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Buss Family To Sell Lakers To Mark Walter For Record-Setting Price

June 18th, 2025 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

4:11 pm: Walter has agreed to buy the Lakers at a valuation of approximately $10 billion, the largest sum ever for a professional sports team, Charania reports (via Twitter).

3:52 pm: The Buss family has reached an agreement to sell its majority stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Walter, 65, is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, a global investment firm, and co-CEO and chairman of TWG Global, a diversified holding company.

Walter, who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), among sports investments, is currently a minority owner of the Lakers, having purchased a 27% stake in 2021 alongside Todd Boehly.

According to Charania, current governor Jeanie Buss will continue to serve in that role after the sale is finalized.

As Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets, Walter earned the right of first refusal to purchase majority control of the Lakers in 2021 when he bought his minority stake. The Buss family owns about 66% of the team, per Shelburne.

Longtime owner Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers for $67.5MM back in 1979, according to Charania, who notes (via Twitter) that his children inherited majority control when Buss passed away in 2013.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps believes the Lakers’ sale price will exceed the Celtics’ record-breaking valuation of $6.1 billion (Twitter link). Boston’s new ownership group is expected to be approved sometime in June or July.

Grizzlies Reportedly Not Pursuing Kevin Durant

June 18th, 2025 at 3:30pm CST by Rory Maher

Forbes contributor Evan Sidery reported this afternoon (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies had reemerged as a suitor for Suns star Kevin Durant after the team made a run at the 36-year-old forward prior to February’s deadline.

However, Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal — a Grizzlies beat reporter — has heard differently (Twitter link). Citing league sources, Cole writes that while the Grizzlies contemplated making an offer for Durant during the season, they are not currently interested in the 15-time All-Star and do not intend to pursue him this offseason.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) reported something similar to Cole a couple days ago, saying he didn’t expect the Grizzlies to get involved in the Durant chase, even though they have a fresh collection of draft assets from Sunday’s Desmond Bane trade. Memphis was reluctant to pursue Jimmy Butler before the deadline because of fears that he wouldn’t sign an extension, Fischer noted, and Durant is probably viewed the same way.

While the team may not pursue Durant, rival teams are curious about which players general manager Zach Kleiman will target with the first-round picks Memphis acquired in the Bane deal, according to Fischer, who says creating the cap room necessary to renegotiate and extend Jaren Jackson Jr. is still a “priority” for the Grizzlies.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that signing Jackson to a new deal remains important to the Grizzlies. Wing John Konchar, who will make $12.33MM over the next two seasons, is viewed as a candidate to be traded in a salary-dump move to create more cap flexibility, league sources tell Scotto.

One of the selections Memphis acquired for Bane was No. 16 overall in next week’s draft. Cole lists five “defensive-minded wings” the Grizzlies might target if they keep that pick, including Noa Essengue (Ratiopharm Ulm), Cedric Coward (Washington State), and Nique Clifford (Colorado State).

Hawks Hire Executives Bryson Graham, Peter Dinwiddie

June 18th, 2025 at 2:42pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks have officially made two additions to their front office, the team confirmed today in a press release.

Former Pelicans general manager Bryson Graham has been hired as senior vice president of basketball operations, while former Pacers and 76ers executive Peter Dinwiddie will be the new senior VP of strategy and analytics. The news was first reported on June 9 by ESPN.

Both Graham and Dinwiddie will reportedly work under Onsi Saleh, who was promoted to GM in April after Landry Fields was fired.

“We are fortunate to be able to add Bryson and Peter to our leadership team,” Saleh said. “Bryson is widely regarded as one of the league’s top young talent evaluators and Peter is one of the most strategic minds in the NBA. Ownership has empowered me to build a robust and dynamic front office, and adding two extremely talented, experienced and respected executives in Bryson and Peter is a home run for our group.”

Graham, a former intern who steadily worked his way up the Pelicans’ front office over the past 15 years, has been credited with identifying talented young players such as Trey Murphy, Herbert Jones, Yves Missi, Jose Alvarado, Naji Marshall and Jordan Hawkins.

He also was on the staff that drafted Dyson Daniels, who captured Most Improved Player honors with Atlanta this season after being traded from New Orleans last summer. The Hawks control the 13th and 22nd picks in next week’s draft.

As for Dinwiddie, he spent 14 seasons with his hometown Pacers, most recently as senior VP of basketball operations, prior to joining Philadelphia’s front office in 2020. For the past five years, he has been the Sixers’ executive VP of basketball operations.

Carlisle: Haliburton Likely ‘Game-Time Decision’ For Game 6

June 18th, 2025 at 11:44am CST by Dana Gauruder

11:44am: Haliburton confirmed after Wednesday’s light practice that he has a calf strain but he’s hopeful he can play in Game 6, Spears tweets.

“I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play,” Haliburton said.

11:01 am: With his team’s season on the brink, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle anticipates that Tyrese Haliburton will be a “game-time decision” for Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star relays.

Carlisle commented on Haliburton’s status during a Wednesday morning radio interview on 107.5 The Fan.

“He is going to be carefully evaluated over the next 36 hours and will likely be listed as questionable on the injury report and probably will be a game-time decision for Game 6,” Carlisle said. “Everything is on the table.”

Haliburton did not make a field goal in Indiana’s Game 5 loss to Oklahoma City as the Thunder grabbed a 3-2 lead in the series. Game 6 will be played in Indianapolis. The star guard reportedly underwent an MRI on Tuesday due to an injury believed to be a right calf strain.

“We have to prepare for two scenarios: one where he plays and one where he does not,” Carlisle said.

Carlisle said rotation changes could be coming, regardless of Haliburton’s status. Indiana has lost the last two games of the series.

“Everything is on the table,” Carlisle said. “… It’s pretty simple. Tomorrow night our task is to take care of home court – which is what they did in Game 5 – and get to an ultimate game, which is Game 7. That’s the task in front of us. We have to figure out exactly what tools are in front of us as a team and we have to consider everything. Minute count, throwing that out the window is easy to say, but if you have guys out there that are more fatigued than they should be, that’s not good and against this team, that’s very difficult.”

Center Myles Turner remains defiant that the Pacers can win the next two games, as he told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. Turner declared, “It’s not over” shortly after the Game 5 loss.

“Our fans have been anticipating this for such a long time,” Turner said. “They’ve been antsy. The biggest thing is to show up for Game 6. They’ll be behind us and be as loud as they were here [in Oklahoma City]. For someone in my position, you never know when you can get this opportunity again. This is the youngest, healthiest and most spry I will ever be. For me, I just got to give it all that I’ve got. Back against the wall. Empty the tank.”

City Council Approves Agreements To Keep Thunder In OKC

June 18th, 2025 at 9:38am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Oklahoma City Council approved a series of agreements during its Tuesday meeting aimed at keeping the Thunder in Oklahoma City through at least 2053, Jordan Gerard and Steve Lackmeyer of The Oklahoman report.

The agreements regarding the Thunder’s new arena, the $1 billion Paycom Center, will give the team’s owners an option to buy and develop the current arena property while also setting terms for food and beverage operations, parking, naming rights and multiple other aspects of game days and concert events.

The new Paycom Center is slated to open in 2028. The current Paycom Center opened in 2002.

The 25-year agreement includes the option of five three-year additional renewals for the team. The city’s mayor, David Holt, tweeted out that “we have officially secured our Thunder in Oklahoma City till at least 2053.”

That’s not entirely true but the Thunder would have to pay a major penalty to leave the city before that date.

If the team leaves Oklahoma City in the first five years after moving into the new Paycom Center, the agreements would require the Thunder to pay the city $1 billion. If the team leaves in years six-to-10 after the move, they will pay the city $850MM. The scale continues for 25 years.

The Thunder will initially pay the city $58K per game to use the building with annual increases. The team will retain control of the building’s naming rights.

A provision in the agreements that would allow the Thunder to buy and develop the current arena site. Team spokesman Dan Mahoney confirmed the team is interested in development of the property.

“We’re excited at the opportunity to purchase and develop the current arena site,” Mahoney said. “It will enable the Thunder to provide the vision for a sustainable and vibrant concept to enhance the area and seamlessly complement the new Paycom Center.”

Bulls Have Likely Given Extensions To Karnisovas, Eversley

June 18th, 2025 at 7:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls apparently won’t be making any major front office moves.

Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley are believed to have signed contract extensions, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cowley notes that Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf never makes front office extensions public but a source told the Sun-Times beat writer that the front office duo needed to be extended first before a new agreement could be reached with coach Billy Donovan.

Drew Stevens of The Bigs (Bluesky link) first broke the news of the extensions for Karnisovas and Eversley.

Karnisovas commented shortly after the regular season that he felt his job was safe due to his strong relationships with both Jerry Reinsdorf and Michael Reinsdorf.

“We take pride, especially in this building, in everybody being on the same page,” Karnisovas said. “It’s very hard to accomplish, but that’s how it is in this building between the ownership, front office, coaching staff, performance staff, so they have always been very supportive of my decisions, my thoughts, about this direction.”

Marc Stein reported on Sunday that the Bulls and Donovan were working on an extension. According to Cowley, the Bulls are close to finalizing that deal and have been in discussions with the head coach since the season ended.

The Knicks were denied permission to speak with Donovan regarding their head coaching position but that had no impact on the Donovan extension talks, according to Cowley, who hears from multiple sources that Donovan had no interest in leaving the Bulls, “especially for the Knicks position under the current regime.” Donovan values the way the Bulls front office operates, as Karnisovas listens to his input on team matters and roster decisions. That likely would not have been the case in New York.

This will be the second time the Bulls have extended Donovan, who has one year left on his current deal.

Pelicans, Pacers Complete Draft-Pick Swap

June 17th, 2025 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

2:23 pm: The trade is official, the Pelicans confirmed in a press release.

12:51 pm: The Pelicans and Pacers have agreed to a trade, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Indiana is sending the No. 23 overall pick in this year’s draft to New Orleans, along with the draft rights to 2023 second-round pick Mojave King.

In exchange, the Pelicans will trade Indiana’s 2026 first-round pick back to the Pacers. That pick, which was originally sent to Toronto with top-four protection as part of the Pascal Siakam blockbuster at the 2024 deadline, was flipped to New Orleans at the 2025 deadline in the Brandon Ingram deal.

The deal will give the Pelicans some extra ammunition in this year’s draft. New Orleans also controls the No. 7 overall pick but previously traded away its second-rounder. The Pelicans will now have an opportunity to add two of the top 23 players from the 2025 draft pool, assuming the front office hangs onto both picks.

King, who was the 47th overall pick in the 2023 draft, has played in the G League, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico in the past two years. Although he’s not considered an elite draft-and-stash prospect, the 6’5″ guard is still just 23 years old, so it’s not out of the question that he’ll sign an NBA contract at some point.

As for the Pacers, the deal accomplishing two things. For one, it will remove a cap hold of roughly $3.24MM from their books for 2025/26, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That will give the team slightly more cap flexibility as it looks to re-sign Myles Turner without going too deep into luxury-tax territory.

Additionally, as Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports tweets, the move will free up more of the Pacers’ future first-rounders for trade purposes. Previously, due to the Stepien rule that prevents teams from leaving themselves without a pick in the first round of consecutive future drafts, the Pacers wouldn’t have been able to offer more than two first-rounders unconditionally in any trade package. Now they could offer up to four (2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032).

While teams typically aren’t permitted to make trades between the in-season trade deadline and the end of their season, the Pacers can make this deal while they remain alive in the NBA Finals because it doesn’t involve any players on their 15-man roster.

Tyrese Haliburton Undergoing MRI On Right Calf Injury

June 17th, 2025 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

2:01 pm: Haliburton is believed to have suffered a right calf strain and is undergoing an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

9:32 am: Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who spoke earlier in the NBA Finals about dealing with a “lower leg” issue, was hampered by an injury affecting the same leg during the team’s Game 5 loss on Monday, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.

Haliburton’s initial lower leg issue was later revealed to be a right ankle ailment. On Monday, he went to the locker room in the first quarter due to right calf tightness before returning to the court and finishing the game. He told reporters after the loss that Monday’s injury was in the “same area,” but that he never considered shutting it down for the night.

“It’s the Finals,” Haliburton said. “I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete, help my teammates any way I can. I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play.”

Monday’s performance was easily Haliburton’s worst of the NBA Finals. His four points matched a personal career playoff low, and he didn’t make a single field goal attempt, going 0-for-6 from the floor as the Pacers fell behind 3-2 in the series. He did manage to grab seven rebounds and hand out six assists, but Indiana was outscored by 13 points when he was on the floor in a game the team lost by 11 points.

“Just trying to keep pace in the game, impact whatever way I can,” Haliburton said, per Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. “Just trying to get (Pascal Siakam) the ball in the right spots. Try to get the ball to guys in the right spots if I can. As far as what happened there, we have to watch film to see it.”

Having their All-NBA point guard battling health issues obviously isn’t ideal for the Pacers as they prepare for a win-or-go-home Game 6 in Indiana, but head coach Rick Carlisle expressed confidence the Haliburton will be available on Thursday.

“He’s not 100 percent. It’s pretty clear,” Carlisle said. “But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100 percent. There’s a lot of guys in the series that aren’t. We’ll evaluate everything with Tyrese and see how he wakes up tomorrow.”

As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, backup point guard T.J. McConnell gave the team some huge minutes on Monday with Haliburton struggling. McConnell scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench.

If Haliburton doesn’t look like his normal self on Thursday, the Pacers may have to lean more on McConnell, Siakam, and Andrew Nembhard for play-making.

Official Early Entrants List For 2025 NBA Draft

June 17th, 2025 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

After announcing 50 withdrawals from the draft last month, the NBA has officially confirmed (via Twitter) that 13 additional early entrant prospects withdrew from the draft prior to Sunday’s deadline, leaving a total of 46 early entrants eligible to be selected in this year’s draft in addition to 2025’s automatically draft-eligible players.

Of those 46 draft-eligible early entrants, 28 are players from colleges (25 underclassmen and three seniors with eligibility remaining), 16 had been playing in international leagues, and two spent last season in the G League.

This year’s 46 early entrants represents the lowest total in well over a decade, since before the NCAA allowed prospects to test the draft waters — it’s just a fraction of the record set in 2021, when 217 early entrants kept their names in the draft. The sharp decline in early entrants in recent years is a reflection of the new NIL opportunities available to college players, who now have less motivation to go pro early in order to get paid.

[RELATED: Full 2025 NBA Draft Order]

A total of 109 prospects initially declared as early entrants, with 50 of those players removing their names from consideration prior to the NCAA’s May 28 withdrawal deadline to retain their college eligibility.

Here’s the complete list of early entrant prospects eligible for the 2025 NBA draft:

College underclassmen:

Ace Bailey, G/F, Rutgers (freshman)
Carter Bryant, F, Arizona (freshman)
Egor Demin, G, BYU (freshman)
V.J. Edgecombe, G, Baylor (freshman)
Jeremiah Fears, G, Oklahoma (freshman)
Cooper Flagg, F, Duke (freshman)
Rasheer Fleming, F/C, St. Joseph’s (junior)
Dylan Harper, G, Rutgers (freshman)
Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Illinois (freshman)
Tre Johnson, G, Texas (freshman)
Kon Knueppel, G/F, Duke (freshman)
RJ Luis, F, St. John’s (junior)
Khaman Maluach, C, Duke (freshman)
Liam McNeeley, F, UConn (freshman)
Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina (sophomore)
Asa Newell, F, Georgia (freshman)
Yanic Konan Niederhauser, F/C, Penn State (junior)
Drake Powell, G/F, UNC (freshman)
Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke (junior)
Derik Queen, C, Maryland (freshman)
Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State (freshman)
Will Riley, F, Illinois (freshman)
Thomas Sorber, F/C, Georgetown (freshman)
Adou Thiero, F, Arkansas (junior)
Danny Wolf, F/C, Michigan (junior)

College seniors:

Cedric Coward, F, Washington State
Omar Rowe, G, Morehouse
Jamir Watkins, G/F, Florida State

International players:

Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.

Izan Almansa, F/C, Australia (born 2005)
Joan Beringer, C, Slovenia (born 2006)
Mohamed Diawara, F, France (born 2005)
Noa Essengue, F, Germany (born 2006)
Hugo Gonzalez, F, Spain (born 2006)
Bogoljub Markovic, F/C, Serbia (born 2005)
Muodubem Muoneke, G, Spain (born 2003)
Ousmane N’Diaye, F/C, Spain (born 2004)
Eli Ndiaye, C, Spain (born 2004)
Saliou Niang, F, Italy (born 2004)
Noah Penda, F, France (born 2005)
Ben Saraf, G, Germany (born 2006)
Alex Toohey, F, Australia (born 2004)
Nolan Traore, G, France (born 2006)
Hansen Yang, C, China (born 2005)
Rocco Zikarsky, C, Australia (born 2006)

Other players

Isaac Nogues, G, Rip City Remix (born 2004)
Dink Pate, G/F, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2006)

For the full list of the players who declared for the draft and then withdrew, click here.

Suns, Wolves Hoping Durant Warms To Minnesota Possibility

June 17th, 2025 at 8:08am CST by Luke Adams

Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Monday that Kevin Durant has “no desire” to be traded to the Timberwolves, but the Suns and Wolves are still hoping he’ll warm to the idea, league sources tell Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Durant doesn’t have the ability to veto a trade, so Phoenix and Minnesota would be free to work out an agreement that sends the former MVP to the Timberwolves, even if he’s unwilling to immediately sign an extension with his new team.

However, after advancing to the Western Conference Finals in each of the past two seasons, the Wolves are reluctant to make a significant roster change if the incoming star isn’t on board, according to Amick and Krawczynski, who note that Rudy Gobert‘s enthusiasm for Minnesota was one reason president of basketball operations Tim Connelly gave up a substantial haul to acquire the big man in 2022.

As The Athletic’s duo writes, the Wolves believed when they spoke with the Suns at the trade deadline in February that Durant was open to playing in Minnesota, given his friendship with Anthony Edwards, his D.C.-area ties with Connelly, and the opportunity to team up with Jaden McDaniels, whose defensive prowess would reduce the pressure on KD at that end of the court. However, the Wolves have been made aware during their recent discussions with the Suns that Durant wants to play elsewhere.

Durant reportedly prefers to end up with the Spurs, Rockets, or Heat – and San Antonio may be atop that list, per The Athletic – but the offers from those teams haven’t been especially compelling from the Suns’ perspective, as Amick and Krawczynski explain. If Durant were more enthusiastic about Minnesota, the Wolves could feel more confident about making an aggressive play for him, which may in turn inspire another suitor to increase its bid.

“Phoenix is trying to drum up better offers,” one rival executive told The Athletic.

The Rockets have had “meaningful” talks with the Suns about Durant and have put a firm offer on the table, but Phoenix was underwhelmed by that proposal, according to Amick and Krawczynski, who hear from league sources that San Antonio has been “conservative” in its pursuit of the 15-time All-Star.

As for the Heat, it’s unclear whether they have the right pieces to really entice the Suns, since salary-matching veterans such as Andrew Wiggins and/or Duncan Robinson are unlikely to hold significant appeal to Phoenix.

While the Suns are said to have interest in Gobert, it remains to be seen whether the Timberwolves would be willing to put the four-time Defensive Player of the Year into their offer for Durant, The Athletic’s duo notes. The Wolves would likely be even more hesitant to put Gobert on the table if Durant remains opposed to the idea of becoming a Timberwolf.

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