u/shreeharis

Source: https://imgur.com/a/oAp1dFx

From Marc Stein on X:

The Celtics have officially announced a Monday afternoon press conference for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and new majority owner Bill Chisholm to discuss the Jaylen Brown trade after the league's annual moratorium is lifted and the deal is made official.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmedina/2026/07/04/rich-paul-doesnt-expect-lebron-james-to-make-decision-anytime-soon/

Although LeBron James’ agent remains unsure which NBA team he will join for next season, Rich Paul sounded confident on when to expect the NBA’s oldest active player will finalize his future.

“I don’t think this happens anytime soon,” Paul told me.

Should teams be prepared for James to make a decision in weeks instead of days?

“I don’t think it’ll be the next few days," Paul said.

Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49254909/what-nba-execs-buzzing-jaylen-brown-celtics-sixers-walker-kessler-los-angeles-lakers-big-money-bigs-salary-cap

Speaking of trends, being tall is back in fashion, and the league is spending to get it.

League executives have been struck by the money being spent on centers this summer. The Lakers traded two first-rounders, and two swaps to Utah in a sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler, whom they hope will become their franchise center for Luka Doncic's prime years, and then Los Angeles signed him to a four-year, $130 million deal.

"There's several teams who wanted Kessler for a few years, and if it had been a truly open market, other teams might've been willing to make a similar [trade] offer," one NBA personnel director said. "But I'd be worried about doing a big deal with the Ainges [Jazz front office leaders Danny and Austin] just on principle.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7418310/2026/07/03/jaylen-brown-celtics-inside-trade-pov/

The days leading up to this week’s deal with the Sixers, it is quite telling that two of the reported suitors — Denver and Portland — had shown no interest in meeting the exorbitant asking price that Boston had previously put forth. Front office executives all around the NBA had been talking about the unreasonably high bar they’d set, how the Celtics expressed a strong desire to land as many as four first-round picks. Even teams that many assumed would eventually get involved, with the Houston Rockets among them, chose to stay on the sideline. Per league sources, the Rockets — whose head coach, Ime Udoka, had made an NBA Finals run with Brown in 2022 when he was in Boston — did not pursue Brown.

Another team with widely reported interest, the Trail Blazers, similarly did not join the chase. A Blazers team source said the Blazers were never enamored with Brown, even before Boston made it known he was available on the trade market. Two factors went into the Blazers’ disinterest: Their analytics viewed him as a negative player and the Celtics’ asking price was too high. “We were never aggressively looking to trade for him,” a team source said. “And particularly not at their price.”

The cool market suggested the existence of a significant gap between the general perception of Brown, who finished sixth in MVP voting this season, and the way he is seen within the NBA. Though the idea of him being viewed as the seventh-best player on a given team was widely mocked, a recent report that one front-office member saw Brown in that wayilluminated the reality that advanced analytics never shined too brightly on Brown’s game. Even more pointedly, a current general manager, speaking anonymously to comment on internal team discussions, told *The Athletic* in the wake of the trade that he doesn’t view Brown as a top-50 player in the NBA.

For all of Brown’s individual accolades, the Celtics over the years consistently saw no dropoff, statistically speaking, when he left the court. Even in the Boston front office, some believed Brown’s impact did not match his reputation.

Over the years, Brown had sometimes voiced that he didn’t believe analytics could capture everything he contributed on the court. He seemed well aware that some of the numbers weren’t favorable to him long before responding to that train of thought during a recent social media flurry. Brown pointed out that nobody has won more games than he has, including playoff games, since he entered the NBA.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/nba-free-agency-news-rumors-updates/cFmfEjapdzzC/vdxD57Df6Hhr/?smid=url-share-ta&source=athletic\_user\_shared\_gift\_live\_blog\_copylink&unlocked\_article\_code=1.uFA.02xH.ydhjoTkwbuG-&unlocked\_article\_code=1.uFA.02xH.ydhjoTkwbuG-&smid=url-share-ta

While the team isn't done with its roster build — as we reported yesterday, the Lakers are looking at wings, with Jonathan Kuminga high on that list — its moves have received a thumbs up from the locker-room presence that matter most.

According to league sources, Luka Dončić was "excited" about the Lakers' signings, with the team addressing his biggest desires for the roster by keeping Austin Reaves and getting an elite rim-protecting center in Kessler.

Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deals have not been completed, said the Lakers kept in regular communication with Dončić and his team despite a significant time gap, with the star guard spending his summer in Europe.

The Lakers open their summer schedule Friday in the California Classic, with first-round pick Cameron Carr and last year's rookie, Adou Thiero, both on the roster.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7414205/2026/07/02/walker-kessler-lakers-scouting-trade-defense/

The primary reason the Lakers likely chose Kessler over offering a max deal to Detroit Pistons restricted free agent Jalen Duren is that Kessler is one of the NBA’s best rim protectors.

He’s the kind of interior presence a team needs if it’s going to employ Dončić and Reaves on the perimeter as primary playmakers. In 2024-25, Kessler’s last full(ish) season, he contested 7.5 shots per game at the rim, according to NBA.com, which tied for the fifth-most in the league. On those shots, he allowed opponents to shoot just 54.8 percent. Among the 16 players in the league to contest at least six shots per game that season, that percentage ranked third behind only Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, who were the top two finalists for Defensive Player of the Year this season. In the three full seasons he has played, Kessler has blocked at least 2.3 shots per game. 

Utah largely used Kessler in drop coverage against opposing teams’ ball screens, and that’s how the Lakers will employ him, too. His backpedal in drop coverage for a player his size is incredibly fluid. Because his shoulders are so broad, he takes up a ton of space in the paint and cuts down angles. His footwork is awesome, he’s light on his feet and he can open up his hips easily to recover onto an opposing big when the pocket pass or lob comes. He also does a great job with his hands and contests with either his right or left. He keeps them high and active when required, often playing a cat-and-mouse game with ballhandlers to convince them to shoot or pass.

By Kessler’s third year, the Jazz experimented with him in different defensive coverages. They felt more comfortable with him sliding his feet out at the level of the screen before recovering. He also started to play more in switch coverages, where he would get isolated on primary ballhandlers and be asked to slow them down. The results were mixed — he did better against wings than guards — but he’s capable when he gets caught on an island.

Kessler is also an outstanding interior rotator. He is constantly talking and pointing to his teammates, captaining the defense well from his position where he can see the play develop. He calls out switches and actions well, recognizing them early. He is timely and does a great job taking up space inside before rotating where he needs to go with anticipation, while also not taking himself totally out of rebounding position. The Jazz consistently rebounded better on the defensive end with Kessler on the court versus when he was off, and he does a good job boxing out before high-pointing the ball.

I’m a complete buyer on Kessler’s defense. He does the most important thing on the court defensively at an elite level, which is protecting the rim while making the easiest shots not so easy. He’s not the most versatile defender, but he displays enough upside that I think Lakers coach JJ Redick can get use different coverages, even if drop will likely be the team’s base ball-screen strategy.

I would bet that Kessler makes at least one All-Defensive team with the Lakers. He could be an All-Defensive team member for the next few years if he stays healthy, though I’m more comfortable calling him a great defender at the center position as opposed to a truly elite one.

On offense, he’s an excellent screener. He takes great angles to make it hard for defenders to fight through his broad frame, and he takes pride in his timing and synergy with ballhandlers. He’s also excellent in dribble-handoffs, making decisions on when to flip the ball while simultaneously ensuring he makes contact with the defender to get separation for his ballhandler.

Kessler was at his best as a scorer either out of ball screens or in the dunker spot. In screens, he has great hands and catches the ball below his waist on the move or above his shoulders for a lob. He can be a lob threat who picks and chooses his spots well, as he finished sixth in the league in dunks per game during the 2024-25 season. Kessler should find good synergy with Dončić, who values a true rim-runner. Kessler’s timing in the dunker spot is also strong. As soon as his man peels off to help at the rim after penetration, Kessler goes straight to the rim and is ready to catch and finish. I would expect Kessler to finish in the top five of the league in dunks per game, with Dončić and Reaves regularly feeding him easy shots at the rim.

Kessler is also a walking extra possession, having led the NBA in offensive rebounds per game in 2024-25 at 4.6. He was first in the league in offensive rebounding rate in 2024-25 and fourth during his rookie season in 2022-23. Kessler does an excellent job reading the ball off the glass and working his way into position. His lightness on his feet stands out here, as he gets off the ground quickly and has a great second jump.

