And the Hornets are ecstatic about Knueppel, the fourth pick in last year's draft who led the league in 3-pointers made as a rookie. But if this week is any indication, the Brown trade will remain a flashpoint in NBA discourse — not just in public and in the media but inside the league itself — for quite some time. More than a week after the stunning deal that sent Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George and draft picks, the debate over Boston's decision is still raging. The 6-foot-9 forward, who averaged 10.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 56 games for the Brooklyn Nets last season, will give Lakers coach JJ Redick added length and versatility off the bench. The 25-year-old Maxey, a fellow Klutch Sports client who has trained with James in the offseason for the past several years, has referred to the 41-year-old star as a "big brother" in the past.
The margin between the two players is viewed in the league as razor-thin, with Dybantsa's downhill scoring and elite physical gifts contrasting Peterson's remarkable 3-point shooting and perimeter shot creation. As Shams Charania and I reported last week, the (Washington Wizards have narrowed their decision to (Darryn) Peterson or (AJ) Dybantsa. The four-time All-Star was traded to the Wizards in January and appeared in only five games for the franchise. And in Claxton, Chicago lands a young center, a position of need, and still has $30 million in cap room left. The answer would be Anthony Edwards," Windhorst said. "Already, Anthony Edwards has watched Karl-Anthony Towns, a player he totally fit with on the court, get traded to the Knicks and win a championship. Okay, so if you say to me Giannis has now been traded, who would be the next NBA star that you would watch? The Minnesota Timberwolves traded former All Star Julius Randle in what amounted to a salary dump on Monday, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on Get Up that could have teams asking about Anthony Edwards' future in Minnesota.
Following a late surge by Philadelphia, Jayson Tatum hit two massive 3-pointers to silence the home crowd, including the dagger with 25 seconds remaining to officially seal the win for Boston. The former also shot 5-of-8 from three, added 4 rebounds and 5 assists, but still struggled with turnovers with 6. Both teams struggled on the offensive end this game, going a combined 65 of 165 on field goals, 14 of 58 on 3-pointers, and 37 of 56 on free throws. Do not use full points in abbreviations, or spaces between initials, including those in proper names I went to a restaurant for a meal and didn't manage to finish it, so there was some food leftover. Caitlin Clark becomes the fastest to reach 200 career 3-pointers, surpassing Katie Smith "I've been thinking a lot about it. His game is going to be even more dominant in the playoffs and every game he's going to get more and more into your head. In Game 1, your players will think about him on some of their shots. By Game 4, they'll be having full-on nightmares."
Ranking Every Player In 2026 Nba Finals
Jalen Williams returned for Oklahoma City but had just one point in a 10-minute role off the bench. Oklahoma City's bench was still effective, scoring 34 points, but well below their historic 76 points in Game 3. The Spurs, who started 15–0 to begin the game, had De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper activated for the game, but their shot from the field (43 percent) was worse than the Thunder's three-point shot rate (45 percent). 26 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 76 bench points from the Thunder was more than enough for Oklahoma City to take a 2–1 series lead in a 123–108 Game 3 win in San Antonio. This was Oklahoma City's third double-overtime game of the season (including the playoffs), after their first two games against the Houston Rockets and the Indiana Pacers, respectively, both of which ended in a Thunder win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was recently named the NBA MVP for the second straight year, finished with a double-double of 24 points and 12 assists. Victor Wembanyama propelled the Spurs to a thrilling double-overtime victory over the Thunder on the road, posting 41 points and 24 rebounds.
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"Twenty-five points on 15 shots, like I said, 12 assists and a lot of the assists are where he's manipulating the defense and making the reads, and he's making tough passes that, as the guys said, only the really good players can make that read and that pass, and he did it on multiple occasions." They then move on to react to Brad Stevens' Jaylen Brown news conference and the rationale being presented before closing on summer league performances and what they're looking forward to in Las Vegas this week. Then the duo breaks down the Donovan Mitchell extension, including whether it makes sense for the Cavaliers and whether it will impact their pursuit of LeBron James. ESPN's Brian Windhorst discussed LeBron James' free agency on "First Take," including what the superstar could be looking for in his next home and how teams are feeling about their potential hopes of signing him. ESPN's Shams Charania reported on "NBA Today" that teams interested in signing LeBron James this offseason have lmct+ pokies app been sending voice note pitches to Rich Paul, James' agent.
