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The NBA Finals are over, with the New York Knicks claiming the franchise’s first title in 53 years. And with the 2025-26 regular season in the books, attention turns to buzz around June’s draft and the 2026 offseason.
The league’s focus is on to the draft and how the lottery results impacted each franchise, as well. The 2026 draft is widely viewed as deep and talented; several of the top players are expected to be future stars in the league, which has resulted in some of the most overt tanking efforts in years.
Check back here for all the latest buzz, news and reactions from our ESPN NBA insiders, with the latest info at the top:
Quick links:
Finals schedule | Transactions
Offseason guides | Draft coverage
In a story published Tuesday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst outlines six major storylines already shaping the NBA offseason, including the latest in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga, the Lakers’ plans, OKC’s second-apron conundrum, early buzz surrounding the No. 1 pick, expansion updates and more.
The Boston Celtics are also on Antetokounmpo’s list. He’d be willing to extend his contract if he were traded there too, league sources say. The Celtics typically don’t get involved in situations in which they have to be involved with player agents alongside the teams.
Antetokounmpo and his representation have definitely tried to have a seat at the table during this process — a fact that makes the Celtics uncomfortable.
The Celtics keep things quiet. Their big moves, from the then-stunning hiring of Brad Stevens 13 years ago to the Jrue Holiday trade last summer, typically don’t leak. They did have some player/team involvement when they made the deal to get Kristaps Porzingis in 2023, so it’s not impossible, but that was an outlier.
June 15
Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr underwent surgery to repair a fractured right foot on Monday, sources told ESPN.
Sarr picked up the injury last week while doing an offseason workout. He isn’t expected to miss any of the regular season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Chicago Bulls are hiring former Portland Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter for their head coaching position.
Splitter succeeds Billy Donovan as the Bulls’ head coach after stepping into the head job and excelling in Portland last season. Splitter, 41, guided the Trail Blazers to a 42-40 record and a postseason berth as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference amid adversity stemming from Chauncey Billups’ federal charges.
Talks surrounding a Giannis Antetokounmpo have intensified over the past week to 10 days, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “Get Up.”
“This league finally believes this is going to happen. I’d be remiss if I didn’t say he could still commit to resigning with the Bucks … [Antetokounmpo] has focused on wanting to become a member of the Miami Heat, and because he has only one year left on his contract, he has some control over that. But the Heat and the Bucks have been talking for months and not agreed to a deal — because the Bucks don’t love the Heat’s offer. There are third teams involved. There are fourth teams involved.
“In recent days, we have seen that the Boston Celtics have shown some interest, but a Celtics offer has a stumbling block: No. 1: You’d potentially be breaking up Jaylen Brown–Jayson Tatum. No. 2: It would mean changing the entire structure of how the Celtics play basketball.”
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon and Iman Shumpert to cover the New York Knicks winning the 2026 NBA Finals, including Jalen Brunson‘s Finals MVP run, his case for greatest Knick of all time and what’s next for the San Antonio Spurs.
Shumpert on Brunson winning the Finals MVP: (Brunson’s) not the fastest, he’s not the most athletic. All of these things are the reason that Jalen Brunson has completed his version of a journey with his game.
“He has made the proper adjustments. He adds to his game every year. We talked about how much of a conscious effort it has been this whole year to get his teammates involved. After the last two years, he didn’t. If you looked at the other side of the paper and you saw the Spurs, that’s what they lack.
“De’Aaron Fox went for that bucket because he’s athletic and still relying on his athleticism. Victor Wembanyama sometimes just will shoot a 3 because he can’t decide what move he wants to go through. Because they’re so young and gifted. When I talk about a veteran, a veteran adds this in, right? Because he can’t move fast anymore.”
With the NBA Finals over, teams are now allowed to negotiate (but not sign) new contracts with their own free agents and players on the roster who are eligible for extensions.
That means the NBA champion New York Knicks can start negotiations with free agents Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson. They can also begin extension conversations with Karl-Anthony Towns.
That also means the runner-up San Antonio Spurs are now allowed to layout the framework for a record five-year, $251 million rookie max extension with Victor Wembanyama.
Other notable extension candidates include Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Amen and Ausar Thompson.
In Los Angeles, the future of LeBron James is the headliner over the next few weeks. James and the Lakers can now talk about a new contract. James and his agent Rich Paul need to wait until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET to begin talking with the other 29 teams, however.
On the transaction front, all 30 teams are now allowed to make trades. — Bobby Marks
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps dropped a story on Friday featuring a few buzzy items during the NBA Finals, including what he’s hearing about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo could be traded soon. Here’s an excerpt:
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. 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.
This time feels different. Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam has plainly said that either Antetokounmpo will be moved by the draft or the franchise will keep building around him, which would require a different set of moves.
But throughout conversations with sources during the Finals, it appears Milwaukee has a new level of motivation to find a deal. And the rest of the league is waiting to see what will happen.
“It seems like everyone else’s business is on hold until we see what happens with Giannis,” an East scout said.
Check out the full piece here.
In a story from ESPN’s Myron Medcalf about former Arkansas point guard and top NBA prospect Darius Acuff Jr., one Western Conference scout says there are similarities between the 6-foot-3 guard and Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
“Brunson has kind of brought back the smaller, scoring, tough physical point guard that can lead a team. And Acuff has some of those traits. He might even have a little more.”
June 10
Michigan wing Yaxel Lendeborg will work out for the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Thursday afternoon.
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). South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson and Illinois guard Kylan Boswell will also work out for the Warriors on Thursday.
Lendeborg, ESPN’s No. 12-ranked prospect, is the most notable name and first prospect to work out that the Warriors are seriously considering drafting with the 11th overall pick. He has several fans in the front office, team sources said.
A 6-foot-9 wing with an advanced game, he is considered a plug-and-play option at a position of need for the Warriors. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a first-team All-American for Michigan, leading the Wolverines to the national championship last season. He will turn 24 in September and is only three months younger than current Warriors wing Gui Santos and is a week older than former Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga, who just finished his fifth NBA season. That advanced age has presented questions about Lendeborg’s upside for whichever team selects him in a draft loaded with intriguing 19-year-olds.
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. It’ll also matter how the board in front of them falls. There are plenty of intriguing players who could surprisingly fall out of the top 10, including Arizona guard Brayden Burries, who league sources said is expected to be among the lottery prospects working out for the Warriors next week. — Anthony Slater
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps went on the “Hoop Collective” podcast and forecast Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future, including what teams have the best package for the two-time MVP.
