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Come Fan with UsSaturday, June 20, 2026

Happy NBA trade deadline day! (Is this thing on?)

We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.

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NBA: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers
NBA: Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. Whether anything worth more than an arched eyebrow will happen by then is a mystery. As of this writing around 7 a.m. ET on Thursday, the rumor mill has stopped spinning. It appears Avery Bradley will be moved, perhaps to the Spurs, and that’s something. Willy Hernangomez has been traded from the Knicks to the Hornets. That’s, uh, something. Rumors continue to swirl around Tyreke Evans, with multiple teams in the mix.

But the whispers around the bigger names — your DeAndre Jordans, your Marc Gasols, your Kemba Walkers — have gone silent. The NBA is typically good for a shocker out of left field, but last week’s Blake Griffin trade probably checks that box, if we want to be technical.

We’ll see if anything else happens out of the blue. Follow our trade rumor tracker all day to keep up on what the reporters are saying.

Scores Galore ...

BKN 106, DET 115
HOU 109, MIA 101
MIN 138, CLE 140 (OT)
UTA 92, MEM 88
SAS 129, PHX 81

... And So Much More

One guy definitely not getting traded at the deadline: Lou Williams, who signed a relatively modest three-year extension ($24 million) with the Clippers.

The Cavaliers and Timberwolves played one of the best games of the year, a high-scoring, defense-optional thriller. It ended in overtime with an enormous LeBron James block on Jimmy Butler and a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper from James. All hail the king.

MEANWHILE! Isaiah Thomas told reporters the Cavaliers coaching staff doesn’t make in-game adjustments. Tyronn Lue ... disputed this characterization.

How much does Cleveland love Isaiah? The Cavs posted a “Happy Birthday” message to him on Instagram ... and had to close the comments.

How Minnesota has a world-class NBA offense without going modern.

Paul George continues to say that he’s quite happy in Oklahoma City, but that it doesn’t mean he’s staying this summer. Really, he’s being shockingly candid about his interest with the Lakers. Zito Madu writes that George’s cool is the perfect match for Russell Westbrook’s wild.

Whitney Medworth presents the Defensive Player of the Year case for PG-13: A clip showing him shutting down each of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant in the same game. In related news: Here’s our video series Drawing Board on George and Westbrook’s penchant for getting steals.

Enes Kanter faces charges in Turkey of criticizing the Turkish basketball federation, the Turkish president, and ... uh, Hedo Turkoglu?

RAPTOR SEASON.

Celebrity Game rosters released! Still no Obama.

Kevin O’Connor on whether there’s a missing piece for the Thunder to track down by the deadline.

Ben Falk on what it was like trading Gerald Wallace for a premium draft pick (one that became Damian Lillard) during his time with the Blazers.

Apparently Shaq bet against the Eagles and his punishment was that he had to run around covered in feathers shouting “Go Eagles.” We’re all winners here.

Forbes reports that every NBA team is now worth at least $1 billion.

Karl-Anthony Towns’ customs game is out of control.

Shout out to George Hill and Garrett Temple, doing real work.

TNT has Celtics-Wizards at 8 p.m. ET and Thunder-Lakers at 10:30.

Be excellent to each other.


Paul George and Russell Westbrook are here to steal your basketball