Donte Divincenzo

Holiday, 30, would join the Bucks in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and three first-round picks, ESPN reported.

The trade would also include a pair of pick swaps.

An All-Star in 2013, his final season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Holiday has spent the past seven campaigns with the Pelicans.

The arrival of Holiday could help convince Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to sign a five-year supermax extension valued at between $220million and $250m.

Holiday averaged 19.1 points, 6.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds for the Pelicans during the 2019-20 season.

Among the favourites for the NBA championship last season, the Bucks were stunned by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The deal for Holiday would seemingly be similar to what the Pelicans received from the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis last year.

Davis was traded to the Lakers in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks, and the star helped the Lakers win the championship last month.

ESPN also reported the Bucks were landing Sacramento Kings star Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade and Justin James was also joining Milwaukee, with Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and DJ Wilson heading in the opposite direction.

Donte DiVincenzo is among the players heading to the Kings, while the Clippers receive Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye from Milwaukee.

Bagley, who was the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds with the Kings having faced numerous injuries and struggled to fully establish himself in Sacramento.

Ibaka will join the Bucks as the NBA champions add someone with Finals experience from his time at the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder. The 32-year-old averages 6.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35 games this season.

The Bucks also receive two future second-round draft picks as well as cash considerations.

Sacramento, who only added Domantas Sabonis in a trade with Indiana on Tuesday, procured DiVincenzo from Milwaukee, as well as Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles from Detroit.

DiVincenzo has an average of 7.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his 17 games so far this season, while Lyles is currently enjoying a career-best average of 10.4 points this year.

Hood and Ojeleye bolster the Clippers' depth having only featured from the bench this season for Milwaukee.

DiVincenzo, 25, was a first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018 after winning his second NCAA Championship on the same Villanova team as Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, earning the Final Four's Most Valuable Player in the 2018 title.

He found a role immediately with the Bucks, and went on to start in all 66 of his regular season appearances in their championship season in 2021, before getting injured in the first round of the playoffs.

In that season, he averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 38 per cent from long range, proving himself as a strong complementary piece that can provide above average wing play on both ends of the floor.

During the Bucks' championship run, Pat Connaughton usurped DiVincenzo's role, with Milwaukee opting to trade him just two months after he returned from his six-month injury layoff.

While he was never able to truly fit in with the Sacramento Kings after arriving mid-season, he still averaged 18 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.7 steals per 100 possessions in his 25 games off the bench – all career-high marks.

For the Warriors, DiVincenzo figures to fill important minutes after the departures of both Gary Payton II to the Portland Trail Blazers and Otto Porter Jr to the Toronto Raptors.

The Knicks reportedly acquired Bridges for a king’s ransom, with Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round draft picks and a protected first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks headed to the Brooklyn Nets in return.

News of the trade broke a day before the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, as the Knicks continued to add talent around All-NBA Second Team guard Jalen Brunson.

Bridges, 27, has two seasons left on the four-year, $90.9million rookie extension he signed when he was with the Phoenix Suns, and the Nets reportedly feared that he may leave for nothing if he reached free agency.

A six-year veteran, Bridges averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 82 games last season in Brooklyn.

Bridges will reunite with former college teammates in Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart as the Knicks continue to build a Villanova alumni club in their locker room.

A versatile two-way threat, Bridges is expected to bring secondary scoring and ball-handling on offence and could see plenty of open 3-point looks with defenses focusing on Brunson and Julius Randle.

Bridges is also the NBA’s active Iron Man with 474 consecutive games played, a welcome addition for a Knicks team that was devastated by injuries down the stretch last season.

The trade is not without risk for the Knicks, however.

In addition to the vast amount of draft capital sent to the Nets, Bridges’ addition casts doubt on New York’s ability to retain both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein, who will be free agents on June 30.

Bridges is able to easily swing between guard and forward positions, but a frontcourt that included Randle, Anunoby, Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson could be too crowded.

The Knicks gave up talented pieces in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to acquire Anunoby at last season’s deadline, but his skill-set could be somewhat redundant with Bridges on the roster.

If Knicks president Leon Rose is able to keep even one of Anunoby or Hartenstein, however, New York will add talent and depth to a team that won 50 games last season and broke down in the playoffs only after several key injuries.

The Nets will almost certainly take a step back after losing last season’s leading scorer, but the trade helps replenish the franchise’s arsenal of future assets that was diminished by acquiring James Harden in 2021.

With early reports touting the 2025 draft class as deep in high-level talent, Brooklyn turned its focus away from the 2024-25 season and toward the future.

Down 101-96 in the final minute, the second-seeded Knicks scored the game's final eight points to grab a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Philadelphia for Thursday's Game 3.

DiVincenzo finished with 19 points and Jalen Brunson had 24 along with eight rebounds and six assists for New York, which also got a big effort from center Isaiah Hartenstein to overcome a 10-point deficit late in the first half.

Hartenstein scored all 14 of his points in the second half on 7-of-7 shooting while helping the Knicks contain 76ers' star Joel Embiid. The reigning NBA MVP managed 34 points and 10 rebounds, but made good on just 12 of 29 field goal attempts and missed a potential tying 3-point try at the buzzer.

Tyrese Maxey ended just shy of a triple-double for seventh-seeded Philadelphia, as he compiled 35 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

The Sixers trailed 90-82 early in the fourth quarter before outscoring New York 19-6 over a seven-minute stretch to pull ahead late. Maxey's jumper with 2:22 to go gave Philadelphia a 97-96 edge, and the All-Star buried a 3-pointer shortly afterward to extend the lead to four entering the final minute.

Brunson gave New York some life with a 3-pointer with 27.4 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 101-99, and after Maxey turned it over on the ensuing possession, DiVincenzo knocked down a 26-footer on a second-chance attempt to send the Knicks in front.

Maxey then couldn't get a contested layup to fall with 6.6 seconds left, and New York's OG Anunoby was fouled after grabbing the rebound before making both free throws ahead of Embiid's game-ending miss. 

Nuggets rally from 20 points down to stun Lakers in Game 2

The Denver Nuggets also took a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference series with the Los Angeles Lakers after overcoming a 20-point second-half deficit to rally for a stunning 101-99 win.

Jamal Murray capped Denver's improbable comeback by hitting a game-winning 15-foot jumper with 0.4 seconds left on the clock.

Murray scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and Nikola Jokić had 15 points after half-time to also spark the defending NBA champions. Jokic ended the night with a 27-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist triple-double.

Anthony Davis finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who appeared on the verge of sending the series back to Los Angeles all tied up after opening up a 68–48 lead two minutes into the third quarter.

Second-seeded Denver trailed 74-55 near the midway point of the third before getting back in it with a 10-0 run. The Nuggets later went on a 10-1 spurt to pull within 83-81 on Murray's layup with 6:45 remaining.

Murray was later fouled with 57.6 seconds left and made both free throws to forge a 97-97 tie. LeBron James answered with a layup on the ensuing possession to put Los Angeles back ahead, but Murray sunk a step-back jumper with 30 seconds remaining to even the score once again.

James then misfired on a 3-point try and the Nuggets secured the rebound before getting the ball to Murray, who knocked down the game-winner right before the buzzer sounded with Davis contesting the shot.

James had 26 points and 12 rebounds, while D'Angelo Russell netted 23 points for the Lakers while going 7 of 11 from 3-point range.

Game 3 will take place Thursday night.

Cavaliers shut down Magic again to take 2-0 series lead

Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and Jarrett Allen led another strong defensive effort for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the Orlando Magic by recording a 96-86 win.

After holding the Magic under 33 per cent shooting in Saturday's series opener, fourth-seeded Cleveland forced 17 turnovers and limited No. 5 seed Orlando to a 36.2 per cent rate from the field to move within two wins of advancing.

Allen particularly made his presence felt by corralling 20 rebounds along with three blocks and two steals. The standout center also contributed 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Evan Mobley added 17 points and Darius Garland had 15 in a game the Cavaliers never trailed while taking control early by building a 30-18 lead after one quarter.

Cleveland's margin grew as high as 17 points in the second quarter as the Magic continued to struggle to score, and Mitchell registered 19 of his points in the first half to help send the Cavs into the break owning a 58-44 advantage.

Orlando never seriously threatened in the second half and will now attempt to reverse momentum when it returns home to host Game 3 on Thursday. 

Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 21 points and Franz Wagner had 18 for Orlando, though all but one of those points came during the first half.

Simmons has refused to play for the Sixers this season after coach Doc Rivers and center Joel Embiid were critical of his performances in the Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Atlanta Hawks last season. 

Philadelphia had been trying to trade the fifth-year guard/forward ever since, but the former Rookie of the Year's value plummeted after he came up short against the Hawks. 

However, according to multiple reports a deal was finally struck to send Simmons to Brooklyn in exchange for the 2018 NBA MVP Harden. Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick were also sent to the Nets, with Paul Millsap going in the opposite direction. 

Harden can become a free agent in the offseason, while Simmons is under contract until 2025 after signing a five-year, $177.2million deal in 2019.

While the 76ers seemingly boosted their chances of contending by adding Harden, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors remained idle. However, there were still plenty of other deals reported on Thursday.

Mavericks move on from Porzingis

The Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis era is over in Dallas.

The Mavs sent Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Injuries have continued to trouble the 7ft 3in center, who averaged 20 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in two and a half seasons in Dallas.

Kings trade Bagley, Bucks get Ibaka 

The Sacramento Kings made Marvin Bagley III the second overall pick in the 2018 draft but brought an end to his time in California as part of a seven-player, four-team trade. 

Bagley was sent to the Detroit Pistons, with Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles going to Sacramento. The Kings also received Donte DiVincenzo from the Milwaukee Bucks, who swapped Serge Ibaka for Semi Ojeleye and Rodney Hood. The reigning NBA champions also received two future second-round picks and cash considerations. 

Bagley has started just 17 games for Sacramento this season, averaging 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.

Celtics bring Theis back, send Schroder to Houston

Daniel Theis is back for a second spell with the Boston Celtics.

Less than a year after he was traded to the Chicago Bulls by the Celtics, Theis was brought back from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando. Freedom is expected to be waived by the Rockets, though.

Boston also sent Bol Bol and PJ Dozier, who are both out for the season, to the Orlando Magic and offloaded Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford to the San Antonio Spurs. The Celtics' brought in Derrick White.

Elsewhere...

Goran Dragic's time with the Toronto Raptors is up after he was traded to the Spurs for Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks – whom they were set to waive – and a 2022 lottery-protected first-round pick. Dragic is expected to be bought out, with the Chicago Bulls, Mavs, Bucks, Warriors, Nets and Clippers all credited with an interest.

The Charlotte Hornets added Montrezl Harrel from the Wizards. Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr went the other way. 

Torrey Craig is back with the Phoenix Suns following a deal that saw Jalen Smith land with the Indiana Pacers. Aaron Holiday was also acquired from the Wizards.

Brunson was 15 of 23 from the field and 6 for 11 from long range, while Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points and Josh Hart had 16 points and 16 rebounds.

New York won its third straight and pulled within a game of Milwaukee for second in the East, with each team having two games left. The Knicks would need to win both and have the Bucks lose their games at Oklahoma City and Orlando, because Milwaukee has the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Knicks dominated on the glass, 52-36, and had 22 second-chance points compared to 12 for the Celtics.

Boston got 18 points from Jayson Tatum and lost its second in a row.

Surging Warriors handle Trail Blazers

Stephen Curry scored 22 points and Jonathan Kuminga added 22 to propel the Golden State Warriors to their ninth win in 10 games, 100-92 over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Golden State, which played without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, has already clinched a play-in spot but can potentially improve its playoff seeding in the final two games.

With their 45th victory, the Warriors surpassed their win total from last season, when they advanced to the conference semifinals.

Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 11 rebounds and Scoot Henderson tallied 18 and 12 assists for the Trail Blazers, who have won just two of their past 15 games.

Pelicans complete season sweep of Kings

CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson scored 31 points apiece and the New Orleans Pelicans completed a five-game season sweep of the Sacramento Kings with a 135-123 win.

McCollum matched a season high with nine 3-pointers in 12 tries and added seven assists for the Pelicans, who improved to 27-14 on the road, a franchise record for wins and tied with Boston for the best mark in the NBA.

New Orleans is sixth in the Western Conference, one game ahead of Phoenix with two games remaining.

De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points as the Kings lost for the fourth time in five games and failed in a bid to avoid the play-in tournament.

Miami moved a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic for first place in the Southeast Division despite missing two of its stars in Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, as well as starting point guard Terry Rozier. Herro and Rozier sat out due to injuries, while Butler was serving a one-game suspension for his role in an on-court altercation in the Heat's win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez helped fill the void by producing 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and the Heat also got key contributions from reserves Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith.

Love poured in 19 points in just 15 minutes, while Highsmith scored 15 first-half points to help Miami take a 65-62 lead into the break.

Jaquez then put up 13 points during a dominant third quarter in which the Heat outscored Sacramento by a 36-19 margin. Miami took the lead for good with a 10-2 run that snapped a 71-71 tie, then later scored the final 10 points of the period to build a commanding 101-81 advantage entering the fourth.

The Kings had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Domantas Sabonis registering his league-leading 21st triple-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.

Keegan Murray led Sacramento, which was coming off a 16-point road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, with 28 points. De'Aaron Fox finished with 27 in the loss.

Barnes' triple-double powers Raptors past Pacers

Scottie Barnes recorded his fourth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 130-122 win over the weary Indiana Pacers.

Toronto also received big efforts from RJ Barrett and rookie Gradey Dick en route to its season-high third consecutive win. Barrett delivered 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting, while Dick had 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and finished 7 of 9 from the field while making all four of his 3-point attempts.

Playing for the second straight night, the Pacers had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Bennedict Mathurin matching a career-high with 34 points to go along with nine rebounds. Former Raptors All-Star Pascal Siakam had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his second meeting with his ex-team since being traded to Indiana on Jan. 17.

