ATLANTA (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations says center Dewayne Dedmon is returning to the Atlanta Hawks in a trade that sends center Alex Len and forward Jabari Parker to the Sacramento Kings. The Kings also are giving the Hawks two second-round picks.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been announced by the teams. The deal comes hours before the NBA trade deadline.Dedmon is returning to Atlanta, where he enjoyed his two most productive seasons, from 2017-19. The trade also satisfies his wish to leave Sacramento. Dedmon was fined $50,000 on Jan. 2 for making public his desire to be traded by the Kings."I haven’t been playing, so I would like to go somewhere where my talents are appreciated,” Dedmon told the Sacramento Bee Dedmon has averaged 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds while starting in only 10 games for the Kings this season. He averaged a career-best 10.8 points with 7.5 rebounds for Atlanta in the 2018-19 season.According... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Vince Carter is on the cusp of a revered NBA career record, the most seasons ever played.He promises season No. 22 will be his last."I wouldn't let you guys say this is the last one if that wasn't the case," Carter said Monday at the Atlanta Hawks' media day. "I don't want to do that. Even if I change my mind now, for me I feel like it's too late, but no, this is it."When Carter checks into his first game — likely the Oct. 24 opener at Detroit — he will break a tie with Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, all of whom played 21 years.Carter, who turns 43 in January, still can't quite comprehend what the record encompasses, but he's glad to have all of training camp and the preseason to sort out what's next."Stepping on the court to make it official is going to be kind of crazy," he said. "When you see that list and you see that cluster of guys and you see the next number is 22 and to see me passing guys like that — I've been asked that all summer... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young just might make the Atlanta Hawks fun to watch this season.The rookie point guard flashed some dazzling ball-handling skills in his preseason debut, keeping his teammates and fans involved in the action while he is on the floor.Atlanta is not expected to win many games this season, but Young will likely win over his teammates and more than a few fans."His greatest skill is he can facilitate and he can find guys," first-year coach Lloyd Pierce said. "When you have a player with the ability to do that, to find guys in creative ways, he's fun to play with."In his preseason debut Monday night, Young provided a glimpse of what Hawks fans can expect this year.Some good:On one play he bounced a pass off the backboard and later wrapped on around a defender on the baseline to assist on uncontested dunks.Some not so good: It was far from a perfect night as Young missed 10 of his first 11 attempts from the field.But he seemed to get a pass on his shooting — for now.The seamless... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — There is almost certainly pain coming for the Hawks, or at least their fans, yet first-time NBA head coach Lloyd Pierce and second-year general manager Travis Schlenk refuse to notarize that word while in charge of Atlanta's only woebegone pro team.Training camp begins Tuesday for the team that last season lost more games than any other in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks were 24-58, and their offseason moves are not likely to move them closer to playoff contention.They're going to be painfully young outside of their two potential marquee players. Vince Carter, though, is 41 years old ahead of his 20th NBA season. And Jeremy Lin, 30, signed over the summer too, joining his seventh NBA team. Oh, and they signed 30-year-old center Cole Aldrich last week.Still, the brass is excited for training camp to open next Tuesday.The NBA, after all, is as much about massive rebuilds these days as it is assembling super teams. The Hawks qualify for the former, and Pierce knows that game... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks have signed forward Thomas Robinson, who last appeared in the NBA in the 2016-17 season with the Los Angeles Lakers.The 27-year-old Robinson spent last season in Russia.Robinson played in college at Kansas and was the No. 5 overall pick by Sacramento in the 2012 draft. He has played in 313 career games in five seasons with the Kings, Houston, Portland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and the Lakers. He averaged 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 48 games, including one start, with the Lakers in 2016-17.In a similar move this month, the Hawks signed center Alex Len, the 7-foot-1 Ukrainian who was the fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft by Phoenix, but he made little impact in five years with the Suns.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks have signed center Alex Len.The 7-foot-1 Ukrainian was the fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft by Phoenix, but he didn't make much of an impact in five years with the Suns. This past season, he averaged 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 69 games, including 13 starts.Len's best showing with the Suns came in 2015-16, when he started 46 games while averaging 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds.The signing of Len gives the rebuilding Hawks additional depth at center with Dewayne Dedmon and Miles Plumlee.___For more AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

PHOENIX (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the Phoenix Suns have decided not to re-sign center Alex Len and point guard Elfrid Payton, clearing some $10 million in salary cap space as the team prepares to make a run at free agents.The person asked to remain anonymous because those intentions have not been made public. Free agency begins in the NBA on Sunday.The moves were expected.The 7-foot-1 Len, who comes from the Ukraine, was the fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft after one season at Maryland. He played in 335 games over four seasons with Phoenix, averaging 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, never becoming the dominant big man the Suns had hoped he would be. Last season, Len appeared in 69 games, averaging 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.Acquired from Orlando for a second-round pick at last season's trade deadline, Payton averaged 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 19 games with Phoenix but shot 44 percent from the field, 20 percent from 3-point range.The Suns' decision not to re-sign the players first was reported by azcentral (The Arizona Republic).

C Alex Len had 14 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 126-113 loss at Toronto.

C Alex Len returned after missing one game with an ankle sprain. He scored seven points.

C Alex Len (8.9 points, 9.4 rebounds per game off the bench) did not play Saturday because of an ankle injury.

C Alex Len admittedly is frustrated with his recent lack of playing time. "I want to be out there, and I want to compete," the 7-foot-1 Len told AZCentral.com after sitting out two of the Suns' last three games. "I put in the work hoping to show my skills on the court. So when you're not able to help your team, it's frustrating."

C Alex Len grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with 13 points in Tuesday's 104-99 victory at Chicago.

C Alex Len had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Phoenix (4-9), which has lost five straight and the first three games of a seven-game homestand.

C Alex Len (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Tyler Ulis (13 points, five assists) led a strong effort by the Suns' bench, which outscored Utah's reserves 38-9 in Phoenix's 97-88 win. "Tyler had been playing very well, and tonight Alex comes in and just goes to the rim, goes to the rim. And when he does that, good things happen," interim coach Jay Triano said. "I don't have a substitution pattern. ... If you want to stay in the game, play defense and work hard."

C Alex Len scored 15 points as the Suns struggled on the second night of back-to-back games.

C Alex Len, who missed Wednesday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers with a sprained left ankle, made his season debut.

C Alex Len sat out Wednesday's opener against Portland because of a left ankle sprain. During the preseason, Len led the NBA in blocks (2.6 per game) and was third in field-goal percentage while averaging almost 15 points per game.

C Alex Len, who was the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, and the Suns did not agree on a rookie contract extension. He signed a qualifying offer for one year and $4.2 million for the 2017-18 season, according to The Vertical. He will become an unrestricted free agent in July.