Rumors

Ultimately, there’s a strong belief within league circles that if the Lakers offer Austin Reaves close to or the full max, he’ll stay in Los Angeles. However, if the Lakers submit a low-ball offer, Reaves will consider other offers, and the possibility of a sign-and-trade could also emerge. Brooklyn has Reaves on their radar and has the clearest path to offering a max contract outright in free agency with cap space.

HoopsHype

Paul Pierce cut a plea deal with Los Angeles prosecutors on Tuesday to close out his DUI case, court records obtained by The California Post show. Pierce pleaded nolo contendere to one misdemeanor count of wet reckless driving upon a highway, per the records, and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. The Boston Celtics legend was also ordered to pay a $375 fine and complete multiple courses, including a MADD Victim Impact Program, according to the records.

New York Post

Tim Bontemps: What will LeBron James do? For the first time since James came to Los Angeles eight years ago, there's a legitimate chance he won't be playing for the Lakers next season, either because of retirement or because he has chosen to close out his career elsewhere. The door isn't shut on his return to the Purple and Gold, but it does mean it's a far more interesting summer than usual for James. That's partly because it's unclear what James and the Lakers want to do. Los Angeles wants to begin building its roster around Luka Doncic, and it's going to take a lot of surgery to get this team within the same tier as Oklahoma City or San Antonio. Austin Reaves and his potential max contract will also play a major role. He and the Lakers can begin negotiations on a new contract the day after the NBA Finals conclude. Because of Reaves' $20.9 million cap hold, the Lakers can use their available cap room first and then sign Reaves to a new contract even if it exceeds the salary cap.

ESPN

This is the latest episode of “Attack on Wemby: Across the Knicks-Verse,” the short-form anime series that has provided the most entertaining recap of the NBA Finals. The byproduct of a leap of faith by Los Angeles native Jake Wang, the show, in Japanese with English subtitles, has turned into a popular satire of the storylines surrounding each game of the NBA Finals. It follows Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs as characters from the renowned Japanese anime Attack on Titan who are trying to take over New York, represented by the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” movies.

New York Times

Staying with the Lakers is widely believed to be his preferred choice because he is so entrenched in Los Angeles now after eight seasons with the purple and gold. Yet league sources maintain that Golden State remains legitimately interested in adding LeBron to their Stephen Curry/Jimmy Butler/Draymond Green core coached by Steve Kerr ... with the pitch presumed to include the idea that LeBron could commute from Los Angeles to some TBD degree without having to move his family.

marcstein.substack.com

NBA superstar Kevin Durant was recently spotted stepping out of a high-end restaurant in Los Angeles - emerging from the establishment with a mystery woman.  Durant was spotted leaving Nobu Malibu on Tuesday evening and attempted to hide himself behind a tall bush. He stood there waiting for a few minutes before the unidentified woman emerged from the entrance of the restaurant. Durant followed closely behind her before the pair got into the same car and then drove off. The identity of the woman accompanying Durant was not immediately clear.

Daily Mail

In a federal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, in front of people who said they had been defrauded by Aspiration and specifically by Sanberg, Wilson said the circumstances of Sanberg's actions were "among the worst I've ever seen" in his career on the bench before adding that "this case has touched almost every badge of fraud."

ESPN

Richard Jefferson: Start, bench, cut. LA basketball royalty. Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, LeBron James. DeMar DeRozan: LA Lakers basketball? Jefferson: Yeah, LA. Yeah. DeRozan: Start Magic, bench Kobe, cut LeBron. Jefferson: Yeah, that's fair. LeBron's been here for like 12 years. We don't need to make it a thing.

YouTube

Brian Windhorst on LeBron’s future: “He’s going to have to decides whether he wants to be a Laker and the Lakers are going to have to decide how much to offer him in the next 2-3 weeks…. Despite what they may posture that would basically be negotiating, I do think there is a pathway for him to stay in LA”

x.com

Kyle Kuzma has drawn attention beyond basketball after revealing a large prediction-market bet on Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, according to a post he shared on X. The Milwaukee Bucks forward posted a screenshot from Kalshi showing a $36,069 wager on Pratt, with a potential maximum payout listed at $133,588.89. The move quickly circulated across social media as the election cycle in Los Angeles intensified ahead of the June 2 primary.

TalkBasket

Sports Central LA: “I’m so proud of her, on what she's been able to do not only with the Lakers but also in the community here in Los Angeles." @MagicJohnson tells us what it meant to him to present the 2026 Wallis Icon Award to Jeanie Buss tonight. #LakeShow @CBSLosAngeles

Twitter

However, while teams may be discreetly preparing their respective offers for Giannis, just in case Haslam and the franchise push through, Hall of Famer Chris Webber has a message for contending teams that may be interested in Giannis: Monitor LeBron James‘ situation in Los Angeles. “I’d love to see the Lakers honor him with the contract that he deserves so he can stay there and keep his legacy going. But if that doesn’t happen, and he gets with a team that’s in the Top 4 to win a championship, I think something special can happen because right now, you need your players that play at a certain level to take it to another level. You need a player that makes players better,” said Webber on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

basketballnetwork.net

Kendra Andrews: The Sparks announce they will honor Lisa Leslie with a statue outside Crypto.com arena. It will be unveiled on Sept. 20. “To be cemented in Los Angeles, the city that raised me, I couldn’t be more proud to be a role model forever,” Lesli said in a statement.

x.com

With a talented prospect about to arrive in LA, Draymond Green had plenty of interesting words about the Clippers' commitment to Kawhi Leonard. In the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors star appears to be urging the Clippers to deal the superstar forward on their side. The full statement of Green can be viewed below: "You talk about the Golden State Warriors, who have won championships, you have to look at the Los Angeles Clippers in the fifth spot and say: 'Huh, what are they gonna do?' Are they going to draft the fifth pick and put him next to Kawhi Leonard or are they going to move Kawhi Leonard, try to get more draft assets, and start a rebuild?" Green claimed.

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