Knicks Granted Permission To Interview James Borrego
The Knicks have received permission from the Pelicans to interview assistant James Borrego in their head coaching search, sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). Edwards first reported New York’s interest in Borrego on Monday.
The 47-year-old Borrego has served as associate head coach under Willie Green in New Orleans for the past two seasons. He has previous head coaching experience, compiling a 138-163 record in four seasons with Charlotte and a 10-20 mark as an interim head coach with Orlando 10 years ago.
Borrego will become the fourth candidate to interview with the Knicks since Tom Thibodeau was fired after losing to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals. Borrego joins former Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins, former Sacramento head coach Mike Brown and current Minnesota assistant Micah Nori.
The Knicks are also reportedly monitoring Jason Kidd‘s situation in Dallas, although the Mavericks turned down their request to talk to Kidd about the position. Edwards stated Monday that Kidd seems to be a “long shot” to wind up in New York.
According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required), the Knicks are emphasizing player development as they seek a new head coach. Bondy adds that Heat assistant Chris Quinn is another potential candidate to watch, though there’s no indication New York has requested permission to speak to him yet.
Warriors RFA Kuminga ‘Aiming To Be An All-Star’
As he prepares for restricted free agency, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is training at workout facilities in Cleveland and preparing for the 2025/26 season in the hopes of having a more significant role, wherever he ends up, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. As Slater writes, Kuminga has “long held a dream” of becoming a star who can lead a team and drive its offense.
“That’s what’s been on my mind,” Kuminga told Slater. “Things take time, but I feel like I’m at the point where that has to be my priority, to just be one of the guys a team relies on. Aiming to be an All-Star. Multiple times. Aiming to be great. … Wherever I’m going to be at, it don’t matter if it’s the Warriors or if it’s anywhere else, it’s something I want. I want to see what I could do. I know I got it. So I want to really see. I’ve never got that chance.”
As Kuminga notes, he hasn’t consistently gotten the opportunity to play a starring role in Golden State. His minutes and his role have fluctuated during four seasons with the Warriors, all the way up until this spring — he was out of the rotation at the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs before averaging 24.3 points per game in the final four contests of Golden State’s season with Stephen Curry sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
“I did it here and there, but it was never a consistent role, a consistent role given to me,” Kuminga said. “It only happens five games on, 10 games off. I want it to be a consistent role. Because I know what I got. I know what I could bring. I know how much work I put in. I know I’m dedicated to this game, how much I love the game.”
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. spoke this week about the need to more firmly establish a role for Kuminga if he returns, and Golden State should be in the driver’s seat during his free agency process, since the 22-year-old will be restricted. Still, there are teams expected to have interest in the former No. 7 overall pick.
Slater confirms previous reporting by stating that the Heat have “legitimate” interest in Kuminga after missing out on Kevin Durant. A league source confirms to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald that Miami is eyeing Kuminga, though the Herald duo says the team is considering other options too.
Whatever happens with Kuminga in restricted free agency, he’s confident that agent Aaron Turner will find the best outcome for him.
“I trust my people, trust my agent,” Kuminga told Slater. “I want to know more about how this trade stuff goes, how this sign-and-trade goes or how this contract goes. I want to learn more about it. But most of the time I just focus on playing, just working. The better I get, wherever I get my chance, it’s going to show.
“Wherever I go, wherever I’ll be, off the rip, I just want them to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, he deserved what he got. He deserved to be here. He worked hard for it.’ Wherever it is, that’s what I want it to feel like. I want to be great. I feel like I’m capable of being that, capable of doing some special things and I won’t just let it go like that. The only way to get there is just to lock in every single day.”
Trade Rumors: Brown, White, Holiday, Hawks, NAW, Collins
After having agreed to trades that send out Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics have moved below the second tax apron. However, they may not be done dealing yet. Appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Tuesday night (YouTube link), Shams Charania reported that Boston is fielding calls from teams with interest in Jaylen Brown and/or Derrick White.
