Category: Basketball

If you’ve been side-eyeing the Boston Celtics for the past few weeks, you haven’t been wrong to.

If you’ve been on the fence ever since last offseason, you weren’t wrong then, either. You were just early.

Ever since Bill Chisholm curated an ownership group backed by deep-pocketed investors, including private equity firm Sixth Street, there hasn’t been much for fans to rally around. The franchise spent the better part of the past year shedding payroll to avoid the league’s luxury tax penalties, and last season they hit the jackpot — before blowing it all off in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers in the organization’s most catastrophic postseason exit.

Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon, which jeopardized his entire 2025-26 season, became a convenient cover for Boston’s new ownership after the team’s second-round exit against the New York Knicks. Championship expectations were immediately removed, hence allowing for the dismissals of Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Luke Kornet in a justified manner that didn’t pressurize Stevens or Chisholm’s high rollers above.

Just when fans thought the pre-15-game-win-streak Boston Red Sox were the biggest concern in town, Chisholm emerged as the suspicious selling point representing the incoming ownership group. His Massachusetts upbringing helped ease the fear that the Grousbeck family would hand the team over to an emotionless corporate shark looking to turn the Celtics into their next ATM. Why? Because it’s easy to assume that Chisholm’s New England roots signal an inherent emotional attachment to the team and its success to that of the thousands who enter TD Garden each night throughout the season.

That assumption wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

After all, the Grousbecks ultimately turned down longtime business partner Stephen Pagliuca’s offer, which reportedly did not include private equity backing. Pagliuca stood by Wyc Grousbeck in 2002 when they purchased the Celtics for $360 million and began restoring a storied franchise that had fallen off a bit. Over the next 22 years, Pagliuca and Grousbeck guided Boston to four NBA Finals appearances and two championships.

Every step of the way, through the team’s highs and lows, Grousbeck and Pagliuca made their intentions clear. The Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade with the Brooklyn Nets, the Isaiah Thomas-for-Kyrie Irving flip — those were all moves made with the next banner in mind. As difficult as those decisions might’ve been, along with plenty of others, there was always a clear, rational explanation behind pulling the trigger to support the trust Grousbeck and Pagliuca built with the city.

Chisholm and his associates haven’t earned that. Yet.

So far, they’ve mastered shedding payroll while still working on selling the idea that every decision is made in pursuit of a championship.

“This was all about basically trying to win,” Chisholm told reporters after the Brown trade on July 6, per NBC Sports Boston, “and I think really trusting in our process. We have the best front office in the NBA. They put in their work, and they came to the conclusion this was the best way for us to win. That’s the mandate, is to win. I just have to keep saying that. We’ll spend whatever it takes to do that. The mandate is to win. Brad and his team came with his recommendation that this is the way we’re going to win. And I looked at it and had the same reaction. I was like, ‘Wow.’ This is the fan in me. It was really tough.”

Trading Brown, in his prime, for George, who will turn 37 next May, was a decision made to win? To win now? To maximize Tatum’s prime at this moment?

Stevens’ mismanagement of Brown’s departure, for a return most Celtics loyalists would’ve considered laughable if proposed by any basketball blogger beforehand, warrants scrutiny. Is the CBA a factor? No doubt. Did the Celtics long know that before this offseason? No doubt. So perhaps it would’ve been in their best interests to go full throttle for Giannis Antetokounmpo and leave no regrets at the negotiating table with the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I think that we did the deal because Paul George is a good player and we got draft assets,” Stevens told reporters.

The transparency that once existed under Grousbeck and Pagliuca is seemingly fading under Chisholm. The Celtics had their chance to use Antetokounmpo as a legitimate basketball-first pursuit, and they fumbled at the goal line. Instead, they pivoted and traded for an injury-prone, aging George while doubling down that trading Brown was a basketball decision the front office came up with?

That doesn’t add up. How does removing Brown, after carrying a depleted Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, suddenly solve any basketball-related issue?

That’s where the disconnect begins.

Brown spent most of the offseason scrutinized by the national media, and the Celtics had a hand in it. The same JB who shrugged off trade rumors linking him to swaps for Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant, then showed up to work with no issue. The same JB who went the extra mile as a deeply invested leader of the Boston community — more accessible than any other star currently sporting the uniform.

He didn’t lean on hashtags or choreographed pictures for social media. Brown consistently carried himself with sincerity, even when the Celtics weren’t willing to.

Granted, philanthropy means absolutely nothing to ownership. It never has and it never will. But there’s a certain weight that Brown carried. His value to the Boston community wasn’t just sentimental; it represented years of showing up, investing in the city and embracing it to the point where fans weren’t only attached to Brown the player, but even more so Brown the person.

For nearly a decade, the Celtics had been shopping Brown on the trade market. To then reach the point of desperation where the front office forced itself to accept George, two first-round picks, and two second-rounders as the return is like buying skincare at a mall kiosk.

Boston owes George over $54 million this upcoming season, then another $56.5 million with his 2027-28 player option. That’s over $110 million committed to an ex-star whose availability over the past two seasons didn’t even add up to one full season (78 games).

That’s a tough, tough sell for a basketball decision made “all about basically trying to win.”

It becomes an even tougher sell for the fanbase when, after handing Brown to the rival Sixers on a silver platter, LeBron James, too, joins Philadelphia  — forming a superteam with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey by signing a team-friendly two-year, $8 million deal with the Sixers.

That doesn’t help Boston’s optics. It certainly doesn’t help their chances in the East either.

Ultimately, Chisholm and company have time to build some trust within the city. It’s really optimistic to believe that will come to fruition anytime soon, but it is possible.

It’s also possible that Tatum’s prime 2026-27 season goes to waste while the Celtics watch Brown, James, and Embiid turn the East into their own personal playground next postseason.

By then, it’ll be up to Chisholm to either sing the same tune or recalibrate. Either way, it won’t be easy — and it’s hard to imagine he and the Celtics don’t know that now.

