3:12 PM ET NEW YORK — As the Nets‘ first games of the season draw near, Kevin Durant and Brooklyn’s coaching staff have started to map out how they will utilize the former league MVP in the team’s two preseason games. On Wednesday, Durant said he has been told to expect to play small forward,
NBA
3:42 PM ET Houston Rockets star James Harden must have six consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before the NBA clears him to practice with the team, a league source told ESPN. Harden, the eight-time All-Star who has requested to be traded to a contender, did not report to the Toyota Center for COVID-19 testing until Tuesday,
7:03 PM ET The Dallas Mavericks plan to release veteran point guard and fan favorite J.J. Barea, sources told ESPN. The Mavs plan to sign Courtney Lee to replace Barea on the training camp roster, according to sources. The Mavs anticipated releasing Barea, 36, when they signed him to a one-year deal worth the veterans
1:52 PM ET Pau Gasol is working toward what he hopes will be an NBA comeback and a spot on Spain’s Olympic team in Tokyo, the six-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion told ESPN on Wednesday. Gasol, 40, has identified the Los Angeles Lakers as one of his dream destinations. “There is meaning and history
6:51 PM ET Associated Press NBA referees will have to adhere to many of the same new health and safety protocols as coaches and players do this season, all part of the league’s plan to try to keep everyone safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Referees will be tested daily, just like players and coaches, and
7:25 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed that he had prostate cancer in a magazine article he wrote about health risks faced by Black people. Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s career scoring leader, provided no other details about the illness in the piece he wrote for WebMD, which appeared Wednesday. A publicist for
10:30 AM ET While the NBA expects positive COVID-19 cases throughout the 2020-21 season, league sources told ESPN there isn’t a specific number of positive cases or a precise scenario that could cause a game to be canceled or postponed. In conjunction with league and team health officials, the NBA will consider several variables, including
8:25 PM ET After a conference call with the NBA on Tuesday night, the National Basketball Coaches Association told ESPN its full membership is prepared to participate in the upcoming NBA season despite high rates of coronavirus infection and spread in many parts of the country. “As we enter the season, all of the protocols
12:16 PM ET Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 James Harden indicated to the Houston Rockets before the beginning of training
5:54 PM ET LOS ANGELES — With the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first preseason game looming Friday against the LA Clippers — which will be just six days into training camp and 61 days since their clinching Game 6 NBA Finals victory — coach Frank Vogel sounds like he’s calling off the big guns. “We haven’t