Cavaliers Notes: Mobley, Allen, Harden, Mitchell, LeBron
The Cavaliers figure to be active on the trade market this summer, whether it’s to remake a roster that got overwhelmed by New York in the Eastern Conference finals or just to escape the second apron. The problem for president of basketball operations Koby Altman is that he doesn’t have many assets to offer unless he’s willing to part with a big name, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only story.
Fedor states that teams calling Altman typically express interest in Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Jaylon Tyson or Max Strus. Mobley and Allen are linchpins of a team that has become one of the best in the conference, while Tyson at 23 is one of the Cavs’ top young talents and Strus is a reliable shooter who’ll have a $16.7MM expiring contract next season. Cleveland also owns the 29th pick in this year’s draft and can offer its first-rounder in either 2031 or 2032.
Mobley would be the most valuable asset if the Cavaliers decide to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo or another huge name, but Fedor states that the front office still views the former No. 3 overall pick as a future star and appears to be committed to keeping him as part of the future.
“All I can tell you is, since Evan’s been here, we’ve had the third best record in the league,” Altman said Friday at his end-of-season press conference. “Now we don’t have a championship to show for that yet, right? Boston and Denver, the other two ahead of us, they have a championship to show for that. But all Evan has done is impacted winning. He’s been remarkable for us in terms of our ascent the last five years. He’s a huge part of what we do.”
Altman also expressed support for Allen, saying he’s a good fit alongside Mobley and they provide a “cheat code” on defense.
There’s more from Cleveland:
- The Cavaliers considered a few other options before deciding to trade for James Harden at the deadline, according to Fedor. One was Celtics guard Derrick White, which became unrealistic with Jayson Tatum‘s fast return from his Achilles injury. Another was Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday, a former Celtic, but they decided he doesn’t he doesn’t provide enough offense. There were also “internal discussions” about Antetokounmpo. Altman said they understood what they were getting with Harden, who holds a $42.3MM player option for next season and is expected to sign a multi-year contract this summer. “I think people need to take a step back and realize we didn’t trade for MVP James Harden,” Altman said. “We traded for James Harden at the end of his career that has transformed himself to becoming one of the best point guards in the league. He helped stabilize us. He helped re-galvanize the group. We were kind of shaky there, in terms of our belief. We’re not in the conference finals without James.”
- Altman called Donovan Mitchell “uniquely ours” during his end-of-season press conference, but the team could face a difficult decision if he doesn’t agree to an extension this summer, Fedor adds. Mitchell will become eligible in July for a four-year deal worth up to an estimated $272MM, but that will increase to five years at around $350MM if he waits until next offseason. That would mean taking him into potential free agency, which the Cavs may be hesitant to do.
- Speculation about another LeBron James homecoming will hang over the franchise until his situation is resolved, Fedor notes. James would solve the team’s most pressing positional need and would bring a wealth of playoff experience, but the Cavs can’t offer more than the $3.9MM veteran’s minimum without making major changes to the roster. Another option is a sign-and-trade, which means giving James a three-year contract with at least one fully guaranteed season. Fedor points out that the Lakers would likely ask for a significant return in that scenario, and the Cavs would need to shed salary in order to operate under the first tax apron for the rest of 2026/27.
Cavs’ Altman Hopes To Reach Extension With Donovan Mitchell
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman confirmed at Friday’s end-of-season press conference that reaching an extension with Donovan Mitchell will be a priority, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes in a subscriber-only piece.
“Donovan is our guy,” Altman told reporters during the 32-minute exchange. “He’s elevated everything about this franchise and this organization, so when he professes his love for being here, we’re fortunate to have him and we’ll work out those details when it comes time.”
The 29-year-old guard has one guaranteed year left on his current contract at $50.1MM, along with a $53.8MM player option for 2027/28. He will become extension-eligible July 7 when the Cavs can offer a new four-year deal worth up to $272MM, but Fedor notes that it may be in Mitchell’s best interest to wait.
Mitchell will be a 10-year veteran next summer, which allows him to sign a five-year supermax deal in the neighborhood of $350MM. He will also become eligible for certain contract perks, including a no-trade clause.
Altman didn’t directly answer a question about whether he plans to submit an extension offer to Mitchell on July 7, Fedor adds.
