williams a decade ago: “It ain’t that bad here.”
The point is simple: all the projections, predictions and even an insult from one of Hollywood’s biggest stars mean nothing before the games are played. Nada, zip, naught. The team that the Nets will put on the court this season will be decidedly different than last year. The roster has improved. The rookies have a year under their belts. They have two bigs capable of averaging 20/7/3 and two 20-year-old guards who were top 10 Draft picks. The Nets have never had either in their history.
They will present a more physical presence and more than enough assets to improve during the season if that’s what the brass wants to do. But most of all, they want to win this year after two years of desperately tanking to get a top lottery pick and before that a season when they didn’t seem to know what they wanted to do. It should be interesting, even fun.
Maybe it’s pollyannish to think this way. Probably is, when you consider what’s happened in the East this Summer with two All-NBA stars including LeBron James joining the 76ers, new faces in Miami, Toronto, Boston and an old one returning to Indiana. The Knicks are NBA champions and darlings of the city where they play. At the moment, the Nets are irrelevant, but that’s not a surprise. Nor should it be considered a permanent condition.
You have to trust the process and the hunger of a young roster with something to prove and a young head coach who’s intolerant of anything less than a full effort.
Another Nets great, Buck Williams said his week that maybe Joe Tsai’s comment about being embarrassed, first published in these very pages a week ago, will be the “fire” a young team needs to excel. We actually disagree. A team with nine players 22 or younger shouldn’t really need to be set alight. They should be hungry enough to prove themselves. Indeed, there’s every indication they want it. The kiddie corps leaders — Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. — are saying all the right things and did all the right things as well in Summer League. SL head coach and Nets assistant Dutch Gaitley wasn’t exaggerating when he called MBJ’s performance “electric” … and not just on the court. He and Demin have charisma.
As Chaney Johnson, who was also a rook last year, told our Connor Long this week, the youngsters know what’s what.
“I just feel like we’re hungry,” said Johnson who at 24 is the team’s sixth oldest player. “They know — we realize how terrible of a team we were last year, or how terrible we did. I know ‘terrible’ is a strong word, so I don’t want to — but we weren’t the best team last year. So I feel like we’ve got that chip on our shoulder now, and we’re ready to prove some people wrong.”
This week, we also began to see a bit of a counter-narrative emerging about the team, at least in a couple of assessments of NBA front offices if not in power rankings. Although Sam Quinn of CBS Sports ranked Sean Marks & co. 16th out of 30, we found his opening line encouraging:
Brooklyn’s front office probably faces the biggest disparity between perception and reality of any in basketball. The prevailing narrative surrounding the Nets is that they’ve been poorly run and their outlook is bleak. True, they haven’t yet found any truly foundational players, but they have a clean cap sheet and a six-pick first-round draft surplus (not including swaps, though in fairness they owe their 2027 swap to the Houston Rockets). The reality is that this is a pretty promising blank slate if you’re willing to take the long view.
Similarly, Stephen Noh of the Sporting News gave the Nets an A+ for their assets although he ranked the Nets 21st in his assessment of where he thinks teams will be in 2029. He did say they could rank higher if they decided to be aggressive, as they almost certainly will be The other lesson we can take from 25 years ago is that one player can make a difference with a young team.
In the meantime, better to focus not on what an anonymous writer for FanDuel, ESPN’s projection of 18 wins (!!) or even what Marty Supreme thinks but on possibilities with the league’s youngest roster. There will be enough time during the season to make adjustments to your thinking.
Youth movement still a thing
It was our Connor Long who pressed Chaney Johnson late last week on what’s going on behind the doors of HSS Training Center. He gave a generalized and positive review of the Flatbush 5 and the Nets two bigs, the returning Michael Porter Jr. and the new guy, Julius Randle, but saved his highest compliments for Nolan Traore, the 6’4” French guard who was the NBA’s sixth youngest player in 2025-26.
“Honestly, I’m going to have to say Nolan,” Johnson told Connor when asked about what he’s seen . “All the guys have improved, but I feel like Nolan … he’s a different guy now. He done put on some mass. He’s walking around with a sleeveless hoodie on, looking at the biceps, you know what I’m saying? He done put on some strength.”
Troare of course didn’t play in either Summer League, not Sacramento nor Las Vegas. He was still recovering from a post-season scope — arthroscopic surgery — on his right knee. But C.J. also said nice things about how Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were playing in scrimmages at HSS.
That might have been a surprise to those fans who watched the Nets Summer League games. None of the three were lighting up the arenas in either league. While Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. drew raves, particularly when playing together, there were a LOT of missed shots being thrown up by the picks taken at Nos. 22, 26 and 27. Indeed, it seemed that Powell and Wolf had regressed from the end of last season.
One Nets insider excused their failings by saying they just “need more time” in development, that the worries many fans shared among themselves were not shared by the team’s development types. Of course, development is critical to the Nets plans for what Joe Tsai and Sean Marks have called “sustainable success.” So they’d better succeed. The organization is counting on a steady stream of rookies making their way through cheap four-year contracts, permitting it to push in all their chips when the opportunity to acquire stars arises.
Indeed, the Nets will have eight players on rookie deals this season, from Mikel Brown Jr, at age 20 ,the team’s youngest player by seven weeks, to Noah Clowney, who just turned 22 last month. In fact, it seems likely that the Nets will once again have the youngest roster in the NBA. Last year’s was the youngest in two decades!
Here in order are Brooklyn’s 17 players by age, including two-ways. Those with asterisks are on rookie deals.
— Mikel Brown Jr., 20*
— Nolan Traore, 20*
— Ben Saraf, 20*
— Egor Demin, 20*
— Drake Powell, 20*
— Noah Clowney, 22*
— Danny Wolf, 22*
— Tyler Bilodeau, 22
— Joshua Jefferson, 22*
— Josh Minott, 23
(All 10 players above this line are younger than Yaxel Lindeborg, the Warriors pick at No. 11 in the June Draft.)
— Chaney Johnson, 24
— Day’Ron Sharpe, 24
(All 12 players above this line are younger than the NBA average.)
— Keon Ellis, 26
— Michael Porter Jr., 28
— Moe Wagner, 29
— Terance Mann, 29
— Julius Randle, 31.
There are a few aspects of the list that jump out beyond just the obvious one how young they are. Five of them can’t legally buy a beer! One is that, as the Nets insider noted, there’s time, lot of it, for lots of players on the roster to get a lot better. No guarantees but suggesting that they only need time seems less of an excuse than a rationale for patience. You know, hope.
Another is where Clowney sits on the list: the sixth youngest player on the youngest team in the NBA despite having played nearly 3,200 minutes in the NBA. However, Clowney has the least amount of time to prove himself. He will be a restricted free agent next July. He didn’t play that badly last season, averaging 12.3 points on 40/33/80 splits while grabbing 4.3 boards in 66 games, 60 starts. But he has been disappointing in large part because of what he’s shown on occasion, those seven three’s vs. the Knicks in November of last year and those seven blocks vs. the Raptors in 2024.
Said one NBA scout who followed him since his days at Alabama. “I loved him in college. Loved him when he was drafted,” he said. “Wish he was further along.”
The scout added that aside from Clowney’s occasional shot blocking, he’s “soft on defense.” Where does he fit this season? Back-up to MPJ? back-up to Randle? a 6’10” wing? A rim-runner and protector? If he advances and justifies that scout’s love, it could be a big help to Brooklyn this season and beyond.
One other aspect we found interesting: Minott’s youth. Like Clowney, the 23-year-old could provide the Nets with some depth up front and on the wing. Also, like Clowney, he started young in the NBA and has a wealth of NBA experience despite his youth. In four seasons, he’s played nearly 1,300 minutes, more than half last of them — 834 — last season with Boston and Brooklyn.
After the Nets got him for the bargain basement price of $110,000 from the Celtics in a classic salary dump, he played with enough skill and energy to warrant a two-year. $9 million deal with the second year a team option. He averaged 10.8 points on 49/40/80 shooting splits in 16 games with the Nets who chose him over Ziaire Williams, opting out of Z’s $6.3 million second year.
The question is whether there will be minutes for the two forwards aged 22 and 23? Like a lot of questions with such a young roster, that’s a good thing. Same with the backcourt if Demin, Brown Jr. and Traore develop.
Rising tide of money engulfing Brooklyn?
The changes in ownership at the Los Angeles Lakers, the defining NBA franchise (sorry again, Knick fans), is once again altering the NBA financial landscape. A valuation of $12.5 billion for the Lake Show will cause other franchises values to jump as well. A rising tide, you know, lifts all boats. It already has. Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez’s partner in owning the Timberwolves, sold his stake in the Minnesota club to San Francisco investment banker Marc Stad at a valuation of $4.5 billion, three times what he paid a mere five years back.
If the Nets were worth $6.2 billion — per Sportico — prior to the Lakers’ sale, then they are more than likely worth closer to $8 billion now. That’s a huge profit for the Tsais who closed on the Nets and Barclays Center in 2019 for $3.3 billion. Indeed, that estimate might be low considering there’s been recent speculation at the two new franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas will likely require prospective owners to put up as much as $8 billion to join the club as the 31st and 32nd franchises. (And we’re not even talking about the Liberty.)
Is that a good thing for the Nets and their fans? At least for now, it would seem so. The Nets, through Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, are among the more stable franchises in terms of finances, despite word that Joe and Clara Wu Tsai are divorcing. The Tsais’ investments in pro sports, in everything from the Nets and Liberty to minor stakes in the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and an international catamaran racing team, were featured in a story we wrote a little more that a year ago and updated since in these pages. One of the more telling indicators of just how committed he’s been was this line from that July 2o25 story:
Bloomberg News breakdown of Joe Tsai’s net worth, which the news site estimated at $9.1 billion, puts the value of his sports assets, primarily the holdings of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, at a conservative $4.85 billion, amounting to 52% of his overall holdings. Bloomberg valued his holdings in Alibaba — 1.4% of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s stock — at nearly a billion dollars less: $3.95 billion.
His single biggest asset, said Bloomberg, is not his Alibaba stock but the Nets.
He’s said both publicly and privately that he sees sports and particularly the Nets as the “family business,” a legacy. He and Clara recently stated that despite the dissolution of their marriage they expect their three adult children will be involved in BSE over the long term. All three have sports backgrounds. Thiers isn’t so much a corporate investment like the one Mark Walter and his Guggenheim partners made in the Lakers 14 months ago then sold under duress to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner this month. (No doubt the Tsais are also taking lessons from what’s happening with the Buss family following the sale.)
For the want of a better term, the Tsai family appear to fall, at least for now, into the “sportsman” category of owners rather than the “investor” category. They have continued putting money in their teams and their infrastructure while selling small pieces to others among the mega-rich whether the Koch family in the case of BSE or Jack Ma and a group of prominent business women in the case of the Liberty.
That certainly doesn’t mean the Tsais are likely to be conservative. They remain ambitious in Brooklyn as recent events have shown.
There hasn’t been much made of the plan since Sam Zussman spoke to Bloomberg News about it in October 2024, but 10 days ago, Peter Stern, BSE’s chief financial officer, mentioned it again in CFO Magazine when discussing differences between what an NBA team CFO’s job entailed a quarter century ago versus now:
First is adjacent opportunities. So in the timeframe you mention, whatever basketball team it was, whatever arena it played in, the focus was on that team and that arena. How much food and beverage are we selling when people come into the arena? What are the per caps?
Now, teams are thinking about how they can make their customers’ experience better before the game and after the game. Should I have a restaurant down the block? Should I have an entertainment opportunity after the game? You’ve seen that done in Chicago with the Cubs, for instance, where the organization literally bought up the land all around, or what the Buffalo Bills are doing with new mixed-use facilities that they’re building.
And indeed, BSE just announced a “restaurant down the block.“ It’s partnering with Casa Tua, a well-known hospitality brand out of Miami to create Cucina by Casa Tua at One Hanson Place in the lobby of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building, a property acquired at a foreclosure sale in 2024. It’s described as ”located just steps from Barclays Center.“ Beyond the restaurant scheduled to open next year, there are plans for it to anchor ”a broader mix of hospitality, dining, and experiential offerings to be announced at a later date,“ said the press release. They also invested in the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.
And yes, as Marks has said of his boss, he is ready to invest when needed in the team, having already proven it during the glory days of the Big Three, shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars in luxury taxes.
So now, whether you’re a fan of the Tsais’ ownership or not, there’s no indication that the rising tide of money will engulf the Brooklyn Nets (or New York Liberty.) Indeed, it’s the opposite.
Final Note
The WNBA will be taking their bi-annual FIBA break permitting international players to take a couple of weeks off to play for their national teams in the women’s World Cup which this year takes place in Berlin…
As part of the Cup celebrations, FIBA has released a 55-minute documentary on the history of women’s basketball. And one of the key elements in the video is the budding friendship between two Liberty players, both stars of their respective national teams, Marine Johannes of France and Han Xu of China…
"In New York, she told me: You have so many fans in China! So many!" 🇫🇷🇨🇳
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 14: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was taken with a special effects filter) Darryn Peterson #22 of the Utah Jazz poses for a portrait during the 2026 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at UNLV on July 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Utah Jazz have had one of the most eventful offseasons I can remember. It’s been filled with ups and downs, rumors, victories in the lottery, and losing players in free agency.
The quickest of recaps is that the Jazz won the lottery after another year of tanking, or to be more specific, a full year of focused tanking. The fruits of two seasons of tanking led them to an incredible lottery night and the #2 pick, which they then used to draft Darryn Peterson.
After unsuccessful restricted free agency negotiations, the Jazz signed and traded Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers for two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps.
All things considered, what grade would you give the Utah Jazz offseason?
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 30: Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Chase Center on December 30, 2024 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fortunately for everyone sitting on the edge of their seats, absolutely nothing happened.
Despite the Cavs making a move for Peyton Watson, taking a Kuminga suitor off the market, he and his agent are still trying to find money on the market that doesn’t exist. Their options presently are to join the Lakers on a multi-year deal via sign-and-trade or, presumably, go to the Wolves on the minimum.
Even as Kuminga and his agent inexplicably balk at a deal that would guarantee him tens of millions of dollars, the Lakers and Hawks are still negotiating a trade, which remains the other problem.
In a recent article from Kurt Helin on NBC Sports, the current discussions between the two teams include Jaden Hardy.
The Lakers and Hawks talked sign-and-trade earlier this summer, but those talks stalled out because Atlanta is not looking to add salary (it is only $3.8 million below the luxury tax line, and Kuminga currently counts as zero for them). Or, at least Atlanta is not interested without a quality draft pick as an incentive, and the Lakers would not go there. Also, Atlanta currently has 17 players under contract heading into training camp and needs to shed at least two, not add players.
The Lakers and Hawks are talking sign-and-trade again, with guard Jaden Hardey reportedly in the conversation (he makes $6 million this season), while previously that was Jared Vanderbilt ($12.4 million).
Unless the Lakers and/or Hawks have had a third team lined up this whole time, that will remain the next biggest hurdle in this ordeal. And yes, we have graduated to calling it an ordeal. The Hawks, like the Lakers, already have too many players and won’t be willing to take back more on guaranteed deals.
To that end, it’s difficult to understand what the Lakers would be negotiating with the Hawks about, unless they’re really interested in Hardy, which is unlikely.
There remains a seemingly remote possibility that the Hawks are willing to do a simple swap. Hardy has a team option for next season, so he’d effectively be an expiring deal. Getting back some kind of draft compensation, even if it might be second round picks, when you were going to lose him for nothing could be intriguing to Atlanta.
But this is all pointless to talk about or ponder when Kuminga and his agent are just going to twiddle their thumbs and talk about a new team they might sign with instead of the Lakers.
Late Memphis Grizzlies player Brandon Clarke had cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and multiple other prescription medications "within therapeutic levels" in his system at the time of his death, according to an autopsy report released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner on Monday, Aug. 24.
The full autopsy, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, attributes Clarke's cause of death to effects of heroin and cocaine with the combined effects of the other prescription medicines in his system listed as contributing factors. The medical examiner classified Clarke's death as an accident, confirming an earlier statement from Aug. 7.
Kratom was also found in Clarke's system.
Just six weeks before his death on May 11, Clarke, 29, allegedly led Cross County Sheriff's Office deputies on a miles-long chase on April 1, with speeds reaching more than 100 mph, and was found with more than 230 grams of kratom in his possession, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Also found in Clarke's bedroom and attached bathroom were "vape devices, cannabis products, prescription medications, injectable peptides, syringes, a box of Narcan, blister packets of medications, vitamins and other medical evidence."