“The Heat have a fine package. I would say if Giannis ends up on the Heat, it’s for one of two reason. It’s because he puts his thumb on the scale and says ‘I’m only going to play for the Heat,’ which I would not anticipate that happening,” Bontemps said. “The other part is if other teams are just weary of outbidding Miami. If the teams that have been discussed get in the mix, I think they all have enough to outbid the Heat if they choose to actually say ‘we want to go down the road with Giannis and sign up to have a guy that’s going to be on the team until he’s 36, 37, with a gigantic contract on the books and some of the potential long-term downsides that could occur.’ … Orlando can flat out outbid Miami for Giannis. It’s not a debate for me. Orlando has a better package”
Brian Windhorst detailed some of the Milwaukee Bucks‘ options this summer and what the franchise will be looking for in an Antetokounmpo trade.
“The Bucks want a package of established talent, prospects and draft picks,” Windhorst said. “A theoretical Heat offer: Tyler Herro, I’m not sure the Heat are in the mood to extend Herro … then you have a selection of young prospects. Kel’el Ware, who’s dynamic, first-round draft pick two years ago. Big man, who can stretch the floor. High energy, block shots. There’d be quite a few teams interested in Kel’el Ware if he got shipped to Milwaukee and they were willing to flip him.”
He continued on the Portland Trail Blazers‘ chances of landing the All-Star.
“Portland has sniffed around,” Windhorst said. “I’m not sure that Giannis is extending in Portland.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that the league would study the issue of flopping again when its competition committee meets next month.
“When we put the flopping rule in place, there was egregious flopping,” Silver said in an appearance with the “Inside The NBA” crew prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals. “Players are taught to sell the calls where there is a foul, but they’re trying to draw the call … We’re going to look in the offseason. We have a two-day competition committee meeting in Vegas where we will watch over 1,000 plays over two days and see if we should set that line in a different place.”
The issue has come up several times during these playoffs in connection to plays involving two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Earlier on Wednesday, Thunder president of basketball operations Sam Presti defended his star by suggesting the issue has mostly been fueled by social media.
“He’s playing against six people,” Presti told reporters at his annual end-of-season news conference. “He’s got five defenders and the sixth defender is social media.”
Appearing on “Get Up” on Monday morning, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said he thinks Milwaukee Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo would prefer to be traded to the Miami Heat this offseason. “The team to watch here is Miami,” Windhorst said. “Miami would say ‘we got Tyler Herro who is a young player and been an All-Star. We got draft picks including the 13th pick in this draft… And Giannis I think wants to be in Miami. There’s more check marks on Miami. I’m not sure Boston is ready to trade Jaylen Brown.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that despite speculation, the Boston Celtics are not looking to trade All-NBA guard Jaylen Brown. “I have not heard any material true discussions,” Windhorst said on an appearance on CLNS Media. “I’m certain maybe someone has called on Jaylen Brown, but I have not heard one iota of Jaylen Brown truly being available.”
Later during that same appearance, Windhorst addressed the chances of the Celtics trading for Milwaukee Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. “I have not heard that Boston is on Giannis’s list. I have not heard that Giannis is prepared to sign the extension with Boston,” he said. “Just because I haven’t heard doesn’t mean it’s not true. But until those two things are true, I don’t think it’s really something that’s in the world of reality.”
ESPN reporters Anthony Slater and Tim MacMahon went deep on the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s future on Tuesday, detailing what could be in store after they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Here’s an excerpt from the story, on two key role players:
There is a strong anticipation among team and league sources that Isaiah Hartenstein will be back in Oklahoma City next season, whether the Thunder choose to pick up his team option or the sides agree to an extension. With Wembanyama and the Spurs looming as a long-term rival, it would be a significant step in the wrong direction for the Thunder to thin out their big man depth, especially after Hartenstein had some success defending Wembanyama during the West finals.
The decision on Luguentz Dort is considered murkier, in part due to Wallace’s presence as a potential replacement in the starting lineup who is in line for a significant raise, starting in the 2027-28 season. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander publicly vowed not to provide input to Presti on personnel matters, sources familiar with the superstar’s thinking said that he privately intends to emphasize to management how much he values playing alongside his Canadian countryman Dort. Dort switched agents from Thaddeus Foucher to Klutch Sports’ Mike George this season, a move that hardly signifies a willingness to accept a team-friendly deal.
As noted by Slater and MacMahon, the Thunder’s salary is projected to be $250.5 million next season, well past the projected second apron, which would trigger a more than $200 million tax bill.
The Chicago Bulls are casting a wide net for their head-coaching search, which includes interest and early conversations with BYU coach Kevin Young, sources told ESPN’s Jamal Collier.
Young was a lead assistant with the Phoenix Suns from 2020 through 2024 before getting hired at BYU. Young signed a long-term extension with the Cougars in May 2025, before the arrival of top recruit AJ Dybantsa, who could go No. 1 overall in June’s draft.
Other candidates for the Bulls coaching vacancy include Tiago Splitter, Micah Nori, Johnnie Bryant, Jerry Stackhouse and Lamar Skeeter, according to Collier.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated on NBA Today he expects the Cleveland Cavaliers to make “significant changes” to the roster during the offseason, including a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I don’t think it will be long before you start to hear Cavs attached to Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Windhorst said. “Would they consider entering that market? If they put Evan Mobley on the table … What if they could turn him into Giannis with Harden and Donovan Mitchell on the roster? They haven’t cross that bridge yet, but it’s something they might have to consider.”
The Cavaliers were swept out of the Eastern Conference Finals by the New York Knicks on Monday night.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the New York Knicks, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said the team is planning to sigh James Harden to a long-term deal to stay in Cleveland.
“They are a second-apron team. What I believe their plan to be is that James Harden is going to opt out of his contract and sign a new contract,” Windhorst said on ESPN Cleveland. “This is not theoretical. James Harden will be back with the Cavs next year and it will be for multiple years guaranteed, which will take them out of the second apron.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst went on the NBA Weekend radio show to discuss Jaylen Brown‘s future with the Boston Celtics, including if he’d want to leave and what the Celtics need to do with their backcourt.
“I think the Celtics are at an interesting point,” Windhorst said. “They have to evaluate their roster and decide is Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum together earning $600 million on their contracts the way to go forward in the league, in the apron era to have everything tied up in two players that are so similar.
“Not because one guy wants his own team, not because one guy wants out of there, not because one guy wants extra accolades and extra shots. From a basketball team-building strategic standpoint in the 2026 NBA, does that make sense? This is what the Celtics have to analyze.”
Boston was eliminated in the first-round by the Philadelphia 76ers this postseason.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater went on 95.7 The Game to discuss the possibility of the Golden State Warriors putting together a trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo that would intrigue the Milwaukee Bucks.
“This is just my read on it, I think [the Warriors] are not first in line, not second or third in line, really at this point, as far as packages that appeal most to Milwaukee,” Slater said.
LeBron James said on his podcast, “Mind the Game,” that the Los Angeles Lakers‘ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder wasn’t due to being outworked or outcoached, but being “out-talented.”
“We were not outworked. They didn’t out-physical us. They didn’t outsmart us,” James said. “I feel like we were just out-talented by OKC. They just possess so much more talent.”
The Thunder swept the Lakers in the teams’ second-round series.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers during their opening week in the Eastern Conference finals to report on where the franchise stands eight years after LeBron James left for the second time.
“When LeBron left, we just fell flat on our faces because we just weren’t rooted in anything,” a team source told ESPN. “We weren’t rooted in anything foundational in terms of culture or team-building or player development.
“We were just rooted in the culture of LeBron.”
Now, the franchise feels like it’s in good hands with Donovan Mitchell leading the way.
“Four years without him, in the rebuild: one play-in game,” a team source said of Mitchell. “Four years with him: four playoff appearances, three second-round appearances, a conference finals appearance.”
The Cavaliers enter Thursday night’s Game 2 versus the New York Knicks down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference finals.
Read more: The Cavaliers rebuilt after LeBron left, but questions remain
ESPN’s Sham Charania reported that “all the indications” he has gotten point to LeBron James playing one more season.
“All the indications I’ve gotten over the course of the year is that he’s gonna play one more season,” Charania said on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “The where? The how much of it all? That’s all obviously going to be a factor. Is it going to be L.A.? That’s gotta probably be his preference. … The Lakers have made clear they want him back.”
James just wrapped up his 23rd NBA season.
With the turnover in the Dallas Mavericks‘ front office, multiple teams have shown interest in veteran guard Kyrie Irving, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“Nico Harrison, Jason Kidd, they were all brought in by Mark Cuban,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “Luka Doncic, a Mark Cuban guy. The only Mark Cuban guy left on that team is Kyrie Irving. … There’s multiple contenders around the NBA right now that are very much monitoring what Kyrie Irving’s future is with the Mavericks.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reveals the customized training program Wembanyama went through last summer after recovering from a career-threatening diagnosis of deep-vein thrombosis.
The monastery and accommodations would be extremely basic — a bed, or, in Wembanyama’s case, three, and a dresser. The days would be extremely long — six to eight hours per day of training, in addition to hours of meditation — and challenging.
[Bouna] Ndiaye, his agent, relayed all of this to Wembanyama upon his return.
Wembanyama was unfazed. He was intrigued by the discipline and challenge. By what it might unlock in him and what it might help him let go of.
The blood clot in his arm had shaken him to his core.
“I needed time to find myself again and then to get better,” Wembanyama said in December. “It’s the best example that life is short, [your] career is short, and can end just like this. So there’s no time to waste.
“That’s a great motivation. That’s better motivation than I could expect from anything else.”
Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to react to the New York Knicks‘ 22-point Game 1 comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night, including a breakdown of why Cleveland collapsed and how both teams will adjust moving forward. They then move on to the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Game 2 outlook and how they can step up against the San Antonio Spurs. Finally, they close on the Dallas Mavericks firing coach Jason Kidd on Tuesday.
MacMahon: “[Mavericks president of basketball operations] Masai [Ujiri] is definitely trying to be very buttoned up and tight-lipped.
“I did inquire with a source familiar with his thinking and I said, ‘Hey, would Sean Sweeney’s connection with J-Kidd eliminate him as a candidate?’ because Sean Sweeney was J-Kidd’s right-hand man in Brooklyn, in Milwaukee and then in Dallas. And I was told no, that that wouldn’t eliminate him as a candidate, that they would consider him as an individual, not as J-Kidd’s right-hand man.
“I don’t have at this point a list of candidates. I would say a couple things there: There are names flying … Masai’s track record is not necessarily swinging for big names. It’s trying to find the next great coach. You know, he likes discoveries.”
Jason Kidd is out as coach of the Dallas Mavericks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps to react to the epic Game 1 between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, including a breakdown of Victor Wembanyama’s historic performance and how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder can bounce back in the series.
Windhorst: “Wembanyama is the first player with 35 points and 20 rebounds in a conference finals game since [Charles] Barkley in 1993. Not first conference finals game, any conference finals game.
“He is 22 years old. He passes Lew Alcindor as the youngest player ever with 40 and 20 in a playoff game. 40 and 20. I mean, it was so long ago that Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] was still Lew Alcindor. You’ve been a big believer in [Dylan] Harper ever since he was at Rutgers. I’m not saying that you were the only one. I’m just saying that you were an advocate of Harper before he was the No. 2 pick. But Wembanyama, [Stephon] Castle and Harper are the first trio of teammates 22 or younger each to have a double-double in a playoff game in NBA history.”
Game 2 is on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock).
San Antonio Spurs star De’Aaron Fox has been ruled out for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an ankle sprain, sources told Shams Charania.
Shams Charania reported on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday that Rich Paul informed him that every contender has called since the season ended for LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers.
James, who just concluded his 23rd NBA season, is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The New Orleans Pelicans are hiring Jamahl Mosley as the franchise’s next head coach, sources tell ESPN. The deal is for five years.
Mosley reached an agreement with the Pelicans after five seasons in Orlando, where he led the Magic to three straight playoff appearances.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams is listed as available for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Williams has not played since April 22, when he sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 2 of Oklahoma City’s first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns.
Williams will be an essential add as the defending champions must defeat the surging Spurs and Victor Wembanyama for a chance to repeat as NBA Finals champions.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps spent the week asking their sources some of the NBA’s biggest unanswered questions, including the latest intel on LeBron’s future, what the future holds in Philadelphia, how the Clippers should handle Kawhi Leonard‘s extension, and whether the Bucks have finally reached a breaking point with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In the wake of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam’s comments at coach Taylor Jenkins’ introductory news conference earlier this month, it seems like the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga could finally get some clarity between now and the draft.
And, after years of “will they, won’t they,” the growing belief around the league is that this time an Antetokounmpo trade will actually happen.
“It just feels like they’re done with the circus, more than anything,” an East executive said. “They seem to want a clean break and to move on.”
Read the full story here: NBA offseason intel: Predictions for the summer of LeBron, Giannis and Kawhi
Andscape’s Marc J. Spears spent some time with Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George and covered several topics, including Utah’s upcoming draft, the team’s playoff outlook next season and what he said to potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson at the draft lottery.
“We get a top-two talent in the draft and get to build on the changes we made with getting Jaren,” said George, who is 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds. “It’s just a lot of things going right for the group right now. On paper, we are definitely a playoff team. Honestly, there is just a different versatility that we have. You got guys who can play [point guard] to [shooting guard]. You got guys who play the [power forward] that can move to the [center position].
“And then we got [Jazz head coach] Will Hardy. I know people know about Will. But his X’s and O’s and the way he breaks down the game for us, that’s really what gives me the confidence, honestly. Having Will and our coaches, the talent is going to take care of itself.”
