Golden Bears

The NBA has handed Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George a 25-game suspension without pay after determining he violated the league&rsquo;s Anti-Drug Program, the league announced Saturday.&nbsp;
The ban, one of the more significant disciplinary actions this season, will sideline the nine-time All-Star for roughly two-thirds of the regular season before he&rsquo;s eligible to return on March 25 against the Chicago Bulls.&nbsp;
According to official league releases, the suspension stems from a violation of the terms of the NBA/NBPA anti-drug policy. The NBA did not disclose the specific substance involved, which is standard in such cases under policy guidelines. By collective bargaining agreement rules, a 25-game ban indicates a first violation of the anti-drug program.&nbsp;
In a statement to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania, George took ownership of the situation, explaining that he &ldquo;made the mistake of taking an improper medication&rdquo; while seeking treatment for a personal mental health issue and apologized to the team, organization and fans for his error. He said he plans to use the time away &ldquo;to make sure that my mind and body are in the best condition to help the team when I return.&rdquo;
George&rsquo;s absence will have a noticeable impact on the 76ers&rsquo; rotation. The 35-year-old has been averaging approximately 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season while serving as a key piece alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philadelphia &ndash; currently sitting in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference &ndash; now faces the challenge of maintaining momentum without one of its veteran contributors.&nbsp;
The suspension will also cost George around $11.7 million in lost salary, as he will not be paid for the games he misses under the league&rsquo;s disciplinary rules.&nbsp;
This development will sideline George, a cornerstone of the Sixers&rsquo; roster during a critical stretch of the season. While he&rsquo;s expected to come back for the final 10 games of the regular season, Philadelphia will need to adapt without his scoring and experience as it pushes toward the postseason.

The NBA has handed 76ers forward Paul George a 25-game suspension after violating the league's anti-drug policy.

Paul George suspended 25 games for violating anti-drug policy

The Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract extension with forward P.J. Washington, locking in a key two-way starter through the 2029&ndash;30 season, his agency confirmed. The agreement was first reported by ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.
Washington, 27, is entering the final season of his current deal ($14.1 million in 2025&ndash;26). Because he signed an extension, he cannot be traded for the remainder of this season under NBA rules.
Acquired at the 2024 trade deadline, Washington quickly became a fixture around Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving with switchable defense and catch-and-shoot spacing. Last season he averaged 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 57 games for Dallas, helping stabilize the forward rotation after the Mavs&rsquo; 2024 run to the NBA Finals.
ANALYSIS: This move ensures continuity at the wing position for Dallas, as it retains a starter-level forward who defends up and down lineups and fits cleanly to their system.
The deal ($22.5M average annual value) keeps another core salary on the books through the decade, giving Dallas stability but tightening future flexibility.
Expect Jason Kidd to keep leveraging Washington in switch-heavy groups with Dereck Lively II and (when small) Anthony Davis alongside incoming no.1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, while Dallas continues to hunt margins around its star guard with shooting and size on the wing.

The Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract extension with forward P.J. Washington.

Mavericks re-sign P.J. Washington to four-year, $90 million extension

Throughout NBA history, rivalries have served as the lifeblood of the sport, igniting passions and captivating fans. These matchups have defined eras and showcased the very best the sport has to offer.
Today, let's delve into the greatest rivalries in NBA history.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics
This stands as the pinnacle of NBA rivalries. Spanning multiple decades, these two storied franchises have collided in the NBA Finals a remarkable 12 times, with the Celtics winning nine times and the Lakers winning just three. From Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird to Kobe Bryant vs. Paul Pierce, the Lakers-Celtics clashes have captivated fans worldwide across various eras.
Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons
The 1990s witnessed a fierce rivalry between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. The Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, sought to dethrone the physical and rugged Pistons, who were known for their "Bad Boy" image. The intense battles between these teams showcased the contrasting styles of finesse and brute force and introduced the "Jordan Rules" strategy to the world, making their matchups some of the most memorable in NBA history.
New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat
The rivalry between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat in the 1990s symbolized the fierce competition between two Eastern Conference powerhouses. The physicality and intensity of their matchups, featuring iconic players such as Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, created a rivalry that brought out the best in both teams. This year, the Heat and Knicks matched up in the postseason for the first time since 2012, renewing their rivalry and introducing younger fans to the history between these two teams.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors
Any teams that meet in the NBA Finals in four consecutive years are going to develop a rivalry of some sort. From 2015 through 2018, these teams battled for the Larry O'Brien trophy, with the Warriors winning three titles and the Cavaliers winning one (coming back from down 3-1 to ruin Golden State's 73-win season). These Finals' matchups featured star power -- with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love facing off against Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green (and eventually Kevin Durant) -- as well as iconic moments and dramatic storylines. The Cavs-Warriors rivalry not only captivated fans but also fueled debates about team-building, basketball philosophies and the NBA's changing landscape.
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers
During the 1980s, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers engaged in a heated rivalry for Eastern Conference dominance. Led by Larry Bird and Julius Erving, respectively, these two powerhouses clashed in multiple playoff series, producing high-stakes and fiercely contested matchups that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs
The Lakers and Spurs established themselves as powerhouses in the 2000s. The rivalry between these two teams epitomized excellence, as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers battled for NBA supremacy against Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the Spurs. Their meetings in the playoffs often showcased high-level basketball and strategic brilliance, leaving an indelible mark on the league.
Which NBA rivarly is your favorite? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts here</a>!

Basketball News looks back on the greatest rivalries in NBA history.

Examining the 6 biggest rivalries in NBA history

<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/chris-paul-trade-golden-state-jordan-poole-d26c307001fd0cc6ce5835bdb09b0030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Paul has already been traded</a>&nbsp;twice this offseason, ending up with Golden State.&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/wizards-suns-trade-bradley-beal-55adab5fa31d5dfbc35b83223743d9c6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bradley Beal</a>&nbsp;is now with Phoenix,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/hawks-jazz-trade-collins-gay-a6567f15f798ebf9fc99612ad00e4a7f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Collins</a>&nbsp;was sent to Utah, and&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-wizards-kristaps-porzingis-marcus-smart-grizzlies-94e7fa907d2523a354665b8c6ce0908c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristaps Porzingis</a>&nbsp;is about to start anew with Boston in a deal that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis.
They have new places to call home. It&rsquo;s time to see if&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-kyrie-irving-luka-doncic-nico-harrison-9a3d80b6c325195faedde1a6324a4e51" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrie Irving</a>,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/draymond-green-option-nba-482b28f097e3c99a934fff1ea46137b8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Draymond Green</a>,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-milwaukee-bucks-khris-middleton-197ecec12092f80f9988bf6d6670680e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khris Middleton</a>&nbsp;and dozens more will be on the move in the next few days.
As proven by the run of trades in recent weeks, and big news from James Harden on Thursday, NBA teams aren&rsquo;t waiting for free agency to make moves. The window of offseason player movement begins Friday at 6 p.m. EDT, when teams are permitted to start talking to free agents &mdash; with the caveat that most deals cannot become official until July 6.
&ldquo;Obviously, money&rsquo;s a thing. I mean, that&rsquo;s just for anybody,&rdquo; said Miami guard Max Strus, a free agent who&rsquo;s in line for a big payday, going from $1.8 million last season to potentially $12 million a year or more. &ldquo;These are moments that you work for, and these are opportunities that could be life-changing &mdash; so you can&rsquo;t ever take that out of it. But I love playing basketball and that&rsquo;s always going to be the first thing for me.&rdquo;
Money and fit. That&rsquo;s what players like Strus will be seeking, and that&rsquo;s what teams will be weighing over the next few days &mdash; especially with a new&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-labor-players-0cf524b13e459eeb5853dad9a455e0e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collective Bargaining Agreement</a>, and new rules designed to at least slightly curb spending by the deeper-pocketed teams, set to go into effect on Saturday.
That&rsquo;s part of the reason some trades have been made in recent days and more are almost certainly coming. The Warriors gave up Jordan Poole to get Paul from Washington in part because Paul&rsquo;s contract expires in a year and Poole is on the books for four years (at more than $30 million annually on average), and Atlanta sent Collins to Utah for Rudy Gay for similar reasons.
Harden could be the next big name on the move. He decided not to enter free agency and exercised his $35.6 million option for the coming season Thursday, with Philadelphia now likely to trade the 10-time All-Star and three-time scoring champion,&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-james-harden-free-agency-d9f9a6fa001d68e58f04cd60251802ab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.</a>
&ldquo;I think a lot can be made of all the challenges that are coming our way, whether it be aging roster, the new CBA with some of the limitations there, anything else you can bring up,&rdquo; Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re aware of all those things. But we also feel like we&rsquo;re in a great, great place, because we&rsquo;ve got a competitive owner willing to spend ... so we feel confident we can navigate it.&rdquo;
Another potential trade: Plenty of eyes remain on Portland and whether Damian Lillard will ask to be dealt elsewhere &mdash; to Miami or Brooklyn, specifically &mdash; or remain with the Trail Blazers for a 12th season.
In the interim, there will be some massive deals struck &mdash; some possibly reaching $200 million.
Green turned down a $27.5 million option with Golden State to seek a longer deal. Milwaukee has decisions to make with both Middleton and Brook Lopez, two key members of their championship in 2021.
&ldquo;Both of those guys specifically are core to who we have been,&rdquo; Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. &ldquo;Ultimately, what matters is we&rsquo;re hopeful to have them back. We&rsquo;ve been really good and they&rsquo;re a big part of that and we want to try to keep them.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s also intrigue in Dallas with regard to Irving&rsquo;s future.
Irving&rsquo;s talent is unquestioned. He averaged 27 points in 20 games with the Mavericks after getting traded there for the stretch run last season. For his career, he&rsquo;s averaged 23.4 points, is an eight-time All-Star and won a title alongside LeBron James in Cleveland in 2016.
He and Luka Doncic could form one of the league&rsquo;s most powerful 1-2 punches. Irving also is coming off a season where he was suspended by Brooklyn for eight games after the team said it was dismayed by his repeated failure to &ldquo;unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.&rdquo; And that saga came after many others involving Irving, who has raised eyebrows for things ranging from saying the Earth is flat to not getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Still unclear: How many years, and how much money, Dallas will commit to keep him.
&ldquo;Obviously, he&rsquo;s someone that we&rsquo;ve already told everybody that we want to re-sign and we&rsquo;re excited about,&rdquo; Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison said.
The new champions have a big decision looming as well.
Denver&rsquo;s biggest free agency issue is versatile guard Bruce Brown, who was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets during their run to the NBA title. All the Nuggets can offer Brown is one year at $7.8 million; other teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, may be prepared to offer more. Denver can give Brown a longer, richer deal next summer &mdash; so it&rsquo;s up to Brown to decide whether to bet on himself or get more money now.
At the team&rsquo;s championship parade, Nuggets coach Michael Malone made clear that Denver intends to keep Brown.
&ldquo;Is Brucie B going anywhere? Hell no,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement" href="https://youtu.be/oqwc1vg1mCY?t=242" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malone shouted, as the crowd roared in approval.</a> &ldquo;Hell no. Hell no. We&rsquo;re running this ... back.&rdquo;
The next few days will tell if Malone is right.

It’s time to see if Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green, Khris Middleton and dozens more free agents will be on the move in the next few days.

Busy NBA offseason continues with free agency starting today

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; James Harden picked up his $35.6 million contract option for next season with the Philadelphia 76ers, with the franchise exploring trades to move the veteran scorer, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
Harden informed the 76ers of his choice Thursday ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline to pick up the option, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the decision was not made public.
The 33-year-old Harden could have declined the option and decided to try for free agency. The Sixers had the right to offer him a $210 million, four-year deal, $8 million more overall than any other team.
But the person who talked to the AP on anonymity Thursday said it while it wasn&rsquo;t definite Harden would be traded, the player nicknamed The Beard expressed a desire to win a championship &mdash; which he has yet to do in his career that dates to his 2009 rookie season &mdash; in Philadelphia or with another contender.
The 76ers, per league rules, could not talk contract with Harden&rsquo;s representatives before Friday and they were set to abide by the terms after they were found guilty of tampering last offseason and ultimately stripped of second-round draft picks.
The stage, though, seems set for yet another blockbuster Harden trade after he forced his way out of Houston and Brooklyn.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: 76ers G James Harden is picking up his $35.6 million option and sides are beginning to work together in exploring trade scenarios, sources tell ESPN. It&rsquo;s expected that Harden has played his last game for Philadelphia. <a href="https://t.co/GguWgysfNZ">pic.twitter.com/GguWgysfNZ</a>
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1674519780106153985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Nick Nurse, hired last month as Philadelphia&rsquo;s coach, has stumped for Harden&rsquo;s return.
&ldquo;James has a decision to make, and I&rsquo;d be very happy if he came back,&rdquo; Nurse said this month.
Sixers forward Tobias Harris, himself in a bit of a contract quandary this summer and a perfect package fit in a Harden trade, said this week he wanted Harden back on the team.
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&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not many guys that can go out and drop 40 in a playoff game. I think that goes under the radar a little bit too much,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;I think James is a phenomenal player, somebody who works his tail off, and somebody&rsquo;s who&rsquo;s an overall great leader. Of course I want him back.&rdquo;
But it appears playing as the second option behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid and chasing a championship in Philly is no longer seriously on the table.
Harden led the NBA in assists last season with 10.7 per game but it was his wildly fluctuating offense that frustrated Sixers fans and helped doom them in the Eastern Conference second-round loss to Boston.
Harden, acquired at the 2022 trade deadline from Brooklyn for Ben Simmons, scored 45 points in Game 1 and 42 in Game 4 victories against the Celtics. Harden, who turns 34 in August, and was 0 for 6 on 3s in Game 2 and Game 6 losses. He scored only nine points in Game 7, and he went scoreless in the second half.
Harden blossomed into an insolation superstar in Houston but has largely deferred to Embiid with the Sixers.
Team president Daryl Morey, who traded to bring Harden to Houston a decade ago, needs to get a big return in any deal with the Sixers in win-now mode. The Sixers have limited salary cap space, making it all but impossible to sign a quality free agent, especially one with Harden&rsquo;s pedigree.
So now they&rsquo;ll look to get assets in a deal &mdash; a common factor in Harden&rsquo;s career. If Harden is traded, per NBA rules, he would have to play under his 2023-24 contract and would not be eligible for free agency until next season.
Harden is a 10-time All-Star but essentially forced his way with trades out of Houston and Brooklyn.
The Rockets traded Harden to the Nets in January 2021 where he was expected to form a championship trio with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. When the Big 3 fizzled, Harden was sent a year later to the Sixers for the disgruntled Simmons.
Harden declined his $47.4 million player option with the 76ers for last season and instead agreed to a two-year deal that will paid him $32 million in 2022-23. It included a player option for this coming season. He opted out of an old deal ahead of last season to stay with the 76ers and made about $14.5 million less last season than he could have earned under his previous contract.
The seven-time All-NBA player is a member of the league&rsquo;s 75th anniversary team.
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James Harden picked up his $35.6 million contract option for next season, but he's working with the Sixers to find a trade.

Sixers working with James Harden to find a trade after opt-in

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Draymond Green is certain this is far from his last suspension, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP/status/1649879597679521792" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">he had some strong words for the NBA</a>&nbsp;trying to make him an example of suspensions based on past behavior.
The Golden State forward is set to return for the Warriors in Sunday&rsquo;s Game 4 against the Sacramento Kings with his team trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series after serving a one-game suspension during&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kings-warriors-nba-playoffs-fe37b365125d3be437822974ab8b3f9a">the defending champions&rsquo; 114-97 Game 3 victory</a>&nbsp;Thursday night.
&ldquo;Them (s&mdash;&mdash;) don&rsquo;t work,&rdquo; Green said Saturday of any special rules for him. &ldquo;Here I am, still sitting here, still winning. They created those rules before, they didn&rsquo;t work, they still don&rsquo;t work. Maybe they did but Draymond won&rsquo;t be moved by no Draymond rules. I will continue to play the game how I play the game, operate how I operate, be exactly who I am, because that leads to winning.&rdquo;
In the fourth quarter of the Kings&rsquo; 114-106 Game 2 win Monday night,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-2023-draymond-green-ejected-075df068895834184e0877648d513b0a">Green stepped on the chest of Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis</a>&nbsp;after Stephen Curry grabbed a defensive rebound.
With the Warriors pushing the ball up court and Sabonis on the ground, Green took a hard step on Sabonis, who stayed down for several minutes as officials reviewed the play.
Sabonis was called for a technical foul for grabbing Green&rsquo;s leg, and Green was given a flagrant 2 foul that led to an automatic ejection.
Golden State shined in Green&rsquo;s absence the next game, though Curry made clear his disappointment with the NBA&rsquo;s position and noted how it took everyone responding &mdash; saying &ldquo;how bad of a decision I think they made on suspending him first and foremost and you&rsquo;re frustrated with that but you also have to understand, I know Bob (Myers) said it up here yesterday, we have a job to do and there&rsquo;s nothing we could do about it.&rdquo;
While explaining the discipline, announced by executive vice president and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/warriors-draymond-suspended-nba-playoffs-a08adc073a205bc39043109e9a19a8a9">head of basketball operations Joe Dumars</a>, the NBA noted &ldquo;the suspension was based in part on Green&rsquo;s history of unsportsmanlike acts.&rdquo;
76ers coach Doc Rivers expressed his disagreement with it: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think Draymond should&rsquo;ve gotten suspended and I think the league is setting up a very dangerous precedent right now.&rdquo;
&ldquo;My feelings about it is irrelevant. My sentiments on it is that I strongly agree with Doc Rivers,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;I think he said it better than anybody could have said it, but as far as being suspended or the game goes, we won. So anything that happened around that or how I felt or how anyone felt, we channeled it the right way. You channel that energy the right way, I think that&rsquo;s the most important thing.&rdquo;
In 2016, Green was suspended for a crucial Game 5 loss to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals after accumulating too many flagrant fouls in the playoffs that season. The Warriors wound up losing in seven.
He can&rsquo;t compare the two.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a different feeling, 2016 we were up 3-1, so whether you lose that game or not you have more,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;Being down 2-0 you have more whether you lose or not, but it&rsquo;s different. So I think for us being in a totally different position. Being in a dog fight and not being able to participate, that&rsquo;s tough, not from the suspension. I&rsquo;ve been suspended from Game 5 of the NBA Finals. There&rsquo;s never a suspension that would bother me. There&rsquo;s no game that could compare to that, so as far as my personal feeling about a suspension it&rsquo;s neither here nor there. It doesn&rsquo;t move me one way or another. ... I&rsquo;ll get suspended again at some point.&rdquo;
Now, Green is eager to move forward, get back on the court and keep Golen State going.
&ldquo;As long as they create Draymond rules that means we&rsquo;re winning,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and that&rsquo;s great, they can create as many Draymond rules as they want, that&rsquo;s beautiful. It doesn&rsquo;t change Draymond.&rdquo;

Draymond Green is set to return for the Warriors in Sunday’s Game 4 against the Kings with his team trailing 2-1 in the first-round series.