Kessler was also starting to show some significant passing ability early last season in Utah. He dished out four assists in three of the five games he played and had nearly doubled his assist rate from his second season to his third season. He’s not a great passer on the move necessarily, but his basketball IQ in dribble-handoff situations stands out. He recognizes how defenses are playing in coverage, then makes his decisions quickly with rejects or flip passes before screening.

He also started to act as a hub last season at the top of the key and showed some impressive vision in high-low situations and off teammates cutting to the rim.

Once Duren signs his contract in restricted free agency, Kessler will be the 11th-highest-paid center in the NBA. Next year, that number will drop to 12th, after Wembanyama’s incoming extension kicks in.

Kessler’s $32.5 million average annual value places him in the Allen and Turner range, including inflation from the salary rising since those players negotiated their deals last summer. That feels about right. When Kessler was rumored to have offers exceeding that, I was worried about him being overpaid, as the only centers making that much money are Gobert or players who can create their own shot on some level. This is the high end of the market for a player in Kessler’s archetype, but he profiles among the best at his position over the next four years. I believe this deal will have trade value, as long as Kessler stays healthy.

Source: https://imgur.com/a/l5LrM0V

From the The All NBA Podcast featuring Tim Legler:

Walker Kessler ranks 3rd in lowest FG% by opposing players as the closest defender on shots in the restricted area among players who defended a minimum of 400 shots at the rim, behind only Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/did-the-celtics-give-away-jaylen-brown-why-analytics-dont-see-phillys-new-star-as-elite-of-elite-004011270.html

The Celtics are banking on Payton Pritchard making a Jalen Brunson-type leap, per @tomhaberstroh

“The Celtics trading [Jaylen] Brown is a bet that [Payton] Pritchard is their in-house version of New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, a diminutive player who didn’t fully show his talents until Luka Dončić was out of the picture.”

Source: https://digginbasketball.substack.com/p/30-minutes-to-define-luka-era

Some notable tidbits from the excellent Iztok Franko’s substack who has been covering Luka Doncic since he was a teenager:

Ever since Nico Harrison sent Luka Dončić to Los Angeles in February 2025, one of my biggest gripes with the Lakers has been the lack of clarity. There was no obvious long-term core, no clear direction, and no real sense of what the roster was ultimately being built to become.

That clarity finally arrived yesterday.

With major commitments to Austin Reaves earlier this summer and Kessler on Wednesday, the Lakers now have a defined three-man core. Dončić, Reaves, and Kessler are the backbone of the franchise, a much needed starting point, before you can begin refining the roster around the margins.

A team that just navigated a gap year with every key player except Dončić on an expiring contract now has its core locked in for at least the next three seasons (assuming Dončić exercises his 2028-29 player option), with five players under contract for four years. That should provide the stability, and eventually, the continuity every contender needs and, perhaps more importantly, an outline of the Lakers' long-term vision.

Kessler was the franchise center Dončić wanted so badly, and from the people I’ve spoken to I can confirm he pushed hard for this move, then perhaps that was simply the cost of doing business. If Kessler becomes the long-term defensive anchor the Lakers believe he can be, and this core grows into a perennial contender, two future first-round picks and a pair of swaps may ultimately prove to be a reasonable price to pay.

Even if the price the Lakers paid for Walker Kessler was one I had hoped they could avoid, it is understandable given both their superstar mandate and the realities of today's center market. Kessler could finally become the long-term interior partner Dončić has wanted ever since arriving in Los Angeles, something he only experienced briefly alongside Dereck Lively II in Dallas. So, the center part of the vision, together with Reaves as the secondary creator and ball-handler who can seamlessly switch between on-ball and off-ball roles, is clear.

To me, this looks like a Dončić-preferred team build. A heavily offense-oriented group with a rim-rolling big man and plenty of shooting around him, now with an extra JJ Redick "dribble, pass, shoot" flavor. Beyond Kessler, the roster lacks defensive talent and is clearly skewed toward offense. This is where I think the front office sometimes has to protect the superstar—and even the coach—from themselves by providing more balance. That said, this should be a very fun offensive team, built around both Dončić's and Redick's basketball philosophies.

