Category: Basketball

Deandre Ayton spent the last two years fading away from the national spotlight on a team that was closer to getting the first overall pick than getting to the first round of the playoffs. On Monday, the 7-foot center stood in front of flashing lights, answered questions in a packed news conference and glanced up at a shiny line of 17 championship trophies.

Ayton, whose inconsistent career hit a new low in Portland, where he was bought out of his contract and criticized for a poor work ethic, smiled at what he called “the biggest stage.” The former No. 1 overall pick is ready to launch his revenge tour with the Lakers.

"It's the biggest opportunity, I can say, of my career,” Ayton said Monday at Lakers media day. “Some people say it's my last leg, some people say it's my last chance. Well, it's the opportunity I can say I'm truly not going to take for granted.”

Read more:Plaschke: LeBron James is 'maybe' retiring? This is going to be fun

Marcus Smart knows the feeling. The 2022 defensive player of the year is coming off a contract buyout in Washington. After nine years and three all-defensive team honors with the Boston Celtics, Smart has played in just 54 games over two injury-plagued years with Memphis and Washington. The 31-year-old recognizes some may have forgotten the “Celtics' Marcus Smart" — the player who guarded all five positions, knocked down timely threes and brought contagious, tone-setting toughness.

The Lakers still remember.

“I know what he brings to the game,” LeBron James said. “I know that team is first, second, third, fourth, fifth, when it comes to Marcus Smart.”

Despite his resume and standing in the league, Smart doesn’t expect automatic entry to the Lakers' starting lineup.

“Whether I start or come off the bench,” Smart said, “my presence will be made.”

Smart’s defensive prowess could be a significant boost to a starting group that figures to include James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Rui Hachimura, who started in 57 of his 59 regular-season appearances last season, is in the final year of his contract after averaging 13.1 points and five rebounds per game last season.

Facing the possibility of coming off the bench ahead of a contract year, Hachimura said he would defer to coaches to decide what was best. Coach JJ Redick said the team has seven or eight starting-caliber players, and the starting lineup doesn’t weigh heavily on his mind entering his second season at the helm.

But Ayton's starting position feels solidified.

Read more:‘I don’t know’: Lakers’ LeBron James unsure when it comes to future

The center was the Lakers’ most significant offseason addition after the blockbuster trade that brought Doncic to L.A. also left the team without a starting center. Jaxson Hayes, who was thrust into the starting role out of necessity but fell out of the rotation during the playoffs, will be a valuable one-two punch with Ayton at center, James said. Forward Maxi Kleber, who played only five minutes after joining the team during the midseason trade with Dallas, said he is fully healthy after a lengthy foot injury.

Kleber, 33, knows firsthand the impact Doncic can have on a post player’s career. Kleber has played with Doncic since the Slovenian superstar was drafted in 2018 and marveled at Doncic’s ability to get easy shots for his teammates. Lob chances will start falling from the sky like never before for Ayton.

After practicing together in the offseason, Kleber commended Ayton for getting stronger and adding to his physical presence on the court. Redick has challenged the entire roster to arrive in “championship shape.”

Ayton didn’t need the additional motivation.

“You guys have an Angry Ayton,” the 27-year-old said, “where I've been disrespected most of my career and just been doubted. And I'm here where all [that is] behind me and I can add all that fuel into winning and playing alongside Luka."

Doncic, out for his own redemption after last year’s trade and conversations about his weight and work ethic, was eager to begin his first training camp with the Lakers. Coming off a quarterfinals appearance at EuroBasket with the Slovenian national team, Doncic said he felt stronger and quicker on the court after his offseason physical transformation. One of the league’s pick-and-roll savants, Doncic should help Ayton rediscover the dominance he flashed while helping the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021 and post a franchise-record 64 wins in 2022.

Finally back in the NBA spotlight with a new team, Ayton relishes the chance to chase more meaningful records.

“You can feel the pressure through the door,” Ayton said. “This team wants to win a championship."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Warriors' Draymond Green sets out on quest to prove he's still elite defensively originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – When we last saw Draymond Green on the basketball court, the Warriors were in the Western Conference semifinals, and the 35-year-old forward was trying and failing to reach the level achieved years ago as the backbone of Golden State’s dynasty.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle wouldn’t allow it. Three inches taller, 20 pounds heavier and five years younger than Green, Randle was feasting at the All the Buckets You Can Eat buffet. The place Draymond deemed “off limits” for most of his 13-year career.

“Ju played great the entire series,” Green conceded after the Timberwolves won Game 5 to advance to the conference finals, while the Warriors boarded a jet into the offseason.

“The way Julius has been playing since he came back from the injury … he’s been lights out,” Green added. “I have no doubt that he’ll continue to play that way. He’s aggressive as hell and he’s going to after it. He’s got the mindset, always have had that mindset. And it’s clicking for him.”

Was this some kind of conditional surrender? Or can Draymond, at this advanced NBA age, still represent the backbone of a stellar defense?

