Celtics Notes: Brown, Pritchard, Gonzalez, Tatum
After the Celtics pummeled the Lakers on Sunday, LeBron James told reporters that Jaylen Brown is being overlooked in the MVP race, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the 22-point victory as Boston continued its surprising season by improving to 37-19, the fourth-best record in the league.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James said. “Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you.”
Brown is posting career highs of 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 51 games and has looked extremely comfortable as the team’s primary scoring option while Jayson Tatum recovers from a torn Achilles. Brown thanked James for his assessment and offered his own case for the award.
“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” he said. “I play both ends on the court. Night to night, I’m available, which is hard to do. I’m a leader. I help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night. So I’m grateful. It’s an honor to play the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. It’s an honor for LeBron, who’s arguably the best player to ever play the game, giving me some high praise.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Moving into a reserve role after the trade deadline hasn’t affected Payton Pritchard‘s productivity, notes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required). Pritchard scored 30 points in 38 minutes on Sunday and said he was inspired by the Boston-L.A. rivalry. “Felt like I’m back in my college days [at Oregon] where I’m playing Washington or Arizona or something,” he said. “Rivalry will bring that out of you.”
- Luka Doncic and Hugo Gonzalez have a connection through their Real Madrid background, and the Lakers star believes the Celtics rookie has a bright NBA future, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “We all know he’s a very high-effort player,” Doncic said. “He’s all around the court. It’s only his first year. He’ll have time to learn. But I think he’s going to be a very important piece for every team he plays for.”
- Lakers guard Marcus Smart has stayed in touch with Tatum throughout his recovery process and dropped the latest clue on whether his longtime teammate might return this season, Terada relays in a separate story. “He’s doing real well as you guys know,” Smart said. “That’s all you can ask for. That’s something you never want to see from anybody, but especially for a guy you’ve been to battle with and you got a good relationship with. So it was tough to see that but I’m glad he’s in good spirits and his process is going very well.”
And-Ones: MVP Race, No. 1 Pick, Peterson, P. Gasol
Reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remains the favorite to claim the award again in 2025/26, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, who recently conducted his second MVP straw poll. The Thunder guard was the only player to appear on all 100 ballots and accumulated 930 points.
Injuries to top players have significantly impacted the MVP race this season, Bontemps writes, as multiple contenders for the award may not qualify due to the 65-game rule. Despite being sidelined with an abdominal strain, Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t in imminent danger of not meeting that threshold — he’ll likely have 10 total missed games when he’s reevaluated later this week.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic remains in second place (700 points), but the gap between the two players has grown since Bontemps’ initial poll in December. That’s largely because the three-time MVP missed 15 games because of a knee injury and can’t have more than two additional absences without becoming ineligible for major postseason awards.
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (382 points) and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (242 points) were the only other players to receive first-place votes. Lakers guard Luka Doncic (177 points) rounds out the top five of Bontemps’ poll.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- How much would the No. 1 overall pick in the loaded 2026 NBA draft be worth if it were available in an auction? Brian Windhorst of ESPN briefly discussed that topic on the Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “I was talking to a league executive today and he said to me, this is after Darryn Peterson had 23 points in 18 minutes and after we’ve seen some other top guys have big time games over the last four or five days,” Windhorst said. “… I had an executive tell me that the No. 1 pick this year is worth $100 million. If you gave the opportunity to buy that pick, teams would pay $100 million for it. Keep that in mind when the Jazz were fined $500,000.”
- Although Peterson’s sporadic for Kansas this season has undoubtedly been frustrating for him, the school, and its fans, his health issues are unlikely to have much of an effect on the 19-year-old guard’s standing as a top prospect in the 2026 draft class, per Brendan Marks and Justin Williams of The Athletic. “He’s elite, elite, elite,” one NBA scout told The Athletic. “When he’s fully healthy, the shot-making is on another level. … When it comes down to it, man, if you’ve seen this guy play in high school, and you saw those matchups, like, Darryn is the guy. For sure.”
- Hall of Famer Pau Gasol has been selected by Olympic athletes to represent them on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) board through the 2028 summer games in Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press.
L.A. Notes: Doncic, James, Reaves, Garland, Collins, Rosen
The Lakers had their big three — Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves — in the starting lineup on Friday in a 125-122 victory over the Clippers. Doncic erupted for 38 points with 11 assists, while Reaves poured in 29 points. James supplied 13 points and 11 assists despite some knee soreness. The Lakers’ success the rest of the way is predicated on that trio developing chemistry.
“I mean, every game, every second, every minute that we’re on the floor together, it helps,” James said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “Like I said, when was that, All-Star weekend? We don’t know what we’re going to be until we get fully healthy and tonight was one of the first games where JJ (Redick) and the coaching staff can look down and know everybody was available. So, we just got to keep pushing. We got to keep pushing. We got a tough team coming in on Sunday (against the Celtics). Obviously, a lifetime NBA rivalry, so we got to be ready for them. They’re playing great basketball, too.”
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue says his team isn’t anywhere near tank mode despite the roster upheaval prior to the trade deadline. The Clippers are sitting ninth in the Western Conference standings and are likely to make the play-in tournament. “I just feel confident. I just feel confident in our players. I feel confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment, like the culture we’ve set,” he said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “And why wouldn’t you want to play to win. That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. And as tough as it may be or you start 6-21 or whatever it may be, you’re playing to win. And so, we make the playoffs and then anything can happen. So, our goal is to make the playoffs and so I don’t know why somebody would scoff at that.”
- Initially, Darius Garland wasn’t thrilled about getting traded from Cleveland to the Clippers. Now he says he’s “super excited” about joining forces with Kawhi Leonard and playing in Los Angeles. “I’m good with the change,” Garland told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “When it first happened, I was kind of skeptical. But I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to play with another Hall of Famer (Leonard) and having a ball in my hands damn near 99 percent of the time.” Garland has yet to make his Clippers debut. He has not played since Jan. 14 due to a toe injury and is reportedly unlikely to return until March but told Spears he plans to play “really, really soon.”
- Clippers forward John Collins took a shot to the face on Friday and required some stitches along his left eye, Mark Medina tweets. He finished the game with 12 points in 16 minutes.
- Longtime Dodgers executive Lon Rosen is moving into the Lakers‘ front office as president of business operations, according to The Associated Press. He replaces Tim Harris, who is stepping down after 35 years with the organization. Rosen has been the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer since 2012, the same year new Lakers majority owner Mark Walter purchased the MLB team. Rosen began his sports career with the 1980s Showtime Lakers as an intern and a front office executive. He went on to become an agent and a business partner of Magic Johnson.
Injury Notes: Lakers, Booker, Flagg, Strus, Claxton
The Lakers expect to have a fully healthy roster when their post-All-Star schedule tips off on Friday vs. the Clippers, according to Benjamin Royer of the Southern California News Group (subscription required). Luka Doncic is set to return after missing the team’s past four games due to a hamstring strain, while Austin Reaves will no longer face a minutes restriction after having come back from a calf strain in early February.
It will be just the 11th time this season that Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron James have been active for the same game. The Lakers are 7-3 in their first 10 contests with that trio healthy.
“It’s funny, we were talking before the season about building continuity with those three guys, and we’ve had them available together for 10 games,” head coach JJ Redick said on Thursday, per Royer. “My messaging this morning to the players was this is going to be a sprint, these last 28 games. It’s another segment of the season where, starting (Friday), we won’t have more than a day between games until the end of March. So we’ve got an opportunity to, I think, play our best basketball after the All-Star break.”
Here are a few more health-related updates from across the NBA:
- Suns guard Devin Booker exited Thursday’s game vs. San Antonio early due to right hip soreness, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic writes. Booker went to the locker room midway through the first quarter and attempted to return late in the second quarter before being ruled out for the second half. Injuries have been an issue as of late for Booker, who missed eight of 10 games prior to the All-Star break due to a right ankle sprain.
- Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg won’t play on Friday due to his left mid-foot sprain, but head coach Jason Kidd shared a positive update on the rookie star on Thursday, as Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com relays. “He got some shots up,” Kidd said. “He’s out of the boot right now, so we’ll see how that goes.” Asked if Flagg might be able to return during the team’s three-game road trip that will conclude on Tuesday in Brooklyn, Kidd replied, “We’re going to take it day by day.”
- It has been roughly six-and-a-half weeks since the Cavaliers announced that Max Strus was due for a follow-up evaluation on his surgically repaired left foot within the next four weeks and that next steps would be determined after that exam. While there have been no official updates since then and no indications that Strus is nearing his season debut, head coach Kenny Atkinson confirmed on Thursday that he still anticipates the veteran wing playing at some point this season, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
- Nets center Nic Claxton was inactive on Thursday after spraining his right ankle during Tuesday’s practice, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Day’Ron Sharpe earned the start in Claxton’s place in the blowout loss to Cleveland.
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Injuries, Ayton, Front Office
Luka Doncic believes the trade that sent him from Dallas to the Lakers last year put him in a better position to compete for championships, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (subscription required). After making a brief appearance in Sunday’s All-Star game, Doncic conducted an interview with Slovenia’s SportKlub in which he was asked to compare the two teams.
“I think the organization here is better,” Doncic replied. “The Lakers are a truly legendary club, and the organization is legendary too.”
The Lakers have won 17 NBA titles and are regularly filled with star power, so there’s plenty of history to back up Doncic’s claim. The Mavericks reached the Finals with Doncic in 2024, but have gone sharply downhill since the trade and appear likely to miss the playoffs for a second straight season.
Sources close to Doncic told Afseth that it’s unlikely he’ll ever consider returning to Dallas. Doncic and other members of his camp were unhappy with negative comments from the Mavs regarding his conditioning and other internal rationale for the trade. Afseth states that Doncic remains close to some of his former teammates and staff members, including interim co-general manager Matt Riccardi, but points out that he hasn’t embraced Dallas coach Jason Kidd since being dealt.
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- It’s not easy to determine if the Lakers are legitimate contenders this season, states Law Murray of The Athletic. L.A. entered the break at 33-21 despite only having Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves together for 10 games. All three of their stars have been sidelined for extended stretches, with 12 missed games for Doncic, 18 for James and 26 for Reaves. Despite being 12 games over .500, the Lakers have a negative point differential and have relied on a league-best 15-3 record in clutch games to build their winning record.
- Deandre Ayton was briefly detained but not arrested Tuesday at an airport in the Bahamas on suspicion of being in possession of a small amount of marijuana, according to Jasper Ward of Reuters. “The investigators saw that the actual very small amount of marijuana wasn’t in Deandre’s bag, but they still went through their investigations and he was released expeditiously,” said Ayton’s attorney, Devard Francis, who added that the substance was actually in someone else’s luggage.
- President of business operations Tim Harris told staff members Monday that this is his last season with the team, per Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link). Woike notes that Harris has been with the organization for more than 35 years and describes him as the “driving force” behind the Lakers’ “massive” local TV deal with Spectrum SportsNet.
Jeanie Buss Says Father Would’ve Supported Lakers Sale
Back in 2022, Jeanie Buss told The Los Angeles Times that she hadn’t given any thought to selling the Lakers, explaining that her late father Jerry Buss always wanted to keep the team in the family. However, Jeanie had a change of heart in the years since then, spearheading a 2025 effort to sell majority control of the franchise to minority stakeholder Mark Walter.
According to Alex Sherman and Jessica Golden of CNBC, Jeanie insists that Jerry would’ve supported the family’s decision to sell the team.
“What was important to him was that the Lakers stay at the top of the NBA, and to stay at the top of the NBA, you need to have the resources,” she said. “You need to have everybody pulling together. And he would want (that for) the Lakers, because the Lakers are his legacy.”
Although an NBA team’s ability to spend is restricted to some extent by the league’s salary cap, it’s a soft cap, so having a deep-pocketed owner who is willing to repeatedly pay luxury tax penalties can give a club a leg up on its competition. That sort of owner may also be more inclined to invest in a team’s infrastructure and personnel beyond its roster.
Walter’s net worth far exceeded that of the Buss family, which was one factor Jeanie and her siblings considered when they decided to sell to the Los Angeles Dodgers owner, who previously controlled a 27% share of the Lakers.
“It’s about the Lakers and the greatness and what the fans expect, and you need resources and you need a direction,” she explained. “I think it’s fair to say that my family — we all have our different opinions and (are) living our lives, choosing what we want to do with our time, and this was the best decision for all six of us.”
As Sherman and Golden write, as part of the sale process, the Buss family retained a 15% stake in the franchise, which will allow Jeanie to continue to operate as governor going forward. The team announced when the sale was finalized that she will remain in that role for another five years, though she didn’t explicitly confirm to CNBC that she plans to see out the full term.
“That’s what I agreed to,” Buss said. “Mark Walter and I are very comfortable with the way things are set up. And I expect things to go on and be successful. And you know, I’m not going anywhere.”
Buss also told CNBC that the Lakers intend to build around Luka Doncic this summer and beyond. That doesn’t necessarily mean LeBron James‘ time with the club will come to an end this offseason, but Buss said the four-time MVP, who was the centerpiece of the roster for several years prior to the Doncic trade, hasn’t conveyed to management that he plans to continue playing in Los Angeles beyond this 2025/26.
“Never say never, but you know, he certainly hasn’t given an indication,” she said. “He’s earned the right to decide how his career will go, and you know, he continues to impress.”
Lakers Rumors: Doncic, LeBron, Offseason Targets, Giannis
It was a relatively quiet trade deadline for the Lakers, who were linked to a myriad of potential targets but ended up making just one relatively minor deal, sending Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick to Atlanta for Luke Kennard. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, general manager Rob Pelinka described the Lakers as being “aggressive” at the deadline while using a nontraditional definition of the term.
“One form of being aggressive is saying no to moves that come your way that might not be best for the short- and long-term future,” Pelinka said. “That’s like being aggressive, even though you end up doing nothing, because it’s hard to say no sometimes to getting a good player that could be a quick short-term fix, but could have implications for the long term where it doesn’t fit into the overall vision you have for the team.”
A source close to Luka Doncic tells ESPN that the All-Star guard supported the team’s focus on the “long-term picture” at the trade deadline. That “adherence to discipline” at the deadline could lead to an eventful summer, according to McMenamin, who notes that the club preserved its most valuable trade assets and its future cap flexibility and is in position to create more than $50MM in cap room even if Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart pick up their respective player options.
Here’s more from McMenamin on the Lakers’ plans going forward:
- That $50MM+ cap projection doesn’t account for LeBron James, but if he wants to continue his career in 2026/27, the Lakers would welcome him back, sources tell McMenamin. Pelinka has said before that he’d love for James to retire as a Laker, and that would apply in 2027, not just 2026, McMenamin writes. Still, one Eastern Conference executive who spoke to ESPN believes it would be in the team’s best long-term interests to move on from LeBron and focus on building around Doncic this offseason. “Let him walk and use the space to retool around Luka,” that exec said. “Keeping (Austin) Reaves is critical. (Doncic) plays best with another ball handler/creator like with Kyrie (Irving) and (Jalen) Brunson.”
- Heat forward Andrew Wiggins and Rockets wing Tari Eason are among the potential 2026 free agent targets the Lakers have discussed internally, per McMenamin, though it remains to be seen if either will actually be available — Wiggins holds a 2026/27 player option, while Eason will be a restricted free agent. Peyton Watson is another player the Lakers have on their radar, since the cap-strapped Nuggets would have to shed salary or go into second-apron territory to match an aggressive offer sheet for the RFA-to-be. “We felt like creating optionality or having optionality now is really a positive thing for us this coming offseason,” Pelinka said earlier this month. “Because there’s some teams that maybe have gotten too deep into the aprons. And I think players, we see around the league, become available when teams get in that position.”
- One rival front office member who spoke to ESPN suggested the Lakers need to “get as many defenders with length that can knock down a shot as possible.” Tobias Harris, Quentin Grimes, and Dean Wade are among the other players who fit that bill and who will be unrestricted free agents in 2026, McMenamin notes.
- Of course, while the Lakers would like to add quality role players to complement Doncic, they also believe they could be among the top suitors for Giannis Antetokounmpo if the Bucks explore moving the star forward again this summer, team sources tell McMenamin. Los Angeles will have the ability to trade up to three first-round picks (2026, 2031, and 2033) in the offseason and one Western Conference executive told ESPN that he thinks Giannis is the “big prize” the club has its eye on.
All-Star Notes: Wembanyama, Doncic, Jokic, Brown, Tanking
Victor Wembanyama‘s commitment to bringing intensity back to the All-Star Game is a positive step toward making him the next face of the NBA, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Wembanyama figures to be a regular participant in the event over the next 10 or 15 years, so it’s beneficial to the league that he genuinely cares about it.
“I’ve always thought to myself that if I was in there, I’m never stepping onto the court to lose or not (care),” Wembanyama said. “Just like at home, I’m never stepping into a board game not caring if I’m going to lose. So I’m thinking it’s (not) OK to lose, so I’m going to be out there, I might as well win.”
One of the dilemmas the league is facing is that long-time stars such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are nearing the end of their careers and no obvious replacements have emerged who resonate the same way in the public consciousness. Wembanyama, who’s already an international sensation at age 22, is becoming the top candidate to fill that role.
“I am part of something. I’m part of a big-picture mechanism,” he said after Sunday’s games. “I think that, right now, it’s an era of very skilled bigs that this position is definitely evolving. Am I a symptom of that? Yes, because I’ve watched these guys growing up and got inspired by that. Am I participating in the change? I think I am. I’m pushing the boundaries in some way.”
There’s more from All-Star Weekend:
- In a post-game interview, Anthony Edwards expressed disappointment that Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic didn’t see more court time (Twitter video link). The Team World stars, who have both dealt with recent injuries, came out after 5:05 in the first game and didn’t return. “No shade towards Luka and Jokic, but they’re two of the best players in the league,” Edwards said. “They’re not trying to play in the All-Star game.”
- During Saturday’s interview session, Jaylen Brown expressed interest in becoming a UFC fighter or a boxer after his basketball career is over, per Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. “To be honest, I’ve toyed with this, and I’ve talked to some people,” Brown said. “Maybe in the post-career part of my life, I would love to partake in something like the UFC or even boxing. I’ve talked to (UFC president) Dana White about some stuff. We’ll see how things go.”
- Finding a solution to the rampant tanking problem was among the most frequent topics of conversation at All-Star Weekend, according to The Athletic staff.
Los Angeles Notes: James, Doncic, Niederhauser, Dunn
LeBron James knew early in his career that the only thing that could stop him from being one of the game’s all-time greats was a lack of preparation. The 41-year-old James discussed his training regimen and dietary habits with Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
“Obviously I didn’t know it would be 23 years. I didn’t know that, but I know I didn’t want to have no six- or seven-year career. I can’t become legendary in six or seven years,” he said. “I always had a mission. When I knew I could play this game at a high level, like, going to Chicago and playing with MJ (Michael Jordan) and all those guys when I was a sophomore (in high school). And then when I went up to Cleveland and played against the Cavs when I was a junior and I was like, ‘Oh … I belong. I belong.’
“I knew I still had to learn and I still had to continue to get my body right, continue to learn the game and nuances. But I was playing against NBA guys for a long time and I was like, ‘If I get the opportunity to crack the league, if I get the opportunity to showcase what I’m able to do, the only thing that can stop me is if I don’t take care of my body. The only thing that can stop me from being the greatest or one of the greatest to ever play this game is if I do not take care of myself.’ I did take care of my body. That’s it.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, a former Lakers assistant, marvels at James’ motivation to play at a high level for so long. James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double this week.
“Physically, LeBron, he’s had some injuries, but he’s taken care of his body, he’s always prepared himself for the marathon,” Kidd said. “But I think it’s the mental side. I think that’s the hardest part is to wake up and say, ‘Do I need to go play against a 20-year-old or a 19-year-old?’ He’s won championships, he’s been MVP, he’s been the face of the league. He’s a billion-dollar company. So, it’s the mental side. Understanding that he loves competition and he loves the game of basketball. So I think for him to do it at 41 is incredible.”
Here’s more on the Los Angeles teams:
- Luka Doncic has been dealing with a hamstring issue but he’s still planning to participate in the All-Star contest on Sunday, Marc Stein of The Stein Line tweets. The Lakers guard will play for a limited number of minutes. He’s part of the World Team in the three-team event.
- Clippers rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who scored 11 points in Friday’s Rising Stars competition at All-Star weekend, credits Ivica Zubac, who was dealt to Indiana last week, and Brook Lopez for facilitating his development. “Having this guidance from these vets, man, they’ll be helping me and knowing they got my back, knowing that they will teach me every day gives me a lot of confidence,” Niederhauser told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. The 30th pick of the draft out of Penn State, Niederhauser has appeared in 34 games this season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.0 minutes off the bench.
- It’s been a chaotic season for the Clippers, including an ongoing league investigation, a horrible start and a roster makeover at the trade deadline. Kris Dunn admitted to Greg Beacham of the Los Angeles Times that it’s been a roller coaster ride. “We’ve dealt with a lot this year,” he said. “Our whole mentality throughout the year has just been to try to find a way. It’s been tough.”
International Notes: World All-Star Team, Doncic, Bueno, Johnson
Kevin Durant threw some playful shade at the international representatives for this year’s All-Star game, Michael C. Wright writes for ESPN.
When asked about how hard his older squad that featured LeBron James, Stephen Curry (who will miss the game with a knee injury), and Kawhi Leonard will play on Sunday, Durant said the question was being posed to the wrong group.
“You should ask the Europeans and the World team if they’re going to compete,” Durant said. “… These two dudes out there, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, they don’t care about the game at all. These dudes be laying on the floor. They’re shooting from half court. But you’ve got to worry about the old heads playing hard? I can read between the lines, bro. It’s just an overall topic that everybody’s been talking about.”
Wright notes that at least one international player says he’s planning on giving it his all.
“I’ve seen the All-Star Game, and obviously it hasn’t been competitive,” said Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. “And I’ve always thought myself that if I was in there, I’m never stepping onto the court to lose or not caring. Just like at home, I’m never stepping into a board game not caring, thinking I’m going to lose. … I’m going to be out there, I might as well win.”
Durant was unmoved by Wembanyama’s comments.
“He said that last year too,” Durant said. “They said it was the worst All-Star Game that people watched. So we’re going to see. Who knows what’s going to happen? This format might change the game, but who knows? We’ll see.”
We have more from around the world of international basketball:
- The NBA’s deputy commissioner, Mark Tatum, recently confirmed Doncic’s interest in being a part of the NBA Europe project in Italy, Aris Barkas writes for Eurohoops. “We have talked a lot about the concept, and he really, really thinks that it’s time for the NBA to do something in Europe,” Tatum said of Doncic. The Lakers’ star recently entered into a preliminary agreement to buy the Italian team Vanoli Basket Cremona, with the intention of moving the club to Rome and having it be a part of NBA Europe.
- The NBA has wanted to find a way to work more closely with the EuroLeague, Barkas writes, and with former NBA Europe executive Chus Bueno becoming the EuroLeague CEO, that goal could quickly become a reality. Tatum said that Bueno can be a “bridge” between the two leagues. “We always said from the very beginning that we wanted to work together with the EuroLeague to align everyone in the ecosystem, and that was always our objective,” Tatum said. “And that will continue to be our objective, and I think that having Chus there, somebody we know well and who knows European basketball well, perhaps he can be a bridge between us, FIBA, and the EuroLeague clubs.” Barkas writes that the NBA is hoping for answers from potential investors by the end of March and is still eying 2027 as a potential start date for the new league.
- Alize Johnson is joining the Shenzhen Leopards in China on a “lucrative deal,” Marc Stein reports (via Twitter). Johnson, a five-year NBA veteran, appeared in a career-high 18 games with the Nets in 2020/21 and averaged 5.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game. He started this season with the Iowa Wolves in the G League and averaged 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while shooting 41.3% on 3.9 three-point attempts per game.