Draymond Green won’t change post-suspension, ready for Game 4

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

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, including a key layup with 17 seconds left as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks 112-108 on Monday night in Ja Morant&rsquo;s first game back with the team after an eight-game league suspension.
Santi Aldama added 22 for Memphis and Desmond Bane finished with 17 as Memphis won its sixth in the last seven.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 28 points, but missed all eight of his shots in the fourth quarter as Memphis outscored Dallas 29-12 in the period.
Morant did not dress for the game but was on the Memphis bench, coming out to a hearty ovation from the fans just before tipoff. The NBA assessed the suspension after a video from a Denver-area strip club earlier this month showed Morant brandishing a gun.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks were again without leading-scorer Luka Doncic, who missed his fifth game with left thigh soreness.
That left the Dallas offensive surge to Irving, picked up in a trade deadline deal, along with Christian Wood, who scored 20.
Dallas built its lead to 16 points in the third quarter, but Memphis crafted a 24-7 run in the fourth, and the game settled into an exchange of leads for both teams.
The game was tight through the first half with seven ties and three lead changes before the Mavericks carried a 60-57 lead into halftime, led by 20 points from Irving. The third quarter belonged to Dallas, stretching lead to 96-83 as Hardy scored 10 in the stanza, while the Mavericks shot 62%.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: While Doncic missed his fifth game with a left thigh strain, it marked the eighth time in 17 games since acquiring Irving at the trade deadline that one or both of the All-Stars has been out. ... Davis Bertans&rsquo; 3-pointer in the second quarter was the 800th of his career.
Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks picked up a technical foul for taunting after a dunk. It was his 18th of the season, and per league rules, he will be suspended for Wednesday&rsquo;s game against Houston. ... Memphis is 11-2 against the Southwest Division, with the only losses coming to Dallas and the New Orleans Pelicans.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Golden State on Wednesday night.
Grizzlies: Play the first of consecutive home games against Houston on Wednesday night.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, including a key layup with 17 seconds left as the Grizzlies defeated the Mavericks.

Jackson scores 28 as Grizzlies rally late to defeat Mavs

Nekias Duncan checks back in with this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through the end of February.

2022-23 NBA award front-runners Vol. 2: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association clearly do not agree on everything, as evidenced by the fact that there&rsquo;s no new Collective Bargaining Agreement yet.
One thing they do agree on: A record-setting trade deadline this season is a good thing.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in his annual news conference preceding All-Star Saturday events that he felt the robust amount of player movement &ndash; 12 deals involving 24 teams and 49 players on trade-deadline day, Feb. 9, alone &ndash; only speaks to how many teams think they can make deep playoff runs this season and ultimately compete for a title.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s interesting also that we&rsquo;ve had probably as much player movement this year than at any time in our history,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;And I think that speaks to teams, as we got close to the trade deadline, trying to situate themselves in the best possible position to compete going into the playoffs. And in this case over 10% of the entire league was moved roughly in the last week before the trade deadline.&rdquo;
Among those traded leading up to the deadline: All-Stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both dealt by Brooklyn, with Durant going to Phoenix and Irving to Dallas.
Not everyone believes that players are right to ask for trades. Durant said he believes it&rsquo;s a good thing.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s bringing more eyes to the league,&rdquo; Durant said. &ldquo;More people are more excited. The tweets that I get, the news hits that we got from me being traded, Kyrie being traded, it just brings more attention to the league and that&rsquo;s really what makes you money, is when you get more attention. I think it&rsquo;s great for the league, to be honest. Teams have been trading players and making acquisitions for a long time. Now a player can dictate where he wants to go, leave in free agency or demand a trade, it&rsquo;s just part of the game now.&rdquo;
Irving asked for a trade shortly after it became evident that the Nets were not going to meet his expectations regarding a contract extension.
&ldquo;I had a plan in place where I wanted to stay in Brooklyn long term, be a Net. It was a dream come true for me,&rdquo; Irving said. &ldquo;Obviously, I wish things could have worked out for the best of all of us in terms of winning a championship and etching our names into history of the NBA. Those are big aspirations. It sounds easier said than done.&rdquo;
NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio, speaking at a separate news conference before Silver&rsquo;s annual event, echoed the players&rsquo; stance.
&ldquo;Certainly the fact that we have seen so many trades just sort of signifies that, you know, people do believe that they can create a championship team,&rdquo; Tremaglio said.
In other matters Silver addressed Saturday:
LABOR UPDATE
Talks between the NBA and NBPA are continuing with hopes of getting a new labor deal done. The sides have until March 31 to decide if either wants to opt out of the current deal on June 30; that deadline has already been moved twice and can be again, if necessary.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s my hope that the deal will be done by then,&rdquo; Silver said.
Among the issues that the NBA and the NBPA have been discussing in recent weeks is a return to letting players enter the draft straight out high school without waiting a year &mdash; that move is expected to be included in the next CBA &mdash; along with what the league considers an &ldquo;upper spending limit&rdquo; that would significantly tighten the rules on how much teams can spend each year on their roster.
&ldquo;Yes, it has been considered,&rdquo; Tremaglio said of the spending limit. &ldquo;And no, it is not acceptable.&rdquo;
LOAD MANAGEMENT
There doesn&rsquo;t seem to be much of an appetite for the NBA to abandon the traditional 82-game schedule, though injuries and load management leave fans going to games sometimes to learn upon arrival that their favorite players aren&rsquo;t going to be in the game that night.
It has been an issue for years. The NBA has tried to make the schedule more player-friendly by lowering back-to-back games and eliminating stretches of four games in five days.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re approaching in an adversarial way with the players association,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re working collectively, together with our doctors, our data scientists and trying to see if there&rsquo;s an optimal way for player performance. If it means at some point we conclude that we&rsquo;re better off elongating the schedule ... that&rsquo;s worth looking at. If we thought it made sense to reduce the number of games we would.&rdquo;
TV DEAL
Silver said he isn&rsquo;t concerned about the potential issue that could come if Diamond Sports Group &mdash; which owns several regional sports networks, including 16 broadcasting for NBA teams &mdash; enters bankruptcy.
Diamond, the parent company of 19 Bally Sports networks, skipped about $140 million in interest payments that were due Wednesday, starting a 30-day grace period that could be the prelude to a bankruptcy filing.
&ldquo;Short term, I&rsquo;m not all that concerned,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;It largely affects the regular season for the NBA in terms of distributing, delivering those games directly to our consumers. And if they were to indeed, you know, file for bankruptcy, there won&rsquo;t be that much of the regular season left. For that period of time, we will have in place arrangements, if necessary, to continue to distribute those games to fans. So I think that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s most important.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I would say long term I&rsquo;m not that concerned because there are many other ways, platforms, including local over-the-air television, streaming services, other methods, to bring those games linear and digitally directly to fans,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;In the mid-term, it&rsquo;s an issue we&rsquo;re going to have to work through.&rdquo;

NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the media in Salt Lake City on Saturday to discuss a number of popular topics.

