Nets make surprising decision on former top-10 pick
The Brooklyn Nets have been stockpiling young, switchable wings, but have apparently hit their limit.
The Nets are reportedly choosing to decline the $6.25 million team option on Ziaire Williams’ contract for next season. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis, the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft is set to become an unrestricted free agent despite his second straight season averaging double figures for Brooklyn.
The Nets acquired Williams from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2024 and signed him to a 2-year, $12.5 million contract with the aforementioned club option that the team did not pick up. In two seasons, Williams averaged 10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on a 41.8 percent shooting clip and 34.2 percent rate from beyond the arc.
Despite his production, the 6’9″ Stanford Cardinal alum was the casualty of a more crowded frontcourt that now adds Julius Randle and first-round pick Joshua Jefferson. With Mikel Brown Jr. also joining the team’s slew of lengthy wings and ball-handlers, the rebuilding Nets probably won’t have as many minutes to give a decent, if unspectacular player like Williams next season.
But with Williams’ size and decent shooting ability, teams looking for role players rather than prospect lottery tickets may come calling soon enough. At least one salary cap-strapped team has already been linked to his services.
Tom Brady calls out Raiders with harsh ‘reality’ check
Tom Brady is not going to be content with moral victories for the Las Vegas Raiders next season. The GOAT wants immediate results.
The Raiders minority owner recently appeared on the “Stick to Football” podcast with English soccer legends and spoke about his expectations for the coming NFL campaign. Brady did not try to sugarcoat his stance that he’s looking for “a lot of improvement” and that the team has “underperformed in every area.”
“It’s everybody’s fault. That’s the reality,” Brady said, via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “There’s nobody who did a good job. There’s not one player in the organization, there’s not anybody involved that did the job to the level that it needs to be done at. And everybody needs to improve. And it starts with me, and it filters down to the rest of the players on the field, and they’ve got to go out there, and ultimately they’ve got to perform at a high level.”
Brady would not commit to a projected win total for his Raiders squad coming off a combined seven wins over the past two seasons. He just stated that he’s looking for “massive improvement” that should manifest daily, and even hourly.
For the Raiders to meet Brady’s expectations, a lot rides on the performance of the quarterback room shared by Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza. The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft has already shown his willingness to put in the work, but isn’t expected to start right away.
With the team’s QB of the future being eased into the starting job, wins and losses may not be the only way to measure the team’s success this coming season. But tallying more than the three wins Las Vegas had last season is a good way to start.
Red Sox Gold Glover made hilariously bad throw to blow 9th-inning lead vs. Yankees
MLB’s awards voting panel may want to look into Wilyer Abreu’s 9th-inning mishap Sunday against the New York Yankees.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder, with two Gold Gloves to his name, made a downright horrific throw with his team desperately clinging to a 2-0 lead against their rival Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. Closer Aroldis Chapman allowed a single and a walk to put the tying run on base with Ben Rice heading to the plate.
Chapman caught a break when Rice skied his 3-1 fastball to Abreu short of the warning track in right field for an easy out. The Yankees baserunners both tagged up, prompting Abreu to make a quick throw back to the infield.
Wilyer’s cannon of an arm, however, misfired at the worst possible time.
One of the worst throws you’ll ever see pic.twitter.com/9Hj3440KEn
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) June 29, 2026
Abreu’s throw was abhorrent for so many reasons. He had all the time in the world to load up the throw. With almost no chance to get Jose Caballero at third base, all he had to do was prevent Anthony Volpe from advancing from first to second.
Abreu not only missed second baseman Anthony Seigler by a mile, but he also aired the throw so badly that it bounced all the way to the backstop, allowing Caballero to score easily and Volpe to go from first to third. Volpe touched home plate safely on a fielder’s choice three pitches later, leading to extra innings.
Fortunately for Abreu, the Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the 10th to win 5-4, courtesy of a Jarren Duran walk-off single.
JARREN DURAN FINISHES THE COMEBACK! A WALK-OFF W! 🤩
— NESN (@NESN) June 29, 2026
(via @NBCSports / @peacock) pic.twitter.com/tHeSVBmMWl
Jaylen Brown is reportedly ‘acting done’ with the Celtics
Jaylen Brown may have already mentally moved on from the only team he’s ever played for.
The Boston Celtics star made headlines for weeks amid rumors that he was being shopped in a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the deal never materialized for Boston, the damage it did to the team’s relationship with Brown may be irreversible.
Brown has been halfway across the world from Beantown throughout the month, with recent trips to China and France. The Celtics star was in Cannes earlier this week for the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where he was reportedly acting like a scorned lover who’s gotten over his ex.
According to The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, folks around him during the French festival noted that Brown appears to have mentally moved on from Boston already.
“The word on the street on Jaylen in France, and I know multiple people who were either in his vicinity or whatever, is that he was acting like he’s done in Boston, and that this is it, and I don’t think he’s very happy with this,” Simmons said during Sunday’s episode of his podcast.
Simmons added that he still believes Brown will more than likely still be on the Celtics’ roster once the season rolls around. But he pointed out that it was partially due to Brown’s volatile trade value, with other teams no longer bidding against a potential Antetokounmpo deal.
Brown himself recently went on an online tirade against analytics that he called “AI hoops” for labeling him as far less valuable than the eye test would suggest. The Celtics seem to agree, based on the rumored price tag they’ve placed on Brown in the trade market.
With Jayson Tatum sidelined for most of the 2025-26 campaign, Brown made the leap to the upper echelon of players last season. Brown finished 6th in MVP voting and was the first name off the All-NBA First-Team after averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 47.7 percent field goal shooting.
Report: Warriors are trying to pair LeBron James with 1 of his former co-stars
The Golden State Warriors are trying to sweeten their pitch to LeBron James.
Golden State is attempting to trade for Washington Wizards big man Anthony Davis, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! Sports reported on Sunday. The Warriors would then be looking to sign James in free agency and hoping that Davis’ presence would be able to successfully lure him.
O’Connor does add though that trading for Davis would require the inclusion of Jimmy Butler in the deal for salary-matching purposes. You can read O’Connor’s full report on the situation here.
Davis, 33, has yet to play in a single game for Washington ever since arriving in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks last February. The Wizards are rebuilding (especially with No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa now serving as their new franchise centerpiece), and Davis has already been linked to other notable teams in recent trade rumors.
James, 41, obviously used to be co-stars with Davis on the Los Angeles Lakers. The two played together in L.A. from 2019-25 and won the 2020 NBA championship together in the Orlando, Fla. bubble.
The Warriors are limited in what they will be able to offer financially to James (with one modest reported offer surfacing earlier this month). But it appears that they are banking on being able to offer James the chance to compete for one last championship on an Olympics-esque fever dream alongside Davis, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green under head coach Steve Kerr.
Jazz Chisholm gets ejected after arguing a checked-swing call
The Jazz Chisholm Experience continues to be completely unpredictable.
The New York Yankees played on Sunday night against the rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass. During the sixth inning, Chisholm was at the plate against Red Sox starter Sonny Gray.
On a 2-2 offering in the dirt from Gray, Chisholm attempted to check his swing. However, home plate umpire Adam Hamari ruled that Chisholm had gone around and called him out on strikes.
Chisholm was incensed by the call and began arguing with Hamari that the decision should have been made by the umpire at third base instead. After some back-and-forth, Chisholm ended up getting ejected from the game. Here is the video.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected after this sequence
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 29, 2026
Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/1hyR10LeGk
Take a look at another angle of the incident from the “Ump Cam” that aired on the NBC/Peacock broadcast.
Ump cam of Jazz Chisholm's interaction with the home plate umpire. He has been ejected after arguing the umpire should've gone to third on a check swing.#RepBX #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/5UVaQ5Ru4O
— Carter Lowe (@cjlowecfb) June 29, 2026
A checked-swing call cannot be challenged in Major League Baseball by any avenue. The automated ball-strike (ABS) system strictly tracks the physical location of a pitch relative to the strike zone, and checked-swing calls are also specifically excluded from MLB’s standard instant replay system.
Chisholm finished the game going 0/3 with two strikeouts before getting ejected. Combined with the unprofessional move that the two-time MLB All-Star Chisholm also pulled in a game last week, you never know quite what you are going to get with him (and neither do the Yankees).
Canada World Cup coach had snarky response when asked about USMNT
Team Canada head coach Jesse Marsch does not want to be bothered with his former team’s fate at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The American-born Marsch, who previously played and served as an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s national team, led Canada to a 1-0 win over South Africa on Sunday to become the first team to move on to the Round of 16. The victory was a historic for the Canadians, who had never even won a World Cup match before co-hosting this year’s tournament.
Canada scored an all-important draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group stage to finish second in Group B, which earned the team a favorable matchup to open the knockout round. After Sunday’s celebratory result over South Africa, one reporter asked Marsch about the USMNT’s chances against Bosnia and Herzegovina — the Americans’ opponent on Wednesday in the Round of 32.
“I don’t really care,” Marsch replied, via FOX Sports’ Doug McIntyre. “It’s up to the U.S. to figure out, and they can learn from the matches that Bosnia played.”
“I know a couple of players on their team, and Bosnia is a group of fighters, so they were not easy to play against. I was very complimentary of them after the game. I thought we could have been better in the match, but I think that whoever they play, they will give a really hard match.”
Marsch has a strained relationship with the U.S. men’s national team, after the former Premier League coach got snubbed for the top American job in the past.
A USA-Canada clash in the knockout rounds is unlikely but not impossible. Marsch’s Canada side would need to beat the winner of the Netherlands vs. Morocco, then potentially overcome either France or Germany to get to the semifinals. Beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina, either Belgium or Senegal awaits the U.S. in the Round of 16, followed by a possible matchup against Portugal or Spain.
Report: Knicks could make 1 surprising roster decision
The New York Knicks are going to have to do some trimming this summer, but one player may surprisingly end up surviving.
It remains a possibility that New York will bring back guard Jordan Clarkson in free agency this offseason, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post reported Sunday. Bondy notes that despite the Knicks’ mandate to avoid the second apron of the luxury tax, a reunion with Clarkson cannot be ruled out.
The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Clarkson, 34, signed with New York last summer on a one-year deal. He played a small role for the team during the regular season, averaging 8.6 points and 1.3 assists in 17.8 minutes per game across 72 total bench appearances.
During the Knicks’ NBA championship run this year meanwhile, Clarkson looked especially in over his head. His averages fell to 4.9 points and 0.6 assists in 10.8 minutes per game to go along with 46/21/79 shooting splits (though New York still proceeded to win their first title since 1973).
Knicks owner James Dolan recently explained why he has zero plans of going into the second apron. As a result, at least two notable New York players might not be back with the team next season.
Clarkson is a streaky one-way player who skills are quickly fading and who makes even less sense for the Knicks to retain as they just brought back fellow guard Jose Alvarado on a multi-year deal. The only feasible explanation here might be that Clarkson will settle for a veteran’s minimum (estimated at $3.9 million for him next year) and simply continue coasting along with New York in a negligible role.
George Russell wins Austrian Grand Prix
George Russell started from pole position and won the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. For the second consecutive week, Russell finished ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli, who finished third.
Russell now regains second place in the drivers’ championship and trails Antonelli by only 40 points.
Verstappen finished second in the race despite crashing in qualifying and starting fifth. Verstappen was able to storm back to challenge Russell and finish second in Red Bull’s home race.
Also having a strong showing was Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who finished sixth.
Ferrari, on the other hand, struggled all weekend. Despite winning the previous race and bringing several upgrades, Lewis Hamilton finished fifth, while Charles Leclerc finished eighth.
The combination of Russell and Antonelli have now won 7 of 8 races. Next up is Mercedes’ home race — the British Grand Prix — where Red Bull and Ferrari will once again try to unseat Mercedes.
Update emerges on rumors linking LeBron James to the Heat
A potential LeBron James return to the Miami Heat appears to be an “ask again later” at this point.
James has not “actively pursued” the possibility of a reunion with the Heat for the time being, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reported on Sunday. Jackson does add though that Miami would “very likely” explore the possibility of signing James if the former MVP decided to pursue it and that “nothing should be ruled out.”
