The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with Tacko Fall.

Fall spent the first two seasons of his career with the Boston Celtics.

Ben Simmons has informed the Philadelphia 76ers that he no longer wants to remain with the franchise and does not intend to report to training camp.

Simmons met with Josh Harris, Daryl Morey, Elton Brand and Doc Rivers last week in Los Angeles. 

The 76ers have been attempting to trade Simmons for the second time since December and his trade value across the league has gone down.

Simmons has four seasons and $147 million remaining on his deal and he's prepared to accept the consequences of a fine for now reporting to camp.

While there are plenty of teams interested in trading for Simmons, the asking price sought by the 76ers has been beyond what most would consider to be his fair market value. 

“Think about three months ago when the Sixers are willing to give up Ben Simmons. You are like, ‘Let’s see what we have to do to get him,’” said a Western Conference executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Now, the difference is Ben Simmons says he refuses to play for the Sixers. He wants to go to three California teams. There’s so much bad blood between him and the team.”

The executive said teams are not willing to give in to the Sixers’ steep asking price knowing they have to move Simmons.

“The kid said he’s not going back,” the executive said. “I’m not giving you what you’re demanding. They really messed this up.”

The Milwaukee Bucks project to have a luxury tax bill of $52.3 million for the 21-22 season after re-signing Bobby Portis to a two-year, $9 million deal, but they let PJ Tucker walk on a two-year, $15 million contract with the Miami Heat. 

"Look, (the luxury tax) is a big part," said Marc Lasry in an interview with The Athletic. "I’m not going to tell you it’s not. I mean, it’s just — if you sign somebody for $5 million, you’re not signing him for $5 (million), you’re signing him for $25 (million), $20 million. You sort of look at that, and you’re trying to figure out, ‘Alright, look, if we’re going to do that, OK, there is a cost to it. Yeah, we want him, but that’s going to cost us $25 (million) or that’ll cost us $35 (million).’ I mean, whatever the numbers are. And I think we’re very focused on that. Look, we’re a small-market team. It’s expensive. I mean, for us, this year we’re going to lose quite a bit of money."

Lasry was asked to be specific on how much money the Bucks will actually lose.

"Um, well think of it this way, we (will) break even before the tax (laughs). … So the tax is real money. (The tax is) what we’re going to lose. You’ll make it up. You’ll make some of it up as you move along in the playoffs, obviously, and that factors in. You’re like, ‘Well look, I know I’m going to lose ‘X (amount of money),’ but if we get to the playoffs, it starts going down.’ But yeah, it’s real money for us. But at the end of the day, the goal is that you want to keep winning a championship, so you’re going to spend the money."

The Bucks were bought by Lasry and Wesley Edens in 2014 for $550 million and they're now worth close to $2 billion and have a two-time MVP candidate signed through at least the 24-25 season.

The regional sports network business model is undergoing a period of significant transition as more and more people cut the cord from their cable providers and become increasingly reliant on streaming.

“The house is on fire here,” one network executive said, referring to the RSN business.

Executives from leagues, teams, distributors and the networks have met regularly over the past several weeks to look into new business models for local media rights.

Local media rights can make up to 50 percent of an MLB team’s total revenue, sources said.

The main topic discussed is how to bridge the gap from the current RSN model to a future streaming one. Any rush toward streaming, however, would mean a decline in local team revenue in the short-term.

Charles Bassey plans to sign the one-year, non-guaranteed tender with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Bassey and the 76ers have been unable to come to terms on a rookie deal. The 76ers selected Bassey with the No. 53 pick in the draft.

Few second round picks sign the tender but it is a "bet on yourself" type of move with upside. 

In a recent interview with Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, CJ McCollum was asked if he's concerned by the possible erosion of the NBA's middle class of players. McCollum was recently elected president of the NBPA and will play a key role in shaping the next collective bargaining agreement.

As the NBA has grown its quantity of players making 30 to 35 percent of the cap, there has been a decline of players making midlevel exception or better.

"I think it's something that we'll continue to look at," said McCollum. "But from a budget standpoint, the teams only have so much money. It's a hard cap. Teams can decide to go over if they want to, but then you have a dollar-for-dollar tax, especially if you're in the repeater tax. I think teams are strategically trying to figure out how to build their roster. You obviously need star power, or a certain level or caliber of player, to compete for a championship, and a lot of teams are trying to go for the $30 million player or the $25 million player, per se. 

"But there's still space on those rosters for role players. You need role players. You need minimum guys who can contribute. You need guys, you used the term ‘middle class,' you need those guys on your roster to have success. It's still hard to win a championship. You need to have a solid roster. Look at what the Milwaukee Bucks did and their key pieces and their pickups. Pat Connaughton, a guy I played with, he's not making $30 million a year, but he's an impact player. The big fella [Bobby Portis] out there in Milwaukee who's beloved, he's not making $30 million a year, but he's still impacting games and having an impact on winning. Even P.J. Tucker, he's not making $30 million. Guys are continuing to carve out a niche and a role in this league while still making good money. I think it just comes down to the teams are going to do what's best for their organization. Obviously, I want everybody to get paid and have long careers, but it's the team's decision on how to utilize the salary cap."

The Denver Nuggets and Aaron Gordon share optimism about a potential contract extension with a deal possibly being reaching within the next few days.

Gordon is eligible for a four-year, $88 million extension. One source projected a deal could be for two or three years at an average annual salary of $20 million to $21 million per year.

Gordon is entering the final season of a four-year, $80 million deal, which has declined to $16.4 million this season. 

The Nuggets acquired Gordon at the deadline from the Orlando Magic. Gordon has been spending hte majority of his summer in Los Angeles working with Chris Johnson with an emphasis on his mid-post game.  

At around $20 million per season for Gordon, the Nuggets could have more than $110 million committed to Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter and Aaron Gordon for the 22-23 season.

The Portland Trail Blazers had interest in trading for Dillon Brooks before acquiring Larry Nance Jr. last week.

The Blazers sent out Derrick Jones Jr. and a protected first round pick for Nance.

It us unknown what the Memphis Grizzlies could have sought in return for Brooks. Brooks signed a three-year, $35 million extension with the Grizzlies in 2020.

The Los Angeles Lakers will sign Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $2.6 million contract once he clears waivers.

Rondo agreed to a buyout on Saturday and he will make his full $7.5 million salary between his buyout and new deal with the Lakers.

Rondo will fill the Lakers' final available roster spot.

Rondo previously spent two seasons with the Lakers and played a key role in their 2020 title.

Darren Collison has scheduled a workout with the Golden State Warriors this week.

Collison retired during the 2019 offseason and has had interest in making a return.