According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Los Angeles Lakers inquired on Atlanta Hawks starting center Onyeka Okongwu during the trade deadline.

Rob Pelinka gave a list of names of centers to Luka Doncic, this included Okongwu and Mark Williams. Doncic was intrigued about Atlanta’s young center, which prompted the Lakers to make a call to the Hawks to ask about a potential trade.

This was before agreeing, and then rescinding, the Mark Williams trade featuring the Charlotte Hornets.

“Before the Mark Williams trade, and I can’t tell you all the names on that list that Rob Pelinka presented to Luka, [but] I do know that the Lakers made a call to the Hawks around the trade deadline about Okongwu,” said Dave McMenamin on the Straight Fire podcast with Jason McIntyre. 

With Clint Capela expected to no longer be with the franchise heading forward, this will solidify the 24-year-old’s role as their permanent starting center. His contract runs through the 2027-28 season.

Last season, Okongwu averaged 13.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He had a career-high in minutes, points, rebounds, and assists. He is seen as a cornerstone piece of the Hawks.

After Game 1’s 31-point performance by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, former head coach of the Denver Nuggets praised the eventual award winner by saying he has “showed why he’s the MVP.”

Fans, critics, and media figures thought Michael Malone was firing shots at Nikola Jokic, as many believe Jokic and many within the organization wanted the former champion coach fired.

Ahead of Game 2, Malone cleared up the controversy and that he actually wanted Jokic to win the award; if won, it would have been his fourth in five seasons.

“I did vote for him again this year, if I had a vote,” Malone said of Jokic. “Want to make sure the people in Denver know that because right now, I’m getting a lot of heat back home.”

Malone was fired by Denver on April 8th, 2025. He was fired with three games remaining in the regular season. Interim coach, now permanent head coach, David Adelman led the team to the second round against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They took OKC to seven before being eliminated.

According to Jake Fischer and Marc Stein, the Philadelphia 76ers are seriously considering the idea of not trading Paul George and bringing him back for next season.

With him having an incredibly disappointing first season with Philadelphia, the 76ers do not want to trade him when his market is low. He still has three years left on his $212 million contract.

The Sixers are more concerned about Joel Embiid than they are about George, as, reports say, Embiid’s health determines their success and what kind of postseason they could have. Whereas with George, he’s more of a third option where they’ll be fine if his production is up and down.

After only appearing in 41 games, the 35-year-old averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. The last time George didn’t averaged 20 or more points per game was back in 2012-13 with the Indiana Pacers.