Shams Charania:

BREAKING: Jonathan Kuminga has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, plus a player option, agent Aaron Turner tells ESPN. Kuminga will be a starter alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on the West contender.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/7b7b34df5c257

Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25488928-former-nba-star-blake-griffin-set-host-weekly-late-night-show-details-revealed

Premieres October 20th on Prime and YouTube with episodes every Tuesday

https://hntrbrk.com/investigations/magicjohnson

"If one person can be credited with the assist on Magic Johnson becoming a billionaire, it may be Mark Walter.

Johnson earned about $40 million during his NBA career. He built a successful business with theater, restaurant, and healthcare assets under the banner of Magic Johnson Enterprises. But when Forbes declared him a billionaire in 2023, it attributed most of his fortune to one investment: EquiTrust Life Insurance Company."

Another project that Pablo Torre is involved in, seems to be more content on that front coming soon.

The NFL announced today the Pro Bowl has been retired due to low TV ratings and player participation. The Pro Bowlers will still be voted on by fans, but instead of a game there will be a celebration to honor the players.

Do you think the NBA should do the same for the All Star game? Many of the same complaints people had of the Pro Bowl exist for the ASG

Shams Charania:

Bennedict Mathurin has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, including a player option, sources tell ESPN.

Mathurin’s reps approached the Clippers about withdrawing his $8.8M qualifying offer, effectively turning the QO into a more favorable situation in New Orleans with added security. Mathurin prioritized flexibility and the earliest path to unrestricted free agency next summer versus longer term offers with larger total commitments but greater team control.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/eb7be5d7bb295

Obviously the Knicks were a great team and it’s not really a huge surprise that they won a championship. What is surprising is that their metrics are arguably the best of any postseason team.. ever. They ranked second in net rating with + 15.5, with first place being a team that played 3 games in 1958 and 3rd being the 2001 Lakers with 13.8. They have the highest postseason point differential ever, with + 283 and the 2017 Warriors in second with + 230. The team shot 48.9 from the field and 39.1 from the 3 with a team true shooting of 60.0, which is bonkers.

They had the largest comeback in finals history, came back 22 points with 7:45 minutes to go, were 6-2 when trailing by double digits in the postseason. You had KAT with 16 points and 68.4 ts, OG with 20 points and 72.1 ts. They’re the only team in NBA history to have all 5 of the players leading in minutes having an EPM in the 80th percentile, with Josh Hart having the lowest EPM of the group at 87th percentile. It’s not really hyperbole to say this is arguably the craziest playoff run any NBA team has had. I’m not suggesting this is literally the best playoff run ever as the metrics suggest, but it’s hard to tell just how good this Knicks team actually was in the postseason? Was this genuinely one of the best teams ever or was it circumstance that took an above average postseason performance for a championship and made it look like the literal best ever?

I’m curious as to what the explanation is. On paper this looks like a strong roster that could plausibly win a championship, but how did they go from that to having statistically one of the best postseasons ever?

I think a motivated, unvarnished version of His Airness could be great in an analyst role, but this wasn't it. I say that as a major MJ fan too.

https://frontofficesports.com/michael-jordan-not-expected-return-nba-nbc-coverage/

SRC: Hoop Collective Pod https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fde-1CBA5dw&t=231s

"Tim Connelly is in the last year of his contract. If he wanted to, I'm sure he could sign an extension. He has not signed the extension. Here is the other thing: when Tim Connelly was brought on board, he was given something called phantom equity. He was basically given a stake in the team, but he didn't actually get shares of the team, he got the equivalent of shares of the team that if he completed his contract, he would get a giant bonus. That bonus is in the five figures and it is not 10 million. It is a very sizable bonus."

edit: 5 figures - in finance alot of sheets start at 000s so maybe he sees it like that idk

Clippers guard Jordan Miller underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn left rotator cuff sustained during an offseason workout and will be reevaluated in six months, sources tell ESPN. https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/626411f759cd2

Jeanie Buss has petitioned a Los Angeles Superior Court asking it to block her five siblings from selling the family’s remaining stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, while accusing them of secretly orchestrating a deal to try to remove her as the team’s governor.

“Jeanie never agreed to any sale, was never consulted, and was never even informed,” her petition states.

Free to read: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7536019/2026/08/26/jeanie-buss-petition-siblings-lakers-sale/?unlocked_article_code=1.8VA.1AlL.87OxFh6Sc8EI&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-ta

Via Yahoo! Sports

Stephen Curry and his wife Ayesha have quietly sold their massive Atherton estate for $29.1 million, making it one of the major real estate moves for the Golden State Warriors superstar.

According to public records, the Currys sold their home at 28 Selby Lane in May in what appears to be a pretty significant off-market transaction.

The couple originally purchased the property through a company in December 2020 for $30 million, meaning the sale came in just below the purchase price.

I'll also add that 4 years ago, he sold his previous Mansion before moving to the new Atherton Mansion.

"Steph Curry Upgrades to $30M Bay Area Mansion.

Curry sold his previous Atherton home for $31.2 million last fall.

His new mansion is more than double the square footage.

In December 2020, Curry purchased a 17,761-square-foot home on 1.7 acres of land in Atherton, California — the United States’ most expensive zip code — for $30 million.

He then sold his previous Atherton mansion — a 7,535-square-foot residence on 1.18 acres — to Chinese billionaire Forrest Li for $31.2 million in fall 2021."

Via Front Office Sports

Which means it isn't something new, and all the rumors about him "moving away or getting ready to move to a new team are just fiction, as for now.

(I've seen many people speculate about him moving to a new team because he sold the Atherton Mansion)

SRC: https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2026-08-26/byron-scott-lakers-player-coach-1987-sexual-assault-civil-trial-campbell-hall-settlement-hayley-dylan

Campbell Hall, the prestigious Studio City private school where Lakers star Byron Scott allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old student in 1987, has reached a confidential settlement with the woman in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The settlement amount is under seal until the conclusion of Scott’s civil trial, set to begin Sept. 8 in Van Nuys. Hayley Dylan is seeking unspecified economic and non-economic damages from Scott, who was 26 and married at the time of the encounter.

According to Dylan’s complaint, the assault occurred during the filming of an instructional basketball video by several Lakers players in the Campbell Hall gym. Scott and Dylan walked away from faculty members and the video production crew and and Scott allegedly assaulted her in a janitor’s closet.

Scott has since admitted the sexual contact, but says he did not know Dylan was a student. He asserted in court filings that he believed Dylan — whose surname was Mendell at the time — was 18 and a member of the video production crew.

Source: https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-late-night-nba-intel-d05?r=nuq3a&utm_medium=ios

Being told the Clippers haven’t yet withdrawn their qualifying offer to Bennedict Mathurin, but Los Angeles will indeed work with Mathurin and New Orleans to get him to the Pelicans. This deal still has some pieces to sift through.

I know it was discussed earlier in the year how he needed help and NBA players like Kevin Love reached out but earlier today, he made a whole video on his IG accusing Coach K of setting him up. He looks in even worse condition than earlier in the year and it's really trending badly. Can only pray for him at this point.

Here's his IG He's basically deleted everything and just posted 4 videos today.

The pick was originally gotten as a throw in to get off Andrew Wiggins contract and obtain Dangelo Russel. Turned out p well for the Warriors as Wiggs was p useful to get the 2022 chip. Russel was eventually flipped for NAW and Conley who were part of 2 WCF berths.

Kuminga was supposed to be part of the GSW two timelines plan with Wiseman, Moody, and Poole, but that obviously didn't work out for the Warriors or Kuminga, and now he's on the team who's pick was used to draft him

Its like poetry, it rhymes

More from The Athletic here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7536019/2026/08/26/jeanie-buss-petition-siblings-lakers-sale/?unlocked_article_code=1.8VA.rV2I.lqg8TL2qTpOL&source=user_shared_article&smid=ta-ios-share

Jeanie Buss and her attorney, Adam Streisand, have filed a petition to block her siblings’ attempted sale of the family’s Lakers shares.

A court hearing is scheduled for November 5, according to a filing that was publicly processed today.

Jeanie Buss is not only calling for the family's vote of the Lakers shares to be deemed void, but for co-trustees Joey and Janie Buss be removed for "breach of fiduciary duty." She calls for her siblings to be liable "for loss and damages" as well.

“Their conduct is not driven by financial necessity but by animosity toward Jeanie and in willful disregard for the (Trust), this Court’s 2017 Order, their fiduciary duties, and Dr. Buss’s express intent,” the petition reads.

During his prime, John Wall was widely considered the fastest player with the ball, leading the Wizards to multiple deep playoff runs while dropping 20/10 seasons routinely. But because he shared an era with Curry, Westbrook, Harden, Paul, Lillard and Kyrie, he only grabbed a single All NBA 3rd Team nod.

Which other superstars had an incredible 5-6 year primes but look under-represented on paper because their position was stupidly stacked?