Don’t get it twisted. Green embraces the challenge that comes with the aging process. His quest is to prove he’s still elite and, moreover, quite capable of ruining opposing offenses. 

“I think, ironically, at 22, there was some things that my body couldn’t do that I can do now,” he said Monday. “Because it’s just all the work you put in and the things that you learn and the strengthening that you do. I think there’s a little give and take there. I’m always confident that I can win mentally. That’s what you rely more on, when you realize, ‘Oh, man, I can’t quite do that thing.’

“But if I’m honest with you, I don’t think I’ve reached a point to where my body can’t do it.”

To be sure, for all the fireworks provided by the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, Draymond’s unique gifts as a defender were essential to Golden State’s “Death Lineups” that once demoralized even the best of opponents. He was the NBA’s only 6-foot-6 “big man” capable of protecting the paint, patrolling baselines, clogging passing lanes, supervising the defense and running point on the break.

It’s unreasonable to assume Green can be as peripatetic as he once was six or seven years ago. He shouldn’t have to be. He is entering the winter of his career, with young teammates available to boost the team’s energy. A slimmer Trayce Jackson-Davis. The relentless Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski. And, it appears likely, Jonathan Kuminga. They all can feed any fire started by the first unit.

But no frontcourt player on the roster has a physical/mental/instinctive combination to match Green at his best. He knows that. For the Warriors to beat back ageism and make a serious run, he needs to be that.

“I feel great,” he said. “Am I the same person that I was at 27? No. And thank God I’m not. I’ve learned a lot since 27. There’s things that change, but if you decrease in one area, you’ve got to grow in another. That’s the constant challenge of what keeps you going and keeps you striving to do it again and again and again.”

Against Randle in May, Green, despite earning All-Defensive first-team honors, seemed too small and not quick enough to offset his physical disadvantage. Randle averaged 25.2 points per game, shooting 53.3 percent from the field, adding 7.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds. He scored a combined 60 points in Games 4 and 5.

Now, five months later, as the Warriors prepare for the 2025-26 season, Green is determined to prove he has recovered his mojo and has the goods to embellish his status as an elite defensive force. The nine-time All-Defensive team selection is chasing No. 10.

Only five players in NBA history have earned the honor at least 10 times: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Scottie Pippen.

“That’s my motivation,” Green said. “To go and try to make another All-Defensive team and join that list. It’s an amazing list. All first-ballot Hall of Famers. To try to put myself, my name, in the hat with those guys … that would be a dream come true.”

Thousands of fingers throughout Dub Nation are crossed in hopes Green, who turns 36 next March, can live that dream. His odds are long in a league that has more than a dozen candidates, including San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.

That dream might be required for the Warriors to reach the heights to which they aspire.

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LeBron James chuckled at the question he knew was coming as a a smile crossed his face when he was asked about the word “retirement.”

James stammered as he tried to answer the question during his session at the Lakers’ media day on Monday.

He never provided a definitive answer about his future. He’s about to enter his 23rd season in the NBA, which will mean James will have played more seasons in the league than anyone in history. He turns 41 on Dec. 30, but if last season was any indication, James hasn’t slowed down.

When James was asked about his approach to this season, knowing that retirement is near, he seemed unsure how to answer.

“I mean, I don't know,” he said. “I mean, I'm excited about today, I'm excited about an opportunity to be able to play a game that I love for another season. And whatever the journey, however the journey lays out this year, I'm just super invested, because like you just said, I don't know when the end is, but I know it's a lot sooner than later.

“So just being super appreciative of the fact that I could come up here, do another media day and talk to you guys and do all this stuff around here, so just excited about the journey and whatever this year has in store for me.”

James exercised his player option for $52.6 milllion this summer to play with the Laker, the final year of his deal. He did not sign an extension with the Lakers, meaning that James will be a free agent after the 2025-26 season if he does not retire.

James already is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer during the regular season with 42,184 points. He has played the second-most regular-season games in history at 1,562, just 50 behind the leader, Robert Parish.

James averaged 24.4 points,7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists last season

It was clear that he still was on top of his game.

“The things that still pushes me is the fact that the love of the game is still high,” James said. “The love of the process is even higher. So that's what continues to push me to play this game. I mean, it's really that simple. Me training and working on my body and trying to get my body as close to 100% as possible every year, it's something that's like —- it's a beautiful thing for me. Just continue to challenge to see how well I can push myself to play the game at a high level, recover at a high level, be able to sleep better, mentally prepare, try to stay sharp throughout the course of a long season. And just the roller coaster of an NBA season, that's all like, gratifying to me, no matter the good, the bad, the ugly. I love that process. So it's a bigger. … So much that goes into it, more than just picking up a basketball and shooting at the rim.”

James is teaming up with another superstar in Luka Doncic, who signed a three-year extension for $165-million.

Doncic, 26, is considered one of the top players in the league, giving James a top-notch running partner.

James was asked how much having a player like Doncic beside him will weigh in his decision to retire.

“Nah, nah. As far as how long I go in my career? Nah. Zero,” James said. “The motivation to be able to play alongside him every night, that's super motivating. That's what I'm going to train my body for. Every night I go out there and try to be the best player I can for him, and we're going to bounce that off one another. But as far as me weighing in on him and some other teammates of how far I go in my career, nah. It would be, literally my decision, along with my wife and — two of my boys [Bronny and Bryce] already gone. ... So it'll be a decision between me, my wife [Savannah] and my daughter [Zhuri]. It won't be, ‘Hey, having a meeting with my teammates.’ It won't be that.”

James and Austin Reaves have been teammates for four years now, and Reaves has seen no decline in his famous teammate.

Reaves, who declined a four-year, $89.2-million contract offer from the Lakers over the summer, hasn’t talked to James about retirement but doesn’t see it happening any time soon.

“Every time you see him, he’s got a big smile on his face, he’s the biggest kid in the room, has a great time and you got to appreciate that for somebody who has been going at it for so long, 23 years,” Reaves said. “At some point you feel like the joy might not be there. But every time you see him, it reinsures that he’s here for one thing and one thing only and that’s to win. But I don’t know about retirement. He might play for another 10 years.”

James returns to a Lakers team that was 50-32 last season and finished third in the Western Conference. The Lakers then lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Minnnesota Timberwolves.

But the Lakers have retooled, adding center Deandre Ayton, guard Marcus Smart and wing Jake LaRavia.

James has won four NBA championships, and yearns for another.

“I don't know, just to know how many miles I got as far as this game in my 22 years, now starting 23 years, and to still be able to play at a high level, to still to be able to go out there and can make plays and be respectful on the floor,” James said.

“It's just super humbling and gratifying for me, personally. I love to play the game, and I love to play at a high level. And for me, age is kind of just a number, but it is reality too, though. I mean, you look at the history of the game, it's not been many guys at my age, or especially going into Year 23 that's been able to play at a level like that. And I've just tried to not take it for granted and just try to give the game as much as I can, inspire whoever I can: the younger generation, my generation, the generation after me, the generation to come. I think you are of the age what you, I guess, tell your mind you are.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Of all the reams of words publicly spilled at Lakers media day Monday, only one really mattered.

When LeBron James was wrapping up his interview with the folks at Spectrum Sportsnet, host Chris McGee asked, “By the way, see you at next year’s media day?”

James’ laughing answer set the template for a season.

“Maybe.”

So the Lakers should treat the next eight months emptying their assets and foregoing their future and playing with the desperation of a team trying to earn one last piece of jewelry for arguably the greatest player ever?

Maybe.

So should the fans here and around the league show up in droves and line up around the block for their last live look at a living legend?

Maybe.

Or, if everything goes wrong and things get ugly, should the Lakers and James willingly part ways through a midseason buyout?

Maybe.

No matter what happens, the fact that James didn’t reveal his intentions in his first public appearance since last spring means that this Laker season has the chance to be a murky maybe mess.

Everybody knows where the Lakers stand, as Rob Pelinka said last week. He wants James to finish his career here.

“We would love if LeBron’s story would be he retire a Laker,” Pelinka said. “That would be a positive story.”

But still nobody knows where James stands, and it’s not obvious, because, while he’s 40 and entering his NBA-record 23rd season, he looks young, and acts energetic, and Monday at the Lakers facility he was at his charming best.

“Just excited about the journey and whatever this year has in store for me,” he said.

He’s probably not saying because he truly does not know. Next spring is a lifetime away. He doesn’t know how he’s going to feel. He doesn’t know how his basketball future could look.

But because he’s not saying, this season could seemingly go one of three ways.

It could go the Kershaw Way. James could once again be one of the top players in the league but get worn down by the strain on his body and in the last weeks of the season he could call it quits. The Crypto.com crowd gets a chance to say goodbye and his Lakers teammates can use his retirement as inspiration for a deep postseason run.

Or, it could go the Kobe Way. James could decide in the middle of the season that he’s had enough and embark on a league-wide farewell tour, the sort that once brought the tough Kobe Bryant to tears.

Or, given the organization’s recent sketchy history, it is entirely possible it could go the Typical Lakers Implosion Way.

James could spend the year making the Lakers dangle on that “maybe,” subtly fighting against the loss of his team leadership to Luka Doncic, passively aggressively chiding Pelinka to improve the roster at the trade deadline, even occasionally threatening to quit on the spot.

Because it's too tough to trade him and the Lakers don’t want to spend the bucks to buy him out, they spend the rest of the season dodging his barbs, then, simply let James’ contract expire and watch him flee to home Cleveland for his swan song.

Three scenarios, but only two happy endings, and to make matters even more complicated, much depends not on James, but on the roster around him.

Are the Lakers going to be any good? Are you ready for it?

Maybe.

The Lakers only played 23 games with both James and the recently acquired Doncic last season, and they were 15-8 and grabbed a third seed and were acting like the best team in the NBA at one point before they disintegrated against Minnesota in the playoffs.

They added Deandre Ayton for length, Jake LaRavia for defense, Marcus Smart for toughness, and a new body for Doncic, a formerly pudgy and breathless kid who has acknowledged his very adult transformation.

“I’m in a better place for sure,” he said Monday.

Is that good enough to lead a team to a better place in the competitive West? Who knows?

Read more:Lakers set to open training camp: Five storylines to follow

Will it be good enough to convince James to ask for a new contract and stick around for yet another year? That doesn’t seem likely but then again, The Oldest Living Baller currently exists in the unlikely.

The only certainty is that James is going to make this decision on his own time, in his own voice, through his own podcast or social media or heck, maybe another 30-minute TV special called, “The Last Decision?”

How ever this plays out, he’s not saying anything now, which was obvious when he answered the first question at his media day news conference with dodgy utterances.

“I mean, I don't know,” he said. “I mean, I'm excited about today, I'm excited about an opportunity to be able to play a game that I love for another season. And whatever the journey, however the journey lays out this year, I'm just super invested, because … I don't know when the end is, but I know it's a lot sooner than later.”

He provided his most telling hint that he’s leaning into retirement when he talked about appreciating his final tours around the league.

“Knowing that the end is soon, not taking for granted, you know, a Tuesday night in a city that maybe I don't want to be in that night ... let's lock in because you don't know how many times you get the opportunity to play the game or to be able to compete,” he said. “So there's times where you wake up and you just feel like you just don't have it. So those will be the days where I know I can lock back in real fast, like, OK, well, you won't have many days like this, so let's lock in and enjoy the moment, enjoy the rest of the ride.”

He was asked if, now that he’s played with son Bronny, would he stick around to play with his Arizona-freshman son Bryce? His answer was LeBron at his fatherly best.

“No, I'm not waiting on Bryce,’ he said. “No. I don't know what his timeline is. He's his own young man now, like he's down in Tucson. We'll see what happens this year, next year, you know, but he has his own timeline. I got my timeline, and I don't know if they quite match up.”

He was asked if his decision would be influenced by a chance to play with Doncic. His answer was LeBron at his jabbing best.

“Ah, nah. As far as how long I go in my career? Nah. Zero,” he said. “The motivation to be able to play alongside him every night, that's super motivating. That's what I'm going to train my body for. Every night I go out there and try to be the best player I can for him, and we're going to bounce that off one another. But as far as me weighing in on him and some other teammates of how far I go in my career, nah.”

It may be Luka Doncic’s team, but it’s still LeBron James’ world, and he’s going to control his narrative down to the last syllables of the last sentences of his final goodbye.

And that don’t mean maybe.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Warriors star Draymond Green shares main ‘motivation' entering 14th NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The anchor of the Warriors’ defense has had one common thread for the past 13 seasons: Draymond Green.

The Michigan State alum has proven all there is to prove in his successful NBA career, but he’s never content. Green was asked Monday about possibly being selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team for a 10th time as the 2025-26 season begins.

“It would mean the world to me,” Green admitted to reporters at Warriors Media Day. “That’s my motivation, to go and try to make another All-Defensive Team and join that list. It’s an amazing list. All first-ballot Hall of Famers.”

Green’s defensive resume speaks for itself. His accolades include being the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, a nine-time NBA All-Defensive selection (five First Team, four Second Team) and a finalist for the 2025 DPOY award.

“To try to put myself, my name in the hat with those guys,” Green continued. “Like any time you can put your name next to guys like — you’re talking Kobe [Bryant], Tim [Duncan] … And I can put my little name next to that? That — I mean, that would be a dream come true.”

The four-time NBA champion has had some ups and downs in his career, but cementing himself as one of the greatest defensive players of all time clearly is on his radar.

“That is definitely a motivating factor for me this year, for sure,” Green said.

Along with the personal quest for a 10th All-Defensive selection, Green and Golden State are looking to hoist another Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy this upcoming season.

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Kawhi Leonard mumbled his way through a few answers to questions Monday about his endorsement deal with Aspiration Partners that has triggered an NBA investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the league salary cap.

The Clippers allowed only two reporters to ask about the deal during media day at Intuit Dome, refusing to give the microphone to additional reporters — including one from The Times — who raised their hands to ask questions. Leonard was ushered off the dais and out of sight.

"The NBA is going to do their job," Leonard said. "None of us did ... wrongdoing and, yeah, that's it. We invite the investigation."

Asked about his understanding of the endorsement deal and whether he performed any services, Leonard replied, "I understand the full contract and services that I had to do. Like I said, I don't deal with conspiracies or the click-bait analysts or journalism that's going on.

"I don't think it's accurate" that he provided no endorsement services to Aspiration, he said. "It's old. This is all new to you guys. But the company went bankrupt a while ago, so we already knew this was going to happen."

