A brilliant businessman just spent billions buying the Blazers. Beautiful!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Kenny Carr, Bruno Fernando, Bruce Brown, and Boban Marjanović! 🎉

Around the Association

Tom Dundon, owner of NHL’s Hurricanes, to buy Portland Trail Blazers for >$4M

Blazers fans, buckle up. Change could be on the horizon.

Tom Dundon, the current owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, is reportedly set to buy the Trail Blazers for a price north of $4 billion. The team had previously been owned by the estate of Paul Allen, who had purchased the Blazers nearly 40 years ago and passed away back in 2018.

Dundon has a reputation among Canes fans as a hands-on, no-nonsense owner that wants to win. The ink on the sale isn’t dry yet, but Portland might be gearing up for more than just a new era with The Don in charge!

NBA releases full 2025-26 regular season + NBA Cup schedule

The time has come.

After teasing basketball fans with the schedules for Opening Week, Christmas Day, and MLK Day throughout the past few weeks, the league finally released the full 2025-26 regular season schedule yesterday.

Aside from the big storylines we’ve already discussed, this season is highlighted by the third edition of the NBA Cup. You can check out the full group play schedule here, but here are the matchups we’re looking forward to the most in each group:

• West A: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

• West B: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks

• West C: Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets (another KD homecoming)

• East A: Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

• East B: Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic

• East C: New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

The Lakers in 2023. Milwaukee in 2024. Who will cement their name in NBA history next?

Top Five Friday

It can be fun to predict awards before the season starts. It can also be nearly impossible to predict who’ll win an award like Sixth Man of the Year, which can depend heavily on changes in playing time and coaching style throughout the season.

Let’s do it anyway, shall we? In no particular order, here are five way-too-early 6MOTY candidates for 2025-26: ⬇️

1. De’Andre Hunter (CLE): Hunter is in prime position to be the Cavs’ top bench scorer, and if he can stay healthy, his combination of size, shooting, and defensive versatility makes him a strong candidate to lead Cleveland’s bench unit to success. Staying aggressive on offense will be the key to Hunter embracing a sixth-man role in The Land.

2. Payton Pritchard/Anfernee Simons (BOS): Is this cheating? Maybe. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is the odds-on frontrunner to repeat and take home some more hardware, but as speculation about the Celtics starting Pritchard heats up, trade acquisition Anfernee Simons could also be in the mix as the C’s lead backup guard. Either way, Boston’s backcourt depth looks good heading into 2025-26, even if their roster isn’t up to par compared with how it’s looked recently.

3. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (ATL): NAW is a sneaky fit for this award, but his defensive chops and ball-handling abilities give Atlanta’s bench a high-floor two-way presence. If his minutes and usage climb into a more defined sixth-man role, look for Alexander-Walker to get some voters’ attention—there’ll already be more than the usual number of eyes on the Hawks after the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis.

4. Gradey Dick (TOR): It might be a stretch, but one thing’s for certain: Gradey Dick can flat-out shoot the ball. With Immanuel Quickley, Ja’Kobe Walter, and RJ Barrett in the mix as Toronto’s wings, Dick might be the sensible odd man out as a bench gunner and floor-spacer.

5. Jordan Clarkson (NYK): The 2021 Sixth Man winner is still one of the NBA’s premier instant-offense bench weapons. Now, in New York, he could thrive as the Knicks’ primary second-unit creator, especially given the difference between Tom Thibodeau’s rotations and what new Knicks HC Mike Brown might bring to the table. If the Knicks land near the top of the East again, Clarkson could have the numbers to make another run at the award.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Thanks for sticking with us this week, Enjoyers. These summer weekends won’t be around for that much longer, so take advantage of this one and get outside!

Austin Zeglis