MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves ruled out All-Star Jimmy Butler before their game Wednesday night against Utah for "precautionary rest."Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters at the morning shootaround that Butler's absence was not related to his trade request."He missed all of training camp, basically, so he has just general soreness," Thibodeau said.Butler told ESPN he planned to attend the game against the Jazz at the Target Center and travel with the team on its five-game trip that begins Friday night at Golden State. Butler told the network he would play against the Warriors and disputed speculation that he was sitting out Wednesday in protest of the lack of action by the Wolves on his desire to be dealt elsewhere."Because my body is hurting and I don't want to go out there and risk an injury, people make stuff up?" Butler said.Thibodeau was noncommittal when asked if Butler would join the team on the trip.Butler scored 32 points in 37 minutes in Minnesota's win Monday night... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves ruled out All-Star Jimmy Butler in advance of their game Wednesday against Utah for "precautionary rest."Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters at the morning shootaround that Butler's absence was not related to his trade request ."He missed all of training camp, basically, so he has just general soreness," Thibodeau said.Butler told ESPN he planned to attend the game against the Jazz at the Target Center and travel with the team on its five-game road trip that begins Friday at Golden State. Butler told the network he would play against the Warriors and disputed speculation that he was sitting out Wednesday in protest of the lack of action by the Wolves on his desire to be dealt elsewhere."Because my body is hurting and I don't want to go out there and risk an injury, people make stuff up?" Butler said.Thibodeau was noncommittal when asked if Butler would join the team on the trip.Butler scored 32 points in 37 minutes in Minnesota's win Monday against... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland said goodbye to its biggest NBA All-Star this summer. In four years, the city will host all of them.The Cavaliers have been selected to hold the 2022 All-Star Game at Quicken Loans Arena, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday. An announcement is expected later this week, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not yet made Cleveland's selection official.Crain's Cleveland Business was first to report the midseason event will be in Cleveland.The Cavs are rebuilding this season after LeBron James, who led them to a title in 2016, left as a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. James is under contract through 2021, and hasn't ruled out the possibility of another return to his home state.The All-Star Game in Cleveland could give him something else to consider.The Cavs had submitted bids to the league to host earlier All-Star Games, but a massive renovation at their downtown arena made that impossible. Construction, which began this year, is on schedule and should be completed by the end of next summer.Cleveland last hosted the event in 1997 in the same building, which was called Gund Arena at the time, when the league honored its Top 50 players.The All-Star Game can provide an economic boost to hosting cities. This season's game is in Charlotte, followed by Chicago and Indianapolis.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers assistant coach Larry Drew says he's "very disappointed" the team has not restructured his contract.Drew has been asked to fill in as head coach on an interim basis after the team fired Tyronn Lue on Sunday following the team's 0-6 start. Drew has asked for guarantees if he's going to take over the rebuilding team, but as of Tuesday evening, the Cavaliers had not given him any.Before Cleveland hosted Atlanta, the 60-year-old Drew said "there are no updates, which I'm very disappointed about." Drew said he assured the Cavaliers he would remain professional during the negotiations. He promised he wouldn't quit.Drew said the Cavaliers have told him it's possible they'll bring in a full-time replacement for Lue. If that happens, he would slide back to his assistant's role.The team has been a disappointment so far this season, its first since LeBron James left for the second time as a free agent.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — After an emotional day and restless night, Larry Drew went back to work.He organized practice, met with stunned players still reeling from Tyronn Lue's firing and put the Cleveland Cavaliers through drills as they prepared for Tuesday's game.But after walking off the floor, Drew, the team's top assistant coach under Lue for the past two years, wanted to make something clear."I'm not the interim coach," he said emphatically. "I'm the voice right now."So much for Cleveland's transition game.Drew added a surprising wrinkle to Lue's dismissal on Monday by saying he's not ready to commit to the Cavaliers in the long term until he gets a new contract. Drew said his agent, Andy Miller, has been with talks with the team about restructuring his deal. Drew is under contract through this season."I'm sure you guys are aware that there are some talks that are going on," Drew told reporters. "I don't know if any type of agreement or settlement will be made. I am prepared either... [More]

Blake Griffin had this season's highest-scoring game for all of about 24 hours before Stephen Curry bettered it — in just three quarters.Then, in Golden State's next game, after Curry poured in 51 points in a rout of Washington, Kevin Durant scored 25 in the fourth quarter, the best total of his career, and finished with 41 in a victory at New York.With the Warriors teammates' big nights and Griffin's 50-point outburst for Detroit coming in just a four-night span, it continued a torrid start for scorers that Curry said made it seem like "everybody's clicking at the same time."But count Curry among those who aren't sure the offensive onslaughts being seen now will still be seen in a few months."Those are just great players just making plays, having great nights. That's not any different than any other year," he said after Durant's big night."We're six games in. We'll see how it goes."Damian Lillard has already had a pair of 40-point nights and Kemba Walker is one point shy of doing the same.... [More]

Blake Griffin had this season's highest-scoring game for all of about 24 hours before Stephen Curry bettered it — in just three quarters.Then in Golden State's next game after Curry poured in 51 points in a rout of Washington, Kevin Durant scored 25 in the fourth quarter, the best total of his career, and finished with 41 in a victory at New York.With the Warriors teammates' big nights and Griffin's 50-point outburst for Detroit coming in just a four-night span, it continued a torrid start for scorers that Curry said made it seem like "everybody's clicking at the same time."But count Curry among those who isn't sure the offensive onslaughts being seen now are will still be seen in a few months."Those are just great players just making plays, having great nights. That's not any different than any other year," he said after Durant's big night."We're six games in. We'll see how it goes."Damian Lillard has already had a pair of 40-point nights and Kemba Walker is one point shy of doing the... [More]

Tyronn Lue didn't make it through the season's first month without LeBron James.The Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach on Sunday and named assistant Larry Drew interim head coach. The Cavaliers are off to a 0-6 start without James, who left Cleveland this summer for the second time in his career and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.Lue guided the Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2016 — Cleveland's first pro sports championship since 1964 — and helped the team to four straight Finals."We thank him for the many ways he has contributed to our success, wish him the best and he will always be remembered for leading a very special Cavs team back against the odds to win the title in 2016," general manager Koby Altman said in a statement. "This is a different team equation, though, and one that we felt needed a different voice and approach that required this change."Assistant coach Damon Jones also was fired. A former Cavaliers player, Jones had been promoted during the offseason.Lue... [More]

Tyronn Lue didn't make it through the season's first month without LeBron James.The Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach on Sunday, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Cavaliers are off to a 0-6 start without James, who left Cleveland this summer for the second time in his career and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.The Cavs weren't showing enough progress under Lue and the team decided it was time for a change before the situation worsened, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not commented on the move.Lue guided the Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2016 — Cleveland's first pro sports championship since 1964 — and helped the team to four straight Finals.Assistant coach Damon Jones also was fired, the two people said. A former Cavaliers player, Jones had been promoted during the offseason.Lue issued a statement in which he thanked Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, former general manager David Griffin and... [More]

Tyronn Lue didn't make it through the season's first month without LeBron James.The Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach on Sunday, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Cavaliers are off to a 0-6 start without James, who left Cleveland this summer for the second time in his career and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.The Cavs weren't showing enough progress under Lue and the team decided it was time for a change before the situation worsened, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not commented on the move.Lue guided the Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2016 — Cleveland's first pro sports championship since 1964 — and helped the team to four straight Finals.Assistant coach Damon Jones also was fired, the two people said. A former Cavaliers player, Jones had been promoted during the offseason.Players appeared to be caught off-guard by Lue's dismissal. All-Star Kevin Love, who has missed the past... [More]

Tyronn Lue didn't make it through the season's first month without LeBron James.The Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach on Sunday, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Cavaliers are off to a 0-6 start without James, who left Cleveland this summer for the second time in his career and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.The Cavs weren't showing enough progress under Lue and the team decided it was time for a change before the situation worsened, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not commented on the move.Lue guided the Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2016 — Cleveland's first pro sports championship since 1964 — and helped the team to four straight Finals.Players appeared to be caught off-guard by Lue's dismissal. All-Star Kevin Love, who has missed the past two games with a sore left foot, posted a message to Lue on Instagram ."You helped me see the big picture," Love wrote. "Life changing experiences... [More]

