Category: Basketball

There are other restricted free agents still hanging out in the wind without a contract, but none have been quite as dramatic as the stalemate between Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors' offers to Kuminga have topped out at two years, $40 million, reports Marc Stein in his Substack. That is well short of the at least three years and closer to $30 million a season that Kuminga reportedly is seeking.

This has Kuminga and his representatives still looking for a sign-and-trade, and they spoke recently with the Kings' front office, reports Anthony Slater of ESPN. Theoretically, Sacramento could offer a contract closer to Kuminga's desired terms, along with a larger role in the offense. However, assembling a sign-and-trade deal with Golden State would be a challenge. At best. The Warriors want a first-round pick and a promising young player in any trade for Kuminga, plus they don't want to take back any long-term bad contracts. It's unlikely any team would give up a first-round pick for Kuminga at this point, at least one that wasn't heavily protected. As for the young player, the Kings are not deep with those kinds of guys. Sacramento isn't surrendering Keegan Murray, so that leaves players such as Devin Carter or just-drafted Nique Clifford, and the Kings aren't eager to include them either.

This likely gets resolved closer to the start of training camp, with Kuminga accepting the very tradable two-year contract but at a slightly higher price point than has been offered (not wrapping up Kuminga has the Warriors in limbo, not having signed guys lined up already such as Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton, because they need to see where they are after the Kuminga signing).

The challenge is that Steve Kerr will have to highlight Kuminga and give him a real chance — and stick with him through some mistakes. That's challenging on a roster with Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler as primary ball handlers and the guys who should have the ball in their hands. Plus, Kuminga is really best at the four, but that is Draymond Green's slot, and Kerr can't play Kuminga (30.5% from 3 last season) and Green (32.5%) together because of the lack of shooting.

Kuminga and the Warriors may be a marriage of convenience to start the season, but it may be the only option for the two sides that makes any sense.

Adam Silver just kept bringing it up. Unprompted. Whenever discussion of NBA expansion came up as Silver spoke to the media in Las Vegas during Summer League, Silver spun the conversation toward the NBA having its eyes on Europe and a new league there. He and the owners see an opportunity — they are better at making money off the business of basketball than the current European EuroLeague system. The NBA is exploring the idea of jumping in with both feet across the Atlantic, forming a super league with some existing teams and creating some new ones (likely tied to soccer powerhouses on the continent).

"We'd be an independent league, what we're contemplating operating in Europe, but the fact that we would be creating new basketball teams in Europe is related [to NBA expansion]," Silver said. "It's separate but related to this notion around building additional organizations in the league."

This would be a direct competition to the existing EuroLeague, and its CEO, Paulius Motiejunas, spoke to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, saying a new league would create more confusion than anything else.

"[The NBA has] a really strong image. They can help with TV deals. They can help with sponsorship. We can grow the pie bigger if we go and work together. This is always the same message... But we have a huge fan base. We have 25 years of history. This is what we said to them. Why not sit down and see how we go and make decisions together, rather than just creating a new league and for them to start over?...

"This new league would create confusion. It would create division and on simple terms, you go to the sponsor, and you say, 'I'm now this new, you know, NBA League.' And then we go, 'Well, we are EuroLeague.'"

The EuroLeague is set up differently from, for example, soccer's Champions League, where teams have to earn the right to play in it annually. There are 11 "A-license" clubs that are part owners and managers of the EuroLeague and whose teams are automatically in the tournament every year. Those teams include powerhouses Barcelona, CSKA Moscow, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Olympiacos Piraeus, and Real Madrid.

The NBA is a couple of years out from starting a league on the continent, but its broad strokes idea is to poach a handful of those A-license clubs as well as forming a couple of new ones — in locations such as Manchester, England — plus having the opportunity for some teams to play their way into the competition. The NBA, with reason, believes its marketing arm and brand power can have this league making money that the existing EuroLeague system leaves on the table.

The NBA and EuroLeague working together is not totally out of the question, but the NBA is working closely with the international basketball governing body FIBA, which has a history of tension with the existing EuroLeague.

Silver and the NBA are not going to slow their European plans down — again, there is a reason Silver kept bringing that up while talking about the current NBA owners pumping the brakes on expansion stateside. There seems to be a real taste for a European league from NBA owners, who have long understood that the biggest growth in the association and their franchise values was going to come from international growth.

If that means competing with the EuroLeague, NBA owners are not going to back away from it.

Chris Paul's re-introduction to Los Angeles ended up being more emotional than he expected, with hundreds of Clippers fans chanting "C-P-3."It's kind of wild, kind of crazy," Paul said of the experience. "Still kind of speechless."

Paul has returned to the Clippers, where he played for six seasons, leading the "Lob City" team alongside Blake Griffin, which was a contender in the West but was undone by a painful series of injuries and playoff collapses. Those were the peak CP3 years — in his first five years with the Clippers he never finished lower than seventh in MVP voting — and he averaged 18.8 points and 9.8 assists a game with the team.

He's not returning because of nostalgia, however. He said it was a "no brainer" to Los Angeles because this is where his family lives.

"This is one of those things that kind of manifested for a long time, sort of tried to speak it into existence, but you just never know if it's really gonna happen," Paul said of his return. "Because I love to hoop. I love to play this game, but I love my family more than any of it...

"I wanted to get back and play here by any means necessary."

He wanted to return enough that he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews he could play a couple more seasons, despite the general expectation this season will be his last.

Paul's role will be different with the Clippers than it was a season ago in San Antonio, where he started all 82 games. With the Clippers, Paul will come off the bench as part of a beefed-up second unit — the Clippers are older but have 11 solid rotation players Tyronn Lue can lean on.

Lue was one of the reasons CP3 wanted to return.

"I'm excited to play for T. Lue, right?" Paul said of the Clippers' coach. "See, people probably don't remember, T. Lue was my assistant coach when I was here with the Clippers, and we've stayed close over the years...

"There's a lot of great coaches in this league, but T. Lue is one of the coaches that I think teams, like you have to prepare for him too. It's weird being on other teams playing against the Clippers, because a lot of times you're just scouting, how do we stop Kawhi? How do we stop this? But just know a lot of teams respect T. Lue and his ability."

Paul, Lue and these Clippers are poised to win a lot of games this season — they won 50 a year ago and got better this offseason. That winning is something Paul wanted to be a part of, too.

But mostly, the return was about his family, and they were on hand for his emotional day on Monday, too.

The WNBA’s trade deadline is officially a week-and-a-half away with teams having until August 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET to get all trades done before the WNBA’s regular season reaches 70% complete. As Cole Huff explained last week, it is reasonable to believe that the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics will be sellers in the next ten days. The Dallas Wings remain the second worst team in the league while the Washington Mystics have reportedly been entertaining calls to trade sophomore forward Aaliyah Edwards.

But who might be the buyers? The New York Liberty got their work done early earning a commitment from free agent Belgian superstar and 2019 WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman. She is set to arrive in August. But how will the Lynx match especially since they lostKarlie Samuelson for the season on July 4?

What about the Seattle Storm, a team who continues to lose to teams without as much talent? As of now the Storm are fifth in the WNBA standings, but have the ninth ranked offense in the league. That has to improve if Seattle wants to go on a deep playoff run.

Before moving to the week ahead, the injury endemic in the WNBA must be discussed. In the past week Golden State’s Kayla Thornton got season-ending knee surgery following an injury she sustained in practice, Angel Reese missed two games this past week nursing a bad back, and Breanna Stewart left the Liberty’s game on Saturday against the Sparks with presumably a right calf strain.

Add that to the fact that Caitlin Clark has remained out after injuring her right groin right before the All-Star break. And MVP Napheesa Collier has been playing through something in her shoulder. She began wearing a wrap on her shoulder on July 25 to mitigate some discomfort.

What’s the cause of this and why does it feel like so many notable players are injured and banged up all at once?

There has been a ton of heat this season for questionable and inconsistent officiating from WNBA referees, and while some of this is warranted especially when the league has more eyes on it than it ever has, there’s another part of this story. Poor officiating isn’t just why the WNBA has been on pace this season to register the most injuries ever during a regular season in recent memory per Lucas Seehafer of The IX Basketball.

Since 2021, the amount of games played in the regular season has increased by 37.5%. Coming off the pandemic bubble season in 2020, there were 32 regular season games played because it was an Olympic year and the footprint of the season had to include a month-long break in the middle of the season. From 2022 to 2025, the amount of games has gone up from 36 games in 2022, to 40 games in 2023 and 2024 and then in 2025 there are 44 games during the regular season, the most ever. Last season, 2024 was also an olympic year.

While the amount of games played has vastly increased, the WNBA footprint, or amount of days that encompass a whole regular season and playoff schedule has not. More games are being shoved into less time.

In just this past week, six teams in the Dream, Aces, Liberty, Mystics, Sun and Wings have all played in back-to-back games. This prompted ESPN broadcast analyst and former WNBA player Rebecca Lobo to dig up some research that showed the dramatic decrease in average days between games during the regular season since 2021. The numbers via ESPN researcher Garrett Gastfield show that even in a non-olympic year, the schedule is even more brutal than it was a season ago.

As of now the WNBA and its players are involved in on-going CBA negotiations, and the length of time in between games in addition to a longer season footprint ought to be brought up in further discussions. While Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is preparing to extend next season into the month of November due to the 2026 FIBA World Cup that takes place in September, the league’s calendar footprint needs to be expanded in the long term rather than just for a season.

“We want to promote player safety,” Mercury forward Satou Sabally told reporters on June 19.”I think that's the biggest thing, and we want to work together with the league about it, because we're the product, right? And we also understand it's a business, so just finding the best possible way to make it accommodating for everyone…to ensure that we can play all these games and give our best performance.”

The current model––playing 44 games in 119 days–– has in turn led to more players getting injured at a moment when die-hard fans and new audiences crave seeing their favorite players play instead of in street clothes on the bench.

The Week Ahead

There’s a theme in the games selected for this week. Each one has specific playoff implications as these are all matchups between teams that are very close to each other in the standings.

As of this writing, the only matchup I have highlighted that doesn’t include teams just a game or two apart from one another in the standings is when the Liberty finally face off against the Lynx on Wednesday night.

The Liberty remain 3.5 games behind the Lynx, but that shouldn’t deter anyone from watching the 2024 WNBA Finals rematch that features the top two teams in the league that took over two months to be played. Also, some of the best matchups this week are nationally televised games. That’s what the WNBA’s playoff push deserves.

Las Vegas Aces @ Los Angeles Sparks

(Tuesday July 29 at 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV)

The Aces and the Sparks go into Tuesday’s matchup having each won a game of the teams’ season series. As of this writing, the Aces are 13-13 and are 1.5 games up on the 11-14 Sparks. Los Angeles has momentum riding a five game winning streak where they’ve defeated the Sun and the Mystics twice and then defeated the Liberty on a Rickea Jackson buzzer beater on Saturday. While the Sparks have improved especially offensively, their win streak came against teams that are either negative in net rating or in the Liberty’s case just came off playing the day before. While the Aces blew out the 12th place Dallas Wings on Sunday, Las Vegas is still looking for consistency. Does Jewell Loyd coming off the bench help the Aces moving forward? Also, Tuesday the Sparks will welcome back Cameron Brink, the 2024 No.2 overall pick who tore her ACL and meniscus last season and hasn’t played in a game since.

New York Liberty @ Minnesota Lynx

(Wednesday July 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN)

There’s good news and bad news. First the good. After over two months, the moment most WNBA fans have been waiting for is almost here: the first rematch of the epic 2024 Finals that went five games and into overtime twice. The bad news is that the New York Liberty will most likely play this game without Breanna Stewart, who appeared to strain her lower right leg in the first quarter against the Sparks. Also, the Liberty will most likely be without Finals Game 5 hero Nyara Sabally who according to the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney will be out for between two to three weeks. While the Lynx have battled with less injuries, they still won’t be completely healthy. They’ve missed Karlie Samuelson’s shooting on the wing ever since she went down with a season ending foot injury. Regardless of who’s in and who’s out, there’s still a lot of talent on the floor that will battle it out on Wednesday. But without Stewart, it will be hard to know after this week how these teams match up against each other in 2025. Some more good news is that both teams will play each other three more times in the month of August.

Golden State Valkyries @ Washington Mystics

(Thursday July 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video)

The Valkyries and the Mystics have both been struggling as of late. Both teams got blown out by opponents on Sunday and they both sit at the bottom of the playoff picture. As of Monday, Golden State just trails Washington by half a game for the final eighth spot, and if the Valkyries still want to make the postseason, which isn’t certain especially considering their All-Star Kayla Thornton is out for the season, this is an important game for them to win. With a win on Thursday night, the Valkyries would hold the advantage in the season series against the Mystics, although these two teams play each other two more times before the end of August.

Phoenix Mercury @ Atlanta Dream

(Friday August 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION)

When these two teams faced off on July 23, Brittney Griner’s return to Phoenix was sprinkled with some competitive juice in addition to some genuine emotion. She wanted to show out and defeat the franchise that wanted to go in a different direction after she played for the Mercury for over a decade. Griner succeeded at both tasks. She had 18 points and eight rebounds in her Dream’s 90-79 win over the Mercury. I expect Griner to want to show out once again when the Mercury face the Dream in Atlanta on Friday. But besides the pride associated here, there are playoff implications too. The Mercury are just a game above the Dream in the standings as of Monday, and if the Dream defeat the Mercury again on Friday night, Atlanta could clinch the season series, a valuable seeding advantage if the two teams end up with the same record at the end of the season.

Indiana Fever @ Seattle Storm

(Sunday August 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+)

The Fever and the Storm are inverses of one another. The Fever have the third best offense in the league, but inconsistency on the defensive end of the ball has led to being sixth in the standings. The Storm, however, have the second best defense and ninth ranked offense. Seattle scored 58 points against the Mystics who have a mediocre defense, ranked seventh best in the league. The Storm’s offense remains so inconsistent. As of Monday the fifth place Storm have a one game edge over the Fever in the standings. The Fever have the edge in season series, and if they defeat the Storm again on Sunday, Indiana will have the seeding advantage if these two teams also end up tied on the last day of the season.

The WNBA’s trade deadline is officially a week-and-a-half away with teams having until August 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET to get all trades done before the WNBA’s regular season reaches 70% complete. As Cole Huff explained last week, it is reasonable to believe that the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics will be sellers in the next ten days. The Dallas Wings remain the second worst team in the league while the Washington Mystics have reportedly been entertaining calls to trade sophomore forward Aaliyah Edwards.

But who might be the buyers? The New York Liberty got their work done early earning a commitment from free agent Belgian superstar and 2019 WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meesseman. She is set to arrive in August. But how will the Lynx match especially since they lostKarlie Samuelson for the season on July 4?

What about the Seattle Storm, a team who continues to lose to teams without as much talent? As of now the Storm are fifth in the WNBA standings, but have the ninth ranked offense in the league. That has to improve if Seattle wants to go on a deep playoff run.

Before moving to the week ahead, the injury endemic in the WNBA must be discussed. In the past week Golden State’s Kayla Thornton got season-ending knee surgery following an injury she sustained in practice, Angel Reese missed two games this past week nursing a bad back, and Breanna Stewart left the Liberty’s game on Saturday against the Sparks with presumably a right calf strain.

Add that to the fact that Caitlin Clark has remained out after injuring her right groin right before the All-Star break. And MVP Napheesa Collier has been playing through something in her shoulder. She began wearing a wrap on her shoulder on July 25 to mitigate some discomfort.

What’s the cause of this and why does it feel like so many notable players are injured and banged up all at once?

There has been a ton of heat this season for questionable and inconsistent officiating from WNBA referees, and while some of this is warranted especially when the league has more eyes on it than it ever has, there’s another part of this story. Poor officiating isn’t just why the WNBA has been on pace this season to register the most injuries ever during a regular season in recent memory per Lucas Seehafer of The IX Basketball.

Since 2021, the amount of games played in the regular season has increased by 37.5%. Coming off the pandemic bubble season in 2020, there were 32 regular season games played because it was an Olympic year and the footprint of the season had to include a month-long break in the middle of the season. From 2022 to 2025, the amount of games has gone up from 36 games in 2022, to 40 games in 2023 and 2024 and then in 2025 there are 44 games during the regular season, the most ever. Last season, 2024 was also an olympic year.

While the amount of games played has vastly increased, the WNBA footprint, or amount of days that encompass a whole regular season and playoff schedule has not. More games are being shoved into less time.

