What links Irving and Harden in 2025: The two thirtysomething stars sit atop this summer’s anticipated list of free agent point guards, both hold contracts that contain a player option for next season and they are simultaneously seeking longer-term arrangements with their respective teams. More than one well-placed observer has noted that the former’s eventual new contract with the Mavericks could even serve as a barometer that helps establish the ballpark for what Harden ultimately banks from the Clippers in a new deal.
Source: marcstein.substack.com
Source: marcstein.substack.com
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
StatMuse @statmuse
Aaron Nesmith has a higher playoff career-high in threes than
— Reggie Miller
— Peja Stojakovic
— James Harden
— Dirk Nowitzki
— Larry Bird
— Kyle Korver
— Kevin Durant
— JJ Redick
— Steve Nash pic.x.com/nh9huIYIEP – 10:02 AM
Aaron Nesmith has a higher playoff career-high in threes than
— Reggie Miller
— Peja Stojakovic
— James Harden
— Dirk Nowitzki
— Larry Bird
— Kyle Korver
— Kevin Durant
— JJ Redick
— Steve Nash pic.x.com/nh9huIYIEP – 10:02 AM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Players with 10+ FGs and 10+ assists in a game so far this postseason
– Nikola Jokić
– James Harden
– Cade Cunningham 2x
– Jalen Brunson 2x
– Jayson Tatum
– Julius Randle 2x
– And now Tyrese Haliburton – 12:48 AM
Players with 10+ FGs and 10+ assists in a game so far this postseason
– Nikola Jokić
– James Harden
– Cade Cunningham 2x
– Jalen Brunson 2x
– Jayson Tatum
– Julius Randle 2x
– And now Tyrese Haliburton – 12:48 AM
More on this storyline
Be advised, though, that some rival teams expect the Clippers to be a team to watch in the trade market this summer once they get the Harden situation settled. LA indeed has some tradeable contracts on its books after deciding to let George go without compensation and replacing him with multiple free agents on short-term deals. -via marcstein.substack.com / May 24, 2025
NBA Communications: The 2024-25 Kia All-NBA Third Team: 
Cade Cunningham of @DetroitPistons Tyrese Haliburton of @Pacers James Harden of @LAClippers Karl-Anthony Towns of @nyknicks Jalen Williams of @okcthunder -via x.com / May 23, 2025
Cade Cunningham of @DetroitPistons Tyrese Haliburton of @Pacers James Harden of @LAClippers Karl-Anthony Towns of @nyknicks Jalen Williams of @okcthunder -via x.com / May 23, 2025
StatMuse: Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Allen Iverson. The only guards in NBA history with more 40-point playoff games than Jalen Brunson. pic.x.com/znrkHtMptk -via Twitter @statmuse / May 22, 2025
Irving holds a $44 million player option for next season that he must activate or decline by June 24. There have been rumbles all season that the Mavericks, either using that option as the starting point for an extension or based on an entirely new deal, have been hoping to re-secure Irving under contract for the next three seasons in the same annual ballpark of $40 million. -via marcstein.substack.com / May 24, 2025
When Kyrie Irving stood tall in Brooklyn—refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and choosing principle over a paycheck—many called him everything but courageous. He was vilified, ostracized, mocked in the press, and painted as difficult, selfish, even reckless. But to someone like Craig Hodges, Kyrie’s stance wasn’t just brave—it was righteous. “They still do! He’s STILL being villainized, you know what I’m sayin’?” Hodges told me during our recent conversation. “And that’s the cold part about this whole thing.” -via ScoopB.com / May 22, 2025
“And those examples can be followed,” Hodges said. “There can be repercussions to it—and that’s one of the things that the installation of the salaries that are being paid today… they can instillate players of a certain degree where they can have generational wealth, you know?” That wealth, he argues, provides a cushion—but not an escape from responsibility. Not when you’re awake. Not when your conscience won’t let you coast. “So someone like Kyrie, brilliant enough to see his impact—not only on the court, but also financially—but also realizing that basketball and my finances still doesn’t equate to what my conscious and my spiritual point of reference has to be in order for me to be able to enjoy those things that I’ve worked so hard for,” Hodges said. “And should I not be able to—based upon under the Constitution—you have certain unalienable rights, you know? Like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” -via ScoopB.com / May 22, 2025