Worldwide Sports News

The Celtics continued reshaping their future Friday by locking up 2025-26 starting center Neemias Queta on a long-term extension.

Per ESPN, Queta agreed to a fully guaranteed four-year, $56 million extension that begins in the 2027-28 season, as Boston had already exercised his $2.67 million team option for the upcoming campaign.

The Celtics, in doing so, reinforce their frontcourt just days after agreeing to terms with former Knicks center Mitchell Robinson and in the aftermath of the blockbuster trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the 76ers.

Robinson’s deal locks him in for three years and $47 million.

Queta, 26, established himself last season as one of the league’s better rim protectors and interior defenders, playing a vital role in Boston’s surprising No. 2 seed heading into the 2026 playoffs.

During the 2025-26 season, the 7-footer averaged 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 65.3 percent from the field across 76 games.

Queta also finished fourth in NBA Most Improved Player voting this past season.

Robinson arrives after spending the first eight seasons of his career in New York City, where he was one of the league’s premier offensive rebounders and rim protectors when healthy.

The 7-foot Robinson, whom the Knicks selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, appears to be the biggest name the defending champions will lose following their first title in 53 years, after the team retained Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara and Landry Shamet — all on team-friendly deals.

But with the Knicks’ unwillingness to approach the second apron and deal with the severe cap penalties, Robinson was an expected casualty coming off his best regular season since 2022-23.

The move for Boston could ensure that the Celtics have one of Robinson or Queta on the floor at all times, signaling a further lean into interior defense and rebounding as the team reshapes its roster in the post “Jays” era.

The Celtics stunningly dealt Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round draft picks and two second-round selections.

The move ended Brown’s decade-long tenure in Boston despite the five-time All-Star coming off the best individual season of his career, during which he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists — leading the offense after Jayson Tatum suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the 2025 playoffs.

Brown has been a lightning rod publicly due to his accolades — highlighted by a 2024 NBA Finals MVP and a sixth-overall regular season MVP finish in 2026 — being disregarded by some in the analytics community, where his production doesn’t often translate to eye-popping advanced numbers.

The conversation recently reached a breaking point after ESPN insider Bobby Marks said on Sirius XM that, “There’s mixed feelings about him when you talk to teams. The analytics of Jaylen Brown is not good … I had one, not an executive, but an analytics guy say, ‘Yeah, we view him as the seventh-best player on a team.’ I was like, ‘Holy crap.’”

The Los Angeles Lakers have launched a new era for the franchise this summer.

After LeBron James informed the Lakers he would not return for the 2026-27 season, the roster reconstruction quickly began.

General manager Rob Pelinka headlined the Lakers’ free agent signings by inking center Walker Kessler to a four-year, $130 million deal.

Kessler joined superstar Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as the team’s new big three and basketball fans had much to say about Hollywood’s newest trio.

In a post on Instagram, comedian and actor Jordan Conley read comments from fans giving new nicknames for the new look Lakers.

“The Harvard Lakers”

“Lakestreet boys !!!”

“Looking like Dawson’s Creek”

“The Credit Scorers”

“Getting back to the Minneapolis Lakers”

“THE SNOWTIME LAKERS”

“The Beatles”

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While the Lakers have completely revamped their roster, Kessler is just one of many new faces that the storied franchise has welcomed over the last few days.

The Lakers also added guards Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes as well as big man Sandro Mamukelashvili. Sexton and Grimes serve as replacements for sharpshooter Luke Kennard and defensive specialist Marcus Smart.

Mamukelashvili gives the Lakers additional height and skill in the frontcourt. On Friday, LA traded Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards in exchange for guard Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks.

There is speculation the team has at least one more impending trade as the Lakers have been linked free agent forwards Rui Hachimura and Jonathan Kuminga.

Hachimura has spent the last three-plus seasons in LA, but has gained interest from other teams on the market. The Lakers are missing a versatile wing defender and both Hachimura and Kuminga would be sufficient additions for the purple and gold.

It’s up to Pelinka to orchestrate another deal as the Lakers look to return to contender status for the 2026-27 season.

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

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.

With the strict NBA salary cap and apron restrictions, teams have to get their big contracts right. Signing a player to a max deal they can’t live up to can set a franchise back for years.

With Reaves up for a big payday this summer, the Lakers had to decide if he was a max player. They negotiated hard with him, but in the end he reportedly agreed to re-sign on a four-year, $185 million deal.

