The NBA on TNT is running an alternate broadcast during the Western Conference Finals. Instead of traditional play-by-play and analysis, the broadcast on truTV is conversational and there are a variety of guests.

During Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, one of the guests was Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. Paul is perhaps most famously known at LeBron James' agent, and he may have given some insight into James' initial plans for this offseason.

"LeBron is a free agent," Paul said about his most famous client. Paul then clarified that the Los Angeles Lakers have to hire who they want as their next head coach and that James has always played for whoever his coach is.

When asked by TNT's Chris Haynes to clarify if that meant it was decided that James would decline his player option for the 2024-25 season with the Lakers, Paul said that decision hadn't been made yet. James can decline his option and become a free agent. He's also eligible to pick up the option and to sign an extension.

"I don't know what he's gonna do," Paul said. "We're gonna do what we do every year. We're gonna evaluate the situation and we're gonna make the best decision."

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is expected to miss Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a left hamstring injury. Haliburton re-injured his hamstring in the second half of Game 2.

The Pacers trail the Boston Celtics 2-0 in the series. Indiana lost both Games 1 and 2 in Boston.

Haliburton missed 10 games in January due to his initial hamstring strain. He was then limited for several games leading up to the All-Star break.

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is questionable to play in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a non-COVID illness. Holiday has been one of Boston's best players as they've taken a 2-0 series lead over the Indiana Pacers.

Holiday has averaged 21.5 points, five rebounds and nine assists per game in the Celtics two wins over the Pacers. Indiana has tried to put their lesser defenders on Holiday throughout the first two games, and Boston has played through the veteran guard repeatedly.

The Celtics have already ruled out starting center Kristaps Porzingis, as he continues to recover from a calf straight. Backup center Luke Kornet is doubtful to play, due to a sprained wrist. Tyrese Haliburton is questionable for the Pacers, due to a sore left hamstring.

Brooklyn Nets governor Joe Tsai owned that his team didn't perform as hoped for last season. Tsai also said, "In New York, the Brooklyn Nets is at a crossroads in a way."

Tsai went on to explain that the Nets are trying to build a team that can compete long-term. That's guiding decision-making instead of short-term thinking designed around winning immediately.

"We didn’t do as well as we expected last season. We didn’t make the playoffs," Tsai said. "But we hope to revamp the team and make sure that we can compete in the long run… There’s a difference between I want to win, versus I want to build a winning mentality and culture that’s sustainable. Those two are very different things. If you just want to be win-now you could ruin your future by trading away all of your assets, but I think what I want to do with the Brooklyn Nets is take a longer-term approach and build a winning sustainable culture"

The Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Los Angeles Lakers discussed a trade involving D'Angelo Russell moving to the Nets and Dejounte Murray going to the Lakers at the trade deadline, sources told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

Trade negotiations eventually fell through between the Hawks and the Lakers.

The Nets would go on to trade for Dennis Schroder.

Russell has an $18.7 million player option this summer. Early indications are that Russell will decline the option to seek a multi-year deal.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers await a decision from Donovan Mitchell on an extension offer this offseason, Koby Altman said his exit interview was encouraging.

"This is a player that has had two of the best years of his career here, has had a lot of success here, understands the infrastructure," Altman said. "I think he has a lot of trust in what we're doing and understands that our goal is to win a championship.

"From his own words, he says he's happy here. He likes it here. And so he's always been very genuine. He's always been very intentional. He's been a great teammate. We have to take all that at face value and say, OK, we feel good about where we are with Donovan. Obviously, things could change."

Cleveland can offer Mitchell a four-year, $209 million extension.

The Cavaliers also parted ways with J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach this week.

Lonzo Ball revealed part of his recovery from his knee injury suffered in January 2022 has included undergoing a meniscus transplant from a donor.

Ball's injury dates back to when he tore his meniscus in 2018."There was no more meniscus left and bone on bone was rubbing," Ball said. "The cartilage was gone and the bone was messed up, so I had to get a new meniscus from a donor. I had to get a bone allograft and I had to get some new cartilage put in as well."

Ball underwent cartilage transplant surgery in March 2023, a third surgery on his left knee in the span of a year. 

Ball is optimistic that he will be ready to play at the start of the 2024-25 season.

"I firmly believe that," Ball said. "That's the plan that I'm on and I haven't had any setbacks. I expect to play the first game."

Tyrese Haliburton has been listed as questionable for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a sore left hamstring. Haliburton left the Indiana Pacers' Game 2 loss at the Boston Celtics with the injury.

Haliburton also suffered a chest injury in the game.

Haliburton's injury is a recurrence of a left hamstring strain suffered Jan. 8 against the Celtics when he slipped and fell and had to be helped off the court. The Pacers went 6-4 during that stretch.

The Sacramento Kings and Mike Brown have paused talks on a contract extensions.

The two sides remain apart on terms after discussing an extension this offseason.

Brown has one guaranteed season remaining on the four-year deal he signed with the Kings in 2022.

Brown guided the Kings to No. 3 seed in 2023 and finished with the No. 9 seed this season.

Warner Bros. Discovery is considering matching the media rights package the NBA has agreed upon with Amazon.

The league is close to signing agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon for three different packages of games.

WBD has up to five days to match a competing bid for the games it currently licenses from the NBA.

Amazon has reportedly offered $1.8 billion a year for a slate of games, while NBCUniversal has offered about $2.5 billion per year.

Warner Bros. Discovery is interested in a more affordable package of games given its gross debt of about $42 billion. David Zaslav has told colleagues he believes NBCUniversal is overspending for the NBA.