According to Charania, the Celtics’ preference is still to hang onto Brown and White, and they’ve set “high price thresholds” for both players. But they’re also not entirely shutting down inquiries on those guys, so it remains possible that there will be a team willing to meet Boston’s high asking price.
“At minimum,” Charania says, the Celtics are still a strong candidate to make additional deals involving role players who are a little less valuable than Brown and White. Charania specifically identifies Sam Hauser and Anfernee Simons as players who might fit that bill.
Simons technically isn’t even a Celtic yet, so the agreed-upon deal involving him and Jrue Holiday could be expanded to include more pieces and send Simons to a third team before it’s officially finalized. Even if that trade is completed as currently constructed, Simons could be flipped to another team immediately — his salary simply couldn’t be aggregated with another player’s salary for two months after he’s traded.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link), he has heard from two sources who refuted the report claiming that Holiday is unhappy about being traded to the Trail Blazers. We passed along that rumor on Tuesday, but suggested taking it with a grain of salt.
- As the Hawks continue to mull various scenarios for how they could use the $25MM+ traded player exception they generated in last summer’s Dejounte Murray deal, one possible target to watch is Nickeil Alexander-Walker, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). The Hawks are expected to show interest in Alexander-Walker, who will be a free agent this summer, and could potentially use that TPE to acquire him via sign-and-trade. The Timberwolves have expressed a desire to retain the three-and-D guard, but will also have Julius Randle‘s and Naz Reid‘s contract situations to resolve.
- Although John Collins is considered a potential offseason trade candidate, his market is still taking shape, so a deal seems more likely to happen after the draft than before or during it, per Stein and Fischer. Collins also must exercise his $26.6MM player option before he officially becomes trade-eligible. His decision is due on Thursday.
- Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Raptors forward RJ Barrett and guard Immanuel Quickley, Jazz guards Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, Wizards guard Marcus Smart, and Bucks wing Pat Connaughton are among the other players viewed as candidates to be on the move this summer, according to Stein and Fischer.
Trade Rumors: Giannis, K. Murray, Ellis, P. Williams, Heat
Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t requested a trade and the Bucks are reportedly focused on improving their roster around him, but teams around the NBA continue to monitor the situation, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who said on First Take (YouTube link) that potential Antetokounmpo suitors are hoping he won’t be thrilled by the moves Milwaukee makes in the coming days and weeks.
“The Bucks have seven free agents. Seven. Three or four of which I would refer to as core players,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “The Bucks do not have salary cap space. The Bucks do not control their first-round draft pick for the next five years. They can’t trade it — they can’t trade the pick or the swap. The Bucks are in situation where they cannot count on Dame Lillard for next year. Maybe he can come back, but they cannot count on it. The Bucks are not interested right now in trading Giannis Antetokounmpo. And Giannis, to our knowledge, to my belief, has not asked for a trade. Those are the facts.
“We are also before the draft. We are before free agency. Will the Bucks do some things over the next two, three weeks to put themselves in a position where they can look like they could win the Eastern Conference, with those limitations? Maybe.”
Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith interjected at that point to say that the Bucks’ odds of reemerging as an Eastern Conference favorite seem “highly unlikely.”
“Right, so that’s why the league is waiting,” Windhorst continued. “People want to know why aren’t the Knicks going all-in for Kevin Durant? Why aren’t the Heat going all-in for Kevin Durant? Because, in part – there’s other reasons, but in part -they want to see what happens here with the Bucks. And we’re going to be watching closely.”
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Checking in on the Kings‘ roster situation and potential trade candidates ahead of the draft, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports that the team wants to add “length and athleticism” in its frontcourt and is hoping to add a power forward/center in order to slide Keegan Murray back to small forward. According to Anderson, Murray and Keon Ellis have been generating “strong” trade interest, but Sacramento isn’t enthusiastic about moving either player.
- The Bulls‘ front office has been “more responsive” to trade conversations this offseason than in the past, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley suggests that forward Patrick Williams is viewed as a prime candidate for Chicago, though the former No. 4 overall pick – who hasn’t taken a major step forward in recent years – still has four seasons and $72MM left on his current contract, which will make it difficult to move him for positive value without a sweetener attached.
- Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided a little more information on what the Heat would’ve have had to give up to get Durant from the Suns, supplementing prior reporting from The Miami Herald. In order to keep Kel’el Ware out of a Durant deal, Miami likely would have had to put Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, the No. 20 overall pick, and a pick swap in its package, according to Charania. The Heat’s final offer reportedly fell well short of that.
Heat Pick Up Johnson’s Option; Give QOs To Mitchell, Smith
The Heat have completed a series of roster moves, according to reports from Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald and Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Those moves are as follows:
Exercised their team option on Keshad Johnson ($1,955,377).- Issued a qualifying offer to Davion Mitchell ($8,741,210), making him a restricted free agent.
- Issued a qualifying offer to Dru Smith (two-way), making him a restricted free agent.
Johnson, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Monday, played a limited role for the Heat as a rookie, appearing in just 16 games and logging 98 total minutes at the NBA level. However, he impressed in the G League, with averages of 17.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 35.1 minutes per game across 32 appearances for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. The undrafted rookie earned a promotion from his two-way contract to the standard roster in December.
While some team options remain non-guaranteed after they’re exercised, that’s not the case for Johnson, whose $1.96MM salary for 2025/26 is now fully guaranteed. He’s on track to be eligible for restricted free agency during the summer of 2026.
Mitchell, a former ninth overall pick who has always had a reputation as a tenacious defender, earned his qualifying offer by emerging as an offensive weapon during the second half of the ’24/25 season.
After being traded from Toronto to Houston, the 26-year-old averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 assists per game with a .504/.447/.702 shooting line in 30 regular season outings for the Heat. He was even better in the postseason, making 59.3% of his field goal attempts and 52.0% of his three-pointers with averages of 15.2 PPG and 6.5 APG in six play-in and playoff outings.
Mitchell, who ranks 28th on our top-50 free agent list, will have the option of accepting his $8.7MM qualifying offer, which would set him up to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. However, he’ll likely explore a multiyear deal with the Heat or another team. If he signs an offer sheet with a rival suitor, Miami would have the opportunity to match it.
Smith had his 2024/25 cut short due to a torn Achilles, but has always been a Heat favorite and will apparently have the opportunity to return on another two-way contract. He was the only one of three Miami two-way players to receive a qualifying offer — it doesn’t appear Isaiah Stevens will get one, while Josh Christopher was ineligible for a QO.
Heat Notes: Durant Trade Offer, DeRozan, Kuminga, Robinson, Johnson, Smith
The Heat weren’t willing to part with rookie center Kel’el Ware, young forward Nikola Jovic or more than one future first-round pick in Kevin Durant trade discussions, a source tells Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Their source says the final offer included Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, two bench players and the No. 20 pick in Wednesday’s draft. Another source tells the authors that Miami was willing to take an unwanted salary from Phoenix, and they note that Marc Stein recently reported that there was interest in Cody Martin.
Jackson and Chiang explain that the Heat are permitted to offer two future first-rounders prior to Wednesday, but would have three available if the trade wasn’t finalized until after the draft is over. Miami wouldn’t consider parting with its picks in 2030 or 2031 to get Durant, and its first-rounders for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 are in limbo due to obligations owed to Charlotte in the Rozier trade.
The authors add that the Suns could have opted for some tax relief by trading for Duncan Robinson and waiving him before July 8, leaving them on the hook for only the $9.9MM guaranteed portion of his 2025/26 salary. However, sources tell them that Phoenix never expressed any interest in Robinson. As we explained last month, Robinson’s partially guaranteed contract was never as valuable a trade chip in a Durant scenario as the Herald’s duo made it out to be.
There’s more from Miami:
- Reports have linked the Heat to Kings forward DeMar DeRozan and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, but neither player has been the focus of trade talks as of Sunday afternoon, Jackson and Chiang add in the same piece. They note that DeRozan, who’s believed to be on the trade market, will make $24.5MM next season, but only has a $10MM guarantee on his $25.7MM salary for 2026/27.
- The Heat should have been willing to give up more of their young talent to add a player of Durant’s caliber, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He argues that Jovic, Jaime Jaquez, Haywood Highsmith and even Ware if necessary should have been sent out to add a star who’s capable of making Miami an instant contender in the East. While Winderman would have been hesitant to part with future draft assets beyond this year’s first-rounder, he believes Miami could have easily topped the package the Rockets are sending to Phoenix in exchange for Durant.
- If the Heat can’t trade Robinson, it’s possible that he could decline his $19.9MM option and return on a new deal starting with the $9.9MM he has guaranteed for next season, possibly around $32MM over three years, Winderman suggests in a separate piece. He also examines the possibility of declining a $2MM option on Keshad Johnson and bringing him back on a two-way contact, as well as Miami’s options with Dru Smith, who is eligible for another two-way deal but appeared close to receiving a standard contract before suffering an Achilles injury in December.
Suns Notes: Beal, Green, Wild-Card Suitors, Lanier, Durant, Cousins
With the Suns agreeing to trade Kevin Durant to the Rockets, Phoenix radio talk show host John Gambadoro continues to believe the team will either trade or buy out Bradley Beal, he said on The Kevin O’Connor Show (Twitter video link).
Of course, Beal has a no-trade clause and would have to agree to waive it for a deal to be made. If the Suns are unable to trade or buy out Beal, then they’d have to hope he could rebuild his value on the court. Gambadoro previously noted that head coaching candidates were asked how they would utilize Beal if he’s still on the roster.
Cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link) looks back at the buyouts of Kemba Walker and Blake Griffin in recent seasons as examples of what Beal might be willing to give back, presuming the three-time All-Star could receive a full non-taxpayer mid-level exception deal elsewhere. If Beal were willing to give up 25 percent of his current contract with two years left, the cap hits for the Suns would total $40.25MM and $42.85MM.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- While the Suns now seemingly have two combo guards with similar skills, they are not planning to move Jalen Green, Gambadoro tweets. Instead, the Suns will look to pair him with Devin Booker in the backcourt and see how they’ll mesh. Green has shown durability, appearing in every game over the past two seasons. He averaged 21.0 points and 3.4 assists this season.
- While Durant negotiations were primarily focused on the Heat, Rockets and Timberwolves, several wild-card suitors emerged, including the Raptors, Cavaliers, Nuggets and Clippers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Cavs, in particular, were a long shot since they would have needed to send out enough salary to get under the second apron for 2025/26. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been allowed to aggregate salaries. Since the Suns are also a second-apron team, a deal between Phoenix and Cleveland would have required the involvement of at least one more club.
- Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier worked out for the Suns on Friday, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Lanier set the Volunteers’ single season record for made three-pointers with 123 this past season. He’s ranked No. 38 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list. The Suns own the 29th and 52nd picks in addition to the 10th and 59th selections they’re acquiring from Houston.
- Earlier in the weekend, Durant brushed off a comment by former NBA center DeMarcus Cousins, who claimed on Fan Duel’s Run It Back show that there were “fistfights” in the Suns locker room. As Rankin relays, Durant responded on social media that Cousins’ source for that claim was “lying” and that there were “NEVER” any locker room fights.
Rockets Trading For Suns’ Kevin Durant
The Rockets are acquiring Kevin Durant from the Suns in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, and five second-rounders, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
The Heat were the other finalist for Durant, sources tell Charania.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), who reported this morning that Phoenix was “very close” to trading Durant, the second-round selections the Suns will receive are the 59th pick in this year’s draft, two picks in 2026, Boston’s selection in 2030, and Houston’s pick in 2032.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the blockbuster trade cannot be formally completed until July 6 due to the poison pill provision affecting Green’s rookie scale extension.
