The NBA season has been suspended since March 11, when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first player to test positive for COVID-19. Plans to resume the season have been ramped up in recent weeks as an increasing number of states have allowed teams to reopen training facilities and Barkley believes it’s a matter of when, rather than if the NBA will return. “[The NBA is] gonna make a decision in the next week,” the 1993 MVP said on ESPN’s The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday....

Even in a year where there weren’t many marquee free agents, there were still plenty of trade rumors and big deals to keep the NBA world buzzing at the start of the tentpole offseason event. The day really took off when it was reported that All-Star forward Kevin Durant has requested a trade out of Brooklyn. That kept NBA fans busy until the 6 p.m. ET starting point, where NBA insiders emptied their Twitter drafts of all the signings they have been sitting on for only they know how long....

The consensus was that the Kings were moving toward a Cousins deal because they’d still be far enough from the trade deadline — and thus, the second half of the season — to avoid the pressure of trading from a position of weakness. The Kings would give whatever trading partner they eventually found plenty of time to work Cousins into the new rotation and allow his new team time to work on a potential contract extension....

Love has been involved in multiple trade rumors this summer, but Sexton thinks his teammate will be staying in Cleveland. “Kevin (Love), he’s not going anywhere,” Sexton said during a recent interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio. “I feel like he’s not going anywhere.” Love, a five-time All-Star, struggled with injuries throughout 2018-19 and played in just 22 games. The Cavaliers were one of the worst teams in the NBA last season and finished with a 19-63 record....

New Orleans has received calls about the availability of guards Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick ahead of the March 25 trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who reports that the Pelicans have “shown an openness” to discussing deals with interested suitors. The Pels and Warriors have talked about a potential trade involving Kelly Oubre Jr., per Charania, but the two sides haven’t made serious progress on that front....

Porzingis’ brother-agent, Janis, told ESPN.com that Kristaps wants to continue playing in New York, saying he “feels at home there.” MORE: Porzingis defies Knicks, plays for Latvia “The only thing he wants is for the Knicks to create an environment where he can develop and grow as a player and win,” Janis Porzingis said. Janis Porzingis declined to comment on why his brother skipped his exit meeting with Jackson....

All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving wants to escape the shadow of LeBron James, having requested to be traded from the Cavaliers back in July after three straight trips to the NBA Finals. However, James could ultimately play a major role in Irving’s final destination, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. NBA TRADE RUMORS: Cavs targeting Kristaps Porzingis? When he informed Cleveland’s front office of his desire to be dealt, Irving also reportedly submitted the Cavs’ brass with a list of four preferred landing sports — the Timberwolves, Heat, Spurs and Knicks....

The Cavaliers shooting guard is stuck on a 1-8 team with no clear roles for the veterans on the roster. Even worse, Korver should have been gone by now. The Cavs reportedly agreed to trade or buy out Korver if LeBron James left in free agency. James decided to sign with the Lakers, but Cleveland’s front office didn’t want to start a rebuild and felt Korver could help the Cavs win....

Oklahoma City has “increased its efforts” to reduce salary by attaching a contract to the No. 21 pick in Thursday’s draft, according to a report from Sports Illustrated, which cites unidentified league sources. Thunder center Steven Adams, wing Andre Roberson and guard Dennis Schroder are “very available” in potential deals, the report says. Adams is the biggest name involved in the reported talks. He averaged 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds in 33....

A video of the shooting appears to show one of the men involved in the incident stepping aside, raising questions about the motives behind the deadly clash. The video obtained by WRAL News shows the final moments of the dispute between Roger Dale Nobles, who was driving a pickup truck, and Stephen Addison, the motorcyclist, police said. The video, recorded by a bystander, shows Nobles’ son, Roger Dale Nobles Jr....

It’s Selection Sunday, a day that spelled agony for some teams, ecstasy for others and all-around general interest to even the most casual of basketball fans. What teams made it in? Which teams were seeded too high? Too low? Which were snubbed, and which teams’ shocking entry will enrage rival fans? The Sporting News provided a live look as each of the regions were revealed: Seed 1 through 16, including the First Four....

