5:40 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN As the New Orleans Pelicans prepare for the upcoming season, all eyes will continue to be on last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Zion Williamson. The superstar prospect was last seen sitting out three of the final four games in the bubble while his averages dipped in limited playing time.
NBA
7:17 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Jared Dudley is returning to the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year, veterans minimum contract, his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe. The 35-year-old will earn $2.6 million in what will be his 14th season in the league. 1 Related Dudley appeared
3:54 PM ET After initially planning for a limited number of fans to be in attendance for home games, the Oklahoma City Thunder are reversing course and will open the season with the arena empty, the team announced Monday. “For months, we have worked in close collaboration with Chesapeake Energy Arena, the City of Oklahoma
6:18 AM ET Who are the NBA free agents to watch in 2021 and 2022? The 2020 free-agent class featured less star power than normal, as the league blitzed through a condensed transaction period featuring the draft and free agency in the same week. The 2021 class has more hype, potentially featuring names such as
3:53 PM ET The Boston Celtics have traded Gordon Hayward and second-round draft picks in 2023 and 2024 to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for a conditional 2022 second-round draft pick. The sign-and-trade agreement creates a $27.9 million trade exception for the Celtics, the largest in NBA history. Hayward, 30, declined his $34.2 million player
7:33 PM ET Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will finally enter the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 2021. The NBA said Saturday that the delayed Hall of Fame weekend — it was to have taken place in Springfield, Massachusetts, in August before being pushed back because of
12:38 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Ahead of training camps opening up across the NBA next week, the league has compiled a comprehensive health and safety protocol for the 2020-21 NBA season and sent it to its teams. The document, which was obtained by ESPN, is 134 pages long, and is similar to the one the
8:06 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN This class of NBA rookies is facing an unprecedented transition to the league. Most of them haven’t played an organized game since March, and now they are set to begin their first NBA training camp on Dec. 1, less than two weeks after being drafted. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic deprived
4:45 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN As the NBA continues to move toward starting its 2020-21 season on Dec. 22, a slate of 49 preseason games will be played from Dec. 11 through Dec. 19 to allow teams to prepare for the upcoming campaign. Each NBA team will play at least two preseason games — one
10:50 AM ET Veteran point guard J.J. Barea has agreed to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum of $2.6 million, sources told ESPN. With Barea’s return, the Mavericks anticipate entering training camp with 16 players on guaranteed contracts, one over the regular-season roster limit. Dallas plans to have