Contract Details: Landale, Clarkson, Bassey, Lyles, Smart, More
Hawks center Jock Landale, Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson, and Warriors big man Charles Bassey waived the implicit no-trade clauses in their respective contracts, Hoops Rumors has learned.
A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year deal with a second-year player or team option – is typically awarded the right to veto a trade for the coming year. However, his team can ask him to waive that right as part of the agreement, and that was the case for Landale, Clarkson, and Bassey, who can all be traded freely at the 2027 deadline in February.
Landale’s one-year deal with the Hawks came in at $14.1MM, leaving Atlanta with less than $1MM left on its non-taxpayer mid-level exception. While Clarkson’s minimum-salary contract is fully guaranteed, Bassey’s features a $1.4MM partial guarantee, so he could be waived before the league-wide guarantee deadline in January without Golden State being on the hook for his full salary.
Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:
- Trey Lyles‘ one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Timberwolves carries a partial guarantee of $1.5MM. The veteran forward will earn his full salary if he remains under contract through January 7. Meanwhile, Jaylen Clark‘s three-year, $10MM contract with Minnesota is fully guaranteed, with a first-year salary of $3,086,420.
- The Rockets used the full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Marcus Smart to his two-year contract, Hoops Rumors has confirmed, which means Houston is currently hard-capped at the second tax apron instead of the first apron. The team isn’t in danger of hitting either threshold at this point — Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com has the Rockets nearly $11MM below the first apron.
- The new contracts for Bulls guard Norman Powell and Bucks forward Ousmane Dieng are worth slightly less than initially reported. Powell’s two-year deal comes in just over $44MM, with a guaranteed $21.5MM salary in 2026/27 and a $22.575MM team option for ’27/28. Dieng’s three-year contract has identical cap hits of $5.75MM for all three seasons, for a total of $17.25MM. Dieng’s final year is a team option, as previously reported.
- Jaxson Hayes and Josh Okogie received matching contracts with the Jazz, as both will earn guaranteed $6MM salaries in 2026/27 with second-year team options also worth $6MM. Jusuf Nurkic‘s two-year deal with Utah looks a little different — it has a descending structure ($11,458,333 in year one; $10,541,667 in year two) and is fully guaranteed.
Jordan Clarkson Re-Signs With Knicks
July 10: The Knicks have officially re-signed Clarkson, they confirmed today in a press release.
July 9: Free agent guard Jordan Clarkson will re-sign with the Knicks, agent Rich Paul tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link), Clarkson will earn $3.9MM on his new one-year contract, which means it’ll be a minimum-salary deal. It’ll count for about $2.45MM toward the cap, helping New York stay below the second tax apron. Team owner James Dolan made it a priority this offseason to avoid surpassing that second-apron threshold and the front office has stuck to that mandate.
After spending five-plus seasons in Utah, Clarkson signed a minimum-salary contract with the Knicks in 2025 and played a bench role for the eventual champions. The 34-year-old’s playing time fluctuated over the course of the season and he set new career lows in several statistical categories, including points (8.6), assists (1.3), and minutes (17.8) per game before playing just 30 total minutes in five NBA Finals contests.
Still, Clarkson bought into his role and provided some offensive punch as part of New York’s second unit. Now, he has decided not to pass on the opportunity to try to defend the team’s title in 2026/27.
In spite of their desire to avoid the second apron, the Knicks have been able to re-sign several key free agents this offseason, bringing back Landry Shamet, Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara, and now Clarkson on new deals. The team’s one notable cap casualty is center Mitchell Robinson, who signed a three-year, $47MM+ contract with the conference rival Celtics. New York technically could have matched that offer, but not without going deep into second-apron territory.
Once Clarkson officially re-signs, the Knicks will have 13 players on standard contracts, with about $3.27MM in wiggle room below the second apron. That would be enough to add a 14th man, but it wouldn’t be enough to fill the 15th roster spot until later in the season unless the club signs two second-round rookies (e.g. Tyler Nickel and Jack Kayil), whose cap/apron hits would come in below the $2.45MM veteran’s minimum.
