Meyers Leonard has been out of the NBA since he was waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder last March. That waiver followed a trade from the Miami Heat after Leonard uttered a slur towards Jewish people while streaming himself playing a video game. Now, Leonard says he hopes he gets another shot to play in the NBA.

Leonard said, "I can only be hopeful that people will allow me bounce back from a mistake. This was a mistake of extreme ignorance, and I own it."

Since being waived, Leonard has made efforts to educate himself on Jewish culture. He's spent time talking with Jewish children, Rabbis and others. Leonard openly discusses saying the anti-Semitic slur and his lack of understanding at the time. The 7-foot-1 center says the Jewish community has been very welcoming towards him and his wife. "The people who have been the most loving and the most compassionate, showing the most grace, have been so many people from the Jewish community," Leonard said.

As for a return to the NBA, Leonard would love to go back to the Miami Heat. He said he and his wife loved living in Miami. And Leonard enjoyed playing for the Heat, as he said, "There's something about the culture there that's just me."

At his annual State of the NBA address, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked for an update on the tampering investigations into the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. Silver only said, "That process is still ongoing."

Both the Bulls and Heat are being investigated for circumventing free agency rules by entering into early agreements with Lonzo Ball (Chicago) and Kyle Lowry (Miami). It's believe that both the Bulls and Heat are facing fines and potential loss of draft picks, if it is found they jumped the gun in free agency.

There is past precedent here, as the Milwaukee Bucks were made to forfeit a 2022 second round pick. The Bucks were found to have illegally agreed to acquire Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Sacramento Kings via a sign-and-trade transaction, before free agency had opened.

In Lowry's case, as soon as 2021 free agency opened it was reported that the Heat, Lowry and Toronto Raptors had agreed to a sign-and-trade transaction sending Lowry to Miami. This type of deal involves the player negotiation a contract with the new team, and then the two teams agreeing on trade parameters.

For Ball, it was a similar situation between himself, the Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans. Like Lowry, Ball's deal was reported just moments after free agency opened.

NBA teams are not allowed to negotiate contract terms, nor sign-and-trade agreements, until after free agency opens. It's a regular occurrence for contract terms to be announced seconds after the negotiating period is live. It is rare for those deals to involve somewhat complex sign-and-trade agreements.

Erik Spoelstra is considered the best head coach in the NBA, according to a survey of general managers.

Spoelstra received 55 percent of the vote. Last season, Spoelstra received 46 percent of the vote.

Monty Williams, Quin Snyder and Gregg Popovich each received between 10 and 20 percent of the vote.