LeBron James isn’t done in Los Angeles quite yet. 

On Sunday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that James is picking up his $52.6 million player option with the Lakers for the 2025-26 season. 

James’ decision comes after the Lakers’ first season with Luka Dončić ended in disappointment despite being favorites to make it far in the West. The Lakers acquired Dončić from the Mavericks in a three-team trade that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas. 

After February’s seismic trade, the Lakers finished the season with a 50-32 record and secured the third seed in the West. 

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Rich Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”

Before the season began, James and the Lakers made headlines by hiring J.J. Redick as their head coach despite no coaching experience at a senior level. The former NBA guard’s only coaching experience was as a volunteer for his son’s fourth-grade team in Brooklyn.  

Redick, who succeeded Darvin Ham, was hired as the “Mind The Game” podcast he co-hosts with James rose to popularity. He would step away from the podcast — to be replaced by Steve Nash — and his role as an analyst on ESPN when he took the job with the Lakers. 

Just days later, the Lakers drew more attention when they selected Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Despite his lone year at USC being underwhelming after suffering a cardiac arrest during preseason, Bronny was drafted — making him and LeBron the first father-son duo in the NBA. 

Bronny appeared in 27 games for the Lakers and averaged 2.3 points per game. He also played 11 games for the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League and averaged 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists. 

LeBron joined the Lakers in 2018 after stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. He delivered two NBA titles to Miami in 2012 and 2013. James then returned to Cleveland and won the Cavs their first championship in 2016. 

Two years after arriving in Los Angeles, James and Davis led the Lakers to a championship in the 2020 NBA Bubble. 

James signed a two-year, $103.3 million extension with the Lakers in 2024. The deal included a player option for the 2025-26 season. In his 22nd season, James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists. 

Next season will be James’ eighth in Los Angeles, the longest single run he’s had with one team, and 23rd consecutive season as an active player, an NBA record.

Following two straight blowout defeats to the Pittsburgh Pirates (by a combined score of 18-3) and losing 12 of their past 15 games, the New York Mets held a players-only meeting on Saturday. 

“Six or seven players” spoke during the meeting, according to outfielder Brandon Nimmo. That included Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor. 

“I mean, we’re not playing well,” Nimmo told reporters, via SNY. “We’ve won a couple games, but we haven’t been able to put it together. So, you know, just put things out there, talk about it as a team and move on.”

Lindor said a meeting wasn’t called, per se, but developed “organically” as players were talking in the clubhouse after Saturday’s 9-2 loss to the Pirates.

“Collectively as a group, we decided to start talking to each other and that’s what good teams do,” he said. “We all rely on each other, we all bounce ideas from each other and yeah this is a big team thing.”

Despite the losing stretch, the Mets (48-37) are 1.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East. So there was no need for a big speech from anyone, according to Lindor. Yet some urgency to the season was addressed.

“Nothing but winning. This is not, ‘Rah rah, just now the season is going to turn around,'” Lindor added. “We are competing still. We are one game, a game and a half from first place. We are at the top in the wild card. 

“This is not like a magic thing,” he continued. “Nobody’s hoping for that. This is not how it works… It’s part of the adversity we’re dealing with.”

However, Soto did voice what could be viewed as a motivational message, according to players. 

“Keep going,” he said, according to the New York Post’s Mike Puma. “Believe in it.”

Soto has certainly done his part to impact the Mets’ success in June, batting .322 with a 1.214 OPS, 11 home runs and 20 RBI. But the entire team needs to join in that effort, according to Alonso.

“Just collectively as a group — offensively, defensively, baserunning — we’re not playing our cleanest baseball,” Alonso told reporters. “We’re not playing to our maximum potential right now. It shows in the record. We’re playing good games or staying in games, but I think we need to do a better job of finishing.”

The Mets lost to the Pirates, 12-1, on Sunday with Frankie Montas Jr. getting roughed up for six runs and seven hits (two of them home runs) in four innings. He was making his second start of the season since returning from the injured list with a lat strain. Up next is a six-game homestand versus the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees.

The baseball world mourned the death of Dave Parker, Hall of Famer and former National League MVP, on Saturday. The 19-year major leaguer had battled Parkinson’s disease for nearly 15 years. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, the teams with whom Parker played the majority of his MLB career, expressed their condolences. As did the Athletics, Angels, Brewers and Blue Jays, in addition to Major League Baseball. 

Plenty of Parker’s former teammates, fellow Hall of Famers and current Pirates players voiced their sympathies as well. 

Fellow Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven and Parker were teammates on the Pirates from 1977-80, which included winning the World Series in 1979.

