Rumors

Shannon Sharpe: “So you believe LeBron would’ve stayed in Cleveland if Kyrie hadn’t left?” Tyronn Lue: “Yes. I think so.” Shannon Sharpe: “Damn. You’ve seen breakups. You weren’t there for all of them, but you’ve seen Kobe and Shaq, Blake and CP3, LeBron and Kyrie. If someone told you at the beginning how well those teams were working—and that they’d still fall apart—would you have believed it?” Tyronn Lue: “No. Not at all. I couldn’t see it happening the way it did—especially Kobe and Shaq. Being in the locker room every day, seeing the talent and personalities... they had too many great guys around them. Same with Kyrie and Bron. That’s why it still hurts.”

YouTube

A former hooper at Harvard, Governor Maura Healey, remains a vocal proponent of a WNBA franchise in Boston, ASAP. The Globe learned she is brokering a potential partnership of Pagliuca and new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm to pave the way for the Sun to come to Boston. Perhaps, that will move the needle with the WNBA, but the league remains primed to stick to its pecking order for awarding franchises, which has Boston in the basement. It also keeps pointing out that Boston was not among the 12 cities that submitted bids for expansion franchises this last go-round when teams were awarded to Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, all of which will be owned by the NBA owners in those cities.

Boston Globe

Brett Siegel: Number of National TV games for 2025-26 NBA season (ESPN, ABC, NBC, & Amazon): Atlanta: 13, Boston: 25, Brooklyn: 2, Charlotte: 3, Chicago: 3, Cleveland: 24, Dallas: 23, Denver: 26, Detroit: 16, Golden State: 34, Houston: 28, Indiana: 9, Los Angeles Clippers: 21, Los Angeles Lakers: 34, Memphis: 10, Miami: 5, Milwaukee: 18, Minnesota: 28, New Orleans: 2, New York: 34, Oklahoma City: 34, Orlando: 14, Philadelphia: 14, Phoenix: 9, Portland: 8, Sacramento: 9, San Antonio: 22, Toronto: 2, Utah: 2, Washington: 2

x.com

Josh Robbins: The Orlando Magic are scheduled to play a total of six games on either NBC or ESPN: + Nov. 4 at Atlanta on NBC + Nov. 12 at New York on ESPN + Nov. 25 at Philly on NBC + March 11 vs. Cleveland on ESPN + March 24 at Cleveland on NBC + April 1 vs. Atlanta on ESPN. The Magic are scheduled to have eight other games on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.

x.com

Irving wanted to be the main star on his own team, and with James in Cleveland, that was never going to be a possibility. And while the rumors snowballed into Irving not liking James, the nine-time All-Star is setting the record straight all these years later. "When you're playing with someone like [James], or somebody you like to compare him to, it's a different animal," Irving said on a Twitch stream. "It's a different journey, you're automatically expected to be at the top of the league. Every time you play with [James] it's going to be a lot of media attention, a lot of narratives, spun narratives, politics, a lot of s--- that people don't see in front of the camera. And for me I was just a young person trying to figure it out. It's not that I disliked playing with [James] at any time, it was just literally my time to move on."

CBSSports.com

Shams Charania: Free agent forward Javonte Green is finalizing a one-year deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN. Green split last season in Cleveland and New Orleans and now enters his seventh NBA campaign as a defensive-minded wing.

x.com

Law Murray: LeBron James was one of the recipients of NABJ Sam Lacy Pioneer Awards tonight in CLEVELAND one of his students from @IPROMISESchool accepted on his behalf, and LeBron James provided a video message

Twitter

The Pistons preseason road slate features a trip to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on October 6 before heading to Milwaukee for a matchup with the Bucks on October 9. Detroit will close out its preseason road slate in Cleveland on October 14 vs. the Cavaliers.

NBA.com

“I feel great. The recovery process is going well. But I’m here for my foundation,” Darius Garland said. “I’m here to spread some positivity around the city of Cleveland and trying to have a good time. I always loved baseball, so I tried to make it a little bit competitive and kind of friendly as well. “It’s my first one, so I’m kind of nervous, but I hope it’s going to be really cool and everybody really enjoys themselves.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

It’s worth noting there was plenty of chatter in the desert about defense-first forward Dean Wade possibly being moved. An unrestricted free agent following the season, the current belief is Wade likely wouldn’t return, with cap-strapped Cleveland being unable to afford him. So, do the Cavs try to get something of value now before he potentially departs? Sources say numerous contenders from each conference have expressed interest. The Dallas Mavericks have been fans for a few years, and a former Cleveland assistant is part of the coaching staff.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Chris Fedor: It becomes difficult to get LeBron to Cleveland in this hypothetical discussion, but Cleveland will always make sense. It's in the Eastern Conference as opposed to the Western Conference. There's enough non-basket ties to this place for LeBron. And there's enough basketball related reasons for him to want to join the Cavs. 

YouTube

The Grizzlies also dipped into the free agency pool, adding Ty Jerome. That is a move that Morant also approved of. "Definitely another solid guard for us," Morant said. "Everybody seen what he done for a great Cleveland team this year. I honestly felt like he was a big piece of that team. To have him, we adding another ball handler that cannot only create for himself but for everybody else."

Memphis Commercial Appeal

However, according to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, it's not just improbable that James won't return to the Cavaliers this offseason. It seems like it's almost impossible for Cleveland to accomplish given how the team is constructed. "If the Lakers are trading LeBron James, they're going to want really good stuff for him," Windhorst said. "With a straight face, I can't say that it's impossible. But you have to understand, they can't feasibly trade for him."

Sports Illustrated

In many ways, Nance returning to Cleveland was quite possibly the league’s worst-kept secret. Even during his time in New Orleans, Atlanta and Portland — the places he went after a first Cleveland stint that lasted a little more than three years — Nance remained part of the Cavaliers’ family. He was involved in the team’s high-stakes fantasy football league. He kept strong relationships with various members of the organization, including Altman and general manager Mike Gansey. He proudly watched the All-Star-level growth of old teammate Darius Garland. He cheered on his brother, Pete. Spent summers here. Stayed embedded in the community.

Cleveland Plain Dealer