12:38 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Ahead of training camps opening up across the NBA next week, the league has compiled a comprehensive health and safety protocol for the 2020-21 NBA season and sent it to its teams. The document, which was obtained by ESPN, is 134 pages long, and is similar to the one the
NBA
8:06 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN This class of NBA rookies is facing an unprecedented transition to the league. Most of them haven’t played an organized game since March, and now they are set to begin their first NBA training camp on Dec. 1, less than two weeks after being drafted. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic deprived
10:50 AM ET Veteran point guard J.J. Barea has agreed to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million, sources told ESPN. With Barea’s return, the Mavericks anticipate entering training camp with 16 players on guaranteed contracts, one over the regular-season roster limit. Dallas plans to have
4:45 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN As the NBA continues to move toward starting its 2020-21 season on Dec. 22, a slate of 49 preseason games will be played from Dec. 11 through Dec. 19 to allow teams to prepare for the upcoming campaign. Each NBA team will play at least two preseason games — one
4:57 PM ET Associated Press BOLOGNA, Italy — Marco Belinelli is going back to Italy, announcing Thursday that he has signed a three-year contract to play for Virtus Bologna. The 34-year-old guard spent 13 seasons in the NBA, playing for nine different teams — Golden State, Toronto, New Orleans, Chicago, Charlotte, Sacramento, Atlanta, Philadelphia and,
4:50 PM ET Free-agent big man Frank Kaminsky has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agent, Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Phoenix Suns declined Kaminsky’s $5.2 million team option last week. Kaminsky, 27, helps to shore up the Kings’ frontcourt rotation, which took a hit with
5:58 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Fresh off winning his first NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard said Wednesday that he’s willing to do whatever he’s asked to do in order to win another with his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers. “Winning the championship was everything, and it made me realize I could
5:56 PM ET Free-agent center Hassan Whiteside has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Whiteside, while averaging 30.0 minutes, led the NBA with 2.9 blocks per game and finished third with 13.5 rebounds last season while with the Portland Trail Blazers. His 25.07 PER was eighth best
1:31 PM ET ESPN News Services Indianapolis will host the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2024, the league said Wednesday, formally rescheduling the plans for that city to be the site of the league’s midseason showcase this season. Cleveland will host in 2022 and Salt Lake City will do so in 2023, both of those sites
5:26 PM ET ESPN News Services Golden State Warriors star guard Klay Thompson underwent surgery on Wednesday and is expected to make a full recovery from a season-ending tear to his right Achilles tendon, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Dr. Richard Ferkel, a noted specialist on ankle injuries, performed the surgery in Los Angeles
2:32 PM ET A historically compressed offseason saw free agency begin less than 48 hours after the league concluded its draft. Oh yeah, the NBA trade moratorium was lifted roughly 32 hours before the draft, creating a flurry of player movement seen possibly only in the busiest of hardcore fantasy formats. An already wild league
9:10 PM ET The Sacramento Kings have declined to match the Atlanta Hawks’ four-year, $72 million offer sheet for restricted free-agent guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Hawks signed Bogdanovic to the offer sheet Sunday, according to sources. Bogdanovic is a versatile offensive wing built for the modern NBA — a volume
3:05 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans All-Star forward Brandon Ingram has agreed to a five-year, $158 million maximum contract extension, his agents, Jeff Schwartz and Jordan Gertler of Excel Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Ingram flourished last season in New Orleans after arriving as part of the trade that sent Anthony Davis to
2:20 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat are working on a contract extension, the team said Tuesday. Once the deal is finalized it will likely guarantee Adebayo at least $168 million over the next six seasons and perhaps as much as $200 million in that span. Adebayo will make
5:51 PM ET DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets, a source told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. A two-time All-NBA center and four-time All-Star, Cousins has only played in 78 regular season games over the last three seasons due to a myriad of leg injuries. Cousins most recently tore his ACL
11:14 PM ET New Golden State Warriors swingman Kelly Oubre, Jr. had a parting shot for Phoenix Suns owner Robert Saver on the day he was officially introduced as a member of his third team in just over a week. Oubre, who was acquired by the Warriors in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder
4:44 PM ET Washington Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said “there’s no plans” to trade John Wall, and that the former All-Star point guard has not requested a deal. In a video call with reporters Monday, Sheppard was asked several times about Wall, who will attempt to make his way back from a ruptured left
5:22 AM ET In an unprecedented meeting, a delegation of five NBA players and several officials from the National Basketball Players Association are at the Vatican this morning for a private audience with Pope Francis to discuss their work on social justice issues. An intermediary for Pope Francis reached out to the players association last