Adam Silver speaks on load management, TV deal at NBA All-Star

It&rsquo;s reasonable to think Chet Holmgren will be an NBA All-Star one day. He was a highly recruited high school player whose one year at Gonzaga was stellar enough for Oklahoma City to make him the No. 2 pick in last year&rsquo;s draft. He&rsquo;s an obvious talent, an enormous talent.
And it&rsquo;s terrible that Holmgren got hurt last summer and will miss the entirety of this season.
But evidently, his rehab has been going extremely well &mdash; since four NBA players say he should start next month&rsquo;s All-Star Game.
That&rsquo;s right. When NBA players were asked in recent weeks who should start their All-Star Game in Salt Lake City on Feb. 19, four of them said that Holmgren should, even though he has yet to make his NBA debut.
So, congratulations to everyone involved. It&rsquo;s a new record: 330 different NBA players got a vote &mdash; either from themselves or their peers &mdash; saying they should be an All-Star starter. That&rsquo;s 20 more than the number of players who got votes in 2021.
Keep in mind only 10 people will start the All-Star Game. There might be, at the most, 20 legitimate candidates for those starting nods. OK, let&rsquo;s say it&rsquo;s 30 players, even. That&rsquo;s 300 less than the number of people who received votes.
That means a ton of votes were wasted, unserious, a joke.
This all started seven years ago, after almost 800,000 people stuffed the ballot boxes and nearly made Zaza Pachulia an All-Star starter. So the NBA changed the rules, going to a weighted formula &mdash; 50% is determined by fan votes, 25% by media votes, 25% by player votes.
The fans pretty much got who they wanted, as should always be the case. LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum were the top seven fan vote-getters; they all were announced as starters when the list was revealed Thursday night. So did No. 9 Kyrie Irving, No. 10 Donovan Mitchell and No. 12 Zion Williamson.
No. 7 Joel Embiid didn&rsquo;t make the cut, nor did No. 11 Anthony Davis.
Player votes were a big reason why Davis wasn&rsquo;t a starter. Only 30 players voted for Davis among Western Conference frontcourt players, while 80 voted for Williamson. That made the difference.
But many of the 375 ballots returned by players were puzzling.
Chicago&rsquo;s Lonzo Ball got four votes. Miami&rsquo;s Omer Yurtseven got three votes. Jae Crowder, who is still a member of the Phoenix Suns in name only, got two votes. Denver&rsquo;s Collin Gillespie and Portland&rsquo;s Ibou Badji each got one vote.
Here&rsquo;s what they all have in common: Like Holmgren, none has played this season.
There were other interesting &mdash; a polite way of saying odd, in this case &mdash; trends within the data. Only Jokic (58.7%), Antetokounmpo (58.7%) and James (51.5%) appeared on more than half of the All-Star ballots cast by NBA players this year.
The Phoenix Suns were hoping that guard Devin Booker would get consideration as a starter. He wasn&rsquo;t close, probably in large part because he&rsquo;s missed some time this season with injury.
&ldquo;We know and the league knows and the players know,&rdquo; Phoenix coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best (shooting) guard in the game and one of the best players in the game.&rdquo;
Perhaps the players don&rsquo;t know: Only 8.5% said Booker should be a starter.
Milwaukee&rsquo;s Grayson Allen got four votes, which is one more than reigning NBA defensive player of the year Marcus Smart of Boston received. Yes, Allen has been a contributor to what the Bucks have done so far this year. He&rsquo;s had his moments. He&rsquo;s hit big shots. But it&rsquo;s not a fine line between solid player and All-Star starter &mdash; it&rsquo;s more like a crater.
There certainly could be a year where the irresponsible voting really costs somebody a spot. It won&rsquo;t be this year. Certainly, arguments could be made for other players &mdash; Embiid, Domantas Sabonis, Ja Morant, Lauri Markkanen, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander &mdash; as candidates to start.
They&rsquo;ll all probably be All-Stars anyway.
The coaches will now decide the reserves; the votes for the starters no longer count for anything. Only the coaches&rsquo; ballots count toward the last seven All-Stars selected from each conference. And if someone has to bow out of the game because of injury, Commissioner Adam Silver chooses a replacement.
But hopefully, there will soon come a time when the players take the voting more seriously. If not, maybe the NBA needs to consider taking their vote away.
___
Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

Despite not playing one minute this year, four NBA players say Chet Holmgren should start next month’s All-Star Game.

Analysis: It may be time to re-think NBA All-Star voting

In recent years, the NBA G League <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shareef-abdurrahim" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has grown in popularity</a>. Teams are utilizing the benefits it provides, players are taking advantage of the opportunity it presents and fans are tuning in to see talents who will eventually be gracing the big stage in the Association.
Due to the increasing demand of more coverage around the league itself and the top-prospect-laden Ignite program, the G League has aligned with The General Insurance to produce an eight-part docuseries called "The Break."
Two shows in since premiering last month, "The Break" will drop new episodes roughly every three weeks and conclude in April. The project features <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/scoot-henderson-aspirations-far-exceed-any-hype-we-can-give-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rising Ignite star Scoot Henderson</a>, 2020-21 G League Rookie of the Year Mac McClung and longtime veteran and two-time NBA champion Norris Cole. In these episodes, you're taken both behind the scenes and on the court with exclusive footage that illustrates these players'&nbsp; respective paths to the NBA.
To learn more about the series, the process behind it and more, Basketball News discussed "The Break" with G League Head of Partnerships George Wilson.
The amount of attention that was on Scoot Henderson and Victor Wembanyama this fall before the season began was historic. Was that the basis for the idea to start the show? If not, what was?
George Wilson: "We decided to create this docuseries with The General so we could bring our fans closer to the game by following our players as they strive to realize their goal of making it to the NBA.
"But, the attention surrounding Scoot and Victor &mdash; the presumptive top two picks in the 2023 NBA Draft &mdash; is certainly undeniable, and they served as the perfect starting point for this series in the first episode. Beyond Scoot and Victor, the basis in developing this series was to foster deeper connections between our fans and the players around the league. The G League is filled with incredible talent, improving year after year, with almost half of NBA players on opening night rosters having played in the G League. So we are glad this docuseries could further shine a light on their journeys."
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Could you give some background as to why you chose Scoot Henderson, Mac McClung and Norris Cole to be featured on the show throughout the eight-part series in particular? 
Wilson: "Scoot, Mac and Norris are all playing in the G League, but each is on a different path to the next level in the NBA. They really represent the diversity in the league, and that it is a place for players at different stages of their careers to achieve their dreams. Whether it&rsquo;s through a likely top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft in Scoot Henderson, the 2021-22 Kia NBA G League Rookie of the Year in Mac McClung or a two-time NBA Champion in Norris Cole, we sought to effectively showcase that this league doesn&rsquo;t have one linear path. The NBA G League is filled with hundreds of players who have such compelling stories, all looking to achieve a common goal, and we&rsquo;re glad our fans can be a part of their journeys through this docuseries."
What were each of those three players' reactions when you told them they'd be a part of this series? Was there any input on their end idea-wise?
Wilson: "The players were very excited to be featured in the series and bring our fans along the way throughout the season. They have input throughout, from start to finish. Before each episode, we work with them as they offer any suggestions. For example, earlier this season, Mac&rsquo;s family came to a game and nearly 30 of his family members and friends wore &ldquo;Mac&rdquo; T-shirts in the crowd, so when Mac gave us a heads up, we wanted to be sure to capture that as part of the episode. Our job in collaboration with the team at Blue Cup Productions is to ensure that we&rsquo;re authentic in the way in which we feature our players and personalities. So their input and ideas are critical to this project&rsquo;s overall success."
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Why is it important for the G League to share the inside track to these players/teams off the court?
Wilson: "We continue to hear from our fans that they are seeking increased access to our players and teams. This docuseries allows us to meet our fans where they are, offering them continued compelling content to engage with our league and players. A player&rsquo;s path through the G League can often be overlooked, so it was important through our collaboration with The General to showcase these players&rsquo; incredible journeys and the amount of work they put in throughout the season to achieve their goals. The league and its players also continue to garner added attention each season, so we are glad this docuseries met the demand we saw from our fans in wanting increased content."
To that point, do you feel like this docuseries will help illustrate the G League's growing popularity? Also, why do you think so many people have taken notice of it in these recent seasons?
Wilson: "Our hope is that the docuseries showcases the league&rsquo;s growing popularity and the tremendous talent filled in this league. The G League&rsquo;s growth, particularly over the past few years, has truly been remarkable. As mentioned, nearly half of the players on NBA opening night rosters played in the G League. Ten years ago, that percentage sat at roughly 19%. That also extends to coaches, with six NBA head coaches having spent time on G League benches, and more than 75 NBA assistant coaches were assistant or head coaches in the G League.
"The G League has also helped the NBA infrastructure grow, and we have always been an effective testing ground for NBA rules and procedures. The Coach&rsquo;s Challenge and the 14-second reset on offensive rebounds were initially used in our league and are now a staple of every NBA game. This past week, we employed Final Target Scores at the 2022 AT&amp;T NBA G League Winter Showcase, and the data from those finishes is extremely valuable in helping potentially enhance the game experience for fans and players. We&rsquo;ve also been using Final Target Scores throughout the regular season, as every G League game that goes into overtime ends on a target score.
"Certainly, we&rsquo;ve seen a significant amount of attention recently surrounding our NBA G League Ignite team with the number of talented players from that team now in the NBA. Additionally, the Capitanes&rsquo; first season in Mexico City marks an important milestone for the G League and the NBA in our ongoing commitment to growing the game across Latin America.
"We&rsquo;re looking forward to ongoing momentum throughout the rest of the season and beyond, with additional players landing on NBA rosters, and our league continuing to serve as a hub for innovation."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Why did partnering with The General make sense for this particular project?
Wilson: "The General was a perfect fit and collaborator for this project, with its brand positioning focused on serving as an empathetic and flexible insurance company that is committed to putting its customers first and giving them a break when they need it most. This docuseries spotlights the players in the G League who are working for the break they deserve, which aligns with the series title &ndash; 'The Break presented by The General.'&nbsp; From the beginning of our marketing partnership, The General has been passionate about spotlighting the athletes who push themselves to succeed, and we are proud to help bring that to life, helping provide our players with the attention they deserve through this docuseries."
What is the process like in putting together the episodes and the length of the editing process?
Wilson: "The filming and editing process is a very lengthy and detailed one, considering the amount of footage we capture. The audio producer for this series also creates custom music and sound for each episode to set the mood for each scene, almost creating more of a movie-like atmosphere. There&rsquo;s an incredible amount of detail and care behind each frame of each episode, which is a credit to our talented team &mdash; in particular the director in Taylor Sharp, the editor and shooter in Holland Gallagher, as well as the audio producer in Russell Perna."
Looking ahead, what is your goal for this project? Is this a series you could see coming back next season? &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Wilson: "We are looking forward to continuing to engage our fans with this docuseries and the additional episodes that will run through April. The fan response and engagement thus far has truly been incredible and we are excited for what we have planned for the rest of the season, and from there, we&rsquo;ll see what&rsquo;s in store for ahead."

