NBA correspondent: marcstein.Substack.com. Inquiries: marcstein@substack.com. Past: @nytimes @espn @dallasnews @ladailynews @sbsun @washingtonpost @ocregister
All over the NBA map
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Not sure @kobebryant collectors will get too excited about this one ... but there’s pretty much nothing I’d rather show 10-year-old me if I had a time machine. You are too much, @PaniniAmerica!!!
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Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban announces that no player in Mavericks history will ever wear No. 24 again in tribute to Kobe Bryant
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Informed I'm among ESPN's layoffs. But basketball, as they say, never stops. To readers/viewers/listeners/countless colleagues ... grateful
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Kemba Walker will be a top target in free agency for the Lakers after they reached an agreement in principle to trade for Anthony Davis, according to league sources
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Raptors, man. They had the basketball world's undivided attention for a mere 43 hours ...
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The Rockets are pursuing a trade package from the 76ers that would be headlined by Ben Simmons and Tyrese Maxey, league sources say
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Luka Dončić did NOT request a trade, league sources tell @TheSteinLine.
The Mavericks did this on their own accord, getting back Anthony Davis but only one future first-round pick from the Lakers in 2029 for a 25-year-old regarded as a future MVP.
More NBA from me; tinyurl.com/yrmzrx83
Dončić has been informed of the trade, I'm told, which was agreed upon late Saturday and immediately ranks as one of the most stunning trade thunderbolts in NBA history.
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We didn't hear Dallas complain about it until the Mavericks were seventh in the West, which was poor form, and the same holds true now with the Lakers: It rings hollow to protest only when your team is suddenly at risk of having to play the play-in round.
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Dončić has been informed of the trade, I'm told, which was agreed upon late Saturday and immediately ranks as one of the most stunning trade thunderbolts in NBA history.
The Mavericks are indeed, without warning, trading Luka Dončić to the Lakers in a three-team deal that will bring Anthony Davis to Dallas, two sources close to the talks confirm.
More NBA from me: tinyurl.com/yrmzrx83
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Proud and hugely humbled to share that, just in time for my 25th season covering the greatest league in the world, I'm joining the @nytimes
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Charles Barkley on the @NBAonTNT: "KD went from The Splash Brothers to The Dribble Brothers"
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The Nets have hired Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash as their new head coach, @NYTSports has learned
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Pop on new Spurs assistant coach Tim Duncan: “Tim Duncan doesn’t know a lick about coaching. I don’t even know why I hired him.”
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The Cavaliers, per league sources, have been working today on assembling multi-team trade scenarios to try to acquire Chicago's Jimmy Butler
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It's June 30! Deals coming later today on Day 1 of free agency:
*Kyrie Irving & Nets (4/$141M)
*Kemba Walker to Celtics (4/$141M)
*Klay Thompson & Warriors (5/$190M)
*Kristaps Porzingis & Mavs (5/$158M)
*Nikola Vucevic & Magic (4/$100M)
*Harrison Barnes & Kings (4/$88M)
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DeMarcus Cousins on James Harden's comments about Houston's roster last night: "The disrespect started way before any interview."
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We've had tons of fun on here Basketball Twitter. Especially this month. And we'll have fun together again someday soon. Promise #thisleague
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The Boston Celtics refused to make Jayson Tatum available in trade talks with New Orleans, league sources say, putting the Lakers in prime position to strike the deal that teams Anthony Davis with LeBron James
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NBA teams were notified this week that they must certify and submit the precise height and age for every player within the first week of training camp, league sources tell @NYTSports
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Important development for sport throughout the country: The CDC just announced it is recommending NO gatherings of 50+ people in the United States for the next EIGHT weeks
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Lakers/Warriors play-in game last night drew an average audience of 5.6 million.
The most-watched NBA game on its air, @espn says, since the 2019 Western Conference finals.
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LeBron James will soon have the opportunity to be the first NBA player to win championships with three different teams
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The Rockets have denied they are waiving Carmelo Anthony, but two sources close to the situation say Anthony has been informed that his brief time with the team will soon be ending. Anthony has been listed as "out" for Houston's game tonight against Indiana due to illness
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NBA championship and a gold medal for Jrue Holiday in a span of about three weeks. Think we probably have to stop calling him underrated ...