He added that he wasn't paid all the money due to him, saying, "I'm not sure [how much I'm owed]. I've got to go back and look at the books. ... The company went belly up and it was fine."

Lawrence Frank, Clippers president of basketball operations, was insistent that the investigation will exonerate owner Steve Ballmer and the franchise.

"We appreciate that there will be a clear-eyed look at these allegations," Frank said. "And we are eager for the truth to come out.

"The assumptions and conclusions that have been made are disappointing and upsetting. And we expect the investigation will show that these allegations are wrong."

The salary cap limits what teams can spend on player payroll to ensure parity and prevent the wealthiest teams from outspending smaller-market teams to acquire the best players. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has called attempts to circumvent it a “cardinal sin.”

Read more:What we know about the NBA investigation into Steve Ballmer's Clippers

In this case, Leonard agreed to a $28-million contract for endorsement and marketing work for Aspiration, which went out of business in March. Players are allowed to have separate endorsement and other business deals. At issue in this case is whether the Clippers participated in arranging the side deal beyond simply introducing Aspiration executives to Leonard.

The most painful penalties the NBA could impose would be suspending Ballmer for a maximum of one year and docking the Clippers their first-round draft picks for up to five years. The team already is without a first-round pick in 2026 and 2028, having traded them away. Forfeiting the remaining picks through 2032 would make it harder for the Clippers to compete for their first-ever NBA championship.

"I hurt for Steve," Frank said. "He’s one of the best people, most honorable people I’ve met. He does things the right way for the right reasons. And he constantly reminds us to stay on the right side of the rules.

"I also hurt for our players, our staff and fans. And, on a larger level, as I’ve learned about this over the past month, I feel bad for all the people defrauded by [Aspiration]."

Read more:Clippers considered naming dome after bankrupt firm at center of Kawhi Leonard allegations

Frank said a partition exists between team executives and companies that signed players for endorsements.

"Endorsement contracts are completely separate from player contracts," he said. "So what a player makes, Kawhi, or any of our other players, in endorsement contracts, I have no idea."

Ballmer, however, had a 2% to 3% ownership share in Aspiration and made separate investments of $50 million and $10 million in the company. Whether that same partition applied to him is something NBA investigators will examine, according to Michael McCann, a visiting professor of law at Harvard who has followed the situation closely.

Frank emphasized that the Clippers front office takes the salary cap rules seriously.

Read more:Adam Silver says NBA needs clear evidence Clippers made secret deal before lowering boom on Ballmer

"The salary cap governs everything we do," he said. "Our mission every day is to build the best team we can under the constraints of the cap. There is no gray area. There are no secret shortcuts. It’s clear what we are and are not allowed to do."

Whether Leonard was as clear about the rules remains unknown. The forward who is under contract for two more seasons and $100 million said the upcoming season is all he's thinking about.

"I'm not getting into any conspiracy theories or anything like that," he said. "It's about the season and what we've got ahead of us right now."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Why Warriors' forthcoming Al Horford addition especially excites Draymond Green originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy has been extremely quiet this offseason, but a veteran big man is coming to the Bay.

Nineteen-year NBA veteran Al Horford has committed to signing a multi-year contract with Golden State, his agent Jason Glushon told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday. Draymond Green has been vocal about another big man joining the squad.

“When you’re at center, you’re involved in every single play because you’re anchoring the defense,” Green told reporters Monday at Warriors Media Day. “You are the last line of everything. So there is no break. Like you are at the forefront of everything. That can be a lot at times.”

Horford’s addition will take a lot of weight off Green’s shoulders. Entering his 14th NBA season, Green will be getting some much-deserved relief at the center position.

“I’m never one that’s going to turn the opportunity down because if you turn the opportunity down,” Green continued, “you maybe turn the opportunity of minutes down, and I still love to play this game and compete and help my team win.”

Golden State has young talent at the center position in the program with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post, but the addition of Horford will allow Green to get back to his preferred position.

“In an ideal world, I would love to play more 4,” Green explained. “That’s my natural position. That’s how I became who I’ve become at that position. But nothing’s changed about me at this point. I will always do — be willing to do whatever the team needs me to do and whatever shoes that I need to wear, if it fits, I’m going to wear it.”

Executing the team’s needs has been a habit for Green for over a decade. In his 13th season, the Michigan State alum came in third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

“Playing in the NBA is tough,” Green concluded. “Living every day life for a lot of people is tough. So I’ll take my tough.”

Horford’s presence during the upcoming season likely will lessen the load for Green, along with the young big men on the roster.

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Jaylen Brown believes playmaking will shine through amid Tatum absence originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Celtics star Jaylen Brown isn’t approaching this season any differently than he did the previous nine. He isn’t concerned with the “media narratives,” including those who label him as Boston’s No. 1 option now that Jayson Tatum will start the season on the sideline.