Spencer Davies and G League Head of Partnerships George Wilson discuss the league's eight-part YouTube docuseries and its details.

G League docuseries 'The Break' spotlighting unique paths to NBA

The top of the Eastern Conference looks about as expected &mdash; with Boston and Milwaukee currently neck and neck for the lead.
Those fast starts have been anything but routine, however.
The Celtics suspended their coach before the season even started, but under interim choice Joe Mazzulla, they're now on a seven-game winning streak and have the best record in the NBA. The Bucks won their first nine games, but recently they've had to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo's occasional absences. They've won two of three when he's been out.
&ldquo;It just shows our depth and how good of a team we truly are,&rdquo; Milwaukee's Brook Lopez said recently. &ldquo;Coach (Mike Budenholzer) &mdash; he said before, it&rsquo;s like, it&rsquo;s kind of exciting. Giannis gets to rest, refill his cup, and we get a chance to get better and see what we&rsquo;re like without Giannis on the court, and get better in that way.&rdquo;
The Celtics (11-3) and Bucks (10-3) don't play each other until Christmas. For now, these two teams &mdash; who played a stirring seven-game playoff series in the second round last season &mdash; are bringing a bit of normalcy to the standings. That's been largely absent in the West, where Golden State is muddling along under .500 while Utah and Portland are around the top of the conference.
The Celtics went to the NBA Finals last season in Ime Udoka&rsquo;s first season as coach. Then he was suspended for at least this season for violating team rules by having a relationship with a female staffer within the organization. Mazzulla took over and has the team rolling. Boston <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-denver-nuggets-nba-sports-jaylen-brown-3718fc15cfce5b70a8e3bdedc4a063d0">routed Nikola Jokic and Denver 131-112</a> on Friday. On Monday night, the Celtics <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-boston-celtics-nba-sports-9e1944637fab12663e2a445cbec9d650">rallied from a 15-point deficit</a> to beat Oklahoma City 126-122.
After falling just short of a title last season, Boston looks tested and ready to contend again.
&ldquo;These guys have been through a ton, and it helps them in a game like tonight where they really don&rsquo;t have it going, and then they&rsquo;ve got to turn it on on both ends of the floor and they did," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after Monday's game. "So credit them. They went and got that one.&rdquo;
Boston is No. 1 in the league in offensive rating, and Milwaukee is No. 1 in defensive rating. The first time the Bucks played without Antetokounmpo this season was a little over a week ago against Oklahoma City. Lopez scored 25 points, Bobby Portis had 21 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 13 assists &mdash; and Milwaukee held the Thunder under 100 points <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-city-thunder-milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-cfe3cf77ea43f6b3b2f736efe9cb8432">to win by 14</a>.
&ldquo;I think we all knew obviously that we&rsquo;d all have to chip in,&rdquo; Lopez said. &ldquo;Pretty much everyone came on, had an impact.&rdquo;
These are the stretches that test a team over the course of an 82-game season, when injuries or just normal wear and tear leave a star player unavailable. That win over the Thunder gave Milwaukee a 9-0 record, and since then, the Bucks have played twice more without Antetokounmpo, who has dealt with left knee soreness.
The Bucks split those two games. Ironically, they've lost the last two games they've played with Antetokounmpo, including Monday against Atlanta.
Still, they've shown they can win without their biggest star. Another team that's done that of late is the Washington Wizards, who have won four straight despite playing all of those games without Bradley Beal, who went through health and safety protocols.
The last game Beal played in was Nov. 4, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-washington-wizards-nba-sports-kevin-durant-0a0b74e9761f0fd4eb9e84274abcb533">a 42-point loss</a> to Brooklyn. Coincidentally, that was also the first game for the Nets following Kyrie Irving's suspension. Irving was suspended after posting a tweet with a link to a documentary that includes Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about Jews. The Nets said they suspended him in part because he wouldn't say unequivocally he has no antisemitic beliefs.
Brooklyn looked downright dysfunctional while losing six of its first eight games. Coach Steve Nash was replaced after the team's seventh game, and then &mdash; with Jacque Vaughn serving as acting coach &mdash; Irving scored just four points in a loss to Chicago.
But since then, Brooklyn has won four of six, all without Irving &mdash; and the Nets decided <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-new-york-e72b511a6d8cdb4e4875dbc1b157557e">to keep Vaughn as their head coach</a> going forward. His team isn't surging quite the way Mazzulla's is, but Brooklyn is hopeful it has found the right leader after an ugly start to the season.
___
Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister

The Celtics (11-3) and Bucks (10-3) don't play each other until Christmas.

No shock in East as Celtics, Bucks vie for lead

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Kansas suspended Hall of Fame coach Bill Self and top assistant Kurtis Townsend for the first four games of the season Wednesday, along with imposing several recruiting restrictions, as part of the fallout from a lengthy FBI investigation into college basketball corruption.
Norm Roberts will be the acting coach for the defending national champions beginning with their opener Monday night against Omaha. Self and Townsend also will miss games against North Dakota State and Southern Utah along with a high-profile showdown between the No. 5 Jayhawks and No. 7 Duke in the Champions Classic.
Self and Townsend will rejoin the team to face North Carolina State at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Nov. 23.
The school already had barred the two coaches from off-campus recruiting this past summer. It will also reduce the number of official visits during the 2023-24 academic year, reduce the total number of scholarships by three over a three-year span and reduce the number of permissible recruiting days during the upcoming year by 13 days.
There were no official visitors this year for Late Night at the Phog, the annual celebration to kick off the season.
&ldquo;Coach Townsend and I accept and support KU&rsquo;s decision,&rdquo; Self said in a statement. &ldquo;We are in good hands with Coach Roberts, and I am confident that he will do a great job on the bench leading our team. I am proud of the way our guys have handled this situation and I look forward to returning to the bench for our game against N.C. State.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The infractions case against Kansas stems from a federal investigation in 2017 that led to the conviction of shoe company executives, a middleman who worked with them and several assistant coaches.
Kansas was among the schools named in the case, along with Arizona, LSU, Louisville and N.C. State.
The Kansas case hinged on whether representatives of apparel company Adidas were considered boosters &mdash; the school contends they were not &mdash; when two of them arranged payments to prospective recruits. The school never disputed that the payments were made, only that it had any knowledge that the inducements were happening.
Auburn received four years of probation through a traditional NCAA infractions process for a similar case, but Kansas joined other schools in appealing its case to an Independent Accountability Review Panel, which was among the proposals made by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2018 to reform the sport.
The panel works outside the purview of the NCAA and was designed to handle particularly complex cases. But its work has been painfully slow &mdash; NCAA president Mark Emmert acknowledged the process takes &ldquo;way too long&rdquo; &mdash; and Kansas decided to self-impose restrictions while continuing to wait for the IARP to announce its decision.
&ldquo;We are hopeful these difficult self-imposed sanctions will assist in bringing the case to a conclusion,&rdquo; Kansas athletic director Travis Goff said in a statement, and declining any additional comment. &ldquo;Until then, we will continue to focus on supporting our outstanding men&rsquo;s basketball student-athletes and coaches.&rdquo;
Kansas had already doubled down on Self by signing him to a new contract in April 2021.
Under the terms of the five-year deal, Self gets one additional year after the conclusion of each season &mdash; in effect, making it a lifetime contract. It guaranteed him $5.41 million per year with a base salary of $225,000, a professional services contract of $2.75 million and an annual $2.435 million retention bonus.
The contract includes a clause that states the school cannot fire Self for cause &ldquo;due to any current infractions matter that involves conduct that occurred on or prior to&rdquo; the signing of the deal. And while he would have to forfeit half of his base salary and professional services pay while serving any Big 12 or NCAA suspension, it&rsquo;s unclear whether that includes any self-imposed suspensions such as the one handed down Wednesday.
&ldquo;Throughout this process, we have had ongoing conversations with all the involved parties,&rdquo; Kansas chancellor Douglas A. Girod said in a statement. &ldquo;We believe the actions we are announcing today move us closer to resolving this matter.&rdquo;
Making the Kansas case more complex, though, is the rapidly shifting landscape of college sports. Some of the alleged infractions from the 2017 investigation would no longer be against the rules following name, image and likeness legislation, which has allowed athletes in all sports to begin making money from endorsements and other off-the-field business arrangements.
Meanwhile, the days of postseason bans and crippling scholarship reductions as punishments appear to be ending.
Memphis was placed on three years of probation in August and slapped with a public reprimand and fine for violations in the recruitment of James Wiseman, now with the Golden State Warriors. But the Tigers escaped any scholarship penalties or postseason bans because the IARP said it did not want to punish current athletes.
Even as the IARP continues to work on several cases, the NCAA&rsquo;s Division I Transformation Committee earlier this year put forth a recommendation to end the process. The proposal was swiftly adopted by the Division I Board of Directors.
&ldquo;We look forward to commenting further when this process is fully resolved,&rdquo; Girod said of the IARP process. &ldquo;Until then, I want to reiterate our unwavering support of Coach Self and our men&rsquo;s basketball program.&rdquo;

Bill Self and Kurtis Townsend will rejoin the team to face North Carolina State at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Nov. 23.

