Worldwide Sports News

Mike Dunleavy has jokes. 

When asked about what led to the seemingly awkward exchange between him and the Warriors owner Joe Lacob Tuesday night during the NBA draft that has since gone viral, Dunleavy said the two got into an argument over the best golf course in San Francisco. 

The Warriors general manager then said it was a joke, and that the pressure of the moment with possible trades led to anxiety. 

“This is a really strong draft, so once we got to No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11, I felt like we were going to be anxious to see who falls there,” Dunleavy told reporters after taking Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 11. “But we felt like at No. 11, no matter what happened, we were going to get a good player. 

“As far as the discussion with Joe and I … at that point there were probably some talks about trades and things like that. But ultimately we were all in agreement to land on taking Yaxel. I think Joe was like, ‘Come on, let’s go ahead and pick the guy’. He was just getting a little anxious about us taking Yaxel.” 

Dunleavy and Lacob’s exchange happened moments before the team ended up staying at No. 11, despite fielding trade offers. 

The toss-up for the Warriors front office was reportedly between Arizona guard Brayden Burries — who went to the Bucks with the No. 10 pick — and Lendeborg.

While he’s an older rookie at 23, Lendeborg won a national championship at Michigan this past season after transferring from UAB. 

Lendeborg averaged 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while appearing in 40 games and starting 39. 

The forward was also named Big 10 Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American. 

The 23-year-old, though on the older side for a rookie, will offer youth to a Warriors team headlined by 38-year-old Steph Curry, 36-year-old Draymond Green and 36-year-old Jimmy Butler. 

Well, lookie here, it’s the PTR Mailbag!

We’re back like Mack The Knife and ready to dig into some off-season conversation.

After an extended break, we thought it might be nice to fill some of the pre-free agency vacuum by chasing some wild hares, particularly when it comes to a very specific vein of trade conversation — De’Aaron Fox.

(For our non-Euro readers, Reynard the Fox is the hero of a series of adventure tales from the Middle Ages. You probably know him best from Disney’s animated Robin Hood from 1973, which used the anthropomorphic animals of the Reynard stories as a tribute to the late Walt Disney, who spent decades trying to find a way to adapt them for the screen)

Following San Antonio’s Finals loss (still feels to soon to type that), and an extended rough stretch while playing injured, the NBA world is a-twitter (pun intended) with ideas about how the Spurs should move on from Fox, in spite of the Spurs somewhat public declaration of support.

So, as far as this edition of the Mailbag is concerned, I’m going to be taking you through a bunch of those proposed trades (which a bunch of Spurs Twitter users were lovely enough to provide) and ranking them according to various scales of feasibility and fit.

As always, feel free to drop related (and unrelated) questions down below in the comments for use in future mailbags. If you have questions that didn’t get answered today, you can continue submitting it (and others) in the comments below, as we will absolutely be combing through them.

Additionally, you can also submit questions in the comments on our Twitter Mailbag posts, just as you would in the comments here. And of course, you can always DM me your question directly. (Please note that rhetorical questions and declarative statements are less likely to make the mailbag)

All right, now let’s get to it!

Extremely Unlikely/Borderline Insane (possible trolling)

Ok, I felt the need to embed the above tweet so that we all can see and understand that I told people that their ideas could be as outlandish as they were realistic.

Was this the right call? I have no idea. I do know that I spent an almost equal amount of time laughing and facepalming.

De’Aaron Fox + Keldon Johnson + three 2nd round picks (’26, ’29, ’30) for Giannis Antetokounmpo submitted by @ChiChiandPato

To be fair, this person admitted to a bit of pie-in-the-sky trolling, but this is obviously unrealistic for several reasons, chief among them being the complete lack of reported interest in the Alamo City on the part of both Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Front Office. The Spurs do have a solid combination of assets and salaries with which they could make an offer, but to do so for one guaranteed season of a soon-to-be 32-year-old who is pretty athleticism dependent is almost certainly a no-go for San Antonio, and Fox’s postseason swoon makes it even more unlikely that the Bucks will see him as a favorable asset (and that’s without considering Keldon’s postseason inconsistency). Much more likely the Bucks would want to make a demand for Dylan Harper, and I think we can all agree that that’s a no-go, even without considering shipping out the ’27 Atlanta, ’31 Sacramento, and/or the ’30 Minnesota swap.