In just this past week, six teams in the Dream, Aces, Liberty, Mystics, Sun and Wings have all played in back-to-back games. This prompted ESPN broadcast analyst and former WNBA player Rebecca Lobo to dig up some research that showed the dramatic decrease in average days between games during the regular season since 2021. The numbers via ESPN researcher Garrett Gastfield show that even in a non-olympic year, the schedule is even more brutal than it was a season ago.

As of now the WNBA and its players are involved in on-going CBA negotiations, and the length of time in between games in addition to a longer season footprint ought to be brought up in further discussions. While Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is preparing to extend next season into the month of November due to the 2026 FIBA World Cup that takes place in September, the league’s calendar footprint needs to be expanded in the long term rather than just for a season.

“We want to promote player safety,” Mercury forward Satou Sabally told reporters on June 19.”I think that's the biggest thing, and we want to work together with the league about it, because we're the product, right? And we also understand it's a business, so just finding the best possible way to make it accommodating for everyone…to ensure that we can play all these games and give our best performance.”

The current model––playing 44 games in 119 days–– has in turn led to more players getting injured at a moment when die-hard fans and new audiences crave seeing their favorite players play instead of in street clothes on the bench.

The Week Ahead

There’s a theme in the games selected for this week. Each one has specific playoff implications as these are all matchups between teams that are very close to each other in the standings.

As of this writing, the only matchup I have highlighted that doesn’t include teams just a game or two apart from one another in the standings is when the Liberty finally face off against the Lynx on Wednesday night.

The Liberty remain 3.5 games behind the Lynx, but that shouldn’t deter anyone from watching the 2024 WNBA Finals rematch that features the top two teams in the league that took over two months to be played. Also, some of the best matchups this week are nationally televised games. That’s what the WNBA’s playoff push deserves.

Las Vegas Aces @ Los Angeles Sparks

(Tuesday July 29 at 10 p.m. ET on NBA TV)

The Aces and the Sparks go into Tuesday’s matchup having each won a game of the teams’ season series. As of this writing, the Aces are 13-13 and are 1.5 games up on the 11-14 Sparks. Los Angeles has momentum riding a five game winning streak where they’ve defeated the Sun and the Mystics twice and then defeated the Liberty on a Rickea Jackson buzzer beater on Saturday. While the Sparks have improved especially offensively, their win streak came against teams that are either negative in net rating or in the Liberty’s case just came off playing the day before. While the Aces blew out the 12th place Dallas Wings on Sunday, Las Vegas is still looking for consistency. Does Jewell Loyd coming off the bench help the Aces moving forward? Also, Tuesday the Sparks will welcome back Cameron Brink, the 2024 No.2 overall pick who tore her ACL and meniscus last season and hasn’t played in a game since.

New York Liberty @ Minnesota Lynx

(Wednesday July 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN)

There’s good news and bad news. First the good. After over two months, the moment most WNBA fans have been waiting for is almost here: the first rematch of the epic 2024 Finals that went five games and into overtime twice. The bad news is that the New York Liberty will most likely play this game without Breanna Stewart, who appeared to strain her lower right leg in the first quarter against the Sparks. Also, the Liberty will most likely be without Finals Game 5 hero Nyara Sabally who according to the New York Post’s Madeline Kenney will be out for between two to three weeks. While the Lynx have battled with less injuries, they still won’t be completely healthy. They’ve missed Karlie Samuelson’s shooting on the wing ever since she went down with a season ending foot injury. Regardless of who’s in and who’s out, there’s still a lot of talent on the floor that will battle it out on Wednesday. But without Stewart, it will be hard to know after this week how these teams match up against each other in 2025. Some more good news is that both teams will play each other three more times in the month of August.

Golden State Valkyries @ Washington Mystics

(Thursday July 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video)

The Valkyries and the Mystics have both been struggling as of late. Both teams got blown out by opponents on Sunday and they both sit at the bottom of the playoff picture. As of Monday, Golden State just trails Washington by half a game for the final eighth spot, and if the Valkyries still want to make the postseason, which isn’t certain especially considering their All-Star Kayla Thornton is out for the season, this is an important game for them to win. With a win on Thursday night, the Valkyries would hold the advantage in the season series against the Mystics, although these two teams play each other two more times before the end of August.

Phoenix Mercury @ Atlanta Dream

(Friday August 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION)

When these two teams faced off on July 23, Brittney Griner’s return to Phoenix was sprinkled with some competitive juice in addition to some genuine emotion. She wanted to show out and defeat the franchise that wanted to go in a different direction after she played for the Mercury for over a decade. Griner succeeded at both tasks. She had 18 points and eight rebounds in her Dream’s 90-79 win over the Mercury. I expect Griner to want to show out once again when the Mercury face the Dream in Atlanta on Friday. But besides the pride associated here, there are playoff implications too. The Mercury are just a game above the Dream in the standings as of Monday, and if the Dream defeat the Mercury again on Friday night, Atlanta could clinch the season series, a valuable seeding advantage if the two teams end up with the same record at the end of the season.

Indiana Fever @ Seattle Storm

(Sunday August 3 at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+)

The Fever and the Storm are inverses of one another. The Fever have the third best offense in the league, but inconsistency on the defensive end of the ball has led to being sixth in the standings. The Storm, however, have the second best defense and ninth ranked offense. Seattle scored 58 points against the Mystics who have a mediocre defense, ranked seventh best in the league. The Storm’s offense remains so inconsistent. As of Monday the fifth place Storm have a one game edge over the Fever in the standings. The Fever have the edge in season series, and if they defeat the Storm again on Sunday, Indiana will have the seeding advantage if these two teams also end up tied on the last day of the season.