Kansas suspends Self for 4 games in ongoing infractions case

Golden State coach Steve Kerr went into last season uncertain if his club would be good enough to contend for another NBA championship.
He got his answer. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-draymond-green-0ee4bc1ceae824068efa885dea756e2a">He&rsquo;s getting another ring.</a>
And now, the Warriors will try to do it all again.
The NBA&rsquo;s 77th season starts Tuesday night, the opening doubleheader &mdash; Philadelphia at Eastern Conference champion Boston, then the Los Angeles Lakers at the Warriors &mdash; wasting no time in putting title contenders on display. Commissioner Adam Silver will be in San Francisco for Golden State&rsquo;s ring night as the Warriors begin their quest for what would be a fifth championship in nine seasons.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re back in it,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s a lot of teams that are right in it, and the league is super competitive. I think the West has gotten even stronger. There&rsquo;s a lot of competition out there. And so, we&rsquo;re one of the teams that is in the mix and that&rsquo;s exciting. But we have to start over. It doesn&rsquo;t just automatically happen from one year to the next, so we&rsquo;ve got a lot of work.&rdquo;
There is no shortage of contenders for the Warriors to fend off and no shortage of teams that made big moves with hopes of being the last team standing this season. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-entertainment-sports-30765f1caacff7e3e99aa0674dee7ffb">Minnesota traded with Utah for Rudy Gobert</a> and Cleveland traded with Utah for Donovan Mitchell; the Timberwolves and Cavaliers are trying to reach the league&rsquo;s upper echelon, and the Jazz are starting on a new path after a few years of being good but nowhere near good enough.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a very high level of competition this year,&rdquo; Gobert said. &ldquo;I think a lot of teams got better.&rdquo;
Some teams might have gotten better by not doing something. Kevin Durant asked for a trade out of Brooklyn; cooler heads prevailed, and Durant remained with the Nets, who also should have Kyrie Irving &mdash; whose decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 means he&rsquo;ll be tested often but won&rsquo;t keep him off the floor &mdash; for many more games this season than the 29 he was limited to last season. And Ben Simmons, who didn&rsquo;t play at all last season, will be out there with Durant and Irving as well.
Durant&rsquo;s reason for asking for a trade was simple: &ldquo;I was more so worried about how we&rsquo;re approaching every day as a basketball team,&rdquo; he said. Those concerns were addressed, and in Brooklyn he stayed, with the Nets expected to joust with Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Miami and probably others in a very deep Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;A lot of teams have a legitimate shot," said Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, now a television analyst for the Warriors. &ldquo;I think that's really good for the league. A lot of teams have two and three stars, and if they get their chemistry right, they stay healthy, they figure out the right kind of basketball to complement their talent, then there are a lot of teams with legitimate aspirations."
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-basketball-629ff8ed250c8bd969461db178c91e85">LeBron James enters this season 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</a> for the NBA&rsquo;s all-time scoring lead, and the Lakers &mdash; if they can stay healthy &mdash; figure to be much better than the 33-49 record they posted last year. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-nba-sports-basketball-kawhi-leonard-399804492d9323118257a912c784c50e">The Los Angeles Clippers have Kawhi Leonard back</a> after a year off with a knee injury, just as the Denver Nuggets get Jamal Murray back from knee rehabilitation to join forces again with two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Phoenix has a core that has won more games than any team in the NBA over the last two regular seasons, though it enters this season with its franchise for sale as a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-nba-sports-mercury-basketball-5d41fac4d946eaa106cb8bdfd567c37e">result of owner Robert Sarver's conduct.</a>
All those clubs, and a few others, plan on contending.
&ldquo;Hopefully, we can take another step,&rdquo; Leonard said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all I can hope for.&rdquo;
The Celtics and Warriors took more steps than anyone last season, getting to the finals.
And then, they took steps back.
Golden State&rsquo;s preseason was turned on its head when Warriors forward Draymond Green punched guard <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-stephen-curry-63faa6d89a67f0a12fe7529d67e1eb1d">Jordan Poole</a> during a practice session, a story that got immeasurably worse when video of the incident was leaked to TMZ. Green was fined by the Warriors, took a few days away from the team, then returned last week.
That all came a few weeks after the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-sports-basketball-ime-udoka-0f04a614b82c497346a423d9da036521">Celtics suspended coach Ime Udoka</a> until June 30 after an investigation found he broke multiple team rules and was involved in an improper relationship with a female member of the organization.
Udoka, a feel-good story after going to the finals in his first year as a head coach, is being replaced by 34-year-old Joe Mazzulla for this season as the Celtics chase an 18th championship, one that would break a tie with the Lakers for the most in NBA history.
&ldquo;The great thing about this organization, the players that we have, and the season last year is we have a formula for what we know we need to do in order to get better every single day and get back to where we want to get to,&rdquo; Mazzulla said. &ldquo;As much as we can focus on that, we&rsquo;ll be in good shape.&rdquo;
There will be surprises. There will be injuries, probably some trades, maybe some firings along the way and presumably even some tanking &mdash; whether teams call it that or not &mdash; with hopes of enhancing their odds of winning the lottery and being able to draft <a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-nba-sports-635ed991a777e6ce48e1fb594d66c753">French teenage phenom Victor Wembanyama</a> next June.
Other teams, like the Warriors, also are thinking about June. Not for the draft, but because that&rsquo;s when a champion will be crowned.
&ldquo;We are on hopefully another nine-month journey,&rdquo; said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the reigning NBA Finals MVP. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s exciting. We&rsquo;re blessed to play this game at the highest level and understand that we still have an opportunity to win a couple more championships.&rdquo;

The NBA’s 77th season starts Tuesday night, and plenty of fresh-faced and upgraded teams are poised to make noise.