Grade: -1/10(Updated Grade -1,000/10, the Miami Heat had to gut their team for Giannis)

De’Aaron Fox for Ja Morant + Ty Jerome submitted by @flygodd22

The lack of picks here actually feels somewhat realistic, given Memphis’ reported desire to move on from Morant. However, San Antonio seems like one of the most unlikely destinations due to: 1. A pretty significant personal character conflict for the franchise, 2. Already possessing a high-floor + high-ceiling back-court of the future in Castle and Harper that would again become cramped with Morant, 3. No evidence that Morant would be willing to adapt his ego and/or playing style accordingly, 4. Bigger needs at other positions, 5. Visible decline and an injury history that suggests that Fox is still the better and more reliable option. If the Spurs front office is going to take a risk, it’s probably not going to be on another guard, and almost certainly not on someone who has consistently displayed the opposite of their preferred ‘over themselves’ ethos. You risk upsetting the chemistry of a Finals team, the possibility of adding an internal power-struggle between Morant and your unquestioned franchise pillar, more guard rotation issues, and the possibility of it all ending up dead money anyway due to injury/regression. And according to Sam Amick, the Grizzlies are hoping to dangle Morant as a ‘Plan B’ for teams that miss out on Giannis. In other words, Memphis is hoping to take advantage of a desperate sucker. That’s just not the Spurs. Nor should it be. Unless the Spurs could somehow get draft assets back (and a blood-oath on pain of self-immolation from Morant for best-behavior), I don’t see this happening.

Grade: Tree Fiddy

De’Aaron Fox to The Clippers + Kawhi Leonard to The Heat + Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Jović to The Spurs submitted by @RomanSATX

Yep, it’s our first three-team trade, and I felt nauseous just typing it out. Ignoring the fact that no one really seems to know what the hell is going on with Leonard, The Clippers, and the theoretical consequences of their arboreal money-laundering scheme, there are still the issues of Wiggins being the wrong size forward, Jović being a milquetoast rim protector whose long-distance shot fell off a cliff, and neither player helping much with the rebounding issues. Add to the equation that the Heat are pretty Spursian in their ability to elevate and make use of role-players, and you basically get that Jović is a lesser version of Kornet who will be paid more than Kornet, for more years, and that Wiggins solves none of San Antonio’s issues at the 4 (though his contact will be expiring), and only increases the existing log-jam at the 3. And the Spurs get no picks. I would rather have someone give me a pedicure with a cheese grater than to have to watch a trade like this go down.

Grade: 1 chum bucket full of my disgust

De’Aaron Fox for Luka Dončić submitted by @HarperEasy2

I have almost no complaints about this trade other than some recently developing concerns that Spurs fans have been infected by whatever one-sided trade-related malady it is that ails the brains of Los Angeles Laker fans. Still, you can’t really call this sort of thing an impossibility anymore, and if the Lakers were to fire Rob Pelinka and then hire Nico Harrison, all bets are off. Even then, though, there would have to be some picks involved. Nico Harrison loves him some picks.

Grade: 2.5 audacity points + 1 gif of a guy doing the insane math of what it would take for that to actually happen

Possible Yet Improbable/Questionable

De’Aaron Fox + Luke Kornet (or picks) for Immanuel Quickley + Jakob Poeltl submitted by multiple people/accounts

This was the most popular submission by far, and it came with different variations of picks and/or Kornet, and it looks fairly rational on the surface. Poeltl is familiar with San Antonio and their system, and is still an above-average rim defender and rebounder, and a decent passer for his position. And Quickley is capable of handling bench and starting duties as needed, can definitely shoot the three, and has also has an ideal disposition for joining the roster seamlessly. Both players are more than capable of spot-starting and offer high-floor depth. However, issue number one is that Poeltl is on the decline, and his health has been an issue pretty much since he got to Toronto, and he’s about to get really expensive proportionate to his value (with 3 years fully guaranteed) which is why Toronto would be looking to get off him. Issue two is that Quickley still has 3 years left on a contract that’s about 20% of the cap, which is a bundle for a player who will get a lot of his minutes with the bench. I don’t think that this is a bad trade, per se. But I do feel like it presents just as many problems as simply keeping Fox, especially with his current trade value probably being lower than the Spurs would like. It may raise the floor, but almost certainly doesn’t raise the ceiling, and if Kornet is in the swap, it actually doesn’t really help depth. Most of all, it doesn’t really reduce cost. And if it doesn’t reduce cost or raise the ceiling, I don’t see the Spurs doing it.

Grade: 4.5/10 (depending on asset variation)

De’Aaron Fox for Julius Randle + Donte DiVincenzo submitted by multiple people/accounts

This was the 2nd most popular submission, and I understand the reasoning. Randle and DiVincenzo actually fill needs for the team, potentially raising the floor and the ceiling. DiVincenzo is a dead-eye shooter with terrific off-ball skills and is a decent defender capable of adding to the starting unit and/or the bench. Randle is a unicorn in terms of talent at Power-Forward, and at his best, is capable of stretching the floor, defending forwards and big men, making sharp passes, and out-rebounding bigger players. ‘At his best’ remains the operative phrase, though, as Randle has been confoundingly inconsistent over his career, season-to-season, game-to-game, quarter-to-quarter. Ironically, Randle’s inconsistent execution and effort level have been among the most consistent aspects of his game at each of his stops. It’s unlikely he would have bounced around so much for a player with his skillset had he been capable of greater focus and (per both reporters and fans) actually listening to his coaches. When you add DiVincenzo’s almost certainly year-long Achilles rehab to the equation, this is basically the Morant trade, just with better positional fits. If this trade featured Naz Reid instead, it might really be interesting, but Reid is as beloved and valued by his team and Minnesota fans as DiVincenzo is (Thilo Widder of Canis Hoopus gave glowing reviews of both during Fraternizing with the Enemy), and because of that, I expect the Wolves to hold onto both of them. Likewise, I expect the Spurs to avoid a solo swap for Randle. At best, they might help facilitate something for the Wolves for an asset (as they seem very motivated to move Randle), but considering Minnesota’s status as a Western Conference contender, I doubt it.

Grade: 4/10 (because of positional fit)(Updated Grade: 3/10, Minnesota had to send assets to trade Randle to the Nets, but it was really just a pick swap. Not worth it.)

De’Aaron Fox + pick for Kevin Durant submitted by multiple people/accounts

I’ve started to see this one more over the last several days, and again, I understand the reasoning need-wise. The Spurs need scoring, shooting, and size. Durant offers all three, and then some. His arrival has been a longstanding desire for a large cohort of Spurs fans since his tenure at the University of Texas, and then gained more steam around the NBA’s 75th anniversary, when Durant put on a George ‘Iceman’ Gervin jersey for a photo-op. And to be clear, the money works, and Durant’s contract only lasting two seasons seems ideal. Theoretically, the skill-set fits. But nothing about Durant has been simple over his career, and the injuries have really started to stack up over recent years. There have been rumors about Durant sabotaging team chemistry long before his recent stint with the Rockets, and once again, a lot of fingers are being pointed. Will Durant try to force an extension as he has in the past, and then throw a trade-value sabotaging fit when denied? Will he be willing to play second (or even 3rd) fiddle again in pursuit of more titles? Will he want to play within the relative confines of San Antonio’s system? Will he respect the still-developing head coach and younger ascending talents as his star begins to wane? All important questions when it comes to one of the most perplexing yet undeniably pure talents of his generation. However, I think the biggest factor is likely going to be Houston’s reluctance to send him to the Spurs, a long-time rival and current opponent for regional dominance as well as Western Conference seeding. The last time these two teams got together for a trade was 2007, when the Spurs shipped Luis Scola to Houston. Prior to that, you have to go back to 1992. Prior to that? 1984. In fact, the Spurs and Rockets have combined for exactly 4 trades with each other, total. It’s an interesting thought exercise, but it’s just not happening. If it does, though, you might want to think about buying a lottery ticket.

