The Phoenix Suns went down 116-107 against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, but nothing could dampen their spirits after securing a trade for Kevin Durant.
In the lead-up to the trade deadline, the Suns sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four unprotected first-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Durant, sending shockwaves throughout the league.
In an instant, Phoenix became the favourites in the Western Conference, boasting the league's best offensive duo with Durant and 26-year-old All-NBA First Team talent Devin Booker, while retaining elite point guard Chris Paul and franchise center Deandre Ayton.
Speaking to the media after Thursday's loss, Paul referenced Durant's famous "I'm Kevin Durant – y'all know who I am" interview when discussing the immense impact he can make on the Suns.
"What did KD say in that interview one time? What did he say? Y'all know who he is," Paul said.
"So you add him to the – who is that that the Harlem Globetrotters play against all the time? The Washington Generals. You add him to them and they're going to be nice. You know what I mean?
"KD is different, man. He different. That's why he is who he is. He's been doing it in this league for a long time. We got to see what it is."
More than anything, Paul said he is looking forward to sharing his love for the game with another future Hall-of-Famer.
"He's one of the best players to ever play the game," he said. "Just to know how he approaches the game, his nickname's 'Easy Money', just somebody who loves the game like that.
"I think that's what brought me and Book closer together because he just loves to hoop. And KD, he just loves to hoop. So I'm excited about the process of building this team."
When asked if he feels Durant is happy about the trade, Paul said "I mean, he ain't mad", before adding some context.
"But it's also a lot for him," he said. "He's been there in Brooklyn for a while. I think that's the thing, I get it, it's definitely exciting – but there's a lot that goes into this stuff, man.
"Obviously guys are changing teams, but guys got their families. [Mikal Bridges] and Cam [Johnson]'s settled in Phoenix. KD done built a whole business and he's a big figure there in Brooklyn, New York.
"It's a lot to deal with, so I think everybody's got to figure it out. It just happened."
Ayton was asked if he felt the trade gave them a realistic chance at the championship, and he was not bashful in his response.
"Damn right," he said. "You're damn right. That's how I feel.
"We've been in situations where a team threw everything at us to stop us even though we didn't have the right pieces on the court... knowing what these teams can throw at us, we're ready for it man.
"It's going to be real fun because it's so many pieces, golly. It's trouble, and it's fun, because it's about time. We got the firepower for real, and you can feel it."
Head coach Monty Williams shared that enthusiasm, having previously spent time with Durant as part of Team USA's 2016 Olympic team.
"I think it's more than a lift," he said. "I think it's a jolt, if that makes sense. Just because of, not just who he is as a player, but his love for the game.
"I think the guys are going to see something that they may not have seen before as far as his approach and how much he just loves to play basketball.
"I think if he could hoop every day, 24/7 he would do that and I think that's who we are. So to be able to have someone like that in your gym, but who's also ultra talented, and one of the best to ever do it, I think it's going to not just compliment what we do, it's gonna uplift and give us a bit of a jolt."
However, Williams also acknowledged the tough side of trades, sharing the pain of saying goodbye to players he has watched grow up.
"There's a human side to all of this that you have to deal with," he said. "It was an emotional day talking to those guys.
"I got to see them before they took off and it was emotional. Those two are near and dear to my heart. They literally are like my family."
The Suns sit sixth in the West with a record of 30-27, and they will be anxiously awaiting Durant's debut some time after the All-Star break as he recovers from a knee injury.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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