A plate with an "unknown powdery white substance" and hotel keycard were found in the kitchen, according to the synopsis.
Clarke's agent allegedly reached out to his roommate at approximately 5 p.m. local time on May 11 after he had been unable to get a hold of him, per the summary. The roommate had recently returned home and went into Clarke's bedroom, where he found the Grizzlies forward unresponsive. Clarke was pronounced dead 15 minutes later.
The roommate told the Medical Examiner that Clarke had "a history of drug use with prior stints at a rehabilitation facility" and was last seen by him alive at their Woodland Hills residence around midnight the previous night.
An investigation of his home included in the report found no evidence of foul play.
Clarke was drafted out of Gonzaga by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 21st overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and was immediately traded to the Grizzlies, where he spent all seven years of his career. At the time of his death, he was tied with Ja Morant as the team's longest-tenured player. In October 2022, he signed a four-year, $52 million contract extension to remain in Memphis, but his career became derailed by injuries shortly after.
He tore his left Achilles tendon in March 2023, and the lengthy rehab process from that limited him to just six games in the 2023-24 season. The following year, Clarke played in 64 games until suffering a high-grade right PCL strain that ended his season and forced him to miss the beginning of 2025-26. He made his season debut in December and played two games before being shut down with a right calf injury. Clarke never appeared in an NBA game again.
Clarke's contract was reportedly protected by a life insurance policy and his estate will receive the remaining $12.5 million owed to him in full, according to USA TODAY Sports' Lorenzo Reyes.
Was the maximum contract extension the Wizards gave Trae Young a smart bet? | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Sometimes Past Me annoys Present Me. Today is one of those times.
Past Me promised a statistical doppelgänger article about Trae Young. Present Me looked at the numbers and wants to write about Something Else. But…well…crap, a promise is a promise.
The first challenge is that Young didn’t play much last season. Just 10 games for the Atlanta Hawks and five for the Wizards. He totaled 384 minutes, which isn’t enough to say much of anything. Except, bright side: his on-court performance this past season was pretty similar to his 2024-25. And his 2023-24, for that matter.
<p>Trae Young’s historical comps have something in common, and that could be a problem.</p><br> | Getty Images
So, I used Young’s 2024-25 numbers in the statistical doppelgänger machine to find statistical comparisons. For the record, I tried using Young’s 2025-26 age with his 2024-25 stats, and it made no difference in his comps. I tried adding in his 2025-26 play, and it made basically no difference.
Why am I grumpy? Because the comps are giving me the same message they did when I did a similar analysis when John Wall was about to sign his maximum contract extension, which is basically the same message I delivered using an entirely different process when Young signed his extension earlier this summer.
The TLDR is that every way I look at things, I keep coming back to the same conclusion: the Young extension is a mistake. It has a high chance of ending up a blunder. Probably not as high as getting into a land war in Asia, but…I think it’s going to be one of the worst contracts in the NBA, if it isn’t already.
What makes this even more annoying is that I like Young. I’ve enjoyed watching him play, even when he grifted free throws so much the league literally changed the rules to make him stop. And by the way, new rules or not, Young’s free throw attempts per possession barely changed. Either he found new ways to grift, or he’s actually a pain in the butt to defend. (It’s the latter.)
Liking Young and appreciating his offensive game doesn’t replace analysis of his overall impact on the game. His defense has been a problem. His overall production has drooped the past few seasons. Still good, but not at the level of the mustache-twirling villain who tortured the New York Knicks. His old team was willing to trade him for the worst team in the NBA’s discards.
And the Wizards gave him the max. Despite there not being anyone else interested in paying close to that much.
Okay, enough with all that.
This is the fourth installment in the annual ritual of running players through the Statistical Doppelgänger Machine to see which player seasons are most like the reference player. The Machine uses 14 categories, which include per possession box score stats, playing time, and age. Factors like size and position are not included, but players tend to get comparisons similar in both.
So far this summer, we’ve looked at Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, and Kyshawn George.
To the doppelgängers:
Deron Williams | 2011-12 | New Jersey Nets | Age: 27 — Williams was a major problem for opponents. From age 23 to 25 he had three straight seasons with a PPA of 167 or higher. The year he got traded, he rated over 150. This was his first full season with the Nets, and it was bad by his standards. He bounced back for a 151 PPA at age 28 and then declined fast. By age 30, he was basically average…and he dropped more from there.
