Marc Stein: Kyrie Irving: “I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m going to back. I just want to be back 150 thousand percent. So I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy.” Irving tore his left ACL on March 3 and is re-signing with Dallas on a three-year, $119MM deal.

14 mins ago – via x.com

14 mins ago – via x.com

Scott Agness: NBA moratorium is lifted — and Pacers-Spurs trade, bringing rookie guard Kam Jones to Indy, is complete. He can now join the team for rookie/free agent camp ahead of Summer League.

14 mins ago – via x.com

Jay Cohen: Derrick Rose says he has talked to Tom Thibodeau since he was fired by the Knicks. He says Thibs is doing good. “You can’t be mad when you’re walking away with $30 million,” Rose cracked. #Knicks #Bulls

14 mins ago – via Twitter

In an extensive interview with The Athletic, Bailey showed himself to be like almost any other 18-year-old. He’s energetic. His mind races through multiple thoughts at once. He can’t wipe the sly grin off his face. And popcorn … he loves popcorn with Gatorade as a post-workout snack. But, if you talk to him about basketball, his knowledge extends well beyond his years. He’ll tell you about Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and their work ethic. He’ll tell you about those two working maniacally on their games. He’ll tell you about the pain they went through to be great. “Of course, you have to be aware of the business side of basketball,” Bailey said. “But I didn’t ask for all of this to come with it. I just want to hoop. I want to keep the main thing the main thing and stay focused. During pre-draft, I was surrounded by family and love. I’m big on family and loyalty. They were there for me even before I was Ace Bailey.”

14 mins ago – via New York Times

“Of all the guys in the draft, he’s the one who I think has maybe the highest ceiling,” Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell told The Athletic. “He’s a talented guy, and I think some of the stuff that was said about him before the draft was unwarranted. They spent 90 percent of the time talking about the 3 percent of the things he can’t do, and not enough about the 97 percent of the things he can do. “His work ethic is superb. He can make plays for other people. He can get into the lane and make plays. I think in time, he has a chance to play the point guard position. I think he’s still growing physically. I know that I’m biased, but I think he is going to be really good.”

14 mins ago – via New York Times

Bailey was a loved figure within the Rutgers basketball office. And it wasn’t because the coaching staff had to coax him into the gym. “He doesn’t do too much else other than play basketball,” Rutgers teammate Jamichael Davis said. “He likes playing NCAA college football (video game). He likes a little Fortnite or Call of Duty. Other than that, he’s playing ball. “He gives off so much positive energy. He made people enjoy coming to work every day … even when we were going through hard times. Looking back at it, knowing where we came from, not too many people in his position have the attitude he has. It motivates me as a player to keep going.”

14 mins ago – via New York Times

But Jakucionis was quiet in his summer league debut, finishing the Heat’s summer league opener with three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting on threes and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line, one rebound, one assist and three turnovers in 22 minutes in an 82-69 win over the San Antonio Spurs’ summer squad on Saturday at Chase Center in the California Classic. It marked the first of three summer league games that the Heat will play in San Francisco before taking part in Las Vegas Summer League. “Today was my first game and it was different,” Jakucionis said following his summer league debut. “The game style and everything is different. But I’m happy with the team’s performance. I think we played pretty good. We had good effort, we shared the ball well and we played as a team.”

14 mins ago – via Miami Herald

On Saturday, Jakucionis split time between being used on the ball and off the ball. That’s different for Jakucionis, who was among the highest usage guards in college basketball last season. “I can adapt to on the ball or off the ball pretty well, I think,” he said. “I feel comfortable in both areas and just try to get the best out of myself to help the team win in any situation I’m put in.” What does the Heat want to see from Jakucionis in the coming days during the rest of summer league? “Just energy, communication, being aggressive and just give all-out effort,” Jakucionis said of the message he has received from Heat coaches.

14 mins ago – via Miami Herald

John Gambadoro: I expect a decision and resolution on Bradley Beal’s situation in the next 24-48 hours.

2 hours ago – via x.com