Tragedy has struck Timberwolves big man Naz Reid and his family. His sister, Toraya Reid, was shot and killed Saturday in New Jersey, Eva Herscowitz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. A New Jersey prosecutor charged Shaquille Green, whom the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said was in a relationship with Toraya Reid, with her murder.
Reid’s former teammate, Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, was devastated by the news.
“Heartbroken. No words can ever take away the pain for my brother,” Towns tweeted. “Holding everyone close in prayer today.”
Luka Doncic‘s slimmed-down appearance has been one of the major offseason storylines for the Lakers, and assistant coach Greg St. Jean credits LeBron James‘ influence for helping to make it happen. St. Jean tells Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews that being around James every day inspired Doncic to change his diet and commit to a new workout routine.
“You know what? I always find this — iron sharpens iron,” St. Jean said. “When you’re around really good players, it’s just like when you’re a coach, and you’re around a really good coach. You can’t help but be motivated to continue to get better at your craft.
“I think Luka’s learned a little bit from every great player he’s been around. And I know he’s always looked up to LeBron, He’s always been somebody he’s really admired. So I think having those two together is obviously motivating. I think it’s two-way motivating as well. I don’t think it’s just a one-way street.”
Doncic has always been a star in international competitions, but his improved conditioning has helped him become dominant for Slovenia at this year’s EuroBasket. Though four games, he’s leading the tournament in scoring at 31.3 PPG while ranking second in assists (8.3) and first in steals (3.3).
Doncic’s career took an unexpected twist in February with a shocking trade that sent him from Dallas to L.A. He posted typical numbers after the deal — averaging 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 28 games — but the Lakers were overmatched in a first-round playoff loss to Minnesota.
The organization began reworking its roster with Doncic as the focal point, adding Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia in free agency. Doncic shared that commitment by signing a three-year max extension last month that could be worth up to $165.3MM.
There has been some speculation throughout the summer that James isn’t fully happy with the idea of Doncic as the new team leader and may be looking to move on. He has an expiring $52.6MM contract after picking up his player option in June.
However, St. Jean indicated that both stars will continue to serve as the Lakers’ foundation.
“I think LeBron, you can see, is working really hard as well. He’s up at 5 a.m., and he’s working on his body as well,” he said. “So, I think our team and our players — it’s not just about those two guys — but I think everybody’s motivated to come back and have a really good season.”
The Warriors haven’t given up hope of trading for LeBron James and teaming him with Stephen Curry, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscription required). Sources tell Fischer that Golden State has reached out to the Lakers on multiple occasions over the past 18 months to work out a deal, but has come up empty.
James and Curry played together at the Paris Olympics last August, combining their talents to capture a gold medal for Team USA. Coach Steve Kerr was in charge of that team, and the Warriors would like to create that same dynamic in the NBA.
Even though there are persistent rumors that James might be headed elsewhere after picking up his $52.6MM player option in June, Fischer points out that it would be tough for Golden State to put together a trade proposal that matches salaries without tearing apart the core of the roster. He adds that also holds true if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to ask out of Milwaukee.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
The Knicks have revamped their coaching staff following their run to the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. Installed in the stead of ex-head coach Tom Thibodeau is former two-time Coach of the Year Mike Brown, who has brought in many new faces to fill out his bench.
In an interview with Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, USC men’s basketball head coach Eric Musselman weighed in on how he expects Brown to handle the pressures of his new gig. Musselman has several connections to the Knicks’ new-look staff. He worked as the Lakers’ then-D League coach while Brown was coaching L.A.’s NBA team. Musselman also started the career of New York’s fresh defensive coordinator, Brendan O’Connor.
“He is super-detailed, super-organized,” Musselman said of Brown. “That year with the Lakers, his playbook, he wants to make sure it’s color-coded properly. He got a little bit of an NFL, detail-oriented mindset. … I saw it in the meetings in training camp preparation. Perfect color-coded books. And making sure the periods and the commas were in the right places… Training camp, the drills and the precision … that was real detailed as well.”
Musselman added that he believes Brown’s past stints with superstar players in Cleveland and Los Angeles, combined with his run as a Golden State assistant coach that included three championships, has uniquely equipped him for this opportunity.
“I just think his experience of being in Cleveland and who he coached there [LeBron James] and then I think the fact that he coached in L.A. and it’s the Lakers,” Musselman said. “And with the media market in the Bay Area [with the Warriors], even though he was just an assistant, you can kind of sit back and watch how Coach [Steve] Kerr handles pressure and coaching in playoff situations. And he’s at a perfect age [Brown is 55]. He has a lot of things going for him. And if you coached in L.A., that’s about as good a preparation as you can have.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
While most of the top free agents of the summer class of 2025 have either re-signed or joined new teams, there are still some potential impact role players on the market outside of the well-reported restricted free agent group.
Al Horford, Russell Westbrook and Amir Coffey sit atop Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report‘s list of best-available low-cost free agents. Horford has been heavily linked to the Warriors (as have Pincus’s fifth- and sixth-ranked free agents in Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton) and reporting has strongly suggested he’ll ultimately end up there once the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved.
Westbrook and the Kings have been frequently connected too, but reporting has suggested Sacramento might not have a spot for the former MVP if Malik Monk and/or Devin Carter aren’t traded, so it’s unclear where Westbrook would end up if the Kings decide they don’t have room in their backcourt.
As for Coffey and Pincus’s No. 4-ranked player Ben Simmons, there have been fewer definitive reports linking them to one team or another. Simmons has been connected to the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics, but there hasn’t been much media traction involving Coffey.
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LeBron James may have been offering a hint about his future, or he could have been trolling fans, the media and Lakers management. Either way, it seems newsworthy that he and former teammate Anthony Davis both posted the same message to their Instagram accounts on Tuesday (hat tip to Ricky O’Donnell of Yahoo Sports).
It’s a quote from entrepreneur and life coach Jay Shetty that reads, “Becoming the best version of yourself comes with a lot of goodbyes.”
James’ future with the Lakers has been up in the air since he picked up his $52.6MM player option in late June. The online message could mean he’s contemplating saying goodbye to Los Angeles, either at some point this season or when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Mavericks have been mentioned as a possible next team for James, so Davis’ involvement could be significant. Going to Dallas would also reunite James with former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving and possibly turn the Mavs into legitimate title contenders again.
There’s more on the Lakers:
Free agency is not the headline event it once was in the NBA, as a large portion of the top players on the market tend to extend, like Luka Doncic did last weekend with the Lakers, or move in trades rather than signing with new teams. However, there are still likely to be talented players available and ready to contribute to new situations, as Zach Harper details for The Athletic.
Teams like the Lakers, Clippers, and Heat have made an effort to keep their flexibility for next year, write Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton for ESPN. However, those teams are also expected to try to maintain cap space for 2027, a summer in which multiple MVPs – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic – could potentially reach the market, though of course neither is guaranteed to be available.
The Celtics will also likely look to retool their roster next summer after trading away key contributors in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for salary cap relief, as they seek to rebuild their roster into a contender around Tatum once he has recovered from his Achilles tear.
Trae Young, with a $48.9MM player option for the 2026/27 season, has the potential to be one of the top names on the board, and while Harper expresses confidence that an extension with the Hawks will get done, there have been rumors that it’s far from a certainty, and that next season could serve as an evaluation period for the Hawks’ core under a new head of basketball operations.
Other high-end veterans with player options for ’26/27 include James Harden (Clippers), Zach LaVine (Kings), Draymond Green (Warriors), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Andrew Wiggins (Heat), Fred VanVleet (Rockets), and Bradley Beal (Clippers). Harper considers Harden, Green, and Reaves very likely to remain with their current teams, and VanVleet also relatively likely to stay, though the Rockets have some level of flexibility in regard to the future of their roster.
Then there are the unrestricted free agents. As of this moment, LeBron James (Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Rockets) represent the cream of the crop, but there are other talented players such as Porzingis (Hawks), Anfernee Simons (Celtics), Coby White (Bulls), and others who are sure to garner suitors.
For what it’s worth, Durant has been widely expected to extend with Houston, but James is ineligible to be extended prior to free agency and White’s salary is so modest relative to his value that he’s considered likely to wait until he can get a bigger payday on the free agent market.
One interesting inflection point will be players on team options, such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort on the Thunder, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez on the Clippers. The Thunder, particularly, could have some tough decisions to make on their role players soon as lucrative extensions take effect for stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.
Lakers forward LeBron James has been “supportive and understanding” of the team’s commitment to building around fellow star Luka Doncic, ESPN’s Shams Charania said Monday on First Take (YouTube link). Doncic signed a three-year max extension on Saturday, the first day he became eligible to re-up with the Los Angeles.
James is nearing the end of his record-setting career — he turns 41 years old at the end of December — but Doncic is theoretically just entering his prime, as the Slovenian guard is 26. James exercised his $52.6MM player option in June, which will make him an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
While James was not physically present at the press conference to announce Doncic’s extension, he FaceTimed Doncic to congratulate him on the new deal, as first reported by Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) and subsequently confirmed by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“I hope, obviously, [he stays long term],” James told ESPN on April 30. “Laker fans f—ing love him here. L.A. has accepted him. We love him as a teammate, as a brother. But ultimately, he’s got to make a decision for him. S—, I ain’t going to be around much longer.”
Here’s more on the Lakers:
Even after signing Luka Doncic to a maximum-salary extension, the Lakers are in position carve out maximum cap space for the 2027 offseason, with multiple superstars in position to reach free agency at that time, writes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link).
Doncic signed a three-year, maximum contract extension on Saturday that could pay him up to $165MM. While Doncic qualified for a five-year, $335.9MM super-max extension as a Maverick, he lost that privilege upon being traded to Los Angeles. His shorter-term deal will enable him to potentially reach free agency in 2028. With 10 years of NBA service at that time, he will qualify for a maximum deal worth 35% of the NBA’s salary cap (up from 30%).
Gozlan observes that Los Angeles could also have significant cap room in 2026. Even if L.A. gives impending guard Austin Reaves a massive raise next offseason and both Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart pick up their 2026/27 player options, the team will still be able to reach $30MM in available space.
But because there is no superstar-level talent expected to hit free agency next summer, 2027 has been viewed as the Lakers’ target date to maximize their cap flexibility. Both Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo could reach free agency that summer, when they would figure to earn maximum annual deals in the $60MM range.
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
As Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka met with the media to announce Luka Doncic‘s new three-year max extension on Saturday, the subject of LeBron James‘ future with the team also came up, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Now that Doncic is the cornerstone of the organization, there are questions about how much longer James will remain in L.A. He has an expiring $52.6MM contract after picking up his player option in late June, and there has been speculation that he might either be traded or reach a buyout agreement before the end of the season.
Pelinka told reporters today that it would be “great” if James were able to retire as a Laker.
“In terms of LeBron’s career, I think the number one thing we have to do there is respect he and his family’s decision in terms of how long he’s going to play. I think that’s first and foremost,” Pelinka said. “And we want to respect his ability to come up with his timetable on that.”
James will turn 41 in December, and he hasn’t made any public statements about many more years he plans to remain active. He’s still performing at an elite level, earning second-team All-NBA honors last season while averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games.
James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, said during a Summer League interview that James hasn’t asked the Lakers for a trade. Team and league sources confirmed that to Woike, adding that there has been no discussion of a buyout either.
“All the interactions we’ve had with LeBron and his camp, Rich in particular, have been positive and supportive. So very professional and Rich has been great,” Pelinka said. “The dialogue with him has been open and constant.”
It has also been reported that the Lakers didn’t offer James a multiyear contract, which is something that Paul said he never asked the team for. Numerous reports have indicated that L.A. is preserving cap space for the summer of 2027, and Woike notes that among this summer’s major signings, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart both got one-year deals with player options, while Jake LaRavia was signed for two seasons.