The Denver Nuggets are pivoting and have their eyes directed on six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan who remains a free agent in demand for contenders, league sources tell me.
https://www.threads.com/@chrisbhaynesnba?hpir=1&http\_ref=eyJ0cyI6MTc4NzE4NDczMTAwMCwiciI6IiJ9
The drama might not stretch to the Lakers’ latest sale— the sale from Walter to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner seems like it’s still on track.
A source with knowledge of Mark Walter’s thinking told The Athletic that the current Lakers owner didn’t believe the latest Buss family disagreement would threaten his deal with Iger and Kushner, which values the Lakers at a record $12.5 billion. Two other league and team sources also said they don’t expect the conflict to impact the transaction that will push the Lakers into their next chapter. In that sense, who the Lakers’ majority owner will be when the 2026-27 season begins isn’t the pressing question at hand.
Sources familiar with the siblings’ position said they believe the family trust clearly gives them the ability to make decisions by majority vote and that their actions are consistent with previous rulings.
Jeanie and her legal team also believe strongly in their position, with a 2017 court order from the Los Angeles Superior Court cited as the foundation of their stance.
“That trumps everything,” as one league source close to the situation put it.
It’s fair to wonder how Iger and Kushner see this situation, with some wondering whether they’d want to choose a different governor simply because of the messiness of it all. But Walter’s choice to have Jeanie serve as governor for the next four years is known to be part of the contractual agreement from the sale 14 months ago, and a league source close to the situation indicated that it is now considered part of the deal with Iger and Kushner. In essence, if that proves to be the case, Iger and Kushner would be assuming Walter’s ownership role and the governor that comes with it.
What’s more, Iger has offered support for this stance both publicly and privately. Then again, as he hinted during that recent interview with The California Post “if things change, they’ll change.”
That part is true, but it appears to be more of a legal question than an Iger-Kushner one. Jeanie, meanwhile, clearly has no intention of selling her shares before the rest of her governorship is up.
Could there be a way for the rest of the siblings to sell and Jeanie to remain as governor? That would require her finding a way to still own at least 15 percent of the shares, but it is possible. Per a league source, Jeanie would be open to exploring that scenario.
Todd Boehly and Mark Walter are in talks to sell their shares in Chelsea to Clearlake Capital.
Buyout talks between the parties have been explored at various times in the two years since The Athletic detailed a breakdown in relations between Boehly and Clearlake, who partnered in the BlueCo consortium which purchased Chelsea for £2.3billion from the sanctioned Roman Abramovich in June 2022.
According to multiple sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, those discussions have resumed with a view to Boehly and Walter selling their personal 12.8 per cent shareholdings to Clearlake, who are majority shareholders with a 61.5 per cent stake.
Last week, just 14 months after buying a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for $10billion, Walter unexpectedly sold the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a record $12.5billion valuation, against the backdrop of a United States Department of Justice investigation into his business dealings.
Federal investigators are investigating insurance companies Walter owns. Walter did not respond to messages seeking comment for a story into the probepublished by The Athletic on Monday, and federal officials at the agencies conducting the probe declined to comment.
No sale of his or Boehly’s stake in Chelsea is believed to be imminent.
Todd Boehly and Mark Walter are in talks to sell their shares in Chelsea to Clearlake Capital.
Buyout talks between the parties have been explored at various times in the two years since The Athletic detailed a breakdown in relations between Boehly and Clearlake, who partnered in the BlueCo consortium which purchased Chelsea for £2.3billion from the sanctioned Roman Abramovich in June 2022.
According to multiple sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, those discussions have resumed with a view to Boehly and Walter selling their personal 12.8 per cent shareholdings to Clearlake, who are majority shareholders with a 61.5 per cent stake.
Last week, just 14 months after buying a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for $10billion, Walter unexpectedly sold the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a record $12.5billion valuation, against the backdrop of a United States Department of Justice investigation into his business dealings.
Federal investigators are investigating insurance companies Walter owns. Walter did not respond to messages seeking comment for a story into the probepublished by The Athletic on Monday, and federal officials at the agencies conducting the probe declined to comment.
No sale of his or Boehly’s stake in Chelsea is believed to be imminent.
An ESPN spokesman sent this statement to @TheAthletic: “We stand by our reporting, which included numerous attempts by ESPN to get comment from the NBA.”
I'm told Lakers star Luka Dončić this week opened a dialogue with the team's new lead ownership duo of Bob Iger and Josh Kushner and plans to meet with them at the first opportunity.
Dončić, of course, is spending the entire offseason in his native Slovenia to be close to his two daughters and will be hosting 16 of his teammates in Ljubljana starting Thursday. The only player on the Lakers' roster who won't be there is freshly drafted Cam Carr, who is required to attend a league-mandated rookie orientation that clashes with the Ljubljana trip that Dončić organized.
A stat that provides yet another notch of amplification on what a wild week it was at what is typically regarded as a quiet time of year in the NBA: The Lakers' sale means Dončić is about to play for his fifth and sixth owners just since November 2023: Mark Cuban and Patrick Dumont in Dallas; Jeanie Buss, Mark Walter, Iger and Kushner in Dallas.
https://marcstein.substack.com/p/more-late-night-nba-intel?r=1m9zg&utm\_medium=ios
The Cavaliers continue to be classified as a team to watch when it comes to Nuggets restricted free agent Peyton Watson.
League sources say Cleveland has been exploring various trade possibilities with both Dennis Schröder and Max Strus that would enable the Cavaliers — provided one or both of those salaries could be shed — to make a representative four-year offer to Watson.
Schröder is scheduled to earn $14.8 million in 2026-27 and $15.5 million in 2027-28 ... with only $4.4 million guaranteed in the latter season. Strus holds an expiring $16.7 million contract for 2026-27 to complete a four-year, $63 million deal he originally signed with Miami.
Finding a team to absorb such salaries at this point in the offseason, mind you, is easier said than done.
The Clippers and Bucks, meanwhile, continue to be regarded as the most credible external suitors for Watson alongside Cleveland. Watson, 23, entered restricted free agency hopeful for a deal that would pay him north of the $25 million in annual average value secured last October by teammate Christian Braun in a five-year, $125 million rookie scale contract extension.
If the Nuggets do not ultimately furnish the sort of long-term offer that Watson is willing to accept and if no sign-and-trade deal elsewhere materializes, Watson would be forced to contemplate an option he'd naturally rather avoid: Playing out the 2026-27 season on a $6.5 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
https://marcstein.substack.com/p/lots-more-late-night-nba-intel?r=1m9zg&utm\_medium=ios
The Raptors made the decision on July 9 to press pause rather than complete the trade until the NBA announces a resolution to the long-running external investigation it has commissioned into allegations of salary-cap circumvention by the Clippers to pay Leonard beyond his contract dating to 2021. Yet league sources tell The Stein Line that Leonard continues to operate under the belief that he will be able to join the Raptors for training camp.
Hopeful that the additional of Leonard can soon be finalized to compete with rest of a resurgent Eastern Conference, Toronto is scheduled to begin the season with its annual Media Day scheduled for Sept. 28 before team practices commence the following day in Quebec City, Canada.
Sources say that Leonard's agent, Harrison Gaines, has maintained frequent contact with the NBA Players Association while the firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz — which was hired by the league office last September — proceeds with an investigation that has consumed 11 months.
And Leonard, sources say, strongly believes that the trade will ultimately go through, enabling him to rejoin the Raptors in time for training camp. The trade was agreed to, sources say, with the idea that the 35-year-old would also negotiate a multiyear extension with Toronto to extend the reunion beyond the coming season. Leonard is due to earn $50.3 million in 2026-27 in the final year of his current contract.
Sources add that the Clippers, meanwhile, are prepared to go to arbitration depending on the severity of the potential penalties that the league office could order after digesting the investigation's complete findings. At a mid-July news conference at the league's annual summer league in Las Vegas, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he could not provide a firm timeline for a resolution to the long-running saga, saying only "this summer" when asked when he anticipates clarity on Leonard’s future.
https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/the-kawhi-leonard-latest?r=1m9zg&utm\_medium=ios
League sources say that Sacramento covets a veteran point guard to mentor prized rookie Darius Acuff Jr. and is thus now weighing the prospect of bringing back Russell Westbrook … or bringing in Victor Oladipo to fill that role. The Kings were among the teams to attend Oladipo's recent workout in Las Vegas during summer league.
https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/late-night-nba-intel-for-the-first?r=1m9zg&utm\_medium=ios
CHICAGO — As the Chicago Bulls approach the fall with an open roster spot, they’ve been linked to LA Clippers restricted free agent guard Bennedict Mathurin. The Bulls’ reported interest in Mathurin, though, has been overstated, according to a league source who was granted anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations.
The Bulls recognize how early they sit in this rebuild, and the desire for talent at any position will trump any stylistic need for a roster still discovering its long-term identity. Mathurin, who turned 24 in June, remains a talented young scorer that could be worth a flyer.
But Chicago values two things at this stage: roster flexibility and acquiring future assets. Mathurin made roughly $9.2 million this past season, and his next contract is widely expected to exceed that figure in annual value.
To create that kind of room, Chicago would likely need to commit to a sign-and-trade. Chicago has exhausted the approximately $54 million in cap space that it possessed to enter the summer, so it must either use its roughly $9.4 million room exception or execute a sign-and-trade. For a sign-and-trade to be completed, the contract length needs to be at least three years, with the first year guaranteed.
While it remains possible the Bulls use that room on Mathurin or someone else to fill their final roster spot, they remain fixated on maintaining cap and roster flexibility. Given the Bulls’ priorities, they are reluctant to enter into any long-term commitments. General manager Bryson Graham has signaled a preference for short-term deals with limited guarantees, having inked guard Norman Powell and center Zach Collins to two-year contracts with a team option in Year 2.
Many of the hypothetical sign-and-trade deals for Mathurin or other free agents require the Bulls to attach draft compensation — likely a future second-round pick or two — which also works against the Bulls’ interests.
A swing at Mathurin, though unlikely, may be palatable to the Bulls in a team-friendly scenario where his contract could be structured in a short-term, cost-efficient way. Even then, though, the Bulls aren’t married to using the room exception for a rotation player and may prefer to keep it as a trade mechanism to absorb other players’ contracts and draft picks.
Amid active sign-and-trade interest from the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, along with the possibility of re-signing with the Atlanta Hawks, another suitor has expressed interest in free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga.
After missing out on their pursuit of LeBron James, the Minnesota Timberwolves have also expressed interest in Kuminga with their starting power forward spot up for grabs and their $6.06 million taxpayer mid-level exception available for the taking, league sources told HoopsHype.
While the Lakers have a significantly higher financial offer and longer contract on the table, and Cleveland can also offer a significantly higher salary via a sign-and-trade, Minnesota’s interest is still noteworthy, given the basketball fit.
Late Monday night I reported that the Pelicans have indeed renewed their in-season interest in then-Pacer Bennedict Mathurin by pursuing the LA Clippers' swingman in restricted free agency:
The Stein Line on Tuesday learned that Chicago is Mathurin's other current suitor.
You'll recall that The Stein Line also revealed recently (July 23 to be exact) that New Orleans has been trying to shed Jordan Hawkins' contract via trade to move further away from the first apron. Among the options available to the Pelicans, if they succeed in those efforts, would be opening up the use of a healthy portion of its midlevel exception to assemble an offer sheet to Mathurin.