Raptors boss Masai Ujiri better have some magic plan.Because if he doesn't, Lakers boss Magic Johnson certainly will.Before Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan — the headline pieces in a four-player trade between San Antonio and Toronto on Wednesday — play a single game for their new teams, this much is clear: The Spurs got better, the Raptors are taking a gargantuan risk and the Los Angeles Lakers are going to sit back and see what happens.San Antonio essentially swapped one All-Star for another, ridded itself of a headache — the Leonard-wants-out saga — and got a first-round draft pick as well. Hard to argue.In DeRozan, Toronto traded away a guard who led the Raptors in scoring in each of the last five seasons for a player who, without hardly ever saying a word, has made clear that he wants to be in Los Angeles. A bold strategy, but if Ujiri can win over Leonard in a year just like Sam Presti and Oklahoma City did with Paul George, it could work out like gangbusters for the Raptors.And if... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's official. LeBron is a Laker.The Los Angeles Lakers announced the signing of LeBron James as a free agent Monday night, confirming the seismic shift created by the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player's decision to leave Cleveland for the 16-time champion franchise on the West Coast.James' representatives at Klutch Sports Group tweeted a photo of James signing his contract with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. James' agency already announced last week that the superstar had agreed to a four-year deal worth $153.3 million with Los Angeles.The Lakers have missed the playoffs in a franchise-record five consecutive seasons, while James has played in the past eight NBA Finals with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning three titles.The 33-year-old budding entertainment mogul immediately becomes the focus of the Lakers franchise and a possible foundation for the NBA's next superteam, depending on whether James and the Lakers can persuade more superstars to... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team.The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron.The four-time NBA MVP announced Sunday night that he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league's most storied franchises and switching conferences to try and dethrone the Golden State Warriors and grow his own legacy.For the second time in his career, James is saying goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with winning just one title in the 11 years they had him.Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened.This Summer of LeBron was barely a fling.His management agency, Klutch Sports Group, announced his agreement with the Lakers with a simple, short release. It was a stark contrast from eight years ago, when a poorly conceived... [More]

Paul George can count.That's what we forgot.Everyone knows that the lure of home is strong for George, a Los Angeles kid who took countless jumpers as a youngster while pretending to be Kobe Bryant and wearing purple and gold. And players tend to go home: Paul Pierce played in LA toward the end of his career, Dwyane Wade briefly played in Chicago, Chauncey Billups had stints in Denver.So while diving into the magnitude of the numbers in George's soon-to-be-official deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder — four years at an average of $34 million a season, a contract that sure seems like it will help push the OKC payroll and luxury tax bills for next season alone to perhaps well over $200 million — there was one number that seems to have mattered most.It is 28.His age.He's still a young man, even by NBA standards. Consider this: George might not even be at his NBA peak yet. Barring an extension, which is possible, he could exercise his option to become a free agent again in the summer of 2021... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team.The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron.The four-time NBA MVP announced Sunday night that he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league's most storied franchises and switching conferences to try and dethrone the Golden State Warriors and grow his own legacy.For the second time in his career, James is saying goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with winning just one title in the 11 years they had him.Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened.This Summer of LeBron was barely a fling.His management agency, Klutch Sports Group, announced his agreement with the Lakers with a simple, short release. It was a stark contrast from eight years ago, when a poorly conceived... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team.The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron.The four-time NBA MVP announced Sunday night that he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league's most storied franchises and switching conferences to try and dethrone the Golden State Warriors and grow his own legacy.For the second time in his career, James is saying goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with winning just one title in the 11 years they had him.Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened.This Summer of LeBron was barely a fling.His management agency, Klutch Sports Group, announced his agreement with the Lakers with a simple, short release. It was a stark contrast from eight years ago, when a poorly conceived... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team.The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron.The four-time NBA MVP announced Sunday night that he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league's most storied franchises and switching conferences to try and dethrone the Golden State Warriors and grow his own legacy.For the second time in his career, James is saying goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with winning just one title in the 11 years they had him.Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened.This Summer of LeBron was barely a fling.His management agency, Klutch Sports Group, announced his agreement with the Lakers with a simple, short release. It was a stark contrast from eight years ago, when a poorly conceived... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Between the LeBron James guessing games and the Kawhi Leonard trade talk, it seems NBA shopping season is well underway.It's actually just about to start.Terms like salary caps and contract options have been in the news for weeks, so fans might have an understanding of what they all mean. For those who don't, here's an attempt to explain how this all works.Q: When does free agency start?A: It begins at 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 1. So that's early Sunday morning for teams in the East, but Magic Johnson and the Lakers can actually start their recruiting on Saturday night.Q: When can deals start happening?A: Players and teams can agree to contracts immediately, but except for some limited exceptions, such as rookies inking their initial contracts, nothing can be signed until after the free agency moratorium period ends, which is noon EDT on July 6.Q: How is the salary cap determined?A: It's basically a formula based on basketball revenues. Last season's was $99.1 million, and... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics boss Danny Ainge was puzzled by all the talk about how Texas A&M forward Robert Williams didn't work hard enough to make it in the NBA."It's hard to have a 'low motor' and be the defensive player of the year two years in a row in a tough conference," Ainge said Friday after the news conference to introduce Williams.Williams was named the Southeastern Conference's co-defensive player of the year in 2018 after winning the award outright in 2017."That's pretty hard to do if you don't have the motor," Ainge said. "But if the motor can get better, that's an even bigger upside."A 6-foot-10, 237-pound native of Oil City, Louisiana, Williams had been considered a lottery pick after his freshman year but he returned to play another season in college. He was projected as an early first-rounder in this year's draft, but he fell to the Celtics at No. 27 overall.Williams said his mother believed he needed another year to mature in college. Asked if he regretted not coming... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers are parting ways with guard Lance Stephenson, the gritty veteran who brought energy off the bench in last season's surprising run to the playoffs.The team will not pick up the team option next season, Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said Monday."This was a very difficult decision, but as free agency begins on July 1, we want to have flexibility so that we can prepare for all of our available options," he said.A year ago, Pritchard decided to trade star Paul George before almost surely losing him in free agency and got Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis from Oklahoma City in a deal that turned out remarkably well for Indiana.Oladipo emerged as a leader, earned his first All-Star trip and won the league's steals title. Sabonis, a lottery pick in 2016, became a key contributor off the bench. Point guard Darren Collison was the NBA's most accurate 3-point shooter, and Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic thrived in their roles,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks expect to enter NBA free agency next week with about $20 million in salary cap space and three open spots on their roster.General manager Travis Schlenk says the team will be in no rush to spend that money."We will not be quickly out of the gate looking to sign guys," Schlenk said Monday, when the Hawks introduced their three first-round draft picks, guards Trae Young and Kevin Huerter and forward Omari Spellman."We'll kind of sit back and see what the market dictates. ... We'll kind of play a waiting game and see how the market plays out."The market is expected to generate stiff competition for top free agents LeBron James, Paul George and Chris Paul. The Hawks are expected to be observers in those bidding wars.The Hawks may have had more interest in bargain shopping for affordable help on their front line before veterans Dewayne Dedmon and Mike Muscala exercised their contract options to return next season.Guards Malcolm Delaney and Damion Lee are eligible... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony plans to opt in and take the $28 million he is due next season.The New York Times first reported the 34-year-old Anthony's decision to bypass the chance to become a free agent. A person with knowledge of details confirmed Anthony's choice to The Associated Press on Friday night. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly.The Thunder traded for Anthony and Paul George to join Russell Westbrook before last season, moves that gave them high hopes of challenging Golden State in the West. It didn't work out as planned.The 34-year-old Anthony had been the headliner his entire career — he's 19th in NBA history with 25,417 points — but he was more of a catch-and-shoot scorer last season instead of the isolation specialist he had always been. He averaged 16.2 points per game, but struggled at times in his new role. His playing time dwindled in the playoffs and he... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Carmelo Anthony plans to opt in and take the $28 million he is due next season.The New York Times first reported the 34-year-old Anthony's decision to bypass the chance to become a free agent. A person with knowledge of details confirmed Anthony's choice to The Associated Press on Friday night. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly.The Thunder traded for Anthony and Paul George to join Russell Westbrook before last season, moves that gave them high hopes of challenging Golden State in the West. It didn't work out as planned.The 34-year-old Anthony had been the headliner his entire career — he's 19th in NBA history with 25,417 points — but he was more of a catch-and-shoot scorer last season instead of the isolation specialist he had always been. He averaged 16.2 points per game, but struggled at times in his new role. His playing time dwindled in the playoffs and he... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The NBA offseason has arrived, which means nothing will happen for the next four months other than a draft, three summer leagues, free agency, the creation of a new schedule, coaching hires, trades, roster reworkings and possibly movement toward letting high school graduates jump directly into the league again.It all adds up to very little downtime.There is no shortage of questions about what will happen this summer — leading off, of course, with yet another decision to be made by LeBron James about his future and where he'll play next season as he resumes his quest for more championships.Here are some non-James topics heading into the offseason:KAWHI LEONARDThe mystery of the 2017-18 NBA season is the mystery of the offseason as well. Leonard played in only nine games for the Spurs this season while dealing with a leg injury, the specifics of which are a closely guarded secret even by San Antonio's notoriously tight-lipped standards. He could get a supermax deal, he could... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers are investigating whether team president Bryan Colangelo used a variety of Twitter accounts to anonymously trash some of his own players and fellow executives and defend himself against criticism from fans and the sports media.The allegations, reported Tuesday by the sports website The Ringer , raised questions about Colangelo's future and that of the NBA team itself, a rising franchise heading into perhaps its most important summer ever as it tries to attract free agents to contend for championships.The five Twitter accounts under suspicion took aim at Philadelphia players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, according to The Ringer.Among other things, the user or users of the accounts complained that Embiid, the 24-year-old All-Star center, was "playing like a toddler having tantrums" and was "a bit lazy," ''selfish"... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers are investigating whether team president Bryan Colangelo used a variety of Twitter accounts to anonymously trash some of his own players and fellow executives and defend himself against criticism from fans and the sports media.The allegations, reported Tuesday by the sports website The Ringer , raised questions about Colangelo's future and that of the NBA team itself, a rising franchise heading into perhaps its most important summer ever as it tries to attract free agents to contend for championships.The five Twitter accounts under suspicion took aim at Philadelphia players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, according to The Ringer.Among other things, the user or users of the accounts complained that Embiid, the 24-year-old All-Star center, was "playing like a toddler having tantrums" and was "a bit lazy," ''selfish"... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James was unanimously selected to the All-NBA first team for a record 12th time, while Houston's James Harden also appeared on all 100 first-team ballots.They were joined Thursday on the first team by New Orleans' Anthony Davis, Golden State's Kevin Durant and Portland's Damian Lillard.James passed Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone with the 12th first-team selection of his 15-year career. He also was a second-team selection twice.The second team was forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and LaMarcus Aldridge of San Antonio, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, and guards Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and DeMar DeRozan of Toronto.Injury absences sent Golden State's Stephen Curry tumbling to the third team, where he was joined in the backcourt by Indiana's Victor Oladipo. Minnesota teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, and Oklahoma City's Paul George rounded out the third team.Voting was done by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers have morphed from laughingstock to legitimate Eastern Conference contender in just two seasons.But just how far can The Process take them?— Was a 52-win season that ended with a five-game loss to the Boston Celtics in the conference semis just part of the learning curve on the way toward NBA titles?— Or are the Sixers destined to become a Toronto/Indiana-type of franchise where strong regular seasons end up with postseason disappointment and championships?Those are suddenly fun problems for a team to have only two years removed from a 10-win season and serious doubts about the future of a rebuilding plan both condemned and praised by zealots on both sides. Joel Embiid (22.9 points, 11 rebounds) made his first All-Star team and seemed worth every bit of the $148 million, five-year extension he signed before the season. Ben Simmons was a regular triple-double threat and emerged as a favorite to win rookie of the year. Those two should anchor Philly's... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Wednesday that coach Billy Donovan's job is safe, despite a disappointing season.Oklahoma City had high expectations this season after trading for Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to join reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. Even with the added star power, the Thunder won just one more regular-season game than last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs again.Presti noted that Donovan has been forced to deal with constant change. The Thunder went to the Western Conference Finals in Donovan's first season with a fully stacked roster. A few months later, superstar Kevin Durant left for Golden State in free agency, and the Thunder scrambled to make the playoffs in 2016-17. This season, shooting guard Andre Roberson suffered a season-ending ruptured left patellar tendon in January."If you think about the last three years for our organization, and the last three years for him, it's been a little bit of a whipsaw in respect to just... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder general manager Sam Presti said coach Billy Donovan's job is safe, despite a disappointing season.Oklahoma City had high expectations this season after trading for Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to join reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. Even with the added star power, the Thunder won just one more regular-season game than last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Utah. Presti says he was disappointed. George also could leave in free agency.Presti noted that Donovan has been forced to deal with constant change. The Thunder went to the Western Conference Finals in Donovan's first season with a fully stacked roster. A few months later, Kevin Durant left for Golden State in free agency, and the Thunder scrambled to make the playoffs. This season, shooting guard Andre Roberson suffered a season-ending injury in January.Donovan has a 150-96 career regular-season record (.610) with the Thunder.___More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball