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12:25 PM ET In the aftermath of DeMarcus Cousins‘ knee injury, the Los Angeles Lakers are bringing in two former All-Star centers — Joakim Noah and Dwight Howard — to evaluate in individual workouts in Los Angeles, league sources told ESPN on Tuesday. The workouts will also include veteran Mo Speights, league sources said. Another

10:00 AM ET Associated Press PIRAEUS, Greece — Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt says he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Blatt, 60, says he was diagnosed with condition, which attacks the central nervous system, “a few months ago” and has experienced fatigue, weakness in his legs and balance problems. In a statement via

3:59 PM ET Zion Williamson has been hailed as the next big thing in the NBA, but his colleagues in the incoming rookie class aren’t sold on the idea that the No. 1 overall pick will have a great NBA career. In the league’s annual survey of rookies, asked which member of the 2019 class

10:43 AM ET Howard University is bringing back its golf teams for the first time in decades — with a big assist from NBA star Stephen Curry. Curry announced Monday that he will financially support the HBCU’s golf teams for the next six years. The Bison plan to have men’s and women’s teams in place

The champagne hadn’t even been popped in Oakland, nor had the podium been constructed on the Oracle Arena floor when I began weaving my way through a swarm of rowdy Raptors fans. Grown men began embracing and spilt beer seeped through my shirt, onto my skin, as celebrations of Toronto’s maiden NBA title officially got

7:35 PM ET The Memphis Grizzlies have granted Dwight Howard‘s representatives permission to speak with other teams that might be interested in the veteran center, league sources told ESPN. One of those teams is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are exploring options at center after DeMarcus Cousins was lost with a torn ACL. The Lakers’

10:28 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN With the platform of USA Basketball’s road to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in store, several players have looked to turn heads with their patriotic pairs during the team’s training camp and early exhibition games. For Kyle Kuzma and P.J. Tucker, it could be their final stretch in Nike sneakers,

1:56 PM ET Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has always championed his players and he’s gone to a new extreme in praising James Harden. “It’s just factual that James Harden is a better scorer than Michael Jordan,” Morey said on the “Selfmade with Nadeshot” podcast. Morey acknowledged that people “hate” his take, but explained

1:26 PM ET In a surprising move, Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox has withdrawn from Team USA, managing director Jerry Colangelo told ESPN on Saturday. The decision comes just hours before the group was scheduled to fly to Australia for exhibition games leading up to the FIBA World Cup in China. Fox played a

9:54 PM ET Newly released evidence in the federal government’s criminal case against attorney Michael Avenatti suggested that employees at Nike were paying high-profile college basketball prospects’ handlers and families tens of thousands of dollars in under-the-table payments. In a July 30, 2016, email from Carlton DeBose, the director of Nike’s EYBL grassroots basketball division,

2:16 AM ET ANAHEIM — Spain had sliced an 18-point lead to eight with just four minutes remaining as Gregg Popovich watched to see how his young Team USA would respond. Joe Harris buried a 3, Mason Plumlee stole the ball off a Ricky Rubio pass, Derrick White made a floater and then a Kemba

6:35 PM ET The San Antonio Spurs will retire Tony Parker‘s No. 9 jersey, the team announced Friday. The Spurs will honor Parker in a ceremony Nov. 11 ahead of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Parker played 17 seasons and won four NBA titles with the Spurs, before conluding his career last season with

9:46 AM ET Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has officially agreed to sell his remaining stake in the Brooklyn Nets and full ownership of Barclays Center to Joe Tsai, the team announced Friday. Tsai, who had already paid $1 billion for a 49% share of the Nets in 2018, is paying an additional $1.35 billion for

9:23 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Brett Yormark, who has served as CEO of the Brooklyn Nets for more than a decade, will step down from his post, league sources confirmed to ESPN. Yormark has been in the role since 2005, when he came to the Nets from NASCAR, and helped usher the franchise to Brooklyn

6:59 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Draymond Green had just told DeMarcus Cousins that he hadn’t seen him look this fit and slim since his college days at Kentucky. He was ready to see the big man wreak havoc on the NBA this season. That was just last week. On Thursday, Green and the

