Brandin Podziemski highlights: Watch Warriors guard score 28 points vs. Timberwolves
Western Conference Finals preview: Oklahoma City Thunder or Minnesota Timberwolves? | The Kevin O'Connor Show
Kevin O'Connor is joined by Dane Moore to preview the upcoming Western Conference finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder & Minnesota Timberwolves. After beating the Lakers and the Warriors in previous rounds, have the Timberwolves escaped some of their regular season mistakes that landed them the 6-seed as they advance to face a 68-win Thunder team? Kevin follows up the Western Conference predictions with his rankings of which teams have the best chances to win the 2025 NBA Finals. Hear the full conversation on 'The Kevin O'Connor Show' and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Knicks' NBA Free Agency Plans Receive Major Update
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The New York Knicks are fresh off of their Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Indiana Pacers. Some time may have passed, but the sting of coming up short of the NBA Finals is still very much alive. Following the loss to the Pacers in six games, the Knicks made the move to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau. They still have yet to replace him, but the 2025 NBA Draft has come and gone, which means that free agency is about to open. With free agency opening on Monday, New York's plans have received a major update. Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks huddles with his team during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge... Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks huddles with his team during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 27, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. More Photo byThere are plenty of ways the Knicks could look to improve their roster. Could one of them come by signing a key piece of the Boston Celtics? Read more: Report: Rockets Could Make Second Trade After Kevin Durant Deal That is exactly what one insider has suggested could be of interest to New York. According to a report from Ian Begley of SNY, the Knicks are expected to "at least check in" on free agent center Al Horford. He has been a valuable member of the Celtics for the last four years. "I think the Knicks will take a look at the guard market for a bench player," Begley said. "Also, ESPN reports that Celtics veteran Al Horford will have a robust market this offseason. I think the Knicks will also at least check in on Horford's situation in Boston. The Celtics shed salary by trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and they certainly want Horford back, but are limited in what they can offer the veteran big man." During the 2024-25 NBA season with Boston, Horford played in 60 games and made 42 starts. He averaged nine points per game to go along with 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 42.3 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from three-point distance. Read more: Mark Cuban Sends Surprising Message About Mavericks' Cooper Flagg Even at 39 years old, Horford continues to find ways to remain productive. Adding Horford would give New York a valuable bench center. He can still score when called upon and is more than capable of playing high-level defense and rebounding. It will be interesting to see what the Knicks choose to do this offseason. They aren't far away from winning a championship. With the right moves this offseason, which could include signing Horford, New York should be right back in the thick of the championship chase during the 2025-26 season. For more on the New York Knicks and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Adou Thiero on two NBA players he's trying to learn from
As the Los Angeles Lakers look to restock their roster with more complementary talent nearly five months after the Luka Doncic trade, they're hoping that incoming rookie Adou Thiero will be part of their core for years to come. They acquired his rights on Thursday after he was the No. 36 pick in the draft, and he seems to have the natural tools to become a legitimate rotation player, if not a starter, someday. While he cannot shoot straight from the perimeter, he's very athletic and attacks the basket relentlessly, and he has the ability to disrupt things on the defensive end. If he pans out, the 6-foot-8 forward could be the type of two-way wing the Lakers need more of. He joined Los Angeles-based Spectrum SportsNet for an interview and said he's studying two of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA to model his game after them. 'I watch a lot of defenders, trying to pick up on what they do in the league, that's a different level. It's a lot of different stuff offensive players do in the league, so just trying to pick up off of OG Anunoby, Jrue Holiday, he's a great defender. Just picking up on what they do, watching how they play defense.' Anunoby, who plays for the New York Knicks and helped transform them into contenders when they traded for him midway through last season, is an excellent perimeter defender who also averaged 18.0 points a game this season and is a dependable 3-point shooter. Holiday is one of the best defenders at the point guard position, and he absolutely covers opponents like a straitjacket. He helped the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics win the NBA championship in 2021 and 2024, respectively. The Lakers are hoping for similar results as Thiero gets acclimated to his new surroundings.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Why NBA Free Agents Should Consider Signing Shorter Contracts For Now
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - APRIL 6: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to ... More the basket around Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Paycom Center on April 6, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by) From a financial perspective, there's never been a better time to be an NBA player. Just ask Naz Reid, who plans to re-sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a five-year, $125 million contract, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The free-agent market projects to be bleak for players hoping to change teams this offseason because the Brooklyn Nets are the only team expected to have significant salary-cap space. But the cap itself has skyrocketed over the past decade, bringing player salaries right along with it, as Reid can newly attest. In 2015-16, the salary cap was $70 million flat. The non-taxpayer mid-level exception was roughly $5.5 million, while the taxpayer MLE was not even $3.4 million. The 2025-26 cap is expected to land at roughly $154.6 million, which would put the non-taxpayer MLE at $14.1 million and the taxpayer MLE at $5.7 million. Yes, you read that right. The taxpayer mid-level exception in 2025-26 is expected to be roughly $200,000 higher than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception was a decade ago. That stratospheric growth isn't expected to stop anytime soon, either. Thanks to the NBA's new 11-year, $75 billion national TV contracts and the cap-smoothing proposal that the league office and the players' union agreed to as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the salary cap will likely rise by the full 10% that it's allowed to increase year-over-year for at least the next few seasons. Although it may be hard for NBA players to turn down nine-figure contract offers, they should think twice before locking in long-term deals this offseason. No matter what contract they sign, the salary cap projects to increase at a faster pace than their new deals will. The Compounding Problem Any NBA player looking to maximize their earning potential over the next half-decade needs to familiarize themselves with the concept of compounding. When a player re-signs with his own team, he's eligible for as much as 8% annual raises. However, that's a fixed rate after the first season. However much his salary increases year-over-year from the first season to the second is exactly how much it will rise in the ensuing years, too. For instance, say a player's new contract begins at $30.0 million and has 8% annual raises. It would jump to $32.4 million in the second year of the deal, but it would not increase by another 8% the following season. Instead, it would again rise by $2.4 million. It's even worse for players who sign with other teams in free agency. Those players are only eligible for four-year deals and have only 5% annual raises at most. Theirs work the same way as the 8% group, namely that the increase between the first and second seasons is equivalent to how much their salary will rise in future years. The NBA salary cap itself has no such issue. Not only is it projected to rise by 10% each year for the foreseeable future, but unlike the annual increase in contracts, those raises compound. As a result, long-term contracts will take up a slightly smaller portion of the cap each year, even if players get the full 8% max annual raise by re-signing with their own teams. If a player signed a five-year, $313.9 million max deal this summer, his salary would start at $54.1 million, increase to nearly $58.5 million in 2026-27 and then rise by another roughly $4.3 million over the remaining years of the deal. But if the cap does go up a full 10% annually over the lifespan of that contract, said deal would go from being 35% of the cap this coming season to only 31.6% in 2029-30. A contract starting at 35% of the salary cap will take up a smaller percentage of the cap each year. Granted, those smaller-than-the-cap-increase raises could ultimately benefit both players and teams. Given the new CBA's harsh team-building restrictions for the league's most expensive rosters, teams must be more cautious than ever while building around players on max contracts, particularly if they have two or more players on 35% max deals. Having those players take up an increasingly smaller portion of the salary cap each year could give teams extra wiggle room under the aprons to build out a championship-caliber supporting cast. Contracts are growing so massive that not every player will care about milking their respective teams for every dollar possible. For instance, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson signed a four-year, $156.5 million extension last summer rather than testing free agency in 2025, when he could have been eligible for a five-year, $269.1 million contract. Knicks wing Mikal Bridges, Brunson's college teammate, could potentially follow suit this offseason. Thus far, Brunson has been the exception to the rule. Jimmy Butler forced his way off the Miami Heat after they refused to give him the two-year, $110-plus million extension that he received upon landing on the Golden State Warriors. Anthony Davis signed a three-year, $175.4 million max extension in August 2023 that runs through the 2027-28 campaign (player option). Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner and Scottie Barnes all received max deals fresh off their rookie-scale contracts last year, too. As Reid just demonstrated, some players might prefer to lock in long-term financial security over fully maximizing their earning potential. After all, one major injury could threaten their ability to secure another nine-figure payday. Look no further than Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins, both of whom were in line for massive contracts within the past decade before a hip injury (Thomas) and Achilles tear (Cousins) derailed their careers. However, players who want to earn the most money possible during their NBA careers should be open to taking shorter-term contracts given the salary-cap outlook over the next few years. In fact, they should try to line up their deals to coincide with when they become eligible for a new earning tier. (Players with 7-9 years of NBA experience can receive up to 30% of the cap as their starting salary, while players with at least 10 years can receive up to 35%.) That approach comes with clear injury risk, but it also features more financial upside. Unless otherwise noted, all stats via PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. Follow Bryan on Bluesky.
