City of Las Vegas

Adam Silver On Wolves Dispute, Porter Investigation, More

April 10th, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Speaking to the media on Wednesday following a two-day meeting of the league’s Board of Governors, commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA likely won’t get involved in the Timberwolves‘ ownership dispute between current majority shareholder Glen Taylor and minority stakeholders Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“It’s not clear whether there will be a role for the league to get involved,” Silver said. “… They have a purchase agreement and there’s a dispute now in the purchase agreement and in their purchase agreement, they, in essence, pre-agreed to a dispute resolution mechanism that includes mediation and arbitration, and that’s where it stands.

“There is no role for the league in that process.”

At Taylor’s request, Lore and Rodriguez agreed to buy the Timberwolves in three parts over multiple years. Lore and Rodriguez made the first two payments and currently control a 36% stake in the franchise, but Taylor voided the contract when he said the duo didn’t complete their final purchase option for another 40% on March 27. Silver suggested the unique structure of the deal may not permitted in future ownership transactions.

“It’s certainly not ideal to have a stepped transaction like this,” Silver said. “I mean, it met our rules from that standpoint. And it’s what Glen Taylor wanted and it’s what they were willing to agree to at the time. But I think once the dust clears on this deal, it may cause us to reassess what sort of transactions we should allow.”

Here’s more from Silver’s press conference, which covered several other topics:

Raptors big man Jontay Porter, who is on a two-way deal, is under league investigation following multiple instances of betting irregularities related to his on-court performance. According to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press, Silver said Porter could be permanently barred from the NBA if what he’s accused of is discovered to be true. “I have enormous range of discipline available to me,” Silver said. “It’s cardinal sin what he’s accused of in the NBA. The ultimate extreme option I have is to ban him from the game. That’s the level of authority I have here because there’s nothing more serious.” Porter has been listed as out for personal reasons for the past 10 games.
The NBA has multiple partnerships with gambling companies. Silver suggested the incident may cause the league to reevaluate those relationships going forward, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “At the end of the day, there’s nothing more important than the integrity of the competition,” Silver said. “And so, any issue raised around that is of great concern to me and to all commissioners, to all people who are safeguards, who are all people who are in a position and have a responsibility to safeguard the game. Again, this is a burgeoning industry in the United States. It’s been legal in other places in the world for decades. There’s lessons to be learned from the way that sports betting is monitored and regulated in other jurisdictions. And again, I think as these unfortunate examples come along, we may have to adjust our rules and our partner gaming companies and those companies that aren’t our partners may have to adjust their behavior as well.”
Silver said foul calls are down about four per game since the All-Star break and that’s something the league is pleased about, Mahoney writes. “I think there was a sense earlier in the season that there was too much of an advantage for the offensive players,” Silver said as part of a larger quote. “But again, the context is two fouls per team per game, and the end result, most importantly, we think is a better game.”
According to Mahoney, Silver once again reiterated that expansion won’t be on the table until the league finishes a new media rights deal. While Seattle and Las Vegas have long been rumored as frontrunners to land new teams, Silver said no talks have begun and “no one has an inside track to getting a deal done.”
Silver said star players have averaged 15% more games played this season with the additions of the player participation policy and 65-game requirements, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The NBA will set an attendance record in ’23/24 as well, Silver added.

Latest On Timberwolves’ Ownership Situation

March 29th, 2024 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Current Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor and the Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez-led group that expected to take over control of the team have a difference of opinion over whether the prospective owners should have been granted an extension on Wednesday’s deadline to finalize the sale, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

As Hine explains, language in the sale agreement indicated that the March 27 deadline could have been extended by 90 days if the two sides were awaiting NBA approval to complete the deal. A source tells The Star Tribune that Lore and Rodriguez submitted paperwork to the league last week to complete the agreement and believed a 90-day extension should have been granted in order to give the NBA time to make its decision.

However, Taylor stated that an agreement between him and the Lore/Rodriguez group needed to be completed before the league could approve it, and he believes no such deal was in place.

“They didn’t meet our obligations, so we’re just saying the deal is off,” Taylor said. “But even if we said, ‘OK, we think we have a deal with you,’ they have to start all over and go to the league and the league has to approve of them. … That’s no guarantee.”

According to Patrick Reusse of The Star Tribune, Taylor also pushed back on reports claiming that his relationship with Lore and Rodriguez has “deteriorated” over the past couple years.

“I don’t know if that’s accurate,” he told Reusse. “Lore told me he has been busy 24/7 with other projects. And A-Rod — he has a lot of people to meet when he’s at a game. The deadline had been pushed back, and they missed it. That’s what led to this.”

Taylor also acknowledged that litigation is a possibility if Lore and Rodriguez want to pursue their claim to ownership: “Everyone has the right to bring in the lawyers.”

Here’s more on the Timberwolves’ ownership drama:

According to Reusse, Taylor dismissed the idea that an increase in NBA franchise valuations over the past two to three years led to his decision to strictly enforce Wednesday’s deadline and nix the sale. “Not for me,” said Taylor, who initially agreed to sell the Wolves for a $1.5 billion valuation. “My money’s going to the Taylor Foundation, not in my pocket. But my limited (partners), they might be happy if the Timberwolves are sold later for a higher price.”
On the other hand, a statement Taylor gave to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) didn’t exactly put to bed the idea that the longtime Wolves owner is experiencing seller’s remorse. “I just think (we) built this team,” Taylor said in explaining why he’s not putting the team back on the market. “We’ve got the players now. And it appears to me that we should have a very positive run for a number of years, and I want to be a part of that.”
Reusse’s Star Tribune column on the situation includes several more tidbits of note, including Taylor specifying that the Lore/Rodriguez group currently owns 36% of the team. “I will work with them, as I do with my other limited (partners),” Taylor said. The 82-year-old also repeated a point he’s made before, telling Reusse that if he was concerned about maximizing his payout, he could’ve agreed to sell the Wolves to an owner that wasn’t committed to keeping the franchise in Minnesota. “We could’ve gotten $2.5 billion paid upfront, but that person was going to try to move the team to Las Vegas,” Taylor said.
Josh Kosman and Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post take an in-depth look at why the deal didn’t go through, suggesting that Lore was “laser-focused” in recent months on his gourmet food delivery-company Wonder and left the final stage of the process largely to Rodriguez. According to The Post’s sources, Lore put more money in during the group’s first two rounds of payments and wanted Rodriguez to invest more this time around to “catch up,” so it was left to A-Rod to raise capital.
Sources tell Kosman and Glasspiegel that Rodriguez was trying to sell interests at a valuation of over $2 billion, rather than his $1.5 billion valuation, which diminished enthusiasm among potential investors to some extent, especially since those investors would be playing “second fiddle” within the ownership hierarchy. While A-Rod eventually raised the money necessary – the equity fund Blue Owl HomeCourt made an investment, per Hine, after the NBA rejected The Carlyle Group, per The Post – “the whole process was delayed” and went down to the wire, according to Kosman and Glasspiegel.
Mike Conley said today that the ownership situation doesn’t have much of an impact at this time on the Timberwolves’ players, who are focused on their Friday matchup with the rival Nuggets, tweets Hine. “Maybe it affects the image of the team, the aura of the team around a little bit,” Conley said. “But as far as the players are concerned, I think we just are like, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’ Then we got back to watching film and worrying about (Nikola) Jokic, Jamal Murray, and (Michael) Porter and those guys.”

And-Ones: 2024 Offseason, Vegas, Mudiay, Forbes, More

February 15th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA had a busy trade deadline, but there were no blockbuster deals completed last week, with role players like Buddy Hield, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Gordon Hayward among the biggest names who were on the move. However, according to Howard Beck of The Ringer, executives around the league are expecting more fireworks during the 2024 offseason.

“There will be a lot of parts moved this offseason,” one Eastern Conference executive told Beck. “There’s going to be some options, some high-level guys that ask to get moved.”

As Beck writes, this spring’s playoff results could have a significant impact on what the trade market looks like this offseason. If a team with expectations of a deep playoff run gets bounced early, rival executives will be watching closely to see if that team’s stars have a wandering eye. The Lakers (LeBron James), Suns (Kevin Durant), and Cavaliers (Donovan Mitchell) are among the examples Beck provides, with one exec predicting that “there’s no doubt” Mitchell leaves Cleveland at the end of his current contract in 2025.

