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Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes turns 80 years old today. He seems a little forgotten as one of the all-time greats. He won a championship with Wes Unseld in 1978 and was All-NBA six times and All-Defense twice. When he retired in 1984, only Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had scored more points in NBA history. He’s still 13th on the list 41 years later. Happy birthday to The Big E and that unstoppable turnaround!
Gambling scandal widens
NBA asked Lakers, others for cell phones
The NBA is looking deeply into the gambling scandal that was unearthed (or revisited) last month during the opening week of the 2025-26 season. The league has asked the Los Angeles Lakers and several other teams for phones and documents as it reopens its investigation. Sports betting is something the NBA, in general, has claimed to have a handle on during the practice’s rise in recent years.
When Jontay Porter got busted for altering his play to help pay off prop bets, the NBA dropped the hammer on him. It banned him from the league for life, sending a warning that the NBA would be on top of these issues and act swiftly. When there were questions about Terry Rozier participating in something similar, the NBA investigated and cleared him.
Last month, the FBI arrested Rozier, along with Portland coach Chauncey Billups and former Cavaliers coach/player Damon Jones, for two separate illegal gambling situations. Rozier was marched through a “perp walk” and charged with two counts of fraud conspiracy. So what was the NBA doing in its investigation?
Commissioner Adam Silver said last month the league had talked to Rozier and was given his phone. The NBA found aberrational behavior but couldn’t find evidence to move forward. While Rozier has not been convicted of anything, and that’s important to remember throughout all of this, the FBI obviously felt it had enough evidence for federal charges.
Then Congress and others had some questions for the NBA. So what do we know about this latest news? Let’s ask some questions and try to find the answers.
Why are the Lakers being asked? Damon Jones has ties to LeBron James. Part of his alleged role in this is providing information about when James might sit out a game so people could gamble against the Lakers in his absence. The NBA has requested property and information from 10 different Lakers employees, including Mike Mancias and Randy Mims.
Who are Mancias and Mims? Mancias has been LeBron’s trainer for two decades. He’s the athletic trainer for the Lakers. Mims is the executive administrator of player programs and logistics. He’s also been a close friend and confidant of LeBron since James was in high school. Neither has been charged with any crimes nor were they mentioned in federal documents.
Presumably, they could have had regular, earnest conversations with Jones about availability and not known it was used. But it makes sense to check their phones and records to gather a better understanding of what Jones allegedly did.
Does this implicate LeBron? Not in the slightest. There is zero indication of involvement by James nor is there any reason to believe he’d be included in this. And remember, the Lakers weren’t the only team tapped for more evidence and information.
What could the NBA get from this latest part of the investigation? While I believe the NBA wants to put a stranglehold on illegal gambling, this also feels like a way to get some better public perception of the league. There’s also a lot of pressure from Congress and federal law enforcement to do more to ensure the integrity of the games and prevent these possible scandals.
We’ll update if/when more comes from this.
The last 24
Wemby, Draymond and a memorable staredown
👀 What a showdown. Victor Wembanyama and Draymond Green had a viral toe-to-toe moment. They loved it.
🏀 Ruh roh. The Nuggets reloaded their roster. The results are precarious for the West.
🔜 Time to practice. LeBron is working out with the Lakers again. His season debut is nigh.
🐻 Out again. Ja Morant left the loss to the Cavs with calf soreness. He’s undergoing more testing.
🩼 More injuries. The Pacers cannot catch a break with injuries. Aaron Nesmith (knee) is out for a month.
🎧 Tuning in. Today’s “NBA Daily” looks at the fast ascension of the Rockets.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
NBA stock report
Pistons can’t lose, but many East teams can
Every Monday, we look at the ol’ NBA Stock Market ticker to see who is trending up and down in the NBA. Let’s dive in!
📈 Detroit Pistons (11-2). The hottest team in basketball! The Pistons are riding a nine-game winning streak, and they’re doing it with a whole lot of defense. They also beat the Bulls without Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart. Then they turned around and beat Philadelphia with Stewart back but with those other five guys still out.
