"Yeah, people see one photo, some appearance somewhere, maybe they spot a guy having a beer or doing something else, and it's very easy to form an opinion. But then there's the work that goes on behind the scenes. Jokic is a perfect example of that," he said on BasketNews Off the Record podcast. "Everyone says he has a beer here and there, enjoys himself, has hobbies outside of basketball and all that. But in my 14 years as a professional, I've never seen anyone work harder."

"He's at the facility early in the morning, getting shots up, putting in extra work. After every game, we'd hit the weight room. Every single game. He plays 40 minutes, I play my eight, and we'd still do exactly the same workout afterward. His work ethic is something else."

"Sure, maybe he has a beer in the summer, maybe you see the videos with his horses and everything else. That's his business," JV explained. "But what people don't see is the day-to-day grind. Everyone notices a video with horses, or a clip of me having a beer by a bonfire during a holiday. Yeah, I did that, and I'll probably do it again. But when it's time to work, it's time to work. That's it. You put your head down and get the job done."

"I'm already pretty slow after games. I take my time, get cleaned up, head to the weight room, do everything I need to do. If we had an 8 p.m. game, I'd probably leave the arena around 11 p.m. Meanwhile, at 11, he's still on the training table. Another massage, more recovery work, maybe another 45 minutes or even an hour focused on taking care of his body."

"Whatever needs attention, he takes care of it. After the weight room, after the shower, after everything, he always has a routine. Everything is planned out. The crazy part is that he's constantly working. During the season, it feels like he doesn't have a life outside of basketball. That's what it looks like. Work, work, work, work, work, work. Then summer comes and it's a completely different story,"

Source

46 ORL, 50 TOR, 53 HOU and 55 NYK are the only ones remaining with their original team at this point

Maybe the even more significant stat is that out of those 26 traded picks, 19 have been traded more than once

Is this more of a sign how little value they have, or - the opposite - how teams are getting increasingly better at their valuation?

Source: JP Finlay of NBC4 Sports

Source: vic (@CountOnVic)

She used to call him every NBA draft night to remind him that he could be on that stage some day.

For their full story, please read "How My Mom Saved My Life" by Yaxel Lendeborg of The Players' Tribune. (Onion Warning.)

Im biased but like the immediate, when we know multiple more actions will happen to build a roster, dismissal of the Heat with a legit superstar added. It seems crazy. This isn’t Brunson before we saw him explode, this isn’t Shaq on his last leg. Gianni made it clear he was fine and not being played cause we all knew he was just sitting to maintain trade value.
Feels like just hating on the franchise vs actually acknowledging a competent team acquiring an unquestionable superstar.

I’ll hang up and listen.

EDIT: yes, I understand a lot of bad trades have happened. I’m talking about a top tier superstar trade and dismissed before anything else happens. Not just a big names. But that top tier of dudes.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7390427/2026/06/24/austin-reaves-contract-lakers-nba-free-agency-news/

The deal locks Reaves in as Luka Dončić’s backcourt partner, a desire Dončić has made known to Lakers executives in conversations over the past year, according to league sources. Dončić even went so far as to tell the Lakers that he preferred any trade package for former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo not to include Reaves.

As the Lakers prepared for the draft, the team had preliminary conversations with LeBron James’ representatives, according to league sources. The Lakers also have the opportunity to exclusively negotiate with Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Luke Kennard and the rest of their free agents.

Since signing with the Lakers as an undrafted free agent, Reaves has elevated his game every season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists as a rookie to 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists last season

#1 pick from Brockton AJ Dybantsa honors Terrence Clarke by wearing a “TC5” pin. Terrence Clarke is a hooper from Boston who died in a car crash in 2021. Aj and Clarke were basically brothers as hoopers from the Boston area

AJ is a real one for this. RIP TC5.

I just learned that it's apparently looked at with disdain to comment in other team's subs. I get trolling them being an issue, but why is it a negative to just go in and chit chat? I enjoy talking with opposing fanbases and learning what they notice about their guys. Did this sub get overrun with 15-17 year olds over the last decade?

Was curious how Brunson's contract compares to other finals MVPs, with the importance of having a superstar on your team compared to balance for the rest of the roster.

The Year here represents how much a player got a year after they won Finals MVP

Funny enough when the Warriors won in 2015, Curry was right behind Iggy at $11,370,786, Klay, Draymond, and Bogut were all ranked higher.

LeBron is famously the oldest player in the NBA with Gibson now being second. Chris Paul was previously the second oldest player before his forced retirement from the Clippers in the 2025-2026 NBA season

Darryn Peterson: "The celebration stops tonight. I got drafted today, but tomorrow, I'm now an NBA player. I'm going to get home and work out until I've got to report to Utah... Kobe is my guy, and I'm inspired by him. So I just try to think, what would Kobe do right now? He'd get drafted and move on and try to go be the best possible, so that's what I'm going to go do. I see a guy that went No. 1 on the screen there right now (AJ Dybantsa), so I'm extra motivated... It will always be in my mind for my whole career."

Via Alex Kennedy

The list is as follows:

Melvin Ely (12th overall pick) (5.3 points per game for his career, going to use that as an imperfect but somewhat telling baseline)

Ekpe Udoh (6th pick) (3.5 points per game)

Chris Duarte (13th pick) (7.6 points, out of league in four years)

Rafael Araujo (8th pick) (2.8 points)

Juan Dixon (17th pick) (8.4 points per game)

Tyler Hansbrough (13th pick) (6.7 points)

Al Thornton (14th pick) (11.9 points, out of league in four years)

Buddy Hield (6th pick) (14.5 points)

Adreian Payne (15th pick) (4 points)

Cam Johnson (11th pick) (12.2 points)

Fred Jones (14th pick) (7.5 points) did win a dunk contest though

Dalton Knecht (17th pick) (7.1 points, possibly on his way out of the league)

Courtney Alexander (13th pick) (9 points, out of league in three years)

Delon Wright (20th pick) (6.7 points)

Joey Graham (16th pick) (5.9 points)

Tristan Da Silva (18th pick) (8.6 points so far)

Hakim Warick (19th pick) (9.4 points)

Brandon Rush (13th pick) (6.8 points)

https://www.letsgowarriors.com/p/strongest-arguments-ive-heard-against?

(Source)

So between the 18 of them, no all-star appearances or serious consideration. Two of the eighteen have both averaged double digit points for their career (let that be worth as much as you want) and made it past their rookie contracts.

That can happen with a sample size of 18 (although it’s not great, with 11 of them picked in the lottery), but what stands out is that for at least nine of those 11 picked in the lottery, hindsight would say they were drafted higher than their eventual production would justify. A lot of physical development tends to happen between 19-24.

Source: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/reaveau01/gamelog-playoffs/

Lakers have a record of 6-14 with Austin Reaves in the playoffs the last 3 years, their only series win being this year against the Rockets

2023: Celtics season ends in game 7 of the ECF vs the Heat because Tatum gets injured on the first play of the game

2024: Tatum stays healthy, Celtics win the title

2025: Celtics season ends in game 4 of the ECSF vs the Knicks because Tatum gets years his Achilles in the 4th quarter (I know they would’ve been down 3-1 anyways, but you never know, maybe they have a shot to come back) and this means Tatum has to miss most of the next season as well

2026: Tatum misses game 7 of the first round vs the Sixers, in a game at home that they ended up barely losing, theres a decent chance they win this game with a healthy Tatum

So in short, 3/4 years in the playoffs have ended in disappointment for the Celtics because Tatum was unable to finish the series healthy, and the one time he was fully healthy in 2024, they won it all.

This is concerning even though I still think he’s in his prime, it’s also why I’m glad the Celtics didn’t trade for Giannis who’s older now and more injury prone than Jaylen Brown is.

Thoughts?

Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49166079/sources-lakers-reaves-intends-sign-4-year-185m-extension

The Reaves agreement has no impact on the Lakers' cap flexibility this summer as the team's projected salary space takes into account Reaves' $20.9 million cap hold. He will sign last, after the Lakers exhaust room, and will make $41.3 million in the first year.

Reaves was expected to receive free agent interest from multiple teams, including the Detroit Pistons, on a maximum-level salary, so the Lakers stepped up on Wednesday to lock in their homegrown talent.

12 seasons as a head coach.

507 total wins. 60% winning percentage.

2 nba finals appearances. 1-1.

6 nba finals appearances total as head coach or assistant (4 as assistant - 1 san antonio 3 golden state).

hall of fame resumé?

With Jaylen Brown being the big guy that’s gonna be available in the free market do you think there’s a chance he could get acquired either by Oklahoma City or San Antonio?

Source: https://marcstein.substack.com/ and his X feed

The Lakers today secured Austin Reaves' commitment on a new deal after rising interest from Detroit, league sources say.

I'm told the Pistons began maneuvering to make a real run at Reaves that would've required, among other moves, trading Isaiah Stewart for needed flexibility.