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Draymond Green and Udonis Haslem have found a way to turn the reported Bam Adebayo/Tyler Herro scuffle into a full-blown NBA enforcer feud.

Because apparently, one scuffle is never enough.

The drama started after Adebayo reportedly struck former Miami Heat teammate Herro during a workout Friday morning at practice near Resorts World Las Vegas. Herro, recently shipped to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster, declined to explain what happened.

“My only comment is no comment,” Herro said.

The Heat also went with the classic “aware and not commenting” approach.

Green, however, had plenty to say.

On “The Draymond Green Show,” the Warriors forward wondered whether Haslem would bring the same outrage for Adebayo that he once brought for Green after his infamous 2022 practice punch on Jordan Poole.

“I remember one person when the Jordan Poole incident happened with me who was really, really outspoken about it and it really Bothered me, was Udonis Haslem,” Green said.

“I saw UD get into it with guys on teams that was younger than him before. Ala Jimmy Butler,” Green continued. “Then he came out like, ‘That’s ridiculous! You get into it with your young guy I would never. I can’t believe you did that.’ What is it ‘Heat Culture or Heat way?’ Maybe they don’t have fights.”

Green even admitted he did not actually want Haslem to come down on Adebayo the way Haslem once hammered him.

“Reality is I don’t want him to have that same energy because I love Bam,” Green said. “That’s my brother, my dog.”

Green also appeared to draw a direct line between Herro and Poole, saying Herro, who is from Milwaukee like Poole, has “a lot of bravado as a young guy” and “probably said some very disrespectful things like Jordan Poole.”

Haslem, who spent two decades as Miami’s resident culture cop before moving into a front-office role, did not wait long to respond. In a lengthy social media post, the retired Heat captain essentially told Green to stop trying him.

“I see some things just don’t change,” Haslem wrote. “You was on sucka s–t four years ago when you swung on Jordan Poole and you on sucka s–t now.”

And that was just the warmup.

Haslem argued Green’s punch was not comparable, pointing out that Green was a 32-year-old champion and veteran leader when he struck the 23-year-old Poole. Adebayo and Herro, he noted, are much closer in age and no longer teammates after Herro’s trade to Milwaukee.

“First of all Bam is 28. Tyler is 26. Neither one of them got it all figured out yet,” Haslem wrote.

He then made the distinction even sharper.

“Anyone who knows Bam knows he’s strong as baby bear,” Haslem wrote. “If he would’ve unloaded on Tyler 100% it’s over. You fired off on that young boy like it was a club punch and you never met him before in your life.”

Haslem also defended his own history of checking teammates in Miami, including Jimmy Butler, saying that kind of behavior would not fly with the Heat.

“Call it Heat Culture or whatever you want,” Haslem wrote. “But before I let one player disrespect [head coach Eric Spoelstra] in front of the squad, cut his legs out and disrupt what 15 other guys tryin to get accomplished, I’ll kick his ass.”

Finally, Haslem made it clear he is not interested in becoming a recurring character on Green’s podcast.

“Ion really vibe you and I think you know that,” Haslem wrote. “You brought me into this and I am retired and out the way. I suggest you keep it pushing cause I ain’t giving out no more hall passes bra!”

Of course, being “out the way” apparently still includes dropping five-paragraph warnings on social media.

The original Adebayo-Herro incident remains cloudy. No video has surfaced, no punishment has been announced and nobody involved seems eager to explain exactly what happened.

But Green and Haslem have already done what NBA gadflies do best in July: Turn somebody else’s fight into their own.

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You’d have to say that even with a couple of obvious concerns, the Nets Off-Season has been a success, starting from June 23. Their best draft pick in 16 years (think about that!) has been, as his Summer League coach said, “electric” and the development of their second best pick in that timeframe has been exciting. They also got a two-time All-NBA and three-time All-Star who’s still capable of putting up 20 and 7 plus another first round pick in what was essentially a salary dump, much like they did last year. Yeah, they want to win.

Yes, their rim protection and rim running are questionable, Drake Powell has raised questions about his NBA future as a shooter and they didn’t come away with a superstar or even a star in free agency (yet?) but adding Mikel Brown Jr., Julius Randle and another first in Joshua Jefferson while watching Egor Demin dominate has provided, let’s say, some suggestion of hope that the first of many corners has finally been turned.

And they did it without cutting into their cache of draft picks, although their seeming reluctance to move any of their record cache of second rounders was a bit of a head-scratcher.

