6:29 PM ET Kawhi Leonard will remain with the LA Clippers long term after re-signing with the team Thursday, the team announced. Terms of the deal weren’t revealed by the Clippers, but a source confirmed with ESPN that Leonard signed a four-year, $176.3 million max deal that includes a player option in the fourth year.
NBA
7:30 AM ET ON JULY 18, 2002, Kobe Bryant approached Rucker Park, the streetball institution in Harlem. He wore a powder blue sleeveless shirt and dark shades; an oversized key-pendant swung from his chain with each step. Onlookers sprinted toward the park’s metal fencing, meant to separate superstars from the streets, to catch a glimpse.
6:43 PM ET Former NBA standout JR Smith has enrolled at North Carolina A&T and intends to join the historically black university’s men’s golf team if he gets cleared by the NCAA, the university confirmed on Wednesday. North Carolina A&T athletics spokesman Brian Holloway told ESPN that Smith is officially enrolled in the school and
6:31 PM ET The Brooklyn Nets are hiring former Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford as a coaching consultant, sources told ESPN. In his consulting role, Clifford — who was the most sought-after assistant in the marketplace — will be with the team periodically throughout the 2021-2022 season. Clifford has history with Nets
1:20 PM ET Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Becky Hammon can’t wait for the time when it’s normal for women to interview for head-coaching positions in the NBA and their gender isn’t the story. “It’s huge and important. It’s something that can’t be [checking] the box,” the Spurs assistant told The Associated Press. “You have
1:38 AM ET ESPN News Services In a featured showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks, it was Jalen Green who received more offensive help from his teammates in the Houston Rockets‘ 111-91 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Green — the
10:24 PM ET While Russell Westbrook spent the first decade of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, maturing from first-round pick to All-Star to league MVP, the thought of returning to Los Angeles someday to play for his hometown Lakers seemed further and further from reality. “Being from L.A., you always wish that you
7:12 PM ET Free-agent point guard Dennis Schroder is headed to the Boston Celtics, he announced Tuesday on his Instagram account. The deal is for one year and will be for the $5.9 million exception, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Schroder, 27, turned down the maximum extension the Los Angeles Lakers were eligible to offer
4:09 PM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — General manager Mitch Kupchak knows the Charlotte Hornets haven’t found a long-term answer at center yet. But he’s not necessarily worried. Kupchak said the plan is to develop the team’s three young centers in hopes that at least one blossoms into a star in the next couple
11:01 AM ET Early Tuesday morning, members of the Dallas Mavericks met with star guard Luka Doncic in a Slovenian hotel to officially put pen to paper on a five-year, $207 million contract extension. And hours later they were on a stage to announce it, with Doncic saying he “never had a doubt” about signing
9:23 PM ET It didn’t take any intricate pitch for LeBron James to convince his friend of more than 20 years, Carmelo Anthony, to join him on the Los Angeles Lakers. No digging into the minutia about playing time or role. No selling the off-court opportunities that L.A. provides. Just a friend telling another friend
8:27 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Spencer Dinwiddie is following some impressive players as the point guard in Washington. That’s a role occupied by Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Gilbert Arenas for much of the past two decades. “I’m not Gilbert, John or Russ. Those are all dudes with very interesting personalities,” Dinwiddie said
8:58 PM ET Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Mike Conley returned to Utah to help the Jazz finish what they started last season. Conley represents Utah’s biggest signing in free agency, agreeing to a three-year deal worth $68.04 million on the first day free agents could negotiate with NBA teams. Multiple teams showed interest
5:47 PM ET Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has agreed to sign a landmark five-year, $207 million supermax rookie extension, his agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports told ESPN on Monday. Doncic, one of the most accomplished players in NBA history at 22 years old and rapidly evolving into the future face of the league,
10:33 PM ET James Jackson Free-agent guard Isaiah Thomas remains an impressive shot-maker despite being four years removed from his All-NBA days. The two-time All-Star scored 81 points in the Crawsover Pro-Am in Seattle on Sunday. His point total, of course, matches the second-highest single-game mark in NBA history set by the late, great Kobe
5:54 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAS VEGAS — The NBA announced Sunday afternoon ahead of the start of its annual Summer League here that it will begin enforcing the rule changes enacted this offseason to curb players attempting to use non-basketball moves to draw fouls. In a series of tweets from its NBA Official account
2:12 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAS VEGAS — The NBA announced Sunday afternoon that the summer league game between the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers has been postponed because of health and safety protocols. Because the Wizards had several players in contact tracing, they didn’t have enough players available to play Sunday night against Indiana
6:04 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been elected as the president of the National Basketball Players Association, succeeding two-term president Chris Paul, sources told ESPN. McCollum has been a vice president on the NBPA’s executive committee since 2018 and has been deeply involved in union decision-making and negotiations with the NBA.