Aaron Gordon is staying with the only NBA team he’s ever known. The former Dunk Contest champion and No. 4 overall pick reportedly agreed to a four-year, $84 million deal with the Magic the same night LeBron took his talents to Hollywood. More
Domino effect of LeBron’s decision
NBA free agency doesn’t officially start until Sunday, but the rumor mill is already swirling violently. With huge stars like LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard involved, this promises to be one of the most exciting offseasons we’ve seen in a long time.
To keep all the rumors straight, we’ll continue to update this post with the latest information on signings, trades and negotiations. Happy NBA offseason!
The Spurs reportedly aren’t interested in taking back Lonzo Ball from the Lakers in any potential Kawhi Leonard deal, according to Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post. The Lakers are reportedly trying to sweeten the pot by acquiring a draft pick from the Nuggets, which they would use in the Leonard trade. Full story (8:25 p.m. ET)
76ers putting together package for Kawhi
The 76ers are reportedly thinking about making a run at Kawhi…
The Boston Celtics had only one pick Thursday night in the 2018 NBA Draft.
They made the most of it, according to the experts.
The Celtics selected Texas A&M big man Robert Williams with the 27th overall pick, which some analysts considered a steal late in the first round. Williams comes with red flags, namely questions about his work ethic and past off-court issues, but there’s no denying the 20-year-old’s upside, particularly on the defensive end.
NESN.com’s Logan Mullen handed out grades to each of the 30 NBA teams after the draft and gave the Celtics a B+. That obviously is a solid mark, and he’s not alone in being impressed by Boston’s draft-night handling, as others also praised Danny Ainge and Co. for what they did (and didn’t do).
Here are some Celtics draft grades we’ve compiled from various sources, along with each analyst’s explanation of why they like Boston taking Williams at No. 27:
Reid Forgrave, CBS Sports: A+
The Celtics get the defensive-minded, elite-rebounding big man they needed. He’s a great athlete who can defend in a lot of styles. Could he be the American Clint Capela? The “steal of the draft” label could be his.
Sean Deveney, Sporting News: A
The Celtics attempted to trade up into the top five in hopes of landing a young big man to develop, and instead, young developable big man Robert Williams fell to Boston at No. 27. This is a guy who was projected to go from pick Nos. 11-15.
It’s the kind of lucky draft-day break the Celtics would get when Red Auerbach was running the team, which might explain why, when Danny Ainge emerged from the team’s war room, he was two inches shorter, lost three inches off his hairline and sounded like Peter Falk when he spoke.
Jonathan…
Offseason begins for the champion Warriors
Unless Kyrie Irving, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson feel like helping out their teams’ billionaire owners, they have no real reason to sign contract extensions this summer. As such, the “news” that they are unlikely to do so should not be seen as a lack of loyalty or a sign that they don’t want to stay where they are for the next few seasons. If, in fact, they were inclined to sign extensions, their agents would advise them against it. More
The NBA says Aron Baynes should have been whistled for a foul on Joel Embiid with 14.6 seconds left in Wednesday night’s closeout Eastern Conference semifinal game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston led 111-109, and after the game, Embiid — who would have gone to the line if the call had been made — said he felt he was fouled. More
Joel Embiid confident 76ers core can compete right now
Back in October, the NBA’s 2017-18 regular season was spoken of as a mere formality, a six-month prelude to a playoffs that would inevitably lead to the fourth straight NBA Finals pitting the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And we still may get that. Despite LeBron James and company’s roller-coaster season and first-round struggles against the Indiana Pacers, and despite the fact that the Warriors don’t look like quite the same team since Steph Curry’s injury, it shouldn’t surprise you in the least if it’s June and the NBA universe is again focused on Golden State and Cleveland. More
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As the Portland Trail Blazers keep winning, Damian Lillard should keep climbing in the MVP conversation, according to Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.
Lillard had 32 points and 10 assists, and the Trail Blazers beat the Heat 115-99 on Monday night for their 10th straight victory. More
Migos are coming back to Saturday Night Live. In an Instagram post, Quavo, Offset and Takeoff announced their booking for the March 3 episode of SNL. More
Matt Barnes is sounding off on everything from NBA fighting, to the NBA refs sucking, to calling Austin Rivers an arrogant punk … and he doesn’t care who knows it. More
Imagine the NBA‘s best one-man show, Russell Westbrook, adding a sidekick. Or the Houston Rockets following their Chris Paul pickup with a second star splash. Or the Minnesota Timberwolves turning the Jimmy Butler trade into their ultimate free-agency recruiting tool. More