Clippers, Bulls Interested In Russell Westbrook Upon Clearing Waivers

Ted Leonsis has reached a deal with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser to keep the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington DC through at least 2050.

Leonsis signed a letter of intent late Wednesday afternoon formalizing an agreement between his parent company, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, and the city.

The deal comes after attempts to build a new arena in Alexandria, Virginia failed to pass the state’s legislature.

“We made tons of mistakes,” Leonsis said Wednesday night when asked whether Monumental had made errors since the December announcement about Potomac Yard. “But we manage to outcomes, and the outcome is exactly the right one.”

Bowser said: “We are the current home, and the future home, of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.”

Monumental will receive $500 million in cash from the city to renovate Capital One Arena.

Leonsis said on Wednesday that he had been surprised by the criticism of moving the Wizards les than four miles from Capital One Arena to Potomac Yard.

Leonsis said he considers the District, suburban Maryland and suburban Virginia “one community” and noted that the Capitals and Wizards used to play in Landover, Md., at Capital Centre before the teams moved to downtown Washington.

Marc Lore has made it a priority to sign Tim Connelly to a contract extension once he assumes full control of the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources tell ESPN. Lore and Alex Rodriguez have yet to gain control of the Wolves despite an arbitration ruling in their favor over Glen Taylor.

Connelly agreed to an amendment in his contract last year that pushed his opt-out to this offseason. The Wolves signed Connelly away from the Denver Nuggets in May 2022 on a five-year, $40 million deal. Connelly quickly moved forward with a trade for Rudy Gobert in his first offseason with the team.

If Connelly were to hit the open market, he would figure to receive considerable outside interest given his role in building the eventual champion Nuggets while also constructing a Wolves’ roster that reached the Western Conference Finals.

Gersson Rosas and then Sachin Gupta were the two previous lead decision-makers for the Wolves before Connelly’s tenure.