The Pacers got an off night from leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, however, as the All-Star guard misfired on nine of 11 shot attempts while being held to nine points.

Indiana did manage to battle back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit, however, to tie the game at 102-102 with just over eight minutes left in the fourth.

The Raptors then regained control with a 13-2 run, which Dick started and finished with 3-pointers, to take a 115-104 lead with 6:21 remaining.

Indiana closed the gap to four points entering the final three minutes, but a jumper by Toronto's Gary Trent Jr. followed by a Barrett 3-pointer helped end any comeback hopes.

Hart's late basket lifts Knicks over Pistons

Josh Hart scored the go-ahead layup with 2.8 seconds left as the New York Knicks held off a determined upset bid from the Detroit Pistons and came away with a controversial 113-111 victory.

The Pistons fought back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 111-110 lead on former Knick Quentin Grimes' layup with 37.3 seconds remaining. New York's Jalen Brunson misfired on a 3-point try on the ensuing possession, but Detroit's Ausar Thompson had the ball stolen away after colliding with the Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo to set up Hart's basket off a feed from Brunson.

Hart missed the free throw for a potential three-point play, but the Knicks collared the rebound and Hart was fouled again with 1.3 seconds left. He made 1 of 2 from the line to prevent a potentially damaging home loss to a Detroit team with an NBA-worst 8-49 record.

Game officials acknowledged afterward that a loose-ball foul should have been called on DiVincenzo during the collision that preceded Hart's basket.

Brunson finished with 35 points and 12 assists and Hart had 23 points and eight rebounds as the playoff-hopeful Knicks won for the second time in three outings following a four-game losing streak. DiVincenzo contributed 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Detroit was dealt a sixth straight loss despite Cade Cunningham's 32 points and eight assists and an 11-point, 16-rebound effort from Jalen Duren. 

The teams were facing one another for the first time since collaborating on a six-player trade on Feb. 8 that sent veterans Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to New York, with Grimes among the return pieces to the Pistons.

Grimes finished with 14 points while Bogdanovic recorded 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. 

Monday's 106-80 rout put the third-seeded Timberwolves in firm control of this Western Conference semifinal series, as they'll host the next two games after taking the first two matchups in Denver. Game 3 is set for Friday in Minneapolis.

Minnesota improved to 6-0 this post-season by shutting down Nikola Jokić and the second-seeded Nuggets' potent offence, and did so even with three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert unavailable as he attended the birth of his child.

The Timberwolves held Denver to 32.6 per cent shooting in the first half while taking a commanding 61-35 lead into the break, and the Nuggets finished the night shooting 34.9 per cent while committing 16 turnovers.

Jokic was held in check as the two-time league MVP was held to 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while Jamal Murray ended 3 of 18 from the field while managing just eight points in 36 minutes.

Aaron Gordon paced Denver, which entered the series 14-1 in its last 15 play-off games dating back to 2022, with 20 points. Jokic did record 16 rebounds and eight assists and Murray amassed 13 rebounds.

Towns added 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which led by as many as 32 points in the third quarter and finished with its largest margin of victory in a road play-off game in franchise history.

Brunson joins exclusive club, leads Knicks past Pacers in Game 1

Jalen Brunson extended his streak of 40-point performances and led a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the New York Knicks to a 121-117 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Brunson netted 21 fourth-quarter points and 43 overall for his fourth consecutive post-season game with 40 or more. The All-Star guard is just the fourth player in NBA history to achieve the feat and first since Hall of Famer Michael Jordan did so in 1993.

Donte DiVincenzo added 25 points and put New York ahead for good on a 3-pointer with 40.4 seconds left that snapped a 115-115 tie. 

The second-seeded Knicks trailed No. 6 seed Indiana 94-85 early in the fourth quarter before closing the gap with an 8-0 run. Brunson scored the first three points of the spurt, which DiVincenzo capped with a 3-pointer that brought New York within one with 8:56 remaining.

The Knicks later scored nine straight points - seven coming from Brunson - to take a 113-109 lead with 2:42 left, but two New York turnovers led to six consecutive Indiana points as the Pacers moved ahead by a 115-113 count with 1:33 to go.

Brunson buried a short jumper on the ensuing possession, however, and DiVincenzo knocked down a 28-footer after Indiana's Andrew Nembhard missed a 3-point try to send the Knicks back in front.

Pascal Siakam's layup with 26.6 seconds left to play brought Indiana within 118-117, but the Pacers went scoreless the rest of the way and Brunson sealed the outcome with three late free throws.

Siakam finished with 19 points and Myles Turner had 23 for Indiana, though Pacers' All-Star Tyrese Haliburton was held to six points in 36 minutes after being listed as questionable for Game 1 due to back spasms.

Josh Hart also had a big night for New York, which will host Game 2 on Wednesday, by compiling 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.