Summer so hot and slow I swear it feels like days are going backwards and we’re getting closer to last June than we’re to flipping the calendar page to August. Here’s your dose of links and notes.

• Patrick Ewing thanked the Knicks and their fans after returning to the organization and right before joining the Wizards’ coaching staff. Full letter in the link.
• Josh Hart fired back at Draymond Green after the geezer said Brunson’s hometown discount didn’t make sense. Green argued that Brunson, as the Knicks’ top player, should have demanded his full value while role players are the ones to make the financial sacrifices.

We got to normalize grown men not counting other peoples pockets https://t.co/o5pr8MWiz6

— Josh Hart (@joshhart) July 29, 2026

• Hours after saying that, 36-year-old Green signed a $27.7 million deal with Golden State. I’m no nerd, but Green ranked 155th in PER, 253rd in WS, 130th in BPM and 227th in VORP. Isn’t that the production of a bad-to-mediocre role player? Not sure, but Green will get paid the 66th-highest salary in the NBA next season.
• Josh Hart is also keeping alive one of Mitchell Robinson’s best traditions. “It’s only right.”
• If you were fed up with the NBA and the Knicks playing in a thousand different channels and platforms, you can now add another one. All Knicks non-national broadcasts will air on DAZN for the 2026-27 season.
• Back to the usual offseason business, SI’s Isaiah De Los Santos believes the Knicks should keep an eye on the Clippers after they kept crowding their center rotation following the Johni Broome trade. Anything can happen there, with LA boasting a crew comprised of Brook Lopez, Isaiah Jackson, Baba Miller, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, and now Broome too.
• Staying Clippers, they were so desperate for attention — the good type, I mean — that they put more than $20 million on LeBron’s table. Sheesh…
• New Wolves toy LaMelo Ball has been sued over allegations that he owes a North Carolina landlord more than $100,000 in unpaid rent.
• People’s GOAT, Allen Iverson, considers Michael Jordan the greatest player ever, but he has the perfect take for saying so. Apply AI’s mindset, and you’ll be happy!

“The way I look at it, is Michael is always going to be the GOAT to me, you know what I mean? And LeBron to me, I feel like if you go in the dictionary and you look up basketball player, you’ll see LeBron James, you know what I mean? And you know the whole GOAT thing to me I think a lot of times it gets out of hand because I think a lot of times people will take away from one player what they did you know what I mean? To boost up the other player. You know what I mean? That’s not what you do. I feel like a lot of times you know people get caught up in the whole GOAT thing but your GOAT is your GOAT. You have your opinion to name anyone your GOAT if you want to. You know what I mean? You’re not wrong by saying anyone’s your GOAT. I had my fans say I’m the GOAT all the time. I don’t agree with them because I think it’s Mike.”

• Shaquille O’Neal predicted Joel Embiid will enjoy a true comeback and remain healthy all season long, topping whatever Nikola Jokić does and reclaiming the Best Big Man label. The odds!
• Golden State passed on trading for Jaylen Brown before last season’s deadline because the organization could not agree that Brown was the right player to lead the franchise after Stephen Curry. Meanwhile, LeBron chose the Sixers because they traded for Brown.

pic.twitter.com/niURWbOQLl

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYorkCity) September 4, 2025

NBA pundit wants Mike Dunleavy ‘on the clock' for Warriors' lackluster offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Barring unexpected moves, the Warriors will run it back with a mostly similar roster to last season’s 37-45 10th-seed team.

And that development isn’t sitting well with Dub Nation and members of the national media.

Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins is the latest to criticize Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy for not improving the roster around two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry.

“At some point, we can’t just keep talking about them trying to go fishing and they throwing the bait out in the water,” Perkins said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Wednesday. “We’re talking about Steph Curry here. Like, you got to get it done. You just traded away Jonathan Kuminga last season, a guy that you drafted in the lottery that they gave up on, and now all of a sudden you’re sitting here while the West is getting better, while the San Antonio Spurs, who just went to the NBA Finals, added Tobias Harris to their roster without giving up anything. Oklahoma City Thunder is gonna be there. LaMelo Ball just went to Minnesota. Everyone is making powerful moves while Mike Dunleavy is just sitting there on his hands. And at some point, he has to be on the clock. The pressure is on him to do right by Steph.

“[Brian Windhorst], you just highlighted that Steph Curry is gonna be 39 years old next year. Or this season? Like, like Steph is not just sitting around saying I wanna play for fun. This man played at an All-NBA level last season and somehow with Draymond [Green] opting out, with all these things happening, you couldn’t win the battle of LeBron James and land him to Golden State and you get beat, you let Bob Myers beat you out again, like winning again in Philadelphia. It’s not a good look.

“And right now when you look at this Warriors team … they’re a play-in team that’s going to make it to the postseason. So when I look at the Golden State Warriors, Mike Dunleavy gotta do something. Joe Lacob has to put him on the clock and apply pressure on him to upgrade this roster.”

“We’re talking about Steph Curry here, like you gotta get it done.“@KendrickPerkins comments on Golden State needing to step up after not signing LeBron James 👀 pic.twitter.com/jO6nDpTRUp

— First Take (@FirstTake) July 29, 2026

The Warriors pursued 22-time NBA All-Star LeBron James, but missed out on him when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Golden State reportedly was interested in acquiring All-Star forward Jaylen Brown but balked at the Boston Celtics’ asking price.

And as the Warriors tried to convince James to join Curry, there were reports that acquiring center Anthony Davis from the Washington Wizards would help sway LeBron.

But as ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported Thursday, the Warriors “never seriously engaged” the Wizards for Davis due to their reluctance to part with Jimmy Butler and numerous first-round draft picks.

Instead, the Warriors stood pat, bringing back Green, guard De’Anthony Melton and centers Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Charles Bassey.

The only additions to the roster are No. 11 overall draft pick Yaxel Lendeborg and second-round pick Lajae Jones.

As much as the Warriors like Lendeborg, who won NBA Summer League MVP while helping the team win the Vegas championship, it’s unlikely that he will be enough to push Golden State from a play-in team to a Western Conference contender.

So, the Warriors, with a few depth roster moves left to make, will head into the 2026-27 NBA season hoping for a healthy Curry and waiting for Butler and Moses Moody to return from respective knee injuries.

That game plan isn’t inspiring confidence from Perkins and members of Dub Nation.

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Would LeBron James have joined the Golden State Warriors if they’d traded for Anthony Davis? We’ll never know, but a portion of the team’s front office wanted to try.

According to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, “a small contingent of Golden State’s front office” wanted to trade Jimmy Butler and presumably some number of draft picks for the Washington Wizards’ center, but ultimately decided not to for two reasons:

1. Anthony Davis and his agent, Rich Paul, have made it clear he wants an extension.
2. He’s injured a lot, playing just 29 games since the Dallas Mavericks inexplicably traded Luka Doncic to get from the Lakers in early 2025.

Look, if you’re too injury-prone for the Warriors, that’s really saying something. Kristaps Porzingis missed 90 games the last two seasons and the Warriors gave him $40M. Of course, they could have simply traded for Davis and hoped he would play for the $121M still left on his existing contract, but perhaps they just didn’t want Paul to call them over and over asking about it.

And who knows if James would have come anyway? It’s not like Paul hasn’t used one of his clients to get another one of his clients paid before. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who just got a buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies to join James on the Philadelphia 76ers, signed a $17.75M deal with the Lakers in 2017. He got that deal in part so Paul had an excuse to talk to the front office without tampering, a year ahead of James’ free agency.

Two years later, when the Lakers traded for Davis, Rob Pelinka made the trade official before the NBA draft, which cost him a chance to offer Kawhi Leonard a full max contract. Paul agreed to have Davis waive his $4M trade kicker, but only if the Lakers agreed to re-sign KCP if The Claw went elsewhere. Leonard went to the Clippers, since the Lakers didn’t offer him a no-show endorsement deal with a shady tree-planting company, and Caldwell-Pope got a two-year deal.

We’d say that Davis was likely to play more games than Butler next season, but Danny Emmerman claimed Butler was trying to come back to the Warriors “as early as Christmas.” That seems unlikely, but so does the idea of Anthony Davis going a whole season without pulling his hamstring, or spraining his ankle, or crashing a scooter while recovering from plantar fasciitis.

The real question is, How big was this small contingent of front office people and were any of them named Lacob? If the answer is, zero Lacobs, it makes sense why the deal never got done.

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to pursue Jonathan Kuminga, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The Lakers would seemingly have to engage in a sign-and-trade to acquire the forward, who would compete for an immediate starting role. The Cleveland Cavaliers are also interested in Kuminga.

He started the first five seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in February. Kuminga has the athleticism to be a solid transition scorer and an aggressive rim attacker.

"There's optimism within the Kuminga camp, even after last summer's seemingly interminable wait for a new deal with Golden State in restricted free agency, that there could be more movement and more earning potential as the offseason unfolds," Jake Fischer wrote on The Stein Line.

The Lakers could consider moving players like forwards Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and Jake LaRavia as part of a sign-and-trade deal. Guard Jaden Hardy could also be made available.

The Lakers would need to acquire Kuminga through a sign-and-trade because of the organization's lack of salary cap space to sign him outright. The team would need to salary match contracts, which is where a player like Vanderbilt could come into play.

Kuminga is looking for a contract and asking for over $20 million a year, according to reports. A free agent acquired as part of a sign-and-trade deal must be given a contract that runs at least three years, according to NBA rules.

Cleveland could potentially offer Max Strus or Dennis Schröder as part of a deal for Kuminga with the intention of adding him to a lineup that features Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers continue to have interest in Jonathan Kuminga, per reports

It’s been an active offseason for the Utah Jazz, and a really successful one. But more for the move they didn’t do than the ones they did.

Recently, the Utah Jazz made what might have been the best move of the offseason that didn’t get celebrated as much as the splashiest moves. Utah deciding to take every asset the Lakers had for Walker Kessler, instead of re-signing him to a bad contract, was a sign of an elite front office. Not only did Utah get two swaps and two fully unprotected 1sts, but they also didn’t take on bad money to do it. It shows a front office that understands the value of each position and the cap space each position should and shouldn’t use.

As the season progressed last year and then the offseason commenced, we were told that Utah would eventually give Walker Kessler the contract he was asking for. The most important element of that negotiation was that Utah was not willing to overpay a player who was very unlikely to become an All-Star, at a position that shouldn’t be receiving a major part of a team’s cap space unless a team has one of the top players in the league at that position. That patience and willingness to stick to their guns earned them an incredible haul from a desperate franchise, the Lakers, and Utah now has a chance to use those assets they received to make whatever move they want. Also, it can’t be emphasized enough that the Jazz did this to the Lakers. For all the fans who talk about the Jazz always giving away their players, they sure took advantage of the league’s “premier” franchise. Who, by the way, was desperate for a rim-protecting center because they were scared of losing their star player. The Lakers. And not just that, the Lakers had to overpay Austin Reaves because they might have lost him also. So in the future, just remember, even the Lakers have players not want to stay on their team.

In fact, as far as bogus narratives go, now is another time to give a shoutout to all the Jazz fans that constantly said the Jazz would never win the lottery. Sure, they didn’t win the #1 pick, but it’s sure nice to have the dumb narratives be proven wrong time and time again.

Anyways, back to the Kessler deal. Utah has shown that not only do they understand the importance of discipline with contracts and positional value, they also have a healthy understanding of how good this team is.

The Jazz will be competitive next season. I actually think they’ll be much more competitive than people think. Utah’s team last year was better than people realize. With Keyonte George taking an incredible leap, adding Jaren Jackson Jr., and now adding a potential superstar in Darryn Peterson, Utah is absolutely going to be one of the “surprise” teams next year. But they aren’t likely going to win the championship.

And even at center, that position is likely not going to have the dropoff that some might think. Here are their comparisons from dunksandthrees.com.

There are two different styles here from the two graphics, but their overall EPM (Dunksandthrees.com’s advanced stat of “Estimated Plus Minus”) has Walker Kessler as an only slightly more effective player than Jusuf Nurkic. That means that Utah is getting comparable production for a contract that will be much less and at a more manageable length.

As I said, Utah likely understands that they won’t win the championship next season. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t on the right track to getting to that level. If they were on the verge of having the roster to do it, and they felt like Kessler was the key to that happening, then there’s no doubt they probably match the offer that was done with the sign-and-trade. Instead, Utah can now get similar production and watch how their team plays this season. If they’re much better than we think and a combination of best-case scenarios plays out, Utah has the assets to make a move to fill the gaps in their roster.

Because of the discipline they’re showing, they also are making sure to extend their window of contention. The CBA is extremely strict with teams over the different salary aprons. Once you’ve used your cap, it’s hard to maneuver back to optionality. Contention windows close quickly with albatross contracts. Now, Utah holds that optionality of contracts with the picks to make the right moves when they become available. They can allow Darryn Peterson to develop while they also contend.

It’s a great place to be in for an organization, and Jazz fans can now enjoy the season and know that this window is looking like it’s going to open wider and wider each year. And at some point, the Jazz might actually have the chance to do something they’ve never done: win a championship.

Got a question for ya gang. Who exactly turns down the chance to play with a guy who has a living, breathing wing in the Hall of Fame while he’s still active in the league? Steph Curry already has a permanent wing in the Hall of Fame before his career is even over. And LeBron James reportedly looked at the chance to play beside that guy and still said, essentially, “Not like this.”

According to Anthony Slater’s reporting, a source close to the situation says LeBron would’ve genuinely loved to play with Steph. Just not here. Not in blue and gold, not under this logo, not as a Warrior. Somewhere else, with Steph as the visiting attraction instead of the household he’d be moving into.

Once I looked at it that way, the reporting started saying something different. People have been talking about this as though LeBron rejected Steph. My armchair psychology tells me he was rejecting the decade of history that would follow him into every locker room.

LeBron James reportedly would’ve loved to play with Steph Curry anywhere other than Golden State 😅, per @anthonyVslater

"I had source tell me they think LeBron would have been more interested in playing with Steph Curry elsewhere away from the Warriors than actually going to… pic.twitter.com/df3UEq9tQp

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 28, 2026

Draymond reacts to LeBron's decision to sign with the 76ers instead of Warriors

"I ultimately don't think Bron was ever able to get over the history and I understand it, I get it… he's gonna get crushed if he comes to the Warriors, 'ahhhh man you went to team up with Steph'… pic.twitter.com/K5PdHwUIUC

— The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) July 28, 2026

I want to sit in that for a second because it’s a wilder detail than it got credit for. This wasn’t a hypothetical some blogger cooked up. LeBron seriously floated the Warriors as a landing spot, according to Dan Devine’s reporting for Yahoo, but the appeal reportedly hinged on Golden State also bringing in a proven co-star, someone in the Anthony Davis mold, a running mate from a title he’d already won. So we’re talking not just Steph, more like Steph plus another proven championship star. If LeBron was going to cross one of the biggest psychological lines in NBA history, he apparently wanted more waiting on the other side.

There’s a version of LeBron joining the Warriors that ends with him getting cooked by his own legacy every single day. I’m imagining Every road arena chanting it back at him. Every TV graphic pulling up 2016 before tipoff. Every First Take segment turning it into a referendum instead of a highlight. Every GOAT debate suddenly turning into an argument about that decision. Jordan fans would run with it with a bloody vengeance. Warriors fans would barely be able to contain their smirks. Cavs fans, the ones who watched him deliver the thing he’s proudest of in his whole career, might run with it hardest of all. He’d never escape it, not for one single game of however many seasons he had left.

"I'm sorry for your loss man…"

Cash to Draymond after LeBron signed with Philly 😅 pic.twitter.com/cdjDnrhxH6

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 29, 2026

But strip the jokes away and there’s something real underneath it. This is still the rivalry that shaped both of their careers, and neither man has ever fully let it go. LeBron beat this era’s Warriors once, in 2016, and it’s one of the signature achievements of his entire career. He’s spent a decade watching Golden State build a competing claim to the defining dynasty of that era. You don’t walk into that house and put on that jersey unless you’re ready to spend the rest of your career explaining the choice.

And this is where it gets complicated, because we already witnessed a similar experiment. The legendary Kevin Durant joined the Warriors, won two rings, won two Finals MVPs, and people still bring up an asterisk every time his name comes up next to the greats. To me as a GSW scribe? I don’t care. But for how KD feels about himself? Maybe it’s too much noise to be around, IDK he’s a grown man minding his business. I would have guessed that two championships (shoulda been three) should have silenced everybody. But I guess instead it opened up a permanent debate about whether he needed Steph more than Steph needed him. LeBron had a front row seat for what happened to Durant’s reputation. He didn’t have to imagine the discourse; he got to watch it happen in real time.

Roster fit, cap sheets, and Jimmy Butler’s knee mattered. But I think the bigger obstacle was legacy. I think LeBron looked at the Durant blueprint and decided he’d rather build his own final chapter from scratch in Philadelphia than risk spending the rest of his career explaining championships instead of celebrating them.

Maybe that’s the strangest part of this whole saga. Steph Curry reached the point where the Hall of Fame started telling his story before the story was even over, and even that wasn’t enough to convince LeBron James to step into somebody else’s story. I’m betting that LeBron decided he’d rather write one more chapter of his own than spend the rest of his career talking about why he walked into Steph Curry’s.

LeBron James continues to break records in professional sports.

According to Fanatics, James’ Philadelphia 76ers jersey has surpassed Shohei Ohtani’s for the most jerseys sold by any player switching teams within the first 48 hours after the move was announced.

Ohtani’s previous record was set in 2023 when he revealed that he would be leaving the Angels and would be joining the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While the total sales numbers remain unknown, the data shared by Fanatics showed that more James’ 76ers merchandise was sold within the first 24 hours than it had when he announced he would be joining the Lakers in 2018.

