9:31 PM ET Golden State’s Kevin Durant is planning to engage four teams in discussions upon the opening of NBA free agency on Sunday — the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Warriors, league sources tell ESPN. There’s expected to be some combination of face-to-face meetings and communications by other means with
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8:40 AM ET NBA free agency officially begins Sunday afternoon. This year’s class features some of the NBA’s top players, including reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Where does Leonard rank among fellow free agents Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving? Should the Lakers target a third star or multiple role players with their cap
3:27 PM ET Free agent Kawhi Leonard is expected to allow the Toronto Raptors to make the final presentation among the teams meeting with him in Los Angeles next week, league sources tell ESPN. The incumbent often prefers to go last in trying to convince a player to stay with the team. 2 Related Leonard
3:44 PM ET The Boston Celtics are hiring former WNBA and Olympic champion Kara Lawson as an assistant coach, league sources tell ESPN. Lawson, an ESPN analyst, also has been a television analyst for the Washington Wizards for the past three seasons and has contemplated several coaching opportunities in recent years before landing with Boston.
11:35 AM ET The NBA sent a memo informing teams Thursday they are organizing the Academy Games in the United States for the first time, a source told ESPN. The third-annual camp will be held from July 9 to 14 at the Atlanta Hawks practice facility and will feature eight teams of approximately 90 players
5:30 PM ET NBA guard Allen Crabbe was arrested early Wednesday in Los Angeles and cited for misdemeanor DUI. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department online records, Crabbe was arrested at 12:15 a.m. PT in West Hollywood and booked at 1 a.m. PT with a bond set at $5,000. TMZ reported that Crabbe was
5:37 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol accepted a one-year player option Wednesday for next season. The value is approximately $25.6 million, marking the final season of a five-year contract Gasol signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015. Had the 34-year-old Spaniard not accepted prior to the Thursday, he would
12:52 PM ET As free-agent guard Isaiah Thomas probes the marketplace, this summer affords him something that the past two did not: An unobstructed work regiment to restore the strength and explosion to his lower body, and the chance to be back in the gymnasium every day sharpening his game. Thomas is hopeful his season
4:04 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN WALTHAM, Mass. — Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for the Boston Celtics. And yet, as the start of free agency approaches this weekend, Marcus Smart remains optimistic about the state of the franchise — even as both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford appear headed elsewhere next month. “I’m
6:55 PM ET Once free agency starts on Sunday, the Rockets are planning to recruit Jimmy Butler to push the Philadelphia 76ers for a sign-and-trade deal that would allow the All-Star forward to join James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston, league sources tell ESPN. The Rockets don’t have the salary-cap space to sign Butler,
12:30 PM ET Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri says he’s staying with the team he helped build into an NBA champion. Ujiri made the announcement to reporters during his season-ending media availability. “I love it here. My family loves it here. My wife loves it here, which is very important. My kids
8:08 AM ET Giannis Antetokounmpo or James Harden for MVP? Luka Doncic or Trae Young for Rookie of the Year? The wait is almost over for the “2019 NBA Awards Show,” hosted by Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal (9 p.m. ET, TNT). Here’s the list of finalists for each major award. Note: Six of the
8:20 PM ET Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — A former top Sacramento Kings executive was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for siphoning $13.4 million from the team. Jeffrey David, 44, the team’s former chief revenue officer, pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. David diverted the sponsorship payments of
10:40 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Unable to send disease fighters to help battle one of the deadliest Ebola outbreaks in history, U.S. health officials are turning to basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo for help. Mutombo, regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history and a well-known philanthropist in
11:26 PM ET Los Angeles is wasting little time pitching Kawhi Leonard on a potential move to the Clippers. Two digital billboards went up over Interstate 5 in Downey, about 10 miles southeast of Staples Center, encouraging the Southern California native to come home. Free agency around the corner? Must be billboard season in LA.
8:07 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — The Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. Anthony Davis has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. And Zion Williamson has officially been drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans. With the 2019 NBA draft behind us, a long-awaited free agency is almost here. What are the biggest things
5:21 PM ET Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6 center from UCF, will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics, a source told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Exhibit 10 contracts, introduced in the NBA’s most recent collective bargaining agreement, are one-year deals paying the minimum salary. They also can be used for two-way contracts. Fall was
12:21 AM ET The agent for Willie Cauley-Stein has encouraged the Sacramento Kings to allow his client to become a unrestricted free agent. “I’m hopeful they will not even give Willie his qualifying offer,” Roger Montgomery of Roc Nation Sports told the Sacramento Bee. The 7-foot Cauley-Stein has played all four of his NBA seasons
6:05 PM ET Ohm Youngmisuk Close ESPN Staff Writer Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate
7:21 PM ET Associated Press AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dwane Casey had nothing but positive things to say about the fact that his former team just won the NBA title. Casey coached the Toronto Raptors for seven seasons but was fired last offseason — even though he’d just guided the Raptors to a team-record 59
1:47 AM ET Associated Press TOKYO — Japanese basketball officials, fans and media hailed the selection of Rui Hachimura in the 2019 NBA draft, saying the move will usher in a new era for the sport in Japan. Hachimura became the first player from Japan to be chosen in the first round of the NBA
5:29 PM ET ESPN News Services Former Duke teammates Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett are slated to make their NBA summer league debuts against each other. The NBA said Friday that Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans will face off against Barrett and the New York Knicks on July 5, the first day of the
10:40 AM ET Naismith Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has turned down an offer to return as president and coach of Panathinaikos, the franchise he led to a Greek League championship this season, Pitino told ESPN on Friday. Pitino wants to return to a full-time pursuit of a job in the NBA — coaching,
9:08 PM ET ESPN.com Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Which NBA players and picks are on the move? The 2019 draft is here and free agency (June 30) is quickly approaching, and plenty of teams could make deals. Trade season got started in full on June 6, when the Brooklyn Nets traded Allen
6:34 PM ET The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired the sixth pick in Thursday’s NBA draft for the 11th selection and Dario Saric, league sources told ESPN. Minnesota president Gersson Rosas had been trying to move up to No. 4 or 5 before finally getting No. 6, sources said. ESPN projects Texas Tech shooting guard Jarrett
10:34 AM ET Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has been released from the hospital as he continues to recover from a stroke suffered last month. Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner said in a statement Thursday that Gilbert was discharged Wednesday and would continue his recovery at an in-patient rehabilitation center. “Dan is looking forward to
6:58 AM ET The NBA comparison game is tricky in any draft. No two players are identical, and it’s easy to talk yourself into or out of a prospect just because he reminds you of someone else. But for a player as unique as Duke’s Zion Williamson, comps are even more challenging. Williamson is this
4:45 PM ET In trading for Mike Conley, the Utah Jazz announced themselves as a legitimate contender to make the Finals next season and swiped the first domino in what is set up to be an interesting and unpredictable point guard market. To review: Utah traded Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the No. 23
8:52 AM ET Doug Kezirian Zion Williamson’s star is too bright for setting odds on his position in Thursday’s NBA draft. “It’s an ‘out price.’ There is no price. It’s like offering in-running (moneyline) in a soccer match in the 80th minute when the score is 6-0,” Caesars Sportsbook head of risk Jeff Davis told
11:24 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers are scrambling to reshape the parameters of the Anthony Davis trade with New Orleans and create the ability for $32 million-plus in salary-cap space when the free agent moratorium ends on July 6, league sources told ESPN. The Lakers were engaging additional teams on Tuesday to take on