The big news of the Off-Season of course is drafting Brown Jr., aka MBJ or ‘Kel. Randle has the resume’ but he’s 31 going on 32. While Brown Jr. has played only two games, both were filled with moments that make it less than crazy to say Brooklyn has a lead guard who can play on either end of the court, score from all angles and throw some passes that makes most fans wonder when they last saw a playmaker like him in black-and-white.

Despite bleating, mostly from pundits, that the Nets should have taken Darius Acuff, he of the “sizzle”, “box office” and “star quality,” over Brown Jr., there’s now increasing if begrudging agreement that the players taken before and after Brown Jr. have shown more flaws than the Nets pick at No. 6.

Acuff’s defense has been as advertised, that is somewhere between awful and non-existent and unlikely to improve any time soon. His scoring (19.5 ppg in four games), by his own admission has been inefficient. In two games in Sacramento and two more so far in Las Vegas, he’s shooting 13-of-41 or 31.7% overall and 8-of-31 from deep or 25.8%. Remember it was his shooting that wowed everyone during his time at Arkansas, not his defense. Oh no.

Keaton Wagler taken at No. 5 has only played in two games and while his 23-point effort Sunday night in Las Vegas was solid, it comes after a 1-of-7 shooting night in his Vegas debut. As they did prior to the Draft, critics noted his lack of athleticism as well as his high BBIQ. Wagler, for example, finished 50th in the NBA Combine’s shuttle run out of 72, and he didn’t dunk once at Illinois last season.

Brown Jr., in comparison, has played only two games, one each in the two leagues, and is averaging 15.0 points while shooting 10-of-23 or 43.5% overall and 5-of-11 or 45.5% from deep. He’s also tallied seven assists to four turnovers in 41 minutes. The eye test, as anyone who watched the games, can attest, was even more impressive.

So maybe, the Nets didn’t screw it up? that they won’t regret for all time and a day not taking Acuff? Without explanation on Sunday night, Steven A. Smith, who famously excoriated the Nets for taking Brown Jr. over “box office” Acuff, reposted a positive interview he did with the Nets pick prior to the Draft…

A back-handed apologia from Steven A that he might have been wrong the first time? Is it Brown Jr., not Acuff who’s “box office?” On the other hand, it should be noted that despite Brown Jr.’s play as well as his high pick, Smith’s colleagues at ESPN didn’t even mention him in its discussion of first impressions of the 2026 Draft Class.

Of course, we’ll know more Tuesday when the Nets and Brown face off against the Kings and Acuff at 6:00 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime.

Yes, it’s only Summer League which is after all, the ancestral home of NBA hype, and it’s only been two games, and Coach Dutch Gaitley offered these areas of improvement for Brown Jr. after his first game.

“The thing we’re challenging him now is figuring out his spots in the flow of the offense. Him and Egor together, how can we get both of them going at the same time,” Gaitley said. “And defensively is increasing his physicality. The first part is hitting bigs when they’re rolling, boxing them out. He’s smart, so some of the stuff he’s doing defensively I told him was Level 4, Level 5. We’re still on 1.5 in summer league.

“He’s smart enough that he knows what the next iteration we may not get to until October; but he knows it already. How can we do the little things and the simple stuff perfect before we build on [it]? And the last part is just getting into the ball, more physicality, pick-and-roll, which defensively isn’t what he’s not known for right now, but it’s something that’s going to surprise a lot of people.”

Still, gotta be happy. Demin too has been a revelation for those who think the Nets got nothing out of their five-firsts in 2025. It’s no exaggeration that Demin has been the best player on the court in the three games he’s played. one of the top marks in the Summer, and going to the rim as will. From going 1-of-4 in the paint in his first three games last year in Vegas to hitting 11-of-12 in his first two games in Sacramento was a revelation for a lot of people if not the assistant coaches who worked with him since March. Overall, he’s 22-of-42 — 52.4% — even if his 3-point shooting has fallen off at 7-of-23 or 30.4%.

There have been other positives out of the Summer beyond “Brooklyn’s Backcourt” … whose trademark the Nets have controlled since DWill and Joe Jesus. Chaney Johnson, who just turned 24, has continued to show he’s an NBA player, particularly in his Las Vegas debut where he dropped a 20/10 double-double and showed off his 40+ inch max vertical as well as some new found strength, Although somewhere between 6’7” and 6’8”, he’s been playing center at times and Gaitley has noted his position-less possibilities.

“I knew Chaney was a beast. It’s further confirmed,” Gaitley told the media. “In the ESPN thing, they asked about all of our rookies: ‘Who’s the one guy you haven’t talked about?’ I was like, ‘It’s Chaney Johnson.’ And the reason is Chaney has to play at the center just because we need him to play the center.

“If we needed Chaney to play point guard, Chaney would play point guard. He does whatever is called for the team. He’s an outstanding teammate. He plays as hard as anybody on the court. I think he’s got a really bright future.”

Bruce Brown II? In any case, he’s putting up 15.0 points and 8.8 boards while shooting 22-of-34 or 64% overall and 4-of-6 from deep. Not a bad pick-up.

The Nets other confirmed two-way, No. 43 pick Tyler Bilodeau, has had some moments as well in his three games, his most impressive night being Brown Jr.’s debut in Sacramento where he hit 6-of-8 from deep, each time wide open and ready thanks to Brown Jr.‘s gravity. (Nothing official on who will get the third two-way but Grant Nelson, the athletic 7-footer who had nice numbers last year in Long Island then Brooklyn before injuring his knee seems the betting favorite.)

Then, there’s remaining first rounders from last year’s Draft. Nolan Traore, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after the season, is in Las Vegas but still recovering. Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf have looked much like themselves in Summer League with Saraf showing more defense, Wolf more shooting. Joshua Jefferson’s first game was disappointing but he had just signed his new contract and put on his first NBA uniform.

The big story though is Drake Powell, the 6’7” wing, is having a horrible Summer League, shooting 1-of-28 overall — that’s 3.7% — in four games. It’s so much of an aberration now that it’s easier to deal with. No one can be that bad. He’s not hurt, he’s still moving well and he even grew an inch over the summer. Is it the “yips” described by Wikipedia as “psychoneuromuscular impediment, a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills in experienced performers such as athletes.” Others have described it as performance anxiety. Whatever, it is real, but for the most part it’s temporary.

And Gaitley, ever the optimist, will remind you as he reminded the media the other night, Powell is still playing good defense, citing how he played vs. Acuff.

“People have talked a lot about his shot. They haven’t talked about his defense, and his defense has been outstanding,” Gaitley told The Post’s Brian Lewis. “He was the primary matchup for [Darius] Acuff in the first game, and [Acuff] had two points on him the whole entire game. He had 11 matchups and only had two points; that’s really impressive.

“Offensively, just trying to simplify it for Drake. Hey, if you’re open, shoot it. If you’re not open, drive it. Sometimes he gets caught in between he maybe should’ve shot it. And then he’s like, ‘Oh, I made the wrong decision. All right, now let me shoot it.’ And it’s like, right now you’ve just got to get off it. So I think hopefully the game slows down for him.”

Powell, one of the top high school players in the country two years ago, spent his freshman year under UNC’s Hubie Green, who saw Powell as a defensive specialist. He got little usage on offense and despite his high school achievements (which included being valedictorian of his graduating class), he fell from a preseason ranking in the top five to No. 22 on Draft Night in 2025. He was the biggest reach of the five-player class in that ESPN’s final mock had him going at No. 32.

The Nets remain optimistic. There are a lot of tools there, but an issue can’t be ignored even if there are reasons it can be dismissed. Maybe Brooklyn would be well served by hiring a dedicated shooting coach. They know about the “yips.”

Hail, Hail, the gang’s all here!

Looking at the bench and nearby seating at the Summer League games, it’s hard to figure out who isn’t there, rather than who is. The Nets Summer League roster includes six players under contract: Egor Demin, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf, Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson plus two two-ways in Chaney Johnson and Tyler Bilodeau.

Also seen cheering and checking their mobile phones nearby have been Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, Noah Clowney, Keon Ellis, Terance Mann, Josh Minott, Day’Ron Sharpe and Nolan Traore who would normally be on the court except, as noted, he’s recovering from a ‘scope. That leaves only the yet unsigned Moe Wagner! (He has been seen at a Liberty game this week, however, and our Lucas Kaplan notes he’s been living in Brooklyn all summer.)

Same thing with the coaching staff. Jordi Fernandez has been watching from the stands and six of his nine assistants, everyone but his three senior assistants, Steve Hetzel, Juwan Howard and Jay Hernandez, are on the bench. Those three are on hand, however. The Nets have also brought four video assistants, including one, Foster Loyer, who is being promoted to “special assistant to the head coach;” three Long Island Nets coaches, including the newly minted head coach Shawn Swords; and advance scout Brian O’Connor. Sean Marks has been on hand as well, mobile phone in hand.

Randle spoke about how the simple presence of veterans can help youngsters adapt to NBA life,

“They’re really excited to have me here. Jordi [Fernandez] is really excited. He feels like going into every game, we’ve got a chance to win every single game,” Randle said. “To have that confidence from your coach is amazing. … I get to come in and be a leader, show guys how to be a pro.

