Category: Sports News

The New York Knicks are bringing back one of their champions, ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported on Thursday morning.

According to Charnia, Clarkson has signed a one-year, $3.9 million deal to return New York, per Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Brandon Cavanaugh.

In his first season with the Knicks, Clarkson averaged 8.6 points per game, which was a career low for the 12-year veteran out of Missouri. He was still a key part of the team’s postseason run and part of the reason why the team ended up winning it all.

“He’s a guy we can lean on. He can put the ball in the hole,” Brown said back in March. “We were struggling to do that. So I threw him out there to see if we could mix it up. He definitely helped us. But it was too big a deficit if you’re talking about 20 points to try to come back from versus a good team on their home court.”

With Clarkson back in the mix, the Knicks have 13 spots on their roster already filled. This doesn’t include Jack Kayil or Tyler Nickel, the team’s second-round draft picks. The Knicks could use their 14th and 15th spots on them, but they are also candidates for a two-way spot. Their status will likely be determined based on how they perform in the Las Vegas Summer League.

After this deal, the Knicks are around $3.2 million below the second apron, with New York still needing to fill at least one roster spot. Veteran minimum deals start at $2.18 million and only count $2.4 million max against the cap, even if they are signed for more money, depending on the years of experience (similar to what Andre Drummond did), leaving ample room for another veteran to fill that spot if the Knicks decide to do so.

Posting & Toasting community, how do you feel about Clarkson coming back to the Knicks? Let us know in the comments section below.

Raptors' trade for Kawhi Leonard on hold until Clippers investigation is done originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Kawhi Leonard’s second stint with the Toronto Raptors is officially on hold.

The Raptors announced Thursday that the trade will not be finalized until the NBA’s probe into Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers is finished.

The NBA has been investigating Leonard and the Clippers for the past 10 months after reports that he received a multi-million endorsement deal with sustainability services company Aspiration in an alleged effort to circumvent league salary cap rules.

Toronto and Los Angeles agreed to a deal involving Leonard last month, with the Raptors receiving Leonard and the Clippers getting Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and several draft picks.

“On June 30, we reached an agreement in principle to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors,” the Clippers said in a statement. “We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.

“At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

“We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues. We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”

Despite the holdup, Toronto said it is still committed to completing the trade after the investigation is over.

“The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization and our fans,” the team said in a statement.

Leonard, 35, spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers after signing as a free agent in 2019. He played the 2018-19 season with the Raptors before joining the Clippers, leading the team to 58 wins and a championship.

Raptors' trade for Kawhi Leonard on hold until Clippers investigation is done originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Kawhi Leonard’s second stint with the Toronto Raptors is officially on hold.

The Raptors announced Thursday that the trade will not be finalized until the NBA’s probe into Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers is finished.

The NBA has been investigating Leonard and the Clippers for the past 10 months after reports that he received a multi-million endorsement deal with sustainability services company Aspiration in an alleged effort to circumvent league salary cap rules.

Toronto and Los Angeles agreed to a deal involving Leonard last month, with the Raptors receiving Leonard and the Clippers getting Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and several draft picks.

“On June 30, we reached an agreement in principle to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors,” the Clippers said in a statement. “We have since been informed that the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors’ ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Kawhi’s contract that could theoretically result from the ongoing investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and we expect the trade to be finalized following its conclusion.

“At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration. Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

“We recognize the uncertainty this has created and the impact it has had on our team, our fans, the Raptors organization, their fans, and the players whose futures remain affected while this process continues. We remain confident that, when the facts are evaluated fairly and thoroughly, the NBA will confirm exactly what we have said from the beginning: We have not done what we are accused of doing.”

Despite the holdup, Toronto said it is still committed to completing the trade after the investigation is over.

“The Raptors remain eager to bring Kawhi back to Toronto and look forward to a swift resolution for our players, our organization and our fans,” the team said in a statement.

Leonard, 35, spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers after signing as a free agent in 2019. He played the 2018-19 season with the Raptors before joining the Clippers, leading the team to 58 wins and a championship.

The Milwaukee Bucks are heading to Sin City for the Las Vegas Summer League.

This year, Summer League should be much more intriguing than in years’ past with a pair of lottery picks on the roster in Nate Ament and Brayden Burries. In addition, Kasparas Jakucionis is joining the Bucks in Vegas, giving him a chance to showcase some of his stuff before the second half of the offseason.

Here’s a look at the full roster:

• Nate Ament (PF, Tennessee)
• Zack Austin (SF, Pittsburgh)
• BJ Boston (SG, Kentucky)
• Brayden Burries (PG, Arizona)
• John Butler (C, Florida St)
• Rafael Castro (C, George Washington)
• Jesse Edwards (C, West Virginia)
• Kasparas Jakucionis (PG, Illinois)
• Kam Jones (PG, Marquette)
• Kuany Kuany (PF, VCU)
• Malique Lewis (SF, SE Melbourne Phoenix)
• Kira Lewis (PG, Alabama)
• Bogoljub Markovic (PF, Mega Basket)
• Boopie Miller (PG, SMU)
• Pete Nance (PF, North Carolina)
• Cormac Ryan (SG, North Carolina)
• Kobe Stewart (SG, Presbyterian)
• Earl Timberlake (SG, Bryant)
• Luke Travers (SF, Perth Wildcats)
• Aaron Williams (SG, Chicago St)

Other notable players include Brandon Boston Jr., who has 147 games of NBA experience with the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans. He spent last season with Fenerbahce in Turkey. Boston led the Bucks in scoring in two of the three games at the California Classic.

Two-way players Kam Jones, Rafael Castro and Cormac Ryan are also players to keep an eye on. Pete Nance could also be a standout after appearing in 47 games with the Bucks this past season.

For more on the schedule and how to watch, read Jack’s Summer League primer.

Brew Hoop community, who are you most excited about seeing suit up for the Bucks in Las Vegas? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

A change is coming to the Spurs broadcast booth after shocking allegations exploded on social media.

Jacob Tobey is out as the team’s play-by-play announcer after his girlfriend accused him on social media of cheating with a relative of a Spurs player, per Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports.

Earlier this week an Instagram Story was posted on Tobey’s account alleging his cheating with Loren Waters, who is the sister of Spurs guard Lindy Waters III.

“This is my girlfriend of six years,” the post read. “But I cheated on her with Loren Waters. So feel free to continue following me if you really think I’m a good guy because I’m not. :)”

The post was soon followed by another that featured what appeared to be photo booth prints of Tobey and Loren Waters kissing.

“Me and the new girl,” was written over the photo.

Fans suggested the posts were uploaded by Tobey’s girlfriend, who may have access to the account.

Tobey’s social accounts have since been turned to private.

Tobey, who has also sang the national anthem before Spurs games, previously announced in June he signed a multi-year extension to remain in the role.

Prior to arriving in San Antonio, Tobey called play-by-play for various outlets including Fox Sports and the Pac-12 Network.

The Summer Sixers tip off in Vegas starting Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons at 5:30 p.m. on Amazon Prime and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Here are five players to watch.

Labaron Philon, G

Just because it’s obvious doesn’t mean it can’t be true. It’s time to see if the Sixers truly struck gold again outside of the lottery. Not that Summer League is a huge barometer for that measurement, but it’s at least a start if Philon can go out and dominate, particularly against teams who had a first-round pick selected higher than he was.

Johni Broome, PF/C

Broome is probably the most intriguing name of the bunch here, and not necessarily in a good way. Having been selected at the top of last year’s second round, Broome barely saw any NBA action as a rookie and also missed time with an injury towards the end of the season. Is he simply not an NBA player or did his rookie season just go sideways and he can turn things around? If he can’t perform at a high level in summer league, Broome’s stock will continue to trend down.

Duke Miles, G

Now it’s on to the lottery tickets, which is really what Summer League is all about. Miles signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Philadelphia after not getting drafted. He was a bouncy guard at Vanderbilt who averaged 16.1 points per game last season with 3.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals. Age isn’t working in Miles’ favor though as he’s 24 and turning 25 in February. Nevertheless, he seems like someone that could have a few moments off the dribble and some nice finishes around the rim for a 6-foot-2 guard.

Drew Cisse, C

Cisse’s another player in his mid 20s but he has spent the last couple years living the nomadic G League life. For what it’s worth, he does seem like a rebounding machine and had a very impressive 20 offensive rebounds in a game for Delaware last season. For a team that’s been as bad at rebounding as the Sixers have been, maybe Cisse can open some eyes.

Nick Townsend, PF

A high-level college achiever who is still just 21 years old gets a look with Philly for the next couple weeks. Townsend was the Ivy League Player of the Year at Yale last season and also a first-team All-Ivy League selection in 2024-25. He shot a very impressive 46.3% from three-point range last season so if he can get close to that in Summer League, he would certainly garner some attention.

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The crown jewel of the NBA's Summer League is set to see several top rookies grace the court in Sin City tonight, including No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson.

Their matchup leads off our NBA Summer League picks for Thursday, July 9.

NBA Summer League predictions for July 9

Pick
Jazz moneyline	-133
Kings moneyline	-150

Today's Summer League Picks

Jazz moneyline (-133 at Kalshi)

The Utah Jazz are among the teams that have already begun play this summer, and they got off to a hot start in the Salt Lake City Summer League. After going 3-0 in their home state, the Jazz's young corps will take advantage of a Washington Wizards squad playing its first game together.

Darryn Peterson has been dynamite for Utah thus far, racking up 53 points in 55 minutes on 52.7% shooting. He's not alone, with the Jazz also seeing eye-raising performances from Cody Williams (35 points on 57.8% shooting) and Max Abmas (40 points and 16 assists).

The Jazz have a lot of young talent in Vegas, including Ace Bailey and Jaxon Kohler, and should push this Wizards team.

While AJ Dybantsa is the No. 1 pick, he's making his debut and doesn't have a ton around him beyond last year's No. 6 pick, Tre Johnson.

Kings moneyline (-150 at Kalshi)

Led by No. 7 pick Darius Acuff Jr., the Sacramento Kings put up a 3-0 record in the California Classic. Acuff's scoring prowess has been on full display for Sacramento and should be the difference against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Arkansas product has scored 47 points in 52 minutes of Summer League play, and the attention he draws against Los Angeles should help open things up for fellow rookie Emanuel Sharp (31 points in 61 minutes).

Although the Clippers will be deploying fifth overall pick Keaton Wagler, Acuff already has experience beating guards selected in the lottery after defeating Brayden Burries and the Milwaukee Bucks last week.

Thursday’s NBA Summer League parlay

Jazz moneyline

Kings moneyline

+192 at Kalshi

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

NBA Summer League isn’t just the event in Las Vegas. They keep hosting these miniature Summer Leagues in California and Salt Lake City the week before everyone goes to Nevada. I’ve never heard an explanation as to why they exist, but they keep on doing them.

In any case, with Vegas Summer League starting today, I wanted to check in with Chase Ross and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, the two former Marquette men’s basketball players who were on the rosters in California and Utah respectively. It could give us an idea of what to expect from both men as the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies move from one event to the other.

Chase Ross

Even though Ross was fresh off agreeing to an Exhibit 10 contract with Los Angeles, he didn’t see the court in either of the Lakers’ first two games in California. LA split the first two games, falling 104-72 to Golden State’s Gold team in the opener and then beating Miami 93-91 in the second contest. The second DNP for Ross wasn’t that surprising seeing as Golden State went up 20 before halftime and led by as many as 37 and he couldn’t get in the game.

Ross did get a chance to play in the third game of the event, which goes into the books as an 88-84 victory for the Lakers. He subbed in at the 5:44 mark of the first quarter with the Spurs up 11-4 at the time. He finished with 14:30 of playing time and recorded four points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Ross went 1-for-5 from the field, missing both of his three-point attempts, but at least the social team highlighted his one bucket:

That pulled the Lakers within two, 53-51, in the middle of the third quarter, and it was the trigger on a 10-3 burst for Los Angeles.

It’s good that he got rotation minutes in a competitive game after going DNP for the first two games. I don’t think that quite tells us anything about what to expect in Las Vegas. Maybe cross our fingers that they let him go a little bit more?

Olivier-Maxence Prosper

Memphis went 1-2 in Utah, beating Oklahoma City 111-74 in their opener before taking a nine point loss to Utah and a 14 point loss to Atlanta to wrap things up. Prosper actually led Memphis in scoring in the OKC game, putting up 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting in 23 minutes of action. He went 2-for-3 from behind the arc and added five rebounds and three assists as well. It is deeply funny that he is listed as the Grizzlies starting center in the box score when Cameron Boozer, their 2026 lottery pick, is right there with him, just at forward.

Prosper started against Utah and had another solid game. He scored 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, which means he was 2-for-3 inside the arc along with 3-for-8 outside of it. Three rebounds, two assists, and a steal in over 28 minutes of action is pretty good stuff as well, even if the Grizz came up short at the horn. He didn’t play at all in the third game, but neither did Boozer or Cedric Coward, who played in 62 games for Memphis as a rookie this past season.

I’d wager this all means we’ll see a healthy dose of Prosper in Vegas, at least as long as the Grizzlies are in contention for the semifinals. Memphis already exercised the option on his contract for 2026-27, which they did not need to do if they didn’t plan on keeping him around all year. I wouldn’t read too much into his playing time in Nevada, but it would be nice to see him continue to be a major contributor at this level.

Backup center Charles Bassey, Warriors reportedly agree to one-year NBA contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Charles Bassey‘s five-game audition with the Warriors paid off.

The veteran center and Golden State have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2026-27 NBA season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday, citing sources.

Bassey returns to the Warriors two days after the team declined to match the Memphis Grizzlies’ three-year, $30 million offer sheet to third-year NBA center Quinten Post.

The 25-year-old Bassey now is in line to be the Warriors’ third center behind veterans Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis.

Per ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Bassey assumes the Warriors’ 11th roster spot.

Bassey spent time last season with the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics before signing a 10-day contract with the Warriors on April 5.

In five games, Bassey averaged 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in 20.0 minutes off the bench.

Overall, in five seasons with the Warriors, Celtics, 76ers, Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, the 2021 second-round draft pick is averaging 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 126 games.

While the Warriors wait for LeBron James to make his decision and Draymond Green to likely sign a new contract, they secured a valuable depth piece.

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