LDN - Sports

National Basketball Association roundup

[June 22, 2016] June 21 (The Sports Xchange) - Dallas Mavericks star PF Dirk Nowitzki will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after opting out of his contract on Tuesday.

Nowitzki, who just turned 38 on Sunday, had a Wednesday deadline to opt out and become a free agent or play next season for $8.7 million.

The prevailing thought is that Nowitzki will remain with the Mavericks, although there is some thought that the Golden State Warriors might make a run at the future hall of famer.

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A parade 52 years in the making will finally take place Wednesday in Cleveland.

Fresh off their Game 7 win over Golden State, the world champion Cavaliers will be the toast of the town and honored during festivities that begin at 11 a.m. at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.

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The New York Knicks should be well under the salary cap when it comes time to start spending money in free agency on July 1.

Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams said they would opt out of their contracts and test free agency. That should give the Knicks more than $30 million in cap space, according to reports.

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Ben Simmons, the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, participated in his first workout for any team this week when he met with officials from the Philadelphia 76ers.

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Simmons, a 6-10 forward from LSU who played one season in Baton Rouge, had declined a previous request to work out for the 76ers, who won 10 games last season and finished 34 games out of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.

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The Warriors lost 18 games over the course of the regular season and playoffs but in the end it was one game - the seventh and deciding game of the NBA Finals on Sunday - that shifted Golden State's trajectory.

But owner Joe Lacob is ready to win the offseason, a detour route back to a second title that appears to include courting Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant.

"I will be very aggressive," Lacob said Sunday night in the aftermath of the Game 7 loss. (Editing by Frank Pingue)

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