NBA

6:13 PM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has a mild muscle strain in his right foot and is doubtful for Tuesday night’s opener against the Brooklyn Nets. Green initially injured his foot during a scrimmage earlier in the week and had an MRI that came back clear, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said

11:20 AM ET Months before he agreed to purchase the Utah Jazz for $1.66 billion, Ryan Smith, who was formally approved as owner by the NBA’s Board of Governors on Friday, said he was “really close” to making a bid to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves. Smith, who made his fortune as the co-founder of the

12:04 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving says he plans to burn sage before every game this season to honor his Native American heritage. Irving was seen burning sage on the court at TD Garden during warm-ups before his Nets beat the Boston Celtics 113-89 on Friday night in the

3:58 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Los Angeles Lakers will repeat as NBA champions, according to a survey of NBA general managers. That prediction was one of many takeaways from NBA.com’s annual survey of all 30 front offices prior to the start of the new season. The survery featured 33 questions, ranging from what player

12:26 PM ET Marc Spears NBA free agent guard Jeremy Lin is expected to sign a deal to play with the Golden State Warriors‘ G-League team, a source told The Undefeated. Lin averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists in 480 games in the NBA from 2010-19. The former Harvard guard began his career with the

6:18 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Ramona Shelburne Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News The Houston Rockets are increasingly expanding trade discussions on All-NBA guard James Harden beyond his preferred destinations of

7:28 PM ET The NBA is investigating allegations made against Jerry West and the LA Clippers involving the free-agency recruitment of Kawhi Leonard in 2019, a league source confirmed to ESPN. TMZ Sports reported this week that a man who claims to be close to Leonard filed a lawsuit against West and the Clippers, alleging

10:59 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN A new NBA season will tip off Tuesday, but the league’s mission to support empowerment for the Black community, as demonstrated in the Orlando bubble, hasn’t been forgotten. The NBA Board of Governors in early August announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the NBA Foundation, dedicated to creating

7:15 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN It was a normal Tuesday for Giannis Antetokounmpo, outside of inking a big business deal. He ate dinner with family, visited the Buy Buy Baby store in Wisconsin to shop for toys and clothes for his infant son, Liam, then went home and fell asleep, only to wake up for

6:48 AM ET THE HOUSTON ROCKETS‘ culture in the James Harden era, which bridges two owners and now four head coaches, might be best summed up by a former staffer’s three words: “Whatever James wants.” Unless they were on the front end of a back-to-back set, it was essentially a sure thing that the Rockets

7:27 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James and Anthony Davis will take the court in Wednesday’s preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, marking their first NBA action since winning the championship, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Tuesday. “I do plan on playing AD and LeBron some first-half minutes, but just to kind

11:45 PM ET Houston Rockets superstar James Harden made his preseason debut Tuesday night but has yet to speak to the media since requesting a trade and briefly holding out of training camp. Harden, who was cleared to practice Monday, is in violation of the NBA’s media access rules after declining to make himself available

1:30 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Back-to-back NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has committed to the Milwaukee Bucks long-term. Antetokounmpo agreed to sign a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Bucks on Tuesday, he announced on Twitter, with the terms being confirmed by agent Alex Saratsis to ESPN. The deal includes an opt out after the

3:57 PM ET First-year Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas said he had a “good conversation” with James Harden before the perennial All-Star’s first practice of the season Monday, but they did not discuss Harden’s reported desire to be traded. “You can ask him about his commitment and all that sort of thing,” said Silas, who

11:15 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN When Zion Williamson told reporters about not having any sort of restrictions on him this season, he was happy. The smile on his face was bright and his happiness shined through on the video call last week. After the New Orleans Pelicans‘ 114-92 win over the Miami Heat in their

7:08 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN After a chaotic offseason that saw the NBA draft and free agency compressed into a single week — followed almost immediately by abbreviated training camps amid teams adjusting to newly implemented COVID-19 testing protocols — the chase is on to see if the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to

7:59 AM ET Ramona Shelburne Close ESPN Senior Writer Senior writer for ESPN.com Spent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 The arrival of John Wall has left All-NBA guard James Harden unmoved and uninterested in pursuing a new

11:27 PM ET NEW YORK — After a year and a half of Achilles rehabilitation, Kevin Durant returned to the basketball court for the first time on Sunday night for the Brooklyn Nets preseason game against the Washington Wizards. “I was anxious, nervous,” Durant said afterward. “I visualized this moment for so long. Nine, ten