There will also be franchises with increasingly expensive rosters who may begin to feel pressure to make a move to generate more financial flexibility or to avoid committing to a pricey luxury tax bill, Beck notes, identifying the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Pelicans as some of the teams that rivals will be monitoring.

Beck is also the latest reporter to say that executives around the NBA believe Trae Young‘s name will pop up in trade rumors this offseason. One Western Conference exec told Beck, “I think they would love to trade Trae,” while another said the Hawks discussed a potential Young deal with the Spurs prior to last Thursday’s deadline.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Appearing on ESPN on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver once again stated that Las Vegas is “definitely on our list” of markets that will receive consideration for the next round of expansion, according to The Associated Press. “We want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like but then we will turn to expansion,” Silver said.
Former NBA lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay has signed with Piratas de Quebradillas, according to an Instagram post from the Puerto Rican team. Mudiay, who also played in Puerto Rico’s BSN league last season for Cangrejeros de Santurce, was the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft and has appeared in over 300 NBA games, most recently with Sacramento in 2021/22.
Former NBA sharpshooter Bryn Forbes has been arrested on a family violence charge, per an Associated Press report. Forbes, who was also arrested last February following a domestic incident, was jailed on Tuesday in San Antonio on a charge of assaulting a family member by choking/strangulation, which is considered a third-degree felony. The 30-year-old hasn’t been in the NBA since he was waived by Minnesota a year ago.
With G League Ignite prospect Ron Holland unable to participate in All-Star weekend due to a thumb injury, the NBA has announced that Cavaliers two-way forward Emoni Bates will replace him in the Rising Stars game (press release) and that Bulls two-way center Adama Sanogo will take his place in the G League Up Next game (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Bronny, In-Season Tournament, Las Vegas, SGA

December 11th, 2023 at 1:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bronny James was grateful to be playing in a basketball game again Sunday, less than five months after he suffered cardiac arrest, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. With LeBron James in attendance to watch his son’s USC debut, Bronny totaled four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 16 minutes in a loss to Long Beach State. He came off the bench and played under a minutes restriction.

“I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,” Bronny said in his first public comment since the July 24 health scare. “Mayo Clinic, everything they helped me with, my parents, siblings for supporting me through this hard time in my life. I just want to give appreciation to everyone that’s helped me through this. Also, my coach, my teammates, all my other coaches. They’ve been with me since the start and I just want to say I’m thankful for them.”

LeBron posted an Instagram message expressing pride in his son and saying he’s already won the “ultimate goal/championship.” Bronny didn’t receive medical clearance to start playing again until November 30. He participated in full-contact practices Thursday and Friday in preparation for Sunday’s game.

“Everybody’s been through a lot emotionally,” Trojans coach Andy Enfield said. “Bronny the most. He’s handled it very well. And anytime you go through an emotional situation, it’s nice to have teammates and staff that care. And I thought his teammates did a great job with Bronny and he’s back now and we’re all excited for him.”

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The NBA is happy with the reception for its first in-season tournament, but changes are likely on the way. Tim Bontemps of ESPN reviews several alterations being considered, including a more substantial prize for the winner, increased financial incentives for players and coaches, toned-down court designs, a new name, potential changes to group play and tie-breakers, and a different way of scheduling the teams that fail to advance.
Las Vegas turned out to be a perfect host for the tournament’s final four, according to Barry M. Bloom of Sportico (subscription required). Although commissioner Adam Silver hasn’t determined if any of next year’s games will be played in Vegas, Bloom notes that there’s no other neutral site with the glamour to make it an attraction for NBA players. He adds that Saturday’s title contest attracted 19,021, and the semifinals and final brought in a total of 53,875 people.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won the 2023 Northern Star award, which recognizes Canada’s top athlete, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. After earning his first All-Star and All-NBA (First Team) nods in 2022/23, the 25-year-old was named to the All-Star 5 at the World Cup, leading the Canadian national team to its first-ever medal finish at the event, claiming the bronze after defeating the favored Americans. As Smith writes, Gilgeous-Alexander also helped Team Canada clinch a spot in the Olympics for the first time since 2000. Hall-of-Famer Steve Nash is the only other basketball player to claim the Northern Star, Smith notes, with the former MVP point guard winning back in 2005.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Bronny, I. Thomas, Las Vegas, Livingston

December 10th, 2023 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

After practicing with his Trojans teammates multiple times this week, Bronny James has been cleared to make his collegiate debut and will be available on Sunday for USC vs. Long Beach State, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

A freshman guard, Bronny is the son of Lakers superstar LeBron James and had been considered a possible lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft before suffering cardiac arrest in July. Less than five months after that health incident, he’s poised to return to the court.

According to USC head coach Andy Enfield, Bronny will come off the bench and will be on a minutes limit.

“It’s just going to be a feel for how the game’s going, how he’s playing, how he feels physically,” Enfield said last week. “[Sunday will] be very emotional for him as well as his teammates. But as the game progresses, I think he’ll settle in, and we’ll just play it half by half and see where he is.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Within a larger conversation about his induction into the University of Washington’s Husky Hall of Fame, veteran guard Isaiah Thomas tells Mat Issa of Forbes that he’s still hoping to make an NBA comeback. “I’m still trying to play the game of basketball. I want to get back to the NBA,” Thomas said. “So, I’m still working out and staying ready.”
With the NBA considering potential tweaks to the in-season tournament for 2024, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that the league only had a one-year agreement with Las Vegas, so there’s no guarantee the final four will be played at T-Mobile Arena again next year. That said, the NBA is obviously fond of the market and players seemed enthusiastic about the idea of traveling to Vegas for the IST semifinals and final.
On the subject of Las Vegas, Chris Mannix of SI.com argues that NBA expansion to Sin City is inevitable, writing that it’s a matter of “when” rather than “if.”
Former NBA guard Shaun Livingston has joined the National Basketball Players Association in a player engagement role, according to Amick (Twitter link). Livingston and Andre Iguodala, the NBPA’s new acting executive director, were teammates for several years in Golden State.

Woj: LeBron Already Working Toward Owning Expansion Team In Vegas

December 9th, 2023 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James isn’t just discussing the possibility of owning an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, he’s already trying to make it happen, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said tonight on NBA Countdown (video link).

“He has been active behind the scenes and on a regular basis now in meetings with his advisors planning with a group about what a franchise would look like, how an organization would run and then obviously the finances,” Wojnarowski said. “It is going to be an expensive proposition to get an expansion team in this next round.”

Wojnarowski adds that one potential obstacle for an ownership group led by James was recently eliminated when the Adelson family reached a tentative agreement to purchase the Mavericks. The Adelsons are involved in the casino business and would have been “a real contender” to become the new owners of a Las Vegas team, according to Wojnarowski.

Woj also confirms that the NBA plans to begin considering expansion once its next media rights deal is finalized and has an eye on adding two teams, with Las Vegas and Seattle considered the current favorites.

“LeBron James is determined to be at the forefront of a Vegas expansion NBA team in the future,” Wojnarowski adds, “and he is putting the work in on it now.”

Lakers Notes: Tournament, Reaves, LeBron, Uniforms

December 6th, 2023 at 8:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

D’Angelo Russell called it “playoff intensity” as the Lakers hung on for a dramatic win against Phoenix on Tuesday night that gave them a trip to Las Vegas for the in-season tournament semifinals, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. The game was noticeably competitive throughout, and any concerns that players and fans wouldn’t respond to the NBA’s new experiment seemed to be put to rest.

“You got some of the most alpha-male competitors in the world, and if you give us an opportunity to play for something meaningful with an incentive, then you’ll get what you’re getting,” LeBron James said at a post-game press conference alongside Anthony Davis. “And I know the competitive nature in myself, and the competitive nature of this guy next to me, and our DNA that we’re trying to build for this team. The in-season tournament is what it is, and we have an opportunity to play on a big stage, be on national television, be able to represent our families and represent our cities and communities, where we come from.”

