Basketball Intelligence For 7/26/26
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
TEAM-SPECIFIC
DAL: New GM, new coach, new players.
Matt Gilroy, SBNation
DAL: Mavs’ new front office likes taking swings on once-hyped prospects who need a change of scenery
Noah Weber, The Smoking Cuban
GSW: Stephen Curry on missing out on LeBron James and the Warriors’ uncertain future
Marcus Thompson II, The Athletic
GSW: After LeBron James Miss, Can Warriors Maximize Stephen Curry’s Window?
Mark Medina, Forbes
LAL: The Lakers’ Summer Makeover
Above The Break
MIN: Are the Timberwolves Legitimate Title Contenders?
Derek Hanson, SBNation
NOP: Kobe Bufkin’s Next NBA Move
Alder Almo, heavy.com
NYK: KAT Interview
David Marchese, NY Times
OKC: Sam Presti’s latest play may make Thunder forget all about Isaiah Joe
Zane Gelphman, Thunderous Intentions
PHI: Grading Mike Gansey’s transformational first offseason as Sixers president
Gina Mizell, The Inquirer
PHI: LeBron James rode ‘emotional roller coaster’ before decision
Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN
PHI: What the NBA Still Doesn’t Understand About LeBron
Howard Beck, The Ringer
SAC: PODCAST: Summer 2026 State of the Kings Part One
Nick Agar-Johnson/Ray LeBov, Kings Weekly Podcast
Nick and Ray discuss the state of the Sacramento Kings after the end of Summer League and most of free agency. In Part One, they discuss the view of the team from 10,000 feet among other topics. They start out by talking about the current placement of the Kings in league rankings, and how the draft lottery changes might impact how the Kings approach the start of next season and beyond. They also have an in-depth discussion about Domantas Sabonis and his status relative to the team, before getting into more individual player breakdowns and a discussion of the coaching situation in upcoming Part Two.
SAS: Answers from Prior Offseason Questions: Spurs Starters
Paul Garcia, The Spot Up Shot
LEAGUEWIDE
Meet Albert Hall who helped launch the NBA’s ‘31st franchise,’ Las Vegas Summer League
Theo Lawson, Spokesman-Review
Ranking Every NBA Starting Lineup
Greg Swartz, Bleacher Report
James Harden, Draymond Green, Jalen Duren eye deals
Robby Kalland, CBS Sports
PODCAST: Dean Oliver on the Meaning of Analytics
Ray LeBov/Nick Agar-Johnson, No Weak Stuff
Dean Oliver, the godfather of modern basketball analaytics, currently of ESPN and formerly of four different NBA teams in a decades-long career in the league, joins Ray LeBov and Nick Agar-Johnson to talk about the meaning of analytics and the purposes of analytics as prompted by the field of strawmen in the aftermath of the Jaylen Brown trade. They discuss the fundamental purpose of analytics, how team goals factor into the scope of analytics-related inquiries, the origins of Oliver’s Four Factors, and many other topics related to the nature of analytics in a wide-ranging conversation about analytics, statistics, and basketball.