Troll Kingdom

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

*NBA (2)*

images

National Basketball Association
*****************
 

Adam Silver defends new tax apron: Helps all teams compete​

"What I'm hearing from teams, even as the second apron is moving to kick in, the teams are realizing there are real teeth in those provisions," he said. "I don't know how to view this, but I know reports have come out that the summer was boring from a fan standpoint. I don't certainly think it was. We still saw a lot of critically important players moving from one team to another as free agents.

Click Here For Full Story
 
Magic co-founder, longtime NBA exec Pat Williams dies at 84
Williams started his NBA career as business manager of the Phildelphia 76ers in 1968, Williams was general manager in Orlando until being promoted to senior vice president in 1996. The league's board of governors granted an expansion franchise in 1987, and the team began play in 1989.

Sources: Lakers adding Lindsey Harding to JJ Redick's staff
Harding, 40, has made a steady climb onto the NBA bench after retiring from a nine-year WNBA playing career. Harding was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 WNBA draft. She reached the Western Conference finals in her one season in Stockton after working as a player development coach with the Sixers and Kings.

**********
Harding interviewed for the Carolina Hornets' head-coaching job that ultimately went to Charles Lee, sources said.
 
Grizzlies trade former lottery pick Ziaire Williams to Nets
Williams has averaged 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 150 games for the Grizzlies in his three NBA seasons. Williams, 22, has had a limited role since going 10th overall in the 2021 draft out of Stanford.

Cavaliers, Evan Mobley agrees to 5-year, 224M extension
Mobley averaged 15.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks last season for Cleveland, while also posting career-high shooting percentages: 57.9% overall, 37.3% from 3 and 71.9% from the free throw line.

**********
Mobley, 23, has quickly become one of the league's elite young defensive big men, finishing third in voting for Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 as well as being named an All-Defensive first-teamer.
 
Celtics' Sam Hauser agrees to 4-year, $45 million extension
One of the NBA's most accurate 3-point shooters' Hauser shot 42.4% on 3-pointers last season, fourth best among players with 400-plus attempts. For his career, he has shot 42.2% from 3-point range. Hauser became the third player in Celtics history to make 10 three-pointers in a game last season, joining Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.

Los Angeles Lakers ends Bronny James summer league run
He finished summer league on an upward trajectory after a dismal start, scoring 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting over his final two games. That included making 3 of 8 baskets from 3-point range after going 0 for 15 in his first four games.
 

Warner Bros. Discovery to match Amazon Prime offer for NBA rights​

Turner Sports intends to continue its longtime relationship with the NBA. Warner Bros. Discovery informed the league Monday that it will match the $1.8 billion per year offer by Amazon Prime Video. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984, and games have been on TNT since the network launched in 1988. The NBA's board of governors approved the league's 11-year media rights deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video at its meeting in Las Vegas last Tuesday. WBD received all three contracts Wednesday, which started the five-day clock for whether it wanted to match. The new deals -- collectively worth $76 billion -- will begin with the 2025-26 season, and they include a game being aired or streamed nationally every night during the second half of the season.

Click Here For Full Story
 
Sources: Reggie Jackson to sign with Philadelphia 76ers
Jackson, 34, averaged 17.8 points on 40% 3-point shooting in the Clippers' 2021 run to the Western Conference finals. He spent the past two postseasons with the Nuggets, winning a championship in 2023 and averaging 9.8 minutes in 12 playoff games this year. He's played 87 postseason games in his career in stops with Oklahoma City, Detroit, the Clippers and Denver.

Sources: Knicks, coach Tom Thibodeau reach 3-year extension
The Knicks are Thibodeau's third head-coaching stop in the NBA, including runs with the Chicago Bulls (2010-2015) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (2016-2019). He is 527-389 (.575) in 13 overall seasons, including 38-47 (.447) in the playoffs.
 

Wells Fargo to end naming rights deal with Sixers,' Flyers' arena​

The home of the Philadelphia Flyers and the 76ers-- well, the Sixers, for now -- will soon need a new name. Banking giant Wells Fargo says it will not renew its naming rights deal with the arena in the South Philadelphia sports complex that has served as home to the city's NHL and NBA teams, most major entertainment touring acts, two political conventions, WrestleMania, lacrosse, college basketball and countless other events. Wells Fargo said Wednesday it will not renew its deal with building owner and operator Comcast Spectacor -- the parent company of the Flyers -- when it expires in August 2025.

