The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to trade Jrue Holiday to another team after acquiring him from the Milwaukee Bucks in the Damian Lillard trade.

Holiday has a player option worth $37.4 million for the 24-25 season, which could give him some level of control over where he is traded.

Sources tell the Miami Herald that the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers are teams that appeal to Holiday. 

Holiday was traded by the New Orleans Pelicans to the Bucks during the 2020 offseason and helped the Bucks win the NBA championship that season.

James Harden is on a unique payment structure with the Philadelphia 76ers where he was owed 25 percent of his salary on July 1st and the next payment is due on Sunday as training camp is set to begin.

"Here's something interesting that I was working on today: James Harden has one of these Ben Simmons' contracts... You'd think Philly would never give one of these out again. Wouldn't you?" said Brian Windhorst.

"Lots of guys in the league have this kind of contract to be clear," said Tim Bontemps.

"Not lots of guys. And I'm going to tell you something. A lot fewer are going to have it going forward. I guess last year when Harden was taking a paycut, they weren't really in a position to deal point negotiate. 

"James Harden is owed $35.6 million this year. He got 25 percent of his salary on July 1st. He has 25 percent of his salary due on October 1st, which is Sunday."

The NBA CBA allows the Sixers to wait until Monday to pay Harden the 25 percent installment, which amounts to approximately $9 million. 

When Josh Harris and David Blitzer purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, David Stern reportedly "placed" Michael Rubin as a late addition to the group.

Rubin had recently sold his company GSI Commerce to eBay for $2.4 billion and he had done business with the NBA since 1999.

"David said, 'Michael, I thought about this. You need to go in and be a real partner,'" Rubin tells ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "I said, 'Why?' And he said, 'Because if anything goes wrong, you work for f---ing me and I can control you. And so you're f---ing doing this, because I need someone in this group that I control.'"

Rubin completed his divestment as a limited partner of the Sixers in 2022 as Fanatics entered the gambling space.

France would like to see Joel Embiid suit up for them when they host the 2024 Summer Olympics. But French basketball federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat said that they need an answer by October 10.

“It will happen very quickly in all cases. We hope so and I think he knows it. We may have an answer by October 10," Siutat said. "We have set this deadline.”

Siutat added, “We never communicated anything official about Joel Embiid. There was buzz created from everywhere, and I repeat that I want him to come. However, we made no communication about the fact that he was with us. Today, he is still not with us. We are working on it, we have a firm desire to do it. He knows it. We had the opportunity to discuss it with him and we are awaiting a decision. The American team is very interested in the idea of ​​having him. Cameroon is qualified for the pre-Olympics. It’s a delicate situation for him.”

Just over a week from training camp opening, James Harden is still hoping for a trade to the LA Clippers. This is despite the fact that there seems to be little momentum sending Harden anywhere away from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Harden made a trade request shortly before free agency opened this past summer. Harden doubled down on that request later when he called Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey a "liar". On that same trip to China, Harden also said he'd never play for an organization that Morey is a part of again.

The 76ers have media day scheduled for Monday, October 2. Training camp for the Sixers will be held in Colorado Springs shortly thereafter.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Arturo Galletti (@AmericanNumbers) continue their annual tradition of breaking down the over/under lines for the Eastern Conference.

They go through over/unders and other relevant odds for the Pistons (3:44), Hornets (12:01), Wizards (18:11), Magic (24:18), Pacers (28:25), Raptors (33:12), Bulls (37:45), Hawks (43:30), Nets (47:27), Heat (54:01), Cavaliers (58:47), Bucks (1:03:18), Knicks (1:11:21), 76ers (1:19:55) and Celtics (1:29:08).

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The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Marcus Bagley.

Bagley spent parts of three seasons at Arizona State where he posted career averages of 10.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 17 total appearances. 

During his time as a Sun Devil, he also shot 35.1% from beyond the arc on 5.5 attempts per game over his three years. 

He is also the younger brother of Marvin Bagley III who has played five NBA seasons after being selected with the No. 2 pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2018 Draft. 

The Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks are among teams that have registered recent interest in Buddy Hield, according to Shams Charania.

"The Lakers were long rumored for Buddy Hield. You look at teams like Dallas, Philly, Milwaukee. Those are the types of teams that could definitely use a shooter like Buddy Hield, and they've had a level of interest in him over the last several months," said Charania on The Rally.

The Pacers started trade talks on Hield after the two sides failed to reach a contract extension. 

The Lakers and Pacers reportedly discussed a trade involving Hield last August. 

With Giannis Antetokounmpo openly questioning his future with the Milwaukee Bucks, teams have begun to plan for the possibility he becomes available via trade. The futures of Joel Embiid with the Philadelphia 76ers and Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks have created a situation where multiple MVP candidates become available in a trade over the next year.

This situation is one of the factors that has also diminished the trade market for Damian Lillard. 

"What the trade market, the NBA portal, is going to look like next summer," said Adrian Wojnarowski. "There could be some massive talents available for trades next season. Maybe at the trade deadline. Maybe next year. You have teams weighing the assets they might use to trade for Damian Lillard versus who could be available that 'we don't want to be out of the game for some players younger.' First-team All-NBA type of players who may be in that marketplace."

Nick Nurse said that he wanted Joel Embiid to play more games this upcoming season during an interview with Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire.

"We’re trying to get him to play more games. Our goal is that it’s going up for him, not the other direction ... there’s always things that can come up with that stuff, but I don’t know. I believe in the guys playing as much as they can and let’s see what happens," Nurse told Carlin.

Embiid played 66 games last season and 68 games in 2021-22.

Nurse also addressed other players on the roster, including the idea of Tobias Harris taking on an expanded role.

"There’s so much more he could possibly do and I kind of want him to settle in and play this role that he’s capable of playing that he’s got experience playing, but I do kind of want him to dream outside that role or expand outside that role eventually," added Nurse.