International summer basketball is here. It means (almost) nothing

Good morning. Get the stick, it's time to beat a dead horse again. Figuratively. Plus: we're going to look ahead to Christmas. Let's basketball.

Adam Silver's European vacation

Good morning. We're taking a diversion to Europe. Not physically. Unfortunately. Let's basketball.

The Spurs hear echoes

Good morning. De'Aaron Fox signed a max extension with San Antonio, setting up a run with Victor Wembanyama as Dylan Harper develops. This is an interesting paradigm. Let's basketball.

The Knicks are set

Good morning. Mikal Bridges inked an extension, enuring the key Bockers will be around as long as it makes sense to keep them around. Let's basketball.

Jonathan Kuminga's Golden State handcuffs

Good morning. Let's look at what the Warriors are really trying to do with Jonathan Kuminga.

Are the Bulls happy with themselves?

Good morning. Billy Donovan lands an extension and the front office appears to be around for the long haul. Why? Let's basketball.

Who are the tankers?

Good morning. Every season, a couple of teams enter trying not to win too much. The candidates for 2025-26 have already became clear.

There's a 1-word answer for why the NBA is slow-walking expansion: greed

Good morning. Expansion will likely not happen this decade because some of the richest humans in the nation don't want to share. Let's basketball.

Yes, even the Hornets

Good morning. Every franchise can rise quickly. Every franchise. But there's a psychic albatross that needs to be cut loose. Let's basketball.

Dame's strange legacy

Good morning. Let's start the week with some quick-hitters on Damian Lillard's return to the Blazers, Bradley Beal and Marcus Smart landing in L.A. and the Hornets winning a championship of some sort. Let's basketball.

Nikola Jokic remains the Consensus Best Player Alive ... barely

Good morning. Here's our annual update on the Consensus BPA metric, which has has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander closing the gap but not yet catching Jokic. Let's basketball.

Revisiting Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns trade

Good morning. Minnesota said it swapped Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle to maximize its flexibility. A year later, does that appear true? Let's basketball.