5:20 PM ET Kendrick Nunn, who missed all of last season because of a bone bruise in his right knee, is opting into the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $5.25 million, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Nunn, who turns 27 this summer, signed with Los Angeles for the midlevel
NBA
7:13 PM ET Shareef O’Neal was barely 6 months old when his father, Shaquille O’Neal, teamed with Kobe Bryant to win the first of three championships together for the Los Angeles Lakers. The elder O’Neal went on to have his No. 34 jersey retired by L.A. in 2013 and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial
6:19 PM ET NBA free agency doesn’t begin until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, but the news is already rolling in from around the Association. Much of the early buzz is coming out of New York, where Kyrie Irving‘s contract status has pundits and fans speculating about the future of the Brooklyn Nets‘ star
11:38 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN After Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum had a rough NBA Finals, Brad Stevens had a simple message for his team’s franchise player. “I just told him to go on vacation,” Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations, said with a smile during a videoconference call with reporters after Boston’s season ended
4:57 PM ET Houston Rockets guard John Wall exercised his $47.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Rockets will continue to seek trade scenarios in the coming weeks, but are expected to work with Wall on a contract buyout if a swap can’t be found, sources said. Wall,
10:30 AM ET Former NBA player and Purdue Boilermakers standout Caleb Swanigan is dead at 25. The Purdue men’s basketball program said Swanigan died Monday night, but it did not provide further details. A first-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017, the 6-foot-9 Swanigan played three years in the NBA with the Blazers
11:43 AM ET Former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is set to meet with Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan on Tuesday to further discuss the franchise’s coaching job, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. D’Antoni was considered a finalist for the Hornets post before Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson accepted the position during the NBA
9:13 AM ET LA Clippers forward Nicolas Batum will decline his $3.3 million player option and become a free agent, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. There’s expected to be mutual interest with the Clippers and Batum on reaching a new deal in July, sources said. In his second season with the Clippers, Batum started 54
2:58 PM ET Associated Press VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis may have canceled his planned trip to Congo because of his bad knee, but he had a visit Tuesday from one of Congo’s brightest basketball stars who briefed him on his humanitarian efforts back home. The Phoenix Suns‘ Bismack Biyombo had a private audience with
7:47 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been two years since the Bay Area hosted a championship parade, but the city, nor the Warriors, forgot how to take in the moment. Stephen Curry hopped on top of a banister at a Muni train station stop and started hitting the sign that was next