Kevon Looney Hopes To Re-Sign With Warriors
Veteran center Kevon Looney has spent his entire 10-year NBA career with Golden State, but he will be a free agent this summer after earning $8MM in 2024/25. If it were up to him, Looney says he would stick with the Warriors, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays (via Twitter).
“I hope the feeling is mutual,” Looney said. “… They expressed (interest in a reunion) but it’s the NBA. There’s a lot of time until free agency starts. Let’s see what happens.”
The 30th pick of the 2015 draft, Looney has mostly played a part-time role off the bench during his time in Golden State. That was the case again this season, with the 6’9″ big man averaging 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 76 regular season contests (15.0 minutes per game).
Looney, who posted a .514 FG% and .566 FT% during the regular season, saw his role reduced in the playoffs, averaging 2.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 10.0 MPG across 12 appearances. He made 10 of his 23 field goal attempts (.435%) in the playoffs and .750% of his free throws (6-of-8).
In an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Bobby Marks said another impending free agent center, Brook Lopez, is worth keeping an eye on for the Warriors.
“Stanford grad, makes his home in Fresno,” Marks said. “What is the number on a Brook Lopez type-contract if you can get him on a one-year flier here to patch up that center position?
“Because the center market is thin. When you look at Myles Turner, you’re probably not going to be able to afford him. The next-best guy out there is Brook Lopez.”
Rockets Open To Trading Alperen Sengun?
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Monday that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has become “open-minded” about the possibility of leaving Milwaukee for the first time in his career. Subsequent reports indicated that San Antonio and Houston were two teams to monitor if Antetokounmpo requests a trade — he’s under contract through at least 2026/27, with a player option for ’27/28.
Within a story exploring potential fits for Antetokounmpo, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports cites league sources who say that the Rockets would be open to trading All-Star center Alperen Sengun. While Helin doesn’t explicitly say Houston would only consider moving Sengun for a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber, it seems safe to assume that’s the case.
If the Rockets and Bucks were to discuss Antetokounmpo, it’s unclear whether Milwaukee would prefer a package that includes Jalen Green rather than Sengun, Helin writes, adding that forward Jabari Smith Jr. would likely be part of any offer for the two-time MVP. Houston has a surplus of future first-round picks that could be dangled as well.
Sengun’s possible inclusion in an offer for Antetokounmpo makes some sense from a fit perspective, since a core of Amen Thompson, Antetokounmpo, and Sengun would not be ideal for offensive spacing — none of them are effective three-point shooters right now. And while the Rockets reportedly view Thompson as untouchable in trade talks, the same has not been said of Sengun to this point.
A 6’11” big man from Turkey, Sengun averaged 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 49.6% from the floor and 69.2% from the line in 76 regular season appearances for the Rockets this season (31.5 minutes per game). In his first playoff series, a first-round loss to Golden State, the 22-year-old averaged 20.9 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 5.3 APG and 1.9 SPG, converting 45.0% of his field goal attempts and 62.5% of his free throws in seven games (36.6 MPG).
Sengun signed a five-year, $185MM rookie scale extension with Houston last October. That deal, which includes a player option in ’29/30, will kick in starting next season.
Jamal Murray Questionable For Game 6 With Illness
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is questionable for Thursday’s Game 6 against Oklahoma City due to an illness, per the league’s official injury report (hat tip to DNVR Nuggets).
Murray’s potential absence would be a huge blow to Denver’s chances of evening the second-round series against the Thunder. The Nuggets are on the brink of elimination, facing a 3-2 deficit entering tonight’s pivotal contest in Denver.
After averaging 21.4 points, 6.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals on .474/.393/.886 shooting in 67 regular season appearances (36.1 minutes per game), Murray has averaged 22.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, 4.9 RPG and 1.2 SPG on .447/.378/.880 shooting thus far in the postseason (12 games; 41.8 MPG).
Murray, 28, has ranked second on the team in points and assists per game in both the regular season and the playoffs, only trailing perennial MVP finalist Nikola Jokic. A dynamic shot-maker who is known for his strong pick-and-roll chemistry with Jokic, Murray played a critical role in helping Denver win its first championship two years ago.
If Murray is unable to suit up on Thursday, Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther and Jalen Pickett are among the Nuggets who could receive more playing time.
William Chisholm Finalizes New Celtics Ownership Group
Impending Celtics owner William Chisholm has finalized his new ownership group and has obtained the necessary funds to purchase the team, according to a letter sent to existing shareholders that was obtained by Adam Himmselsbach of The Boston Globe.
The letter confirms much of what was reported a couple weeks ago by Front Office Sports, including that Chisholm had secured enough capital to complete the sale; the buyers will acquire approximately 51% of the franchise this summer at a valuation of $6.1 billion in the first of two transactions; the second transaction will occur in 2028 at a $7.3 billion valuation; and current owner Wyc Grousbeck will continue as CEO and governor through the 2027/28 season.
As Himmelsbach notes, the sale will not become official until it’s approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors in June or July, though that’s viewed as a formality. Chisholm’s exact stake has yet to be clarified, Himmelsbach adds, but he’s required to control at least 15% to be the majority owner.
Chisholm’s winning bid for the Celtics was not fully financed at the time the agreement was reached in March, but obviously that has changed over the past couple months. That also isn’t unusual for such a massive transaction, Himmelsbach writes.
According to the letter, current minority owners who are not joining Chisholm’s group will be required to sell 50% “plus one unit” of their interest in the Celtics while deferring the rest until the second transaction in 2028. They also have the option of selling their all of their shares this summer, according to Himmselbach, who reports that those stakeholders have until May 28 to inform Chisholm’s group of their decision.
Warriors’ Stephen Curry Won’t Play In Game 5 On Wednesday
5:50pm: Curry has been declared out for Game 5, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
8:22am: The Warriors are facing a 3-1 deficit in their second-round series against Minnesota after dropping Game 4 on Monday night.
Star guard Stephen Curry, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Game 1 against the Wolves, told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he does not expect to play in Wednesday’s Game 5 with Golden State on the brink of elimination (Twitter link).
“Even if I wanted to be Superman, I couldn’t,” Curry said.
As Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes, the two-time MVP was referring to a comment made by Draymond Green after Monday’s loss.
“No, we’re not going to Superman this thing,” Green said when asked if he expects Curry to try to push to come back, and if so, would Green be a part of that conversation. “If he’s in a place where he can play, I’m sure he will. Him and Rick (Celebrini, Warriors vice president of player health and performance) and everybody will figure that out. But we don’t need (Curry to try to be) Superman.
“Got to play the long game. If he can, we know he will. But there’s no pressure. We’ve got to figure out how to win whether he plays or not.”
Curry is set to be reevaluated on Wednesday after initially sustaining the injury on May 6. He suggested last week that he was unlikely to play in Game 5, with a subsequent report from ESPN’s Shams Charania stating that the Warriors viewed a possible Game 6 as “the earliest potential window” for Curry to resume playing.
Due to a scheduling quirk, Golden State would have three days off between Game 5 and Game 6, which is tentatively scheduled for Sunday. Of course, that best-case scenario would require the Warriors to win on Wednesday in Minnesota.
As for Game 4, the Warriors were largely undone by a poor third quarter which saw Minnesota break open the tight game and build a large lead following a 17-0 run. According to Youngmisuk, Green said Jimmy Butler was feeling under the weather on Monday after the star forward managed just 13 points on nine field goal attempts. Butler had 33 points on 26 shots in Game 3.
“We obviously need him shooting the ball,” Green said of Butler. “But their defense, they were collapsing on him today. So, we tried to pick up that slack. But I know he’s not feeling well; been pretty crappy all day. That also affects the energy, as well. No excuses made here.
“I think that’s on me. I’ve got to find a way to get him into more positions to score. I think tonight, I was just trying to get him the ball, and I don’t think I got him the ball in good spots, which then allowed the defense to load up on him. So, I’ve got to do a better job of getting him the ball in better spots to where it’s not as easy for the defense to key on him.”
Kings To Consider DeMar DeRozan Trade?
As Jake Fischer of The Stein Line writes (Substack link), rival teams are curious about which direction the Kings will take after hiring Scott Perry to replace Monte McNair as general manager.
According to Fischer, “there have been no shortage of rumbles” about the possibility of the Kings considering a trade involving DeMar DeRozan this summer.
DeRozan, 35, was acquired by Sacramento in a sign-and-trade last offseason. He will earn approximately $24.6MM in 2025/26 and $25.7MM in ’26/27 before hitting free agency in two years.
While DeRozan remained productive on an individual level in ’24/25, averaging 22.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 4.4 APG in 77 appearances, the team had a disappointing season, finishing just 40-42. The Kings were eliminated from playoff contention in the play-in tournament when they lost to Dallas.
The six-time All-Star talked last month about how “uncertainty” weighed heavily on the team during the season — Sacramento fired head coach Mike Brown, replacing him with Doug Christie, and traded De’Aaron Fox for a package that included former Bulls teammate Zach LaVine. And all of that was before the McNair/Perry change last month.
DeRozan will be entering his 17th NBA season in ’25/26 and openly wondered what his future would hold, despite being under contract for two more years.
Sixers Promoting Jameer Nelson To Assistant GM
The Sixers are promoting former NBA point guard Jameer Nelson to assistant general manager, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link).
Shams Charania of ESPN has confirmed the news (via Twitter).
The 20th overall pick in the 2004 draft, Nelson spent 14 seasons in the NBA, averaging 11.3 PPG and 5.1 APG across 878 regular season contests, earning All-Star honors for the Magic in 2009. He last appeared in the league during the 2017/18 season, when he played a total of 50 games for the Pelicans and Pistons.
Nelson, who grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania and played his college ball at Saint Joseph’s, has been with the 76ers since 2020. He was initially named a scout for Philadelphia as well as assistant general manager of the team’s NBA G League affiliate before being promoted to GM of the Delaware Blue Coats in 2023.
Nelson, 43, has drawn strong reviews for his performance as an executive and spoke back in November about his desire to one day run an NBA team.
Grizzlies Reportedly Interested In T.J. Shorts
Point guard T.J. Shorts is a free agent after playing a starring role in France the past two seasons with Paris Basketball. The 27-year-old was named MVP of both the LNB Elite — France’s top domestic league — and the EuroCup in 2023/24 and was named to the All-EuroLeague First Team this season after leading Paris to a promotion.
According to Clément Carton of Basket Europe (subscription required; story in French), Shorts has received lucrative offers to remain in the EuroLeague, but the “most likely” outcome is that he will sign with the Grizzlies without playing in Summer League (hat tip to Sportand0).
Shorts has a strong relationship with Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo, Carton notes, having played under Iisalo in both Germany and France. In fact, Shorts said in an interview a couple years ago with Maxime Bodilis of BeBasket.fr that Iisalo was the primary reason he decided to follow the coach from Bonn to Paris.
“We have to go back to last season when he recruited me,” Shorts said about Iisalo (story via BasketNews). “He very quickly gave me his trust and allowed me to be myself on the court. This is the main reason why I followed him here, knowing that Paris would have big ambitions this year and the following one, with the EuroLeague in their sights.”
“He talks to me a lot during meetings and gives me a lot of instructions. And it’s the same off the court. He makes a lot of videos and gives me a lot of advice, even by text. He may also forward articles to me. That’s what he did recently, sending me one on Tyrese Haliburton. Clearly, he tries by all means to help me progress, and that is priceless. He’s a bit like a mentor to me. He has a lot of knowledge, and I try to take advantage of it as much as possible.”
Despite his diminutive stature — he’s listed at 5’9″ and 161 lbs. — Shorts has been highly productive in stints in Latvia, Germany and France. In 33 EuroLeague contests this season with Paris Basketball (27.1 minutes per game), the UC Davis product averaged 18.7 points, a league-best 7.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals, with a shooting slash line of .499/.415/.732.
In that same interview with Bodilis, Shorts said it would be a “dream” to play in the NBA one day. It’s worth noting that Memphis has also shown a willingness to sign small point guards, as Japan’s Yuki Kawamura spent the ’24/25 season on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies.
Al Horford Would Like To Re-Sign With Celtics
As Brian Windorst of ESPN.com writes, the defending-champion Celtics were always going to be faced with difficult financial decisions this offseason no matter how they fared in the playoffs. But if they’re unable to dig themselves out of the 0-2 hole they find themselves in after unexpectedly blowing a pair of 20-point second-half leads, then there will be new questions about the viability of the current roster.
Nearly all of Boston’s core is under contract for multiple seasons beyond 2024/25. Veteran forward/center Al Horford is the team’s biggest free agent, and he will be 39 years old next month.
Horford does not plan to retire after ’24/25 and would like to re-sign with the Celtics, sources tell Windhorst. Whether Boston is amenable to that idea may depend on the type of contract Horford is willing to accept, since the team’s payroll (including luxury tax penalties) is projected to exceed $500MM in ’25/26, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Horford remained productive this season, averaging 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 60 games, including 42 starts (27.7 minutes per contest). While Horford was a mid-range maestro early in his career, he has extended his range over the years — 68.1% of his field goal attempts came behind the three-point line this season, and he converted 36.3% of those long-range looks.
According to Windhorst, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and his staff have successfully been able to keep the players’ minds off the impending ownership change. The team also hasn’t discussed potential roster changes with player agents, Windhorst reports, though that obviously doesn’t mean that future moves won’t be in the cards.
Boston will face the Knicks in New York for Saturday’s pivotal Game 3.
Cavs’ Garland, Mobley Discuss Injuries After Game 3 Win
After missing a little more than two weeks due to a left great toe sprain, All-Star point Darius Garland returned to action for the Cavaliers on Friday night in Indiana, playing an important role in a decisive Game 3 victory.
As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, Garland was clearly playing through pain and wasn’t at his best, registering 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting, three assists, four turnovers and four fouls in 25 minutes. However, his contributions went beyond the box score, as he handled the Pacers’ full-court defense well and took ball-handling and play-making pressure off Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland’s other guards.
After the game, Garland told Fedor the return timeline for his toe injury is typically closer to four weeks than two, but he was eager to suit up with the Cavs facing an 0-2 deficit.
“I just want to be out there for my guys,” Garland said. “Everybody put their bodies and their injuries on the line. We fought through it. Just going out there to win this series.”
Head coach Kenny Atkinson told Garland not to rush back from the injury, which sidelined him for past the four playoff games leading up to Friday’s contest. But he was thrilled the 25-year-old was able to play, even if it’s not a given he’ll be ready for Sunday’s Game 4.
“(Garland) is just playing through a lot of pain, quite honestly,” Atkinson said. “To get him to play this game, let’s just say there’s a lot that goes into it and he’s kind of taking one for the team here. I think he had to push through a lot. Hopefully, he recovers. Even if we get 15, 20 minutes from him, we need it. We need another ball-handler. He can create separation. He can create advantages, even if it’s not going to be perfect with the way his health is right now.”
The Cavs also had Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (left ankle sprain) and forward De’Andre Hunter (dislocated right thumb) back for Game 3 after they both missed Game 2. Hunter continues to deal with pain and swelling on his palm, particularly when catching passes, Fedor writes.
As for Mobley, he looked the closest to 100% during the victory, finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks in 35 minutes. That wasn’t the case earlier this week though, as Mobley said he was wearing a walking boot and was unable to put weight on his ankle prior to Game 2, when he was listed as questionable before being ruled out.
“I really wanted to play (Game 2), but definitely couldn’t,” Mobley said, according to Jamal Collier of ESPN. “But after that loss, I wanted to get back as soon as possible and get out there. So I was just basically day to day seeing how it felt, how quickly I heal. Normally heal pretty quick, and from there just played it by ear.”
While the Cavaliers were pleased to win the game, they recognize they still have to dig themselves out of a hole to win the series.
“We haven’t done anything,” Garland said, per Fedor. “We’re still down a game, so we’ve got to come in here Sunday with the same attitude, same mindset, and same physicality that we played with today. Just bring it again on another level.”