Basketball Wiretap

Dan Gilbert: We Think Donovan Mitchell Will Extend Contract With Cavaliers

Mar 28, 2024 1:52 PM

The Cleveland Cavaliers are confident Donovan Mitchell will sign a long-term contract extension with the franchise.

“We’ve been talking to him, sure, for the last couple of years about extending this contract,” Dan Gilbert told Larry Lage of the Associated Press. “We think he will extend. I think if you listen to him talk, he loves the city.

“He loves the situation in Cleveland because our players are very young and we’re just kind of putting the core together that he’s clearly the biggest part of.”

Mitchell signed a five-year, $163 million contract in 2020 with Utah and is under contract through the 2026 season.

Mitchell is eligible to sign a four-year extension this summer worth approximately $200 million.

There has been some speculation in the media that Mitchell could reject an extension offer by the Cavaliers and either seek a trade or leave in free agency in 2025. 

Larry Lage/Associated Press

Tags: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Trade Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Grayson Allen Not Thinking About His Next Contract Yet

Mar 27, 2024 10:07 AM

Grayson Allen is having a career year with the Phoenix Suns. Allen has averaged career-highs in points, rebounds and assists, while leading the NBA in three-point shooting at 47.9% and closing in on a potential 50/40/90 season.

Allen's done all of this in a contract year. He's aware he'll soon be eligible to sign an extension with the Suns, but Allen isn't focused on his next deal at the moment.

"I haven’t been thinking about it or playing for the contract or anything, but I feel really blessed to be in a position where I’m on a team I fit perfectly on in an important year for me career wise," Allen said. "Very blessed to be playing this well and given the opportunity I’ve been given to help the team out as much as I have."

When pressed on what he could sign for, Allen reiterated that signing an extension or new deal isn't top of mind for him now.

"I try not to think about it too much," said Allen about his specific contract numbers. "One, because it’s not a done deal until it’s signed. You don’t want to count it, start counting stuff too early before it happens. Another part of is it’s March and we’ve got 11, 10 games left. We’re getting at a time where you don’t want to have stuff like that on your mind cause it’s an individual goal for me and right now, it’s the Suns and team stuff. I don’t want to think about that kind of stuff too much."

Duane Rankin/AZ Central

Tags: Grayson Allen, Phoenix Suns, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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D'Angelo Russell Prefers To Stay With Lakers

Mar 27, 2024 9:58 AM

Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell has a player option for $18.7 million for next season. Russell hasn't decided if he'll pick up his option or opt out, but he does know he would prefer to remain with the Lakers.

"I’d love to be here and continue to give it a run and be where my feet are now," Russell told HoopsHype. "Obviously, I’ve been on the other side of it, and I’ve been through the roller coaster of free agency and having to sit back and wait. I’m looking forward to not having to worry about that. I’ve been blessed enough to put myself in this position with my play. I’m definitely planning on taking advantage of that. When that time comes, I feel that everything will play out how it’s supposed to play out."

The veteran guard also said there's a lot of pressure playing in what is effectively a contract year.

"It’s definitely pressure," Russell said. "It’s something that can eat a lot of people up in the league. A lot of people can be too high at times and too low at times, which causes an emotional roller coaster through the ups and downs of the season. For me, I wanted to control that. I wanted to stay sane and stay even-keeled through the ups and the downs."

Michael Scotto/HoopsHype

Tags: D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Ty Lue On Clippers Identity Right Now: I Think We're Soft

Mar 26, 2024 9:56 AM

The Los Angeles Clippers are struggling at the moment. The Clippers have slipped to fifth in the Western Conference, behind the surging New Orleans Pelicans.

That has the team questioning their identity.

"We gotta find our identity," James Harden said. "Teams are scoring easy on us. Makes it difficult to score offensively.

"It's a little frustrating ... I think we're all trying to figure out what the hell is going on."

Ty Lue had a more pointed observation of his team's identity at the moment.

"So identity for us, it's got to be toughness," Lue said. "Which means physicality, mental and physical toughness, a high-powered offense -- we can score in a lot of different ways -- and we got to have a defensive mindset.

"And so right now, do we have an identity? I think, yeah, we're soft."

Ohm Youngmisuk/ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Clippers, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Domantas Sabonis Sets Post-Merger Consecutive Double-Double Record

Mar 26, 2024 9:31 AM

Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis set a post-merger NBA record with his 54th consecutive double-double. Sabonis had 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the Kings victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

Sabonis began the streak on December 2, when he recorded a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds. During the streak, Sabonis has had 53 points-rebounds double-doubles and one points-assists double-double. He's also recorded 24 triple-doubles during the 54-game run.

The Kings center broke a tie with Kevin Love, who had a 53-game double-double streak when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Wilt Chamberlain holds the overall record with 227 consecutive double-doubles.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Mamadi Diakite Signs With Knicks For Remainder Of Season

Mar 25, 2024 4:02 PM

The New York Knicks have signed Mamadi Diakite for the remainder of the season.

Diakite was recently on a 10-day contract with the Knicks.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Mamadi Diakite, New York Knicks, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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DaQuan Jeffries Signs With Knicks For Remainder Of Season

Mar 25, 2024 4:01 PM

The New York Knicks have signed DaQuan Jeffries for the remainder of the season.

Jeffries recently signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks and has appeared in 13 games with the team.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: DaQuan Jeffries, New York Knicks, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Kobi Simmons, Raptors Agree To 10-Day Deal

Mar 24, 2024 3:11 PM

The Toronto Raptors have agreed to sign Kobi Simmons to a 10-day contract.

Simmons has averaged 15.1 points, 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds for the Raptors 905 this season in the G League.

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Tags: Kobi Simmons, Toronto Raptors, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Tom Thibodeau, Knicks To Talk Extension This Summer

Mar 23, 2024 2:24 PM

The New York Knicks have suffered through an injury-plagued season, but the team is still battling for homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference. A lot of credit for that goes to Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. He's fostered a next-man-up mentality that helps his team succeed even when key players are out.

Now, New York and Thibodeau are expected to discuss a contract extension. Thibodeau's current contract is set to expire after the 2024-25 season. But both the Knicks and Thibodeau have interest in discussing an extension, and those talks are expected to begin this summer.

Thibodeau is wrapping up his fourth season as New York's head coach. He's compiled a 166-139 regular season record to date. He's also gone 7-9 in the playoffs, with first round victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers last season.

Sam Amick/The Athletic

Tags: New York Knicks, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Nemanja Bjelica Announces Retirement

Mar 23, 2024 2:03 PM

In a simple message posted on Instagram, Nemanja Bjelica announced his retirement from playing basketball.

"20 years...Thank you basketball" was Bjelica's message on Saturday afternoon.

The 6-foot-10 forward played for seven seasons in the NBA. Bjelica started his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2015, before moving to the Sacramento Kings in 2018. At the 2021 trade deadline, Bjelica was dealt to the Miami Heat. He then signed with the Golden State Warriors, and helped the team win the 2022 NBA Finals.

Following that NBA title, Bjelica returned to Fenerbahce in Turkey. He had previously played for the Turkish club before coming to the NBA.

Bjelica also played professionally for clubs in his native Serbia and in Spain during his 20-year professional career. The 35-year-old had also suited up for the Serbian national team for several EuroBasket and World Cup competitions, as well as Olympic qualifiers.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Nemanja Bjelica, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Fenerbahce Beko, KK Crvena Zvezda, Serbia, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, International, National, National Misc Rumor, International Teams, International Misc Rumor, National Teams

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Jock Landale To Dillon Brooks: 'Stop Getting Ejected. We Need You Out Here'

Jackson Gatlin/Locked On Rockets

Victor Wembanyama To Give Input On Spurs' Offseason Moves

Matthew Tynan/Corporate Knowledge

JB Bickerstaff, Erik Spoelstra Share Security Concerns With Sports Betting

Chris Fedor/Cleveland.com

Sixers 'Loom As Eager' To Sign Paul George If He Becomes Free Agent

Marc Stein/The Stein Line

Chimezie Metu, Pistons Agree To 10-Day Contract

RealGM Staff Report

Kyrie Irving: Victor Wembanyama Has The Tools To Be Defensive Player Of The Year

Paul Garcia/Project Spurs

Domantas Sabonis Records 50th Consecutive Double-Double

Keith Smith/Spotrac

Paul George Says Clippers 'Don't Have An Identity'

Tomer Azarly/Clutch Points

NBA Instructed Officials To Curb Foul Hunting

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Kai Jones, Sixers Agree To 10-Day Contract

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Gregg Popovich: We Have A Lot Of Possibilities Ahead Of Us

Tom Orsborn/San Antonio Express-News

D'Angelo Russell Has 'Value This Summer' Beyond Lakers

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

DaQuan Jeffries, Knicks Agree To 2nd 10-Day Deal

Michael Scotto/HoopsHype

Jamahl Mosley, Magic Agree To Four-Year Extension

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Otto Porter Jr. Announces Retirement After Being Waived By Jazz

Shams Charania/The Athletic

Saddiq Bey Out For Season With Torn ACL In Left Knee

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Darius Bazley, Jazz Agree To Three-Year, Non-Guaranteed Deal

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Kenneth Lofton Jr., Jazz Agree To Three-Year, Non-Guaranteed Deal

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

D'Angelo Russell Says Public Humiliation Made Him A 'Killer' On The Court

ESPN

Rudy Gobert Insinuates Gambling Is Influencing Officials

Joe Vardon and Jon Krawczynski/The Athletic