“All I can tell you is Donovan has been steadfast in how much he loves it here and so there hasn’t been any question of will he be here and does he want to be here,” Altman said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, right? That’s the best thing, right? When we have a superstar of his caliber that wants to be in Cleveland, that’s our best ambassador, that’s our best recruiter … I think the bigger question is the one that’s been answered is, does he want to be here and does he want to be here long term? I think he’s answered that. He’s still playing the best basketball of his career, and he finally broke through to get to a conference finals and he wants more. We’re getting him at his peak right now and we hope that that continues.”
Mitchell indicated a desire to remain in Cleveland after the team’s playoff run came to an end on Monday, saying “I love it here” at the post-game press conference. He also expressed confidence that the organization can continue to compete for a championship.
The Cavaliers have focused on building a title contender around Mitchell ever since he was acquired from Utah in the summer of 2022. He’s coming off his seventh straight All-Star season and earned Second-Team All-NBA honors after averaging 27.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 70 games.
“Eight long years to get back here,” Altman said of the conference finals appearance, which was the team’s first since 2018. “The four years without him, no playoffs. Four years with him, playoffs.”
Cavs Notes: Atkinson, Altman, Offseason, LeBron
Being on the receiving end of a four-game beat-down by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals was bad enough, but Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson opened himself up to additional criticism before Game 4 by telling reporters that his team had “analytically” earned two of three expected wins to that point in the series (story via ESPN).
Atkinson still has three years left on his contract, but a handful of questionable postseason game management and lineup decisions, a disastrous fourth-quarter collapse to open the Knicks series, and that aforementioned sound bite are among the factors that have made him a candidate to become the “fall guy” for a disappointing finish to the season, suggests Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Still, Atkinson was team owner Dan Gilbert‘s preferred candidate for the job when the team hired him two years ago, according to Vardon, who suggests Gilbert’s support for the veteran coach doesn’t appear to have wavered as of late. Vardon adds that Atkinson is believed to have strong working relationships with both Mitchell and Harden, who reaffirmed their commitment to the team after the Game 4 loss and also spoke highly of their head coach.
“I love Kenny,” Mitchell said (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of Andscape). “We love Kenny. I ride with Kenny.”
“He understands his team,” Harden said of Atkinson, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “Of course, somebody’s going to have to take criticism, whether it’s myself or Kenny or whoever, the entire team. They’re going to put it on somebody. But I think for Kenny, he did an unbelievable job of getting me acclimated as fast as possible to understanding what I’m supposed to be doing out there. It’s just an unfortunate situation. Any team coming off of a tough two series against two defensive monsters (Toronto and Detroit), it would have been challenging.”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- If Gilbert wants to blame someone besides Atkinson, Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman could end up on the hot seat, Vardon writes. However, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link) says the “early talk” is that Altman is expected to remain in his current role.
- Atkinson spoke during his post-game presser on Monday about the Cavs having taken a step forward this season (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype), and team owner Dan Gilbert echoed that sentiment in a statement on social media — with an important caveat. “We took a step ahead this spring, but we are nowhere near where we need to be,” Gilbert wrote (on Twitter). “I can’t thank the fans enough for the support this year. We will dig in all summer and do everything we possibly can to take the next step. We will grind until we get there.”
- Within his Cavaliers offseason preview, ESPN’s Bobby Marks examines the free agency decisions the team will have to make on Harden and defensive stopper Dean Wade and provides details on what an extension for Mitchell would look like based on the NBA’s latest cap projections.
- Is LeBron James the missing piece the Cavaliers need to get over the hump and into the NBA Finals? Chris Mannix of SI.com makes the case for why the team needs to try to lure the four-time MVP back to Cleveland this summer.
Mavericks Targeting Big Names In Front Office Search
Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont has some big names on his wish list as the team seeks a new head of basketball operations, according to reports from Chris Mannix of SI.com and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Mannix and Stein both identify Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and Thunder executive VP of basketball operations Sam Presti as targets for Dallas, while Mannix also mentions Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and Stein adds Spurs CEO R.C. Buford to the list.
However, Mannix describes some of those options as “fanciful,” while Stein agrees, suggesting the Mavericks know they probably don’t have a realistic shot at executives like Stevens and Presti, who have recently won championships with their respective teams. Still, those names reflect Dumont’s “lofty ambitions,” Stein writes, explaining that the Mavs governor wants to do his due diligence on some of the NBA’s top front office executives in case one might be attainable.