11:22 AM ET Los Angeles Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a possible knee injury and will undergo further testing Thursday in Los Angeles, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Cousins was working out in Las Vegas on Monday when he had to leave the court, sources said. Cousins signed one-year, $3.5 million free-agent deal

11:58 PM ET Attorneys representing lawyer Michael Avenatti filed a court motion on Wednesday that alleges that a Nike employee at least approved under-the-table payments to former Duke star Zion Williamson and ex-Indiana star Romeo Langford when they were still in high school in February 2017. The alleged offers — $35,000 or more for Williamson

5:14 PM ET Associated Press AKRON, Ohio — LeBron James has dedicated a basketball court at the school he founded for underprivileged children in his hometown. Joined by his close friends and former teammates from nearby St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, James helped unveil a multicolored outdoor court at the I Promise School, which has

11:00 AM ET Antawn Jamison earned his only two NBA All-Star selections as a member of the Washington Wizards. Now he’s returning to the team in a front office role. The Wizards announced Wednesday that Jamison was named their new director of pro personnel. Jamison, 43, has been a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers

1:45 AM ET LOS ANGELES — USA Basketball coach Gregg Popovich said what former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done to bring light to social justice and racial inequality “was a very patriotic thing.” Popovich, the longtime coach of the San Antonio Spurs, has spoken multiple times in the past about Kaepernick, who

6:50 PM ET After suffering a knee injury in competition last week, Miami Heat forward Kelly Olynyk will be unable to compete for Canada in the FIBA World Cup, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Oynyk is expected to be ready for the start of the NBA season. Olynyk slipped and fell during the third

5:51 PM ET Associated Press Kyle Lowry of the NBA champion Toronto Raptors says his surgically repaired thumb has not recovered sufficiently enough to allow him to participate with USA Basketball in camp for the FIBA World Cup, and he is withdrawing from consideration for the team. Lowry made the announcement Monday after meeting with

8:23 PM ET Associated Press CHIBA, Japan — First-round NBA draft pick Rui Hachimura scored 35 points to lead Japan to a 99-89 win over New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up game at Port Chiba Arena. Hachimura became the first player from Japan to be chosen in the first round of the NBA draft,

5:19 PM ET Former NBA player Sebastian Telfair has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for illegal gun possession, Brooklyn’s district attorney announced Monday. Telfair, 34, was convicted in April of one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which stemmed from an arrest in January 2017. Police found firearms,

9:15 AM ET Rich Paul, founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group, said that while it’s “flattering” that the NCAA’s new agent provisions are being called the “Rich Paul Rule,” he’s more concerned about the greater impact the new criteria will have. Colloquially dubbed the “Rich Paul Rule,” the memo, obtained by ESPN, outlines new

9:30 PM ET Associated Press COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III has told USA Basketball that he is withdrawing from consideration for the roster that will be sent to China this month for the FIBA World Cup. Bagley’s decision was revealed Sunday, two days before he was to report to El

11:03 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Single-handedly, Zion Williamson made this the most anticipated rookie class, from a sneaker perspective, since LeBron James entered the league in 2003. Originally, Williamson was hoping to sign his sneaker deal before the draft lottery, but he didn’t ink his deal with Jordan Brand until July 23, holding up several

12:58 AM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — The first order of business for USA Basketball on Friday night was thanking its fans, so Donovan Mitchell grabbed a microphone to deliver the pregame message. He got right to the point. “We look forward to going out to China, representing the USA, and winning the gold,”

10:59 AM ET Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia — Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons has explained a social media post that seemed to imply he had been racially profiled by security staff at a Melbourne casino by saying he and his friends felt “singled out.” Simmons posted a video on Instagram in which he asked why

7:36 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN The NBA’s free-agency frenzy is mostly over. The NBA’s sneaker free-agency frenzy is just beginning. Most multiyear sneaker endorsement contracts include an expiration date of October 1 in the year they’re up, but they also include a 60-day advance window where players can begin meeting with and negotiating with other