L.A. also defeated the Suns in group play, but had an otherwise soft path to the quarterfinals with the lowly Grizzlies, Trail Blazers and Jazz making up the rest of West Group A. There was nothing easy about Tuesday’s matchup, which wasn’t decided until Kevin Durant missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and Lakers coach Darvin Ham savored the experience.

“It makes it really exciting,” he said. “And so exciting that we can’t wait to conquer it. Pretty simply put.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Austin Reaves added to his legacy of clutch shots, sinking a huge three-pointer late in the game to stave off a Suns rally, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Reaves’ propensity to deliver in big situations is one of the reasons the Lakers signed him to a long-term deal during the offseason. “Man, Austin is a big-time player,” Ham said. “It’s the reason we wanted him here for the present and the future. Everybody saw what he did to finish last year, what he did for Team USA. He has just grown, grown and grown and he thrives in those moments, those big moments.”
At a media session today in Las Vegas, James reiterated his desire to eventually own an NBA team in the city, Price tweets. James discussed the area’s growing sports culture, adding, “Hopefully I can bring my franchise here someday.”
The NBA won’t allow the Lakers to wear their “city edition” uniforms for Thursday’s semifinal, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. went 3-0 during the tournament in the black ensemble, but the league has mandated gold “icon” uniforms for the matchup with New Orleans, which will wear its white “association” look. A source tells McMenamin that the NBA office has concerns about the contrast between the jerseys and the specialized court being used for the game.

Adam Silver Talks Expansion, Two-Day Draft, More

December 6th, 2023 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Tuesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the league intends to seriously weigh the possibility of expansion once it completes its next media rights deal.

“Our current national deals with ABC, ESPN, and TNT go through the end of next season. And the reason we wanted to get those deals done, no secret, is we want to have a better understanding of what the economics would be going forward,” Silver explained (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac). “If you’re dividing up your national or international television money by 30 teams, that’s one check that you’re writing the teams. If it’s by – let’s say we expand by two teams – 32 teams, that’s a different one. And so you want to understand what the economics are you’d be delivering to new teams that came into the league.

“We’ll see what the timing is on those national television agreements. We don’t have to wait until the end of (next) season to get those done, but once we do, we’ll turn back to expansion.”

Silver has put off the topic of expansion for years in the hopes of finalizing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement – which got done earlier this year – and a new media rights deal. He also admitted that he feels more comfortable about the level of talent around the league now — and more confident that adding new teams to the mix wouldn’t dilute the level of competition.

“I think that had we expanded back a number of years ago, I think we may have seen more dilution,” Silver said. “I think now when you think of the global pool of players – as we move towards 30% of NBA players who were born outside the United States, including obviously some of our very best players in the league – I think that the timing will work out when we’re done with our media deals and we start looking to expand. I think we could potentially add two more teams to this league that could be very competitive.”

As for which cities might be the frontrunners to get expansion teams? Silver didn’t explicitly identify Las Vegas and Seattle as the favorites, but he did confirm they’ll be among the markets that receive serious consideration from the NBA.

“I made no secret out of it, Las Vegas is one of those markets we’re going to look to. I know that the fans in Seattle have wanted us to get back there forever,” Silver said. “No commitments to anyone, but we’ll certainly be looking at those two markets.”

Here’s more from Silver’s SiriusXM appearance:

After a report last month stated that the NBA is mulling turning its annual draft into a two-day event, Silver confirmed on Tuesday that the idea is under serious consideration, adding that the league just needs to work through the specifics with its broadcast partners and the players’ union (Twitter video link). “The talent goes so deep now and the interest is so great (that), to me, both rounds deserve prime time,” Silver said. “… To me it essentially seems like a no-brainer. … I’m hoping to get there, actually, for this season, for this June, and move the second round to its own night.”
Assuming the NBA does add a second night to the draft, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link) believes the event would take place on a Wednesday and Thursday, rather than a Thursday and Friday.
Asked about the incident in which Gregg Popovich grabbed a microphone during a Spurs game to ask the home crowd to stop booing Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Silver called it a “unique” situation that didn’t require any action or response from the league, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required).
Silver doesn’t want to draw any conclusions about the league’s first in-season tournament until after this week’s final four in Las Vegas, but has been encouraged by what he’s seen so far from the event. “So far, so good,” he said (Twitter video link).

