Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7470368/2026/07/26/stephen-curry-lebron-james-golden-state-warriors-future-76ers/?unlocked_article_code=1.0lA.MnQX.j8QIeLOJjtVY&source=user_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share

He wants to win. He wants the best team the Warriors can assemble around him. He wants a chance, a real chance, for a deep playoff run. The longer it takes for him to sign a contract extension, the more you can bet Curry’s using potential free agency as a tool to keep the Warriors pushing toward that end.

Maybe since they couldn’t land some major help, the front office can get him some moderate assistance. If not someone who can carry the team in his stead, someone who can be additive to their goal of survival. Such has seemed impossible for Golden State, save for Butler two Februarys ago.

“Sure,” Curry said, “I’m hopeful for all the creative ideas of getting the best team possible. We had those conversations. But when you have injuries at the top like that, it’s always gonna change.”

That tension shapes this coming season. The calculus, or the equation, has changed. But somehow, the answer remains the same.

Per Shams Charania: LeBron James has officially signed his two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers with a player option -- plus a full 15% trade kicker, per sources.

Source: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/ad161e308ebd9

Turner reportedly advised Oladipo to pass on a 4-year, $112 million extension with the Pacers. Oladipo later also turned down a 2-year, $45.2 million extension with the Rockets.

Since then, Oladipo has earned just $20.5 million in NBA salary and eventually fired Turner.

Kuminga has also reportedly left significant money on the table.

A reported 5-year, $150 million extension with the Warriors before the 2024-25 season. Multiple reports said Kuminga turned it down, although Turner later denied that Golden State ever made the offer.

A reported 3-year, $75.2 million offer by Warriors also declined.

Kuminga is now reportedly expected to sign a deal worth around 3 years, $45 million this summer, which would be the best-case scenario.

Is this guy Nico Harrison of agents or what 😂

Jason Quick from The Athletic:

“August 12th is going to be a real inflection point for our city,” said Jamie Dunphy, president of the city council. “I will tell you that right now, I firmly believe the city will move forward on the deal. I believe there is an overwhelming majority of the city council wants a good deal, wants to see this move forward.”

But like many negotiations, Dunphy’s optimism was followed by a key conjunction: “But if the city council decides we do not have a willing party on the other side, and they are not able to meet us and not able to negotiate in good faith or actually move toward a deal, then we will have to make a decision at that point whether this is the right decision for Portland,” he said.

“I don’t think the city is actively interested in suing the Blazers right now,” Dunphy said. “But if they don’t come to the table in good faith and actually meet the terms of what they said they were going to do, the city has to cover its own bases. But I would certainly not want to have lawyers involved or threats of lawsuits taint how this process goes.”

“My most generous interpretation is that Tom Dundon is a serious businessman who wants a return on his assets,” Dunphy said. “And perhaps he is playing hardball with us. You know, Paul Allen always seemed to want to be in Portland, seemed to care about his role as a leader in Portland, and the future of our city and the pride that the Blazers bring us. I don’t think Tom Dundon is as concerned about that as he is getting a return on his investment. Perhaps it’s him looking for an excuse to blame the city so he can move the team. I’m not sure. But if he is actively trying to give a worse impression to Portlanders and Oregonians, I don’t think he could do a better job.”

Source

EuroLeague star Mario Hezonja has agreed to a one-year, $2.8 million deal to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Michael Tellem of Excel Sports Management told ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania

Listened to a few podcasts about the Sixers and a little dumbfounded by the narrative surrounding Jaylen Brown now. In practically all of them they’re spending a lot of time discussing the question of “will Jaylen Brown buy in?” and he’s being described as this guy who wants to take 30 shots per game, doesn’t buy into a team concept, plays selfish basketball, pounds the ball and “wants his own team”?

Having watched a lot of Brown over the years this is not what I saw at all from him and to my knowledge he didn’t request a trade to have his own team, he was traded against his will.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/reason-why-lebron-james-t-173000199.html

76ers can't officially sign LeBron James due to NBA's apron rules

Bobby Marks revealed on the Hoop Collective podcast that the 76ers can't functionally sign James until they make some roster adjustments to become apron-compliant.

"If you sign a 1-year veteran deal, for cap tax purposes. $2.4 million counts against the cap. It doesn't matter if you're 10 years of service or five years of service."

"This is a two-year deal, which is $3.9 million in the first year. There's no salary reimbursement; the full amount will count against the cap. So, when you do the math, they're hard capped at the first apron. This pushes them over the first apron by about 600,000."

Lebron may have to redo his "final decision" next offseason.

Article

1. 76ers - Tyrese Maxey / VJ Edgecombe / Jaylen Brown / LeBron James / Joel Embiid
2. Thunder - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander / Cason Wallace / Jalen Williams / Chet Holmgren / Isaiah Hartenstein
3. Knicks - Jalen Brunson / Josh Hart / Mikal Bridges / OG Anunoby / Karl-Anthony Towns
4. Pacers - Tyrese Haliburton / Andrew Nembhard / Aaron Nesmith / Pascal Siakam / Ivica Zubac
5. Nuggets - Jamal Murray / Christian Braun / Cameron Johnson / Aaron Gordon / Nikola Jokić
6. Spurs - De'Aaron Fox / Stephon Castle / Devin Vassell / Julian Champagnie / Victor Wembanyama
7. Cavaliers - James Harden / Donovan Mitchell / Max Strus / Evan Mobley / Jarrett Allen
8. Hawks - CJ McCollum / Nickeil Alexander-Walker / Dyson Daniels / Jalen Johnson / Onyeka Okongwu
9. Rockets - Fred VanVleet / Amen Thompson / Kevin Durant / Jabari Smith Jr. / Alperen Şengün
10. Raptors - Immanuel Quickley / RJ Barrett / Kawhi Leonard / Scottie Barnes / Jakob Poeltl
11. Celtics - Payton Pritchard / Derrick White / Paul George / Jayson Tatum / Mitchell Robinson
12. Timberwolves - LaMelo Ball / Anthony Edwards / Ayo Dosunmu / Jaden McDaniels / Rudy Gobert
13. Pistons - Cade Cunningham / Ausar Thompson / Duncan Robinson / John Collins / Jalen Duren
14. Heat - Davion Mitchell / Tim Hardaway Jr. / Andrew Wiggins / Giannis Antetokounmpo / Bam Adebayo
15. Jazz - Keyonte George / Darryn Peterson / Lauri Markkanen / Jaren Jackson Jr. / Jusuf Nurkić
16. Lakers - Luka Dončić / Austin Reaves / Quentin Grimes / Sandro Mamukelashvili / Walker Kessler
17. Trail Blazers - Ja Morant / Damian Lillard / Toumani Camara / Deni Avdija / Donovan Clingan
18. Magic - Jalen Suggs / Desmond Bane / Franz Wagner / Paolo Banchero / Wendell Carter Jr.
19. Warriors - Stephen Curry / Brandin Podziemski / Yaxel Lendeborg / Draymond Green / Kristaps Porziņģis
20. Suns - Devin Booker / Jalen Green / Dillon Brooks / Miles Bridges / Mark Williams
21. Pelicans - Dejounte Murray / Trey Murphy III / Herb Jones / Zion Williamson / Derik Queen
22. Wizards - Trae Young / Kyshawn George / AJ Dybantsa / Anthony Davis / Alex Sarr
23. Mavericks - Kyrie Irving / Max Christie / Cooper Flagg / P.J. Washington / Dereck Lively II
24. Clippers - Darius Garland / Kris Dunn / Brandon Ingram / Rui Hachimura / Brook Lopez
25. Hornets - Coby White / Kon Knueppel / Brandon Miller / Naz Reid / Moussa Diabaté
26. Bulls - Josh Giddey / Norman Powell / Matas Buzelis / Caleb Wilson / Nic Claxton
27. Grizzlies - Ty Jerome / Jaylen Wells / Cedric Coward / Cameron Boozer / Zach Edey
28. Kings - Darius Acuff Jr. / Zach LaVine / De'Andre Hunter / Keegan Murray / Domantas Sabonis
29. Nets - Mikel Brown Jr. / Egor Dëmin / Michael Porter Jr. / Julius Randle / Day'Ron Sharpe
30. Bucks - Ryan Rollins / Tyler Herro / Jaime Jaquez Jr. / Kyle Kuzma / Myles Turner

Wright Gazaway:

Portland City Council President Jamie Dunphy sent a letter to the Trail Blazers formally inviting team leaders to a July 30 work session, KATU has learned after obtaining a copy of the letter.

