NBA in Talks With European Football Owners to Back New Basketball League
The NBA has held early-stage discussions with owners of clubs including Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City, as well as prospective backers of a London-based team, regarding potential investment and venues for the new teams, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Newsweek
22 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Warriors' Steph Curry Gets Honest About Future Retirement
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. Steph Curry has been the face of the Golden State Warriors for years. Even at 37 years old, he is still playing at an elite superstar level and has shown no signs of slowing down. Last season, he was able to lead the Warriors to the playoffs once again. He led an upset in the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets, who were the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Following Curry's injury against the Timberwolves, Golden State was quickly eliminated in five games. Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates during the third quarter in game seven of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on April 30, 2023... Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates during the third quarter in game seven of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on April 30, 2023 in Sacramento, California. More Photo byAs time rolls on, the future has become a question mark for Curry. How much longer will he keep playing in the NBA? Read more: Former NBA Star Fires Shade at Spurs' Victor Wembanyama That is a question that he has started speaking out about. During a recent appearance with Complex, Curry opened up again about his NBA future. "I'm kind of just taking it in two-year chunks. I just want to be in a position where I've put myself in a position where I can say I've done everything I can," Curry said. "I'm not nowhere close to that." Fans will love to hear that news. Curry has become a fan favorite across the league. When he chooses to hang up his shoes and retire, it will be an incredibly sad day for the NBA. He also opened up about the most difficult part of the NBA grind for him these days. The offseason has become more difficult. "Mostly the offseason for me are the hardest than the like in season experience because once you get into the 82 games like it's repetition," he said. "You know what you need to do — practice, off days, you love playing and the games are the most fun... the games are so much fun. Like you get lost in the game. Like that's the easy part." Read more: Lakers' Marcus Smart Sends Bold Luka Doncic Message Throughout his 1,026-game career thus far, Curry has averaged 24.7 points per game to go along with 6.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. He has also shot 47.1 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from the three-point line. Curry will play most of the 2025-26 NBA season at 37 years old. He will turn 38 on March 14 of 2026. Hopefully, he's able to stay healthy and continue his career on his terms. He sounds ready to play for at least two more years and possibly more past that. For more on the Golden State Warriors and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
USA Today
23 minutes ago
- USA Today
OKC Thunder mailbag: How should Lu Dort's possible contract extension be handled?
The calendar nears August, which means the NBA is in its driest part of the year. Rosters are mostly set as front offices head into vacations for the next couple of months before training camps start. The Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the 2025-26 season with the hopes of being repeat NBA champions. They had one of the greatest seasons ever with a 68-14 regular-season record and captured the Larry O'Brien trophy. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were all signed to new contract extensions this offseason. But what about another Thunder starter who is sneakily extension-eligible? With plenty of time to kill, Thunder Wire will conduct regular mailbags to answer questions that fans have. One question being asked is if the Thunder should go four-for-four with big extensions this summer and sign Lu Dort to a new deal. There's no straightforward answer as OKC's payroll situation gets dicey after next season. Dort has two years, $36.4 million left on his current deal. The second year is a 2026-27 team option for $18.2 million. Considering the 26-year-old had his best season yet as he finally earned All-Defensive Team honors and stepped up in the playoffs, he's being criminally underpaid. That should change soon. If the Thunder feel confident enough about their payroll situation and comfortable with an expensive roster, they could go ahead and sign him this summer. But considering their recent history of decline-and-sign deals, they could wait until the next offseason to ink him to a long-term contract. Considering what other top defenders make, Dort could get in the $20 million to $30 million salary range pretty easily. He could surpass that, too. As currently constructed, that would place the Thunder with quite an expensive payroll. Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren are set to take up around 85% of OKC's cap space once the 2026-27 season starts. It'd be tough to pencil in another decent-sized salary before running into roster construction problems. You also have to consider other contract situations with Dort. Isaiah Hartenstein has a $28.5 million team option for the 2026-27 season. Cason Wallace will be eligible for an extension next summer. Alex Caruso will start a four-year, $81.1 million extension this upcoming season. It's a lot to tie up. The Thunder may need to decline Hartenstein's option anyway to avoid being punished with the first and second aprons. That doesn't even include the possibility of keeping Dort or Wallace. Just ballparking OKC's long-term cap sheet, it may be one or the other. Which is a tough decision to make. But if the Thunder hope to keep both, Caruso could be a trade candidate to make that possible. Even though he's on the wrong side of the age curve, the 31-year-old has a tradeable contract that averages around $20 million per season. He should easily have a market. If the Thunder move on from him and let Hartenstein walk, that could signal their hope to keep Dort and Wallace. I think the Thunder should do what they do best. Kick the can down the road. Make any long-term decisions on that group of four role players after next season. Dort has been a fixture since he arrived in 2019. He's been one of OKC's best gems ever as an undrafted rookie. Who knows how the Thunder prioritizes their upcoming contract situations outside of their Big 3, but Dort would be worth the headache to keep on a new extension. He's that valuable on both ends of the floor and is still in his prime. Extend Dort now or wait until next offseason before deciding what to do?What will happen with Dieng's contract? Salary dump him at the deadline and convert Barnhizer or Carlson to a standard deal? Trade Dieng for a win-now veteran?Will Chet's minutes be managed this reg szn?
Business Journals
23 minutes ago
- Business Journals
New Wells Fargo program is fueling businesses on the brink of expansion
Yuta Katsuyama came to Chicago from Tokyo in 2018 to study at Illinois Tech's Institute of Design. When he arrived, he found foods like sushi and ramen throughout the city, but he couldn't find his favorite food from his homeland: rice balls called onigiri. In 2020, Katsuyama invited Cristina Tarriba to join him on a five-week business prototype project for school. They cooked in a shared kitchen, took pre-orders and delivered onigiris in his Chevy Volt — dubbed the 'Onigiri Shuttle'— across the city. After the project ended, the partners decided to become food entrepreneurs full-time and launched Onigiri Kororin inside food and beverage incubator The Hatchery. By the end of 2024, the business had grown to where its grab-and-go products were sold in more than 60 stores across Chicago. To satisfy increasing demand, the partners needed to expand operations. That was going to require a significant capital investment — one the business could not afford on its own. Instead, it found another way, through Wells Fargo's new $20 million Open for Business Growth program. The program had awarded a $2.5 million grant to the Chicago-based nonprofit Allies for Community Business (A4CB), which co-owns The Hatchery with the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC). A4CB provided Onigiri Kororin with $210,000 in revenue-based financing, which allowed the business to expand to a larger kitchen at ICNC's Make City incubator and increase staffing. 'Our new kitchen is three times bigger, and we can have eight team members working at the same time, more than doubling our staffing capacity,' Katsuyama said. 'We want to continue to grow by introducing other types of products and eventually expand to other states across the U.S. The loan was transformative to allow us to take the next step.' Katsuyama's school-project-turned-business now has 25 employees. Creative capital makes expansion more accessible A4CB — which provides capital, coaching and connections for entrepreneurs — was the first grant recipient of the Wells Fargo Open for Business Growth program, which was created specifically to support small businesses on the brink of expansion. The challenge: Many of these businesses need more than a microloan but are not yet large enough for traditional financing, said Kimelyn Harris, Wells Fargo's head of small business philanthropy. expand 'When small businesses don't get the capital they need, they remain stagnant,' she said. 'Flexible capital is what's needed most.' The program gives nonprofit partners like A4CB the opportunity to develop products and services that empower small businesses looking to scale so more of them can achieve next-level growth. With its Open for Business Growth grant, A4CB will focus on growing the construction industry around Chicago and helping retail and restaurant businesses like Onigiri Kororin that have fluctuating revenue flow. The organization is piloting a new revenue-based financing model — the same one provided to Onigiri Kororin — and expanding access to its partnership with HIRE360, a specialized construction loan program that offers advisory services and mentoring. The Wells Fargo grant funding also supports free business coaching for A4CB's clients. 'We'll be able to expand our offerings to far more entrepreneurs because of Wells Fargo's support,' said Brad McConnell, CEO of A4CB, noting that this is 'creative capital' that doesn't dilute the entrepreneur's ownership. Flexible financing, he said, allows debt payments to better align with revenue as it fluctuates. A4CB estimates clients supported by the grant will generate as many as 260 local jobs as they execute larger contracts and create new opportunities. 'Supporting entrepreneurship is hard, expensive and risky,' McConnell said. 'We're really good at what we do, but we can't take on those risks and expenses on our own. Wells Fargo cares about the same things we care about: investing in communities so there is wealth building. This collaboration allows us to invest in entrepreneurs who are ready to create jobs and wealth in the community.' Building on a track record of small business support The Open for Business Growth program builds on the success of Wells Fargo's $420 million Open for Business Fund, which collaborated with community organizations during the pandemic. According to grantees, the fund has benefited roughly 336,000 small businesses and has enabled them to keep or maintain 461,000 jobs nationwide. The impact the new program is generating in Chicago is just the beginning. In the coming year, it will expand to other markets across the U.S. 'This program supports the businesses that are ready to scale, hire additional staff, build capacity and deepen their community impact,' Harris said. 'This funding empowers nonprofits to develop innovative products, solutions and services to help these businesses grow sustainably. These businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and sustaining the vibrancy of local communities. Our mission is to strengthen their ability to thrive for the long term.'
