Category: Basketball

Globe 5 ways Celtics could improve lineup without trading Jaylen Brown

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Yabu on how his Knicks stint was like the Boston Celtics (derogatory)

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Boston Sports JournalBSJ Live Q&A: Simone on Celtics/NBA, 5:00 p.m. Saturday 06.27.2026

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CBS Sports/YouTubeJalen Duren exploring sign & trade | Potential landing spots 👀

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MediumThe Start of Act Three

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NBA .comReports: Celtics re-sign Ron Harper Jr. to long-term extension

Much of the discussion about the Lakers’ upcoming offseason has been about acquiring a center of the future. It was the edict from Luka Dončić before he left for Europe this summer and it’s one of the top priorities of the front office.

The underlying aspect of that is the Lakers very well may still have last year’s starting center on the roster at the start of free agency. Deandre Ayton had a very up-and-down season with the Lakers, at times looking great but also proving not to be a reliable option every night, hence the search for a top starter.

However, Ayton has a player option for next season, taking the decision out of the Lakers’ hands. While Ayton may know that LA is trying to move on from him, it’s still $8.1 million he’d be guaranteed next season by opting in.

So, while there are merits to him opting out and searching for a team that wants him, it seems more likely he will take that guaranteed money, leaving the Lakers with a bit of a conundrum this summer. On a recent episode of NBA Today, Dave McMenamin of ESPN laid out the scenario for the Lakers and Ayton.

“We don’t know if Deandre Ayton is going to opt in to his deal and if he does, if the feedback is get me an A-list center and Ayton was already on the team last year, if he opts in, that means Rob Pelinka needs to find a trade partner for Ayton.”

While Ayton struggled as the starting center for the Lakers last year, he still was a viable NBA player with value. And at $8 million, he may even be on a contract that is good value relative to his production as well.

It’s just that he’s not a good fit with the Lakers. He’s still, at worst, a valuable backup big man who can play for a contending team. It won’t be hard to trade him, but it’ll likely be a necessity.

It’s not difficult to find a way to spin this into a positive. He’s on a non-negative contract and the Lakers could potentially take back more in salary than they send out. If LA can find the right team and right situation, they could acquire a player who better fits around Luka and Austin Reaves.

But it does look like, for all intents and purposes, the Ayton era in LA will be one-and-done.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

How incredible is it that an article like this can be written seriously after what we went through the last 20 years?

It’s been a few weeks since the Knicks lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy and put themselves into the history books. With the NBA Draft now behind us and a brief lull before the start of free agency on Tuesday night, the only sensical thing to do is to bask in the glory of being champions before the cold reality of the second apron sets in.

A topic of discussion in a few of my circles during the NBA Finals was about those banners hanging up in the rafters of the World’s Most Famous Arena.

No, not Billy Joel, Mark Messier, or the championship banners. These babies.

Only seven numbers are out of circulation for the Knicks, with nine total players/coaches honored in the rafters.

Of those nine, only two are ringless. Dick McGuire played in the 1950s, where he made seven all-star teams and appeared in three NBA Finals, but even his number retirement is shared with Earl the Pearl. The only other player in the long history of the Knicks to retire ringless and get his name in the rafters is Patrick Ewing, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

There’s an existing debate to put Carmelo Anthony’s No. 7 in the rafters after he existed as the team’s only mainstream star between the Ewing and Brunson eras, but it feels like it would’ve happened by now. Melo’s number still hasn’t been worn since he left in 2017. No other number lower than 27 has been out of circulation longer.

Even if the Knicks never won a championship, you could probably add at least one name to the rafters when their careers are over. But now that they’ve joined the elite club of champions, suddenly half the roster is in contention to get their numbers retired.

Remember, those 1970 and 1973 teams got six players in the rafters. The entire starting lineups of both championship teams are up there. Only Earl Monroe wasn’t on both teams. That distinction probably means we aren’t putting six in the rafters this time, but there will be retirement ceremonies in the future.

But for whom?

Start Making The Banners

Jalen Brunson

The only person who might’ve objected to this was Becky Hammon, but she seems to have finally admitted she was wrong about the Knicks’ captain.

There are few things to say about Jalen Brunson that haven’t been said on this site, on every other site, and what will be said about him when the NBA Champions series we’re doing gets to him. He is, quite simply, the best thing to ever happen to this franchise.

Whether he’s the greatest Knick of all time is open to interpretation, but the circumstances that led to his arrival and superstardom surpass anything in history. The way he revived one of the NBA’s most iconic organizations from the doldrums will go down forever. Even if he never won a championship here, he would deserve this honor.

If the team wanted to retire his number on Opening Night while presenting him with his ring, that would be a perfectly acceptable reaction.

Karl-Anthony Towns

This was honestly the biggest debate before the chip was closed out. Could Towns do enough, without a championship, to ensure 32 is never worn again?

The legacy of Renaldo Balkman, Jimmer Fredette, and Noah Vonleh is a tough one to overshadow…

In all seriousness, it was probably 50/50 whether a half-decade of all-star play and perennial contention could get Towns in the rafters, but now there’s no question.

An All-NBA-caliber running mate for Brunson that ended a 53-year drought. A Piscataway native who grew up a Knicks fan. As New York as any player not named Jose Alvarado. What he did against Victor Wembanyama in the first two games will be replayed forever.

There’s a good chance that 32 is never worn again in Minnesota, either, which could make Towns part of an elite fraternity of players to have their numbers retired by multiple teams. Regardless of how the remainder of his Knicks career goes, or how long it is, he’s a legend who helped end a 53-year drought as the second option. It’s a slam dunk.

Under Consideration

OG Anunoby

This is something I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted when Anunoby became a Knick on December 30, 2023. A guy who may never make an all-star team, who probably won’t win a Defensive Player of the Year award, or ever be a top option might have his number retired by an iconic franchise.

Anunoby’s 2026 playoff run was one for the ages. Aside from missing two games due to a hamstring injury and a slow start to the Cavs series as a result, he was arguably the team’s most consistent player and overall MVP due to his incredible defense. His sequence in the final 20 seconds of Game 4 of the NBA Finals might be the most impactful sequence in team history.

The difficult thing to do is compare him to someone on the 1970/73 teams. If the all-stars-to-roster-spots ratio was the way it was back then, Anunoby would be an all-star, so comparing legacies in that fashion would be improper. It’s objectively a lot harder to get to that point today.

If I had to guess, OG will be here for long enough that he will be remembered in such a fond way that he gets his number retired. If not, nobody will wear 8 for a while as an informal retirement, similar to Melo.

