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Three of the last five coaches to win a championship have been fired two years later. It seems like a fun profession!
He’s Finally Back
What should we expect in Luka’s Dallas return?
We’ve seen two dramatically different returns to old stomping grounds this season. Back on Dec. 19, Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the Target Center – a place he called home for the first nine years of his career before the Timberwolves traded him to the Knicks. The crowd gave him a standing ovation, showering him with appreciation for his time on the team and in the community. But they still wanted the Wolves to win the game.
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Then, there’s the one we saw more recently on March 25, when Jimmy Butler returned to Miami to take on the Heat. About six-plus weeks prior, Butler forced his way out of Miami with an ugly breakup, finding his way to the Warriors. The crowd booed him throughout the night, celebrated his off night, and basked in the glow of a blowout 112-86 victory over the Warriors.
Tonight, we’re going to see a return that I don’t think we’ve ever seen before. Dončić and the Lakers will be at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, as the five-time All-NBA selection plays against the Mavericks for the first time in his old home arena. Not only will we see the Mavericks fans cheer for Dončić. I believe we’re going to see them continue to don his Lakers jersey in protest of general manager Nico Harrison and the Mavericks ownership. I also believe we’re going to see a lot of Mavericks fans rooting for Dončić to not only light up his former team, but also win the game.
GO DEEPER
Mark Cuban sold the Mavs expecting to still make decisions. Then he heard they traded Luka Dončić
I don’t think the Dončić trade has turned these Mavericks fans into Lakers fans. But sometimes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. And the Lakers are the enemy of Harrison. The worse this trade continues to look for Harrison and the Mavericks, the more Mavs fans will feel vindicated in their protest and vitriol toward the situation, and the more they’ll feel like an eventual change will occur with Harrison’s employment status. I don’t know if that last part will actually be affected, but that’s what the Mavs fans continue to call for.
The Lakers are 16-9 when Dončić plays so far this season. He’s been pretty good, getting closer to the standard we consistently expect from him. And the Lakers are pushing toward securing the No. 3 seed in the West. They were fifth when they made the trade.
The Mavericks are on the verge of clinching 10th in the West, securing the last spot in the Play-In Tournament. They were eighth when they acquired Anthony Davis, but have undergone a ridiculous number of injuries since then. They are 5-2 when Davis plays, but we’ll remind you Kyrie Irving is out for the season with an ACL tear.
Tonight is going to be very emotional in the AAC in Dallas. Mavs fans might do the unthinkable and root for not only their favorite player in a different uniform, but also for him to beat the team they love. The game is on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history.
The Last 24
The NBA has definitely been normal
🙋 Quick question. Surprise star trades. Late-season coaching firings by playoff teams. What’s up with the NBA lately?
🤔 New decision-makers. Here is a deep dive on how Mark Cuban was removed from key choices for the Mavericks.
🏀 Power Rankings. Law Murray answering the questions he had Week 1, but here’s my question. Is it time to talk Clippers again?
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🏀 Visa fiasco. Top draft prospect Khaman Maluach of Duke might have Visa issues. The South Sudanese kid can’t leave the U.S. now.
🎧 Tuning in. Today’s NBA Daily reacts to the Nuggets’ surprising news (more on that in a few scrolls).
🙏 Only a broken wrist. Scary scene for Jaylen Wells last night on fall after a dunk. He was stretchered off the floor.
📺 After Lakers-Mavs. Rockets (52-27) at Clippers (47-32), 10:30 p.m. ET on League Pass (get it here). Get ready for low-scoring action.
Nuggets Did What?
Denver fires coach with three games left
This NBA season can’t just have one normal week, can it?
Yesterday, we looked at coaching hot seats, and at no point did I consider the idea we’d have to include then-Nuggets coach Michael Malone – certainly not now. His team is in the middle of a battle for home court advantage in the first round. He won a championship two years ago. He’s highly regarded around the NBA. So, of course, Malone got fired about three hours after we sent out The Bounce yesterday.
