NBA

11:20 AM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to trade Denzel Valentine to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Rajon Rondo, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. The Lakers are expected to waive Valentine’s partially guaranteed deal and create an open roster spot. Rondo is eager for the chance to play a bigger

12:33 AM ET San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon is finalizing a five-year deal with the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces that’ll make her the league’s highest-paid coach, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. Hammon plans to finish the season with the Spurs, sources said. A six-time All-Star during her playing career in the WNBA, Hammon,

7:22 PM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers are nearing a trade to acquire Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo, and an agreement is expected to be completed as soon as Friday, sources told ESPN. The sides are working out terms on a deal, but the Cavaliers need to create a roster spot to make room for

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders When the 2021-22 season began in October, it kicked off the first normal NBA schedule since the COVID-19 pandemic paused the league in March 2020. The 2021 playoffs were played in NBA arenas again after the 2020 postseason was held in the NBA’s Orlando, Florida, bubble. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the

1:05 AM ET The Los Angeles Lakers were seemingly in control, up by 13 late in the third quarter, before Ja Morant nearly outproduced them on his own down the stretch in the Memphis Grizzlies‘ 104-99 win on Wednesday. Morant scored 16 of his 41 points from the 3-minute, 38-second mark in the third through

4:30 PM ET Kyrie Irving returned to a Brooklyn Nets‘ practice for the first time since the preseason and said he understood why the team decided to have him stay away because of New York City’s vaccine mandate. “I understood their decision and respected it,” Irving told beat writers Wednesday at the Nets practice facility

12:44 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio will get an MRI on his left knee on Wednesday to assess the severity of an injury he suffered in Tuesday night’s 108-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Rubio injured his knee with 2 minutes, 20

1:21 AM ET Starting at center for not only the first time of his 19-year career, but for what he said was the first time in his life, LeBron James keyed a 132-123 victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Houston Rockets. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for an L.A. team that

12:57 AM ET ESPN News Services SAN ANTONIO — Jordan Clarkson helped lift the short-handed Utah Jazz over the Spurs after he got into a confrontation with a Spurs fan he said “crossed the line” on Monday. Clarkson, who is from San Antonio, was upset by a non-call on his shot attempt and did not

12:44 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Brooklyn Nets announced Tuesday that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and LaMarcus Aldridge had cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Aldridge has been in the protocols for two weeks, while Durant and Irving both entered them 10 days ago. Brooklyn had a massive COVID-19 outbreak across its roster, with

11:46 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will not play Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets and is expected to miss several games after entering health and safety protocols. The Warriors made that official Monday in an injury report that includes three other players who remain in the protocols. Green’s absence

4:15 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Baxter Holmes Close ESPN Senior Writer Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) is a senior writer for ESPN Digital and Print, focusing on the NBA. He has covered the Lakers, the Celtics and previously worked for The Boston Globe and

8:00 AM ET Health and safety protocols continue to be a concern around the league. Several stars sat out their teams’ Christmas Day matchups, including Trae Young, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant, though James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to action for Saturday’s slate of games. Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks past the Boston Celtics,

12:47 AM ET ESPN News Services SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry lashed out at his team after a 127-102 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night, calling its performance “absolutely ridiculous.” “It’s the most disappointed I’ve been in 34 years in the NBA, I can honestly say that,” said Gentry, who

5:22 PM ET Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell will miss at least the next two games due to a left lower back strain, the team announced Sunday. Mitchell will remain in Salt Lake City to receive treatment during the Jazz’s two-game road trip to San Antonio and Portland. Mitchell suffered the strain during the

1:46 AM ET LeBron James passed Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Christmas Day. James’ 13th point of the first half, coming on a free throw with 3 minutes, 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter, gave him 396 career points on the holiday, eclipsing Bryant’s 395. James

9:04 PM ET There’s renewed momentum for the creation of a future in-season NBA tournament among the league’s 30 teams, sources told ESPN. The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have been discussing elements of the tournament, which could become part of the calendar as soon as the 2022-2023 or 2023-2024 seasons, sources said. Negotiations

6:46 PM ET LA Clippers All-Star Paul George suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will rest the injury for the next three-to-four weeks prior to a revaluation, the team announced Saturday. There’s no clear timetable on a return to play, but the hope is that resting the injury over the