Rumors

The Mavericks have yet to publicly broadcast this position with loud volume, but all the behind-the-scenes whispers continue to suggest that they will refuse to entertain the idea of fielding trade offers for the No. 1 overall pick in the June 25 draft. .... The Mavericks have yet to publicly broadcast this position with loud volume, but all the behind-the-scenes whispers continue to suggest that they will refuse to entertain the idea of fielding trade offers for the No. 1 overall pick in the June 25 draft. It's an opportunity, materialized almost exactly a month after the WNBA's Dallas Wings drafted UConn star Paige Bueckers. that can't be squandered. When I asked a source close to the process last week if the Mavericks trading away the ability to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg away would be considered, I was emphatically told: "No chance." "No ... not even for Giannis," said another source briefed on the team's thinking.

marcstein.substack.com

UConn's 82-59 win over South Carolina on Sunday averaged 8.5 million viewers across ESPN and ABC. The number represents a 55% decrease from last year's Iowa-South Carolina matchup and a 14% decrease from the LSU-Iowa game from two years ago. It did represent a 75% increase in viewership from 2022, the last time Caitlin Clark didn't appear in the final.

RealGM

Nets Daily: Barclays Center celebrity row Sunday: NBA’s Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Devin Booker, Thompson twins, Derrick Lively II; Hall of Famer Dawn Staley, UConn’s Azzi Fudd & Paige Bueckers, gymnast Jordan Chiles, boxer Claressa Shields, TV host Tamron Hall and owners Joe & Clara Tsai!

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Adrian Wojnarowski: Jeremy Lamb — who played 573 NBA games with Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Indiana and Sacramento — is retiring from basketball, he announced on Instagram. Lamb was part of UConn’s 2011 NCAA championship team.

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Jeff Goodman: The Lakers offer was for 6 years and around $70 million, per sources. Hurley has elected to remain at UConn and has a 6-year deal worth approximately $50 million on the table, source told @TheFieldOf68 .

x.com

ClutchPoints: Charles Barkley showed love to Zach Edey and several other Purdue players following their loss to UConn in the national championship game 🤝 (via @Luke_Lyddon) pic.twitter.com/irsa9q1ro3

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Barry Jackson: The 14.2 M viewers for the Iowa UConn women's national semifinal on ESPN last night was larger than the viewership for any NBA Finals game this decade, among many, many other things.

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Both Lee, the Milwaukee Bucks’ lead assistant and Ollie, the former UConn and Overtime Elite coach, had impressed in different ways, per team sources granted anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the hiring process. But there was a gut feeling among the collective that the search needed to continue. That’s when Gores raised the question to the group: “What if we go back to Monty?”

The Athletic

With Curry's new deal set to extend beyond his playing career, there will also be a focus on signing athletes as Curry Brand endorsers. More than a year ago, Curry's SC30 Inc. company signed UConn women's basketball star Azzi Fudd to an NIL deal. The agreement designated her as a Curry Brand ambassador and provides the 20-year-old with on- and off-court mentorship from Curry. "I do have a lot left to accomplish on the court, however long I am playing. Hopefully, it's no time soon that I'm thinking about calling it quits," said Curry, who turned 35 earlier this month. "We're going to have an investment in the roster of athletes -- men and women, from various sports -- that want to be a part of the UA and Curry Brand family. That's where I think the biggest growth can come."

ESPN

Fudd and UConn open their season on Thursday night. With Paige Bueckers out for the year with an ACL tear, UConn’s hopes might rest on Fudd. She’s a 3-point shooter. It’s not a coincidence that she and Curry — the most prolific 3-point shooter of all-time — were drawn to one another. “I look at not just my daughters, but all the women in my life that have had such a major influence on who I am, their different personalities, the talents, value, morals and values that they instilled in me,” Curry said. “We have an opportunity to leverage the game into a great opportunity for young girls and women to pursue positions where they can make a difference, like changing communities, changing industries, it all matters. “I learned as much about how to be a human being, how to protect my own, hard work, discipline and all that from my mom and both of my grandmas.”

Associated Press

And she will. That’s the plan thanks to her new landmark agreement. SC30 Inc., the umbrella company over all of Curry’s endeavors, has entered into an NIL agreement with Fudd, the freshman from UConn. In July, the NCAA changed its rules, under pressure from state laws, to allow college athletes to make money by selling their name, image and likeness (NIL). Previously, student-athletes were deemed amateurs and barred from receiving any pay or added benefits outside of their scholarship. Since the rules change, college athletes have been signing endorsement deals to take advantage of their individual fame. Curry became the first NBA player to enter into such a partnership with a college player. “I want to hopefully be a mentor and open up the doors that have been opened for me to her,” Curry said, “and hopefully many more in the future. So it’s kind of dope to make a splash like that with somebody who has the same kind of values as I do. And her family has been amazing through this whole process. So I’m excited. It’s a lot of unknowns going into it but it’s all about just creating opportunities for her.”

The Athletic

As far as reporting goes, things have been quiet on the Napier front publicly for the last nine months, but a source close to the UConn legend told our own Bryan Kalbrosky that Napier nearly signed with the Milwaukee Bucks before their deal for Bogdan Bogdanovic fell apart and that the Golden State Warriors were also strongly considering picking him up before they opted to go with Brad Wanamaker instead.

HoopsHype

A source close to the family says the most important thing to them was that the day focused not only on Kobe, but on Gianna -- that she didn't get lost in the mix. Vanessa opened by speaking about her daughter, and the next three speakers -- Taurasi, Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma -- were all from the sport Gianna loved and pursued.

ESPN

UConn Women's Hoops: Mambacita is forever a Husky 💙

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