The Jazz have the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
On NBA Today, Andscape’s Marc J. Spears discussed the possibility of the Golden State Warriors using the No. 11 pick in a potential trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“”The Warriors have that 11th pick and people wondering, ‘Hey, can they get in the Giannis mix?'” Spears said. “From what I’m being told today from several people, the Warriors (would) like to keep that pick”
The pick is the Warriors’ first in the lottery since 2021.
Here’s what ESPN’s Brian Windhorst had to say about LeBron James, who is a free agent this summer, and his relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers:
“The Lakers have a problem. They don’t want to lose LeBron James, and they don’t want to lose his 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game. But they don’t want to pay $50 million [per year] for him. Because the rest of the league isn’t going to come bidding $50 million [for James]. …
“The concept that he’s just not as good anymore and that maybe he’s only worth $30 million instead of $50 million — you’re not getting that from LeBron James. LeBron James doesn’t believe in that. I don’t expect him to accept that. And I’ll tell you one thing: If you’re the Lakers and you force LeBron to leave, he’ll go somewhere else and play for less money.”
“You better bring him a reason to take a pay cut. … If you’re the Lakers, if you force LeBron to leave, he’ll go somewhere else and play for less money.”
–@WindhorstESPN on LeBron James’ free agency and a possible pay cut 👀 pic.twitter.com/Rs6XuEIoyO
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 14, 2026
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin has a piece out today after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs, detailing LeBron James‘ status with the franchise and the biggest lingering question of the entire NBA offseason: Will James return to the Lakers?
There will be no further discipline for Spurs star Victor Wembanyama after he was ejected for elbowing Wolves forward Naz Reid in the neck in Minnesota on Sunday night, sources told ESPN.
Wembanyama will play in Game 5 against the Timberwolves on Tuesday night in San Antonio.
The Milwaukee Bucks are “open for business,” sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, as the team continues to look at possible trades — either to send franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo to a new team or to try to persuade him to stay.
The Bucks will have up to three first-round picks available to trade, plus Kyle Kuzma or Bobby Portis, both of whom have tradable contracts.
Still, nothing has changed in Antetokounmpo’s stance that the time has come for both sides to move on, sources said.
The Washington Wizards, after losing 26 of their final 27 games this past season, landed the No. 1 pick in the loaded 2026 draft at Sunday’s lottery.
Washington hasn’t finished above .500 since 2017-18, but traded for All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis last season, and are now positioned to make a serious jump in the Eastern Conference as soon as next season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo projects the Wizards will select BYU forward AJ Dybantsa will the No. 1 selection in June’s draft.
The Golden State Warriors and coach Steve Kerr have reached an agreement on a two-year deal, sources told ESPN. The deal keeps Kerr, who made $17.5M last season, as the highest-paid coach in the NBA, league sources said.
Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green wants to remain with the team, he told ESPN’s Marc Spears, and if the Warriors are fair and want him, he will work to stay.
Green also said on “Inside the NBA” that although he doesn’t see himself in another uniform, the Warriors must also feel the same way. Green has a $27.6 million player option for next season, the final year of his current deal.
On Steve Kerr’s future with Golden State, Green said, “I think and hope he’s coming back” and that he “wants to coach.” Kerr, who is on an expiring contract, just finished his 12th season as the Warriors’ head coach.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon discussed the Mavericks’ hiring of Masai Ujiri in Wednesday’s “Hoop Collective” podcast: “A couple things: Jason Kidd did try to become the president. He’s known for months that wasn’t going to happen. … And, very clearly, Masai Ujiri is the boss. Period. There is no question about the power structure. Masai Ujiri is the boss of all things basketball with the Dallas Mavericks.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin participated in an AMA on Reddit on Wednesday to discuss his recent yearlong story with LeBron James.
In response to a question about Luka Doncic’s availability in the Lakers’ series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, McMenamin commented:
We spoke to him today for the first time since the injury. He is not ruled out. But the timeline is what it is. He told us today that he has started running, but he hasn’t done any contact drills yet. Game 4 would be six weeks since the injury. Is there a chance that he is ready to play by then? Maybe? His body language seemed pretty down today, though. It sounds like he needs more time. And I am not so sure if the Lakers can extend this series against OKC too far without him.
Read the full AMA here.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been ruled for Game 2 at the New York Knicks on Wednesday, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Embiid scored 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting while recording just four rebounds in the 76ers’ 137-98 Game 1 loss. He’s battling both hip and ankle injuries.
Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Vincent Goodwill to cover what the Cleveland Cavaliers need to do to bounce back from a Game 1 loss against the Detroit Pistons, including what they need from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell to win this series. Then, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon joins the podcast to discuss the New York Knicks‘ rout of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in Game 1 and whether it will lead to changes for the 76ers in Game 2. They conclude the podcast by discussing the standout game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s “imperfect” Game 1 win.
The Chicago Bulls are set to hire former Atlanta Hawks executive Bryson Graham as their new executive vice president of basketball operations, sources told ESPN’s Jamal Collier and Shams Charania. Graham spent 15 seasons in New Orleans before joining the Hawks last year.
The Detroit Pistons have signed coach JB Bickerstaff to a contract extension, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Anthony Edwards is expected to play in Monday’s Game at San Antonio, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Dallas Mavericks are hiring Masai Ujiri as team president and alternate governor of the franchise, per ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon.
“He’s got a real presence about him, as we’ve seen time and again,” Tim Bontemps said on the Hoop Collective podcast.
“I think for a franchise that has been kind of adrift, for lack of a better word, for the better part of a year now — really ever since the Luka (Doncic) trade — it just felt like there’s sort of been a lack of overall direction and thrust for the organization and Masai will provide that.”
Ujiri was fired by the Toronto Raptors in June of 2025 after spending 13 seasons with the franchise. He helped lead them to their only title in franchise history in 2019.
The Dallas Mavericks are hiring Masai Ujiri as their new president and alternate governor, sources told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Shams Charania. Ujiri led the Toronto Raptors front office from 2013 to 2025 and served as the architect of their 2019 championship team.
The Orlando Magic have fired coach Jamahl Mosley, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Mosley’s five-year tenure in Orlando ends with the Magic’s third straight first-round playoff loss.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to break down the weekend’s Game 7’s, including the Philadelphia 76ers completing the comeback against the Boston Celtics and their chances against the New York Knicks in the semifinals. They then move on to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons wins on Sunday and the key matchups in their semifinals. They close on the Western Conference semis to discuss if Anthony Edwards will be available in the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ series against the San Antonio Spurs and if the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers can compete with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in any capacity.
ESPN insider Shams Charania reported that the Denver Nuggets are expected to take calls about their entire roster except superstar Nikola Jokic, as Denver is expected to go through a roster overhaul in the offseason.
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was a late addition to the team’s injury report on Saturday, listed as questionable with left knee soreness. The Celtics eventually ruled Tatum out less than two hours ahead of tipoff against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to discuss what’s been one of the most competitive first rounds in NBA playoff history, including the Minnesota Timberwolves closing out the Denver Nuggets in six games, the Philadelphia 76ers forcing a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks‘ impressive Game 6 performance. They then move on to Friday night’s games and why the Los Angeles Lakers might be in serious trouble against the Houston Rockets.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu is out in Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets due to a calf injury, sources tell ESPN.
It’s another loss for a shorthanded Timberwolves backcourt which is already without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo.
Rockets star Kevin Durant will miss his fourth consecutive game as he recovers from a left ankle injury, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Rockets, who were down 3-0 in the series, have won the past two games without Durant, setting up Game 6 in Houston on Friday night.
Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves has been cleared to return for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania. Reaves had missed about four weeks with a Grade 2 oblique strain. The Lakers, playing in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, lead the series 3-1 over the Rockets.
Steve Kerr, who has coached the Golden State Warriors for the past 12 seasons, met with Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob for two hours Monday, league sources told ESPN.
Both sides described the meeting as productive, but there remains no resolution nearly two weeks after the Warriors’ season ended in Phoenix. Kerr, Lacob and Dunleavy plan to reconvene next week to continue discussions, league sources said.
The Warriors have missed the playoffs in two of the past three seasons.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that there is still no timetable for Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic to return from his Grade 2 left hamstring strain. If Los Angeles beats the Houston Rockets in their first-round series, the expectation is that Doncic will be out for the second round.
It’s been a slow recovery for Doncic. Though Lakers coach JJ Redick said Doncic is moving more in his on-court work, the superstar is not progressing in his own court workouts when it comes to one-on-ones and movement.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who has been out with an oblique injury for the past four weeks, is hoping to return Wednesday for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets. Reaves has been listed as questionable for Games 2-4.
The Lakers lead the Rockets 3-1.
The Minnesota Timberwolves won the battle on Saturday night, with a stirring Game 4 victory over Denver that brought the team within a win of the second round.
But they might have lost the war.
On Saturday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Donte DiVincenzo had torn his right Achilles and would miss the rest of the postseason. And on Sunday morning, he reported that four-time All-Star Anthony Edwards would miss multiple weeks after hyperextending his left knee.
Losing a starting backcourt in one fell swoop would hurt any team in the playoffs, but it should be especially tough on Minnesota. The Timberwolves rely on a strong core, with little depth behind it; entering Saturday’s games, only seven Wolves had averaged more than 10 minutes per game in the playoffs. By comparison, 10 members for both the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs played more than that, and even the injury-riddled Lakers had eight.
With Edwards and DiVincenzo out, Minnesota’s entire rotation and offensive gameplan will shift. Ayo Dosunmu — fresh off a 43-point outburst — and Bones Hyland are the likely replacement starters, with some combination of Mike Conley, Terrence Shannon Jr. (who received his first playoff minutes in Game 4) and Kyle Anderson receiving more minutes off the bench.
That might not be a tenable arrangement on offense, unless Dosunmu can continue posting career highs in points going forward. There’s very little shooting and playmaking talent left in Minnesota’s lineup, and Julius Randle — who has been only OK against Denver, averaging 17.5 points and 3.5 assists per game on subpar efficiency — will need to step up in Edwards’ stead.
But all isn’t lost for the Timberwolves, at least against the Nuggets. Surprisingly, lineups without DiVincenzo and Edwards held their own in the regular season, with a plus-3.0 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass (which removes garbage time). Those groups excelled on defense. And as long as Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels remain on the floor, Minnesota will retain its top two options to guard Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, respectively.
Minnesota is already winning because of its defense. The Timberwolves have a 112.3 offensive rating in the playoffs, which is worse than their regular-season mark (115.6). But they’ve held the Nuggets, who led the league with a 121.1 offensive rating in the regular season, to just 105.2 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs.
It might not be the most probable outcome, but they have a real chance to keep Denver’s offense sufficiently in check to sneak out one more win in three tries.
Beyond that, Minnesota is likely in trouble. Without Edwards for multiple weeks, the Timberwolves might need to hope that the Portland Trail Blazers upset San Antonio to have a chance to reach the conference finals for the third consecutive season. — Zach Kram
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo will miss the rest of this postseason and at least a large chunk of next season after tearing his right Achilles just over a minute into Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets. The injury was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
It’s difficult to say whether that injury is a bigger blow to the Timberwolves or to DiVincenzo’s own career path.
Due to his availability and shooting skill, DiVincenzo was a crucial contributor for Minnesota this season. He was one of just four players in the NBA to start all 82 games, and he offered a skill set otherwise missing from the players who surround Anthony Edwards in Minnesota’s starting lineup. DiVincenzo shot 38% on 3-pointers this season and made 3.0 per game, which is more than Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert combined.
The Timberwolves had a plus-6.0 net rating with DiVincenzo on the court in the regular season, versus a minus-2.0 mark without him. That was the largest differential on the team. And in a very small sample of three playoff games, that gap widened: Minnesota was plus-20.7 with DiVincenzo and minus-26.3 without him.
Ayo Dosunmu fit in well in Minnesota after arriving via midseason trade, and he will presumably replace DiVincenzo in the starting lineup for the remainder of Minnesota’s playoff run. Dosunmu is an accurate shooter (44% on 3s this season) but on much lower volume, and defenses are less likely to worry about him on the perimeter. According to the new “average gravity” statistic at NBA.com, DiVincenzo ranked in the 77th percentile among qualified players this season, while Dosunmu was in the 56th percentile.
And although the Timberwolves’ starting unit might not be compromised too severely with Dosunmu in DiVincenzo’s place — if Edwards, who also left Saturday’s Game 4 early, is also out for an extended period, then the Timberwolves will be severely compromised regardless — the ripple effects could be catastrophic for Minnesota’s bench. In the first three games against the Nuggets, only seven Timberwolves averaged more than 10 minutes per game: the five starters, Dosunmu and former Sixth Man award winner Naz Reid.
Beyond that core, the Timberwolves will have to rely on the unpredictable Bones Hyland and veterans Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson to absorb playing time. They might not have the depth to withstand the loss of any member of their main group.
And for the 29-year-old DiVincenzo individually, the injury doesn’t just bring his 2025-26 season to an abrupt end, but it also potentially cuts short his prime.
Several years ago, DiVincenzo missed half of the 2021-22 season due to injury, which hurt his free agency case the following summer. And now he’ll miss the rest of this season and most or all of the 2026-27 campaign, when he’ll make $12.5 million in the final season of his current deal. — Zach Kram
The plan has always been for Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard to rehabilitate his ruptured Achilles tendon and return next season.
