Category: Basketball

The NBA calendar has officially entered its quiet season. The draft is over. Most of the fireworks of free agency have already gone off. Las Vegas Summer League is winding down. Outside of the occasional contract signing or end-of-the-roster move, the league typically settles into a boring stretch. In other words, it’s the dead zone.

Unless, of course, you’re one of the handful of franchises still waiting on LeBron James. Ever since LeBron informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he would not be returning in purple and gold, the league has been engulfed in a second version of “The Decision.” There hasn’t been an hour-long ESPN special (at least not yet), but the speculation has reached an almost comical level. Every podcast has an opinion. Every television analyst has “sources.” Every former player has a theory. If someone has a microphone and a social media account, chances are they’ve already explained why LeBron should definitely head to their preferred destination.

By now, the list has become familiar. The Cleveland Cavaliers. The Golden State Warriors. The Miami Heat. The Philadelphia 76ers.

…and, somehow, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The fact that Minnesota isn’t just being mentioned as a longshot but consistently appears among the five primary destinations says something about how dramatically this franchise’s reputation has changed. Ten years ago, the idea of LeBron James voluntarily choosing Minnesota would’ve been treated like satire. Fifteen years ago it would’ve been grounds for a wellness check.

Today? It’s an actual conversation. Whether it ultimately happens is another matter entirely.

The fascinating part is that nobody seems to know where James is leaning. LeBron and Rich Paul have kept this process remarkably quiet. Every day brings another report, another rumor, another anonymous executive claiming to have “heard something,” only for a contradictory report to emerge a few hours later.

At this point, even the biggest names in NBA reporting feel less like insiders and more like amateur meteorologists standing outside with their finger in the air trying to determine which way the wind is blowing. One forecast says sunny. The next says thunderstorms. Then somebody announces a tornado warning.

Meanwhile, LeBron hasn’t said a word.

What has made this saga especially interesting from a Minnesota perspective is the number of respected basketball voices who have openly connected James to the Timberwolves. This isn’t just Wolves fans talking themselves into a fantasy because it’s July and there isn’t much else happening. Max Kellerman has repeatedly argued that Minnesota makes tremendous basketball sense. On his and Rich Paul’s Game Over podcast, Kellerman laid out the basketball fit in detail, explaining why the Wolves offer one of the most complete situations available.

Even more interesting was hearing Kendrick Perkins make essentially the same case on that very show. Perkins broke down how pairing Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball’s offense and Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels’ defense with LeBron would immediately create one of the league’s most dangerous cores and potentially give James his best opportunity to chase a fifth championship while becoming the first player in NBA history to win titles with four different franchises.

Even good ol’ Boogie Cousins added his own support during a Summer League interview. Suddenly it wasn’t just one person throwing out Minnesota as a dark horse. It became a legitimate basketball discussion.

Then franchise great and team ambassador, Kevin Garnett made a convincing argument why LeBron should absolutely choose to come to Minnesota…

…oh wait. He did the opposite.

Come on, KG.

If anyone was going to publicly campaign for LeBron to finish his career in Minnesota, you’d think it would’ve been the greatest player in franchise history. Instead, Wolves fans were left watching everyone else make the case while Garnett remained notably absent from the recruiting effort.

Still, the momentum surrounding Minnesota hasn’t disappeared. If anything, the waiting has only intensified because it sounds like this decision may finally be approaching its conclusion.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has reportedly encouraged James to make his decision sooner rather than later so the league can finalize its schedule. That’s understandable. Wherever LeBron lands instantly becomes appointment television. Opening Night, Christmas Day, and every other marquee slot on the calendar depends on knowing where the biggest star of his generation will be playing.

The schedule can’t really be completed until LeBron picks a jersey. The basketball world is essentially sitting in an airport terminal waiting for one delayed flight, and judging by the latest SB Nation Reacts poll, Wolves fans are hoping that flight lands squarely in Minneapolis.

An overwhelming 88 percent of respondents said they want LeBron to choose Minnesota.

That number honestly surprised me. Not because the basketball fit doesn’t make sense (it absolutely does), but because LeBron has never exactly been universally beloved in Timberwolves circles. Like every fan base, Wolves fans have spent years rolling their eyes at some of the theatrics. The media circus. The carefully orchestrated announcements. The endless conversation that somehow always circles back to LeBron himself. This latest free agency saga is just another example. The entire league has essentially paused while everyone waits for one player to decide where he’ll spend the twilight of his career.

That isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but basketball has a funny way of making old grudges disappear. Because while opinions about LeBron the personality may vary, opinions about LeBron the basketball player are much harder to argue. He remains one of the two or three most influential figures the NBA has ever produced. Michael Jordan sits alone in terms of global impact, but LeBron is firmly in that next chair. His arrival instantly changes how a franchise is perceived. National television schedules shift. Free agents pay attention. Championship expectations become real rather than theoretical.

For a franchise like Minnesota, one that spent decades wandering through the NBA wilderness, that kind of validation would be impossible to ignore.

The comments LeBron himself made this week only added more fuel to the speculation. Speaking during Fanatics Fest in New York City, James hinted that the clues about his next destination have already been placed out in the open.

Read into that however you’d like. Personally? I’m choosing to believe the Instagram photo of LeBron relaxing on a boat while several Wolves emojis conveniently appeared alongside the post was exactly the clue he was talking about.

Do I know that’s true? Absolutely not.

Do I care? Also no.

It’s the middle of July. The regular season is still months away. Let us have a little fun. Because if LeBron actually chose Minnesota, it would immediately become one of the defining moments in franchise history.

It would validate everything this organization has built under Alex Rodriguez, Marc Lore, and Tim Connelly. It would represent another enormous vote of confidence in Anthony Edwards, not just as an All-NBA player, but as someone worthy of becoming the face of a championship contender alongside one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen. It would instantly elevate Minnesota from “interesting contender” to one of the premier attractions in professional basketball.

Most importantly, it would signal that the Timberwolves are no longer viewed as basketball Siberia, but rather as a destination. That would be a remarkable transformation for a franchise that spent much of its existence simply hoping competent players would want to stay.

Now, I hear the other side. The twelve percent of Wolves fans who voted “no” aren’t crazy. Some simply don’t enjoy everything that comes with LeBron: The constant spotlight, the nonstop media coverage, and the inevitable circus that follows him everywhere he goes. Those concerns are legitimate, but if James ultimately decides that Minnesota is where he wants to spend the final chapter of his career, it would be impossible to ignore what that decision represents.

It would mean one of the greatest players in basketball history looked around the NBA landscape and concluded that the Timberwolves gave him his best chance to compete. Think about how unbelievable that sentence would’ve sounded even five years ago.

So if the impossible actually becomes reality, the lingering frustrations of the past probably need to stay exactly where they belong… in the past.

Because what would matter most isn’t everything LeBron has done elsewhere. It would be what his decision says about what the Timberwolves have become.

Until then, all anyone can do is wait.

Wait for the announcement. Wait for the schedule. Wait for the notification that could completely alter the trajectory of this franchise.

For now, the NBA’s quiet season continues. But somewhere, one decision still has the power to turn a sleepy July into the biggest day in modern Timberwolves history.

The Timberwolves 2027 Championship odds still sit at +2200, at FanDuel Sportsbook – the same as last week. If you think LeBron James is coming to the Twin Cities, now is the time to get in on that action!

Rucker Park in Harlem, New York, has seen its fair share of iconic pickup basketball games.

Saturday marks the 24th anniversary of Lakers great Kobe Bryant showing up at Rucker Park to play pickup games against fans.

The anniversary of Bryant at Rucker Park came right after he won his third NBA title with the Lakers, cementing him and Shaquille O’Neal as one of the greatest duos to play for the franchise.

When Bryant pulled up to the park, he came with his entourage, his fist in the air, as basketball fans attending the event cheered endlessly for the reigning champion.

Upon his arrival at the park, Bryant shouted: “Straight to the court.”

According to Ericka Goodman-Hughey and Anthony Olivieri from ESPN, Rucker Park has had many famous names play pickup games, including Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett. The difference with their performances and Bryant’s, however, was that Bryant was much quieter about his appearance.

At the peak of pickup street basketball games during the early 2000s, Rucker Park was a staple for some of the most iconic pickup games.

Pickup basketball has been a crucial part of New York’s basketball culture, as the games were not played like traditional basketball games; the players would perform all sorts of trick shots and flashy moves against each other.

Bryant’s performance lasted only one half because the event ended up getting rained out. But still, he put on a show in which he tallied 15 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

During the event, Bryant was seen performing all kinds of flashy plays such as bouncing the ball over opponents’ heads, making passes behind his head and alley-ooping the ball to himself off the backboard to make a dunk.

Outside of performing plays that are considered unconventional in basketball, Bryant also performed some of his more traditional moves, such as shooting 3-pointers, performing layups, and of course, his signature step-back fadeaway shot.

When the event was over, Bryant interacted with the fans who attended and greeted them as a way to show respect.

Many have wondered aloud of late what the Knicks’ plan is for the final roster spot they are legally able to fill under the second apron.

After losing Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti to division rivals, they’ve signed Andre Drummond and shown interest in the likes of Jonas Valanciunas and Kevon Looney, but the latter two have found better deals and situations elsewhere, leading to speculation throughout the last two weeks.

Several members of the P&T community have loudly vouched for Moussa Cisse, a young big man on the Dallas Mavericks who’s currently on a two-way qualifying offer with the team. Despite his promise, his market was extremely quiet all throughout free agency.

That was until Saturday afternoon, when the Knicks boldly staked their claim and signed Cisse to a two-year offer sheet.

Cisse went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Memphis after a complicated, five-year college career that began at Memphis, saw him transfer to Oklahoma State the year after Cade Cunningham left, saw him spend 2023-24 at Ole Miss, and saw him return to Memphis for his fifth season. In his collegiate career, he was known as an elite rim protector with limited offensive ability who split time as a starter and backup center.

Cisse inked a two-way deal with the Mavericks last October after making an impression throughout Summer League and training camp, spending much of 2025-26 in the G League, where he dominated to the tune of 14.7 points and 13.1 rebounds on 63.1% from the field in 15 games.

But with the Mavs’ season in total free fall due to their rebuild around Cooper Flagg, Cisse was able to appear in 38 games with the big league club, where he flashed his potential. A 15-point, 9-rebound, 4-block gem at the World’s Most Famous Arena on MLK Day is probably where most fans saw him for the first time:

Outside of that game and a 17-point, 20-rebound gem to close the season in a meaningless game, he flew well under the radar, averaging just 4.5 points and 5.7 rebounds on 57.4% from the field, never attempting a shot outside eight feet.

His per-36 numbers are quite impressive, averaging 11.5 points and 14.7 rebounds, showing that he’s a bang-for-your-buck big. All told, this is probably the closest you could come to a Mitchell Robinson replacement in terms of size (seven feet, 7’5” wingspan!), defense, rebounding, and impact, albeit with a lot more risk due to his youth and rawness. He mimics a rookie Mitch at times with his foul woes at times, but with all the positives as well.

The contract structure is quite odd. He’s signed to a two-year deal worth about $5 million, but only $1.1 million is guaranteed for the soon-to-be 24-year-old. The second year of the deal is completely non-guaranteed, giving the team flexibility, similar to how they structured the Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet contracts.

And then, there’s the elephant in the room. Cisse is not a regular free agent. He’s just the second player this offseason to sign an offer sheet and the first to sign one with the Knicks since the infamous $72 million contract to Tim Hardaway Jr. in 2017, which wasn’t matched by Atlanta.

The Mavericks have the right to match, having until the end of the day on Monday to decide. At this point, it’s out of the Knicks’ hands entirely.

Cisse’s contract would fit fine in the Mavericks’ sheets, but it would be their 19th player on their roster and 16th signed to a standard deal, likely necessitating them to cut someone by the time the season begins. Only Ryan Nembhard’s contract is non-guaranteed (and they wouldn’t cut him anyway), so they would have to eat the salary of whoever they cut. It’s also important to note that Cisse’s partially guaranteed first year is fully guaranteed before preseason begins on October 1.

The big question, though, is if Dallas wants to keep him.

I’d imagine that their plan the whole time was to get him back on a two-way contract. His limited NBA experience wouldn’t give him much leverage, and prospective teams would be scared away by the RFA tender. Now needing to give him a two-year standard deal to keep him, it’ll at least be considered in the room.

Their center rotation is already a bit jammed with Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, along with a mountain of power forwards in Cooper Flagg, Morez Johnson Jr., Santi Aldama, and P.J. Washington. I doubt this would stop them if they wanted to retain him, but it’s a factor.

There’s also the minutiae of offer sheets. If the Mavericks match, Cisse gets a no-trade clause for the 2026-27 season, something that could hurt Dallas’ flexibility. There’s also the factor of them having an entirely new brass from when he initially signed in Dallas last year, with both GM Nico Harrison and head coach Jason Kidd dismissed. Will Dusty May and Masai Ujiri want him?

If the contract is matched, there is no recourse for the Knicks. Teams above the first apron are prohibited from acquiring players via sign-and-trade, which kills any hopes of negotiating something afterwards. If it isn’t matched, the Knicks will likely be done for the offseason and ink Tyler Nickel and/or Jack Kayil to a two-way contract.

We just have to wait and see. I’m not confident, but I’d be ecstatic if Dallas once again undervalued a guy and allowed him to waltz to NYC.

Observations after Sixers wrap up summer league with tight loss to Bucks  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers’ 2026 summer league is in the books.

The team wrapped up its Las Vegas summer league campaign Saturday with a 96-94 loss to the Bucks. Brayden Burries’ lefty layup with 1.5 seconds left won it for Milwaukee. 

Both the Sixers and Bucks went 2-3 over their five games in Vegas. 

Gerald Ayayi was the Sixers’ leading scorer with 22 points. Dante Maddox Jr. and Nick Townsend each had 15. 

Here are observations on the Sixers’ summer finale: 

Philon and Broome’s summers 

Labaron Philon Jr. and Johni Broome watched the action from the sideline. The Sixers started Duke Miles, Maddox, Ayayi, Amani Lyles and Isaac Johnson. 

Philon averaged 18.5 points, 5.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds over his four summer games as a rookie. 

He didn’t shoot nearly as well as at Alabama (38.2 percent from the floor, 25.8 percent from three-point range), but the No. 22 overall pick was awfully impressive as a ball handler and played confident, skillful basketball.

Broome recorded 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. The lefty big man had a rough third game, scoring two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the Sixers’ blowout loss to the Rockets. He posted double-doubles in the team’s wins over the Pistonsand Pacers.

The bigs without Broome 

While Johnson could never rekindle the sharpshooting magic from his 20-point performance in the Sixers’ summer opener, he had a solid finale.  

Johnson tallied 10 points and six rebounds on Saturday in 12 minutes. He also had a few decent moments defending guards and wings on the perimeter. That presumably won’t ever be a strength for the 7-foot Johnson, but it would boost his chances of professional success if he could hold his own defensively outside of the paint on occasion. 

Drew Cisse served as the Sixers’ backup center behind Johnson. He threw down a dunk in the first quarter a few seconds after stopping John Butler Jr.’s drive. Cisse put up six points and seven rebounds.

The 25-year-old Cisse was part of the Sixers’ organization last season, playing 36 G League games for the Delaware Blue Coats and averaging 5.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Offensive rebounding is an eye-catching tool for Cisse. He set a new G League record last year with an enormous 20 offensive rebounds in a game.

Several standouts in finale  

Milwaukee’s lineup included two lottery selections in Burries (No. 10 pick) and Nate Ament (No. 13). Burries scored 27 points and Ament added 12.

Maddox and Miles sunk early step-back threes for the Sixers. Miles had a second straight good outside shooting game, going 3 for 4 beyond the arc.  

As Maddox showed throughout summer league, his game is centered around firing up threes. He went 2 for 6 from long range and ended the summer at 11 for 31 (35.4 percent). Maddox appeared in all five of the Sixers’ games and averaged 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Ayayi wound up being the Sixers’ most productive guard and scored efficiently (7 for 13 from the floor). He missed some chances to finish inside during summer league but played with force and often seemed to find the ball around the rim.

Townsend also fared well as a driver. The Yale product was 6 for 9 from the field in his only extended playing time of the summer.

Though the Sixers faced a double-digit deficit in the second quarter, they pulled to within one point late in the period on a Maddox mid-range jumper. Mylik Wilson’s layup on the Sixers’ final possession of the first half gave the team a 51-50 edge.

The game stayed tight in the second half. The Bucks made a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter and it seemed that they’d hold a slim lead until the final buzzer, but the Sixers kept competing and tied it up with 9.6 seconds left in the fourth on a pair of Ayayi free throws. Burries then delivered in the clutch for the Bucks.

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Who: Summer Suns (3-1) vs. Summer Spurs (3-1)

When: 7:30 pm Arizona Time

Where: Thomas & Mack Center — Las Vegas, Nevada

Watch: Arizona Family Sports, Prime Video

This will be the Summer League “consolation” finale for the Phoenix Suns after they missed out on the semifinals.

Phoenix saw what they wanted to see from their top prospects in Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, and Koa Peat, as they will be sidelined for this one.

Phoenix has gone 3-1 through four contests, with these three leading the way:

• Khaman Maluach: 4 games, 19.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG (2.3 offensive), 1.0 APG, 2.0 BPG, 1.3 SPG on .532/.400/.684 shooting splits, 2.5 TOV in 27.4 minutes per game
• Koa Peat: 4 games, 16.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG on .510/.000/.625 shooting splits, 3.0 TOV in 27.2 minutes per game
• Rasheer Fleming: 4 games, 12.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG on .474/.421/.500 shooting splits, 1.8 TOV in 26.7 minutes per game

That opens up more opportunities for Koby Brea to showcase his offensive repertoire and allows some of the other young bucks to get more looks with three of their top scorers sidelined.

Probable Starters

In the Summer League, you never know what the lineups might be, so the best we can do is guess, especially with the news of no Man Man, Peat, and Sheer. They’ll likely go with four guards/small wings and a big. Lots of small ball without those three in the mix.

Carter Bryant did not play in the Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz earlier this week, so we can rule him out for the Spurs.

Suns

• Darius Brown II
• Koby Brea
• Devin Askew
• Javonte Cooke
• Reed Bailey

Spurs

• RJ Davis
• Ja’Kobi Gillespie
• Miles Kelly
• Maliq Brown
• Tarris Reed Jr.

Injury Report

Suns

• Nothing Reported as of now outside of the “key 3” sitting out

Spurs

• Nothing Reported as of now. No Carter Bryant expected on the Spurs end.

What to Watch For

The Koby Brea show?

It’s his time to shine. He has led the Summer Suns in minutes per game thus far, and has had little to show for it outside of drilling 6 threes against the Bucks.

There is some reason for concern if he doesn’t separate himself in this one. I don’t put a ton of stock into Summer League action, but an extended stretch of bad play is certainly not ideal from someone who should look advanced entering year two as a 23-year-old prospect.

Here’s a look at the Summer Suns’ numbers through the opening four games, sorted by minutes per game:

Who steps up?

With the top three scorers all sitting this one out, expect to see Javonte Cooke and Darius Brown Jr. to take on a larger role, along with Brea. Jameer Nelson Jr. and Corey Camper Jr. should also see an uptick in minutes.

They only have two other “bigs” on their roster who have hardly played to this point, so there should be plenty of small ball. Reed Bailey and Jake Stephens… now is your time to shine.

The Spurs will get the bulk of their offense from their dynamic backcourt of RJ Davis and Ja’Kobi Gillespie. We’ll see if 2026 1st round pick Tarris Reed Jr. suits up for the Spurs, though it seems unlikely. They acquired the 26th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft from Denver for three 2nd round picks.

Either way, it figures to be a relatively loose environment with nothing on the line and several key players out on each side. I’m here for a Koby Brea 30-piece.

Prediction

It’s like throwing darts blindfolded.

Let’s go with the Spurs by 10. The shorthanded Summer Suns go down.

The Knicks were on the verge of adding to their center depth, but the Dallas Mavericks are matching the two-year offer sheet on center Moussa Cisse that he agreed to with New York earlier Saturday.

According to SNY's Ian Begley, the offer sheet to Cisse, who spent last season with the Mavericks, starts at the veteran's minimum of $2.5 million. But since Cisse is a restricted free agent, the Mavericks had 48 hours to match. If Dallas didn't match, the Knicks would have lost the ability to sign their draft picks to contracts via the second-round minimum while also staying under the second apron. 

In short, if Summer League standouts Tyler Nickel or Jack Ayil were to play with the Knicks this upcoming season with Cisse on the roster, they would have needed to agree to two-way deals. 

ESPN's Shams Charania reports that the offer sheet is half guaranteed in the first year, with the 2027-28 season being non-guaranteed. The total for the two-year deal with Dallas is worth $4.7 million, Charania notes.

Cisse, a Memphis product who went undrafted, played 38 games for the Mavericks in his rookie season. He averaged 19 minutes a game while posting 4.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

The 23-year-old Cisse would have provided the Knicks with much-needed depth at the center position. With the departure of Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti, the Knicks entered the offseason with just Karl-Anthony Towns on the roster who could play the position. New York went ahead and added veteran center Andre Drummond in early July.

New York targeted Jonas Valanciunas to bolster the position further, but the veteran center signed with the EuroLeague. 

Despite the Toronto Raptors’ proven track record in the first round of the draft, the selection of Allen Graves at No. 19 in the 2026 NBA Draft was met with confusion, annoyance, and uncertainty.

Several analysts, fans, and personal group chats had already convinced themselves of what ‘type’ of player the Raptors should target. Instead, General Manager and Vice-President Bobby Webster doubled down on his front-office believed translates to a playoff environment.

Graves’ early returns after Summer League are sparkling and have caused a handful of critics to look back on their own scouting reports to unearth what they could’ve missed.

After four Summer League games, the fascinating jumbo-wing is averaging 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Graves also chipped in 3.3 stocks (steals and blocks) while shooting 50 per cent from three.

With one matchup remaining against the Denver Nuggets on July 19, expect Graves to continue building on his momentum leading into his first pre-season with the organization. Raptors fans can continue to voice their opinions ahead of the upcoming season on FanDuel.

The Knicks lost their backup center, but took a low-risk flier in search of a replacement, signing restricted free agent Moussa Cisse to an offer sheet.

In a move first reported by The Stein Line and confirmed by The Post, the Knicks signed local product Cisse to a two-year offer sheet Saturday. Dallas will have 48 hours to match it, until 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Cisse’s salary will be half guaranteed this season, and nonguaranteed in 2027-28.

It would become fully guaranteed Oct. 1, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

The Knicks had let backup center Mitchell Robinson walk to the rival Boston Celtics in an effort to duck the punitive second apron.

They signed hulking veteran Andre Drummond, but the reigning champions have still been searching for ways to improve around the margins, targeting for an athletic young big.

After sniffing around Charlotte’s Moussa Diabaté and New Orleans shot-blocker Yves Missi on the trade market, they turned to the 23-year-old Cisse, who had eight games last season of at least five rebounds.

After growing up playing soccer in Conakry, Guinea, Cisse moved to New York when he was 14.

He started playing his high school basketball at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark (N.J.) alongside former Knick Precious Achiuwa.

He then moved on to Christ the King in Queens, leading them to the Class AA state title game.

Cisse impressed in his lone outing against the Knicks last season, with 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in just 20 minutes.

Now he’s signed an offer sheet with the Knicks, and could be on the brink of a homecoming of sorts, if the Mavericks don’t match the offer.

We had overused the basketball witticism, “He can jump out of the gym” to the point that it had lost all meaning.

Then Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu materialized before us, as if from thin air, on the Dallas Mavericks Summer League roster, to remind us what jumping out of the gym really looks like.

You can’t overthrow this guy on a lob. Believe me, Sergio de Larrea and Vsevolod Ishchenko have tried on several occasions over the course of the four games Akobundu-Ehiogu has played with the Summer Mavs.

His standing vertical is said to be better than 41 inches, and his maximum vertical has been measured at 48 inches. Already standing 6’10”, that makes him one of the highest flyers the basketball-watching audience has ever seen.

“My mom was 5’8” and my dad was short,“ Akobundu-Ehiogu said in a video for something called Whistle Sports back in 2022. ”It doesn’t make any sense.“

Dallas has been a big part of his sidewinding journey in and out of the game of basketball, and not just because he’s become a Summer League sideshow this year while wearing a Mavericks uniform. He was born in Imo, Nigeria, near Lagos, where he spent his early childhood, before his parents both passed within the span of 11 months, according to a report from WATN-TV.

Akobundu-Ehiogu was just six years old at the time. An aunt who was living in Mesquite brought him and his siblings over to live with her and began the years-long process of officially adopting them.

He didn’t start playing basketball until less than three weeks before tryouts for the seventh-grade team. He was just 5’4” at the time, but would grow more than 14 inches over the next five years, until he stood 6’6” entering his senior year of high school at Mesquite Poteet.

His only offer after high school was to play for a tiny private Christian school just south of Dallas in Waxahachie. It was then called Southwestern Assembly of God University (SAGU), but it now called Nelson University. He played for one season there before telling his coach he wouldn’t return for a second year, because his dream was to play for a Division 1 program. He suffered a Jones fracture in his foot toward the end of the year. He said in the video above that he broke his foot while playing ball in the rec center at SAGU after informing his coach he wouldn’t be back.

It’s important to note here just how sparingly he was used in 2018-19, his freshman season at SAGU. His season-high point total was just seven points. He appeared in 25 games.

His name means “patience” — though that virtue seemed to elude Akobundu-Ehiogu as he kicked and scratched for his place in the game of basketball. The D1 offers were not piling in. He was going to go find one.

This part is somewhat murky, but here or soon after enters one Mike Schmitz. Then a mere NBA Draft analyst, Schmitz would receive his own big break in the game years later when he grappled his way into a front office position with the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s now, of course, the Mavericks’ general manager under Masai Ujiri.

Somehow, after that stint at SAGU, Akobundu-Ehiogu ended up at UT Arlington for the 2020-21 season. He did not play anywhere the prior year, instead working with a trainer with a focus on coming back from the broken foot. He reportedly worked at Home Depot while taking a couple of classes at Collin College to improve his academic transcript before he could transfer in. Can you imagine the value he must have held to his Home Depot coworkers, standing 6’10” with a 7’4” wingspan?

