Golden State’s attempt at a three-peat came up short when it fell to the Raptors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals. Stars Kevin Durant (ruptured Achilles) and Klay Thompson (torn ACL) suffered serious injuries in the finals and both will be free agents this summer. Even if they do re-sign with the Warriors, they’ll be sidelined for much, if not all, of next season. The Warriors’ bench also declined in 2018-19 and they’ll need to add multiple rotation pieces in the upcoming months....

Philadelphia has the No. 1 pick and has already made a verbal promise to Ben Simmons. The LSU forward has been criticized for his outside shooting and isn’t a great fit in the crowded Philly frontcourt, but there aren’t many 6-10 players with his court vision, rebounding ability and overall feel for the game. This is the right selection for long-suffering 76ers fans. The Lakers are next and will almost certainly draft Brandon Ingram....

Below are the draft picks for Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2018 NBA Draft with results featuring pick number, team and player. Deandre Ayton went No. 1 overall to the Suns (no surprise there), but the trade betwen the Hawks and Mavericks shook up the top five. Here is the complete round-by-round NBA Draft order along with the full results… NBA DRAFT GRADES: Instant analysis for every pick...

32 players were selected before Jalen Brunson in 2018. 29 players went before Jimmy Butler in 2011. 21 players came off the board before Grant Williams in 2019. These four represent the overlooked and undervalued, a growing number of draft sleepers that feature prominently in every NBA draft class. As these four played prominent roles in this year’s Conference Finals, I couldn’t help but think about the common threads shared by this select group....

Before we break down all of our selections, here are the most notable scoring rules for FanDuel contests: Made three-point shot (+1 point), rebound (+1.2 points), assists (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+3 points), field goal made (+2 points) and free throw made (+1 point). MORE NBA DFS: Thursday DraftKings lineup Thursday night’s FanDuel Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments Thursday main late swap slate, $60,000 budget PG Jalen Brunson, Knicks @ Celtics ($7,900)....

The Warriors topped the Clippers and Rockets in the first two rounds of the playoffs before advancing to the championship round with a sweep of the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals. They’ll be playing for their third straight title and fourth in the last five seasons. Warriors star Kevin Durant has been out since straining his calf in Golden State’s Game 5 win over the Rockets. He will not play in the opener but could return during the series against Toronto....

Are we looking at a sweep here in the 2016 NBA Finals? Games 1 and 2 definitely point towards a blowout, but a change of venue is the variable that can swing an entire series. Even with Kevin Love out for Game 3 due to concussion protocol, the Cavaliers win over 60 percent of simulations. AccuScore simulated each play 10,000-plus times and the home court variable continues to play a bigger role than ever....

Davis agreed to a two-year, $2 million deal with the Lakers on Wednesday night, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person requested anonymity because an official announcement has not been made. The deal includes a player option for the second season, giving him the chance to get back on the market quickly if things go well. Toronto made Davis the 13th overall pick in 2010, hoping the forward would add a dynamic element to its frontcourt....

Boston’s center will decline his $30.1 million option this offseason and become an unrestricted free agent, but he is doing so in hopes of working out a new deal with the Celtics, according to ESPN. Horford, 33, is coming off of a season in which he averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from beyond the arc. He is starting to get older and the team may want to restructure his deal so it can have more flexibility in free agency....

Los Angeles is signing big man Ivica Zubac to a four-year, $28 million deal, according to a report from ESPN. The Clippers acquired Zubac from in trade with the Lakers in 2018-19 and his stats received a healthy boost after making the move. The 22-year-old went from averaging 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game to 9.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He said he was happy to be playing “good basketball” with his new team in April, and it appears like there could be a lot of that ahead given the Clippers’ rapidly improving roster....

Rubio launched his lob from just inside midcourt, and KAT was there for the flush. MORE: New CBA’s big message to teams: Don’t screw up the draft Minnesota lost to the red-hot Rockets (10 wins in a row now) in overtime at home, but Towns had a huge game with 41 points and 15 rebounds. Rubio finished with seven assists, but none as pretty as that one. The Wolves are still working on the other parts of the game, as their 7-19 record indicates....

According to reports, Griffin, and Daquan Lundy, were arrested for their alleged involvement in a possible revenge shooting. On April 16, a friend of Griffin’s was killed in a drive-by shooting. The belief is that 13 days later, Griffin and Lundy waited for Treavor Glover and fired multiple shots at him because they believed he was tied to the killings. MORE: Must-see NBA second-round photos | Time for referee accountability Glover survived the shooting and claimed he wasn’t involved in the initial drive-by....

Orlando forward Jonathan Isaac suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on a drive to the basket early in the fourth quarter, the Magic announced Monday morning. After blowing by his defender on the perimeter, Isaac’s knee appeared to buckle as he gathered the ball for a shot attempt in the paint. He grabbed his knee in pain, and medical personnel immediately ran onto the floor. MORE: Isaac explains decision to stand for national anthem...

No need to wait until the series start. Sporting News’ Sean Deveney is here to give his ironclad NBA playoff predictions — but don’t blame him if he’s wrong. Let’s dive in. (East picks are below, and West picks can be found here.) NBA PLAYOFFS: Team-by-team game, TV schedule | Vegas championship odds NBA playoff bracket NBA playoffs 2017: Eastern Conference predictions (1) Celtics vs. (8) Bulls The backstory...

2017 NBA AWARDS BALLOT: Sean Deveney’s vote for MVP, DPOY, etc LeBron the music critic, though, was a pleasant surprise. When all the basketball questions had been pretty well exhausted during his press conference following a 119-114 victory, writer Jon R. LaFollette of Indy’s Nuvo.net – an alternative site that focuses on what alternative media generally do, arts and culture and the like – asked LeBron a question about rapper Kendrick Lamar’s latest album....

Why? Better question: Why not? The only thing Stevens has to lose is a series hardly anyone gave his team a pimp’s chance in a seminary to win anyway. MORE: When are the 2017 NBA Finals? Schedule, dates, TV times Boston, an underdog in the Eastern Conference finals despite being the No. 1 seed, followed up an embarrassing 44-point trouncing in Game 2 with an inspiring 111-108 win against the defending champion Cavaliers on Sunday without its two-time All-Star floor general, Isaiah Thomas....

The 76ers have fined Amir Johnson an undisclosed amount for looking at his phone in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s loss to the Nets in Game 1 of their first-round series. Joel Embiid was caught along with Johnson looking at what appeared to be Johnson’s phone on the bench. The pair appeared to be looking at a text message. The 76ers were losing to the Nets at home at the time, so this is not an ideal thing to have caught on camera....