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Free-agent forward Norman Powell has agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal with the Chicago Bulls, according to league sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been completed. The second year is a team option. The 33-year-old forward is coming off a career season with the Miami Heat. He was…

Ten years ago today, I spent a quarter-billion dollars of somebody else’s money in less than an hour. Well, it wasn’t me, exactly, but as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies’ front office, I certainly had a prominent role in it. In contrast to the crawl into free agency that we’ve seen in 2026, where…

Marcus Smart and the Houston Rockets have agreed on a two-year, $13 million contract, league sources confirmed to The Athletic.  Smart, 32, is expected to provide a disruptive defensive presence and a veteran voice in the backcourt for Houston as he reunites with former head coach Ime Udoka, who coached him for one season with…

I’m old enough to remember when Johnny Gill joined legendary R&B group New Edition, replacing Bobby Brown.  Some couldn’t get over Gill not being Brown and thought he would never be a “real” member of the group because he wasn’t part of the original quintet.  But imagine “N.E. Heartbreak” without Gill – he was necessary…

Free agency might be dormant, but extension season is burning. Because of the NBA’s current governing rules, players are far less likely to wait until their contracts expire to sign new ones. Teams these days are often without cap space. Ones that have room usually prefer to fill it via trades, with large, unwanted contracts…

This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here. Jeff Troesch is a mental performance coach who has worked across college sports, with individual athletes and MLB teams. He is the author of the book “One Day Better.” When I first started as…

Follow live free-agency news and analysis from our entire NBA staff as the calendar turns to July, and sign up for The Bounce to get basketball content delivered straight to your inbox. Night 1 of NBA free agency is in the books, but much of the major business was completed in the days prior. Still, we got two pretty…

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have precious little money to spend and a freezing cold winter waiting ahead, which makes luring LeBron James in free agency one of the longest of long shots. With a player as talented and cerebral as James is, and a spot in their starting lineup that fits him perfectly, the…

LeBron James: basketball icon, entrepreneur and Los Angeles … Dodgers minor leaguer? Probably not, but it’s worth a shot! Following Tuesday’s news that James told the Los Angeles Lakers he intends to leave the Lakeshow after eight seasons, social media lit up with suitors vying for his services, basketball or otherwise. While several NBA franchises…

In his first tenure as a Toronto Raptor, Kawhi Leonard both delivered the greatest moment in franchise history and deepened an inferiority complex that has surrounded the team since its inception. Pretty impressive work in less than a calendar year. You remember the high points: the iconic four-bounce series-winner against Philadelphia, the all-time playoff run…