Nothing motivates the greats quite like the quest to prove someone wrong. When the Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA by trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers, it was followed up by spin out of Dallas about GM Nico Harrison and the franchise's concerns about Doncic's lack of commitment to conditioning, taking care of his body and defense.

This summer, we have seen "skinny" Luka on social media as he works out to get in shape. Doncic spoke about that with Men’s Health Magazine.

" Just visually, I would say my whole body looks better...

"Every summer I try my best to work on different things. Obviously, I'm very competitive. This summer was just a little bit different, you know. It kind of motivated me to be even better...

"Obviously, be the best that I can be, take care of myself. This year, with my team, I think we did a huge step. But this is just the start, you know. I need to keep going. Can't stop."

The Mavericks were not wrong to have concerns about Doncic's conditioning, it certainly has not been consistent throughout his career. (It's still a massive leap from having concerns to trading a top-five player in the world as he enters his prime because of it.) Doncic has improved his conditioning in the past, but due to injuries and other reasons, it has never stayed at the level Dallas' Harrison — a Kobe Bryant guy — expected.

What should scare the Mavericks is that they have just become the motivation he needed to genuinely change. If the disrespect from Dallas, combined with being on a new team and watching LeBron James' commitment to his body and conditioning daily, changes Doncic's habits, then the Mavericks have unleashed a monster on the league.

Doncic had spent the summer back in Europe with family and friends, but landed back in the United States in the last 48 hours for a Jordan Brand promotional shoe tour. After that tour, he returns to Slovenia to lead his national team in the EuroBasket that starts at the end of this month.

Doncic is eligible for a contract extension this summer: On Aug. 2, the Lakers can offer him a four-year, $223 million extension. They will, and Doncic is expected to re-sign with the team, although most likely on a three-year, $165 million max contract (or three plus a player option) because in three years he will have reached 10 years of service in the league and then can sign for up to 35% of the salary cap (the most the Lakers could offer right now is 30%). Expect that deal to be finalized before the season starts (possibly this week, while he is in the USA on a shoe tour, or perhaps closer to Lakers training camp).

Thirteen-year NBA veteran Marcus Morris has been arrested in Florida, officially for fraud related to insufficient funds on a check, however, his brother and manager said the situation has been overblown.

Morris was arrested on Sunday in Broward County, Florida, a fact confirmed by NBC Sports, as was the reason for the arrest (TMZ was first to report it). The arrest was also confirmed by Marcus' twin brother Markieff Morris on X, who at the same time played this down and defended his brother.

In the comments on that post, Morris' manager, Yony Noy, made this official response.

Morris was the No. 14 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, taken out of Kansas by Houston. Morris played 13 seasons in the NBA for the Rockets Suns, Pistons, Celtics, Knicks, Clippers, 76ers and most recently, the Cavaliers. Last season, Morris was part of the Knicks' training camp but was waived before the regular season began and did not play in the league. For his career, Morris averaged 12 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

The NBA offseason isn't entirely over — there are still some solid free agents available, some veteran extensions to sign, and some restricted free agents still hanging out there — but we know the shape of teams at this point.

Who had the best NBA offseasons? Let's break it down, with seven teams that stood out to me.

Houston Rockets

Kevin Durant.

Those two words alone made this a winning offseason for Houston. Anyone who watched their first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Warriors saw Houston's problems with half-court shot creation and end-of-clock situations — Durant solves those problems. Even at age 37, the man is still a walking bucket.

However, the Rockets did more than just add Durant. The addition of Dorian Finney-Smith — adding more defense plus 3-point shooting to the mix — was one of the best moves of the offseason. Clint Capela gives Houston another solid rotation big man. They locked up Fred VanVleet on a good deal, and also re-signed Steven Adams, Jae'Sean Tate, Jabari Smith Jr., Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green.

Houston enters the coming season a clear title contender — that's the sign of a good offseason.

Denver Nuggets

At the heart of the tension that ultimately led to the dismissal of coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth was the question of how hard to lean into the young players the team had drafted. Malone wanted more veterans, while Booth wanted more time for the players he had drafted.

This summer, the new front office in Denver did what Malone had been asking for, adding veterans. Jonas Valanciunas is the best backup center Nikola Jokic has had and will help the second unit not fall off a cliff when the three-time MVP rests. The Nuggets signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and are bringing back Bruce Brown. Most importantly, they sent Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn for Cameron Johnson — an upgrade for the Nuggets. Both Johnson and Porter Jr. are a near 40% threat from beyond the arc, but Johnson is a better defender and a more consistent, high-IQ player who will thrive playing next to Jokic (the cost of a 2032 pick is the price they pay to chase titles now, with Jokic at his peak).

Denver, like Houston, upgraded and is a full-on contender entering next season, that's a win.

Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta went all-in on one more (last?) attempt to build around Trae Young — and they did it smartly. This team needed defensive upgrades, such as a high-level rim protector and more wing defense. Enter Kristaps Porzingis at center — who can protect the paint and is a great pick-and-pop partner for young — and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. However, the biggest addition will be the return to health of Jalen Johnson (a step forward by Zaccharie Risacher helps as well).

Atlanta has gone from a "will they make it out of the play-in" team to one with a real shot at a top-four spot in the East. That's a strong offseason.

Orlando Magic

Orlando is already acknowledged as a team on the rise — they were the No. 6 seed in the East last season, despite Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner missing chunks of the season with matching oblique injuries — but they needed more shooting.

Check that box. The Magic could not have landed a better fit than Desmond Bane, a career 41% shooter from beyond the arc who also can do some secondary playmaking and is a plus defender. Orlando also added Tyus Jones, a floor general backup point guard who will boost second units. If just-drafted Jase Richardson can shoot well enough, he could get some run as well. The other thing Orlando did: lock up Banchero for four years with a max extension (the fifth is a player option). All of those are good moves.

Coming off watching Indiana make a run to the NBA Finals, it's not hard to envision the Magic having a similar run if things break their way.

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles knows who it is, it knows who its stars are, understands its potential limitations, and still this summer leaned hard into that "one more run with the old guys" identity (while setting up the chance to make a pivot and change this team dramatically in 2027).

They did it smartly, starting with adding Brook Lopez and John Collins to the frontcourt. Los Angeles scooped up Bradley Beal after Phoenix waived and stretched him, getting the three-time All-Star at a fair price considering his contributions, and filling the hole left by Norman Powell's exit. Chris Paul is returning home for one more season.

The Clippers are 11 deep with guys who can and will expect rotation minutes, a balancing act for Tyronn Lue to figure out. This is a 50-win team from last season that has gotten deeper and better. The Clippers are a top-six team in the West with a shot to host a playoff round. That's a good offseason.

Oklahoma City Thunder

They didn't do anything spectacular, but they didn't have to. OKC locked up its three-man core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren with massive extensions (although getting Holmgren on a straight 25 without escalators is good work). That trio keeps this team in the contender conversation for the length of those deals, (five years). The cast around that core is going to change somewhat as the second tax apron comes calling starting in 2027, but no team has the draft picks and flexibility to survive that as well as OKC.

For next season, this team runs back the same roster that just won 68 games and a title — they are the bar to clear for any team talking title.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are here in part because I like their offseason moves, but also in part because I think we're not talking enough about how big a leap they could make next season. This team gives me Detroit vibes from last year, where Victor Wembanyama comes into his own as a superstar and the talent around him starts to come together.

The Spurs had a great draft — the lottery gods blessed them with Dylan Harper, but picking up Carter Bryant at 14 looked like a steal of a pick based on Summer League (his defense was great, the offense is a project). More importantly, they signed Luke Kornet as a backup to Wembanyama, providing them with another quality big, so they don't have to wear Wemby down and can give him some nights off as needed. Also, the Spurs signed Kelly Olynyk as a stretch four/five to help with the frontcourt rotation.

With a full season of De'Aaron Fox and Wemby, and Harper finding his groove as a rookie, this is going to be a fun team to watch this season.

While NBA training camps don't open for another two months, there's never a bad time to participate in a mock draft. I participated in an extremely early draft for a 12-team, nine-cat head-to-head fantasy league thanks to FBI Basketball's Adam King. While mock drafts can become a bit monotonous for some, they can serve as solid "fact-finding missions" regarding the community's thoughts on players and their team situations.

Going into this draft, there were a few players I was interested in regarding their early draft positions. Is Victor Wembanyama still a surefire top-three pick despite a blood clot ending his 2024-25 season at the All-Star break? He has been given full clearance, but that remains a worthwhile question to evaluate. Is Nikola Jokić still the first overall pick, or will it be Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? When will Cooper Flagg come off the board, and are any other rookies worthy of top-100 consideration? Below is a round by round breakdown of Sunday's mock draft, including thoughts on my strategy.

For this mock draft, there was a third-round reversal. For those who may not know what entails, it simply means the draft order flips every other round. I picked eighth in the first round.

Round 1

1.1: G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

1.2: G Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons

1.3: C Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

1.4: C Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

1.5: F/C Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks

1.6: G Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers

1.7: F/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

1.8: G/F Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

1.9: C Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

1.10: G James Harden, Los Angeles Clippers

1.11: F/C Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies

1.12: G Derrick White, Boston Celtics

It did not take long for things to get interesting. Not only was Jokić not the first overall pick in this mock draft, but he wasn't second, either. The three-time MVP was the third overall pick, with Detroit's Cunningham going second behind SGA. It's an interesting selection, to say the least. Cunningham's coming off his best season as a Piston, and he likely hasn't reached his ceiling due to age and seasons limited due to injury. With Jokić going third, that pushed Wembanyama to fourth overall. I decided to go with Edwards, as Giannis went off the board with the prior pick. Some likely would prefer KAT in that spot, but Edwards being the pick did not feel that controversial.

Round 2

2.1: F/C Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

2.2: F Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

2.3: G Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

2.4: G Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks

2.5: F/C Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers

2.6: G/F Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

2.7: G/F Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

2.8: G Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

2.9: F Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets

2.10: G LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets

2.11: G/F Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets

2.12: F Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

Tatum going with the 14th overall pick is a serious reach, given that he may not be healthy enough to play in time for the fantasy playoff weeks. And it's possible he doesn't play at all next season. The first three picks for the manager who selected Tatum were Jaren Jackson Jr., JT and Tyrese Haliburton. Two players facing steep odds of playing next season, and one who may not be ready for the start of the season after undergoing surgery earlier this month. Thompson and Banchero being second-round picks is intriguing, but at least they're healthy. I used my second-round pick on Mobley, which may be a reach due to the partnership with Jarrett Allen. However, Mobley still has a ways to go before he reaches his ceiling, so it's a gamble I'm willing to make in that spot.

Round 3

3.1: C Alperen Şengün, Houston Rockets

3.2: G Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

3.3: G/F Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks

3.4: F/C Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

3.5: F Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers

3.6: G Josh Giddey*, Chicago Bulls

3.7: G/F Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers

3.8: F LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

3.9: G Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

3.10: F Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

3.11: G/F Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

3.12: F Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

Sunday's mock draft was the third I've participated in this summer, and Flagg was a fourth-round pick in the first two. The prized rookie came off the board late in the third round of this mock, and he's the one rookie in this class worth rolling the dice on. Flagg will play plenty next season, and Kyrie Irving's absence due to a torn ACL may mean more time on the ball for the rookie, even with the signing of D'Angelo Russell. Giddey was a third-round pick despite his contract status still undetermined; staying in Chicago would represent his best shot at living up to that draft spot. With Haliburton set to miss a significant portion of next season, if not all of it, I grabbed Siakam. He might have been available in the fourth round, but I was unwilling to risk it.

Round 4

4.1: G Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

4.2: G/F Desmond Bane, Orlando Magic

4.3: C Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings

4.4: F Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

4.5: G Tyler Herro, Miami Heat

4.6: C Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz

4.7: G De'Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs

4.8: G Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

4.9: C Myles Turner, Milwaukee Bucks

4.10: G/F Josh Hart, New York Knicks

4.11: F OG Anunoby, New York Knicks

4.12: G Jalen Green, Phoenix Suns

Maxey still being on the board to begin the fourth round was wild; he's the biggest steal in this draft for that reason. While injury did end his 2024-25 season prematurely, the 76ers guard does not have the same injury profile as teammates Joel Embiid and Paul George. Anunoby, selected with the penultimate pick of this round, also represents solid value, while I decided to use my fourth-round pick on Murray. He was a top-20 player in nine-cat formats last season, still appearing in 67 regular-season games despite dealing with some health issues. Green's an intriguing option in Phoenix. While he had his moments with the Rockets, the inconsistent production limited his fantasy ceiling. Does that change playing alongside Devin Booker?

Round 5

5.1: F Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn Nets

5.2: F/C Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves

5.3: G Jordan Poole, New Orleans Pelicans

5.4: G Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers

5.5: C Nikola Vučević, Chicago Bulls

5.6: G/F Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

5.7: G Jared McCain, Philadelphia 76ers

5.8: C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

5.9: C Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers

5.10: C Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers

5.11: C Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons

5.12: G Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

With Brooklyn's five first-round picks appearing to require a lot of patience based on their play in Las Vegas and Cam Thomas' contract status undetermined, Porter could be primed to put up gaudy numbers next season. Even if Thomas signs his qualifying offer or agrees to a deal with the Nets, Porter should be the top offensive option for the first time in his NBA career. Embiid going in the fifth round wasn't too surprising given the injury history, and it's unknown if he'll be 100 percent when the regular season begins. But McCain coming off the board one pick before, and he's also coming off a knee injury? That's a major roll of the dice. I played it safe with my fifth-round pick, selecting Vučević. The front office and ownership appears to be fine with competing for a play-in tournament slot, so Vooch's fantasy value should be safe for another season.

Round 6

6.1: F Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans

6.2: F/C Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards

6.3: F Trey Murphy, New Orleans Pelicans

6.4: G/F Mikal Bridges, New York Knicks

6.5: F Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

6.6: F Matas Buzelis, Chicago Bulls

6.7: F Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets

6.8: F Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets

6.9: F Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors

6.10: C Mark Williams, Phoenix Suns

6.11: C Brook Lopez, Los Angeles Clippers

6.12: C Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks

Two more players whose draft spots jumped out to me were Williamson and Leonard. Both have been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, but the latter brings more to the table regarding overall fantasy value. That said, Williamson still went four picks ahead of Leonard in this mock draft. While I would argue that Kawhi should have been off the board before this point, I'm not sure I can say the same for Zion. Also of note in this round was Buzelis being selected with the sixth pick. He certainly looked good at summer league, but is he ready to make this big of a jump? Buzelis should be locked in as a starter, but expecting sixth-round production may be a bit much, especially with Giddey's status undetermined. I selected Miles Bridges with my pick, but would have preferred Butler, especially considering his fit alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Round 7

7.1: G Coby White, Chicago Bulls

7.2: F Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves

7.3: G/F Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers

7.4: C Kristaps Porziņģis, Atlanta Hawks

7.5: G Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets

7.6: C Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

7.7: C Kel'el Ware, Miami Heat

7.8: F DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento Kings

7.9: C Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves

7.10: F Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves

7.11: G CJ McCollum, Washington Wizards

7.12: G Immanuel Quickley, Toronto Raptors

Another round, and another safe pick for yours truly. However, I like VanVleet's position in Houston, with the Rockets adding Kevin Durant. Adding one of the sport's all-time offensive greats should clear space for everyone. VanVleet's field goal percentage has never been great, but I would not be surprised if his three-pointer and assist production were boosted next season. I hoped to grab Avdija, but he went off the board two picks before I was on the clock. Porziņģis in Atlanta is intriguing; does he start alongside Onyeka Okongwu, or will one come off the bench with Zaccharie Risacher remaining a starter? I'd bet on the former scenario, especially if Jalen Johnson is healthy and can capably defend small forwards.

Round 8

8.1: G Anfernee Simons, Boston Celtics

8.2: C Deandre Ayton, Los Angeles Lakers

8.3: G/F Zach LaVine, Sacramento Kings

8.4: C Jakob Poeltl, Toronto Raptors

8.5: G Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers

8.6: G Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics

8.7: F Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz

8.8: F Cameron Johnson, Denver Nuggets

8.9: G Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs

8.10: C Daniel Gafford, Dallas Mavericks

8.11: G/F Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets

8.12: G Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs

The second rookie went off the board in this round, with Harper being the ninth pick. Given San Antonio's perimeter depth, will there be enough room for him to provide top-100 value as a rookie? Last season, no rookie finished ranked within the top-100 in nine-cat formats, with Kel'El Wre and Zach Edey leading the way. According to Basketball Monster, the highest-ranked rookie with guard eligibility was the aforementioned McCain, and he only played 23 games due to a knee injury. Ayton can play well above his draft position, mainly if he stays healthy. Playing alongside Luka and LeBron represents an excellent opportunity for the Lakers' new starting center. Nembhard and Pritchard's draft positions were boosted due to the Haliburton and Tatum injuries, but the latter finished last season as a top-100 player. I took Johnson, who moves from Brooklyn to Denver, and he could benefit immensely from playing alongside Jokić and Murray.

Round 9

9.1: F PJ Washington, Dallas Mavericks

9.2: F Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers

9.3: G/F Quentin Grimes*, Philadelphia 76ers

9.4: G/F Norman Powell, Miami Heat

9.5: F Tari Eason, Houston Rockets

9.6: F Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers

9.7: G Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota Timberwolves

9.8: G Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks

9.9: G Malik Monk, Sacramento Kings

9.10: G Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic

9.11: G Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers

9.12: C Isaiah Hartenstein, Oklahoma City Thunder

Irving being a ninth-round pick when other players with similar injury concerns went much earlier was interesting. And his chances of returning early enough to help fantasy managers are higher than those of Haliburton or Tatum. Other interesting picks in this round included Powell, who was traded to Miami and will figure prominently in the Heat offense, and Henderson. The departure of Anfernee Simons means it's "prime time" for Scoot, even with Portland adding Jrue Holiday in that deal. With Damian Lillard back but unlikely to play this season, Henderson has an excellent opportunity to take a leap forward. Is he up to it? George was also a ninth-round pick, and the injuries had a lot to do with that. I used my pick on Eason, who can offer solid value as a rebounder and defender despite coming off the bench.

Round 10

10.1: C Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies

10.2: G/F Bennedict Mathurin, Indiana Pacers

10.3: F/C Kyle Filipowski, Utah Jazz

10.4: G/F Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers

10.5: F Tobias Harris, Detroit Pistons

10.6: G/F RJ Barrett, Toronto Raptors

10.7: C Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets

10.8: F/C Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors

10.9: F Bilal Coulibaly, Washington Wizards

10.10: F/C Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks

10.11: G Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

10.12: G/F Dillon Brooks, Phoenix Suns

Edey was the first pick of the tenth round, but due to ankle surgery it's possible he won't be ready to go when the season begins. His rookie season in Memphis was good, but it's fair to wonder if the 7-foot-4 center is a player whose ceiling is limited but the floor is reliable. The Filipowski pick is interesting; Taylor Hendricks may return to the starting lineup after suffering a broken leg early last season, but Filipowski's offensive value makes him an intriguing option in fantasy leagues. Can Claxton get back to being the free-throw punt option he was before last season? Among the factors that will impact that is how Brooklyn addresses the point guard position. Wanting another player with center eligibility, I selected Draymond since he can also be used at forward and offers solid value outside the points category.

Round 11

11.1: G Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

11.2: F Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings

11.3: F/C Santi Aldama, Memphis Grizzlies

11.4: F Ausar Thompson, Detroit Pistons

11.5: G Bradley Beal, Los Angeles Clippers

11.6: G/F Devin Vassell, San Antonio Spurs

11.7: F Aaron Gordon, Denver Nuggets

11.8: G VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers

11.9: G/F Kyshawn George, Washington Wizards

11.10: G Dejounte Murray, New Orleans Pelicans

11.11: G Keyonte George, Utah Jazz

11.12: C Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks

Due to the health of JJJ and Edey, Aldama's ceiling may be raised, at least for the early portion of the season. Murray may be in a challenging spot in Sacramento, but the Kings adding a point guard (Dennis Schröder) could help matters. Sacramento did not address the position after trading De'Aaron Fox, negatively impacting Murray's opportunities. He could represent significant value in fantasy leagues, regardless of size, if that changes. Beal's recent injury history has not been good, but he was worth the gamble for me in the 11th round. I doubt he's on the board this late in drafts when actual fantasy drafts are held in the fall.

Murray is an interesting "draft and stash" option since he won't be fully recovered from his Achilles injury when the season begins, and fantasy managers may also have to wait on Lively. Keyonte George being selected despite Utah's logjam at the point is interesting. Isaiah Collier jumped him to take over the starting point guard duties last season, and Utah added Walter Clayton Jr. in the draft. Lastly, another rookie was selected in this round, with Edgecombe coming off the board. His ceiling will be determined partly by the availability of Philadelphia's more experienced perimeter players.

Round 12

12.1: G/F Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors

12.2: C Khaman Maluach, Phoenix Suns

12.3: F John Collins, Los Angeles Clippers

12.4: G Bub Carrington, Washington Wizards

12.5: G Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons

12.6: C Goga Bitadze, Orlando Magic

12.7: G/F Cam Thomas*, Brooklyn Nets

12.8: G Kevin Porter Jr., Milwaukee Bucks

12.9: G/F Andrew Wiggins, Miami Heat

12.10: G T.J. McConnell, Indiana Pacers

12.11: G Russell Westbrook, Free Agent

12.12: G Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks

The final round of fantasy drafts is about the "home run swing," as it's a low-risk, high-reward spot. Porter appears on track to be a starter in Milwaukee next season, and the combination of that opportunity and his improved play down the stretch factored into my decision to select him. However, Minnesota's Terrence Shannon Jr. and Detroit's Ron Holland II are two players I wish I'd considered more. While one can argue that Holland's situation isn't great from a fantasy standpoint with Jaden Ivey returning from a leg injury, Shannon should have added value following Nickeil Alexander-Walker's exit in free agency. Also of note in the final round of this mock draft is that Cam Thomas remains a restricted free agent, and Westbrook is still an unrestricted free agent.