Dan Devine

@yourmandevine.bsky.social

35095 Followers 878 Following

I bomb atomically. Senior NBA writer, Yahoo Sports. Co-host, THE BIG NUMBER. Member, WGA East. He/him.

he's a — he's a — he's a fucking problem in this league
Mario Hezonja is RETURNING to the NBA
A rundown of the 221 issues of recommended reading for "Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars Saga" from r/marvelcomics.
To establish a pathway so quickly after the marketplace opened to pry Kessler away from the Jazz required them to surrender two future first-round picks (fully unprotected in both 2031 and 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028 and 2030) in addition to signing Kessler to a new four-year, $130 million contract. Yet I'm told that the Lakers were emboldened to go to such lengths to acquire Kessler in large part because they acquired Luka Dončić from Dallas on such favorable terms in February 2025. As hard to believe as it continues to be nearly 18 months since The Trade was consummated, Dončić was somehow pilfered from the Mavericks with just one unprotected first-round pick in 2029 leaving Lakerland. That solitary future first was packaged with Anthony Davis and Max Christie to land Luka ... with the Lakers also successfully keeping Austin Reaves out of the trade. The trade assets preserved in that heist, in other words, helped nudge the Lakers to a place where they believed they could withstand spending so big on Kessler.
2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One First place: Wackness Second place: Toyin's Picks 1 Third place: Doug's Picks 1 Fourth Place: Jedi's Picks 1
Paulie might have moved slow, but it was only because Paulie didn't have to move for anybody.
SAN ANTONIO — As Jalen Brunson wended his way through the bowels of Frost Bank Center in the wee hours of Sunday morning, he did so laden with gold. Everywhere he went — from interview to interview, from embrace to embrace, from moment to celebratory moment — the New York Knicks captain toted the Larry O'Brien Championship trophy and the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy that he'd just won. Those suckers — especially the Larry O'B — are pretty damn big. They didn't seem too heavy, though, in arms that have been carrying a hell of a lot more than that: the weight of expectations, the fate of a franchise, the hopes and dreams of millions upon millions of New Yorkers. When Brunson finally made his way into the visitors' interview room, and set his newly won trophies down on the podium, he wondered aloud about setting something else down, too. "The question is," Brunson asked the assembled media, "do I be myself? Or do I talk my s***?"
Joe Pesci in CASINO saying he doesn't care about jail because he's stupid, and that's his business.
Dan, you just earned Old Navy Super Cash
He kicked me in the back, hit my head, torched the flag. Crapped my pants.
I am wearing a Wreck-It Ralph T-shirt. A true feast for the eyes.
What happens, though, if the NBA locks into a cycle of teams selling out to reach the summit, then tumbling back down the mountain—if the death of the superteam era results in a more broadly distributed pool of power players, with a select few Big Threes giving way to a whole bunch of dynamic duos? Maybe, after years of tweaks to the collective bargaining agreement aimed at dispersing those collections—shorter player contracts, a more punitive luxury tax structure for teams that stockpile high-priced players, the “supermax” extension (well, you can’t win ’em all), etc.—the league gets closer to something like parity, NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s white whale, with more teams theoretically having a chance to win it all, or at least get close. Maybe after decades of dominance by clusters of stars, from Jordan’s Bulls through Steph’s Warriors, it means we won’t be seeing any dynasties for a while. Despite ratings evidence in recent years suggesting that superteams and dynasties draw more eyeballs and attention than run-of-the-mill contenders come the Finals, more teams with a shot at competing for the big prize could theoretically keep more fan bases more invested throughout the regular season and the early rounds of the postseason. Maybe, ultimately, a broader base of potential titlists would be a good thing for the NBA. Then again, fans love someone to root against as much as they love someone to root for. In the absence of galáctico squads like the Big Three Heat or the KD-era Warriors, casual fans could find themselves lacking a single focal point on which to train their attention. A more level playing field without clear and overwhelming favorites could have a fascinating impact on overall fan interaction. The matter of fan investment goes beyond just ratings and social engagement, though; it’s about the emotional attachments we feel, their depth and breadth, and what we’re latching onto. As the league keeps moving faster ...
Among players who appeared in at least 50 games this season, Reaves finished 16th in the NBA in ESPN’s net points added, 22nd in estimated plus-minus, 33rd in player efficiency rating, 35th in box plus-minus and xRAPM, 45th in value over replacement player and win shares per 48 minutes, 52nd in The BBall Index’s LEBRON, and 53rd in DARKO daily plus-minus. That advanced statistical résumé ballparks Reaves as roughly a top-40 player. According to Spotrac, the 40th-highest average annual contract value for next season checks in at just over $39.4 million — a figure shared by Desmond Bane, Darius Garland, Ja Morant and Zion Williamson. If those players are in line to make about 23.9% of next season’s salary cap, it wouldn’t be a shock for Reaves’ representatives to have their sights set on a new contract starting at the maximum salary available to players with fewer than six years of NBA service time — a deal that pays 25% of the salary cap. Based on the projected $165 million cap line for next season, such a deal would furnish Reaves with a starting salary north of $41.2 million next season. An “external suitor” would be able to offer Reaves a four-year contract with 5% raises off his Year 1 salary, which would max out at four years and $177.4 million through the end of the 2029-30 season. As the holders of Reaves’ Bird rights, the Lakers could tack on a fifth year and bump the raises up to 8%, enabling them to push a prospective offer as high as five years and $239.3 million through 2030-31. (A four-year deal in L.A. would top out at $184.8 million — a little over $7 million more than he could receive elsewhere in that span.)
Beyond a pair of double doors inside the lower-level bowl of Fiserv Forum, a hallway leads to the Bucks locker room. Following teh signing of his maximum contract extension in the winter of 2020, it was adorned with Antetokounmpo's Nike logo, an interlocking "GA." At the start of the 2024-25 season, Rivers' first full campaign as head coach, the "GA" was removed. Instead, the team emblazoned the word "together" in different languages. The English version of the word was misspelled.
LOSER: Bucks fans There is no silver lining to losing the best player that your franchise has employed in half a century, and arguably the most important player in franchise history — especially after the team repeatedly did just about everything it could (outside of nailing draft picks, natch) at every turn to try to keep him. (My best effort at constructing one: Flags fly forever. Game 6 will always have happened. You don't have to return the joy you felt at watching every step of Giannis' journey, at knowing he was yours, for the last 13 years. And now, the miserable eternal speculation is over. I won't blame you if you don't rush to renew your season ticket packages for the next couple of seasons. But after several years of stasis, now there's finally an opportunity to create something new. That's not nothing.) A great many Bucks fans will likely hold grudges against The National Media for years to come. I can't blame them. It's not that Giannis left; it's the endless, seemingly gleeful anticipation of it. Having to wake up and see the same breathless conjecture reheated and repackaged, day after day, year after year, is the kind of misery-manufacturing that produces bitter tastes and sharpened elbows.
funk flex mean mug
Jalen Brunson looks at his NBA Finals MVP trophy. His teammates look very happy.
Rose and Co. turned New York's 2023 first-round pick, along with Cam Reddish and Ryan Arcidiacono, into Hart, the Jay to Brunson's Silent Bob, and the emotional and energetic centerpiece of the roster.
Prediction: Knicks in 6 To win a series without home-court advantage, you’ve got to get a game on the road. The Knicks have done that in eight of the 10 playoff series they’ve played in the Brunson era, including the last six. They enter this matchup with a significant rest advantage, with all five Spurs starters having played more minutes in these playoffs than any member of the Knicks. They won’t have the best player in the series; they’re also deeper in offensive talent than the Thunder team that just took the Spurs the distance without two of its three best creators. Wembanyama is a wholly different challenge than anything the Knicks have yet to face. But the Knicks have spent the last month proving themselves capable of handling lots of different kinds of challenges, showcasing the kind of dynamism and versatility on both ends of the floor that makes them built to solve even the most complex problems. I think they get one in San Antonio. I think they find just enough answers. And I think the result is … well, something that’s seemed unthinkable for most of the last 53 years.
One of Pannone's mentors, the coach/skills trainer/analyst David Thorpe, had taught him that when smaller players are successful, it means they've figured something out that others haven't. That Alvarado had earned such an award at his height, then, suggested he was special. Later, Alvarado worked out for the Pelicans, which gave the team a chance to sit down with him. Often, since prospects are coached for these sessions, they are not particularly revealing. Alvarado's, however, made New Orleans' management fall in love with him. The highlight was when, during an exercise with the team's mental performance coach, he was asked, "What's your spirit animal?" Alvarado stood up from his chair. He beat his chest, let out a scream and said, "Gorilla."
“You know, Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich — they were guys that went deep into their bench, and they both always used to say, ‘It's not about now, it's about the postseason,’” Brown said after Game 3. “You know, you keep guys engaged by doing that, and you do develop not just the bench, but the team as well, because guys get used to playing with other guys, just in case someone goes down.”
Prediction: Knicks in 6 To win a series without home-court advantage, you’ve got to get a game on the road. The Knicks have done that in eight of the 10 playoff series they’ve played in the Brunson era, including the last six. They enter this matchup with a significant rest advantage, with all five Spurs starters having played more minutes in these playoffs than any member of the Knicks. They won’t have the best player in the series; they’re also deeper in offensive talent than the Thunder team that just took the Spurs the distance without two of its three best creators.