What's the Nets domino effect from the first big trade of the NBA offseason?
The NBA trade market had been ground to a halt, by both the (presumed) embargo of the NBA Finals and by waiting on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Then came this weekend's shocking deal sending Desmond Bane to Orlando.
Will the move break the dam open? Will Kevin Durant be the next to move? And how could either deal impact the Nets?
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League personnel repeatedly have told The Post they expect this to be an absurdly active offseason and the Nets to be right in the heart of it.
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New York Post
34 minutes ago
- New York Post
Jay Williams blasts Stephen A. Smith for ‘asinine' Giannis Antetokounmpo take
Jay Williams and Stephen A. Smith traded barbs over their 'asinine' points in a back-and-forth on 'First Take,' which stemmed from comments Smith made about Giannis Antetokounmpo. The former NBA point guard took issue with Smith calling Antetokounmpo an 'underachiever' last week, leading Williams to call it 'one of your worst takes' and that it 'was horrible.' 'I think we really need to do a better job of reframing some of these conversations,' Williams said on Monday's episode. 'If you were to say that the franchise, the Milwaukee Bucks, have underachieved or are the biggest underachievers with the talent of Giannis, fair. But a guy who has a 50-point closeout game, a guy who has never chased any of these dream-team scenarios, a guy who is a Finals MVP, a guy who is a multi-time All-Star, All-NBA, all everything, global face of the game.' 3 Stephen A. Smith (l.) and Jay Williams (r.) on 'First Take' on June 16, 2025. YouTube/NBA on ESPN Williams noted how Antetokounmpo brought a championship to Milwaukee a mere four years ago. 'To call him an underachiever is just, I think, an asinine comment,' he said. 'Having the seat that you have, having the career that you've had, we gotta frame these conversations, 'cause there's no way in hell anybody who watches basketball, who knows the level of greatness that comes along with Giannis, would say that he's an underachiever.' 3 Giannis Antetokounmpo holds the Larry O'Brien trophy and the MVP trophy after the Bucks' NBA championship win on July 20, 2021. Getty Images 3 Stephen A. Smith (l.) talks to Malika Andrews (r.) during 'NBA Countdown' before Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City on June 16, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images Smith, in his retort, argued that he had called Antetokounmpo 'one of the greatest players to have ever lived' while firing back at Williams. 'I'm entitled to call your take asinine,' Smith said. 'As a matter of fact, it's a bit worse than that because you're ill-informed, because clearly you didn't listen to what I had to say. Maybe you were stuck in traffic, maybe you were negotiating another business deal, maybe you were doing another one of your shows because you are a very, very busy and successful man. But you didn't listen to my full take. 'I specifically stated that Giannis was one of the greatest players to have ever lived, and Giannis is phenomenal. Giannis is going to go down as one of the all-time greats. But when you're that great and you have one championship on your resume, people are not going to look at you the same.'
Indianapolis Star
40 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
NBA Finals Game 5 winners, losers: Jalen Williams, T.J. McConnell, Tyrese Haliburton's leg
The Indiana Pacers lost more than a game Monday night in a 120-109 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. They lost the narrative. At least temporarily. The Pacers have been basketball's equivalent of Jason from the movie 'Friday the 13th.'' You can't kill them. Sure enough, down by as many as 18 points in the first half Monday, the Pacers pulled within two points with about eight minutes left. More: What Tyrese Haliburton, Rick Carlisle said about star's leg injury after Game 5 The Thunder slayed Jason, er, Indiana. They went on an 18-4 surge and now head into Game 6 of the NBA Finals needing one victory to win the championship. Every Batman needs a Robin. Even the NBA MVP can't do it all himself. On Monday night, the Thunder's Robin (aka Jalen Williams) scored a game-high 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists. When Indiana pulled within 95-93 in the fourth quarter, Williams' 3-pointer sparked OKC's subsequent surge. And you know you've had a legendary night when you upstage Batman (aka Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), who had 31 points and 10 assists. It's understandable if you're watching Indiana's T.J. McConnell play and laugh in disbelief when you hear his official height is 6-1. He can look really small out there weaving in between and around the big men. But McConnell, the 33-year-old backup point guard, looked larger than life Monday. He scored 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Pacers in the game. And even though he will be reduced to a footnote, it's worth remembering that McConnell finished the game with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting in addition to four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 22 minutes. When it comes to decibel readings, OKC's fans look determined to live up to the team's nickname — the Thunder. It was so loud, you couldn't even hear the clank of the rim after Tyrese Haliburton's shots. 'Unreal,'' Mark Daigneault said when asked about the crowd. 'They've been unreal forever. But they just put the wind at our back, you know. And we have to give them a reason to. We have to play with the type of togetherness and competitiveness and spirit they can relate to, which I thought we did tonight.'' In particular, the right leg that belongs to Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton. He appeared to injure it during a fall in the first quarter and left the game. Although he returned in the second quarter, it created uncertainty. Was the injury at all responsible for Haliburton shooting 0-for-6 from the floor? If so, how did he manage to grab seven rebounds and dish out six assists? And will the leg be healthy enough for Haliburton to be in top form Thursday night? At times, the Pacers looked like they were handling a greased pig rather than a basketball. The Pacers committed 23 turnovers compared to just 11 by the Thunder. You don't need an analytics expert to figure this one out. Committing twice as many turnovers is not a reliable path to the NBA championship. These are two terrific teams. There will be only one victory parade. Heartbreak is coming soon for the Pacers or the Thunder.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Tyrese Haliburton's calf is ruining a perfect NBA Finals