Phoenix/Tucson, Atlanta, indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, North Texas, San Antonio and St. Louis all submitted bids to host a Final Four during one of those seasons. MORE: SN’S Mike DeCourcy ranks favorite Final Four experiences The West Coast will get its first Final Four since Seattle’s 1995 bid, with Phoenix landing the honor to host 2017’s games. The season-ending sprint will head to San Antonio in 2018. New domed stadiums in Minneapolis and Atlanta factored heavily into the committee’s decision to bring the 2019 and 2020 games to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and the Peach State, respectively....

The term “Mask Madness” is an obvious play on “March Madness,” which is the vastly-popular, wildly-entertaining and highly-profitable men’s college basketball tournament that’s mostly played, well, in March. The men’s and women’s NCAA Division I basketball tournaments both ultimately got canceled last spring because of the sudden COVID-19 pandemic that reached the shores of the U.S. in full force. The NCAA typically scores about $1 billion in revenue from the 68-team men’s basketball tournament that takes three weeks to play—all on national TV....

Teams that are in: MORE: Printable bracket | Field of 68 | Worst bubble losses | 75 best tournament players of all time | Best buzzer-beaters Automatic bids America East: Albany ACC: Notre Dame Atlantic Sun: North Florida Atlantic 10: VCU Big East: Villanova Big Sky : Eastern Washington Big South: Coastal Carolina Big 12: Iowa State Big West: UC-Irvine Colonial: Northeastern C-USA: UAB Horizon: Valparaiso Ivy League: Harvard...

Consider our point when it comes to top-seeded teams in the men’s college basketball tournament. Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1984-85, there are two stats that matter when talking about the last 34 NCAA tournaments. SN’s MARCH MADNESS HQPredictor tool | Best bracket names | Tickets A No. 1 seed has won 21 of those 34 tournaments, including three of the last four with Duke (2015), North Carolina (2017) and Villanova (2018) Of the 68 championship game participants, a total of 34 — or 50 percent — were No....

NCAA Tournament bracket picks: East Region Best story line Is this the Duke we were expecting all along? When the season began, Duke was a near-unanimous No. 1 pick among the preseason publications (including Sporting News College Basketball yearbook) and the polls. But injuries that ruined the preseason for freshmen Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Marques Bolden, a nagging injury and persistent on-court issues for star junior Grayson Allen and the leave of absence for coach Mike Krzyzewski to recover from back surgery all undermined the Devils’ ability to develop as a team....

Here is a look at each team as they battle for a spot in the Final Four on April 2 in Houston. Game time: 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS, played in Chicago. MORE: Looking at UConn’s historic blowout of MSU | Virginia vs. Syracuse betting line Virginia Cavaliers (29-7) No. 1 seed, Midwest Region Coach: Tony Bennett (seventh season) Bid: At-large, ACC Starting lineup F Anthony Gill (13.9 ppg, 6....

The majority of power outages are still located in the south, where Hurricane Ida made landfall earlier this week. According to the website PowerOutage.US, which records power outage data across the country, almost 911,000 customers are without power in Louisiana. In several counties in the southeastern portion of the state, outages are impacting nearly all customers. In Mississippi, just over 35,000 people are still without electricity. In the Northeast, where heavy rains hit Wednesday evening, close to 200,000 customers are facing outages including about 182,000 in the Mid-Atlantic region, and just over 21,000 in New England....

As of Tuesday, 49,249 people who didn’t vote in November had already cast ballots in the January 5 runoffs, according to the U.S. Election Project, including 31,000 who voted in the past week. Democrats and Republicans have a vested interest in the outcome of the elections, as it will determine control of the Senate, and in what’s expected to be a close race, every vote matters. About 5 million people cast votes in Georgia’s Senate election in November, and in the five weeks between Election Day and the end of the voter registration period, organizations and groups worked to increase the number of people who could cast ballots....

Polling for Newsweek suggests 48 percent of U.K. citizens think the palace were too secretive compared to 52 percent who do not. The data, based on a survey of 1,500 people by Redfield & Wilton, shows the Monarchy’s approach is still backed by the majority but by a narrow margin with the country divided about its PR strategy. Elizabeth, 95, pulled out of a planned trip to Northern Ireland in October and spent a night in hospital with an undisclosed health problem....