Kawhi, PG out for Fri. game; no return timetable

On the most recent episode of The Lowe Post podcast, ESPN’s Zach Lowe touched on the James Harden trade situation. Lowe said things with Harden’s trade request are at “a total stalemate”.

“There’s only really one team that he wants to go to, and that team is the Clippers,” Lowe said. “Their level of engagement here to me is unclear/not super enthusiastic.”

Lowe also said the chances of Harden returning to the Philadelphia 76ers seems unlikely as of now.

“I don’t know what to make of the possibility that Harden would ever go back to Philly. I continue to hear from people who would know that the bridge is burned,” Lowe said. “But that’s what people who would know would say on July 17, with two months or whatever before training camp.”

While ESPN and TNT didn’t extend their media rights deals with the NBA before their exclusive negotiating window closed, sources tell Front Office Sports that both networks have matching provisions that allow each an opportunity to respond to outside bids before contracts are finalized. The provision applies to both streaming and linear rights packages.

The NBA currently gets nearly $2.7 billion annually from its nine-year $24 billion deals with ESPN and TNT expiring at the end of next season and a doubling of that annual average is possible.

The NBA has been tied to WBD in various ways since 1984, while ESPN has been a partner for more than 20 years. ESPN also provides significant programming beyond live sports that help promote the league.