- The Magic‘s G League affiliate in Osceola has announced its preseason roster (Twitter link). It includes two-way players Mac McClung and Trevelin Queen.
After struggling mightily in the Heat‘s home-opening loss to Orlando, star forward Jimmy Butler bounced back with a strong performance in Saturday’s victory over Charlotte, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Butler had one of his worst games in a Heat uniform vs. the Magic, only scoring three points to go along with four rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes. On Saturday, the 35-year-old’s production was closer to his typical norm, as he put up 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 37 minutes.
“Honestly, just doing all of that and it resulting in a win,” Butler said when asked about his big night. “That’s the reason that we all play the game. I’m just happy to get one in the win column.”
The six-time All-Star could be a free agent next summer if he declines his $52.4MM player option for 2025/26. Chiang recently reported that Butler would likely decline a maximum-salary extension even if he were offered it, but there’s no indication at this point that he plans to leave Miami.
Here are a few more notes from around the Southeast:
- Heat swingman Josh Richardson, who underwent shoulder surgery in March, is close to making his season debut, Chiang notes in the same story. Richardson was sidelined for training camp and preseason as he recovered from the surgery, and has been dealing with heel inflammation after he was medically cleared to resume practicing. Richardson was upgraded to questionable for Saturday’s contest and warmed up before being ruled out, Chiang adds. “He’s making progress,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Richardson on Saturday morning. “So I’m encouraged by it. I know he is, as well. Don’t have a specific date, but he’s practicing and he’s doing everything right now.” Richardson, 31, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
- The Wizards dropped to 0-2 after Saturday’s loss to Cleveland, but French wing Bilal Coulibaly continues to show encouraging signs of progress in his second season, per Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (subscriber link). After dishing out a career-high six assists in Thursday’s opener vs. Boston, the 2023 lottery pick scored a career-high 23 points vs. the Cavs, going 9-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-9 from long distance.
- Seventh-year center Wendell Carter Jr. displayed in the team’s season-opening victory in Miami why the Magic gave him a three-year extension, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. The Magic were plus-32 in Carter’s 27 minutes during the 19-point win, with the 25-year-old big man recording eight points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Carter is averaging a career-best 11.7 RPG through three games for the 2-1 Magic.
Each of the NBA’s 30 teams is permitted to carry 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals, which works out to a maximum of 540 players across 30 rosters.
Of those 540 potential roster spots, 524 are currently occupied, leaving 16 open roster spots around the NBA. Three of those open roster spots belong to a single team, while 13 other clubs have one opening apiece.
[RELATED: 2024/25 NBA Roster Counts]
Here’s the full breakdown:
Three open standard roster spots
- New York Knicks
As we’ve previously discussed in stories about the Knicks, teams can only keep two or more spots on their standard rosters open for up to 14 days at a time, so New York will have to add two players to reach the 14-man minimum by November 5 at the latest.
The Knicks’ roster situation is further complicated by the fact that they don’t have enough room below their hard cap to fit two veteran minimum-salary contracts, meaning at least one of the two players they add to the standard roster will have to be a rookie whom they drafted.
Rookie big man Ariel Hukporti is the frontrunner to receive a promotion from his two-way contract, but it remains unclear who will join him by Nov. 5. Landry Shamet was the favorite to fill the other spot, but won’t be considered until he recovers from his dislocated shoulder. Matt Ryan has been rumored as a potential target, but it might make more sense to have him fill the two-way slot that Hukporti vacates.
One open standard roster spot
- Boston Celtics
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Miami Heat
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Sacramento Kings
Many of these teams are carrying an open roster spot for luxury tax reasons. The Celtics, Cavaliers, Warriors, Heat, Pelicans, Sixers, and Suns are all over the tax line, while the Pacers, Grizzlies, and Kings don’t have much breathing room below it. Most of those teams will add 15th men eventually, but they’ll be in no rush to do so yet.
The Pistons, meanwhile, still have about $10.2MM in cap room, which could come in handy in an in-season trade. They could add a 15th man if they want to, but they probably won’t do so unless there’s a specific target they really like, since bringing someone else on board would cut into their remaining cap space.
Of all the teams in this group, the Rockets may be the best bet to add a 15th man sooner rather than later, since they’re well above the cap and well below the tax, so there are no concerns related to finances or spending flexibility. Still, they have a deep roster, so there’s no point in filling that roster spot with someone who will just sit on the bench. The Rockets might keep it open unless they get bitten by the injury bug or have their eye on a specific prospect they want to develop.
One open two-way roster spot
- Orlando Magic
In past seasons, a team without a G League affiliate of its own might be slow to fill its two-way contract slots, but all 30 NBA clubs now have affiliates in the NBAGL, so there’s no real excuse not to carry a full complement of two-way players.
With training camps set to get underway on Monday for G League teams and the season tipping off on November 8, it wouldn’t surprise me if Orlando fills its lone two-way opening within the next week or two.
Jalen Johnson‘s five-year extension with the Hawks was one of the last deals to be announced on Monday because the paperwork reached the league office just minutes before the 5:00 pm Central deadline, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. In an article co-written with Tim Bontemps, Windhorst states that the two sides didn’t come to an agreement until after Jalen Suggs reached an extension with the Magic. Both teams slightly increased their offers to get the deals finalized, sources tell Windhorst.
- Magic forward Paolo Banchero has released the first installment of this year’s Andscape diary with Marc J. Spears. Banchero talks about growing up in Seattle, the adjustment to Orlando, the playoff series with Cleveland, advice from Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic and a few other topics.
Hawks second-year guard Kobe Bufkin suffered a partially dislocated right shoulder during a practice, the team announced Thursday in a press release. It’s the second time Bufkin has dislocated his shoulder in the last six months — he previously suffered the same injury ahead of Las Vegas Summer League in July.
Bufkin has had a rough go with injuries over the course of his young career. He was limited to just 17 games in his rookie season in 2023/24 after dealing with a fractured thumb and sprained toe. He averaged 4.8 points in 11.5 minutes per contest in his healthy appearances.
According to the Hawks’ release, Bufkin and the team are determining treatment options and an update will be provided at a later date. He’s likely to miss at least a few weeks. In the wake of his injury, guard Dyson Daniels will continue to get expanded opportunities.
In addition to not having Bufkin for Friday’s game, the Hawks are also listing Bogdan Bogdanovic as out with right hamstring tendinopathy, according to Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards are once again expected to finish toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings this season, but The Athletic’s Josh Robbins observes that there’s now a sense of purpose in the rebuild. With younger players like Bilal Coulibaly and Corey Kispert under contract for the foreseeable future, and 2024 draft picks Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington and Kyshawn George in the building, the Wizards have a sound core. “When I first came here, there really wasn’t infrastructure,” said forward Kyle Kuzma. “Everything was on the fly, you know? [Now, there’s] much more of a sense of purpose in that department.” In a similar story, The Washington Post’s Varun Shankar writes that 2023 hires Michael Winger (president of Monumental Basketball) and Will Dawkins (general manager) have been crucial in this process. Shankar also explores potential steps forward and considers which players could be on the move this year.
- Sarr, this year’s No. 2 overall pick, made his NBA debut on Thursday against the Celtics. He finished with two points, five rebounds and two blocks. Carrington started the game next to Jordan Poole at the guard spot, while George played off the bench. According to Wizards PR (Twitter link), the team’s opening-night starting lineup (Sarr, Poole, Carrington, Coulibaly, and Kuzma) was the youngest in franchise history.
- Carrington landed awkwardly following a layup attempt in the fourth quarter of the season-opening loss to Boston, Robbins observes (Twitter link). He was down for a while before limping off the court to the Wizards’ locker room. The rookie guard finished his NBA debut with three points, two assists and two blocks.
- The Magic defeated the Heat in dominant fashion in their season opener, leading by as many as 32 points, with forward Paolo Banchero pouring in 33. According to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, the team’s three-point focus and depth were key takeaways, while Gary Harris‘s dominance from beyond the arc (he made six of his nine three-point attempts for 18 points) is something to note. “It sets the tone for what the standard is with this team,” Banchero said. “Everyone was telling each other this was a hell of a game setting the tone but this is setting the tone for how we’ve got to be every night.“
- On the other side of the court, the 116-97 home loss to the Magic was a crushing blow to open the season for a Heat team that was enthusiastic about its new offensive system in the preseason. As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for just 12 points on 15.4% shooting in the loss. “Offensively, we have to trust some of the things that we’ve been working on in the preseason,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It has looked a lot different than this. But obviously that’s a very good defense. That’s a top-five defense. They’re very active, long. So you have to trust what we do even more.“
The three-year veteran extension that Aaron Gordon signed with the Nuggets is worth $103,608,840 in total base salary, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. As expected, Gordon is getting the maximum 40% raise on his 2025/26 salary ($22,841,455), with 8% annual raises after that.
Gordon’s is also getting the maximum 40% bump (and 8% subsequent increases) on his $1.2MM in incentives for the ’25/26 season, so they’ll increase to $1.68MM in the first year of the extension and will be worth $5,443,200 in total across the three years of the deal. That means that if the Nuggets forward earns all his bonuses, he could make up to $109,052,040 over those three seasons.
The trade kicker on Gordon’s extension is for just 3%, which represents the lowest percentage of any active trade kicker around the NBA.
Here are more details on some of the contracts recently signed by players across the league:
- Moses Moody‘s three-year extension with the Warriors actually has a total base value of $37.5MM, rather than the $39MM initially reported. The deal includes $1.5MM in incentives that could push the total value up to $39MM.
- Jalen Suggs‘ five-year, $150MM extension with the Magic starts at $35MM in 2025/26 and has a descending structure. By the fifth year, in 2029/30, Suggs’ cap hit will be just $26.7MM.
- The exact value of Jalen Green‘s three-year extension with the Rockets is $105,333,333. It starts at $33,333,333, with matching $36MM cap hits in years two and three (the third year is a player option).
- Alperen Sengun‘s five-year, $185MM extension with the Rockets has an ascending structure, though it doesn’t increase by the maximum allowable 8% per year. It begins at $33,944,954 in 2025/26 and eventually gets as high as $39,036,697 in years four and five. The fifth year is a player option.
- Trey Murphy‘s four-year, $112MM extension with the Pelicans begins at $25MM and increases by $2MM annually, getting up to $31MM by year four.
- The new standard contract Alex Reese signed with the Thunder is a straightforward one-year, minimum-salary deal that is fully non-guaranteed. I’d be a little surprised if Reese lasts the whole season on that contract, but if he does, he’d be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2025.
- Alondes Williams‘ two-way contract with the Pistons is for two years. While it’s pretty rare for a player to play out a full two-year, two-way contract, Detroit could technically keep Williams on his current deal all the way through the end of the 2025/26 season.
The Hornets won’t have their starting center available for the season opener. Mark Williams has been ruled out while he continues to rehab a left foot injury, the team’s PR department tweets. Williams has returned to on-court activity, so he should be back in action soon.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Hornets first-year coach Charles Lee says he’s ready to get the season started, according to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “I feel the same way — cool and calm — and I can feel that way because I feel like we’re prepared,” said Lee, whose team opens its season at Houston on Wednesday. “I think that we talked through a lot of situations offensively, defensively. We put in a good amount of information and I think it’s going to help us be competitive in the early part of the year. As the season continues to evolve, we’ll continue to evolve and will continue to put more things in on defense and on offense. But I feel great and a lot of it is because I have a really good team and a team that’s been open-minded the whole preseason. And they’ve been consistent with their work ethic and their work habits.”
- The Hawks gave Jalen Johnson a giant commitment, signing him to a five-year, $150MM rookie scale extension. General manager Landry Fields was comfortable signing Johnson to a long-term deal because of his work ethic and attitude. “He’s competitive, he works his tail off and he’s willing to do what needs to be done in order to get better. For a lot of guys, that’s not always the case. But he embodies all of that,” Fields said, per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss and John Hollinger. “When we get those types of players, we want to invest in them. So we’re happy and excited to invest in him for our future because we see a high ceiling for him.” Johnson had a breakout last season after two nondescript seasons and is thrilled to have long-term security, according to Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I mean, Atlanta is where I want to be,” Johnson said. “There’s nothing, no doubt about that. I feel like we’re building something really special here, and I want to be a part of it. So it meant a lot for, you know, them to want to get something done with me as well.”
- After toiling in the G League last season, Mac McClung is relieved to receive a two-way contract with the Magic, he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “It was a special moment,” he said. “I’ve been working hard to get something like this, so it was just very special and a relief, for sure.” McClung entered camp on an Exhibit 10 deal.
4:08pm: Suggs’ extension with the Magic is official, according to a press release issued by the team (Twitter link).
The $150.5MM deal is fully guaranteed, with no options, according to NBA reporter Jake Fischer and The Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede (Twitter links).
3:37pm: The Magic have agreed to sign guard Jalen Suggs to a five-year rookie scale extension worth $150.5MM, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
According to Charania (via Twitter), Suggs’ agent Darren Matsubara and team officials held a series of meetings in Orlando leading up to Monday’s extension deadline in order to finalize the terms of the deal.
Suggs’ NBA career got off to a bit of a slow start after he was selected fifth overall in the 2021 draft, as he battled injuries and struggled with his shot during his first two seasons. However, he enjoyed an impressive breakout year in 2023/24, averaging a career-high 12.6 points per game with a .471/.397/.756 shooting line and earning a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team. He also showed up on Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year ballots.
With Markelle Fultz no longer in the point guard picture in Orlando, Suggs will likely be given more offensive responsibilities in his fourth NBA season and is poised to improve upon his career averages of 11.5 PPG and 3.2 APG while continuing to play lock-down defense on the other side of the ball.
As we wrote multiple times earlier in the offseason, Suggs’ camp likely viewed the five-year, $131MM extension Jaden McDaniels signed last fall as a point of reference for the Magic guard’s new deal. Like Suggs, McDaniels was considered one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders and showed off an improved three-point shot in his third season before signing his second contract.
However, Suggs has a bigger offensive role than the Timberwolves forward and was able to secure an annual salary exceeding $30MM on his extension (assuming that $150.5MM total isn’t being inflated by incentives) compared to $26.2MM per year for McDaniels.
Suggs is the second core Magic player to sign a lucrative rookie scale extension this offseason, joining teammate Franz Wagner, who got a five-year, maximum-salary contract. Paolo Banchero is the next man up — he’ll become eligible for his own rookie scale extension in 2025.
Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. also signed long-term veteran extensions with Orlando this offseason and are each under contract through at least 2028.
Jalen Johnson and the Hawks are not yet trending toward a rookie scale contract extension, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.
Johnson is one of a handful of prominent players from the 2021 draft who has not signed an extension. In a Front Office column earlier this month, our Luke Adams ranked Johnson No. 1 among a group of nine players who are legitimate candidates for a rookie scale extension.
Another source informed Stein that Johnson has stood out during the Hawks’ training camp and the preseason. Johnson, the No. 20 pick in 2021, averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his breakout 2023/24 campaign while appearing in 56 games (52 starts).
Rookie scale extensions must be reached by Monday at 6 p.m. ET. Otherwise, those players will be restricted free agents next summer.
Here’s more from Stein:
- As he reported over the weekend, Quentin Grimes is a prime candidate for an extension, according to Stein, who says the Mavericks and Grimes, who was acquired from the Pistons during the offseason, are discussing a three-year deal.
- Trey Murphy III and the Pelicans are also in active extension negotiations ahead of Monday’s deadline, league sources tell Stein. Murphy will miss the early portion of this season with a hamstring injury but has been highly productive when healthy. The five-year, $135MM extension signed in October 2023 by San Antonio’s Devin Vassell is a potential comparable for Murphy, Stein notes.
- Reiterating a tweet from Saturday, Stein says the Magic’ Jalen Suggs is seeking a deal with an average annual value of at least $30MM.
- Coming off an All-Star season, Magic forward Paolo Banchero might be ready to reach new heights, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Head coach Jamahl Mosley talked about the “poise” that Banchero has displayed since camp opened, and the third-year forward agreed he’s approaching the game differently. “It’s just a certain level of comfort,” Banchero said. “After my second year, especially playing in the playoffs, it just showed me a different way that I can be effective. Combining my first two seasons and just looking back, watching so much tape over the summer, I played a lot on the ball my first two years and I learned that if I’m able to mix up playing on and off the ball — screening, flashing, posting up and just trying to not just give the defense one dose of something, just try to mix it up, pick my spots, and be a little more strategic with my approach — it makes the game a little easier.”