NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets plugged a couple holes in their roster Thursday with a pair of well-traveled veteran scorers.The Nets signed three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and Michael Beasley as substitute players for the remainder of the season.The Nets will resume play without Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan after they tested positive for the coronavirus. Wilson Chandler also chose not to play, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving aren't returning from their injuries.On the day the Nets practiced for the first time on the Walt Disney World Resort campus, they added a pair of players who can put up points.The 40-year-old Crawford hasn't played in the NBA this season after scoring 51 points while playing for Phoenix in the finale of the 2018-19 season. That made him the first player in NBA history with 50-point games for four different teams.He has averaged 14.6 points in 1,326 games, most among active players, over 19 seasons. Beasley was the No. 2 pick in the 2008... [More]

The legal fight over NBA rookie Zion Williamson’s endorsement potential now includes an allegation that his family received $400,000 from a marketing agency before his lone season for Duke.Prime Sports Marketing and company president Gina Ford filed a lawsuit last summer in a Florida state court, accusing Williamson and the agency now representing him of breach of contract. That came a week after Williamson filed his own lawsuit in a North Carolina federal court to terminate a five-year contract with Prime Sports after moving to Creative Artists Agency LLC.In court filings Thursday in North Carolina, Ford’s attorneys included a sworn affidavit from a California man who said the head of a Canadian-based firm called Maximum Management Group (MMG) told him he paid Williamson’s family for his commitment to sign with MMG once he left Duke for the NBA.The documents include a marketing agreement signed by Williamson with MMG from May 2019, a December 2019 “letter of declaration” signed by Williamson... [More]

The legal fight over NBA rookie Zion Williamson’s endorsement potential now includes an allegation that his family received $400,000 from a marketing agency before his lone season for Duke.Prime Sports Marketing and company president Gina Ford filed a lawsuit last summer in a Florida state court, accusing Williamson and the agency now representing him of breach of contract. That came a week after Williamson filed his own lawsuit in a North Carolina federal court to terminate a five-year contract with Prime Sports after moving to Creative Artists Agency LLC.In court filings Thursday in North Carolina, Ford’s attorneys included a sworn affidavit from a California man who said the head of a Canadian-based firm called Maximum Management Group (MMG) told him he paid Williamson’s family for his commitment to sign with MMG once he left Duke for the NBA.The documents include a marketing agreement signed by Williamson with MMG from May 2019, a December 2019 “letter of declaration” signed by Williamson... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets filled one of the openings on their roster Thursday by signing veteran Michael Beasley as a substitute player for the remainder of the season.The Nets will resume play without Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan after they tested positive for the coronavirus. Wilson Chandler also chose not to play, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving aren't returning from their injuries.Beasley was the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft and has averaged 12.4 points in 609 games over 11 seasons. He hasn't played in the NBA since appearing for the Lakers in February 2019.Beasley won't be eligible to play until the sixth of Brooklyn's eight seeding games because he has serve a suspension for violating the drug policy.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

A person with knowledge of the situation says that Kawhi Leonard did not accompany the Los Angeles Clippers on their flight to Central Florida on Wednesday night for the restart of the NBA season.Leonard's absence was excused and he is expected to join the team at the Disney complex near Orlando sometime in the next few days, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not publicly disclose the matter.Yahoo Sports first reported that Leonard was not on the flight to the Orlando area.The Clippers are scheduled to spend Thursday and part of Friday satisfying quarantine requirements, and are expected to practice for the first time at Disney on Friday night. They will resume game play on July 30, matching up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of a re-opening night doubleheader.Leonard is averaging a team-best 26.9 points this season for the Clippers, who are currently second in the Western Conference behind only the Lakers. He is the reigning NBA Finals MVP, after helping Toronto win the title last season.The Clippers are 38-13 when Leonard plays, 6-7 when he doesn't. They're also 17-3 in games where he scores at least 30 points this season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Patty Mills will play in the NBA restart, and the San Antonio guard said Wednesday that the reason why he's decided to participate is so he can give just over $1 million of his salary to causes in his native Australia devoted to fighting racism.The exact amount, Mills said, for the Spurs' eight remaining regular-season, or seeding, games will be $1,017,818.54. He will split that money between three causes — Black Lives Matter Australia, another group that deals with the problem of Blacks dying when in custody, and to the newly formed We Got You campaign that he helped organize to address the issues of racism within Australian sport.“So, I’m playing in Orlando because I don’t want to leave any money on the table that could be going directly to Black communities," Mills said.Mills isn't the only player that has announced he will be donating his salary for the eight games to charity. Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard revealed earlier this week that he will give the remainder of his salary... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie won't take part in the restart of the NBA season, two significant absences in the Eastern Conference playoff race.Beal is out because of a right rotator cuff injury; Dinwiddie announced that he is still testing positive for coronavirus and won’t participate.Washington, Orlando and Brooklyn are the three teams left in the chase for the final two playoff spots in the East. If the Wizards finish within four games of whichever club finishes eighth, then two games will be played to determine the No. 8 seed."He’s worked religiously to get this thing back to where it feels right, and it just hasn’t felt right," said Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard, who doesn't believe Beal's injury will linger long term or require surgery. “To hear him say himself that he’s just not right right now, ‘I’ve got to keep working, I’ve got more work to do,’ made that decision much easier.”Washington will also be without forward... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie won't take part in the restart of the NBA season, two significant absences in the Eastern Conference playoff race.Beal is out because of a right rotator cuff injury; Dinwiddie announced that he is still testing positive for coronavirus and won’t participate.Washington, Orlando and Brooklyn are the three teams left in the chase for the final two playoff spots in the East. If the Wizards finish within four games of whichever club finishes eighth, then two games will be played to determine the No. 8 seed.“Bradley did everything possible to be ready to play, but after closely monitoring his individual workouts, we came to the conclusion that it was best for him to sit out the upcoming games in Orlando and avoid the risk of further injury,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. Washington will also be without forward Davis Bertans, who decided to opt out of playing as a pending free agent, and injured guard... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie won't take part in the restart of the NBA season, two significant absences in the Eastern Conference playoff race.Beal is out because of a right rotator cuff injury; Dinwiddie announced that he is still testing positive for coronavirus and won’t participate.Washington, Orlando and Brooklyn are the three teams left in the chase for the final two playoff spots in the East. If the Wizards finish within four games of whichever club finishes eighth, then two games will be played to determine the No. 8 seed.“Bradley did everything possible to be ready to play, but after closely monitoring his individual workouts, we came to the conclusion that it was best for him to sit out the upcoming games in Orlando and avoid the risk of further injury,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. Washington will also be without forward Davis Bertans, who decided to opt out of playing as a pending free agent, and injured guard... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal won’t take part in the restart of the NBA season because of a right rotator cuff injury.The team announced Beal's status Tuesday before traveling to Orlando. Beal's absence makes it even more challenging for Washington to qualify for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference."Bradley did everything possible to be ready to play, but after closely monitoring his individual workouts, we came to the conclusion that it was best for him to sit out the upcoming games in Orlando and avoid the risk of further injury,” general manager Tommy Sheppard said. Washington will also be without forward Davis Bertans, who decided to opt out of playing as a pending free agent, and injured guard John Wall. The team ruled out Wall traveling to Orlando at the start of team workouts. Beal averaged 30.5 points a game this season, almost twice as much as Bertans, the Wizards' No. 2 scorer. The 27-year-old was preparing to play, even while the decision was up in... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is joining rapper Common and others for a TV special calling for action following the death of Breonna Taylor.Irving is producing “#SAYHERNAME: BREONNA TAYLOR,” which will debut Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT on the PlayersTv digital and broadcast network.Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times in Louisville, Kentucky, by plainclothes officers serving a narcotics search warrant without knocking at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Louisville has seen weeks of protests over the shooting and demonstrators around the country have chanted her name.The broadcast will include specific calls for action, such as calls to the offices of city and state officials, voter registrations and social media posts bringing attention to Taylor's case.Irving, who has been outspoken about social justice issues, says as society is calling attention to police brutality and systemic racism, it is “critical to magnify how... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is joining rapper Common and others for a TV special calling for action following the death of Breonna Taylor.Irving is producing “#SAYHERNAME: BREONNA TAYLOR,” which will debut Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT on the PlayersTv digital and broadcast network.Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times in Louisville, Kentucky, by plainclothes officers serving a narcotics search warrant without knocking at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Louisville has seen weeks of protests over the shooting and demonstrators around the country have chanted her name.The broadcast will include specific calls for action, such as calls to the offices of city and state officials, voter registrations and social media posts bringing attention to Taylor's case.Irving, who has been outspoken about social justice issues, says as society is calling attention to police brutality and systemic racism, it is “critical to magnify how... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JR Smith was not ready to wrap up his 15-year NBA career when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers in late 2018, and the ensuing 20 months were not much fun for the veteran shooter.“I went through a very depressed state for a long time," Smith said Monday. "I’m a big video gamer, (but) I didn’t even play (NBA) 2K anymore. I don’t want to hoop, I don’t want to work out, I don’t want to play 2K, I don’t want do anything with basketball.”Thanks to a call from the Los Angeles Lakers, Smith is getting another shot on basketball's biggest stage. He joined the Western Conference leaders for workouts last week before they head to Florida for the conclusion of the NBA season.The 34-year-old Smith was added to the roster because Lakers starter Avery Bradley declined to return for the rest of the season, citing family concerns. The Lakers needed a depth replacement who could immediately fit in alongside LeBron James while playing solid wing defense, providing a 3-point threat and meshing... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown is encouraged by the steps the NBA is taking to connect with its players’ desire to support social justice causes.He also wants to see the league go further with some of those plans as it prepares to restart the season later this month in Florida. One of the Celtics’ young stars, the 23-year-old has been one of the most outspoken voices among players since the NBA paused its season in March. From encouraging young Americans to take COVID-19 seriously, to driving 15 hours from Boston in May to lead a protest march in the days after the release of the video of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Brown has actively used social media to raise awareness on several fronts to his more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter and Instagram. While he said Monday that he initially considered not playing in Orlando because of the pandemic and family concerns, he ultimately decided the opportunity to amplify his voice on the NBA’s worldwide stage won out. “Once I thought about... [More]

