⛹️♂️ THE RUNDOWN
Almost one week after Pablo Torre’s bombshell report, alleging the LA Clippers of salary cap circumvention, the story has showed no signs of slowing down.
In fact, things are only heating up, with reports about Kawhi Leonard’s other, ahem, shady requests during his 2019 free agency also coming to light.
With Eurobasket getting to the pointy end of the tournament, restricted free agents starting to make decisions and Adam Silver holding a media op, here’s all you need to know…
🗞️ AROUND THE LEAGUE
Kawhi Conundrum Continues
Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur goes into detail about Kawhi Leonard and his representative ‘Uncle Dennis’ reportedly stating that for Leonard to sign in Toronto during the 2019 free agency period, the Raptors would need to trade for Paul George, grant an ownership stake to the Maple Leafs or “other companies with whom MLSE had a relationship” and provide at least $10 million in extra sponsorship income on ‘no show’ deals. Sound familiar?
Board of Governors Convene
The timing of the Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday could hardly have been better, with the Clippers salary cap scandal still very much a hot topic. Per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Adam Silver stated after the meeting that he is a “big believer in due process,” with Bontemps’ thread of tweets indicating that much more evidence of circumvention will need to be collected by the league if they are to enforce some form of punishment on Steve Ballmer’s team. Read Bontemps’ full thread here.
Giddey Stays in Chicago
Another restricted free agency domino has fallen, with Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls agreeing to a four-year, $100 million deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The contract comes after months of negotiations between Giddey and the Bulls, with the Australian seeking $30M annually and the Bulls aiming for $20M. In the end, things ended up smack-bang in the middle of the two’s desires.
Beasley Saga’s Next Chapter
ESPN’s David Purdum reports that, following the federal investigation into free agent Malik Beasley, the NBA has now begun an investigation of its own. It’s another twist in this story, with Beasley's attorney Steve Haney recently having stated that Beasley was no longer “a target” of the federal investigation, but did not clarify whether that meant that Beasley was completely absolved. It now appears that the NBA will be the judge of that, likely meaning Beasley remains a free agent until this investigation, which is “in its final stages,” is complete .
NBA Cup Shake-Up
Instead of being played at a neutral venue, the NBA Cup’s semifinals will be played at the higher seeds’ home arenas, starting from the 2026-27 season, per The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov.
Bassey Back
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reports that former San Antonio centre Charles Bassey has side an Exhibit 10 deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Knee injuries have plagued the big man in recent seasons, with an ACL tear in late 2023 before a bone bruise caused him to miss over half of the 2024-25 season.
EuroBasket Semifinals Set
Finland and Germany claimed the last two EuroBasket semifinals berths, with quarterfinals wins over Georgia and Slovenia, respectively. Franz Wagner top-scored for the Germans, with his 23 points helping his team overcome 39 points from Luka Dončić. For Susijengi, it was Mikael Jantunen’s turn to lead the scoring, with 19 points — Lauri Markkanen was just behind him with 17.
EuroBasket Semifinals
Germany v Finland
Friday, 10am EDT
Greece v Turkey
Friday, 2pm EDT