OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Bob Myers has accepted Kevin Durant's departure for the Brooklyn Nets with an appreciation for all the superstar forward accomplished with the franchise, even if the Golden State general manager would have loved to keep KD around a little longer."I have a peace about it," Myers said Monday as he discussed the Warriors' flurry of moves in free agency.And Myers doesn't think he would do anything differently in an attempt to keep Durant, who told Myers he was ready for a new chapter after winning championships with the Warriors in 2017 and '18 as NBA Finals MVP both years."You do the best you can," Myers said. "I think all along, to me it was a blessing that he came, that he wanted to be a part of this. This is a guy who can move in whatever direction he wants because of his talent. He came and he delivered. In my opinion he was everything we could have asked for. He represented us on the court, he represented us off the court. He still has a great relationship with... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the Philadelphia 76ers and star guard Ben Simmons have agreed to a $170 million, five-year contract extension. The max deal is the latest big commitment by the team.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the contract is not official.Simmons will make about $8.1 million this season, the last of his four-year rookie deal. His salary for the next season should jump to about $29.3 million and rise to nearly $39 million in 2024-25.The deal solidifies the 76ers' core for the next few seasons. All-Star Joel Embiid and Al Horford are under contract though 2023, Tobias Harris through 2024 and now Simmons through 2025.Simmons was the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2016. He made his NBA debut in the 2017-18 season and was Rookie of the Year. He was an All-Star for the first time last season. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his two on-court seasons.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving gave the Brooklyn Nets two big victories in one night."They hit the Mega Millions and the Powerball," former NBA star Charles Oakley said.In the first hours of free agency, the Nets added two of the best players available to a young roster that made the playoffs, giving them hope of not only contention for an NBA title, but to be the biggest basketball team in New York.The Nets have gone after both before and gotten neither.There was the 2012 acquisition of Joe Johnson to play with point guard Deron Williams, a pairing that was touted as "Brooklyn's Backcourt."Then there was the trade the next year for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, a megadeal that landed the Nets the cover of "Sports Illustrated."It didn't get them anywhere close to a title, though.So it would be easy to mix caution in with optimism, but former Nets who were back at Barclays Center on Sunday to play in the BIG3 think things can be different this time."I think they're going... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Davis' year of uncertainty finally felt finished when he stood in the Los Angeles Lakers' training complex and proudly held up his new gold jersey while LeBron James looked on approvingly.After months of upheaval around his departure from New Orleans, the superstar forward is looking forward to years of success and stability on the West Coast.Sure, Davis knows the Lakers are rarely stable, and championships are the only success this franchise understands.The six-time All-Star can't wait for the challenge of winning big in the Hollywood spotlight."The most difficult part for me was just not knowing," Davis said Saturday. "When it was announced that I was being traded, I don't want to say it was a relief, (but) it was something that I'd thought about for a long time. Obviously it was tough to leave the city I'd been playing in for seven years, but I think it was best for me."When I found out I'd been traded to the Lakers, I realized it was an unbelievable... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward/center Jordan Bell, who left Golden State during the Warriors' offseason transformation.Bell spent two seasons with the Warriors and was their starter at center in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. But he was one of a number of Warriors who won't be returning after Golden State's loss to Toronto.The 6-foot-9 Bell averaged 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game over 125 games.Terms of the deal were not announced Friday.

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks have officially re-signed Kristaps Porzingis, the 7-foot-3 All-Star selection who still hasn't played a game for them since being acquired in a big deal before the trade deadline last season.The Mavericks announced Friday that the deal was done.Porzingis and the Mavericks agreed earlier this month on a $158 million, five-year maximum contract — the last season being a player option. That will pair the Latvian standout with fellow young Euro star Luka Doncic, the 20-year-old from Slovania who was the NBA's Rookie of the Year last season when he averaged 21.2 points.Dallas sent a pair of first-round picks and Dennis Smith Jr., the ninth overall selection in the 2017 draft, to the New York Knicks for Porzingis in a seven-player trade last Jan. 31.Porzingis, who turns 24 on Aug. 2, sat out all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Feb 6, 2018, in what turned out to be his last game for the Knicks. The injury happened not long after Porzingis was named an All-Star.In 186 games over three seasons with the Knicks after being the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Porzingis averaged 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds. He averaged 22.7 points through 48 games in 2017-18 before the injury that has since kept him out of NBA games.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Everyone knows that Russell Westbrook and James Harden played together before, which automatically makes their reunion in Houston seem like the right fit.It won't be that easy.They've both changed since those days.But here they are, together again after the Oklahoma City Thunder decided to trade Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and another load of draft picks that Sam Presti is collecting in the same way that sneakerheads hoard vintage pairs of Jordans. On the surface, it's a shiny move for Houston — two of the last three NBA MVPs, the two guys with the most points over the last five seasons, in the same backcourt.Per NBA rules, there will only be one ball in play, however.The term they use is "ball dominant," a fancy way of saying certain players need the ball in their hands more than others. Westbrook and Harden are two of those guys. Harden held the ball for nearly 6½ seconds — a league high — and took nearly six dribbles, on average, every time he touched... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Everyone knows that Russell Westbrook and James Harden played together before, which automatically makes their reunion in Houston seem like the right fit.It won't be that easy.They've both changed since those days.But here they are, together again after the Oklahoma City Thunder decided to trade Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and another load of draft picks that Sam Presti is collecting in the same way that sneakerheads hoard vintage pairs of Jordans. On the surface, it's a shiny move for Houston — two of the last three NBA MVPs, the two guys with the most points over the last five seasons, in the same backcourt.Per NBA rules, there will only be one ball in play, however.The term they use is "ball dominant," a fancy way of saying certain players need the ball in their hands more than others. Westbrook and Harden are two of those guys. Harden held the ball for nearly 6½ seconds — a league high — and took nearly six dribbles, on average, every time he touched... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Russell Westbrook and James Harden are together again, and Chris Paul is leaving Houston to make that reunion happen.A person with knowledge of the situation says the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Paul in a swapping of top point guards. The Thunder also are getting first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, plus the right to swap first-rounders in two other seasons, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the trade has not been announced.ESPN first reported the agreement.Paul is a nine-time All-Star, Westbrook an eight-time selection. Paul has 9,181 career assists, the most among active players. Westbrook has 138 triple-doubles, tied with Magic Johnson for second-most in NBA history behind only Oscar Robertson's 181. Both members of Houston's new glitzy backcourt are recent MVPs: Westbrook won it in 2017, Harden won it in 2018. And the trade means that the NBA's two highest scorers... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Russell Westbrook and James Harden are together again, and Chris Paul is leaving Houston to make that reunion happen.A person with knowledge of the situation says the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Paul in a swapping of top point guards. The Thunder also are getting first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, plus the right to swap first-rounders in two other seasons, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the trade has not been announced.ESPN first reported the agreement.Paul is a nine-time All-Star, Westbrook an eight-time selection. Paul has 9,181 career assists, the most among active players. Westbrook has 138 triple-doubles, tied with Magic Johnson for second-most in NBA history behind only Oscar Robertson's 181. Both members of Houston's new glitzy backcourt are recent MVPs: Westbrook won it in 2017, Harden won it in 2018. And the trade means that the NBA's two highest scorers... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Russell Westbrook and James Harden are together again, and Chris Paul is leaving Houston to make that reunion happen.A person with knowledge of the situation says the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Paul in a swapping of top point guards. The Thunder also are getting first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, plus the right to swap first-rounders in two other seasons, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the trade has not been announced.ESPN first reported the agreement.Paul is a nine-time All-Star, Westbrook an eight-time selection. Paul has 9,181 career assists, the most among active players. Westbrook has 138 triple-doubles, tied with Magic Johnson for second-most in NBA history behind only Oscar Robertson's 181.Westbrook and Harden were Thunder teammates for three seasons, the last of those in 2011-12 when that duo and Kevin Durant took Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals. They... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul, a shake up of top point guards and a move that reunites Westbrook with James Harden.The Thunder also are getting first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, plus the right to swap first-rounders in two other seasons, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the trade has not been announced.ESPN first reported the agreement.It is part of a massive shake up by Oklahoma City, which traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers and now sends Westbrook — its franchise player — to another West rival while adding to an enormous stockpiling of draft picks. The Thunder got five first-rounders in the trade with the Clippers for George.And it splits up the pairing of Paul and Harden in Houston, a team with title aspirations. Westbrook and Harden were Thunder teammates, part of a team along with Kevin Durant that went to the 2012 NBA Finals and lost to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have officially announced that they've added guard Tyus Jones, a restricted free agent who played for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.The Timberwolves already had issued a statement late Tuesday night wishing Jones luck in Memphis, an indication they didn't plan to match the Grizzlies' offer sheet to him. The Grizzlies didn't make a formal announcement until issuing their own release Thursday night.Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but ESPN has reported that the Grizzlies had given Jones a three-year offer sheet worth $28 million.Jones averaged 6.9 points, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 22.9 minutes for Minnesota last season. The 23-year-old set an NBA single-season record with a 6.96 assist-turnover ratio.Jones, who is 6-foot-2, will wear No. 21 for the Grizzlies.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Jerami Grant's introductory news conference turned out to be a real show stopper.Actually, more of a sound-check interrupter.Between rehearsals before an Ariana Grande concert Thursday at the Pepsi Center, the newly acquired Denver Nuggets big man chatted about how defense just may be his best attribute and how much was looking forward to playing alongside All-Star center Nikola Jokic.It was all music to the Nuggets' ears.The acquisition of Grant in a deal with Oklahoma City was the only significant change the Nuggets have made so far in the offseason. It could be just the move they needed to keep pace with the rest of the Western Conference."The year we're coming off of, to add a guy like Jerami, I'm as excited as I've ever been with any team I've been associated with," said Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who surrendered a 2020 first-round pick to the Thunder in the deal.The youthful Nuggets are banking on cohesion to improve on a season that saw... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — The Mavericks have re-signed restricted free agent Dorian Finney-Smith to a $12 million, three-year contract, bringing back the undrafted forward for a fourth season in Dallas.Finney-Smith has been on the back end of coach Rick Carlisle's rotation while averaging 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 183 career games, with 74 starts. The former Memphis player is a solid defender whose 3-point shooting has improved slightly each season, although still hovering around 30 percent.The 26-year-old Finney-Smith has played in 81 games twice, including last season when he also made 26 starts. He had a career-best 35 starts as a rookie in 2016-17. Last season Finney-Smith averaged career bests of 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.Finney-Smith was one of three restricted free agents the Mavericks are bringing back. The others are the European pair of Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber. Dwight Powell opted in on the final year of his contract and signed a three-year extension.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks have signed Seth Curry to complete the guard's return after a year away and re-signed one of their restricted free agents in forward Maxi Kleber.Curry signed a $32 million, four-year contract after spending one season with Portland. Kleber is returning on a $35 million, four-year deal.Stephen Curry's younger brother had the best year of his career with the Mavericks in 2016-17, averaging 12.8 points, 2.7 assists and 29 minutes per game. The 28-year-old Curry missed all of 2017-18 with a stress reaction in his lower left leg before averaging 7.9 points with the Trail Blazers last season.Kleber's return means Dallas will have a German on its roster for a 22nd consecutive season. Dirk Nowitzki retired in April after setting an NBA record by playing 21 seasons with the same franchise. Both were born in Wurzburg, German.The 27-year-old Kleber spent his first two NBA seasons with the Mavericks, averaging 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves are declining to match an offer sheet to guard Tyus Jones, clearing the way for him to join the Memphis Grizzlies.Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas issued a statement late Tuesday saying, "We sincerely thank Tyus for his contributions on the court and Tyus and the entire Jones family for their genuine impact on the Twin Cities community." Rosas adds, "We wish them nothing but the best in Memphis."ESPN had reported that Jones and the Grizzlies had agreed to a three-year offer sheet worth $28 million.The 23-year-old Jones averaged 6.9 points, 4.8 assists and 22.9 minutes for the Timberwolves this past season.The 6-foot-2 Jones had spent his entire four-year NBA career with the Timberwolves. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected him out of Duke with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft but immediately traded him to Minnesota.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

After a couple easy wins to start the NBA Summer League, things finally got tougher for the Miami Heat.Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn made sure they got through it.Herro scored 25 points, Nunn added 19 and the Heat edged the Orlando Magic 96-92 on Tuesday to remain undefeated in Las Vegas.Miami is joined by Boston, Memphis, Detroit and Minnesota at 3-0, in good shape for seeding purposes when the 32 teams are trimmed to eight for the tournament.The Heat can thank their backcourt that has played so well on the campus of UNLV. There wasn't too much to do in the opener, when Miami led by 51 points in a 103-62 rout of China, when Herro and Nunn combined for 38 points. They put up 38 more against Utah, when Miami led by as much as 19 in an eventual 12-point victory.They were even better when Miami was finally tested against Orlando (1-2), which had a 12-point lead. But Herro, the No. 13 pick out of Kentucky, poured in 15 points in the second quarter before Nunn, who spent last season with the... [More]

After a couple easy wins to start the NBA Summer League, things finally got tougher for the Miami Heat.Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn made sure they got through it.Herro scored 25 points, Nunn added 19 and the Heat edged the Orlando Magic 96-92 on Tuesday to remain undefeated in Las Vegas.Miami joined Memphis, Detroit and Minnesota at 3-0, in good shape for seeding purposes when the 32 teams are trimmed to eight for the tournament.The Heat can thank their backcourt that has played so well on the campus of UNLV. There wasn't too much to do in the opener, when Miami led by 51 points in a 103-62 rout of China, when Herro and Nunn combined for 38 points. They put up 38 more against Utah, when Miami led by as much as 19 in an eventual 12-point victory.They were even better when Miami was finally tested against Orlando (1-2), which had a 12-point lead. But Herro, the No. 13 pick out of Kentucky, poured in 15 points in the second quarter before Nunn, who spent last season with the Santa Cruz Warriors... [More]

The Milwaukee Bucks have re-signed free agent guard George Hill.The team said Tuesday that Hill, who was acquired from Cleveland in December in a five-player, three-team trade, will return on a three-year deal."George is a consummate pro and an important part of our team," said Bucks general manager Jon Horst. "His veteran leadership and steady guard play were instrumental to our success last season, both during the regular season and the playoffs. We are thrilled to have him back with the Bucks."Hill, 33, average 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 47 games with the Bucks last season. He also played in all 15 of Milwaukee's playoff games, averaging 11.5 points on 53.4% shooting in just more than 26 minutes per game.The Bucks finished 60-22 last season for the NBA's best record and their first 60-win season since 1980-81. The Bucks lost to Toronto in the Eastern Conference finals.Hill has played 11 seasons in the NBA, including stints with the Spurs, Pacers, Jazz, Kings and the Cavaliers. He was the 26th overall pick by San Antonio in the 2008.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports