The NBA Finals aren’t even here yet, but that hasn’t stopped the trade rumor mill from reaching a higher gear. Judging from what is being said around the league, multiple All-Stars could find themselves joining new teams this offseason.

Here are all the latest rumors, whispers and inklings going around the NBA right now, starting with the former MVP and his several suitors.

Who’s going after Giannis Antetokounmpo?

It’s no secret the Milwaukee Bucks have good reason to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason. After years of contending and the first championship in 50 years, the team’s supporting cast behind Antetokounmpo has become a significant concern, from Damian Lillard’s torn Achilles to Kyle Kuzma’s existence.

So any team in need of an MVP-level, defensively dominant power forward is going to be on the phone, even if the price is likely to start with a young player or two and end with every first-round pick that isn’t nailed down. Antetokounmpo himself is going into the offseason “open-minded” about a possible new home, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. 

One of those teams is the Toronto Raptors, as the Toronto Star’s Doug Smith reports there is mutual interest in a deal there. That’s couched with the odds of a deal being “long,” but Toronto is looking for a new way forward after the slow break-up of their 2019 championship team, which beat Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.

John Fisher via Getty Images

Another possibility is the Houston Rockets, whom The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reports are targeting Antetokounmpo. However, the team has reportedly experienced recent uncertainty over whether the Bucks will actually part with their star, to say nothing of the price he is likely to command.

The Brooklyn Nets could also get involved, per the New York Post, and then there’s the haunting idea of an Antetokounmpo-Stephen Curry team-up. We don’t know how seriously the Golden State Warriors are there, but you can’t ignore one of their players talking about the possibility on television.

Suns reportedly lowering asking price for Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns were an expensive disaster this season, and all parties are reportedly ready to call it a day. We’ve known this for months.

Iko also reported the Suns have been “aggressive” in moving the 36-year-old, with the Rockets in communication there and Phoenix gradually lowering its asking price. Few teams would be a better fit for Durant than Houston, which features a core of young players, a proven coach in Ime Udoka and one of the best defenses in basketball last season.

In addition to the Rockets, Charania recently reported the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs were all interested in Durant when he was being dangled at the trade deadline, and he expects them to be similarly interested this offseason. Stein also mentioned Minnesota to have “significant interest” in teaming Durant up with Anthony Edwards.

Nothing on the Mavericks moving the Cooper Flagg pick yet

The Dallas Mavericks got the most unearned fortune of the offseason by winning the NBA Draft Lottery, but the question remains if they will A) stick with the pick and draft generational prospect Cooper Flagg or B) trade the pick for what would be one of the biggest hauls in the offseason.

Right now, there has been very little indication the team is considering Option B. Veteran reporter Marc Stein reported weeks ago there’s “no chance” Dallas moves off the Flagg pick and head coach Jason Kidd was talking Tuesday about focusing on Flagg, though with the caveat “we all understand that things change.”

Flagg represents a significant fork in the road, as the Mavericks quite loudly committed to an older core of Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving when they traded away Luka Dončić at only 25 years old. Expecting Flagg to be instantly ready as a member of a championship Big 3 would be a heck of a bet, but this front office has shown itself to be nothing if not bold.

Is the Cavaliers’ Core 4 really a Core 2?

The Cleveland Cavaliers won 64 games this season and looked like an emerging power in the East, right up until the Indiana Pacers ripped their hearts out. That begs the question: is this a team that should be just running it back?

The answer appears to be “Yes, unless they get a particularly good offer on a couple guys.” Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor said on the “Wine and Gold Talk” podcast that while the Cavaliers consider stars Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley to be “untouchables,” he has gotten the sense that the team could consider deals for Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland.

Detroit Pistons looking into Naz Reid, Myles Turner

The Detroit Pistons took a nice leap this season and want to take the next step with a big man who can help space the floor. Per Stein, they have an eye on both the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid and the Pacers’ Myles Turner. 

Turner is a pending free agent and could be available, but he looked pretty happy after the Pacers’ Eastern Conference title and seems a decent bet to re-sign with Indiana, which certainly has cap space for him. 

Reid, meanwhile, has a $15 million player option for next season that he is almost certain to opt out of. Minnesota had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA last offseason, so this would likely be the center to chase.

As the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder prepare to face each other in the NBA Finals, it’s worth a moment to look back at how they each got there, through the lens of their respective roster construction.

First off, let’s take a look at the Pacers, who used a more traditional approach to get where they are.

Indiana applied a model that’s becoming increasingly popular among NBA teams, which entails having two max-level contracts and considerable depth on the bench.

The Tyrese Haliburton trade

What’s interesting is how neither Tyrese Haliburton nor Pascal Siakam were drafted by the Pacers, meaning both were external acquisitions — from the Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors, respectively.

Indiana shipped All-Star center Domantas Sabonis to the Kings in a deal for Haliburton, who at the time was available due to the presence of De’Aaron Fox.

(Side note: Why is Sacramento afraid of having multiple ball-handlers? This is the same team that allegedly had issues with the idea of drafting Luka Dončić in 2018, also due to the presence of Fox. Guys, you can have more players who can dribble the ball, promise!)

With Sabonis and Haliburton swapping places, and the latter landing in a place where there was a need for a primary player, Haliburton took full advantage of the available role.

This resulted in Haliburton signing a max rookie extension with the Pacers after his third season, which turned into a 30% maximum salary, as opposed to the regular 25%, due to him making All-NBA in 2023-2024.

Acquiring Pascal Siakam

As for Siakam, who won a title with the Raptors in 2019, he became available when the organization decided to pivot into a major retooling process, clearing the path for Indiana to make a push for him.

Fortunately for the Pacers, this time around they didn’t have to relinquish a player in the same quality tier as Sabonis. Instead, they sacrificed draft equity, giving up two 2024 selections in the first round and a 2026 first-rounder.

(One of those selections was acquired via Oklahoma City in an earlier trade in the summer of 2023.)

As for salary-matching, the Pacers primed themselves perfectly months before, when they’d signed Bruce Brown to a massive $45 million deal over just two seasons.

Brown’s outgoing salary of $22 million, combined with the contracts of other less notable players, ultimately allowed the Pacers to absorb Siakam, and thus a duo was formed that would lay the foundation for the team we’ll now be seeing in the Finals.

The pieces around them

This isn’t to say the Pacers didn’t have weapons even before the acquisitions of Haliburton and Siakam.

Myles Turner has spent his entire professional career, now stretching a decade, with the Pacers since being selected 11th overall in 2015 out of Texas.

The 3-point shooting center, who is also an elite defender, became one of the first true 3&D centers in the NBA and remains one of the most consistent of his kind.

The 29-year-old, who had to navigate constant trade rumors for well over five seasons, leveled up his game three years ago, turning himself into a more evolved — and involved — scorer than before and has now settled into a role where he’s either the third or fourth option any given night.

As for other crucial members of the core, they too were acquired without Indiana relinquishing its entire future.

Bennedict Mathurin was selected sixth overall in 2022 and has developed into a fully capable scorer with a keen sense for drawing fouls.

Later in that same draft, Andrew Nembhard was selected as the first pick of the second round. The 25-year-old was an older rookie, but proved good enough to warrant a three-year contract extension worth $59 million, which he signed last summer. The contract will go into full effect this July.

Just days after selecting Mathurin and Nembhard, the Pacers made a trade with the Boston Celtics in which they forked over veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon in a deal to acquire Aaron Nesmith, who has now become a high-end two-way starter.

In 2023, the Pacers extended Nesmith with a deal that ranks among the best in the NBA at three years and $33 million.

Also in 2023, the Pacers traded for Knicks forward Obi Toppin, a former lottery selection, giving up only two second-round selections. The 27-year-old is now one of the most potent bench scorers on the team.

Maximizing their value

It’s difficult to find many flaws with how the Pacers have constructed this team. They didn’t hit obvious home runs on every roster decision, but they did move forward, ever so slightly, with every move and within their timeline.

Essentially, they were just rock solid in how they built this team. They took swings, yes, but also took safer routes more times than not.

Additionally, it’s how they’ve dealt with their acquisitions post-trade that has been enormously impressive. Nesmith is one of the best deals in the league. Turner is a free agent this summer, but he’s been a bargain for years now. Even Toppin, who is on a fairly large deal with another $45 million remaining after this year, is productive and can be moved if needed.

And while this team will get expensive in the future — to the point where it likely will have to enter luxury-tax territory — you can still make the argument that not a single contract on its cap sheet is considered a bad asset.

The Pacers haven’t been flashy, but they’ve been about as stellar as any team could hope to be, and as a direct result of their efforts, they now find themselves in the NBA Finals.

Megan Briggs via Getty Images

The Colorado Rockies are back.

OK, not at all. But, for the first time this season, the Rockies have won a series.

The Rockies, thanks to a late solo home run from Hunter Goodman, beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Tuesday night. That, paired with their 6-4 win over the Marlins on Monday night, gave them the win in the three-game series regardless of what happens in the series finale on Wednesday.

The Rockies were the last team in the league who hadn’t won a series. They were 0-for-19 on the year entering this series this week at LoanDepot Park. The Rockies had lost 22 in a row dating back to last season, too.

That drought, though, is finally over.

The Marlins jumped up 2-0 in the third inning after both Jesus Sánchez and Kyle Stowers hit RBI singles. The Rockies responded in the fifth, when Jordan Beck hit an RBI single and then Thairo Estrada hit a sacrifice fly to left. That then set up Goodman’s homer in the eighth, which marked his 10th of the season.

The loss dropped the Marlins to 23-36 on the season. They’ve lost six of their last eight.

Even though they got the win, the Rockies are still historically terrible. They sit at just 11-50 on the year, which is by far the worst record in baseball. They were swept 10 times through their first 20 series of the season, which is tied for the most at that point in a season in MLB history. They fired manager Bud Black after a 7-33 start.

The Rockies were also the third-fastest to reach the 50-loss mark, though the other two occurred during the 1800s, and they were just the second team in history to have 50 losses already when they recorded their 10th win on Monday night.

But, less than 6,000 people showed up to watch that happen in South Florida.

Regardless, the Rockies have finally won their first series. It might not turn the season around, but it’s a start.

The National Football Foundation has announced this year’s nominees for the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame. Among them are several players who suited up for the Raiders.

Among the notable former Raiders on the ballot include former first round pick Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland native Marshawn Lynch, and Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

Sebastian Janikowski, K, Florida State

Two-time First Team All-American, earning consensus honors in 1998 and unanimous accolades in 1999…Only two-time recipient of the Lou Groza Award (1998, 1999)…Helped FSU to consecutive BCS Championship appearances, winning the national title at the 2000 Sugar Bowl.

Was selected by the Raiders with the 17th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. His selection at 17 overall was the fourth highest ever for a kicker and the highest drafted player of the past 45 years.

Marshawn Lynch, RB, California

2006 First Team All-American who led Cal to a share of the 2006 Pac-10 title…2006 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year led the league in rushing (1,356), all-purpose yards (1,785) and TDs (15) that season…Two-time bowl game MVP (2005 Las Vegas, 2006 Holiday) and Cal’s all-time leader in 100-yard rushing games (17).

Marshawn came out of retirement in 2017 in order to play the final two seasons for his hometown Oakland Raiders.

Richard Seymour, DT, Georgia

2000 First Team All-American, helping the Bulldogs to four-straight bowl wins and top 20 final national rankings…Two-year team captain and two-time First Team All-SEC selection…1999 UGA Defensive MVP and one of only two DLs in school history to lead the team in single-season tackles (74 in 1999).

In 2009, the Raiders sent a first round pick to New England to acquire the five-time Pro Bowler, three-time All Pro, and three-time Super Bowl champion. He would head to two more Pro Bowls in his four seasons in Oakland and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: 3 Raiders legends among nominees for College Football Hall of Fame

While the average fan might flip through the channels, basketball diehards understand the 2025 NBA Finals might cap off one of the greatest individual seasons ever. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is at the doorstep to complete a rare trifecta of MVP, Finals MVP and a championship ring.

The Oklahoma City Thunder enter as a heavy favorite over the Indiana Pacers in the championship round. The NBA Finals usually feature two of the best teams, but this year’s clash has one of the greatest teams ever against a red-hot squad nobody thought would reach this stage.

To say it’s one-sided is nicely putting it. I’ve yet to see anybody credible pick the Pacers to win the NBA Finals. Sure, some might see them push OKC to six games, but that’s about it. Gilgeous-Alexander is on a mission to bring home a championship. That’ll put him in the pantheon with all-time greats like Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant.

Most folks are late to the part, but Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is a basketball junky that doesn’t need social media and TV figures to tell him who are the league’s best players. Already calling the Thunder the best team on the planet from their last date in March, he went out of his way to compliment the MVP winner.

“This guy was born to be great. You can just tell. He has a demeanor and a coolness and an attitude. He’s unflappable. He knows who he is and he has great belief in himself,” Carlisle said about Gilgeous-Alexander. “From afar and I’ve been watching this guy, it’s pretty breathtaking. Looks like the guy doesn’t even break a sweat. It’s really hard to fathom how difficult it is to score 30 points in one men’s league game. Let alone doing it every game for two years in a row in the NBA.”

I’m sure Gilgeous-Alexander has been drowned in compliments, but Carlisle’s comments should stick out for the right reasons. He’s one of the greatest NBA head coaches of all time. Wherever he goes, winning follows. So, for the future Hall-of-Famer to pen a vocal love letter like that should bring a smile to his face as he awaits his squad for the NBA Finals.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Rick Carlisle compliments Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ahead of NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.

Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.

 To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the first of four players who wore the No. 13 jersey for the Warriors.

That player would be Hall of Fame Golden State big man Wilt Chamberlain. After ending his college career at Kansas, Chamberlain was picked up with the third overall selection of the 1959 NBA draft by the (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors.

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native would play the first six seasons of his pro career with the Dubs, coming to an end when he was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1965.

During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Chamberlain wore only jersey No. 13 and put up an absurd 41.5 points, 25.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors jersey history – No. 13 – Wilt Chamberlain (1959-65)

The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.

And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder’s history today.

For this article, we continue with the 31st jersey number in the series, jersey No. 31, with five players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise.

The fourth of those players did so in the Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City Thunder eras, big man alum Robert Swift. After ending his high school career, Swift was picked up with the 12th overall selection of the 2004 NBA draft by the SuperSonics.

The Bakersfield, California native would play the first four seasons of his pro career with Seattle/OKC, ending when he left the league to play in other domestic leagues.

During his time suiting up for the Thunder/Sonics, Swift wore only jersey No. 31 and put up 4.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Thunder jersey history No. 31 – Robert Swift (2004-09)