NBA Basketball Wiretap

LeBron James prefers to return to the Los Angeles Lakers next season, according to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

The Warriors also remain interested in adding James to their core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. The team could offer the possibility of James commuting from Los Angeles to some degree. 

Both destinations would almost certainly require James to take a pay cut from his $52.6 million deal from last season.

The Cavs are unlikely to be in play for James due to financial constraints and the requirement of James moving out of Los Angeles.

James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists last year. 

The Toronto Raptors are working on an extension for head coach Darko Rajakovic, sources told Michael Grange of Sportsnet.

Rajakovic is entering the last year of his contract.

The Raptors signed general manager Bobby Webster to a multi-year extension on Monday. 

Rajakovic has a record of 101-145 over three seasons with the Raptors. 

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Monday that no decision has been made on the franchise's looming roster and financial questions, including team options on Isaiah Hartenstein ($28.5 million) and Luguentz Dort ($17.7 million) that carry a June 29 deadline.

The Thunder are projected to surge well past the luxury tax next season as five-year extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams begin. Oklahoma City's team salary is expected to climb from $186.7 million this past season to beyond $250 million, pushing the franchise past the second apron.

League expectations point toward Presti trimming the roster and refreshing its back end, particularly given the Thunder currently hold the 12th, 17th and 37th picks in the upcoming draft with no available roster space. But Presti declined to commit to that path.

"Is it possible that we just pick up the options for everybody and roll into next season when we have a bigger financial jump for the team?" said Presti. "That's certainly possible. The process itself to get to those potential options, it could take a little while. I could see it going a little deeper into the summer than we're used to."

Presti also left open the possibility of drafting players the team does not intend to keep on the active roster.

"I want to understand everything that is available to me, in terms of trying to put things together," said Presti. "We could even be in a situation, because we have the draft coming up, where we might have more players than 15 roster spots. If we feel it's more beneficial as an organization to have the draft rights to certain players, we might draft those players irrespective if they're going to be on the team. It could take some time. It may not look clean."

Presti noted that Oklahoma City has planned for the financial surge, citing an $850 million arena pledge from the city, the league's new television deal and potential expansion revenue as factors that give the franchise room to spend. He pushed back on any notion that the Thunder's market should limit their ambitions.

"Just because we're in Oklahoma City, I don't think we should be told that we shouldn't dream as big or go as hard financially as a team on the coast," Presti said.

The June 29 option deadlines for Hartenstein and Dort could theoretically be extended if both sides agree to push the dates back.

The Dallas Mavericks' decision to delay Jalen Brunson's contract extension in 2021 stemmed from concerns about his defensive fit alongside Luka Doncic and uncertainty over whether the team could afford to retain both Brunson and wing Dorian Finney-Smith, according to team sources cited by ESPN.

When the two played together, opposing teams targeted both guards defensively, exposing the pairing in the Mavericks' first-round playoff loss to the LA Clippers in 2020. If one had to sit for defensive reasons, it was always going to be Brunson. Teams around the league began calling Dallas regularly to inquire about his availability soon after that series, per league and Mavericks sources.

The Mavericks told Brunson they preferred to wait until after the 2021-22 season before offering an extension, wanting to assess whether the group could genuinely contend for a championship. By then, Brunson had emerged as a starter alongside Doncic and averaged 27.8 points in a first-round series win over Utah while Doncic nursed an injury.

Dallas ultimately offered Brunson and Finney-Smith identical extensions after the trade deadline with Brunson declining. 

What the Mavericks failed to recognize, according to one team source, was the depth of Brunson's connection to the Knicks organization, where president Leon Rose had previously represented both Jalen and his father Rick as an agent, and where Rick was hired as an assistant coach weeks before free agency began.

"I think Jalen had a loyalty to the Mavs because they'd drafted him, but the Knicks were his actual family," said the Mavericks source. "I don't think we fully grasped that."

Brunson signed a four-year, $105 million deal with New York in 2022.

The Mavericks traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025.

Nikola Vucevic leaving the Boston Celtics this summer is seen as a "certainty," sources told Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Vucevic, who was traded to the Celtics at the deadline, played just 16 games with his new team due to a fractured right finger.

The also 35-year-old averaged 6.2 points in 19 minutes over six playoff games this season.

Trae Young is expected to sign a long-term deal with the Washington Wizards this offseason at around three years and $120 million.

Young, who has a $49 million player option for next season, is eligible to sign a three-year, $160 million deal until June 30. 

The 27-year-old averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 assists in five games with the Wizards last season.

New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet is attracting interest from teams around the league, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

Shamet, who is currently on a vet minimum deal, is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The 29-year-old is averaging 6.6 points in the playoffs on 56.3% shooting from three.

The Knicks hold Shamet's Early Bird rights and can offer him a deal starting at 105% of the league's average salary. 

Karl-Anthony Towns is a big reason why the New York Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 2-0 in the NBA Finals. Towns has produced on both ends of the court, with his defense against Victor Wembanyama having been particularly good. Even so, that performance might not be enough to land Towns a massive extension this offseason.

Towns has two seasons left on his deal after this one, with $57 million for 2026-27 followed by a $61 million player option for 2027-28. The veteran center could decline that option and sign a four-year extension that projects to a maximum of more than $272 million.

The Knicks are already dealing with apron issues already, plus Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet being unrestricted free agents this summer. Signing Towns to a max extension would extend those apron concerns out for several years.

Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges both took discounts on their extensions, in hopes of keeping the team together long-term. New York could look to Towns to do something similar, especially if the Knicks have designs on keeping Robinson and/or Shamet in the fold too.

The Golden State Warriors would like to re-sign Kristaps Porzingis on a cap-friendly contract as he becomes a free agent coming off his $30.7 million expiring contract.

The Warriors acquired Porzingis ahead of the trade deadline from the Atlanta Hawks for Jonathan Kuminga.

Porzingis proved to be a good fit with the Warriors with his ongoing durability issues the larger concern.

Porzinigs appeared in 15 games with the Warriors, averaging 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 23.7 minutes.

Porzingis is represented by Jeff Schwartz and Janis Porzingis. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plans to privately urge Oklahoma City Thunder management to retain Luguentz Dort this offseason, sources familiar with his thinking told ESPN, even as the franchise's rapidly escalating payroll makes every roster decision more financially fraught.

Dort, who shares the distinction of being the longest-tenured Thunder player alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, holds a team option of $18.2 million for next season. His future is considered less certain than that of other core pieces, in part because of Cason Wallace's emergence as a potential starting-caliber replacement at a position of overlap.

The Thunder are considered unlikely to decline their option on Dort even if it were to theoretically lead to a trade because he has value around the NBA on that contract number. 

Despite publicly declaring he would offer zero personnel input to general manager Sam Presti, Gilgeous-Alexander privately values his bond with fellow Canadian Dort and intends to make that known to the front office, sources said. Dort's decision to switch representation to Klutch Sports' Mike George this season suggests he is unlikely to accept a team-friendly arrangement.

Oklahoma City's combined salary for Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren rises from $58.5 million this season to $123.8 million next year and $150.8 million in 2027-28. The team's total projected payroll of $250.5 million next season sits well beyond the second apron, triggering a potential luxury tax bill exceeding $200 million.

Dort addressed reporters following Oklahoma City's Game 7 loss to San Antonio and stated his desire to remain with the Thunder, a sentiment Gilgeous-Alexander appears intent on supporting behind the scenes.