There are a couple of ways to look at this. One way is to think that the Lakers did well here by keeping top talent and paying Reaves what he deserves.

The Lakers will get what they paid for. Reaves is a max player, so they compensated him accordingly. Now he’s set to play in LA during the prime years of his career.

Another way to evaluate this contract is that the Lakers spent way too much money.

Reaves has never even been an All-Star. Add in some postseason struggles, and Reaves’ contract will only look worse over time, especially if he is done improving and his best performances have already been seen.

So, for our SB Nation Reacts survey this week, we asked fans how the Lakers did on the Reaves contract. The results were relatively positive.

The top selection by fans was a B grade, and that seems very fair. If the deal was for less money and the last year was an option for the team instead of Reaves, then perhaps an A grade would be the right choice.

The way things turned out, Reaves is relieved to be a Laker, he got paid, and the team keeps a guard that can produce a ton of points and scoring opportunities.

That sounds like a situation where everyone wins, and a B grade reflects that.

Still, 21% of fans give this deal an A. So, the overall perception is that keeping Reaves was necessary, and the fact the Lakers did that is all that matters.

Only 15% of fans graded this extension a D or lower. These people likely don’t like the idea of Reaves at this price point.

However, with the Pistons reportedly interested in him, Reaves was likely going to get paid regardless. At least now, the Lakers will benefit from his continued growth.

With Lakers fans happy and even Luka Dončić reportedly excited about the franchise keeping Reaves, the Lakers did well on this deal.

Now their backcourt is secured, and they can focus on improving the team in other areas, knowing the starting guards are elite.

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

With LeBron James already conveying his intention to leave the Los Angeles Lakers and Austin Reaves re-signing, Rui Hachimura is now biggest member of the Lakers’ 2025-26 roster whose free agency fate remains uncertain.

The 28-year-old Hachimura has done more than enough to earn a lucrative deal in free agency, and he’s coming off a season where he scored 11.5 points per game and shot 44.3% from three-point range.

While the Lakers are showing interest in bringing him back, they aren’t the only Western Conference team who has their eyes on Hachimura. In a July 2 Substack article, NBA insider Marc Stein asserted that the Minnesota Timberwolves are prioritizing Hachimura as their top forward target, and are expressing “serious interest” in signing him with Hachimura’s representation.

Minnesota has already been active this offseason, trading for star guard LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029 and 2030), and three future second-round picks. Minnesota already has one of the league’s biggest stars in Anthony Edwards.

The Lakers’ front office has already faced criticism this season for what many fans feel like is a failure to build a true contending roster around Luka Doncic. There’s still plenty of time for Los Angeles to change this narrative, but if bringing Reaves back and trading for Walker Kessler is all the Lakers accomplish by the end of the offseason, that criticism will feel warranted.

Re-signing Hachimura would be a step in the right direction, even if it still means other moves need to be made afterwards. And if Hachimura doesn’t end up back in Los Angeles, the hope among fans is that he’ll end up somewhere in the Eastern Conference.

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It is completely understandable to be excited over the possibility of LeBron James choosing to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. That was true in the summer of 2018 when James was in his mid-30s and it’s still true now as he’s in his early 40s and potentially embarking upon a farewell tour in the 2026-27 season. After a few days of speculation, we’ve probably all at least thought for a little bit about how cool it would be to see a playoff-plagued franchise like the Sixers exorcise their demons with LeBron James in the middle of all of it in what might be his final season in the NBA.

On some level it’s all understandable. James is probably the greatest player of the 21^st century and is widely-regarded as the second-greatest man to ever play basketball. He’s not just any free agent so we’re not just going to get a Shams tweet that announces where he’s signing. Basketball has always been the most individualized North American team sport and James is far from the only star that likes to bask in the rays of attention. Certainly, as his career winds down, there’s no reason to think that behavior would change.

But how much of this do we really need? Is it even fun to track all the leaks? Many felt the Sixers had a chance eight years ago when rumors began to circulate that James or someone in his circle was visiting Malvern Prep as a possible high school for his kids to attend. In 2018, LeBron James did not attend the free agent meeting his representatives had with the Sixers, so how much of a chance did they really have?

Fast forward to present day and the Twitter detectives are billing hours faster than Tyrese Maxey goes coast-to-coast for a fastbreak layup. We’ve gotten an interview with James’ agent Rich Paul in which the starters for all the contenders in this summer’s LeBron sweepstakes are on a whiteboard.  There was an asterisk next to Maxey’s name on the whiteboard fueling all sorts of speculation as to what that meant.

We’ve also had some of the social media sleuthing lead to the possibility of a private plane from Philadelphia to James hometown of Akron, Ohio on Friday morning. Sportsbooks and other prediction markets have updated odds for James’ next team to be more favorable for the Sixers with every inkling of “information.” To reiterate, this kind of circus is not exclusive to James. There’s a reason people say the offseason in the NBA is better than the season. It’s just the biggest circus of all when it’s James.

Ultimately, James can only play for one team when push comes to shove. There are a lot of fanbases who are talking themselves into the hype that comes with their team’s chances, and many of them will not have James on their roster next season. If you’re enjoying the social media speculation, go for it if you must. At this stage in his career, remember it’s probably only a one or two-year commitment and the winner of this summer’s LeBron sweepstakes certainly isn’t getting the player the Lakers got in 2018, the Cavs got in 2014 or the Heat got in 2010. That doesn’t mean James can’t help the Sixers. Their roster for next season is coming together nicely and a point forward type like James who can find open shooters would fit well with what they already have.

But if you’ve decided to sign off from Twitter for the holiday weekend, who can blame you? Sure, this all comes with the territory when it comes to the pursuit of a high-level free agent in the NBA. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t get tiresome. Most of all, no one wins NBA championships during the first week of July. In a lot of ways, the announcement of where James is playing in 2026-27 will feel like the end of something, and it will be. It will be the end of reckless speculation on where James is currently located, who his team is talking to, and what hints they’re putting out.

But it will be the beginning of what really matters and that’s James’ playing days for his next team. I think we’d all agree we’d rather enjoy LeBron making plays on the court for the Sixers in big playoff games in May and potentially June more than we’re enjoying what’s going on now.

The Wizards shored up their center position for next season by acquiring DeAndre Ayton from the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s yet another trademark Will Dawkins trade — the price for Ayton was a guard they didn’t want and a couple second round picks. Add this move to a list that include paying nothing the team wanted to obtain Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks, and paying a modest price for Anthony Davis.

This isn’t a franchise-altering move, but it’s a smart one nonetheless. While multiple teams have given up on Ayton, including the Lakers, who just paid a heavy price to acquire Ayton’s replacement, he’s not a bad player, and he will upgrade Washington’s backup center spot next season.

Last season, Ayton’s individual production was solidly above average (144 PPA — in PPA, 100 is average and higher is better), though the Lakers were only “about the same” on both ends when he was in the game. That goes for regular season and playoffs.

After spending heavily to acquire Walker Kessler, the Lakers needed to offload Ayton’s relatively modest $8.1 million salary to create financial flexibility for other moves, and get back some future draft resources. That they dealt him for a player they don’t want and a couple second round picks is a bit of an indictment of the former No. 1 overall pick — a guy selected ahead of players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Still, a guy one team doesn’t want can still have value to another. For Washington, Ayton checks a few boxes. At full health, he’ll be the primary backup center — slotting into a three-big F/C rotation with Alex Sarr and Davis. With Ayton in the fold, Davis won’t have to spend much time as the titular center. Figure the team will start and finish halves with Davis and Sarr up front and play combinations of the three in between.

Ayton also provides some injury insurance in the likely event that Davis or Sarr gets hurt. Both have injury histories. Sarr is currently recovering from a broken foot suffered during an offseason workout. Both are expected to be ready for training camp, but it’s still wise to have some coverage.

Ayton also provides some flexibility in case Dawkins and Michael Winger change their minds and agree to trade Davis to Golden State or elsewhere. Ayton is no long-term answer in the middle, but neither is Davis. With Ayton, the issues are quality and attitude — he’s not The Guy and hasn’t exhibited the willingness to do the work necessary to be The Guy.

With Davis, the issues are age, health, and expense. When healthy, he’s been terrific.

The move will give Washington an $8.1 million trade “exception” in the form of Ayton’s expiring contract. They’ll also create a $6 million exception because, as suggested by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, they’ll use their existing trade exception for Kelly Olynyk to bring in Ayton — which was set to expire July 9 if they didn’t use it.

Again, nothing about this transaction significantly alters the franchise’s trajectory. Ayton improves their reserve center spot and gives them some flexibility. He’s a temporary solution that fits a current need, and it didn’t cost future assets with significant value. That’s solid work from the front office.