“We’re coming in trying to win. It’s as simple as that. However we can help give the younger guys experience and confidence and help them fast-track or whatever it is to contribute to winning basketball, that’s really all that matters.”

It’s something Demin says he’s seen already from the 13-year veteran.

“He’s experienced being around many different teams and playing in the different levels of the different stages of the season and playoffs,” Dëmin said. “He brings an amazing knowledge. And he seems a great person.”

Done yet? Probably. but …

The Nets currently have 14 players on guaranteed deals, with Moe Wagner waiting in the wings, plus the two two-ways in Tyler Bilodeau and Chaney Johnson. It would appear that the Nets free agency is done, but depending on how they manipulate and time things, they have a little wiggle room.

Per Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron, they can probably whittle together just a bit less than $12 million without Wagner’s two-year, $19 million contract and that could signal that the Nets are holding on to their last vestige of optionality. The Nets can sign Wagner out of cap space or fit his first year salary into the $9.4 million room MLE that’s available to them. Some have speculated that the similarity between his salary and the first year of the MLE

Signing him out of cap space of course would basically put them at or near the salary cap but still tens of millions of dollars short of the luxury tax threshold or the first apron. Using the MLE would mean delaying his signing till they’re out of other options.

Any trade at this point — and we have no inside information — would likely take full advantage of the Nets cache of draft picks. Other than expending them in the 2026 Draft, the Nets haven’t moved any of their picks in the off-season and in fact added a first, the 28th pick they used on Joshua Jefferson, in the Julius Randle trade.

As more than one league source has told us, gathering this many picks means the Nets want to be opportunistic either now or at the trade deadline.

Of course, we don’t know what the Nets will do with MPJ, but applying logic it would seem they are going to extend him. They had multiple chances to deal him last deadline but decided against it. Instead, they shut him down. Considering that more than one amateur capologist has suggested Marks and Tsai could rework his contract, add as much as $9 million (that number again) to the $40.8 million he’ll make next season, then extend him to a contract with declining salaries. He’s only 28.

Final Note

Adam Silver will speak to the media Wednesday as he always does during Summer League and the press conference is likely to be dominated by the still unresolved Aspiration scandal involving alleged circumvention of the salary cap by the Clippers in signing Kawhi Leonard, the burgeoning gambling scandal that recently snagged veteran Terry Rozier and the revelation in Wired Magazine that James Dolan’s facial recognition programs are a lot more widespread and egregious.

The Nets are not directly affected by any of them, but the league needs to deal with all three. Each affects the most basic trust between fans and the league. Cheating whether in the boardroom or on the court and spying on fans all have the ability to damage the league for a long time.

LAS VEGAS — After the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets and bought out Bradley Beal this summer, all the attention turned toward how the team planned to build around Devin Booker, whom Suns management has continued to express the team is building around despite numerous rumors and mock trades surrounding the NBA All-Star.

Along with acquiring Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green, two of the most important pieces the team is planning to build around are Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach, who are getting their second go-around in NBA Summer League after both played sparingly in their rookie years. Both were acquired in the deal that sent Durant to Houston.

After the team’s second game in three days and an 81-75 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, the two reflected on their second stints playing in Summer League in a joint postgame interview.

Maluach, who’s currently leading the Summer League in rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 50% from three on 5.5 attempts a game, has said he’s been given opportunities to learn how to be more adaptable. He’s trying to find ways to improve while playing and when no one’s watching.

“I go back and watch film and just observe the game and just really get better. Continuing while the game is going on, keep on adjusting, keep on getting better throughout the whole game,” Maluach said.

While he’s been strong on the boards and has averaged a combined three steals and blocks per game so far, the Duke product is focused on cutting down his turnovers after averaging 3.5 in his first few contests. He knows as a young center it’s something he needs to focus on.

“Being a young big, when the (regular) season gets here I know a lot of people are going to pressure up into me and try to make me turn over the ball, and I just gotta be able to take care of the ball so that my coach can trust me with the ball.”

Fleming, who has had a rough start to Summer League shooting just 36.8% from the field, is taking pride in doing the small things and being a leader as a veteran on the roster, along with Maluach.

“Just being able to make the next play for my teammates and knowing they’ll do the same when one of us (him or Maluach) gets in trouble, just being there for each other,” Fleming said.

When it comes to the defensive side of the ball, Fleming wants him and Maluach to take a unified approach to limiting other teams.