Michael Adams | 1990-91 | Denver Nuggets | Age: 28 — This comp works for me — small guard, unorthodox and herky-jerky, shot tons of threes, didn’t defend. This was Adams’ best season (161 PPA). He returned to Washington the following season…and declined. He was decent at 29 and 30 (131 and 123 PPAs) and average by 31. He hung on for a couple more years as a seldom-used reserve with the Charlotte Hornets.
John Wall | 2016-17 | Washington Wizards | Age: 26 — My mental math on this is Young is kinda like Wall plus shooting, minus the strength, athleticism, and defense. This was Wall’s best season. Then, as predicted by analysis I did back in 2017, his performance dropped precipitously as he encountered a series of major injuries. He was out of the league after his age 32 season.
John Wall | 2017-18 | Washington Wizards | Age: 27 — YOU SEE WHY I’M ANNOYED? The Machine is saying the Wizards of today have just committed long-term to a player very much like the John Wall who got hurt and got worse…right after signing an expensive long-term contract!
Kemba Walker | 2017-18 | Charlotte Hornets | Age: 27 — Another small guard who was really good. Walker’s prime went from a 172 PPA at age 25 to a 166 at 29. Not bad. Except, after being an iron man in previous seasons, he started getting hurt at 29 — a pattern that persisted to the end of his playing career at 32.
There’s a trend here — quick guards who peaked early and declined quick. Guards who changed teams and got worse. Guards who started getting hurt and couldn’t stay healthy.
There are a few more hopeful comps further down the list. Names like Damian Lillard (though Lillard did eventually change teams and get worse), or Tim Hardaway who changed teams, did decline, but stayed fairly productive to age 34 — though with some injury issues after age 31.
The point here is one I’ve been making for years — smaller guards tend not to age well. As their quickness wanes, so does their production. And their health becomes an increasing issue as they approach and pass 30. When I’ve discussed this topic with coaches and executives around the league, I often hear variations on the idea that the “old” analysis of career trajectories isn’t applicable because guys take better care of themselves.
And maybe that’s true. It could be that it’ll be borne out in the data when we look back in 2036.
I’d still rather not have the Wizards staking a maximum contract on that idea.
The Miami Heat made its signing of legendary guard Klay Thompson official on Monday. However, Thompson is still busy arguing with fans about his Golden State Warriors legacy.
Over the weekend, the “Swishlist Podcast” posted an Instagram clip where its hosts argued whether Thompson or Ray Allen had the better all-time resumé.
Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors circa 2019. The legendary guard has signed with Miami Heat. Getty Images
Thompson then replied to this comment by writing, “You do realize I was the 2nd leading scorer on two championship teams without KD? You want me to go to a bad team and put up empty stats, that’s easy buddy.”
Essentially, Thompson is shutting down the idea that his playoff success was owed to opposing defenses, giving Steph Curry and Kevin Durant more attention. He then references being the leading scorer in the 2016 postseason because Durant was still with Oklahoma City Thunder at the time, making that aspect of the argument moot.
It’s unclear why Thompson felt compelled to write what he did about going to a “bad team” and putting up “empty stats,” as that wasn’t part of the argument being made. He’s definitely not calling the Warriors a bad team, either in their current form or those championship-winning squads from eras past.
“You do realize I was the 2nd leading scorer on two championship teams without KD?” Thompson hit back in the comments section. USA TODAY Sports
It’s rare to see Thompson engage with online trolls, which made him doing so amid signing with the Heat even more intriguing.
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TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 01: Donovan Mitchell #45 and James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers react against the Toronto Raptors during the fourth quarter in Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 01, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cavaliers fans and fans across the country.
It has been an interesting summer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ve improved a position of need by trading for Peyton Watson, but getting to that point wasn’t exactly a straight line. Let’s go through the timeline of events.
Not captured above is the fact that the Cavs went from a team in the second apron last season to being hard-capped at the first apron. Shedding money and improving the on-court team would be a win.
With the dust mostly settled, how would you grade the overall offseason for the Cavs? Let us know in the poll and comments below.
It's 57 days until the start of the season and already teams are being hit with injuries.
Portland guard Shaedon Sharpe has torn his meniscus and will miss the first six months of the season, bad news for the Trail Blazers, first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
I'm told Sharpe's torn meniscus is in his right knee, and the injury happened during a personal workout.
If the six-month timeline holds, Sharpe would miss the majority of the coming season and return somewhere around the All-Star break in February.
Sharpe was looking for a bounce-back season after being limited to 50 games last season due to a stress fracture in his left fibula. When he did play last year, Sharpe averaged 20.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, shooting 33.7% from beyond the arc. The 23-year-old is one of the league's best athletes, and his dunk highlight reel is awe-inspiring, but coaches tend not to trust him in big minutes because he hasn't proven he's efficient yet.
The good news for Portland is this team is deep with guards: Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Ja Morant and Scoot Henderson. All that talent, while Deni Avdija can and should continue to play in the point-forward role.
Sharpe is about to enter the first season of a four-year, $90 million contract.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 10: Max Christie #00 of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles the ball during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on April 10, 2026 at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mavericks fans and fans across the country.
Losing Klay Thompson, as Dallas did this last week by means of a buy-out, prompts a lot of questions about the Dallas offense. On the one hand, the Mavericks had too many players, but on the other, Klay was responsible for a good chunk of Dallas offense.
The Mavericks made 899 threes last season, Klay made 202 of them. That’s nearly a quarter of the team’s makes. So who is going to help close that gap?
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 19: The sneakers worn by T.J. Bickerstaff #49 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during the 2025 NBA Summer League game on July 19, 2025 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 26: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots the ball over Collin Gillespie #12 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center on February 26, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 113-110. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Suns fans and fans across the country.
The Phoenix Suns find themselves in an interesting position within the Pacific Division this upcoming season because it might actually be up for grabs. Phoenix is a team that should perform well within the context of the division, even if the oddsmakers don’t necessarily agree.
And make no mistake about it, odds are about the only place divisions really matter anymore. Once upon a time, they meant much more. Now, it’s about where you finish in the conference standings, while division records only come into play once you start digging deep into the recesses of tiebreakers.
Still, when you look at the teams around Phoenix, you can make a legitimate case that the Suns could finish atop the division. But will they?
Let’s take a look at what the Pacific Division looks like heading into the 2026–27 season.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are completely revamped, and LeBron James, Dillon Brooks’s nemesis, is no longer with the organization. He went East, and in doing so vacated $52.6 million in salary. General manager Rob Pelinka did his best to use that space to fill the gaps.
The Lakers acquired Walker Kessler in a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz and will pay him $30.1 million. Yikes. They also added Matisse Thybulle, Quentin Grimes, Kevon Looney, Collin Sexton, and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Yeah, they went ham in free agency once LeBron left the City of Angels.
But the question is whether they actually got better. This was a team that finished as the fourth seed last season, won the Pacific Division, and went 53–29. So while the roster looks dramatically different, the real question is whether all of those changes actually improved a team that was already very good.
Golden State Warriors
We are entering the twilight years of the Golden State Warriors. It has been a hell of a run. Four championships came out of the Stephen Curry era, and they helped change the landscape of the NBA. But alas, all good things eventually come to an end.
General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. didn’t make many splashes this offseason. In fact, Golden State did practically nothing. Pat Spencer and Quinten Post are gone, replaced by rookie Yaxel Lendenborg and LaJae Jones. Draymond Green flirted with the idea of taking less money so LeBron James could join the team by the Bay, which ultimately didn’t happen. Instead, Green signed a one-year, $27.7 million contract to go alongside Stephen Curry’s $62.6 million and Jimmy Butler’s $56.8 million. All three will be unrestricted free agents next summer, and that is $147.1 million committed to three players with an average age of 37.
Now Golden State finds itself in a position where it will once again rely heavily on the legs of a 38-year-old Stephen Curry to remain productive. Because Jimmy Butler? He probably won’t return until the calendar says 2027 after suffering a season-ending ACL tear on January 20, 2026. That injury takes time to recover from, and with Butler turning 37 in September, it’s going to be a long road back.
So the question becomes pretty simple. How good can this team be without him?
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are a team that appears to be in flux after completely changing course midway through last offseason. James Harden is gone. Ivica Zubac is gone. And, in theory, Kawhi Leonard will eventually be gone as well.
They added Rui Hachimura in free agency, re-signed Bradley Beal, and lost veterans in John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic. This is a team leaning much more heavily into its youth after the lottery balls finally fell in its favor.
The Clippers selected Keaton Wagler fifth overall, and when you combine that youth with the speed of Darius Garland, they can absolutely give teams problems if they aren’t ready to get into a track meet. Defensively, though, there’s still plenty to be desired. This is a team in the middle of a revamp, and because of that, I have a hard time realistically seeing them finish atop the Pacific Division standings.
One of the biggest factors surrounding the Clippers this season is the instability of what the future might hold. Kawhi Leonard should be gone in theory, yes, but he isn’t yet. The Aspiration scandal continues to hang over the organization, and there still hasn’t been any real resolution.
Holding one of the league’s richest owners accountable is clearly something the NBA is struggling with, and that’s a bad look for both the league and the team. When that kind of uncertainty and disruption is hanging over an organization, it becomes much harder to see a clear path toward success on the floor.
Sacramento Kings
And then there are the Kings, who experienced postseason bliss four years ago after missing the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons. What have they done since? Not much. Their big free agent signing was Jonathan Mogbo. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
They also bought out DeMar DeRozan, who now finds himself with the Denver Nuggets, and they’re clearly leaning more into youth after drafting Darius Acuff Jr. with the seventh overall pick and Alex Karaban with the 29th pick.
For a team that won only 22 games last season, though, it’s hard to say they improved in any meaningful way. Maybe an injection of youth helps around the edges, but that’s about it.
Phoenix Suns
Nestled between all of this are the Phoenix Suns, a team that won 45 games last season and finished second in the Pacific Division standings.
You know the moves. There weren’t many of them. Phoenix re-signed Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams, and Jordan Goodwin this offseason. They added Luke Kennard and Pat Spencer in free agency, and the only notable outgoing players came in the Miles Bridges deal, where the Suns added a starter while giving up two sharpshooters.
Compared to the movement around the rest of the division, Phoenix has leaned heavily into continuity.
Now that we’ve looked at the landscape of the Pacific Division, the question becomes pretty simple. Where do you see the Phoenix Suns finishing at the end of the season?
There are obviously too many variables at this point of the year to make any prediction with certainty, but based on where these teams currently stand, where does Phoenix fit? Are they the best team in the Pacific? The worst? Somewhere in the middle?
Cast your vote in the poll below, then head to the comments and let us know where you have the Suns finishing and why.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made a choice: The challenge of chasing another ring with a team closer to that path outweighed his love for the city of Milwaukee. He moved on.
"The easy thing would be to stay in Milwaukee, but I don't want to be comfortable. From a small child, I want always to have new, new challenges. And for me, this is a challenge, that I go somewhere where I don't know, I don't have experience, I don't have a home, I don't have found school for my children, I don't know where the parks are, I don't know who the manager is, I don't know who I play with. I will go there and I will try to make it happen, as I went to Milwaukee and I made it happen. And for that, for me, it excites me, it likes me, that is, from a small child, I always liked the challenge...
"The city of Milwaukee, I love the city of Milwaukee. I will love it until I die. I bleed purple and green. It's very simple. They made me who I am today... And, anyway, and basketball-wise, I passed very beautifully. And that will always be in my heart. It will never, it doesn't matter if I play in Mars. It will always be in my heart, and, luckily, when I finish this cycle with Miami, which I don't know when it will end, and if, I will definitely return to Milwaukee, and I don't know if they want me then."
The reaction in Milwaukee will be interesting when Antetokounmpo returns to the city wearing a Heat uniform for a game on Jan. 28. I'd expect a warm reception: He loved and embraced the city and the team, and he brought them a title. Still, the years of "will he/won't he," then finally pushing his way out the door, leaves a bitter aftertaste.
In Miami, Antetokounmpo is closer to a title and there may be a path to get there, but heading into next season the team is not in the upper tiers of the East. Right now, I have the Heat as a play-in team in a much deeper Eastern Conference than we saw a season ago. If Antetokounmpo stays healthy, is energized and returns to playing at an MVP level, then that prediction will be too low, but he'll have to show it.
Antetokounmpo said he wanted a challenge. Well, he's got it.
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