“What a sad [day] as my former teammate and friend, HOF’er Dave Parker, passed away,” Blyleven posted on social media. “He fought Parkinson’s for years. Our condolences to his wife Kellye, his family and everyone that had the great opportunity to be with him. RIP Cobra.”

“Man, I am crushed,” former teammate Dave Stewart told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “He’s one of the greatest teammates I’ve ever had. He had such a presence when he walked into the room.”

Parker and Stewart played together on the Oakland Athletics in 1988 and 1989, getting to the World Series in both seasons and winning a championship on their second try. 

Keith Hernandez didn’t play on any teams with Parker, but was certainly a peer as both were top major leaguers in the late 1970s through the 1980s. 

“The best player of the late ’70s and early ’80s,” Hernandez told the New York Post’s Mike Puma. “Great boisterous peer.

“He used to say, “When the leaves turn brown, I will be wearing the [batting title] crown.” Until I usurped his crown in ’79. He was a better player than me. RIP.” 

Hernandez did indeed win the National League batting title in 1979 with a .344 average after Parker won it for the previous two consecutive seasons, batting .338 in 1977 and .334 in 1978. 

Fellow Hall of Famer Frank Thomas remembered fielding a ground ball from Parker at first base early in his major league career. 

“RIP, Dave Parker, the Cobra!” Thomas posted on social media. “One of the greatest to ever do it. Love watching you as a kid. I will always remember that first line drive ground ball you hit me in the show right off my chest.”

“You said, welcome to the show, kid,” he continued. “That big smile and the finger point trot. #Legendary.”

Eric Davis, Parker’s teammate with the Reds, issued a statement because he was too distraught to talk, according to Nightengale. The thought that Parker wouldn’t be alive for his Hall of Fame induction was too upsetting. 

“He probably had more impact on young players than any player I’ve ever been around,” Davis said.

Current Reds manager Terry Francona played with Parker on the 1987 Reds and 1990 Brewers, remembered getting to play with a star he long admired. 

“He was a big, lovable… I caught him toward the end of his career,” Francona recalled. “He was funny, you could mess with him. 

“Not too much,” he added with a laugh.

Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen shared his thoughts on Parker with MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, acknowledging what he meant to Pittsburgh fans.

“It’s a tough thing to hear, but he had been battling Parkinson’s for quite some time,” McCutchen said. “It was rough to see him go through that. I just hope now he’s in a a better place and not having to worry about any of that stuff anymore.”

“Just thinking about his family and the fanbase who may have had any type of interaction with him, childhoods,” he added. “He was probably Superman to a lot of people when he played.” 

McCutchen’s teammate, Nick Gonzales, currently wears the No. 39 jersey that Parker wore during his 11 seasons with the Pirates (and throughout his career) and thinks it should be retired. 

“It just meant a little bit more today, playing with that number,” Gonzales said on Saturday. “I think it should be retired and I should get a new number, honestly.”

“That might happen at some point,” he continued. “For what he did for this community… it’s an honor just to wear it on my back.” 

Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in December by the Classic Era Committee, earning votes on 14 of 16 ballots. He will be officially inducted into Cooperstown on July 27.

Utah Jazz rookie Ace Bailey has finally reported to the team on Saturday after an unusual draft process, in which Bailey declined to workout with individual teams ahead of the draft.

A Jazz representative told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on Friday afternoon that Bailey will join his new team over the weekend with a Sunday press conference.

“We’ve had good communication with Ace Bailey and his representatives. We feel good about everything. Ace and his family are coming to Utah tomorrow. We’ll have a press conference Sunday, and a practice Monday.”

“This has always been the plan, including for our other rookies, Walter Clayton and John Tonje — to let them go home and collect their belongings, and then fly right to summer league from Salt Lake City.”

Then, on Saturday, Bailey landed in Utah, with the Jazz posting a video of Bailey touching down.

Prior to the draft, it was reported that Bailey wanted to land with one of three teams. The Jazz were not one of the team’s on Bailey’s reported list. Despite that, the team took him with the No. 5 overall pick. After the draft, it was reported that one of Bailey’s reps told a team in the top five that it should not select Bailey in the draft. It’s unclear which team was told to stay away from the Rutgers guard.

Bailey was asked about the situation after the Jazz selected him with the No. 5 overall pick on Wednesday. He didn’t seem openly angry about it, instead giving a neutral answer and saying, “I can control what I control. How they feel [is] how they feel.”

The situation has only gotten murkier from there. Following Day 2 of the 2025 NBA Draft, Bailey’s manager, Omar Cooper, declined to comment when asked about the former Rutgers’ star’s future in Utah.

On Friday morning, however, Andrew Witlieb, the president of GSE Worldwide, which represents Bailey, appeared on a Front Office Sports podcast and said Bailey was excited about going to Utah.

“He’s thrilled to be going to Utah,” Witlieb said. “Obviously, it’s an honor to be selected in the top five of the NBA Draft. We think he can do a lot of great things out there.”

The fact that Bailey had yet to report to the Jazz as of Friday morning isn’t necessarily a big deal. Dallas Mavericks No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg waited until Friday to join his new team. The Jazz’s other pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Walter Clayton Jr., reportedly joined the team earlier.

If Bailey had opted to not report to Utah, he would have been ineligible to play in the NBA this season.

Who is Omar Cooper?

Until Friday, Bailey’s relationship with Cooper and GSE Worldwide was also unclear. Some outlets referred to Cooper as Bailey’s agent despite reports Cooper is not a certified agent. Witlieb shed some light on that situation during his podcast appearance, referring to Cooper as Bailey’s manager.

Witlieb said Cooper was focused on finding the best fit for Bailey, and was not necessarily concerned about how high Bailey was picked in the 2025 NBA Draft.

“This was led by Bailey’s long-time manager, Omar Cooper, who we are partnering on with this. And Omar really focused more on fit rather than going third in the draft kind of thing. He wanted some place where Ace could have the best possible basketball fit for his game. And we think Utah is one of the best places he could have gone.”

Cooper is listed as the “C.E.O and Founder of LifeStyle Sports Agency” on his Instagram page. A link to the agency’s website leads to essentially a “coming soon” page.

Despite GSE Worldwide officially representing Bailey, Cooper appears to have served as the main point person for a lot of comments and interviews regarding Bailey leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft. 

If Bailey truly doesn’t want to play for the Jazz, he doesn’t have many choices. The team reportedly has no interest in trading Bailey, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The NBA’s runners-up have some business to tend to in a surprisingly deep — for this year’s class — positional group.

Let’s break down the potential top available centers in this year’s free-agent market, with the negotiating window opening at 6 p.m. ET June 30.

(Note: Positions are being determined off Basketball-Reference’s positional breakdowns, meaning a player will be listed at the position in which he played the most minutes.)

Free-agent position rankings: Point guards | Shooting guards | Small forwards | Power forwards

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1. Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers

Status: Unrestricted free agent

Rule of thumb: When you’ve been historically underpaid, you’re the starting center for a Finals team, you’re one of the best defenders in the league, and you’re in your prime, you’re in line for a raise.

Turner, one of the league’s most potent 3&D centers, has undergone an offensive transformation over the past few years, to the point where the Pacers cannot lose him.

What makes sense: With not a lot of money on the market, and the fact that both sides seem motivated to continue their partnership, expect Turner and Indiana to find common ground on a new deal that looks significantly richer than the ones before.

2. Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves

Status: Agreed to 5-year, $125M deal

There’s no question some teams will view Reid as a starting center, especially given his touch from the outside. Yet, the Wolves have used him in a backup capacity throughout his career, which makes you wonder if Reid himself is open to chasing a starting role.

Reid is ingrained in the local community and seems to genuinely treasure being a Timberwolf. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll just sign whatever is in front of him, but it does seem likely he could be willing to sacrifice something to stick around. Is $125 million a sacrifice? Perhaps, but he’s sticking around.

3. Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks

Status: Unrestricted free agent

Lopez might be 37. He might be slow. He might be declining. But the man is still a physical behemoth who will clog the paint, block shots and drain a ton of 3-pointers.

Those are valuable marks in today’s NBA, even if Lopez doesn’t necessarily fit into the “switch everything” ideology. As such, there should be a market for a team, especially among good teams looking for someone reliable who has championship experience.

What makes sense: Staying with the Bucks another year isn’t a bad play, but if Lopez is looking for another title run, he’ll have to look outside of the organization and identify a team that’s closer.

4. Clint Capela, Atlanta Hawks

Status: Unrestricted free agent

Capela is getting older and less dynamic, but he’s still a tough rebounder who challenges shots at the rim and remains a solid lob threat.

While his compensation level will diminish due to his age and a starting role no longer being a sure thing, plenty of teams should give him a look.

What makes sense: The Los Angeles Lakers will unquestionably have internal meetings about Capela, considering his theoretical fit with Luka Dončić. Should that be the path Capela chooses, there’s a world where he once again will produce impressive box scores.

5. Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Status: Team option
Value of option: $11,000,000

Wagner tore his ACL in December, so we should see teams offer him deals that greatly benefit them in terms of flexibility.

If we assume he returns to full health, Wagner immediately becomes one of the best backup scoring big men in the league, with the capability of stretching the floor and providing necessary spacing.

What makes sense: Despite the injury and the fact that he could be an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Magic should try to keep him long term. Perhaps Wagner is inclined to agree to a longer deal worth less money than he’s earning now in the hope that he can bounce back after his injury.

6. Guerschon Yabusele, Philadelphia 76ers

Status: Unrestricted free agent

Using last year’s Olympics as a display window, Yabusele made the most of his NBA return, becoming a key offensive contributor for the Sixers.

The 29-year-old, affectionately known as The Dancing Bear, is at a stage in his career when optimizing his own salary and role should be his top priority.

What makes sense: Yabusele should hear out the Sixers but absolutely seek the biggest payday possible, regardless of team, since he’s closing in on 30. For a guy like him, who can occasionally play recklessly, securing his own future is the goal.

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Best of the rest

Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

Status: Team option
Value of option: $2,187,699

Williams, who was drafted in the second round in 2022, is in an interesting situation. If the Thunder pick up his option, he’ll enter 2026 as an unrestricted free agent. If they don’t, he’ll become a restricted free agent this summer. Williams is a solid talent, even if he isn’t playing a ton of minutes. The 6-foot-9 big man has multiple double-doubles to his name, which underlines the vastness of his skill set. Plenty of teams should have an eye on him.

Andre Drummond, Philadelphia 76ers

Status: Exercised $5,000,000 player option

One of the greatest rebounders of his generation can dictate his own future, but the market for him hasn’t been strong these past few years.

If he sticks in Philadelphia, it’s likely he’ll get a ton of minutes should Joel Embiid not be available.

Naz Reid has signed a five-year, $125 million contract to stay with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Reid could’ve exercised a $15 million player option to stay with the Timberwolves. Instead, he has agreed to a deal to perhaps keep him with Minnesota for years. Per Charania, the new contract also includes a player option.

After winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award after a breakout 2023-24 campaign, the 6-foot-9, 264-pound Reid authored an impressive encore, averaging 14.2 points, 6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game, all career highs, as an integral frontcourt contributor for a Wolves team that made its second straight run to the Western Conference finals.

The sixth-year pro has turned into one of the NBA’s premier reserves, serving as a high-volume, high-efficiency stretch big who has fit snugly at power forward and center next to a variety of partners over the years — Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince, T.J. Warren, et al. When Reid checks into the game, he provides a welcome and immediate injection of 3-point variance, downhill driving and interior finishing — all while helping to space the floor for Minnesota superstar Anthony Edwards.

[Get more T’wolves news: T’wolves team feed]

Reid can allow a team to play twin-towers lineups built around a screen-and-dive center without sacrificing spacing, or to run five-out small-ball looks without punting on rim protection and defensive rebounding — an unassuming and devastatingly effective Allen key to unlock whichever lineup combination might be most effective on any given night. And while he isn’t necessarily thought of as a top-flight rim protector and interior defender on his own, his strength and lateral quickness have made him an effective switch defender on the perimeter; the Wolves have allowed fewer points per possession with him on the floor than off it in five of his six pro seasons, and he’s long posted above-average block and steal rates for a big man.

“Defensively, Naz has been outstanding,” Wolves head coach Chris Finch told reporters in the spring of 2024. “He has taken a lot of different matchups, and in his switching, Naz creates a lot of transition opportunities for us. We don’t get a ton of those and he is responsible for a lot of it, whether it is pushing it [via passing and dribbling] or at the end of it [with the finish]. And he is just a ball-mover; he has that dynamic quality for our offense.”

That combination of shooting, complementary frontcourt playmaking and possession-ending defensive work is pretty rare. Last season, only seven players in the NBA made 150 3-pointers, dished 150 assists, blocked 50 shots and snagged 50 steals: three MVPs (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, Kevin Durant), a two-time All-NBA selection (Edwards), two universally beloved 3-and-D players on nine-figurecontracts (Derrick White and OG Anunoby) … and Reid.

That’s awfully lofty company for Reid — who turns 26 in August, just entering his prime, with plenty more developmental runway still ahead of him — and the kind of heights few anticipated he’d reach when he signed with the Wolves as an undrafted free agent out of LSU in the summer of 2019.

