NBA

5:01 PM ET Dallas Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach of the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday. The Rockets were sold on Silas’ offensive ingenuity, his pedigree with Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, Steve Clifford and his father, Paul Silas, sources said. Silas

10:34 AM ET Editor’s note: This is one in a series of six pieces that shows how professional sports owners in America contribute to political campaigns, why they spend millions in the space and what that financial power means as athletes across sports continue to embrace activism of their own. BILLIONAIRES OPERATE DIFFERENTLY from the

10:33 AM ET ESPN and FiveThirtyEight Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of six pieces that shows how professional sports owners in America contribute to political campaigns, why they spend millions in the space and what that financial power means as athletes across sports continue to embrace activism of their own. American

1:26 PM ET With the Los Angeles Lakers just coming off having won the NBA championship on Oct. 11, Danny Green doesn’t expect LeBron James and some of his other veteran teammates to be on the floor every night if the new season begins on Dec. 22. “If we start in December, I think most

2:35 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash has yet to coach an NBA game, and his star players — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — have yet to play a game together. But that didn’t stop him from embracing the team’s sky-high expectations during a virtual town hall with season-ticket holders Tuesday

7:43 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks guard George Hill said the importance of Wisconsin in the upcoming election caused him to fly back here this weekend to assist in a local voting drive. Hill, who lives in San Antonio, worked alongside about 50 volunteers from the Milwaukee-based organization Common Ground walking through

7:20 AM ET The 2020 NBA free-agent class won’t have the star power of last season — when nearly half the league became available — but plenty of big names are set to hit the market. Even more could be offered in trade talks. Will back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sign a five-year extension with the

4:35 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books The NBA is pursuing a pre-Christmas Day start and a reduced regular-season schedule for the 2020-2021

6:38 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Pat Riley is always looking for ways for the Miami Heat to improve. This offseason has him wondering if that might come from within. The Heat president on Friday said that the top offseason priority for the Eastern Conference champions “is to take care of the players that

2:19 PM ET ESPN Insiders The NBA season ended just under two weeks ago with uncertainty around when the 2020-21 season would begin. On Friday, ESPN reported that the league’s Board of Governors is discussing starting the season as soon as Christmas Day. The move would mean that the end of the 2019-20 season and

7:20 AM ET Next season will reintroduce the eight teams that didn’t make the cut for the NBA’s restart this summer in Orlando, Florida. For the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks, the tipoff to the 2020-21 season will be their first

1:38 PM ET The 2020 NBA draft on Nov. 18 will be held virtually and hosted from ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Connecticut, the NBA and ESPN announced Thursday. Commissioner Adam Silver will be in studio at ESPN to announce the selections for the first round, and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum will be in studio to

Oct 21, 2020 Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — New Indiana Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren went right to work Wednesday. Less than 24 hours after accepting the job, the 45-year-old former Toronto Raptors assistant started explaining his plan. He expects the Pacers to move the ball and take more 3-pointers. He wants the defense to be more

5:18 PM ET Five weeks after the LA Clippers suffered an embarrassing playoff collapse, Tyronn Lue addressed the team’s chemistry and leadership issues on his first official day as the franchise’s new head coach. Lue, who won a championship and went 128-83 in less than three full seasons as head coach in Cleveland, will try

11:34 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The 2020 NBA draft is less than a month away, but the Minnesota Timberwolves still don’t see a can’t-miss guy to take with the No. 1 pick. After months of planning to make the top pick for the second time in franchise history, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas

2:12 PM ET Stan Van Gundy has agreed to a multiyear deal to become the next head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Van Gundy, the former Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons head coach, becomes the seventh coach in Pelicans franchise history. The Pelicans and Van Gundy’s representative,

6:30 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA has plenty to figure out ahead of the start of free agency and trade season. The transaction moratorium will be lifted sometime before the Nov. 18 draft, but before then, let’s dive into the biggest storylines this offseason has to offer. Which players are the most intriguing targets?

8:52 PM ET ESPN News Services SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will let fans back in outdoor stadiums for pro sporting events in counties with low coronavirus infection rates, the state’s top health official said Tuesday. San Francisco and neighboring Alameda and Santa Clara are the only counties that meet the threshold for pro sports. However,