According to Chris Fedor, the Cleveland Cavaliers would love to re-sign Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill, two key players during their regular season run, but teams could have the advantage of outbidding Cleveland.

Due to both players being able to earn larger contracts this offseason, Cleveland will be in a tough situation of how they’ll be able to structure contracts to satisfy both their financial situation and the player’s worth.

Both Merrill and Jerome were signed to contracts near the veteran minimum this past season, which won’t be the case heading into the new season. Merrill could look to make more than league minimum salary for the first time in his career, plus see Jerome have a larger role with a larger paycheck.

It has been well documented how teams are beginning to show real interest in one of the league’s best sixth men.

Ultimately, this all comes down to how much further front office leader Koby Altman wants to go into the second apron for the likes of their two bench role players. Attempting to sign both will be seen as an aggressive move, as it will push them further into the tax.

This could lead the Cavaliers to picking between Merill, Jerome, or possibly losing the bidding war on both players.

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.