“I think we all just gotta go out there trying to make the right play. Whether it’s me, whether it’s him (Maluach), we both go out there just looking to make the right play.”

After the game, it is important to note that Fleming had his left hand wrapped up but said he was “fine” and that he was just feeling a bit “sore.”

As is typical for many players going into their second season in the NBA, playing in Summer League, Fleming and Maluach’s time in Summer League could possibly be over. However, Suns assistant coach Chaisson Allen, who is the head coach of the Summer League team, signaled there is a chance both could play tomorrow against Milwaukee because he said it’s important for young players to get reps.

Phoenix will play the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 p.m. tonight in what will be the team’s third Summer League game, which can be watched on Amazon Prime.

The Spurs re-signed Victor Wembanyama, something everyone expected to happen. What was surprising about it was that Wembanyama, a consensus top-five player in the league, decided to settle for the normal maximum contract instead of one that would have gotten him a bigger payday if he simply met some criteria he was likely to meet.

While not providing an immediate impact on the cap situation, as the extension doesn’t kick in until next season, Wemby’s decision does help the Spurs in several ways going forward.

The Spurs have gained a lot of certainty about their cap situation

While Wembanyama’s decision has been described as a pay cut, that’s not technically accurate. Not yet, at least. The most Wembanyama could have signed for was 25 percent of the salary cap, which is what he’s slated to get. What The Alien gave up is the possibility of getting paid 30 percent of the cap if he had made an All-NBA team or won Most Valuable Player or Defensive Player of the Year in the 2026/27 season.

The chances of Wembanyama reaching one of those benchmarks were likely, as he was recently unanimously named DPoY and made first-team All-NBA. Now, Wemby only just made it to the 65-game threshold for the awards, so there’s a case to be made that health could have prevented him from getting the 30 percent max. Even then, the Spurs wouldn’t have known until next season how much money Wemby would command.

The biggest immediate benefit to the Spurs is that they have gained certainty. They know for a fact that the most Wembanyama will get is 25 percent of the cap and can prepare for the future accordingly. They’ll also get to avoid the awkwardness of having Wembanyama’s health and rest intertwined with his earning power, but that’s a bonus.

Wemby’s sacrifice could push back the time for painful decisions

The added predictability to their cap situation should allow the Spurs to push back some tough decisions. Instead of making $54 million in 2027/28, Wembanyama will make $43 million. San Antonio will have around $202 million in committed salary for 11 players, including Luke Kornet’s partially guaranteed deal, narrowly below the tax line, estimated to be set at $211 million. The aprons will be set over the tax line.

In theory, the Spurs could keep Kornet, bring back Keldon Johnson to a smaller contract, and sign their first-round pick while not crossing the second apron line. If Johnson commands a higher salary than they are comfortable paying, they could let him go and use their mid-level exception to replace him while likely still remaining below the first apron. If they want to stay under the tax while signing their first-rounder, they could easily do so by letting Johnson go, waiving Kornet to save around $7 million, and filling out the roster with minimum contracts.

It’s unclear whether the Spurs will want to duck the tax or be fine with paying it while not crossing the second apron. What Wembanyama’s new extension does is likely allow them to do either while retaining their core rotation players. For now, at least.

The cap reckoning is still coming, but Wemby’s sacrifice could inspire others to take less to stay together

Wembanyama deciding to take 25 percent of the cap no matter what brought predictability and potentially delayed some tough decisions, but those tough decisions are still coming. What the Spurs can hope for is Wembanyama’s sacrifice to inspire others.

Eventually parting ways with De’Aaron Fox, who signed a veteran extension for 30 percent of the cap, seems inevitable, as the young Spurs whose small contracts are making his deal palatable become more expensive. Especially since the two players likely to earn max or near-max contracts are also on-ball guards. By 2028/29, San Antonio will have to get money off the books for a Stephon Castle extension, and if it doesn’t come at the expense of trading Fox for expiring deals before then, it will likely cost them their depth. There’s no escaping that reality.

What Wembanyama’s decision can affect is what happens next. Now, there would be nothing wrong about Castle and Dylan Harper signing for the maximum, whatever that might end up being. It’s not their fault the tax and the aprons are so punishing. But if they do take less, keeping both of them, along with Wembanyama, could be possible, at least for a while. Having 75 percent of the cap or more tied to three players would make team-building hard, but if the Spurs can get even small discounts from the guards, they could use their draft picks to add cheap depth while still having room for a couple of mid-sized deals.

Unless the CBA changes dramatically in 2029, paying three stars for the rest of their careers will be close to impossible, but pay cuts across the board could buy the core some time.