“To see where Naz was three, four years ago and to see where he is now, he’s only at that place because of a tremendous work ethic,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said back in 2023. “He’s become obsessed with the game, obsessed with keeping his body right. Anytime you surround some of your best players with guys who are as impactful culturally and on the court as Naz, you do everything you can to keep those guys.”

Cooper Flagg will give the world its first sneak peek at his NBA career when the Dallas Mavericks face off against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 10 in the league’s annual Las Vegas Summer League.

When that happens, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd wants his No. 1 overall pick running the show.

“I’m excited about giving him the ball against the Lakers and see what happens,” Kidd said Friday during Flagg’s introductory news conference in Dallas. “Let’s get it started, right off the bat.”

Flagg is a do-it-all forward, the 6-foot-9 kind who led a 35-win Duke team in all five major statistical categories as a freshman this past season. While earning Naismith National Player of the Year honors, he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

The Maine native was the main event at this year’s NBA Draft, as he became the youngest draftee to go first overall since LeBron James in 2003.

But Kidd is struck by Flagg’s maturity.

“Just sitting here listening to him, isn’t it incredible?” Kidd said Friday. “I mean, we’re talking about an 18-year-old who has all the right answers and is talking about working out after this. But when you talk about his gift, he’s a basketball player. And he’s a winner.”

Flagg is poised to keep winning games in bunches at the NBA level, and that’s an opportunity few No. 1 overall picks have enjoyed in their first seasons in the league. Even though the Mavericks had a mere 1.8% chance of winning this year’s NBA Draft Lottery, they scored the No. 1 pick. In the process, Dallas — which saw its injury-riddled 2024-25 season end in the Western Conference’s final play-in game — became the fourth-longest shot to ever win the draft lottery.

In other words, a year removed from making the NBA Finals, and months after sending shockwaves throughout the league when they traded now-former franchise centerpiece Luka Dončić to the Lakers, the Mavericks snuck into the lottery and came out with the top pick.

As expected, that pick became Flagg, who eventually will be joined by the likes of Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson. Those three are all at least 32 years old, but they have a combined six NBA championships and 24 All-Star appearances.

“I think it’s a blessing,” Flagg said. “A lot of people in this position or this situation aren’t granted this opportunity. So I just feel really blessed and grateful for the situation I’ve been given.”

He continued: “I’m just looking forward to being a sponge. Just getting down here, I’m excited to just learn, soak it all in and learn from the guys that are older and have been through it all before.”

Kidd was also drafted by the Mavericks, but back in 1994 when Dallas had the No. 2 overall pick after a 13-69 season. The now-fifth-year Mavericks head coach reflected on his own rookie season Friday, noting how he didn’t have as many veterans to lean on at the time.

No player on Dallas’ 1994-95 roster had more than six years of NBA experience at the start of that season, according to Sports Reference. 

Experience is one thing, a collection of Hall of Fame résumés is another. Flagg is surrounded by both.

“He’s very lucky to have veterans, future Hall of Famers,” Kidd said. “When you talk about Ky and Klay and then AD, just understanding the vets are going to protect him and help him. And they’re going to push him.”

Kidd added: “So I think when he’s stepping into this situation, there’s no better situation for him to learn the game, on and off the floor.”

Sam Hodde via Getty Images

Even with all of that talent at his side, Flagg isn’t expected to take a back seat. Kidd wants him to do a bit of everything.

“I think it’s a versatile position, doing a lot of different things,” Flagg said, when asked about where on the court he’ll be playing. “With the team, looking at the roster, we can play a really good brand of positionless basketball with a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. I think that would be one of [our] biggest strengths, and I think just trying to play to that and just doing whatever I can to help the team win.”

Kidd said Flagg answered that question perfectly. 

“Because I don’t look at the position,” Kidd said.

The former 10-time All-Star point guard went on: “I want to put him at the point guard. I want to make him uncomfortable and see how he reacts, being able to run the show.”

Kidd acknowledged he’ll have Flagg play the 2 and the 3 as well, and it’s reasonable to expect him to spend some time at the 4. Those positions, though, are comfortable for Flagg, Kidd pointed out.

“We want to push,” Kidd said of Flagg playing some point guard. “And I think he’s going to respond in a positive way. It’s all right to fail. It’s all right to turn the ball over. We’ve talked about that.”

The first season of Kidd’s four-year stint as the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach was forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s second season in the NBA. Kidd recalled Antetokounmpo — now a nine-time All-Star and one-time NBA champion — failing when he was first given a chance to run point.

“But he wanted to come back and have the ball,” Kidd said of a young Antetokounmpo.

Kidd is confident Flagg will be the same way.

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