Josh Hart*

It’s pretty bold to put a player like Hart up here with Anunoby, whose case to be enshrined among the greats is in him effectively swinging the entire NBA Finals by himself at the end of Game 4, but there’s a case to be made that Hart could get to this point, while also adding an asterisk to make it more likely.

Hart will forever go down as the heart of this championship team. It’s been spoken about ad nauseum, but the 6’4″ wing is possibly the best hustle player of this generation, a connector, a positive presence in the locker room, and a flat-out winning player. His impact matters every postseason, regardless of how fans can turn on him due to clunky regular season performances or lineups.

Will that be enough to get him in the rafters with another few years on the team? I’m leaning no, but I offer a addendum.

What if we take a page out of Dick McGuire and Earl Monroe’s book and double-retire No. 3? Not many fans would object to honoring John Starks’ contributions to the franchise, even if he alone didn’t merit a number retirement. If only Game 7 went differently…

Would Take Another Title

Mikal Bridges

Imagine hearing “F— Them Picks” chants while 25 is raised to the rafters?

Probably won’t happen, but a man can dream.

Bridges is firmly in the territory of needing a 1973 to happen to join the pantheon. It’s nothing against him; it’s just really hard to get your number removed from circulation. He was a major part of this postseason run on both ends of the floor and was Leon Rose’s biggest and boldest gamble, one that will go down in Knicks lore forever.

Individual excellence would be the other path, but I don’t see him getting there. He’s going to be the fourth option going forward, so while I can see a path to OG Anunoby becoming an all-star or making a run at Defensive Player of the Year (if Wemby is ever ineligible again), I don’t see that for Bridges.

Longshot

Mitchell Robinson

I think, if anything, this would be a sentimental, unofficial retirement.

Robinson’s story is a great one, as he’s the only person involved in the organization beneath James Dolan who was around for the darkness that was the pre-COVID Knicks. He’s lived through so many ups and downs, and I’m overjoyed he’s here to enjoy this.

But will he be here much longer? That probably stops the conversation here. It would be a miracle if he were back in this organization next year with the team’s self-inflicted second-apron hard cap. If he managed to take a pay cut and remain with the Knicks for another few years, maybe he could get to the point where No. 23 isn’t worn again for a good while, similar to Melo’s.

Last June, the Brooklyn Nets traded Cam Johnson, a player earning a little more $20 million to the Denver Nuggets for Michael Porter Jr. and a future first round pick, the Nuggets unprotected first in 2032. It was a salary dump and Denver seemed tired of MPJ. The cost to the Nets for salary cap purposes: $17 million.

This June, the Brooklyn Nets traded Nic Claxton, player earning a little more than $20 million to the Chicago Bulls in a three team deal for Julius Randle and a swap of future first round picks that yielded them the Timberwolves’ unprotected first in 2026. It was a salary dump and Minnesota seemed tired of Randle. The cost to the Nets for salary cap purposed: $17 million.

You have to hope at the Nets do as well in last week’s trade as they did in last year’s. Like last year, the big piece is a 20-point scorer who’s in the prime of his career. Unlike last year, they won’t have to wait years to see how the pick worked out. Brooklyn took Joshua Jefferson, a 6’9″ point senior forward out of Iowa State at No 28.

As our Lucas Kaplan noted in story his about the pick, “though his stock dropped toward the end of the season, there had been often lottery buzz surrounding him” earlier in the season. His stock dropped in part because he’s older, turning 23 a month into the season, and he was coming off a left ankle sprain that cut short his NCAA Tournament. So upside was the issue. On the other hand, Jefferson is a big — 246 pounds at the NBA Combine — point forward, ideal for Jordi Fernandez’s offense and the Nets overall strategy of choosing quick decision-makers.

“The way Josh plays with the ball, the DHOs, the reads, the passing ability,” Sean Marks said in his post-draft Zoom call with reporters. “That’s absolutely going to fit within Jordi’s system and Jordi’s style and how he wants to play.”

Jefferson said after being drafted and an impromptu trip to get a handshake from Adam Silver that he appreciates his good luck in getting selected by Brooklyn, as Brian Lewis reported.

“It was really good feedback, from the late first round, from all the front office, just seeing what they need for their team,” Jefferson said. “They felt that I fit in a lot of spots because of my versatility. I’m where I need to be. The Nets took a great chance on me, and I’m very thankful for that.”

In a way the Nets took a chance on him like they took a chance on Mike Brown at No. 6. He too missed time with a back injury.

“When that injury happened, I feel like a lot of things [were] jeopardized from that. Going into pre-draft, I was like, make the most out of your workouts and attack your rehab hard and everything will go how it needs to go, Very blessed for this position that I’m in and just very thankful.”

Marks said there was a connection between trading for Randle, then drafting similar sized forward even if their skillsets are different. Jefferson will be backing up both forwards.

“It absolutely was,” Marks said. “Josh was a guy that we have absolutely been all over all year long and watched how he played the game, his skill set. That definitely translates.

“High IQ, and when you watch him play — when Iowa State plays through him, his teammates feed off of him — he’s definitely a facilitator out there. The toughness that he has. So there were a lot of intangibles. And then he’s a winner, an absolute flat-out winner. There’s an edge to how he plays and a toughness, which we loved.”

Moreover, Jefferson brings something that the Nets have been missing for a long while: physicality, something Randle will also help with in the starting lineup.

“The thing about my game that’s going to translate pretty quickly is my physicality. The NBA is a physical game right now. You have to be physical in the playoffs to win, and that’s what I’m going to bring,” Jefferson said. “Then just continue to work on my shot. Shooting it really well throughout this pre-draft process, a lot of reps. So if I continue to do that, it’s going to keep me on the floor. And defending.”

That probably more than anything will give Nets fans positive vibes.

He is, as you might expect, not a plus athlete. His max vertical was measured at 33.0 inches at the Combine and in fact all of his athletic measurements were around the 30th percentile of the 72 prospects on hand. He has been compared to Kyle Anderson, the similar sized point forward who’s had a long NBA career playing the same game. The Nets should be so lucky.

Immediately after the Warriors selected former Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th pick in the NBA draft, he showed he might need some additional public relations training after a couple of honest interviews.

Over the past week, Lendeborg has met with the media and did not mince words when talking about how he used to feel about Steph Curry and playing for Steve Kerr, who traditionally doesn’t play rookies.

During his introductory news conference Tuesday, Lendeborg admitted he grew up hating watching Curry because he was a big fan of former Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving.

“It’s a full-circle moment for me. I’ve been saying this every time I get asked this question. In 2016, I’m a big Kyrie guy, so I used to hate Steph Curry,” Lendeborg said. “So now that I’m actually going to be on the same team as him, play and actually learn so much from him, it means a lot.”

“I’ve met him a couple of times; he’s a very great guy, genuine person, and it’s going to be an honor to watch him do what he does in person. I’m very excited.”

There’s no problem in admitting you were a fan of another team while growing up, so it makes sense why Lendeborg might’ve had a particular feeling about Curry and the Warriors as they met Irving and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for three consecutive seasons from 2015-2017. Irving was on the losing side of the series twice in 2015 and 2017.

But when Lendeborg was asked about conversations he had with Kerr, he didn’t hold back from admitting that Kerr doesn’t necessarily like to play rookies and admitted that his new coach’s hand might be forced to play him because the Warriors are simply not a good team now.

“He doesn’t normally play rookies as much; he has a history of that. But the way the team is looking right now, I’m going to have a really good chance to play, maybe even start,” Lendeborg said Friday when meeting with the media. “Just having that kind of hope gives me extra motivation.”

To Lendeborg’s credit, the Warriors aren’t the well-oiled machine that used to dominate the NBA from 2014 to 2022.

Since they won their last NBA title during the 2021-2022 season, Golden State has consistently placed in the bottom part of the Western Conference and recently had its first losing season since 2019-2020, when they finished 15-50, the same season in which they were without Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

Lendeborg went on to praise Kerr for the great job he has done since he became the head coach of the team in May 2014.

“I know he’s a Hall of Fame coach, he’s played under a Hall of Fame coach as well, he’s learned so much, he played with one of the best players [Michael Jordan] of all time as well,” Lendeborg said. “He just knows so much of the game, so I feel like the impression I just wanna leave on him is someone who’s willing to learn, someone who’s going to value his core values and play values.”

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The Knicks have fired off a “cease and desist” letter to America-hating state Senate candidate Aber Kawas, threatening to slap her with a lawsuit for ripping a page out of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s playbook and using the NBA champs’ iconic logo to boost her campaign, The Post has learned.

Kawas – a Mamdani-backed, Democratic Socialist of America member who once described 9/11 as a terror attack that a “couple of people did” – tried to win over voters by using a doctored version of the Knicks logo on social media posts and campaign stickers throughout her primary run, which ended with her clinching the Democratic nomination for a Queens state Senate seat on Tuesday. 

Bryan N. Warner, senior vice president and head of legal for Madison Square Garden Sports, sent the letter to Kawas’ campaign Friday night “demand[ing]” it “immediately remove all promotional materials incorporating Knicks Intellectual Property, including but not limited to the unauthorized Advertisements, and cease any further use of Knicks Intellectual Property.”

“Neither the Knicks nor NBA [Properties] have authorized the Campaign to use Knicks Intellectual Property in any way, including the Unauthorized Advertisements, which are likely to mislead the public into believing that the Campaign is affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by, or in some way connected with the Knicks,” he wrote in the letter exclusively obtained by The Post.

“The Campaign’s activities in this regard constitute, among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false advertising, false association, and unfair competition.”

Kawas’ shameless bid to use the Knicks success and popularity for her own benefit includes a June 20 campaign message on X – posted a week after the Knicks won their first NBA Finals championship in 53 years.

It uses a logo with the slogan “I Voted for Aber Kawas” that features the same font, orange-and-blue colors, and iconic basketball as the Knicks logo — but replaces the team’s name with “Kawas.”

“Head to the polls to claim your “I Voted for Aber Kawas” champion sticker,” the post also says, while featuring a basketball emoji. “Earn bragging rights, make your friends jealous, and let everyone know that you’re part of our movement to fight for the world in the world’s borough.”

Mamdani tried to pull the same slick trick in October while campaigning for mayor, airing an ad during the team’s season opener that featured an altered logo replacing the word “Knicks” with “Zohran.”

Mamdani pulled the ad after the team slammed him with a “cease and desist” letter and stressed it wasn’t making any endorsements in the race.

Billionaire Knicks and MSG owner James Dolan — a longtime friend of President Trump — got into a public feud earlier this month with the Mamdani administration over cancelled fan watch parties outside MSG during the NBA Finals due to city-imposed security measures.

The tension spilled over into awkward public exchanges by both sides during the team’s June 18 victory parade and City Hall ceremony honoring the Knicks, which Mamdani hosted and Dolan attended.

Kawas is a former intern for the Council on American-Islamic Relations who has remained affiliated with the controversial Muslim charity through her activism for more than a decade.

She has come under fire for incendiary comments about 9/11, which resurfaced on X last year after news of Mamdani’s reported support for her campaign came to light.

“The system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy et cetera — and Islamophobia — have all been used, you know, to colonize lands, to take resources from other people, and so this is a long trajectory and we are just seeing the manifestations of that continuation … with 9/11,” she said in an unearthed video segment posted by Australian political activist Drew Pavlou.

“The idea we have to apologize for like a terror attack that like a couple of people did and then there is no apology or reparations for genocides and for slavery, et cetera — is something I find reprehensible,” she added. 

The far left pol also believes federal holidays are no cause for celebration, The Post reported in December.

“Whether it is July 4th, Thanksgiving, Veterans, Columbus or now Labor Day, we enjoy days off that are supposed to be victories for people, when they truly represent the silencing & destruction of our movements,” the  longtime Palestinian-American activist wrote in an online journal posted on Sept. 7, 2015 — Labor Day.

“Today I do not celebrate a day off, I only recommit myself to a global movement that fights against the death, displacement, and exploitation of people for capital.”

Kawas campaign did not immediately return messages. 

A MSG rep said the letter speaks for itself and declined further comment.

The Celtics have signed Ron Harper Jr. to a three-year, $9 million contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Saturday afternoon. It’s a win for both sides: Harper Jr. gets his first long-term NBA contract at 26 years old, fresh off the best season of his career.

And the Celtics get a hard-playing role player with plenty of upside on a financially savvy deal, someone who can stretch the floor, defend, and rebound at a high level.

It’s been a long journey for Ron Harper Jr. to get here

Ron Harper Jr. went undrafted in 2022 after a standout career at Rutgers. Since then, he’s bounced around the league, spending some time with the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons.

Last year, he began the season with Boston on an Exhibit-1o, training camp contract, and ultimately secured one of the team’s three two-way contracts. Then, after excelling with the Maine Celtics, he began to spend more time with the parent club and ultimately signed a standard, rest-of-season contract with the Celtics in April.

But Harper’s tenure with Boston began before last year. He was on the Celtics Summer League team in 2024 and was on a training camp deal that fall. At that Summer League, he was coming off a season-ending shoulder injury but told reporters he was ready to play with toughness and grit.

“I’m a player that’s going to play hard, play the right way, play within himself,” he said then.

In turn, began the 2024-2025 season with the Maine Celtics, before signing a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons. After that contract expired, he returned to Boston. This year, he’ll begin his third consecutive training camp in Boston – though for the very first time, he’ll have guaranteed money.

The former Rutgers standout averaged 11 minutes in 29 NBA games last year, getting three starts. He scored a career-high 27 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in a win over the Orlando Magic in mid-April. But his breakthrough moment came before that, when he started his first-ever NBA game in Houston, guarded Rockets forward Kevin Durant, and scored a then-career-high 11 points.

“I feel like I know the system; the coverages are like the back of my hand,” Harper Jr. said after the game. “That was a big part of the process and the decision to be coming back in the summer — I just knew the team, I knew the coaches, I knew the system.”

The decision clearly paid off. Harper Jr. averaged 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds, shooting 41.8% from the field and 35% from three last year.

Now, he gets his first-ever guaranteed contract.

Ron Harper Jr. could be the first of several Celtics extensions

The Celtics will also have the ability to extend Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta this offseason, and Payton Pritchard in October. Jaylen Brown is also eligible for a two-year, $140 million extension in July, though his future in Boston remains uncertain after he was reportedly offered in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Ever since Knicks team owner James Dolan declared that the team cannot go into the second apron on WFAN’s Carton Show earlier in June, every move the club has made so far has hinted at going down that path.

This week’s NBA Draft saw the Knicks trade out of the first round -- and a guaranteed contract -- and step down to the second round, where they continued to move back. 

Originally armed with the 24, 31 and 55 in the draft, New York ended up collecting a boatload of second-round picks in future drafts and selecting 39th and 47th overall, for players that will be on cheaper minimum deals or two-way contracts.

That series of moves hints at the Knicks trying to duck the second apron. 

As free agency rapidly approaches this upcoming week, the Knicks should rethink their strategy. It will likely cause them to lose Mitchell Robinson and/or Landry Shamet in free agency, which could have an extremely negative impact on their chances of successfully defending the NBA championship next season.

Key cogs

Robinson and Shamet were vital contributors to the Knicks’ championship run. Both players’ performances were reflective of a Knicks roster that had depth where its bench filled in the gaps around New York’s stars.

If the Knicks lose Robinson, it will be nearly impossible to replace him. 

The seven-footer has been with the Knicks since he was drafted by the club in the second round in 2018. Robinson is a unique player. He’s been one of the top offensive rebounders in the NBA over the last several years. His work on the offensive glass has won playoff games for the Knicks. 

In the championship clincher against the San Antonio Spurs, six of Robinson’s 10 rebounds came on the offensive end; this included an offensive board on a missed free-throw that pretty much sealed the title.

Shamet was a reliable two-way guard. On a minimum contract, he played credible defense, and was an effective outside threat, knocking down 47.5 percent of his three-point attempts during the postseason. Shamet was another perimeter option New York could go to if Mikal Bridges or Josh Hart had quiet nights. 

There were several games where Shamet closed in the fourth quarters of important games.

Robinson seems like the most likely casualty. Several teams in need of centers can offer the non-tax midlevel exception of about $15 million. If the Knicks stay under the second apron, they won’t be able to compete with those offers.

There aren’t many players the Knicks would be able to find on the cheap to replace Robinson or Shamet that would also be able to replicate their value.

It makes sense for the Knicks to be concerned about the second apron, the penalties to team building are stark. 

Teams in the second apron lose access to the taxpayer midlevel exception, can’t aggregate multiple salaries to acquire larger-salaried players, and can’t use cash in trades, among other restrictions. Then, there are the hefty luxury tax payments. But going into the second apron for one or two years would be worth it, if it gives the Knicks a chance to contend for more championships.

The numbers

Going forward, staying under the second apron will be a challenge. New York has been active in the offseason already, agreeing to multi-year deals to re-sign Mohamed Diawara and Jose Alvarado. The 2026-27 salary figures on the agreements aren’t clear, but the Knicks are not too far from the $222 million second apron threshold.

Ducking the apron is a problem that won’t go away after the new season. New York’s starting lineup is set to make just under a combined $192 million for the 2026-27 season. Depending on potential contract extensions for Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart in the near future, that group can still become even more expensive.

As that figure is just about $30 million away from the second apron, the Knicks will likely have to think about re-orienting the pay allocation around the starting lineup. But that’s something that can wait.

The Knicks have a real chance to repeat going into next season, so dealing with the financial constraints for one or two more years is worth it. New York had not won a championship in the last 53 years. So, realizing this moment, where the Knicks have a real chance to compete for a championship again, is imperative.

With the official opening of NBA free agency just days away, we inch closer to the point where we can better understand what next season’s Lakers will look like.

We already know that Austin Reaves will return, but beyond bringing him back on a max contract, President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka and this Lakers front office has much work to do in building out a roster that can fulfill the promise of putting a championship-level group around Luka Dončić.

Depending on who you ask, the team’s most pressing priorities range from upgrading the team’s starting center to determining what will happen with LeBron James to finding a younger, defensive-minded wing who could slot between Dončić and Reaves. All, of course, are super important and, when considering these are just priorities and not all that needs to happen, only reinforce the amount of work left to build out the team.

Many of the Lakers top targets are well known and heavily reported on already. The point of this discussion isn’t to dive into all of those names now, but rather to look at a (mostly) different crop of names.

More specifically, players whose contract status is more liquid, either in the form of player options, team options, or, in one case, a restricted free agent who could end up being renounced and suddenly be thrust into the general free agent market to be signed by anyone.

Without further ado, then, here are five possible free agents whom the Lakers should be keeping tabs on and/or who could greatly impact the team’s pathway towards building out a contender this summer.

Deandre Ayton

Okay, I’m going to cheat right out of the gate and name one of the Lakers’ own potential free agents.

Ayton’s player option of $8.1 million for next season isn’t some huge number that dramatically impacts the team’s cap space in either direction, so the potential impacts don’t have much to do with money on the open market.

Instead, this is about the ability to include Ayton in a trade, in which case he could be aggregated with additional players to both enhance an offer from a positional and talent perspective while also adding more salary ballast into a deal to acquire a pricier target from another team.

