Knicks Notes: Kidd, Coaching Search, Offseason, Thibodeau
The Knicks‘ interest in reuniting with Jason Kidd, who played one season for them, this time as a head coach, has been well documented. But with Kidd under contract with the Mavericks, the likeliest pathway for New York to do so would be via trade, writes Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus.
How exactly would such a trade work? Pincus suggests a deal that would see the Knicks sending out the 2026 Wizards’ protected first-round pick as well as top-four protected swap rights to their own 2026 first-rounder. Pincus compares the proposal to the Clippers trading a 2015 first-round pick to the Celtics in order to bring Doc Rivers into the fold, as well as the Bucks trading two second-round picks to the Nets to bring Kidd to Milwaukee.
The question for New York would ultimately be, with so few tradable assets available to them, would it make sense to use two valuable resources on a coach already under contract? Of course, if Dallas stands firm on its stance that Kidd isn’t available, the discussion may be moot.
We have more notes on the Knicks:
- While the Knicks’ 2025 offseason revolved around reshaping and finalizing their core moving forward, the 2026 offseason will see them focused on adding crucial bench depth once they address the coaching vacancy, Yossi Gozlan writes for Third Apron (Substack link). In his offseason preview, Gozlan predicts the Knicks will operate above the first tax apron but below the second in order to maximize their limited flexibility. Given their limited ability to add a higher-salary player if they don’t move a key rotation piece, Gozlan suggests targeting young wings who might face roster crunches, such as the Rockets’ Cam Whitmore or Magic’s Jett Howard.
- The Knicks will have formal interviews next week with Taylor Jenkins and Mike Brown, two of their top head coaching candidates, reports James L. Edwards III for The Athletic. Edwards also writes that the Knicks may circle back on Kidd and Bulls’ head coach Billy Donovan, despite having their interview requests denied, confirming an ESPN report. The Knicks will also begin checking in on assistant coaches as they cast as wide a net as possible.
- Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart reiterated their appreciation for Tom Thibodeau on the latest episode of The Roommates Show podcast, Jared Schwartz writes for The New York Post. This was the first time Brunson, who has known Thibodeau his whole life, has experienced his NBA coach being fired. “To have Thibs to do what he did for my career, I’m just so grateful and thankful for. Not enough things can be said about what he’s meant to myself, my career,” Brunson said. Hart, who has experienced six coaches in eight seasons, also expressed gratitude: “He helped make me into the player that I am. I had a lot of instability in the early part of my career, and he kind of gave me that stability and that opportunity to flourish as a player in the league, as a starter in the league. I’m always gonna be forever grateful for him.” The two teammates and friends added that Thibodeau deserves a lot of credit for the strong Knicks foundation that has been built over the last few years.
- Former Knick Austin Rivers was less positive about his time under Thibodeau. “I’m not really a Thibs guy. I played for him, it wasn’t the best experience personally, didn’t treat me well at all,” Rivers said on a recent episode of his podcast Off Guard With Austin Rivers, via Alex Kirschenbaum of Athlon Sports. Rivers describes his first interaction with Thibodeau upon joining the team, saying, “Thibodeau comes up to me and says, ‘Hey man, excited for you to be here. I wanted Derrick [Rose], but you’ll do great…’ And he walked away.” Rivers’ grievances don’t end with the coach, though. He expressed frustration with how his trade was handled, saying, “They don’t do business the right way sometimes.”
Pacers Notes: Carlisle, Toppin, Underdog Status, Trends
The Pacers‘ offensive style of controlled chaos and freedom stems not only from the synergy between Tyrese Haliburton and coach Rick Carlisle, but also from the decades of experience Carlisle has coaching elite point guards, Jamal Collier and Tim MacMahon write for ESPN.com.
As a young coach with a reputation for demanding control of his team, Carlisle found himself leading a Mavericks squad in 2008 helmed by Jason Kidd, an experience that taught him a valuable lesson that he has applied to multiple other star initiators, such as Luka Doncic and now Haliburton. Kidd showed him how to introduce more flow and rhythm to the offense, and after some initial resistance, the pair grew to appreciate and get the best out of each other, eventually winning a championship together.
“It’s pretty clear, when you have a player of that kind of magnitude, that kind of presence, that kind of knowledge, vision and depth, you got to let them do what they do,” Carlisle says.
Haliburton, for his part, doesn’t take that trust for granted. Speaking about Carlisle making sure the team knew the ball was coming to Haliburton for the final play of Game 1, he said: “That was the ultimate trust that I could get from anybody, because he is such a brilliant basketball mind. He’s been around such great guards, great players. For him to give me that confidence, I think has really taken my career to another level.”
Before Haliburton’s arrival in Indiana, Carlisle was back to his roots of operating as a strict play-caller. All that changed when the Pacers traded for Haliburton. He had dinner with his new point guard the night after the trade, and the relationship blossomed from there.
“What I learned my first year in Dallas was to give J-Kidd the ball and get out of the way, let him run the show, let him run the team,” Carlisle said. “Tyrese, very similar situation, but didn’t take half a season to figure it out. The situation in Dallas with Luka was the same.”
We have more on the Pacers:
- Obi Toppin‘s impact for Indiana has gone well beyond box-score numbers, writes James Boyd of The Athletic. While it’s true that Toppin’s pivotal putback dunk and subsequent block on Jalen Williams in the fourth quarter of Game 3’s win will show up in the stat sheet, it’s his non-stop energy that has made him such a successful part of the Pacers’ balanced attack. “He continues to bring that pace to the game and he’s flying up the floor and you’re hitting him ahead (for easy buckets)… He fits so perfect with what we do,” Haliburton said. Indiana’s bench play has been a crucial part of the team’s 2-1 lead over the Thunder, as Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin, and T.J. McConnell have all proven indispensable throughout the series.
- The Pacers have a chance to be the most atypical championship team since the 2004 Pistons if they can win two more games, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Built around great players who are not quite superstars, depth, versatility, shooting, and great coaching, Indiana has managed to defy expectations — but Jones writes that maybe that says more about those expectations than the Pacers, who went 54-22 to end the season and have few weaknesses on either end of the floor. At the end of the day, Jones says, this team deserves to be considered a juggernaut, not one that’s just happy to be here.
- Haliburton rebounding the ball is one of the best indications that the Pacers are about to score, writes The Athletic’s Fred Katz in a piece examining trends of the Finals. During the 2025 playoffs, he writes, the Pacers are scoring 160.8 points per 100 possessions on plays following a Haliburton defensive rebound. Katz also points to the speed at which the Pacers get into their offense as a key to creating even marginal advantages, as their speed forces opponents into cross-matches that can be beneficial to Indiana. Katz also points out that out of 140 players to attempt at least 40 pull-up shots this year, McConnell does so from the closest distance, to great effect. He has hit 20 of his 34 pull-ups this postseason.
Thunder Notes: Identity, Gilgeous-Alexander, Shooting, Turnovers
In Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, the Thunder struggled to maintain the identity that made them such a powerhouse throughout the regular season and much of the playoffs, writes Joel Lorezni of The Oklahoman. If they want to head back to Oklahoma City having tied the series against the Pacers, they need to reclaim their composure.
It’s a sentiment that head coach Mark Daigneault shares, though he’s not overreacting to the 2-1 deficit.
“I think that happens in a playoff series,” he said on Thursday. “Four games, five games, six games, seven games is a long time. You’re going to get a range of games and experiences in that.”
Lorenzi points to the passing numbers for the Thunder as proof of them getting away from their game. In the team’s two losses to Indiana, Oklahoma City has posted its two lowest assist totals of the season. That, coupled with uncharacteristically sloppy turnovers, points to a team out of sorts and needing to settle into its game.
“At the end of the day,” Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says, “we have to be who we are and who we’ve been all season. I think we got back to that in that series. If we want to give ourselves a chance in this series, it has to be the same thing.”
We have more from the Thunder:
- The Pacers have made life difficult for Gilgeous-Alexander, hounding him throughout the game and wearing him down late, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. That’s no excuse in the MVP’s eyes. “To me, the way I see it, you got to suck it up, get it done and try to get a win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. MacMahon writes that the Pacers began defending Gilgeous-Alexander an average of 65.5 feet from the basket, a level of defensive intensity the young star has never faced before, and that resulted in him bringing the ball up far less often than he typically would. Indiana employed a similar tactic against the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson in the Eastern Conference Finals and was successful in getting the ball out of his hands for stretches. In the Game 3 loss, Gilgeous-Alexander only scored three points on three shots and had no assists in the pivotal fourth quarter. How he bounces back in Game 4 will go a long way in determining the Thunder’s fate.
- Beyond the pressure on their star, the Thunder’s struggles to convert mid-range shots is another issue facing the team, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger writes that while the Thunder have shot well on three-pointers and drawn fouls, their two-point shooting, which is usually a strength, has deserted them. They’re making 47.2% of two-pointers this series, compared to their average of 55.9%, after shooting 54% against the Nuggets and 55.7% against the Timberwolves. Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander have particularly struggled from that range, which is a problem since that’s the bread and butter for the Thunder’s two best players.
- Turnovers have been another major factor in Oklahoma City’s struggles, says Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Most glaringly, the team committed three inbounds turnovers off of made baskets, which led to three T.J. McConnell steals. These kinds of unforced errors can have huge consequences, says Alex Caruso, who was responsible for one of them. “I call them pick-sixes,” Caruso said. “It’s a live-ball turnover in your third of the court and they score. It can add up to eight, 10, 12 points, which might be the difference in the game.” The Thunder finished the game with 19 turnovers, their highest total of the playoffs, with Gilgeous-Alexander responsible for six of them. “It just goes back to being tighter, being more focused, being more forceful all night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
International Notes: Rubio, Abrines, Flynn, Anderson
Ricky Rubio has clarified that his somewhat enigmatic social media post last week was not a retirement message, writes Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops.net.
“This isn’t a farewell. It’s simply a thank you. It comes from my year of reflection, and I wanted to do something that’s rarely done: to thank those who have been or are important to you. But it has no other message,” Rubio said.
However, just because the posts weren’t specifically intended as a farewell, that doesn’t mean he’s officially coming back.
“Everything is open. I might play again – why not? – or I might not, and that wouldn’t be a bad idea either,” Rubio said. “It’s something I’d like to consider in the near future. For now, I just wanted to say thank you and also see how it affects me as a person, and if it gives me energy to move in one direction or another.”
Rubio ended his NBA career in January 2024 and returned to his home country of Spain, where he finished the season with Barcelona. He didn’t play for Barcelona this season after taking a hiatus for mental health reasons.
We have more from around the world of European hoops:
- Former Thunder wing Alex Abrines is seriously considering retirement, reports Eurohoops (via Twitter). The 31-year-old current captain of Barcelona played 17.6 minutes per game this season in EuroLeague play while averaging 4.6 points per contest.
- Malachi Flynn is in advanced talks with the Turkish team Bahcesehir, reports Sport24 via Sportando. The former first-round pick, who had a 50-point game for the Pistons last season, could be closing in on a deal approaching $1MM after making just four appearances for Charlotte this season.
- Dubai BC is gearing up to make a serious offer for Justin Anderson, reports Chema de Lucas (via Twitter). Anderson, who played 242 NBA games from 2015 to 2022, has spent the past two seasons in the Liga ACB. He averaged 6.9 points in 19 minutes per night during Barcelona’s EuroLeague play this season. As Dubai seeks to improve its roster, Anderson looks to be one of the club’s top targets.
Central Notes: Bucks, Bulls, Turner
While there’s reportedly increased skepticism that the Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo will part ways this summer, there are plenty of questions facing the team regardless of whether he stays or leaves. Spotrac’s Keith Smith breaks down the many hurdles Milwaukee has to face in his offseason preview, writing that the team is in the unfortunate position of needing to prepare for two potential paths: one where the two-time MVP stays and one where he goes.
The Bucks have few assets to trade should Antetokounmpo decide to remain in Milwaukee, and it would be imperative to maximize the pieces still on the roster, given that any team with Giannis would surely still be attempting to compete for championships. Longtime Antetokounmpo running mate Brook Lopez is an unrestricted free agent and could probably be retained for somewhere around $15-18MM per season over two years, Smith speculates. Bobby Portis has a $13.4MM player option, and it’s unclear if he would command more than that on the market.
Retaining their minimum signings in Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince, and Kevin Porter Jr. will be important, as they can all contribute as floor spacers, which is crucial when building a roster around Antetokounmpo. It’s unlikely that Pat Connaughton and Kyle Kuzma will receive contract extensions, and it’s possible the team looks to move them for more consistent contributors, Smith writes.
If Antetokounmpo does ask out, though, Smith expects all of the Bucks’ free agents to be on new teams come next season, though it’s highly likely Connaughton picks up his player option no matter what else happens.
We have more news from the Central Division:
- If the Bucks want to get more out of their marginal moves, they need to have better top-down organizational alignment, writes The Athletic’s Eric Nehm in his Bucks mailbag. Nehm identifies A.J. Green as one of the team’s few developmental successes, and points to head coach Doc Rivers‘ deliberate creation of a role for the shooting specialist as a key to that success. The Bucks need their head coach to take a similar approach to other players, notably Andre Jackson Jr., if they want to recreate that formula.
- The Bulls‘ outlook has improved since the end of the season based solely on the Eastern Conference weakening this summer, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. With the top two picks in the 2025 draft expected to end up on Western Conference teams, the Celtics looking at a restructuring season following Jayson Tatum‘s ruptured Achilles, and questions surrounding what the Cavaliers and Knicks will do following postseason defeats, Chicago could stand pat and still be back in postseason contention. However, the Bulls have decisions to make on trading or extending players like Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, Ayo Dosunmu, and Coby White, who are all heading into the final year of their deals.
- The Pacers and starting center Myles Turner have mutual interest in coming to terms on a new deal, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter video link). Indiana hasn’t been a taxpayer since 2006, but after making deep playoff runs in back-to-back years, the club is willing to pay what it takes to keep its roster intact, says Charania. Jake Fischer of the Stein Line, who has previously reported that the Pacers are expected to re-sign Turner, confirms the ongoing mutual interest between the two sides.
Knicks Notes: Culture, Malone, Brunson, Towns
There’s a lot that can be learned about Knicks‘ relationship with former head coach Tom Thibodeau and his recent firing, through the lens of what makes certain business cultures particularly effective, organizational behavior professor Spencer Harrison writes for The Athletic.
Harrison points to a specific moment in the Knicks’ season as indicative of the larger institutional issues at play: a March statement from Mikal Bridges in which Bridges referenced having had discussions with Thibodeau about the starters’ minutes load, and Thibodeau’s subsequent denial of such a conversation taking place.
“As someone who studies the cultures of businesses and organizations, I found Thibodeau’s response telling. To me, it suggested a stubbornness and unwillingness to consider other options, as if the conversation wasn’t even worth having,” Spencer writes.
Spencer also refers to a study of creative teams employing generalists versus specialists and which tends to yield the maximum creative output. The conclusion of the study, according to Spencer, was that people who had been introduced to a variety of approaches tended to be more adaptable and creative in their problem-solving. That stands in stark contrast to the notoriously stubborn Thibodeau, whose methods have yielded a great deal of success, but have at times caused his teams to struggle to adapt on the fly.
However, Spencer warns that simply firing Thibodeau does not guarantee positive results for the Knicks. As he notes, there are plenty of examples in the business world of leadership changes not working because a newcomer wants to implement an entirely new philosophy and culture, rather than building on what the previous regime did right.
We have more Knicks notes:
- The Knicks should hire former Nuggets coach Michael Malone, opines Troy Renck of the Denver Post. While Malone’s tenure in Denver came to an abrupt end, Renck believes that his competitiveness, willingness to challenge his players, and media savvy would make him a great fit for the Knicks, who generally require their coach to serve as the main point of contact for the media. However, Renck does note that many of the frustrations with Thibodeau, including his over-reliance on starters and lack of trust in non-established bench players, are present with Malone as well, which could make for a complicated dynamic for a team looking to adjust its approach.
- Jalen Brunson offered his first take on the Thibodeau firing, albeit in a “pictures are worth a thousand words” manner, writes the New York Post’s Bryan Fonseca. The star point guard posted a photo of himself and the recently fired coach on Instagram with two emojis: a white heart and a hand with its fingers crossed. It was a characteristically understated response from Brunson, who had previously gone to bat for Thibodeau. Following the end of the team’s playoff run, Brunson was quoted as saying, “Is that a real question right now? You just asked me if I believe he’s the right guy. Yes. Come on,” when asked if Thibodeau was the right coach for the job. This was his first public comment following the firing.
- Last summer’s trade between the Knicks and Timberwolves represented one of the rarest things in the NBA: a true win-win deal, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski and James Edwards III. The Knicks needed a center after free agent Isaiah Hartenstein left for Oklahoma City and Mitchell Robinson‘s injury rehabilitation took longer than expected. Meanwhile, the Wolves were dealing with a complicated salary cap situation for a roster they weren’t sure could sustain itself as a title contender. While the two stars headlining the deal, Karl-Anthony Towns for the Wolves and Julius Randle for the Knicks, were both shocked by the news, especially so close to training camp, both players ended up adjusting to their new surroundings — and both ended up in their respective Conference Finals. “I think if you had asked either front office last year, ‘Hey, worst-case scenario, you’ll lose in the conference finals?’ I think we’d have probably taken it even though we both have higher aspirations,” Wolves president Tim Connelly said.
Pistons Notes: Free Agents, Trades, Offseason Priorities, Thompson
Rival teams expect the Pistons to be players in the free agent market this summer, writes Jake Fischer for The Stein Line (Substack link). They have the ability to create around $17MM in cap space if they choose to operate below the salary cap, a decision which could help shed light on the team’s roster-construction plans moving forward.
Fischer writes that the Pistons are looking at different options, including renting out space as a third team in bigger deals in order to accumulate assets or continuing to add veteran talent, a path that helped the team achieve a good measure of success this season.
Fischer also confirms prior reporting that much of Detroit’s focus has revolved around shooting big men such as Myles Turner and Naz Reid — he also adds Grizzlies restricted free agent Santi Aldama to the list of possible Pistons targets. However, Fischer says teams around the league are expecting all three of those bigs to remain with their current clubs.
There’s also the question of Detroit’s own free agents. Tim Hardaway Jr., Dennis Schröder, and Malik Beasley are all unrestricted free agents this summer, and with Jaden Ivey set to return from injury, it’s unclear how many backcourt minutes will be available for all three. Fischer believes Hardaway is the least likely of those free agents to return. Beasley and the Pistons have expressed mutual interest in finding a new deal, and Schröder was a hugely valuable piece for Detroit, especially in the playoffs.
We have more Pistons notes:
- The Pistons have the pieces to go big-name hunting for the first time in many years, writes Omari Sankofa II for the Detroit Free Press (subscription required). They have up to four tradable first-round picks, 15 second-rounders, and a combination of young, promising players and established veterans. However, with many teams similarly stocked with trade assets, making a blockbuster trade would likely mean paying a significant price, Sankofa writes in a column breaking down three potential deals the Pistons could consider. The first name he considers is the Suns’ Devin Booker, suggesting that a package might consist of Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, and a massive combination of first- and second-round picks. He also looks at what it could take to land either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jaren Jackson Jr. The question the Pistons have to decide is whether Cade Cunningham‘s ascendance requires an acceleration of the team-building timeline.
- In a mailbag, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com breaks down the team’s priorities this offseason. The level to which Detroit succeeds next year depends, for the most part, on internal development, he writes. That includes Thompson experiencing his first healthy NBA offseason, Iver getting back to 100%, and players like Ron Holland II and Jalen Duren further honing their skill sets. Langlois also points to Cunningham becoming a more consistent three-point shooter and finding ways to cut down the turnovers as key points of emphasis.
- In the same mailbag, Langlois discusses which area is more important for Thompson moving forward — shooting or play-making. While a reliable jump shot would put Thompson over the top, Langlois believes that play-making is an area in which the athletic forward can find a great deal of value as he continues trying to develop his individual scoring. He points to a supercharged Josh Hart as a blueprint for how Thompson could find success as a defender, passer, and rebounder, and adds that in terms of the two options, the Pistons guard has a stronger base as a secondary play-maker to build off than he does as a shooter.
Thunder Notes: Offseason, Mitchell, Caruso, Daigneault
While the Thunder look to avoid dropping a second straight game to the Pacers in Sunday’s Game 2 Finals matchup, teams around the league are eyeing Oklahoma City’s roster construction with interest, writes Jake Fischer for The Stein Line (Substack link).
That’s not just because of the success general manager Sam Presti has had building a small-market powerhouse, but also because the team currently has the maximum 15 players under contract for next season while holding three top-45 picks in the 2025 draft, two of which are first-rounders (Nos. 15 and 24).
Fischer writes that the team has a unique level of flexibility that could allow it to make any number of roster moves. That could include declining rookie guard Ajay Mitchell‘s team option and bringing him back on a two-way contract, which would require some level of trust from Mitchell. It could also mean packaging picks to move up into the lottery, and Fischer reports that some teams in that range of the draft are expecting that possibility to present itself. The Thunder could also trade out of the draft, rather than up, to continue accumulating future draft assets and delay making a decision.
The Thunder are already set to add last year’s lottery pick Nikola Topic to the rotation after he missed the entirety of the 2024/25 season, so in addition to roster spots, there’s also a question of how many minutes will be available for first-year players next year.
We have more Thunder news:
- Speaking of Mitchell, the former second-round pick’s inclusion in the Game 1 rotation for the Thunder was somewhat unexpected, considering he had only played 64 playoff minutes heading into the Finals. However, that was what made it such a Thunder move, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The team prides itself on its next-man-up approach, and on Thursday night, that meant Mitchell seeing the first Finals action of his nascent career. “I don’t think there’s more nervousness, I think maybe more excitement just because it’s the Finals. But at the end of the day, it’s basketball. Once you step on the court, there’s nothing really else that matters. When I step on the floor, it’s just basketball,” Mitchell said.
- Alex Caruso‘s journey to the NBA Finals began with a 2016 audition for an Exhibit 10 contract, a workout that quickly showed who he would become as a basketball player and teammate, writes ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “By midway through the workout, he’s coaching the workout. He’s doing what he does,” coach Mark Daigneault said. But even the oft-lauded Presti didn’t quite know what he had in the versatile defender, and Caruso eventually left for the Lakers without ever having been called up from the Thunder’s G League affiliate. It’s fitting that now, as a 31-year-old veteran with championship pedigree, he has returned to where it all began to help his former coach and organization, both on the court and as a mentor to the cadre of young, defensive-minded guards on the roster.
- Daigneault has taken a lion’s share of the blame for Oklahoma City’s Game 1 collapse against the Pacers, who once again came back miraculously to steal Game 1 on the road. While it’s natural to look for a target for blame after such a dramatic letdown, SI’s Rylan Stiles writes that putting it all on the head coach isn’t the right way to look at it. While changing the starting lineup that had gotten the team to the Finals before Game 1 was a controversial decision, the starting unit wasn’t why they lost the game, Stiles writes, and neither was playing Mitchell. While Daigneault could have, and probably should have, brought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back into the game sooner in the fourth quarter or experimented with double-big lineups, the team’s second and third options, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, ultimately weren’t good enough. If either had played even slightly better, Stiles writes, the Thunder would be up 1-0 and none of these questions would be popping up at all.
- There are specific things the Thunder can do to ensure the end of Game 2 doesn’t play out as it did in Game 1, writes ESPN’s Zack Kram. The first thing is to put Game 1 out of their heads completely — something the Knicks seemed to struggle to do after losing Game 1 against the Pacers in similarly deflating fashion. As Stiles wrote, Williams and Holmgren need to step up, as they did against the Timberwolves, especially as the team sacrifices size and rebounding to keep up with the Pacers’ frenetic pace. They also need to move the ball quicker and not devolve into stagnant offensive possessions around Gilgeous-Alexander isolations. Indiana is counting on the MVP scoring, but Oklahoma City can hurt the Pacers by getting the supporting cast involved.
And-Ones: Silver, Gasol, Burke, Nunn
Commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA’s efforts to launch a new league in Europe with the help of the FIBA governing organization are ongoing, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Given the massive amount of logistics required by leagues on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to make this dream a reality, Silver warns that nothing is imminent, but that doesn’t mean progress isn’t happening.
“We’re at least a couple years away from launching,” Silver says. “It would be an enormous undertaking. And while we want to move forward at a deliberate pace, we also want to make sure that we’re consulting with all the appropriate stakeholders, meaning the existing league, its teams, European players, media companies, marketing partners.”
The goal is for the new league to feature 16 teams, and Silver said that the NBA has been in touch with the EuroLeague and specific teams within it for partnerships. Silver says there’s a desire for some amount of collaboration with the existing league, and that the 2028 Olympics will be a good measuring stick for progress.
“That might be a good launching pad for an announcement around a new competition,” he teased. But, in the end, patience is going to be the most important thing. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
We have more from around the world of hoops:
- As someone with a wealth of experience in both the NBA and EuroLeague, Pau Gasol is intrigued by the idea of the NBA expanding into Europe, writes the Eurohoops team. Like Silver, he understands it’ll be a lengthy process, but expressed cautious excitement about what such a collaboration could offer. “I see an initiative to improve the European basketball model, and it’s an opportunity for our sport to grow. We’ll see how it shapes up and how it progresses,” Gasol said, per Dídac Piferrer of MARCA. However, he cautions that European basketball needs to become more stable before such a venture can be successful. “The European basketball model must evolve and improve. Economically, it’s not sustainable, and the vast majority of teams are losing money,” he added.
- With Doris Burke‘s place in ESPN’s announcer rotation unclear beyond the NBA Finals, Pacers’ head coach Rick Carlisle has voiced his support for the longtime broadcaster, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Carlisle praised Burke for the role she has played in laying down a foundation for future female broadcasters, and was disappointed that the rumors of her uncertain future cast a shadow over Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with all that stuff, but I just want to say thank you to Doris for the example that she has put forth for young women like my daughter and all these people who are changing the game,” Carlisle said. “She has changed the game, and that’s the reason that she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a couple years ago.”
- Former Laker and Heat guard Kendrick Nunn has received the EuroLeague Players Association’s Players’ Choice Awards MVP for his play with Panathinaikos in Greece, per Eurohoops.net. Nunn averaged 21.2 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from three on 7.2 attempts per game as the team went 22-12 in EuroLeague competition and reached the Final Four of EuroLeague playoff competition. The veteran guard also won the EuroLeague’s official MVP award in April.
De’Aaron Fox Hopes To Sign Extension With Spurs
Despite playing just 17 games with the Spurs following a mid-season three-team trade, De’Aaron Fox is already thinking long-term, according to Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle.
Starting August 3, Fox will be eligible for a four-year extension worth up to a projected $229MM, and according to Lerner, he is looking forward to signing that offer if San Antonio puts it on the table. Asked if he was optimistic about reaching terms with the Spurs, he said, “I would definitely hope so.”
Fox, who currently has one year and $37MM left on his contract, looks to be an integral part of the Spurs’ outlook as they continue to search the market for impact players to add to the core anchored by Victor Wembanyama.
Armed with the second and 14th picks in the 2025 draft, as well as several young veterans like Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and Jeremy Sochan on deals that could be valuable on their own or as salary-matching pieces in larger trades, the team has a wide range of options to consider this summer.
There are concerns with how Fox, reigning rookie of the year Stephon Castle, and projected No. 2 pick Dylan Harper will coexist as three guards with shaky jump shots and – in the case of Fox and Harper particularly – a skill set best suited to having the ball in their hands, but it’s unlikely that Fox would be the odd man out after the former All-Star pushed for a trade to the Spurs last season.
In his 17 games for San Antonio last season, Fox averaged 19.7 points, 6.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 27.4% from three. While the scoring and shooting numbers would rank as some of the lowest of his career, he was both adjusting to just the second NBA team of his career and also dealing with tendon damage in the pinkie of his shooting hand, an injury that eventually sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
“I’m doing well. The surgery went fine,” Fox said when asked about the injury. “I’ve been cleared so I played a little five-on-five and I’ve done contact stuff, so I’ll be ready for next year.”