Chris Paul refutes report that Michele Roberts is no longer leading union

After Jaylen Brown publicly responded to the decision by USA Basketball to select Derrick White as the replacement on its Olympics roster instead of him, Brown texted his Boston Celtics teammate to make sure he knew it was not personal against him.

USA Basketball had decided to bring White to Paris after Kawhi Leonard was deemed not healthy enough to play.

Brown averaged 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds for Team USA in the 2019 World Cup under Gregg Popovic. Sources said there were some questions about his ball movement and decision making.

Brown was critical on social media multiple times, revealing that the decision hurt him.

“That’s who Jaylen is,” one team source said. “He is not afraid to speak his mind. Jaylen has a constant chip on his shoulder and sees doubters everywhere.”

The NBA has opened an inquiry into the circumstances around James Harden’s public critique of Daryl Morey in which he was called “a liar.” Harden also said he will never play for a team that also employs Morey.

The league is pursuing whether Harden was portending a hold out of the 23-24 season, or if he was referencing past contract discussions with the Sixers that could be a circumvention of the cap.

Harden has privately indicated that his public comments calling Morey a “liar” on Monday morning had only been a response to Morey ending trade discussions. Harden exercised his $35.6 million player option with the Sixers in late June with the expectation he would be traded.

The Sixers told Harden that they hadn’t found a workable trade with the Los Angeles Clippers and expect him to report to camp in September.

The Sixers were stripped of two second round picks for premature conversations last offseason with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.