“Obviously, it’s going to be different with JT not on the floor, but in terms of how I approach things, it’s no different,” Brown said when he joined NBC Sports Boston’s live stream during Celtics Media Day on Monday.

Brown believes there’s one area of his game he’ll be able showcase more, though.

“I think my playmaking,” Brown said. “Over the last two years, I’ve been put more in that role to be a playmaker and even though the numbers haven’t really jumped off, I think I’ve improved in that area a lot. I think this year will be a great year to see that.”

Brown averaged a career-best 4.5 assists last season. It’s not a number that jumps off the page, as Brown shared. He ranked third on the team behind Tatum (6.0 assists) and Derrick White (4.8) and tied for 45th in the NBA. But it was a noticeable improvement after he averaged 3.5 assists per game over the previous four seasons.

“Hopefully I have a few triple-doubles this year, multiple assist games,” Brown said.

The Celtics need that from Brown.

With Jrue Holiday traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and Tatum likely to miss at least the majority of the regular season, the Green need other guards to step up their game. Payton Pritchard and White will facilitate in their respective roles, but the Celtics would benefit from another player like Brown doing the same.

The four-time NBA All-Star had offseason knee surgery after he played through a partially torn meniscus during the 2024-25 season. The procedure has allowed Brown to tap back into his athleticism this offseason. Brown, who said he’s feeling a little lighter, is closing in on 100 percent fully healthy.

That’s especially a good thing given Brown wants to play with more pace this season.

“For me, I wanna play fast,” said Brown, noting he’s had that conversation with head coach Joe Mazzulla. “I’ve been saying that for a few years now. Some of the teams we saw play in the Finals, they play fast. Indiana plays fast. OKC plays fast. More and more teams play with that pace. That’s the pace that I’ve always wanted to play at.

“Our personnel hasn’t always been able to suit that, but I think we’ll be able to play a little faster this year, so I’m excited about that,” Brown said.

If Brown can transition into an improved playmaker and facilitator, there will be plenty of excitement to go around.

Kings' veteran guard Dennis Schröder ready to run point with his new team originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – Almost to a man, the Kings spent much of Monday’s media day gushing about the offseason acquisition of Dennis Schröder.

The 32-year-old point guard is part of general manager Scott Perry’s makeover meant to get his squad back to being relevant after an overwhelmingly disappointing 2024-25 NBA campaign left fans wringing their hands and muttering in frustration when they walked out of a beam-less Golden 1 Center last season.

First-time head coach Doug Christie was at the forefront, leading the cheers. Schröder was a player the coach had been eyeing for some time, and Christie sounded like a kid on Christmas morning while talking to reporters about the veteran point guard during Monday’s media day.

“Identifying Dennis in the offseason was big for me,” Christie said. “I’m a super, super fan. I really appreciate how he brings his heart to the game. Handing him the basketball makes me feel real comfortable that he’s going to bring the right type of demeanor and leadership and all of those things.

“As a coach, I want him to exemplify me on the floor. And if you guys know me, I’m a little rough and I think that that is a lot of what you see with him. He’s not backing down. Super excited to have him, super excited that he is our point guard and leading us into the future.”

Signing Schröder to a three-year, $45 million contract over the summer solved the Kings’ biggest offseason question.

Sacramento has been without a true point guard since trading away De’Aaron Fox early last season. Zach LaVine played out of position and ran the point for most of the season after Fox’s departure, with Keon Ellis coming off the bench to orchestrate the offense while LaVine rested.

Schröder’s arrival theoretically should bring some stability to Sacramento’s backcourt, a sentiment that is shared by several of his new teammates, who expressed their fondness after he helped Germany capture the gold medal at the FIBA EuroBasket tournament.

“True guard, veteran guard that knows the game,” Malik Monk said. “Just came off MVP (In EuroBasket). Not too many people can say that and come back and play in the NBA. That just shows how great he is of a player.”

Kings’ big man Domantas Sabonis echoed Monk, pointing out Schroder’s international success as being a key factor.

“Dennis is fantastic,” Sabonis said. “He’s been proving it in FIBA the last couple of years, doing amazing things. (Has) a high IQ and who can get all of us in the right position.”

Therein lies the rub.

Schröder has made his bones in the NBA by playing tight, efficient and gritty defense. A first-round pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 2013, he will be asked to bring that same intensity to the state capital while being handed the reigns to run Christie’s offense.

It’s a challenge Schröder welcomed, given that the Kings’ offensive firepower trio of scorers in Sabonis, LaVine and DeMar DeRozan should make facilitating the offense pretty easy.

“How we want to play, everybody is touching the ball, everybody is sharing it,” Schröder said. “We play fast. Everybody shooting a lot of threes, putting pressure on the rim. I think that’s the most fun playing basketball. I think everybody just going to be engaged defensively. I think it starts there and then offensively.

“If we commit on winning basketball, I think we’re going to be really, really tough. It starts tomorrow with training camp, getting on the same page, everybody being focused and willing to commit to basketball, winning basketball.”

Schröder brings a lot more to the Kings than just his defense and the ability to run an offense. With 12 years of experience under his belt, Schroder brings a voice of experience and leadership that should benefit a team with a young roster like Sacramento’s.

“I think just playing with pace, defensively, picking up 94 feet, bringing intensity on that end, kind of that dog mentality,” Schroder said. “Offensively playing with pace, sharing the ball, move the defense side to side, That’s how we play with the national team and we had a lot of success that way. And I hope that we can come together as a team doing the same things, and it’s going to be really, really hard to stop us then.”

As much as the spotlight is on Schröder and the Kings’ offense, his main focus will remain on defense.

“That’s my game, always try to do the right things for the team defensively,” he said. “I think we can pick it up another level. And that’s that’s the reason why I’m here. I’ve been doing this my whole life. I always had to find my way so I can impact the game. That’s just my identity. That’s how I play. And I hope that the Kings organization, my teammates love that and bring the same physicality or the same mindset.

“Because if we do that, I think it’s really, really tough to beat us and to play against us.”

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Golden State vets address Jonathan Kuminga cloud hanging over Warriors Media Day originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – At the annual event when the NBA reintroduces itself to the world, as the Warriors did on Monday, it is incredibly difficult for a reserve player to overshadow three teammates destined for the Hall of Fame.

It ought to be impossible when that reserve is not even in the building.

Yet that’s how it played out at Chase Center. To the podium strode Stephen Curry, four-time NBA champion and one of the top 10 players in NBA history. Then came Draymond Green, four-time All-Star and a binding ingredient to those four championships. Then came Jimmy Butler, six-time All-Star making his Golden State training camp debut.

Jonathan Kuminga, reserve forward, was nowhere and everywhere.

“As leaders on the team, you have to acknowledge what’s going on and don’t make it more than what it is other than a team trying to figure out the situation that’s front of us and the challenge that’s front of us,” Curry said. “Knowing JK’s situation, knowing the new faces that we’re adding to the roster, we talk about it every year going into a training camp what it’s going to take for that particular team to win.

“This is a little different because you have a guy that’s trying to figure out his situation, and we respect that process. It’s going to play out, and when he’s here, ready to work, like we expect him to be locked in on doing what he needs to do to help us win.”

Green, co-leader of the Kuminga cheerleading camp – along with Golden State CEO Joe Lacob – more directly addressed the absence of the 22-year-old forward whose contract status has been in limbo since July.

“Any time a teammate’s not here, it sucks,” Green said. “And, obviously, not having multiple [teammates] here due to the situation, is unfortunate. Media Day marks the start of something. It marks the start of another NBA season.”

The Warriors are starting training camp with at least four roster spots unfilled. There were five vacancies before Gary Payton II re-signed Monday morning. There will be two when Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton, both of whom have agreements in place, sign contracts sometime this week. Seth Curry remains a possible addition.

Kuminga’s absence hovered like a cloud above the usually upbeat Media Day proceedings. It begat the absences of Horford, Melton and, possibly, Seth Curry. None were available as Warriors because none officially are on the roster, which vetoed Curry, Green and Butler from making specific references to them.

“If we’re talking about a guy like that, he’s won it, which I really, really respect,” Butler, speaking hypothetically, said of Horford. “And he’s been in this league for a long time for a reason. Elite defender. Can make shots. Plays basketball the right way. Super smart. More than anything, he wins.

“So, wherever that guy ends up, I know he’s going to help that team.”

Horford will end up with the Warriors. Just not yet. Same with Melton and, again, possibly Seth Curry.

This Golden State embargo is an unintended consequence of Kuminga’s contract status going unresolved through July, August and deep into September. All involved parties are inhibited – and will be until Warriors-Kuminga business is settled. The deadline for the qualifying offer – which would please neither side – is Wednesday.

“Like I tell everybody that asks me, not [only] in the media, but random people, and my friends: I’m not into all that,” Butler said. “I hope it gets resolved.”

It is, in many ways, downright astonishing that all of this revolves around someone who projects to come off the bench for the Warriors. The starting forwards are Green and Butler. The starting center will be Horford. The starting guards will be Stephen Curry and perhaps a name coach Steve Kerr picks from a hat.

The game plan of Kuminga and his agent, the intrepid Aaron Turner, is perhaps the most audacious in American professional sports. Has the contract status of a reserve, no matter the sport, ever spent an entire offseason at or near the top of a league’s news cycle? How often does reserve, no matter how talented, hold the key to a franchise completing its roster?

This months-long saga doesn’t quite match the stunning temerity Ben Simmons displayed in ghosting the overtures of the New York Knicks – a troubling indication of uninterest – but it leaves even more observers wondering where this standoff is headed.

There is tremendous potential for an enormous downside, as this summer of irresolution has laid the groundwork for an unimaginably heavy burden on Kuminga. No matter the jersey he wears, he must be spectacularly good for this to make sense.

The Warriors, at least publicly, hope it’s their team.

“Some things are pretty straightforward, some things aren’t,” Stephen Curry said. “This is definitely in the ‘aren’t’ category.

“But when he comes and he’s here, he should be a professional and do exactly what he expects to do and take advantage of his opportunities to help us win. Everybody who is in the locker room, that’s what you’re committed to do. I don’t have any concerns that he’ll approach it that way, and that’s what we expect.”

Kuminga’s status is the last thing Curry or Green or Butler hoped to address. They had no choice. They were available, and Kuminga’s absence was louder by comparison.

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Warriors excited for first full NBA season of the Jimmy Butler experience originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors rookie Alex Toohey’s introduction to star teammate Jimmy Butler was more than a lesson on the court. It was an eye-opener to the other side of the NBA as he walked around Butler’s San Diego home. 

“I learned that you can do quite a few things with a bit of money,” Toohey said Monday at Warriors Media Day. 

Butler hosted his Warriors teammates for a few days as a sort of minicamp before the official start of training camp. Basketball certainly was a focal point. Everything else was just as important, if not more. 

The bigger goal one week before training camp begins was getting to know the small details of a group that is around each other more than their own families for over seven months, and even longer to reach the Warriors’ objective of contending for a championship. To become an unbreakable team, Butler, going into his 15th season, knows the intricacies of what it takes. 

Wine was flowing, stories were told and laughs were had – just like it’s supposed to go with family. As he basically trademarked last season, Butler found his joy again once he was traded to the Warriors in February. Butler made it a point after the season to find time in the offseason to be around his new teammates when his busy schedule that spans the globe allowed him to. 

But this retreat was different. He has found time to create chemistry in the past. Inviting a team into his home was an intimate decision Butler was set on doing in pursuit of his first title ahead of his first full season with the Warriors. 

“Maybe a couple times, but not at my own home, and I just wanted to be around my guys,” Butler said of his San Diego minicamp. “I got the opportunity to see a lot of them over the summer or to go where they are from. Maybe not see them, but see people I know from their neck of the woods. So it was important for me to welcome – those are guys, like my family, into my home and have a good time and let them in a little bit of my life.” 

If the 30 regular-season games and 11 playoff games Butler played after joining the Warriors was an appetizer of what’s to come, he and the Warriors are ready to devour a full four-course meal. Perhaps with a glass of Pinot on the side, too. 

“I get to do this thing from day one,” Butler said. “Be with the guys from day one and do what we started out to do from the very beginning. I’m super hyped and I’m super excited. I got to train with my guys this summer. I got to talk with all the guys. I see what they have been doing. I see how they have been working. I’m glad that I get to be here from this media day on up.” 

The Warriors were 25-26 last season before Butler’s team debut on Feb. 10. His Warriors introduction was a 21-point comeback road win against the Chicago Bulls, his original team, where Butler scored 25 points and had four assists. From that game on, the Warriors after adding Butler went 23-8 the rest of the regular season, losing the one game he missed. 

They had two different five-game win streaks and one that lasted seven games. Their success together was on the fly, learning plays and how each other operates with little time to breathe. The Warriors saw what kind of team they can be with Butler, Steph Curry and Draymond Green all healthy, and are confident a real run at another ring was on the table if Curry’s hamstring held up. 

That kind of tease has given them the ultimate confidence of a full offseason, training camp and preseason together before the real lights turn on. 

“You can build an identity from the beginning,” Green said. “Defensive terminology and all the things that you build starting in training camp, we’re able to do that this year.” 

Drama surrounded Butler going into last season, which wound up being his final one as a member of the Miami Heat. Tensions rose until they hit a boiling point, including multiple team suspensions that put an ugly end to all the good Butler did in South Beach. He’s at a completely different place one year later. 

“I think first it helps him just as a human being, as a player, to have something that he knows, a situation he knows based on how last year ended and how we do things, what he can help, continue to help us do at a high level, but then just have that clarity coming in where we can have the conversations that we were having in a very short span after the trade last year,” Curry said. “And the way that we finished playing, or our record towards the end of the year, it was fun for all of us.” 

Butler’s smile and outlook at media day matched the shine from diamonds on his ears and the rings on fingers. He’s at peace but hungry for more. The Warriors immediately signed Butler to a two-year, $111 million contract upon acquiring him in February, aligning him with Curry and Green to accomplish what those two have done four times: Win a championship. 

The reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder are full of young players in their prime. Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves are coming for more. Kevin Durant and the revamped Houston Rockets are ready for battle, and Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets never can be counted out. 

Neither can the Warriors. Butler knows what he’s here for and sees last season’s short-lived success as just a taste of what’s to come. 

“I don’t think we’re going to catch anybody by surprise,” Butler said. “I think everybody knows what we’re capable of. We’re ready to rock.”

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