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Mavericks

Kevin Durant joined an exclusive list of NBA legends on Saturday night as he became one of 8 players to score 29,000 total career points or more, in the Phoenix Suns&rsquo; 114-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Suns&rsquo; superstar reached the mark in the 4th quarter of the game off a pass from Tyus Jones for a pull-up transition three.
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Kevin Durant surpasses 29,000 career points with this 3, becoming just the 8th player in NBA history to reach the mark! 👏 <a href="https://t.co/e6qT9O0Wo2">pic.twitter.com/e6qT9O0Wo2</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1850391347099783662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2024</a>
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Durant, in turn, is now in elite company together with LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain.
Durant, a 14-time NBA All-Star, now has a total of 29,010 points after tallying 31 markers against the Mavericks. He has a career scoring average of 27.3 points per game in 1,064 games played over his 17-year NBA career.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to give credit to the people who have helped me since I was a kid,&rdquo; Durant said post-game about the accomplishment. &ldquo;Teammates who passed me the ball, set screens for me, coaches who drew up plays for me. I&rsquo;m glad to be able to do this in front of these guys and this crowd, but I have more to do.&rdquo;
Durant is now 10th on the all-time NBA scoring list, and with the way he&rsquo;s still scoring the ball, he will likely climb up more ladders in the scoring history list for the remainder of his career.
Other than Durant, LeBron James continued racking up NBA history by having his 8th triple-double after being 35 years or older when racked up 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Lakers&rsquo; 131-127 win over the Kings.
LeBron at one time had 14 straight for the Lakers in the 4th quarter, and scored 16 overall as he led LA&rsquo;s comeback from down 10 late in the 3rd quarter.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A vintage LeBron game in the <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lakers</a> 3rd straight win: 👑 32 PTS (16 in 4th) 👑 14 REB 👑 10 AST 👑 4 3PM 👑 12-22 FGM <a href="https://t.co/kDAuPZ274b">pic.twitter.com/kDAuPZ274b</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1850409431126716669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2024</a></blockquote>

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Even at their age, KD and LeBron are at the peak of their games with each and every stellar outing they produce night after night.

Kevin Durant joined an exclusive list of NBA legends on Saturday night as he became one of 8 players to score 29,000 points.

Kevin Durant becomes 8th player in NBA history to score 29,000 points or more

Amidst a multitude of former and current NBA stars, the basketball world celebrated and honored the career of Goran Dragic in a heartfelt farewell game in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Dubbed the &lsquo;Night of the Dragon&rsquo;, Dragic played a charity basketball game in his home country with fellow Slovenian and NBA player Luka Doncic. Dragic&rsquo;s former teammates and NBA legends Steve Nash (Phoenix) and Chris Bosh (Miami) were also in attendance while European stars Dirk Nowitzki and NBA MVP Nikola Jokic were on Doncic&rsquo;s team.&nbsp;
Proceeds from the charity game and adjacent events went toward the Botrstvo v sportu program of the Friends of Youth Foundation Ljubljana Moste-Polje and the Goran Dragic Foundation.
&ldquo;The Dragon&rdquo; also played a 1v1 against his brother Zoran Dragic in a wholesome moment with a mini-soccer game and on-court moments with his family also taking place, making the event memorable and meaningful for Dragic, who retired from the NBA a year ago.&nbsp;
Dragic had a lengthy career in the NBA, spending seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, and the Miami Heat. He was also a legend in the Slovenian basketball scene, having led Slovenia to a historic EuroBasket 2017. Dragic became an all-star in Miami and was a key cog in the team&rsquo;s historic run to the 2020 NBA Finals.&nbsp;
The former second-round pick averaged between 16 and 21 points per game in five different seasons while playing 946 total games. His 4,405 career assists rank 97th all-time. Dragic&rsquo;s No. 3 is retired by the Slovenian basketball team.

Amidst former and current NBA stars, the basketball world celebrated and honored the career of Goran Dragic.

Former and current NBA stars come out to support Goran Dragic’s farewell game

The article was initially published on BasketballNews on April 6, 2022.
Anyone else love going back and looking at old box scores and falling down afternoon-long rabbit holes, or am I the weirdo?
You might&rsquo;ve read the headline and either recalled this event actually happening, or are befuddled at how such a thing could take place, even in that NBA.
This article, published on April 6, 2022, marks 25 years since the Del Harris-led Los Angeles Lakers held Jim Cleamons and his Dallas Mavericks to 2 points in the third quarter of a regular-season game.
The contest was held at the LA Forum, where a 50-24 Laker team met a 22-53 Mavs squad with two weeks remaining before the playoffs started. Staples wasn&rsquo;t that big yet, and Crypto didn&rsquo;t exist. (Some might say it still doesn&rsquo;t, but you can fight about that amongst yourselves.)
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A large-ass, Biggie verse-having, All-Star center named Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/14/sports/injury-to-o-neal-is-a-blow-to-lakers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out with a knee injury</a> suffered that February, which he returned from five days later. Something tells me, if you made it here, you&rsquo;ve heard of him. Also on the Lakers, quite famously, was a talented rookie named Kobe Bryant, who had been playing regular rotation minutes at 18 years old, but wasn&rsquo;t yet Kobe.
The Mavericks had traded a controversial-but-talented point guard in Jason Kidd earlier in the season &mdash; along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer &mdash; to the Phoenix Suns for a package highlighted by Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A.C. Green. They also dealt Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat several weeks later for Kurt Thomas, Sasa Danilović and Martin M&uuml;&uuml;rsepp.
And right before the deadline, Dallas rerouted Cassell as part of a five-man package including Jim Jackson, George McCloud (who wound up on the Lakers retroactively), Eric Montross and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves, Robert Pack and Ed O&rsquo;Bannon &mdash; famously the Most Outstanding Player of the 1995 Final Four, and <a href="https://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/ed-obannon-shines-a-light-upon-student-athletes-right-of-publicity-624201.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killer of EA's NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video game franchises</a>. This move not only cemented Dallas&rsquo; rebuild, but it officially made way for a <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/06/06/flashback-jamal-mashburn-on-what-really-happened-between-jason-kidd-jim-jackson-and-toni-braxton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toni Braxton-less future in Texas</a>.
The Mavericks, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1997_games.html">who came in as losers of 10 straight heading into this game</a> &mdash; a lengthy skid that never saw the team score more than 92 points &mdash; went into Hollywood and started Pack, Finley, Green, Bradley and Derek Harper. Without Shaq, the Lakers began with Derek Fisher, Eddie Jones, Jerome Kersey, Corie Blount and Sean Rooks, who played a game-high 43 minutes (33 over his season average).
<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199704060LAL.html">The Mavericks led 30-17 after the first quarter and 51-37 at halftime</a>. The teams combined to attempt 12 threes in the first half, which most teams would typically combine to do in a quarter today. The Mavericks shot 21 of 44 from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 24-16 while holding L.A. to 12 of 32 shooting.
Bryant and Robert Horry went a combined 2 of 9 off the bench, and Rooks had logged 10 points and 7 boards to that point. Harper and Finley combined for 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting, while Bradley had 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Okay, now let's get to why you&rsquo;re here.
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Not only did the Mavericks score 2 points in the entire third quarter, but the points came from a pair of Harper free throws with 1:51 left in the quarter. So it took over 10 minutes to even get on the board in this period.
Anyway, the Mavericks shot 0 of 15 from the field for the quarter and missed all 4 of their three-balls. They also had 9 turnovers and only made one substitution over the entire 12 minutes, removing Pack for Sa&scaron;a Danilović about halfway through the third. That meant Green, Harper, Finley and Bradley were each a minus-25 for the quarter, and Pack was a minus-20.
For good measure, the Mavericks third quarter could be summed up like this:
<ul>
<li>Points: 2</li>
<li>Fouls: 3</li>
</ul>
The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 27-2 and still just led 64-53 after three. L.A. shot 10 of 17 in the quarter, made 5 of 7 triples, only needed to pull down 8 rebounds and turned the ball over just twice.
The Mavs outdid their horrific third quarter only 48 seconds into the fourth with two layups. They even cut their deficit to as close as 7 points in garbage time before the Lakers pulled away with a 87-80 win.
Fisher scored 21 points &mdash; not even close to a career-high for him &mdash; but to that point, his highest point tally had been just 14. In fact, the 21 points would remain a career-best mark for Fisher until he netted 26 points on March 13, 2001 in a win over the Boston Celtics four years later.
Sean &ldquo;2019 Bam Adebayo&rdquo; Rooks ended the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Bryant logged about 22 minutes off the bench, netting 13 points on 3 of 9 shooting, also finishing with 3 steals and going a perfect 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.
Harper led the Mavs with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Finley only put up 9 shots in over 34 minutes of play. The next time he put up just 9 shots in that many minutes? <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200203310WAS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 31, 2002</a>.
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So, what ended up happening to these two teams? Glad you asked!
The Lakers finished 56-26 and fourth in the Western Conference, sweeping the Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace-led Portland Trail Blazers in Round 1. Then, in the West semifinals, L.A. fell to the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz, who eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals. The Lakers still had a few more years of Harris before Phil Jackson eventually came to clean things up prior to the 1999-2002 three-peat era.
The Mavericks finished 24-58 and were actually still fourth in the Midwest Division among seven teams, completing 1996-97 with only the sixth-worst record in the league. Unfortunately, they didn&rsquo;t own their own draft pick, but fortunately, the Celtics &mdash; who had it at No. 6 &mdash; used it on Ron Mercer, so it wasn&rsquo;t an egregious miss.
Tracy McGrady did go No. 9 overall, and the Mavs did settle on Kelvin Cato at No. 15, but they landed with a kid named Dirk Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft after another 20-win season.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits when the Mavericks only mustered a measly 2 points in the third quarter against the Lakers.