Tyrese Haliburton's calf is ruining a perfect NBA Finals Tyrese Haliburton says he's going to play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, saying he's waited his whole life for this. Here he is walking off with a limp. — Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) June 17, 2025 The 2025 NBA Finals have had just about everything a basketball fan could want: explosive performances from the biggest stars on the court, game-winning shots in the clutch, big moments from the league's Most Valuable Player. Now, it also has the one thing absolutely no one wanted to see: A crucial injury that might just change the series. Tyrese Haliburton didn't have a single field goal in Game 5 against the Thunder on Monday night. You just look at the box score and it seems like the player who has been the most clutch performer in NBA postseason history just disappeared in the moment. But there's more context to it than that. Haliburton aggravated an apparent right calf injury on the same leg on which he had ankle soreness last week, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. He'd injured it again when falling as he tried to drive his way into the paint early in the game. From that point forward, he just didn't look the same as he had all series. He didn't have the same explosiveness. He couldn't generate the paint touches to keep Indy's offense churning. He just ... looked like a guy out there. Considering how good he's been for the last month, it sucked to watch. This could legitimately change the series. Hali was seen walking with a limp after his postgame press conference. Calf injuries are no joke. You can work on them, but they don't just go away after a few days' rest. That's all the Pacers and Haliburton have to work with, with Game 6 set for Thursday. This injury will be a factor. Don't get it twisted — Haliburton says he's playing. This isn't enough to keep him out of the biggest game of his career so far. But, honestly, seeing how it hampered him in Game 4, you can't feel great about that if you're a Pacers fan. The series isn't over, by any means. Even with Haliburton's injury, the Pacers cut the lead down to two points in the middle of the fourth quarter. Pascal Siakam was awesome. TJ McConnell did some magical work in Haliburton's stead, too. Not saying you can rely on him to do that every night, but the Pacers only need to win one game to make it a Game 7. In the meantime, Indy needs to do whatever it takes to make that calf OK. Massages, stretches, devil magic. Whatever it takes. Just get it right so we get a good Game 6. My villain origin story Shoutout to Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in the biggest game of his career last night. He's just the fifth player in NBA history to score 40 points in an NBA Finals game before turning 25 years old. He's legitimately gotten better with each game in these Finals so far. You can make an argument that, at times, he's been the best player on the court while sharing the floor with the NBA's MVP. He was really getting buckets on Monday night. Jalen Williams Finals 40-ball — Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) June 17, 2025 Now, imagine watching that, then having to go to sleep, realizing you have to live with the fact that your favorite basketball team drafted Johnny Davis over this guy. This is why I am the way I am. Shohei Ohtani is not real Shohei Ohtani is the embodiment of video game numbers. He made his pitching debut with the Dodgers on Monday night, taking the mound for the first time since August of 2023. You'd think, considering that he hadn't pitched in a game for so long, that Ohtani would take it easy. Nope. Complete opposite. The dude came out here throwing complete gas. Here's a summary of his outing from Charles Curtis: "This year? He's hit 25 dingers, but he's now adding pitching back slowly. He threw one inning, giving up a run and two hits with no strikeouts. But this is just the beginning for the uber-athlete. And here's the wild thing: dude threw triple digits in that first start. Imagine what he'll do when he's fully stretched out." Thirteen of his pitches clocked over 98 miles per hour. Here's the 100 mph joint: Shohei Ohtani has 13 pitches over 98+ MPH in his first appearance of 2025. He also topped 100.2 MPH He hasn't pitched in 22 months…. — Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) June 17, 2025 This guy is a monster. Quick hits: The NFL's most important newcomers ... Sabalenka says sorry ... and more — Here's Christian D'Andrea with the 32 most important newcomers on each NFL team. Brilliant. — Aryna Sabalenka apologized to Coco Gauff for her crass words after the French Open. Meg Hall has more. — Angel Reese trademarking "Mebounds" is hilarious. — ESPN brought back player pre-game intros! Bullying works! Andrew Joseph has details. — Myles Garrett doesn't care if Micah Parsons makes more money than he does — he believes the Cowboys' star deserves it. Robert Zeglinski has more. — Joey Chestnut is back at Nathan's to gobble some glizzies this summer! Here's Charles Curtis with more on why he was banned in the first place. That's a wrap, gang. Peace. -Sykes ✌️ This was For The Win's daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here.
