After taking a shot at Russell Westbrook by using him as the butt of a joke, San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan took to Twitter to say he was "not intending on being disrespectful" to the Los Angeles Lakers superstar.
In a social media video, Sochan and fellow Spurs rookie Malaki Branham participated in a word association game while at this month's NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
Branham gave the hint, "Russell Westbrook get 'em a lot", with the hope Sochan would guess "triple-double" in response.
However, Sochan immediately said "bricks".
The 19-year-old eventually correctly guessed "triple-double" and apologised for the insult on Twitter.
"It's banter, I was not intending on being disrespectful," he said. "Heat of the moment, I was playing a game baby."
Sochan, the ninth overall pick of this year's draft, later went on to say Westbrook has "been one idol since I started watching the NBA and my dog is called Russell".
While Westbrook is the NBA all-time leader in triple-doubles with 194, the 2016-17 league MVP struggled mightily with his shot from 3-point range last season, shooting 29.8 per cent from beyond the arc.
Among the 142 players with at least 250 3-point attempts in 2021-22, Westbrook had the fourth-worst shooting percentage.
James Harden made it clear this offseason that at this point in his career he cares more about having an opportunity to win an NBA championship than money.
While his deal with the Philadelphia 76ers has yet to be finalised, Harden is expected to sign a two-year contract that will pay him $32million next season and includes a player option for 2023-24. That $32m salary is a steep discount after he declined his $47.4m player option for 2022-23.
"I had conversations with [76ers president of basketball operation Daryl Morey], and it was explained how we could get better and what the market value was for certain players," Harden told Yahoo Sports. "I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over.
"This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship. That's all that matters to me at this stage. I'm willing to take less to put us in position to accomplish that."
The 32-year-old Harden has racked up plenty of personal accolades – NBA MVP, 10-time All-Star, three-time league scoring champion and NBA Sixth Man of the Year, to name a few. However, he has never won a title and only reached the NBA Finals once, in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Following that NBA Finals appearance, Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets and became a superstar in the league. He was then dealt to the Brooklyn Nets in January 2021 to play alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but that experiment failed, and Harden was sent to Philadelphia last February.
Harden averaged 21 points, 10.5 assists and 7.1 rebounds in 21 games after joining the 76ers. He then put up 18.6 points, 8.6 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in the playoffs, where the 76ers lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Harden wound up appearing in 65 regular-season games overall in 2021-22, mostly due to hamstring issues. He averaged 22 points, 10.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds in those 65 contests.
"I don't really listen to what people are saying. I wasn't right last season and I still almost averaged a triple-double," Harden said. "If anybody else had those numbers, we'd be talking about them getting the max.
"People were used to seeing me averaging 40, 30 points, and so they viewed it as a down year. I was in Philadelphia for a couple of months and I had to learn on the fly. That's just what it was. I'm in a good space physically and mentally right now, and I'm just looking forward to next season."
With a full season ahead of playing alongside perennial NBA MVP contender Joel Embiid, and with the additions of P.J. Tucker and Danuel House (thanks in part to Harden's paycut), the 76ers are expected to be a favourite in the East. They also added De'Anthony Melton in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.
"I think we have a much deeper team," Harden said. "That's something we wanted to address. If you look at our team now, we're positioned to go a lot further. I like how we stack up with the rest of the top teams."
Brandon Williams scored a game-high 22 points and Trendon Watford had 19 to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to an 85-77 win over the New York Knicks in Sunday’s NBA Summer League championship game.
Jabari Walker chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench to help Portland to its second Summer League title, while Watford added seven rebounds and was unanimously chosen the game’s MVP.
The Blazers previously won the 2018 Summer League after defeating the Lakers in the championship game, one year after losing to Los Angeles in the finals.
Portland built a lead as large as 16 points late in the third quarter, but the Knicks closed the gap with a 13-4 run to pull within 64-57 with seven minutes remaining.
Watford answered with a three-pointer and recorded seven points during an 11-4 scoring spurt that extended the Blazers’ advantage to 75-61 with under four minutes left.
Williams then helped seal the victory by going eight-for-eight on free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, capping an 18-for-20 performance by Portland from the foul line.
"We stuck together and when we came back in, we turned it up and I’m just proud of all these guys," Watford said post-game. "It was big time, our chemistry came together since day one."
Quentin Grimes put up 19 points for the Knicks but finished five-of-16 from the field and two-of-11 from three-point range. Miles McBride also scored 17 points in defeat.
LeBron James showed no rust on Saturday in his return to competitive basketball at the Drew League, while former team-mate Kyrie Irving was a no-show after being expected to take the court.
James had 42 points, 16 rebounds and four steals while teaming with Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan at the Drew League, a pro-am event held every summer in the Los Angeles area.
It was James' first action since missing seven of the Los Angeles Lakers' final eight games due to a sprained ankle. James appeared in just 56 games in 2021-22 as he dealt with ankle, knee and abdominal injuries.
However, he managed to average 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists for a Lakers team that missed the playoffs with a 33-49 record.
"I'm 100 percent healthy," James told ESPN on Saturday in his first appearance at the Drew League since 2011.
Irving, meanwhile, was expected to play in the event but instead attended a camp hosted by Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy.
"They were pretty sure he was coming," Drew League Commissioner Dino Smiley told NBA.com of Irving's representatives. "But you know how Kyrie is. I guess he changed his mind in the middle of it."
James and Irving won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and rumours have been swirling that they could be reunited in Los Angeles.
Irving recently exercised his $36.5million player option for next season with the Brooklyn Nets, but with Kevin Durant requesting a trade out of Brooklyn, the Nets could be looking to move Irving as well.
ESPN has reported that the Nets and Lakers have been in talks about a deal that would send Irving to Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn.
"In order to get great talent, you have to give up a lot of great talent and value in draft picks," Lakers president Jeanie Buss told NBA.com. "Every team is sophisticated and smart. Nobody is just asleep at the wheel.
"Everybody is just trying to make their team better. Some teams are pivoting from a path they were on and want to deal because they have players that don't fit what their plans are. So it's a fluid situation. You always have to stay on top of it."
Russell Westbrook has split from long-time agent Thad Foucher due to "irreconcilable differences" over "his best pathway forward".
Foucher, who has represented the former MVP for his entire NBA career, revealed the news in a statement released to ESPN.
The development comes as Westbrook's future remains unclear, with his huge contract and underwhelming performances hampering the Los Angeles Lakers.
Trade rumours have circled Westbrook, even as new Lakers coach Darvin Ham described himself as "excited as hell to have Russell Westbrook on our team".
Foucher also feels Westbrook and the Lakers should continue together, although he did not make clear whether this opinion had contributed to their parting.
"I represented Russell Westbrook for 14 years and am proud of our partnership, which included a highly successful 2008 draft, a super-max contract and the only renegotiation-and-extend max contract in history," Foucher's statement read.
"I also supported Russell throughout his rise into a prominent fashion industry figure and recently orchestrated three successive trades on Russell's behalf – culminating with the trade to his hometown Los Angeles Lakers.
"Each time, teams gave up valuable players and assets to acquire Russell – and each time, a new organisation embraced his arrival. We did it together with grace and class.
"Now, with a possibility of a fourth trade in four years, the marketplace is telling the Lakers they must add additional value with Russell in any trade scenario. And even then, such a trade may require Russell to immediately move on from the new team via buyout.
"My belief is that this type of transaction only serves to diminish Russell's value and his best option is to stay with the Lakers, embrace the starting role and support that Darvin Ham publicly offered.
"Russell is a first-ballot Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player and will prove that again before he is retired.
"Unfortunately, irreconcilable differences exist as to his best pathway forward and we are no longer working together. I wish Russell and his family the very best."
The San Antonio Spurs have locked up a young core player as they set to embark on an extensive rebuild, reportedly agreeing to a four-year, $80million extension with wing Keldon Johnson to tie him to the franchise through the 2026-27 season.
Johnson’s agents, Rich Paul and Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports, confirmed the agreement to The Athletic on Friday night.
Coming off a breakout 2021-22 campaign in which he averaged 17 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 40 per cent from 3-point range, Johnson was entering the final year of his rookie contract. The 22-year-old was selected by San Antonio in the first round (29th overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft, and started a team-high 74 games this past season.
Johnson will enter the upcoming season as the Spurs’ leading returning scorer after the team traded All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that netted San Antonio three future first-round choices, as well as the option to swap first-round picks in 2026.
The Murray deal was the first indicator the Spurs would be undertaking a roster overhaul after missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season in 2021-22, and with Murray gone, Doug McDermott had the most expensive contract on the team's books at $13m for each of the next two seasons.
With plenty of cap space and a requirement for each team to spend at least 90 per cent of the total cap ($123m for the 2022-23 season), Johnson's deal was a no-brainer, locking him up as a valuable, tradable asset at the very least if they do not view him as a part of their rebuild.
Prior to the Spurs' three-year postseason drought, they reached the postseason 22 straight times – tied for the longest streak in NBA history – and won five league titles under longtime coach Gregg Popovich during that span.
Johnson, who has averaged 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 38.5 per cent from 3-point range in 161 career games, now heads a youthful roster that includes three first-round selections from the 2022 draft.
The Spurs selected versatile Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan with the ninth overall pick, before later adding Ohio State guard Malaki Branham (20th pick) and Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley (25th pick).
Sacramento Kings rookie Keegan Murray showed exactly why he was a top-five pick in last month's NBA Draft in his side's 82-69 win against the Phoenix Suns on Friday at the Las Vegas Summer League.
Murray, the fourth overall pick, was efficient in all areas, shooting eight-of-14 from the field and four-of-eight from long range for his 21 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes.
He also had zero turnovers, one blocked shot and posted a game-high plus/minus of plus 21, meaning that despite the win, the Kings were outscored by eight points while he was on the bench.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder showed their depth of young talent by defeating the Golden State Warriors 90-82 despite second overall pick Chet Holmgren and second-year star Josh Giddey both sitting out.
The Thunder had six players score in double-figures, including 12th pick Jalen Williams, who had 10 points and six assists, but the top prospects in the game were on the Warriors' side.
Second-year wing Jonathan Kuminga top-scored for the Warriors yet again, but only shot five-of-15 for his 16 points, although he did show improved playmaking with five assists and two turnovers.
There were promising signs for center James Wiseman as well, scoring 14 points on four-of-six shooting, hitting the only three-pointer he attempted while also grabbing seven rebounds and blocking a shot in 21 productive minutes.
Wiseman did not play a single game in the 2021-22 season due to persistent injuries, but the second overall pick from the 2020 draft projects to have a significant role for the reigning champions.
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