Category: Sports News

If you grew up on Suns basketball, this one hits different.

Jerry Colangelo, the man who built this franchise from a 1968 coin flip loss into a Western Conference institution, is officially back in the NBA ownership game at 86 years old.

The Las Vegas Jacks unveiled their leadership group Wednesday, headlined by Colangelo, former NBA player and head coach Vinny Del Negro, media executive David Levy, finance chairman Scott Colangelo, CEO Jonathan Thomas, and former NBA player Jay Williams.

Full release can be read here:Las Vegas Jacks Ownership Group Assembles World Class Leadership Team to Pursue NBA Expansion Franchise

“Basketball has become a global sport to levels never seen before,” said Jerry Colangelo. “With the five top MVP vote-getters being all internationally born, the game is reaching unparalleled heights. My excitement for this project and for our Jack’s vision is right up there in terms of my career. We are all committed and working as hard as we can to bring the league, owners, and the fans the best proposal and end product possible to Las Vegas.”

The money is real. The group has set an asset target of $12.5 billion to $13 billion, with $5 billion already committed and another $3 billion formally indicated, and Levy says they plan to pay the expansion fee in cash. In the short term, they would play at T-Mobile Arena while developing a basketball-centric venue.

The competition is stacked. Magic Johnson’s MAGI group, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, and former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry are all in the mix, and Adam Silver hopes to have an expansion answer by the end of the year.

Are you all ready for Phoenix’s newest rival to be built just 4 hours and 30 minutes (by car) down the road?

On the 16th anniversary of The Decision, yet another one faces LeBron James.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer is looking for a new home after informing the Los Angeles Lakers he would be playing his 24th season elsewhere, and he has no shortage of options to choose from. Some of the more notable teams who have reported interest include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves, though ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that the top three teams in the running are Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia.

But wherever he ends up, don't expect a decision to come any time soon.

"What we do know is that LeBron James wants to be in a competitive, competing environment," Charania said on NBA Today on Wednesday, July 8. "He wants to play meaningful basketball, I'm told. But as far as a timeline, there is no timetable. LeBron James does not appear to be in a rush."

.@ShamsCharania says LeBron's top three teams appear to be the Cavs, Heat and Sixers 👀 pic.twitter.com/D0WUDY3N1h

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 8, 2026

It's a marked departure from James' previous stints as a free agent where he wrapped up his process relatively quickly, most notably signing with the Lakers less than 24 hours into the official start of free agency on July 1, 2018. This time, however, he's taken more time to spend with his family and close friends and play golf, with ESPN's Brian Windhorst reporting that teams have mostly had one-way communication with James and Rich Paul up to this point.

Here's the latest on LeBron's potential landing spots:

More: LeBron James did the NBA one last solid before retiring. He saved free agency.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Celtics fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

After weeks of drama, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens seemed pretty satisfied with the makeup of the Celtics roster heading into this weekend’s Summer League and training camp in September.

“I don’t anticipate anything in the very near term,” Stevens said of the roster as it stands on July 6th. “I think that we do like the team we have, we might be able to add to it, but at the end of the day, we like the group we have.”

The significant change is obviously Paul George replacing Jaylen Brown. The front office also added Mike Conley Jr. to shore up their ball handing in the second unit and Mitchell Robinson to add even more depth to their center room focused on offensive rebounding and rim protection.

Despite knee jerk reactions on social media and the talking heads, analytic prognosticators like Sporting News’ Steph Noh predict Boston to win 50-plus games and continue to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference.

The ingredients have been bought. Now, it’s time for Joe Mazzulla to cook.

There are some givens. You can pretty much set in stone that Jayson Tatum and Derrick White will be starters. After that, things get interesting.

When Tatum returned last season, Mazzulla opted to move Payton Pritchard back to the bench to reprise his 6th Man of the Year role after starting 50 games in the regular season. The added minutes and responsibilities didn’t seem to affect his efficiency, so he could be permanently promoted for 2026-2027.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that George will slot in as a starter, but the 36-year-old could benefit from the Al Horford Plan. He played just 41 and 37 games in consecutive seasons in Philadelphia. On one hand, that could suggest that he’s ready for a heavier load in Year 17, not unlike the 28 games that Horford played in his sabbatical year with the Thunder. On the other hand, Boston could slow boat George just like they did with Big Al and play him in only 60ish games and hold him out in back-to-backs.

Finally, what happens at center? Despite a rocky performance against Joel Embiid in Boston’s first round exit, Neemias Queta proved that he’s a quality starter in this league. The Celtics rewarded him with a four-year, $56 million contract. And they also signed Mitchell Robinson. There’s also Luka Garza who also had a revelatory year last season. Considering Robinson’s ability to defend opposing starting centers and inability to shoot (free throws), it makes sense to make him a starter with Queta and Garza shifting the energy with the second unit.