Akobundu-Ehiogu would average 3.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and a jaw-dropping 3.3 blocks per game in the Sun Belt Conference in his redshirt sophomore season at UTA.

Word has it that Schmitz was already onto Akobundu-Ehiogu at the time. Word is that Schmitz knew someone at UT Arlington, and word is that connections were made. Whatever the case may be, Schmitz was interested enough in Akobundu-Ehiogu a year later to descend upon the basketball mecca of Arlington a year later to see the athletic specimen in person.

The timestamp on that post reads Nov. 1, 2021. If you cross-reference the UTA men’s basketball schedule for the 2021-22 season, you’ll see there was no game that night. That means that Schmitz was in the College Park Center, where the Dallas Wings now play, likely for a preseason scrimmage. That’s an incredibly high level of interest in an extreme far-fringe prospect, but it would come back around less than five years later, when Akobundu-Ehiogu was selected as a member of the Summer Mavs.

But first, he played two years at UTA, then another at Memphis, under Penny Hardaway. In those three seasons combined, he had a block rate of close to 17%. After that, he played in Europe for four seasons, with a Summer League stint for the Denver Nuggets squoze in last year.

If you find yourself asking whether Akobundu-Ehiogu is simply benefiting from the passing genius of the young Spaniard de Larrea or if there is some there there with his game, I’d bet on Akobundu-Ehiogu at least breaking through this year into a roster spot with the Mavericks’ G-League Affiliate the Texas Legends.

Schmitz’s whole energy as an analyst, a scout and now a prominent member of the Mavs’ front office has screamed, “I know something you don’t know” at every turn. He clearly believes in this guy, even though his offensive game clearly still needs a couple of levels of graduation. Add in the fact that the Mavericks are being put to a decision on whether or not to match the offer sheet restricted free agent center Moussa Cisse signed with the New York Knicks on Saturday, and there might be room for Akobundu-Ehiogu in the organization.

The Mavs have until Monday to decide whether to match New York’s offer to Cisse, but even if they do bring Cisse back, giving Akobundu-Ehiogu an opportunity to develop for one more year in the G League may be just what Schmitz was after all along.

Do not be surprised if the highlight dunks we’ve become acquainted with during Summer League play become old hat if Akobundu-Ehiogu spends a year in Dallas with the Legends.

If he can pull it off, it will be a remarkable full-circle moment for a kid from Nigeria whose world travels in the game of basketball have always been routed through Dallas.

Perhaps it’s kismet. Maybe Kao is meant to be here. Maybe Schmitz knew it all along.

The New York Knicks are bringing back most of their championship roster to the team next season, with one glaring exception.

Mitchell Robinson, the longest-tenured member of the team, left New York after eight seasons to sign with the rival Boston Celtics in free agency. Bleacher Report contributor Grant Hughes believes losing Robinson is a downgrade for New York.

“Mitchell Robinson, a more prominent rotation piece than any of the Knicks’ retentions, was the one that got away,” Hughes wrote.

“He’ll play for the Celtics next season in the first year of a three-year deal worth $47.4 million.

“The Knicks didn’t have to let him go, and there’s a good chance they’ll miss his elite offensive rebounding and defensive force. Sure, health concerns and the foul-shooting struggles that rendered Robinson occasionally unplayable during the title run loom large. But it’s nonetheless disappointing to watch a defending champion lose a critical piece over money.”

Robinson was offered far more than the Knicks were willing to spend, which ultimately led him to leave the team. In his place, Andre Drummond steps in for his 15th NBA season. Drummond was a two-time All-Star with the Detroit Pistons back in 2016 and 2018, but he has been primarily a backup since leaving the Pistons in 2020.

Drummond will be asked to step up to the plate with Robinson no longer on the roster, but it’s clear that the team is not getting the same amount of value.

We’re about to find out exactly how valuable Robinson was to the Knicks. It showed a lot in this past season when he was healthy and the team’s best rim protector, but replacing him with Drummond could have long-term effects that could prevent the Knicks from repeating as champions.

P&T community, how do you feel about swapping out Robinson for Drummond? Let us know in the comments section below.

It feels like it’s 2010 all over again in the NBA.

LeBron James is still trying to figure out where he will take his talents next season, while the rest of the NBA is waiting on the future Hall of Famer to make his decision.

Notably, before James joined the Heat in 2010, which led to the assembly of the “Big Three” made up of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, James had the NBA on pause until he decided where he would play next.

Earlier this week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is waiting for James to make his decision because it will affect the NBA schedule, including opening week and Christmas Day.

At Fanatics Fest on Thursday, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was a guest on James’ podcast “Mind The Game” and told James he should announce his decision to the 5,000 in attendance. James said, “We don’t have an announcement to make just yet.”

During Day 2 of the event Friday, James dropped his biggest hint of free agency as he had 76ers fans riled up by saying, “Most important is I want to compete. I want to compete at a high level. I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same motto as myself and that’s practicing championship habits every day but trusting the process more than anything.”

Once James said “trust the process,” 76ers fans in attendance reacted with a mix of boos and cheers at the New York event.

James said he’s been saying “trust the process” since he entered the NBA as a rookie in 2003.

