The headline was bold: Zion Williamson signed a five-year, $193 million max extension with the Pelicans. No player option. If he makes All-NBA this season, that could jump to $231 million over five years. However, the fine print on the contract is interesting: There is a weight clause that could reduce Zion’s payday if he does not meet a set …

Nearly 75 years after the first Black man in history was drafted into the NBA by the Boston Celtics, the city of Boston and America more broadly still have a long way to go in terms of equity for people of color. And while jabs at Boston’s pretenses of progressivism via the behavior of their fans sadly holds water even …

Zion Williamson’s new max contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans contains a weight clause, according to Christian Clark. Williamson will have periodic weigh-ins throughout the course of the deal, and if his weight plus body fat percentage is above 295, he could lose money.  Despite some speculative discussions about Willamson’s future with the Pelicans over the last few months, …

Why Cowherd urges Poole to test market over Warriors extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea With the championship shine still glowing in San Francisco, the Warriors were recently slapped with the reality of difficult financial decisions to come. Those issues took center stage Wednesday when The Athletic reported, citing sources, that Draymond Green wants a max contract extension and …

Last Friday, 23 days into NBA free agency, Chris Fedor reported that restricted free agent Collin Sexton is sitting on a three-year offer from the Cavaliers worth roughly $40 million. He is not known to have received any other offers. Before you decide whether or not that offer is fair, I’d just like to offer a list of players making …

C.J. Stroud sounds like he wants to set up a matchup between Ohio State football and the Buckeyes’ men’s basketball team. To be clear, on the basketball court. “I honestly think that if we played … it would be close,” the Ohio State quarterback said at Big Ten media days. “I think we would win.” After starting out by talking about the toughness of his …

The New Orleans Pelicans want Zion Williamson around for a while, but only on one big condition. The Pelicans star signed a five-year, $193 million max contract earlier this month that could be worth as much as $231 million. According to The Times-Picayune, the contract stipulates that Williamson must weigh in at below 295 pounds periodically throughout the deal. His …

DeRozan on how free agency doubts fueled monster year originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago By now, DeMar DeRozan’s unexpected path to the Chicago Bulls during 2021 free agency is well documented. But approaching the one-year anniversary of his sign-and-trade acquisition from the San Antonio Spurs, DeRozan added a new layer of eloquence to the process during his appearance on …

Grant Hill sees Banchero, Holmgren among NBA’s next stars originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington Back in November, Grant Hill was named managing director of the USA Basketball Men’s Team, which puts him at a unique vantage point to evaluate young NBA players, particularly those from the United States. After attending the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month, Hill …

Who Barkley believes is biggest threat to Warriors in the West originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea The Warriors will head into the 2022-23 NBA season as one of the clear championship favorites. Golden State’s road back to the Finals certainly won’t be easy, especially in the Western Conference where multiple teams will give the Warriors a run for their …

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy a successful offseason when the team announced on Thursday that the team’s mascot — Rumble the Bison — won the inaugural NBA mascot community impact award. Rumble was voted as the winner from his fellow NBA mascots due to his involvement with the Oklahoma City community and brand exposure he brought to the …

The 2023 draft may already have a main attraction with France’s Victor Wembanyama NBA eligibility drawing near. The 7’3″ Parisian big man might just be the next great star in the Association, and teams are already positioning themselves to add the intriguing phenom to their future plans. Every so often prospects create this kind of epic gravity. Zion Williamson, Anthony …

How Barkley believes Warriors can be good ‘for a long long time’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea Unfortunately for the rest of the NBA, the Warriors’ dynasty might not be over quite yet. After winning their fourth championship in eight seasons this summer, Golden State will head into the 2022-23 season with a chance to repeat as champions. Basketball …

Celtics player spotlight: How Pritchard can carve out a consistent role originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston Payton Pritchard knows his role with the Boston Celtics. He’ll hope that role is more consistent in Year 3 of his NBA career than it was a season ago. Boston’s 2021 offseason acquisition of Dennis Schroder meant sporadic playing time for Pritchard, who …

Houston Rockets rookie Tari Eason was named the Drew League Player of the Week after a dazzling performance on Saturday with team All In during a win over No Shnacks in Los Angeles, California. Eason dropped 37 points, 13 rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal in the Week 7 victory. He scored in a variety of ways and threw …

Why NBA GM believes Melo joining Dubs would ‘make some sense’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea As free agent Carmelo Anthony searches for a home for his 20th NBA season, one unnamed NBA general manager believes the 10-time All-Star joining the defending champion Warriors would make sense for both sides. “It would be a nice story if he could win …

Former Bull Jimmy Butler shows off new, exuberant hairstyle originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago Jimmy Butler is going with some new dreads. The Miami Heat forward is creating a whole new look with his long, thick dreads. Butler played for the Bulls in the first six years of his NBA career. By the end of his tenure in Chicago, …

The Lakers have two first-round picks they can trade — 2027 and 2029, although they could convey a year earlier — but have been very reluctant to include them in any trade negotiations. After dealing away a lot of picks to land Anthony Davis (which resulted in banner No. 17), the Lakers want to restock, not keep sending out future …

Warrior for life: Steph wants to make Bay Area forever home originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea Warriors guard Steph Curry already has four rings to his name, with the most recent NBA title coming this past season in a six-game series win over the Boston Celtics. Following the joys of winning championships, leaving a legacy is high up an …

When we talk about an NBA player taking a “leap” it could refer to a number of things. Depending on the player it could be taking a leap to become an All-Star, or jumping from solid role player to nightly starter. For some, it may mean taking that leap to solidify your place in the league. It’s a general term …

Kevin Durant trade talks got juiced this week when reports of the Boston Celtics being in the mix with a Jaylen Brown offer were leaked. (That leak seemed pretty convenient for the Nets who wanted to rekindle stalled talks; it certainly created discussion among fans, although maybe less so among teams.) One team often speculated about in the trade mix …

With it being late in the offseason, now is the time for a lot of players to branch off and go into different interests and hobbies before the grind begins again. Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris has been in the gym working and getting ready for another big season, but on Thursday, he hopped on Good Morning America and he …

Michigan State basketball commit Jeremy Fears is taking a new road to East Lansing. Fears, a 2023 commit, has signed with Overtime Elite, the Atlanta-based basketball league created as another option for young prospects to make money and perhaps get to the NBA. Overtime Elite announced that Fears and class of 2024 five-star center Jayden Williams signed Thursday, but will …

While the news that the Celtics have joined the pursuit for Kevin Durant it’s easy to overlook the various other teams that have assets and may can make a move for the sharpshooting forward. According to HoopsHype writer Michael Scotto, Ingram has not been made available by the New Orleans Pelicans.  Scotto said, “You wondered if Brandon Ingram of the …

Having played for the Houston Rockets (2013-17), Los Angeles Clippers (2017-21), and Minnesota Timberwolves (2021-22), veteran guard Pat Beverley — recently traded to Utah in the Rudy Gobert deal — knows about playing a key role on Western Conference playoff teams. Beverley is also known for speaking his mind and not holding back, as shown in his recent First Take …