Tyronn Lue didn't make it through the season's first month without LeBron James.The Cleveland Cavaliers fired their coach on Sunday, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Cavaliers are off to a 0-6 start without James, who left Cleveland this summer for the second time in his career and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent.The Cavs weren't showing enough progress under Lue and the team decided it was time for a change before the situation worsened, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team has not commented on the move.Lue guided the Cavaliers to an NBA title in 2016 — Cleveland's first pro sports championship since 1964 — and helped the team to four straight Finals.The 41-year-old Lue has three years left on a five-year, $35 million contract he signed after Cleveland won the title.The Cavaliers dropped their sixth straight game on Saturday night to Indiana and are off to their worst start since losing their first seven games in the 1995-96 season.Cleveland has been plagued by poor defense and communication issues, and the team has looked disorganized at times.The Cavaliers host Atlanta on Tuesday night. Led by rookie Trae Young's 35 points, the Hawks clobbered the Cavs by 22 points in Cleveland's home opener last week.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is out for the second straight game because of a sore left foot.Cleveland (0-5) hosts the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Love didn't play in Wednesday's loss to Detroit and missed three of the Cavaliers' four exhibition game because of the injury.Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said Love tried to play through the soreness and wanted to stay on the floor because the team has been struggling.Love is averaging 19 points and 13.5 rebounds — both team highs — but is shooting 32 percent from the field. The five-time All-Star signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension in July.Sam Dekker started at power forward Saturday after Channing Frye was in Love's spot against Detroit.Cleveland has had a difficult time adjusting without LeBron James after the four-time MVP signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavaliers have lost three road games and were blown out at home against Atlanta and Brooklyn.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love can't remember being this freshly shaven, gliding his fingers over his smooth cheeks and chin while glancing at a large mirror.The reflection doesn't pain him anymore.From the outside, the Cleveland Cavaliers' All-Star forward appears to have it all: A model's striking looks, a multi-million dollar contract and dream job. At 30, he's in the prime of his career, and maybe for the first time, truly happy."I'm getting there," he said, his voice conveying determination. "It's still a work in progress."Nearly a year ago, Love suffered a panic attack during a game against Atlanta. The desperate, life-altering event eventually led to revealing his long-term battle with anxiety and depression.Now Love is hoping to break down stigmas about men's mental health. He has partnered with Shick Hydro on a website series called "Locker Room Talk" , holding candid conversations with Olympic gold-medal swimming icon Michael Phelps, former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce and Cavs... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton has been fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating.NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe announced the fine on Wednesday.It stems from comments Walton made following the Lakers' 143-142 overtime loss to the Spurs on Monday. The officials gave 38 free throws to San Antonio and just 26 to Los Angeles, even though the Lakers outscored the Spurs 74-50 in the paint.Walton said the officials didn't give the Lakers calls because they're a young team.He had gotten a technical foul in the second quarter of the game for protesting a no-call on contact with LeBron James.___More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/tag/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just three games into LeBron James' tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, they were missing two suspended starters when they faced the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.Although nobody thought James' time on the West Coast would be boring, Brandon Ingram is sorry for his role in getting this season off to a weird start.Ingram is also grateful he received only a four-game suspension for his role in the Lakers' brawl with the Houston Rockets. The normally mild-mannered forward confronted referee Jason Phillips, shoved James Harden and threw punches at Chris Paul."Well, it was better than we expected," Ingram said after the Lakers' morning shootaround. "I'm happy it's only four. But I know I've got to control my emotions a little bit better. ... I thought it would be more than four, but I'm happy that it's at least four."Rajon Rondo also began his three-game suspension two days after spitting and punching in his altercation with Paul, a longtime rival.James was a peacemaker... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When LeBron James chose the Los Angeles Lakers, the burgeoning entertainment mogul realized many people would think he joined a mediocre team with a five-year playoff drought because he wanted to be in Hollywood.James simply scoffs at the notion he's thinking about anything but his day job as he begins the next chapter in one of the greatest careers in NBA history."My decision was based solely on my family and the Lakers," James explained before his first full practice in purple and gold. "I'm a basketball player. I play ball. That's what I do. When I do it at the level I do, everything else will take care of itself. As far as my business, those things have been taking care of themselves way before I even came out here."After winning three championship rings while leading — and sometimes carrying — his last eight consecutive teams in Miami and Cleveland to the NBA Finals, the 33-year-old James' new business is restoring a fraction of the Lakers' traditional glory following... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — There was LeBron James, still somewhat of a startling sight in purple and gold. And there were Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, still very much the champions of basketball for now and the foreseeable future.Playing each other Wednesday night in a game that meant nothing — except for those looking for a glimpse into the future of the NBA.Basketball's biggest stars on stage in a city full of stars. An exhibition game, yes, but that didn't stop fans from packing T-Mobile Arena on the Strip, where in a few years there almost surely will be a team they can call their own.And maybe the best thing? Anyone in the arena with a betting account could pull out their phone and bet a few dollars during the game.The gambling stigma is gone, thanks largely to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's progressive attitude and a Supreme Court decision that allowed sports betting in other states. The Vegas Golden Knights showed in their inaugural season that professional sports... [More]

The roadblock has been removed. With LeBron James gone, the path to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference is open again.Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto and more are hoping to win the race to it.James ruled over the East for eight years, making four straight trips to the finals from Miami and then moving back to Cleveland in 2014 and getting there every year since.From Boston to Indiana, up north in Toronto all the way down to Atlanta, teams would emerge with what they thought was a title contender only to see James send them home for the summer.Now King James has abdicated his throne and moved to Los Angeles, and there should be rejoicing in the land he left behind."It's a new lease on life in the Eastern Conference," said Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Reggie Miller, who faced a similar situation when he played in the East during the era of Michael Jordan's Bulls."It's great that LeBron has taken his talents out West because it opens up the doors for not only a lot of these young players,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James' first game against the Warriors as a Laker drew nearly 2 million viewers, making it ESPN's most-watched preseason game ever.The Lakers' 123-113 victory Wednesday night in Las Vegas was watched by 1.98 million viewers, the network said Thursday. A spokesman says that is the most viewers for an NBA preseason game on any network since at least 1994, which is as far back as the records go.James developed a rivalry with the Warriors while meeting them in a record four straight NBA Finals while he played in Cleveland. His move to Los Angeles in July put him in the same division as the two-time defending champions.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports