The Cavaliers owner suffered a stroke May 26 and remains hospitalized, but Cleveland’s front office intends to move forward with the offseason plan that Gilbert helped create before he was hospitalized. According to cleveland.com, which cited unidentified sources, Gilbert “gave the front office the go-ahead to be aggressive” in making roster moves, even if it means taking on more salary. Cleveland.com notes the Cavaliers’ payroll was around $123 million this past season, and the franchise has committed about $134 for the upcoming season, which is expected to be one of the highest in the league....

The Red Raiders sophomore guard announced Thursday he will forgo his final two years of eligibility and declared for the 2019 NBA Draft during a press conference at The United Spirit Arena. “Coach, he coaches me hard every day. He brought the best out of me every day. He made me a better player and a better person,” Culver said. “And I want to thank my teammates, this year’s and last year’s....

It had been reported that Harden was unhappy, and that he could try to force a trade this year, but similar NBA disputes have historically played out to their conclusion mostly out of public sight with occasional leaks from agents serving as primary story advancers. When Anthony Davis pushed out of New Orleans in 2019, for example, there was an exit request made and then a whole bunch of awkward silence....

Brown already had a packed resume, with seven years under his belt as an NBA assistant and another eight years as a head coach with the Cavaliers and Lakers (well, seven years and four games, at least). Golden State would be his sixth NBA employer. But the Warriors do things a little different, running relatively unstructured practices under the heavy beat of music blaring from more than a dozen large speakers....

Many of the greatest players have battled on the league’s brightest stage in the 75 years since, making history with record-breaking performances that will never be forgotten. Just about every NBA fan knows about Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point performance in the regular season but who has poured in the most points in a single game in the NBA Finals? Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson drilled an NBA record 14 3-pointers in Oct....

Led by chief Zach Zarba, the three-person crew also features veteran NBA officials, David Guthrie and John Goble. The trio of Zarba, Guthrie and Goble have made a combined 20 NBA Finals appearances. Game 6 of the NBA Finals marks the 11th NBA Finals game that Zarba has officiated in his career, while this will be Guthrie’s eighth NBA Finals game and Goble’s seventh NBA Finals game. Each referee has officiated one game earlier in this series....

A message was waiting for Hayward on the scoreboard at Fenway Park — home of MLB’s Boston Red Sox — welcoming him to Boston. More: NBA free agency tracker: Latest news, signings of top available players Miami is also in the free agency race for Hayward, and displayed a banner of him on Saturday outside American Airlines Arena. Hayward was photoshopped into a Heat jersey. Stevens recruited and coached Hayward while at Butler, where they took a trip to the 2010 NCAA title game....

MORE: NBA free agency live blog Lin’s deal is figured to pay him $36 million over three years, according to ESPN NBA Insider Marc Stein. The price point is what many estimated but fall short of the five-year, $120 million deal his former Charlotte teammate Nicolas Batum pulled down, and on par with 24-year-old Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (four-years, $50 million), a player perceived to have far more upside. Lin averaged 11....

Derrick Rose agreed to terms with Detroit and will sign a two-year, $15 million dollar deal, according to an ESPN report, which cited unidentified league sources. Detroit emerged as the favorite to land 2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose, according to an early report from The Athletic. Rose saw a career resurgence in 2018-19 with the Timberwolves averaging 18 points on 48.2 percent shooting from the floor. It was the highest shooting percentage he has posted since his second year in the league when he shot 48....

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that Harden’s decision to decline his $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season and re-sign at a lower number is at the center of the investigation. The move gave the 76ers the necessary cap space to add Tucker and House, whom are seen as crucial pieces. MORE: Harden’s contract puts finishing touches on 76ers’ successful offseason Tucker signed a three-year, $30 million deal while House signed for two years and $8....

It didn’t take long for that label to be permanently discarded. It only took a decade for the NBA to drag the national team from a 44-point average margin of victory and the greatest assemblage of talent ever on a single roster — 11 of the 12 were voted individually into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame — to being defeated by Argentina, Yugoslavia and Spain at home in Indianapolis at the 2002 FIBA World Championships....

But the playoffs are here! That means it’s time to talk about matchups and strategies. It’s time to make predictions using everything we’ve learned from the regular season (or throwing that all away, in some instances). MORE: 23 most-hated NBA players ever | Draft prospect rankings You can find the first-round NBA playoff schedule here, but we’re going to spoil the results because Sporting News’ Adi Joseph is sure these first-round picks will be perfect....

Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki will return to the site of one of the best moments of his stellar career. MORE: Box score | Playoff schedule | PHOTOS: Eastern Conference | Western Conference Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points to lead a fourth-quarter comeback that also got an energetic boost from Blair in his return after getting suspended, and the Mavericks forced a deciding game in their first-round series with top-seeded San Antonio, beating the Spurs 113-111 on Friday night....

During the Wizards’ Game 3 win on Thursday, Celtics star guard Isaiah Thomas was engaged in a not-so-friendly interaction with a heckler at the Verizon Center. The incident was caught on video by Instagram user The Sporty Traveler, who said in the caption “things got a little heated from the bench” when Thomas decided to address the “disrespectful fan.” MORE: Thomas upset with officials after shooting zero free throws in Game 4...

The Warriors and Cavs will get it on with a title on the line for the third-straight year when the NBA Finals tip off next Thursday, but LeBron James has already started toying with the psyches of his opponents. MORE: Finals schedule, dates, TV times for Cavs vs. Warriors III The rivalry basketball fans have waited nearly a calendar year to see renewed is finally (word to CeCe Penniston) upon us....

You can find the daily NBA playoff schedule with times and TV channels for every game below. MORE: NBA playoff scores NBA playoff schedule: TV, times, how to watch live Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for May 31 with a Game 7 on June 17 if necessary. Here’s how to watch every NBA playoff game live. All times Eastern. *If necessary. NBA playoff bracket

James broke Team Canada’s hearts in Game 3 of the Cavaliers-Raptors playoff series with a running, fallaway bank shot as time expired. The 105-103 victory gave Cleveland a three-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. RAPTORS-CAVS GAME 3: Get the highlights with SN’s live blog King James scored after he had dribbled almost the entire length of the court out of a timeout. To get a full appreciation of the play, let’s take a frame-by-frame look, starting with the body control and the shooting touch....

First of all you have to see the shot. With 4.2 seconds remaining Leonard got the ball off the inbounds and worked his way to the corner. He put a shot up and it looked short at first. Then it bounced once, twice, three, then four times and finally fell. But again, you have to see it to believe it. Here are some of the best reactions after the shot heard round the North

The San Antonio guard said emotions may have gotten the best of him. When asked about what led to his ejection, DeRozan simply explained (via ESPN): “Frustration. I thought it was a bad call. Combination of both.” With the Spurs down 110-92, DeRozan was called for a charge on Nuggets guard Gary Harris after driving to the hoop. DeRozan immediately threw the ball toward Foster, resulting in two technical fouls and an ejection....