The arena, originally named CoreStates Center, opened in 1996 and has been the home to Philly sports stars such as Allen Iverson, Eric Lindros and Joel Embiid , as well as NCAA tournament games. The building has carried a number of names, including the First Union Center in 1998 and Wachovia Center in 2003. Wells Fargo bought out Wachovia and posted its name on the roughly 21,000-seat building in 2010. Wells Fargo paid a reported $1.4 million annually as part of the naming rights deal. Wells Fargo said it's one of the largest private employers with nearly 4,000 employees across the state and remains committed to the area.

Click Here For Full Story
 
Barkley rebounds?. TNT star might mull new job
The most interesting potential free agent target in the NBA might be a 61-year-old who retired nearly 25 years ago. Barkley said that retirement is still the likely option after TNT's upcoming final season broadcasting the NBA but that he would be "stupid" not to listen to offers from other networks.

Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA over losing rights ro Amazon
The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court, and a summons obtained by ESPN stated that the NBA has 20 days to respond.

**********
On July 17, TBS said the NBA presented the offer it was willing to accept from Amazon. Then, on July 22, TBS said it responded to the NBA and matched the terms of that offer, which the league declined to accept.
 
Sources: 2nd Kobe Bryant statue to be unveiled outside Lakers' arena
The statue is the second of three planned monuments to the Los Angeles Lakers legend, who died in a tragic helicopter crash along with Gigi and seven others in January 2020. The first statue, a 19-foot bronze memorial to Bryant's 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors, was unveiled on Feb. 8.

**********
Friday's date (8/2/24) holds similar numerology meaning to the February ceremony (2/8/24), representing both of Bryant's uniform numbers (8 and 24) and the No. 2 that 13-year-old Gigi wore on the basketball court.

Gordon Hayward ends NBA career after 14 season
Last season, Hayward averaged 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 51 games with the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

**********
A versatile forward, Hayward -- the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz-- was an All-Star in 2017 with Utah before signing with the Boston Celtics as a free agent that summer.
 

All-Star Lauri Markkanen signs 5-year, $238M deal with Jazz​

Utah Jazz All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen has signed a five-year, $238 million contract renegotiation and extension -- including $220 million in new money, his agent Michael Lelchitski of Sports International Group told ESPN on Wednesday. Markkanen, who had one year, $18 million left on his contract, used the Jazz's salary cap space to increase his 2024-25 salary another $24 million and agreed on another four years and $196 million that include no options, Lelchitski told ESPN. Markkanen has blossomed in his two seasons with Jazz, where he has been the cornerstone of the franchise's rebuild. He's averaged 24.5 points in two seasons with Utah -- after averaging 15.4 points in his first five seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. He won the NBA's Most Improved Player award in the 2022-23 season, and made his first All-Star team that season.

Markkanen is one of three 7-footers to make 1,000 3-pointers in NBA history, including Dirk Nowitzki and Channing Frye, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He's the only 7-footer to make 175 3-pointers in multiple seasons in league history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Click Here For Full Story
 

Mavs at Warriors highlights opening night of NBA Cup schedule​

Klay Thompson's return to the Bay Area will come on the first night of the 2024-25 Emirates NBA Cup schedule. Thompson and his new team, the Dallas Mavericks, will face the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Nov. 12, part of the full NBA Cup schedule unveiled Tuesday. The rest of the NBA regular-season schedule will be revealed Thursday on ESPN's "NBA Today." The future Hall of Fame guard, who formed the greatest shooting backcourt in NBA history alongside Stephen Curry, signed a three-year, $50 million deal with Dallas this offseason and will now go back to the place he called home for the first 13 seasons of his career.

Like last year, the NBA Cup's group stage games will be played on Tuesdays (Nov. 12, 19, 26 and Dec. 3, with nationally televised games on TNT) and Fridays (Nov. 15, 22 and 29, with nationally televised games on ESPN). On those days, the only games being played will be NBA Cup contests. Every team will play four group stage games, facing every other team in their group once (two home, two road). The groups, which were drawn last month based off last year's regular-season standings, are as follows:

Click Here For Full Story
 

Mavs at Warriors highlights opening night of NBA Cup schedule​

Klay Thompson's return to the Bay Area will come on the first night of the 2024-25 Emirates NBA Cup schedule. Thompson and his new team, the Dallas Mavericks, will face the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Nov. 12, part of the full NBA Cup schedule unveiled Tuesday. The rest of the NBA regular-season schedule will be revealed Thursday on ESPN's "NBA Today." The future Hall of Fame guard, who formed the greatest shooting backcourt in NBA history alongside Stephen Curry, signed a three-year, $50 million deal with Dallas this offseason and will now go back to the place he called home for the first 13 seasons of his career.

