Basketball Wiretap

LeBron James has agreed to sign a two-year, $8 million with the Philadelphia 76ers. James will have a player option for Year 2.

James revealed that he was strongly considering retirement going into the offseason.

James also considered signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves. James will form a core alongside Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe. 

"I thought I was done when the season ended," said James in a statement. "I wasn't ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and deicide if I still love this game. I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.

"The last few weeks have really been special. I’ve never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think. I’ve had an incredible few months with all the people I love trying to figure it all out. This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?

"I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.

"I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time.  

"Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!"

Former NBA guard Tyrese Martin has signed with Barcelona in Spain for the upcoming season. Martin finished last season on a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Martin has also played with the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA. In 122 NBA games, the 6-foot-6 guard has averaged 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

LeBron James' extended free agency process before choosing the Philadelphia 76ers had nothing to do with attention, drama, or any hope of teaming up with friends on rosters outside his list of suitors, according to a source close to James. James was not waiting on the Golden State Warriors or another team to trade for Anthony Davis, nor was he holding out for the Dallas Mavericks to make Kyrie Irving available.

James, 41, based his decision purely on his belief that Philadelphia gave him the best chance to win a fifth championship, the source told The Athletic. Philadelphia's stunning trade for Jaylen Brown on July 1st put the team in play to sign James.

"All of it was in the service of winning a championship," said the source. "Additionally, he's had the privilege of playing for three incredible fanbases in Cleveland, Miami, and L.A., and he's excited about playing in front of the passionate fanbase in Philadelphia."

James instructed agent Rich Paul to inform the 76ers of his decision Friday morning, shortly before the announcement became public. No one in James' inner circle knew of his choice beforehand, and the other suitors did not hear from Paul in advance either.

League sources said Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid had aggressively pursued James over the past several weeks, placing multiple phone calls in an effort to convince him to join Philadelphia. 

James is expected to view this as his final stop in the league, and sources said his basketball happiness, long cited as central to his decision, aligned directly with competing at a high level. The 76ers were not viewed by other franchises as a primary threat in the pursuit of James, but interest in Philadelphia was not new for him. A former Lakers teammate recalled James mentioning he seriously considered joining the 76ers back in 2018 before ultimately choosing Los Angeles.

Everything shifted for Philadelphia when first-year president of basketball operations Mike Gansey acquired Brown from the Celtics in exchange for Paul George and four future draft picks. Before that trade, the 76ers considered themselves longshots in the James sweepstakes.

"Now, we've got a pretty interesting roster," said a team source with knowledge of the pursuit.

Gansey previously worked in Cleveland's front office during James' second stint with the Cavaliers, spending most of that period running the team's G League affiliate before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2017. Despite that history, Gansey did not aggressively recruit James, nor did 76ers managing partner Josh Harris. Harris briefly crossed paths with James at a VIP event during Fanatics Fest in mid-July, exchanging a brief, cordial conversation without any indication of James' eventual decision.

Bronny James is expected to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers next season despite LeBron James' decision to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.

"They are not a package deal," Rich Paul told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. 

There are no current plan or request for Bronny to join the 76ers. The Los Angeles Lakers' coaching staff remains high on Bronny after guiding his past two seasons of development.

The Lakers picked up their option on Bronny shortly before the start of free agency.

LeBron James had been pushing for former teammate Kyrie Irving to join him in a potential return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to league sources. The Dallas Mavericks, however, have shown no interest in engaging the Cavaliers on a trade, and Irving is believed to be comfortable remaining where he is.

That reported effort adds another layer to James' complicated free agency decision, one that continues to weigh a possible third stint in Cleveland against a return to the Miami Heat, where he won two championships and two MVP awards from 2010 to 2014.

Cleveland's roster already features high-usage playmakers in Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, meaning James' addition alone likely wouldn't resolve the team's most pressing need. The Cavaliers' actual weakness lies up front where Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley struggled to hold ground during their conference finals loss to the eventual champion New York Knicks.

Miami, by contrast, presents a more straightforward opportunity for James at this stage of his career. The Heat recently acquired two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and pairing James with Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo would allow him to slot into a complementary role rather than shoulder primary playmaking duties, something he last did successfully during the 2019-20 season with the Lakers.

A former teammate told ESPN that James, soon to turn 42, no longer needs this final stretch of his career to be defined by another championship.

"To be the GOAT, you got to win championships, etc. Now that's settled," said the former teammate. "Now it's about his joy, his happiness. If it ends in a championship, great. But he won't be defined by how this ends."

That same source suggested Miami would allow James to focus purely on playing basketball without added pressure.