Revisiting the time the Mavericks scored just 2 points in a quarter

This article was initially published on BasketballNews on October, 29, 2020.
I take pride in my defense. I&rsquo;ve always enjoyed guarding the best scorer on the other team. I look forward to it. When I&rsquo;m assigned one of those match-ups, I know it&rsquo;s gonna be a fun night.
In my 13 years as an NBA player, I guarded many perennial All-Stars and future Hall-of-Famers. I&rsquo;m talking about the best of the best. I tried to contain them and get under their skin. I'd constantly poke my hands in to try to get a pick or at least throw off their rhythm. If I could get scorers to think and worry about my hands, that was a win for me. But for these guys, it was basically impossible. They were always locked in.
What is it like to guard these superstars? In part one, I shared <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-corey-brewer-guarding-stars-lebron-james-giannis-antetokounmpo-james-harden-kevin-durant-stephen-curry-damian-lillard-russell-westbrook-kawhi-leonard-carmelo-anthony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my experiences defending current elite scorers</a>. Today, I&rsquo;ll break down some of the retired legends that I matched up against:
Kobe Bryant
You never forget the first time you played against Kobe Bryant. For me, it was in my rookie year in Minnesota and he dropped 30 on us. When he stepped on the court, just his swag, his whole demeanor, made me feel like, &ldquo;Damn, this is Kobe Bryant!&rdquo;&nbsp;
Kobe was a nightmare to guard. Seriously. He knew what he wanted to do, and I couldn't make him do anything different. It was like the game was a script to him; it was really a Hollywood script, and he was going to put me in his movie. I can&rsquo;t explain it any other way except that I was in Kobe&rsquo;s movie. When I was in the mid-post with him, he knew what he was about to do. It was: &ldquo;I'm gonna fake left and then fade over my right shoulder,&rdquo; or, &ldquo;I'm gonna pump-fake you, make you foul me and get the and-one,&rdquo; or &ldquo;I&rsquo;m gonna pump fake and go dunk on your head.&rdquo; He had a plan and he executed it. He was amazing, man. Unbelievable. Kobe would make so many difficult shots and I&rsquo;d just be amazed.
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He was a no-nonsense killer, and that's why I'm glad I got to play him in the playoffs a couple of times. Just to see him in that environment, playing at that level and being the way he is on the basketball court, that's why everybody respects him so much. He was that good, and he was really a student of the game. That's why he played for 20 years. He worked his tail off, and he was that good for so long because he was such a hard worker in all the nuances and technical aspects of the game. He was everything. He was relentless and steadfast in his plan: from his footwork to his bank shots to getting fouled--everything he did, I knew he had thought about it, worked on it and watched film on it. He loved the game. That's why Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bryant. Rest in Peace.
Dirk Nowitzki
I actually used to get to guard Dirk a lot. Dirk's tough, man -- the one-leggers! He's a "footer" meaning he's at least 7 feet tall, so I'm not gonna block his shot, and I'm not gonna speed him up no matter what. Like Kobe, he had a plan and I just hoped I could try to do something that made him get out of a rhythm. When I guarded Dirk, I just tried to deny him in his favorite spots or front the post. I just tried to be a little 6-9 pest. It felt like the only thing I could do guarding Dirk was be a nuisance because when he got the ball, it was over. He might miss, but he was typically going to get the shots he wanted. If I could just force him to shoot 12 inches away from where he most wanted to go, I did my job.&nbsp;
Dirk is one of the best scorers I've seen in the NBA. Ever. I played with him in 2011, when he had that incredible postseason and got us a Championship ring when we defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. It didn&rsquo;t matter who they put out there, he wasn't going to be stopped during our run to the championship.&nbsp;
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Dirk is for sure the reason we have all these stretch-fours now. The trail three, that was his bread and butter! At the time, bigs used to run back into the paint, but Dirk Nowitzki trailed in, stopped at the three-point line and let it fly -- and it would splash. Dirk was a bad boy, man.&nbsp;
While we all revel in how he shot the ball, it was the tireless work he put into his craft that made him that kind of shooter. He worked on the one-leg jumper so much. It wasn&rsquo;t just some random move he would do sometimes; he worked on it a lot, and that's why he made so many and why it became his go-to. He changed the game and evolved the big man position we all see now.&nbsp;
Dwyane Wade
I hated guarding D-Wade because his pump fake was just unbelievable. He was so athletic. Going to the rim, he&rsquo;d dunk on people. Then he'd go and just stop on a dime, pump fake, then draw a foul. I knew his plan so I'd try not to foul him, but that&rsquo;s when he had me right where he wanted--not as aggressive as I normally am. He was just tough with the way he approached the game, the way he played the game and how good he was at getting to the basket and finishing.&nbsp;
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And, seriously, Dwyane Wade's pump fake has to be up there as one of the greatest ever. I hated that pump fake. My goal there was just to stay down and make him shoot a jump shot over me. I feel like if I did that, I did my job -- which, a lot of times, it still wasn't good enough. But hey, I did my job; I'd rather him pump fake, shoot a jump shot and make it than him pump fake and draw a foul or dunk on me or my teammate -- because his dunks would always get his team and the crowd going. My job wasn't to stop scorers like him, it was to get them to take shots they were less likely to make than they otherwise would if I didn't do my job. Fouling was the worst thing I could do--most scorers shoot free throws well.&nbsp;
Gilbert Arenas
If Gilbert Arenas didn&rsquo;t get hurt, we&rsquo;d be talking about him on a different level. I feel like people don't realize how good he was and how well he played during his prime. When he got that big contract, he deserved it. He just got hurt and had bad luck. That's all you can say. But he was a tough guard with the way he could shoot it.&nbsp;
I wanted him to pass. I would try to send him to my help and get the ball out of his hands because when he had that ball in his hands, he could get going. They didn't call him "Hibachi" for nothing! When he got going, he got going. He heated up fast when his confidence soared.
Gilbert Arenas was actually one of the first dudes to be coming off the pick-and-roll and pull it from deep. He used to pull from deep, and he had the ball on a string; when he went to the basket, that was his thing. Gilbert was tough, and I feel like if he didn't get hurt, we're talking about him in a different sense. But I have to show him love because he was that good.
Tracy McGrady
I caught T-Mac toward the end of his time with the Houston Rockets. T-Mac was tough. I remember the first time I played T-Mac, he'd catch it and he'd jab step. He'd jab me off, and it was a thing of beauty. I&rsquo;d be thinking, &ldquo;What is he gonna do? Is he gonna pull up? Is he gonna try to get by me?&rdquo; His jab step was one of the best ever. I wish I could&rsquo;ve faced off against T-Mac more.
Check out Corey&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-corey-brewer-guarding-stars-lebron-james-giannis-antetokounmpo-james-harden-kevin-durant-stephen-curry-damian-lillard-russell-westbrook-kawhi-leonard-carmelo-anthony" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article breaking down what it&rsquo;s like to guard current superstars</a> such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more.

Corey Brewer details his experiences defending the legends of the past in the NBA.

Guarding Legends: Corey Brewer on defending Kobe, D-Wade, Dirk, more

For decades, the United States dominated on the hardwood. Now, that&rsquo;s changing.
Today, the U.S. still produces some of the best players in the world and certainly has the deepest talent pool, but other countries have closed the gap considerably. International superstars have taken the league by storm.
With the success of players like Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Joel Embiid (Cameroon), Luka Dončić (Slovenia) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), it's no surprise that people are high on international players. 
Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Embiid have combined for the last five Most Valuable Player awards, and four of the last six Defensive Player of the Year awards have gone to foreign players (Giannis and Rudy Gobert). Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks won the 2021 NBA championship, and now Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are the reigning champs.&nbsp;
Whether it&rsquo;s the FIBA Basketball World Cup or in the NBA, international players are often beating their United States counterparts.&nbsp;
Americans have been outshined as of late, but the U.S. continues to produce some of the very best players in the world. Veteran superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Kyrie Irving continue to excel, while younger studs like Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Donovan Mitchell, Zion Williamson, LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, are still realizing their full potential and could challenge the influx of international competition. However, Victor Wembanyama (France) enters the 2023-24 season as the most highly anticipated rookie since LeBron James.
Now, let's take a look at the numbers. A year ago, Basketball News&rsquo; Alex Kennedy <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/an-inside-look-at-how-international-players-are-taking-over-the-nba">talked with Troy Justice,</a> the NBA&rsquo;s vice president, head of international basketball development about the international takeover on basketball&rsquo;s biggest stages.
&ldquo;Thirty years ago, there were only 23 international players. Now, we have 121. And to be real honest, I think we're only scratching the surface in terms of not only talent identification but just the development of the game globally,&rdquo; Justice said. &ldquo;So, it's amazing.&rdquo;
Of the 537 active NBA players, 128 are from outside the United States (just under 25%). International players received 88% of the votes in the 2022-23 MVP race, with Embiid, Jokic and Antetokounmpo garnering 84% combined. Of the top-eight vote-getters, only Tatum and Mitchell were American.
And that&rsquo;s not just a one-off. You have to go back to the 2020-21 NBA season to find an American player in the top-three of MVP voting, which was Curry at third (closely followed by Giannis). The last American player to win the MVP award was James Harden in 2017-18. Interestingly, there were no international players in the top-five of MVP voting that year, although Antetokounmpo barely missed out.
Also, following that season, the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy has been very much up for grabs. Previously, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors were the perennial NBA Finals matchup and no other teams really came close. LeBron and Steph were the NBA&rsquo;s poster boys, competing for a ring every year. We hadn&rsquo;t seen an international superstar lead his team to a title since Dirk Nowitzki defeated LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in 2011.
There are many reasons for this championship diversity &ndash; with five different winners in the past five years &ndash; but a big factor is the emergence of these international juggernauts like Jokic and Antetokounmpo. However, it&rsquo;s worth noting that teams with American superstars won three-out-of-five of these championships, led by Kawhi, LeBron and Steph, respectively.
The NBA landscape is volatile and this season will be telling. Will an international player win the MVP award for a sixth-straight time? Which team will be standing after the smoke clears at the end? Can Jokic and the Nuggets repeat? Will Giannis and Dame bring another title to Milwaukee? Or will one of the other contenders win it all?
American players are no doubt still some of the best in the sport and are well ahead in terms of numbers. But, particularly at the top, international players have fully closed the gap and have begun building their own disparity.&nbsp;
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

While the U.S. still produces some of the best NBA players in the world, other countries have closed the gap considerably.

USA vs. international basketball: Is the gap closing or opening up?

Next month, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be eligible to sign a three-year, $173 million extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, in an interview with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/sports/basketball/giannis-antetokounmpo-milwaukee-bucks-contract.html?smid=tw-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tania Ganguli of The New York Times</a>, he revealed that he isn't planning on signing an extension in the near future.
&ldquo;The real question&rsquo;s not going to be this year &mdash; numbers-wise, it doesn&rsquo;t make sense,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;But next year, next summer, it would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don&rsquo;t know.
"I would not be the best version of myself if I don&rsquo;t know that everybody&rsquo;s on the same page, everybody&rsquo;s going for a championship, everybody&rsquo;s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do. And if I don&rsquo;t feel that, I&rsquo;m not signing."
In 2021, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years. However, he has made it clear that he isn't getting complacent after winning a single ring.
While he'd love to join Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki as superstars who played 20-plus seasons with a single franchise, he isn't going to do so at the expense of contending for titles.
"At the end of the day, being a winner, it&rsquo;s over that goal,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/sports/basketball/giannis-antetokounmpo-milwaukee-bucks-contract.html?smid=tw-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Ganguli</a>. &ldquo;Winning a championship comes first. I don&rsquo;t want to be 20 years on the same team and don&rsquo;t win another championship.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo has two guaranteed years remaining on his contract with Milwaukee; he'll earn $45,640,084 this season and $48,787,676 next season. Then, in 2025-26, he has a player option worth $51,935,268.
"At the end of the day, I feel like all my teammates know and the organization knows that I want to win a championship. As long as we&rsquo;re on the same page with that and you show me and we go together to win a championship, I&rsquo;m all for it. The moment I feel like, oh, yeah, we&rsquo;re trying to rebuild..." Antetokounmpo said before pausing briefly.
"There will never be hard feelings with the Milwaukee Bucks. I believe that we&rsquo;ve had 10 unbelievable years, and there&rsquo;s no doubt I gave everything for the city of Milwaukee. Everything. Every single night, even when I&rsquo;m hurt. I am a Milwaukee Buck. I bleed green. I know this. This is my team, and it&rsquo;s going to forever be my team. I don&rsquo;t forget people that were there for me and allowed me to be great and to showcase who I am to the world and gave me the platform. But we have to win another one.&rdquo;
Antetokounmpo&nbsp;is coming off an impressive season in which he averaged a career-high 31.1 points along with 11.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks while shooting 55.3% from the field, 27.5% from three-point range and 64.5% from the free-throw line.
The 28-year-old has emerged as one of the NBA's best players, and he has an incredible resume: a championship, two NBA MVPs, a Finals MVP, seven All-Star nods, seven All-NBA selections, a Defensive Player of the Year award, five All-Defensive Team selections and a Most Improved Player award.
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee to an Eastern-Conference-best 58 wins last season. However, the Miami Heat eliminated the Bucks in five games during the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.&nbsp;

Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed that he isn't planning on signing an extension with the Milwaukee Bucks in the near future.

Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't sure if he'll sign extension with Bucks

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is entering Year 21 in the NBA, becoming just the sixth player in league history to play 21 seasons &ndash; joining Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish. Carter currently holds the record for most seasons played with 22. 
With James still performing at an unprecedented level for someone his age, coupled with recent reports of his desire to still play several more years and his public goal of playing with his McDonald's All-American son, Bronny James, he certainly seems like a lock to tie, if not break, Carter&rsquo;s record.&nbsp;
James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s all-time scoring record earlier this year in February, adding a major accolade to his G.O.A.T. argument. With the seasons-played record in sight, let&rsquo;s take a look at how &ldquo;The King&rdquo; has accumulated arguably the greatest legacy in NBA history over the last two decades.
The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted the kid from Akron with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. James was the talk of the country at the time, being dubbed "The Chosen One&rdquo; and dawning the cover of Sports Illustrated at just 18 years old. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, basketball fans waited in anticipation to see if James could possibly live up to the expectations.
The young phenom did not waste any time. Debuting against the Sacramento Kings, James would go on to score 25 points while adding 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. The King would not slow down, averaging 20.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds in his first NBA season.
LeBron would spend the next six seasons in Cleveland, winning back-to-back MVP awards in his last two seasons with the team, while reaching the playoffs five times and the NBA Finals once in 2007. With no championship after seven seasons with the Cavs, the two-time MVP became a free agent in the summer of 2010 and infamously decided to &ldquo;take his talents to South Beach,&rdquo; joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the &ldquo;Big Three&rdquo; on the Miami Heat.&nbsp;
The decision by James, which happened to be made on live television on an ESPN special dubbed &ldquo;The Decision," sparked outrage amongst Cavaliers fans. Videos spread online of fans burning the once-hometown-hero&rsquo;s jersey, rooting for his failure in Miami. While James was used to feeling pressure, this was different; James was receiving backlash from a fanbase that once loved him, and a growing population of people were actively rooting against him. This brewing tension had fans waiting in anticipation, this time to see if LeBron could overcome the weight of the world once again.&nbsp;
In LeBron&rsquo;s quest to do the impossible again, a trip to Cleveland brought The King back to the scene of his crime in a game against the Cavaliers in December of 2010. The fans in then-named Quicken Loans Arena brought their all that night, booing LeBron from the moment he was introduced and whenever he touched the ball on offense. However, this just seemed to add more fuel to the fire for James, as he went on to score 38 points en route to a 118-90 blowout of his former team.&nbsp;
This marked a new era for James, and he would embrace his role as the &ldquo;villain&rdquo; of the NBA. Fan perception was one thing, but with James&rsquo; new team came a new energy. Now, he was a proven veteran and he was coming into his own as a player, adapting this almost meticulous style and pace of play alongside his new All-Star-caliber teammates in Wade and Bosh. James would go on to win back-to-back MVP awards again in 2012 and 2013, and the trio would prove to be a problem for the league, with the Heat even going on a 27-game win streak in 2013. During his time in Miami, James would evolve as a player, bulking up and playing more minutes down low at power forward and even center.
The bonafide &ldquo;super-team&rdquo; would spend four seasons together, reaching the NBA Finals in all four. Winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, with LeBron winning Finals MVP of both, the stars' decision to team-up was a success and ushered in a new era of player movement and empowerment.
The kid from Akron would then shock the world in the summer of 2014, with James departing the Heat and returning home to rejoin the Cavaliers. The two-time champion had some unfinished business and was determined to bring a championship to his city.&nbsp;
LeBron brought his adapted and seasoned style to his former team. His impact extended into the front office, as he now had significantly more say in roster decisions. He wasted little time and used his newfound influence to encourage the Cavs to trade their No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Andrew Wiggins, for a proven star: Kevin Love. Suddenly, James was part of another Big Three, this time with rising star Kyrie Irving and Love.
In Year 1 of LeBron&rsquo;s return home, he led the Cavs back to the NBA Finals, where they faced off against the Golden State Warriors, led by league MVP Stephen Curry. While LeBron led Cleveland to a 2-1 series lead over Golden State, Irving and Love both went down with injuries. This proved to be too much for LeBron to handle, and the Warriors would defeat the Cavaliers in six games. James failed in his mission, but the wait would prove to be worthwhile the following season.
The 2016 season would see a rematch of the Cavaliers and Warriors in the NBA Finals. Curry was coming off of his second-straight MVP award &ndash; becoming the first unanimous MVP in history &ndash; and the Warriors achieved an NBA-record 73 wins that season. The odds were stacked against LeBron and the Cavs, and it only got worse when the Warriors took a 3-1 series lead. Teams in the NBA Finals were 0-32 when facing a 3-1 series deficit. Once again, LeBron was trying to do the impossible.&nbsp;
Once again, The King responded.&nbsp;
Dropping 41 points in both Game 5 and Game 6, James led the way in tying the series at 3-3. In Game 7, the Cavaliers would go on the road and defeat the Warriors, becoming the first team in NBA history to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy after falling behind 3-1. This was a storybook ending, and James became emotional during his postgame interview, shouting, &ldquo;Cleveland! This is for you!&rdquo;&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
"CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!" That line still sends chills down our spine as LeBron James and the Cavs overcame a 3-1 deficit to claim their first ever NBA championship on this day in 2016 👑🏆<a href="https://t.co/WzMtg5kj5Z">pic.twitter.com/WzMtg5kj5Z</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1670774843518664705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

The three-time champion would spend two more seasons in Cleveland, reaching the NBA Finals both seasons, where the Cavs would ultimately lose to the Kevin-Durant-led Warriors. When James decided to leave Cleveland in 2018, his second departure was well-received, with fans thanking him for bringing a championship to their city. The next chapter of James' career would take place in Los Angeles with arguably the most storied franchise in the NBA, the Lakers.
James&rsquo; first year under the bright lights of Los Angeles was less than ideal, as injuries plagued the roster and the Lakers' young core didn't seem ready to compete at a high level. That would quickly be forgotten, as the Lakers would trade three of those core players (Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart) and the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for superstar Anthony Davis, whom LeBron asked the organization to acquire.&nbsp;
That trade would kick off the LeBron-AD era in Los Angeles. The duo would win a championship in their first year together in 2020, with James adding a fourth championship and Finals MVP to his resume. The team has had some misfortune since, as they haven't been back to the Finals and they even missed the play-in tournament in 2022. While injuries have bothered LeBron in recent years, the four-time MVP has yet to slow down, leading the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last season. While the Lakers were ultimately swept by the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets, their postseason run was impressive.
Now, we arrive at the present day. As James enters his 21st NBA season, he has 19 All-NBA selections, 19 All-Star selections, 10 NBA Finals appearances, four championships, four Finals MVPs and four regular-season MVPs. After surpassing expectation after expectation throughout his career, LeBron will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer when he walks away from the game. However, he's not done playing just yet, as he hopes to play with his son and win at least one more championship before he retires.
LeBron&rsquo;s current contract has a player option for next season, so this could potentially be his final year with the Lakers (if he decides to opt out next summer). With LeBron still performing at a superstar level and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/which-nba-teams-are-under-the-most-pressure-entering-202324-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facing pressure to lead his team to a title</a>, all eyes will be on The King yet again this season.

As LeBron James becomes just the sixth player in NBA history to play 21 seasons, Jack Maguire looks back on his legendary career.

Revisiting LeBron James' legendary NBA career as he enters Year 21

Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/carmeloanthony/status/1660639136242343936" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced his retirement</a>&nbsp;on Monday.
Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history.
Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal scored more than Anthony &mdash; who finishes his career with 28,289 points.
&ldquo;Now the time has come for me to say good-bye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride,&rdquo; Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision &mdash; one he called &ldquo;bittersweet.&rdquo;
Anthony&rsquo;s legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.
And while he never got to the NBA Finals &mdash; he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 &mdash; Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.
He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the national championship, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times &mdash; at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Anthony has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men&rsquo;s player ever. Anthony&rsquo;s 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men&rsquo;s record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.
&ldquo;Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA&rsquo;s all-time great players and ambassadors,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.&rdquo;
Anthony will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA&rsquo;s biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
&ldquo;I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony.&rdquo;
Anthony was drafted No. 3 overall by Denver in 2003, part of the star-studded class that included James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade -- he gets officially enshrined this summer &mdash; at No. 5.
Anthony will join them at the Hall of Fame before long. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, spending the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has long raved about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like playing at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid who was born in Brooklyn.
&ldquo;The Garden,&rdquo; Anthony said in 2014. &ldquo;They call it The Mecca for a reason.&rdquo;
Anthony also played for Portland, Oklahoma City, Houston and ended his career with the Lakers last season. He went unsigned this year, and now his retirement is official.
He said in his retirement address that he&rsquo;s looking forward to watching the development of his son Kiyan, a highly rated high school shooting guard.
&ldquo;People ask what I believe my legacy is,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son ... I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch.&rdquo;

After a 19-year NBA career, Carmelo Anthony officially announced his retirement on Monday.

Carmelo Anthony retires after 19-year NBA career, 3 Olympic gold medals

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller was a little more than three weeks from being born when LeBron James made his NBA debut for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
Two decades later, James is still near the top of the league Miller is about to enter.
&ldquo;Twenty years is a lot of years. I&rsquo;m 20, myself. I feel old,&rdquo; Miller said in jest.
Prospects who gathered in Chicago this week for the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-combine-scoot-henderson-brandon-miller-a55811da32a6f58cafde246b0e602152">NBA draft combine</a>&nbsp;still see James as the gold standard, 20 years after he made the jump from St. Mary-St. Vincent High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
They see a player who entered the league when they were in diapers &mdash; or not even born -- still going strong at age 38. He has a chance to cap a season in which he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA&rsquo;s scoring king by being crowned champion for the fifth time, with the Lakers facing the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
They see the results of the work he puts in to keep himself in top condition, the contributions he makes away from the court as well as on it. And they take notes.
&ldquo;I feel like as long as I&rsquo;m taking care of my body &mdash; and that&rsquo;s the biggest thing that LeBron has done,&rdquo; Scoot Henderson said. &ldquo;He made a name for himself off the court as well. ... Everybody knows LeBron because of how dominant he is as a player. But as a person, he&rsquo;s powerful. I see that a lot in myself. I think I can be on that level of greatness.&rdquo;
Widely projected along with Miller as a top-three pick behind Victor Wembanyama, Henderson is well aware of the opportunities that await him.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/stephen-curry-scoot-henderson-nba-draft-20cc165a9d8516ad940cc519a5494072">He has formed a partnership with Stephen Curry</a>&nbsp;that is helping him build his own business brand and giving him access to shooting coaches and a training team. As role models go, the Golden State Warriors star is obviously a good one.
Henderson said he has tried to cut fried foods from his diet, eat more fruit and get plenty of rest, particularly as he goes through the draft process. He&rsquo;s been active in the community, holding Thanksgiving food drives, and plans to keep that up. Though he&rsquo;s working with Curry, he&rsquo;s also following a similar example set by James.
Miller, coming off the most productive season by an Alabama freshman, envisions himself playing in 20 years. That&rsquo;s because he is dedicating himself to staying in top condition.
&ldquo;I think I will still be in the league,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;I think the biggest thing with LeBron, he takes care of his body. That&rsquo;s the biggest thing with being in the NBA &mdash; the body. It plays a big part of the career you build in the league.&rdquo;
Gonzaga star Drew Timme grew up near Dallas rooting for Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. But in his mind, James is &ldquo;the GOAT.&rdquo;
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a testament to the amount he pours into his own body,&rdquo; said Timme, whose earliest memories of him are with Miami. &ldquo;To play for 20 years in the league is crazy. Not many people get to say they&rsquo;ve done that. I&rsquo;m sure he adds so much into himself in terms of the proper nutrition, strength and conditioning.&rdquo;
But to Timme, James&rsquo; example extends beyond that.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good family man,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He makes sure his family is good. I feel like I&rsquo;m pretty family-oriented as well. My family&rsquo;s pretty strong like his.&rdquo;
UConn star Adama Sanogo said the NBA hopefuls all can &ldquo;definitely learn from&rdquo; James when it comes to conditioning and nutrition. But they can also follow his example in the community.
Sanogo wants to open a school in his hometown of Bamako, Mali, just as James did for at-risk children in Akron. He said many of his friends growing up didn&rsquo;t have a chance to get an education.
&ldquo;To go to school in Africa, you have to pay for it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Some of my friends had to work to help their family. They were like 10, 11, 12. They had to work to help their family. They played no sports. They couldn&rsquo;t play basketball, they couldn&rsquo;t play soccer, because they had a job to do.&rdquo;

Two decades into his NBA career, LeBron James continue to set an example for the incoming class of NBA prospects.

Still the standard: LeBron sets example for 2023 NBA Draft prospects

Gregg Popovich placed his left thumb on the inside of his right wrist, paused for a couple of moments and then confirmed that, yes, he has a pulse.
It was also an indication when asked that yes, he is thinking about Victor Wembanyama.
There are very specific rules that teams must follow right now when it comes to mentioning the name of the 7-foot-3 French phenom with big-man height and elite guard skills who will be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Essentially, since the 19-year-old is not officially in the draft yet, they can&rsquo;t mention him.
So they don&rsquo;t. And they don&rsquo;t have to, either. Everyone knows what the teams who&rsquo;ll be in the NBA lottery next month are hoping to have happen when those 14 ping-pong balls go into a hopper and determine the future for Wembanyama and the team that&rsquo;s lucky enough to draft him.
&ldquo;If I have a pulse and I&rsquo;m in basketball, I&rsquo;m probably going to think about the ping-pong balls or the lottery, I guess. I can do that, right? It&rsquo;s not against the rules,&rdquo; said Popovich, the San Antonio coach and all-time NBA wins leader. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t talk about any players or anything, I guess. But I&rsquo;m alive. I have ears, and I see TV. There&rsquo;s a lottery, yes. I&rsquo;ve thought about it. Duh.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Duh&rdquo; would also be the appropriate answer when the lottery winner gets asked what they&rsquo;ll do with the No. 1 pick. There is no debate. Wembanyama is the pick. A team that was really bad this season is probably going to get really good really fast.
They were woeful for Wemby. Now they&rsquo;re waiting for Wemby.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a freak,&rdquo; soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee Dirk Nowitzki said. &ldquo;I mean, unbelievable. You always think you&rsquo;ve seen it all during your life and your career and history of the league, and then somebody else comes along. Kevin Durant comes along, a 7-foot-2 two-guard. Now we have a 7-foot-4 two-guard. &hellip; This kid is unbelievable.&rdquo;
Playing for the Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92, Wembanyama leads the French league with averages of 21.3 points. 9.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks. He makes going viral an everyday thing; his latest break-the-Internet moment was when he took a 3-pointer, missed it short, followed the shot and slammed it home in one motion, completely unbothered by the players who were in his way.
&ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;ve seen him,&rdquo; Houston forward Jabari Smith Jr. said. &ldquo;Yeah, he&rsquo;s a problem.&rdquo;
The teams with the three worst records this season &mdash; Detroit, Houston and San Antonio &mdash; have the best odds of winning the lottery, 14% apiece. Detroit got here by having its worst season in more than 40 years. Houston has now had back-to-back seasons of 60 losses. San Antonio had its third-worst season ever.
They were never in the playoff race, though never drew any public scorn from the NBA office for trying to tank with hopes of improving draft odds, either &mdash; unlike Dallas, which faces a league investigation now for giving up on its play-in tournament chances with two games remaining. The team that wins the lottery will say it was all worth it. The others will feel at least some pang of disappointment, whether they say it or not.
&ldquo;Talent-wise, I think he&rsquo;s something that we&rsquo;ve never seen before,&rdquo; said Tony Parker, the former Spurs guard who&rsquo;ll be going into the Hall of Fame later this year &mdash; and owned the team that Wembanyama played for in France last season.
It&rsquo;s not just Wembanyama who will be coveted at this draft, though he is far and away the top prospect. This shapes up as a loaded draft at the top with G League Ignite standout Scoot Henderson and Alabama&rsquo;s Brandon Miller expected to be the second and third picks in some order. It&rsquo;s conceivable that in any other year, they would be vying to be picked first.
&ldquo;Looks good to me,&rdquo; Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said of the top of the draft class. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what&rsquo;s legal or not legal to say. The very top of (the draft) is very impactful.&rdquo;
Most experts would agree that Henderson and Miller are more than consolation picks. Teams that lands one of them should also get better, and that&rsquo;s why no team is betting it all on the lottery.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really worried about where the ball drops,&rdquo; Detroit general manager Troy Weaver said. &ldquo;Would I celebrate with everybody? Absolutely, but I don&rsquo;t walk around like that.&rdquo;
Wembanyama &mdash; who keeps a relatively low public profile, rarely doing even postgame interviews despite worldwide interest in his every move &mdash; knows he captured the league&rsquo;s attention long ago. LeBron James respectfully called him an alien last fall, Durant raves about Wembanyama&rsquo;s game and French center Rudy Gobert said he knew at least three years ago that the teenager would be an enormous star.
Even Giannis Antetokounmpo marvels at Wembanyama, predicting he could be &ldquo;one of the best to play this game.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get ready for this kid,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s cool to see Giannis saying this stuff,&rdquo; Wembanyama said when he sat down with the NBA&rsquo;s social media team a few weeks ago and was shown the clip of Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s comments. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s probably like my favorite player.&rdquo;
Paolo Banchero was the No. 1 pick last year. He entered the league with massive expectations and delivered; he&rsquo;s the frontrunner to win rookie of the year after a strong opening season with the Orlando Magic. And he knows what Wembanyama will go through &ndash; on some level, anyway.
&ldquo;His hype is a lot bigger than my hype,&rdquo; said Banchero, who led Duke to the Final Four in his only year in college. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to have it probably worse than I did, but I&rsquo;d tell him to just enjoy it. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;s dreamed of this for a while and a lot comes with it, but it&rsquo;s also a lot that you gain from it, a lot of good things as well. I&rsquo;d tell him embrace it all and shoot, have fun. It&rsquo;s going to be a dream come true for him.&rdquo;
A dream come true for the lucky team, too. And answers start coming soon. The draft lottery is May 16, the same day that Wembanyama&rsquo;s French season is scheduled to end. The draft is June 22. Summer league starts in early July; anticipation of Wembanyama playing in Las Vegas again after two ballyhooed games there this past fall is already building. He intends to play in the Basketball World Cup for France starting in August. And then his rookie season starts in October.
For one team, all the losing this season will be quickly forgotten, based on how four ping-pong balls land.
&ldquo;This can be his league,&rdquo; Nowitzki said, &ldquo;for a long, long time.&rdquo;
___
AP Sports Writers Kristie Rieken in Houston, Schuyler Dixon in Dallas, Noah Trister in Washington, Larry Lage in Detroit and Michael Marot in Indianapolis, along with Associated Press Writer Raul Dominguez in San Antonio, contributed to this story.

Playing for the Metropolitans 92, Wembanyama leads the French league with averages of 21.3 points. 9.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks.