That’s still the plan. But this week, when Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter was asked if there’s a possibility for Lillard to return during these playoffs, he didn’t completely rule it out.
“Probably not,” Splitter told reporters in Portland on Thursday.
Lillard has been seen publicly working out during practices and before games, in addition to extensive training on his own.
A source close to Lillard reiterated to ESPN that the plan is still for Lillard to continue his rehabilitation and return next season, but acknowledged that could be reconsidered if the Trail Blazers advance further in the playoffs.
Lillard has been out since rupturing his Achilles tendon during the first round of the playoffs last season when he was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. He won the NBA’s 3-point contest at the All-Star Game in February. — Ramona Shelburne
Lakers guard Austin Reaves has not played since he suffered Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury on April 2. The team announced on April 4 that he would miss at least the rest of the regular season. He was upgraded to probable on Thursday as the series shifts to Houston for Friday’s Game 3 with the Lakers looking to take a 3-0 lead.
Kevin Durant, who made his Houston Rockets playoff debut in Game 2 after missing Game 1 with a right knee contusion, is now listed as questionable heading into Friday’s Game 3 with a left ankle sprain. The Rockets head back to Houston down 2-0 to a Lakers team that has been without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves.
The Philadelphia 76ers upgraded star center Joel Embiid to doubtful Thursday evening ahead of Friday’s Game 3 at home against the Boston Celtics.
Embiid had an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago in Houston, and has been out since, although he appeared on the bench for last week’s play-in victory at home against the Orlando Magic.
Steve Kerr has made no decision yet in regard to his future coaching the Golden State Warriors, and the two sides don’t expect to come to any firm determination until next week at the earliest, team sources told ESPN.
Kerr said he needed a week or two for the necessary space, contemplation and bigger picture conversations before deciding whether to seek another contract with the Warriors or walk away from coaching entirely, perhaps into the media space.
The Warriors were eliminated on Friday in a play-in loss to the Phoenix Suns. They’ve spent this past week conducting exit interviews with players and staffers, and are gearing up for the offseason. Kerr’s future is the first domino, but management doesn’t plan to rush Kerr, who just finished his 12th season as head coach.
Kerr’s contemplation will continue through the weekend.
“It’s April,” one team source said. “We don’t need to rush.” — Anthony Slater
The Milwaukee Bucks are hiring former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Ramona Shelburne. Jenkins, who will replace Doc Rivers, coached the Grizzlies for six seasons and led them to three playoff appearances.
Bucks management met with Jenkins last week in Memphis and this week in Milwaukee, sources said, to secure his commitment.
Thunder guard Jalen Williams has suffered a Grade 1 sprain to his left hamstring and will be reevaluated on a weekly basis. Williams, who was limited to 33 games in an injury-riddled regular season, had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Thunder’s Game 1 blowout win and then 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four assists in 23 minutes in Game 2 before leaving with the injury in the third quarter.
Game 3 is Saturday in Phoenix at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, in concussion protocol since a fall in the first half of Game 2, will travel with the team to Portland for Games 3-4, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Spurs blew a 14-point lead in the Game 2 loss. The series is tied 1-1.
How did the Orlando Magic turn things around — and stun the Detroit Pistons in Game 1? It started with a three-minute video a week ago, according to a story published Wednesday from ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk:
Last Friday morning, before the Magic’s biggest shootaround of the season at their team facility, coach Jamahl Mosley showed his players a video, but not the usual film breakdown of the opponent. Instead, he played a three-minute highlight reel of some of his players’ own NCAA tournament magic from back in the day.
Each player who had been in the tournament had two clips each in the video made by the team’s video coordinator: Jonathan Isaac throwing down a dunk while at Florida State, Moritz Wagner hitting a 3 while being fouled for Michigan and Desmond Bane drilling a deep 3 for TCU. The highlight reel continued with Tristan da Silva at Colorado, Franz Wagner at Michigan, Wendell Carter Jr. at Duke and others.
The Magic play in Detroit for Game 2 on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET/ESPN).
ESPN’s Shams Charania joined “NBA Today” to update the injury timetables for the Los Angeles Lakers guards. Austin Reaves, sidelined since April 2 with an oblique injury, has begun 1-on-1 work in an attempt to return late in the Lakers’ first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
“The sense around the Lakers is that Austin Reaves is actually the one that’s further along,” Charania said. “The Lakers are not expecting Luka Doncic [hamstring] to be back in this series. He is out indefinitely.”
Billy Donovan has stepped down as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Jamal Collier. Donovan, who had led the Bulls’ bench for six seasons, elected to leave the franchise after extensive meetings with ownership.
“I have decided to step away as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, to allow the search process to unfold,” Donovan said in a statement issued by the team. “I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater detailed the upcoming summer for the Golden State Warriors, an offseason that could lead to immense change for a franchise that has won four NBA titles in the past 11 seasons. What could be next for Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr? An excerpt on the end of the Warriors’ season:
Two nights later, their season ended at the hands of an upstart, younger Phoenix Suns team. The Warriors lost 111-96. It wasn’t competitive. Curry scored just 17 points, on 25% shooting.
It was the Warriors’ third consecutive appearance in the play-in tournament, and their second time in three years missing the playoffs entirely. Inside the organization, they’ve long known that, despite stretches of play that remind everyone of their game-changing past, like that fourth quarter against the Clippers, this team, with two aging icons on the wrong side of the actuarial table, is nowhere near good enough to win a title.
As their season came to a close, the trio of elder statesmen still fighting for it gathered on the sideline, perhaps for the final time.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Kerr said Friday night. His right arm was on Green’s shoulder, his left on Curry’s. “But I love you guys to death.”
Curry and Green have played together for 14 seasons.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to discuss the recent LaMelo Ball fine and whether he should’ve been suspended for his actions. They then move on to the 65-game exemption that made Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham eligible for regular season awards before closing on a full playoff preview of each series.
“I did not believe he should have been suspended, but I’m going to tell you, I wavered on that when I saw multiple instances of him doing this exact same thing. Not just the Bam Adebayo game two years ago where he thought he got fouled and tripped Bam. But in February, he did this to Jabari Smith Jr. against the Rockets. Almost the same type of play. (He) was driving, thought he got bumped, and he actually got called for a Flagrant 1 in that situation. — Brian Windhorst
The Charlotte Hornets face the Orlando Magic Friday night with the winner advancing to the playoffs.
The NBA retroactively assessed Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball with a flagrant foul 2 for tripping Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo in Tuesday’s Eastern Conference play-in game, which Charlotte won in overtime thanks to Ball’s last-second layup.
But for the Heat and their fans, it doesn’t erase Adebayo’s injury, it doesn’t remove Ball from Friday’s 8-9 game against the Orlando Magic and it all but certainly won’t impact the Hornets should they reach the first round.
That’s because one quirk of the tournament’s addition is that, not unlike the NBA Cup title game, the play-in tournament lives as its own statistical entity. They are neither playoff nor regular-season games, with no bearing on postseason and regular-season stats or awards.
That’s also the case with flagrant foul points, which can have a massive impact when they start to add up. In 2016, Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals for accumulating four flagrant points over the course of the postseason, something that helped Cleveland pull off its stunning 3-1 comeback.
While the Hornets’ playoff stay isn’t likely to last as long — Charlotte needs to win Friday just to set up a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons — Ball entering the playoffs with two flagrant points would have at least given heft to the belated punishment.
Instead, the decision felt fairly hollow. And in asking sources around the league Wednesday ahead of the NBA’s announcement that Ball wouldn’t be suspended, opinions were mixed. Some argued that a hefty fine would suffice, because you shouldn’t retroactively remove him from the next game because of Adebayo’s unfortunate injury. Others argued the opposite, saying he should have to sit out Friday’s win-and-in showdown.
None of it, however, will reverse the agonizing end to Miami’s season.
“I’m not really thinking about that anymore,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters Thursday during the team’s exit interviews. “I don’t think [Ball] is a dirty player. It should have been caught in the moment, and it wasn’t. And you move on.” — Tim Bontemps
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to cover the two exciting play-in games from Tuesday night, including the wild ending between the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat and whether LaMelo Ball‘s controversial trip of Bam Adebayo will have ramifications moving forward. They then move on to the Portland Trail Blazers‘ late win over the Phoenix Suns in the West before closing on previews of this week’s other play-in games.
“I had a GM text me tonight and ask, because they saw the play later, ‘This guy’s got to get suspended, right?” — Tim Bontemps
The Hornets will face the loser of Wednesday’s Orlando Magic–Philadelphia 76ers play-in game for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs on Friday.
The Miami Heat and team president Pat Riley will be in the market for a superstar this offseason, including the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“The Heat, Pat Riley, it’s clear around the NBA when I talk to rival executives: Pat Riley wants his whale, his shark, his tiger,” Charania said on “NBA Today.” “They’ll be back in the Giannis hunt and then whatever star they can find that becomes available to see, ‘Can we get that No. 1 guy?'”
The Heat play the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night to keep their season alive as the No. 10 team in the East play-in.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon detailed the Dallas Mavericks‘ search for a new head of basketball operations on his podcast, “Howdy Partners,” on Tuesday. Dallas has targeted the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, for the same position with the franchise.
“Tim Connelly is the primary target for the Dallas Mavericks,” MacMahon said. “Tim Connelly is obviously an outstanding executive. He helped build the championship team in Denver [and] the Wolves — a franchise that had been out of the first round of the playoffs one time in their existence, 1781619638 has gone to back-to-back conference finals with the roster that he constructed. Great candidate. There’s just one problem, Mike. I think he’s got a job, doesn’t he?
MacMahon also listed Detroit Pistons vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsay as a potential target for the Mavericks opening.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to discuss the final day of the NBA regular season, including how upsets influenced the playoff seeding. They then move on to the most exciting first-round playoff storylines and if the Los Angeles Lakers can get their injured stars back in the first round. They close on interesting comments from the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo about his future with the franchise.
“There are potential Laker playoff opponents who felt that it was a better chance — based on their analysis of the situation — that Austin Reaves could play sooner rather than later, and that as this team was preparing to potentially see the Lakers, that they were preparing for Austin Reaves potentially to play in that first-round series at some point.” — Brian Windhorst
The Lakers face the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
After seeing his season cut short a year ago because of a blood clot in his right shoulder, Victor Wembanyama is now eligible for postseason awards. He reached the 65-game criterion in the San Antonio Spurs‘ 139-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. He finished with 40 points and 13 rebounds in just 26 minutes.
Wembanyama is eligible to sign a five-year, $251 million extension this offseason. Because he was ineligible for league honors last year, there are no financial implications in the extension if he were named All-NBA or Defensive Player of the Year this season.
The extension will likely include a 30% clause that increases the total amount $50 million if he is named MVP, All-NBA or Defensive Player of the Year in 2026-27.
Wembanyama has 10 games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds this season. That trails only Tim Duncan for the most in Spurs history. He has 16 games of at least 25 points and four blocks this season, the most by any player. — Bobby Marks
After failing to reach an extension last offseason, the Detroit Pistons‘ Jalen Duren is set to cash in.
Duren, who is a restricted free agent this summer, has now reached the 65-game mark to be eligible for All-NBA honors. Entering their game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Duren had played 68 games. However, four of the games did not qualify because he played fewer than 15 minutes.
Due to a clause in the CBA, Duren and his representatives are allowed to negotiate a contract up to 30% of the maximum salary if he’s named to an All-NBA team. The contract can be for up to five years and $287 million.
If Duren is not named All-NBA, he is eligible for a five-year, $239 million contract.
Duren led the NBA in total points per game and was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career. — Bobby Marks
The Golden State Warriors have announced Stephen Curry will miss Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to it falling on a back-to-back, as the star player returns from injury.
The missed game means that Curry and LeBron James will not have met in the regular season, and they likely won’t meet in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers announced that Joel Embiid will undergo surgery for appendicitis in Houston on Thursday afternoon. They also reported that further updates will come.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater talked to players, coaches and executives about how they feel about tanking in the NBA and the future it has in the league.
In ESPN’s conversations with dozens of players, coaches and front office executives, a consistent theme emerged: Nobody likes it — “I hate it,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said — but not many deny it is often the most prudent team-building path when stuck near the bottom. Different seasons and different drafts will generate different forms, but everyone agrees it’ll continue until the NBA figures out either the proper rules or punishments to curb it.
“These teams are doing the whole gamut: sitting guys in the fourth, playing analytically bad lineups, drawing up plays for bad shots,” one Western Conference general manager said. “The creativity is impressive and I don’t blame them. It’s the best strategy to get better. Look at all the most promising teams in the league: Thunder, Spurs, Pistons, Rockets, Hornets. Years of being bad and building up on high picks. It’s painful but worthwhile.”
The strategies are growing in audaciousness and frequency of use. The orders from management are coming in earlier in the season, creating months of competitively compromised and often unwatchable basketball. The average margin of victory in NBA games this season is 13.1 points, the largest spread in history, and a record 89 games have been decided by 30 or more points.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to discuss the Chicago Bulls firing president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley and why the franchise could finally be moving in the right direction. They then move on to the potential playoff matchups, including the possibility of an intriguing series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks and why the Denver Nuggets‘ wins of late have them set up for a deep playoff run. They close on whether the Los Angeles Lakers should shut down LeBron James for the regular season
The Chicago Bulls are expected to engage a search firm in order to find a replacement for vice president Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley, whom the team fired after six seasons running the basketball operations department, sources told ESPN.
