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Earlier this month, we touched on the possibility of the Dallas Mavericks moving veterans Daniel Gafford and Kyrie Irving this offseason as the team looks to rebuild for the future with Cooper Flagg as its centerpiece. In many ways, those deals make a lot of sense. Dallas is starved for picks after this upcoming draft and veterans of this caliber could likely restock those tapped reserves.

In respect of moving Kyrie Irving in particular, there is a valid counterpoint that retaining him is the smarter choice. Irving has won a championship, brings veteran leadership (which a rebuilding team could benefit mightily from) and is an enticing pair for Flagg. Pragmatically, his trade value is also arguably at a low point given he just missed an entire season, lending more credence to him sticking around. According to Marc Stein (subscription required), Irving is set to do just that.

The Mavericks have received trade inquires for Kyrie Irving, per Marc Stein’s latest Substack

The Mavericks, sources tell the Stein Line, have been messaging to teams that Kyrie is not available https://t.co/pfCziaar1tpic.twitter.com/k53HSRsFCy

— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom) June 12, 2026

Stein says the Mavericks have received inquiries from other teams regarding Irving’s availability in a trade. Intuitively, we all have basically known this for some time. However, he goes on to indicate that the Mavs have thus far shut down any such conversations as they indicate to teams that Irving is not on the trading block. This echoes Mavs’ President Masai Ujiri’s comments in a recent press conference, where he spoke highly of Irving and touched on his excitement to see him and Flagg share the court.

That said, even a well-respected and well-connected guy like Stein gets it wrong sometimes (who doesn’t?), but let’s assume this report is spot on. If Irving is firmly in the fold, that is one less trade piece Dallas has in play. That, in turn, seemingly increases the odds of another vet (or more) heading toward the door. Stein further suggests that Gafford, P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson are the most likely Mavs to be moved. Further, it means another starting spot in the rotation is covered alongside Flagg, which may influence how Dallas goes about their draft choices in a few weeks. It’s certainly not unreasonable to think the #9 pick will be a starting caliber player, but with Irving running point, does that influence who Dallas intends to select in this draft rife with guard talent? There are many options here – select a guard and start him next to Irving, select a guard and bring him off the bench, don’t select a guard at all… There has been significant focus on Dallas acquiring a young backcourt player to usher in the future with Flagg, but it’s really anyone’s guess what Dallas will do now. Whatever the case, if Stein is correct, whomever they pick in a few weeks can expect to team up with both Flagg and Irving.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

The Celtics are interested in trading Jaylen Brown to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and rumors skyrocketed Thursday after that was revealed by Kevin O’Connor.

According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, an NBA source confirmed the Celtics are more than bystanders.

But according to Winderman, the possibility of a deal involving Brown and Antetokounmpo might not be so simple because the Celtics need to find a third team to be part of the deal.

Winderman wrote that the Bucks are looking to maximize draft capital, youth and manageable contracts in an Antetokounmpo deal.

Brown is set to enter his age-30 season and still has three years left of a five-year, $285.4 million contract he signed after the Celtics won their first NBA championship with Brown and Jayson Tatum.

With Brown’s age and hefty contract, there might not be as much interest by the Bucks in breaking up the Celtics’ core. Wilderman noted, though, that the Hawks and Pelicans might be interested in acquiring Brown.

Tatum missed most of the 2025-26 season nursing a torn Achilles that he suffered in the 2025 NBA playoffs.

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Brown was in MVP talks for most of the season, finishing with averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists. The Celtics (56-26) finished the regular season in second place in the East behind the Pistons (60-22).

But after a first-round exit in the playoffs, in which the Celtics blew a 3-1 lead against the 76ers, Boston might look for a change.

The Hawks (46-36) were one of the NBA’s more surprising teams after finishing the 2025-26 regular season in sixth place. But after blowing a 2-1 series lead against the Knicks and losing Game 6, 140-89, in the first round of the playoffs, their season ended.

The Pelicans (26-56) are coming off a miserable season and missed the playoffs. They could look to pair Brown with Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III, who led them in scoring last season after averaging 21.5 points per game.

The stunning victory by the New York Knickerbockers over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday gave ABC the most-watched NBA Finals Game 4 since 1998, the year of Michael Jordan’s last championship with the Chicago Bulls.

Nielsen data showed an average of 20.9 million viewers watched the Knicks overcome a 29-point halftime deficit to top Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden, the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. The Knicks have a 3-1 lead in the series and will play Game 5 on Saturday in San Antonio, attempting to win their first NBA championship in 53 years.

Through the first four games, the NBA Finals are averaging 19.6 million viewers, also the highest since the Bulls-Utah Jazz faced off on NBC in 1998. The series is on track to become the most-watched since the NBA Finals moved to ABC and ESPN in 2002.