The roster is now fully aligned with the Dončić and Reaves timeline. Reaves, at 28, is the oldest established rotation player. Everyone else, apart from developmental pieces Adou Thiero, Cameron Carr, and Bronny James, is between 25 and 27 years old. Pelinka said he wanted the Lakers to get younger, and they executed that vision almost to perfection. I still think this group could use a veteran voice like Smart in the locker room, but the age profile is remarkably coherent.

Shooting and spacing: Coaching legend Chuck Daly once said, "Offense is spacing, and spacing is offense." Listening to JJ Redick over the last couple of years, I believe that quote captures one of the defining principles of his offensive philosophy. In that context, Mamukelashvili, a high-volume, quick-release stretch big who can play both power forward and even small-ball center, makes much more sense. All of the Lakers' new additions, besides Kessler—and even he has been working to extend his range beyond the three-point line—are capable, high-volume three-point shooters. That brings me to my next point.

Three-point volume: Throughout the LeBron era, the Lakers consistently ranked in the bottom third of the league in three-point attempt rate. Interestingly, even adding Dončić—the NBA's leader in three-point attempts per game—didn't change that significantly. The Lakers still finished last season with the league's ninth-ranked offense, built on a mid-range-heavy shot diet and league-best efficiency inside the arc. James, Ayton, Hachimura, and even Kennard are all players who are most comfortable operating in the mid-range. And while Hachimura and Kennard were elite three-point shooters by percentage, neither generated volume on the level of the league's true high-volume marksmen. Replacing them with players who are willing and able to fire from three at a much higher volume could be the mathematical adjustment that pushes the Lakers' offense from very good into the league's elite.

There is one other mathematical advantage this offense could gain, and Kessler may be the key to unlocking it: offensive rebounding. The Lakers finished in the bottom five in offensive rebound rate last season. If one of the league's best offensive rebounders can lift them even to league average, that could become another meaningful boost to an offense already built around spacing and shooting.

More speed, more dribbling: I mentioned Redick's offseason comments about wanting more players who can dribble, pass, and shoot. The Lakers added exactly that, while also filling another area of weakness from last season: speed. Grimes and Sexton are fast guards, and Mamukelashvili is a skilled big who can push the ball in transition, attack off the dribble in the half court, and serve as a connecting passer who can either finish a play or keep the advantage moving.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7415227/2026/07/01/lakers-luka-doncic-post-lebron-james-offseason-moves/

Everything was at stake for the Los Angeles Lakers, but as free agency started Monday, the organization seemed stuck in neutral — if not moving backward in reverse.

But though the Lakers’ fanbase winced, the franchise pushed forward with its plan — one more grounded in reality than people outside the organization could’ve imagined … even if day one was a total dud.

“We weren’t surprised,” one team source told The Athletic, granted anonymity to freely discuss the Lakers’ offseason moves.
Even if it appeared otherwise, the Lakers had a strategy — albeit a tricky one — but a strategy nonetheless. Its results spewed from a transactional firehose Tuesday morning

In Kessler’s case, it took the Lakers offering their two available unprotected first-round picks and two swaps to push the Utah Jazz off matching Kessler’s offer sheet, something the latter swore up and down they were more than happy to do.

Still, there were optimistic people in and around the organization because these moves were carefully made with Luka Dončić in mind.

There was truly only one decision to make, and it was made for them early in the morning Feb. 2, 2025, when they traded for Dončić. The lessons the Lakers should have — and seemed to have — learned since then are simple: The only viable path to an NBA championship in this era is by allocating all resources around the best player.

It starts with Kessler, a player Dončić wanted at center most of all. The future first-rounders lost will certainly come back to sting the Lakers at some point. In addition to representing young, cost-controlled talent, those picks were also pathways out of unforeseen trouble — assets they can use to get off a bad contract or to upgrade a weakness. The Lakers sacrificed that flexibility for a player they believe fits “perfectly” alongside Dončić and Austin Reaves, a team source told The Athletic.

The biggest draw is Kessler’s rim protection — which charts as close to the best in the league. Finding a center whom the Lakers can funnel players toward was a critical piece of their puzzle, and they now have one of the best. Since being drafted 22nd in 2022, Kessler ranks seventh among all players with 474 blocks. In the last two seasons, only Kessler, Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Davis have averaged at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and multiple blocks. The Lakers, who finished 22nd among teams in blocks per game each of the last two seasons, haven’t ranked top 10 in rejections since the 2021-22 season (seventh), according to NBA.com