It’s a different approach from the process Chicago used when it hired Karnisovas in 2020. Team president and CEO Michael Resindorf said then that he targeted the top “No. 2” in basketball and went after general managers such as Karnisovas, who was then with the Denver Nuggets, and Bobby Webster, who was then general manager of the Toronto Raptors, but has since been promoted to their head of basketball operations.
This is only the second time since 2003 that the Bulls have hired a new head of basketball operations. Before Karnisovas got the job in 2020, John Paxson assumed the role for 17 years from 2003 to ’20. Karnisovas and Eversley went 224-254 across six seasons leading the organization to one winning season and one playoff appearance.
Even though Chicago sits 29-49 and in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, the opening is expected to be an attractive one around the league. The Bulls have flexibility on how they can build their roster with their own lottery pick, approximately $60 million in cap space and young players on the roster without long-term salary commitments.
Chicago is still expected to try to retain coach Billy Donovan in some capacity after the season. — Jamal Collier
ESPN’s Shams Charania went inside the drama between two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, as a crucial summer window approaches. The story details what has led to the falling out in Milwaukee and what it means for the future of both Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.
This season, the Bucks have gone 17-19 with Antetokounmpo in the lineup and 14-28 without him, and they rank 25th in offensive rating and 26th in defensive rating overall. They are one of six NBA teams to rank in the bottom five in both categories.
All the while, the uncertainty of Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee lingered. The Bucks engaged in trade talks ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline but chose to hold on to him, even as it became increasingly clear that they didn’t have much hope of even elevating into the play-in race. Milwaukee is now headed to the draft lottery for the first time since 2016, snapping a streak of nine consecutive years in the playoffs. The Bucks haven’t won a postseason series since 2022. Antetokounmpo, who is under contract for one more season, has played in a career-low 36 games and privately feuded with the organization for several months, culminating in rebuking the team’s requests to shut down in the final month of the season and setting up another contentious summer.
“When your best player is one foot in, one foot out,” said one team source, “you’re not going to win.”
The Bucks have officially been eliminated from the playoffs.
The Chicago Bulls have dismissed the executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley after six seasons, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The 29-49 Bulls sit in 12th in the East and are bound for the lottery.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are expected to hire former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone for the same position with the school, per ESPN Pete Thamel.
Malone won the 2022-23 NBA championship with the Nuggets.
Brian is joined by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to discuss Cooper Flagg‘s big weekend and where the Rookie of the Year award race currently stands. They then jump into the biggest storylines over the final week of the regular season, including the drama between the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the playoff races to watch and the mounting injuries hampering the Los Angeles Lakers‘ playoff hopes.
“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. “Whether it’s by their own decision or by other people’s decision.”
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has reached another financial benchmark for games played.
The salary protection for his $42.2 million salary in 2026-27 was nonguaranteed headed into the season. But now that he has played in 61 games, 80% ($33.7 million) of his $42.2 million salary for next season is protected.
The remaining $8.4 million will become guaranteed if Williamson’s combined body weight and body fat percentage is less than 295. There were seven times he was required to weigh in this season. It’s unclear what he weighed during those check-ins.
Williamson has one of the league’s most unusual contracts. His salary next season and in 2027-28 originally became nonguaranteed when he missed more than 22 games in the 2022-23 season. His $44.9 million salary in 2027-28 remains nonguaranteed.
The 61 games played this season is tied for the third most in his career. He’s averaging 21.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Pelicans, who have been eliminated from playoff contention, have four games left on their schedule. — Bobby Marks
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is out indefinitely with a Grade 2 right hamstring injury, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin. Doncic will miss the rest of the regular season, and his availability for the playoffs is uncertain.
In the 20 minutes after the news broke, the Lakers’ title chances dropped from 30-1 to 100-1, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Doncic, who has played in 64 games and ranked fourth in ESPN’s latest MVP straw poll, will apply for what’s called an “extraordinary circumstances challenge” to the 65-game rule for award consideration, per his agent, Bill Duffy.
Statement from Luka Doncic’s agent Bill Duffy of WME Basketball: “This season, Luka Dončić has performed at a historic level, leading the league in scoring, carrying the Lakers to third place in the Western Conference and placing himself in the middle of one of the most tightly… https://t.co/bKVOmzheDE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 3, 2026
Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Doncic can apply the exception for the two games he missed in December for the birth of his daughter. The application must be made no earlier than 12 p.m. ET on the last day of the regular season and no later than 11:59 p.m. on the day after the last day of the regular season.
Doncic signed a three-year extension last August and has been named All-NBA in five of the six previous seasons.
There will be no financial implications in his next contract if the application is denied.
Though the Lakers haven’t provided a timeline for his return, Grade 2 hamstring injuries typically require a monthlong recovery. Doncic has averaged a league-high 33.5 points this season, along with 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists.
The Lakers, who have gone 8-2 in their past 10 games, are third in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the No. 4-seeded Denver Nuggets, 2.5 games ahead of the No. 5-seeded Houston Rockets and 3.5 ahead of the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
Reaching the 65-game criteria for postseason honors could have significant financial implications for Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.
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 first year of the extension would begin in 2029-30.
A player with seven or eight years of NBA service is supermax eligible if they are named All-NBA in the immediately preceding season or in two of the immediately preceding three seasons. Maxey ranks fourth in the league in points per game (28.8) and third in total clutch points. — Bobby Marks
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. They also cover the close battle in the Rookie of the Year race between Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg.
The investigation into an alleged deal between the LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard and the company Aspiration is ongoing, sources told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
“Wachtell’s investigation is ongoing,” said an NBA spokesperson. “There is more work to be done and no set timeline.”
The news broke in September of 2025 that the Clippers were being investigated over allegation that a $28 million endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration constituted salary cap circumvention. Owner Steve Ballmer has denied the allegations.
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.
“I think this draft is, in some ways, similar to the [2024 Zaccharie] Risacher year, but on a higher level,” they said. “That year it was like, ‘Is anyone going to be really good?’ This year, it’s like, ‘Well, s—, there’s a lot of guys.’ You have high confidence that at least some of them are going to be really, really good. You’re not really sure which ones.
“You don’t want to be drafting at 1 and end up with the fifth-best player.”
The NBA draft lottery takes place on May 10 ahead of the draft on June 25 and 26.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Dave McMenamin broke down the six possible avenues LeBron James could take this offseason, including staying with the Los Angeles Lakers, returning home to Cleveland and or landing with some surprising wildcard teams around the league.
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.
“They’re my favorite now,” the scout told ESPN. “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.”
The Spurs are currently two games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed in the Western Conference.
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