Month: June 2022

3:00 PM ET Franchise star Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nets general manager Sean Marks is working with Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman on finding a trade, Kleiman told ESPN. As the Nets prepare to move one of the most valuable

8:00 AM ET Walk into an NBA front office in 2022, and you won’t have to go far before you spot a treatise on management theory resting on a bookshelf. Concepts like organizational culture and asset management have taken hold. League executives devote a lot of thought into forming an identity for their basketball operations

4:31 PM ET Bradley Beal has declined his $36.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season, his agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Beal, who has played his entire 10-year career with the Washington Wizards, likely will have two options in free agency:

5:12 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has declined his $47.3 million option and become a free agent, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. Harden keeps real the possibility of negotiating a new deal that would deliver the Sixers roster-building flexibility in free agency — including use of the full $10.5 million exception.

5:26 PM ET The Atlanta Hawks are trading Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Hawks are sending a 2023 first-round pick via the Charlotte Hornets, and their own 2025 and 2027 first-round picks to the Spurs in the deal,

1:46 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — The NBA’s salary cap for the 2022-23 season is projected to come in at roughly $123.6 million, sources told ESPN, an $11.6 million increase from last season’s $112 million figure. At that number, the luxury tax line for the 2022-23 season would be roughly $150.2 million, and

10:36 AM ET The Washington Wizards are finalizing a deal to acquire Denver Nuggets guards Will Barton and Monte Morris in return for guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. The trade is getting final approvals now, and expected to be completed soon, sources said. Barton started all 71

8:42 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince has agreed on a two-year, $16 million contract extension, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Prince established himself as a solid rotational player on a Timberwolves team that returned to the Western Conference playoffs this past season, averaging 7.3 points and 2.5 rebounds a game in 17 minutes.

9:50 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer raised his hands up and began rocking back and forth as he began to think about the idea of a healthy Kawhi Leonard returning this upcoming season. After not having Leonard all of last season while he recovered from a torn right ACL, Ballmer

6:14 PM ET The New York Knicks are considered strong favorites to sign Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson in free agency, sources told ESPN. It’s widely anticipated that Brunson will agree to a four-year deal in excess of $100 million to sign with the Knicks soon after free agency opens on Thursday evening, league sources

4:35 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — At one point early in the NBA playoffs, Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers and head coach Steve Kerr had a conversation about how they didn’t feel their team was championship caliber. They saw themselves as a Western Conference finals team, maybe, but compared with the

6:13 PM ET The Detroit Pistons are trading forward Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers for a 2025 first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 2025 first-round pick via Milwaukee is protected Nos. 1-4, sources said. Detroit sends Grant into a $21 million trade exception, and the Pistons now

12:00 PM ET Former National Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette and potential top-10 NBA draft picks Ausar and Amen Thompson headline the 2022 field for The Basketball Tournament. The 64-team TBT bracket, which was released on Wednesday, features a record 71 players with NBA experience as well as 29 college alumni teams. For the

7:13 PM ET Shareef O’Neal was barely 6 months old when his father, Shaquille O’Neal, teamed with Kobe Bryant to win the first of three championships together for the Los Angeles Lakers. The elder O’Neal went on to have his No. 34 jersey retired by L.A. in 2013 and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial

5:20 PM ET Kendrick Nunn, who missed all of last season because of a bone bruise in his right knee, is opting into the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $5.25 million, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Nunn, who turns 27 this summer, signed with Los Angeles for the midlevel

6:19 PM ET NBA free agency doesn’t begin until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, but the news is already rolling in from around the Association. Much of the early buzz is coming out of New York, where Kyrie Irving‘s contract status has pundits and fans speculating about the future of the Brooklyn Nets‘ star

4:57 PM ET Houston Rockets guard John Wall exercised his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Rockets will continue to seek trade scenarios in the coming weeks, but are expected to work with Wall on a contract buyout if a swap can’t be found, sources said. Wall,

11:38 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN After Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum had a rough NBA Finals, Brad Stevens had a simple message for his team’s franchise player. “I just told him to go on vacation,” Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations, said with a smile during a videoconference call with reporters after Boston’s season ended

1:04 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — College basketball season ended almost three months ago, the NBA draft lottery was more than a month ago and the draft itself is later this week. Seems like the process should be winding down. Orlando Magic president Jeff Weltman sees it differently. “I tell you, it’s still

2:12 PM ET An emergency protective order filed last month against veteran NBA point guard Rajon Rondo in Louisville, Kentucky, has been dismissed. The protective order, which was filed against Rondo by a woman on May 13, was dismissed on Thursday after the “parties reached an agreement,” according to the document, which was obtained by

7:47 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been two years since the Bay Area hosted a championship parade, but the city, nor the Warriors, forgot how to take in the moment. Stephen Curry hopped on top of a banister at a Muni train station stop and started hitting the sign that was next

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA Finals wrapped up only a few days ago, but The Association’s calendar stops for no one. This week, the next generation of players will be welcomed into the league when the Orlando Magic begin the 2022 NBA draft Thursday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. From there, free agency

4:21 PM ET PRACTICE BEFORE GAME 2 of the NBA Finals had not begun yet but rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody took a moment on the Golden State Warriors bench to soak up the rare atmosphere inside Chase Center. Everywhere their young eyes turned, there was a not-so-subtle reminder of exactly where they were.

11:31 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Denver Nuggets forward Jeff Green has exercised his $4.5 million player option for the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN. Green had until Monday to decide whether to opt into the deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Green, who will turn 36 in August, averaged 10.3 points in 75 games (63

4:44 PM ET Associated Press In a couple of weeks, Bradley Beal‘s future might look a lot clearer. At this point, the Washington Wizards star isn’t tipping his hand. When asked Saturday about how he expects the start of free agency to go, he replied: “Crazy. probably — like it always is.” When asked how

8:26 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to hire Atlanta Hawks assistant Chris Jent as Darvin Ham’s top assistant coach on his staff, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Ham, a first-time head coach, made Jent a priority and recruited him hard after getting the Lakers job, sources told Wojnarowski. Ham and Jent coached

8:18 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Amid the champagne showers that drenched Golden State’s locker room in the TD Garden, Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins hopped on Instagram Live to share the celebration with their followers. In the livestream, Poole looked at Wiggins and proclaimed, “You’re going to get a bag.” An uncontrollable

3:39 PM ET Kenny Atkinson has decided he won’t become the Charlotte Hornets‘ head coach and instead will remain with the Golden State Warriors as the top assistant, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Atkinson was offered the job during the NBA Finals, but after further conversations Atkinson was led to believe it would be best

11:30 PM ET The Golden State Warriors are the favorites to win next year’s championship, but that could change during an offseason with big-name free agents on the market. The Warriors are 5-1 to win the 2023 NBA title at Caesars Sportsbook, followed closely by the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics, who are each listed