Williams, the Suns starting center, averaged 11 points and eight rebounds last season. Joe, a six-year NBA veteran, spent the past four seasons in Oklahoma City and is a career 41% shooter from 3-point range. "Probably better if we was to really talk about it. I know I'm still going to be a top player whenever I get back. I have a couple good years left in me and we're going to ride it until the wheels fall off." One executive told ESPN that the Clippers "want Brown bad." Execs believe the Celtics are canvassing the league to figure out what Brown's true value is, as he has three years left on his contract. ESPN's NBA experts reveal their most up-to-date reporting, including the latest talks between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, trade candidates to watch in the ooming days, the latest in the Jaylen Brown saga in Boston and more. He had preferred to stay with the Clippers, sources said, but the franchise didn't make a long-term commitment to him this offseason. LA and Toronto have been in talks for the last couple of weeks, as Leonard's reps informed other teams he only wanted to sign an extension with the Raptors if the Clippers were not going to keep him, sources said. The Cavs traded for Harden in February, sending the LA Clippers guard Darius Garland and a second-round pick.
In their weekly intel file, ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst talked to coaches, front offices and scouts to gauge the growing hype around the San Antonio Spurs' playoff run. ESPN's Jeremy Woo and Tim Bontemps talked to executives across the league about the upcoming 2026 NBA draft, including whom they believe will be taken with the first overall selection, what concerns front offices have with prospects and best fits. Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to go over this season's final edition of the MVP straw poll, including whether Victor Wembanyama still has a chance to catch reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for the award. In the scenario Maxey is named All-NBA this season, he would become eligible to sign a four-year, $300 million supermax extension in the 2027 offseason if he is also named All-NBA next season. The Pelicans, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, have four games left on their schedule. New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has reached another financial benchmark for games played. "I don't know who's going to still have their jobs in Chicago by the end of next week," Brian Windhorst said on the podcast.
Lendeborg's individual workout and in-person meeting with the front office Thursday will assuredly play a role in whether the Warriors decide to draft him in two weeks. Lendeborg is among a group of prospects expected in the team's practice facility this week, with the NBA draft less than two weeks away (Round 1 is June 23 on ESPN/ABC). This isn't the league's first time down this road in recent years, as the Bucks have ultimately decided to keep their superstar forward each time any trade negotiations materialized. With less than two weeks until the NBA draft, the biggest non-Finals story in the league is the ongoing suspense of the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga. In Los Angeles, the future of LeBron James is the headliner over the next few weeks.
Cleveland blew a 17-point third quarter lead, but recovered in the fourth quarter, outscoring Detroit 33–28. Like in the first round against Toronto, James Harden struggled with turning the ball over with 7 in the game (the Cavs had 20 turnovers overall as a team), to go along with 22 points. Rui Hachimura added 21 points with five 3-pointers and Deandre Ayton pulled down 16 rebounds. The Lakers finished off the Rockets in Game 6 behind a 28-point effort from LeBron James. As a team, the Lakers were 13-for-28 on 3-pointers overall, while the Rockets went 7-for-29. For Houston, Alperen Şengün led the team with 19 points but shot just 6 of 19 from the field. The Timberwolves, who are short-handed for the remainder of the series without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, trailed by as much as 27 points before cutting the margin to 10 in the fourth quarter. This immediately sparked an altercation between both teams' benches, resulting in Jokić and Julius Randle being ejected from the game.
Backup big man Jaylin Williams added 18 points on five three-point shots and Alex Caruso added 15 on three 3-pointers. Isaiah Hartenstein scored just 10 points, but had 13 rebounds, including 8 offensive, and Alex Caruso added 17 off the bench, as the team lost forward Jalen Williams in the first half due to a recurring hamstring strain. Due to the absence of star Embiid, Maxey and Paul George played 46 and 42 minutes, respectively, and struggled shooting the ball in the fourth quarter. The Rockets shot poorly throughout the game, shooting just 35% from the field and making just 5-of-28 3-pointers; in particular, Reed Sheppard went 1-for-10 from three. Nikola Jokić had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, but Jamal Murray struggled and finished with just 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting.