Kyle Lowry wound up staying with Toronto after all. Victor Oladipo is finally in Miami, a destination he's eyed in the past. And Rajon Rondo is headed back to Los Angeles, though not with the team he helped win the NBA title last season. The trade deadline has come and gone. And now, playoff pushes can really begin. Miami, Denver, the Clippers, Portland, Dallas, Boston and Atlanta were likely among the teams feeling convinced that they improved on deadline day after a flurry of moves Thursday, though the best player — at least this season — might have been landed by the Chicago Bulls. They got All-Star forward Nikola Vucevic from Orlando, a move that ushered in the start of a big-time rebuild by the Magic. “Anytime you trade a player like Nikola, it is a tough decision to make," Magic President Jeff Weltman said. Vucevic is the only player from this season's All-Star Game to be traded at the deadline. It was a steep price; Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu went to the Bulls for Otto Porter, Wendell... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics coach Brad Stevens believes the best way he can be helpful to his players right now is by listening to them. Boston players including Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter and Vincent Poirier have been among several NBA players to participate in recent protests following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis last month after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck as he begged for air. Demonstrations have taken place in cities around the country in response to the incident, which was captured in a widely seen video that has mobilized protesters. A medical examiner ruled Monday that Floyd’s heart stopped as police restrained him and compressed his neck.It all prompted Stevens to write a letter to his players over the weekend in which he expressed his support for them. “I think the thing that I wanted them to know is that every decent person is hurting,” Stevens said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “Every decent... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics coach Brad Stevens believes the best way he can be helpful to his players right now is by listening to them. Boston players including Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter and Vincent Poirier have been among several NBA players to participate in recent protests following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis last month after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck as he begged for air. Demonstrations have taken place in cities around the country in response to the incident, which was captured in a widely seen video that has mobilized protesters. A medical examiner ruled Monday that Floyd’s heart stopped as police restrained him and compressed his neck.It all prompted Stevens to write a letter to his players over the weekend in which he expressed his support for them. “I think the thing that I wanted them to know is that every decent person is hurting,” Stevens said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. “Every decent... [More]

Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter says he will be able to play in his team's Christmas Day game in Toronto against the Raptors after discussions with the Canadian government.In a column published Monday by The Globe and Mail, the native of Turkey thanked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government as well as other officials from Canada and the U.S. for getting him the green light to cross the border to play in the NBA's first Christmas game in Toronto.Kanter, an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an's government for its treatment of residents, has not traveled outside the United States for years. Kanter has said his passport was revoked by the Turkish government in 2017.The Globe's headline reads, "Thank you, Canada, for letting me play basketball — despite Turkey’s threats against me."The Celtics already were short-handed at center with Vincent Poirier and Robert Williams nursing injuries.Kanter, 27, is averaging 7.8 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Celtics this season."I want to thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, U.S. and Canadian law enforcement, U.S. Senator Ed Markey, the Celtics, the NBA and my managers for working diligently to make my Christmas game against the Raptors possible and ensuring my safety there," Kanter writes in the Globe. “And, on Christmas night, I will play in my first game as a Celtic outside the U.S. when I take the court against the Raptors.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports