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Joe Cowley: Arturas Karnisovas will not address the media on draft night for the first time since taking that seat. GM Marc Eversley will instead speak. Interesting. AK probably doesn't want to deal with questions about the secret extensions going on. pic.x.com/mG7XX5heZa
Portland’s expansion WNBA franchise has hired CAA Search, the executive search branch of Creative Artists Agency, to identify and recruit candidates for the team’s GM position. RAJ Sports -- whose co-founders Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal own the Portland franchise, as well as the NWSL Portland Thorns -- initiated the directive in an announcement on Wednesday. The Bhathals made clear that the new GM will oversee basketball operations, personnel choices, coaching hires, salary cap management and long-term roster decisions. Joe Aiken, partner at CAA Search, has been tasked with canvassing the country for the right candidates.
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Brad Townsend: My favorite Gregg Popovich story is personal. Hopefully he won't hold it against me for telling it. Days after the San Antonio newspaper I worked for folded in 1993, Golden State assistant Pop called to tell me the Spurs were being sold and he was coming back as GM. Me: "Pop, I really appreciate it, but I have no way to publish that." Pop: "I know. I'm hoping you can use that information to get a job."
Josh Bartelstein to remain Suns' CEO?
As for Josh Bartelstein, one source assured PHNX Sports that he will remain as CEO. However, if Jones is no longer the Suns’ general manager and a new GM is brought in to be the main decision-maker, that would likely require less input from Bartelstein on the basketball side than he was contributing with James Jones in that position.
Sam Amick: Now that John Horst has a new contract, I can share this part: I wrote in a story that Giannis alluded to the GM. Well, the "alluded" part was this—he literally looked at John, looked at me, and said: “Sam, if we don’t win…” (Then he drew his finger across his throat.) Yeah, and just to be clear—they have a good relationship. Giannis was being playful. But he also understands that his presence means one thing: “We better be contending for titles—or it’s going to get ugly.” So I think this new deal for Horst is the organization ensuring stability. He’s the guy who helped draft Giannis, and now’s not the time for front-office turbulence. But we’ll see where it goes from here.
Shams Charania: The Bucks have made the playoffs in all eight of Horst's seasons as GM and have a .647 win percentage, second-best in the NBA during that span, per ESPN Research. Horst, 42, started in basketball operations roles in Milwaukee and Detroit before being promoted to Bucks GM in 2017.
Chase Hughes: GM Will Dawkins says he's not overly concerned with the Wizards' 2026 1st rd pick being top-8 protected in terms of possibly leveling up next year: "If our young players make a jump and go forward, we go forward."
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Harrison’s hiring, built on connections and made in the wake of an acrimonious separation from Nelson, Cuban’s only previous GM, was supposed to change all that. Cuban had been in the loop during Harrison’s February 2023 acquisition of Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn, and Cuban thought that would be the template for future deals: Harrison would lean in on his decades of relationships with the NBA’s elite players to give Dallas a leg up on bringing superstars to Texas, while Cuban employed his deal-making acumen.
One of Detroit's biggest sports fans is interested in joining the city's bid to land a WNBA franchise. Eminem, the 15-time Grammy-winning rapper, has had discussions about joining the high-profile investor group that already includes Pistons owner Tom Gores, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Fab Five legend Chris Webber, former Piston Grant Hill and Denise Ilitch, among others.
Yes, Marks — who used to weaponize offer sheets in his first rebuild — could use cap space on restricted free agents like Jonathan Kuminga or Josh Giddey. But the GM could kick the can down the road a year, extending the tank another season and punting his cap space into 2026. If he does, one way is giving Russell a one-year deal, or a two-year contract with a team option. With the Nets sitting on a trove of cap space almost as big as the rest of the league combined — Detroit is the only other team likely to have more than the mid-level exception — Russell’s suitors will be limited.
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