NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks re-signed Taj Gibson on Thursday, reuniting the veteran forward with coach Tom Thibodeau. Gibson played for the Knicks last season, averaging 6.1 points in 62 games. He was waived in November. Gibson had his best success playing for Thibodeau in Chicago, then rejoined him in Minnesota and played two seasons for the Timberwolves. The 6-foot-10 forward has averaged 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 799 games. To make room on the roster, the Knicks earlier Thursday waived forward Omari Spellman, who was acquired from Minnesota in November and never appeared in a game for New York. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired veteran forward Ed Davis from the New York Knicks for Jacob Evans III, Omari Spellman and a 2026 second-round draft pick in a trade finalized Tuesday. The 31-year-old Davis has played in 668 regular-season games, with 96 starts, for six NBA teams. He has averaged 6.3 points and 6.6 rebounds during his career. The 6-foot-9 Davis was drafted 13th overall in 2010 by the Toronto Raptors. He'll help fill an opening at power forward created by the departure of James Johnson in the draft-night deal that brought point guard Ricky Rubio back to the Timberwolves. Evans and Spellman played sparingly for Minnesota last season after coming with headliner D'Angelo Russell from Golden State in the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Warriors. ___ More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired veteran forward Ed Davis from the New York Knicks for Jacob Evans III, Omari Spellman and a 2026 second-round draft pick in a trade finalized Tuesday. The 31-year-old Davis has played in 668 regular-season games, with 96 starts, for six NBA teams. He has averaged 6.3 points and 6.6 rebounds during his career. The 6-foot-9 Davis was drafted 13th overall in 2010 by the Toronto Raptors. He'll help fill an opening at power forward created by the departure of James Johnson in the draft-night deal that brought point guard Ricky Rubio back to the Timberwolves. Evans and Spellman played sparingly for Minnesota last season after coming with headliner D'Angelo Russell from Golden State in the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Warriors. ___ More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After reaching five straight NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors couldn't have foreseen such a strange, disappointing season as they debuted their snazzy new Chase Center in San Francisco.The Warriors had the worst record in the NBA at 15-50 with a roster of largely unknowns taking the court night after night.Kevin Durant had departed. Klay Thompson sat out recovering from surgery for a torn left knee ligament sustained in Game 6 of last year's finals against champion Toronto. Stephen Curry broke his left hand. Andrew Wiggins arrived and never got to showcase his star talent alongside the team's top rotation before pro sports were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.Steve Kerr's coaching got tested like never before as he relied on rookies and young players to learn on the fly because that's all Golden State had available.Then the Warriors were one of the teams left out when the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a 22-team format for restarting the league season... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry is confident he has put his left hand through every possible test aside from actually getting into an NBA game.He will get that chance Thursday night, when the two-time MVP is set to return following a more than four-month absence with a broken left hand to play for Golden State against the Toronto Raptors. Curry said he is comfortable enough to play, though it may be months before his hand feels completely “normal” again to where he can compare it to the right side. Yet he still plans to play in the Tokyo Olympics this summer with the Team USA training camp scheduled to open in July.“Hopefully, there aren't any thoughts and I get to play my game the way I see it and just be able to react and make plays without having second thoughts or hesitation,” Curry said after shootaround Thursday morning at Chase Center. “If I need to make a left-handed pass, no matter where it is, or finish with my left or defend and get a deflection or take a hit with it, that... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry is scheduled to return from a more than four-month absence with a broken left hand to play for Golden State against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.The Warriors announced Wednesday night that Curry had been medically cleared to play and would be in the lineup Thursday in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals won in six games by Toronto. The two-time NBA MVP missed 58 games after falling on his left hand Oct. 30 versus Phoenix. He practiced Monday with the G League Santa Cruz Warriors, then was recalled back to the NBA team later in the day in a most expected promotion. Curry, who turns 32 on March 14, had hoped to return last Sunday against Washington but his timeline wasn't too far delayed. He is averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds over just four games this season. Golden State Curry's initial game back from injury also will be his first on the court with Andrew Wiggins, who was acquired by the Warriors from Minnesota on Feb. 6 for... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In Brooklyn a couple of days back, Bob Myers realized something he has rarely seen as Golden State's general manager or even dating to his days as a busy sports agent: Nobody wanted to be traded from the NBA's worst team.“That's unprecedented,” Myers said Friday after dealing much of the Warriors roster this week.Golden State dealt D'Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans III and Omari Spellman to the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of Thursday's trade deadline for Andrew Wiggins and draft picks — Minneosta's first-rounder and second-rounder in 2021, unless the first-rounder is in the top three and then it would roll over to 2022.It was “somber” as Myers put it after Golden State opted to send so many players packing for new opportunities. He felt it. Coaches felt it. The young Warriors said heartfelt farewells, having built tight bonds by being thrown into the fire because of injuries to stars such as Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and following Kevin Durant's offseason... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Not yet finished with his fifth NBA season, D'Angelo Russell has landed with his fourth team.Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves sure don't want him to leave. “It’s surreal to really think that instead of us just talking on the phone or playing video games with each other and talking about how our teams are doing and everything, but now we’re getting to do this every day with each other,” Towns said.Russell was introduced at an open-to-the-public news conference Friday along with six other players acquired during the trading spree this week.“I’ve been seeing from a distance, and from close-up, the ship that Karl’s kind of been driving around here for years,” Russell said. “Players come and go from here. I take it they didn’t appreciate the situation here or whatever that may be, but watching from a distance I knew I could help Karl. I’ve never played with a dynamic big just like him.”President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was hired May 1. He was... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken on yet another new look, with D'Angelo Russell on his way to join pal Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins heading west to the Golden State Warriors.In a swap of high scorers consummated just a few hours before the NBA deadline on Thursday, the Timberwolves acquired the dynamic point guard they'd been seeking for awhile in Russell and pulled the plug on their development of Wiggins, the mercurial first overall pick of the 2014 draft.The deal also sent two little-used Golden State players, guard Jacob Evans and forward Omari Spellman, to the Timberwolves and routed two draft picks to the Warriors. They'll get Minnesota's first-rounder and second-rounder in 2021, unless the first-rounder is in the top three. Then it would roll over to 2022.That means the Timberwolves, who overturned half of their roster this week, will have two first-round picks this summer, their own that's likely to be in the top five and another one from Brooklyn... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken on yet another new look, with D'Angelo Russell on his way to join pal Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins heading west to the Golden State Warriors.In a swap of high scorers consummated just a few hours before the NBA deadline on Thursday, the Timberwolves acquired the dynamic point guard they'd been seeking for awhile in Russell and pulled the plug on their development of Wiggins, the mercurial first overall pick of the 2014 draft.The deal also sent two little-used Golden State players, guard Jacob Evans and forward Omari Spellman, to the Timberwolves and routed two draft picks to the Warriors. They'll get Minnesota's first-rounder and second-rounder in 2021, unless the first-rounder is in the top three. Then it would roll over to 2022.That means the Timberwolves, who overturned half of their roster this week, will have two first-round picks this summer, their own that's likely to be in the top five and another one from Brooklyn... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yet another member of the Golden State Warriors is injured, with two-way guard Damion Lee now out because of a broken right hand.The injury occurred during Golden State's 122-108 home loss to the Jazz on Monday night. Lee underwent an MRI exam Tuesday morning that revealed a nondisplaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal. The team said he will be reevaluated in two weeks."Hopefully just a few weeks," coach Steve Kerr said before the team flew to Los Angeles, where the Warriors play the Lakers on Wednesday night.Lee joins a long list of injured players on the depleted Warriors, who are 2-9 following five straight trips to the NBA Finals.Stephen Curry had surgery on his broken left hand, which he injured Oct. 30, and will need another procedure next month to have pins removed. He said Monday that he expects to be playing again come spring.The two-time MVP joins Klay Thompson, who is recovering from a July 2 surgery on a torn ACL in his left knee suffered during Game 6... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — D'Angelo Russell has done this before, forced to take on a far bigger role just last season because of injuries in Brooklyn. And now the new Golden State guard must do it again with the absence of both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in a suddenly short-handed backcourt.Curry broke his left hand in a 121-110 loss to Phoenix on Wednesday night and it remained unclear a day later how long he might be sidelined, while Splash Brother Thompson could miss the entire season recovering from July 2 surgery for a torn ACL in his left knee that he hurt in a Game 6 loss in the NBA Finals that gave Toronto its first title. Curry underwent a CT scan Thursday but the team said it would have specialists evaluate the results before providing an update on his status.However long he is out, it hurts for far more than what he brings on the court. Curry's presence in the locker room provides an example for the young Warriors, and he is their longest-tenured player and their oldest at age... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — New Warriors big man Willie Cauley-Stein will be sidelined for training camp with a left foot injury, while Klay Thompson is making progress from a July 2 surgery for a torn left anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee but will be out at least until the All-Star break.General manager Bob Myers said at Monday's media day that Cauley-Stein strained his foot last week while scrimmaging. Cauley-Stein is scheduled to be reevaluated in about a month with an update on his status expected at the end of October."It's disappointing for him mostly, I know he was ready to go," Myers said at the new Chase Center, where the Warriors will begin training camp Tuesday. "You like to have new players get a chance to get acclimated in camp, so for him and obviously the coaches, myself, the whole organization, we want him to get back. The good news is he will be back. But camp is a formative time for him and his teammates. Nothing you can do, injuries are clearly a part of it. We want... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — No team has more riding on next week's NBA draft lottery than the Atlanta Hawks.If the pingpong balls fall Atlanta's way, the Hawks could be the only team to end up with two of the top nine picks.The last two drafts have set the foundation for the Hawks' makeover. John Collins and Trae Young are the new faces of the franchise .More help is needed following 29 wins this season. General manager Travis Schlenk dares to dream of hitting the jackpot in the May 14 lottery and having the first and ninth picks in the June 20 draft. That best-case scenario would add significant momentum to an already promising rebuilding process."We like the position we're in," Schlenk said Friday following a workout with draft hopefuls at the Hawks' practice facility. "We all know right now we're sitting with the fifth odds and potentially the ninth odds, so it'd be real exciting. The best-case scenario would put us at one and nine. That would be great for the franchise."Schlenk said building a strong... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks made a modest improvement in the standings this season, finishing with 29 wins, up from 24 the previous year.John Collins sees a far more dramatic improvement in the Hawks' outlook."Completely different," Collins said Wednesday night after closing the season with a career-high 25 rebounds and 20 points. "I feel we have more of a foundation, more of a solid base than last year. I feel like that's going to give us a lot of comfort going into next year."Rookie point guard Trae Young is the new face of the franchise, but Collins also is part of the foundation . The 6-foot-10 forward, only 21 years old, saw his scoring almost double from 10.5 points as a rookie to 19.5 in his second season while averaging almost 10 rebounds per game.The Hawks' makeover in 2018-19 included the additions of three first-round picks and coach Lloyd Pierce. More youth is coming with two first-round picks in the June 20 NBA draft.Kevin Huerter, a 3-point shooter, joined Young as rookie... [More]