On the former, it should be noted that just because the Lakers seem ready to move on from Ayton, it does not mean he’s not a capable player able to help a team. So, if the Lakers are trying to trade for a starting caliber center, Ayton could check two boxes — first as a rotational piece who could help fill replace some of the minutes load being sent out by the trading team and, second, as a someone who has enough talent to at least compete for a starting spot.

On the latter point, an additional $8 million dollars to include in a trade for a presumably higher-priced player has real value. As it stands, the Lakers only have three players who make over $4 million dollars they would even consider including in a trade: Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, and Dalton Knecht.

And while the Lakers wouldn’t necessarily need more salary ballast in a deal as a cap space team, the more salary they could include would help them use less of their cap space in a trade, and thus allow them more room to operate in the market in other deals.

So, even if the Lakers are ready to move on from Ayton, whether he opts into his option for next year could have a real impact on how the team operates in the market, especially in trades.

Lu Dort

Dort is another player who the Lakers have reportedly real interest in, and that would be both as a free agent or, as a member of the Thunder were they to pick up their team option on his $18.2 million contract for next season.

To be clear, I expect OKC to do just that and hold onto his rights. Besides Kevin Durant — and probably informed by what happened with him, if we’re being honest — Sam Presti is not known to let players walk away in free agency without getting something back in return. So, just as he did with Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe over the last week, I expect Presti to “maximize the asset” and try to recoup some draft capital should Dort actually end up on the move.

I will say, though, that there would be no shortage of suitors for Dort’s services if he becomes available either as a free agent or via trade. The Lakers would likely be near the top of that list, but with the Bulls and Nets still having cap space and several other teams with large trade exceptions, OKC should not have trouble finding a team willing to take on his money without sending any contracts back.

That would lead to what sort of draft compensation a team would be willing to send back to the Thunder in exchange for him, and whether they can create a robust enough market to drive that price up. Both Wiggins and Joe netted them two second rounders. I’d guess Dort nets at least the same.

As an FYI, the Lakers do not have multiple second rounders available to trade, instead only holding future firsts. I do not believe Dort is worth a first round pick while also taking his salary back, which would mean trying to find a middle ground in a Lakers specific trade, possibly requiring the Thunder to send draft capital back to L.A. if they did include a future first rounder.

But those are longer conversations for another day.

Andrew Wiggins

Wiggins has long been associated with the Lakers as a possible trade target, being a player of interest dating back to when he was originally sent to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler trade.

It’s been speculated that Wiggins held off on deciding whether to exercise his $30.1 million player option until after the Giannis trade was completed so he would not be included in the deal. Now that Giannis is in Miami, it’s also believed that he will return to the Heat in some fashion, either by picking up his option to return or opting out and signing for a lower salary next year but more guaranteed money through a longer-term deal.

And while I have no reason to doubt that reporting, I will also say that a recent surge of speculation around a possible LeBron return to Miami has put Wiggins’ future there back into doubt. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus recently put together a fake trade idea that would net the Lakers Wiggins in a deal that would send LeBron back to South Beach, but even beyond those sorts of armchair GM ideas, Rich Paul’s comments talking about what Miami needs now that Giannis is there has some trying to read between the lines about whether the player he’s describing is his own client.

In any event, Wiggins is a name to keep an eye on, whether he comes on the market as a true-blue free agent or even if he opts in and is, seemingly, on the Heat’s roster.

Jonathan Kuminga

Kuminga’s $24.3 million option is likely too rich for the Lakers’ blood to simply take on into cap space, but I don’t think it’s out of the question for them to have interest in him should the Hawks decide to decline that option and just make him a free agent.

To be clear, I have not seen any reporting that the Hawks are considering such a move. That said, whispers that Atlanta could explore trading Kuminga after just acquiring him at the February trade deadline do not inspire confidence that they’re fully bought into the mercurial former Warrior.

So, this is a very straight forward case of, if he becomes a free agent, I expect the Lakers to kick the tires on an early-20’s former lottery pick with very good athleticism, some on-ball chops offensively, and who has at least shown he can compete defensively (even if his attention to detail and willingness to do all the little things has not been up to par).

It’s just rare for a player of his pedigree, who has shown he can hang in playoff environments with both the Warriors and the Hawks, to end up on the market as a free agent with no restricted strings attached.

So, it will be worth monitoring to see if he does shake loose unexpectedly.

Benedict Mathurin

Because he’s both a restricted free agent and the key player returning to LA for the Clippers in the Ivica Zubac trade, Mathurin isn’t a name that has come up very often as a potential target for the wing-starved Lakers. I think it’s just been assumed he’d work out a deal to stay, with his market somewhat depressed by restricted free agency, like nearly every other player who finds themselves in that situation.

That said, in recent days, two reports have cast doubt on those assumptions. First, in writing for Marc Stein’s wonderful Substack, Jake Fischer had this to say about Mathurin’s pending restricted free agency with the Clips (emphasis added):

The Clippers will also have to navigate Bennedict Mathurin’s restricted free agency this summer after the talented young scorer arrived in February from Indiana as part of the Clippers’ draft pick-dominated trade return for Ivica Zubac. Sources say that the Clippers have been weighing whether or not to renounce both Mathurin and unrestricted free agent-to-be John Collins, which would enable them to operate as a team with roughly $22 million in cap space.

And then, on a recent episode of his podcast, Zach Lowe of The Ringer noted that “people who would know” said that the Clippers were “behaving as a team who would have cap space” this summer. And just as Fischer noted, Lowe explained that they would only be able to open up a little more than $20 million in space and it would require renouncing rights to players.

Where there is smoke there’s fire. And if the Clippers feel like cap space this summer, the No. 5 pick in this draft (Keaton Wagler) and another unprotected pick in 2029 was enough in exchange for Zubac, it would not surprise me at all.

Will it happen that way? It remains to be seen. But if it does, a young and athletic scoring forward with good positional size who has shown he can be a rotation player for a team that makes a deep playoff run (as he did with the Pacers) would be a very nice target for the Lakers in free agency.

You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegoldand find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.

Since the day the Knicks traded for Josh Hart, no player has become my favorite Knick faster. Josh Hart is New York. He embodies the same grit, toughness, and blue-collar mentality that made John Starks and Anthony Mason icons in the ’90s, the team that will always be “my Knicks.”

Braids or no braids, nobody has worn the “NEW YORK” crest with more pride over the last three and a half seasons than Hart. Every loose ball, every rebound in traffic, every extra effort play felt like a reminder of what this city values most. He never just played for the Knicks. He played like playing for New York meant everything.