The 41-year-old James is an unrestricted free agent this offseason after spending the last eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. That said, James is unwilling to take a pay cut, and the Lakers recently dished out an enormous contract to re-sign Austin Reaves, complicating the possibility of a James return to L.A.
As for the Heat, they are a hot topic again after swinging a blockbuster trade last week for 10-time NBA All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Thus, rumors have been swirling about James possibly returning to Miami (who play in a weaker conference) in order to chase one last shot at an NBA title.
James famously played for the Heat from 2010-14, making four NBA Finals appearances and winning the first two championships of his NBA career with them. While James’ 2014 departure to return back home to the Cleveland Cavaliers was a bitter one, James since appears to have made peace with Miami leadership.
Still, there might be one other likelier landing spot for James if he does decide to finally leave the Lakers. The Heat should have some cheaper options in free agency to fill out the rest of their roster as well and have just been linked to two other notable veterans.
Dusty May eyeing 2 ex-NBA head coaches for his staff with Mavericks
Dusty May is looking to bring in some experience as he makes the leap to the NBA.
The Dallas Mavericks and their new head coach May are eyeing former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green and former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin to serve as assistant coaches, according to a report this weekend by veteran NBA writer Marc Stein. Additionally, Stein notes that Miami Heat consultant Noah LaRoche is another candidate to join May’s staff in Dallas.
Green, 44, served as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans from 2021-25. While he went just 150-190 (.441) before getting fired, Green did also previously make four NBA Finals appearances and win two NBA championships as a member of the Golden State Warriors assistant coaching staff from 2016-19.
As for Griffin, 51, he was the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks for a brief stint from 2023-24. Griffin had a decade-and-a-half of assistant coaching experience prior to that and won an NBA title as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
Meanwhile, Dallas surprisingly tabbed May, 49, to serve as their next head coach after firing Jason Kidd last month. May just led the University of Michigan to the NCAA championship in 2025-26 but reportedly had two major reasons for leaving the program.
The Mavericks are entering into a new era based around former No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg (with May’s former Wolverines standout Morez Johnson Jr. also entering the mix as Dallas’ No. 9 overall pick this year). With a lot of talented young players to develop on the roster, adding some NBA-seasoned assistant coaches would certainly help matters for May.
Tyrese Haliburton gives a 3-word response to the Knicks winning the NBA title
Tyrese Haliburton is taking a break from playing the heel.
The Indiana Pacers star Haliburton spoke with reporters at his basketball camp over the weekend. During the media session, Haliburton was asked for his response to the New York Knicks winning the 2026 NBA title.
Haliburton kept things surprisingly classy and offered a three-word reaction.
“Good for them,” said Haliburton, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.
The two-time NBA All-Star Haliburton and the Pacers were the last team to eliminate the Knicks from the playoffs, beating New York in six games during the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. During that series, Haliburton became a reviled figure in The Big Apple with a mixture of clutch game-winners and notable insults to the Knicks fanbase.
But Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 season due to an Achilles tear suffered shortly thereafter in the NBA Finals and also battled some other unexpected health issues during his recovery. The Knicks took advantage of the wide-open Eastern Conference by winning their first NBA title since 1973, but Haliburton and the Pacers will now be looking for their revenge come next season.
Trinidad Chambliss says Lane Kiffin was not ‘truthful’
Some of former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s recent comments about recruiting have been disputed by his star quarterback.
Trinidad Chambliss said that he did not agree with Kiffin’s assertion that it was difficult to recruit Black players to Ole Miss. The quarterback said he experienced “nothing but love” in Oxford and questioned Kiffin’s truthfulness.
“Me, personally, I don’t agree,” Chambliss said, via Brett Martel of the Associated Press. “I don’t think that what he said was truthful. … The Oxford community is nothing but love and they care about their people no matter what they look like: brown, black, purple, yellow — you know what I mean?”
Kiffin drew more backlash from Ole Miss fans after he said in a Vanity Fair interview that the school’s association with Confederate symbols made recruiting more difficult. He later apologized to Ole Miss and said his comments were not “calculated.”
At this point, Kiffin has no chance of winning when he talks about Ole Miss, no matter whether he’s right or wrong. Chambliss did not disrespect his former coach, but it is rather fitting that he had no trouble going against Kiffin’s comments here.
Chambliss is actually seeking to return to Oxford for one more season by trying to get an extra year of eligibility. He has no hard feelings toward Kiffin, though, and even admitted that he considered following his former coach to LSU.
Alex Bregman gets caught not hustling on ground ball
Chicago Cubs fans are not thrilled with their $175 million third baseman after one play in Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Alex Bregman likely cost himself a base by not hustling out of the box during Sunday’s game at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisc. With a man on second and one out, Bregman hit a ground ball up the middle, but did not go full speed out of the box, seemingly expecting a routine play. Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt briefly bobbled the ball, but recovered to narrowly throw Bregman out at first.
Alex Bregman did not fully run out this ground ball in a 1-run game. pic.twitter.com/EDYUnYL8X5
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) June 28, 2026
The Cubs were only behind 1-0 at the time. Instead of runners at the corners with one out, Michael Busch hit with a runner at third and two out, and struck out to end the inning.
Bregman’s lack of hustle was not quite as awful as what Juan Soto did earlier this season, but it did not look good. It is also fairly surprising, as the ground ball was going up the middle and did not look like a routine play at any point.
Bregman has been something of a disappointment for the Cubs this season in his first season with the team. Entering play Sunday, he was hitting a modest .242 with six home runs on the season.
Heat pursuing 2 veteran players to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Miami Heat are targeting some experienced veterans to fill out their roster after acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Heat are making guard Mike Conley Jr. and forward Tim Hardaway Jr. “priority targets” in free agency, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
League sources tell @JakeLFischer and me that Tim Hardaway Jr. and Mike Conley Jr. are expected to be priority targets in free agency for Miami after the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 28, 2026
That's just one item of MANY in our Sunday Best NBA Intel compilation: https://t.co/1aU9fXdEOU pic.twitter.com/6oHkPU1KbO
Unsurprisingly, the Heat appear to be pursuing short-term options to pair with Antetokounmpo. Conley turns 39 in October, but still played 18 minutes per night in 54 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. Hardaway, meanwhile, shot over 40 percent from three for the Denver Nuggets and would help space the floor for Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
Hardaway, in particular, would be an important target for Miami since they are almost certainly losing a key player at the same position.
The Heat will obviously be looking to win right away with Antetokounmpo in the fold. To that end, they are targeting experienced veterans instead of trying to bring in his brothers like the Milwaukee Bucks did.
Clippers have talked Kawhi Leonard trade with 1 team
The Los Angeles Clippers are at least listening to one team when it comes to a potential Kawhi Leonard trade.
The Clippers and Toronto Raptors have held “real” talks about a Leonard trade, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. RJ Barrett is among the players discussed to head to the Clippers, though the Raptors would prefer to include Brandon Ingram instead.
In discussions with the Clippers, sources say Toronto has expressed a preference in dealing Brandon Ingram to Los Angeles, as opposed to RJ Barrett.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 28, 2026
Our story from Thursday, first revealing this possible reunion between the Raptors and Kawhi Leonard: https://t.co/3cXkUpMI6X https://t.co/TYzPyik4sB
The Clippers would prefer to keep Leonard, but it is believed they would try to trade him instead of keeping him on an expiring contract if no contract extension is agreed to. Leonard is set to be very picky about his landing spots, but the Raptors are believed to be one of the teams he would consider an extension with.
Leonard won an NBA title with the Raptors in 2019 and knows he can be comfortable there. Toronto is trying to solidify itself as a contender coming off a 46-36 season, and adding a legitimate star is one way to do that. It would come at a steep cost if they have to include Barrett in the deal, however.
Leonard turns 35 on Monday. When he plays, he remains a force, as he averaged 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Clippers in 65 games last season.
Fernando Mendoza gets brutally honest about donating to Indiana
Fernando Mendoza had a pretty blunt answer about whether he intends to contribute to Indiana’s NIL fund once he gets his hands on his NFL money.
Mendoza was asked during an interview with Front Office Sports whether he has any plans to contribute to Indiana’s NIL fund. The Las Vegas Raiders quarterback made it clear that is not part of his plans right now, and he has other ventures he wants to financially support.
