And-Ones: NBA Preseason, Team Owners, G League Trade, More

The NBA has officially announced (via Twitter) its full schedule for the 2026 preseason, which tips off with a Heat/Raptors contest in Quebec City on October 3 and wraps up with a 12-game slate on Oct. 16, including a Nuggets/Lakers matchup that will be televised on ESPN.

That Nuggets/Lakers game is one of five preseason contests that will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2, while Peacock will show the Cavaliers/Magic matchup on Oct. 13.

Although the Miami/Toronto preseason opener will be the only one played on Oct. 3, there will be multiple games on the schedule every day from Oct. 4-16.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

With NBA team owners seemingly in the news more than ever in 2026, Howard Beck of The Ringer takes stock of what’s going on, exploring why so many franchises have changed hands and detailing how significantly the value of the average NBA team has increased in recent years. “In any business where valuations rise at that level, there will be people who are attracted to the price and return,” one ownership source told Beck.
The Noblesville Boom, Osceola Magic, and Mexico City Capitanes have officially completed a three-team trade that sends the returning rights for Wade Taylor IV and Patrick Gardner to the Pacers’ G League affiliate, Au’Diese Toney’s returning rights to Orlando’s affiliate, and Cody Martin’s returning rights to the unaffiliated Capitanes.
It’s clear that teams are negotiating harder than they used to in rookie scale extension discussions, according to Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link), who analyzes Amen Thompson’s new deal with Houston and considers what the new landscape means for other fourth-year players eligible for extensions this offseason.
Which Western Conference teams have the best chance to knock off the favored Spurs and Thunder in 2026/27? William Guillory, Law Murray, Christian Clark, and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic attempt to answer that question, making the cases for the Rockets, Lakers, Nuggets, and Timberwolves, respectively.