What do you think happens to start next season?

Luka Dončić gave fans a rare look at the softer side of his life after a turbulent stretch in 2026.

The Los Angeles Lakers star shared a moment with his daughters on his Instagram story, offering a personal glimpse into his time as a father following his split from former fiancée Anamaria Goltes.

In the photo, the 27-year-old is seen sitting on a couch, cuddling with his two daughters on his lap.

The post came after months of personal drama for Dončić and Goltes, who share two daughters. The former couple welcomed Gabriela in November 2023, when Dončić was still with the Dallas Mavericks. Their second daughter, Olivia, was born in December 2025 in Slovenia.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Just months after Olivia’s birth was made public, Dončić confirmed that he had ended his engagement to Goltes.

“I love my daughters more than anything and they will always come first in my life,” Dončić said in a statement earlier this year.

Since then the legal battled has dragged on.

Goltes filed a petition in California seeking child support and legal fees, according to multiple reports. Dončić’s legal team has reportedly moved to dismiss the petition, with a key hearing now pushed to Aug. 14.

He also said in his statement that he is working toward joint custody and trying to spend more time with his daughters in the United States.

That personal priority has already shaped his offseason. Dončić announced in May that he would not play for the Slovenian national team this summer, choosing instead to focus on his family and recovery.

On the court, he is also entering a major transition.

With LeBron James leaving Los Angeles, Dončić is now the unquestioned centerpiece of the Lakers. The front office has already reshaped the roster around him, adding Walker Kessler as a rim-protecting lob threat and bringing in pieces such as Quentin Grimes, Kevon Looney and Collin Sexton to add shooting, depth and support.

Dončić’s last season was filled with extremes. He earned first-team All-NBA honors for the sixth time, finished fourth in MVP voting and led the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game. But a grade 2 hamstring strain caused him to miss the Lakers’ postseason run.

Now, as a new Lakers era begins, Dončić appears focused on the priority he has made clear.

His daughters.

Enough is enough. 

LeBron James, make up your damn mind. 

He stunned us by leaving the Lakers. He kept us glued to our phones for eight days wondering where he was going to take his talents.

He expertly let the suspense crescendo as he became the biggest story in sports two decades into his career. 

But the movie has dragged on too long.

There’s no way he doesn’t know where he’s going. 

He’s holding teams hostage that believe they have a legitimate chance of acquiring him. He’s paralyzing them from fortifying their rosters. The Cavaliers, Warriors, 76ers, Heat and Timberwolves are “Waiting for Godot” while the rest of the league is putting the final touches on their homes.

Bob Myers, the president of the 76ers, said it best in an appearance on Rich Paul’s podcast, “Game Over.” After stating that James has the best chance to win a championship in Philadelphia, Myers added the obvious. “Whatever I say doesn’t really matter to what he’s going to do, let’s be honest.”

Quipped Paul: “No, it doesn’t.”

No one is going to convince the 41-year-old what’s best for him in the sunset of his career. 

No one is going to persuade a basketball savant who’s been in the league an unprecedented 23 seasons where he has the best chance to win. 

No one is going to influence James, except possibly an 11-year-old girl named Zhuri who has the power to make James cry with a Father’s Day card. 

For James, the options are clear: 

1. He could choose the storybook ending by returning to Cleveland, where his career began after he was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in 2003.
2. He could join Steph Curry and Draymond Green on the Warriors, creating a geriatric super team that would be the greatest story in the league.
3. He could return to Miami and try to win a championship alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo.
4. He could go where he thinks he has the best chance to win his fifth ring, say, Minnesota or Philadelphia.
5. Or he could veer in an unexpected direction. 

What’s he waiting for? 

It was in his best interest to take his time making a decision at first. It was wise to see what teams would do to acquire him. To let everyone scramble. To make everyone get a little desperate.

But at a certain point, there’s going to be diminishing returns.

Teams are going to move on without him. They’re going to take themselves out of the race so they can stop living in a state of suspension, treading water.

A week into James’ free agency, what teams are willing — and unwilling — to do has become much more clear.

The Warriors have balked at luring James by pulling off a blockbuster trade to acquire Anthony Davis from Washington, a deal that would mean parting ways with Jimmy Butler as well as multiple first-round picks. If that hasn’t happened yet, the odds of it materializing only seem to decrease.

Barring something crazy happening, James pretty much knows the landscape at this point. He knows his options. Teams have had a week to show their cards. 

It’s time for him to pull the trigger. 

The teams involved in the James sweepstakes have made it obvious how much they want him.

For the Cavaliers, acquiring James is their top priority, which clearly wasn’t the case for the Lakers. 

