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Hart brought those comments back up during his appearance on the Roommates Show via ESPN. He is waiting for her to officially concede on that statement, patiently anticipating the apology. “I'm not naming names: I'm still waiting for somebody––,” Hart said before the crowd chanted Hammon's name. “…to say they was wrong about someone who led our team to a championship…I know they have media availability so we'll be waiting for that apology,” Hart finished.
San Antonio easily led all local markets for the NBA Finals on ABC/ESPN with a 25.9 local rating across five games. N.Y. was No. 2 with a 17.5 local rating for the games. That’s well above what the N.Y. market delivered for the five-game World Series with the Yankees and Dodgers in 2024 on Fox (12.2 local rating). Rounding out the top markets for the NBA Finals were Austin, Oklahoma City and Richmond-Petersburg, Va.
Shams Charania: Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is exercising his $21.6 million player option for the 2026-27 season, sources tell ESPN.
Shams Charania: ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins – 14-year NBA veteran and 2008 champion – has agreed to become the men's basketball General Manager of HBCU Jackson State, as well as a connection to its broadcast and journalism program, per Perkins: "I'm thankful for this opportunity to impact young lives and pour back into my community." Perkins worked closely with Jackson State men's basketball coach Trey Johnson and vice president and director of athletics Ashley Robinson to finalize the new role.
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Internally, the Spurs remain committed to Fox as their franchise starting point guard. Sources called De’Aaron Fox a calming presence and the team's closer for most of the season, adding that one rough series essentially playing on one leg doesn't change that. The four-year, $229 million contract extension Fox signed last summer kicks in next season, raising his salary from $37.1 million to $49.8 million. He's scheduled to make $61.7 million in the final year of the deal in 2029-30, when he'll be 32 years old. It's expected that calls from Harper's camp for a spot in the starting lineup will grow louder going into next season. But it's not an issue San Antonio needs to address right away. Fox's contract won't become a potential eyesore until after Wembanyama's upcoming rookie extension kicks in, and when the Spurs are looking next summer to extend Castle to what should be a max deal.
San Antonio could use a backup stretch big as it reloads for next season, and a combo stretch big man who can start and possibly play alongside Wembanyama in bigger lineups such as Rui Hachimura. The opportunity to play alongside Wembanyama, the franchise's success, its culture and collective youth make San Antonio a preferred destination, sources said, adding that multiple big men are already trying to get to south Texas.
The verdict: After entering the fall projected at No. 1, Darryn Peterson struggled to stay healthy and played through a strange season after a battle with cramping. However, NBA teams haven't appeared concerned with his long-term health. His best moments, while further between than he and Kansas hoped, underscored why NBA teams still view him as a future star who executives liken stylistically to Devin Booker. Peterson can be one of the best guards in the league, and after gaining a better understanding of the context, he reclaims the top spot on my board.
Several league sources told ESPN they believe Rui Hachimura could be the odd man out and that he might need to explore the market to find a desired deal. However, if the Lakers decide to operate as an over-the-cap team, they would be able to retain all of their own free agents for whom they have Bird rights -- including accommodating Hachimura -- and also have the $15.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception, according to ESPN NBA front office insider Bobby Marks, to pursue outside free agents.
The Lakers are interested in retaining Marcus Smart and sharpshooter Luke Kennard, sources told ESPN. Smart, who was recruited to L.A. by Doncic and has until June 29 to exercise the final year of his contract at $5.4 million, enjoyed his role with the Lakers and is hoping for a new contract and a raise, sources said. Kennard, for his part, was on an $11 million expiring contract and has interest in making L.A. his long-term home after previously playing 2½ seasons with the LA Clippers.
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While the 27-year-old Luka Doncic is preparing for another season squarely in his prime, he has made one roster preference clear to Pelinka and Redick, sources said. It's the same one he made in the days after he first arrived in Los Angeles 16 months ago. "Luka's first and foremost desire is an A-list center," the source said.
There are several restricted free agents the Lakers have already done their due diligence on, sources familiar with the team's thinking told ESPN. Two of them, Jalen Duren of the Detroit Pistons and Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz, would satisfy Doncic's directive to secure an A-list center. Two others, Peyton Watson of the Denver Nuggets and Tari Eason of the Rockets, are the type of 3-and-D archetypes who any team needs in order to succeed in the modern NBA.
Luka Doncic is spending the summer in Slovenia with his daughters, Gabriela and Olivia, but sources close to him told ESPN he is in "constant communication" with Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick. Coming off a season in which he led the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game and finished fourth in MVP voting before a Grade 2 left hamstring strain sidelined him for L.A.'s postseason run, Doncic is finally healthy as he begins his offseason training. He was cleared for basketball activities on May 28 -- about 2½ weeks after their series against the Thunder finished, sources close to Doncic told ESPN. "He's in full go mode," one source said.
A source close to Luka Doncic told ESPN that Doncic has kept in touch with James and Reaves since the season ended but hasn't pitched either player on returning to L.A. Most of their conversations, the source said, revolve around golf, as Doncic took up the sport in February and has bonded with his fellow links-obsessed teammates over it.