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10:28 AM ET Free-agent center Mitchell Robinson has agreed to a four-year, $60 million contract to stay with the New York Knicks, his agents, Thad Foucher and Joe Smith of Wasserman Basketball, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. A second-round pick in 2018, Robinson turned out to be the gem of that draft for the Knicks after

5:58 PM ET Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has agreed to the largest contract in NBA history — a five-year, $270 million supermax extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of Excel Sports told ESPN on Thursday night. Jokic, the two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, is now secured to the Nuggets for a total

3:00 PM ET Franchise star Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Nets general manager Sean Marks is working with Durant and his business manager Rich Kleiman on finding a trade, Kleiman told ESPN. As the Nets prepare to move one of the most valuable

8:00 AM ET Walk into an NBA front office in 2022, and you won’t have to go far before you spot a treatise on management theory resting on a bookshelf. Concepts like organizational culture and asset management have taken hold. League executives devote a lot of thought into forming an identity for their basketball operations

4:31 PM ET Bradley Beal has declined his $36.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season, his agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, making him an unrestricted free agent. Beal, who has played his entire 10-year career with the Washington Wizards, likely will have two options in free agency:

5:26 PM ET The Atlanta Hawks are trading Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Hawks are sending a 2023 first-round pick via the Charlotte Hornets, and their own 2025 and 2027 first-round picks to the Spurs in the deal,

10:36 AM ET The Washington Wizards are finalizing a deal to acquire Denver Nuggets guards Will Barton and Monte Morris in return for guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. The trade is getting final approvals now, and expected to be completed soon, sources said. Barton started all 71

9:50 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer raised his hands up and began rocking back and forth as he began to think about the idea of a healthy Kawhi Leonard returning this upcoming season. After not having Leonard all of last season while he recovered from a torn right ACL, Ballmer

6:14 PM ET The New York Knicks are considered strong favorites to sign Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson in free agency, sources told ESPN. It’s widely anticipated that Brunson will agree to a four-year deal in excess of $100 million to sign with the Knicks soon after free agency opens on Thursday evening, league sources

2:12 PM ET Associated Press CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls remain hopeful All-Star guard Zach LaVine will choose to re-sign with them rather than join another team as an unrestricted free agent. Executive vice president Arturas Karnisovas has been consistent in saying publicly the organization wants to keep LaVine. And he did it again on

9:49 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM After agreeing to a buyout with the Houston Rockets, guard John Wall

1:06 PM ET Outside of the Los Angeles Lakers, there are currently no known teams planning to pursue sign-and-trade deals for Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, sources told ESPN. Irving needs a trade partner to coordinate an agreement on a deal to get a long-term, maximum contract, but only the Lakers have interest in executing

12:52 AM ET Dan HajduckyESPN Close Hajducky is a reporter/researcher for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities. The basketball card that rapper and NBA superfan Drake spent at least $200,000 trying to find — the 2020-21

8:00 AM ET Gay people have made strides in many sectors of American professional life. An openly gay man runs Apple, presides as the governor of Colorado, and an open lesbian runs a Fortune 500 company. But in the highest reaches of men’s basketball, gay people are almost invisible. In 2011, 58-year-old Phoenix Suns CEO

11:04 AM ET Five-star recruit Matas Buzelis — the No. 11 player in ESPN’s Top 100 for the Class of 2023 — has committed to the G League Ignite for the 2023-2024 season, sources told ESPN on Friday. Buzelis, a skilled 6-foot-10 forward, will bypass college basketball and sign into the NBA’s professional pathway program

4:38 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — The secret about how Orlando was going to take Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft was incredibly well-kept. Among those who didn’t know: Banchero himself. Banchero said even he was kept out of the Magic decision loop until about 30 seconds before

5:39 PM ET ESPN News Services Steve Clifford has agreed to a deal to return as the Charlotte Hornets‘ coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 60-year-old Clifford spent five seasons coaching the Hornets, compiling a 196-214 record with a team that included Kemba Walker. He led the Hornets to two playoff appearances prior to

2:01 AM ET NBA Insiders With the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, the Orlando Magic selected Duke forward Paolo Banchero. The move came as something of a surprise, given that Banchero never met with the Magic and the consensus around the league was that Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr. would be headed to

10:10 PM ET The Detroit Pistons acquired veteran guard Kemba Walker from the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade involving the Charlotte Hornets that also saw the Pistons acquire the draft rights to Jalen Duren on Thursday night. Walker and the Pistons are expected to discuss a contract buyout that will allow

9:22 AM ET ESPN News Services As NBA teams finalize their boards ahead of Thursday night’s NBA draft, sources have told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the order of the top three picks is “increasingly firm,” with Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr. going to the Orlando Magic at No. 1, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren to the Oklahoma City

4:00 PM ET Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton is exercising his $5.7 million option to return for the 2022-23 NBA season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. Connaughton, a 2015 second-round pick who will be entering his eighth season, is now eligible to sign an extension with the Bucks this offseason. The 29-year-old Connaughton

6:13 PM ET The Detroit Pistons are trading forward Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers for a 2025 first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 2025 first-round pick via Milwaukee is protected Nos. 1-4, sources said. Detroit sends Grant into a $21 million trade exception, and the Pistons now

3:29 PM ET Jabari Smith Jr. is the consensus favorite to be the No. 1 pick, but odds at sportsbooks have been moving on what bookmakers say has become the most heavily bet NBA draft ever. Smith, a versatile, 6-foot-10 forward out of Auburn, remains the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in

4:57 PM ET Houston Rockets guard John Wall exercised his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Rockets will continue to seek trade scenarios in the coming weeks, but are expected to work with Wall on a contract buyout if a swap can’t be found, sources said. Wall,

6:19 PM ET NBA free agency doesn’t begin until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, but the news is already rolling in from around the Association. Much of the early buzz is coming out of New York, where Kyrie Irving‘s contract status has pundits and fans speculating about the future of the Brooklyn Nets‘ star

10:30 AM ET Former NBA player and Purdue Boilermakers standout Caleb Swanigan is dead at 25. The Purdue men’s basketball program said Swanigan died Monday night, but it did not provide further details. A first-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017, the 6-foot-9 Swanigan played three years in the NBA with the Blazers

1:04 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — College basketball season ended almost three months ago, the NBA draft lottery was more than a month ago and the draft itself is later this week. Seems like the process should be winding down. Orlando Magic president Jeff Weltman sees it differently. “I tell you, it’s still

2:12 PM ET An emergency protective order filed last month against veteran NBA point guard Rajon Rondo in Louisville, Kentucky, has been dismissed. The protective order, which was filed against Rondo by a woman on May 13, was dismissed on Thursday after the “parties reached an agreement,” according to the document, which was obtained by

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA Finals wrapped up only a few days ago, but The Association’s calendar stops for no one. This week, the next generation of players will be welcomed into the league when the Orlando Magic begin the 2022 NBA draft Thursday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. From there, free agency

4:21 PM ET PRACTICE BEFORE GAME 2 of the NBA Finals had not begun yet but rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody took a moment on the Golden State Warriors bench to soak up the rare atmosphere inside Chase Center. Everywhere their young eyes turned, there was a not-so-subtle reminder of exactly where they were.