As for Antetokounmpo? We saw his disappointment after a fan trolled him during a livestream telling him that James had signed with the Cavaliers. “Don’t do that to me,” Antetokounmpo said. “Give me a heart attack.”

Then there’s Green, who declined his $27.7 million player option with the Warriors for next season to clear salary-cap space for Golden State to use their $15 million mid-level exception to pursue James.

Even though James will be 42 next season, he’s the league’s top free agent. He can transform a team into becoming a contender. Everyone is still waiting with bated breath to see what he’s going to do. 

He holds the cards and can drag this on for as long as he likes.

“I think at some point in June, late June, as July rolls around, free agency starts to get going, and as July rolls around and maybe into August, we’ll start to kind of get a feel of what my future may look like,” James said last month on his podcast, “Mind the Game.”

August?

A week of this has been long enough. 

James knows how he wants his illustrious career to end. He knows what he’s prioritizing. He knows his options. 

It’s time for him to make his decision. 

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Jamal Crawford has been a guy Kentucky Basketball fans have had their minds fixated on this summer. The possibility of the three-time NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year joining Mark Pope’s coaching staff in Kentucky has been enticing, and he would join former NBA All-Star Mo Williams to form an elite coaching staff consisting of former players.

Crawford, though, is currently under contract with NBC Sports as a game analyst, working with fellow analyst Reggie Miller and play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico on NBC’s lead NBA team. In their first season together, the network’s return to broadcasting the NBA after 23 seasons, Crawford, Miller, and Tirico called a terrific Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder, a series the Spurs won in seven games with a road win in OKC in the decisive Game 7.

Crawford is also an assistant coach at Rainer Beach High School in Seattle, where he coaches his son, J.J. Crawford, one of the top prospects in the class of 2029.

So, could Crawford still be a potential addition to Mark Pope’s coaching staff? During an appearance with KSR’s Matt Jones on KSR’s radio show Wednesday morning, Pope didn’t sound like he’s expected Crawford to leave his current gig.

“Jamal’s still got two years left on his NBC contract,” Pope said. “I’m good friends with Jamal. We’ve been friends for a long time. There might be a time where it’s good for him to jump into coaching. It’s something that he would like to do. He’s one of those guys that’s cut from a little bit of a similar cloth, like Mo Williams is. It’s hard to run an AAU program. There are a lot of guys that fund an AAU program, but Mo was running an AAU program. Jamal is running and coaching an AAU program.

“We find guys like that with their background — he could have a great future in college, he could go get a job, maybe in the exact right space, as a head coach in the NBA, maybe. I think there’s a good chance coaching is in his future, but he’s got a sweet deal right now, and he’s got a couple of years left.”

This reminds me a lot of the Memphis Tigers when Penny Hardaway took over as their head coach in 2018. Hardaway had former NBA Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year, as well as a two-time NBA Champion, Mike Miller, on his coaching staff for two seasons. Talk about an experienced coaching staff.

With changes having already come to Kentucky’s coaching staff, it remains to be seen if the Wildcats will add another member to it.

“I’m engaged in conversations about staff every day, even when our staff is full,” Pope said. “I’m still talking to people, and kind of seeing where it goes. If we hire someone, it’s going to be the right person that’s going to be exactly the right fit for what we do — but we’re working at a really high level right now.”

It also remains to be seen who the Cats will fill their 15th roster spot with, but there is still time for that and a potential addition to the coaching staff.

The Cats will open the season on Tuesday, November 3rd, against Manhattan at Rupp Arena.

LeBron James won’t be naming the Mile High City his next home.

The Denver Nuggets have reportedly been removed from James’ list of potential destinations, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. The 2023 NBA champions reached out to James when the veteran informed the Los Angeles Lakers he would not return for the upcoming season.

While the Nuggets couldn’t have offered James a considerable contract, he is willing to join a contender on a league minimum deal. But now it’s confirmed that won’t be in Denver.

That leaves five suitors who could land James: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors.

There is speculation James could face potential backlash if he chooses to join a team he’s never played for before. While the 41-year-old will likely receive criticism for any free agent destination, James is searching for basketball happiness in the twilight of his career.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

The Cavaliers make the most sense given James began his career in Cleveland. It would be an appropriate curtain call for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but there are questions as to whether the organization can afford to sign James.

The Warriors are an interesting option for James as he’d get the chance to team up with Steph Curry after their gold medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Heat are reportedly willing to offer Bronny James a two-way contract if James signs with Miami.

For James, there’s much to consider this summer from his legacy to lifestyle. The 23-year NBA veteran’s decision will certainly have league-altering implications as James remains an effective and impactful player.

James is coming off a 2025-26 campaign where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds. 7.2 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field and 31.7% from three. Any team would improve with James on the roster, but it appears there are now only five squads with the chance to add the superstar.