The Golden State Warriors "unequivocally regard (Kawhi) Leonard as a bigger individual problem than Houston’s James Harden because of Leonard’s impact at both ends," according to reporting from Marc Stein.

Leonard outplayed Giannis Antetokounmpo during the Eastern Conference Finals.

Leonard also was brilliant against the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, culminating in his Game 7 buzzer beater.

Leonard famously had 26 points in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals before he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the playoffs.

Dan Gilbert is recovering in a Detroit hospital after being admitted with stroke symptoms.

Details of his prognosis were not released as his family asked for privacy

"He received immediate medical attention and is currently recovering comfortably. Our collective thoughts and prayers are with Dan for a speedy recovery," said a statement issued by the Quicken Loans family of companies. 

Jeff Peterson was unveiled as the new assistant GM for the Brooklyn Nets.

Peterson spent the last 7 seasons in the Hawks front office.

“Jeff is an innovative basketball executive who shares our strategic team building vision and will fit seamlessly within our culture. His extensive scouting and front office experience will be tremendous assets to our group as we continue to move forward," said Nets GM Sean Marks.

The Houston Rockets chose not to renew the contracts of 4 members of their coaching staff, including assistant coaches Roy Rogers and Mitch Vanya, video coordinator John Cho, and player development assistant Irv Roland. 

Roland, who has been James Harden's personal trainer since 2016, was also reportedly close to Chris Paul and PJ Tucker.

The Rockets also chose not to renew the contract of assistant Jeff Bzdelik earlier this week. 

Richaun Holmes was arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana during a traffic stop in Miami.

The 25-year-old Holmes, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Suns last season.

Holmes is the second Suns player to be arrested in Miami this offseason, with Josh Jackson getting detained at a music festival earlier this month. 

Members of the Houston Rockets, most notably Chris Paul, had spirited discussions with Mike D'Antoni throughout the season about incorporating more movement within the offense.

D'Antoni adapted his offense to be more isolation based to allow James Harden to succeed.

The Rockets have had success playing this way in the regular season, but defenses can key in on these types of tendencies in the playoffs with more ease.

In the regular season, Harden scored 1.11 points per possession in isolation. In the postseason, Harden scored 1.04 points per possession in isolation.

Harden and Paul had tense moments with one another throughout the Rockets' Game 6 loss to the Warriors, culminating in a verbal back-and-forth postgame that went into the locker room, according to sources. The exchange was about ball distribution in Game 6.

Dan Gilbert reflected back upon the Kyrie Irving trade in 2017 this week.

Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers and they obliged despite him having two seasons remaining on his contract.

“It becomes a melting snowball,” said Gilbert. “We had to trade him when we did. What team would want Kyrie with only one year on his contract knowing he could leave after the season? You won’t get much back (under those circumstances).”

Gilbert also alluded to the possibility of Irving sitting out the 17-18 season.

“The agent was telling us, if we don’t trade him, there is some surgery he is on the borderline of having on his knee,” said Gilbert. “It was possible he could be out for most of the year. It turned out to be true.”

Irving missed the 2018 playoffs and the Boston Celtics had a disappointing 18-19.

“I don’t know, but I think Kyrie will leave Boston,” said Gilbert. “We could have ended up with nothing. Looking back after all the moves Koby (Altman) made, we killed it in that trade.”

Gilbert noted the Irving trade with Boston led to the Cavs adding Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson.

Frank Vogel said he and LeBron James talked in the days leading up to Vogel's introductory press conference as Los Angeles Lakers head coach, and that they were excited to be working together.

James had praised Vogel's coaching ability in the past.

“It was nice to see him show up, but I don’t think it would’ve meant anything if he wasn’t there. But it certainly falls in line with my idea that he and I are on the same page and we’re excited about working together," said Vogel of James' appearance at his press conference.

James reportedly was discouraged by the lack of structure to Luke Walton's offense last season, especially when his younger teammates forced a bad shot.

Vogel added that he wasn't going to try to reinvent the wheel on offense, but instead try to fully utilize James' ability.

“It’s not this massive innovative approach where we roll out something no one has ever seen before. We’re not going to recreate the wheel, but there are small things we can tweak, just like every player on the team, to put him in the best position to utilize his skill set. And I would also say it’s maybe less about how I’m using him and more about the environment around him.”

Tim Connelly discussed why he turned down the president of basketball operations job with the Washington Wizards to return to the Denver Nuggets.

"It's safe to assume, and maybe it's me being overly optimistic, that we're going to see a better version of us next year. I don't know if that means more wins. I don't know if we're going to win a playoff series and advance, but I don't think there's any reason to think there will be any regression next season," said Connelly.

Connelly added that he expects Paul Millsap to return to the Nuggets. The team holds a $30 million option on his contract this offseason, although that number could be restructured.

"I fully expect Paul to be back in a Nuggets uniform," said Connelly.

The Golden State Warriors shrunk their rotation against the Houston Rockets and then expanded it in Game 6 after Kevin Durant was hurt in Game 5, and that continued against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals.

“Well, we had to,” Kerr said of expanding the bench. “When you’re missing Kevin Durant, you can’t replace Kevin with one guy. You have to replace him with three or four night after night.”

The Warriors played a style against the Rockets that runs counter to the preferences of Kerr.

“I didn’t enjoy the Houston series, but I also felt like it was necessary to play that way to beat Houston,” Kerr said on Monday of shrinking his rotation and playing iso ball. “I hated playing everybody 40-plus minutes and not trusting the bench, but I think Houston forced us to do it. James Harden is a very unique player.”

Kerr added, “I love how that series ended. Game 6 was one of my favorite games that I’d ever coached because Kevin isn’t there and our bench comes up huge. Quinn (Cook) plays well, Jonas (Jerebko) plays well and Shaun Livingston has a big impact and (Kevon) Looney comes through.”