No one was more excited about the trade deadline deal that brought Hart to New York from Portland in 2023 than his Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson. Those aren’t just words. It’s on video.

When Brunson was still a freshman at Villanova, Hart was a key contributor on the Wildcats’ national championship team alongside Mikal Bridges. Hart averaged 15.5 points per game that season and led all Big East guards in rebounding. More importantly, he helped establish the culture that would define Villanova basketball during that era.

What started as a teammate relationship in college, evolved into a lifelong friendship. Their bond has become the blueprint for what true friendship looks like. Knicks fans have gotten a front-row seat to that relationship through their wildly popular Roommates Show podcast, where the two regularly share stories, crack jokes, and give each other grief the same way they did as college teammates. That same dynamic carries over to the court and the postgame podium, where Hart and Brunson are constantly taking playful shots at one another during press conferences and interviews.

Whether it’s the nonstop ribbing, the public roasting, or the unwavering support they show on and off the court, their connection is genuine. In a league built on transactions and changing rosters, Brunson and Hart’s friendship has remained constant. That bond eventually brought them back together in New York, where they became cornerstones of a Knicks resurgence and helped restore relevance to one of the NBA’s most storied franchises.

The numbers back up what Knicks fans have seen with their own eyes since Hart arrived in New York. Across four seasons in a Knicks uniform, Hart averaged 11.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field. Those marks represent improvements over his career averages of 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. As his role grew, so did his production, culminating in a career-best 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game during the 2024-25 season while averaging nearly 38 minutes per night.

No statistic better captures Hart’s all-around impact than his triple-doubles. A player once viewed primarily as a hustle guy and role player evolved into one of the most versatile players in franchise history. By the end of the Knicks’ championship run, Hart ranked third on the franchise’s all-time triple-double list, trailing only Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Michael Ray Richardson. He also etched his name into the record books by setting a new single-season franchise record for triple-doubles, surpassing Frazier’s long-standing mark of eight.

Hart’s growth as a complete offensive player was just as impressive. During his first six NBA seasons before arriving in New York, he never averaged more than 4.1 assists per game. As a Knick, he became a trusted secondary playmaker, averaging 4.8 assists while helping initiate the offense alongside Jalen Brunson. His rebounding reached another level as well. Despite standing just 6-foot-4, Hart pulled down 8.3 rebounds per game as a Knick, a number many forwards and centers would envy. For a player whose game was built on doing whatever his team needed, his evolution into one of the franchise’s most productive and versatile players felt like a natural progression.

His efficiency has improved as well. Hart owns a .563 effective field goal percentage with the Knicks compared to .553 for his career, while posting the highest field goal percentage of his career during his time in New York. The combination of increased production, improved efficiency, and his trademark hustle has transformed Hart from a valuable role player into one of the league’s most unique and impactful glue guys. The box score tells part of the story, but the growth in nearly every major statistical category since arriving in New York shows just how much Hart has flourished in a Knicks uniform.

During the Knicks’ 2026 playoff run, Josh Hart once again proved why he’s one of the league’s ultimate glue guys. The box score only tells part of the story, but it’s still impressive: through 19 playoff games he averaged 10.5 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while logging heavy minutes and impacting nearly every possession. For a 6-foot-4 wing to average nearly 12 rebounds a night on a deep playoff run is remarkable in itself.

Hart’s rebounding was arguably his biggest contribution. Time after time he cleaned up defensive possessions, grabbed contested boards in traffic, and created extra opportunities with offensive rebounds. His ability to finish possessions allowed the Knicks to survive against bigger frontcourts and helped fuel their transition attack. When games became physical, Hart often looked more like a power forward than a guard.

He also became a secondary playmaker whenever defenses loaded up on Jalen Brunson. Hart averaged 4.6 assists during the postseason and frequently initiated offense, pushed the pace after rebounds, and found shooters or cutters before the defense could get set. That versatility eased the burden on Brunson and gave the Knicks another ball-handler who could make winning plays without needing touches called for him.

Defensively, Hart brought the edge and versatility that defined the Knicks’ playoff identity. He guarded multiple positions, chased wings around screens, and consistently competed on every loose ball. The hustle plays rarely show up in traditional stat lines, but they often swung momentum. Whether it was diving on the floor, taking contact, or extending a possession, Hart delivered the kind of effort that becomes contagious in a playoff environment.

Beyond the numbers, Hart provided toughness and emotional energy. He was one of the team’s emotional leaders, setting a tone with his competitiveness and willingness to do the dirty work. In a postseason that demanded resilience, Hart became the player who connected stars, role players, offense, and defense into one cohesive identity.

For my entire life, when I saw a Knicks No. 3 jersey, the first player who came to mind was John Starks. When we ran the Who Wore It Best? series, Josh Hart hadn’t quite done enough to take that mantle from one of the most beloved players in franchise history.

These days, that’s no longer the case.

Now, and for the rest of time, when I think of No. 3, I’ll think of both Starks and Hart.

What Hart accomplished in New York transcended statistics, accolades, and even championships. He became the embodiment of everything Knicks fans have always cherished: toughness, sacrifice, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to winning. Nothing will ever diminish what John Starks means to this franchise, this city, or its fans. But Hart didn’t need to replace Starks to cement his own place in Knicks history. He built a legacy that stands beside him.

And when it’s all said and done, I believe Josh Hart will have earned the right to see his No. 3 hanging in the Madison Square Garden rafters one day. Right alongside Jalen Brunson’s.

–

(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)

Members of the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2016 championship team celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their comeback victory over the Golden State Warriors in Europe last week. Those included in the festivities were LeBron James, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, and Matthew Dellavedova.

There were a few notable absences from the group. One of whom was Kyrie Irving. He was invited but decided not to attend. Irving clarified that “Me and my brothers, who played on the Cavs, bro we’re good,” in a video he posted on social media last week.

However, not all members of the team who were absent were actually invited. Center Timofey Mozgov told Sport Express — one of Russia’s most popular sports newspapers — that he would’ve gone, but he wasn’t invited. The interview was in Russian, so things from the interview can be lost in translation. But based on a translation provided by Eurohoops.net (and backed up by Google Translate), Mozgov said that he saw the videos, he would’ve loved to have been there, but no one wrote or called to invite him.

We don’t know the reasons behind Mozgov not receiving the invite, but it is disappointing to find out that not every member of the team was given the opportunity to celebrate one of the most memorable championships in basketball history.

