NBA RUMORS AND NEWS

12 Up "The 2020 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class was unveiled on Saturday, and it features arguably the greatest compilation of talent in its history. The class is headlined by the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett, who together were named to 48 All-Star..." April 04

USA Today "New York has been one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. As of Saturday, New York City had accounted for more than 1,900 deaths, according to the latest tracking data from Johns Hopkins University.  With hospitals overwhelmed,..." April 04

Boston "It was a foregone conclusion that Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan would be elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class, and the news became official Saturday during a special program on ESPN. The trio headlines a group many have deemed..." April 04

Pro Basketball Talk "Everyone knew it was coming, Kobe Bryant was a lock first-ballot Hall of Famer. It didn’t make the announcement that he was officially in any less emotional. Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, appeared on the ESPN show announcing the 2020 class and spoke..." April 04

ESPN "The NBA and ESPN are working on televising a H-O-R-S-E competition involving several high-profile players, sources told ESPN. Discussions have been ongoing among the NBA, NBPA and ESPN about a competition among several players in isolation -- presumably using home gyms -- that would..." April 04

Sportsnet "For the first time in a long time, Nick Nurse can catch his breath. The circumstance are less than ideal and he would contend he didn’t need to, but now that COVID-19 has brought the NBA season and just about everything else to a full halt, the Toronto Raptors head..." April 04

New York Post "In the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, New York got another significant assist from Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai. New York governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday at his daily press conference that the Chinese government will facilitate a donation from Tsai and wife, Clara Wu..." April 04

12 Up "Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant was earmarked for celebration this summer the very second he announced his retirement. After all, all it took were a few mental calculations to figure out the timeline for first-ballot election to make it abundantly clear Bryant's special..." April 04

NESN "Not many saw Kevin Garnett’s work ethic and intensity up close and personal like former Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce did. So, on the same day Garnett was named among the Basketball Hall of Fame honorees, Pierce told ESPN’s Rece Davis on SportsCenter what made his..." April 04

The Big Lead "As our sportless world marches on, fans around the world are delving deep into the archives to find more sports to talk about. One such nugget emerged on the internet a few days ago when an old Stephen A. Smith report was dredged up about how the Toronto Raptors came quite close to trading..." April 04

TMZ "Ben Simmons is taking a page straight out of Stephen Stills' songbook ... without Kendall Jenner by his side during quarantine, he's turning to the next best thing. Woof! The Philadelphia 76ers point guard posted a series of cute photos Saturday showing himself..." April 04

The Score "NBA commissioner Adam Silver told President Donald Trump on Saturday that sports leagues would love to lead an economic restart once given the "all clear" from public health officials, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski. Silver was on a..." April 04

CBS Sports "If the 2019-20 NBA season is able to resume at some point, 76ers coach Brett Brown might be catching a break. Brown is widely expected to be coaching for his job when or if the playoffs commence, and while the Sixers' basketball issues will still be firmly in place, at least they..." April 04

Sportsnaut "Regardless of what happens with the remainder of the NBA season, the draft will eventually take place. COVID-19 is not going to change that. The Golden State Warriors boasted a league-worst 15-50 record once the season was suspended. Most lottery simulations conclude that they..." April 04

Clutch Points "Erik Spoelstra has just reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to the Miami Heat with a recent statement. Speaking on an interview Sirius XM NBA Radio, the 49-year-old made it abundantly clear that he intends to remain with the Heat for the remainder of his..." April 04

TMZ "LaMelo Ball's barber took ZERO chances when it came to cutting the Big Baller's hair during the COVID-19 outbreak ... he showed up to trim Melo's head IN A FULL HAZMAT SUIT!! We kid you not ... Philly Barber -- the famous hair guy for stars like Melo, Saquon..." April 04

Hoops Rumors "There’s growing pessimism around the league that the 2019/20 season can be resumed, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on SportsCenter (video link). While the NBA is willing to go deep into the summer to complete the season, recent developments have led the league to discuss the..." April 04

Larry Brown Sports "Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade got together for a chat on Instagram Friday, and a funny story emerged during their talk. The two players, who are part of the NBA’s exclusive “Banana Boat” crew, talked about what got in the way of CP3 joining the Miami Heat. Both players..." April 04

Talk Basket "Los Angeles Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley took on Hassan Whiteside of the Portland Trail Blazers in the new NBA 2K20 Players Tournament. Beverley took control of the Milwaukee Bucks, while Whiteside played with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 31-year-old point guard took a jab at LeBron..." April 04

Clutch Points "NBA players and fans’ worst nightmare just became more probable than ever: the 2019-20 season might be cancelled after all. According to Bleacher Report, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that the NBA is considering the said angle following China’s CBA..." April 04

Fadeaway World "The Los Angeles Lakers are first in the West with a 49-14 record. With two superstars leading the way, everything seems to be going right for the LA giants. But that doesn’t mean the exact same team will be reunited next year. While LeBron James and Anthony Davis are clearly..." April 04

NESN "Some seriously impressive career stats are to be enshrined in Springfield, Mass., this summer. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Friday that Kevin Garnett, the late Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan are among those to be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of..." April 03

Larry Brown Sports "Mark Cuban might just have the best idea for how to keep oneself preoccupied during quarantine: run for president. Speaking at an Axios virtual event on Friday, the Dallas Mavericks owner said that he was not ruling out a bid for president this..." April 03

Total Pro Sports "Move over, Jay Williams, we have another crazy scenario in which a former player has an insane idea to get basketball players back on the court. Jay Williams wants the rest of the NBA season to play on cruise ships, but Paul Pierce decided to expand on that and state the government..." April 03

Pro Basketball Talk "It finally happens — the NBA returns. The coronavirus forced stoppage ends and the NBA races into action. As quickly as they can teams gather in a “bubble” in Las Vegas, players are on the court in games televised across the nation and streamed around the world. The..." April 03

Yahoo! Sports "Although the Summer Olympics have been pushed back to 2021, the commitment from Canadian Men’s Basketball coach Nick Nurse remains the same. Nurse spoke to reporters for the first time since the International Olympics Committee officially rescheduled the Tokyo Olympics to..." April 03

12 Up "On Friday, reports revealed that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was, unsurprisingly, voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2020. Sadly, Bryant won't be there to accept the honor, as he was tragically killed in a helicopter crash that also took the..." April 03

Mass Live "The announcement won’t be official until Saturday, but it’s been apparent since they retired. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Citing sources, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium..." April 03

CBS Sports "The NBA is losing millions of dollars with each day that games cannot be played amid the outbreak of coronavirus, and the moment, it appears as if the players and league are at an impasse when it comes to how to share the burden of that loss. The NBA has asked players to take a..." April 03

Heavy "Dallas Mavericks assistant coach, God Shammgod has a story that everybody kind of knows. If you’ve ever seen an in and out crossover on the playground blacktops or an NBA court, the young kids are calling it the Sham-shake and it is deemed one of the most vicious..." April 03

Yardbarker "It seems that Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce may not be around for a third season in Atlanta. Although Pierce has helped turn point guard Trae Young into an All-Star, The Athletic's Chris Kirschner reports the two have been experiencing a..." April 03

ESPN "Inside Giannis Antetokounmpo's Wisconsin home, the reigning MVP has been cooking, cleaning, spending time with family and working out since the NBA suspended its season because of the coronavirus pandemic. What he hasn't been doing is playing..." April 03

Larry Brown Sports "Scott Perry’s ultimate fate is uncertain with new president Leon Rose taking over, but it sounds like he will be staying put for at least a few more months. Marc Berman of the New York Post reported Thursday that Rose is proceeding status quo with the New York Knicks..." April 03

Hoops Rumors "The Larry H. Miller Group has begun laying off some Jazz employees, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Sources tell ESPN that the cutbacks so far are affecting non-basketball employees. Wojnarowski adds that some employees are accepting reductions..." April 03

Bleacher Report "The 2020 NBA free-agent class underwhelms in quantity and quality. Anthony Davis is technically its headliner, but the entire basketball world assumes he'll quickly re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Brandon Ingram holds the No. 2 spot, but he's a restricted free agent and..." April 03

Clutch Points "Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri claimed in legal papers on Thursday he was assaulted by a security guard after the 2019 NBA Finals, not the other way around, per Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. Alan Strickland, the security guard, previously..." April 03

SLAM Online "The Chicago Bulls have begun their search for a new top-level executive with full authority on basketball decisions, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Current executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Foreman may remain with..." April 03

New York Post "Power forward Julius Randle became the most polarizing Knicks player with the fans — and in the locker room. Randle’s traditional numbers are strong but bittersweet. If there are no more regular-season games due to the coronavirus pandemic, Randle will finish..." April 03

Yardbarker "Jimmy Butler and his Miami Heat teammates used to wake up early and hit the basketball court every day around 3:30 a.m, but the coronavirus has since made that impossible. On the "What's In Your Glass" Instagram chat on a split-screen with Carmelo Anthony,..." April 03

Sporting News "The NBL confirmed LaMelo Ball and his management have expressed an interest in the Illawarra Hawks but denied an application has been made for the purchase of the Australian basketball team. Ball's manager Jermaine Jackson told ESPN on Thursday that the pair acquired the Hawks,..." April 03

ESPN "Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is establishing a funding campaign for COVID-19 antibody testing for front-line health care workers through Penn Medicine, he told ESPN on Friday. A week after publicly pressuring Sixers ownership to reverse course on a..." April 03

TSN "The Chicago Bulls have started a formal search process to hire a new top executive, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, and among the candidates the team is interested in is Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster. Webster is under contract through the 2020-21 season,..." April 03

Sun Sentinel "Derrick Jones Jr. didn't have to think too far back to recall the last time he dunked. "Does it have to be a 10-foot court? If not, then I'd say on son's Fisher-Price yesterday," the Miami Heat high-wire forward said Friday on a Zoom media video..." April 03

TMZ "Sad (but expected) news from the WNBA ... the 2020 season has been officially pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. But there's a silver lining -- the virtual draft slated for April 17 will still go on as planned, the league announced Friday. " April 03

Larry Brown Sports "Coronavirus-related restrictions in California have limited the ability of the Los Angeles Lakers to conduct any sort of business as usual, which has left teams trying to figure out how to stay busy and productive. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel decided on a strategy to keep his staff..." April 03

Pro Basketball Talk "Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone… Chris Paul paraphrasing Joni Mitchell is not where we expected to be on Friday, but here we are. CP3 went on the Up in Smoke Podcast with Matt..." April 03

ESPN "Although the Los Angeles Lakers revealed this week that all of their players, including the two who previously tested positive for COVID-19, were symptom free following a two-week self-isolating period, coach Frank Vogel admitted he has no way to be sure whether he or any of his..." April 03

New York Post "Nobody knows the steps Knicks president Leon Rose would have taken had the NBA season — and normal life — not been suspended by the coronavirus on March 11. For now, Rose is proceeding as status quo with an inherited front office in following an unofficial NBA..." April 03

Yahoo! Sports "Lou Williams is integral to the Clippers’ title dreams. Since coming to the Clippers, he has averaged 20.6 points a game off the bench, twice winning Sixth Man of the Year, and his pick-and-roll with Montrezl Harrell is as smooth and dangerous a combo as..." April 03

SLAM Online "Throughout an incredible basketball journey, guard Monta Ellis has broken records, put on legendary performances for historic teams, been a consistently unstoppable scorer, shared the court and gone head-to-head with future Hall of Famers and much, much more. Ellis starred..." April 03