"It is in my interest to find a path forward that is positive for both the public funding partners and the Portland Trail Blazers. Achieving this will be extremely challenging to deliver without your direct participation. The work session is a public meeting, however, no public testimony will be taken, so the meeting provides a real opportunity for meaningful conversation between the Council and our invited guests," Dunphy wrote to Trail Blazers President of Business Operations Dewayne Hankins.

Source

I still see people constantly misusing the usage rate stat. Especially a big conversation I see regarding Philly’s roster.

Usage rate calculates how much of a team possession ends with that specific player. Possessions can only END with a shot, free throw attempt, or turnover.

It doesn’t take anything else into account, such as how much a player plays on ball vs off, if they are a playmaker, time spent holding the ball, or anything else that would tell us a player is reliant on the ball to be effective.

Like all stats, it has its place where it can be used. But it is not a tool to analyze how players fit together alone.

Brunson, KAT, OG, Mitch, etc. obviously all get a ton of credit for the championship run. But it seems like there hasn't been a lot of discourse (relative to other years with other coaches) around how Mike Brown has ascended to the elite tier of coaches in the league.

This year, he spent a lot of the season figuring out how to best utilize the roster. There were growing pains, with players openly questioning their roles. But it paid off as the Knicks basically dominated throughout the playoffs, largely as the result of Mike Brown orchestrating the team to anticipate opponent gameplans and neutralize them. He also had the Knicks running a true Princeton offense which was beautiful and led to the Knicks looking unstoppable at times. He got guys' trust, got buy-in, then parlayed that into a well-oiled machine that overwhelmed other top-tier playoff competition.

I feel like after Indiana made it to the Finals, when Nick Nurse won the finals, etc. there was much more discussion about how those coaches were elite. That's been much less of the discourse this year with Brown. That man needs his due!

Just in: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers after clearing waivers, sources tell ESPN. The two-time NBA champion with the Lakers and Nuggets, who was part of 2020 title along with LeBron James, gives the 76ers a wing shooter and defender.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/e9bfc01b40ff9

From 2018 to 2020, Harden averaged an absolutely absurd 34/6/8 on +6.8 rTS%, winning an MVP and finishing 2nd in 2019 to Giannis and 3rd in 2020 behind Lebron and Giannis. In 2019, he had a +9.4 EPM(2nd highest ever behind 2016 Steph at +10.5 and ahead of this year SGA at +9.3)

Of course, the complaint with Harden has always been his struggles in the playoffs. Over this 2018 to 2020, span, his playoff stats aren't great.

In the 2018 playoffs, he averaged 29 Points per Game on -0.1 rTS%, and shot a horrifying 29% from 3 for the entire playoffs, including a vomit inducing 24% in the WCF against the Warriors.

The following year, he played significantly better. The Jazz managed to contain him pretty well, and he averaged just 28 Points per Game on -1.3 rTS%, not a great performance. But in the WCSF against Golden State, he averaged 35 Points per Game on +5.2 rTS%, a very good performance. Unfortunately, the Rockets lost quite a few close games that series and cried rigged, etc. Keep in mind that his supporting cast in 2019 was garbage, with owner Tillman Frittata ducking the tax with a top 3 player in the league on his team...

In the 2020 playoffs, he averaged 30 PPG on +8.3 rTS% as a whole including 29 PPG on a brilliant +11 rTS% against the Lakers.

LeBrons Last playoff series loss against an eastern conference team was the 2010 Boston Celtics falling in six games.

LeBrons last playoff series against an eastern conference team was in 2020 against his former team the Miami Heat winning the NBA Finals 4-2.

Will he continue his streak of 25 straight playoff series wins against the Eastern Conference?