Mozgov played for the Cavaliers for two seasons and was a key part of two runs to the NBA Finals. The 7’1″ center from Russia was the Cavs’ second-leading scorer in the 2015 Finals. He started 48 games and played in 76 for Cleveland during the 2015-16 season. He averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game that season.

Mikel Brown Jr., whom the Nets selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, takes his first shot at Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: You talk about chasing greatness. What does chasing greatness for you entail?

A: Chasing greatness is just the ability to max out my potential and understand what I’m capable of and hit that goal by any means necessary.

Q: What do you think you’re capable of?

A: Being one of the all-time greats.

Q: People say you have the it factor. What is your it factor?

A: I feel like there’s nothing that I can’t do on the court.

Q: Your general manager (Sean Marks) said that you have a chip on your shoulder, tell me why.

A: Just because at the end of the day there’s people selected over me. So that just drives me every single day. I’m self-driven to be the best version of myself. So that means I have a chip on my shoulder wherever I go.

Q: You’re going to have a natural rivalry with Darius Acuff. What are your thoughts on that?

A: Basketball nowadays, that rivalry brings along a lot of fans, and more people want to watch and it’s competitive. We know we’re going to see each other for the rest of our lives, so buckle up.

Q: I read one opinion that called you one of the bigger risk-reward prospects in the draft.

A: I’m not a risk just because I know night in and night out what I can bring to a team.

Q: What did your father tell you and what did you tell him after you were drafted by the Nets?

A: We said, ‘What are they going to say now?’ Just because when it comes people said I was too small, or I wouldn’t make it. So just beating the odds, I think me and him really took an embrace on.

Q: How much did it piss you off hearing that before your growth spurt?

A: It’s motivation. When people put more wood in the fire, it’s another log, that’s how I look at it, it’s another log in the fire to go out and compete.

Q: When your name was announced by the commissioner, what did you say to your mother when you hugged her?

A: I said, ‘I told you!’

Q: How long have you been telling her?

A: (Laugh) I’ve been telling her for ever since I started this game.

Q: How old were you?

A: Three years old.

Q: Describe your on-court mentality.

A: Passionate, competitive, me being a dawg and also just me being able to create for others, like being a connector as well.

Q: I’m getting the feeling that you see yourself as a killer or an assassin on the court? Am I right?

A: Yes.

Q: How so?

A: The people that I’m going to be going up against for the rest of my life, my goal is to win every single battle, and every single matchup.

Q: Why don’t you feel pressure?

A: Because I hold myself to a certain expectation that I expect to hit every single time just because I know how much work I’ve put in.

Q: If you could build the perfect point guard, what would you take from Mikel Brown Jr.?

A: We would take his ability to create scoring opportunities for himself and others.

Q: What one area do you think you need to improve on?

A: Every single aspect of my game.

Q: Describe your range for me.

A: Shoot — as soon as I step past halfcourt.

Q: On a scale of 1-10, what grade do you give yourself for vision?

A: I’ll say like an 8 as of right now. I definitely think that I have arguably, if not the best vision in this draft class, but I also do think that there’s still a lot of things I can clean up as well.

Q: Your defense on a scale of 1-10.

A: I’ll say a 7. I really do think that I can guard at a high level. It’s just about me bringing that consistently.

Q: 1-10, instincts.

A: 10. I play off of instincts naturally.

Q: How is your hesi-pull?

A: (Laugh). A hesi-pull is definitely lethal. I could definitely sell it and get it off quick, so …

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

A: Lead by example and also lead by voice, just making sure my teammates are doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and holding them to a standard that I know they can hit.

Q: Why would I enjoy playing with you?

A: Just because I’m always for my teammates, I’m always about making other guys better around me, putting them in the right positions to whether that’s score, defensively, just constantly communicating with them. And I also think I’m a great teammate as well, very personable, I want to get to know you because that transmits to on the court as well so now you got the true trust in you that you know what you’re doing.

Q: Do you talk trash?

A: A little bit. Not a lot.

Q: Does it get you going when others talk trash to you?

A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It gets me going for sure.

Q: What happens?

A: I black out (laugh).

Q: Who are some of the guards you’re looking forward to guarding?

A: Everybody. I’m looking forward to guarding everybody.

Q: Do you study tapes of old-time point guards?

A: Like ’90s?

Q: ’90s, ’80s, even before that?

A: A little bit, a little bit, a little bit. Like Mark Price, I feel like he was the one that created the split screen. … Tim Hardaway, Allen Iverson, Isiah Thomas.

Q: Do you take bits and pieces from each of them?

A: Yes I do, yup, yup. Yes I do.

Q: Which one of those have you taken the biggest piece from?

A: Isiah Thomas’ defense, Mark Price’s ability to split the ball screen when they jump, Allen Iverson’s ability to create a shot for himself. And Tim Hardaway’s twin cross, his shiftiness.

Q: How much work do you put in being a student of the game?

A: Hours, hours, nights, early mornings, days, years. … I mean, I’m a savant when it comes to that stuff.

Q: Why do you like the big stage, the bright lights and the big games?

A: Just because I know much work I put in to get to that point and to be able to play on that stage.

Q: What have you learned about your new head coach (Jordi Fernández)?

A: Just a great guy, he’s a player’s coach. Hard worker, loves his family, he’s a big family guy. He actually reached out to me recently because I went to go watch my sister play and he asked me how my sister did and stuff like that. He’s a player’s coach and that’s a coach you really want to play hard for and give it your all for.

Q: What do you know about Julius Randle as a player?

A: He’s a great player. He’s won at this level, so to be able to pick his brain and talk to him, you can tell that he’s a good person and a great guy to be around, to learn from him and ask him his experiences of some of the greats that he’s played with.

Q: Are you 6-4, 6-4 ¹/₂ ?

A: 6-4 ¹/₂ with shoes.

Q: You weigh 190. Do you plan on gaining weight?

A: Yeah. … That’s something that I haven’t spoken with the staff yet and the trainers as well. That’s something that we’re going to talk about soon.

Q: You can go one-on-one with any point guard in NBA history.

A: I’d probably say Kyrie Irving.

Q: Why him?

A: Just because I can learn a lot from him guarding him, just understanding his movements and then he could also teach me his moves as well.

Q: Whatever comes to mind: Steve Nash.

A: Cerebral.

Q: Rondo.

A: Playmaker.

Q: Steph Curry.

A: An anomaly.

Q: Trae Young.

A: Quick.

Q: Did you have any other favorite point guards growing up?

A: I was a big CP3 guy, Dame Lillard. … I really don’t have specific point guards. I watch everybody, because I think everybody has something special that I can learn from.

