Basketball Wiretap

The Denver Nuggets are looking to move off some salary in order to create the ability to re-sign Peyton Watson this offseason. The player Denver is receiving the most interest in is veteran forward Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets, however, would prefer to trade wing Christian Braun.

Gordon is set to make $31.9 million this upcoming season, with $71.5 million owed to him through the 2028-29 season. The veteran big man holds a player option that final season.

Braun is just starting the five-year, $125 million extension he inked last offseason. The Nuggets will pay Braun $21.5 million for the 2026-27 season.

With everyone in the fold, Denver is roughly $8 million over the second apron. The Nuggets are expected to get off some salary by waiving or trading Jonas Valanciunas, as well as other smaller salary-shedding moves this offseason. In order to create enough wiggle room to re-sign Watson and fill out their roster without going deep into the tax, Denver is expected to explore trading Braun or last season's acquisition, Cameron Johnson.

The Boston Celtics reportedly made an offer to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo last week, according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons. Boston has "dove in" on the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.

This was a change in tune from Simmons, who had previously reported that he heard Boston wasn't involved in trading for Antetokounmpo. Simmons said he doesn't know what changed the Celtics minds, but that they are now involved in dealing for the superstar forward.

On draft night, the Celtics will hold up to four tradeable first round picks and two swaps.

It's been rumored that any trade for Antetokounmpo would involve the Celtics dealing Jaylen Brown to the Bucks or to a third team, which would then route draft capital and young talent to Milwaukee. Rumored third teams have included the Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers and others.

The Athletic reported recently that Antetokounmpo would sign with the Celtics long-term if he were traded to the franchise.

The Los Angeles Lakers are widely expected to re-sign guard Austin Reaves this offseason. Reaves has a $14.9 million player option that he's going to decline to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Recent reports have surfaced that the Brooklyn Nets, one of the teams expected to have cap space this offseason, are likely to make a run at Reaves. Despite the fact that Reaves is unrestricted and the Lakers can't officially match offers, Reaves' camp is likely to give Los Angeles a chance to match or beat any offers he receives.

Should the Lakers reach an agreement with Reaves on a new contract, they'll delay signing him to complete their other offseason moves. If Los Angeles goes the cap space route, they could create nearly $50 million in space. They'd use that cap room first, while retaining Reaves' cap hold and Bird rights, then re-sign the combo guard to his new deal.

The New York Knicks were very close to trading for Donovan Mitchell in 2022, just months after signing Jalen Brunson, but ultimately did not complete the deal, reports ESPN's Ramona Shelburne

Knicks' executives debated whether Mitchell and Brunson could coexist in the backcourt. Sources said opinions differed internally on whether adding another ball-dominant guard would limit Brunson's role as the team's primary option.

Leon Rose ultimately chose not to meet the Utah Jazz's high asking price for Mitchell. He instead preserved the team's assets to build a roster suited to Brunson's skill set as he had enough left over to trade for Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Jazz traded Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and has been eliminated in the playoffs twice by the Knicks over the past four years.

The decision marked a departure from the franchise's history of aggressive trades for star players, including the 2011 deal for Carmelo Anthony that cost New York significant draft capital.

Rose has not publicly explained his reasoning for passing on Mitchell. The approach drew scrutiny during periods when the roster struggled, but support grew as the team's long-term build paid off.

Brunson went on to become the centerpiece of a Knicks roster that won the 2026 NBA championship, capturing Finals MVP honors in the process.

With the 2026 NBA Draft looming just over a week away, the Chicago Bulls are closing in on hiring a new coach. The Bulls have identified four finalists and could make a decision as soon as Monday.

The four finalists for Chicago's opening are Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter, Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr., Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori.

The Blazers and Dallas Mavericks have the other two current head coach openings in the NBA.

Chicago is searching for a replacement for Billy Donovan, who had been with the franchise since 2020 and remains a coaching free agent.

The Bulls are hiring their first head coach under the new leadership of Bryson Graham.

In an interview with Malika Andrews in the wake of winning the 2026 NBA championship, Jalen Brunson touched on a handful of topics. One thing came through during their conversation: Brunson has no regrets with any of the sacrifices he made to lead the New York Knicks to the title.

When asked if leaving $113 million on the table when he extended his deal with New York was worth it, Brunson didn't hesitate in answering.

"100% worth it. 100% worth it," Brunson said. "Even if we didn't achieve this, I feel like being able to do that and grind and go on a journey to try and achieve it, it would have been worth it as well, but this is definitely the turn on top."

Brunson left money on the table to help the Knicks build on their roster around him. That has helped New York keep Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns in the fold. It could also help the Knicks when they attempt to re-sign Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet this offseason.

As for his plans now, Brunson said he's going to celebrate before getting ready to defend his newly won championship. When asked when he'll be hungry for another title, the 2026 NBA Finals MVP said it won't take long.

"After the parade. Yeah, I think I've done a decent job of being able to not look ahead, not look past anything, staying in the moment," Brunson said. "I'm going to try and enjoy this for a little bit and then once it's time to get back to work, it's back to work."

In a recent interview with HoopsHype, Orlando Magic wing Franz Wagner touched on several topics, most of them surrounding his health. Wagner admitted that he had some missteps with managing his health last season. He also said he's training to be healthier for next season.

Wagner said that in retrospect, he should have passed on playing in the NBA Berlin Game last season while recovering from a high ankle sprain.

"The way it went, I probably shouldn't have played. Everybody understands the situation that it was, and honestly, I hate to say it, but I don't really regret the decision to play. It was that special of a moment for me, and for a lot of other people who were there," Wagner said. "So, it just happened to be a bad moment in time, probably, but maybe some people hate me for this, but it was a really special moment for my family and me. So, I was happy that I got the chance to at least be out there."

Wagner said he's focused on getting fully recovered from last season's injuries. Then he'll turn to training with eyes on avoiding injuries next season.

"It's rehabbing first of all, the injuries that I did have, and then sort of addressing some of the patterns, maybe why injuries keep coming up," Wagner said. "That's the goal: that you're not hurt at all, and not just treating symptoms when they come up, but taking preventive measures. I have a great amount of time now in the summer to do some of that."

Wagner said that he and his teammates are excited about new head coach Sean Sweeney. The Magic wing also said that the team needs to build on the lessons they've learned in the last three playoff appearances to advance further in the playoffs next year.

The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder open as co-favorites to win the 2027 NBA Finals at +250, followed by the Boston Celtics at +550. The New York Knicks, despite winning the championship on Saturday, have the fourth best odds at +700.

The next block of teams have significantly longer odds beginning with the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets at +2800, and the Minnesota Timbewolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers at +3000.

On Polymarket, the Spurs and Thunder are both trading at 22 percent followed by the Celtics at 11 percent, the Knicks at nine percent, and the Miami Heat at five percent.

The NBA has had eight different champions over the past eight seasons and would have a ninth if the Spurs can return to the Finals and win it in 2027.

2027 NBA Championship Odds

1. Spurs: +250
1. Thunder: +250
3. Celtics: +550
4. Knicks: +700
5. Pacers: +2800
5. Nuggets: +2800
7. Timberwolves: +3000
7. Lakers: +3000
7. Pistons: +3000
7. Cavaliers: +3000
11. Heat: +4000
12. Warriors: +4500
13. 76ers: +5500
14. Rockets: +6000
15. Clippers: +7500
16. Magic: +8000
17. Trail Blazers: +9000
17. Hornets: +9000
19. Raptors: +10000
19. Hawks: +10000
21. Wizards: +12000
21. Suns: +12000
21. Mavericks: +12000
24. Jazz: +20000
25. Pelicans: +25000
25. Bucks: +25000
25. Nets: +25000
28. Grizzlies: +50000
29. Bulls: +70000
30. Kings: +100000

Karl-Anthony Towns faced trade speculation involving Giannis Antetokounmpo during his first offseason with the New York Knicks in 2025, a situation that could have disrupted the team's championship run before it began.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Knicks engaged in a multi-week discussion in August 2025 regarding a potential blockbuster trade involving Antetokounmpo. New York never appeared especially interested in pursuing the deal.

The Knicks also did not offer Towns a contract extension entering the season, and coach Mike Brown's early comments about adjustments to Towns' role added further uncertainty around the center's standing with the franchise.

Despite the speculation, those close to Towns say he remained unaffected by the rumors.

"[Towns] wasn't looking around the locker room saying, 'Who wants Giannis here instead of me,'" a source close to Towns told ESPN during the season. "He wants to be in New York. He's a great compartmentalizer, and he wasn't going to be vindictive about it."

Towns went on to play a central role in New York's championship run, especially in the initial two games of the Finals, which culminated in a five-game NBA Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks' first title in 53 years.

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 to win the 2026 NBA championship. Victor Wembanyama addressed reporters afterward, calling the series a defining moment in his career.

"I think that compared to anything before, this is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment," said Wembanyama. "I can't tell you exactly what the lesson is, but we're learning from that, for sure. I'm learning more than any other time in my life before."

Wembanyama pointed to the Spurs' inconsistency as the deciding factor in the series.

"I learned one of many things, the margin of error is very thin," said Wembanyama. "Our domination stints are absolute. We absolutely dominated for most of the series. But our errors, our mistakes, are punished so hard that we can't have ups and downs like this.

"The ups are okay. The downs is the reason we lost."

He acknowledged the difficulty of accepting that championships often require years of development as reporters cited the paths of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Jerry West.

"Extremely. It's painful. It's painful," said Wembanyama. "But I'm not running away from that. I'm using to fuel me. I'm sure all these guys you named, they're not satisfied with being eliminated in earlier rounds or not making the Playoffs.

"I'm not satisfied with not winning. But as I said, this is the biggest lesson of my life. As a team, there's no better experience than what we just lived."

Wembanyama also expressed frustration over the wait until the Spurs can compete for a championship again.

"What I'm pissed about is that there's probably a hundred games before we can be back in Finals," said Wembanyama. "I don't know how to say it in English, but I'm going to have to hold that inside of me and slow down and wait and execute for a hundred games."