The term “trust the process” was coined by the 76ers in 2013 and picked up by Joel Embiid after he joined the franchise in 2016.

James later on joked about the phrase and said he wasn’t even sure if Embiid was even born when he first said it in 2003.

Philadelphia has had one of the better offseasons in the NBA after it traded Paul George and two first-round picks and two second-round picks to Boston for Jaylen Brown.

The 76ers could look to make another splash by pursuing James. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on Tuesday that Embiid, Brown and Tyrese Maxey have all been in communication with James and have been attempting to recruit him to Philadelphia.

Based on James’ recent comments about his desire to win as he is set to enter his 24th season in the league, while turning 42 later this year, Philadelphia could be a perfect destination to help him land his fifth NBA title.

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Boston Celtics (3-1)  vs  Orlando Magic (3-1)
Saturday,  July 18, 2026
4:30 PM ET
Summer League Game #5
TV:  NBCSB, Prime Video
Thomas and Mack Center

Both of these teams have played 4 games so far in Summer League as neither team played in Salt Lake City or California prior to Las Vegas. Both teams are 3-1 in Las Vegas. The Magic lost their first game to Charlotte and then won their next three over Miami, Portland and Philadelphia. The Celtics beat Toronto, Charlotte, and Sacramento but lost to Atlanta.

The Celtics are coached by Amile Jefferson. Jefferson was named Director of Player Development for the Duke Blue Devils in 2021. He was promoted to assistant coach at Duke for the 2022-23 season. In 2023, Jefferson became an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics under head coach Joe Mazzulla. Jefferson played with Jayson Tatum at Duke and he played for the Celtics on an Exhibit 10 contract before being hired as an assistant coach.

The Magic are coached by DJ Bakker. He started his coaching career as a video coordinator for the Bulls in the 2009-10 season. Then he was hires as a scout for the Magic for thr 2013-14 season. He then was the player development coach for the Mavericks for the 2015-16 season. From 2016-2018, he was the player development coach for the Raptors. From 2018-2020, he was the player development coach for the Pistons. And from 2020-2023 he was an assistant coach for the Pistons and for the 2021-22 season, he was the head coach for the Motor City Cruise. He was a Bucks assistant coach for the 2023-24 season and from 2024-2026, He was an assistant coach for the Hornets and head coach for the Greensboro Swarm. He was hired in June as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic.

The Celtics are averaging 41.3 rebounds per game while the Magic are averaging 35.5rebounds per game. The Celtics need to continue to crash the boards and beat the Magic to rebounds. The Celtics are turning the ball over 17.3 times per game while the Magic are averaging 19.3 turnovers per game. It’s not unusual for Summer League teams to turn the ball over a lot because of limited playing time together. The Celtics could help themselves if they could take better care of the basketball.

The Celtics as a whole have not shot the ball very well, but they were able to play enough defense to get wins in 3 games. The Celtics are shooting 37.4% from the field and 31.4% from beyond the arc. The Magic are shooting 49.4% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to continue to play good defense to slow down the Magic’s offense.

The Magic is the more experienced team in this match-up, They have one player with 6 years of experience, 2 players with 4 years experience, 3 players with 3 years experience, 2 players with 2 years experience, 4 players with 1 year experience and 8 rookies. The Celtics, on the other hand, have 13 rookies, 2 players with 1 year experience and 1 player with 3 years experience.

Celtics Summer League Roster
Mohammad Amini #54 R
Chris Cenac, Jr #12  R
Tucker DeVries  #41 R
Hugo Gonzalez #28  1
Caleb Grill #37  R
Curtis Jones #26 R
Kyle Mangas #43  R
Dillon Mitchell #20 R
Hank Morgan #51  R
Nick Pringle #40  R
Day Day  Thomas  #38  R
John Tonje #8  R
Milos Uzan #29  R
Chauncey Wiggins #50  R
Alondes Williams #46   3
Amari Williams #77 1

Head Coach
Amile Jefferson

Starters in 1st 2 games
Curtis Jones, John Tonje,  Hugo Gonzalez, Dillon Mitchell, and Amari Williams

Starters in 3rd game
Curtis Jones, John Tonje, Tucker DeVries, Dillon Mitchell, and Chris Cenac, Jr

Starters Game 4
Milos Uzan, John Tonje, Hugo Gonzalez, Tucker DeVries, Amari Williams

Celtics Players to Watch

Hugo Gonzalez – Hugo was the 28th pick in last year’s draft.  In last year’s Summer League,  he averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.  He averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 14 minutes per game last season.  His +11.9 rating was the highest for any rookie that played at least 100 minutes.  So far in Summer League he is averaging 15.5 points, 8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 31.8% from the field and 25.9% from beyond the arc. 

Dillon Mitchell – Mitchell is a 4 year college player who was drafted with the 40th pick.  He is 6’8″ with a 6’10” wingspan. He is a super athlete, good finisher, rebounder and defender.  He averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game over 37 games with 25 starts last year.  He was named to All Big East 3rd team and Big East All Defensive team.     In the first 4 games, he is averaging 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 47.2% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. 

John Tonje  – Tonje came to the Celtics as a 2-way player from Utah in the Chris Boucher trade at last year’s deadline.  At the end of last season, his contract was converted to a standard contract.  His option wasn’t picked up this season but the way he has played in Summer League, he is earning at least a 2 way contract again.   He has started all 4 games so far and is averaging 15 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.5 assist, and 1.3 steals while shooting 47.6% from the field and 46.2% from beyond the arc. 

Amari Williams – Amari was the 46th pick in last year’s draft.  He spent most of last season on a 2-way deal but was converted to a standard contract at the end of last season.  He averaged 1.4 points, and 1.8 rebounds in 6.6 minutes with Boston last year.  He averaged 15.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.8 blocks with Maine last season.  He has already been signed to a 2-way contract for this season.  He is averaging 11.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 blocks while shooting 55% from the field with no 3’s.   

Orlando Magic Roster
Ricky Council IV  #7  2
DJ Armstrong  #10  R
Jase Richardson  #11  1
Ace Baldwin, Jr  #12  R
Colin Castleton  #14  3
Ty Ty Washington, Jr  #15, 4
Tre Holloman  #16   R
Keon Johnson #17  4
CJ Elleby   #18 
Phillip Wheeler   #20  1
Lester Quinones  #24  3
Izaiyah Nelson   #25   R
Johnell Davis   #28  R
Alex Morales  #30   1
Hunter Tyson  #31   3
Cam Reddish  #33   6
Malik  Reneau  #42  R
Mike Sharavjamts   #44  R
Will Baker  #45   R
Noah Penda  #93   1

Magic Starters Games 1,2 and 4
Jase Richardson, Lester Quinones, Alex Morales, Noah Penda, and Colin Castelton

Magic Starters Game 3
Ty Ty Washington, Lester Quinones, Alex Morales, Phillip Wheeler and Colin Castleton

Magic Players to Watch

Jase Richardson –  After spending 1 year at Michigan State, Richardson became the 25th pick of the Orlando Magic in the 2025 draft.  In 18.9 minutes, he averaged 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists  while shooting 47.3% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc.  He is the son of former NBA player Jason Richardson.  In Summer League, he is averaging 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 54.1% from the field and 50.3% from beyond the arc. 

Lester Quinones  –  Quinones was a 3 year player at Memphis before going undrafted in the 2022 draft.  He has played for the Santa Cruz Warriors and the Birmingham Squadron of the G-League and has signed 2-way contracts with the Warriors, 76ers and Pelicans.  In 4 games so far in Summer League, he is averaging 16.3 points, 3.8 reebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal while shooting 51.2% from the field and 47.6% from beyond the arc. 

Noah Penda – Penda is a French player who was drafted by the Celtics in 2025 but traded to the Magic on draft night.  He played 59 games for the Magic last season, averaging 3.8 points. 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 12.8 minutes per game.  He shot 40.4% from the field and 32.3% from beyond the arc.   So far in Summer League, he is averaging 15 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 56% from the field and 47.1% from beyond the arc. 

Colin Castleton –  Castelton was a 5 year college player between Michigan and Florida. He went undrafted in 2023.  He has played for the Lakers, Memphis, Toronto, Philadelphia and Orlando.  He has also played for the South Bay Lakers, Memphis Hustle, Raptors 905 and Osceola Magic of the G-League.  He averaged 3.3 points, and 3.1 rebounds over his career, while shooting 47.9% from the field and 12.5% from beyond the arc. 

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It's semifinals time at the NBA Summer League, with the Memphis Grizzlies battling the Houston Rockets, while the Las Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors.

My predictions see the Grizzlies and Lakers going through to the finals, while I also like the Spurs to win a consolation matchup tonight.

Keep reading to see my NBA Summer League picks for Saturday, July 18. 

NBA Summer League predictions for July 18

Pick
Grizzlies moneyline	-186
Lakers moneyline	-117
Spurs moneyline	+100
💰 All three parlayed	+470

Today's Summer League picks

Grizzlies moneyline (-186 at Kalshi)

The Memphis Grizzlies are coming off a massive win over the previously undefeated Atlanta Hawks, winning by 32 points to fight their way into the Summer League semifinals.

Cameron Boozer lived up to his hype as the No. 3 overall pick with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting on Thursday, while Cedric Coward poured in 23 points of his own.

Memphis has put up 96.8 ppg and is playing a more talented and more experienced group than the Houston Rockets. I'm backing the Grizzlies to move on to the final in Vegas.

Lakers moneyline (-117 at Kalshi)

The Los Angeles Lakers are the only undefeated team remaining in the Summer League, heading into the semifinals with a 4-0 record. They've outscored opponents by an average of 17.5 points, and lead all playoff teams in both points scored (97.8 ppg) and allowed (80.3 ppg).

Cameron Carr is putting up 18.3 ppg for the Lakers in Vegas, while Arthur Kaluma (20.3 ppg) is impressing as a three-and-D guy who's fighting for a roster spot after spending last year in the G-League.

This team is playing extremely well and should overwhelm Yaxel Lendeborg and the Golden State Warriors tonight.

Spurs moneyline (+100 at Kalshi)

Beyond the semifinals, there's some great action in store in the consolation games, including the matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns. 

Spurs draft pick Ja'Kobi Gillsepie has starred in Summer League play, scoring 16 ppg and going for 25 points against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Guard RJ Davis has also been making his case for a roster spot, putting up 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The Suns have found success playing a consistent lineup in Vegas, but San Antonio's older talent should win out against a younger Phoenix squad led by 19-year-old Khaman Maluach.

Saturday’s NBA Summer League parlay

Grizzlies moneyline

Lakers moneyline

Spurs moneyline

+470 at Kalshi

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