3:41 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard‘s long-awaited Clippers debut began with Lakers fans booing his introduction and interrupting his pregame message thanking the fans in L.A. Once the game tipped off, he got off to a slow start. By the time his first home game at Staples Center was over, though, Leonard made
Here we go again! Last year, this writer dove into what the association was like ten years before the incoming season. Now here we are again. We’re traveling back to the year 2010. Back when the iPad was first sweeping the nation, the economy was still in the toilet, and the Toy Story trilogy had
9:07 PM ET Chinese state television did not air the NBA’s opening night games Tuesday, and the league’s streaming partner, Tencent, reduced its schedule and was showing just the Los Angeles Lakers–LA Clippers game. CCTV has customarily shown the league’s opening night games but has pulled all NBA broadcasts in the wake of Houston Rockets
The Thunder and Pelicans received numerous future first-round draft picks in trades this offseason. What can we say about the value of picks far in the future? In the few years before the 2019 offseason, front offices seemed reticent to part with future unprotected first-round draft picks. No one wanted to repeat the mistakes of
Ahead of Monday’s deadline for rookie contract extensions, Buddy Hield and Jaylen Brown both earned four-year deals with their respective teams. With the deadline for rookie contract extensions rapidly approaching, the Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics were able to lock down their respective wing players who were eligible. As reported by The Athletic‘s Sam Amick
11:16 AM ET Golden State Warriors star guard Klay Thompson is unlikely to play at all this season as he recovers from a torn ACL, according to coach Steve Kerr. Thompson tore the ACL in his left knee on June 13 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers said
Anything can happen in the NBA. Every season, there are so many things that seem to come out of the blue, whether it be a team that was or wasn’t expected to be competitive or big trade that no one saw coming. There is just too much randomness involved in the day-to-day to be certain
6:59 PM ET Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles has agreed to a one-year, $14 million extension, keeping him under contract with the franchise through 2021-2022, agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports tells ESPN. Ingles, 32, had two years and $22.8 million left on his Jazz deal. The additional year secures one of the franchise’s most
The Utah Jazz have agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract extension with wing Joe Ingles. On a day full of deals, this one might be the most cost-effective. On a day full of contract extensions before the NBA‘s Oct. 21 deadline, the Utah Jazz wound up giving out perhaps the most reasonable deal of
4:47 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Zion Williamson‘s first dance with the New Orleans Pelicans will have to wait. The team announced on Monday afternoon that Williamson had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to treat a torn meniscus. The Pelicans expect Williamson will miss six to eight weeks. Williamson would miss approximately 20 games on
Anything can happen in the NBA. Every season, there are so many things that seem to come out of the blue, whether it be a team that was or wasn’t expected to be competitive or big trade that no one saw coming. There is just too much randomness involved in the day-to-day to be certain
12:29 PM ET Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield has agreed to a four-year, $94 million contract extension, league sources told ESPN. The deal includes $86 million in guaranteed money, eight million in exceedingly reachable bonuses and another $12 million in incentives that could elevate the deal to $106 million over the term of the deal,
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Returning college players get undervalued on preseason big boards, but often make or break the depth of a class. Here are five players who could do this for the 2020 NBA Draft. NBA Draft classes are defined by their freshmen in the one-and-done era. The last nine No. 1 overall
3:44 AM ET Associated Press About a dozen NBA players gathered for a teleconference with officials in the league office this summer, making their case about what they believe is one of the biggest problems in the game. Fan behavior, they said, is getting worse. The numbers show they’re right, and if that isn’t troubling
As it stands right now, the Eastern Conference is wide open. It definitely has its favorites, like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. But even they have their question marks. There are teams who could be at that level, or possibly higher should things break their way, like the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. But,
In 2017, the San Antonio Spurs extended LaMarcus Aldridge because they had no other option. When it comes to DeMar DeRozan, however, they do. Extensions should be reserved for cornerstone pieces in the NBA. Tying up future cap space in a player that may not positively impact the team’s title odds is a move losing
6:05 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma has been ruled out of the season opener against the LA Clippers, Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Sunday. It is unknown just how much of the start to the regular season that Kuzma, who was cleared for non-contact practice last week after
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images With the preseason winding down, it’s time to play buy or sell with 10 early trends we might see during the upcoming 2019-20 NBA season. Strictly speaking from an on-court perspective, preseason basketball might be the most carefree, joyful part of the entire NBA calendar. NBA Summer League is entertaining,
2:47 PM ET Forward Pascal Siakam has agreed to a four-year, $130 million maximum rookie contract extension, agents Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani told ESPN. Siakam, considered the cornerstone of the Raptors’ future, is the third player in the 2016 NBA draft class to agree to a maximum contract — along with the Philadelphia 76ers‘
As it stands right now, the Eastern Conference is wide open. It definitely has its favorites, like the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. But even they have their question marks. There are teams who could be at that level, or possibly higher should things break their way, like the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. But,
12:06 AM ET ESPN News Services MIAMI — Shooting guard Dion Waiters has been suspended by the Miami Heat for their season opener against Memphis on Wednesday night for what was described as “conduct detrimental to the team.” “There were a number of unacceptable incidents this week, culminating with his unprofessional conduct on the bench
Pascal Siakam earned a four-year max contract extension, so here’s what it means for him, the Toronto Raptors and where his game needs to go next. It was a question of “when” and not “if” the Toronto Raptors would agree to a rookie contract extension with fourth-year forward Pascal Siakam, and the “when” was announced
3:45 PM ET Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder has agreed to a long-term contract extension, league sources tell ESPN. Snyder had two years left on his deal, and a new contract extends multiple years beyond that term, sources said. After upgrading the team’s talent-base over the summer, locking Snyder into an extension had been a
Yesterday Bradley Beal inked a two-year 72 million dollar extension with the Washington Wizards. The extension, which kicks in beginning in the 2021-2022 season, includes a player option for the second year and could potentially keep him from reaching free agency until the summer of 2023. Following a summer defined by player movement, Beal’s signing
11:25 PM ET ESPN News Services MIAMI — The Houston Rockets‘ final preseason game Friday night didn’t go as smoothly as hoped. Russell Westbrook — who has been dealing with some dislocated fingers on his right hand — left the team’s game against the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter in obvious discomfort. The star
FanSided is partnering with The Action Network to bring you expert sports betting information and analysis. The NBA season is right around the corner, which means this is when you can get the best value on NBA MVP bets. It’s also when there’s the most risk, of course; we know the least. The two leaders
12:13 AM ET NEW YORK — Following a Brooklyn Nets preseason game on Friday that saw two groups of protesters wearing T-shirts that said “Stand with Hong Kong,” guard Kyrie Irving met with reporters and talked about his thoughts on last week’s tense trip to China for the first time. Irving specifically addressed what transpired
Once upon a time, during a routine, regular season game, a well-regarded shooter was left alone for a corner three. Iman Shumpert, then with Cleveland, rushed to a hard closeout. Seeing Shumpert off balance, the shooter blew by him. After the play, LeBron James criticized Shumpert for his overaggression. Shump, understandably, was confused – he’s
10:07 AM ET It’s time for our last preseason column: 35 random predictions for the season. Not all of these are bold. Any prediction roundup has to include major awards and a championship pick, and there is no way to go totally out of the box on those. But others are designed to be a
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend … come inside, come inside. The NBA is back this month, and that means NBA futures are back. As we did last year, I’ve written the case for the over and under for every team’s win total and ranked