Basketball – Sports News

Magic Johnson says New York Knicks are only NBA team he'd consider owning

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Magic Johnson has passed on NBA ownership opportunities in the past with the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons, but the New York Knicks are the one team he would consider buying into, Johnson said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“I think it would be intriguing,” Johnson said of getting into NBA ownership. “The only team I would actually probably think about is the New York Knicks.”

Johnson, who says to this point his loyalty to the Lakers has kept him out of the ownership game with other teams, explained it like this:

“I think because of the way fans love basketball you might have to think about that one, because I love coming to New York and going to the Garden and watching the Knicks play. I love being

Blazers have been interested in OG Anunoby for awhile?

By HoopsHype | September 26, 2023

What’s the buzz on Twitter? Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Lakers fans should be rooting for a Damian Lillard Raptors trade imo.
Getting OG Anunoby to Portland makes it likelier that Jerami Grant is dealt at the deadline. Jerami Grant is probably the best the Lakers could hope to do as far as a mid-season two-way wing addition. – 3:30 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I don’t really mind Tyler Herro’s contract. He’s a better offensive player than he’s getting credit for, and cap inflation will help.
But he’s a bad defender at the deepest position and OG Anunoby is a great defender at the thinnest position. One is

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Magic: Knicks only NBA team I'd consider owning

ESPN News Services

Sep 26, 2023, 06:04 PM ET

NEW YORK — Magic Johnson’s love for his Los Angeles Lakers has kept him from considering ownership of any other NBA team.

The New York Knicks would be the one franchise that could make him have second thoughts.

“I think it would be intriguing,” Johnson said Tuesday. “The only team I would actually probably think about is the New York Knicks.”

Johnson arrived in New York for a speaking engagement at a YMCA from Washington, where the member of the Commanders’ new ownership group watched his NFL team lose to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

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Once back in Los Angeles, he will gear up for his Dodgers to begin play in baseball’s postseason. But the basketball Hall of Famer repeatedly has passed on opportunities for ownership in the sport he knows best.

Johnson named the Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks as teams he

Kerr lauds connectivity of Dubs' new-look roster

Kendra Andrews, ESPNSep 25, 2023, 07:01 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO — About a year ago, the Golden State Warriors were entering training camp while navigating what coach Steve Kerr then called the biggest crisis during his tenure in San Francisco. That incident was never fully resolved, fracturing the camaraderie within the locker room and ultimately plaguing their success on the court.

When the Warriors traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul in July, there were some questions on whether the move would improve team chemistry — getting rid of one player who was at the center of last season’s drama and replacing him with someone who has a history of rivalry with the franchise and some of the key players.

But now, one week from media day, both Kerr and newly appointed general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. feel confident that the chemistry and connectivity within their team is at a high.

Players up and down

NBA Coach of the Year odds: Why Thunder's Mark Daigneault, Suns' Frank Vogel are the best preseason picks

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In any given season, there are only eight plausible candidates for Coach of the Year. Realistically, that number is often far smaller. Why? Because every Coach of the Year winner since Scott Brooks in 2010 has led a top-four seed. This century, the only other coaches to win without finishing in the top four in their conference were Doc Rivers with the Magic in 2000 and Hubie Brown with the Grizzlies in 2004.

That doesn’t mean that finishing fourth is usually going to cut it, though. Between Brooks (Thunder) in 2010 and Mike Brown (Kings) last season, eight of the 12 winners coached No. 1 seeds. Nick Nurse (Raptors) coached a No. 2 seed in 2020, George Karl (Nuggets, 2013) and Mike D’Antoni (Rockets, 2017) won as No. 3 seeds and Tom Thibodeau

Ben Simmons optimistic offseason quotes has substance?

By HoopsHype | September 26, 2023

What’s the buzz on Twitter? Ian Begley @IanBegley
Last season, Jacque Vaughn says he expected Ben Simmons ‘to do things that I’ve come to understand that physically, he just couldn’t do.’ Simmons is healthy entering camp this year & Vaughn now has greater clarity on how to employ the 27-year-old:
sny.tv/articles/nets-… – 5:22 PM Erik Slater @erikslater_
Jacque Vaughn alluded to Spencer Dinwiddie taking a higher dose of catch-and-shoot threes when asked about spacing concerns alongside Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton.
I wrote about reasons for optimism regarding Dinwiddie as an off-ball spacer in my article Monday: pic.twitter.com/N9aJcvHCTX – 4:04 PM Erik

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Sources: Raptors current front-runners for Lillard

Marc J. Spears

Sep 25, 2023, 06:30 PM ET

The Toronto Raptors enter this week as the front-runners to trade for Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, two high-ranking NBA team executives told ESPN’s Andscape.

While the Raptors have had recent conversations with the Blazers about Lillard, no pact was close to being imminent as of Monday morning, according to a source.

On July 1, ESPN reported that Lillard requested a trade, with his preferred destination being the Miami Heat. In the nearly three months since that request became public, no substantial trade conversations have taken place between the two teams, sources said.

The Heat initially offered a trade package that included sharpshooter Tyler Herro and two first-round draft picks, a source said.

A Raptors offer could include a package featuring players from a roster that includes two-time NBA All-Star Pascal Siakam, 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, forward O.G. Anunoby — who is

Damian Lillard's next team odds, lines, including Heat and Raptors

One of the most talked about players this NBA offseason has been Portland Trail Blazers seven-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard.

But with the Blazers seemingly stuck in neutral and undergoing a rebuild, Lillard asked for a trade. Reports say if a trade happens, it could come before Monday.

The Miami Heat were considered the heavy favorite to acquire Lillard, who expressed an interest in taking his talents to South Beach.

Weber State legend: the Toronto Raptors.

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* Odds as of 9/26/2023

FOX Sports’ Skip Bayless said on his “Undisputed” show that he’s talked to Lillard about his situation.

“I believe from the start, that deep, deep down, in his heart of hearts, he doesn’t really want to be traded out of Portland,” Bayless said.

“It’s really a great place to live, albeit a very small pond and he is a very big fish in a very small pond. But I don’t think Portland management really wants to give up on him because he’s still really all they have to sell, even though they have some nice young pieces. …

“So it feels like, to me from a distance, there might be a lot of sword rattling just to play to Dame’s pride and his ego to say, ‘OK, we’ll try to do this for you’ but deep down management doesn’t really want anything to work so they’re playing hard to get, hoping that this all blows over and Dame finally sits back at age 33 and says, ‘You know what? I’ll just be a Blazer for life’ and then you see if you can continue to build around him and hope something detonates.”

Despite Lillard’s brilliance, the Trail Blazers last made the playoffs in 2021.

Lillard, 33, was voted to the All-NBA first team in 2018. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2013 and was named to the league’s 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

To prove there’s still plenty of mileage left on his tires, he won the 3-point contest at the All-Star Weekend in February and averaged a career-best 32.2 points per game last season.

So where will Lillard end up playing this season? Stay tuned to FOX Sports for all the latest news in sports.

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Associated Press

Sep 26, 2023, 04:54 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Council voted Tuesday to set a Dec. 12 citywide vote on a proposed 1% sales tax for six years that would fund a new $900 million downtown arena and keep the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder in the city through at least 2050.

The council also voted 7-2 to approve a letter of intent with the Thunder’s ownership group that would require the group to contribute $50 million toward the arena’s cost. The deal also calls for $70 million in city funds from an existing sales tax approved by voters in 2019 for upgrades to the current Paycom Center.

“I commend the Council for authorizing me to sign this historic letter of intent, I thank the Thunder for their partnership and I congratulate all of OKC for getting to this point,” Mayor David Holt said in a statement.

Under the plan, the

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