3:45 PM ET The Utah Jazz agreed to trade center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal that will pair him with fellow All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Timberwolves will send Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, No. 22 overall pick Walker Kessler and four first-round
NBA
12:10 PM ET The Chicago Bulls and Zach LaVine have agreed to a five-year, $215M max contract extension, Klutch Sports announced Friday. LaVine, 27, has blossomed into a two-time All-Star in Chicago, where he arrived in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2017, and — along with DeMar DeRozan —
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
5:12 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden has declined his $47.3 million option and become a free agent, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. Harden keeps real the possibility of negotiating a new deal that would deliver the Sixers roster-building flexibility in free agency — including use of the full $10.5 million exception.
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
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
6:48 PM ET Kyrie Irving is opting into his $36.5 million option with the Brooklyn Nets for next season, he told The Athletic on Monday. “Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow,” Irving told The Athletic. “I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you
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
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
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
11:00 PM ET ESPN News Services The Philadelphia 76ers are trading the No. 23 pick from Thursday night’s NBA draft and small forward Danny Green to the Memphis Grizzlies for shooting guard De’Anthony Melton, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Memphis will get the rights to guard David Roddy, sources said. Philadelphia selected him at No.
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