“The match-up is ideal from a media business standpoint, featuring the nation’s largest media market with New York, teams with robust followings and multiple all-stars, especially Wemby, the compelling new face of the NBA,” said Lee Berke, president of LHB Sports Entertainment & Media, Inc.

The Knicks-Spurs series is up 116% over the first four games of last year’s match-up between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. But the most encouraging numbers for ABC and ESPN is the growth among younger viewers, who have become harder to reach in the age of social media and streaming. Ratings among teens aged 12 to 17 are up 138% while the 18 to 24 age group is up 147%.

Read more:2026 Super Bowl scores 124.9 million viewers, second-largest audience in history

ABC is also seeing spikes in viewing among women, up 121%, and the Latino audience due to its large populations in the markets of New York and San Antonio, according to Flora Kelly, ESPN’s senior vice president for audience research.

Viewing in the New York market alone is accounting for 15% of the national audience. The average price for a 30-second commercial on the telecasts topped $1 million each, according to people familiar with the figures who were not authorized to comment publicly. Some spots have gone for as much as $2.3 million.

In addition to delivering highly competitive games, the NBA Finals also had President Trump and pop superstar Taylor Swift in attendance at Madison Square Garden. Both are capable of turning a live TV event into a full-blown spectacle.

“What we’re seeing is that this Spurs-Knicks series is a tremendous cultural moment,” Kelly said.

Trump attended Game 3, making him the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals. While Trump was a fixture at Knicks games before he entered the national political scene, some commentators, such as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, believed the president’s insistence on attending Monday’s contest became a distraction that disrupted the home team’s momentum. (The Knicks lost the game 115-111, ending the team’s streak of 13 consecutive wins.)

Swift showed up for Game 4, joining “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay and the other celebrities who regularly show up courtside at Madison Square Garden.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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

Los Angeles bringing back LeBron James is more complicated this offseason than at any other time during his Lakers tenure. Given that he is an unrestricted free agent, he can go wherever he wants and the Lakers can’t just pay James what he is actually worth.

The franchise has to pay Austin Reaves, who is also an unrestricted free agent. Considering he reportedly wants over $40 milllion and other teams are reportedly interested in signing him, LA might have to pay a hefty price to secure their backcourt star.

So, the Lakers have to figure out how to do that and still pay LeBron to keep their three stars together. That’s going to be a challenge for this front office, but perhaps the first question they have to ask is if they should even bring James back to begin with?

He is still a top player in the NBA, but his decline has begun. LeBron averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2
assists per game. That was the lowest points average for LeBron since his 2003-04 rookie campaign.

Father Time might not be winning, but the clock is now on its side.

This is part of the reason LeBron became the third option for the Lakers this season. LeBron taking such a role is something he has never had to do, and it certainly was never the best course of action for a team he was on before.

But with Luka as No. 1 option and Reaves as another ball-dominant player, this was the way to optimize LA.

So, for our SB Nation Reacts survey this week, we asked Lakers fans if they want LeBron back next season and the results indicated they do.

It was a close poll, but in the end, LeBron is still wanted because he remains an elite player. We saw that in the first round, when he dominated the Rockets without Luka Dončić and with Austin Reaves missing most of the games.

He is still an All-Star player and a fantastic starter. Walking away from LeBron wouldn’t make the Lakers better. In fact, they’d have to bring in a couple of players to try to match LeBron’s production. And even if they do that, those players are likely to cost more than LeBron’s deal will end up being and it’s unlikely they’ll be as good.

So, the best course of action for LA to win now still includes LeBron. The question is: can they figure out a dollar amount that satisfies everyone?

It’s in the Lakers’ best interest to do so.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Greetings, Panthers fans. Welcome to the weekend.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread

The Spurs could be without their backup center for a must-win Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Knicks. Luke Kornet has been listed as questionable in the injury report due to illness.

Kornet has not had a good playoffs and has only averaged a shade under eight minutes per game in the Finals. He’s only scored three total points in the series and pulled down nine total rebounds. San Antonio has been outscored by a total of 19 points when he’s been on the floor. It’s a horrible matchup for Kornet, who is not quick enough to guard Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter or switch effectively and struggles on the defensive boards against Mitchell Robinson. On paper, his potential absence shouldn’t have a big effect on the Spurs’ chances of forcing a Game 6.

The problem is, the Silver and Black don’t really have other viable big men to spare Victor Wembanyama, who is already averaging 40 minutes a game and at times has looked fatigued. While Kornet has not been effective, Kelly Olynyk, Bismack Biyombo, and Mason Plumlee still probably represent a downgrade. Mitch Johnson will likely go small instead if his backup big man misses the game, with Carter Bryant potentially getting minutes at center, as he has in the past. Bryant has not been good in his limited playing time, but he could be the best alternative.

The Spurs are down 3-1 in the Finals and are facing elimination. Game 5 will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, June 13.