The Orlando Magic were an afterthought among the big movers on NBA trade deadline day, but they might’ve turned their franchise around. Thursday before 2 p.m. Central time was a mad-house in the NBA. Teams were wheeling and dealing, especially teams in the Eastern Conference, and all the major moves seemed to be over and
1:38 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Nearly a year after a hip procedure, Denver Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas will make his return to play against the Sacramento Kings Wednesday, league sources tell ESPN. Thomas, who was upgraded to questionable for the Nuggets game against Sacramento in Denver, made his decision to play on Wednesday morning. Thomas
Someone made an “NBA Jams” t-shirt featuring Ben Simmons’ 3-point rating. It’s both real brutal and incredibly hilarious. When Ben Simmons, the superstar guard of the Philadelphia 76ers, shoots 3-pointers, the memes come out. One actually decided to put it in t-shirt form, and it was both real brutal and incredibly hilarious at the same
As ever, Russell Westbrook has taken it upon himself to be the yang to his own ying for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. Even as a rejuvenated, re-signed Paul George has emerged as a borderline MVP candidate, leading the NBA’s best defense without its own best wing defender, Westbrook remains at the center of the
2:20 AM ET ATLANTA — The Los Angeles Lakers limped into the All-Star break on Tuesday, falling below .500 for the first time since Nov. 7 after a 117-113 loss to Atlanta Hawks. At 28-29, the Lakers are 2.5 games back of the Sacramento Kings for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. For
For the last eight weeks, four of Basketball Insiders’ experts have offered up their views on the 2018 NBA Draft, here is their Final Consensus, with notebooks to follow: Version: 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 Benny’s Notebook: It’s finally here — whew. This is our last set
Frank Ntilikina might not be the player on everybody’s minds after the New York Knicks traded away Kristaps Porzingis, but this deal has big implications for the French guard just the same. The New York Knicks made plenty of statements when they decided to trade away former franchise cornerstone Kristaps Porzingis in a deal that
New York Knicks forward Mario Hezonja has long posterized opponents. But in Cleveland, he had, quite possibly, the dunk of the year. Mario Hezonja and the New York Knicks haven’t had a lot to celebrate this season. After all, they’re dead last in the NBA at 10-46, traded away their only marketable star, and have
6:35 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Nearly a year after a hip procedure, Denver Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas could make his return to the lineup on Wednesday night, league sources told ESPN. Thomas, who was upgraded to questionable for the Nuggets game against Sacramento in Denver, will make a determination about playing earlier in the day
Cam Reddish has been the marginalized member of Duke’s big three, but he’s still considered a top-10 prospect. Is he still worthy of that status? There are plenty of difficult prospects to evaluate in the 2019 NBA Draft. You can make the argument for any of the following as the most difficult — Bol Bol,
This good of an NBA rookie class deserves coverage more expansive than the current Rookie of the Year frontrunner. There is no arguing the fact that the Dallas Mavericks got themselves a franchise player in Luka Doncic. Doncic, currently the frontrunner for the NBA Rookie of the Year award, is awesome. Enough about him. There
After seven years of poor roster-building and team construction, the New Orleans’ Pelicans luck has finally run out. Here’s how they lost Anthony Davis. It all began on June 28, 2012. The New Orleans Pelicans, then Hornets, had the first overall pick in the NBA draft after a dreadful 21-45 lockout season. Their luck was
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot to gain by waiting to trade Anthony Davis, including a shot at Zion Williamson. The Anthony Davis trade saga has been one of the most compelling storylines the NBA has seen in some time. Earlier in the day on Monday it seemed as though the New Orleans Pelicans
12:32 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — Jonas Valanciunas had been one of the faces of the Toronto Raptors the past several years. The gregarious, giant Lithuanian became a fan favorite as a mainstay of Toronto’s rise from Eastern Conference afterthought to perennial power. Valanciunas is a nice player, just like the Raptors had become
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) The deadline came and went, and while some teams improved on the court, other teams helped or hurt themselves in a different way: the lottery standings. We’re getting close… For two and a half seasons now, every conversation about an NBA player or team has ended with “…yeah,
On Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline hit all zeroes — along with plenty of fireworks — and now buyout season is right around the corner. But as franchises continue bolstering their roster ahead of the postseason (or lottery-bound future efforts), another deadline passed recently without much fanfare. Last month, the deadline to sign players to
The Minnesota Timberwolves are going to have some big decisions to make this summer. Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau hasn’t changed his stripes. He’s been known to keep his players on the floor for an excessive amount of minutes in the past, and Friday night was no different. With Jeff Teague out with an
The Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly parted ways with head coach Tom Thibodeau, and fans are taking it pretty well on Twitter. It’s the end of the road for Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota. According to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania, the Timberwolves fired the embattled head coach and will replace him, in the interim at least,
10:51 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — As the crowd showered him with a raucous standing ovation, Russell Westbrook turned to the Portland Trail Blazers bench and gave a little wink. A drive and kick to set Paul George up for a 3 made NBA history: A 10th consecutive triple-double, breaking Wilt Chamberlain‘s mark of nine
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 18: Marc Gasol #33 of the Memphis Grizzlie and Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies prior to the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 18, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user
Eric Bledsoe is one of the most important parts of the best team in basketball, the Milwaukee Bucks. For the first time in his career, he’s where he wants to be. Eric Bledsoe’s career has been defined by his butting up against the breach of his own development, improvement in the form of plexiglass terrifyingly
Between stops with the Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd, Christian Wood found time to stop by J. Cole’s Dreamville studio with some teammates. Milwaukee Bucks assignment player Christian Wood tore up the Windy City Bulls on Wednesday night, dropping 33 points and 12 rebounds en route to a big win for Milwaukee’s G League team,
2:21 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Atlanta Hawks guard Jeremy Lin is finalizing a contract buyout, clearing the way for him to sign with the Toronto Raptors, his agents told ESPN. Agents Jim Tanner and Roger Montgomery were expected to complete the buyout with the Hawks as soon as Monday, they said, and Lin could sign
On Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline hit all zeroes — along with plenty of fireworks — and now buyout season is right around the corner. But as franchises continue bolstering their roster ahead of the postseason (or lottery-bound future efforts), another deadline passed recently without much fanfare. Last month, the deadline to sign players to
The play was a completely meaningless one, an unraveled thread in the boring rug of a late-December NBA game. Josh Richardson went in one direction and a pass from Justise Winslow sailed away in another one. The Miami Heat would eventually build a commanding double-digit lead against the Bucks; the turnover shouldn’t matter but it
1:31 AM ET OAKLAND — Dwyane Wade knows something about assembling a super team, and the Miami Heat great believes the addition of DeMarcus Cousins makes the Golden State Warriors‘ All-Star starting five perhaps the best the NBA has ever seen. “That is as good as it gets in our game with any team ever
Tips on how to set your DraftKings lineups for Sunday’s NBA games. Sunday’s DraftKings slate: 6 p.m. ET: Phoenix at Sacramento7:30 p.m. ET: Orlando at Atlanta8:30 p.m. ET: Miami at Golden State My favorite plays of the day can be found on the following slides in FanSided’s DraftKings daily picks. Each day in order to offer
The Memphis Grizzlies tried to compete with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, but their core just isn’t holding up well enough out West. The Memphis Grizzlies started the 2018-19 NBA season off scorching hot, winning 12 of their first 17 games and seeming like one of the stronger teams in the entire NBA. Things quickly
The Raptors are taking a risk on an aging Marc Gasol, but they have to shoot their shot now, or risk losing everything. Pause for a second on the Marc Gasol trade and put yourself in Masai Ujiri’s shoes. The Raptors are probably either the best or second best team in the East. Their LeBron
8:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers made almost 58 percent of their shots in Sunday’s 143-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, but the most discussed shot after the game was one that didn’t go in. That would be the 3-pointer Ben Simmons took less than a minute into the third