And-Ones: Bronny, LeBron, Shaq, Bacon, Vaughn

November 20th, 2023 at 10:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bronny James took another step toward making his collegiate debut on Sunday, as he warmed up with his USC teammates prior to a game for the first time this season, according to an ESPN report. LeBron’s son suffered cardiac arrest in July during a team workout.

“He went through warmups with the team. He’s a big part of our program and our team. He’s a terrific teammate,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “We look forward to hopefully one day getting him back on the court, but when that day is, that’s not my decision. We’re going to be patient and go through the process.”

Bronny was considered a potential first-round pick prior to his health issues.

We have more from around the basketball team:

Shaquille O’Neal has previously expressed he’d like to own a piece of an NBA franchise in Las Vegas if the league expands there. He hinted that LeBron James might also be part of the ownership group, according to Sportando’s Alessandro Maggi. “If there’s ever an NBA team coming here, I’d definitely like to be involved,” O’Neal said. “With LeBron, without LeBron, I just want to be involved.”
Former NBA wing Dwayne Bacon has signed with China’s Shanghai Sharks, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Bacon played in Greece last season and also joined an Israeli team for three exhibition games in the U.S. this fall. The former second-round pick’s last NBA campaign was in 2020/21 with Orlando.
Former first-round pick Rashad Vaughn has signed a contract with Greece’s Apollon Patras BC, Sportando relays. Vaughn, who was drafted by the Bucks with the No. 17 pick in 2015, spent the 2022/23 season in the NBA G League with the Cavaliers’ affiliate, the Cleveland Charge. His last taste of NBA action came in 2017/18, when he played a combined 28 games with Milwaukee, Orlando and Brooklyn.

L.A. Notes: Clippers, Harden, Martin, LeBron, Reaves

October 10th, 2023 at 9:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers have offered the Sixers a package consisting of a first-round pick, a pick swap, and expiring contracts for James Harden, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown (YouTube video link).

While Los Angeles isn’t inclined to increase that offer and bid against itself, the team is open to exploring the market to see if it can acquire a different piece for that first-rounder that might appeal more to Philadelphia, per Wojnarowski.

“Daryl Morey‘s looking at the Clippers and saying, ‘Steve Ballmer‘s never been under .500. They will figure out a way to have a competitive team. That may not be a great pick,'” Woj explained. “And so I think for the Clippers right now, it’s, ‘We’re not trying to offer you more. We’re not giving you that 2030 first-round pick. But let’s see what we can turn that 2028 pick (into), see if we can flip it,’ and then see if there’s something that more interests Daryl Morey.

“That being said, there’s no traction, they’re not close to anything.”

As we wait to see if the Clippers can pull off a trade for Harden, here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two Los Angeles teams:

New Clippers wing Kenyon Martin Jr. is bringing athleticism and versatility to a veteran roster, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Head coach Tyronn Lue, who praised Martin’s passing and his ability to push the ball up the floor, suggested the team will find different ways to get its offseason acquisition on the court. “I see him as a basketball player at the three, four, five, wherever we can use him,” Lue said. “Just his athleticism, being able to switch, being able to guard different positions, being able to roll to the basket, run the floor.”
Asked by Arash Markazi of The Messenger (Twitter video link) why he has focused on eventually owing an NBA franchise in Las Vegas rather than anywhere else, Lakers star LeBron James said it “just makes sense” to have a team in the city. “You have the Raiders here, you have the (Golden) Knights here, you have the Aces here, you’ve got F1 coming very soon, All-Star Weekend has been here a few times, you’ve got the NBA Summer League that’s very popular,” James said. “… I think adding an NBA franchise here would just add to the momentum that’s going on in this town. … I think it’s only a matter of time. And I hope I’m part of that time.”
Steve Kerr was very impressed with Austin Reaves after coaching the Lakers guard this summer with Team USA, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “Way better to coach him than coach against him,” Kerr said. “I loved coaching him. … He’s really emerging as one of the better young guys in the league.”

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