Why would the Nuggets do this? Why now? Why with three games left in the regular season while they’re fighting with four other teams for the No. 4 seed in the West? Did they see Memphis go 3-3 since firing its coach with nine games left in the season and think, “hell yeah”?
Assistant coach David Adelman is going to be the interim coach for the next two-to-however many weeks. They also announced they’ll let GM Calvin Booth’s contract expire. Let’s dive into it and try to figure this out.
The issues between Booth and Malone: When the GM and the coach don’t get along, that’s a tough rift within an organization. Booth wanted Malone to play the young guys he had drafted. It makes sense because you need to develop them, and they’re cost-effective. Malone didn’t really want to play them because young players don’t typically help you win. He was trying to win.
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The Nuggets’ defense was bad: They’re currently tied for 19th in defensive rating with Brooklyn. That’s pretty bad. They were 16th before the All-Star break, giving up 113.7 points per 100 possessions. After the break, that rose to 118.3 and ranked 22nd. In related news, Nikola Jokić has slipped a bit defensively (makes sense with everything he has to do on offense), they let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk for nothing and Aaron Gordon has played only 48 games.
Malone lost the locker room: Or part of it, at least. He can be grating on players, and he definitely had some heavy comments about players after last game. Jokić has been frustrated with the defense and commitment as a team, but it’s unclear if that extends to Malone’s coaching.
Management believes this team isn’t living up to its potential: In a state of the Nuggets address post-firing, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment Josh Kroenke said this:
“I think there’s more to that group than has been accomplished thus far.”
Josh, let me tell you. There isn’t. There’s pretty much just Big Honey. That’s what happens when you decide to be frugal with the roster following a brief title run. You hope to just develop some young guys to take the place of a Caldwell-Pope or get an aging veteran on the cheap to catch lightning in the bottle one last time. All this time, the Nuggets still haven’t figured out how to even mildly survive with Jokić off the floor. It’s not a Malone issue; it’s a roster construction issue.
On top of that, Jamal Murray hasn’t even started his four-year, $207 million extension yet. And the Nuggets don’t know if he’ll get back before the start of the playoffs. That is if they don’t slip into the Play-In Tournament in this West traffic jam. They gave Adelman three games to figure out how to pull it all together in a situation where they apparently knew they didn’t want the coach for them long term. This is a copycat league, but copy a different cat. Memphis’ process with this sucked too.
Declared!
Spartan wing Jase Richardson is NBA-bound
Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson declared for the 2025 NBA Draft, as many expected him to do. Here’s a quick what you need to know:
Height: 6-3 | Position: Guard/Wing | Vecenie Big Board: 11th
Stats: 12.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 49.3/41.2/83.6 shooting splits
What to like: Efficient scorer, good athlete, strong 3-point shooter
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What to question: Undersized for a wing and not really a playmaker
Cool fact: Son of Jason Richardson
Keep this page handy to track players who have and haven’t declared for the draft. We’ll have more prospect breakdowns as we get closer to the draft.
About Last Night
Ejections, celebrations and playoff jockeying
We had a lot happen on Tuesday in the NBA, as we all prepared for Wednesday to be a chaotic night with Dončić returning to Dallas. In case you missed anything last night, here’s everything you need to know:
Ja Morant’s new celebration: Remember how Adam Silver told Morant not to do the gun celebration and then he did the gun celebration and then the league hit him with a $75,000 fine? Well, after a 3-pointer against Charlotte last night, Morant had a new one.
The internet was calling it Morant’s “grenade” celebration. People were saying it looked like he mimed throwing a grenade into the crowd … mostly because that’s exactly what he did. Now, to be fair, commissioner, it’s not a gun celly!
Dončić’s bad ejection: We were having a really fun game between the Thunder and Lakers, and then Dončić was ejected. He just hit a shot to put the Lakers up 108-107 with 7:42 left in the game, and he talked some trash to a fan. Two problems with that. 1) The referee thought it was directed at him, so he T’d Dončić up. 2) Dončić already had a technical foul, so he was tossed out of the game.