Detroit is here to rough you up and make you complain about it. It allows one of the highest free-throw rates in the league, but that appears to be by design. The Pistons allow the third-lowest 2-point percentage and the fourth-lowest points in the paint average in the league.
📉 The bottom of the East (combined 4-35). The opposite end of the standings in the East is not as fun and hopeful as the Pistons. The Washington Wizards (1-12), Indiana Pacers (1-12) and Brooklyn Nets (2-11) went into Sunday’s action a combined 3-34, and they were only guaranteed a win among the three on Sunday because the Nets and Wizards played each other. Yuck.
📈 Phoenix Suns (8-6). Don’t look now, but the Suns are hot! They’ve won five of their last six games after losing to the Hawks on Sunday. Both the offense and defense during this stretch have been some of the best in the league. Devin Booker is carving teams up, as you’d expect. Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks are also lighting their opponents up. It’s been an easy schedule, but they’re winning. Their next dozen games are going to show us how real this is.
📉 Chicago Bulls (6-6). The Bulls are just 1-6 since their 5-0 start to the season, but the slide is pretty reasonable. They’ve lost games to the Knicks, Bucks, Cavs, Spurs, Jazz and Pistons (see above). They just got Coby White back into the mix. Their schedule has been super interesting so far, though. The Bulls have just two games against below-.500 squads this season. They’re 1-1 in those games. Every other contest has been against a non-losing team.
📈 Denver Nuggets (10-2). The Nuggets have won seven straight games and are the second-hottest team in basketball. The big key lately has been the non-Nikola Jokić minutes. It’s been years of waiting to see if the Nuggets could just be decent and not entirely detrimental when Big Honey gets some rest on the bench.
For the season, the Nuggets are plus-19.3 points per 100 possessions with Jokić on the floor and only minus-1.5 per 100 possessions without him. They’re plus-67 in the minutes with Jokić in the past five games and plus-14 without him. Progress!
📉 Memphis Grizzlies (4-10). Is anybody else just getting sad thinking about this Grizzlies squad? For a few years, they looked dangerous and on the cusp of possibly figuring things out. A lot has happened, both on and off the court, since. The Grizzlies have lost eight of their last nine games, and now Ja Morant is dealing with another injury. To make matters worse, the Grizzlies can’t really beat anybody good. They’re 1-9 against non-losing teams this season.
The Pelican’ts
Willie Green got fired by NOLA. Who’s next?
The New Orleans Pelicans finally said enough is enough. David Griffin was replaced by Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver in the front office this summer. After a 2-10 start to this season, the Pelicans fired coach Willie Green. Green coached four-plus seasons in New Orleans, but the last season-plus has been pretty rough. No better way to assess this decision than talking to myself in Q&A form.
Was this Green’s fault? Yes and no. By many accounts, Green wasn’t getting through to players anymore, and you simply can’t have that. In the first three seasons as the Pels coach, he was 127-119 with two playoff appearances. But last season, the team went 21-61. Most of that has been a product of key players missing a lot of time, including Zion Williamson, of course.
Should we expect more of this roster? Yes and no. When this team was healthy, it was pretty good. Unfortunately, that health was fleeting, and the Pelicans couldn’t stay competitive when missing a bunch of players. The roster was much better the last couple of years.
Are there any bright spots? Yes. Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones are excellent role players. And the rookies, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, have had really promising starts to their careers.
Is James Borrego a good coach for them? I think so? In two of his four years coaching Charlotte, the Hornets had a top-12 offense in the league. He needs healthy players for that, though.
Who has the hottest seat now that Green is gone? This is a great question, Zach. I can’t imagine the Clippers will overreact to their slow start and put Ty Lue on the hot seat. The Pacers know Rick Carlisle is not at fault in Indiana. The Nets and Wizards expect to be bad. The easiest pick here is Jamahl Mosley in Orlando. We haven’t seen consistent progress with the additions to the roster, and the Magic’s offense is still in the toilet. If Orlando can’t climb the East standings, Mosley could feel the heat the most.