Grade: 5/10 (too many questions + too little chance)

De’Aaron Fox + late 1st to The Nets, Michael Porter Jr. + a Spurs 2nd to the Kings, Domantas Sabonis to The Spurs submitted by Yours Truly

Ok, hear me out. The Nets badly need a point guard, and just took on Randle and his salary as they continue their rebuild (ie: hoarding picks). With Randle in the fold, it feels like Porter could be on the move, and the Kings could really use his shooting, scoring, and relative youth + cap reduction. The Nets get a 1st and an upside play that Fox will return to form, allowing them to either keep or trade him for more assets. The Spurs get Sabonis, who is not only slightly cheaper than Fox, but only has two years left on his contract. And Sabonis is actually a pretty compelling fit for San Antonio when you break it down. Not only is he capable of playing both Center and Power-Forward, he’s also arguably the best passing big-man outside of Nikola Jokić (I’m not putting Karl-Anthony Towns over Sabonis until I see some consistency), is a tenacious rebounder, and averaged .389 from three over the 3 consecutive seasons prior to last year. In short, the Spurs would be able to use him the way that the Knicks have used Towns, except that Sabonis is a more efficient scorer and is smarter when it comes to fouls. And while Sabonis does showcase some defensive vulnerability, he’s had a positive Defensive Box Plus/Minus for most of his career, and will be protected a bit when playing with Wemby or Kornet. The biggest issue with this trade is feasibility. After getting fleeced by the Spurs twice in the past couple of years, will the Kings want to deal with them again? Will the Nets want more compensation? Do they want to keep Porter? Will their owner force them to make win-now moves? (as he has in the past) Will both teams try to extract maximum value from the Spurs? It’s just a lot of moving parts and ‘ifs’ and supposedly the Spurs don’t want to move Fox anyway. The fit could be amazing, and the trade has upsides for each team, but it just seems like a major stretch. Man could it be fun, though.

Grade: 5/10 (too many unknown variables)

Good Fit + More Feasible

De’Aaron Fox + Multiple 1sts for Jaren Jackson Jr. submitted by @DonMegaBets

If you wanna talk about fit, this might be even better than Sabonis, though Jackson is decidedly not as impressive a rebounder or passer. Offensively, Jackson’s a more consistent floor stretcher on a higher diet of long-distance shots, and is a pretty efficient scorer in his own right, but it’s the potential for outright defensive terrorism that gives this mouth-watering potential. You’re talking about pairing two of the most smothering rim protectors since San Antonio’s Twin Towers, both of whom can switch back and forth between the 4 and the 5 any given possession, and who can legitimately space the floor like no other front-court. I really only see three issues: 1. Jackson has had some trouble staying healthy as of late, 2. Juggling Jackson’s contract (and possible future contracts) in addition to other budding Spurs stars and Wemby, 3. Danny Ainge. The first issue I would feel less concerned about when considering the reputation and kid-glove handling of the Spurs medical team, and shrewd playing time allocations. The second issue just feels like champagne problems. ‘Oh no! How can they afford to pay all the great players they have on the roster?!’. The third issue, however, is almost certainly the biggest one. As a general rule, it’s a good idea to steer clear of wheeling and dealing with Danny Ainge. For starters, he already pulled off a small heist in order to land Jackson, and there’s no indication that he’d want to move him. Secondly, Ainge has a long history of fleecing teams + extracting maximum value once he knows they want a player. There are no discounts, no real weak moments, no real leverage. Ainge is going to get what he wants, or no dice. And that means this almost certainly empties the last of the San Antonio’s excess pick hoard. Would it be worth it? Yeah, probably. Would the Spurs actually do it? I sincerely doubt it.

Grade: 6/10 (Ainge seems unlikely to do it)

De’Aaron Fox + 1st for Lauri Markkanen submitted by @TheFinalQuan

Full disclosure, I’ve never been big on Markkanen, but he sure looks like a perfect fit in this scenario. Within the context of this Spurs team, he’s basically Kevin Durant-lite. He’s a very efficient shooter from all three levels who adds size, rebounding, and scoring punch, minus all of the drama. The contract is basically a perfect swap, and Markkanen should be able to slide right into the existing ecosystem without much trouble. The defense isn’t great, but his size + the Spurs existing corral of defenders should make up for a lot of that. And with only three years left, the Spurs should be able to move off of him pretty quickly if it doesn’t pan out. The snag is, once again, Danny Ainge, who will probably be prefectly content waiting until he gets exactly the offer he want, as keeping Markkanen really isn’t a problem for him, even if the Jazz draft another forward. With no real rumors of discord or desire to move him, you can expect Ainge to extract a premium for Markkanen’s services. And the Spurs don’t make a lot of trades to begin with, so I wouldn’t bet on this one happening. These are two trade partners who really prefer to dictate their own terms. Spurs fans would owe the front office yet another apology if they pulled it off without getting disemboweled by Ainge, though. But that’s a tall order.