Dončić and the Lakers tried to plead with the ref that he was yelling at a fan, as he is wont to do. But the ref was not swayed, believing Dončić was complaining to the referee, as he is also quite often wont to do. After that, the Thunder closed the game out on a 29-12 run to win, 136-120. It was their 51st double-digit win of the season, setting a new NBA record.
The West traffic jam is still jammed! The Lakers loss cut their two-game cushion down to one. The Clippers beat the Spurs 122-117, the Warriors beat the Suns, 133-95 (YIKES) and the Grizzlies beat the Hornets 124-100. That puts the Clippers, Warriors, Nuggets and Grizzlies with the same record. Your latest West standings 3-8 are now:
3. Lakers | 4. Clippers | 5. Nuggets | 6. Warriors | 7. Grizzlies | 8. Wolves
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Why did the Wolves drop to eighth? Because they blew a 24-point lead by giving up a 34-3 run and getting outscored 40-13 in the fourth quarter because they couldn’t solve the Bucks’ zone defense. They lost, 110-103.
Kings clinched! The Suns’ loss to the Warriors clinched a Play-In spot for Sacramento. Another Phoenix loss or Dallas win eliminates the Suns from the Play-In.
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(Top photo: Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today Network via Imagn Images )
This news was originally published on this post .
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The Ravens drafted Mike Green, then spent most of Friday night defending it
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens decision makers have been asked several times this offseason about a perceived organizational no-tolerance policy concerning misconduct against women and similar offenses. That’s as the league continues its investigation of longtime Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who was accused of inappropriate behavior by 16 massage therapists as part of an investigation by The Baltimore Banner.AdvertisementThe organization, team officials have said, doesn’t have a blanket no-tolerance policy despite head coach John Harbaugh seemingly citing one when asked about the Cleveland Browns’ acquisition of Deshaun Watson in 2022. Any lingering ambiguity about that was erased on Friday night when, with the 59th pick of this year’s draft, the Ravens selected Marshall outside linebacker Mike Green.From a football standpoint, Green is a wonderful fit for a Ravens team that needed more pass-rushing juice. Green was widely considered one […]
Dobeš naskočil do nevídané divočiny. Rvačka na střídačce rozpumpovala Montreal
„Nedovedete si představit, jak jsem se cítil. Bál jsem se, zároveň jsem byl nadšený, na konci jsem brečel. Byl jsem z toho celý rozhozený,“ popisoval kaskádu emocí po své premiéře v play off třiadvacetiletý český brankář. Odstoupení Sama Montembeaulta ve 32. minutě, po kterém dostal pokyn nachystat se i tzv. pohotovostní gólman, ale hráče Montrealu nezaskočilo. Na Dobeše nechali proniknout jen osm střel. A zápas končili v naprosté euforii.„Člověk nerad vidí, když brankář musí ze hry,“ řekl kapitán Canadiens Nick Suzuki. „Ale Dobby se s nástupem vypořádal dobře. Bavili jsme se o tom, že mu to musíme usnadnit, aby viděl puk, a tvrdě bránit.“Že tentokrát bude veselo, zařídil už před začátkem kouč Canadiens Martin St. Louis, když do sestavy poprvé v sérii zařadil bijce Arbera Xhekaje, který už při předzápasovém rozbruslení poštěkával na soupeře. O jeden z vrcholů zábavného večera se však postaral jeho spoluhráč Josh Anderson, kterého po konci druhé třetiny […]
Defiant Postecoglou insists the Spurs storm will pass