Durant, who turns 37 years old in September, has been on the trade block for months after Phoenix nearly sent him to Golden State prior to the February deadline, a move that reportedly fell apart after the former NBA MVP didn’t want to return to the Warriors, especially during the season. Four months later, he’ll be heading to Houston, one of three teams said to be on his wish list, along with San Antonio and Miami.
Although Durant will be entering his 19th NBA season this fall, he continues to perform at an All-NBA level. In 62 games for the Suns this past season, he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 36.5 minutes per game, with an impressive shooting line of .527/.430/.839.
In Durant, Houston now has a star capable of creating his own shot and generating half-court offense, which was an issue for the team during its first-round playoff loss to Golden State this spring. While Green was Houston’s leading scorer during the regular season, he struggled in his first appearance on the postseason stage — he poured in 38 points in Game 2 but failed to score more than 12 points in any of the series’ other six games.
Still, Green is just 23 years old, so he has the potential to continue improving and expanding his game after averaging 20.1 points per contest on .422/.342/.799 shooting in his first four NBA seasons.
According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), although Jabari Smith Jr. was among the young Rockets players the Suns were reportedly interested in, Houston was insistent on only doing a Durant trade if Green was the only member of its young core it gave up.
Phoenix now has a crowded shooting guard depth chart, with Green joining Devin Booker and Bradley Beal on the roster, but Gambadoro tweets that there are no plans to flip Green to another team and that he’ll play alongside Booker in the Suns’ backcourt. There has been an expectation that Beal won’t return to the club next season, though his contract (which includes a no-trade clause) will make him difficult to move.
Besides Green, the Suns are also adding a solid defensive wing in Brooks and a lottery pick in this week’s draft, which will put them in position to add another promising young prospect to their core.
Durant will be on an expiring $54.7MM contract, so the Rockets will likely make an effort to extend his deal beyond 2025/26. As Marks tweets, the star forward will be eligible for a two-year extension worth roughly $122MM as of July 6. If he were to wait six months, his maximum extension would be worth a little more, though the difference would be minimal (approximately $2MM).
Green’s three-year, $105.3MM rookie scale extension will go into effect this July. That deal includes a third-year player option and a 10% trade kicker, though that bonus will likely have to be eliminated or amended in order to make this trade work, Marks notes.
Brooks, who is on a descending contract, is owed about $41.1MM in base salary over the next two seasons, with an additional $2MM in incentives ($1MM per year) for making the first round of the playoffs.
Because Houston achieved that feat this season and Phoenix didn’t, that bonus will change from “likely to be earned” to “unlikely” as a result of the trade, reducing Brooks’ 2025/26 cap hit by $1MM. That will be a key to making the trade legal for the Suns, who can’t take back more salary than they send out as long as they continue to operate over the second tax apron, Marks adds (via Twitter).
According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter links), the Heat improved their offer for Durant in recent days and received consideration from the Suns, but their offer ultimately couldn’t compete with Houston’s. Jackson suggests Miami was unwilling to include multiple first-round picks and young players in its package, while Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) hears that the Heat’s unwillingness to include center Kel’el Ware was among the sticking points that led to Phoenix going in a different direction.
The Timberwolves were also involved in the Durant sweepstakes, but with no assurances from Durant that he actually wanted to be in Minnesota, they seemingly didn’t get all that close to making a deal, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
The Spurs, Raptors, and Clippers were among the other teams who were said to have interest in Durant before the Suns reached an agreement with the Rockets.
Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Fischer’s Latest: Kuminga, Grimes, Grizzlies, Nets
The Bulls expressed interest in Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga during past trade talks and could be a candidate for a sign-and-trade deal to land the restricted free agent, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Sources tell Stein that Chicago inquired about Kuminga during discussions that involved Alex Caruso, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.
Fischer states that re-signing with the Warriors appears to be the most likely outcome for Kuminga, but cautions that it’s hard to predict his potential market until the Suns decide where they’re trading Kevin Durant. Fischer hears that Kuminga could be among several players the Heat plan to target if they don’t land Durant, echoing a report earlier this week from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who mentioned Chicago and Miami as potential sign-and-trade destinations for Kuminga.
Fischer adds that Kuminga will probably need a sign-and-trade to change teams because the Nets, the only current club with significant cap space, don’t appear to be interested, nor do the Pistons, who could theoretically create enough room to make a competitive offer, or the Hawks, who have a $25MM trade exception from the deal that sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans last summer.
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. will meet with the media on Monday, and Fischer expects Kuminga’s future to be a prominent topic.
Fischer shares more inside information from around the NBA:
- “Numbers-crunchers” who talked to Fischer expect Sixers free agent guard Quentin Grimes to get offers in excess of the $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Grimes turned into a potent scoring threat after being acquired from Dallas in February, averaging a career-high 21.9 PPG in 28 games. The financial experts that Fischer consulted expect Philadelphia to be able to afford to keep Grimes, although the team’s financial situation will be affected by what Kelly Oubre, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond do with their player options.
- After acquiring the No. 16 pick from Orlando in last weekend’s Desmond Bane trade, the Grizzlies may opt to move up or down by draft night, sources tell Fischer. He hears that the team’s priority with any moves will be to create enough financial flexibility to renegotiate and extend Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s contract and to re-sign free agent forward Santi Aldama.
- With four first-round picks and a ton of cap space, the Nets have a chance to be the league’s most active team on draft night. Fischer suggests that one option will be to facilitate deals by taking on unwanted contracts and then try to flip those players for more assets ahead of next season’s trade deadline.
Latest From Fischer, Stein: KD, Suns, Ware, Raptors, Knicks, Donovan
The Suns continue to project confidence that a trade involving star forward Kevin Durant will be agreed to before June 25, the first night of the 2025 NBA draft, sources tell Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
According to the authors, Phoenix’s front office — led by new general manager Brian Gregory — is “quietly hopeful” it will be able to land a first-round pick in a potential Durant deal to use next Wednesday. The team currently controls one late first-rounder (No. 29 overall) and one late second-rounder (No. 52).
Fischer and Stein point to the first-round selections controlled by the Raptors (No. 9), Rockets (No. 10), Timberwolves (No. 17) and Heat (No. 20) as examples of some of the picks the Suns have tried to acquire in Durant trade talks. But they also haven’t been thrilled with the offers they’ve received to this point, which is why a deal has yet to come together.
Here’s more from The Stein Line duo:
- The Heat have been “firmly against” including big man Kel’el Ware in their offers to the Suns for Durant, sources tell Fischer and Stein. The 15th pick of last year’s draft, Ware was named to the All-Rookie Second Team in 2024/25 after a solid debut season. Phoenix is believed to be prioritizing draft capital from Miami with Ware evidently off-limits.
- Fischer and Stein confirm that the Raptors also are unwilling to part with starting center Jakob Poeltl to acquire Durant. Assuming he isn’t moved, league sources tell The Stein Line that Toronto and the Austrian big man have mutual interest in a contract extension “in the near future.”
- Toronto continues to be active in trade talks, particularly when it comes to the draft. According to Fischer and Stein, the Raptors have expressed an openness to moving down from No. 9, but have also discussed the possibility of trying to add a second lottery pick. No matter which pick(s) they ultimately control, rival teams believe the Raptors are focused on drafting a center.
- The Knicks are not expected to hire a head coach until after next week’s draft, which will take place over two days (the second round is on Thursday), one person familiar with the matter told The Stein Line. Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins interviewed for the job this week and both of the former head coaches are believed to have “levels of support” in New York. According to Fischer and Stein, Brown is said to be close with executive William Wesley, while Jenkins reportedly impressed the team in his interview.
- Although New York was denied permission to interview Billy Donovan, the Bulls claim their extension talks with their head coach preceded that request, per Fischer and Stein. “They love him,” one source familiar with management’s thinking said of Chicago’s fondness for Donovan. Stein first reported that the Bulls and Donovan were finalizing an extension.
- In case you missed it, Fischer and Stein also reported that multiple teams have shown interest in Suns wing Cody Martin as part of the Durant trade talks.