Grade: 7/10 (or higher, depending on cost)

De’Aaron Fox + Multiple 1sts (2-3) for Trey Murphy and Herb Jones submitted by @DonMegaBets

For the perfect mixture of fit and feasibility, though, I think this feels right. The fit isn’t quite as compelling as some of the other propositions, but it’s close, as Herb Jones has seemed like an ideal Spur since he arrived in the NBA, and Murphy shares a somewhat combined profile of two previous Spurs additions in Rudy Gay and Harrison Barnes. Per ESPN’s Marc Spears, the Pelicans are actually looking to move Murphy, and they are exactly the kind of team the Spurs like to take advantage of. The entire organization is in a state of flux with “at least 25 vacancies across basketball operations and business departments so far’, including the medical and analytics departments, which were reportedly “gutted”, which doesn’t bode well, disregarding new president of basketball operations Joe Dumars’ already inconsistent front-office history. The real question in this scenario will be whether the Pelicans will try to continue their long-standing win-now attempts to build around Zion Williamson, or if they’re only interested in collecting assets. If it’s the former (or even an attempt to do both at once) this suddenly becomes very feasible, and might not even cost San Antonio their coveted 2031 Sacramento Kings swap. A front-office in flux and in search of direction (in combination with the right mixture of desperation), with good players who are being ignored for flashier options, is the perfect recipe for a good-old-fashioned Spurs heist. I still don’t think the Spurs are trading Fox this season, but of all the trade ideas, this one seems actually seems possible.

Grade: 8.5/10 (Joe Dumars is the epitome of chaotic good)

Well, that’ll do it for this edition of the PtR mailbag! Let us know your thoughts and/or drop your trade ideas in the comments below. We’ll see how things go tonight in the Draft. And, as always, Go Spurs Go!

Sunrise/ Sunset/ Since the beginning it hasn’t changed yet/ People fly high begin to lose sight/ You can’t see very clearly when you’re in flight — “On Your Way Down” Allen Toussaint

To be honest I didn’t pay much attention initially when Pat Kelsey was first asked Monday morning about not being invited to attend the NBA Draft.

He was diplomatic, commenting how Mikel Brown Jr. only had so many invites, etc, etc.

Then he said this, and my ears perked up.

“Although he was only here for one year, that young man is going to be celebrated and remembered and revered around here for a long, long time.”

I. Don’t. Think. So.

At least that’s my sense from feedback by the Commentariat, conversations along the way, and my own conversion on the issue.

I still didn’t pay a lot of attention. For me, the NBA Draft is a curiosity, far from an obsession.

However when Louisville’s Dean of Sportswriters Eric Crawford returned to the subject later in the interview, I rethought my dismissal that it wasn’t any big deal in these environs.

I’ve thought about it a lot between then and now, just having viewed the part time U of L mercenary take the stage in his bespoke white, pink and baby blue tux, the fitting of which was videoed by his team.

To which attire he added a Brooklyn Nets hat.

Let’s set aside for a moment the underlying dialog about the true extent of MB’s injury, considering how bad the kid’s back really was that “caused” him to sit out over a third of the Cardinals’ games, including the post season.

What I know is Pat Kelsey had Brown’s back during the step aways. Season long. As late at his presser.

“He’s got an ‘it’ about him. … I’m well aware of how special of a player I coached. I’m more proud of how special of a human being Mikel is.”

Unlike Bill Self who publicly wondered aloud how much his eventual No. 2 pick was truly injured last campaign, PK has never never had a discouraging word for Brown.

The very least Brown and his team — Read: Helicopter Father — could have done was bring Pat Kelsey along Tuesday night. To show some respect. Gratitude for PK’s indulgence.

They did not.

For shame.

I’m firmly of the opinion it was a disgrace.

It’s high time that you found/ The same people you misuse on your way up/ You might meet up/ On your way down — AT

 * * * * *

During the season, I was an apologist for Brown.

I was close by in the gym when his back went out during a game. Memphis State, right?

Having had a troublesome back through the decades, I observed the signs in the PG’s hobble during his down time.

A fellow Cardinal hoopaholic advised Brown told him, he’d had back issues previously.

Thus I was inclined to accept he simply wasn’t sandbagging after his breakout national TV performance against UK.

Of course, I was dazzled by his game in early February against a North Carolina State gang mailing it in, “coached” by Will Wade who was already packing to move to Baton Rouge.