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The Mavericks and Luka Doncic, until tonight, were heading toward a five-year contract extension in July worth a record $345 million.
Dallas GM Nico Harrison made the call to abruptly change the direction of the franchise with one of the most stunning trades in league history.
Luka Dončić did NOT request a trade, league sources tell @TheSteinLine.
The Mavericks did this on their own accord, getting back Anthony Davis but only one future first-round pick from the Lakers in 2029 for a 25-year-old regarded as a future MVP.
More NBA from me; tinyurl.com/yrmzrx83
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League sources: Cavs, Pacers and Nuggets have discussed a three-way deal that would land Paul George in Cleveland and Kevin Love in Denver
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An undeniable vibe of confidence is emanating from Brooklyn as we speak: The Nets sure seem to believe they are getting Kevin Durant's commitment tonight to go with Kyrie Irving"s ... with DeAndre Jordan, Durant's close friend, to follow
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If the Raptors pull this off ... it would surely feel like winning a second championship in three weeks
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The Lakers are expected to give free agent guard JR Smith a post-trade deadline audition (perhaps as soon as next week) and remain favorites to sign Darren Collison if Collison elects to make a comeback to the NBA -- in addition to potential pickups on the buyout market
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Gregg Popovich on Tim Duncan joining the Spurs’ coaching staff: “It is only fitting, after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor.”
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The Warriors are battered beyond recognition, Houston and Boston are unraveling, your champions are are in Toronto, free agency is still 12 days away ... so, yes, NBA clearly too predictable
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OKC acquired THREE unprotected first-round picks from the Clippers in this trade (2022, 2024 and 2026), league sources say, PLUS two firsts from Miami (2021 unprotected and 2023 protected 1-to-14) ... AND the right to swap picks with the Clips in 2023 and 2025. Staggering
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Charles Barkley statement:
“I’ve received my COVID-19 test results this morning and they are negative. I’d like to thank everyone for reaching out and expressing your concern and support. You all be safe and please take the necessary actions to help ensure your well-being."
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The Mavericks are indeed, without warning, trading Luka Dončić to the Lakers in a three-team deal that will bring Anthony Davis to Dallas, two sources close to the talks confirm.
More NBA from me: tinyurl.com/yrmzrx83
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If today's events don't make Jim Dolan take a step back and think about where the Knicks are as a brand -- after, remember, Dolan himself promised big things in free agency in March -- I'm not sure what will
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Incredible. Kawhi Leonard gave the Clippers more time to acquire the second star he insisted on and the Clippers pulled it off by striking a deal to acquire Paul George from the Thunder
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Dirk Nowitzki, I’m told, will attend tonight’s game in Los Angeles to be present at the Laker debut of his close friend and former teammate Luka Dončić.
More coverage of this seismic trade from me: shorturl.at/1kNed
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The push for a Christmas Day start to the 2020-21 NBA season, which would naturally please the league's TV partners, is gaining momentum, league sources say
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As he begins a week of Jordan Brand appearances, Luka Dončić is also featured in @MensHealthMag, talking extensively about his offseason training and his body transformation this summer.
“If I stop now,” Dončić told the magazine, “it was all for nothing.”
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Vanessa Bryant with strength that defies words in closing her unbelievably moving remembrance: "God knew they couldn't be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to heaven together"
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Luka Doncic on signing the looming $200 million contract extension he will be offered this summer: "I think you know the answer."
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Luka Doncic says he will soon join the Slovenian national team to try to lead them to Tokyo via Olympic qualifying.
"No vacation," Doncic says.
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Marc Gasol has emerged as a free-agent target for the Lakers to fill the void created by Dwight Howard's departure to Philadelphia, league sources say
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The way Kukoc bounced back from this Olympic baptism let you know how great he really was
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Marko Milić has left the Mavericks' coaching staff in the wake of the Luka Dončić trade, sources tell @TheSteinLine.
Milić was the first Slovenian to play in the NBA and, I'm told, did not wish to stay with the Luka-less Mavericks.
