NBA RUMORS AND NEWS

Larry Brown Sports "The Los Angeles Lakers have lost two games in a row since clinching the top seed in the Western Conference, and now LeBron James is hinting at some possible issues off the floor. The Lakers lost on Wednesday 105-86 to the Oklahoma City Thunder even though both James and Anthony Davis..." August 07

The Score "The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed for the second straight season after overcoming a 23-point deficit Thursday to beat the Miami Heat. Miami is among a handful of contenders expected to challenge Milwaukee for the East's..." August 07

Yardbarker "The Jazz will play the Spurs on Friday, but they will look like a totally different team. They’ll go without all of their star players due to injury or, in one case, rest, according to an ESPN report. The starting backcourt of Donovan Mitchell (left peroneal..." August 07

Hoops Rumors "Magic center Mohamed Bamba contracted COVID-19 in June, which led to subsequent conditioning issues and a large reduction in playing time during the restart, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports. Bamba’s demotion to third-string center behind Nikola..." August 07

Oregonian "Damian Lillard’s dominant Thursday night performance against the Denver Nuggets wasn’t just his best in the NBA bubble — it was historic. The Portland Trail Blazers’ All-Star point guard finished with 45 points and 12 assists and..." August 07

Larry Brown Sports "NBA players may be averse to being regarded as snitches, but that is not stopping them from using the anonymous tip hotline in the bubble, according to a report. Chris B. Haynes reported on TNT Thursday that multiple players have been using the hotline. " August 07

Fadeaway World "So far, the NBA bubble environment has been pretty good between NBA players and teams. In fact, the Houston Rockets went as far as to share the secret on how to beat the Milwaukee Bucks with the Brooklyn Nets. However, it was just a matter of time before things got heated between two..." August 06

NBC Sports Northwest "Jusuf Nurkic has said many times that playing against his former team the Denver Nuggets is just like any other game. Buttttt, this Nurkic throw down says otherwise… At the 3:02 mark of the second quarter Thursday night, the Bosnian Beast unleashed on former Oregon..." August 06

USA Today "This could have marked the time for the Milwaukee Bucks to build championship habits. Instead, they have looked far from a finished product during the beginning stages of the NBA’s restarted season. The Bucks clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed with a..." August 06

Clutch Points "Hall of Fame NBA forward and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley is having a hard time understanding the concept of virtual fans. Chuck had a hilarious back-and-forth with the other members of “Inside the NBA” as they chided him for failing to understand the functionality..." August 06

Sportsnaut "They are favored to meet in the NBA Finals. They boast two former league MVPs. Most unbiased observers would love to see the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks meet in the final series to close out what has been a hectic 2019-20 NBA season. The two teams are now one step..." August 06

Indy Star "Former Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird said an ESPN reporter's claim he left the team due to frustration the team's ownership wouldn't pay "big money" to acquire talent couldn't be "further from the truth." Bird, who responded to the..." August 06

NESN "You’ve likely seen the viral tomato that people believe looks like Larry Bird. And while plenty of people on Twitter loved it, one ESPN commentator wasn’t impressed. Jeff Van Gundy was helping call the Boston Celtics’ 149-115 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday..." August 06

Larry Brown Sports "Many felt that the Boston Celtics burned their bridge with Isaiah Thomas when they traded him in 2017, but Thomas himself may think otherwise. The former All-Star guard responded to a fan tweet this week about if he would be open to returning to the Celtics and playing as a backup...." August 06

Fadeaway World "The Utah Jazz landed a true steal when they drafted Donovan Mitchell out of Louisville University with the 13th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. He wasn’t a highly-coveted player and didn’t get much attention from the media but he turned out to be the leader and scorer they were..." August 06

USA Today "The NBA had suspended its season, and New York Knicks guard-forward Moe Harkless was trying to think of what he could do to help as COVID-19 gripped the world. “At first, it was difficult for me,” Harkless told USA TODAY Sports. “I was struggling. I wanted to do..." August 06

Orlando Sentinel "When National Hockey League games used to turn into brawls, the joke was “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.” Now you can tune into a social justice protest and a Chinese Basketball Association game might break out. It’s actually the National..." August 06

Sportsnaut "When Ben Simmons walked off the court with a non-contact knee injury during the Philadelphia 76ers game against the Washington Wizards, everyone hoped for the best. As the star forward went to the locker room in Orlando’s bubble, many thought it might only be a short-term..." August 06

Bleacher Report "While the Golden State Warriors don't have an obvious trade piece, there reportedly has "always been a little smoke" to their interest in Aaron Gordon. Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported Gordon could become a target as they explore using..." August 06

Cleveland.com "There’s no substitute for experience. That was one of LeBron James’ most uttered phrases during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. James is gone, in Los Angeles (well, technically a bubble in Disney) alongside Anthony Davis, leading the Lakers to their first..." August 06

The Big Lead "The NBA bubble has come with a few revelations. T.J. Warren stands out as the biggest after he spent the last four months apparently channeling Michael Jordan or something and dropped 50 in the first seeding game. The Portland Trail Blazers are making a hard push..." August 06

Fadeaway World "The Los Angeles Lakers seem to steal all the headlines every season. Whether they are good or bad in a particular season, there is something about the Purple and Gold that influences fans and media alike. Now with the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the franchise players, the hype is..." August 06

The Spun "The 2019 NBA offseason was a series of swings and misses for the New York Knicks. But despite failing to lure Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving or Kawhi Leonard, there was one player who had some initial interest. Appearing on the R2C2 podcast, Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker..." August 06

The Score "The NBA announced that it fined the Brooklyn Nets $25,000 on Thursday for failing to comply with league policies governing injury reporting. " August 06

Hoops Rumors "The 2020 NBA draft lottery, originally scheduled for May 19, will now take place on August 20, two weeks from today. Besides happening three months later than usual, this year’s lottery also figures to look a little different, since the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will almost..." August 06

Detroit Free Press "The NBA is in the midst of its first full week of consequential basketball within the Orlando bubble — a welcomed return to normalcy for players, league executives and fans.  The month of August will also bring some normalcy to the Detroit Pistons, who will see..." August 06

Yardbarker "Steve Kerr knows that the Warriors missing the Orlando bubble is giving the team a much-needed break. Regardless, he says that the Golden State players are having a tough time watching other teams compete while they are forced to sit at home and quarantine like the rest of..." August 06

The Ringer "The 76ers’ starting lineup has a new shape, but the new grouping is just as confounding as the old one. In the NBA’s Orlando bubble so far, Philadelphia has lost to a Pacers team missing its most valuable player this season, Domantas Sabonis, and needed a last-second Shake Milton..." August 06

Larry Brown Sports "The Sacramento Kings have laid an egg in the Orlando bubble thus far, and now one of their top players appears to be having conditioning concerns. Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported on Wednesday that several league insiders have commented that Kings guard Buddy Hield appears to..." August 06

Chicago Sun-Times "For three consecutive weeks, the Orlando bubble has held strong. Of the 343 players tested in the latest round made public, there were zero cases of the coronavirus that shut down the league — as well as the entire sports world — back in March. A win-win …..." August 06

Bleacher Report "The Los Angeles Lakers' strengths include a roster featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a top-flight defense and a clinched No. 1 seed in the West, so their weaknesses aren't always obvious or particularly concerning. But after sputtering to a 105-86 loss..." August 06

ESPN "IN THE DAYS leading up to the NBA's Florida reboot, New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick contemplated what provisions to bring for a stay in the Orlando bubble that would last at least five weeks. He initially focused only on the necessities and packed light. Then..." August 06

Black Sports Online "The rollercoaster romance between Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson, has apparently started right back up once again. You know, at this point, any sort of updates regarding their toxic relationship is pretty much a waste of breath. There’s toxic relationships, then..." August 06

Clutch Points "The Los Angeles Lakers got off to a decent start in the NBA restart, but they were fairly unimpressive against a shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers team that was missing 37 points of offense from its bench with Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell out of the bubble. That trend..." August 06

Complex "During his appearance on the latest episode of the Play for Keeps podcast, Kevin Durant explored the idea that his Brooklyn Nets teammate Kyrie Irving is "misunderstood." Durant believes Irving is simply being open..." August 06

USA Today "The comment sounded so absurd that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James seemed more amused than offended. In an interview with Fox & Friends, President Donald Trump said it was “disgraceful” that NBA players knelt during the national anthem to..." August 06

The Star "Fred VanVleet’s level of self-awareness is off the charts. He knows what he was, he knows what he is, he knows what he has to be for the Raptors to maintain their place in the upper echelon of the NBA. His progression to this point, as a player and a man, has been one..." August 06

TMZ ""You're talking about grown men, 85% of them single and you have them locked up at Disney World?!" That's ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas raising some issues going on inside the NBA bubble ... insinuating players are reaching their breaking point after going..." August 06

The Big Lead "Danny Green has struggled in the NBA's Orlando bubble. A man brought to the Los Angeles Lakers to provide defense and hit shots has only been getting half the job done. If the Lakers truly have designs on winning a championship this year, Green is going to need to make..." August 06

CBS Sports "Five minutes into the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James galloped down the court and barged into the paint. He bumped his primary defender, Lugentz Dort, but by then two more Thunder defenders — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Darius..." August 06

Fox Business "The NBA has pledged $300 million toward a new foundation that aims to support economic development and career opportunities within the Black community, the league announced Wednesday. The $300 million commitment stems from $30 million in contributions from the..." August 05

ESPN "With one of the most open NBA postseasons in years, there's no clear title favorite right now, but the LA Clippers picked up one big endorsement: Kevin Durant. "If I had to choose -- and I hate doing that s--- because you never know what could happen, you seen..." August 05

The Score "San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich doesn't believe it's luck that the NBA campus hasn't reported a positive COVID-19 test in the last three weeks. "There's absolutely no doubt that the NBA, under the leadership of Adam Silver, has done a magnificent..." August 05

Clutch Points "Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid believes he’s going to be unguardablefor the Sixers in the 2020 playoffs. The All-Star center said his style of play is built for the postseason since the game slows down and half-court offense is at a..." August 05

NBA.com "If you weren't familiar with T.J. Warren before the NBA restart at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, you probably are after his first three games. The Indiana Pacers prolific forward has led his team to a perfect 3-0 record with averages of 39.7 points, 5.7..." August 05

USA Today "The Lakers, the “home team” against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, had a famous person in the virtual audience on the sidelines. Rapper Lil Wayne made an appearance as a fan for the Lakers and Thunder game. He’s a big Lakers fan, telling Matt..." August 05

Fadeaway World "The Los Angeles Lakers have looked pretty good during these first few days of the restart. LeBron looks rested, AD looks healthy, and the team appears ready for a long playoff run. They recently clinched the West’s no. 1 seed and though many are firm believers in the Lakers,..." August 05

ESPN "The Los Angeles Lakers will host a "home" game Wednesday more than 2,500 miles from L.A., but people in the building who close their eyes and open their ears before tipoff might mistake their surroundings for Staples Center. "And now, celebrating their 60th..." August 05

Bleacher Report "For most of his career, the knock on the ultra-productive Devin Booker has been: "Does he help you win?" His buzzer-beating, game-winning jumper over the outstretched arms of both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on Tuesday was further evidence that the..." August 05

Fadeaway World "With a 48-18 record in the East, the Raptors are a real threat to the Eastern Conference leaders Milwaukee Bucks. Toronto is the reigning NBA champion, and although they no longer have Kawhi Leonard, they have a good enough squad led by Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry. Both players were All-Stars..." August 05