I was still dismayed that he matched the individual game point record of four year icon Wes Unseld in ’67. Just didn’t feel right, worthy.*

*I’ve had a former Cardinal, member of the family, share that he’d heard Brown’s dad was upset because Kelsey pulled him before he could break the record. ????

In retrospect I now find it suspect that Brown shut it down once and for all as a Cardinal after hitting but 2/10 in a late February L at Clemson, following by five days his atrocious shooting night in a loss to the Tar Heels on February 23.

How conveeeeeniant!!!

Then came his remarkable full recovery when NBA tryout season and combine dawned.

With the same no lumbar issues that didn’t seem to plague him in AAU and for the USA squad before he came here.

 * * * * *

So, I’d offer he dropped by for a cup of coffee. Shared a couple of almond croissants with us against UK and a jayvee Wolfpack contingent.

Then moved on. Without giving a legit thank you to his coach.

Sayonara, dude.

 * * * * *

I read a piece this morning about Steve Spurrier. In it, he lamented like many the current state of roster movement in college sports, how different it was in his heyday of the 90s.

How his recruiting pitch was, “You’ve got a home to come back to.”

Jordan Nwora comes back for visits.

Donovan Mitchell comes back for visits.

Chucky Hepburn, though a senior one and done is properly revered, and comes back for visits.

Mikel Brown Jr.?

If the over/ under on how many times he comes back was 1, I’d bet the under.

This was never home to Mikel Brown Jr..

This was nothing but a way station.

— c d kaplan

The Knicks entered Tuesday night with the No. 24 pick. They left with no first-round picks… but five additional second-rounders, a bag full of cash, and what feels like another Leon Rose-Brock Aller masterclass.

A few notes and links…

• Let’s start with the obvious: the Knicks did not trade out of the first round because they hated Sergio de Larrea as I did, or even Koa Peat, Cameron Carr, or any other prospect at reach. Every report coming out before and afterward pointed in the same direction, which is none other than avoiding the second-apron and keeping the title-winning core together. It isn’t simple, but New York is simply operating like the savviest franchise.
• As SNY’s Ian Begley pointed out, New York saved itself roughly $3.4 million in first-round salary obligations by moving out of Round 1 and letting others pay for the 24th-best prospect. Can’t complain, let alone if Sergio was the bet.
• Even with all the maneuvering from Tuesday and all the surprises yet to come, the Knicks currently have roughly $211 million committed to 11 players, leaving about $10.8 million before reaching the second apron. Not exactly the type of cushion that lets you sleep comfortably, considering all of Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, Ariel Hukporti, Jeremy Sochan, Kevin McCullar Jr., Trey Jemison, and Jose Alvarado don’t have a contract in place right now.
• Speaking of Alvarado, Sean Deveney spoke to an Eastern Conference executive who described his upcoming market in the most terrifying way possible.

“Oh, it would be a cluster. He’s the kind of guy you want on the bottom half of the roster if you’re a contender. So all the teams that were after him before will be after him again, and they can all bump him to $6 million with an (cap) exception or go higher, go into the midlevel for him. And you’d have to add some teams to that mix, too.”

• Linked to both Alvarado and Tuesday’s dealing and wheeling: remember that New York originally acquired Alvarado by sending two second-round picks and a Frankensteinian Dalen Terry-Guerschon Yabusele body to New Orleans. Suddenly, those freshly-acquired five second-rounders Rose grabbed don’t look quite as random, do they? Keep ’em coming!
• If you are still lost amid all the draft sennanigans and deals and cap issues and stuff like that (which I have publicly admitted to being) and you haven’t read Michael Zeno’s breakdown of the cap implications and Knicks situation, do it right now. The entire piece is basically a love letter to Brock Aller, and the argument is simple: second-round contracts are cheaper, they create more flexibility, and could massively help New York retain all/most veterans while staying under the apron.
• If you don’t love Nate, fear nothing. I’d keep loving him for you.
• Pour one out for the St. John’s crowd, even if it hurts not to have Zuby Ejiofor around. The Red Storm standout ended up going No. 23 to Atlanta, one pick before New York’s original No. 24 selection. Fun what-if: had Zuby been available for the Knicks, would we be talking about trading out of the first round? Worth Weisioning.
• Jalen Brunson announced his first children’s book, Jalen Plays It All, and I don’t know why you haven’t preordered it yet.
• Speaking of Brunson! Becky Hammon refused to apologize for her take that she couldn’t be the No. 1 option on a title team. “All he did was prove history wrong,” she said, adding that ESPN doesn’t pay her to cancel her own opinions. Stay strong, Becky!
• Only wow, she actually admitted being wrong a few hours later, in what sounded like a simple “Here you have it, leave me alone” type of statement. See, Becky’s initial comments sucked, and she knows it. She knows it so much, and it became so clear that she was wrong, that now she’s just trying to escape the spotlight, one she couldn’t bear, in the only possible way. Throwing the rock and hiding her hand as quickly as possible, at the start of a Las Vegas Aces press conference, trying to evade endless loops in X as if this wasn’t the year 2026 of our Lord. Good luck escaping history, Becky.
• Not happy with her comments, she went on to say the following thing about Jalen Brunson, probably, perhaps, one has to imagine, thinking that she was being so clever as to make me mad once again, in a plot twist only meant to deflect attention from his initial and unmistakable remark. And in doing so, she inevitably fell for the trap a second time, now finding herself waiting for another eventual round of backlash. Some people never learn, I guess.

