The New York Knicks named Jalen Brunson as their new captain on Tuesday.
He is the team's first captain in six years, with Lance Thomas the last in the 2018-19 season, and the 36th overall.
Brunson has established himself in the team since arriving in 2022, helping the team to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in both seasons since leaving the Dallas Mavericks.
He averaged 28.7 points, 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds over 35.4 minutes in 77 games in the regular season.
Brunson also became the first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points and get at least five assists in four consecutive playoff games.
"The New York Knicks have a deep and storied history, and today we are immensely proud to add to that lineage by naming Jalen Brunson as our captain," said Knicks president Leon Rose.
"Jalen is a natural-born leader, and I am confident he will continue to represent our organization, fans, city and his team-mates with the same heart, grit and class that he has displayed each and every day since he came to New York."
Brunson earned his first All-Star nod last season and finished fifth in the voting for the NBA MVP award.
Gordon Hayward announced his retirement on Thursday following 14 seasons in the NBA.
The Utah Jazz selected Hayward with the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, and he went on to also play for the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 34-year-old forward averaged 15.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 835 career regular-season games.
An All-Star with Utah in 2016-17, Hayward ranks fifth all-time in Jazz history with 689 made 3-pointers.
“Today, I am officially retiring from the game of basketball,” Hayward wrote on social media. “It’s been an incredible ride and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me achieve more than I ever imagined.
“To all my fans: thank you for supporting me through the ups and downs. I’ll always cherish the letters of encouragement and the moments we’ve shared around the world.
“You inspired me to always dream big and improve everyday - and for the young players up next, I challenge you do to the same!”
Jarrett Allen has become the latest Cleveland Cavalier to sign a maximum contract extension since the conclusion of the 2023-24 NBA season.
Allen signed a three-year, $91million extension with the Cavaliers on Wednesday, according to multiple sources.
The deal will guarantee him $131million over the next five years.
Allen joins Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley as Cleveland players to ink extensions this off-season, as the franchise has established itself as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.
The 26-year-old Allen averaged a career-best 16.5 points along with 10.5 rebounds in 77 games last season. His shooting percentage of 63.4 ranked fourth in the NBA.
The 22nd overall pick of the 2017 draft by the Nets, Allen spent his first three-plus NBA seasons in Brooklyn before Cleveland acquired him in January 2021.
He was named an All-Star in his first full season with the Cavs in 2021-22, when he averaged 16.1 points and a career-high 10.8 rebounds.
In 252 games in a Cavs uniform, Allen has averaged 15.1 points, 10.3 boards and 2 assists while shooting 64.2 per cent.
The Cavs reached last season's East semi-finals before being ousted by the eventual champion Boston Celtics with Allen sitting out the entire play-off series due to a rib injury and Mitchell missing the final two games because of a left calf strain.
In the four post-season games he played before his injury, Allen averaged 17 points on 67.6 per cent shooting and 13.8 rebounds.
Russell Westbrook has joined the Denver Nuggets on a two-year contract containing a player option for 2025-26.
Earlier this month, Westbrook was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Utah Jazz, who reached a contract buyout agreement with the point guard.
Westbrook had long been expected to move on to Denver, with Utah receiving a series of second-round draft picks from the Clippers to facilitate the move.
On Friday, Westbrook was in Denver to put pen to paper on his deal, with his agent Jeff Schwartz confirming the length and terms of his contract to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The team subsequently announced the arrival of the 35-year-old on social media, with the Nuggets becoming his sixth team in the last seven years.
Westbrook will earn an estimated $6.8million with the Nuggets, who lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season's Western Conference semifinals.
In 2023-24 for the Clippers, he averaged career lows of 11.1 points and 4.5 assists with 5 boards.
He came off the bench in 57 of the 68 games he played, shooting 27.3 per cent from 3-point range – the second-lowest mark among the 226 players with at least 150 attempts from beyond the arc.
However, Denver believe the 2016-17 NBA MVP can still provide depth and ease the load on reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who was named the league's best player for a third time in 2023-24.
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.
Paul George is "all-in" with the Philadelphia 76ers, who he believes have a great shot at winning the NBA championship.
George joined the Sixers after the Los Angeles Clippers did not offer him a full max contract.
However, George holds no ill will towards the Clippers.
The 34-year-old said: "Amazing time. No regret, they went out and gave me an opportunity to play at home, which, at that point in time was a ton of value for myself to be able to play in front of my family, my friends, and have a legitimate shot to chase a championship every season.
"Obviously, injuries kind of deterred us a little bit. But just to speak on that situation as a whole, there's no ill will.
"Again, forever grateful for the opportunity that they gave me to come back.
"We had a great mutual talk as it all played out, and I felt it was great closure on the situation. I'm happy for them, they're happy for me, and I'm a Sixer now. So that's behind me."
And George feels everything is lining up perfectly for the Sixers.
"I thought everything just aligned perfectly," George said.
"Where they're at and where they're trying to go and where I'm trying to get to, as well.
"I think we got a real legitimate shot. I've always been a fan of Tyrese and Joel from afar, and Joel has secretly been one of my closest All-Star Game friends. And so, it kind of felt inevitable that at some point we would link up and be teammates.
"So, I'm all-in. My family's here all-in, and I'm excited, and looking forward to this next opportunity."
George feels one key asset he can bring is to help share the load with 76ers talisman Joel Embiid, who suffered an injury-hit season last term.
"I think just taking the pressure off Joel," George said.
"I think I can kind of help him get through a season healthy. And again, it's just not putting so much pressure on him.
"Regardless of how good you feel, I think pressure causes a lot of injuries as well, and you think you have to get overplayed, you have to touch every possession, that kind of just wears you down, especially for how physical he is.
"So that's the key. Everybody do their part, make sure we're working on our bodies, and that we don't just put that pressure on one individual to go out and win games for us."
Sam Hauser has agreed to a four-year, $45million contract extension with the Boston Celtics, his agent told ESPN on Sunday.
Hauser signed with the Celtics in 2021 as an undrafted rookie and has since established himself as one of the NBA's most accurate 3-point shooters.
His current rookie contract is due to expire in 2025, but this extension will keep him with the team until the end of the 2028-29 season.
Hauser shot 42.4% on 3-pointers last season, the fourth-best in the league among players with over 400 attempts, and became just the third player in Celtics history to make 10 3-pointers in a game in 2023-24.
The 26-year-old also made 179 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last season, the sixth most in the NBA.
His extension is the third of the offseason already, with All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum signing a $315million five-year deal and guard Derrick White committing to $125million over four years.
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