“I haven’t even signed my Raiders contract yet,” Mendoza said. “I’m definitely going to consider it in the future, but as of now, I’m just trying to focus on Raiders football. I did give a donation to the University of Miami for their part in trying to fight MS. That’s a cause that’s a little bit more dear to my heart than the transfer portal.”
Fernando Mendoza tells FOS he doesn't plan to donate to Indiana's NIL fund any time soon.
— Front Office Sports News (@FOS_News_) June 28, 2026
Mendoza said he instead has given back to the University of Miami in their efforts to fight multiple sclerosis—"a cause that's a little bit more dear to my heart." pic.twitter.com/tBi5eLxBfn
There’s nothing wrong with Mendoza’s answer, particularly since his mother has multiple sclerosis. Plus, as he said, he has yet to formally sign his rookie deal. Clearly, Mendoza would rather focus on charitable giving than trying to bolster Indiana’s recruiting.
The Hoosiers will be perfectly fine, so it seems, as long as Curt Cignetti is in charge. Plus, while they may not have Mendoza’s backing, the school’s NIL fund is being funded by some other wealthy donors that will ensure the team has all the resources it needs.
Suns trade for former lottery pick
The Phoenix Suns made a major trade Sunday for a new starter to add to their lineup.
The Suns are acquiring Miles Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets, according to multiple reports. The Hornets are receiving Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen, and the two sides swapped first-round picks, with Charlotte getting Phoenix’s 2033 selection.
BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading Miles Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick to the Phoenix Suns for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and a 2033 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/vjcR7AdwSD
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 28, 2026
The move also opens up roughly $20 million in cap space for the Suns, which they could use to add even more help in free agency.
The Suns have long coveted Bridges and had been linked to him in trade rumors for years. The 28-year-old developed into a solid secondary scorer with the Hornets, and he averaged 17.1 points per game for them last season. He should fit directly into Phoenix’s starting lineup and provide them with secondary scoring.
The Hornets targeted experienced role players in the deal, but the real prize for them might be the unprotected 2033 first-round pick depending on how the Suns look at that point. The organization appears to be undergoing something of a reset after moving LaMelo Ball earlier in the week.
Jimmy Butler had 1-word response about potential return to Heat
There is no reason to think Jimmy Butler is going to be on the move anytime soon, but he can pretty firmly rule out one team.
Butler was back in Miami on Saturday night to attend the FIFA World Cup game between Colombia and Portugal, and was a popular attraction as he approached Hard Rock Stadium. One fan even asked Butler if he was going to return to the Heat to play with new acquisition Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Butler shot that down immediately.
“Nah,” Butler said.
A fan asked Jimmy Butler if he's returning to Miami with Giannis…
— Bones🇺🇸🇵🇹🇫🇷 (@Boness305) June 28, 2026
Jimmy's response: "Nah." 💀 pic.twitter.com/XsO10h58EF
Butler is entering the last season of his contract with the Golden State Warriors, so speculation about his long-term future is fair game. Even if the Heat could afford Butler, however, they would appear to be a longshot for a return. He had a significant falling out with Pat Riley when he was dealt from Miami, and those hard feelings still linger.
There had actually been speculation that Butler could have been part of a trade for Antetokounmpo had Golden State gotten involved. That obviously will not be happening now, with the 36-year-old set to play out the year with the Warriors after recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last year.
Serena Williams makes admission about her Wimbledon comeback
Serena Williams’ comeback at Wimbledon nearly did not happen, she admitted on Sunday.
Williams waited until last Sunday, the day before the deadline, to commit to accepting a wild card to participate in Wimbledon as a singles player. She said that ultimately, she decided that the opportunity was too good to pass up and not one she was certain to get again.
“I thought, not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone,” Williams said, via Matthew Futterman of The Athletic. “I thought, well, I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again, this could be it, you know, and so, I’m just like, what am I, what, what, what’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Like, are you, are you nuts? Like, you really should do this.”
Williams recently made her comeback in doubles, but had been noncommittal about playing singles matches right up until last Sunday. At that point, she decided to participate, and was drawn against 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in the first round. That match will be played on Tuesday afternoon.
Williams has not played a singles match since the 2022 US Open, when she said she was evolving away from tennis. That evolution was not completely permanent.