Scotto’s Latest: Kuminga, Bagley, Knicks, Clarkson, Harris
While the Hawks declined their $24.3MM team option on Jonathan Kuminga, they haven’t ruled out bringing him back at a lower salary, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
According to Scotto’s sources, Atlanta declined the option to maximize its financial flexibility, including accessing the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and to potentially explore sign-and-trade scenarios. The team still has Kuminga’s Bird rights and the former No. 8 overall pick has received interest on the open market.
Scotto hears the Cavaliers and Bucks have discussed a possible sign-and-trade deal with the Hawks, while the Kings — one of Kuminga’s primary suitors last summer as a restricted free agent — have “circled back” in the past few days to inquire about the 23-year-old forward. Cleveland would have to move below the first tax apron in order to acquire a player via sign-and-trade.
Here’s more from Scotto’s latest article for HoopsHype:
- The Knicks expressed interest in Marvin Bagley III before the veteran big man agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Nuggets, league sources tell HoopsHype. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported at the time of the agreement that Bagley received a “handful” of offers in free agency, and it sounds like New York might’ve been another team on that list. The Knicks are looking for a backup center after losing their second- and third-string big men (Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti) to the Celtics and Sixers, respectively.
- Confirming prior reporting from Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, Scotto says a reunion between the Knicks and Jordan Clarkson remains a possibility. The 34-year-old guard, who’s an unrestricted free agent, spent last season on a veteran’s minimum deal with New York.
- The Pistons, Lakers, Clippers, Hawks and Hornets all registered interest in Tobias Harris before he agreed to a two-year, $31MM deal with the Spurs, Scotto reports. Harris explained his decision to sign with San Antonio in a text message. “The urgency to win a championship. It felt like both our goals aligned,” Harris told Scotto.
Free Agent Rumors: Kessler, Powell, Blazers, Simmons, Suns, Payton
Center Walker Kessler will meet with multiple teams when free agency opens on Tuesday evening, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Jones, the meetings will be held at CAA headquarters in Los Angeles.
Jones reported earlier on Monday that the Jazz formally issued Kessler a qualifying offer, making the 7’2″ big man a restricted free agent. Utah now has the right of first refusal on Kessler, giving the team the ability to match any offer sheet he might receive from a rival team.
Kessler and the Jazz have engaged in contract negotiations during Utah’s exclusive negotiating period. The team reportedly put a five-year offer worth approximately $140MM on the table, but the center and his camp were said to be unhappy about the way those talks were going.
Although “several” teams are expected to express interest in Kessler, the belief around the NBA is that he’ll eventually return to the Jazz, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Siegel also hears Utah is in the market for a veteran guard to add to their young backcourt.
Here are some more rumors on ahead of tomorrow’s free agency, with several players already agreeing to return to their respective teams:
- Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported on Sunday that the Bulls are among the possible suitors for Norman Powell, and Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal has heard the same. Powell isn’t expected to explore sign-and-trade scenarios from the Heat, a source tells Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The 33-year-old wing made his first All-Star team in 2025/26, having averaged 21.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals on .470/.380/.827 shooting in 58 games (29.6 minutes per game).
- In a story that was published shortly before the Trail Blazers agreed to trade for two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reported that Portland was interested in re-signing free agents Robert Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley “if the deal makes sense.” There’s mutual interest in a reunion with Williams, according to Freeman. This is just my speculation, but pending additional roster moves, Wesley seems less likely to return after adding Morant to a crowded backcourt.
- Speaking to Clay Skipper of Men’s Health, former NBA star Ben Simmons says he’s considering making a comeback attempt after he was out of the league this past season, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com relays. “I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” Simmons said. “I don’t have a plan on where.”
- The Suns are looking for a guard with the taxpayer mid-level exception, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Of the six players Gambadoro listed, two — Kevin Huerter (Pistons) and Landry Shamet (Knicks) have reportedly agreed to re-sign with their respective teams. The other four guards are Luke Kennard, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and De’Anthony Melton.
- According to Siegel, Warriors guard Gary Payton II is interested in re-signing with Golden State on a minimum-salary contract.
Trade/Free Agency Rumors: Brown, Leonard, Middleton, Clarkson, Suns
The Celtics “spent the entire weekend canvassing the league for Jaylen Brown trades,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said Monday morning on SportsCenter (video link). Boston is exploring the possibility of getting a third or fourth team involved to help facilitate some of the proposed deals, Charania adds.
He states that the Celtics have “set a really high bar” in their asking price for Brown, confirming that they’re seeking up to four first-round picks in exchange for the All-Star wing. Some rival teams that have talked to Charania are “having a hard time figuring out what Brown’s actual market is.” Many aren’t sure that a trade exists at the current price and speculate that Boston might have to settle for a deal “that might not look like a great return.”
Charania also states that Brown’s handling of the persistent trade rumors could be an important factor in determining the Celtics’ level of urgency to move him.
There are more rumors to pass along:
- Trade talks between the Clippers and Raptors involving Kawhi Leonard emerged because L.A. hasn’t made a long-term commitment to Leonard this offseason, Charania writes in an ESPN story. He states that Leonard’s representatives told other teams he’s only interested signing an extension with Toronto if the Clippers opt to deal him.
- The Heat have interest in reuniting Giannis Antetokounmpo with long-time teammate Khris Middleton, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscription required). Middleton will be a free agent after finishing this season with Dallas.
- Jordan Clarkson is “still a possibility” to return to the Knicks in free agency, even though the team wants to stay under the second apron, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. However, other moves could determine whether the Knicks are able to re-sign him.
- The Suns are hoping to extend forward Miles Bridges after acquiring him from Charlotte, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7. He states that the team is considering several shooting guards in free agency to replace Grayson Allen. Gambadoro adds that there’s “no chance” Phoenix will get involved in a trade for Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (Twitter link).
Knicks Owner Dolan Determined To Avoid Second Tax Apron
Fresh off the franchise’s first title in 53 years, Knicks owner James Dolan said in a radio interview that he wants to avoid the second tax apron for the 2026/27 season.
Speaking on WFAN’s The Carton Show (Twitter video link), Dolan said it would “suicidal” for the franchise to become a second apron club.
“If we could bring back the whole team, exactly as it is, why wouldn’t you? But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to,” he said. “We’re willing to stretch, but there’s certain things in the NBA that you’d have to be suicidal to do and we’re not going to do those. One of them is the second apron. Cannot go into the second apron. … I’ll write as big of a check as possible, but I can’t write a check that goes into the second apron.”
If that’s the case, the Knicks will have some hard decisions to make this offseason. Topped by Karl-Anthony Towns‘ $57MM contract for next season, the Knicks have approximately $201MM tied into eight guaranteed salary commitments. Most of that total is invested in starters Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, all of whom remain under contract for multiple seasons.
Several key reserves are headed to free agency though, and while there are no cap rules prohibiting the Knicks from re-signing any of them, it will almost certainly be impossible to keep them all without going over the second tax apron.
Jose Alvarado holds a $4.5MM player option on his contract — if he exercises it, that would add to the Knicks’ guaranteed salary total. Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet and Jordan Clarkson are headed to unrestricted free agency, while Mohamed Diawara and Ariel Hukporti will become restricted free agents at the end of the month if they’re issued qualifying offers.
A new market-value contract for Robinson alone could push the Knicks close to or into the second apron, which is projected at $221.7MM for next season. Retaining Alvarado, Robinson and Shamet would push them further above that threshold, and they’d still have to fill out the remainder of the roster.
Re-signing Diawara could also be difficult if another team aggressively pursues him, since the Knicks only hold his Non-Bird rights after he earned the minimum as a rookie. Diawara appeared in 69 regular season games, though he had a minimal role in the postseason.
What Dolan didn’t clarify was whether he wanted to avoid the second apron due to its roster-building restrictions or to keep the payroll under control. However, to avoid that apron the Knicks would more than likely need to fill most of their bench with players on veteran’s minimum deals and rookie contracts.
The restrictions for teams operating over the second apron include not being allowed to use any portion of the mid-level exception, aggregate two or more player salaries in a trade, send out cash as part of a trade, or acquire a player via trade by using a signed-and-traded player for salary-matching purposes. Teams that finish the season above the second apron also have their first-round pick in the draft seven years away “frozen” — that pick would not be tradable unless the club spent enough subsequent seasons out of second apron territory.
Knicks Win First Championship Since 1973; Brunson Named MVP
For the first time in 53 years, New York has an NBA title to celebrate. The Knicks finished off a thrilling NBA Finals with a 94-90 win Saturday night in San Antonio.
Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP, wrapping up the series with 45 points in Game 5. He was overwhelmed by the moment in a post-game interview on ABC (Twitter video link), taking a long time to compose himself before calling it “everything I ever dreamed of.”
With a huge contingent of Knicks fans cheering them on after making the trip to San Antonio, Brunson said the championship is “the reason I came to New York” as he accepted the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award.
Head coach Mike Brown thanked owner James Dolan and team president Leon Rose before giving a shout-out to New York fans for their support. Sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes that the Knicks plan to fly back to New York City tonight to continue their celebration (Twitter link). Dolan implored New Yorkers to be safe and said the championship parade will be held on Thursday (Twitter link via Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints).
Saturday’s game followed a familiar pattern as San Antonio built a large early lead before the Knicks began to chip away. New York scored just 13 points in the first quarter as the Spurs flashed a dominant defense built around Victor Wembanyama patrolling the paint. San Antonio kept the lead for most of the game, but the Knicks put together another late rally led by Brunson, who finished 14-of-27 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
Mikal Bridges (14 points), Josh Hart (13) and OG Anunoby (11) were the only other Knicks players to hit double figures, but Brunson made plenty of big shots with the game in the balance. It was a difficult night for Karl-Anthony Towns, who was in foul trouble all game and finished with two points and 10 rebounds in less than 23 minutes.
Rookie guard Dylan Harper carried the offensive load for the Spurs, posting 25 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes off the bench. Wembanyama contributed 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the loss, per Siegel (Twitter link). “The better team won. We did a lot of good things, and we didn’t finish the job. That’s what it is.”
Even though the series lasted just five games, it will go down as one of the most competitive in NBA Finals history, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link). New York outscored San Antonio by just 12 total points, which is tied for the closest Finals ever that went five or fewer games.
The Knicks also set a record with the longest drought between championships, notes Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link), breaking the old mark of 50 years held by Milwaukee (1971-2021).
The long-awaited title is the result of several gutsy moves by Rose and the front office, states Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Rose made the decision a year ago to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau, who had just taken the team to the conference finals, and replace him with Brown, who was dismissed by Sacramento in the middle of last season.
Rose’s transformation of the Knicks from a perennial loser to a title contender began with the 2022 signing of Brunson in free agency, but it also included ambitious trades that brought in Anunoby, Hart, Towns and Bridges, as well as smaller moves to pick up Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado.
“I found a home in New York,” Hart said during the post-game celebration (Twitter link from James L. Edwards of The Athletic). “They embrace for who I am, and I’m not perfect.”
As always, the end of the NBA Finals marks the beginning of the league’s offseason. Starting Sunday, teams will be permitted to negotiate with their own free agents and extension-eligible players — contract agreements reached before the end of the month with those players can be officially finalized in July. Trade restrictions are also lifted, as all 30 teams are now able to make deals.
The major decision for New York in its quest to repeat will be how to handle Mitchell Robinson as he approaches unrestricted free agency. Robinson is the longest-tenured Knick and an indispensable part of the second unit, but the team already has a very expensive roster in place. Jordan Clarkson and Shamet will also be unrestricted free agents, while Alvarado holds a $4.5MM player option.
The Spurs’ roster is more stable as most of their rotation is on low-cost rookie deals. Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson will all be extension-eligible this summer, as will Julian Champagnie, whose contract includes a $3MM team option for next season. It will be interesting to see whether San Antonio decides to explore trade opportunities involving De’Aaron Fox, who suffered through a difficult Finals and has a four-year, maximum-salary extension that’s about to kick in. That contract is worth a projected $221.76MM.
The Spurs and Thunder are listed as the early co-favorites for next year’s title by DraftKings, relays Bill Speros of The Boston Herald (Twitter link).
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Towns, Shamet, Clarkson
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, who combined for 60 of the Knicks‘ 111 points in Monday’s Game 3, were the team’s only reliable scorers in the fourth quarter, tallying 18 points between them on 6-of-11 shooting in the final frame. The rest of the team made just 1-of-16 shots and scored two points en route to a 115-111 loss, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes.
It was an especially frustrating night for Mikal Bridges, who has had an excellent postseason but scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in 29 minutes of action on Monday and went 0-for-3 from the floor in the fourth quarter. Bridges wasn’t happy with his play at either end of the court, telling reporters after the game that he’s “gotta be better” on Wednesday, according to Howie Kussoy of The New York Post.
“It starts with me defensively. I think I did a bad job defensively,” Bridges said. “They scored a good amount of times when I was in throughout the game. For me, it starts with defense and feeding off of that.”
We have more on the Knicks, who will take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4:
- Karl-Anthony Towns earned rave reviews for his play at both ends of the court in the first two games of the NBA Finals, but he was “mostly a non-factor” on Monday, scoring just 11 points in 38 minutes, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Head coach Mike Brown said there were issues with the Knicks’ offense as a whole rather than anything specifically related to Towns. Still, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets, the star big man has now gone three games without scoring a single fourth-quarter point vs. the Spurs.
- Landry Shamet‘s excellent postseason hit a speed bump in Game 3 as he shot 1-of-8 from the floor and had a team-worst -20 plus/minus mark in his 23 minutes. The veteran wing is confident in his – and the team’s – ability to bounce back and “clean up” some of Monday’s mistakes, as Kussoy relays for The New York Post. “Great process, got some great looks, had a few that were down and out,” Shamet said. “Process over outcome. I’m more upset about some of the things defensively that I’ve been priding myself on. I had a few possessions where I didn’t do my job like I needed to. That’s fixable. Sometimes the gods give you in and outs and the ball doesn’t go in.”
- Veteran guard Jordan Clarkson provided the Knicks with a shot in the arm off the bench in Game 3 after receiving a DNP-CD in Game 2, per Braziller of The New York Post. Clarkson scored 10 points and was a +8 in 13 minutes.
- As dominant as the Knicks were during their 13-game winning streak that stretched from Game 4 of the first round to Game 2 of the Finals, their identity over the past two years has been defined by their resiliency, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who suggests the club will have an opportunity to show off that trait after suffering a setback on Monday. “They’re a great team,” Anunoby said of the Spurs. “They weren’t just going to lay down. All we can do is move and learn from this. We have to take it as adversity and just respond to it.”
Finals Notes: Wemby, Brunson, Rotations, Sochan
After entering the NBA Finals as favorites, the Spurs are now considered underdogs to win the series following their Game 1 loss to the Knicks. However, San Antonio’s top players are unfazed by the deficit, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required), who points out that the team also lost Game 1 of its Minnesota series and was down 2-1 and 3-2 to Oklahoma City before coming back to advance.
“We feel like we’re the better team,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “We didn’t play well and still had a chance to win.”
Big man Victor Wembanyama, meanwhile, stated that he isn’t “worried in the slightest” about San Antonio’s ability to respond to the Game 1 loss. Like Castle, he pointed out that the Spurs played a subpar game by their standards and still had a chance to pull out a win in the fourth quarter.
“It’s almost like I have to play normal, not even good (in Game 2),” Wembanyama said, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. “It’s just (about) doing the right things enough. When we play bad, when I play bad, is when we shoot ourselves in the foot. This is why I’m not worried. We’re going to be so much better. I’m going to be so much better.”
Here’s more on the NBA Finals as the Spurs and Knicks gear up for Game 2 on Friday night:
- The difference in Game 1, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic, was that Knicks guard Jalen Brunson knew had to close out the victory, while Wembanyama “looked a little lost by comparison.” However, Wembanyama has proven to be a quick learner over the course of his first playoff run and his teammates are confident in his ability to figure things out going forward. “I feel like that is kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “He always kind of steps up and meets it.”
- The NBA is investigating an incident that took place near the end of Game 1, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that Brunson took exception to a pair of courtside fans who were directing “profane” and “derogatory” comments toward him. As Haynes explained during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show (Twitter video link), Brunson spoke to referee Scott Foster at the end of the game about those fans.
- As Law Murray of The Athletic observes (via Twitter), both the Knicks and Spurs pared down their rotations from 10 players to nine during the second half of Game 1. Veteran guard Jordan Clarkson was the casualty for New York, while rookie forward Carter Bryant was San Antonio’s odd man out.
- Former Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, now a member of the Knicks, has played in just five of the team’s 15 playoff games so far, exclusively in garbage time, but he said ahead of Game 1 that he’s “staying ready” and trying to be the best teammate he can be, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “Not all 18 guys can play on the court, so you have to accept that part and not be a cancer to the team,” Sochan said.
Finals Notes: Wemby, Castle, Brunson, Kornet, More
While their playing styles and physiques bear little resemblance, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is providing the rest of the NBA’s teams with the same sort of unique challenges they faced three decades ago when Shaquille O’Neal emerged as a superstar in Orlando, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Like Wembanyama, O’Neal led his team to the NBA Finals in just his third year in the league.
“He’s Shaq,” one veteran NBA head coach said of Wembanyama, per Windhorst. “He eats clean, worries about how his water is filtered and doesn’t break backboards like Shaq did, but he presents the same problem. None of us know what the hell we’re going to do to stop him.”
“Of course people are going to compare him to Shaq but he’s actually Shaq 2.0,” a rival general manager added. “Because he takes care of his body and plays a modern game, shoots the three and can make free throws. Yeah, he’s our nightmare.”
While O’Neal eventually won four NBA championships, he didn’t earn his first one until 2000, well after he had left Orlando for Los Angeles. In 1995, he and a young Magic team entered the Finals as favorites, but were swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets, who were defending their ’94 title. As Windhorst writes, the Spurs and Wembanyama will also enter the Finals without the edge in playoff experience, but they’re determined to avoid the same fate as O’Neal’s Magic.
“The lack of experience is a strength for us,” Wembanyama told ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “Because we could do impossible stuff … because we don’t know it’s impossible.”
Here’s more on the NBA Finals, which will get underway in a matter of hours:
- Stephon Castle‘s ability to slow down Knicks star Jalen Brunson will be one of the key factors of the Finals, according to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN, who notes that Brunson expressed nothing but respect for Castle at media day on Tuesday. “He’s great. I think his intensity and tenacity is special,” Brunson said. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s had that since I’ve seen him at UConn. The way he’s played over these first couple years of his career, he’s going to be a great player, great defender.” While the sample size is small, Castle has defended Brunson well in the past, holding him to 27.3% shooting (3-of-11), per Goodwill.
- Kurt Helin of NBC Sports passes along some of the notable quotes from Knicks and Spurs players at Tuesday’s media day, while Ben Golliver of ESPN ranks all 30 players involved in the series, from Wembanyama at No. 1 to Bismack Biyombo at No. 30.
- Facing the Knicks in the Finals represents a “full-circle” moment for reserve Spurs center Luke Kornet, as Howie Kussoy of The New York Post relays. Kornet spent the first two years of his NBA career with New York, playing on a two-way contract as a rookie. “I had a great time in my first two years, especially in Westchester,” Kornet said on Tuesday. “I feel like the group that we had, it was some really fun basketball that we played. That’s what I remember the most. We had a lot of talent and young guys and it felt like an extension of college. I felt like I was growing my game a lot at that time. A lot of guys always talk about the G League like you can’t wait to get out of it, but I really enjoyed my time.”
- Whichever team claims this year’s championship, it will be a win for the Philippines, according to Miguel Alfonso Caramoan of ESPN. As Caramoan observes, either Spurs guard Dylan Harper or Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson will become the first Filipino-descended NBA player to win a title.
- In a pair of stories for The New York Post, Andrew Crane digs into how the Knicks and Spurs acquired each of the 15 players on their current standard rosters.