NBA 2022-23: Warriors out to defend, amid tons of contenders

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

American basketball star Brittney Griner testified at her drug possession trial in Russia that an interpreter translated only a fraction of what was being said while she was detained at Moscow&rsquo;s airport in February and that officials told her to sign documents, but &ldquo;no one explained any of it to me.&rdquo;
The testimony by Griner, came on the same day that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home the WNBA star and another jailed American, Paul Whelan in a sharp reversal of previous policy. Details of the proposal were not announced but Moscow has for years expressed interest in the release of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving 25 years in prison on charges he schemed to illegally sell millions of dollars in weapons.
Griner, testifying for the first time in her trial, also said that besides the poor translation at the airport, she received no explanation of her rights or access to a lawyer during the initial hours of her detention. She said she used a translation app on her phone to communicate with a customs officer.
Griner has been held since mid-February after police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She has pleaded guilty to the charges but says she had no criminal intent in bringing them into the country and packed in haste for her return to play in a Russian basketball league during the WNBA&rsquo;s offseason.
At one point in her testimony, her tone turned emotional as she said she has always followed the rules and tried to never let down her team.
&ldquo;My career is my whole life,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I dedicated everything -- time, my body, time away from my family. I spent six months out of the year away from everybody, and with a huge time difference.&rdquo;
Her arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of Russia sending troops into Ukraine later that month. The slow-moving trial and Griner&rsquo;s five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States, which has formally declared her to be &ldquo;wrongfully detained&rdquo; &mdash; a designation sharply rejected by Russian officials.
Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Trials in Russia proceed even after a guilty plea, and there has been speculation that her admission was a bid to move the legal process along in hopes of a possible prisoner swap.
At the start of Wednesday&rsquo;s session, Griner&rsquo;s lawyers asked that she be allowed to testify outside the cage that is standard for defendants in Russian courts, arguing it was too small for the 6-foot-9 (206-centimeter) athlete to testify while standing. The judge denied the request but allowed her to speak while seated.
During her testimony, the Phoenix Mercury standout and two-time Olympic gold medalist described making a grueling 13-hour flight to Moscow from Arizona while recovering from COVID-19. Griner said she still does not know how the cannabis oil ended up in her luggage but explained she had a doctor&rsquo;s recommendation for using it to address chronic pain from her sports injuries.
&ldquo;I still don&rsquo;t understand to this day how they ended up in my bags,&rdquo; Griner said, adding that she was aware of the Russian law outlawing cannabis oil and that she had not intended to break it.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have any intent to use or keep in my possession any substance that is prohibited in Russia,&rdquo; Griner said, adding that she understood the charges against her.
&ldquo;With them being accidentally in my bags, I take responsibility, but I did not intend to smuggle or plan to smuggle anything into Russia,&rdquo; she said.
She recalled being pulled aside at Moscow&rsquo;s Sheremetyevo Airport on Feb. 17 after inspectors found the cartridges.
Along with an interpreter who provided only a bare-bones translation, Griner said she received neither an explanation of her rights nor quick access to her lawyer, but instead was presented with some papers.
&ldquo;There were documents that I had to sign,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I can only assume that they were about the search and the cartridges.&rdquo;
A woman who presented herself as an interpreter only told her where to sign, but did not &ldquo;explain the contents,&rdquo; Griner said, and &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know exactly what I was signing.&rdquo;.
She said her rights &ldquo;were never read to me, no one explained any of it to me.&rdquo;
At one point, she got on her phone &ldquo;and I contacted my spouse, my sports agent and my club team&rsquo;s translator&rdquo; in Yekaterinburg, where she plays for a club in the Ural Mountains city.
&ldquo;Nothing was ever explained to me thoroughly at all,&rdquo; Griner said. &ldquo;There was a lot of short words &ndash; &lsquo;sign here&rsquo; - and at that point, I felt like being held against my will so that&rsquo;s why I contacted my family and my agent and asked for legal representation.&rdquo;
After several hours, she was finally allowed to hand over her personal belongings to a lawyer before being led away in handcuffs, Griner said. She said she received only a cursory translation of the charges against her during the investigation.
Griner described other instances of language confusion when an interpreter struggled to properly translate the accusations against her during a meeting with a detective.
&ldquo;The translations weren&rsquo;t very good,&rdquo; Griner said. &ldquo;I remember one time him receiving stacks of paper that he was supposed to translate to me, and he looked at them for a brief moment and (his) exact words were: &lsquo;Basically you are guilty.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Griner&rsquo;s lawyer, Maria Blagovolina, told reporters after Wednesday&rsquo;s session that Griner &ldquo;repeatedly underlined that she had no intention to bring the forbidden substances into Russia.&rdquo;
The next trial session was set for Aug. 2. Griner&rsquo;s trial began July 1 in the Moscow suburb of Khimki where the airport is located, and it is unclear how long it will last. The court has held five previous sessions that were short, and her detention has been authorized until Dec. 20.
On Tuesday, a Russian neuropsychologist testified about global use of medicinal cannabis, which is illegal in Russia. Griner&rsquo;s defense team has submitted to the court a U.S. doctor&rsquo;s letter recommending she use cannabis for pain.
Griner said Wednesday she used medicinal cannabis for relief from pain due to injuries sustained during her career, adding that it is widely used in the U.S. because it has fewer negative effects than some other painkillers
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said last week that the legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational use in parts of the U.S. had no bearing on what happens in Russia.
Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. Embassy&rsquo;s charge d&rsquo;affaires who has been attending the trial, said American officials &ldquo;are going to continue to monitor the case of Ms. Griner very closely, as well as the case of all U.S. citizens detained or in prison in Russia.&rdquo;

Brittney Griner testified Wednesday at her drug trial in Russia.

WNBA’s Griner tells drug trial: ‘My career is my whole life’

To understand why Damian Lillard is still with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022, examine why he enrolled at Weber State in 2008.
Weber State showed serious interest in Lillard before any other school. That resonated with Lillard, and when higher-profile schools came calling late in the recruiting process, he didn&rsquo;t forget how Weber State was the first one to believe in him.
So, he went there. And he stayed there. Fast forward to now: Portland was the team that drafted him a decade ago, and Lillard hasn&rsquo;t left there, either.
Lillard&rsquo;s tale is a reminder: NBA players may be more empowered now than ever before. They can align with their friends and form superteams. They can force trades (even though asking for one publicly is against league rules). They can get coaches fired.
Or they can do what Lillard has done, decide to stay in one place and try to win a ring instead of bouncing around from team to team and chase one.
And with the NBA waiting to see how the latest bit of big drama &mdash; Kevin Durant&rsquo;s request to be traded out of Brooklyn &mdash; plays out, Lillard hopes more will jump off the spinning carousel.
&ldquo;It shows that there&rsquo;s something there for being committed and having your heart in the right place and having your mind in the right place,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;Hopefully it&rsquo;ll have the impact going forward on players seeing that it doesn&rsquo;t have to be &lsquo;Oh, the media says this&rsquo; or &lsquo;Everybody is telling me this&rsquo; and you just get swayed into doing what everybody is trying to convince you to do, because nobody is going to have to live with those decisions like you will.&rdquo;
It also should be noted that Lillard, by staying in place, has maximized his earning potential. He came to Las Vegas and hit a jackpot this past weekend: Lillard signed a two-year, $122 million extension with the Trail Blazers on Saturday, a deal that will keep him until contract through the 2026-27 season.
By the time that season ends, he will have been paid $452 million in his career.
&ldquo;Superstars in our game today are different than in my generation, in the way that they&rsquo;re taking ownership of their careers,&rdquo; Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. &ldquo;And what I mean by that is there&rsquo;s a lot of superstars that will want to be somewhere and they&rsquo;ll find a way to get where they want to go.&rdquo;
Here&rsquo;s the full list of current players with at least 10 years in the NBA and have never changed teams: Miami&rsquo;s Udonis Haslem, Golden State&rsquo;s trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Washington&rsquo;s Bradley Beal, and Lillard. That&rsquo;s it.
They&rsquo;re doing it their way.
Others are choosing a different way and moving around when they think there's something better to be had.
Durant, if he gets traded and doesn&rsquo;t go back to Oklahoma City or Golden State, next season will be playing for a fourth different franchise. LeBron James has played with three franchises, winning titles with Miami, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chris Paul has played for five teams. James Harden has played for four. Russell Westbrook has played for four and Kyrie Irving has played for three. And if Westbrook and Irving get traded for one another, it&rsquo;ll be time to add another one to their totals.
That said, not every big name was filling out change-of-address cards this summer.
Zach LaVine returned to Chicago for more than $200 million over five years, a decision that made a ton of sense considering the Bulls could offer him $56 million more than any other team could. Beal got a new $251 million deal from Washington. Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic signed an extension with Denver worth $270 million.
&ldquo;We focus a lot on ensuring through a salary-cap system that teams, in essence, have the same fair opportunity to compete,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. &ldquo;And that is something we&rsquo;re always looking at as part of our system, something we are constantly talking to the Players Association about. And to me, that should be not just a concern shared by fans of all 30 teams but for all players in the league, all 450 players, presumably want an equal chance to win championships and be part of championship teams.&rdquo;
Lillard wants a ring. Everybody does. It would just mean more to him to win one in Portland than anyplace else.
So, he&rsquo;s staying.
&ldquo;Something that&rsquo;s missing in our league is the character and the fight and the passion and pride about not just the name on the back, but the name on the front and how you impact the people you come into contact with,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;I think because of how much I&rsquo;ve embraced that, and haven&rsquo;t pretended to embrace it, this just shows the power in that.&rdquo;

Damian Lillard hopes more of his NBA colleagues will jump off the spinning carousel of moving from team to team.