Like last year, the NBA Cup's group stage games will be played on Tuesdays (Nov. 12, 19, 26 and Dec. 3, with nationally televised games on TNT) and Fridays (Nov. 15, 22 and 29, with nationally televised games on ESPN). On those days, the only games being played will be NBA Cup contests. Every team will play four group stage games, facing every other team in their group once (two home, two road). The groups, which were drawn last month based off last year's regular-season standings, are as follows:

Click Here For Full Story

NBA Cup Schedule Highlights
MATCHUPDATE
Knicks at 76ersNov. 12
Mavericks at WarriorsNov. 12
Lakers at SpursNov. 15
Grizzlies at WarriorsNov. 15
Cavaliers at CelticsNov. 19
Thunder at SpursNov. 19
Pacers at BucksNov. 22
Mavericks at NuggetsNov. 22
Bucks at HeatNov. 26
Lakers at SunsNov. 26
Clippers at TimberwolvesNov. 29
Thunder at LakersNov. 29
Knicks at HornetsNov. 29
Cavaliers at HawksNov. 29
Pelicans at GrizzliesNov. 29
Magic at KnicksDec. 3
Warriors at NuggetsDec. 3
Quarterfinals (at higher seed)Dec. 10-11
Semifinals (Las Vegas)Dec. 14
Championship (Las Vegas)Dec. 17
 
NBA teams take over social media with 2024-2025 schedule release
The 2024-25 NBA schedule release has arrived, with marquee matchups on opening night.

Knicks-Celtics kicks off 2024-25 NBA season on Oct 22
The Knicks finished second in the Eastern Conference last season -- 14 games behind the first-place Celtics -- but were plagued by injuries in the postseason and lost in the conference semifinals to the Pacers, who were then swept by the Celtics in the conference finals. - The Celtics finished with the NBA's best record (64-18) last season before going 16-3 in the postseason, rolling to the 18th championship in franchise history and their first since 2008.
 

Sources: Guerschon Yabusele joins 76ers after breakout Olympics​

The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million deal with forward Guerschon, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, after he played a big role in France's run to the silver medal at the Olympics earlier this month. Yabusele, a bruising 6-foot-8, 260-pound power forward who was a 2016 first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics, Yabusele, 28, was a breakout star in France's run to the Olympic gold medal game, scoring 22, 17 and 20 points against Canada, Germany and the United States, respectively. Across those three games, Yabusele shot a blistering 16-for-24 (66.7%) from the field. Yabusele played sparingly across two seasons for the Celtics before being waived in the summer of 2019. After playing a season in China, he spent parts of two seasons at ASVEL in France -- a team owned by Hall of Famer Tony Parker -- before signing with Real Madrid in the summer of 2021. Yabusele spent the past three years with the Spanish giants, helping them win the EuroLeague title in 2023 and make the competition's final four each season. This past season, he averaged 9.6 points and shot 43% from 3-point range on 2.6 attempts per game.

Click Here For Full Story
 
NBA free agent 2024: Latest signing, news, buzz and reports
With the NBA Finals and draft complete, the league's top decision-makers continue to make key additions through the free agency and trade landscape. The free agency window opened on June 30, and teams and players are making moves in what has already been an impactful summer of deals and contract extensions.

**********
Aug. 18
12:42 p.m. ET: The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million deal with forward Guerschon Yabusele on Sunday, after he played a big role in France's run to the silver medal at the Olympics earlier this month.
Aug 14
10:00 a.m. ET: Free agent guard Patty Mills has agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Utah Jazz. Mills will reunite with coach Will Hardy for his 16th NBA season.
 
Sexual assault lawsuit against Dwight Howard dropped
The dismissal came Monday in Gwinnett County Court in Georgia and was filed by Stephen Harper, who initially filed the lawsuit against Howard in July 2023. In Monday's filing, Harper dismissed all the claims he had asserted against Howard with prejudice, meaning he cannot refile a lawsuit on those claims.

**********
Howard, 38, last played in the NBA in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is an eight-time All-Star and a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Al Attles, former Warriors player, coach, GM, dies at 87
Attles coached the Warriors from 1970 to 1983, leading them to the 1975 NBA championship with a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets. His 557 coaching wins are most in franchise history. He later served as general manager for three seasons and held roles in the front office as vice president and consultant. The 6-foot guard averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 711 games with the Warriors over 11 seasons, and his No. 16 jersey was retired by the franchise.

**********
He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2019. Attles was previously honored by the Hall of Fame with the John R. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
 
Top