Listening to Ange Postecoglou describe the noise around Tottenham Hotspur’s season can feel like living in a world of extremes.The highs of Frankfurt and the lows of any number of recent Premier League games are just the part on the football pitch. The Spurs head coach used the word "hysteria" at one point, when describing the external voices passing comment on his side. "Within the football department we've tried to maintain a discipline about how we behave and keep the noise on the outside away from us," he reveals. Sunday 27th April 4:00pm Kick off 4:30pm "We came back from Frankfurt on a high and everyone was buzzing, then it was another disappointing game in the week [a 2-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest] and that flips 180 degrees. From our perspective it's really important we cocoon ourselves from it."Easier […]
Champions-League-Preisgeld – Darum kassiert Bayern mehr als Dortmund
Insgesamt 2,467 Milliarden Euro werden diese Saison in der Champions League an die 36 Teilnehmer ausgeschüttet. Doch wie viel landet bei den deutschen Klubs? SPORT BILD rechnet es für die deutschen Fußball-Klubs vor. Das Ergebnis: Nachdem Dortmund mit 120,748 Mio. Euro durch den Final-Einzug in der Vorsaison noch knapp mehr als der FC Bayern (120,404 Mio.) einnahm, liegen diesmal die Münchner vorn. Die Tabelle zeigt die einzelnen Posten, darunter werden die Faktoren im Detail erklärt.KategorieBayernDortmundStartgeld18,62 Mio. Euro18,62 Mio. EuroPrämien Ligaphase10,5 Mio. Euro10,5 Mio. EuroPoolzahlung aus Remistopf0,473 Mio. Euro0,511 Mio. EuroPlatz-Prämie Ligaphase6,875 Mio. Euro7,425 Mio. EuroTabellenplatz-Bonus1,0 Mio. Euro1,0 Mio. EuroK.o.-Runden-Prämie1,0 Mio. Euro1,0 Mio. EuroAchtelfinal-Bonus11,0 Mio. Euro11,0 Mio. EuroViertelfinal-Bonus12,5 Mio. Euro12,5 Mio. EuroTV-Geld Europa-Pool32,64 Mio. Euro30,72 Mio. EuroTV-Geld Nicht-Europa-Pool11,2 Mio. Euro8,96 Mio. EuroGesamtsumme105,808 Mio. Euro102,236 Mio. EuroDer Verteilerschlüssel in der Königsklasse richtet sich nach mehreren Faktoren:1) StartgeldAlle Klubs erhalten die gleiche Summe […]
Frustrovaný Djokovič vypěnil. Podělaný tenis, podělaný všechno, nadával
Djokovič vstoupí do turnaje v sobotu odpoledne zápasem druhého kola s Italem Matteem Arnaldim a bude se chtít po dvou porážkách za sebou vrátit opět na vítěznou vlnu. Po prohře s Jakubem Menšíkem ve finále v Miami podlehl následně na úvod antukové sezony i v Monte Carlu v duelu s Alejandrem Tabilem.37letý rodák z Bělehradu se objeví na turnaji v Madridu poprvé od roku 2022. Zatím ale na tamních kurtech velkou pohodu nezažívá. Během tréninku pod dohledem kouče a někdejšího velkého rivala Andyho Murrayho si po několika zkažených úderech od plic ulevil.Andy Murray rubbing off on Novak Djokovic during his practice session in Madrid:"F*** this sport, f*** tennis, f*** everything" 😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/BN9pJJ9Qz4— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 24, 2025 „Podělaný sport, podělaný tenis, podělaný všechno,“ zachytily ruchové mikrofony, jak se vzteká v rodné srbštině do ručníku.Djokovič i v klidu před novináři uznával, že momentálně není v nejlepší formě. „Prioritou je samozřejmě zvednout úroveň mého tenisu, která […]
Auch Leverkusen jagt ihn – Top-Klubs wollen diesen City-Star
Klappt Leverkusens Wunschtransfer im zweiten Anlauf? Die Werkself wird sich im Sommer offensiv verstärken. Das steht fest – unabhängig davon, welche Spieler Leverkusen verlassen. Oben auf dem Zettel: James McAtee (22) von Manchester City. Schon im Winter versuchte Leverkusen ihn zu verpflichten. Dass der offensive Mittelfeldspieler in die Bundesliga wechselt, ist aber noch nicht garantiert. Lesen Sie auch<!-->[-->Wie das Portal „Neunzigplus“ berichtet, bekommt Leverkusen heftige Konkurrenz von anderen europäischen Top-Klubs. Denn: Das Talent des 22-Jährigen bleibt auch anderen Vereinen nicht verborgen. Und das, obwohl McAtee diese Saison nur auf 25 Spiele in allen Wettbewerben kommt. Immerhin: Sieben Tore schoss er. In Manchester kennt man das Potenzial Briten, der bei City auch ausgebildet wurde. Demnach soll auch Stadtrivale United an einer Verpflichtung interessiert sein. Weitere Interessenten: Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United und der AC Mailand. Auch Pep Guardiola (54) ist begeistert von […]
Related
The Ravens drafted Mike Green, then spent most of Friday night defending it
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens decision makers have been asked several times this offseason about a perceived organizational no-tolerance policy concerning misconduct against women and similar offenses. That’s as the league continues its investigation of longtime Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who was accused of inappropriate behavior by 16 massage therapists as part of an investigation by The Baltimore Banner.AdvertisementThe organization, team officials have said, doesn’t have a blanket no-tolerance policy despite head coach John Harbaugh seemingly citing one when asked about the Cleveland Browns’ acquisition of Deshaun Watson in 2022. Any lingering ambiguity about that was erased on Friday night when, with the 59th pick of this year’s draft, the Ravens selected Marshall outside linebacker Mike Green.From a football standpoint, Green is a wonderful fit for a Ravens team that needed more pass-rushing juice. Green was widely considered one […]
Dobeš naskočil do nevídané divočiny. Rvačka na střídačce rozpumpovala Montreal
„Nedovedete si představit, jak jsem se cítil. Bál jsem se, zároveň jsem byl nadšený, na konci jsem brečel. Byl jsem z toho celý rozhozený,“ popisoval kaskádu emocí po své premiéře v play off třiadvacetiletý český brankář. Odstoupení Sama Montembeaulta ve 32. minutě, po kterém dostal pokyn nachystat se i tzv. pohotovostní gólman, ale hráče Montrealu nezaskočilo. Na Dobeše nechali proniknout jen osm střel. A zápas končili v naprosté euforii.„Člověk nerad vidí, když brankář musí ze hry,“ řekl kapitán Canadiens Nick Suzuki. „Ale Dobby se s nástupem vypořádal dobře. Bavili jsme se o tom, že mu to musíme usnadnit, aby viděl puk, a tvrdě bránit.“Že tentokrát bude veselo, zařídil už před začátkem kouč Canadiens Martin St. Louis, když do sestavy poprvé v sérii zařadil bijce Arbera Xhekaje, který už při předzápasovém rozbruslení poštěkával na soupeře. O jeden z vrcholů zábavného večera se však postaral jeho spoluhráč Josh Anderson, kterého po konci druhé třetiny […]
Defiant Postecoglou insists the Spurs storm will pass
Listening to Ange Postecoglou describe the noise around Tottenham Hotspur’s season can feel like living in a world of extremes.The highs of Frankfurt and the lows of any number of recent Premier League games are just the part on the football pitch. The Spurs head coach used the word "hysteria" at one point, when describing the external voices passing comment on his side. "Within the football department we've tried to maintain a discipline about how we behave and keep the noise on the outside away from us," he reveals. Sunday 27th April 4:00pm Kick off 4:30pm "We came back from Frankfurt on a high and everyone was buzzing, then it was another disappointing game in the week [a 2-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest] and that flips 180 degrees. From our perspective it's really important we cocoon ourselves from it."Easier […]
Champions-League-Preisgeld – Darum kassiert Bayern mehr als Dortmund
Insgesamt 2,467 Milliarden Euro werden diese Saison in der Champions League an die 36 Teilnehmer ausgeschüttet. Doch wie viel landet bei den deutschen Klubs? SPORT BILD rechnet es für die deutschen Fußball-Klubs vor. Das Ergebnis: Nachdem Dortmund mit 120,748 Mio. Euro durch den Final-Einzug in der Vorsaison noch knapp mehr als der FC Bayern (120,404 Mio.) einnahm, liegen diesmal die Münchner vorn. Die Tabelle zeigt die einzelnen Posten, darunter werden die Faktoren im Detail erklärt.KategorieBayernDortmundStartgeld18,62 Mio. Euro18,62 Mio. EuroPrämien Ligaphase10,5 Mio. Euro10,5 Mio. EuroPoolzahlung aus Remistopf0,473 Mio. Euro0,511 Mio. EuroPlatz-Prämie Ligaphase6,875 Mio. Euro7,425 Mio. EuroTabellenplatz-Bonus1,0 Mio. Euro1,0 Mio. EuroK.o.-Runden-Prämie1,0 Mio. Euro1,0 Mio. EuroAchtelfinal-Bonus11,0 Mio. Euro11,0 Mio. EuroViertelfinal-Bonus12,5 Mio. Euro12,5 Mio. EuroTV-Geld Europa-Pool32,64 Mio. Euro30,72 Mio. EuroTV-Geld Nicht-Europa-Pool11,2 Mio. Euro8,96 Mio. EuroGesamtsumme105,808 Mio. Euro102,236 Mio. EuroDer Verteilerschlüssel in der Königsklasse richtet sich nach mehreren Faktoren:1) StartgeldAlle Klubs erhalten die gleiche Summe […]
Frustrovaný Djokovič vypěnil. Podělaný tenis, podělaný všechno, nadával
Djokovič vstoupí do turnaje v sobotu odpoledne zápasem druhého kola s Italem Matteem Arnaldim a bude se chtít po dvou porážkách za sebou vrátit opět na vítěznou vlnu. Po prohře s Jakubem Menšíkem ve finále v Miami podlehl následně na úvod antukové sezony i v Monte Carlu v duelu s Alejandrem Tabilem.37letý rodák z Bělehradu se objeví na turnaji v Madridu poprvé od roku 2022. Zatím ale na tamních kurtech velkou pohodu nezažívá. Během tréninku pod dohledem kouče a někdejšího velkého rivala Andyho Murrayho si po několika zkažených úderech od plic ulevil.Andy Murray rubbing off on Novak Djokovic during his practice session in Madrid:"F*** this sport, f*** tennis, f*** everything" 😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/BN9pJJ9Qz4— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 24, 2025 „Podělaný sport, podělaný tenis, podělaný všechno,“ zachytily ruchové mikrofony, jak se vzteká v rodné srbštině do ručníku.Djokovič i v klidu před novináři uznával, že momentálně není v nejlepší formě. „Prioritou je samozřejmě zvednout úroveň mého tenisu, která […]
Auch Leverkusen jagt ihn – Top-Klubs wollen diesen City-Star
Klappt Leverkusens Wunschtransfer im zweiten Anlauf? Die Werkself wird sich im Sommer offensiv verstärken. Das steht fest – unabhängig davon, welche Spieler Leverkusen verlassen. Oben auf dem Zettel: James McAtee (22) von Manchester City. Schon im Winter versuchte Leverkusen ihn zu verpflichten. Dass der offensive Mittelfeldspieler in die Bundesliga wechselt, ist aber noch nicht garantiert. Lesen Sie auch<!-->[-->Wie das Portal „Neunzigplus“ berichtet, bekommt Leverkusen heftige Konkurrenz von anderen europäischen Top-Klubs. Denn: Das Talent des 22-Jährigen bleibt auch anderen Vereinen nicht verborgen. Und das, obwohl McAtee diese Saison nur auf 25 Spiele in allen Wettbewerben kommt. Immerhin: Sieben Tore schoss er. In Manchester kennt man das Potenzial Briten, der bei City auch ausgebildet wurde. Demnach soll auch Stadtrivale United an einer Verpflichtung interessiert sein. Weitere Interessenten: Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United und der AC Mailand. Auch Pep Guardiola (54) ist begeistert von […]
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