More NBA from me: tinyurl.com/yrmzrx83
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The Lakers have made Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and the No. 4 pick in the June 20 draft available in trade talks with the Pelicans, league sources say. New Orleans has made it known it hope to assemble a three-teams-or-more deal before surrendering Anthony Davis
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The NBA has named its All-Star MVP trophy in Kobe Bryant's honor, Adam Silver announces
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Wildest Day 1 ever in NBA free-agent history ... #clinched
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The Lakers' talks with Sacramento on a potential deal headlined by Buddy Hield and Kyle Kuzma are the most serious so far, league sources say, but San Antonio is also believed to have interest in Kuzma in possible sign-and-trade scenarios involving free agent-to-be DeMar DeRozan.
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Luka Dončić is the NBA’s new top jersey-seller … and the first player not named Stephen Curry or LeBron James to sell the NBA’s most jerseys in a season since 2012-13 … and the first international player to lead the league.
More NBA from me: tinyurl.com/5rbrcmww
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The Warriors will officially offer a five-year, $221 million max deal TO Kevin Durant at 6 PM ET tonight ... and Golden State now knows it will get Durant's decision tonight
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LeBron James missed the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Two days after the season ends, LeBron finds out he will be partnered by the best teammate he's ever had and, really, the ideal sidekick #thisleague
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Among the options that have emerged for DeMar DeRozan is a sign-and-trade to Chicago, league sources say.
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NBA rules allow a player waived when injured to continue rehabbing with that team. DeMarcus Cousins is unlikely to be formally released by the Lakers until Sunday ... and is expected to be granted access to keep using Laker facilities in his comeback from an ACL tear if needed
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Jimmy Butler and his agent Bernie Lee have informed Wolves ownership that Miami is Butler's preferred trade destination, league sources say
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The Warriors, league sources say, will be directed to play host to the Nets on Thursday night at Chase Center in a game CLOSED to fans
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The Sixers will obviously explore the Ben Simmons trade market in the offseason ... as seen in January when Simmons was the centerpiece of Philadelphia's James Harden pursuit. That's not the question.
Try: Is there a market now?
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Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, speaking post-game tonight, says he shares LeBron James' "zero excitement, zero energy" views on the All-Star Game and adds: "We all gotta follow the Big Dog, man."
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LeBron James with a detailed response to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's criticism of his activism ... which James capped by saying: "I'm kind of the wrong guy to actually go at because I do my homework."
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The Wolves are close to acquiring Jimmy Butler from Chicago, according to league sources
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As if Rockets/Thunder in Round 1 didn't have enough subplots ...
I'm told James Harden's team and Chris Paul's team not only share a hotel but also share the same building at the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
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NBA Bubble jersey sales:
1. LeBron James
2. Luka Doncic
3. Anthony Davis
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Giannis A.
6. Stephen Curry
7. Kevin Durant
8. Damian Lillard
9. Kawhi Leonard
10. Jimmy Butler
11. Kemba Walker
12. Kyrie Irving
13. Russell Westbrook
14. Nikola Jokic
15. Ja Morant
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Former Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki tells @NYTSports that he is rejoining the organization as special advisor.
Nowitzki's first assignment at the request of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban: Assisting the team in its search for a new head of basketball operations and then coach.
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Dirk Nowitzki has been invited to participate in the 3-point contest at All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, league sources say.
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The Spurs have designated Becky Hammon as their head coach in today's scrimmage against Milwaukee ... with a masked Gregg Popovich serving as her assistant
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Sport is supposed to be an escape from real life ... but 2020 apparently has a previously unseen capacity to defy that notion
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League sources indicate that the Warriors and Stephen Curry are on course to strike their five-year, $201 mil "supermax" deal after midnight
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Damian Lillard. Draymond Green. Bradley Beal. Jayson Tatum. Devin Booker. Kevin Durant. Bam Adebayo. James Harden.
I think Gregg Popovich has a decent shot at that elusive gold medal with @usabasketball in Tokyo.
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DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks have verbally agreed on a one-year deal approaching the $24.1 million option with the Clippers for next season that Jordan relinquished Friday, according to league sources
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The Celtics, I'm told, are emerging as a stealth suitor for Charlotte Hornets free agent Kemba Walker
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A doubles match for all ages: LeBron James and Anthony Davis against Kawhi Leonard and Paul George ... just to win Best Team In Staples Center bragging rights
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Luka Dončić proposed to his longtime girlfriend Anamaria Goltes tonight in Lake Bled, Slovenia. Congrats to the happy couple!
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The Timberwolves will try to sign Derrick Rose if he clears waivers after his looming release by Utah, according to league sources
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