“Let me just piss off Knicks fans again and say, I think he’s the greatest Knick ever. Give them something else to talk about… I’ve always been a Jalen Brunson fan. I was a fan of his at Villanova, in Dallas and why this comment went off the rails, I have no idea because it was clearly a historical and analytical take.”

• Adam Silver keeps trying to avoid saying the League is going 32 while sounding increasingly locked into the upcoming expansion. The commish said Seattle and Las Vegas remain the focus and, in a new/confirmed development, he floated the 2028-29 season as the first one featuring the Sonics and the Gamblers.
• Celtics Corner I: Shams Charania reported before the draft and post Giannis-to-Miami that Boston is “listening, engaging, and discussing” trade offers for Jaylen Brown.
• Celtics Corner II: Brad Stevens then said Brown is “a big part of us,” but the funniest thing is that literally five seconds later, he added, “you never know… I don’t want to predict the future.”
• Celtics Corner III: These two statements seem somewhat contradictory.
• Celtics Corner IV: I support whatever creates the most chaos, and it doesn’t look like the C’s are escaping this messy situation with their duo intact. If it doesn’t break by July, it will by September. And if it stays together all the way up to next season’s tip-off, I would be watching and waiting for the Brown Stream That Bombs It All. Here’s the link, click the notifications button!
• Old “report” brought back to life a couple days ago: the Knicks “could pursue” OAKAAK Tim Hardaway Jr. for his third stint in Manhattan. The internet remains undefeated.

Enjoy Round 2.

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s the third quarter of a late May game against the Valkyries and the Fever are looking to cap off a third-quarter rally that saw them overturn a seven-point deficit to take the lead.

With 20 seconds remaining, a miscommunication by the Golden State defense allows Kelsey Mitchell to find Raven Johnson in the corner for a three that ignites the home crowd.

In a moment that could hardly better define the highs and lows associated with playing rookies, Johnson’s excitement after the shot quickly transforms into overzealousness. Without a single player on either team having yet crossed half court, she fouls Veronica Burton 94 feet from the basket to send her to the free throw line.

As cliché of a rookie mistake as it was, it was also a perfect teaching moment, and Aliyah Boston took advantage.

Standing at half court, she waits for Johnson, puts her arms on her shoulders and offers advice. Despite being just 24 years old and in her fourth year in the league, Boston has become one of the team’s leaders.

Boston isn’t new to the role. By her own admission, she’s a natural talker. But talking is not leading, nor is it necessarily communicating, either. Those are skills she’s had to develop over the years, something she credits her college coach, Dawn Staley, for helping kickstart.

It’s also something that came along by necessity. When injuries ravaged the Fever last season, Boston became the point guard of sorts at times. Point guards are vocal leaders, so Boston had to assume that role as well.

All those experiences and circumstances have led to this season, where Boston has blossomed into a leader and a constant voice for the Fever, whether in practice, the locker room, a huddle or during the game.

In this moment against the Valkyries, it’s allowed her to help refocus Johnson in a tight game. The results are immediate as Johnson opens the fourth quarter with a flurry of activity, scoring or assisting on the first seven points of the period for Indiana — including setting up Boston for a layup — as the lead extended to double digits en route to a victory.

