The Heat may have a backup plan if LeBron James slips away, and it comes with a familiar name.
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Russell Westbrook is on Miami’s radar, but only as a fallback if the team can’t land James in free agency. Bondy also reported that Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia are still widely seen around the league as the front-runners to sign the four-time MVP.
Westbrook spent last season with the Kings after previously teaming up with James on the Lakers. He was also connected to the Wizards earlier this summer.
Out in Los Angeles, the Lakers have made one of their moves official, signing veteran guard Collin Sexton after reaching an agreement earlier this month.
Sexton joins a Lakers roster that has been reshaped with the additions of Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili following James’ departure. The 27-year-old put up 17.5 points per game in 26 games with the Bulls after coming over from Charlotte at last season’s trade deadline, and he shot 48.2 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three.
The Lakers have used up their available spending power for the offseason, but they can still continue to alter the roster through trades.
In Chicago, Norman Powell is already talking like a player locked in on the present. After officially signing with the Bulls, he said he knows the NBA can change quickly and noted that his contract includes a team option for the second season. Still, his message was clear: he’s focused on the Bulls right now.
“I go into every situation wanting to be here,” Powell said, via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “My focus is on being here, being in the moment, and how I can help.”
In Other News...
Caleb Wilson Just Changed How Bulls Fans See That Draft Pick
Caleb Wilson arrived in Chicago with the usual top-pick expectations, but the early read on him was shaped as much by projection as production. The Bulls took him fourth overall in the 2026 NBA Draft after he was viewed as a project wing with shooting questions, and that made his work this summer worth watching closely from the start.
In NBA Summer League, Wilson has done more than hold his own. He has been one of the standouts, and the part that has turned heads most is the three-point shooting that once looked like the obstacle in his profile. Working with shooting coach Chris Matthews, Wilson has been trying to sharpen that part of his game, and the early returns are giving Bulls fans a very different lens on the pick than they had on draft night. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls May Have Seen Something In Caleb Wilson Everyone Else Missed
The Bulls had Caleb Wilson on their radar well before his name started drawing louder buzz around the 2026 NBA Draft. Chicago brought in the North Carolina forward for a pre-draft interview, and the early read inside the organization was that his confidence, maturity and work ethic stood out as much as his talent. For a team always looking for players who can grow into bigger roles, that kind of impression matters, especially when it comes from a prospect whose game already carried plenty of intrigue.
Wilsons shooting is the part that may have made Chicago look twice. At North Carolina, he was used mostly as a rim-attacking power forward in a fast-break offense, which meant the jumper did not always get the same spotlight it had in other settings. But his track record from high school and what he showed in Summer League suggest there may be more there than the college usage indicated, and that is the sort of detail front offices tend to circle long before everyone else catches on. [Read more 🡒]