Damian Lillard shows NBA players have power to stay, too

At first glance, the Boston Celtics seem gridlocked in their ability to bring an NBA Finals contender over the top for next season. The Celtics will likely reside as a luxury tax-paying team, meaning they're already out of room to sign players aside from a modest $6.3 million mid-level exception, and their entire main rotation is under contract for next season.
So what can Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens do in his role as lead team-builder? Stevens has a few more cards to play in the form of Traded Player Exceptions, commonly abbreviated as TPEs.
Boston has been a TPE merchant in recent seasons, and the franchise's salary-cap dexterity has allowed it to make impactful moves on the fly without raw cap space. The Celtics are Exhibit A of how these exceptions can keep contenders flexible. With well over two-thirds of the league filled to the salary-cap brim this summer, TPEs are like a secret staircase for teams as they try to ascend to NBA glory.
So how exactly do they work, and which squads can take advantage this summer?
Trades in the NBA don't go down with perfectly balanced salary scales. So if one team sends out more salary, under the collective bargaining agreement, the difference becomes a Traded Player Exception. Teams can then absorb future player salaries from future trades into the exception, bypassing any constraints from the salary cap boundaries.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/trade-exceptions-what-they-are-and-why-they-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA.com's Steve Aschburner</a> compares the TPE to a gift card. The simile tracks in that TPEs can sort of "buy" player salaries, but they also expire one year after the trade initally creates them.
Here's a current example: Boston completed a sign-and-trade with the New York Knicks on July 18 of last summer, sending Evan Fournier to New York with a second-round pick in exchange for cash considerations. Because Boston traded Fournier's salary and received only the bag of cash back, it created a TPE that Spotrac values at around $17.1 million. The Celtics can now absorb a player (or multiple players) into that TPE via trade until July 18.
Seems like a smart move, right? Well, it is, but a TPE isn't just hacking the CBA. Rules and consequences exist. Here are some important ones (and check out a larger breakdown from <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessclassroom.com/listing-the-current-nba-trade-exceptions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Pincus</a>:
<ul>
<li>Teams cannot stack TPEs. For example, if the Celtics want to trade for LeBron James, they cannot combine all of their various exceptions into one super-TPE to absorb his salary. There is one trade exception per player salary.</li>
<li>TPEs do not supersede the hard cap (tax apron). This will particularly affect the Celtics because they are already approaching the hard cap, and might make the Fournier TPE, for example, less valuable than it's worth.</li>
</ul>
Though not a rule or a certainty, teams seeking to create a trade exception likely have to trade additional pieces to create it. The Knicks weren't going to simply let Boston make a TPE, so they managed to pick up an additional draft pick. Similarly, when Boston dealt Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets and created a massive, $28.5 million TPE, Charlotte also swiped two second-rounders from the Celtics.
Sometimes, trade exceptions are a natural byproduct of a deal. In other cases, they're the prize. Dozens of trade exceptions are littered around the league, but most are too small to be a realistic sponge for any player contract.
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Here are the teams with exceptions valued at over $5 million (figures provided by Spotrac), which could theoretically net a rotation-caliber player.
BOSTON CELTICS
So we've discussed the Celtics a bit already, but returning to the Fournier TPE, it's unlikely they use up the full $17.1 million (<a href="https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/evan-fournier-trade-exception/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt John elaborated on this at Heavy.com</a>). It could still add a rotation player who fulfills needs such as movement shooting, center depth and bench scoring. The Celtics also hold TPEs valued at $6.9 million (from trading Juancho Hernangomez to San Antonio) and $5.9 million (from trading Dennis Schroder to Houston).
Boston pulled this stunt last summer where it traded Tristan Thompson for Kris Dunn in a three-way trade with the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics used a $5 million TPE to absorb Dunn's salary, thus creating a larger TPE from Thompson, which they then&nbsp;used to absorb Daniel Theis' salary. That's one example of them finessing the system. But again, when you're up against the tax apron, your options become limited.
BROOKLYN NETS
The Nets have two plausible TPEs to use. One is an $11.3 million TPE in the fallout of the James Harden blockbuster. Brooklyn also holds a $6.3 million TPE created when they dealt DeAndre Jordan to the Pistons.
Brooklyn has some time to use the Harden TPE; it expires in February 2023. But the Jordan TPE perishes on Aug. 19.&nbsp;
Obviously, Brooklyn's roster situation is in flux with the rumors flying around <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-brooklyn-nets-kyrie-irving-nba-trade-rumors-offseason-los-angeles-lakers-la-clippers-new-york-knicks-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrie Irving</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-kevin-durant-brooklyn-nets-possible-destinations-rumors-phoenix-suns-miami-heat-boston-celtics-new-york-knicks-memphis-grizzlies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Durant</a>. Should the Nets extend Irving, they'll likely be hard-capped out, and won't be able to maximize these exceptions. Sean Marks and the front office cap-crunching team have their work cut out for them.&nbsp;
CHICAGO BULLS
Chicago has one trade exception, valued at $5 million, from when it sent Daniel Theis to the Rockets. It's unlikely this TPE becomes an asset of significance, but if the Bulls want to use it, they must do so by July 7.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
By trading Josh Richardson to Boston last summer, Dallas created a trade exception worth just under $10.9 million. That could be a helpful tool for the Mavericks, but it's literally expiring today! The Mavericks are flirting with being a hard-capped team, so unless something changes within minutes of writing this, the TPE will not yield a player.&nbsp;
DETROIT PISTONS
Detroit is going to, very briefly, hold a $9.2 million TPE by trading Jerami Grant to the Trail Blazers, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/detroit-pistons-acquire-veteran-kemba-walker-york-knicks/story?id=85620180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Bobby Marks.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;However, Marks reports that Kemba Walker, acquired in the draft-night move that also landed Jalen Duren, will have his salary absorbed into that TPE before being bought out. That's some quick maneuvering by the Pistons to acquire an exciting lottery talent in Duren.
INDIANA PACERS
Here's an interesting case. The Pacers have two notable TPEs in their holster: a $10.5 million exception from trading Jeremy Lamb to Sacramento, and a $7.3 million exception from trading Doug McDermott to San Antonio. Indiana is projected to be a rare team with significant cap space this offseason, and as a will-they-won't-they rebuilding squad, they could take several pathways with these exceptions.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_17834395_690w.jpg" alt="" />
Perhaps Indiana sees an opportunity to add two rotation players to the roster and make a push for the postseason. The playoffs feel unlikely with the current 2022-23 roster, but you never know, and Indiana does have a reputation for being stubbornly competitive.
Or &mdash; maybe the Pacers have a long-term vision and use these exceptions to take players on undesirable contracts, attached with draft picks or young players. It's a way for Indiana to build its draft chest without sacrificing flexibility. The McDermott exception expires on July 7, while the Lamb TPE poofs away in February 2023. I expect at least one, if not both, to be used.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers are another franchise that is essentially hard-capped out. But they do have two TPEs worth monitoring. One is a $9.7 million exception created in the Serge Ibaka deal this past February. The other comes from sending Rajon Rondo to the Memphis Grizzlies and is worth $8.3 million. Again, I'm skeptical of these being used, but they are worth mentioning for a playoff contender that won't be players in free agency for a while.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
The Pelicans created a $17 million trade exception last offseason when they sent Steven Adams to the Grizzlies. They've already reaped the rewards with their acquisition of Larry Nance Jr. New Orleans absorbed his $10.7 million salary into the TPE when it traded for him this past season. There's still about $6.4 million remaining, though, so the team could use it to add another player.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
In acquiring Jerami Grant on his $20 million salary, Portland maximized its large TPE from the CJ McCollum trade. The Blazers still have one more $6.9 million exception that could be of use. They're projected to have some cap space to work with, so it might be an opportunity to take extra advantage.
TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raptors have a few smaller exceptions, with the most notable being a $5.2 million TPE stemming from the Goran Dragic trade. Toronto is over the salary cap, but might be able to squeeze in a player with these constraints while staying under the luxury tax apron.&nbsp;
UTAH JAZZ
Trading Joe Ingles to Portland gave Utah a $9.7 million trade exception. Given that they need to find a spark after yet another disappointing playoff exit, the Jazz should find a way to use this exception, ideally on a perimeter defender or frontcourt player behind Rudy Gobert.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Washington owns three trade exceptions ranging between $3-6 million. While they can't stack them, the Wizards could use the $5.2 million TPE (created in dealing Montrezl Harrell to Charlotte) to add some guard or wing depth. As long as Bradley Beal is around, this franchise is hunting the playoffs, and the TPEs can help them get there.
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Ethan Fuller breaks down which NBA teams hold significant trade exceptions entering the 2022 offseason.

How does a trade exception work, and which NBA teams can use them?

Every day,&nbsp;BasketballNews.com&nbsp;gives you NBA betting analysis before tip-off. Make sure you subscribe to our daily podcast &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-but-bets/id1589799249" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zNxt0NQXPmKuryAdz89m0?si=1038d121100444fd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a>&nbsp;or wherever you listen to podcasts. This season, &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; is up thousands of dollars on PrizePicks.
Without further ado, let&rsquo;s dive into our favorite NBA betting plays for Saturday's slate.
Cleveland Cavaliers (-2) vs. Chicago Bulls
This matchup has turned into one with massive implications within the division. The Bulls have really seen the wind sink from their sails over the last month-plus, which is the exact opposite of what they want before the postseason. Meanwhile, Cleveland continues to stay afloat behind their dynamic duo of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. At home, we love the Cavaliers in this spot. Garland should pile up the stats, plus Mobley will be able to deter shots consistently around the rim.
Pick: Cavaliers -2
PrizePicks Power Play: DeMar DeRozan over 25.5 points, Evan Mobley over 15.5 points, Nikola Vucevic over 10 rebounds, Darius Garland over 9.5 assists
Brooklyn Nets (-4) vs. Miami Heat
Finally, Kyrie Irving is set to become a full-time player after New York City changed its rules around unvaccinated players. Now, Brooklyn is set to become a major threat within the Eastern Conference. Against the slumping Heat, Irving and Kevin Durant are primed for monster performances. Miami isn&rsquo;t in a rhythm right now, and facing Brooklyn&rsquo;s superstar duo is not the ideal recipe to bounce back. Hammer the Nets in this spot as 4-point favorites in South Beach.
Pick: Nets -4
PrizePicks Power Play (No Heat props currently available): Kyrie Irving over 27.5 points, Kevin Durant over 27.5 points
Denver Nuggets (-15.5) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
As &ldquo;Nothing But Bets&rdquo; longtime listeners know by now, we love betting on the Thunder when the spread is massive. In this case, we're looking at a monster 15.5-point favorite line for the Nuggets in Denver. However, we&rsquo;re going against that trend today for a few reasons. First off, Oklahoma City is full-on tanking with so many players out due to injury, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Another item of note: the Nuggets are going to play angry after their loss earlier this week against the Phoenix Suns. Expect one of those special performances from Nikola Jokic, which should lead to a blowout win for the Nuggets.
Pick: Nuggets -15.5
PrizePicks Power Play (No Thunder props currently available): Nikola Jokic over 23.5 points, Aaron Gordon over 6 rebounds
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For a big Saturday slate in the NBA. "Nothing But Bets" provides their favorites picks and prop plays.

Jules