Leadership is often demonstrated in the moments behind the scenes and away from the cameras, but that game and that moment offered a rare chance for fans to see how impactful it can be.

It’s been clear for multiple years that the Fever have three stars in Caitlin Clark, Boston and Mitchell.

But sometimes even if something is implied, it’s still best to make it known. So, this preseason, head coach Stephanie White took aside the trio and told them the obvious.

This is your team.

“I think we’ve kind of known that from the jump that it’s really just like, we got to — the three of us like as a unit — we have to make sure that we lead the team in the right direction,” Boston told SBNation of White’s preseason message. “I think it’s always different, especially last year with [Clark] being out, so it was like kind of just finding that group again. But I think, honestly, like we’re doing a pretty good job of it.”

Setting aside the multiple All-Star selections in the last two seasons from the three, they are also among the most tenured players on the roster. The roster turnover since the arrival of Boston and Clark in consecutive drafts leaves them as three of the four longest-serving Fever.

For Boston, even if talking comes naturally, White’s message was a reassurance that the team needed her to speak up. She took that vote of confidence and ran with it this season, and her team has taken notice.

“I think the thing that really stands out is Aliyah’s constantly the one talking in our huddles,” Clark said. “She’s the first voice we have there…She has a very strong voice and you constantly hear it whether it’s in-game, whether it’s on the bench in a timeout, whether that’s in the locker room on not just game days, but even on practice days too.”

Being the vocal leader also hasn’t taken away from Boston’s production either. If anything, the opposite has been true.

She’s averaging 17.2 points, the most of her career, while still grabbing 8.6 rebounds per contest. Much of her jump in scoring can be attributed to her improvement as both a 3-point shooter, where she’s shooting 44.7% on 2.5 attempts per game, and at the free throw line, where she’s shooting 83.8%.

“I think talking about the game is always great and I think it allows you to just see and understand it a lot more, understand teams, player tendencies,” Boston said. “I think the more that you watch, the more you talk about it, it just makes it clearer.”

As great as Boston has been this season, ask just about anyone with the Fever, and they’ll point to last season as the moment Boston took a leap in many ways.

It was a year marred by injuries for the Fever. As quickly as the team would make an in-season signing, another player would fall by the wayside with the point guard position being the most common point of attrition.

To help alleviate the burden of the rotating new faces, the Fever did what they do so often: lean on Boston.

“At times she was our point guard last year,” Clark said. “And if you’re the point guard, you got to communicate a lot, you got to know what’s going on, you got to be on the same page as a coach and you have to be able to get your teammates where they need to be.”

Boston became one of only three players in league history to have at least 350 rebounds and 150 assists in a season last year. She also realized how impactful she can still be as a communicator even if she wasn’t a point guard.

“I think that just my positioning, how we wanted to play, I think that definitely was a super big part of it,” Boston told SBNation. “So for this year, I’m just trying to make sure that I continue on that path.

“I think you can still lead from the post. I know the guards have the ball a lot, but I think being able to just communicate and talk about what I’m seeing is always going to be crucial.”

On top of everything else, the interplay between Boston and Clark remains one of the most reliable actions for any team in the league. What continues to make Boston particularly difficult to defend is her passing ability. As quickly as Clark can find Boston on a roll to the rim, the latter can hit the former on a backcut.

Boston is one of only two players in the league this season with a total rebound percentage and an assist percentage both above 20%. The Fever are putting the ball in her hands more than ever before, evidenced by her career-high 27.8% usage percentage, and she’s repaying them with career numbers.

“She’s solid,” White said. “She doesn’t get too high, she doesn’t get too low. Certainly, every player gets frustrated at times, but she’s an elite communicator. You trust her to make the right play and to make the right read. She brings people together. She’s a connector, which is so important, and she just continues to lead by example and be a vocal leader for our team.”

Those lessons learned from a challenging 2025 season are paying dividends for Boston in 2026. As a team, the Fever have struggled to find consistency this season. Offensively, Indiana is averaging the most points per game in the league. Defensively, they’re allowing the third most.

Not surprisingly, highs and lows have followed them. A recent four-game win streak included a game-winner from Clark in Washington. But that streak came shortly after an ugly loss in Portland, when they trailed by as many as 26.

What remains most consistent throughout it all, though, is Aliyah Boston, who just keeps improving.