The record-breaking sales by the legendary basketball figure continued as, 72 hours after his jersey was released to the public to order, Fanatics saw six different colorways with his No. 23 listed as out of stock on their website.

LeBron James Sixers jerseys sold out quickly & remain sold out right now

The demand is so high pic.twitter.com/ayRiiBVQY6

— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) July 27, 2026

On Tuesday, Fanatics added more James jerseys to their inventory and currently has them listed for preorder.

When LeBron announced that he would be joining the 76ers on Friday, it sent the city of Philadelphia into a frenzy. He surprisingly chose them over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Miami Heat.

Philadelphia native and comedian Kevin Hart, who is also a friend of James, was sent into hysteria when James announced that he would be joining Hart’s beloved 76ers.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark was in the middle of a press conference during the WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Chicago when she found out that James would be coming to the City of Brotherly Love. Like most basketball fans, she was caught by surprise.

With James finally putting an end to his ‘final decision,’ he will now be tasked with helping Philadelphia win its first NBA title since 1983, when they ironically swept the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA’s investigation into the Clippers-Kawhi Leonard deal could drag into 2027.

The league is looking into weather the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by compensating Leonard through a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration — which had a 23-year, $300 million deal with the franchise before it went bankrupt.

According to ESPN sources, the probe may continue into the new year if the two parties can’t agree on the findings or a settlement that involves punishing the team.

During the NBA Summer League NBPA executive director David Kelly said he didn’t think there was a “there, there” on if the Clippers, who remain adament they are innocent of circumvention, actually paid Leonard through an edorsement deal.

Kelly added that he hadn’t seen anything the New York law firm leading the NBA’s investigation, Wachtell Lipton, had uncovered that was worth a punishment.

Another source told ESPN to take claims from Kelly or any outsider knowledge of Wachtell Liptons findings with skepticism, adding that it’s unlikely the length of the investigation is an indicator of the outcome.

ESPN sources close to the NBPA said the union wouldn’t wait to bring the matter to arbitration if the NBA seeks penalties without proper evidence.

The two parties can avoid the arbitration process, however, if the NBA finds sufficient evidence in the investigation that the Clippers circumvented the cap with Leonard and all parties agree on both the findings and the provided discipline.

Potential punishments could include team fines up to $7.5 million, direct forfeiture of draft picks, the voiding of player contracts and a suspension of up to a year for any team personnel found to have engaged in such a violation, according to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

Regardless of the outcome, Silver clearly wants this mess over with, telling reporters on July 14 that the investigation “needs to be wrapped up before the beginning of next season” and that it has taken “longer than I would have hoped.”

The Raptors likely agree, as their trade returning Leonard to Toronto has been placed on hold after they were informed by the league office that they could risk taking on any punishments handed to Leonard.

The deal would send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks to the Clippers.

Frustration is brewing between Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors and a recent report has added more to the mix.

According to Logan Murdock of The Ringer, the Warriors had an opportunity to trade for Jaylen Brown before the NBA Trade Deadline this past February, but didn’t want to pull the trigger.

Murdock reported that the Warriors “Couldn’t build an organizational consensus that Brown would be the right player to carry the Warriors beyond the Curry era.”

Last season, Brown was tasked with being the main guy for the Boston Celtics as he was left without his former partner in crime, Jayson Tatum, who missed most of last season due to a torn Achilles injury he suffered in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

As the lead man, Brown had a season he’d never forget. He finished in the top five of the NBA, averaging 28.7 points per game and was a driving force behind the the Celtics to finish in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record.

Despite having a great year, Brown’s name was shopped across the NBA this summer as he headlined the trading block.

Eventually, Brown was traded by the Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers continued to load up their team by making another blockbuster move last Friday when they signed LeBron James to a two-year deal.

Since the offseason began, the Warriors have been interested in bringing in another star to play alongside Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler.

Yet, they’ve missed out on James, Anthony Davis, who was viewed as a potential trade candidate in order to land LeBron, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

On Sunday, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic shared his belief that Curry is “probably a little tired of star chasing,” which has started to cause a rift in the relationship between Curry and the Warriors.

Curry has yet to publicly request a trade out of Golden State, but Thompson said that he believes the repeated cycle of anticipation and disappointment could be taking a toll on Curry, who is now 38 years old and only has so much time left in his championship window.

Curry will now have to be the leader of an aging Warriors team that has been riddled by injuries. Butler will be coming back from a torn ACL injury, and Kristaps Porzingis appeared in only 32 games last season, as he was dealing with an illness.

Curry is also dealing with a knee injury himself that forced him to miss 39 games last year.

Despite any potential uncertainty between Curry and the Warriors, Murdock reported that the greatest player in franchise history has remained adamant about retiring as a member of the Warriors.

Every kid I know from my generation has asked their mom for McDonald’s and gotten the same answer. Not “no” but something worse: “We got McDonald’s at home.” And you already know what’s in that deep freezer. A brick of hamburger meat, shoved behind the frozen peas since March, frosted over like Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Batman movie, absolutely daring you to be disappointed in it.

And the Warriors, depending on who you ask, are fitting the description of that perfectly unfazed mama.

The popular read on this Warriors offseason is that Draymond Green’s Warriors asked for a Happy Meal named LeBron James. But the King went to Philadelphia instead and the Dubs are standing in the kitchen with nothing but ice-crusted ground chuck and a bad excuse.

But here’s where the gamble of believing rookie Yaxel Lendeborg alone is enough gets real fascinating. Except what’s sitting in the freezer isn’t some forgotten pack of bargain-bin ground beef. It’s Jimmy Butler in cryostasis, and the Warriors have spent the last six months waiting for him to be healthy enough to actually cook with.

According to @ShamsCharania, trading for Anthony Davis would've given the Warriors their best chance to land LeBron James.

Golden State refused to trade Jimmy Butler for AD.

One decision may have changed everything. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Hi1li187Fq

— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) July 27, 2026

Jimmy Butler believes he’ll return from injury better than ever 😤 pic.twitter.com/cDQ5M8o8tr

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 28, 2026

Golden State is, per the latest reporting, still the only team in the league that hasn’t added a new outside player this offseason. They re-signed Draymond Green on the exact contract he opted out of to chase James (or another splashy option) in the first place. So yeah, the easy piece to alliterate here is “Warriors weally whiffed.” Or perhaps even “I literally can’t believe Steph Curry doesn’t have Klay Thompson here alongside him at least for nolstalgic purposes”.

I’m not writing that piece folks, because I’ve got a hunch that whatever the Warriors see in the Curry-Butler pair has them curious (or brokenly resigned) to another go round with Dray, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, a wounded Moses Moody, Will Richard and the fascinating super veteran big man tandem of Al Hoford and Kristaps Porzingis.

All these moves would make sense if Jimmy Butler was healthy. He is not. They will waste another year of Steph Curry. It's nothing new. Maybe people who are paid to cover the team will actually say they are idiots. But we will see. Everyone on this app knows what is going to…

— olddirtybaroo (@olddirty_baroo) June 28, 2026

Think about what Butler represents when healthy, not that limping 2025 injury-report Jimmy we saw enthusiastically rooting from the sidelines. I’m conjuring up an image of the version that has consistently ratcheted up his play in April/May and treated postseason ball like a personal hit list. The Warriors have the guy whose entire basketball identity is built around what happens after the setback. He competes hurt, plays through pain that would sideline most stars, and has spent his career turning perceived slights into motivation that somehow lasts another year and a half.

The injury against Miami didn’t erase that identity but it absolutely interrupted it. Everything about Butler’s career says his response to an interruption is consistently louder than the interruption itself. The bet is Butler is still furious, still capable, and still exactly the kind of dark-horse variable that turns GSW into a feisty seven-seed into a team nobody wants to see in May.

To be clear, I don’t see these dudes coming anywhere close to a top seed next year, what with the way Father Time and the insanely vicious Western Conference is set up to keep them from ever winning a title again with Curry. But if they creep into the playoffs with a smidgen of health and confidence? After watching the recent champion New York Knicks play, let’s just say we all saw what a well timed postseason hot streak can do with a hot crowd can do.

Maybe the meat in the freezer isn’t actually some sad substitute for McDonalds. Maybe it’s the expensive cut that fell on the Safeway floor and the assistant manager gave it to somebody’s mama half price; she froze it six months ago because you could tell she was waiting for the right occasion. I’d be lying if I said believing this doesn’t require faith and amazing skills in NBA 2K to play it out on the virtual court. Fortunately, I have both, and I can see the possibilities. Butler will be the 37 at season’s start, the same age Jersey Joe Walcott was when he knocked out Ezzard Charles to become heavyweight champion back in 1951. That’s extremely relevant because Butler’s health represents what constitutes as the Warriors’ punchers chance when Stephen Curry takes his band of merry man on the path towards the preposterous 5th title run of the Steve Kerr era.

Jimmy Butler says the Warriors organization is a great organization and he doesn’t want to be anywhere else:

“It’s not good, it’s great. It legitimately is the best. You don’t realize it until you’ve been in other places, and I’m not talking down on anybody that are quite lesser… pic.twitter.com/Jr3hs7ye1X

— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) June 25, 2026

Now, if Butler’s knee says no in November the way it said no in January, this column potentially ages like the hamburger meat everyone’s already laughing about. But I’m pretty sure this team beats the Spurs in 5 games last year if fully healthy. Call me crazy.

Everyone keeps waiting for the Warriors to make their move, while the Warriors keep acting like they already made it. Maybe everyone’s just been staring at the wrong empty drive-thru window this whole time, like Dub Nation’s been s trying to get a Happy Meal. Mayhaps the only thing left to find out is whether what was already sitting in the freezer still tastes like a championship.

If you’re a Golden State Warriors fan who uses social media, then you’ve probably seen a fairly depressing graphic floating around the internet in one of its many iterations. The images and numbers vary from graphic to graphic, but the point remains the same: there have been countless moves made in the NBA this offseason. And the Warriors are the only team absent from that party.

Technically, the Dubs have made moves, but they’ve been to keep their own players. They re-signed Al Horford. They re-signed Kristaps Porziņģis. They’re planning to re-sign De’Anthony Melton. They re-signed Draymond Green after he opted out to afford them flexibility as they chased LeBron James.

But they haven’t added anyone new, save for in the draft. They put all their eggs in the James basket and came up short. They chose not to pursue costly, star-studded trades for players like Anthony Davis and Jaylen Brown. And while they’ll likely still add someone from outside the organization (though the options are dwindling), it appears they’re content to just run it back with the same squad.

That didn’t work out well last year. The Dubs went just 37-45 and were eliminated in the play-in tournament. Add in the fact that Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody are likely to miss more time this year than last — and of course, the ever-increasing ages of Green, Horford, Porziņģis, and Steph Curry — and it’s reasonable to assume that Golden State will be even worse this year.

But there are always avenues for surprising success. Virtually no one pegged the Warriors to compete for a title in 2014-15 or 2021-22, and they won championships both years. That’s not me predicting that the Dubs will hoist a trophy next June — or even saying that’s a plausible outcome — but the Warriors can still take the world by surprise and have a shockingly good season. Or at least one that’s much better than last year.

How? Here are a few ways.

Yaxel Lendeborg shines

There’s always something fun about the mystery bag that is a draft pick; especially a lottery pick. You can make predictions and projections galore, but ultimately you have no clue what you’re going to get. The Warriors were excited when Curry fell to them with the seventh overall pick 17 years ago, but no one ever expected him to become the best player in franchise history, let alone a top-10 all-time talent. They thought they got Curry a running mate when they used the No. 11 pick on Klay Thompson, and instead got a Hall of Famer. They hoped to get a bench contributor when they took Green in the second round, and wound up with a one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history, who will likely spend the entirety of his Hall of Fame career in the Bay Area.

On the flip side, Golden State thought they had the second timeline locked up when they used back-to-back lottery picks on James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga … it’s only been a few years, but Wiseman is playing overseas and Kuminga remains a free agent with limited suitors.

All of that is to say that there’s a vast spectrum of potential outcomes for Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Lendeborg is, like all rookies, an unknown, but he’s also considered the most NBA-ready player in the rookie class, due to his age (he turns 24 before Opening Night) and experience (six total years of college ball). If he’s closer to great than to awful — and if he hits the ground running — the Warriors could have something special on their hands that will help them win games from Day 1.

A full season of KP is magical

Even though the Warriors haven’t added any free agents or players via trade, it’s still fair to think of Porziņģis as an acquisition. They only got him at the trade deadline last year, and he played just 15 games for the team. Plus, there’s only so much a midseason acquisition can help, as they’re learning the systems on the fly.

Even so, there was some magic in those moments, and the Warriors dramatically benefited from Porziņģis’ presence. Could that grow with a full training camp of learning Steve Kerr’s systems, and getting comfortable playing with Curry and Green on both ends of the court? It certainly can’t hurt. Porziņģis’ All-Star days are probably behind him, but there’s also a reason the Warriors handed him out a two-year, $40-million contract. They know that he can be a very, very good player, and they’re excited to get a full season of that.

They add another good player

Sounds simple enough, right? A lot harder in execution. That said, DeMar DeRozan remains unsigned, and while he’s a kind of funny fit in Golden State’s offensive system, they sure could use his doses of instant offense. The best way to get better is to add more talent. And whether it’s DDR, Bradley Beal, or anyone else, the Warriors at least have a chance to up their talent pool before the season begins. How much it will help remains to be seen. As we’ve all observed in recent years, some additions really hit with the Warriors, and some flop tremendously. But it’s hard to see how this team, which has struggled so much to score when Curry isn’t the player shooting the ball, wouldn’t benefit from the addition of a reliable 20-point scorer.

They upgrade their systems

Seeing what schemes the Warriors are running when the season begins is going to be fascinating. Apparently one of the mandates for Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Joe Lacob when bringing back Kerr was that he needed to find a way to adapt and evolve his systems a little bit more. They’ve made some personnel decisions as well, replacing Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse with Frank Vogel.

Kerr remains one of the top coaches in the NBA, but he’s going to need to dig deep into his bag of tricks to turn the Warriors into a 50-win team. That’s going to include making some changes to how the offense and defense operate.

Someone takes a leap

The biggest way for a team to take a huge step forward is also the hardest thing to bank on: a player simply taking their game to the next level. With Moody injured and so many veterans around, that really means there are only three options: Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, and Will Richard. All three are quality role players, but all three have shown flashes of being so much more. Can one of them take the leap from 15-minute bench piece to borderline All-Star? Easier said than done … but then again, no one ever accused being a winning team of being easy!

Stay healthy

The Warriors have won four championships in recent memory, and they’ve fallen short even more times. And in victory and defeat, one lesson is always clear: it takes a lot of luck to win it all. That’s true even when your goals are less lofty than to win a title. Whatever the goal in the NBA, you need the cookie to crumble in your direction to meet it.

For the Warriors, that mostly means health. Porziņģis played just 32 games last year. Horford played 45. Curry played 43. Melton played 49. If the Warriors want to shock people this season, they need good health luck, particularly with Curry (and also with Butler when he returns from his torn ACL). You can’t bank on that … but you have to hope for it.

The internet is a wild place, but there’s one narrative we never thought we’d read in that jungle. 

Should Steph Curry leave the Warriors? 

After the Warriors did nothing this offseason, we can agree on one thing: The end of his career is being wasted. At age 38, he’s still one of the NBA’s best players, averaging 26.6 points (46.8% from the field, 39.3% from 3) and 4.7 assists last season. 

But he doesn’t have the pieces around him to play meaningful basketball. 

Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody will miss the start of the season due to injuries. Curry and Draymond Green needed reinforcements, but the Warriors declined to seriously pursue trades for Jaylen Brown and Anthony Davis — and LeBron James chose Philadelphia in free agency. 

So, where does that leave Curry? 

In no man’s land. In basketball mediocrity. In jeopardy of even making the playoffs in the deep Western Conference, where stars Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are surrounded by an army of talent and young legs. 

It’s a shame. 

But we also know Curry isn’t going anywhere. 

He can’t. He won’t. He shouldn’t. 

Steve Kerr, who was contemplating retirement, agreed to return to Golden State for another two years in large part because of his loyalty to Curry. 

Green has played with Curry his entire career and hopes to retire alongside him as a Warrior. 

Curry put the Warriors on the map. He transformed a flatlining franchise into the league’s modern-day dynasty, winning four championships in eight years from 2015-2022. 

Before Curry, the Warriors were an eyesore. After they selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2009 draft, he became the greatest shooter of all time and turned his team into the league’s best show.

He transformed the game of basketball. He made it so that no square inch on the court was safe. He left our jaws on the floor. There were shimmies. There were night-night gestures. There was pure joy. 

Curry is the Warriors. The Warriors are Curry. 

Similar to how Kobe Bryant became forever enmeshed in the fabric of Los Angeles after spending his entire 20-season career with the Lakers, Curry’s star will forever shine brightest if he remains with the same franchise he resurrected. 

Is what’s happening right now fair to Curry? No. Did the Warriors’ front office blow it for their greatest superstar in franchise history in the sunset of his career? Yes. Does Curry have every right to be frustrated? Absolutely. 

But should he leave the Warriors? That’s not happening. It never will. 

In an era where superstars jump to different franchises while pursuing rings, Curry stands out. He’s a lifer. He’s a rare breed. It’s unimaginable to think of him playing anywhere else. 

Curry has been with the Warriors his entire 17-season career. They’ve been great to him. They believed in him. They put the pieces around him so he could shine. They celebrated him. His happiness has been palpable. 

But things took a turn this offseason after the Warriors stood pat following missing the playoffs two of the last three seasons. 

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has made it clear that the team is in win-now mode while Curry remains on the roster. They made a blockbuster trade for Butler in February 2025, which led to them closing that season on a 23-7 run and reaching the second round of the playoffs before Curry suffered a hamstring injury. 

Last February, the Warriors were willing to put everything on the line to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, including their four first-round picks, but the Bucks balked at that offer. 

But this offseason, the Warriors apparently had no interest in digging into their treasure chest for Brown or Davis, both of whom would’ve increased their odds of luring James onto the team. 

That means Curry, who turns 39 next season and has a balky knee, essentially has to play hero ball for the Warriors to have a chance to be competitive. 

It’s unfortunate. Maybe the Warriors have something up their sleeve that we’re not expecting. But as things stand, it would be surprising if they make noise next season. 

Curry has made it clear he wants to be a Warrior for life. He’s eligible for a two-year, $136.7 million extension with Golden State on Aug. 27. But after the Warriors did nothing this offseason, Polymarket posted a graphic on X about his odds of leaving. They were at 6% as of July 29.

Let’s be clear: There’s no chance. 

Curry isn’t going anywhere. 

That type of loyalty should be rewarded. Sure, the Warriors have to balance prioritizing their present while preparing for their future, but they owe it to Curry to figure out a way to be competitive now. 

It’s shocking they didn’t make any trades or free agency acquisitions this offseason. It’s a bummer they went all in on believing that James would take his talents to Golden State. It’s a shame they weren’t willing to make the appropriate roster tweaks to make that happen. 

Now, instead of competing for a championship, Curry is going to be fighting to make the playoffs. 

Still, regardless of what he’s fighting for, we know what jersey he’s going to wear. 

And there’s something beautiful about that. 

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The Golden State Warriors, to the surprise of nobody, drafted arguably the most NBA-ready player in the 2026 NBA Draft, forward Yaxel Lendeborg. The versatile two-way forward, who was drafted 11th overall, spent six total years playing college ball: three in community college, two at Alabama-Birmingham, and one at Michigan, where he won a national title this year.

Lendeborg will turn 24 before the start of the season, making him very old by rookie standards. The flip side to that, of course, is that he should be ready to contribute from Day 1.

Which is good, because the Warriors need contributions. They missed out on LeBron James, and have yet to add any players from outside the organization (other than through the draft). On top of that, barring any additional trades, they’ll be without Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler III for the first half of the season. Which means the door is wide open for Lendeborg to get a lot of playing time right out of the gates. But will he? How much playing time do you think the Warriors will give him?

Somewhere in a war room at Chase Center, someone looked at Jaylen Brown’s name on a trade sheet and said no thanks. A 29-year-old Finals MVP, a two-way wing who just averaged career highs across the board, and the front office that’s supposed to be building Steph Curry’s last great chapter took a pass. FASCINATING.

According to Logan Murdock, the front office wasn’t sold that Brown could be the guy to carry this franchise once Steph rides off into the sunset. Shams Charania backed that up, reporting the price tag sat somewhere around four first-round picks, and the Warriors and Celtics did talk, but Golden State walked away from the table.

The Warriors decided not to trade for Jaylen Brown because they felt he wouldn’t be able to carry the franchise after Steph Curry retires, per @loganmmurdock

“Should they have gotten in on the Jaylen Brown sweepstakes? The Warriors had an opportunity to trade for the former… pic.twitter.com/TQ5CMmJzEi

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 29, 2026

.@ShamsCharania on the Warriors 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

"The Warriors could've got in the Jaylen Brown sweepstakes if they wanted to give up 4 first round picks-ish, in that range. They decided not to from my understanding. Those 2 teams, the Warriors and Celtics did talk about a Jaylen Brown… pic.twitter.com/g3otTKXsyo

— Chef (@CurryForGame) July 27, 2026

And here’s the part that may raise your eyebrows up to the back of your neck if you’ve been riding with Dub Nation: Boston still moved him, just not to Golden State. The Celtics flipped Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and four total picks, two first-rounders and two seconds. Brad Stevens got a return that, by most measures, was worse than what the Clippers got for an oft-injured Kawhi under investigation for cap shenanigans. Somebody was going to get a reigning Finals MVP and one of the league’s premier two-way wings entering his prime for pennies on the dollar. The Warriors had a seat at that table and stood up.

I don’t believe the real story here is that the Warriors missed on a star. It’s that their internal grade on Jaylen Brown sits noticeably below the market’s. Philadelphia looked at the exact same player and saw a co-star worth building around while Golden State looked at him and saw a question mark. Everyone can’t be right, and that gap in evaluation is the actual headline. Is the rest of the league overvaluing Brown, or are the Warriors the one team seeing something everyone else is missing? That’s the question worth sitting with, more than any grade on the trade itself.

Bill Simmons says Jaylen Brown is now the fourth-most important player on the Sixers

“He’s basically going to have to be their Derrick White.”

(h/t @TheNBABase ) pic.twitter.com/cSAgsdzy5W

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 29, 2026

Shoutout to Jaylen Brown. He complained so much about being a second option that he became a fourth option instead 😭😭😭

— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) July 24, 2026

Steve Kerr has known Jaylen Brown for years, even driving him to Oracle Arena when Brown played his one season at Cal alongside Kerr’s son Nick. This wasn’t a stranger they were projecting from afar. I’d bet the Warriors knew him better than almost any organization could. Passing on stars is part of the job and every front office has a list of players it didn’t believe in. But passing on a star without an obvious answer waiting behind door number two is where the fanbase’s anxiety starts. So what is the actual plan? If Jaylen Brown wasn’t the bridge from the Curry era to whatever comes next, who is? Right now nobody in that building has given Dub Nation a name.

Every front office gets remembered for the players it acquires AND for the ones they decided weren’t worth the price. The Warriors just made one of those bets. Time will decide whether they protected the future, or passed on it.