L.A.’s Staples Center To Become Crypto.com Arena
One of the NBA’s most iconic arenas is getting a new name. Los Angeles’ Staples Center, the current home of the Lakers and Clippers, will become Crypto.com Arena later this year, according to a press release.
The arena, which is also the home of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks, will officially be rebranded on December 25, the day the Lakers host the Nets in a prime-time showdown.
According to Sam Dean of The Los Angeles Times, the naming rights agreement between Crypto.com and AEG, which owns and operates the arena, will cover the next 20 years and is worth more than $700MM, making it one of the biggest such deals in sports history.
Although the Lakers and Clippers share the arena for the time being, Steve Ballmer‘s Clippers are building their own arena in Inglewood, California. That arena is on track to be opened in 2024, so – barring setbacks – the Clips will only play in the newly-renamed Crypto.com Arena for a couple more years before moving into the Intuit Dome.
The Lakers aren’t the first NBA team to partner with Crypto.com — the Sixers currently wear the company’s logo on their uniforms. Crypto.com also isn’t the first cryptocurrency brand to enter into a naming rights deal with an NBA franchise. The Heat’s arena was renamed earlier this year as a result of a deal with cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Talks Bucks, Knee, Harden, More
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was named GQ Magazine’s Athlete of the Year, made some interesting comments to GQ’s Zach Baron as part of the cover story for the magazine. Discussing the championship the Bucks won earlier this year, Antetokounmpo seemingly opened the door to potentially leaving Milwaukee down the road.
“One challenge was to bring a championship here and we did,” Antetokounmpo said. “It was very hard, but we did. Very, very hard. I just love challenges. What’s the next challenge? The next challenge might not be here.
“… Me and my family chose to stay in this city that we all love and has taken care of us—for now. In two years, that might change. I’m being totally honest with you. I’m always honest. I love this city. I love this community. I want to help as much as possible.”
While Antetokounmpo’s comments will likely raise some eyebrows, his agent Alex Saratsis told Baron that he doesn’t believe the two-time MVP, whose five-year super-max contract began this year, will give any real consideration to leaving Milwaukee anytime soon.
“I don’t think it’s, ‘I’m thinking about leaving the Bucks,'” Saratsis said. “But I think he’s genuinely like: ‘Okay, I have reached the pinnacle. The next challenge is, let’s repeat.’ But what happens if you do repeat? What’s the next challenge? What is that next barrier? When you think about it from a basketball perspective, by the age of 26, this kid has accomplished everything. So sometimes you’re going to have to manufacture what those challenges are.”
Here are a few more highlights from the GQ feature on Giannis:
- Before he signed his long-term extension with the Bucks in 2020, Antetokounmpo was getting text messages from rival players encouraging him to leave, he told Baron. Some of those players haven’t talked to him since he decided to stay.
- Although the injury didn’t sideline him for very long, the left knee hyper-extension Antetokounmpo sustained during the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals has had a lasting effect on him, he told Baron. “My leg was the opposite way. To this day, I feel the effect, the traumatic stress,” he said. “I still feel it, and I think I’m going to feel it until I die.”
- Unlike many of his fellow superstars, Antetokounmpo insists he doesn’t view himself as a brand and isn’t concerned about how best to market himself, as Baron writes. “I don’t want to be the face of the league,” Giannis said. “I want to play great basketball. After that, if I disappear in the night, good. Don’t even talk about me, don’t even remember me. I don’t care.”
- Antetokounmpo owns a collection of framed jerseys from past and current NBA players, and James Harden‘s is among them. It’s “not true” that he has any beef with Harden, Giannis told Baron.
Luka Doncic’s Ankle Injury “Not Too Serious”
All-NBA guard Luka Doncic turned his left ankle on Monday and exited the Mavericks‘ win over Denver with less than a minute remaining on the clock. However, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) that Doncic’s ankle injury is “not too serious.”
Tests on Doncic’s left ankle and knee showed no structural damage, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says the club will continue to evaluate its franchise player on a daily basis. MacMahon adds that Doncic will likely miss a little time, but Dallas isn’t expecting it to be a lengthy absence.
Doncic is with the Mavs as they embark on their four-game road trip, tweets Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News, though he won’t play on Wednesday in Phoenix, notes Marc Stein (Twitter link).
While Doncic’s shooting numbers (43.4% from the field, 30.8% on threes) are below his career rates so far this season, he’s still putting up his usual eye-popping stats, averaging 24.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 7.9 APG in his first 13 games (34.8 MPG) and leading the Mavs to a 9-4 start.
If Dallas has to get by without Doncic for a few games, Jalen Brunson and Frank Ntilikina are among the top candidates for increased roles. Trey Burke, who has been out of the rotation so far this season, could also see some playing time.
DeRozan Thought Offseason Move To Lakers Was “Done Deal”
Before he agreed to a three-year, $81MM+ deal with the Bulls over the summer, veteran forward DeMar DeRozan believed he’d be headed to the Lakers, he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
According to Haynes, DeRozan’s agent Aaron Goodwin was working “feverishly” behind the scenes with the Spurs in the days leading up to free agency to orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal that would send his client to Los Angeles. However, the Lakers’ talks with San Antonio tapered off as they pivoted to a trade for Russell Westbrook, forcing DeRozan to go in another direction as well.
“I felt like going to the Lakers was a done deal and that we were going to figure it out. I was going to come home,” DeRozan told Haynes after the Bulls’ victory over the Lakers on Monday. “The business side of things just didn’t work out. A couple of things didn’t align. It didn’t work out. It’s just part of the business, part of the game. My next option was definitely Chicago. So, looking back at it, it worked out well.”
Although there were multiple offseason reports linking DeRozan to his hometown Lakers, this is the first indication we’ve gotten that a potential deal gained real traction. The Lakers also reportedly seriously considered the possibility of trading for Buddy Hield before instead opting for Westbrook.
Acquiring a player via sign-and-trade would’ve hard-capped the Lakers’ team salary at $143MM in 2021/22, so it makes sense that the club preferred to trade for a player on an existing contract, avoiding that hard cap. Given how DeRozan and Westbrook have played so far this season, Los Angeles may be regretting its decision, but DeRozan told Haynes he doesn’t look at it that way.
“Nah, Russ is a Hall-of-Fame player,” DeRozan said. “It’s hard to turn down that caliber of player. I can’t speak for the Lakers, but they went with what they felt was best for them. And all due respect to them. No hard feelings. No animosity, but I just look at it as part of the game. A deal is never done until it’s done. I learned that. It just didn’t work out. I’m just happy I’m in Chicago.”
The Clippers were also considered a viable suitor for DeRozan during free agency, and the 32-year-old acknowledges L.A.’s other team was in the mix. However, he told Haynes it “didn’t get as far as the Lakers situation.”
Since the Lakers agreed to trade for Westbrook on draft day (July 29), four days before free agency opened, DeRozan’s comments and Haynes’ report suggest the Spurs and Lakers may have violated the NBA’s gun-jumping rules if they were exploring a sign-and-trade that early in the offseason. Given that the Bulls are currently being investigated for possible gun-jumping in their Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade, perhaps DeRozan’s insinuation that other teams were engaging in similar conversations wasn’t an accident.
2023 NBA Free Agents
Hoops Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2023 free agents is below. The player’s 2023 age is in parentheses.
These are players who are currently free agents. They finished the 2022/23 season on an NBA roster, appeared in at least 10 games in ’22/23, or appeared in at least one game in ’23/24. A small handful of other notable free agents may also be listed.
You’ll be able to access this list anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right sidebar on our desktop site, or in the “Free Agent Lists” section of our mobile menu. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Updated 4-22-24 (7:55pm CT)
Note: This list is no longer being updated.
Unrestricted Free Agents
Point Guards
- Ryan Arcidiacono (29)
- D.J. Augustin (36)
- Michael Carter-Williams (32)
- Kennedy Chandler (21)
- Jalen Crutcher (24)
- Killian Hayes (22)
- George Hill (37)
- Cory Joseph (32)
- Theo Maledon (22)
- Mac McClung (24)
- Markquis Nowell (24)
- Frank Ntilikina (25)
- Kobi Simmons (26)
- Zavier Simpson (26)
- Ish Smith (35)
- John Wall (33)
- Lindell Wigginton (25)
Shooting Guards
- James Bouknight (23)
- Izaiah Brockington (24)
- Armoni Brooks (25)
- Malcolm Cazalon (22)
- Josh Christopher (22)
- Jarrett Culver (24)
- Terence Davis (26)
- Dexter Dennis (24)
- Hamidou Diallo (25)
- Bryn Forbes (30)
- Danny Green (36)
- R.J. Hampton (22)
- Shaquille Harrison (30)
- D’Moi Hodge (25)
- DeJon Jarreau (25)
- Trevor Keels (20)
- Furkan Korkmaz (26)
- Romeo Langford (24)
- Tyrese Martin (24)
- Rodney McGruder (32)
- Jaylen Nowell (24)
- Victor Oladipo (30)
- Theo Pinson (28)
- Joshua Primo (21)
- Jahmi’us Ramsey (22)
- Austin Rivers (31)
- Jay Scrubb (23)
- Dru Smith (26)
- Joe Wieskamp (24)
- Donovan Williams (22)
- Gabe York (30)
Small Forwards
- Timmy Allen (23)
- Kaiser Gates (27)
- Rudy Gay (37)
- Maurice Harkless (30)
- Ron Harper Jr. (23)
- Joe Harris (32)
- Danuel House (30)
- Justin Jackson (28)
- Stanley Johnson (27)
- Louis King (24)
- Kevin Knox (24)
- Jeremy Lamb (31)
- Isaiah Livers (25)
- Maozinha Pereira (23)
- Juan Toscano-Anderson (30)
- Jack White (26)
- Justise Winslow (27)
Power Forwards
- Darius Days (24)
- JaMychal Green (33)
- Matthew Hurt (23)
- Nathan Knight (26)
- KZ Okapala (24)
- Isaiah Roby (25)
- Terry Taylor (24)
- Isaiah Todd (22)
- D.J. Wilson (27)
Centers
- Tony Bradley (25)
- John Butler (21)
- DeMarcus Cousins (33)
- Dewayne Dedmon (34)
- Derrick Favors (32)
- Montrezl Harrell (29)
- Christian Koloko (23)
- Meyers Leonard (31)
- Robin Lopez (35)
- Nathan Mensah (25)
- Nerlens Noel (29)
- Dmytro Skapintsev (25)
Restricted Free Agents
Note: All of 2023’s restricted free agents have come off the board. You can view the details using our free agent tracker.
Player Options
Note: All of this year’s player option decisions have been made. They can be found here.
Team Options
Note: All of this year’s team option decisions have been made. They can be found here.
Contract information from Basketball Insiders and Spotrac was used in the creation of this post.
Evan Mobley Out 2-4 Weeks With Elbow Sprain
11:45am: Mobley will miss two to four weeks, the team announced in a press release. According to the Cavs, today’s MRI confirmed the diagnosis of a right elbow sprain and Mobley will undergo treatment and rehabilitation.
8:03am: Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley left Monday’s loss to Boston in the second half due to an injury that has been diagnosed as a sprained right elbow. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Mobley will undergo an MRI on Tuesday morning to determine the severity of the ailment.
Mobley, 20, has been perhaps the NBA’s most impressive rookie during the first month of the season, averaging 14.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 1.6 BPG in 15 games (33.7 MPG).
Although Jarrett Allen (illness), Kevin Love (health and safety protocols), and Lauri Markkanen (health and safety protocols) all remain day-to-day, the Cavs’ frontcourt is relatively deep overall. Still, losing Mobley for an extended period would be a major blow to a team that’s off to a surprisingly good start at 9-6.
Fedor writes that the organization is “holding its breath” and hoping that today’s MRI won’t reveal any sort of significant injury. For what it’s worth, the No. 3 overall pick was able to remain in the game after suffering the injury late in the third quarter on Monday — he didn’t exit for good until early in the fourth.
Atlantic Notes: Kanter, Schröder, C. Thomas, Gibson
Entering Monday’s game, Celtics center Enes Kanter has appeared in just two games this season, logging less than total 10 minutes in his latest stint in Boston. Kanter, who has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, published a social media post on Sunday implying that there may be a connection between his limited role on the court and his political stances off of it.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka dismissed the idea that Kanter has been out of the rotation due to his comments in the press and on social media.
“My thing is strictly basketball,” Udoka said, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link). “We’re switching a lot and doing some things that probably are not as natural for him and that’s limited his time to some extent … Nothing basketball-related will be based on [social media].”
Kanter ended up seeing a little action on Monday in Cleveland, scoring five points in eight minutes as Boston defeated the Cavs by a score of 98-92.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Dennis Schröder is off to a strong start with the Celtics this season, averaging 17.1 PPG and 5.2 APG through 14 games (33.0 MPG). However, as Forsberg writes for NBC Sports Boston, the better Schröder plays, the less likely it is he remains in Boston beyond 2021/22, given the team’s cap constraints going forward.
- Nets rookie guard Cameron Thomas has new representation, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype, who tweets that Thomas has signed with Jim Tanner and Terrence Felder of Tandem Sports + Entertainment/You Sports. Thomas is in the first year of his rookie scale contract, so it will likely be a while before his new agents have to negotiate a new deal.
- Mitchell Robinson tweaked his ankle on Monday and Nerlens Noel has battled injuries all season, so Taj Gibson has played a greater role than the Knicks may have anticipated when they re-signed him this offseason. The veteran big man has responded admirably when called upon, as Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. In 29 minutes on Monday, Gibson had more fouls (three) than points (two), but grabbed eight rebounds and was a plus-22 in a game New York won by eight points.
Sixers Fining Ben Simmons For Not Accompanying Team On Road Trip
The Sixers continue to penalize Ben Simmons for a failure to participate in team-related activities, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link), who reports that Philadelphia is fining the three-time All-Star for not joining the team on its current six-game road trip.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, confirming Charania’s report, notes that Simmons will lose $2.16MM in game checks alone, assuming the Sixers fine him for missing all six games on the road trip. That number would increase if he receives additional fines for missing practices, meetings, and other team activities.
Simmons and the Sixers remain at odds over his status. He has told the club he’s not mentally ready to play and reportedly believes Philadelphia is trying to force him back onto the court. The 76ers have maintained that, even if he’s not yet ready to play, the 25-year-old should be preparing to return to action by participating in practices, shootarounds, and other team activities, unless mental health experts say he’s unable to do so.
Simmons’ maximum-salary contract would typically pay him $33MM+ this season, but he has already lost a chunk of that salary — each time the Sixers have fined him for missing a game, it has cost him 1/91.6th of his salary, or about $360K. Given the mental health factor, I’d expect Simmons and his camp to eventually try to recoup some of that lost money via an arbitration process.
For the time being, there’s no end to the standoff in sight.
Injury Notes: Durant, Harris, J. Brown, Gay, Morris
Nets forward Kevin Durant, named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier today, is putting up MVP-type numbers while playing through a sore right shoulder, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Durant admitted on Sunday that he’s been getting some treatment on the shoulder.
“He’s got a little tweak,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said. “But the ball still goes in the hole, so I think he’s hanging in there. I don’t think it’s the type of thing that we expect to get worse so he’s kind of playing through it, so it’s not terrible.”
Meanwhile, Durant’s teammate Joe Harris is dealing with a left ankle sprain, Youngmisuk says in the same story. Harris left Sunday’s game due to the injury, but Nash didn’t have an update on it after the game, so the severity remains unclear. Harris has, at least, been ruled out of the Nets’ Tuesday contest vs. Golden State, tweets Youngmisuk.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- According to Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, Jaylen Brown (hamstring) went through on-court work on Sunday, but it was determined that isn’t ready to return to action yet (Twitter link via Chris Grenham of Forbes). Brown will remain on the shelf for Monday’s game in Cleveland, with the C’s hoping he can make it back later in the week.
- Veteran forward Rudy Gay was among the players briefly assigned to the G League by the Jazz on Sunday, the team announced (via Twitter). Gay, who is recovering from offseason heel surgery, was back with Utah on Monday and went through practice in full, though head coach Quin Snyder remains reluctant to commit to a return date, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
- Heat forward Markieff Morris (neck/whiplash) will miss a fourth consecutive game on Monday night, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Morris has been sidelined since his on-court altercation with Nikola Jokic last Monday.
Timberwolves Fined $250K For Violating NBA Rules On Offseason Workouts
The Timberwolves have been hit with a $250K fine by the NBA, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link).
According to the NBA, the Wolves violated league rules prohibiting teams from arranging or paying for offseason practices or group workout sessions outside the team’s home market.
New incoming Timberwolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez reportedly hosted the club’s players for scrimmages and practices in Miami for a week in early September, culminating in a dinner at Rodriguez’s house. Those team activities came in the final days of Gersson Rosas‘ tenure as president of basketball operations.
[RELATED: A-Rod, Lore Approved By Board Of Governors, Join Wolves Ownership Group]
As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), the NBA’s rule prohibiting teams from arranging and/or financing out-of-market offseason workouts is actually the very first one listed in the NBA’s 786-page operations manual.
Given that Lore and Rodriguez are reportedly paying $1.5 billion to take over the Timberwolves from Glen Taylor, a $250K fine will be a drop in the bucket for them.
Still, the penalty may compel the duo to pay closer attention to the NBA’s rule book going forward, or at least to be more discreet about arranging offseason workouts — Minnesota probably isn’t the only team to violate that rule in recent years, but the fact that management and ownership were in attendance and photos were all over social media meant the NBA couldn’t ignore it, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.