"He can play freely," said the source. "He can be Tom Brady late in his career, not worrying about being the hero."

The Golden State Warriors are open to signing a one or two-year extension with Steph Curry, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN.

Curry will be extension-eligible on August 29.

"If he wants a one-year extension at big money, if he wants a two-year extension - the Warriors are very open to that conversation. 

"I think they want to see how this roster looks in the short-term and long-term, and by the time we get to late August when he's eligible, Steph Curry and the Warriors will sit down and decide," said Slater.

Curry is currently on a one-year, $62 million deal. 

It was reported last week that the Warriors still need to add another star in order to have a shot at signing LeBron James. 

The Houston Rockets have signed free agent forward/center Oscar Tshiebwe.

Tshiebwe (6-9, 265) was eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft following his senior season at Kentucky.  He spent his rookie season as a two-way player with Indiana in 2023-24 and the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz.  

In 49 career games with seven starts, Tshiebwe has averaged 7.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game.

Olivier Sarr is close to signing with Real Madrid, according to Spanish newspapers.

The 27-year-old appeared in four games for the Cavs last season, averaging 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds.

Sarr also played three seasons for the Thunder. 

The Miami Heat are expected to renew talks with free agent DeMar DeRozan after LeBron James chose the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. Miami and DeRozan have held mutual interest in the past, and fresh conversations are anticipated now that James is off the market.

DeRozan averaged 18.4 points on 49.7 percent shooting across 77 starts for the Sacramento Kings last season, adding 4.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game.

A veteran Eastern Conference scout offered a candid assessment of DeRozan's potential fit in Miami.

"He's had years in San Antonio where he passed it more," said the scout. "He's a midrange guy and on a given night, he can get you points. He doesn't do much else. If he accepted the role off the bench, and then finishes the game, he could be fine."

DeRozan would give Miami a high-scoring option off the bench, though starting him alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo would create spacing concerns given all three players' limitations from three-point range. If DeRozan signs, the Heat would likely still need to add a dedicated three-point shooter elsewhere on the roster.

Heat president Pat Riley reiterated the team's priorities in comments to Dan Le Batard this week, emphasizing playmaking over shooting as the more urgent need.

"Everybody talks about shooting; that's not the main priority right now," said Riley. "It's another playmaker."

ESPN's Shams Charania indicated Friday that DeRozan and free agent Bradley Beal represent Miami's most realistic remaining targets following James' decision.

"Now they will now shift their focus to players like Demar DeRozan, Bradley Beal," said Charania. "Could you find a player like Klay Thompson on the buyout market?"

Miami currently has 12 players on standard contracts, three shy of the maximum roster size, and operates under a $209 million hard cap that limits its financial flexibility to add multiple significant contributors this offseason.

A December 21st non-conference game between Duke and Michigan has been canceled. The game was originally slated for Madison Square Garden, but a misinterpretation of broadcast rights forced organizers to attempt relocating the contest to LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. Broadcast rights complications persisted even after the proposed move, and all parties were ultimately unable to reach an agreement.

Duke will instead play Texas Tech on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden, sources told ESPN, setting up a rematch of last year's 82-81 Red Raiders win at the same venue.

The Duke-Michigan game, itself a rematch of a February matchup won by the Blue Devils in Washington, D.C., was announced in late April as part of Duke's first-of-its-kind enterprise partnership with Amazon. That agreement also includes Duke facing UConn in Las Vegas on Nov. 25 and Gonzaga in Detroit on Feb. 20, with both games streaming exclusively on Prime Video. Those matchups remain scheduled to proceed, and Duke's newly arranged game against Texas Tech will also air exclusively on Prime Video.

Duke enters the season ranked No. 2 in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25, despite losing consensus Player of the Year Cameron Boozer and second-leading scorer Isaiah Evans. Coach Jon Scheyer has assembled his deepest roster yet, adding the nation's No. 2-ranked recruiting class along with Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, considered the top guard available in the transfer portal this spring.

Texas Tech has reached three consecutive NCAA tournaments under coach Grant McCasland, compiling 74 wins during his tenure and never finishing lower than third in the Big 12. The Red Raiders recently announced that All-America forward JT Toppin, who suffered a torn ACL in February, is expected to return for next season.

The partnership between Duke and Amazon marks the company's first venture into broadcasting live college sports. Beginning next season, Prime Video will exclusively present three Duke neutral-site nonconference games annually. Duke coordinated with the ACC and ESPN on future scheduling commitments in exchange for the ability to stage these neutral-site matchups, including participation in select ESPN-owned neutral-site events during the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons.