The San Antonio Spurs have locked up a young core player as they set to embark on an extensive rebuild, reportedly agreeing to a four-year, $80million extension with wing Keldon Johnson to tie him to the franchise through the 2026-27 season.
Johnson’s agents, Rich Paul and Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports, confirmed the agreement to The Athletic on Friday night.
Coming off a breakout 2021-22 campaign in which he averaged 17 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 40 per cent from 3-point range, Johnson was entering the final year of his rookie contract. The 22-year-old was selected by San Antonio in the first round (29th overall) of the 2019 NBA Draft, and started a team-high 74 games this past season.
Johnson will enter the upcoming season as the Spurs’ leading returning scorer after the team traded All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks in a deal that netted San Antonio three future first-round choices, as well as the option to swap first-round picks in 2026.
The Murray deal was the first indicator the Spurs would be undertaking a roster overhaul after missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season in 2021-22, and with Murray gone, Doug McDermott had the most expensive contract on the team's books at $13m for each of the next two seasons.
With plenty of cap space and a requirement for each team to spend at least 90 per cent of the total cap ($123m for the 2022-23 season), Johnson's deal was a no-brainer, locking him up as a valuable, tradable asset at the very least if they do not view him as a part of their rebuild.
Prior to the Spurs' three-year postseason drought, they reached the postseason 22 straight times – tied for the longest streak in NBA history – and won five league titles under longtime coach Gregg Popovich during that span.
Johnson, who has averaged 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 38.5 per cent from 3-point range in 161 career games, now heads a youthful roster that includes three first-round selections from the 2022 draft.
The Spurs selected versatile Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan with the ninth overall pick, before later adding Ohio State guard Malaki Branham (20th pick) and Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley (25th pick).
Celtics star Tatum aims for NBA Finals redemption
Jayson Tatum views the upcoming NBA Finals as a chance at redemption for the Boston Celtics after falling short two years ago.
The Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers to reach the showpiece seven-game series, where they face the Dallas Mavericks.
With Game 1 of the much-anticipated series coming on Friday, Tatum looked back at the 2022 Finals defeat to the Golden State Warriors, using the disappointment as motivation this time around.
"It's a lot that myself, and we, can learn from that experience being in the Finals, and this time, this go-around is a lot different," Tatum said after Saturday's practice.
"Obviously, we've been there before, we came up short. And a great opportunity to make it to the Finals again.
"You don't always get a second chance, so really just looking at it as a second chance and trying to simplify things as much as we can."
The Celtics were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat last year, losing in seven games.
That has prevented Boston from avenging their finals defeat to Golden State the year before, though Tatum is keen to make up for lost time.
He will have to do so against former team-mate Kyrie Irving, however.
"Obviously there were some ups and downs, but I think, for me, being a first-, second-year player, being around a superstar, essentially, every day and seeing how to navigate that space," Tatum said.
"And then obviously on the court, he's one of the most talented guys I've ever seen.
"So it seems like a very long time ago, but I've got a lot of great memories from having [Irving] as a team-mate."
Kings extend head coach Brown through 2026-27
The Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown have agreed to a contract extension through 2026-27.
According to multiple reports, the deal is worth $30 million with Brown’s base salary to be $8.5 million annually. He will have the opportunity to earn $10 million per year with bonuses.
In his first year with the Kings a season ago, Brown led the team to a 48-34 record and its first playoff appearance in 16 years. He was named 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year.
Sacramento went 46-36 this past season and beat Golden State in its first game before losing a play-in game for the eighth seed to New Orleans.
Brown and Rick Adelman are the only Kings coaches to lead the team to a winning record in any season since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985.
Brown has a 441-226 record as head coach with Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento.
'It was Luka magic mode', Kidd revels as Doncic-inspired Mavs reach NBA Finals
Luka Doncic was in "magic mode" after his starring role helped the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals since 2011, coach Jason Kidd said.
The Mavs and the Boston Celtics will battle it out for this season's NBA championship after Dallas wrapped up a 4-1 Western Conference finals series victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 124-103 win did the trick at Target Center on Thursday, with Doncic and Kyrie Irving leading the way for the Mavs with 36 points apiece.
Doncic was quick out of the blocks, scoring 20 of his points during the first half on the way to notching up his highest-scoring contributions of the postseason, with his performances earning the Western Conference finals MVP award.
"It was Luka magic mode," Kidd said. "He set the tone, and then he made it easier for everyone else. Everybody else stepped up."
"You're just watching a special performance take place," Irving added. "When Luka starts off a game like that, we're a tough team to beat."
Indeed, they are. The Mavs are 7-2 on the road during the playoffs - winning the last five - matching the franchise record for such victories during a single postseason, set in their title-winning campaign of 2010-11.
A EuroBasket champion with Slovenia and EuroLeague winner during his final season with Real Madrid, Doncic is now gearing up for his first crack at an NBA title, with the Finals series commencing on June 6.
And he insists his team-mates cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
"It was a very hard road, very hard," Doncic said. "But we're not done. We have four more [victories to achieve]."
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