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Hot takes regarding the Los Angeles Lakers' offseason plans are starting to emerge. Until free agency begins on June 30, speculation will be at an all-time high. Lake Show Life's Tyler Watts strongly believes the Lakers should retain/build around their newly-acquired star point guard Luka Doncic and trade their declining 40-year-old forward this summer. "The Los Angeles Lakers should seriously consider trading LeBron James this offseason and building around Luka Doncic," Watts wrote Saturday. "The 40-year-old still put elite numbers and is likely to opt in to his $52.6 million player option." "James has a no-trade clause if he opts in, which could make this a non-starter, as the Suns are well aware. It would be difficult to fathom LeBron staying if the organization wanted out. He would control his destination, and the Lakers' return would be limited. Those are the expected consequences of this risky move." "Losing L...

Hot takes regarding the Los Angeles Lakers' offseason plans are starting to emerge. Until free agency begins on June 30, speculation will be at an all-time high. Lake Show Life's Tyler Watts strongly believes the Lakers should retain/build around their newly-acquired star point guard Luka Doncic and trade their declining 40-year-old forward this summer. "The Los Angeles Lakers should seriously consider trading LeBron James this offseason and building around Luka Doncic," Watts wrote Saturday. "The 40-year-old still put elite numbers and is likely to opt in to his $52.6 million player option." "James has a no-trade clause if he opts in, which could make this a non-starter, as the Suns are well aware. It would be difficult to fathom LeBron staying if the organization wanted out. He would control his destination, and the Lakers' return would be limited. Those are the expected consequences of this risky move." "Losing L...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Rick Carlisle wants to make one thing abundantly clear: The Pacers are not looking for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to go off. “We are not looking to get Shai going,” he said Saturday on the eve of Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. “That doesn't make any sense.” That stands to reason! If the other team’s best player has the ball a ton, and is doing a lot with it, it’s reasonable to assume that it would be a bad thing for your defense. Here’s the thing, though: • In the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Pacers, Donovan Mitchell wound up averaging 34.2 points on 25 field goal attempts per game, finishing a mammoth 41% of the Cavaliers’ offensive possessions with a shot attempt, foul drawn or turnover — a usage rate more than 10% higher than it had been against Miami the previous round. (Injuries to Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter played a role there.) In a possibly related story: Only one other Clevela...

OKLAHOMA CITY — Rick Carlisle wants to make one thing abundantly clear: The Pacers are not looking for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to go off. “We are not looking to get Shai going,” he said Saturday on the eve of Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals. “That doesn't make any sense.” That stands to reason! If the other team’s best player has the ball a ton, and is doing a lot with it, it’s reasonable to assume that it would be a bad thing for your defense. Here’s the thing, though: • In the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Pacers, Donovan Mitchell wound up averaging 34.2 points on 25 field goal attempts per game, finishing a mammoth 41% of the Cavaliers’ offensive possessions with a shot attempt, foul drawn or turnover — a usage rate more than 10% higher than it had been against Miami the previous round. (Injuries to Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter played a role there.) In a possibly related story: Only one other Clevela...

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault hasn't lost confidence in struggling stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams ahead of Sunday's NBA Finals Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers. While MVP point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered with a game-high 38 points in Game 1, Holmgren and Williams weren't factors, combining to shoot an ugly 28.6 percent (8-of-28), scoring 23 points. The Thunder blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and lost on a last-second Tyrese Halliburton jumper, 111-110. Daigneault was unconcerned with the duo's disappointing NBA Finals debuts, although his comments present a problem Oklahoma City might not be able to solve. "Usually delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players," Daigneault said. ( h/t ESPN ) The Thunder added Holmgren (No. 2 overall) and Williams (No. 12 overall) in the 2022 NBA Draft, and both were key to the franchise going 68-14 this season, the best in its hist...

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault hasn't lost confidence in struggling stars Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams ahead of Sunday's NBA Finals Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers. While MVP point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered with a game-high 38 points in Game 1, Holmgren and Williams weren't factors, combining to shoot an ugly 28.6 percent (8-of-28), scoring 23 points. The Thunder blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and lost on a last-second Tyrese Halliburton jumper, 111-110. Daigneault was unconcerned with the duo's disappointing NBA Finals debuts, although his comments present a problem Oklahoma City might not be able to solve. "Usually delivering in the Finals is not on the curriculum for third-year players," Daigneault said. ( h/t ESPN ) The Thunder added Holmgren (No. 2 overall) and Williams (No. 12 overall) in the 2022 NBA Draft, and both were key to the franchise going 68-14 this season, the best in its hist...

The Boston Celtics will be without their best player for most of next season because of a horrendous injury. Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in the second round against the Knicks, putting him at risk of missing all of next year. That injury could end up taking the Celtics out of contention to play for a championship. With Tatum gone for most of the year, a lot of NBA pundits aren't sure they have enough juice to win it all. Despite the injury, the Celtics should still be considered a team that can make the playoffs next season. Read more: Bold Trade Proposal Has Celtics Move All-Star in Head-Scratching Salary Dump Why the Celtics are still a playoff team next year even without Jayson Tatum Even without Tatum next year, the Celtics should still be a good enough team to make the playoffs on what should be a relatively weak Eastern Conference. Other than two or three really good teams, the rest of the East is weak. A big reaso...

The Boston Celtics will be without their best player for most of next season because of a horrendous injury. Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in the second round against the Knicks, putting him at risk of missing all of next year. That injury could end up taking the Celtics out of contention to play for a championship. With Tatum gone for most of the year, a lot of NBA pundits aren't sure they have enough juice to win it all. Despite the injury, the Celtics should still be considered a team that can make the playoffs next season. Read more: Bold Trade Proposal Has Celtics Move All-Star in Head-Scratching Salary Dump Why the Celtics are still a playoff team next year even without Jayson Tatum Even without Tatum next year, the Celtics should still be a good enough team to make the playoffs on what should be a relatively weak Eastern Conference. Other than two or three really good teams, the rest of the East is weak. A big reaso...

The offseason is here for 28 teams in the NBA. The NBA finals have arrived and there are only two teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns are all searching for the next steps to take as a franchise, which is different for all three. Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching. Most will point to a potential Trae Young trade, but that does not appear likely (for now) and Atlanta may move forward with this core of Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. If the Hawks decide to do that, they need to improve their bench in a big way this offseason. Due to the NBA's CBA and apron rules, you are going to be seeing a lot more three-team trades between teams so salaries can move around. Atlanta could try to attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with this s...

Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson are going to have a new home next season when "Inside the NBA" makes the transition to ESPN . So far, it's looking like the show will be very similar to the one beloved by fans. During an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Friday, O'Neal insisted that neither he nor Barkley will ever change, while praising the professionalism of Johnson and Smith. He also hinted at having a situation similar to "The Pat McAfee Show" which is also syndicated by ESPN from a different company. O'Neal's response: "I don't have any concerns because I know one guy that you're never going to change, and I know another guy that's really close to him. The other two guys — listen, Ernie is a consummate professional and he can adapt to any situation. Ernie is the guy that really keeps us out of trouble and Kenny is professional, but Chuck is right there on th...

The offseason is here for 28 teams in the NBA. The NBA finals have arrived and there are only two teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns are all searching for the next steps to take as a franchise, which is different for all three. Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching. Most will point to a potential Trae Young trade, but that does not appear likely (for now) and Atlanta may move forward with this core of Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. If the Hawks decide to do that, they need to improve their bench in a big way this offseason. Due to the NBA's CBA and apron rules, you are going to be seeing a lot more three-team trades between teams so salaries can move around. Atlanta could try to attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with this s...

Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson are going to have a new home next season when "Inside the NBA" makes the transition to ESPN . So far, it's looking like the show will be very similar to the one beloved by fans. During an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Friday, O'Neal insisted that neither he nor Barkley will ever change, while praising the professionalism of Johnson and Smith. He also hinted at having a situation similar to "The Pat McAfee Show" which is also syndicated by ESPN from a different company. O'Neal's response: "I don't have any concerns because I know one guy that you're never going to change, and I know another guy that's really close to him. The other two guys — listen, Ernie is a consummate professional and he can adapt to any situation. Ernie is the guy that really keeps us out of trouble and Kenny is professional, but Chuck is right there on th...

Even before the ball left Tyrese Haliburton's hands on its 21-foot journey to paydirt, dozens of Oklahoma City Thunder fans were already assuming the Surrender Cobra posture. Having entered Game 1 of the NBA Finals with two game-winning playoff buzzer-beaters in his back pocket-and an equalizer in New York that sent the Eastern Conference finals opener to overtime-Haliburton was the last guy the Paycom Center faithful wanted to see with the rock in his mitts in the waning seconds of Thursday night's game. Haliburton's jumper passed through the cylinder with three-tenths of a second remaining on the clock, securing the Indiana Pacers' 111-110 victory and marking the team's fifth successful comeback from a deficit of 15 points or more since the playoffs began on April 19. Hence, the spasms of anticipatory body language in the stands before the 25-year-old guard sank the dagger: This is just what this team does . Predictably , the nationa...

Even before the ball left Tyrese Haliburton's hands on its 21-foot journey to paydirt, dozens of Oklahoma City Thunder fans were already assuming the Surrender Cobra posture. Having entered Game 1 of the NBA Finals with two game-winning playoff buzzer-beaters in his back pocket-and an equalizer in New York that sent the Eastern Conference finals opener to overtime-Haliburton was the last guy the Paycom Center faithful wanted to see with the rock in his mitts in the waning seconds of Thursday night's game. Haliburton's jumper passed through the cylinder with three-tenths of a second remaining on the clock, securing the Indiana Pacers' 111-110 victory and marking the team's fifth successful comeback from a deficit of 15 points or more since the playoffs began on April 19. Hence, the spasms of anticipatory body language in the stands before the 25-year-old guard sank the dagger: This is just what this team does . Predictably , the nationa...