Jonathan Kuminga
Jonathan Kuminga has indicated he prefers signing his $7,976,830 qualifying offer to taking the Warriors' two-year, $45 million offer with a team option and waived implicit no-trade clause, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN.
If I were advising Kuminga, I'd tell him to take Golden State's offer over the qualifying offer. A guaranteed $22 million – $14 million more than his qualifying offer – is nothing to scoff at. Though he'd lose some power without the ability to block a trade, only teams interested in him long-term would trade for him, anyway. And a $23 million salary for the following season, if his team option gets exercised, appears near his median range of outcomes.
However! Kuminga taking the qualifying offer would also be worse for the Warriors than them paying him more and/or allowing him to keep the implicit no-trade clause. He'd be able to block any trade. His salary would be lower than ideal for trade matching. Then, he'd become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
So, both sides should avoid the qualifying offer.
But Kuminga has little leverage other than the qualifying offer. So, it makes sense he'd threaten to take it – even if he'd come out behind. Can Golden State risk he actually agrees with my analysis and is just bluffing?
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook's next team is most likely the Kings, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
I wonder whether Westbrook regrets declining his player option with Denver. His time with the Nuggets was, generously, topsy-turvy. They might not have welcomed him back.
But "basketball hell" isn't an ideal fallback. And maybe Westbrook could have gotten a Denver buyout before settling with Sacramento.
Christmas
NBA's 2025 Christmas schedule, according to Shams Charania of ESPN:
Cavaliers at Knicks
Spurs at Thunder
Rockets at Lakers
Mavericks at Warriors
Timberwolves at Nuggets
West-East
What do the Spurs, Thunder, Rockets, Lakers, Mavericks, Warriors, Timberwolves and Nuggets – the last eight teams scheduled for Christmas – have in common?
They're all in the West.
The last time at least 80% of the Christmas slots went to the same conference? All the way back in 1990, when the Bulls and Pistons – both in the East – met in the day's only game.
Essentially, there has never been a divide like this in the modern Christmas-scheduling era.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are just the second reigning NBA Finals team not to get a Christmas game since the NBA went to a five-game Christmas slate.
The other? The 2018 Cavaliers, who lost LeBron James.
Indiana's exclusion is unsurprising, considering Tyrese Haliburton's injury. But another sign just how short-lived Indiana's prestige boost was.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics won 61 games last season and aren't playing on Christmas this year. Similarly understandable, considering Jayson Tatum's injury – but still atypical.
The last time a 60-win team didn't play on Christmas the next season? The Spurs in 2017.
Opening night
The NBA's opening-night schedule, according to Shams Charania of ESPN:
Rockets at Thunder
Warriors at Lakers
West-East
Once again, the Western Conference dominates a marquee date on the schedule, West teams taking all four opening-night slots.
That last happened in 2023 (Nuggets-Lakers and Suns-Warriors) and 2014 (Spurs-Mavericks and Lakers-Rockets).
-Dan Feldman