After four months of waiting and planning, the NBA bubble is ready to be tested.The first six teams — Brooklyn, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix, Utah and Washington — are scheduled to arrive Tuesday at the Disney complex. Another eight teams arrive Wednesday, the last eight arrive Thursday, and with that training camps will be on the cusp of beginning.If the plan works, all teams will be at Disney for at least 5-1/2 weeks and some teams will be there for more than three months. And not everyone in the league has an abundance of optimism that the experiment — involving daily testing, separation from friends and family for weeks if not months, and strict regulations regarding just about everything imaginable at Disney — will be enough to complete the season.“I’m not very confident,” New Orleans guard Brandon Ingram said. “But they’ve got us going ... so we’ll see.”The process for arrivals will be streamlined — players and team staff will be immediately taken to the testing room at their Disney hotel... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Grieving the death of a cousin and missing his mother, Damian Lillard struggled emotionally after the NBA shut down because of the coronavirus. But he also found inspiration in his activism for Black Lives Matter and his flourishing music career. The Trail Blazers were just out of the playoff picture, sitting ninth in the Western Conference standings on March 11 when the league was shuttered. The team will be among 22 that will depart next week for Orlando as part of the re-start. Portland will have eight games to secure a playoff berth, starting on July 31 with Memphis. “We don’t have time to ease our way in, we don't have time to try and figure stuff out, we’ve got to come in assertive and aggressive and just go after it,” he said. “And if we fail, we fail, but we gotta at least come out there with that mentality of we don’t have time to kind of ease into it.”Lillard welcomes the chance to resume playing after a difficult few months. He admittedly had no idea how... [More]

There were the tweets from strangers. “I hate you.” “You ruined the whole world.” “You deserve it.” And there was the scorn from inside his own locker room, the presumption that he infected a teammate with coronavirus, the suggestion that his recklessness somehow caused the entire sporting world to come to an absolute standstill.Utah center Rudy Gobert is still standing tall, after all that and more.Plenty of eyes will be on Gobert when the NBA season , the one that shut down March 11 when he became the first player in the league to be diagnosed with the coronavirus, takes a giant step toward returning by having teams gather at the Disney complex in Central Florida over the next few days. The Jazz will be a fascinating case study during this restart, particularly regarding whether or not Gobert and Donovan Mitchell — a fellow All-Star who was diagnosed with the virus shortly after the shutdown began and did not hide his anger with Gobert about it all — can coexist peacefully again.“I’m... [More]

Portland guard Damian Lillard was in the gym a few days ago and took notice of what injured Trail Blazers big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins were doing during their individual workouts.That’s when he realized a bright side of the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown.The injured guys weren’t injured anymore.Plenty of aches and pains around the NBA have healed in the almost-four-month span since the league had to suspend its season because of the pandemic, which means the 22 teams that will be arriving at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida next week should be coming in with mostly healthy rosters.Keeping players healthy once they get to Disney will be another challenge, as workloads ramp up quickly for the July 30 resumption of games — but, at least at the start of camps for the resumed season, rosters will be deeper than they were when the league shut down on March 11.“I hate to even use that term, like a ‘silver lining’ came out of this because this is something that nobody ever predicted,”... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The sudden suspension of the NBA season was a double disappointment for Anthony Davis.“It happened on my birthday, which is kind of a bummer because I couldn't do anything,” the Los Angeles Lakers' seven-time All-Star big man said with a laugh.Davis turned 27 on March 11 when the NBA shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. After a few homebound months spent largely improving his video game skills, Davis is back at work as the Lakers attempt to achieve their interrupted goals.Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers are gathered for individual workouts this week in preparation for their trip to Orlando, where they're among the favorites to win it all in this extraordinary NBA season. The Lakers (49-14) were leading the Western Conference and preparing for their first playoff run together when everything stopped.Davis still loves the Lakers' chances of contending for the franchise's 17th championship.“Actually, I think our chances are higher, just because we’re all rested and... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson credits his mother’s wisdom with helping him manage life’s unanticipated twists and inevitable assortment of successes and setbacks.It has served the NBA’s top overall draft choice well during a highly unusual debut season that has gone nothing like he imagined, yet still holds plenty of promise.“The last 12 months have been a different experience,” Williamson said Thursday, projecting his typically affable, smiling, easy-going manner during a video conference at the New Orleans Pelicans’ practice headquarters. “My mom tells me, ‘Life is life. You may go through a lot of bad times. You may go through a lot of good times. It’s just: Try to prepare yourself as best as you can.’”Now Williamson and the Pelicans are preparing to make a “playoff push,” something that appeared highly unlikely when he was sitting on the sidelines with a surgically repaired knee, watching New Orleans labor through a franchise-worst 13-game losing streak that left... [More]