Another possible target cited by both Mannix and Stein is Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. Some rival teams believe Connelly might leave his current position after this season, and Dallas hired former Wolves executive Ethan Casson as their president on the business side, according to Stein, though he adds that Minnesota appears motivated to work out a new deal to retain Connelly.
The target most frequently linked to the Mavericks by Stein’s sources is former Warriors general manager Bob Myers. But Myers accepted an “extremely lucrative” job last fall with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the group that owns the Sixers, and his responsibilities in that position span multiple sports. It remains to be seen whether he’d leave that role to return to an NBA front office, so he should probably be considered a long shot for the Mavs as well, Stein says.
Here’s more on the Mavs’ front office search:
- Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd had some conversations about transitioning to a front office role, sources tell Mannix. But both he and Stein hear that Kidd is much more likely to remain in his current position and partner with a new general manager.
- A number of “top aides to lead decision-makers” around the NBA have expressed back-channel interest in the Mavericks’ job, Stein reports. Even though the team has begun doing its homework on potential candidates, the search isn’t expected to begin “in earnest” until the regular season wraps up, Stein continues, adding that current co-interim GMs Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley are still considered candidates for the full-time job.
- Following up on his recent note about the Mavs not hiring a firm to guide their front office search, Stein says Dumont is considered the “point person” in the process.
- Speaking on Tuesday to a group of reporters, Mavs CEO Rick Welts had the following to say about the front office search, per Stein: “There is no specific set of characteristics. I can tell you there is a variety of candidates who present a variety of different personalities … different track records. It’s the most important decision that the organization is going to make for the coming seasons. So we are going to take our time and get it right.”
Cavs’ Koby Altman Signs Contract Extension
Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman has signed a contract extension that will run through the 2029/30 season, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.
Altman last signed an extension back in January 2022. Reporting at the time indicated that deal kept him under contract through ’27/28, so the new extension will tack on two additional years.
Altman, who has been the head of basketball operations in Cleveland since 2017, oversaw the post-LeBron James rebuild following the star forward’s departure in 2018 and has since constructed one of the NBA’s most talented rosters. The Cavaliers have won at least 48 games and earned a playoff berth in each of the past three seasons. In 2024/25, the club racked up a conference-high 64 regular season victories.
The Cavaliers have drafted Darius Garland and Evan Mobley during Altman’s tenure, as well as trading for Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell. Altman also oversaw the 2024 head coaching search that resulted in the team hiring Kenny Atkinson, who earned Coach of the Year honors this spring.
Altman’s job will get more challenging going forward — after remaining out of luxury tax territory for seven straight seasons in the wake of James’ exit, the Cavs have soared past that tax threshold this offseason and will be operating above the second tax apron in 2025/26.
While carrying one of the league’s most expensive rosters is more of a burden on ownership than management, the roster restrictions that apply to second-apron teams will make it more difficult for Altman and his front office to continue complementing the Cavs’ core with quality role players.
Cleveland lost Ty Jerome in free agency this offseason, but re-signed free agent wing Sam Merrill, swapped Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball, and brought back former Cav Larry Nance Jr.
According to Charania, other members of Altman’s front office – including general manager Mike Gansey and assistant general manager Brandon Weems – have also been extended.
Cavaliers’ Koby Altman On Roster: ‘I Love Our Foundation’
The Cavaliers had the second-best regular season in franchise history in 2024/25, winning 64 games en route to the No. 1 seed in the East. But injuries — including a toe sprain to Darius Garland — limited the team to some extent in the postseason, and Cleveland lost its second-round series against Indiana in five games.
At his end-of-season media session on Monday, president of basketball operations Koby Altman said that while the Cavaliers were frustrated by their playoff showing, there’s still an “internal belief” that the current roster — particularly the “core four” of Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — has an opportunity to contend for championships going forward, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“Obviously, we feel it. It’s raw for us. We’re disappointed how it ended. But it was a remarkable year on so many fronts and you guys were all invested in this. We’re not going to go anywhere. We’re going to keep fighting for that championship and this window is wide open, we believe.”
Here are a few more highlights from Altman’s presser, courtesy of Fedor.
On his confidence in the roster:
“I love our foundation. I love our core. Our starting lineup, the average age is 26.8. We have two All-Stars that are 25 (Garland) and 23 (Mobley), respectively, and they’re going through it, they’re going through these experiences, they’re going through these battles and we’re sustainable in a lot of ways, not just because guys are under contract, but our youth.
“Our belief in this group in a lot of ways, there’s a newness to this group as well in terms of our new head coach that’s been with us for one year. Us figuring out our offensive identity happened this year and so I’m really high on and optimistic about our future. That being said, it can’t just be 82 games. We have to figure out this next 16, we have to figure out how to get over the hump. But this group has shown they can play some of the best basketball in the world. It’s how do we do it on the highest stage and continue to keep pushing to get over that hump?”
On not overreacting to the playoff loss:
“If we were going to be reactionary, it would have been last year after everything that was written about that group, and all the rumors and all this and that and we stood pat and look what happened, right? I think the same thing now as you lean in even more to what we’re building, the culture that we have here, the internal growth, the youth, the sustainability of that.
“I think there’s a championship window that we have here that’s wide open and that’s one that we’re going to try to pursue next year and the year after and the year after and so forth. We’re not done by any stretch. But I would say if there was a time that we were going to crumble it potentially would’ve been last year, certainly not after what we’ve seen from this group this year is something where were we are going to break up a group that’s been together for three years and has accomplished what they’ve accomplished and is ready to take that next step. As disappointing as this ending was.”
On potentially re-signing backup guard Ty Jerome, who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting:
“Love to keep him. I mean, listen, we’re hopeful. I would say that I got to be careful ‘cause he’s going to be an unrestricted free agent, and he is ours, so we can talk about Ty in that vein. Part of (head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s) system, which is, again, we’re always going to be rooted in player development, which is great. And so when guys find that confidence in this system, their value gets driven up. Same thing with Sam Merrill. You want to call these guys end-of-bench players before that have become real rotational players and valuable within the ecosystem, not just us.
“I think the good news is those guys are going to be, they’re going to do really well for themselves. And the good news also is that we know because of our program, we’re going to be able to continue to develop our end-of-bench guys to become rotational guys. That’s going to be part of our evolution and also how we navigate some stiff penalty taxes. We have to continue to develop from within. And those two stories are incredible success stories from the development programs and putting them in a position to be successful. And so, yes, we’d love to keep Ty, but we’ll see what the marketplace holds.”
Altman said owner Dan Gilbert has given the front office “no restrictions in terms of going into the tax.” He added that Cleveland was willing to be a taxpayer and will operate over the second apron “if we need to go there” — the Cavs project to be over the second apron in 2025/26.
Altman also discussed how the Cavaliers can improve their individual and collective mental toughness, Gilbert’s “support” and “positivity,” why they’re likely to “run it back,” and defended Allen from the criticism he has faced for his poor showing at the end of the Pacers series.
Thunder’s Sam Presti Named Executive Of The Year
Sam Presti, the Thunder‘s executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, has been named the NBA’s Executive of the Year for 2024/25, the league announced today (via Twitter). It’s the first time that Presti, who has run the Thunder’s front office since 2007, has earned the honor.
Presti, who built the Thunder around a young core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, made two notable moves last offseason to fortify the roster. He traded Josh Giddey to the Bulls in exchange for defensive standout Alex Caruso and signed big man Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency.
Despite some injury woes that prevented Hartenstein and Holmgren from suiting up together until after the trade deadline, the Thunder dominated the NBA’s regular season in 2024/25, racking up a league-high 68 wins and recording a net rating of +12.7, one of the best marks in league history.
Oklahoma City ranked third in the NBA in offensive rating (119.2) and led the league in defensive rating (106.6) by a comfortable margin.
The Thunder, viewed as the heavy favorites to come out of the West this spring, remain well positioned to contend for years to come due not only to the talent already under contract but to their collection of future draft picks.
The Executive of the Year award is voted on by fellow team executives rather than by media members.
According to the NBA, Presti received 10 of 30 possible first-place votes and showed up on 22 ballots overall, earning 74 total points. He narrowly beat out Koby Altman of the Cavaliers (six first-place votes; 58 points) and Trajan Langdon of the Pistons (six first-place votes; 52 points), with Rafael Stone of the Rockets (four first-place votes; 38 points) coming in fourth.
A total of 13 executives showed up on at least one ballot, with Lawrence Frank (Clippers), Rob Pelinka (Lakers), Sean Marks (Nets), and Brad Stevens (Celtics) earning the remaining first-place votes. The full results can be viewed here (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Expansion, Playoff Schedule, Awards, Betting Scandal
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday (Twitter video link), commissioner Adam Silver once again addressed the topic of possible NBA expansion.
Silver has said in the past that he wanted to finalize the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement and TV/media deals before looking seriously at bringing new teams into the NBA. That new CBA was implemented in 2023 and the new media deals will take effect later this year, clearing a path for expansion discussions to finally begin in earnest.
“Now that those things are done, we’re just beginning a process, internally at the league, of exploring the opportunity to expand,” Silver said (hat tip to RealGM). “I will say sometimes on the outside (expansion) looks like a no-brainer because it seems like you’re printing money to expand. But you’re really selling equity in the league. You have 30 teams that own the league, and now you’re saying, ‘We’re gonna have 32 teams that own the league,’ so you’re diluting the economic interest of all the 30 teams.
“You’re also potentially diluting the talent, because with roughly 450 players in the NBA, even among those – the greatest in the world – there’s only so many difference-makers. And then how are those players going to be distributed around the league? That’s a lot of what we spend time on in Collective Bargaining Agreements, the right distribution of players. And so we’re looking hard at it, we’re sort of modeling it, for lack of better term, in the league office.”
Silver went on to specifically name Las Vegas and Seattle as cities that will be involved in expansion discussions, but made it clear that the NBA will also be looking at other markets as well. The commissioner added that progress could be made this summer, though he doesn’t view it as a “foregone conclusion” that the league will expand.
“I don’t want to jump the gun here,” he said. “We have the 30 existing teams who all need to weigh in on this process, and also at some point need to have direct conversations with the people who are interested in those teams. It’s premature to do that right now. We’ve been contacted by groups who are saying, ‘We have interest in potentially being part of expansion,’ not just in (Las Vegas and Seattle) but others, and we’ve sort of said, ‘We’re not quite ready yet.’ But again, we will go through a very methodical approach to it and do it very cautiously, but we’ll continue to look at it.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- The NBA has unveiled the schedules for the first round of the playoffs for both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference series (Twitter links). The latest possible Game 7 for a first-round series would take place on May 4, while the playoffs will get underway on Saturday at 1:00 pm Eastern time with Game 1 of the Bucks/Pacers series.
- Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) takes a look back at the recent history of Executive of the Year voting and explains why he’s predicting that Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka will win the award this year, with Koby Altman of the Cavaliers and Sam Presti of the Thunder right behind him. Unlike most of the other major end-of-season awards, Executive of the Year is voted on by NBA general manager, not media members.
- According to the NBA (Twitter link), the finalists for seven of the league’s major awards, including MVP, will be announced on Sunday at 6:30 pm Eastern time on TNT. The finalists are made up of the top three vote-getters for each award.
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic checks in on where things stand with the betting scandal that resulted in Jontay Porter being permanently banned from the NBA. As Vorkunov details, the Porter case is linked to investigations into match-fixing across college sports, with five schools being looked at by the federal government for possible ties.
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Allen, Goals, Rotation
Speaking to Marc J. Spears of Andscape on Thursday, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell discussed a variety of topics, including why he was comfortable signing an extension this offseason to remain in Cleveland, his thoughts on the team’s decision to replace head coach J.B. Bickerstaff with Kenny Atkinson, and his expectations for the Cavs in 2024/25.
The Cavs won a playoff series this past spring for the first time since 2018, but Mitchell believes the club’s ceiling is much higher than another second-round appearance.
“We’re championship contenders when we’re healthy,” Mitchell said. “I feel like last year we grew in a lot of ways. We played a lot of different ways. Now during that (22-4) stretch we went on (from December to February), obviously D.G. (Darius Garland) and Evan (Mobley) were hurt. But we found something that really can help bring us to the next level. So now the trick is how do we continue to implement that style of play over 82 (games) and then the final 16 (playoff) wins.
“But the development, that’s part of the reasons why I decided to sign was because I believe in our development,” he continued. “I believe in the hunger and the will that we have as a group. And so, for us, I believe we’re cherished contenders when healthy. But at the end of the day, I can tell you this, we got to go out there and continue to prove it on a daily basis. We haven’t done anything.”
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link) passes along some of the most notable quotes from the pre-camp press conference that Atkinson and Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman held on Friday morning. Altman referred to the 2024 offseason – which included contract extensions for Mitchell, Mobley, and Jarrett Allen – as “a major success to extend the lifeline of this core” and agreed with Mitchell that a championship is a realistic goal with the current roster.
- Altman also offered high praise for Allen when discussing his starting center’s new contract: “Jarrett’s immensely important to us. I think we’re almost like a .500 team when he’s not playing, which is remarkable. He’s the oldest 26-year-old you’ll ever find. It’s incredible that he’s 26 years old somehow, and this is his second extension. The first one was a five-year, $100 million extension that everyone was like, ‘Whoa, that’s a lot.’ It became one of the best contracts in the league. Now to extend him and tack on another three years, it keeps that continuity. He’s the core of our defense, super consistent. … To have him locked up for another five years is incredible. It speaks to what we’re building here.”
- After winning a playoff series in 2024, the idea of “taking the next step” in 2025 was a key theme during Friday’s presser, according to Fedor (subscriber link). The team barely underwent any changes during the offseason, but the most notable newcomer – Atkinson – is confident that continuity and improvement from within will allow the Cavs to take another step forward. “I think continuity is a coach’s dream,” Atkinson said. “It’s a team that’s won 99 games in the last two years and I think the other important thing about that, it’s a young team so internal improvement is huge for us.”
- Atkinson is open to using a deeper rotation than the Cavs did in 2023/24, per Fedor, who says that approach will please many within the organization who wanted Bickerstaff to deploy more than eight or nine players on a regular basis last season. “This is important just from my point of view, really celebrating our depth,” Atkinson said. “I think right off the bat you’ll see I’m going to play 10 guys. I’d even say 11. That’s very possible. We have great depth. How many rotation players do we have? I think by developing your bench, that prepares you for the playoffs, right? You never know. There’s a Richard Jefferson story. Richard was like a 12th man. All of a sudden Game 3 he comes out and hits three 3s. I embrace that philosophy.”
- In a separate subscriber-only story for Cleveland.com, Fedor considers four important questions facing the Cavaliers this season, including how Atkinson will change the offense, whether Garland can recapture his All-Star form, and whether Mobley is ready to take a leap to stardom.
And-Ones: WBD Lawsuit, Top Storylines, G League Trade, More
The legal battle between the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery took another step forward in recent days. Responding to the NBA’s motion to dismiss their lawsuit, TBS and WBD filed a 33-page memorandum last Friday attempting to convince New York Judge Joel M. Cohen to deny that motion, per Michael McCann of Sportico.
The parent company of TNT Sports, filed a lawsuit against the NBA in July, alleging that the league was in breach of contract after it refused to recognize TNT’s right to match Amazon’s new broadcast deal with the NBA.
The latest filing from TBS/WBD insists that the league acted in bad faith to “circumvent” the network’s matching rights by including certain terms in its deal with Amazon that it knew TBS/WBD couldn’t specifically match. For instance, one clause in the NBA/Amazon agreement requires NBA games to be aired on a platform that also broadcasts NFL games. Amazon has a deal with the NFL, whereas TBS/WBD does not.
If the case continues to advance through the legal system, court records suggest a trial would be held sometime in April 2025, according to McCann.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Paul George‘s impact in Philadelphia and the Knicks’ potential hole at center are among the key storylines to monitor in the Eastern Conference this season, in the view of Fred Katz and Sam Amick of The Athletic. Katz and Amick also took a look at the top storylines to watch in the West, including whether Victor Wembanyama is ready to take the leap to superstardom, Ja Morant‘s potential redemption tour, and which second-tier team could move into the top group of contenders.
- The South Bay Lakers, College Park Skyhawks (Hawks), and Texas Legends (Mavericks) have completed a three-team trade, with South Bay acquiring the returning rights to forward Chris Silva and center Jake Stephens in the deal, per a press release. The Skyhawks received Joirdon Nicholas‘ rights, while the Legends received multiple G League draft picks from the Lakers’ affiliate.
- Responding to a pair of U.S. senators who criticized the NBA for partnering with Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum wrote in a letter that the league has followed “the lead of the U.S. government as to where it’s appropriate to engage in business around the world,” according to Mark Fainaru-Wada of ESPN. “If American policies were to change regarding business activities in and relating to Rwanda or any other BAL (Basketball Africa League) market, our actions would of course change accordingly,” Tatum said, adding that the NBA has promoted multiple social impact initiatives in Rwanda.
- Sixers center Joel Embiid, Bucks guard Damian Lillard, and Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman are among the individuals across the NBA who are facing the most pressure entering the 2024/25 season, according to Michael Pina of The Ringer, whose top five is rounded out by Knicks forward Julius Randle and Heat wing Jimmy Butler.