The losing is done, and teams are now waiting for Wembanyama

Exactly two months ago, the Dallas Mavericks were the fourth seed in the Western Conference and all eyes were on them after their blockbuster acquisition of Kyrie Irving.
The Mavericks thought they'd found the perfect co-star for Luka Doncic, someone who could help them make another deep playoff run after advancing to the Western Conference Finals the year before.
However, on Friday night, the Mavericks were officially eliminated from the postseason after opting to sit Irving, Christian Wood, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Maxi Kleber against the Chicago Bulls, and resting Doncic after the first quarter.&nbsp;
Dallas prioritized their draft pick over potentially making the play-in, as they owe their first-round pick to the New York Knicks (as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade) but it's top-10 protected, and losing to the Bulls gave Dallas the 10th-best lottery odds in the league.
While much of the conversation about the Mavericks&rsquo; uncertain future has centered around Irving&rsquo;s upcoming free agency and whether Jason Kidd will return as head coach, ESPN&rsquo;s Tim MacMahon <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36111588/the-end-dallas-mavericks-season-marks-beginning-franchise-altering-questions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that sources within the Mavericks fear that "Doncic, who publicly and privately expressed extreme frustration this season, could consider requesting a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn&rsquo;t make significant progress by then.&rdquo;
MacMahon <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36111588/the-end-dallas-mavericks-season-marks-beginning-franchise-altering-questions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adds</a> that &ldquo;there&rsquo;s a strong sense of urgency within the organization to expedite the process before Doncic loses faith in the Mavs&rsquo; ability to build a contender around him.&rdquo;
While the Mavs have Doncic on a five-year, $215 million supermax contract, he could still request a trade in the near future if he's unhappy. There&rsquo;s no question that Doncic was frustrated throughout this season.
"I think you can see it with me on the court," Doncic said following a disappointing loss to the shorthanded Charlotte Hornets last month. "Sometimes, I don't feel it's me. I'm just being out there. I used to have really fun, smiling on the court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Recently, Doncic admitted that the Mavs&rsquo; chemistry declined &ldquo;a lot&rdquo; from last season to this year, while acknowledging that losing Jalen Brunson in free agency played a significant role in the team&rsquo;s drop off.&nbsp;
The hope was that Irving could help fill the hole left by Brunson's departure and give Dallas the perfect running mate for Doncic. However, as MacMahon <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36111588/the-end-dallas-mavericks-season-marks-beginning-franchise-altering-questions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>, the Mavs went 5-11 when Doncic and Irving were both in the lineup, the worst winning percentage (.313) that a pair of All-Star teammates have posted since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.
Dallas enters this offseason with some big decisions to make. They have a number of key players hitting unrestricted free agency including Irving, Wood and Dwight Powell. Mark Cuban told reporters that the priority is to keep Irving long-term.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not Kyrie or bust, but we want to keep him,&rdquo; Cuban <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-cuban-says-keeping-irving-is-priority-supports-kidd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;I want him to stay for sure, and I think we have a good shot. I think he&rsquo;s happy here. He told me he&rsquo;s happy here.&rdquo;
Cuban also stressed that the team will be looking to add defenders over the summer, so they can be more competitive on that side of the floor.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the best offensive rating, I think, with those two guys when they play together,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;We could not find a way to get stops in close games. I don&rsquo;t think you can point to any one thing, but we&rsquo;ll have to make changes, obviously, to be able to get better defensively.&rdquo;
While there&rsquo;s been plenty of speculation that the Mavs may replace Kidd, Cuban told reporters that he doesn&rsquo;t blame Kidd for the team&rsquo;s struggles, so perhaps a coaching change isn&rsquo;t coming.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s J-Kidd&rsquo;s problem that we didn&rsquo;t have an identity,&rdquo; Cuban <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-cuban-says-keeping-irving-is-priority-supports-kidd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;The game changed in ways we didn&rsquo;t expect it to change. So I blew it. It was on me personally because the game changed in terms of the &lsquo;take&rsquo; fouls and the speed of the game and where you need to be defensively.&rdquo;
As for Doncic&rsquo;s future, it remains to be seen if the Mavericks can put the right pieces around him and become a perennial contender. Several days ago, Cuban was asked about Doncic&rsquo;s long-term optimism and whether he&rsquo;ll be the new Dirk Nowitzki, who spent 21 seasons with the Mavs.
&ldquo;Players don&rsquo;t talk like that, &lsquo;Hey, I&rsquo;ll be here for the next 17 years,&rsquo;&rdquo; Cuban <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-cuban-says-keeping-irving-is-priority-supports-kidd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;He&rsquo;d like to be here the whole time, but we&rsquo;ve got to earn that.&rdquo;

The Mavs are reportedly worried that Luka Doncic may request a trade as soon as next year if they can't make significant progress.

Mavs fear Luka Doncic may request trade unless they build contender

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; This story would never have been told if Udonis Haslem&rsquo;s mother hadn&rsquo;t moved from Miami to Jacksonville. Or if his stepbrother hadn&rsquo;t been so smart about an airball. Or if Atlanta signed him in 2002. Or if San Antonio did in 2003.
Any of those things happen differently, it all changes. He probably wouldn&rsquo;t be with the Miami Heat right now. Maybe never.
Haslem, the NBA&rsquo;s oldest active player at 42 and a three-time champion, is in the final days with his hometown team. He&rsquo;s the third player to spend a two-decade career with one franchise, joining Dallas&rsquo; Dirk Nowitzki and the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Kobe Bryant.
&ldquo;All I&rsquo;ve ever tried to do is take care of my people, take care of my city,&rdquo; Haslem said. &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s why I can sit down with the mayor and commissioners, or I can sit down with people in the &rsquo;hood, and be comfortable either way. It&rsquo;s because of the sacrifices that I&rsquo;ve made for this city.&rdquo;
Heat President Pat Riley is more succinct.
&ldquo;Udonis is Miami,&rdquo; Riley said.
Haslem was on the NBA&rsquo;s All-Rookie team in 2003-04. He never was an All-Star, never All-NBA, never even a player of the week out of 438 possible chances. The last time he averaged double figures for a season was 2009.
But ask anyone with the Heat, and they insist Haslem &mdash; the team captain who&rsquo;ll have his No. 40 jersey retired next season &mdash; has been vital for two decades.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the poster child of a guy who was average, supposedly, and yet he became great,&rdquo; said Chet Kammerer, who has spent 27 years in Miami&rsquo;s player personnel department. &ldquo;And how did he do that? Hard work. Great spirit. Great attitude. Never &lsquo;can&rsquo;t do this,&rsquo; never &lsquo;can&rsquo;t do that.&rsquo; And the success that we&rsquo;ve had, he&rsquo;s had more of a major contribution over the whole 20 years than people know.&rdquo;
Take the night Miami won its first NBA title in Dallas in 2006. Haslem played with a separated shoulder. He had to guard Nowitzki, the Mavericks&rsquo; best player. Nowitzki didn&rsquo;t have a field goal in the fourth quarter; Miami won 95-92, Haslem had 17 points, 10 rebounds and a good cry afterward.
&ldquo;The champagne got me,&rdquo; he said. Everyone knows otherwise; they were tears.
Other players got headlines that night; Dwyane Wade was Finals MVP, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal won his fourth ring. But without Haslem, there would be no title.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s always had tremendous courage,&rdquo; Riley said. &ldquo;Whatever endeavor, he rises to another level. And you need that. He was for real. He was that kind of man, someone who has tremendous pride being from Miami.&rdquo;
Many Miami kids grow up with football dreams. Haslem was one of them. But when his mother took a job in Jacksonville when he was 9, focus began shifting to basketball. (&ldquo;Football isn&rsquo;t as big there,&rdquo; Haslem said.) When he was around 12, Haslem was on the court with his older stepbrother, Sam Wooten. Haslem shot an airball. Wooten caught the ball and scored.
&ldquo;Nice pass,&rdquo; Wooten said, genuinely. He, and that moment, had tremendous impact on Haslem; Wooten died in 1999 from cancer and Haslem has a &ldquo;R.I.P. Sam&rdquo; tattoo on his neck to pay tribute to his mentor.
Haslem had backboard-breaking dunks as a high school freshman, starred at Miami High, then starred at Florida but struggled with weight and NBA teams passed on drafting him in 2002. Atlanta brought him in for a camp that summer, but signed Ira Newble to its last roster spot instead.
So Haslem played in France, dropping the extra weight by eating only turkey sandwiches. The next summer, he was offered a one-year contract by the Spurs.
&ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t lose him,&rdquo; Kammerer said.
The Heat offered two years. Haslem signed. He never left. He had multiple chances, often for more money. But he stayed and will remain with the organization in a to-be-determined role; Haslem wants a chance to join the ownership group.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s monumentally important for our organization and our locker room,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;He embodies everything that we believe in. And he has a way, because of the respect level, that he&rsquo;s able to influence and mentor literally every player in the locker room.&rdquo;
There are many stories of Haslem&rsquo;s toughness. He&rsquo;d dislocate fingers in practice and pop them back in like nothing happened. People still talk about his hard foul on Indiana&rsquo;s Tyler Hansbrough in the 2012 playoffs, after the Pacers caused him to get eight stitches the game before and Hansbrough had just sent Wade flying. He often is the one giving impassioned locker-room speeches at halftime, even before Spoelstra gets a chance. The wall outside Miami&rsquo;s locker room is now a tribute to Haslem moments.
He&rsquo;s not Miami&rsquo;s best player. It could be argued nobody has meant more.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nobody else like him,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.

Udonis Haslem — the Heat's captain who’ll have his No. 40 jersey retired next season — has been vital for two decades.

Udonis Haslem, Miami Heat reflect on rare 20-year NBA career

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; While Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team&rsquo;s top offseason priority, he doesn&rsquo;t view it as a &ldquo;Kyrie or bust&rdquo; scenario.
The billionaire businessman who has stayed mostly silent on Mavericks matters this season also is showing support for coach Jason Kidd with the team currently outside the playoff picture a year after going to the Western Conference finals in Kidd&rsquo;s Dallas debut.
Cuban held a rare session with reporters before Wednesday&rsquo;s 123-119 victory over Sacramento that kept alive the Mavs&rsquo; hopes of getting the final play-in spot as the 10th seed in the West.
Dallas gambled with the blockbuster deal for Irving before the trade deadline in February despite his expiring contract, giving the franchise its first pair of All-Star starters with Luka Doncic.
The Mavericks have slipped in the standings since then, in part because of injuries to both stars, but Cuban maintains the move was made for the long term. Still, Cuban stopped short of declaring Irving&rsquo;s return a must.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not Kyrie or bust, but we want to keep him,&rdquo; said Cuban, who used to speak to reporters routinely before games before locker room access changed several years ago. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m done giving ultimatums on players like I did last year.&rdquo;
He referred to the Mavs losing Doncic sidekick Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency last summer, when Cuban confidently declared they would be able to keep him because they could pay him more. Brunson and the Knicks are safely in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
While Cuban took the blame for misfiring with roster construction, he fought back against suggestions from Brunson&rsquo;s camp that the Mavs passed on a chance to give Brunson an extension before the 2022 trade deadline. Cuban said there were no negotiations with Brunson&rsquo;s representatives last summer.
Cuban said on top of the loss of Brunson, he underestimated the effect of the new &ldquo;take&rdquo; rule that significantly reduced the number of fouls to prevent fast breaks. He said the Mavs haven&rsquo;t kept up with the faster game defensively.
As a result, Cuban said, the blame shouldn&rsquo;t be on Kidd and his staff for the team being in danger of missing the postseason entirely a year after the club&rsquo;s first deep playoff run since winning the 2011 championship.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s J-Kidd&rsquo;s problem that we didn&rsquo;t have an identity,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;The game changed in ways we didn&rsquo;t expect it to change. So I blew it. It was on me personally because the game changed in terms of the &lsquo;take&rsquo; fouls and the speed of the game and where you need to be defensively.&rdquo;
Cuban said the Mavericks never intended for Doncic and Irving to be the heartbeat of the defense, so the challenge will be finding those complementary pieces in the offseason.
That&rsquo;s with the owner presuming he can convince Irving to stick around. Cuban was noncommittal on contract terms because of uncertainty over rules in the new labor deal.
&ldquo;I want him to stay for sure, and I think we have a good shot,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s happy here. He told me he&rsquo;s happy here.&rdquo;
Irving&rsquo;s three-plus seasons in Brooklyn were filled with controversy, including him not being able to play many home games because he wouldn&rsquo;t get vaccinated against COVID-19 and criticism when he tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic material. Nike ended its relationship with Irving over the tweet.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s a good guy,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;All I can tell you is everything I knew about Kyrie because of everything I read is 100% wrong. I get emails from people all the time. I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Do you know the guy?&rsquo; Once you get to know the guy, I like him. He&rsquo;s not like every guy. He&rsquo;s not like every athlete. And to me, that&rsquo;s a positive.&rdquo;
To get Irving, the Mavericks gave up their best defensive player, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Spencer Dinwiddie, an important scorer who joined Dallas in the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington. Dallas also surrendered an unprotected 2029 first-round pick.
Entering Friday&rsquo;s home game against Chicago, Doncic and Irving are 5-11 when playing together. Each has missed time with injuries. Cuban is comfortable they&rsquo;ve shown enough together to be a formidable pairing.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the best offensive rating I think with those two guys when they play together,&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;We could not find a way to get stops in close games. I don&rsquo;t think you can point to any one thing, but we&rsquo;ll have to make changes, obviously, to be able to get better defensively.&rdquo;
Lurking behind the more immediate question of Irving&rsquo;s contract is the future of Doncic. The 24-year-old from Slovenia has three more years on his $215 million rookie supermax contract before a player option for the 2026-27 season.
Cuban won&rsquo;t concern himself over whether Doncic will be another Dirk Nowitzki, who set an NBA record by spending all 21 of his seasons in Dallas.
&ldquo;Players don&rsquo;t talk like that, &lsquo;Hey, I&rsquo;ll be here for the next 17 years,&rsquo;&rdquo; Cuban said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;d like to be here the whole time, but we&rsquo;ve got to earn that.&rdquo;

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says re-signing Kyrie Irving is the team’s top goal, but he doesn’t view it as a “Kyrie or bust” scenario.

Mavs’ Cuban says keeping Irving is priority, supports Kidd

The Springfield Symphony Hall lists a capacity of 2,611. This is going to be a problem when the basketball world heads to western Massachusetts on Aug. 12.
Act surprised on Saturday when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announces its class of enshrinees for 2023. Among the finalists: Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich. It&rsquo;s widely assumed that they&rsquo;ll enter the Hall this summer, in what will be a most star-studded event.
&ldquo;We might need a stadium for that one,&rdquo; Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said.
He&rsquo;s not wrong. More than 2,611 people will want to go to this. Probably more than 261,111 people will want to go to this.
It was never a question that the biggest names &mdash; the Nowitzki, Gasol, Wade, Parker group &mdash; would get into the Hall.
The question was about Popovich. Not if. But when.
The NBA&rsquo;s all-time winningest coach, a five-time champion and the coach of the team that won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games quietly rejected overtures from the Hall in the past. He wanted to see his best San Antonio players &mdash; Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili among them &mdash; go into the Hall first. He also wanted to see some coaches he respected most, like Rudy Tomjanovich, finally get the call first. Besides, it&rsquo;s not like people will look at Popovich with more reverence or respect after he gets his orange jacket from the Hall and officially gets to be introduced as a Hall of Famer.
&ldquo;It will mean more to us as former coaches, former players, than to him I think,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s not a slight at all. I think what he will enjoy is seeing his former players there, and people who he has touched in a tremendous way, families he&rsquo;s impacted for a long time because of his knowledge and his ability to share his knowledge and his ability to care for people.&rdquo;
More than 300 people have either played for or coached under Popovich in his time with the Spurs and USA Basketball. Nowitzki had more than 200 teammates. Gasol is beloved by teammates on two continents. The Miami Heat will probably send their entire staff up to see Wade give his speech. Add up the numbers, and we&rsquo;re getting toward that magic 2,611 number really quickly. And that doesn&rsquo;t even include, you know, the enshrinees&rsquo; families and friends, along with the other living Hall of Famers.
&ldquo;I know this much,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be on a plane from wherever we are, and I&rsquo;ll be there.&rdquo;
Spoelstra will be coaching with USA Basketball this summer under head coach Steve Kerr at the Basketball World Cup, which takes them to the Philippines in August and September following warm-up games in Las Vegas, Spain and Abu Dhabi. They&rsquo;ll be in Las Vegas until a few days before the Hall enshrinement, then the American contingent will head to Spain for games against Spain and Slovenia. Can&rsquo;t imagine they&rsquo;ll be very well-attended, not with Gasol going into the Hall that same weekend, with Slovenia&rsquo;s Luka Doncic probably going to pick being with Nowitzki over a pair of exhibitions, with Popovich set to be enshrined.
The Hall will give the enshrinees a number of tickets. It won&rsquo;t be enough for any of them. Popovich&rsquo;s guest list will be impossible to pare down, especially his innermost circle of confidants, who remain there even after they leave the Spurs.
Case in point: Utah coach Will Hardy. He left the Spurs to be an assistant in Boston under another former Spurs player and coach, Ime Udoka. But when Popovich was coaching the Olympic team, he picked some of the best and brightest to be alongside him, Kerr, Spoelstra, Mike Krzyzewski and others for the process of getting ready. Hardy made that list.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve talked about imposter syndrome some this year &mdash; maybe never higher than those moments when you&rsquo;re sitting in a room and it&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Jerry Colangelo, Jay Wright, Lloyd Pierce, Ime Udoka, Coach K is in the room,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;And you&rsquo;re going, &lsquo;How am I sitting at this table right now?&rsquo; In a lot of ways it makes no sense. I felt like I was in the greatest basketball grad school class of all time. You almost can&rsquo;t write fast enough in terms of taking notes and listening.&rdquo;
So many of the pairings will be fitting. The Popovich-Parker duo and Wade faced off twice in the NBA Finals. Popovich-Parker and Nowitzki had Texas-sized battles for years. Nowitzki and Wade played in the finals against one another twice, each winning a title on the other&rsquo;s home floor. Gasol played against them all for years.
They&rsquo;re all beloved. Wade has teammates already planning their trips to Springfield. Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley doesn&rsquo;t have his entire summer plan picked out yet, but he&rsquo;s going to Springfield for Nowitzki &mdash; who he coached in Dallas.
&ldquo;The most wonderful thing about him is that being around him in public and going to events, I&rsquo;ve never seen him turn people down or say no,&rdquo; Mosley said of Nowitzki. &ldquo;Whether he&rsquo;s tired or doesn&rsquo;t want to do it, he&rsquo;s always going to go the extra mile to make sure those around him feel his appreciation for how much they&rsquo;ve given to him. He might be one of the most humble Hall of Famers I&rsquo;ve ever been around in that regard.&rdquo;
Mosley will have a seat for the big night. So will Hardy. So will Vaughn. How close they&rsquo;ll be to the stage is anyone&rsquo;s guess, but with this Hall class, there won&rsquo;t be a bad seat in the house.

Among the HOF finalists to be announced Saturday: Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich.

This 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame class could be an all-time great

The following is a press release via the Cleveland Cavaliers:
CLEVELAND &ndash; The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached a buyout agreement with forward Kevin Love, Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman announced today. Love was the longest tenured member of the Cavaliers, playing in his 9th season with the franchise.
Love (6-8, 247), has appeared in 489 games (380 starts) with the Cavaliers since being traded to Cleveland on Aug. 23, 2014, marking the 12th-most games in team history. In his nine seasons in Cleveland, Love posted averages of 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.5 minutes and ranks 2nd in team history in three-pointers made (1,096 3FGM), 3rd in defensive rebounds (3,720 DREB), 6th in total rebounds (4,493 REB) and 9th in total points scored (7,663). Love was also a member of the Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship team and appeared in 63 playoff games (62 starts), averaging 15.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and shooting a .404 three-point percentage in 31.1 minutes during his postseason career. His 63 postseason appearances with Cleveland are the 6th-most playoff games in team history. Love appeared in 41 games (three starts) this season, averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 20.0 minutes on the year.
&ldquo;Kevin Love had an outstanding run with the Cavaliers, including memorable on-court moments, four NBA Finals appearances and an NBA Championship in 2016,&rdquo; said Altman. &ldquo;Kevin represented the organization and the city of Cleveland with the utmost charm and professionalism during his nine seasons in Northeast Ohio. &nbsp;He also embodied everything a franchise would want in a player, and the admiration and gratitude we have for him will ultimately land his jersey in the rafters of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. We thank Kevin for his impact and wish him nothing but the best, knowing that he has solidified his place in the hearts of Cavaliers fans and this organization forever.&rdquo;
Over his 15-year NBA career, Love has played in 853 games (662 starts) with Minnesota and Cleveland, owning career averages of 17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 30.4 minutes per contest while also shooting .372 from the three-point line. A five-time NBA All-Star (2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018), Love was named an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2012 and 2014. He was also the NBA&rsquo;s Most Improved Player in 2011, was the NBA league leader in rebounds in 2011 and selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2009. Love is 1 of 4 players in NBA history to record 14,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, 1,500 assists and 1,500 three-pointers made (LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd). Love was drafted 5th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2008 NBA Draft after one season at UCLA (2007-08).
Cleveland&rsquo;s roster now stands at 16 players, including two Two-Way players.
---
According to multiple reports, Love's suitors on the open market include the Miami Heat (the front-runner), Philadelphia 76ers and others.

Kevin Love's nine-year stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers officially came to an end on Saturday afternoon.

Kevin Love, Cavaliers announce buyout agreement, plan to retire jersey

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; The &ldquo;last pick&rdquo; of Sunday night&rsquo;s All-Star Draft will be a starter.
The NBA has changed the format of Sunday&rsquo;s draft, and LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; the captains &mdash; will make their picks from the pool of reserve players first.
They&rsquo;ll then choose their starting lineups, from the pool of eight other starters. The switch will ensure that no player will have to deal with the stigma of being picked last, even though that hasn&rsquo;t been too much of an issue in the past.
This is the sixth year of the format where captains &mdash; determined by fan voting &mdash; choose their own All-Star rosters, but the first year in which those captains will do so on game night and basically right in front of the other All-Stars.
The 2018 draft was not shown publicly. The 2019 draft had Bradley Beal as the last pick among reserves, not including Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki &mdash; who were added to the game by Commissioner Adam Silver to commemorate their final seasons. (Nowitzki wound up being the last pick.)
In 2020, Domantas Sabonis, then of Indiana, was the last pick. In 2021, Rudy Gobert, then of Utah, was the last reserve left on the board. And last year, the final pick was James Harden &mdash; after Kevin Durant took Gobert, and didn&rsquo;t choose his former Brooklyn teammate in a comical scene.

LeBron and Giannis will make their picks from the pool of reserve players first then choose their starting lineups from a pool of eight.

No hurt feelings: NBA changes format for All-Star Draft

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich are all one step closer to basketball immortality.
The three international greats &mdash; Gasol, Nowitzki and Parker &mdash; were among the list of Class of 2023 finalists unveiled Friday by the Basketball Hall of Fame, putting them on the doorstep of enshrinement this summer. Also on that list: Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history with the San Antonio Spurs, and Dwyane Wade, part of three championship teams with the Miami Heat.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really about the journey,&rdquo; Gasol said. &ldquo;These type of recognitions, which are an amazing honor, they come along when you do things very, very well for a long time and when you love what you do. I&rsquo;m just privileged to have played the game for so long, at a high level, with amazing people who taught me so much.&rdquo;
Also making the finalist cut were four selections from the Women&rsquo;s Committee &mdash; 1990 national player of the year, Olympic champion and world champion Jennifer Azzi; six-time WNBA All-Star and WNBA championship-winning coach Becky Hammon; and longtime coaches Gary Blair and Marian Washington.
The other finalists from the North American Committee include Gene Bess, believed to be the all-time collegiate coaching wins leader with 1,300 to his credit; two-time Division III national champion David Hixon; and seven-time Big Ten coach of the year Gene Keady.
&ldquo;I love the class. I think this is a loaded class,&rdquo; Hall of Fame Chairman Jerry Colangelo said.
Colangelo said it&rsquo;s unusual for finalists to get this far in their first year on the ballot. Wade, Popovich, Gasol, Parker, Nowitzki and more got this far in their first opportunity.
&ldquo;The Class of 2023 will be remembered as one of the most distinguished classes the Hall of Fame will ever see, and we are extremely excited for this unparalleled collection of talent and achievement to be one step closer to Springfield,&rdquo; Colangelo said.
Popovich has coached San Antonio to five NBA titles, four of them with Parker as the team&rsquo;s point guard, and led the U.S. to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The other two legs of the Spurs&rsquo; Big 3 from that championship era &mdash; Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili &mdash; are already Hall of Famers.
Nowitzki is sixth on the NBA&rsquo;s all-time scoring list and led Dallas to the 2011 NBA title as the top moment in his 21-year career, all of it spent with the Mavericks. Gasol won NBA titles and led Spain to a FIBA world championship, and Wade was a 13-time All-Star, Olympic champion and earned membership on the NBA&rsquo;s 75th anniversary team.
Hall of Famers get an orange jacket to commemorate their enshrinement. Wade said he&rsquo;s dreamed of wearing one, noting that he&rsquo;s now &ldquo;one step closer.&rdquo;
&ldquo;A young Dwyane Wade never would have thought this moment would be here,&rdquo; Wade said. &ldquo;Sometimes when you&rsquo;re young and you have a dream, a lot of people don&rsquo;t believe in your dream. It seems so far-fetched. But I&rsquo;ve always been a dreamer.&rdquo;
The Hall also announced Friday that longtime high school scout Tom Konchalski will receive the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor the Hall bestows short of enshrinement. CBS Sports will receive one of the Curt Gowdy media awards handed out this year, with ESPN&rsquo;s Holly Rowe and Marc Spears also now Gowdy recipients.
The Hall class will be announced April 1 at the NCAA men&rsquo;s Final Four in Houston. Enshrinement weekend is August 11 and 12 at Uncasville, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts.

Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich are all one step closer to basketball immortality.

Gasol, Nowitzki, Parker, Popovich among Hoop Hall finalists

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

For basketball fans, the NBA trade deadline is one of the most exciting days of the year. It&rsquo;s fun to track the rumors, react to trades and root for your favorite team to make moves.
However, for the players involved in these trades, it can be very stressful and emotional.
Most players spend deadline day looking over their shoulder, and there&rsquo;s a lot of anxiety and nerves around this time of year. There aren&rsquo;t many professions where your employer can ship you across the country without any notice, but that comes with being a professional athlete.
To get a sense of what it&rsquo;s like to be traded, Basketball News spoke to several former NBA players who opened up about getting dealt and what the process entailed.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtyqvPS02_Y&amp;t=2886s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RAY ALLEN</a>: &ldquo;When I got to Seattle, [here&rsquo;s] the way the trade went down. I was in Milwaukee playing for the Bucks and we flew to Seattle, and we had a practice that day. It was coming up on the trade deadline, and everyone was talking about Tim Thomas being traded. So we were on the Key Arena floor in Seattle and the media came rushing in. I'm sitting on the floor stretching and I'm looking around and as I turn [toward the media], all of these lights come on. And I'm like, 'What's happening? We're about to have practice.' And then I turn around and I'm like, 'What's going on?' And they're all looking and pointing at me. I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Me?!&rsquo; [The media members] are like, 'Yeah! You!' So we're stretching on one end and the other team is stretching on the other end, and [Bucks head coach] George Karl is down there on the other end. I kind of look around and I&rsquo;m looking up [at Coach Karl], and he takes off. So, I walk over to the media and said, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s going on?&rsquo; They were like, &lsquo;There was a trade.&rsquo; I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Who got traded?&rsquo; They were like, &lsquo;You.&rsquo; I go into the locker room and check my phone and it's blowing up. I got traded for Gary Payton. It was crazy to be traded to Seattle in the middle of the season. I go back [to Milwaukee], get my stuff, take my physical and fly back in. And my first game [as a Sonic] is against the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I remember going out to lunch with Brent Barry, who was so great the whole time. He was such a jokester on the sly; he always had his little sarcasm that he'd add to any situation. He goes, 'Ray, just so you know, people aren't coming to the game to see you. They're coming to see the Barry brothers match-up.' Because Jon [Barry] was on Detroit. That was always Brett, with his dry humor. (Laughs) So, I'm watching the [Sonics'] film and Gary was &lsquo;The Glove&rsquo; &mdash; everybody knew how ferocious he was on defense. In Milwaukee, we had schemes, and I was used to that. But watching [the Sonics&rsquo;] film, Gary would come from one side of the floor and just start guarding a guy. And I was like, &lsquo;What scheme is that?&rsquo; And they were like, &lsquo;No, that&rsquo;s Gary&rsquo;s scheme.&rsquo; I noticed how the team was built around him, because a lot of the young players, they had kinda just waited on Gary to do whatever Gary did. So when I got there, Rashard [Lewis] was young and impressionable. We had Ansu Sesay, Reggie Evans, Jerome James and all of these young guys, and they all kinda just went as Gary went. So when I got there, I was like, 'Yo, get your shots up! I need you!' I was passing them the ball; I was flirting with triple-doubles like every other game. But I was like, 'You guys gotta [do something]!' They would just sit around, and I could tell the hole that Gary left &mdash; these guys were used to playing a certain way and kinda expecting him to do everything.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Rashard emerged because he started watching me come to the gym early every day and he would always say, 'Man, I want to make the money that you make and have the success that you've had. I really gotta start focusing in and taking this seriously&hellip;&rsquo; So, Rashard started getting to the gym early. He saw the work that I put in, and he saw that it was something that he could do and something he wanted for himself. I like to think that some of that money that he got from Orlando, he could have passed some of it [to me] on the side, but that didn&rsquo;t happen. (Laughs) But he was a great partner to have because he did get significantly better &mdash; so much better &mdash; from the time I got there to when we parted ways with him going to Orlando and me going to Boston. [I never talked to Coach Karl about him running away] and since then, George has always taken shots at me through the media or in writing his books. It's just the strangest thing because I always thought that we had a strong relationship as a player-coach.&rdquo;
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-etan-thomas-wpfw-dc-roundtable-drew-gooden-tony-massenburg-dave-zirin-john-wall-russell-westbrook-trade-washington-wizards-houston-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ETAN THOMAS</a>: &ldquo;I have a story from when I was with the Wizards. I was in [general manager] Ernie Grunfeld&rsquo;s office. We&rsquo;re talking about me going to big-man camp because they used to send a big man down to Florida to IMG Academy to work out with Robert Parish and Clifford Ray. So I&rsquo;m in there in the summer, and I&rsquo;m talking to him about big-man camp. And I&rsquo;ve heard a little bit of trade rumors, I&rsquo;ve heard whispers and stuff like that, but nothing major. So he&rsquo;s telling me, 'Yeah, you&rsquo;re coming back from your injury, we&rsquo;re looking forward to next year. We want to send you down to big-man camp and you&rsquo;re doing all this stuff, and Robert Parish is great to work with and Clifford Ray is this, and we&rsquo;re looking forward to everything with you and we&rsquo;ll see how you and Brendan [Haywood] can work together,' and all this different stuff. It was this whole long speech, right?
"Now I&rsquo;m driving from the Verizon Center home to PG County. I&rsquo;m not even off Route 50 yet, and I get a call from my agent who says, 'You just got traded.' I was like, 'Are you serious?' I was like, 'No, that has to be a mistake! I was just in Ernie Grunfeld&rsquo;s office like 10-15 minutes ago!' So, I had to do a U-turn, go back to the Verizon Center, clear out all my stuff, and then he shook my hand and said, 'Thank you for everything,' like the whole conversation 15 minutes ago never happened."
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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/heres-the-story-on-the-time-the-nuggets-traded-me-and-didnt-tell-me" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JAMES POSEY</a>: &ldquo;I was in my fourth season with the Denver Nuggets, and things hadn&rsquo;t really gotten off to the best start, to say the least. We were 6-18 and knew we were gonna have our hands full that night. Our opponent? The Dallas Mavericks. With Mike Finley, Steve Nash, Raef LaFrentz and Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas was no joke. They began the season 21-3, so in our morning shootaround, we were definitely engaged. Afterward, I showered and changed, went back home, took my pregame nap and was on my way back to the arena. I&rsquo;m driving and going over the gameplan in my head when I get a call from my agent. He said he was calling to 'check on me.' He asked me how I was doing and where I was. I thought the questions were a little strange, but didn&rsquo;t really think much of it. 'I&rsquo;m going to the arena, we got a game,' I said. 'You&rsquo;re going where?!' And that&rsquo;s how I found out I&rsquo;d been traded. We were both shocked, and for the same reason.
"Nobody communicated with me. I was literally a couple miles from the arena. Getting traded is a part of life as a professional athlete. And fortunately for me, I was young and, outside of the team, hadn&rsquo;t really had any family roots or ties to Denver. But that didn&rsquo;t completely remove the sting. I just considered myself lucky to not be in a situation where I also had to move a wife and three kids in the middle of the school year. Not every player is that fortunate. One minute, you&rsquo;re driving on the highway. The next minute, at a moment&rsquo;s notice, you have to start packing and prepare to make a new life in a new city. It&rsquo;s the hardest part of the job, and it&rsquo;s one that we all accept. But damn. When I got the news &mdash; again, I was literally five minutes from the arena and had done shootaround that morning with my teammates and coaches &mdash; I had mixed emotions. My initial reaction was just genuine shock, and even though resentment might be too strong of a word, I definitely felt some kind of way. 'They couldn't even tell me?'
"I can&rsquo;t speak for everybody, but I can definitely understand how being traded and not being told could make a player feel really disposable. Sometimes, people forget that players are people too. As far as I know, there&rsquo;s no specific rule about when you are no longer able to communicate with the coaching staff or the front office of a team that trades you, but in most instances, there would at least be a phone call or a text message from your old coach or GM or whoever. Just a, 'Thank you for your service, we wish you the best of luck,' something like that. From Denver, I got nothing. All those thoughts and feelings raced through my mind in the 30 seconds it took me to process everything and turn my car around. Then, naturally, I asked my agent the question everyone in my situation would ask. 'Where did I get traded to?' When he told me Houston, I perked up and immediately pressed the gas... I actually moved in with Nick Van Exel after the trade. He had a crib in Houston, so I stayed with him. When I found out about the trade, I just packed up as much of my clothes as I could and went to Nick&rsquo;s house. I stayed there until the end of the season, then I got my own spot. But yeah, if my agent hadn&rsquo;t called, I would've showed up at the arena and they probably wouldn't have even let me in.&rdquo;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-etan-thomas-wpfw-dc-roundtable-drew-gooden-tony-massenburg-dave-zirin-john-wall-russell-westbrook-trade-washington-wizards-houston-rockets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DREW GOODEN</a>: &ldquo;I got drafted as the No. 4 pick in Memphis. Jerry West, it was his first year being the president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies, and I was his pick at No. 4, and I would say three or four months into that season, we were stockpiled at my position. We had Stromile Swift (who was drafted as the No. 2 pick two years prior to me), Pau Gasol (who was the No. 3 pick the year before my draft) and Shane Battier (who was the No. 6 or No. 7 pick that same year) and then the following year, they picked me at No. 4. So we had a lot of young talent, but we just could not put the pieces together to make something right. I heard the trade rumors. Rumors are rumors until they actually happen. It&rsquo;s funny, this story, because when I was hearing the rumors about me being traded, me and my agent had the discussion with Jerry West.
"Jerry West said, 'Drew, this is ridiculous, we have no intentions of trading you. Don&rsquo;t read the papers, you&rsquo;re going to be here a long time. So plan on wearing a Memphis jersey for a long time.' So I was like, 'Alright, that&rsquo;s cool; Jerry West gave me a straight-up answer, man! We&rsquo;ve got nothing to worry about! Let&rsquo;s just see what happens, man, let&rsquo;s ride this season out.' A day later,&nbsp;less than 24 hours later, I get a call from Dick Versace, who was an assistant general manager at the time saying, 'Drew, we&rsquo;ve got some news.' He said, 'You&rsquo;re on your way to the Orlando Magic; we just traded you for Mike Miller, the reigning Rookie of the Year.' And I was like, 'Wowww.' I was happy, don&rsquo;t get it wrong, I was happy that I was traded, but I was like, 'Wowww, Jerry West just told me that I was not going to get traded less than 24 hours ago, and then he has somebody else call me to tell me I was traded?!'"
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-rumors-tj-ford-james-posey-interview-qa-milwaukee-bucks-toronto-raptors-indiana-pacers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">T.J. FORD</a>: "The way I got traded, I felt it was just cold-blooded. Getting traded for the first time is just a unique experience. I got traded in the summer, I think after Hurricane Katrina and all that; it was when the Essence Festival was in Houston for the first time. Somebody bought my house and I was supposed to move out a week later, but they told me they wanted me out on Friday. Now, I've got an appearance in Milwaukee on Saturday that I'm supposed to fly to on Friday&hellip; So I get to Milwaukee and I speak at Michael Redd's camp, but he wasn't there. It was just a strange day. Who comes to somebody's campand then they ain't there? That just didn't make sense to me. [I&rsquo;m thinking], &lsquo;Gosh, something ain't right.&rsquo;
"I ended up having dinner plans with Skip [Robinson], the public relations guy. He helped me do a lot of great things in Milwaukee. We go to dinner and I didn't really have no power at my house, so at the restaurant I&rsquo;ve got my phone and my charger, but they&rsquo;re not next to me. Skip answered his phone and he's sitting directly across from me and I just hear him go, 'No! No! You've got to be kidding me.' Then, he's like, 'Here, the GM wants to talk to you.' So, I'm like, 'What's going on?' The GM's like, 'How do you feel about going to Toronto?' I'm like, 'What are you talking about? Stop playing with me. Stop fuckin' with me. Seriously, what's going on?' He's like, 'No, for real. We just traded you for Charlie Villanueva and it hasn't hit the news yet and it probably won't tonight.' I'm like, 'Yo, Skip, he just told me he f*ckin' traded me. He must be joking with me.' So, I handed him the phone. I get my phone and I've got a bunch of missed calls from my mom.
"So I called my mom and she's like, 'Your agent has been trying to call you! He's been saying something about a trade?' I was like, 'I know! The GM just told me that he traded me, so it must be a joke or something. I don't know. I'll call you right back.' I called my agent right away. But before I was able to do that, they got a TV at the bar in the restaurant. And, remember, the GM just told me that nobody knew about it. But it had just hit the news. Not ESPN, I'm talking about the local news at 10. I'm like, 'Ah man!' It was the worst day, man. Worst day. I was hurt. That was a tough one&hellip; I was fortunate to always get traded in the summertime. I probably would've been really shocked if I had to move midseason. I felt like I was pretty blessed to get traded in the summertime, when you can really process it."

Basketball News spoke to several former NBA players who opened up about getting dealt and what the trade process entailed.

NBA veterans open up about getting traded: 'It was the worst day'

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic had 53 points in his return to the lineup and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 12 in the fourth quarter as the Dallas Mavericks rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 111-105 on Monday night.
Four of Doncic&rsquo;s five career 50-point games have come this season. He scored a career-best 60 against the New York Knicks in a game that went to overtime on Dec. 27.
His 53 points tied for second-most in Dallas history with Dirk Nowitzki&rsquo;s total against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2004.
Doncic had 24 points in the first quarter and 18 in the third. Second in the NBA going in with an average of 33 points per game, he returned after spraining his left ankle three-plus minutes into last Thursday&rsquo;s game at Phoenix and then missing Saturday&rsquo;s game at Utah.
Usually animated and vocal on the court, Doncic was particularly involved in a running conversation with Pistons assistant coach Jerome Allen.
&ldquo;From the first quarter, he was just chirping,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to say the words. I have no problem with that. It&rsquo;s basketball. It gets me going, for sure.&rdquo;
The Mavericks (27-25) moved into sixth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the four-team play-in positions.
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Bojan Bogdanovic had 29 points and Saddiq Bey scored 18 &mdash; including five 3-pointers &mdash; for the Pistons (13-39), who have lost six of seven.
Doncic&rsquo;s final basket was a shot that bounced off the front rim and dropped in to put Dallas ahead 109-105 with 46 seconds left. On the Pistons&rsquo; next possession, Bogdanovic missed a long 3-pointer near the right sideline amid traffic and landed on his backside out of bounds.
&ldquo;We thought Bojan got fouled,&rdquo; Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;You still have to play in all those situations and close out the game, because we put ourselves in a situation to win.&rdquo;
The Pistons were called for 31 fouls to the Mavericks&rsquo; 18. Doncic was 14 of 18 at the free throw line while Detroit went 19 for 27.
Detroit led by 11 in the third quarter and 84-83 going into the fourth. Dallas opened the period on a 9-2 run with Doncic on the bench, as Dinwiddie scored six points on his first three field goals of the game.
Dinwiddie&rsquo;s 12 points followed his two highest-scoring games of the season &mdash; 36 and 35 points in Doncic&rsquo;s absence.
The Pistons shook off a 10-0 deficit nearly three minutes in and grabbed their first lead with 4:41 to play in the first quarter. They led 57-53 at halftime.
ONE-MAN BAND
Doncic had 18 of Dallas&rsquo; first 20 points and 24 of the Mavericks&rsquo; 30 in the first quarter, the highest-scoring opening period for an NBA player this season. It was his fourth quarter with at least 20 points this season, tying Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving for most in the NBA.
&ldquo;You couldn&rsquo;t ask for a better quarter,&rdquo; Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said.
TIP-INS
Pistons: Bogdanovic has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 10 games, the longest streak of his career and tied for the fourth-longest active streak in the NBA. &hellip; Reserve guard Hamidou Diallo, who averages 17 minutes per game, was out with a stomach flu.
Mavericks: Kidd said the team expects a medical update later this week on starting center Christian Wood, who missed his sixth consecutive game with a broken left thumb. &hellip; Theo Pinson was assessed a technical foul late in the first quarter while sitting near the end of the bench.
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Luka Doncic had 53 points as the Dallas Mavericks rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 111-105.