INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are ready to put the 2025-26 season behind them. It was a season filled with too many injuries to count, with a bleak 19-63 record.
But the Pacers are healthy again. Tyrese Haliburton is back, Ivica Zubac is healthy again, and the entire starting five has finally had time to gel throughout training camp practices.
Whether they can stay healthy, however, could define their season once again.
Here are two X-factors for the Pacers' 2026-27 season, plus one bold prediction:
CAN THEY AVOID THE INJURY BUG?

#Pacers #indianapolis #tyrese #ivica

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are ready to put the 2025-26 season behind them. It was a season filled with too many injuries to count, with a bleak 19-63 record.
But the Pacers are healthy again. Tyrese Haliburton is back, Ivica Zubac is healthy again, and the entire starting five has finally had time to gel throughout training camp practices.
Whether they can stay healthy, however, could define their season once again.
Here are two X-factors for the Pacers' 2026-27 season, plus one bold prediction:
CAN THEY AVOID THE INJURY BUG?

#season #haliburton

On paper, it could appear as though the league was taking away the 2029 Clippers pick the Sixers had the right to swap. But a league source confirmed a report from PhillyVoice that said the NBA was taking away a first-round pick the Pacers owe the Clippers from the Ivica Zubac trade and was not touching the Clippers' own pick, meaning the Sixers' right to swap that pick remains intact.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: A league source confirmed a report from PhillyVoice …

#clippers #league

Rihanna seems to know how to take any footwear silhouette — whether it be a classic pump, a sultry slingback or a pair of sneakers — and make it look unmistakably her own. In 2026, the Fenty Beauty founder has worn tiger-striped Alaïa pumps for a New York date night, Nike x Jacquemus Moon Shoes with off-duty staples and suede knee-high boots to the FIFA World Cup Final. She returned to the stage in glossy Saint Laurent Vendôme slingbacks, then turned an everyday family outing into a statement in snakeskin sandal heels. Ahead, revisit Rihanna's standout shoe moments of 2026—so far.
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#shoe #fenty #jacquemus

Miss USA 2026 is back on Aug. 27 in Miami and, as they prepare to take the stage, contestants are recalling their "most memorable" wardrobe malfunctions
Some women list experiences with ripped dresses, mismatched earrings and makeup stains among the wardrobe malfunctions they've had
Many tell PEOPLE that avoiding a wardrobe malfunction isn't entirely possible, but they emphasize the value of preparation, backup outfits and quick thinking to overcome them when they strike
Despite the countless hours of rehearsals and practice that go into a pageant, there is no amount of preparation that can stop a wardrobe malfunction from happening when you least expect it.

Luckily for the contestants gearing up to walk the stage in the 2026 Miss USA competition in Miami, Fla., on Aug. 27, years of experience in the pageant world and other competitive arenas (dance, livestock competitions and more) have caused them to develop creative solutions to even the most devastating wardrobe malfunctions on the fly.

Some contestants recall the usual, dreaded dress rip or getting a stain on their garments just before walking on stage, while others open up about the wildest malfunctions that prompted them to start incorporating new preventative methods into their pre-pageant rituals.

Other contestants have been lucky to avoid malfunctions throughout their pageant career, but have experienced moments in other parts of their lives or witnessed their fellow pageant contestants step on stage in outfits held together by safety pins and string.

Read on to hear some of the contestants' tellings PEOPLE about their worst malfunctions, and what they learned along the way.
Vivica Lewandowski on Feb. 10, 2024 in New York City.
Credit: Chance Yeh/Getty

#malfunctions #stage

When NBA free agency opened several weeks ago, the Los Angeles Lakers quickly lost LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes. Once their new-look roster started to take shape, they still had a big hole at one of their starting forward positions, and there was some hope that they would retain forward Rui Hachimura.
However, Hachimura opted to join the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that is clearly on a downward trajectory, instead. The Clippers aren't exactly the faux-contenders they were a few years ago, especially now that star forward Kawhi Leonard is apparently on his way out, pending a trade to the Toronto Raptors, and that Paul George, James Harden and Ivica Zubac are long gone.
But Hachimura, via ClutchPoints, raved about the Clippers organization and said that he's "so happy" to be a member of the team.
"I'm just so happy," Hachimura said. "The Clippers are an amazing organization. Even when talking to other NBA players, they always rave about how great the Clippers organization is. It's truly a player-first team, you know. They take care of their players while having that winning mentality. The Clippers are a young team. A year ago, they were called the oldest team in the league, but they've transitioned to a younger generation especially with Kawhi Leonard getting traded. Joining them right as they build this next generation is huge for me, and I'm incredibly excited."
The Clippers are now built around Darius Garland, whom they acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Harden, and rookie Keaton Wagler, who was the No. 5 pick in June's draft. They may miss the playoffs again this coming season, but Hachimura also cited a couple of other reasons for choosing them.

#angeles

Once again, it’s time to pass judgement prematurely. After all, I would have my basketball writer card revoked were I to not evaluate before the dust has fully settled: that’s why they pay me the modestly-sized bucks, I’m told. So, without further ado, the Winners and Losers of week one of 2026 NBA free agency.
Philadelphia 76ers It must feel strange for Sixers fans to be on the right side of one of these incredibly lopsided, head-scratching transactions. But here we are: Philadelphia may end up as the biggest winners of the week after somehow (!) landing 2026 MVP candidate, 2024 NBA finals MVP and bona fide second-team All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown in exchange for just two first-round picks, two second-rounders and Paul George – whose contract is widely regarded as one of the league’s worst. The 36-year-old, injury-prone former superstar is still owed roughly $110m over the next two seasons. At the time of writing, the Sixers remain in the LeBron James sweepstakes, but even if they strike out, they’re in terrific shape. A George-for-Brown swap gives them far more insurance against the inevitable Joel Embiid absences during the regular season, while adding a battle-tested champion to help shepherd Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe through the postseason and show them what it takes to reach the mountaintop. Additionally, after being unceremoniously dumped on a division rival for the basketball equivalent of a bag of chips, Brown will arrive about as motivated as possible heading into the 2026-27 campaign. Hats off to the Sixers’ brass for pulling off what looks like the biggest heist since Nico Harrison since Nico Harrison was employed.
Los Angeles Clippers Self-awareness is a virtue. The Clippers were going nowhere in a hurry, and as heartening as last season’s late push was, the Kawhi Leonard era had, by any reasonable measure, been an abject failure. The reckoning actually began before the offseason. At the trade deadline, the Clippers cut bait on James Harden, landing the much younger Darius Garland while adding draft capital. They also dealt longtime center Ivica Zubac for a package that ultimately yielded fifth overall pick Keaton Wagler. The housecleaning continued this summer when they sent Leonard back to his old home in Toronto, receiving a respectable haul of picks along with two intriguing younger pieces in Brandon Ingram and Gradey ****** . They even poached three-point sniper Rui Hachimura from the neighboring rival Lakers. In all likelihood, the Clippers won’t be very good next season. But now, what was once an empty cupboard of future ****** ets has been restocked, the foundations of a genuine rebuild are finally in place, and, a year after watching former Clipper-turned-trade-chip Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the franchise can at last start moving forward. That is, until tree-planting-gate is fully adjudicated.
LeBron James It is absolutely preposterous that the hottest commodity on the free-agent market is a

You played with Zach Edey at Purdue, and now you're playing with Ivica Zubac in Indiana. They're both traditional back-to-the-basket, post-up guys, which is rare in today's league. What aspects of your game do you feel translate well from when you played with Edey to now, hopefully with Zubac? Braden Smith: Obviously, two big dudes and being able to play with those guys and learn how to play with them. I think it was important for me, especially early on in my first two years of college, to be with Zach. So I think it just sets you up because if you are trying to go play in the league and do those things, that's who you're going to get. Those are the type of guys you're going to have to play with and learn to play with, so for me, I think it's just a head start to that. Obviously, having Zubac on the team and being able to play with another guy very similar to that. I think it only benefits me even more because I already know how to play with a caliber player like that, and it really just makes it that much better.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Obviously, having Zubac on the team and being able to …

There are some NBA trades that, if you had brought the idea up six months earlier, it would have gotten you laughed out of the room.
Trade ideas like Kawhi Leonard returning to Toronto. If someone had said that to you at your work Christmas party last year, you would have said "sure, buddy" as you slowly started to back away. Yet here we are. Kawhi Leonard is returning to Toronto in a blockbuster trade that sends an All-NBA wing back to the place he last won a ring.
Who were the winners and losers in the Leonard trade? Actually, I'm not sure there were any losers — not everyone is a winner, and there is some "meh," but trying to find a real loser was a stretch. Let's break it all down, and we'll start with a reminder of what this trade entails.
Toronto receives: Kawhi Leonard
The LA Clippers receive: Brandon Ingram, Gradey **** , two unprotected first-round picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap, two second-rounder picks (2030 and 2033).
More than staying home in Southern California, what Kawhi Leonard really wanted was to get paid. The Los Angeles Clippers would not give the 35-year-old with a lengthy injury history the extension he wanted. Part of that was the Clippers were looking to pivot to a younger team, James Harden and Ivica Zubac were traded at the deadline. So if Leonard wanted to stay with the Clippers, he was going to do it on their terms. The sides were well apart.

It's more than just smoke, there is a real fire — things are ramping up toward a Leonard trade.
As always, it comes down to money. While the Clippers signaled they were pivoting to a new era — trading away James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline — the plan was to keep Kawhi Leonard around. Owner Steve Ballmer reportedly didn't want to trade him... and then the sides started talking contract extension. Leonard, 35 (as of Monday, happy birthday!), will make $50.2 million this season, and the sides are far apart on what his next contract should look like. The Clippers want him to take a much larger pay cut than he is ready to coming off an All-NBA season.
All of which pivoted to the Clippers talking about trading Leonard, with Toronto and Dallas as the frontrunners. Either way, it's a reunion: A return to Toronto, where he led the team to a **** le in 2019, or Leonard reunites with the architect of that Toronto **** le team, Masai Ujiri, in Dallas.
Here are the latest reports on Leonard.
Kawhi Leonard fits in perfectly with the Toronto front office's apparent effort to have everyone on the roster be between 6'6" and 6'9".

The Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks all have reported potential interest in bringing star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown onto their rosters, according to recent reporting from HoopsHype senior contributor Michael Scotto. In a sea of reports at times contradicting one another, we hear rumors that teams which have been described elsewhere as uninterested in bringing on the Georgia native have had a change of heart – or at least, an accurate ***** sment of their level of interest in trading for Brown.
Per Scotto, even though "some executives around the league" ***** umed "it would be a foregone conclusion that the Bucks would try to flip Brown to another team to get future first-round draft pick compensation as part of a rebuilding effort, it’s not a certainty."
"If the Celtics indeed acquire Antetokounmpo and Brown ends up going to the Bucks as part of the trade, the Bucks would consider keeping Brown," he adds.
Noting the reported trade interest of the Blazers first shared by the New York Times' Sam Amick, the HoopsHype reporter had other intel on another Western Conference ball club also having interest in acquiring Brown's services.
"The Clippers are also said to be interested in Brown and have future first-round draft picks available to dangle, including the fifth pick in the draft as a potential trade chip, along with a 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick from the Indiana Pacers from the Ivica Zubac trade, should they decide to pursue" the Celtics star.

The Clippers are also said to be interested in Brown and have future first-round draft picks available to dangle, including the fifth pick in the draft as a potential trade chip, along with a 2029 unprotected first-round draft pick from the Indiana Pacers from the Ivica Zubac trade, should they decide to pursue a trade.
HoopsHype
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: The Clippers are also said to be interested in Brown …

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 13: Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers reacts during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 13, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers just won 19 games. They lost a lot, often consecutively. And yet they enter the offseason as contending hopefuls, and for good reasons.
Across the last three NBA postseasons, the Pacers are the only team that has beaten the New York Knicks – the current NBA Champions – in a series. Tyrese Haliburton has yet to lose a best-of-seven set that he finishes healthy. Indiana was a playoff force in 2024 and 2025, and with Haliburton returning from injury next season they hope to be one again in 2027.
“We feel like we have a team [that]… We’re in that [contention] mix when we’re healthy,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said earlier in the offseason.
A starting lineup of Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac projects to be quite good. The Pacers still have some questions to answer about their depth, but after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals twice in a row, with one of those runs leading to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Indiana is hopeful to be a contender again in 2026-27.