NBA RUMORS AND NEWS

Sportress of Blogitude "The NBA and NBPA have agreed to a lucrative licensing agreement extension with Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., creators of the popular “NBA 2K” video game franchise, the league announced this week. The new agreement reportedly spans seven years and is said to be..." January 16

New York Post "That Kristaps Porzingis did not travel across the pond to be a Knicks ambassador on their London sojourn is a good sign for those wanting to see him hit the hardwood this season. Porzingis loves Europe and spent all five months of his offseason rehabbing his knee in Spain..." January 16

Fadeaway World "The Pelicans and 76ers are in two very different states right now. As the Pelicans scramble to fight for the future of their franchise, Philadelphia is doing everything they can to improve their present. Anthony Davis is all that lies between the playoffs and the lottery for the..." January 16

San Antonio Express-News "Spurs forward Rudy Gay is closer to a return after missing the last five games with a sprained left wrist. The Spurs on Tuesday listed Gay as probable for Wednesday night's game against the Mavericks. Gay said before Monday's 108-93 loss to the Charlotte Hornets that..." January 16

Celtics Blog "The most pressing concern for the Celtics, at least in the short-near term future, is the poor play of Terry Rozier and his impending restricted free agent status. I previously advocated for the Celtics to keep Rozier this season, with the thinking being that Rozier raised the Celtics..." January 16

Clutch Points "Sources familiar with the Dallas Mavericks don’t believe the organization will offer center DeAndre Jordan a multi-year deal after his contract expires in the offseason, according to Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Getting a multi-year deal is..." January 16

Bleacher Report "Luka Doncic's arrival as a rookie phenomenon is now complete. Not because of his monstrous play in the clutch, those groin-stretching step-backs or the generally indomitable confidence that defines the Dallas Mavericks' 19-year-old star. No, Doncic has arrived because he's..." January 16

SLAM Online "Kyrie Irving says he won’t ever publicly question his Celtics teammates again. Irving, who called out the team’s young core multiple times this season, admits that frustration with Boston’s struggles has caused him to say things he later regrets (and..." January 16

Larry Brown Sports "Jabari Parker has finally managed to crawl his way out of the doghouse, and he responded on Tuesday night with one of his best games in nearly two months. Prior to the Bulls’ 107-100 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago coach Jim Boylen told reporters Parker has done what was..." January 16

Pro Basketball Talk "The Los Angeles Lakers are not a good basketball team without LeBron James. This is fairly obvious, and we knew the ultimate test heading into this season would be if James suffered an injury that kept him out for a significant period of time. Of course we have been able to test..." January 16

Dallas Morning News "Late Sunday afternoon, shortly before his Mavericks would face two-time reigning NBA champion Golden State and take the Warriors to the wire for the third time in as many attempts this season, Mark Cuban made a seemingly persuasive argument for keeping Dennis Smith Jr. But was the..." January 16

Hoops Rumors "While Knicks center Enes Kanter remains the subject of trade rumors this week, his non-basketball future remains far more complicated than his future on the court. According to a report out of Kanter’s home country of Turkey, relayed by The Associated..." January 16

USA Today "LeBron James still being out injured sure as heck doesn’t stop the NBA universe from talking about LeBron James, and it doesn’t stop the chatter and speculation about his supporting actors in the ever-entertaining Los Angeles Lakers soap opera either. The latest..." January 16

ESPN "LeBron James will miss at least the next two games for the Lakers as he continues to rehabilitate a strained left groin, his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN on Tuesday. James has missed the past 11 games since suffering the injury on Christmas Day at..." January 16

Real GM Basketball "Steve Kerr stated that DeMarcus Cousins is still on schedule to make his season debut this Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. There were rumors that Cousins could come back as early as Wednesday against the Pelicans, though that is unlikely now. Cousins will be in the..." January 16

NESN "Jimmy Butler faced his former team for the first time since getting traded, and, well, it went pretty well for him. The Philadelphia 76ers simply throttled the Minnesota Timberwolves 149-107 on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center. After the game, Sixers star Joel Embiid, as he..." January 16

Detroit News "On Dec. 1, the Pistons were seemingly on top of the world. They had just beaten the defending-champion Golden State Warriors and improved to 13-7. It was a stretch of nine wins in 11 games and the Dwane Casey era looked to be off to a rousing start. It was the apex of the season,..." January 16