Q: The low point emotionally at the end of last year with your back.

A: Not being able to play and compete with my (Louisville) teammates.

Q: Describe your mother.

A: Loving, caring, passionate at what she does and passionate in support of our dreams, not just me, but my brother’s and sister’s dreams as well.

Q: Tell me what is so neat about her and your Puerto Rican heritage.

A: Having a close-knit family, hard-working family, my grandfather served 22 years in the Army so he’s very disciplined about his work and then my grandmother knits and she sells clothes at shows. And also big on her faith as well. To be able to represent my country and represent Puerto Rico as well and represent my grandparents. That whole side of the family means a lot to me.

Q: Describe your father.

A: Same way, just supportive, passionate, and he’s going to do everything in his power to try to help us and give us as much information needed so we can accomplish our dream.

Q: Tell me about the tough love he gave you on the court.

A: That tough love was great. I think it was needed, ‘cause without that, I wouldn’t be here today where I am now. It pushed me and it also shaped me to be who I am, that self-driven guy who wants to be the best.

Q: How old is your brother Zackariah?

A: He’s 15.

Q: Is he on his high school team?

A: We’re trying to figure out where he’s going to go for high school basketball actually right now.

Q: Is he a point guard?

A: Yes he is.

Q: Your sister Arianna?

A: She does volleyball. She just turned 14.

Q: You’re a Jalen Hurts fan?

A: I mean, his mentality and just understanding his work, and not caring what other people say or think about him because he knows who he is at the end of the day. He won a championship, so he has that pedigree.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Michael Jackson; Kobe Bryant; Jay-Z.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: Cars 2.

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Denzel Washington.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Zendaya.

Q: Favorite entertainer?

A: Drake.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Steak.

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Q: What have you learned about Brooklyn so far?

A: Brooklyn’s great. I thought it would be like more hectic like New York City, but actually Brooklyn is very chill, peaceful, definitely calm.

Q: Why did you choose to have a Michael Jackson handwritten lyric on your shoes on draft night?

A: Everybody loves Michael Jackson. I actually got to watch the movie, you got to see who he was as a person. Just a great dude that cared for others all the time. And he’s also about the people, and also about getting better, wanting to be the best artist, the best entertainer in the world, so …

Q: Do you have any favorite inspirational quotes that you use?

A: I had one on my shoe — I believe in me so you believe in you … shoot, hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. And then tomorrow is not promised, so value every single moment and take it on with purpose.

Q: What do you remember about your earliest NBA dream as a kid?

A: Shoot, I remember me hitting the game-winner. As a kid you always kinda mimic, you have a little mini-hoop and you try to mimic you hitting the game-winner … you’re saying “Kobe” after you shoot a fadeaway … you dunk and you yell like LeBron. You take the pull-up like MJ. Those moments right there I definitely remember the most. And I always said to myself “I want to make it to the NBA.” It’s been a dream of mine since I just really started taking this ball stuff serious, so …

Q:. What gym were you in?

A: At the moment, growing up, the Cavs and the Warriors were going back and forth, so I’ll probably say like Oracle or Quicken Loans.

Q: Personal goals for this season?

A: At the end of the day, our goal’s to win a world championship. And also, getting to understand my teammates better and push towards a winning season this year. But also, the more you win, the more individual accolades will come.

Q: How big of an impact do you think you can make this season?

A: I feel like I can come in and make an impact from Day 1. I’ve prepared myself for this moment, I’ve prepared myself to be in this situation that I’m in, and also I’m feeding off my teammates as well, it ain’t no one-man show.

Q: Your career goal?

A: Obviously being a superstar in this league. Continue to work to that mindset. It’s not going to be easy, taking it day by day, brick by brick and it’s going to turn out that way.

Q: What is your message to all of Brooklyn and to Brooklyn Nets fans about Mikel Brown Jr?

A: Somebody that’s going to come to work every single day with a hard hat on, great attitude, big mentality … as a team our goal is to try to bring back that winning culture and bring a world championship to that city. We know how much pride those people take in being from Brooklyn, so that pride will not be taken for granted, and we have a chip on our shoulder.

These are some MVP puppies.

Five rescue pups coming to Long Island this weekend to be placed with foster families were named after the NBA World Champion Knicks starters.

Jalen, KAT, OG, Josh and Bridges were given their Knicks names by the animal rescue Ollie’s Angels in Greenlawn, which got news of their births the day of Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

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“Ironically, we were asked to help these puppies the same day the Knicks won the championship. When we realized there were five puppies, naming them in honor of the Knicks seemed like a fun idea,” Melissa Bielawski, director at Ollie’s Angels, told The Post.

“All of the women running the rescue are life-long Knicks fans, so we’re really excited for this litter.”

Naming the pooches — which she guesses are “some type of Lab mix” — after the one-time underdogs seemed very fitting, Bielawski added.

“Our rescue is all about determination and second chances, which the Knicks proved over and over again this season. These puppies survived very rough beginnings with a very real chance of not making it, but now they are thriving,” she said.

“And just like the Knicks, our rescue is built on determination and the fact that we simply refuse to quit. Once we commit to helping a dog, we will not stop until the pup is safe. We will work right up until the very last second to ensure we’ve secured foster homes and provided proper medical care.”

The fur babies were rescued from a rural farming area in Dorchester County, SC, known for its problem of unwanted dogs.

“A local man had been feeding several strays who’d wandered onto his property. Due to the lack of spay and neuter in South Carolina, the females soon started having litters. The number of dogs quickly became overwhelming for him, at which point one of our South Carolinian rescue partners reached out for help,” Bielawski explained.

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Ollie’s Angels posted their starting five on its Instagram page this week, with the caption: “Whether they’re zooming around the court (okay, your living room), perfecting their puppy moves, or winning over every fan they meet, they’re proving that five is definitely the magic number.”

“The response from the initial social post has been incredible, which is a huge win for us,” Bielawski said.

“If every social media [post] makes someone stop scrolling long enough to notice a rescue dog, it makes a real difference.”

Bielawski founded OOAR in 2016, and named it in honor of her rescue pup, Ollie. Since its inception, the volunteer-run non-profit has saved over 3,000 abandoned, abused and neglected dogs around the country, and even some internationally.

She hopes their Knicks-named pups attract New York basketball fans who might have never been interested in animal rescue before.

“If naming puppies after Knicks players helps even one more family choose adoption, then we’ve done exactly what we hoped we’d do,” she said.

“Every person who shares one of these puppies’ stories can help us save another life.”