Yahoo! Sports "Dismiss Kyrie Irving if you like, but the Boston Celtics’ All-Star sees the warning signs of a team playing too casually too late in the season, which often results in playoff disappointment. Irving wanted the immense expectations, engineering his way out of..." January 16

Dime Magazine "Dion Waiters made his 2018-19 debut at the start of the new year, appearing in Miami’s 117-92 win over Cleveland for 11 minutes. Since then, Waiters hasn’t really gotten a ton of run as he’s getting back into the team’s rotation following ankle surgery, and as we learned..." January 16

Clutch Points "Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has not a lot to say but is very clear in what he hopes for the return of DeMarcus Cousins. Last offseason, the Warriors shocked the world by signing DeMarcus Cousins to a one-year $5 million contract. Cousins decided to..." January 16

247 Sports "What exactly happens at halftime of an NBA game is extremely dependent on what happened during the half that preceded it. Generally, coaches will go over any strategic adjustments that the team is going to make. Players have an opportunity to use the bathroom and rest for a bit. If anyone needs..." January 16

Pro Basketball Talk "Jimmy Butler is nothing if not petty. The Philadelphia 76ers guard scored a whopping 19 points As they took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. The Sixers beat Minnesota, 149-107, in a historic beatdown. Of course, Butler left the Timberwovles under inauspicious..." January 16

Yardbarker "The Los Angeles Lakers have dropped from a top-four seed on Christmas Day to completely out of the Western Conference Playoffs in a matter of less than a month. It’s obvious that the loss of LeBron James to a groin injury has played a role in this free fall. Los Angeles boasts a..." January 15

Sportsnaut "The Denver Nuggets are hosting the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the Western Conference Tuesday evening. It’s one of the biggest mid-season games on the NBA’s slate. Can Denver announce its presence league-wide with a win over a..." January 15

The Score "We need to talk about James Harden. No one's oblivious to the unbelievable tear Harden has embarked on over his last 17 games, but the reigning MVP has taken his game to a level of offensive excellence so absurd, you find yourself rambling in maniacal, verbal circles when trying..." January 15

Hoops Rumors "The Pistons have signed Kalin Lucas to a two-way contract, waiving Zach Lofton in the process, Rod Beard of The Detroit News relays (Twitter feed). The now team has a bounty of guards after adding Isaiah Whitehead on a separate two-way deal earlier today. Behind Reggie Jackson, the..." January 15

Yardbarker "Reggie Bullock and Ish Smith have been solid this season for the Pistons and would have some value on the trade market, given their modest salaries and expiring contracts. However, the club would like to re-sign both players during the 2019 offseason, if possible, tweets Vince Ellis of The..." January 15

Clutch Points "The Minnesota Timberwolves are finalizing a deal to add veteran assistant Jerry Sichting to Ryan Saunders’ coaching staff, according to Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sichting was an assistant for the Timberwolves for quite some time, first joining the..." January 15

ESPN "One day before he will be medically re-evaluated, LeBron James did the most he's done at a shootaround since injuring his groin by shooting and passing during half-court situations Tuesday morning. While James has yet to do any full-court basketball activities with the..." January 15

Larry Brown Sports "The Dallas Mavericks are said to be searching for possible trade partners for Dennis Smith Jr, and the former first-round pick may be doing his part to accelerate the process. Smith was not at practice on Tuesday, and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle made it clear that the absence was not..." January 15

Bleacher Report "Andrew Wiggins was supposed to be a cornerstone piece in the Minnesota Timberwolves' rebuild, acquired as a rookie in 2014 from the Cleveland Cavaliers for All-Star Kevin Love. The Timberwolves were fortunate to land another No. 1 pick the following year in Karl-Anthony..." January 15

NBC Sports Bay Area "It sounds like Warriors fans should thank the former Milwaukee Bucks medical staff every day. In March 2012, Golden State traded Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut. But according to Bucks owner Marc Lasry, the Warriors were prepared to ship Steph Curry to Milwaukee..." January 15

ESPN "When faced with questions about a team's upcoming schedule, most people in the NBA will go to great lengths to avoid saying anything interesting. They'll instead offer platitudes and clichés about respecting each opponent and taking things one game at a time. Joel..." January 15

NBA.com "Philadelphia 76ers General Manager Elton Brand announced today that the team has signed Corey Brewer to a 10-day contract. Brewer appeared in 72 games (18 starts) last season with the Lakers and Oklahoma City, averaging 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 16.8 minute per game...." January 15

Golden State Of Mind "The Golden State Warriors need a center, and, when you remove players on playoff teams or under control for numerous years, Robin Lopez is one of the best around. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that there’s mutual interest between the two, and has..." January 15

Hoops Rumors "The Kings are among the teams that have expressed “exploratory” trade interest in Hawks point guard Jeremy Lin, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). As Stein notes (via Twitter), Lin is one of a handful of Atlanta veterans..." January 15

Clutch Points "The Dallas Mavericks are really working toward trading point guard Dennis Smith Jr., something that most people did not think was coming a year ago. However, with the emergence of rookie Luka Doncic as the Mavericks’ primary ball-handler, Smith has become..." January 15

Los Angeles Times "About a week after he had a second surgery on his right hand, Rajon Rondo was getting restless. He wasn’t allowed to travel with his Lakers teammates. He wasn’t allowed to shoot. But after one practice at home, his teammates were getting ready for their usual post-practice..." January 15

Fadeaway World "The Philadelphia 76ers are the NBA’s biggest question mark. When everything is working, they are amongst the hardest teams to beat, with Embiid, Simmons, and Butler combining their talents. Though, sadly, it’s rare when everything is working for them. Be it by injury..." January 15

Pro Basketball Talk "Kyrie Irving has said he will re-sign with the Boston Celtics. Team president and guy with the hammer Danny Ainge has said they will bring him back. And yet, talking to people around the league, the rumors that Irving could bolt Boston after this season will not die — they..." January 15

247 Sports "With the NBA trade deadline just a month away, it looks like big names are starting to pop up in the rumor mill. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Memphis Grizzlies big man Marc Gasol could be on the trade block. "One whisper making the rounds: Marc..." January 15

Orlando Pinstriped Post "The Magic had the opportunity to get Dennis Smith Jr. in 2017 and decided not to. Looks like they now have a second chance. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Dallas Mavericks have become more aggressive in shopping the 21-year-old point guard. The Magic, Woj adds, along with the..." January 15

The Score "The Los Angeles Lakers have dropped seven of their last 10 games since losing LeBron James and Rajon Rondo to injuries on Christmas Day, including a 101-95 defeat to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only have the Lakers missed James' and Rondo's talents..." January 15

SLC Dunk "Rudy Gobert’s emergence as the NBA’s best defender has been a franchise changer for the Utah Jazz. After the trade of then-star Deron Williams, the Jazz entered a period of kind of rebuilding and kind of not. They didn’t do well at either until drafting and..." January 15

Hoops Rumors "The Mavericks are ramping up trade discussions for point guard Dennis Smith Jr., ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The Suns and Magic are involved in talks with the Mavs, Wojnarowski adds. Smith Jr. has missed the last three games with a..." January 15

Bullets Forever "No one expected the Wizards’ season to go like this. Optimists thought this team was one puzzle piece away from catapulting themselves back into the top of the Eastern Conference. Pessimists thought even if things didn’t click, this team had too much talent and would be in..." January 15

Amico Hoops "The Cavaliers are no longer in any big hurry to trade Tristan Thompson but that hasn’t kept opposing teams from asking. According to several league sources, the Cavs have taken a few calls on their starting center, who has become a solid rock of a leader and teammate..." January 15

Mass Live "Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum appears to be the face of Nike’s latest experiment in basketball shoes -- a shoe that conforms to the wearer’s feet. Here’s a look at the ad featuring the Celtics' star second-year player Nike dropped via Twitter on..." January 15

Larry Brown Sports "Jaylen Brown is not happy with Kyrie Irving over the point guard’s comments on Saturday. Irving was frustrated with how the Celtics’ final play went in a 2-point loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. He was seen telling Gordon Hayward that Hayward made the wrong..." January 15

Clutch Points "With the trade deadline approaching, the Dallas Mavericks are looking at trading second-year guard Dennis Smith Jr. As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the Mavericks have been in talks with the Phoenix Suns and Orlando..." January 15